The NEW Game Journal

[Aeolus]

Beat MGS4. That's a lot of cutscenes.

Last fight was easy, I don't know WTF people were talking about.

Was a tedious and way too long pain in the ass for me on Big Boss or whatever the mode was called. Also they used the shitty EDIT: music from MG: Twin Snakes instead of the awesome music from the original game, which pretty much killed it for me.

Unfortunately, due to copyright issues, the original main theme for the series is done for (which sucks since its far better than the new main theme).

[kyuusei]

Twin Snakes is not even canon, so you can make like it never happened.

I don't know WTF people were talking about.

...you mean the ending?

I mean the final fight. Which is why I said.... the final fight. Heard it was more annoying than most of the battles and it.... Wasnt?

[Yggdrasil]

^Ah, my bad.

I've had my problems with the final battle sometimes but is nothing to get upset about.

Unfortunately, due to copyright issues, the original main theme for the series is done for (which sucks since its far better than the new main theme).

http://youtu.be/9k7DrIWcrdI

*sigh*

[kyuusei]

Kept getting told that since I hated Vamp's fight (I had trouble grabbing him when he was out) I'd hate the final fight. Never had any issues with it actually. I spent all game craving CQC but Geriatric Snake sucks at it. So I guess that battle was my fix.

Ending stuff was very Metal Gear. Rising tomorrow!

[Daedalus]

Finished Final Fantasy IX last night.  That game was pretty lighthearted and fun.  It made me laugh a few times.  I'm definitely glad I went back and played it.  It dragged a bit in the middle.  By the end of the game I was ready to be done, the random encounters grow old.

All in all I enjoyed myself.

[Bytor]

Got to the final battle(s) in Enchanted Arms....hmmm...would appear I am under-leveled...damn it. Been playing a bit of Need for Speed Shift 2 and I must say I freaking hate the physics in this game, horrible, horrible, horrible. On the flip side Glory of Heracles is a fun little game so far.

[MeshGearFox]

Finished Final Fantasy IX last night.  That game was pretty lighthearted and fun.

I thought FFIX was the darkest FF game :(

System Shock 2: Got the 45mdex. Time to radiation! Also I tried playing without Rebirth for awhile and the inconsistent texturing on the enemies bugged me. I don't mind them being low poly but there's a noticeably difference in quality between pipe hybrid and grenadier hybrids, although hybrids are sort of stupid looking anyway.

Euro Truck Sim 2: Hauled tractors from Brno? to Dresden. Managed to not crash into anything this time, meaning I had no money lost for traffic accidents/violations, and got full payment since there were no truck/cargo repairs. I still suck at parking. Also discovered some recruitment agencies and dealers in... I think Prague? IDK I have 10k in the bank now, I could take out a 100k loan and start my own company. Kind wanna just drive a bit more. Also I hit Level 2 and got the first tier economic driving perk, which reduces fuel usage.

[Dice]

Finished Final Fantasy IX last night.  That game was pretty lighthearted and fun.

I thought FFIX was the darkest FF game :(

I absolutely loved your analysis on FF8's plot, so I'm curious why you think FF9 was dark.  I don't disagree, I think I can see a lot of what you mean (Black Mages, Terra-ians, Kuja himself maybe, certainly his reign of destruction before Kuja's own death sentence was given).

[Yggdrasil]

I...I came here with Mr. 36. We escaped together.
We had so many things to learn. It was really scary at first, but we helped each other.

Then one day, Mr. 36 stopped moving. He just stopped... Wouldn't move or say anything.

My friend who knows lots of things told me that this was what 'death' was, and we had to bury him.

Mr. 36 is buried under the ground now. But I don't understand why.

He's going to come out again one day, right? When he does, I'm going to wash him off in the pond.

— No. 56

[Blace]

Finished Final Fantasy IX last night.  That game was pretty lighthearted and fun.

I thought FFIX was the darkest FF game :(

I absolutely loved your analysis on FF8's plot, so I'm curious why you think FF9 was dark.  I don't disagree, I think I can see a lot of what you mean (Black Mages, Terra-ians, Kuja himself maybe, certainly his reign of destruction before Kuja's own death sentence was given).

FFIX can certainly get dark at times, much like most of the post FFVI games in the series, but there is no way that FFVIII isn't the darkest in terms of plot. Growing up playing that game, the sorceress' even freaked me out along with the brilliant soundtrack.

Anyway, now up to 50 hours in Fire Emblem: Awakening and still going strong. I absolutely love this game. I haven't spent this long playing a game in years. Definitely my favorite RPG of recent times. I'm on chapter 23, but keep getting sidetracked with all the support stuff, marrying characters, and grinding out levels & skills.

[MeshGearFox]

Finished Final Fantasy IX last night.  That game was pretty lighthearted and fun.

I thought FFIX was the darkest FF game :(

I absolutely loved your analysis on FF8's plot...

Shit what when did I analyze FFVIII's plot? Was that what I used the phrase "plot mulligan" in reference to?

, so I'm curious why you think FF9 was dark.

FFIX's dark 'cause on the surface it ISN'T dark.

So here's a counter-example. Two, actually. I liked FFX as a whole because of the gameplay, but the plot never did much for me, because there was a huge element of just... trying to hard with it. It had kind of the same themes that FFIX and FFVII did but everything is big and momentous and staring you in the face and screaming THIS IS MEANINGFUL, to the point where it becomes detached and distant and not humanly relatable.

FFVII had the same kinds of issues in terms of being traditionally dark (although I think there was this metafiction element to FFVII. I'll get to that). So like, obviously the big one is Aeris' death and that entire scene just SCREAMS "This is a new, dark, and edgy direction for Final Fantasy," to the extent that it's a tad overdone and hard to take seriously -- although it's debatable that Aeris was only in love with Cloud because he thought he was Zack, and that Cloud was only in love with Aeris because, er, he thought he was Zack. And I'm pretty sure Sephiroth actually calls Cloud out on this, if I'm remembering it right.

Anyway, tl;dr -- FFX's dark lays it on too thick unintentionally, and FFVII's either doing the same thing or subverting it.

Anyway, death is an obvious and unifying theme in both FFX and FFVII, and on one level it LOOKS like that's true about FFIX, but FFIX is a bit different.

To paraphrase this guy here's http://popsongs.wordpress.com/ analysis of Automatic for the People, FFIX's theme isn't about death per se so much as it is about "living with the awareness of mortality.*" It's about the potentials, the fragility, transience; the passed over and the survivors. But I mean, there's definitely a lighthearted side to it. You have the Black Wizard Village stuff, and lots of cities getting destroyed, but then you also get Zidane and Vivi pissing off of a roof, or the 'marriage' thing in the dwarf city. It's not necessarily comic relief -- it's not funny necessarily, but it's a necessary break highlighting the darker turns.

It's not dark because of constant oppression and bleakness and political plots with sizable body counts, but because it operators in a territory more human than I felt any of the other FFs did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgUluGVnQwg Also have some delightful ETS2 machinima (I wish this were a real mod. I think they're making official Russia DLC. I'll... probably buy it). Also I did find some mod that makes cabs bounce around more realistically. idk if the realism matters that much but hot /damn skippy/ that wiggling is swag.

* Or possibly gaining the awareness of mortality. There's literal death, but there's also metaphoric death, like the breakdown of Steiner's moral code. A lot of the characters in the game start out their own respective ivory towers. You could see it as the loss of the delusion of immortality that comes with being young/safe.

[Taelus]

You just won all of the internets I have to give.

I was on board right when you said, "FFIX's dark 'cause on the surface it ISN'T dark."

This is the exact point I try to make so often. Real darkness is relative, and if there's just DARKBLACK BLAR MY SOUL IS SO WRETCHED for the entire experience, it's hard to relate to it. FFIX starts out happier, but it gets into some deep and dark business. I mean, the bad guy's entire deal in the end is that he is TERRIFIED of death (kind of like Lord Voldemort :3). It's not hamfisted (at least, not until Necron, but that was basically a nod to the rest of the series and its SURPRISE BITCHES final bosses). But the point is, because it was relatable, you are able to actually empathize with the people in the game. That line from No. 56 is relevant, too. How many people go through the same experience, of not realizing how very real and very serious mortality can be?

Maybe it's not the point you were making, but this is exactly why I enjoy games like Tales of the Abyss and FFIX-- they're light-hearted on the surface, and that helps you become attached to and relate to the characters. THEN, when crazy business starts flying about, you actually care.

[MeshGearFox]

How many people go through the same experience, of not realizing how very real and very serious mortality can be?

And then you do get that sudden realization and it's terrifying and hard to keep down, and you're staying up till four or five in the morning every night because you can't stand losing consciousness, especially not when it's dark out, and then everything makes you jumpy and you're sleep deprived to the point of being incoherent and inexplicably /cold/ all the time. And it goes on for months.

Or maybe that's just me.

[Taelus]

How many people go through the same experience, of not realizing how very real and very serious mortality can be?

And then you do get that sudden realization and it's terrifying and hard to keep down, and you're staying up till four or five in the morning every night because you can't stand losing consciousness, especially not when it's dark out, and then everything makes you jumpy and you're sleep deprived to the point of being incoherent and inexplicably /cold/ all the time. And it goes on for months.

Or maybe that's just me.

Or you shoot Ultima spells at a planet. Different strokes. :D

Also, Persona 4 is fucking awesome. It's been a while since I played a Shin Megami game, and it's clear they still rock the house and own the show.

[Aeolus]

Finished Final Fantasy IX last night.  That game was pretty lighthearted and fun.

I thought FFIX was the darkest FF game :(

I absolutely loved your analysis on FF8's plot, so I'm curious why you think FF9 was dark.  I don't disagree, I think I can see a lot of what you mean (Black Mages, Terra-ians, Kuja himself maybe, certainly his reign of destruction before Kuja's own death sentence was given).

FFIX can certainly get dark at times, much like most of the post FFVI games in the series, but there is no way that FFVIII isn't the darkest in terms of plot. Growing up playing that game, the sorceress' even freaked me out along with the brilliant soundtrack.

Anyway, now up to 50 hours in Fire Emblem: Awakening and still going strong. I absolutely love this game. I haven't spent this long playing a game in years. Definitely my favorite RPG of recent times. I'm on chapter 23, but keep getting sidetracked with all the support stuff, marrying characters, and grinding out levels & skills.

FFVIII's plot might have some dark elements to it but like everything else shoves it aside for the "Squall is great" praise train and his romantic side plot with what's her face (don't answer; rhetorical). Even VI has a darker plot, and not just due to the whole worldwide wrecking federation or that suicide scene that nobody saw after FAQs became a thing, but because of those occasional reminders of places you were running around in a couple of hours ago have been irrevocably changed and that everything you've been fighting for was for naught (as both the Empire and the Returners no longer exist). Compare that, to that one doofy cutscene at the end of VIII with Squall wandering through a wasteland and say again which game is the darkest of them all.

Comedy Option: Dirge of Cerberus is darker than FFVIII because by the end of the game you realize just how much of a shit Squeenix took on FFVII.