Filed under: Games & Gaming, Jasmine's Rambling, Reviews, Role-Playing | Tags: Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 7, Nobuo Uematsu, Super Nintendo
Well now, my fellow followers of He Frag, She Frag…it’s been a while hasn’t it? So here I am to satisfy you of your naughty little voyeuristic habit. As many of you may know, I am a fan of the Final Fantasy series. I don’t tout I’m a supreme expert, but I have played a number of them over the years. Though, one that eluded me was Final Fantasy 6. Although in my defense I will say it’s because I never owned a Super Nintendo.
Moving on, I’ve been having problems with playing my version of Final Fantasy 7 and it had been causing me some distress lately. Mike, being the wonderful husband he is, set off on a quest roaming the internet for anything that might help my dilemma. However, he came across some fan boys arguing over the greatest debate ever: which Final Fantasy is the best? Each installment has their own fan base, though these particular individuals were arguing that Final Fantasy 6 was perhaps the best game of the series.
After the evening rush and rituals involved in taking care of our family, he sat me down and explained to me very gently that he wanted me to try it, since I was visibly upset in not having any games to play. I scoffed at first, but decided I’d give it a try. He went through all that trouble, after all.
It turned out I am pretty much obsessed with the game. Even in all its 16-bit glory, I find it calling out to me in the middle of the night, wherein I awake in a cold sweat to find a glowing beacon by my side. I pat it reassuringly, murmuring promises of the night forthcoming.
Er..that is, I really enjoy the game.
One of the most compelling things about the game is the music. I love Nobuo Uematsu. I know, I am that much of a dork, but this game has a much better quality and diversity of MIDI’s. Yes, MIDI’s they are, but I find myself humming tunes from the games at odd times, and belting out the fan fare after I have done something triumphant. Which happens frequently throughout my day.
The story, obviously, is the biggest selling point. It’s set in an alternate steampunk universe where magic abilities are rare. It’s a rebellious time, as it always is. An evil Empire has fostered a most devious man who wants all power for himself. A patchwork of different rogue’s gallery types develop a mismatched alliance set out to take down the evil once and for all, whilst learning more about themselves in the process. The characters are well thought out and you can sympathize with them, most of the time. The combat system is just as you would expect a game of the series to be. The only drawback, as with any JRPG, is there are way too many random encounters. A minor setback, but always a very annoying one.
Bearing in mind its age, I still think this game stands the test of time. It could possibly become one of those games I play religiously every year from now on.
Hello, followers of He Frag, She Frag! I’m writing to tell you why things have been so slow here lately, and to keep you tuned in because frankly, we don’t want to lose the two of you that actually read this. Now I know I said three weeks ago that there’d be something substantial for you to read. Well, again, I was wrong; and again, you are wrong for trusting in me.
No, I’m not being serious. But there have been some honest technical difficulties going on behind the scenes here, namely a) our 360 decided to throw us the 3 Rings of Death recently and b) we haven’t had any money to buy any new games. Not that we could play any new ones since our 360 died, but it’ll be about a month or so before we get it back. Sooo…in the meantime, what shall we entertain you with? Something news related? Maybe even throw in some nostalgia? That’ll probably have to keep you sustained until further notice.
So that about wraps it up, kids. We haven’t abandoned you. Now I’m going to sit in a remote corner, convulse and foam from the mouth because of my 360 withdrawal syndrome.
Catch you on the flip side, boooiiiieee!
Filed under: Articles, Games & Gaming, Jasmine's Rambling, Nostalgia | Tags: amiga 500, gaming, men, nintendo, she-ra, super mario brothers, women, world of warcraft
Now hang on there, buckaroo. I know what you’re thinking: you’re going to run home to the wife and proclaim, “See, honey? I told you so!” and engage in an all night World of Warcraft orgy fest, feeling smug in your assertion. Does this sound like you? Yes, I thought it would. Well, cowboy, here’s where I will layeth the smacketh downeth on you.
At first glance, reading the article made sense to me. Men are typically more aggressive than women are. I’m ok with that, really. However, I thought the study was horribly inaccurate due to one minuscule detail: there were only 22 test subjects. What’s more, is that we don’t know the backgrounds of each person. Were the men already addicted to gaming before the test? Did the women have an aversion to gaming or have they played games since their childhood? I believe environmental factors before the test was performed could slant the test either way.
Many men will argue that their addiction to gaming is simply an outlet for their fantasies. Men want to be the superhero that saves the day, kisses the girl and flies off into the sunset. It’s the ultimate fantasy for a man. Why isn’t it that way for women, too? In a nutshell: it is. I think some men feel a tad emasculated when a woman crashes their daydream, so women in gaming typically tend to go more underground. Being an avid gamer, a geek, a wife and a mother, I know this to be true.
I was raised by my father to be a geek. I don’t think he consciously thought, “I’m going to make Jasmine a geek”, but he laid the foundation for it. The first time I remember being on a computer was my dad’s Amiga 500. I was 3 at the time, and he bought me a dinosaur coloring game which I loved. After the Amiga he bought the Nintendo Entertainment System where we really bonded over countless hours of playing Super Mario Bros. Though my geekery was not limited to video games, it also fell over into the 80’s pop culture cartoons. To this day I still feel the urge to wear a blond wig at the grocery store, hold aloft my sword and declare, “For the Honor of Grey Skull! I am She-Ra!”.
Like men, I too want to be the super hero; albeit a scantily clad super hero with large breasts that can kick your ass. I’m competitive, I’m merciless, I will hump your dead body and above all: I am a woman.
Filed under: Games & Gaming, Jasmine's Rambling, Role-Playing | Tags: Final Fantasy 7, JRPG's, Oblivion
Hello all! I am Mike’s equally better half, Jasmine. I don’t really do bad puns, so I will spare you any pathetic attempts made by me. This is my first dive into the world of gaming blogs and I will admit I am nervous. I’m not as zealous about games as Mike is; I often go in cycles where I don’t play much, but I will try to be as active as possible here.
Now my first order of gaming business is to let you know what I’ve been playing recently. To answer said question is: Final Fantasy 7. Some may groan, some may cheer and some could care as much about that as Britney taking a dump, but I digress. It was one of my first adventures into the world of JRPG’s (Japanese Role-Playing Games, for those internet illiterate) and so is nostalgic, despite the Popeye look of the characters and 2D backgrounds.
I’m not really sure exactly what lures me back to this game time and time again. I argue that it is a great game, but I have yet to eloquently put my finger on why. Is it the long hours of gameplay? The mini-games? Chocobo racing? The fateful twist of Aeris? Sephiroth? Cloud? I don’t know. Looking back on the game when I played it in 1997, I was 13 and I was so enthralled with the characters that I was borderline obsessive. Now, however, I’m starting to see how wooden and static each character really is. The storyline is actually quite good with little plot twists hiding at every turn, but I’m finding myself hard to identify with each character the older I get.
So if not the characters, the graphics, the long hours of gameplay then what is it? Well, at this point I have to compare it to other games I like of similar genre. One of those is Oblivion. Now, aside from nostalgia, Oblivion far outranks Final Fantasy 7 in every way on my list. It is arguably a whole other world in which I can immerse myself, and there are very few games out there that can over-ride my neurosis and make me forget about life, at least for a few hours. Final Fantasy 7 has that same effect on me. I can get lost in that world for hours: Fighting monsters and listening to the same MIDI’s repeatedly. Breeding Chocobos and then racing them. Blowing my money at the Gold Saucer. I also have many happy memories playing Final Fantasy 7 with my father, which I think now contributes to the +7 Happiness factor I get when I play it.
For all its shortcomings, I still think Final Fantasy 7 is a solid game worth owning and replaying every few years. Besides, where else can you breed Chocobos and exploit them for GP at the races?
