A Tattoo of One

Right now I am, for the first time ever, playing Final Fantasy VII. Actually, I had played it before, once at Seth's house and once again when I bought a shitty PC port of the game. I have no idea how I avoided playing this for so long but here I am and god damn, it's fun.

I've put in around 23 hours or so, some of that will be times that I've stepped away or managing materia and such. So far I can see real link between my Final Fantasy VI and VII. As most people know I have been a huge fan of VI for years, proudly claiming it as my favorite. I was a doubter for sure about VII. I didn't think that the game could actually live up to it's hype. It's one game though that no one should miss out on.

While check online to see other opinions I stumbled upon a lot of others claiming that the game is overhyped and read their list of complaints.

"Too old!"

"Worst graphics ever!"

"Just another stereotypical story of a lone hero..."

While I haven't even come close to beating the game, I can clearly see the influence it has on modern games. This game cast a shadow that other games have tried to break out from. To me, that seems like a great thing! It means that developers worked that much harder to make games that truly shine. Before I get off on a tangent though, I would like to clarify something.

To all of the loose argument against this game I just need to ask, does anyone remember when this game was made? Okay, the graphics are nothing like Final Fantasy VIII but consider that this game was in production at the very early days of 64-bit graphics. In fact, I think this game looks great. The summons are fantastic as well as the backgrounds. And as for claims that the game is outdated and stereotypical I am confused. Isn't there a first for everything? Even if the story has common elements as other games, so what? That's true with any medium. Dragon Ball is based of the Monkey King, Street Fighter and King of Fighters are based on martial arts, and Clueless is just a Jane Austen story! Everything in this world is built off of something else and this is even more true in games. I think that this game deserves all of the praise it's been given of the years.

Off to figure out the mystery of the Cetra...

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 4:26 PM 2 comments    

Christmas Bounty

So of the people I know on here I am the only one who owns a 360. Thanks to Father Christmas. I grabbed up 6 games and after I finish with a few projects I'll give some input. For anyone interested my 6 are: Gears of War 1 & 2, Blue Dragon, Dead Space, Fallout 3, and Bioshock. So There's what to expect.

Posted by Seth Moore at 3:25 AM 0 comments    

It's A Dream Paradox.

I think it's only right to play this later on tonight.

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 1:39 PM 0 comments    

Merry Christmas from Shoryuken!

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 1:25 PM 0 comments    

The Next Drink's On Me

Today Mega Man turns 21!  Let's all give respect to Capcom's Blue Bomber.

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 10:29 AM 0 comments    

BALLS AWESOME!

Today Konami made all of my head explode.  So, exclusive to the mobile platform, all iPhone users will be able to play:

Dance Dance Revolution Lite

Frogger

Silent Hill: The Escape

And, most important of all...

Metal Gear Solid Touch!

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 6:45 PM 1 comments    

Get Equipped with Awesome Picture

I just saw this on GoNintendo yesterday and thought it was just amazing.  It's not just awesome looking but it shows off all the master robot's weaknesses.  

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 2:20 PM 0 comments    

Zombie BBQ!

Last night I picked up Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ! for the Nintendo DS.  For $20 you can get a very solid, on-rail, twitch shooter.  Spanish dev EnjoyUp built a fantastic game that could easily pass as another Japanese import.  I think most people who check this out might have a DS already so this is one game that you shouldn't pass up.  Check out the full Play review for more!

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 12:57 PM 0 comments    

I Choose You, Norm McD!

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 5:31 PM 2 comments    

Muffins.

Christ!  Today has been so busy at wok.  I came prepared to make some ground in Dragon Quest but I don't think that's going to happen.  I just know that after Christmas I will be so bogged down and will probably forget where I'm at in the story.  Maybe I can get some time in later tonight.  It's either that or Super Smash Bros. Brawl. 

At least there were muffins today.

Delicious muffins.

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 4:34 PM 1 comments    

It's not a virus...It's evolution.

Almost done with Parasite Eve.  Now that I've been playing the first game I am really interested in the movie and the book.  I've heard that the game is only loosely related to the Square game but I still think it's worth a try.  I find it very interesting that such a notable game is based around a novel that was written only a few years prior.  It's usually the case that stories shared between book, film, and print should remain separate but not in this case.  So, hopefully I will have a chance to check both of the other works out and see what's up with them.  

Now I've just got to decide if I want to drop $40 on a copy of Parasite Eve 2...

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 4:19 PM 0 comments    

Good Weather for Melodrama

Christ, all this rain is killing me.  If it's not the inability to walk anywhere downtown, it's the fucking retarded drivers on 85.  Hard to believe a little water added 20 minutes to my commute.  If today is slow, expect me to churn out a few things for you kids to read.

All this rainy weather has me in the mood for a great RPG.  Maybe I'll pick Persona 4 up on the way hone tonight...

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 9:39 AM 4 comments    

Golden Sun: The Lost Age Review

Golden Sun: The Lost Age Review

Back in 2003 GBA fans all over were graced with one of the Gameboy Advance's greatest RPGs. Golden Sun: The Lost Age, the sequel to 2001's Golden sun, Continued the tried and true formula while expanding its scope. It took the best of old school Final Fantasy and incorporated a great class structure and battle system. Let me break the game down for you.

Story:
The story continues where the first game left off. A group of magic users (adepts) left their hometown to stop a group bent on unleashing chaos on the world. The group of villains, led by Alex, stole the elemental stars from the adepts village of Vail. The villains, who captured a childhood a few childhood friends of the heroes and turned one of them to the bad side, use the stars to light the 4 elemental lighthouses. The Lost Age picks up right as the second one is lit. The player assumes the role as Felix, the boy from vail that joined Alex. He travels along side of his sister Jenna and Sheba, a shy wind adept. During their journey the get to travel the world and see how life has changed due to the lit lighthouses. Felix wants to continue lighting the towers while the heroes of the first game try to stop him.

Ultimately both groups clash together late in the game and join forces as the head for the finale.

Gameplay:
This game is HUGE. The battles are EPIC. Now that i have simply explained the two sides of gameplay to you let me expound upon them. The world that you will explore in this game is massive. The amount of territory to explore in this game is equal to any 2 or 3 early Final Fantasy games combined. The player will go from snow covered mountains to lost cities surrounded by a huge sea. The first play through could easily take you 55+ hours, and that is just the story. The locals switch up constantly keeping everything fresh, but not so often they feel inserted for the heck of it.

Battles on the other hand are a love it or hate it affair. Anyone who loves the old-school turn based Final Fantasy formula will love it. When a battle begins you are presented with your characters and the enemies in a pseudo-3d view. The player is then given the option to fight flee or check stats. Upon selecting attack the player is given further options of: attack, psyenergy (magic), items, Djinn (summons), items, or defend. Attack is your basic affair. Your character attacks and damage is based upon their strength plus the weapons strength and attributes. Psyenergy is where the game shines. Scratch that, its what the game is built upon. Psyenergy is the magic used for puzzles out of battle and everything else in battles. Characters selection is based upon their class. This is based upon what Djinn they have equipped. Djinn are elemental creatures that were let loose upon the stealing of the elemental stars. Characters can mix and match their Djinn to change stats and class. Every class has specific psyenergy that it can use. A combination of pure earth Djinn will result in attacks like Earthquake and Spire, while water Djinn will result in Cure and Blizzard.

Aesthetic:
For a GBA game this game is beautiful. Screenshots look amazing, but still do not do the game justice. The world map is massive and is brightly colored. The battles pseudo-3d art style is just gorgeous for a 2003 handheld game. The summons are worth looking up on youtube if you don't plan on playing the game. The music for the game is equally as beautiful. It might only be MIDI, but it will still evoke emotion.

Final Thoughts:
Play this game. Nough said. You will not be disappointed.
Story 8/10
Gameplay 9.5/10
Aesthetic 10/10 (for GBA)
Overall 9.5/10

Posted by jmontygman at 5:48 PM 0 comments    

Bustin' Makes Me Feel Good!

It may well be that the extended break forced upon the Ghostbusters game did a whole world of good. While the physics and tech demos looked solid enough to satisfy me as a Ghostbuster fan, I could see how a casual gamer may pass it up.

The boys and girls at Terminal Reality deserve a pat of the back. They really spit-shined this baby into something legitimate. The style's much more prevalent as the rich colors really stand out and allow for the writers to excel with playing at offbeat comedy combined with moderate scares.

It's also the first time we really get to see Ray, Egon, Winston, and Spengler in action, all voiced by the original actors. As it stands, the following video doesn't just look like a hell of a fun game, but a bona fide Ghostbusters 3 trailer.

555-0000

Posted by Myles Griffin at 2:50 PM 1 comments    

Terror

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 6:21 PM 2 comments    

The Only Fantasy Here is Value

After a discussion of SNES vs. PS1 RPGs last night with Bryant I mentioned that I was going to check out some ebay auction for PS1 games.

The system bore many games, one could say too many when you check the use of its bullshit meter. While plenty of mediocre and below games slithered their way into plenty of disc trays, there was also plenty of good stuff.

So I set out to quell my curiosity and possibly lighten my wallet when I discover the terrible judgment on pricing. Most lots contained bland games and were anywhere from $10 to $20 for 10 to 30 games. Fine. Anything with Final Fantasy in the name was anywhere from $60 to $80, pushing up to $200. I own most of these, yes, would I ever try to unload them onto a collector for that much. Fuck No.

Yes, Final Fantasy seems to be the top RPG series in the U.S. Yes, the games are fun and hold up with time. But they were made in such abundance. Copies of Final Fantasy VII are like stars in the sky. Bundling Final Fantasy VIII, seen as one of the weaker ones by fans (Sorry Myles), doesn't warrant the price to be that of a new-gen console.

I won't even get into how these lots still hold their price when the description informs you that you'll only get disc 2 and 3 of a 4 disc set. Or mention that the "Original RARE" Metal Gear Solid which is missing the first disc is still obviously a great buy for $20.

All I'll say is Fucking Idiots.

Posted by Seth Moore at 3:48 PM 2 comments    

Apologies...

Sorry to everyone for being M.I.A. last week and the lack of posting. Thanksgiving really didn't impede me much, but a brutally hectic work schedule (Fuck you, Black Friday) and the unexpected death of my friend, Crystal, kept my attention elsewhere.

I mention all these things for one specific reason: to make Bryant look like an asshole for his post below.

I like to think I succeeded.

We'll now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

More on Crystal over at my blog.

Posted by Myles Griffin at 9:45 AM 0 comments    

It Begins...

It seems that everyone was too busy on Thanksgiving to post anything, myself included.  I did take a few minutes out of the day to play  Animal Crossing (but not enough time to actually save the holiday feast!)

So, now that Thanksgiving is over, it means that the onslaught of holiday shoppers, game deals, and gifts is upon us.  So, Shoryuken! asks...

"What games have you asked for this holiday season?"

Just leave us a comment and let us know!

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 5:27 PM 4 comments    

Check Me Into Arkham Asylum

The following is a teaser for the Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is set to come out next year.



Paul Dini, creator of the classic Batman: The Animated series is writing the story. Additionally B:TAS vets Kevin Conroy (Bruce Wayne/Batman) and Mark Hamil (The Joker) will reprise their roles for the game.

As both an avid comic book fan and a gamer, I think this could shape up to be a unique superhero gaming experience. The best we've had is the free roaming in Spider-Man's adventures, but there's such a breadth of material and experiences out there. We haven't even scratched the surface.

This may be DC's first great game. Although, with DC's track record, even a good game will look positively glowing in comparison.

I often suffer epileptic flashbacks of Superman 64. I have my good days and my bad days, but the medication helps.

Posted by Myles Griffin at 5:04 PM 1 comments    

Does Sony Have A Head of Cockblock Division?

These days, I like to imagine the execs over at Sony each have their own cavernous office where they sit and plot in a manner not unlike Montgomery Burns. After last week, it's probably not too difficult to hear the chorus of "Eeexcellent" around the Sony offices.

Why, you ask?

Microsoft unleashed their new dashboard upon the world last week. Among it's new bells and whistles is the ability to access Netflix and stream movies. Scores of gamers logged on only to discover some films wouldn't work. Turns out films such as Superbad and The Karate Kid have a little something in common: they're all Columbia Pictures films.

Columbia Pictures is owned by Sony.

I'm going to let that sink in for a moment.

When I first read of this, my jaw just dropped followed by my uttering of "Balls...awesome."I was on the phone with Bryant, who was talking to me about....something. I immediately shut him up to recite this news post at IGN, trying as best I could to hold in my laughter.

Of course, as "Tycho" from Penny Arcade states " You can use MediaMall's PlayOn to restore this functionality to your box, along with the other cool channels it has available. I don't know why people ever, ever try to stop nerds from doing things. It's really the most incredible waste of time."

While I do agree with this sentiment, as a Sony fan, the principal of the whole thing wins the day for me. Sony's blatant middle finger to Microsoft is perhaps one of the more magnificent public cockblocks in recent memory.

And the fact that Sony made no announcement beforehand makes it all the more sweeter. I imagine those execs in their offices poised with fingertips extended as they watched their screens and simply waited for the dashboard launch.

What balls.

Now, for fuck's sake, guys...give us Home already!

Posted by Myles Griffin at 11:39 AM 2 comments    

One Down...

So the launch week of Shoryuken! went pretty smoothly. We still have a few ideas we're trying to work out, but we're very gracious towards anyone who's given us a read and participated so far.

We've been added to the blog roll of Sparkle City Blogs, a project by Steve Shanafelt that compiles local blogs in our native Spartanburg, SC. So if you're in the area, definitely give him a shout out and he'll include you. This particular club's all inclusive.

Since you're here, do our friends over at Classic Gamer Brain a solid and give them a look-see as well. These guys have been at this game for a bit longer than we have. They even have podcasts. Bastards.

Also, if you comment or have commented, it'd be a good idea to e-mail subscribe to the post. Part of entire mission here is to inspire conversation and promote community amongst gamers. While we appreciate your involvement, conversation is obviously more than saying one thing. We definitely intend to respond to you, and others may follow suit as well. So stay and chat for a while. Bryant bites, but I'll keep you safe.

That's it, really. Just wanted to thanks those who have helped make our launch promising. It's very encouraging.

Who knew? You guys really are good for something!

Posted by Myles Griffin at 10:44 AM 0 comments    

Ruffians?

Over the weekend I had planned on using what little free time I had to play through Parasite Eve and Animal Crossing but last night there was a change in plans.  When I met Seth last night at Wal-Mart I decided that I finally needed to pick up a classic controller.  Before this I was using a Gamecube controller to play any of my Nintendo 64 games on the Virtual Console.  But, after getting tired of having to sit so close to my television just for the cord to reach the top of my Wii, I finally dropped my $19.99 and went home happy.

I hadn't really planned on using t for much more that just maybe making a few runs through Sonic the Hedgehog and maybe a few plays through ToeJam and Earl.  When I got home though, I noticed one game though that I had almost forgotten about purchasing.  A little known Treasure (yes, lame pun intended). 

Now, before I actually reveal the game I would like to say that one of my favorite game companies, Nintendo, is notorious for rehashing old franchises instead of creating new characters and IP.  Since 2000, Nintendo has really only had to offer us Chibi-Robo, Animal Crossing, and Pikmin.  However, there is one game that Nintendo published in 2000 for the Nintendo 64.  Developed 

by legendary studio Treasure, the company behind Genesis classic Gunstar Heroes and balls hard Ikaruga for the Gamecube, this game barely missed our shores.  

However, in October 2007, importer and classic gamers rejoiced when Sin and Punishment finally appeared on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console.  Costing 200 more Wii points than a standard N64 game, Nintendo finally opened a door for everyone who missed out on this shooter.  I am one of those people and I'll be damned if I say I wasn't ecstatic when I saw news of a US release.  My seven years of patience was rewarded when I finally had a chance to play through the entire game.  This game was perfect for the American audience and should have been poised for a release here.  While the story is batshit insane and almost impossible to follow, the gameplay is true run-and-gun and a real rail rider.  With all English voice acting with Japanese subtitles, I still wonder how it took so long for it to come to our shores.  

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 2:17 PM 1 comments    

X

Today is a pretty monumental day in gaming history.  Maybe this date slipped by everyone else but ten years ago it was impossible to stave off the excitement.  That's because on November 21st, 1998 the highest rated game of all time was released in Japan.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

For the first time ever players were able to enter a fully three dimensional Hyrule, explore a world inhabited with different species and dungeons that pushed forward a new depth in gaming.

I plan on writing a full piece later tonight about Ocarina but I'm more interested in hearing everyone who reads this to leave a comment.  Write about the first time you played the game, how you think it's held up over time, or finally admit to never playing this classic.

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 1:31 PM 5 comments    

GOTY Material

Thankfully this game will be out December 19th, just in time for the holiday season.  

The description on EBGames.com is priceless.

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 1:00 PM 1 comments    

Let's PLAY

To reiterate Bryant's point, Play is one of, if not the, best English language video game magazines out there. Most certainly the best offering from the States. Other noteworthy titles are Edge and Game (or is it Gamer? I always forget). Play is written by gamers for gamers. That is not a sales pitch. Unlike magazines like Game Informer (who is partnered with GameStop), Play's not trying to whore out anything or steer you to a certain video game retailer. These people know their stuff, and while they may not always break out exclusive news on Stateside releases, they have their fingers on the pulse of video game culture and delve more into the things gamers care about.

I read Play like I was taught to read poetry. The first read is the "lost read." I skim the magazine in its entirety, only stopping to study something if something captures my complete attention. Over the course of the following weeks between issues, my exploration of Play deepens. The dense, well researched articles are a welcome pleasure to the vapid skeletal reportings often riddled with generally unfunny snark to hide the fact that the writers really don't have much to say (EGM, Game Informer). Another welcome feature is the lack of numerical ratings. Play dropped those like a bad habit in the print version (new, original website to be launched soon). You get the fleshed out review that speaks for itself instead of a judgmental numeric score that rarely reflects on the game itself. For those wishing to quickly see the writer's thoughts before choosing to delve into the review, Play writers offer a "Parting Shot" to the larger reviews.

But the most important difference between Play and nearly every other gaming publication/site is that every writer answers the most important gaming question in their review: Is this game fun?

Sure, you may able to to dart across a beautifully rendered open world and shimmy down a pole to deliver a killing blow to an unsuspecting target or watch Kat Williams on TV (WTF?) , but is it worth it? Do/Should you give a rat's ass?

The crew at Play take this heavily into consideration. For example, the resurrection of arcade and Sega Genesis classic Golden Axe for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 was universally met with rolled eyes. But Play kind of threw their hands up and said "Fuck it, this is fun."

Actually, the exact words were: "If you know who Frank Frzetta, Simon Bisley or Tarna are, or read Heavy Metal magazine, you don't need a parting shot; you need $59.99 plus tax and a car. For everybody else, if you like unsullied action games, beautiful heroines, large pissed-off beasts, or laying waste to evil undead hordes and the earth-plundering demons they work for, you will love Golden Axe: Beast Rider."

Sounds like a great time to me.

Play has everything I want in a gaming magazine: excellent, well-thought out opinions by good humored writers, people who investigate games coming (or not coming) from the game mecca of Japan, discuss gaming culture, good interviews with game developers, updates on cool swag, tech talk and just about anything I could think of outside Kristen Stewart (she has absolutely nothing to do with video games but I sort of throw her into any "Things I Want" list).

If you love video games and are looking for the right magazine or would like a snapshot of gaming culture at a particular month, I urge you: Read Play.


*Drool*

Posted by Myles Griffin at 11:00 AM 1 comments    

Winter Play

Just a quick heads up that the December 2008 issue of Play is out.  Cover story on Persona 4 and balls awesome review section.   Just in case anyone is unfamiliar with Play, you're really missing out.  It's less camp that EGM, better written than Game Informer and often times the polar opposite of IGN.  All the writers seem to have a genuine passion for what they write about and it seems to show.  I'm sure that Myles and I will sing their praises more in future posts.

On newstands now for $5.99, one year subscription for $17.99!

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 8:50 AM 0 comments    

City Living

Just to let everyone know, I just picked up Animal Crossing: City Folk this Monday.  I'll try to do a few updates when cool events happen or whatever else I deem worthy of showing off.  

However, I do have a busy game schedule I'm trying to work through.  Parasite Eve, Valkyria Chronicles, Mirror's Edge, Dragon Quest IV, and (reintroduced!) Super Smash Bros. Brawl have been taking up a good bit of my time. But, there in lines the beauty of Animal Crossing.  Some criticize saying that it's a game that makes you do chores in a virtual playground, I say it's just a nice digital vacation.  

Welcome home.

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 1:34 AM 2 comments    

In The Beginning...

Shoryuken! is a blog about video games.

There goes about 75% of you right now.

The remaining 25% of you, I'm sure, are eager to read the latest in video game news, rumors, and gossip. Yeah. About that. You won't really find that here.

...and there goes another 24%.

Why, hello there 1%! I'm Myles. My cohorts and I will be delivering articles involving video games and the culture surrounding it. If you've read this far, then you likely have a similar curiosity or passion for video games...or you're really fucking bored (Yes, we swear. A lot. Deal.). Forgive the aesthetics, we're still working that out.

Now, come closer. I speak of video games...and I have beer.

Shoryuken! is a reprieve from the detrimental environment of most message boards. A place for video game conversation that's made up of a little bit more than deemings that something "sux" or "ownz." Anyone can offer a one-word review or pontificate over a zinger to tear down a game, but it's more often than not an attempt to look good in front of internet peers (or to agitate them).

We at Shoryuken! hope to spark a little life into video game conversation. There are dozens of news and rumor sites, but very few that really encourage thought about gaming. More often than not, people attempt impress their opinion upon you with their reviews.

We will too, don't you worry!

But most importantly, we want those who take the time to read what we have to say to respond. To engage themselves in conversation with those who love video games as much as you do.

Right now, the blog format suits our needs best. The future may hold a more legitamate website, or even our own *gulp* message board.

Until then, Shoryuken! as it is works for us just fine. Welcome to Shoryuken!

Press Start!

Posted by Myles Griffin at 4:06 PM 2 comments