Heute kommen wir endlich mal dazu, eine schon lange geplante Rubrik zu eröffnen; den sogenannten Soundtrack Check. Wie der Name schon vermuten lässt, handelt es sich hierbei um die Vorstellung von den, extra für die jeweiligen Spiele angefertigten, Tonträgern. Die Musik hat mittlerweile einen hohen Stellenwert in der Entwicklung von Videospielen. Häufig schafft es der Soundtrack die allgemeine Atmosphäre der virtuellen Welt wiederzugeben und den Spieler somit besser eintauchen zu lassen. Ein Aspekt also, der auf unserem Blog nicht fehlen darf und durch das Inspizieren von Original SoundTracks (kurz: OSTs) wollen wir dieser Wirkung auf den Grund gehen.

Den Anfang macht der Soundtrack zu Chocobo Racing, ein Rennspiel, das 1999 für die Playstation 1 erschienen ist. Der Titel verrät, dass es sich hierbei um einen Racer von Squaresoft (Square Co.) handelt, indem viele Charaktere aus dem Final Fantasy-Universum zum Einsatz kommen. Die gleiche Methodik hat man auch beim Gestalten des Soundtracks gewählt. Der Komponist, Kenji Ito, hat sich bei 29 von den 30 Tracks an der Vorarbeit von Nobuo Uematsu bedient und sie etwas aufgepeppt bzw. für das Spiel passender gestaltet. Nobuo Uematsu selbst komponierte bisher fast alle Soundtracks der Final Fantasy-Reihe und ist eine wahre Berühmtheit, was Videospielmusik angeht. Die Strukturierung und Titelzahl beim Chocobo Racing OST gestaltet sich für Rennspiele sehr typisch. Es gibt für jeden Charakter ein Thema und noch ein weiteres für die jeweilige Strecke derer. Übrig bleiben das Opening-, sowie Ending-Theme und natürlich die üblichen Songs wie beispielsweise der Sieges- und Niederlagen-Jingle.

Jedoch ist ein Rennspiel-Soundtrack nicht gleich gut, nur weil man dem Standard folgt. Die Lieder müssen zu den Figuren passen und auch während des Rennens muss die Musik den Charme des Levels vermitteln ohne dabei nervtötend zu wirken. Ich für meinen Teil kann sagen, dass dies bei vorliegendem Beispiel absolut der Fall ist. Das könnte allerdings nicht zuletzt am hervorragendem Ausgangsmaterial liegen, welches Kenji Ito zur Verfügung stand.

Passionierten Final Fantasy-Spielern wird daher wohl sofort die Ähnlichkeit zu den Ursprungstiteln auffallen. So ist zum Beispiel aus dem Song Ancient Castle des zweiten Teils der Serie in diesem OST Golem’s Theme (#7) geworden. Genau genommen wurden vom ersten bis zum sechsten Final Fantasy-Teil gleichermaßen Titel verwendet und neu aufgelegt. Hinzu kommt der Titel FF8 Circuit (#26), welcher zuvor auf dem gleichnamigen FF-Teil noch Don’t Be Afraid hieß. Zur Verdeutlichung der Unterschiede bietet es sich an die zwei Versionen des Liedes an dieser Stelle mal zu vergleichen:

Hier, bei der FF8-Version wurde viel Wert auf ausdrucksstarke Musik gelegt. Das Lied weist orchestrale Elemente auf und wirkt somit sehr episch. Mit der Zusammenwirkung der verhältnismäßig langsamen Geschwindigkeit passt es auch perfekt zu einem Kampf-Thema, was dieser Song zweifelsohne ist. Im Gegensatz dazu steht die Interpretation von Chocobo Racing – man weiß schon nach den ersten Sekunden, dass hier viel mehr Nervenkitzel und Aufregung erzeugt werden soll. Durch die Erweiterung um ein paar Töne kommt wesentlich mehr Tempo in das Stück, was das Fahren auf der Strecke gleichermaßen unterstützen wie erschweren soll. Zudem ist dem Lied eine leichte Techno-Verwandtschaft zu unterstellen, welche den Spieler insofern beeinflusst, dass sich bei ihm unterbewusst Hektik und Aufmerksamkeit erhöhen. Es liegt also auch hier ein unglaublich passendes Stück vor (und ich kann euch versichern, die Strecke hat’s in sich), obwohl es sich um ein völlig anderes Videospielgenre handelt. Man könnte sagen: Ein Song – zwei Versionen – zwei Spiele – zwei Anwendungsorte – zwei Meisterwerke.

Allgemein ist der Soundtrack einem schnellen Musikstil zuzuordnen, weshalb der Vergleich zum Techno gar nicht weit gefehlt ist. Vor allem die musikalische Untermalung während der Rennen wurde in dieser temporeichen Art und Weise gestaltet, was wohl auf den bereits angesprochenen Effekt der Aufmerksamkeitssteigerung zurückzuführen ist. Die Charakter-Themen weisen hingen eine etwas gemäßigte Geschwindigkeit auf und spiegeln das Auftreten der Figuren den Vorstellungen entsprechend wider. So ist das Black Mage’s Theme (#10) beispielsweise sehr schaurig und vermittelt einen düsteren Eindruck. Die Grundstimmung ist hauptsächlich gedämpft und zurückhaltend, was sich durch tiefe Klänge äußert. Zwischendurch werden aufschreckend Akzente mithilfe von Höhen Tönen gesetzt – man fühlt sich also insgesamt so, als würde man durch das leere Schloss eines schwarzen Magiers wandeln und hinter jeder Ecke könnte eine Gefahr lauern.

Eine weitere Auffälligkeit des OST’ ist die Verwandtschaft zwischen den Figuren-Songs und den Liedern der dazugehörigen Strecken. Bleiben wir doch einmal beim Black Mage. Das Stück für seine Strecke trägt passender Weise den Namen House of Black (#21). Hierbei handelt es sich um eine zunächst, wie bereits erwähnt, schnellere Melodie. Zwar wurden die dumpfen, tiefen Töne aus dem Charakter-Thema beibehalten, jedoch ist das Drumherum wesentlich detailreicher und actiongeladener – es schuhuhen Geister und zusätzlich kommen leicht bizarre Tonabfolgen zum Einsatz, die womöglich die magische Aura des geheimnisvollen Ortes wiedergeben sollen. Beim Soundtrack wurde also in zweierlei Maß auf eine perfekte Abstimmung geachtet: Die Songs passen sowohl zur jeweiligen Figur bzw. Strecke, harmonieren aber dennoch auch miteinander und sorgen somit immer wieder für eine ideale Atmosphäre.

Zum Schluss möchte ich noch auf den letzten Song eingehen, denn das ist der einzig wirklich neue auf dem Album. Dieses Lied ist in vielerlei Hinsicht besonders. Da es sich über die komplette Dauer der Credits erstreckt, kommt der Titel auf eine Länge von stolzen 6 Minuten und 15 Sekunden – dass bei dieser Zeitspanne keine hibbelige Techno-Musik verwendet wird, sollte daher selbstverständlich sein. Genau das Gegenteil ist der Fall: man hat hier auf die orchestrale Unterstützung von Shiro Hamaguchi gesetzt. Der Name mag dem Durchschnitts-Deutschen wohl weniger bekannt sein, aber wer leidenschaftlich gerne Animes schaut, hat zumindest schon öfter etwas von ihm gehört. So ist z.B. die musikalische Begleitung von One Piece oder Ah! My Goddess ihm zu verdanken, auch für Square hat er schon viel fabriziert. Hiromi Ohta verleiht seiner Instrumentation eine hohe, klare Stimme, was das Stück insgesamt zu einer gefühlvollen Ballade macht – man ist beim Hören jedes Mal auf’s Neue traurig über das Beenden des Spiels. Leider muss ich auch euch nun mit dem Lied traurig stimmen, denn unser erster Soundtrack Check nimmt an dieser Stelle ein Ende. Wie er vielleicht schon bemerkt habt, ist die komplette Scheibe auf YouTube vorzufinden, also hört doch einfach mal selbst rein und erfreut euch an etwas Nostalgie.

As a way to promote Twitter on Xbox 360, Microsoft have provided a free avatar item for Final Fantasy XIII. They asked the community to tweet and tweet on the subject until… a Chocobo was revealed.

All the tweeting has been done so now all you need to do is visit the necessary webpage click Register Now and fill in all the necessary gumpf.  The items will be sent out mid-December.

Here’s a preview of what you might get:

In anticipation of the game’s December 17 Japanese release date and following the count down on the game’s  Official Site the last Trailer for FFXIII has been released.  FFXIII the game will be released in North America and Europe on March 9, 2010. For Xbox Live users who want a chance to unlock there very own Chocobo for there Xbox Live Avatar you can go to IGN and follow the link

“ The good news is it’s not too late to get your hands on a Chocobo – Xbox LIVE users still interested can visit the Xbox.com page and register prior to the code distribution in late December. “

A.K.A. Final Fantasy II circa 1991.

MOST.  AWESOME.  GAME.  Ever ….

Anyone who has ever played this game…. SNES, perhaps?… will know what I’m saying. Better than Myst. Better than Nethack (I just keep dying). Better than Sims. Arguments can commence now, but in my experience… FFIV is the most enjoyable game I’ve ever played.

So much so that I’m searching a working SNES console and the original cartridge for FFII. on eBay of course. A few years ago, you could find a SNES for $20. Now, I think it’s going for over $50. A hefty sum for an outdated system.

Anyway, Final Fantasy II or IV (as released on the Nintendo DS with updated graphics) has an amazing storyline with the most memorable characters ever. Remember when Cecil becomes a Paladin? Remember Palom and Parom? Kain? Tellah? Rosa? Rydia? I wanted to name my future child Rydia when I was 7 years old. And of course… the Chocobos.

Oh, yeah… and the music is absolutely phenomenal.

I can’t get into the story because there is too much and to talk about it wouldn’t do it justice. Playing the game, however, would. Just watch this video:

SNES Final Fantasy IV Introduction

Famitsu has posted 17 direct feed screenshots from the recent scans. They give a better look at Alexander, the Crystalium system and some new places. You can view the screens here.

Note that the sphere on the first screen of the third row isn’t a save point. It’s an activator/control for something. 

Follow me on Twitter:  13thCrystal

The chocobos in Final Fantasy XIII are huuuuuuuuuuuge! Much bigger than they’ve ever been, if memory serves me correctly. Don’t believe me? Check out these scans below:

…

DO WANT.

Final Fantasy XIII’s Alexander and Chocobo make their first appearance on this week’s Shonen Jump edition.

Chocobos, known as the “big yellow rideable birds” appear for the first time in this issue and Alexander is revelead as Hope’s summoning monsters.

Leaked Shonen Jump scans feature the first screenshots  of chocobo’s in FFXIII. They seem very large (you can see someone sitting on the chocobo) and a bit different from previous FF’s. At the bottom of the screen there’s a “LIFE” bar which function is unknown at the moment. The second scan reveals Hope’s summon, Alexander. His gestalt mode/normal mode is currently unknown because of the bad quality scan. I assume he will turn into a “castle/tank”. Very original Square…

Beneath Hope’s summon you can also see my future wallpaper for the next decade, if it gets released in HD.

The scan also promises that a free beta code for Final Fantasy XIV will be included with the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIII. It is yet unknown if the beta starts in December or at a later date.

Check the scans out here:

Follow me on Twitter:  13thCrystal

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» Bird toys have been big sellers throughout NCS’ history and the most recent success came in the form of the GA-KO Alarm Clock. Come next month, we’re anticipating good things for Square’s FFXI Piyo Piyo Hina Chocobo which fits in the palm of your hand and chirps a little singsong sound-effect to bring sweet mirth into your life. The Chocobo is powered by a CR2032 button-battery (included) and measures W55 × D65 × H58mm (W2.16 x D2.55 x H2.28″) in dimension. Along with the Chocobo toy, Square is including a special registration code which allows jaded FFXI players to obtain an in-game item in the form of a virtual stuffed Chocobo toy.

Preorders are welcome to ship on or around November 25, 2009 at JPY1500 or US$20.90 from NCS.

Mucho spoiler, no digan que no les advertí.

Final Fantasy IX fue lanzado en Japón el 7 de Julio de 2000 y en América el 13 de Noviembre del mismo año. Después de 3 juegos seguidos finalmente Sakaguchi vuelve a dirigir y escribir la historia y Amano diseña los personajes (aunque como dato curioso el logo de Final Fantasy IX es el único que Amano no diseñó). Uematsu vuelve a componer la música del juego. Esta sería la última vez que Sakaguchi, Amano y Uematsu estuvieran juntos en un Final Fantasy. En 2004 Sakaguchi renunció a su puesto en Square y fundó Mistwalker Studio. Amano continuó con Square pero su trabajo se ha limitado al diseño de los logos de Final Fantasy y de apoyo en ciertos conceptos para el arte. Uematsu haría el soundtrack para Final Fantasy X y XI pero ya no de manera exclusiva, ya que hubo muchas colaboraciones extra. En 2004 deja Square para dedicarle tiempo a su nueva compañia Smile Please, Ltd. y a su grupo The Black Mages quienes lanzaron su primer disco en 2003.

Logo de Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX regresa a los inicios de la serie. El sistema que se utiliza es similar al de los espers en Final Fantasy VI pero con las armas y armaduras. Cada arma o armadura siempre ha dado una habilidad especial pero siempre se pierde al cambiarla. Aquí al ganar una pelea aparte de la experiencia y el dinero se ganan ability points. Cuando se juntan los ability ponints necesarios para la habilidad del arma o armadura este se queda con el personaje y al cambiar de arma o armadura no se pierde la habilidad. Sin embargo no se pueden activar todas las habilidades al mismo tiempo. Cada personaje cuenta con un número determinado de cristales que van aumentando conforme se suba de nivel. Cada habilidad cuesta cierta cantidad de cristales. Depende del jugador elegir las habilidades para cada personaje. Hay 2 tipos de habilidades: habilidades de acción y de soporte. Las habilidades de acción son exclusivas de cada personaje dependiendo de su clase (mago negro, dragoon, ladrón) y las habilidades de soporte son habilidades extra que ayudan en combate (protección contra veneno, mejor exito al robar, subir de nivel más rapido).

Pantalla de Habilidades

En el mapa de las ciudades y los dungeons pasando por algun lugar puede que salga un signo ! o ? arriba de la cabeza del personaje. Esto significa que hay un item oculto o alguna interacción con el entorno (el que haya sugerido esto en Square ya se ganó el cielo). De esta manera es más facil saber si hay cosas escondidas, aunque no siempre ayuda el entorno. Las batallas se mantienen con el Active Time System y nuevamente regresan los Limit Breaks ahora con el nombre de “Trance”. Hay una barra de trance debajo de la barra de energía simlar a la de Final Fantasy VII. Al llenarse el personaje obtiene nuevas habilidades o un aumento de fuerza o la posibilidad de efectuar dos hechizos en un solo turno. A diferencia de los Limit Breaks de Final Fantasy VII aquí no se puede guardar el trance para otra pelea. Si no se usa en la pelea en la que se está, el trance se pierde y hay que llenar la barra desde el principio. Cada personaje tiene una clase asignada, similar a Final Fantasy IV. Otra novedad es el Active Time Event. Estos eventos se activan en diferentes lugares y permiten ver que es lo que hacen los personajes una vez que se separan, permitiendo una mayor comprensión de la historia.

Zidane entrando en Trance

El juego cuenta con varias sidequests. Una de ellas es el mognet. Aquí los save points son Moogles. Ellos salvan tu juego, te permiten usar las tents, a veces cuentan con un tienda para comprar diferentes cosas y tienen una opción extra que es el mognet. Mognet es el sistema de correspondencia que usan los moogles pero últimamente anda fallando así que te piden ayuda para entregar las cartas. Al principio las cartas son solo sobre el viaje del moogle Stilzkin al quien te encuentras en todos los lugares a los que vas, pero después las cartas llegan sobre los hechos que empiezan a ocurrir con respecto a la historia del juego y finalmente sobre los problemas en el Mognet Central y finalmente el equipo ayuda a resolver el problema. Otra sidequest es Chocobo Hot and Cold. Aquí hay solo un bosque de chocobos y solo un chocobo: choco. Junto a su amigo, el moogle mene, viven en el bosque de chocobos. Mene te dice que choco parece estar buscando algo y te pide que lo ayudes. Así empieza el mini-juego de buscar tesoros donde debes encontrar los items enterrados en el bosque de chocobos. Eventualmente encuentras un chocograph, un mapa que muestra un tesoro en alguna parte del mapa general. Estos tesoros traen items raros y en algunas ocasiones logran que choco aprenda una nueva habilidad como nadar o escalar montañas. Al final encuentras el paraiso de los chocobos donde choco podra vivir con los demás chocobos y el rey fat chocobo.

Moogles

Un nuevo juego de cartas aparece aquí: tetra master. A diferencia de Triple Triad en Final Fantasy VIII, tetra master es un poco más complicado. Se juega en un tablero de 4×4 en lugar de 3×3. No hay tableros elementales pero al principio de cada juego se colocan unos bloques en algunos de los cuadros del tablero, cambiando la dificultad del juego (no siempre pasa). Las cartas tienen flechas que señalan alguna de las 9 direcciones posibles (arriba, abajo, izquierda, derecha y diagonales). Debajo de la imagen de la carte aparecen 3 números y una letra. El primer número determina el poder de ataque de la carta donde 0 es el más debil y F el más fuertes (se basa en hexadecimal, de 0 a 9 y de A a F). Después de ese número sigue una letra, estas pueden ser P, M, X y A. Esto determina si la carta hace daño físico, mágico, variable o de asalto. La letra determina a que número de defensa se enfrentará la carta. Los dos últimos números son defensivos. El primero es para la defensa física y el segundo para la mágica (igual que el número de poder de ataque va de 0 a F). Para ganar, al igual que en en triple triad hay que tener más cartas que el oponente. Para doblar una carta del oponente hay 2 opciones: si tu carta señala hacia la carta del oponente y esta no tiene una flecha en dirección a tu carta entonces ganas la carta sin pelear…pero, si hay una flecha apuntando a la flecha de tu carta se produce una batalla. Si tu carta tiene una P, entonces el número de ataque de tu carta ataca la defensa física de la de tu oponente. Ejempl: 5P76 vs 7M34. En este ejemplo la carta que ataca tiene más ataque que la defensa física del atacado y se gana esa carta. De haber sido un valor más grande en la defensa, la carta que ataca hubiera perdido. Si hubiera una M la carta ataca a la defensa mágica (el segundo número), si fuera una X el poder ataque enfrenta a la defensa más debil y si fuera una S el número más fuerte de la carta de ataque (no importa si es defensivo) se enfrenta al número más debil de la carta atacada. Innecesariamente complicado, prefiero triple triad.

Carta de Tetra Master

Ya me alargué un chingo y ni siquiera hé empezado a hablar de la historia. Tendré que hacer otro(s) post. Y yo que quería que este fuera más corto. En fín.

Y recuerden, no es la neta del planeta, pero es la neta del Ixtepan. Turtle Power!

Kirin Hobby is now accepting preorders for the Gears of War series 5 action figures from Neca. Series 5 features a redesigned COG Soldier plus new additions to the series Boomer and Beast Rider Grenadier. Slashing with style are the new Revoltech Yamaguchi II Sengoku Basara action figures. Rock the house with K-ON! Yui & Mio figures by Alter. Get warm and fuzzy from this cute collection of Final Fantasy stuffed monster key chains by Square Enix!

Kick off the Halloween frightfest with Twilight New Moon Edward, Bella, Jacob, & Alice action figures from Neca! Also new in stock are the Terminator T-2 series 2 action figures from Neca and the Marvel Minimates series 27 Ultimates and series 28 History of Wolverine action figures.

Enjoy!
Edward

Odin Sphere: Mercedes [Figure] by Alter
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS The Movie 1st: Nanoha Takamachi [Figure] by Alter
K-ON! Yui Hirasawa [Figure] by Alter
K-ON! Mio Akiyama [Figure] by Alter
Lineage II: Light Elf [Figure] by Orchid Seed
Revoltech Queen’s Blade No.006 Menace [Action Figure] by Kaiyodo
Revoltech No.080 Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yakimura [Action Figure] by Kaiyodo
Revoltech No.079 Sengoku Basara: Date Masamune [Action Figure] by Kaiyodo
Final Fantasy Stuffed Monster Key Chain Plush: Tonberry [Accessories] by Square Enix
Final Fantasy Stuffed Monster Key Chain Plush: Moogle [Accessories] by Square Enix
Final Fantasy Stuffed Monster Key Chain Plush: Chocobo [Accessories] by Square Enix
Final Fantasy Stuffed Monster Key Chain Plush: Cactuar [Accessories] by Square Enix
Final Fantasy Stuffed Monster Key Chain Plush: Bomb [Accessories] by Square Enix
Twilight New Moon: Set of 4 ~ Edward, Bella, Alice, Jacob [Action Figure] by Neca
Terminator T-2 Series 2: 3-pack ~ T-800 (Cyberdyne & Final Battle), Endoskeleton [Action Figure] by Neca
God of War II Magic of the Gods: Set of 2 Kratos ~ Poseidon’s Rage, Dark Odyssey [Action Figure] by Neca
Gears of War Series 5 Set of 4 ~ Boomer, COG Soldier, Grenadier, Hoffman [Action Figure] by Neca
Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan: USS Enterprise NCC-1701 [Figure] by Diamond Select
Minimates Marvel Series 28: History of Wolverine Set of 4 [Action Figure] by Diamond Select
Minimates Marvel Series 27: Ultimates Set of 4 [Action Figure] by Diamond Select
Minimates Battlestar Galactica Razor Box Set ~ Gina, Husker, Kendra, Cylon Warrior, Cylon Pilot [Action Figure] by Diamond Select
Battlestar Galactica Razor Series 3 Set of 3 ~ Adama, Kendra, Cylon [Action Figure] by Diamond Select

Dia das crianças, 12 de outubro. Quando eu era um pirralho, essa era a minha data favorita depois do meu aniversário: nada de escola, presentes, a família unida, presentes, o que mais uma criança podia querer? É engraçado que essa data não tenha mais nenhum significado para mim, é apenas um feriado normal como qualquer outro. Realmente, crescer é um saco.

Por sorte, existem alguns games que, não importa o quão velho estamos, nos fazem relembrar o que era ser criança, alguns games que, no momento em que você começa a jogar, te levam de volta a uma das melhores épocas da sua vida, na qual não havia muitas responsabilidades, os problemas do mundo não importavam nem um pouco, e o mais importante de tudo, a TV Manchete existia para alegrar os nossos dias.

Estes posts são um oferecimento de Peter Pan, que aproveita o dia das crianças todo ano. Sortudo...

Pensando nisso, decidi falar sobre os games que me fazem sentir como uma criança; games que, como alguns adultos, não envelhecem por dentro, tendo sempre aquele espírito inocente e divertido das nossas infâncias. E o primeiro game de que vou falar é…

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (Nintendo DS)

Quando eu ouvi falar desse game pela primeira vez, confesso que imaginei que era um jogo feito apenas para ganhar dinheiro em cima do nome Final Fantasy. Um jogo no qual o personagem principal é um chocobo? Fala sério, que besteira! Felizmente eu estava enganado, pois esse game é tão bom que não consegui parar de jogá-lo (algo que nem mesmo os remakes de FF III e IV para o DS conseguiram fazer…); o ditado “não julgue um livro pela capa” não poderia ser mais apropriado nesse caso.

A história começa com a maga branca Shirma e o mago negro Croma, que vivem em uma ilha com muitos chocobos, protegida pelos cristais dos quatro elementos. Croma voltou de sua última jornada trazendo um livro misterioso, e ao abri-lo, ele liberta o mal supremo do mundo que estava selado no livro: o mestre da trevas Bebuzzu, que suga todos os seus amigos chocobos no livro. Bebuzzu ainda está fraco, e para restaurar seu poder, deve destruir os quatro cristais. Cabe a você, o único chocobo que restou, salvar a ilha e o mundo.

A história não é grande coisa, mas a intenção é exatamente essa: o game sabe disso ao ponto de tirar sarro em momentos dramáticos do jogo. Em uma determinada parte, um dos personagens diz algo como “essa história está chata, a gente precisa de uma mudança no enredo!” Mas o que realmente diverte nesse game é sua jogabilidade. Para avançar no jogo, é preciso entrar em diversos livros de contos de fadas, que perderam os seus finais por causa do poder maligno de Bebuzzo, e restaurá-los ao que eram antes.

Revivendo a infância no estilo Final Fantasy!

Esses contos de fadas são conhecidos de todo mundo, mas tem o charme da série Final Fantasy: prepare-se para participar da corrida entre a tartaruga e a lebre, digo, entre o adamantoise e cactuar, ou desça rapidamente do pé de feijão após roubar o Titan. Cada um desses contos é um minigame diferente, no estilo Mario Party, que contam geralmente com dois modos: Time Trial e competição contra os chocobos malignos. Sempre que um desses modos é concluído, você é recompensado com cards de monstros, que são usados em batalhas estilo Yu-Gi-Oh! para derrotar os chefes do jogo, e o conto de fadas ganha um final diferente. Cada conto tem até três finais diferentes, um mais divertido do que o outro!

Com uma história que tem o intuito de apenas divertir, minigames que utilizam muito bem as capacidades do DS, um sistema de batalhas por cards divertido e intrigante (é possível duelar online contra outros jogadores) e muitos contos de fadas que fizeram parte da infância de todo mundo, Chocobo Tales é um título mágico, que faz jus ao “Fantasy” no nome. Apesar do visual infantil e de parecer “bobinho”, esse jogo com certeza agrada muito marmanjo que sente saudades de sua infância.

Marmanjo após jogar Chocobo Tales

Amanhã tem mais, se preparem para as aventuras do menino amarelo mais querido do mundo!

O sávio é um desgraça eu falei que ia fazer um artigo de chocobos e vou:

começemos pela definição:

Chocobo é uma ave fictícia da série de video game Final Fantasy. Eles podem ser montados sendo usados como transporte.

Tipos:

• Chocobo normal – É o chocobo amarelo comum que aparece em todos os jogos da série principal com exceção do primeiro. Ele anda em terras e permite andar pelo mundo sem encontros de batalhas. Em alguns jogos ele pode andar em rios ou até curar.
•   Chocobo vermelho -  É o tipo mais agressivo de chocobo, tem ataques à longa distância e geralmente ataca em grupos.
• Chocobo preto – Em Final Fantasy VII, é preto e é capaz de andar sobre rios e águas rasas e subir montanhas. Em Final Fantasy IV e Final Fantasy V ele não anda, só pode voar, mas só pousa em florestas. Em Final Fantasy Tactics, pode voar tem alguns ataques. (Graficamente, ele é é roxo em Final Fantasy IV, V e Tactics pois a cor preta iria prejudicar a sua visibilidade).

Esses são os chocobos no final fantasy tactics, ta ai uma imagem bem definida para desenhos:

E aí comentem os posts.

FLw champz

Buenas noches,

El semáforo está en rojo, miro al alrededor observo como hay más gente como yo, esperando a que la luz se torne verde. El ruido de los motores va creciendo creando una sinfonía especial, preparada, llena de gas y humo, pero asfixiantemente embriagadora. Por fin, la luz cambia, gasto mis últimas fuerzas en apretar el pedal a fondo. La brisa empieza a darme en la cara y no es el aire acondicionado, estoy corriendo a toda leche, pero tengo gente delante y ese es mi objetivo. Me da igual lo que les pase voy a por ellos, quiero pasarles aunque sea por encima. Necesito ser el primero, ganar, sentirme importante y darme un baño de multitudes y reconocimiento.

Llega la primera curva, si Dios!! la pillo cerrada y no me voy a la cuneta, ahh que es esto! una mancha de aceite (que cabrones, quien la ha dejado allí) ahora voy a por el siguiente, le embisto, le he dado!! Me da igual reventar el coche, ya gastaré dinero, total estoy forrado. Me acerco al siguiente y empiezo a embestirlo lateralmente, las chispas saltan y me dan en la cara…oh dulce dolor! Quiero más, lo paso, lo pasó….coño quien me da por detrás, me están embistiendo! Cabrones!!!

Miro hacia adelante y veo un PÁJARO enorme, me froto los ojos y vuelvo a mirar! A mi lado una nube, pero que está pasando me estoy volviendo loco, no, no yo ví un coche en la salida, pero que es esto….da igual voy a ganar y nadie puede quitarme el lugar alto del podio….

Porque esta es mi carrera, este es mi momento y tengo la necesidad de sentir la adrenalina en mis venas, tengo los ojos inyectados en fuego y me comeré a este enorme bicho después de la carrera….esto es….

Sinceramente, no me gustan los juegos de conducción, no me divierten y no entiendo la mecánica de juego, busco siempre una experiencia diferente, pero éste juego es un gran del género, unir Final Fantasy a lo Mario Kart llegó a cotas de humor jamás sospechadas y si alguien busca algo diferente a Need 4 Speed, Burnout, Grid o Dirt juegos como éste pueden conseguir llenar horas de entretenimiento sin dejar de pasártelo bien!

Un saludo Laocoont.

Awww sooo cute!, Sept. 24, 2009

Last night, I went to the stables to finish capping out the affection of my purchased egg only to find the egg hatched into a chick! I got to hand it to SE for creating something so cute and yellowry. Although, I’m not as surprised and confused as the first time raising a chocobo, this time will be different. I’ve researched a lot on the topic of raising a chocobo and my goal this time around is to get a colored-bird. I know, the term “colored” is a reminisce of racism in the past, but this is a game! My first attempt at raising a chocobo two months ago was rather disappointing. I wasn’t dissatisfied by its slow speed during transportation or the colored. All I want to do this time is test out whether the food, care plans, and capping out affections will help with the choosing of colors.  I was really confused at concept of raising among other things, a virtual pet.  Rannen had only told me that he capped out his bird’s affection during the egg stage by “Watching over it” for 25 times per real day, or 100 times by the end of the fourth day like most guides recommended.  While that seemed like a lot, I’ve completed that task in one sitting  on Monday, Sept. 21. I recorded the times that I “Watch over it” in the afternoon, and again in the late evening. It took about 45 minutes total.  I’d figured, if I did it all at once then it would free up my time on the other days where I’m swarmed with other stuff (school, fishing, or flirting with Tartin!)

East Sarutabaruta short walk, Sept. 24, 2009

I haven’t name my chocochic yet because I don’t know what gender it is.  I always wondered how people check to see whether a bird is a male or female (besides its unique markings or coloration) but this is a chocobo–they all looked the same regardless of colors and they do not have unique markings. The slight difference can be in size where the Galkan chocobo are gigantic compared to that of a Tarutaru.

I had prepared some carrot paste a few days before yesterday in hoping to feed my chick when it hatches. My thoughts were that it might be starving when it hatches… Oddly enough, it hatched with a full stomach!

Mean while, I begin to search on the Net about the effects of food, and  whether the cost and effect of food will make a whole lot of difference in developing my bird, but I found no useful results. Most guides would mention to feed the bird two to three carrots per real day and “hope” that you will get a one of the three colors (blue, red, or black) by day 19. Although, you can also get a green one, but that’s more of a digger bird. There really is a no sure way to get a non-yellow chocobo other than by luck. Plus a lot of these guides are outdated. It’s one thing I can’t and that is outdated information. There were, of course, many mixed feelings regarding the topic of feedings and the effect that the chocobo will have later in its development.  ~~~

Where's your owner, little one? Sept. 24, 2009

I decided to take my chick for a walk later that evening. I know, it doesn’t look like evening from the picture! Upon our second stroll into the woods of Sarutabaruta (omg! six syllables!)  My chick found a lost chick. We decided to bring it back with us to the stable. I’m sure the chocobo caretakers will know what to do with it. Poor thing~~

Oh yeah! I finally decided on a more “suitable title” for my blog. The previous title was Cock. meat (Buy?). Less sex jokes anyway =) The new title is “Wizard cookies & Yagudo drinks.” I hardly use that combo in game, but both has significant impact in my roles in Vana’deil.

My goals for the next 3 months is to obtain Lu Shang fishing rod through hours of fishing and sweataru. I’m going set my goal at 500 fish per week because I think I can achieve that goal plus the fishing fatigue is roughly 200 fish per real day. What is fishing fatigue? Basically, you will catch more items (which may break your rods!!!) and longer recast for /fish. I think I can achieve my goal with Tartin’s help. His company is needed very much because face it, fishing is ultimately a very boring hobby. Having some company to talk to, lessens that boredom, and it’s a good way to get to know him~~~

I wish this there was a fishing system like this four-years ago; I’m sure fishing would still be boring, but it will drastically increase my patience at leveling this hobby. I recall having to relied on sweat emotes to tell if the fish that bit line were either small or large (monster or items were also considered big fish). Tartin is so sweet, he offered to help make my goal come true by fishing beside me; catch for catch. Unfortunately, I had to refused his offer. It was kind of him but I’d like to achieve this goal solo. It would mean a lot to me–I wantaru see to it that I complete one of the tedious quests with dedication and devotion (sort of like building up a relic weapon but without the gil sink). My other goals are to be with Tartin for as many times a day as we can. It just seems like we’re dating as we get to know each other, but it’s strictly role-playing. Although, he said his feelings are mutual, I think that it has bigger impact on his daily activities with my involvement. I feel bad though, that I’ve become the problem between him and his friends. I hope we can all come into a time slot that we can play peacefully. I dislike conflict and will often sacrifice myself for others’ happiness. I’ve started to developed feelings for him as well, for now let’s just call it “mutual feelings,” but it may get more involvement than that!

DoreBoy, my average joe chocobo is retired and I want to raise another. However, I want a colored-chocobo just to prove some theories about raising colored-one. Over the last two-months, I’ve grown a large supply of vomp and zahram carrots along with a plethora of little worms. I might need more if I’m going to take my second chocobo beyond day 30. I’m glad that I brought Mogcat back to mule and garden.

~~~ +++ ~~~

Fishing at the Knightswell, Sept. 10, 2009, Photochop'd

Goals for the next 3-months:

• Obtain Lu Shang Fishing Rod
• Catches 500+ moats per week
• or 144 per day, for 4 days
• Raise a colored-chocobo
• Level fellow npc, Balu-Falu to level 55
• Spend more times with Tartin
• update progress on a weekly basis
• Get thief and red mage to 75
• Get scholar and blue mage to 37
• Get white mage to 66 (-_-;)
• Get woodworking to 80
• Get enough points for woodworker’s ring and apron
• Get leather- and bonecraft to 60

While I was off doing whatever it is Ive been doing… MisterCaramel spent his last days in the stable with Hantileon… When I finally went back to check on him I was told his time had come, and he had to go to the Vana’diel Chocobo Society farms, where he would live happily ever after… And I got a really moving cut scene with flashbacks from MisterCaramles life and how much fun we had together… I almost cried, it was so beautiful… And Hantileon gave me a Black VCS plaque for my mog house… Oh MisterCaramel, ill miss feeding you and taking care of you… Sorry I never made you into the racer choc I planned to… forgive me…

Here’s my second attempt at translating a PSX game.  This time I’ve chosen Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon (Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon). The sequel actually received an English release, it’s quite good following the tradition of the “Mysterious Dungeon” series. I’m doing this to practise my Japanese and to learn how to hack a game.

I’ve identified every string of text in the entire game, but I haven’t been able to dump the entire script because of the irregular order the Japanese characters are stored in.  As always,  space is an issue and lots of things had to be reworded, like turning “investigate” into “search” or even “srch”, (maybe I should’ve just gone with “look”).

The story has to be watered down, unfortunately (not that it is THAT exciting to begin with).  There’s just not enough space to fit everything. If one character was to say something along the lines of “I’m quite worried about dad, he’s been missing for several days. I wonder if anything bad happened to him. I wish I could go looking for him, but I have to take care of the store. Would you mind go looking for my dad?” it would have to be watered down into something like “Dad’s missing. Could you look for him?”.  It’s a shame, really. I’ve also noticed that line breaks are a serious PAIN! Sometimes words are just cut off and the text keeps on scrolling without any chance whatsoever to read it. Also, the ” ‘ ” doesn’t seem to exist, which means words like “youre”, “youve”, “Im” and so on. I could probably make one at a later stage, but since skipping it saves up tons of space for other letters I might not fix it.

In a later stage I’m thinking about redoing the menus,  since some of the abbreviations are not understandable at all.  For instance “kick” had to be spelled “ki”, I seriously couldn’t think of anything better.

Happy gaming!

//fallensaviour

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Whenever Chocobo’s out in the wild, the feathered beast generally runs, pecks, and squawks up a storm. Add one more activity to Chocobo’s to-do list: reading.

In the NDS Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon game, a magic book was the source of Chocobo’s woes as well as its eventual salvation. With Square Enix’s new Chocobo plush, the big bird apparently enjoys reading from a magic book of spells. Measuring 18cm or 7.08″ tall, Chocobo kicks out its legs and uses them as a book holder to prop up the thick tome. By using its wingtips, Chocobo seems to be flipping through the pages of the volume to find the spell that it needs to cast. If you push aside Choc’s left talon, you’ll see that the cover of the book shows Sabotender running away from a horned creature of some sort.

Did some ISNM’s for Fin today, for his Strike Subligar. Guess what dropped on my go?

Congratulations Finny! Just remember I passed on that juicy amount of gil next time you pick on me for not having any. Though I still made a nice amount, to be fair.. And a Chocobo Egg. That means..

A new feature on Soulvoice. My own little Chocobo, and their journey. Mostly so I can have a look back and see what I did, and just what I’m doing wrong or right.. Today I handed the egg in, so the diary begins.

     For some reason, the Final Fantasy video game series has yet to successfully adapt itself to the big or little screens, aside from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.  Final Fantasy Unlimited was their only attempt at making an anime series.  Years ago, off the coast of Japan, a giant energy pillar appeared.  Two dragon-like creatures come out of it and begin fighting, and they quickly destroy each other.  The Pillar acts as a portal to a world called Wonderland, where all sorts of strange creatures live.  In the present day, the Hayakawa Twins, Ai and Yu, head into Wonderland in order to find their missing parents, who went there to study.  They meet Lisa Pacifist, a woman trained in a kind of martial arts called Kigen Jutsu, Chobi, a chocobo who gives Yu a feather that allows them to communicate, and Makenshi, a swordsman with a mysterious past.  They also meet a great warrior named Kaze, who bears a weapon called the Magun, which allows him to summon powerful beasts.  There, they fight the servants of Earl Tyrant, a little boy who controls the entirety of Wonderland.  Along the way, they make many friends, including the entirety of the Comodeen resistance group, and discover the truth about Wonderland.

     This series is SNOOZY.  For one, the vast majority of the locales that Ai, Yu, Lisa, and the gang visit are just certain stereotypical spots in RPGdom.  There are basically no towns and no civilizations, and the only interesting people they ever interact with are either the Earl’s servants or the Comodeen.  Or the two weird old Chocobo ladies.  Ai is an extremely rude and obnoxious little girl who is very difficult to like, and Yu is far too passive.  The likable main characters are Lisa and Kaze, the latter of whom does the majority of the fighting.  Earl Tyrant is admittedly an interesting villain, but most of the time, his subordinates are so laughably incompetent that it’s a wonder he ever became ruler of Wonderland.  Then there’s the mystery of Chaos and Omega, two extremely alike, destructive entities that are barely distinguishable from each other.  The art is so-so, but really, the only character who consistently looks cool is Kaze.  In fact, he’s the only consistently interesting character, and he normally ignores everyone.  The Magun is a cool concept, but it’s extremely awkward looking too.  So, all in all, this is a boring show.  The characters are under par, the story needs a lot more explaining (there isn’t even a proper ending), and the music and art are forgettable.  I warn even hardcore fans of Final Fantasy away from this.  It’s a so-so anime, but it’s one of the worst Final Fantasies ever.

Story: 4.3      Artwork: 5.6      Soundtrack: 4.6      Acting: 8.8      Overall: 4.9

Damn, isn’t it hot today? I think it is rather fitting that we finally reach the second bonus dungeon, the Hellfire Chasm. Well, I say Hellfire Chasm. From this point on I will now be calling it Dante’s Inferno. All the bosses in this dungeon are based on Final Fantasy IV bosses, including bast**ds like Scarmiglione and Rubicante. Wait, you’ve heard of them before? Sure, you may have done. If you have read the Divine Comedy, or just know a lot about it like I seem to, you will know that all four bosses in this dungeon are actually Malebranche, twelve nasties that reside in the eighth circle of hell. Hey, you learn something new everyday!

Heal up, save, and enter the Inferno!

Same deal as before, but this time we have 20 floors with a boss fight on floor 10 and 20. Not so bad, just two runs through the place. Watch your HP though, while the enemies are still ridiculously weak, the lava on the floor will sap your health quickly if you don’t pay attention. Anyways, first boss.

Hey kids, want to peep under my cloak?

Scarmiglione, the flash. Ever seen the creepy old man that bumbles about town with an overcoat on? The one that you’ve heard rumours about flashing his bits to little kids? That’s this guy, and he wants to fight you. He has 4000 HP and will only cast thunder for about 200 damage. What a pushover. Now onto the nex…

AAARGH, oh wait, it's a horn

Right, he has two forms. Should have known, the dirty old codger. The ‘real’ boss has about 7000 HP, and likes to spam his Poison Gas attack. Don’t like posion? Neither do I, so equip some ribbons if you want some turn attacking and not healing. He is weak against Dia, as he is undead, and Fire, as he is a boss in a fire cavern. Wait, did I just miss something? Ah fuck it, I’m still miffed at Cerberus.

Anyway, believe it or not this multi-form boss is the weakest of all bosses in this dungeon. Time to continue further and keep the butt of the next unsuspecting victim. You know, I’ve been wondering. Summons didn’t exist until FFV, but obviously they were as popular as they are now when this game was re-released. So why aren’t bosses like Shiva and Ifrit in this game? I can understand no summons, but bosses? Oh, maybe they used their names on bloody airships. I’M LOOKING AT YOU FINAL FAIL 12! Ahem.

Suddenly, a wild Blastoise appears!

BLASSSSSSTOISSSSSSE

So, meet Cagnazzo. He’s a…thing. I’m not absolutely sure what it is, but it looks like a turtle, so we’ll stick with that. His main offense is the continual use of Tsunami, a group hitting move that does very hefty damage. Don’t even consider bringing in a low level team here, Cagnazzo will obliterate them. You will surely need a healer or two, and the other members to abuse his electric weakness. Yep, definitely a turtle. He has 8000 HP, so keep at it as his defence stats are rubbish. He will also cast haste on himself, so consider anyone with less than 500 HP at this point a goner. Hmm, I’m sure there is a soup joke in here somewhere…

Oh, okay. I’ll admit, I picked out the weakest bosses first. I mean hell, one of the forthcoming bosses in this dungeon has health about the same as these two bosses combined! Things are going to get a bit nutty.

—

Right, its late again. You may have to consider this the norm now, but at least it’s on time right? Right! Stay tuned, we have Rubicante and Barbariccia to meet next time. Also, maybe Saturdays natterings will have some well written text? Hmm, don’t hold me to it!

Sugar chocolate waffle,

EuricaeriS