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Bad Costume Design for FFIV DS


FFIV003.jpgBeing an RPG blogsite I am going to go ahead and assume that everybody on this website right now knows that Square Enix is remaking Final Fantasy IV for the DS with new and enhanced 3D graphics. It’s all very exciting, especially since the game was just announced for a US release of July 22nd. For those who have yet to play this specific Final Fantasy game I urge you to buy it when it releases, you will not regret the purchase.

In any case, back to my point in the title, why does the costume design for the Final Fantasy IV’s main character, Cecil, look so bad? The first time I saw the character my jaw dropped, not in awe but in surprise. When I first played Final Fantasy IV on the SNES (it was II back then) I thought the Cecil looked absolutely bad ass. Sure, back then we had to use our imagination as the sprites didn’t hold very well, but regardless, I had pictured him as looking totally intimidating with a punch of awesome thrown in. When I look at him in these screenshots, I can’t help but feel like a murder has been committed; the victim: fashion.

Don’t get me wrong, though, I’m not blaming the DS for this one. I have seen the DS create some truly awesome looking characters (3D or otherwise). I blame the designers on this one. I just can’t help but get angry when I see Cecil walking with his purple armour, of course, the pink stripes sashaying up and down him don’t help either. Where is the black? He is a dark knight for heaven’s sake!

Some of you might inject that in the actual SNES game Cecil had purplish/blue armour. Fair enough, but the reason behind those colours in the original is the inability to use black in sprites. They mix with the outline and make the character not seem as vivid (the same goes for dark grey).

Anyways, I’ll still be buying this game as the story is amazing. Like I said before, if you haven’t yet played FFIV then buy this game when it releases. The story is epic, and the characters are awesome. I just wish Cecil didn’t look so petite…

Check out our gallery HERE.

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Written by Geoff Gibson

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Final Fantasy, Japanese RPG, Opinion | Apr 14

Debate of the Week: Best Final Fantasy


FFVI000.jpgThere is a lot of debate over which is the best Final Fantasy game. The two obvious choices would be either Final Fantasy VII, or Final Fantasy VI. Of course, those that really know the series will also have found much enjoyment out of some of the other Final Fantasy games, such as IX, X, IV, and maybe even XI (the MMORPG). There are many, many Final Fantasy games out there to choose. So many, in fact, that it makes this choice very hard. So which one is the best?

Final Fantasy VI. There is not much more to it than just coming right out and saying it. Naturally, this is always a personal opinion type of thing, but for those who have actually taken the time to sit down with this game and play it all the way through, they’ll probably agree with me. The game combines that perfect flavor of story, character, world, and one evil bastard of a villain. The graphics might not seem all that great nowadays (2D sprites) but the gameplay and story are there, and really, isn’t that what RPGs are all about?

Of course, Final Fantasy VI has some stiff competition. Naturally the crowd favorite is probably Final Fantasy VII, a great game as well. However, one of the things that irked me with VII, as compared to VI, is that you have a main character, Cloud. Don’t get me wrong. I totally thought Cloud was awesome in VII, however, when an RPG straps you in with a main character you feel attached to that character. You feel compelled to use him and to always keep him in your party, even if there is an option to not use him. VI did not have this and, as such, made the game more enjoyable, especially through replays.

Let’s not forget the others though. Final Fantasy IV, V, VIII, IX, X, and Tactics were all great games too. Unfortunately, despite how much fun they were, they are pretty much forgotten when it comes to a debate like this. Each one had their own unique storyline, characters, and, in the case of Tactics, a very unique style of gameplay. Great games… all of them, but not the best.

Anyways, like I said above, this is more of just a personal preference. There will be people who just can’t get over Final Fantasy VIs simple graphics, and there will be those of you who thought that X was the best one ever. However, here on RPGhead.com, Final Fantasy VI is the winner… that counts for something right?

You can check out our galleries HERE.

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Written by Geoff Gibson

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Final Fantasy, Japanese RPG | Apr 8

Every Available DS RPG Listed/Scored


SummonNight000.jpgDid you know that Nintendo’s teeny tiny little dual screened handheld is a treasure trove of RPG goodness? It is! Often times, around the virtual water cooler, I’ll notice that many gamers shun the DS because of its casual nature towards video games. Brain Age this, Meteos that, and even a learn to speak French game. Sounds like fun! But what about the RPG gamer?

Of course, there is no such thing as a good video game system unless it has a good deal of RPGs and of that the DS has. For your convenience we have decided to catalog, by rating, nearly every DS RPG available today (top to bottom):

  1. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - 86/100
  2. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - 85/100
  3. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - 81/100
  4. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - 78/100
  5. Final Fantasy III - 77/100
  6. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - 75/100
  7. Etrian Odyssey - 75/100
  8. Contact - 73/100
  9. Digimon World DS - 71/100
  10. Luminous Arc - 70/100
  11. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer - 69/100
  12. Lost in Blue - 69/100
  13. Magical Starsign - 69/100
  14. Digimon World Dawn - 68/100
  15. Lost Magic - 68/100
  16. Digimon World Dusk - 67/100
  17. Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja - 66/100
  18. Heroes of Mana - 65/100
  19. Children of Mana - 65/100
  20. Fossil League: Dino Tournament Championship - 65/100
  21. Spectrobes - 63/100
  22. Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts - 60/100
  23. Lunar: Dragon Song - 59/100
  24. Lost in Blue 2 - 58/100
  25. Deep Labyrinth - 57/100
  26. Hoshigami Remix: Ruining Blue Earth - 55/100

Whew! That’s quite a list! There ya go, twnety six RPGs available for your DS. Some of them are great, some of them are… blah. All of them, however, have at least some semblance of RPG goodness contained within. Also worth noting, there are a lot of RPGs that are coming out within the next couple of months (like the pictured one above). Those are not included in this list. Every RPG included here is available for purchase today…

Enjoy!

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Written by Geoff Gibson

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American RPG, Final Fantasy, Japanese RPG | Apr 4
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