Tag Archives: final fantasy

Geek Music: Black Materia Edition

I know I’m super late to the party for anybody that’s known about this since it came out, but it was just recently that a friend of mine mentioned this album to me. For people that haven’t heard of Random before, I first became aware of this guy when he put out an album called Mega Ran, a tribute to Mega Man’s music. Random took tracks from the Mega Man soundtracks and wrote raps to go along with some of the beats. While you see groups like The Black Mages, Minibosses, and The Advantage taking video game tracks and performing their own (often awesome) takes on them, Random’s Mega Ran was the first time that I’d seen someone write lyrics for game tracks that actually went well and sounded good. While I appreciated the quality, I was never a huge Mega Man player when I was younger, so I just sort of moved on from the tracks and got on with my life. Now, four years later, I’m rediscovering Random again. Only this time, he’s teamed up with Lost Perception to give the same treatment to Final Fantasy VII’s soundtrack, my personal favorite game soundtrack of all time, and they’re calling it Black Materia. Like Mega Ran, Black Materia is an album full of raps set to the beats of the game’s soundtrack, all being completely related to the background tracks they’re set against (e.g. the rap set to Tifa’s theme is all about Tifa.) The album includes some of my personal favorite like the Cosmo Canyon and Cid themes, as well as the one everyone would expect, One Winged Angel, and many more. All told, there are 16 main tracks to the album, as well as three of what Random calls “Bonus Beats,” which are remixed versions of tracks from the soundtrack that, as he puts it, “weren’t used…yet” that are still great to listen to. So if you like raps or you like Final Fantasy VII’s soundtrack, maybe you should at least check out a few tracks. If you like both of those things, this should be a no-brainer. Head over to this page if you’d like to purchase the album. It’s $7.77 for a digital copy, and there are 3 different sets of hard-copy CDs if you’d like to go that route (one of which even comes with a cool poster.) I’ll definitely be making sure to keep Random on my radar in the future, to see if he keeps up his awesome work.

Console Exclusives That Need A Sequel

Just one of the console exclusives that needs a sequel.


 Each console has games that make it special. Microsoft have Halo, Sony has Uncharted and Nintendo have Mario. But what of the franchises that don’t get the game they deserve or are maybe even forgotten? In this article I am going to run through the console exclusives that need a sequel.

Hit the jump for the games!

“My reunion…that you’re dying to see…” – Thoughts on Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Sephiroth

In the realm of amazing CGI movies to watch, I have to beg that you check out Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

Most folks have either played or at least watched someone play Final Fantasy VII but if you haven’t you may want to go borrow a copy and spend a day or two playing it through. Advent Children, while brilliant, has the major flaw of being very confusing to anyone who isn’t familiar with that well known game from the series. If you are familiar with the game then you’ll probably be quite happy with the storyline as presented in the film.

Advent Children is set 2 years after the events of the game. It opens with a recap of the events of the game, told from Marlene’s (Barrett’s daughter) point of view. She mentions a new disease that has started to spread with no rhyme or reason called Geostigma. It weakens its victims and causes them great pain as it spreads over their bodies. As far as they can tell it’s not contagious but they think it might be the planet’s way of expressing its own pain.

Tifa still runs a bar and looks after Marlene and another orphan named Denzel. She also handles the incoming jobs for Cloud’s messenger service. He doesn’t return to Midgar as often and we finally see him after Tifa accepts a job from the remaining Turks, Reno and Rude, and leaves Cloud a voicemail with a meeting place.

And that’s how the story begins.

Throughout the film we do get to see Cloud meet back up with and join forces with his old team, even having a bit of a thought provoking discussion with Vincent after a battle at the Temple of Ancients. Cloud is still consumed by guilt over the death of Aerith and even Zack and even when he finds himself confronted with Aerith’s spirit he cannot let go of the guilt and says that he wants to be forgiven. Aerith laughs and asks him “By who?” showing that she does not find him to blame for any of the events that occurred.

The antagonists of this movie are three “Remnants”, also called the Silver Haired Men. Led by Kadaj they are on the search for “Mother” (Jenova). Kadaj is aware that some physical piece of Jenova still exists in the world and while he doesn’t seem sure what they’ll do with it when they find “her”, the compulsion to find it is strong. He also mentions Sephiroth in both a respectful and jealous way. (Who and what these men are is explained in a later animated tie-in.)

Aside from the plot, which I was sucked into from the beginning, the animation in this movie is mind-blowing. The attention to detail is so wonderful that you almost forget you are watching a CG animated movie. The action sequences are breathtaking and I’m glad that I own the movie as every time I re-watch it I see something else that I’ve missed in the past. Even if I watched it dubbed (which I haven’t and I’m terrified to) I would have to re-watch it to catch everything.

And the music. Oh the music. Fully orchestrated tracks that echo the themes from the original game with new twists. I ended up buying the two disc soundtrack because I couldn’t get it out of my head.

The interaction between Reno and Rude is hilarious and while I liked them in the game, I absolutely LOVE them after watching them in this movie. I have to break down and even say that I no longer thought Tifa was a whiny brat after watching her in this.

And I haven’t even gotten to Sephiroth. I don’t want to spoil things but let me say that if you liked his character even a little bit in the game you will be thrilled him in the movie. I go into a happy fangirl swoon every time I see him in Advent Children.

Ahhh.

Now I am aware that there are folks who didn’t really like this movie and if you’re one of them I’d love to hear why. If you haven’t seen it and you are a fan of the game, go watch it now and let me know what you think. Or if you love it like I do, what’s your favorite part?

Retro Rocket: Final Fantasy VII

So many things have been said over this game that it is hard to find a new spin to put on it, that being said I am just going to talk from the heart on this one.  I found Final Fantasy VII by accident. I had always been a fan of the U.S. releases of Final Fantasy back when it was always on Nintendo. I loved both Final Fantasy 4 and 6 with all my heart. Between Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy VII I was finally convinced to save up my money to get a PlayStation, to this day it remains one of the best purcahses I ever made.

I am not going to bother to bore you with a review of FF 7. The internets are littered with them and they have been done by far better then me. What I will do is tell you why, no matter how many times the game is called overrated, I will always love it. Final Fantasy VII had a mood to it. From the characters, the settings, and especially the music everything coalesced to make you just feel what it was like to be in the world of Cloud, Barret, and Tifa. By today’s standards the graphics are terrible but at the time they were mind-blowing. The places I went in the game felt real no matter how fantastic they were.

Speaking of music, I don’t think a FF game has ever had a better soundtrack. At every single turn in the story the music sets the tone. From joy to heartache and from mystery to romance the music is center stage. It is no small tribute to the soundtrack that FF7 is one of the most remixed soundtracks ever.

Say what you will about melodrama, the characters of FF7 have stuck with me. I still feel the plight of Cloud when he returns home to his small town only to not find his mother, or of Aerith and her quest to find her place in the scheme of things. Final Fantasy 7 is close behind 6 in terms of remember-able characters that stick with you.

With the game being on the PSN store, I highly encourage you to try it out for yourself. Forgive the now outdated graphics and just play it for what it is, you will enjoy it.

Final Fantasy XIII: A story in pictures!

Hey there champ! Did you just get your brand new copy of Final Fantasy XIII for your system of choice? Well you’re in for a time buddy let me tell you! Did you know you can break down the average user experience of someone who plays Final Fantasy XIII into six simple stages? Let’s take a look at them now!

STAGE ONE: Happiness (Hours 1-5)

Sucker

Here you are fresh from your store of choice. You just spent a hefty chuck on of change or traded in some really treasured games on FF. You loved all the others…even Nine…hell even Final Fantasy X2. You sit down and open up your system and with trepidation and excitement you put in your disc. The game loads up and you begin. You’re first few hours are really slow and seem odd but hey, your just getting started and a little hand holding is expected right? I bet your thinking it’s going to pick up really soon.

STAGE TWO: Confusion (Hours 6-20)

When do I get three party memebers.

Well you would be wrong! In fact, dead wrong! You’re going to be going straight hallway after straight hallway with only two members of your team for a long…long…LONG time. Oh and you best get used to nothing making a bit of sense. You see in past Final Fantasy games too much time was wasted on explaining things like plot…or why the characters decide to take the actions they take. FFXIII is far to concerned with making speeches that don’t really make sense but try to illicit emotional responses that are unearned.

STAGE THREE: Anger (Hours 21-55)

At this point your getting pretty steamed. Even though the game was nice enough to give you a small bit of fun when you finally get to do some side missions, your fleeting joy saddens when you realize that eventually your going to have to go back to the pointless story. They combat is so fun, yet they never give you a break from it so you can savor it and take a breather. The characters you enjoyed at first, then later put up with, are now gnawing on your last nerve with their stupid stupid over dramatic dialogues.

STAGE FOUR: Hate (Hours 55-85)

Destruction and Mayhem

You get to the end of the game and have had enough. The harsh realization that your never getting all of that $60 back begins the eroison of your soul that the idiot characters chip away at all though the game. Things you like about the game fade, like the combat, fade into the mist of your white hot rage. You have had enough of Snow whining like a bitch, enough of Vanille sounding like she has diarrhea every battle, and you certainly can’t take any more jackassery from the plot that refuses to go anywhere.

STAGE FIVE: The Reckoning (HOURS N/A)

Hammer Time

You are now a slavering beast. Things like conscious though, showers, and hygiene are meaningless in your new world of blind venomous rage. You slam on the eject button, rip the DvD (or Blu-Ray) out and proceed to do things to it, that if it were a person, would land you some serious jail time. Your at the point that you print photos of the characters just so you can burn them and stomp them to bits of ash.

STAGE SIX: Catharsis (HOURS N/A)

The evil vanquished at last you begin to go about your life again. You will never be what you once were. The scars will always sting. You have been forced to bear a greater weight then even Frodo. Your only recourse is to clense your spirit wish something that can sooth your pain, but only one thing can make you believe in good JRPGs again…..