Reviews & Articles

Final Fantasy VII builds off a franchise known for excellent games and taking it to a whole new level. SquareSoft’s decision to make the jump to 3-D was a change for the better. I never thought playing a Final Fantasy game could possibly get any better. SquareSoft accomplished that in a number of ways this time around.

There is a reason people my age wax and wane about the mid-1990s. Videogames were coming into their own, and excellent and memorable games were produced. It stands as the threshold of change, as animations were evolving from pixilated sprites to polygonal figures. One of those games on this cusp of change was Chrono Trigger for the SNES. It was then ported to the PlayStation a few years later and now to the Nintendo DS. So what is the point of bothering a game 15 years old? Simple. It is one of the best role-playing games ever made. Period.

Role-playing games are very interesting. They consist of strong and compelling gameplay, deep yet simple control schemes and many other elements. One important aspect that completes the uniqueness of this genre is a good storyline. Without it, all seems bland and hollow. After playing many RPGs, I have come to appreciate and realize a complete package when I see one. Final Fantasy VIII is just that. There is nothing about the game that comes off as generic and/or cheap. Every factor fits perfectly together like a puzzle.

I have been playing videogames all my life. I started with Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. and Contra. Later, I jumped back to older games, like Centipede, Tempest and Pac-Man. As systems improved, so did the games — but not just depth of graphics and colors or addition of cutscenes. Character development improved vastly, and videogames became capable of more than just scoring high points; they started to tell in-depth stories.

The unequivocally splendorous story of Final Fantasy IX mixed with the slightly abstract characters during gameplay, their clarity during beautifully rendered full-motion video scenes, and the intricacies of the interaction between the story’s main characters and the world in which they live make this Final Fantasy a game to remember. Regardless of the number of times I have played this game, I always seem to find some new facet of it to interest and teach me. Since its introduction into the American market, thousands of people have owned and played Final Fantasy IX, including me.

I admit I love the Final Fantasy series. I believe it’s because I grew up on the series. It was one of the first role-playing games made for consoles. It has started trends and refined gameplay for the genre. In other words, it has set the standards for what many gamers consider to be “good” RPGs. But not every game in the series is perfect. I will be the first one to admit that. One of those games is Final Fantasy II.

For more than 20 years Squaresoft — now Square-Enix — has been creating games that have delighted players and critics alike. But to argue that every game they have released is “perfect” would be to ignore certain games they have created: the Saga Series, Chocobo’s Dungeon 2, The Legend of Mana, Sword of Mana and even some of the Final Fantasy games. Now, as of this writing, it is close to 11 years to the release of

Final Fantasy VII. But does the game hold up to today’s standards? Should an 11-year game be played?

I have never in my 15+ years of gaming played a game that was as riveting, complex and addictive as Final Fantasy VII. Despite the chibi-avatars and boxy graphics inherent in the visual capabilities of the mid- to late-1990s (The game debuted in 1997 on PC and PS), I was utterly and completely sucked into this world after the first half hour of playing.

Perhaps one of the most "controversial" games of the past three, four years is not actually a game that takes place in Liberty City. Perhaps it is a game about a brutal man, two blades and improperly clothed lady parts. Maybe I am being too indirect; I am describing one of the most overhyped and well-loved games of 2005. That game is God of War.

Another sequel in Capcom's long line of Breath of Fire games, number four is everything you would expect from a Breath of Fire game, fishing included! I picked this game up for my old Playstation One, but it is now available for the Gameboy Advance as well...