RE: Final Fantasy VII Remake

So it’s been about two weeks since I finished Final Fantasy VII Remake.  Guess I’d better commit my thoughts to digital paper, huh?

Here’s the burning question, asked (metaphorically) to someone with a reputation for slamming modern Final Fantasy games: what do I think of it?  Is it good?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…

So I’ve been playing Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Actually, let me rephrase that.  I’ve been playing Final Fantasy VII Remake, so much so that (I assume) the next time I sit down with it, I’m going to clear the game.  My total play time is something around 41 hours so far, having put in some legwork to wrap up as many sidequests as possible -- both for the sake of not missing any extra/story content, and in the (likely) event that this is the first and last time I’ll ever do a full run.  I think I’ve made enough of an effort and spent enough time with the remake to be moderately credible when it comes to saying anything of substance about it.  I know the ins and outs.  I know the score.

Given that -- and given my reputation -- what do I think of FF7R?  I think…that I’m not going to say a word until I finish it.

That’s getting harder and harder to do by the day.  I have some things to say about it.  Until then, though?  There are other miscellaneous thoughts I can go over.  Enjoy.  (If you can.)

That Time I Tried Getting into Sword Art Online

I mean, granted, I didn’t try very hard.  But there was an attempt.

The Smash Ultimate Salt Mines (feat. Byleth)

Yep.  There’s no getting out of this one.

RE: Teppen

You know, I’ve got to hand it to Kingdom Hearts III.  Not only is it a game I still actively despise nearly a year after its release (to the letter, no less), but it’s also the one game in my time blogging that’s actually managed the impossible: it made me throw out a post I was working on because it wasn’t up to snuff -- and bringing it to par would have tacked on at least three thousand more words.  Also?  It feels pointless to talk about it until the DLC comes out, so I can finally close the book on my most disappointing game of 2019.

Speaking of 2019?  Devil May Cry V is my 2019 Game of the Year, and I almost wrote about that instead.  But given how…certain upcoming events (as of writing) may or may not play out, I think I’ll hold off before I instantly date myself with the opening ramble.  So as a substitution?  Here’s another game that’s in my Top 5 of 2019.

It’s Teppen time, y’all.  Because man, I seriously love this game.

RE: Omega Labyrinth Life

Now, I’m not going to say that Omega Labyrinth Life is the best game of 2019 -- far from it -- but in some ways, it is among one of the most interesting I’ve played this year.  The sort of thing I can’t help but want to put under the microscope, you know?  Which I did.  And, despite its nature…and history…and premise…and everything…I’m actually, genuinely kind of glad I took the plunge.

That said, this plunge cements the fact that I’m bound for the deepest, hottest circle of Hell.  So, yeah, I’ve been given one more reason to not die anytime soon.

Thanks, video game!

Teppen! But Also, Housekeeping (and Indignation)

I can’t think of a lot of games that I’ve fallen for so quickly, but wouldn’t you know it?  Teppen is one of them.  And to think it’d not only be the very first mobile game I’ve talked about on this blog, but the very first mobile game I’ve ever owned.  Well, besides some Tetris/Pac-Man hybrid built into this one phone I had a geologic age ago.

So let’s talk about Teppen.  Briefly.  Because God forbid, I get to talk about something I actually like and/or can be positive about.

Re: RE: Pokémon Sword and Shield

Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo boy.

All right, look.  I know I implied last time that I would use this slot to gripe about Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise, but then I played through some more Pokémon Sword.  How much more?  Enough to clear the main story, and get within inches of clearing the “postgame” …and probably would have if the game hadn’t experienced a fatal error and crashed to the home screen, prompting a rage quit/decision to wash dishes/continue watching Parks and Recreation.  Speaking of, I’m super into Parks and Rec now.  I regret not watching it when it was on-air, but blame my TV and its utter inability to properly tune to NBC.  Certainly not me.

I’m at risk of losing the plot.  So let’s talk about Pokémon Sword.

RE: Pokémon Sword and Shield

So I’m six gyms deep into Pokémon Sword, and creeping up on the seventh.  I probably shouldn’t be, but here I am.  To think there was a time when I said I was planning to sit the game out.

The reasoning was sound.  The eighth-generation game -- both for the franchise, and in terms of consoles -- has been mired in controversies for months.  “The graphics are awful.”  “They’re cutting out Pokémon.” “Features are getting dropped.” “They’re not even trying.” “Game Freak lied.” And so on, and so forth.  All things considered?  I didn’t need another franchise installment in my life.  I fell off at the endgame of Moon, and was willing to sit it out until Gen 9’s inevitable drop.  Maybe then, Game Freak would straighten things out.  Earn fans’ trust with a title that knocked it into space.  I bought into the fans’ outcry (despite previous indifference to it) and decided, yeah, supporting the game meant supporting a slide into mediocrity.  So, I didn’t.

Then my brother bought the game regardless.  I suspect he would have even if he knew about the controversies -- which meant I’d have to give the game an honest shot.

Pfft.  Who needs integrity, anyway?

RE: Death Stranding

Death Stranding is the kind of game that’ll make you question what a game can, if not should, be.  

The problem is that, if you’re anything like me, then you’ll be asking that question for all the wrong reasons.

The Smash Ultimate Salt Mines (feat. Terry)

Oh, look at what I found.  It’s a ticket for a trip to the salt mines once again.  No, it’s no problem at all, Sakurai and crew. Let me just get my helmet and gloves -- oh, and a decent pair of pants, too -- and I’ll just crawl right in.  I’m not worried about my lungs at all. Not like there’s coal or anything for me to breathe in.  And what do I even need my lungs for, huh?

*sigh*

The update that brought Terry Bogard into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the same one that buffed Jigglypuff, my least favorite character to fight in the entire game.  Great.  I was looking for a reason to throw my Switch in the trash.

On the other hand, Buster Wolf.  So it evens out.  Barely.

Re: RE: Indivisible

I think I’ve found the perfect way to describe my feelings on Indivisible as of…huh.  Right around Halloween time.  Fancy that.

It’s like this.  You know those trust exercises they have you do with someone else?  The one where you fall backward, and count on your partner to catch you or whatever?  If Indivisible were that partner, then you’d fall flat on your back -- but instead of hitting concrete or dirt or tile or carpet or whatever, you’d just take a little spill onto a cushy mattress.  Yeah, you were let down by someone you trusted, but it’s fine.  You’re still in a good enough place regardless.

I can’t bring myself to hate Indivisible, or even dislike it.  I’m glad it exists.  I’m glad it got crowdfunded successfully.  I’m glad it’s pushing against the grey goo apocalypse that is the modern AAA game industry.  The problem is that, simply put, it has problems.  I’m not one for game development, but I’m not confident that the issues are solvable with patches and updates down the line; it seems like the sort of stuff that’d take a complete overhaul, if not a sequel to start fresh.

I talked about the story last time.  Now for the gameplay this time.  And let me say this to start: it was a mistake to play Tekken 7 in the same timeframe as this.

RE: Indivisible

So, Indivisible, huh? 

Hmmmm.  Hmmmm.  Hmmmm.

I’ll be real: I don’t really know how I feel about this game right now.  I’d say that I need to put more time into it (and I do), but I get the feeling that it’ll only help so much -- and maybe even hurt in the long run.  Having gone all in with an impulse buy on release day, I owe it to the game, myself, and my wallet to go as far as I can with it.  That said, I also owe it to all of those (and the devs on top of that) to give an honest report on my findings.  If someone asks me “Is Indivisible any good?” then I want to give them a straight answer.

That’s…pretty hard right now.  This is a weird game -- a weird game that’s fun, frustrating, charming, plain, deep, and shallow at the same time. But we’ve got to start somewhere, and it might as well be with an anime intro.

How it Feels to Play Tekken 7 (Again)

I know I should be using this space to talk about Indivisible some more, especially since I more or less implied that that was next on the docket.  But I’m shoving the docket aside for now, and not just because it means I can live up to the blog’s title by talking about fighting games some more. 

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally back at it again with Tekken 7.  How has the experience been?  Refreshing, to put it simply.  Having dealt with the grind of Smash Ultimate for months on end, and having braved the general inanities of Street Fighter V semi-recently, I’ve been long overdue for a change of pace.  We’re still months away from Guilty Gear 2020, after all (though I’m down to party with Granblue Fantasy VS when it drops).  What other options did I have but to get back into Tekken 7?

I mean, besides like half a dozen other fighting games I could play at this very second.  But I’m in a Tekken mood -- and it’s getting some decisive feelings out of me.

BRB Playing Indivisible

I’m not going to spend a bunch of time or write a lot of words about Indivisible right now, partially because I’ve barely had it for 24 hours as of writing and haven’t even played it for a fraction of that time.  Maybe like, six hours at most?  I had a toilet to take care of, after all.  Anyway, as a sub-reason, it’s partially because I feel like I’m not equipped to talk about the game in-depth until I learn exactly why it’s called Indivisible. 

I mean, I could hazard a guess, but I’m pretty sure I’d be well off the mark.  Wouldn’t be the first time, really.

So instead of scrambling to write a “review” or give (abbreviated) early impressions, let’s talk a bit about impulse buys. Because this is mine.

RE: Code Vein

Hey, here’s a quick, early impressions post on Code Vein!  Because nothing says “Happy Halloween” like a “birthday” “present” “gifted” to you by a brother who tossed it your way upon discovering that he forgot to cancel his pre-order of a game he’d long since lost interest in, but frankly it works out because hey it’s a new game and there’s an open slot on the blog docket to fill up, and if nothing else it’ll spare you from the pain of having to confront the awe-inspiring dread of Kingdom Hearts III for another week at least!

Huh.  That was an oddly-specific scenario.

Like, really specific.  The kind of thing that you shouldn't really think about for any longer than you have to.  So just close your heart to it or whatever.

…

…Hey, here’s a quick, early impressions post on Code Vein!

The Street Fighter V “Experience”

Given that this blog is titled “Cross-Up”, you would think that I would have long ago reached a point where I would ask myself “Am I talking too much about fighting games lately?”  Granted, the answer to that would have been “no” precisely because of the title, but whatever.  Beats griping about terrible Final Fantasy games.

Now, griping about fighting games?  That’s something I don’t do very often.  Being salty about losing, sure, but that’s an inherent part of the package -- an unspoken, understood rule for the fighting game community.  Regardless, sometimes you have to gripe about something because you care. You want it to be the very best it can be.  And given my experiences over the past couple of weeks, I’ve got a notion to lay into a game that’s bugging me more than the one featuring my arch nemesis, Jigglypuff.  I mean Pikachu.  I mean Pokémon Trainer.  I mean Greninja.  I mean -- gosh, a lot of the mons in that game are cancerous to me.

All right, enough babble.  Let’s talk about Street Fighter V.

The Smash Ultimate Salt Mines (feat. Banjo & Kazooie)

So I tried playing some Street Fighter V to break in Poison, AKA the only character I could grab with the pittance of Fight Money I had on hand.  Plus it had been the first time I touched it in about five months, so I thought it’d be fun to test out a new fighter and level up my game.

It wasn’t fun.  And that’s all I’m going to say about that for now.

Let’s wash that horrible, horrible taste out of my mouth with the latest Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character -- the oft-gone but not forgotten bear and bird duo, Banjo & Kazooie.  Or…is it Banjo-Kazooie?  Well, whatever.  New character, so let’s get salty.  As if I wasn’t already.

BRB Banjo is in Smash

Jeez Louise, Sakurai and crew are just NOT letting up with these big Smash Bros. Ultimate drops, are they?  Feels like I've only just gotten started with Hero, and no I've got to put him on the back burner for the bear and bird.

You can't really blame me though, can you?

RE: Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Having beaten the Blue Lions’ campaign in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I can now confirm that I’m 33% qualified to talk about the game with some semblance of ethos.  Well, 33.3333333333% qualified.  Can’t round up to 34% here, but all of those extra threes have got to count for something.

I mean, I was ultimately successful in achieving my end goal: making Dedue (the best character) into my husband.  

[sweetvictory.mp3 intensifies]

Now that that’s out of the way, though, I have questions about this game.  And this franchise.  Important…ish questions.  Questions that will be asked and (potentially) answered here in this very post.  Chief among them: 

What’s next for Fire Emblem?