Paul Giamatti in Toronto to promote Editorial Miscellany
Hello LusiFinalBosses. It is yet another Tuesday so it is time for yet another edition of Editorial Miscellany. Yes, that moment when every wide-eyed internet-bumpkin gathers in front of his internet-computer screen and enters Ye Olde Refreshe Browser Code frantically and without pause until I finally post this celebrated and storied column.
This week I played Pokémon X, Tales of Xillia, and …Wii Fit??!!? Oh yes, it is a wonderful week for gaming rambles.
Tales Drops XII, Picks Up XIII
I mentioned last week that the world of Tales of Xillia reminded me of Final Fantasy XII. Not so much the lore and in-game architecture, but rather the way the developers decided to lay out the maps. A traditional overworld is replaced with vast plains of connected maps including areas that appear optional. It is a technique that I adore about XII, and one I certainly appreciate about Xillia although it is not executed with the same level of mastery.
However, the past few hours of gameplay have made this most recent Tales game take on a new sort of imitation. I was not surprised to reach a point at which instant travel was disabled and I was forced to travel in a more linear fashion. It is an old RPG standby at this point to put the blinders on for focused lead-ups to a climactic section of the game, so I was not fazed. However, after one climactic build, another one followed. I finished another isolated section before finishing off yet another boss (while also annoyingly missing half my party) only to find that the tunnel was not finished yet.
Yes, the vast beautiful openness had managed to transition to a Final Fantasy XIII-esque tunnel. It is an homage I am not nearly as fond of, especially when the Xillia battle system – decent as it is – pales in comparison to what is XIII‘s greatest strength. I am currently on the fifth leg of the tunnel and I truly hope it is the final one.
Mantine Cannot Learn Fly?!??!
What the pfargtl? As badass as my Talonflame is, its secondary type is unfortunately redundant. My starter is a dual Psychic/Fire type, and I have no intention to remove him from my party. So when I caught a Mantyke, I became giddy at the thought of finding a cool and powerful replacement that would also take care of the fact that my party is currently missing a Water type.
BUT NOPE.
Mantyke and its evolution Mantine cannot learn the HM Fly despite being half Flying type. It is probably the most trivial thing I have ever complained about (which is saying something), but I am annoyed nonetheless. The search continues.
*Psst*, I hear Ethan uses Wii Fit. Whatta douche!
So… Guys… What Is the Gossip?
Matt Dance suggested that this should become a gossip column. And as we all know, what Matt Dance wants, Matt Dance gets. So… Guys… What is the gossip? Comment below and I will discuss next week. Let us create something out of nothing.
Wait, Wii Fit?
Damn right, Wii Fit! My girlfriend just got benefits, and it turns out that Wii Fit and the balance board is covered, so she bought it and we both started up profiles. I am horrendously out of shape, so while Wii Fit is not going to magically transform me into Jason Derulo, it does feel good to not have “I walk a lot” be my only defense against becoming a giant. And that is important because my hyper-metabolism is also no longer a factor. The personal benefit for using Wii Fit instead of doing normal workouts like normal people, is that I get stats and routines to choose from. If I was by myself in a gym, I would probably do more harm than good. Also, I never want to go to a gym.
From a gamer standpoint, the game is trite and cutesy, but as somebody who would like to be able to live to thirty, it is actually a pretty useful tool. If nothing else, it is the only thing that has ever made me look forward to working out.
Radiant Historia
Where my JRPG lovers at? Have any of you played this? My brother says it is really good, but he also says that Final Fantasy X is amazing, so I want a second opinion. I do not really need to add another RPG to my backlog, but I am addicted to the openings of RPGs.
Well that is it for today. That was my week in the world of gaming. What was yours?
