The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass complete!

I just defeated Bellum, the big baddie of Phantom Hourglass. It was actually pretty easy, given that I'd collected all the spirit gems (it allows you to avoid damage and hit harder). You end up using the spirit of courage to stop time so you can hit him when his eye is open. And there's four phases to the fight, including ship-to-ship combat! It was all very cool.

Feels good, man.

I'm not sure what I should go for next. Maybe Starcraft 2?

Back in the saddle

I haven't had much time for single-player games lately. Since the baby is growing up and the other child is starting to get quite active (school, piano, etc), it seems like all my free time has been taken up with either a) World of Warcraft or b) Netflix.

Fortunately, I have resurrected my Nintendo DS from the depths of the electronics basket in our computer room. I've since finished Super Scribblenauts and now I'm working on The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass (both of which are excellent, btw).

My only complaint is that Zelda features a timed dungeon. In hindsight, the "Hourglass" in the title should have given away that there was something in the dungeon that was subject to timing, but sadly I'm really dumb. But I've decided that this is one of those things I have to change about myself. I've faced the timed dungeon about seven times now, and emerged victorious.

I've also decided to go for some semblance of completeness. I'm at the point where I could fight the end boss, but I want to collect all the power, wisdom, and courage gems and level up the little spirits that help you out.

All in all, it's a stylus game, which I thought would be a bit gimmicky and lame. It's turned out that it's actually a Zelda game and it's actually very lovely to play.

Though I think I'll get the 3DS when it comes out later this month. I hear it has a bigger stylus and brighter screen.

Netflix has been something of a time thief. Everytime I think I'm done with a television series, it saps me with something new. These days it's been Farscape and Better Off Ted.

Motivation

Some aspect of my personality drives me to play these, games, even if I never do finish them. There's a common aspect to all of them that initially hooks me, and that keeps me playing for a period of time before setting them aside.

I keep thinking about making my own game. I have the technical know-how to implement something one-quarter decent. But thinking about what sort of game I should make has forced me to consider what it is exactly that I enjoy about them.

The games I love are: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, World of Warcraft, Super Metroid, Super Mario World, and Final Fantasy IV and VI.

One thing I can identify is a progression of capability. You do not start with all the things you need to reach the end. From the hookshot to the grappling beam to the airship, finding each of these things is instantly game-changing, allowing new tactics and access to new areas to explore.

I guess that means a second factor is exploration. I should say meaningful exploration... I appreciated the technical aspects of the randomly generated dungeons in Diablo and Diablo 2, but something about them seemed like the computer was throwing busywork in front of me. While the computer is capable of making locations, it seems that so far only artists and level designers are capable of making interesting and beautiful locations.

Another piece of it is a progression of skill. You can make it further and make things easier, not just because you found a bazooka in a chest, but because dammit you've gotten mighty cunning with those two little revolvers.

I guess those three things are part (but not parcel) of something I want to feel when I play my games: awe. This new doodad I found... it's awesome. This level.... awesome. I am becoming... awesome.

For an interesting read, check out TVTropes: Crowning Moment of Awesome, and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Final Fantasy II

Making good progress, though it's more of a difficult game. I've gotten to the point where I am to mount an assault on the Dreadnought (as opposed to assaulting a mount on the Dreadnought, which is probably a felony in both the Empire and the Rebellion). The difficulty has been of my own devising, since I've neglected to properly level up my magic.

I'm used to being fairly conservative with MP's, afraid that I won't have any for the boss when I get to them. Unfortunately, the only way to increase your pool of MP's is to spend them. So I've been finding myself making two or three trips into a dungeon. The first few trips are to blast all the nameless monsters hiding within so I can practice my magic. The final trip is a speedrun through to the boss so I can blast him with unforgiving eldritch energies (which I've just spent a period of time levelling).

It's working thus far.

I think I'm going to play some Neverwinter Nights 2.

Final Fantasy II

Started the next iPod touch Final Fantasy, which was released the same time as the first one, as part of Square's anniversary celebration.

It's a beautiful port of the game. I've never played the original, though I've seen screenshots. It has a lot of depth for something that's decades old. The themes of empire and war are something that are still being explored in the more modern games.

The skill system is taking a little getting used to. I have to remember to cast magic spells or my magic users will be crap. In FFI I tended to conserve magic until I really needed it. If I do that here, my magic users will be unskilled and kind of worthless.

Final Fantasy - Complete!

Well, I've finished it. The difficulty ramps up significantly for the final boss "Chaos". Every fight before that point was at most three or four rounds. This one took about 10 or maybe twelve. I'm not sure. I lost count.

It's happy to have finally finished this landmark game.

Problem is, I don't really feel a sense of accomplishment. I wonder why I'm doing this. Is there something wrong with me?

Final Fantasy

I'm seriously over-leveled. And out-geared. And over-magicked.

Mount Gulug was a piece of cake, as was Mirage Tower and the Flying Fortress. That means I've defeated Marilith and Tiamat, and lit up the fire and wind crystals. I've retrieved the Adamant ore and gotten the dwarves to forge Excalibur for my knight.

Now naught but Chaos and Oblivion awaits me.

It's really strange seeing how Final Fantasy has evolved over the years. Playing this one, I'm noticing a lot of resonance with Dungeons & Dragons. A lot of the monsters are the same, even some of the items. And they layout of how you learn things. A circle of sages in the woods tells you of the fiend of fire residing in the volcano. The brother of a man in Melmond is an expert in the Lufenian language. A fairy gives you a bottle of fluid that lets you breath under water. It has a very D&D feel to it, and I love it.

And yet, Square still put their own stamp onto it. Clerics weren't armored warriors, they were white wizards. Typical D&D wizards were Final Fantasy black wizards. Warriors become Paladins, and magic progresses evenly from Fire 1 to Fire 3.

Looking back at this game, it's becoming clearer that Square achieved something unique. And I think that they've lost their way since. The games they create now... I'm not certain how to put it. They lack wizards. They've replaced heroism with bad-assery. They've replaced "wandering around trying to talk to the random person who drops a hint about what I should do next" with "this is what you do next".

Let me be more clear on the "they lack wizards" point, because it really does matter to me. Part of my ability to identify with a character is not just the character's personality, but their capabilities too. Vivi (FFIX) was a black mage. That's what he did. It's who he was, and it defined his actions both in and out of combat. Of course, FFIX black mages had a bit more depth than FFI black mages, but it still made the character meaningful.

The other Final Fantasies? Well, the job system games meant that any character could take any job. Same with paragons, or materia, or sphere grids. Admittedly some were better at them than others, but it still felt like that important bit of evidence about a character's past, a hint about who they are and why they do what they do, was lost.

I'm not going to suggest the games are worse for it, but it simply doesn't pluck the same strings in my heart.