Breath of Fire III: Searching for Friends

The next major segment of Breath of Fire III follows Ryu as he deals with the consequences of the McNeil caper. Not long after he sets out to find Rei and Teepo Ryu has the bad luck of bumping into Balio and Sunder. Shocked that their mark is still alive they try to off Ryu again, this time with a knife in the back. Mortally wounded, his dragon powers manifest themselves and the two criminals realize they have something special on their hands. As Ryu tries to free himself from Balio and Sunder (escaping from and getting recaptured by them several times) he comes across several new friends.

Breath of Fire III: Character and Plot, Part 2

When we last left Ryu (that’s the dragon’s name incidentally) he had been rescued from a naked woody fate by Rei the cat-man. Rei brings Ryu to his forest hide-away home and introduces him to another orphan he had found lost in the woods: Teepo. The next few hours few hours of Breath of Fire III focuses on the relationship between Ryu, Rei, and Teepo and creates the emotional groundwork for everything that follows.

Breath of Fire III: Character and Plot, Part 1

I’ve always had a soft spot for Capcom’s Breath of Fire series. A lot of people dismiss it as a Final Fantasy also-ran, and to a large degree they’re right, but I’ve always approached it on its own terms and found that the series is a lot less derivative than it would seem on first glance. Thanks to an off-hand comment on Talking Time my nostalgia bone started aching up for a replay of Breath of Fire III. While it’s not the best game in the series (that distinction belongs to Breath of Fire IV (that’s right, not Dragon Quarter, someday, when I’ve found the right words, I’ll explain why)) and though it has its share of peculiar design choices it never apologizes what it is and it’s a pretty fun ride… for the most part. Most importantly it’s the turning point of the series. BoFIII is where the series started moving away from the world spanning adventures of the SNES games to focus on the smaller, more character driven tales of BoFIV and Dragon Quarter. BoFIII’s opening segment is an example of this. And what an opening it is.

More Like, Sands of DUMBstruction

I admit that I haven’t played very far into Sands of Destruction. Maybe 25 minuets at most. But what I’ve seen has really turned me off. I feel like I should play further in and give the game a chance but what I’ve played is so aggressively odious that it’s all I can do to not wrap it in newspaper like an old fish and abandon it for some alley cat’s dinner.

How Does She Catch Those Fish Anyway?

This week I’ve played the hell out of Final Fantasy VI. A long car ride into the mountains presented me with the time to really push into the game. In the space of one day I rescued a child from a burning house (the fire rods were stored in there!), witnessed the return and demise of a magical race, failed to stop the end of the world, attempted suicide, rescued a child from a collapsing house, and battled an undulating mass of tentacles that was gumming the gears. More importantly I miraculously, unbelievably, finally made it past the sticking point that has ended all my playthroughs of the game for the past ten years. I’m now in a world of half-remembered plot points and dungeons, forgotten puzzles, and “new” enemies. All making an experience that’s much more fun than the oft played first half.

However, some pieces don’t stand the test of time. And when viewed from an adult perspective are more than a little embarrassing.

Seed of the System

For christmas I asked for all the games. My wife graciously gifted me a copy of A Boy and His Blob, a wonderful game about hugs. But aside from that: nothing. And here I’ve spent the past few weeks avoid anything new in the hopes that some far off and forgotten relative would surprise me with a cornucopia of video games. With boxingmas over with I can turn my attention to everything I’ve missed over the year. First stop PSN. On a whim and a suggestion from Destructoid I downloaded the demo for Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! 2: Time to Tighten up Security! I was so intrigued that after a few minutes I snapped up a copy of the first game. I avoided the game before because of its terrible, terrible title and that it was published by NIS America (not that I have anything against NIS but you have to be in the right mood to enjoy their games, you know?). I knew that the Badman was a dungeon simulator where you play the villain and try to keep heroes from invading your underground home—the eponymous invasion of privacy. What I didn’t expect was a variation on The Game of Life.

Beyond the Shame of Any Man

Welp. I’m a member of the Whelk Club again. There’s a thread over at Talking Time reminiscing about Final Fantasy VI. And while the game is dear to my heart I played it so many times as a kid I find that I’ve become bored with it. I don’t think a playthrough in the past ten years has gotten past the Sealed Cave. I’d like to get to the World of Ruin or even just to Thamasa so I can’t play around with Strago. But the beginning is such. A. Slog.

Combined with this thread and that it’s winter (Final Fantasy VI, along with Secret of Evermore, is one of my christmas games. There’s heavy nostalgia surrounding it at this time of the year) I’ve discovered a deep desire to play the game again.

But the beginning… so tedious! Luckily, there are some extra things one can do to make the game more interesting.

Machinarium Makes Robots Cool Again

Machinarium is a great game. But seeing as it’s by Amanita Design, the creators of Samorost, this should be self-evident. You never played Samorost, you say? Well you should! They’re short and beautiful and haunting and free. Go and play them. It’s okay. I’ll wait.

…

Are those jerks gone? Good riddance. We don’t need no Samorost-not-playing fools around here. They’re not like you and me. We know the score. And having experienced all the wonders of Samorost you know that Amanita Design games are something special (if a tad short). Well you’re in luck because their new game is full length and fully wonderful.

Everything Old is New (Super Mario Bros Wii) Again

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is such a weird game (not to mention winner of Year’s Worst Title). It’s New Super Mario Bros. DS after it tarted itself up in the desecrated bones of its ancestors. It raided the burial grounds of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World and draped itself in references to those games in order make itself better. Such a crass tactic shouldn’t work. And yet, it does.

Zero’s “Stealthy” Ending

Spoilers here. I know that most everybody knows the big twist to Metroid Zero. But I once blurted it out on a forum a day or so before the game’s release and got penalized. Even though the box ruined the twist I was still considered to have spoiled the game. It remains a sore spot. So here is your warning. If you don’t know about the ending stop reading. You’ve got a game to play.