Editorial Miscellany: Familiar Places

By Ethos
9 Comments
This game has not grown on me.

Yuna doesn’t even die!

Oh hello there, LusiCoys! It has been some time since I mildly annoyed you all with an Editorial Miscellany, and seeing as I am onto my final few weeks here at Lusipurr.com, I thought I would give everybody (including myself) something a bit more familiar. Although I suppose taking thousand words to say I like Majora’s Mask is not particularly out of the ordinary.

I – as always – digress.

To fit the theme, after beating Majora’s Mask I returned to some familiar comfort games. Here are the things I thought about while playing them.

Final Fantasy X

Even for a site that can get pretty RPG-focused, the last few years have run this topic into the ground. I do not have anything fresh to say about FFX as a game as I finally near the end of the remastered version. What I have realized, however, is that I expect that this is the last time I am ever going to replay it. I was talking to my brother about this a few days ago and while I am glad that I replayed the entire thing again, I think the only way I would attempt another playthrough would be if I learned Japanese and played it in its original language so I could see what was lost or gained in translation. Maybe then it would not be such a tonal disaster, but I am hard pressed to imagine a way in which all those camera swoops and inane prolonged adolescent reactions would work. I am excited to put this one behind me pretty much for good.

Bravely Default

Call it the habit of a long-time addict, but sometimes I just want to sit around and level up. My go to series used to be Dragon Quest, but seeing as there is no convenient way to play VIII and that is the one I have the biggest craving to play, Bravely Default is pretty much the perfect pill. Especially given how easily I can skip all the terrible dialogue and just focus on the beautiful locations and that sweet, sweet level-grinding.

It is, actually.

Exciting!

I still do not really know what it is. During my first playthrough I could argue that grinding allowed for testing strategies of different class combinations and gaining new abilities, but during this playthrough, I am massively overleveled for the place in the game I am. I turned the encounter rate up to double, set my characters to auto-attack at four times the speed and just plow through. I suppose it is in some ways the same carrot-dangling that recent freemium games have capitalized on by distilling the process and then charging for it, but it is starting to make me think about the future of RPGs. Bravely Default is great for its battle system and high level of gameplay customization that I hope is its biggest influence on future games.

What was I talking about again? Breakfast?

Hearthstone

It is a little strange that I have not yet mentioned Hearthstone on here yet. I was never one to play Magic: The Gathering or other such games (I just wish there was a commonly used acronym for games in which cards are collectible. Oh that is it! GiWCaC), but with the advent of my new touch screen laptop and my general interest in everything Blizzard produces means that I am playing it more than I ever thought I would. I have been working hard on my next project and a variety of other things, so Hearthstone provides a nice break that only usually lasts about ten to thirty minutes. I know I will never have the time be a pro or a sub-pro or a novice or a novice-in-training or even start winning more than twenty five percent of my games, but I like the way it makes me think, and it is a fun game to discuss and play with friends.

But seriously. Breakfast

I had been doing so well with being a functional human being the past few weeks that I suppose it was fated to break down at some point soon. I will eat right after I post this. I am sure everybody feels blessed by this knowledge.

Final Thoughts

Well this felt pretty familiar to me! Tepid meandering of thoughts and topics that provide little insight or entertainment. That is the Ethos way, and I need to make sure you all remember me as such. Anyhoo, if any of you LusiTaunts play Hearthstone, let us talk in the comments and hopefully play each other at some point!

9 Comments

  1. Lusipurr
    Posted 2015.02.11 at 15:33 | Permalink

    “Maybe then it would not be such a tonal disaster, but I am hard pressed to imagine a way in which all those camera swoops and inane prolonged adolescent reactions would work.”
    There is no language of men or beasts which can excuse the camera work in Final Fantasy X. In one of my favourite shots, the character delivering the lines is almost entirely off-screen because the camera is focused on his ankle, which is about two inches from the camera. There’s nothing else going on in the shot, so the reason for this is…?
    The same thing is done in Final Fantasy X-2, so it seems to be something which they thought was really cool at the time.

    “Especially given how easily I can skip all the terrible dialogue and just focus on the beautiful locations and that sweet, sweet level-grinding.”
    It’s not all terrible. There are some pretty excellent moments (quite a few in fact). Of course, there are some really cringe-worthy things as well. Bravely Default is a game of extremes. Luckily, there’s far more good than bad.

    “I just wish there was a commonly used acronym for games in which cards are collectible.”
    You’re looking for CCGs.

    “I will eat right after I post this.”
    Developing a morning routine can help to streamline all that stuff at the start of the day which can eat up loads of time. Get out of bed, brush your teeth, shave, use the toilet, shower, and then have breakfast. I prefer two pieces of toast and an apple with a glass of tea or orange juice. Light, but substantial, and then you’re good through lunch time if you like. Plan, and then adhere!

  2. Ethos
    Posted 2015.02.11 at 15:39 | Permalink

    You’re looking for CCGs.
    I can only hope that you were being as sardonic as I was.

    Developing a morning routine can help to streamline all that stuff at the start of the day which can eat up loads of time. Get out of bed, brush your teeth, shave, use the toilet, shower, and then have breakfast. I prefer two pieces of toast and an apple with a glass of tea or orange juice. Light, but substantial, and then you’re good through lunch time if you like. Plan, and then adhere!
    Indeed! Something I did very well the first two days of this week and then for some reason thought would work on auto-pilot this morning. I’m afraid you need to put in a bit more effort than that, Ethos!

  3. Lusipurr
    Posted 2015.02.11 at 18:19 | Permalink

    “I’m afraid you need to put in a bit more effort than that, Ethos!”
    When you fail in your routine, you need to cut off one of your toes.

  4. Ethos
    Posted 2015.02.11 at 18:23 | Permalink

    Yes, sir. Thank goodness I still have four left!

  5. Bup
    Posted 2015.02.12 at 11:00 | Permalink

    I actually started playing Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call again. This time playing through the Expert difficulty songs. I forgot how good the music in IX is.

  6. Mel
    Posted 2015.02.12 at 13:25 | Permalink

    I have yet to get into Hearthstone, but all of my friends (all fans of Magic at one point or another) still play Soul Forge. I used to but just fell out of the habit, then when I stopped logging in my decks fell behind and it wasn’t fun to play anymore. I’ve considered getting back into it.

  7. Ethos
    Posted 2015.02.12 at 13:34 | Permalink

    @Bup – I forgot about that! That’s actually a pretty perfect transition game. I haven’t played it since my initial burst, so there’s still a lot of tracks I haven’t played. My FFIX piano music book is still one of my most used.

    @Mel – Yeah, falling behind is one thing, but at least the ranking system helps with that a bit. Also, while I think I would be considered a moderate to heavy casual player, I’m still able to buy cards fairly frequently without spending a real cent.

  8. Lusipurr
    Posted 2015.02.12 at 15:30 | Permalink

    @Bup: Lots of new music has been added over the past month. There’s a lot of content there.

  9. Wolfe
    Posted 2015.02.17 at 22:09 | Permalink

    Don’t be so hard on yourself Ethos. Nice article. I’ll deliver some random thoughts on a couple of the titles you touched on here, as I have little else of worth to contribute.

    -FFX: I’ve never played it. Always flirted with the notion of doing so, but the bizarre, Pacific island aesthetic coupled (I swear to god I almost just typed Bupled) with the ridiculous character designs have put me off in a big way.

    -Bravely Default: I love everything about it (save for the ‘twist’ towards the end) so why can’t I finish it? I’ll still pick up 2 should we be lucky enough to see it here.

    -Dragon Quest: (Despite it being mentioned only in passing) I loved VIII so much that it brought me back to JRPGs after my interest in them was killed during the mid 00s by a string of mediocre titles. That spring/summer I felt the same wonder and pure joy I felt in my younger days when I first discovered Lunar on the Sega CD. It’s the kind of game I endlessly chase and rarely find. I’m still very upset I can’t play the 3DS version of VII.