prophetik music   Judges ⚖️

there's one big issue here, though - blue dragon SUCKED. it was horrid - the voice acting was dumb, level design was bad, battle system was simplified to the point of annoyance (attack, attack, win!), etc. it was just a terrible game. FF12 - and, by extension, FF13 - ARE following in the tried and true formula of FF games. they've got excellent character development (relative to when the game came out), a strong story (same caveat), and a complex battle system. they have items and characters that continue to exist in each game (summons, airship-type vehicles, swords and magic coexisting with guns and machinery). the big difference is that each game continued to innovate within the genre. FF4 is possibly the best rpg on the SNES - but rather than continue in the same middle-age gameplay, FF6 involved tanks, guns, and an even larger cast of characters while still having a strong storyline. FF7 continued that trend and revolutionized the level that graphics were held to. FF8 tried a new battle system (some liked it, most didn't), while adding in an even more extensive storyline, a larger world, and more variety in the characters, while allowing more customization with the AP system from FF6. FF9 tried a wholly different art style, and combined it with a profoundly philosophical storyline, making a very different game that was still recognizable as being FF. FFX introduced voice acting and politics to the series, while improving the battle system (better ATB battling, swapping characters mid-fight, more customizable character 'roles'). 12 went a completely different direction with the battle system (read: they made battling in an RPG the way it's supposed to be, rather than all this separate screen nonsense). more politics, a clearer storyline that was more condensed, and had the introduction to the gambit system which should have transformed gaming the way we know it if people couldn't stop bitching about not having enough control (this isn't starcraft, people!). innovation is a hallmark of the FF series, not a mark against it. the point of these games is not to continue with what has always worked - let someone else retread old storylines and possibilities. FF games define progress in gaming over the last fifteen years. sakaguchi does not. if you want to keep playing the same old games over and over again, go ahead. i want something fresh, new, and exciting, taking advantage of the latest in hardware and game development. what doesn't move forward is stagnating, and stagnation does nothing for anyone. you think you could do better? i've thought that about a lot of the game industry in the last ten years i've been really into games. that's why i work for two independent game companies and try to make games that people WANT to play, games that move the industry forward as a whole instead of allowing it to sit on its laurels and rot. if you want to change something, get off your fat ass and do something about it. don't sit there and complain about people who want to change, be proactive and change something yourself besides your underwear for once. i think it's particularly funny that you, someone who hasn't come within a mile of the physical disc yet, know that the game will be bad. i wish i were as smart as you. as someone who has either played or watched someone else play the game for the first fifteen hours, i can tell you that this is not a bad game. it is an excellent game, a game that will by definition influence most other RPGs for years to come. in what way? i don't know yet. but to say that the first current-gen FF game on a system that's four years into a ten-year lifespan is influential is to state bald truth. that's how the industry rolls. if you want to bitch about it, go ahead. but don't say idiotic things and expect it to be accepted as troof.

good work, ff7 black man.

a bit of running around, a first-third-of-game battle (as in, couldn't do everything i wanted to do), and watched a cutscene. same on both consoles. it's not as noticeable during the running around section, kind of noticeable in the battles, but blink really takes a toll on a larger tv for the 360 version's cutscenes. any form of compression is noticeable if you know what you're looking for, and they really had to cram to make it fit. not to mention that 1080p has 55% or so more pixels than 720p. not going to say where, because it's kind of a spoiler. edit: i liked ffviii =( mostly because of the broken-ass battle system. but i still thought it was entertaining (six years ago).

i wish it was in a different language so i didn't have to realize how bad the lyrics are.

ARE YOU SAYING I SOUND LIKE GRAY cause that's a great compliment.

i never said it was a travesty or something, just that it'd be strange the graphics difference on the 360 really killed it for me. considering that i've played about 20 minutes of both versions, trust me when i say that there's a difference, and i didn't like it.

or bringing your newly married wife in there for some...massage time.

don't get me wrong, it's really close. the difference on a computer monitor is almost unnoticable. blow it up to a 47" flatscreen, though, and it DOES become noticable. particularly when you're a snob like me. also, i can't really bring myself to put a FF disc into the 360. it'd be like loading a copy of halo into my PS3, or something. just too weird.

the disc crash is related to anydvd-style corruption on the leaked copy available through torrents, last time i checked bitgamer. it got nuked within a few hours of coming out, but people still downloaded it, loaded it up, and got pissed when it didn't work. which is epic lulz if you think about it =) i'm definitely getting this for the PS3. i thought about 360 for a while, but with the news about the general pixel rate of the gameplay (576p for 360, 720p for PS3) and the cutscenes (blink-compressed 720p for 360, 1080p for PS3) is alone enough to make me want the PS3 version, not to mention that i just need to play this game on a sony system. edit: dunnowhathuh, the battle mechanic is totally changed from what it was in FFXII. not even close. so don't worry about it - most reviews list it as a high point in the game, not a problem area.

i'll do that. some specifics for generic categories could include -"current gen consoles", encompassing PS3, 360, Wii, PSP/go, and DS/i -"older gen consoles", encompassing everything from atari to ps2 -"PC gaming", encompassing everything involving PC gaming including emulation, current pc games -"music hardware/software", encompassing all audio production gear and software, from winamp to logic to interfaces to headphones, including reviews, previews, and rants against/for certain items -"game design/theory", encompassing posts about the nature of the industry and relevance to current trends across all consoles -"music", encompassing all topics about music that aren't related to games (like, album reviews of mainstream bands, have-you-heard-this threads, etc) -"off-topic", encompassing best-sandwich threads and wacky's posts about being a creepy boyfriend in australia. you might want to split up consoles and handhelds, at least for current stuff, since the crossover isn't necessarily there. you'd likely NOT want a 'discussion' tag of any kind, as that'd make the forums obsolete (or at least overlap functionality). going too generic kills functionality of it, particularly when the three you suggested will almost always overlap with at least one other topic all the time (games with music, games with anime, etc). getting as specific as possible without cutting into sub-genres will allow for more freedom, i think.

for PS1, i've got the classicsl: FF7, FF8, and chrono cross. wasn't a fan of FF9, and while i owned FF origins and anthology at one point, the DS version of chrono trigger and the GBA versions of FF1 and 2 (on my psp) make up for not paying fifty dollars a set

fantastic. thanks for the update, man. i don't care that it'll take a while - i was just curious if there was still a timeline.

is there any reason you want a laptop? the nature of them is that they overheat and break within a few years, as opposed to a desktop (which is also upgradeable and costs less for better performance).

i've got okami, both KH games, both GOW games, FFX, X-2, and XII, shadow of the colossus, and a few other random ones i picked up.

i had one. i have a backwards-compatible PS3 now, so i have a virtual one, currently. didn't get one until last year, though =)

guess who just bought a 47" tv just in time for FFXIII? =) =) =) =)

happy birthday, jill! hope all's well with married life.

i'll bet it means you ran out of memory.

that's what IRC is for.

probably because he can look at the IP addresses that all posts come from. vbulletin has a feature that allows you to click a user or post and track all other posts or users from that same IP. at least, the other board i have access to lets me do this =)

i'm looking to sell the 32" 720p LCD tv that i bought from kaden about this time last year. it's in great condition, never had a problem with it - just want a bigger TV. it's made by dynex - just look on best buy's website, there's loads of information there. it's an HDTV - 720p - and i've used it extensively with a 360 and a PS3, and it works great. does well for my n64 and SNES, too =) there are no dead pixels. 275$, plus the shipping cost. dunno what that'd be, but i'm sure it'd be a decent amount. i'm willing to drive a few hours to meet you somewhere, too. i'm from central new york. i'd prefer local, honestly, since packaging it up and mailing it out can be scary. i posted this on craigslist as well, but we'll see what people say. i haven't heard much from the local 'net yet.

ten bucks says you don't know them all =)

is it bad if i know who most of the submissions were by based on the sound? bet no one can guess mine =)

yeah, if he didn't notice the big banner on the front page

as for the jazz bass, i use the fender jazz bass soundfont from naturalstudios. probably not available from their site anymore, but try googling for it and you might find it. it's about 25mb. not the best all-around sound, and sounds kind of weak out of the box, but good EQing and some basic compression fix that quick.