My birthday was this past week, so in lieu of my usual $20 Game of the week and Lost Classics segments this week, I decided to give you a look at the the first half of one of the greatest console role playing game franchise of all time. That’s right, it’s my birthday, but I’m giving you the gift. See how cool I am? Well, onto our special feature.

After Dragon Quest (or Dragon Warrior as we knew it over here at the time), Final Fantasy was and still remains one of RPG gaming’s most prolific franchises. It introduced and refined several conventions that are seen in RPGs such as the turn-based battle system, character customization, ability progression, and story writing. Even so, it wasn’t until FFVII bought the series into 3-d that the series gained mainstream popularity. However, the first six games of the series still hold a special place in the hearts of many longtime FF fans.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

Ready? It’s the second of our three-part coverage of TGS 2007!

In this installment, we cover:

Soul Calibur Legends
Oneechanbara R
Final Fantasy IV DS
Sony Presser

YouTube

Video Netcast
 Subscribe to iTunes POWETcast
Famicom Dojo – TGS 2007 Special – Part 2

Show notes at FamicomDojo.TV:
TGS 2007 Special, Part 1

Episode links after the jump!

[Read the rest of this entry…]

Weather you wish to admit it or not, the Playstation installments of the Final Fantasy series, particularly VII and VIII, marked a major turning point in console role playing games. Up until then, role playing games were only enjoyed by a niche but dedicated audience. What they lacked in graphics, their epic stories made up for a thousandfold. Final Fantasy VII introduced 3-d polygon models, fully rendered cinematics, and graphics that were as epic in scale as the game’s storyline itself. Squaresoft had clearly outdone itself, and in 1999, it was tasked with having to following it up. Released in America on the same day as the Sega Dreamcast, Final Fantasy VIII managed to not only surpass the scale of FFVII, but it managed to set a new standard for role playing games. Despite its critical acclaim amongst gaming media outlets and fans alike, many purists don’t think too highly of this entry in the series. For the life of me I don’t see why, because next to Final Fantasy Tactics, this is arguably the best PS1 Final Fantasy game. In fact, it stands alongside Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil 2 as one of the greatest PS1 games of all time, and it’s also one of the finest console role playing games ever.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

In 1996, the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis were on their last legs. Won over by their technical capabilities, long time publishers and developers were abandoning the 16-bit cartridge based systems in favor of new stand alone 32-bit disc based systems such as Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn. One of these publishers was Square. Before leaving Nintendo’s side however, Squaresoft joined forces with Nintendo to produce one of the best role playing games ever. Sadly, along with being the last Squaresoft product released on the Super Nintendo, this would also be the last Mario game released for the system. Even so, this game managed to push the Super Nintendo to its limits by providing cutting edge SGI rendered graphics, innovative gameplay, and a solid story line. The game starts off as any other Mario game does. Bowser kidnaps Princess Toadstool, and Mario runs off to rescue her. However, when a new enemy arrives causing chaos, things immediately spin out of control and Mario finds himself teaming up with his arch nemesis (along with a few other characters) in order to set things right.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

In 1995, late into the Super Nintendo’s life cycle, Square-Enix, then known as only Squaresoft, released Chrono Trigger. Chrono Trigger was a role playing game which took place over the course of several time periods. It had an innovative battle system, beautiful graphics, an awesome soundtrack, and multiple endings. It was, and still is to this day one of the greatest RPGs ever made. Half a decade later, Square would release a follow up. While it wasn’t as critically acclaimed as the original, it would be an excellent game in its own right.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

About 6 months ago, I posted a video here called Haloid, which features a unique fight between two very well known video game characters. The creator, Monty Oum, has posted a follow up, this time mashing together the ladies of Dead Or Alive and Final Fantasy. Pure fan service, but the CG work and fight choreography is as good if not better than last time. Best of all, he plans on doing more chapters. Amazing its all done by one man. As I said before: Someone needs to give this guy a job now.

August has proved to be quite good to survival horror fans. With new information being leaked on a near-constant basis for games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, and even some not-so-streamlined info, it�s no surprise that fans of the genre are biting their nails as to any visuals released. Thankfully, those seem to be in steady supply as well.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

This game stands alongside Chrono Trigger as one of Squaresoft/Square Enix’s best role playing games not named Final Fantasy. Although it had a few significant flaws, it’s battle system, music (which was composed by Chrono Trigger soundtrack composer Yasunori Mitsuda), and storyline more than made up for them. The game contained references to Freudian psychology, and it was heavy on religious overtones (in fact Square stated in a press release that it may be hard to bring the game over here due to it’s adaptation of Christian themes, but thankfully it was released, with minimal controversy, and only a few changes being made to the characters and story to boot). Oh, and there was another thing that made it different for it’s time: GIANT ROBOTS!
[Read the rest of this entry…]