Last-Gen Heroes: Atlus is no "Square"

The Last Generation of gaming saw me log more hours into my DS and PSP than on my Wii and Playstation 3. On the go gaming just made more sense with busy weekends, and a two hour commute each day for five days a week. The ten or so JRPGs I bought for my PS3 and Wii for the most part remain untouched. Of the handful I played, Final Fantasy XIII and Eternal Sonata disappointed me while Costume Quest brought Halloween to life, and the joy of inedible candy into my heart. While I have some gems waiting to be played on my consoles, I needed to not look very far to get my JRPG fix as both the DS and PSP were willing to cater to those needs. Square had a strong presence in that regard but when thinking about the Last Generation of gaming for JRPGs and SRPGs, it's clear that there's one company in particular that has become a force to be reckoned with.

Game Changing: Feeding the Chocobos to the Dogs

I am very much a creature of habit.  I found my preferred genre of games in 1997 when I laid my hands on Final Fantasy VII.  However, it was not love at first play.  It took a frustrated break and a determination to understand what I was doing to develop that love.  When I finished it, I knew that the JRPG would be the type of game that I would seek.  I knew then too that Square would have my loyalty.  In looking at my library from the PSOne and PS2 eras, there are a few different genres strewn in as well.  There are my fighting days in Soul Blade and Tekken.  I would cringe as a “backseat” player to the Resident Evil series.  Farming was fun with Harvest Moon… and cooking with the Wonder Chef in the Tales series makes an appearance as well.  It is clear, however, that Square dominated my decision making in buying games.  

Psh to You, Square Enix.

Those biatches at Square Enix have really been making me quite the crankies this year.

I think I will go ahead and call shenanigans on them.

SHENANIGANS!

First there was the lack of a special edition of Final Fantasy XIII.  That turned out to be okay because from the 40+ hours I played before the PS3 went d-e-d, I did not LOVE it.  It was okay but not swoon worthy.

Then, there's the fact that Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is coming out with a special edition...in the U.K.

Again, here we are getting not a thing.

I know I have spoken at great lengths before about how Square Enix members for the Gold and Ultimate status are getting a sweet music compilation cd and an Ipod Touch respectively.

Bronze members, such as yours truly, get diddly squat.

My diddly squat came a few days ago, and let us review together, shall we?

Hello there, Bronze Loser.  

Have a post card.

But wait! Maybe we were unkind.  

Have a second postcard of a disappointing 

game we made you wait 4 years for.

Okay, Okay.  

Have something decent if you insist.  Yeesh.

So there you have it.  I got three postcards.  Two I don't care for and one pretty sweet one, actually.

It pains me to report, I am still a Bronze Member for the 2010 year.  With Front Mission Evolved coming out and a whole lot of nothing else, it seems I will be getting a stinking postcard set again next year.

Hooray?

No!

SHENANIGANS!

Taking it Personal

Remember a few months ago, I created a Square Enix Avatar?

Did you click? Do you remember little Zarnyx the Squeenix Avatar: Avenger of Nothing with Trusty Purple Sword and Red Demon Eyes?

No?

Already turned off from reading if you are not Beetchie and Bughie J.?

That's rather rude of you.

Let me just dust that dirt of my shoulder and continue with my upcoming tirade.

FFXIII Update

Really, Square Enix? A pre-order bonus of FFXIII comes with an excerpt from a full strategy guide?

Well don't I feel special and awesome.

I am disgusted.

Nerd Post: Complete With Non-Zombie Rage and a Dash of Fan-Service

I, for one, am very much looking forward to March.

No, it's not that Spring is upon us in a matter of weeks.  As I have stated before I do not like Spring for it reminds me that Summer is right around the corner.

It's that the first week and a half of March will bring with it Muse @ MSG, the release of Gorillaz' new album, and the release of Final Fantasy XIII.

I was really happy until last week and now I am less so.

Why?

For some reason, Square Enix thought it was okay to eff over the US Sony PS3 users.

Why, Sony?

Why would you ass-effery have the release of a Limited Edition bleck...argh..xbox..cough...meh FFXIII console and not release A THING special edition wise for the PS3?

W.
T.
F.

How many evil Microsoft dollars did they throw at you, Square?!?!

As a child of the Commodore 64 and Atari, I never had the 'fortune' of owning an SNES, NES or Sega.
The PS was the first 'console' owned by The HOchieS when that beautiful dirty grey little thing was released so many years ago.

Since then, I've been a Sony Girl and yes, I've dabbled in the arts of Nintendo too because you know, Link just screams 'luz me'.

I suppose this is a little of what Nintendo users felt when Final Fantasy VII was released for the PS.
Oh, so this is what a slap to the face feels like.

Ohhhh.

And might I say, "OW" while I'm at it?

As each day marches closer to March 9, I hope that Square will surprise me by dropping that awful "Enix" from their name, return "Soft" in its stead and with it, bring some dignity back to Sony when the PS ruled (although in Enix's defense, you guys may put out solid games that I've not played so I cannot be dismissive of you).

I cannot believe I bought an effin' PS3 JUST for this game only for it to be released 3 years after the fact and without two postcards as the UK version's getting.

I almost feel a boycott coming along especially since I have no towns to visit, with no bars to get sloshed in or play the piano, no houses to go into and steal elixirs from unsuspecting grandfathers and gil from wee ones.  Who am I supposed to make fun of now?!

It only hurts all the more after having finally finished Final Fantasy Tactics, after a personal fear of that game like no other for 12 years.

Now there was a game: an amazing story with so much deception and murder that those sprites shocked me with their 'stabby' behaviour, penchant for poison and heretic-branding rhetoric.

The music was nothing short of brilliant and the characters were many to keep track of but who cares? My little Zarnyx/Ramza was the cutest.

Although. he was a little, umm...too...defined in the ass for a sprite.

I'm certain those white pants didn't help the situation any either.

White pants never do.

They never do.

Avatar

Just last week, Beetchie and I were discussing that we may be nerds on some level but at least we do not have avatars.

Thanks to her, I've had that accursed "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar" song stuck in my head.

And now, I take one step close to complete nerdom.

Kind of.

I do not really consider this a serious avatar and I suppose it does not really make me much nerdier than say...building Rock Band characters, however, I created a Square Enix avatar.

So I have a red coif and wield a purple sword...what's it to you?



I also have red devil eyes. Perhaps a throw back to 3 weeks ago from my bout of conjunctivitis? Ew! Or maybe a tribute to Beetchie Gourami? Or maybe they're just evil devil eyes.



I seem like a "turn around" kind of person. Like..."what's that noise?! ::head turn:: always watching my back, I am except on rare occasions that involve stampeding elephants. That's very Square Enix of me, I feel.



Though, I did really enjoy the "sleeping" character mode.



And the surprised look at being caught.



H1, please notice that although not true, I placed my avatar in a cave since you are always talking about how I'm constantly in a dungeon. I do not know of what you speak - this dungeon crawling.

Currently listening to: What the... "Surprise Attack V.2" by Masaki Iluza, from the Dynasty Warriors 2 Original Soundtrack. Oh no! I'm having a traumatic flashback!