Man, pumpkin pie is delicious. I don't really celebrate Thanksgiving in any official capacity, but my mother brought me a truckload of food today and I have been, er, partaking. Everyone needs a day where they just stuff their face without regard for their health. Or y'know, a week. Or a year.
Anyway, I've mostly been playing League of Legends today because I've been in that kind of mood. I'm still progressing through Persona, but slowly. After finishing the Kama Palace, that horrifying exercise in tedium, I was tasked with backtracking through yet another dungeon--only to find out that the enemies in the new area are around my level. I thought I had overleveled an extreme amount but I guess the devs designed the game with a great deal of grinding in mind.
I'd really like to finish Persona, because I have a feeling that Persona 2 is quite good. My Gaming Code heavily encourages that I play through series in chronological order if at all possible--although let's forget for a moment that I've already completed the third and fourth games. Unfortunately, my attention is beginning to wander and I've already considered other games I could explore on the PSP.
One such option is Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection. It is yet another release of one of my favorite games from the series--except this time it's bundled with The After Years, a sequel or epilogue of sorts. It was released originally on WiiWare in episodic format. I recall playing through an episode or two and really enjoying it. It felt very nostalgic because it used the exact graphical style of the Super Nintendo version of FFIV. This collection bundles all of those episodes together and spices up the 2D graphics to a PSP level of quality. The fact that this is FFIV content that I've never played through is enticing.
I've played through four different versions of the game in the past. Do I really have the fortitude to try another? I think that I might, if I'm being honest. Although I can't call it a masterpiece, it's maudlin, melodramatic take on the epic fantasy genre will always hold a special place in my heart. The characters and settings are quite familiar to me by now and its always a treat to see how different versions put their spin on it.
Final Fantasy IV DS was the only rerelease that was in full 3D. It was developed by the same guys who did the Final Fantasy III rerelease, and honestly, I'm not a fan of the style. I vastly prefer handrawn 2D graphics when the alternative is blocky, cartoony 3D models. It brings to mind the graphics of Final Fantasy VII, which I have gone on record multiple times to say that I intensely dislike. Square-Enix (then Squaresoft) didn't really get 3D right until Final Fantasy VIII if you ask me. Despite that minor gripe, it was an excellent version sporting brutal difficulty and even some new gameplay elements like the ability augments inherited from characters that permanently leave your party.
The Game Boy Advance version was more or less a standard port, but it included a bonus dungeon after the game was completed and also one very important feature that distinguished it from other ports. It allowed you to change the makeup of your party for taking on the final boss of the game. I thought this was quite a novelty at the time because it is traditional that Cecil, Edge, Kain, Rosa, and Rydia descend into the moon to vanquish Zeromus. I thought it was really fun to bring the crotchety old engineer Cid down there with me, ultimate weapon from an optional dungeon in tow.
The other two versions are the "original versions," both the original North American Super Nintendo release and the Japanese Super Famicom release. The North American version was extremely dumbed down and easy--in comparison to the Japanese release which was brutally difficult. I got the opportunity to play that version many years after having played FFIV (initially released as Final Fantasy II for complicated reasons) when I became aware of the emulation scene.
I couldn't tell you off the top of my head when the Japanese version of the game was initially fan translated, but it was early in the years of ROM hacking. Final Fantasy V was the first to get this treatment, but I can't imagine FFIV was long after. The new translation was evidently much more faithful to the game's original script but I recall some cringeworthy American pop culture references shoehorned in that I didn't care for. Regardless, I did prefer the version because of the difficulty level and I even started writing a walkthrough for it to publish on GameFAQs--something that never really panned out.
The emulator I'm using to try out Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection doesn't seem to emulate the game completely perfectly. I have already noticed a few graphical glitches. If that's the only problem, I may just soldier on and try to finish the game one more time. After all, the base game is only about 20 hours long, and I know it like the back of my hand. I'm not sure what new insights I can gain out of a game I've beaten a dozen times or more, but I'm sure I'll find The After Years interesting. It continues the story of those beloved characters I've known for years.
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