Tag Archives: RPG

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Finale – Final Fantasy I #26

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We’re here at last! It’s the finale of the first Final Fantasy game, which means it’s time to return to the Temple of Chaos and sort this whole mess out once and for all.

If you thought later games in the Final Fantasy series got a bit confusing with time kompression and whatnot, then know that this has emphatically been A Thing in the series since the very beginning, as you’re about to see.

Still, after all our intense training in the four Soul of Chaos dungeons and the Labyrinth of Time, we’re more than ready to take on whatever awaits us… so let’s finish this!

MoeGamer Awards 2019

The MoeGamer 2019 Awards: The “I’m Definitely Going to Get Around to This in 2020” Award

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The MoeGamer Awards are a series of “alternative” awards I’ve devised in collaboration with the community to celebrate the sorts of things that never get celebrated in end-of-year roundups! Find out more here — and feel free to leave a suggestion on that post if you have any good ideas! We’re fast running out of time for this year, but leave a suggestion anyway and I might use it next year!

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To quote a now sadly defunct group of gamers of which I used to be a member: “Games of Shame. You know you have them. They sit in your closet, collecting dust: little jewels that you always tell yourself you are going to play, but never get around to.”

Part of the reason MoeGamer is a thing at all is a continuation of what this group, known as the Squadron of Shame, was known for: deliberately delving into the overlooked and underappreciated games from both yesterday and today, and playing the crap out of them until we could talk about them in detail.

As someone with an absolutely enormous… backlog, I have quite a few games that I’m absolutely dying to write about. But one in particular keeps mocking me from my shelf… and by golly, I’m going to make 2020 the year in which I actually knuckle down and crack on with it!

And the winner is…

Continue reading The MoeGamer 2019 Awards: The “I’m Definitely Going to Get Around to This in 2020” Award →

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: The Labyrinth of Time – Final Fantasy I #25

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The end is in sight… but there’s one more endgame challenge before we can finish this thing: The Labyrinth of Time!

This dungeon was added in the PSP version of Final Fantasy, and suggests that you forget everything you thought you knew about the world. And this is good advice; you’ll be doing things in here that you don’t do anywhere else in the game!

It’s one of the most satisfying challenges in all of Final Fantasy, and while some might argue that the fact it was added in 2007 means it’s not “authentic” to the original, it’s certainly a whole lot of fun! Let’s do this.

Cover Games, Pokémon Sword and Shield

Pokémon Sword and Shield: Living a Trainer’s Life

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header-6-2861792This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
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When the original Pokémon games were announced, I didn’t initially realise that they were RPGs — at least partly because I wasn’t overly familiar with how RPGs worked myself at the time.

Nowadays, of course, I know much better. But “RPG” is such a broad term, particularly when you throw its tabletop counterpart into the mix. There are lots of different ways you can approach the idea of an “RPG” from a mechanical perspective, and lots of different games over the years — including Pokémon — have experimented with the formula.

Pokémon Sword and Shield are, of course, no exception. Let’s take a closer look at the game’s mechanical components and contemplate how these games approach the idea of you “role-playing” as a Pokémon Trainer.

Continue reading Pokémon Sword and Shield: Living a Trainer’s Life →

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Onward to Whisperwind Cove – Final Fantasy I #23

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The Warriors of Light are about to take on their longest, most significant challenge yet: the 40-floor Whisperwind Cove!

Thankfully, the boss fights in here aren’t quite as brutal as the devastating foes who lurked at the base of Lifespring Grotto, but 40 floors is certainly a lot to get through. Thankfully, there are plenty of places to rest and regroup along the way… including a village full of absolutely fabulous-looking mages.

I have no idea how long this is going to take, so if I manage to get enough episodes recorded in advance, there may be two episodes a week just while we clear out this monstrosity. And then we have the Labyrinth of Time to clear after this, too… why did I start this again…?

MoeGamer Awards 2019

The MoeGamer 2019 Awards: The #25YearsOfPlay Award

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The MoeGamer Awards are a series of “alternative” awards I’ve devised in collaboration with the community to celebrate the sorts of things that never get celebrated in end-of-year roundups! Find out more here — and feel free to leave a suggestion on that post if you have any good ideas!

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Today’s award comes from the fact that the PlayStation turned 25… err, yesterday, actually, but near enough.

It’s pretty fair to say that the original PlayStation was a defining influence on many gaming enthusiasts’ passion for the hobby, and for a wide variety of reasons. For those who had grown up with earlier systems, the PlayStation marked the moment gaming acquired real mainstream acceptance; for those new to the hobby, it was a platform that played host to a more diverse array of experiences than ever before.

With that in mind, today’s award celebrates a game from the original PlayStation era that I have incredibly fond memories of, not just of the game itself, but of everything going on surrounding it at the time I first experienced it.

And the winner is…

Continue reading The MoeGamer 2019 Awards: The #25YearsOfPlay Award →

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Remember To Save Your Work – Final Fantasy I #22

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While for most of this playthrough, I’ve been keeping honest and true to the original NES version’s restrictions on saving… when it comes to a 20-floor endgame dungeon, you’d better believe I’m going to save before the most notoriously difficult bosses in the whole game.

Lifespring Grotto’s incarnations of Shinryu and Omega from Final Fantasy V are the toughest superbosses in the entirety of this particular version of Final Fantasy, and accidents happen. An accident did, indeed, happen. Thankfully, I had remembered to save.

Even more thankfully, after restoring said save, challenging the other one of these two notoriously challenging opponents proved to be a much better idea… even if the fight ended up being the longest we’ve seen in this whole playthrough!

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: This Might Take a While – Final Fantasy I #21

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Two more Soul of Chaos dungeons to go, plus the Labyrinth of Time… and then we’re done! With the first game. Out of lots.

Yes, the Final Fantasy Marathon is going to take quite a while to get through at this rate, and, hell, the dungeon we start today is going to take two full episodes to get through… but I’m having a good time and I hope you are too.

Today we delve into the Lifespring Grotto, a 20-floor dungeon full of mazes, Final Fantasy V references and assorted weirdness. Watch out for that Atomos, he’s got quite a mouth on ‘im…

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: The Fires of Hell – Final Fantasy I #20

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We’re well into the endgame of the PSP incarnation of Final Fantasy now; today we delve into the second of four “Soul of Chaos” dungeons.

Hellfire Chasm features 10 floors arranged in a random order, with a choice of two Final Fantasy IV bosses to fight on both the 5th and 10th. In order to fill out your Bestiary completely, you’ll need to run the dungeon at least twice to smack ’em all down.

Bring plenty of supplies; today’s a long trip, but we’re just getting started!

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: The Party Leader Has Registered You for Duty – Final Fantasy I #19

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At this point, we’re ready to go and beat Final Fantasy I! But we’re not going to do that just yet… not when there are endgame dungeons to challenge!

Today we begin with a return to the Earthgift Shrine, which we paid a somewhat premature visit to back in episode 9, and manage to squeeze in two whole runs to take down both Cerberus and Echidna.

This is just the beginning of endgame Final Fantasy… so strap in for a bit of an endurance run!