Countdown to Nirvana: ~Versus to XV~ A Trailer Retrospective

XV days to go! We're almost there!

COUNTDOWN TO NIRVANA: Episode Duscae 1.0 Behemoth Fight (No Ramuh)

The countdown soldiers on. 19 days remaining.

COUNTDOWN TO NIRVANA: Inktober Special - Day XV

I finally got around to feeling ready to carefully craft the XVth picture in my Inktober saga.



1 month and less than a half a week to go.

COUNTDOWN TO NIRVANA: The Magic of Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

Earlier in at the end of August into the beginning of September, I got the chance to go to the HPGRP gallery here in New York and attend their oh so lovely exhibit: The Magic of Kingsglaive and Final Fantasy XV.

Then I took pictures!

GAZE UPON THEM!

Gallery Link!

I thought it was pretty cool. Nothing out of this world, but a good time all the same. Meant to post this yesterday, but I kinda goofed, so...

Yep.

COUNTDOWN TO NIRVANA: An opinion on Kingsglaive.

Okay, so earlier this month, I had the opportunity to see Kingsglaive (the Final Fantasy XV companion movie for those not following peripheral media for the game) in theaters. While I intend to write a fully fledged review for the game in the (semi) near future, I just wanted to get some less formalized opinions out in the air without being bound to whatever review rules I set for myself.

So, first thing's first, I thought Kingsglaive was "Kinda good" at best, and very definitively "Okay" in general.

The movie is stunningly beautiful, easily some of the most top quality graphics I've ever seen in any video game related media, and if nothing else, it does a solid job of presenting some backdrop for events that will for sure be occurring in-game. But as a standalone tale, it's pretty lackluster.

The acting ranged pretty heavily from extremely strong (good ole' Sean Bean) to nigh unbearable (Whoever the hell played Libertus), and the immense range in acting quality in addition to (in my opinion) some strange casting choices made some of the movie hard to sit through. In addition, the story told in the movie would have been better told in multiple parts as a mini-series or something to that effect, as while the movie does a good job making me want to see how what happens will affect Noctis and his journey, it does rather poorly at making me care for the people the events of the movie are actually happening to.

The pacing and characterization decisions make it so there isn't really enough time to build a relationship with any of the main characters that aren't directly tied to Noctis, and the plight of the characters lacks any emotional punch due to much of their pre-existing strife occurring off-screen, or simply being relayed verbally.

The movie also has a serious uncanny valley problem, with textures and certain animations being mind-bogglingly well done, but general human movement and facial animations striking as distinctly off.

On the more positive side of things, the action in the movie is animated fantastically, and when the movie decides it's time to pull out all the stops in terms of spectacle, there is no shortage of stops to be pulled. When things take off, they do not come back down, and makes for a thrillingly good time.

All in all, I enjoyed Kingsglaive, but it for sure wasn't some amazing experience, feeling more like a nearly 2 hour long expository lore cutscene for the game proper. But Kingsglaive and Brotherhood in tandem give me high hopes for the handling of game itself, as both products have invested me rather strongly in how things will play out for Noctis and his closest friends.


On a separate note, It's Noctis' birthday, according to Square. Woo!

Yep.

Forgot to foam at the mouth!

It occurs to me that I did not at all react here to the news that my holy grail finally has a release date.

I immediately pre-ordered the Ultimate Collector's Edition. Because of-fucking-course I did.

There may be news of a strange worldwide wave of euphoria being felt across the world originating from the east coast of the United States of America. That will be me ascending to Nirvana on September 30th 2016.

I am nothing even resembling ready...

DARK SOULS 3 REVIEW COMING SOON!

Yep. (XVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXV.....)

Continuing undeath!

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Despite beliefs and rumors to the contrary (and a solid year+ of inactivity) the eternal engine that is Stuffimus Maximus soldiers on!

The theory is that this time I will be able to finally get it together and start making content on a semi regular basis again. Now, true, I've been a liar many times before, and there is little assurance that this time will be any different. But I figure as long as I keep trying, something's gotta give somewhere, right?

Right!

So, let's make with some updates!

• Beat Dark Souls II and Bloodborne. Had great fun with both, and have cemented my eternal fandom to the souls series
• On a related note, Dark Souls 3 is nearing release, and is supposed to be the end of the Dark Souls saga. It looks amazing, the beta was hella fun, and y'know, stuff. I need it. Totally pre-ordered the collector's edition, and I really want the collector's edition strategy guide cause it comes with an Estus Flask! But I can't justify paying 130 for that...
• I never did get around to playing the DmC reboot. So much for that.
• Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition lived up to many expectations and fell short of some, but what that all comes down to is Vergil's awesomeness has not decreased in the slightest. Like, not even a little bit.
• I... As I write this, I remember now that I completely forgot about Winter-Een-Mas. I am a failure. Blarghl...
• In less depressing news, Pokemon Sun and Moon were just announced, and I have no idea which one I'm gonna pick! I generally always pick the "Blue" version game, but... Praise the Sun... WHAT DO?!
• Beat Uncharted 1 and 2, getting ready to work on 3
• Recording most of my Street Fighter V games, so I might start uploading those to el U-Toob channel.
• Have been playing Phantasy Star Online 2 like a madman, and may need admittance to some sort of center for rehabilitation for my addiction. Possibly. Maybe.
• My Holy Game Trinity of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ryu and Cloud Strife have all made it into Smash Bros. My life may be on the verge of completion.

That about covers the important stuff that I can remember (It has been a year...)

So  on to the continuing saga of Final Fantasy.

FFX: FFX may be one of the best games I've ever played. All of my feels, feels everywhere. While the undying fanboy within will not let me have the game as my favorite FF, it is certainly the best as far as I'm concerned. 9.5/10

FFXI: I finally made a character!

FFXII: I'm trying to slog through this. I really am. The lore is cool, and I like the world itself. But Ebony Jesus Cristo, this game is boring as watching paint dry. No score for now, but I don't have high hopes.

And with those out of the way, the most important piece of FF news is that XV will have its release date revealed at the end of this month...

I am not ready. I don't think I can be ready. But I will be in LA to see the reveal with my own two eyes. May God have mercy on my soul.

At some point in the near future, I'll be posting about my plans with StuffMax going forward, but as far as reviews go, my next planned review will be Dark Souls 3! Plenty of time for me to gear up to actually commit and do it!

Let's hope this works out!

Can't count on nobody for nothin' these days...

And by nobody and nothing, I am indeed referring to myself and my steadfast lies. Cause clearly, I ain't update a damn thing, and the video stuff didn't happen either.

But!

As usual, I am planning to come back, and say I'm going to do things, and likely fail at doing them, but with much gusto!

This time, my plan is to begin reviewing games again once I play one as it comes out, as opposed to reviewing a game long after it's past it's due date and such.

So yeah. That oughtta be fun. In theory.

So let's make with the relevant updates, and things that mattered to me, I suppose!

• Was gonna beat Dark Souls 2. Did not because Scholar of the First Sin got announced, and I want to play the more definitive version.
• Speaking of definitive versions, Devil may Cry has a definitive edition coming out, and now that time has passed, my hate has subsided, and they've chosen to include a lock-on function, I'm kinda inclined to consider giving it a shot. Admittedly, they made the idea way easier with the second DMC based announcement:
• Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition! For the PS4 and Xbox One! With a very teasing image and voice clip of my main homie Vergil! Dear god, the excitement.
• Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire was rather... Whelming. It did very little with the opportunity it had, and honestly, I think Nintendo kinda just phoned this one in, particularly compare to the phenominal Fire Red/Leaf Green or Heart Gold/Soul Silver. Not to say OR/AS is bad, just... It's nothing crazy.
• Winter-Een-Mas has come and gone. My goal was to beat 2 Final Fantasy games. I unfortunately failed. Poor time management lead to me making it to the end of the second game, but not quite finishing it in time. Much to my dismay. But I did get to go to:
• Distant Worlds, the Final Fantasy orchestral concert! It was great. And I met Nobuo Uematsu. So I am rather happy.
• Took a trip to MagFest in Maryland. Great convention, Met Smooth McGroove, chilled at a Death Battle panel, had a great time overall.
• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is on the cusp of release, and it looks amazing. And a special edition New 3DS is confirmed to release here in America. My money...
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 has been out for some time... But I'm finally playing it!

That should cover general news type things. There are a few others (Got a Vita, started pushing through uncharted series, grabbed a PS4 and an X1) but they're less important.

And for some quickie reviews/FF series progress!

FFV: Everything I loved about FFIII, but with a better story, and far better characterization. 7/10

FFVI: The first FF in the series to convey its story and characters with such strength, despite its sprite-based graphics. By this point in time, the overarching story isn't massively original, but the fleshed out cast and cool scenes are much appreciated. 7.5/10

FFVIII: Squall is one of the most strongly developed characters, perhaps of all time, especially in the area of developing as the story goes along. Zell amuses me, Seifer has a cool coat. Laguna's kinda cool. The rest of the cast sucks, and the story was very meh and unnecessarily complicated after maybe halfway into the second disc. Junction system is fun, and Triple Triad is one of the most addicting games I've ever played. 6.5/10

FFIX: This game feels like what the first 3 Final Fantasies well and truly wanted to be, but couldn't because of technological restrictions. Fun, whimsical, but not particularly gripping. There was for sure a plight, but I didn't find myself feeling the weight of it, or caring about it until near the end of the game. 7/10

FFXIV (part 2): I'm at level 50 and playing the endgame content. At this point, I feel whatever MMO you play is sort of just a skin for the genre, there isn't a massive amount of differentiation, so it comes down to what aesthetic you like best. That said, I still love FFXIV, The references to the rest of the series don't stop, and I enjoy them in all of their forms. It's also a far more story driven MMO than I usually get my hands on, so that's fun. The downside to all of it is things like the finial fight in the game are restricted to 8 man parties, so if you want to enjoy the story and watch the cutscenes at your leisure, you're gonna want to do those dungeons with people who are willing to wait, which is uncommon this late in the game. It's mostly people doing speed-runs at this point. But a good time all the same. Main story was fun, and I beat it, so I'm at 11 FFs defeated so far. Feeling good. 3 to go. 8.5/10

After going through bits of VII again, I'm gonna amend that score to an 8.5, and I'm considering a 9, but I'm staying away from it, because fanboying is not how one should write reviews.


That covers everything for now. Gonna try and update more! Will talk about future plans soon. Don't quote me on that.

Lies, plans and resolutions (which are also likely to be lies)

Okay. So clearly that Pokemon X review hasn't happened yet. I am a liar.

I will get around to it.

I also have reviews for a few other games in mind. And for once, I won't even make it a mystery! Consider this a preview post, if'n you will!

Upcoming reviews (In no particular order):

Nier
Pokemon X
Grand Theft Auto V
Demon's Souls
Sonic Generations (Warning: gonna be fanboytastic)
Metal Gear Revengeance
Fire Emblem Awakening
Various Final Fantasy Games

And of course, there are more, but those are what I'm gonna try and focus on.

Now for the final part, resolutions.

It is my plan and resolution to go forth and try and write two reviews a week, starting in January. I dunno how well I will hold to it, but I'm gonna give it a go.

In January, I will also be tracking my Winter-Een-Mas tribute. Last time, it was Demon's Souls. This time, I shall tackle Dark Souls.

Pray for me.

That out of the way, as a bonus, I finally finished FFIV, and while I haven't finished XIV, I've gotten far enough that I can give a solid impression, so some quickie reviews:

FFIV: Strong storytelling with a diverse plot hampered by a basic overall story, bland world, and a truly forgettable endgame. Tired of Kain's punk ass betraying me. But very enjoyable as a whole. Love that soundtrack. 7.5/10

FFXIV: Hard to describe why I like this one so much in quickie format, but screw it: Lush and lovely world, excellent soundtrack, fluid (for the most part) gameplay, solid story, and decent, if sometimes sluggish pacing kept me hooked. The community, at least pre-level cap is pretty solid, and I can even bear playing with people I don't know, something I am normally very much against (weird, I am aware, but it's just a quirk.). Don't have the money to continue my subscription atm, but as soon as I do, it's go time. 8.5/10. Very much considering a 9.

Okay. So that's that.

Yep.

Cobwebs all over the blog and other news.

Well.

I've certainly failed at maintaining something resembling upkeep.

Hopefully, that will change at some point in the near future.

My own horrible schedule-keeping capabilities aside, as far as news in my universe, I am currently undertaking a challenge to beat all 14 main line Final Fantasy games before the fifteenth game is finally released and consumes my soul. As of right now, I've currently beaten 1-3, 7 and 13, and am in the middle of 4 and 14. I suppose the easiest way to ensure that I gain a semblance of maintenance is to post along as I make progress.

Let's keep hope that I can make it happen, eh?

Oh. And for the sake of keeping in theme with the blog, some super quick reviews of the series so far!

And I mean super quick.

Games measured on a 1-10 scale.

FFI:

Super-basic and bare bones, but a fun experience during travel. Takes joy in giving you no idea where to go next. Kinda makes me feel like a kid again.

6/10

FF2:

Just as basic and bare bones as far as combat is concerned, but with a far more valiant attempt at making a story. Level up system is cause for fury, but game is easily made fun when you discover that pretty much everything in the game short of a few enemies and the last boss can be defeated via liberal use of Teleport.

6/10

FF3:

Backslides a bit in the story department into more basic territory, but is more fun than the other two in takes place in a more enjoyable world. Evokes the feeling of wanting to be a hero as a child. Plus, I'm always down for class switching.

7/10

FFVII:

I love this game. The world easily creates a sense of immersion, and the characters are beyond enjoyable. Graphics haven't aged well by any means, but when playing it on my PSP, I find it easy to ignore that.

8/10

FFXIII:

I feel like this game had serious potential that just got wasted. The battle system is quite fun once you finally have the ability to toy with it as you want, and switch party members as you want. And the world is beautiful, if a bit generic at times. The game itself is linear as fuck, and I find myself totally unable to care about any of the characters, or even the game's prominent story issues until nearly the last chapter.

4/10


And I suppose that's that for now.

Yep.