Author: Anne

Keita Takahashi’s Alphabet Impressions and Playthrough

I hardly ever donate to Kickstarter or other similar crowd-sourcing campaigns, but when I do, it’s nearly always because I will be getting something from donating that I would not be able to obtain by any other means. As such, when I learned Keita Takahashi, creator of Katamari Damacy* and Noby Noby Boy, would have an all-new title in the Experimental Game Pack offered as one of the rewards for the LA Game Space Kickstarter, I knew I’d have to chip in. Of course, even better that the LA Game Space was an idea I could totally get behind, even though there’s little chance I’ll ever be able to visit it in person. 

The Experimental Game Pack has a whopping 23 completed games available to download as of this post, with 10 more on the way. Unfortunately, while it was available for a limited time for those who did not back the initial Kickstarter, that ship has now sailed, meaning you’ll have to get in touch with a generous friend who has the games if you want to play them yourself.

Or, you could live vicariously though me! While Alphabet (officially written A͈L͈P͈H͈A͈B͈E͈T͈, available for Mac, PC, and Linux) is the only game in the pack I’ve tried so far, I’m very excited to dig into the vast selection of titles available, particularly Pendleton Ward (of Adventure Time fame)’s Cheque Please, Aussie-developed Sunshine, and ESNF Fortune Teller. 

Alphabet has a very simple premise: players must guide letters of the alphabet from one end of the game’s 10 stages to the other. Pressing the corresponding key on your keyboard will make that letter move forward, while releasing it causes them to jump. And that’s it! Well, aside from the occasional poop… 
The more letters there are, the harder things get to control, but I got sneaky/lazy after a while and switched to just pressing the key of the last letter in the congo line instead of trying to keep them all running at once (both work equally well). If you “consume” a piece of fruit, all the letters will turn into the letter that touched the fruit, making for extra speedy movement during more difficult segments of the stage, but within a short period of time. It probably helps to be very familiar with the locations of the keys without looking, but I can’t imagine it’d be very hard even if you didn’t.

As with all Keita Takahashi’s games, the real appeal of Alphabet is its whacky charm. Its aesthetic is crisp and colorful without resorting to usual default bright colors, and the soundtrack, though it only consists of one tune, is simply to die for. I’m not very familiar with co-creator Adam Saltsman, whose previous work is most often cited as rather popular Canabalt for iOS, but rest assured Alphabet is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Takahashi. 
With only 10 stages, Alphabet is never difficult, nor is it very long, but I can honestly say that even if I never get around to any of the other Experimental Game Pack titles, I’d still be happy with my purchase. For those looking for a little replayability, however, each level is timed, so there is an incentive to go back and master the art of alphabet navigation. 
If you’re lamenting not getting your hands on this adorable game, never fear: I’ve recorded a playthrough of the whole game for your viewing pleasure! Even if you don’t want to watch the whole thing, I definitely recommend checking it out, if just for the awesome music:

* One of my absolute favorite game series!

Wonderful World of Whipple: Crème Filled Creations Kit Review

Japan loves food. Not only does Japan love food, but it also has an unparalleled love for fake food, be it squishy keychains that look like loaves of bread or immaculately-designed plastic sushi featured in restaurant windows to entice in hungry passers-by. There’s something that’s always fascinated me by Japan’s obsession with creating so many different representations of food, but I’ve always been especially fond of the cute fake sweets often used in deco crafts.

Short for “decoration,” deco often refers to “decoden,” an over-the-top cute way of decorating cell phones and other electronics (usually portable game consoles), but from my understanding (which could very well be wrong), deco can really be used to described any sort of cute creation that is used to “decorate,” whether it be a person (i.e nail art) or a piece of electronic equipment, bag, etc.

Anyway, enough musing on terminology! The moral of the story is, I’ve been enamored by cute fake foods for quite some time, and have always wanted to try a deco craft kit and make some myself. Imagine my surprise when I was casually browsing in a toy store and found a Japanese deco craft kit being marketed at young girls!

 
Whipple is the Japanese brand of silicone craft cream used in many deco creations, so I was beyond thrilled to see it actually being sold in Australia (well, that’s not entirely true… more on that later). It looks just like whipped cream, but beware, it’s not edible! Be sure to swing by the Japanese Whipple site and check out their commercial and catalog if you want to be bombarded by cute.
 
 

Apparently Whipple has been selling a number of different deco kits internationally for a while now, but I haven’t ever been tuned into the deco “scene” as it were, so that news completely passed me by. After giving the kit go, I honestly have to say that I don’t think a 10-year-old me would have been able to manage it (25-year-old me barely did!).

While there were a number of kits available, I ultimately went with the Crème Filled Creations pack as it had the most variety in terms of sweets, and I liked the look of the macarons especially.

Here’s what the kit itself looks like – the box was rather large for the amount of things packed in! There are instructions for how to apply the cream in different patterns, as well as a practice sheet, which was great for a beginner like myself. In the future, though, I might buy a second bag of the cream, as the bag supplied with the kit is actually quite small. The instructions warn you to only do a couple rounds on the practice sheet so as not to run out, but even after doing only one practice round I found myself wishing I had a little extra cream at the end. Those who are worried that they might not get the hang of the technique right away would definitely want that extra leeway, plus the cream can come out a little runny at first, meaning you may waste some before you can get started (I just used the runny cream for my practice sheet; the consistency was fine by the time I got to application).

 
At first, the instructions are a little overwhelming, but I was grateful to have them. The cream itself comes in this cute little bag that must be warmed up by lightly squeezing before use. Then, you use a ruler to push the cream down towards the tip of the bag for smooth application.
 
 
Here goes nothing! Forgive the poor photo but it was surprisingly difficult to get shots in action. I have a newfound respect for craft bloggers! You can see my gooey practice sheet in the background. The kit recommended having a toothpick on hand, so I grabbed the closest thing available (a skewer). I used it a couple times to help position gems on the cream.
 
I’d definitely recommend having a couple damp paper towels readily available in case you mess up! Since Whipple is water soluble, it comes off relatively easily if you make a mistake and want to reapply. Oh, and it’s also essentially oderless, which is great if you live in a small apartment like me!
 
 
To tell the truth, I didn’t actually know Whipple was a Japanese brand until I saw Japanese writing on the bag itself! Like I said, I’m not very familiar with deco crafts.
 
 
After waiting a solid 48 hours for the cream to dry, my creations were finally ready for use! I was a little lazy and mostly got my application inspiration from the front of the box, but all in all I’m very happy with how they turned out. All of the sweets come with eye-pins pre-inserted so they can be used as keychains, which is quite handy but may turn off those who would rather not use them that way. The kit also comes with three ball link chains, leaving you to come up with alternative means to attach the leftover sweets.
 
While I can’t compare the quality of the actual donut and macron pieces to other plastic pre-made deco parts, I was very satisfied with the overall kit. The parts it includes may not be top-of-the line, but for the price (will vary depending on where you live but generally around $20) I’d definitely recommend a Whipple kit to anyone interested in getting into deco crafts.
 
If you think you’d like to give Whipple a go, check out Amazon for the full range of Whipple kits. I must say, I’m a little worried that I’m on the brink of a new obsession…
 

The Great Japanese Game Haul of 2013 – Nintendo Edition

Nearly two weeks ago I posted a piece covering the PlayStation side of my game haul from my recent trip to Japan. Now, it’s time for the (siginificantly smaller) Nintendo edition! Interestingly, all of the games I bought for Nintendo consoles were for handhelds: specifically, the DS and GBA. That’s probably not all that suprising considering they’re my favorite Nintendo consoles! 
First up is Noora and the Time Studio: The Witch of the Misty Forest, a game that has been on my “must buy” list ever since it was released in Japan in July 2011. I was lucky enough to score a used copy of the collector’s edition for under $30, which came with an artbook, soundtrack CD of “orgal” (a kind of music box-like style) versions of some of the game’s songs, art postcard, and even a telephone card! The telephone card in particular was a great find, as usually only certain stores offer telephone cards as a preorder bonus. I’m really happy to have this game in my collection, since it never came out in English and looks very similiar to the Atelier series in that it focuses on alchemy just as much (if not moreso) than combat. Expect a closer look at the collector’s edition goodies and perhaps some first impressions of the game in the near future!

Now this was a game that I had absolutely no intention of buying until I happened to run into it in a store. How could I pass up that awesome cover?! Though it’s called Digimon Story in Japan, it did have a North American release under the title Digimon World DS. Funnily enough, despite being a massive Digimon fan, this is the first Digimon game I’ve added to my collection. I can’t wait to give it a go, though! 

I mentioned in my last Japanese Game Haul post that I was rather disappointed by teh GBA game selection in Osaka, and for the most part, that wasn’t an understatement. The truth ofthe matter is, I’ve found a seller on eBay with an extremely good selection of titles and very competitive prices – so much so that I often found myself looking at a title on a shelf thinking “I could find that cheaper on eBay!” That was rather disheartening, but I found that I just needed to dig a little deeper to find the really good deals. As such, all of the titles pictured above were actually purchased in the last couple days of my trip!

Yes, the game pictured at the upper left is a Hamtaro game. I couldn’t pass up such an adorable GBA box in good condition going for a cheap price! The game pictured was actually released under the title Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak in English and was the second Hamtaro game to come out in English, even though it’s the third game in the series.

To the right of Hamtaro is Fushigi no Kuni no Angelique, or “Angelique in Wonderland.” After playing trough the original Angelique, I couldn’t pass this one up. It certainly helped that it was only about $3! While it passes up the usual dating sim formula for a board game-like permise, apparently there still are dating sim elements including character-specific endings. And if the game has an Alice in Wonderland theme, all the better!

The title at the bottom left is none other than Chocobo Land: A Game of Dice. This was a bit of a splurge, not because it cost much (I don’t remember the exact price but it was under $10), but because I already own the version of it that came in Chocobo Collection for the PSone. Still, I couldn’t resist the game’s box art and the possiblity of playing it on the go!

Finally, there’s Kiss x Kiss: Seirei Gakuen, which I know absolutely nothing about aside from the fact that it’s a dating sim and it only cost me $2. Honestly, that’s good enough for me!

Now this is probably the real gem of my Nintendo game haul – a brand new copy of Tomato Adventure for only $15! If that isn’t a steal, I don’t know what is. I was especially happy to spot this on my final trip to Den Den Town since it was one of the games Bryan of The Gay Gamer suggested I pick up! Interesting trivia: Both this and Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak were developed by AlphaDream, the folks behind the Mario & Luigi games! Not bad pedigree, I’d say!

Well, this about concludes my Japanese Game Haul series! Of course, that doesn’t include the more in-depth posts I plan to do on certain games in the upcoming weeks. If there’s a particular title you’d like to see more pictures of, please do let me know! 

Japan Envy: Final Fantasy XI and Creamy Mami Café Collaborations

I think it’s safe to say that I almost like talking about Japanese pop culture-themed food items as much as I like talking about the media represented in said food items themselves. And when it comes to “otaku food,” there’s nothing I enjoy more than a good themed café, whether it be a single café dedicated to a certain character, game, or anime series or just a special collaboration that features themed food and drink items for a limited time. So, for this installment of Japan Envy, I’ll be focusing on two recent café collaborations that caught my eye.

Moogle latte art! 

Since I’ve been on a Final Fantasy kick lately, I’ll start with Square Enix’s special Final Fantasy XI 11th anniversary café series, which will be running for a month at the official Square Enix café Artnia in Shinjuku, Tokyo starting October 11th. Big thanks to Kimimi for tipping me off to this one!

Folks who order a cold drink will be treated to one of two adorable coaster designs.

Speaking of cold drinks, the café will be celebrating Final Fantasy XI‘s main villain, the Shadow Lord, with two themed drinks, one alcoholic (left) and one non-alcoholic (right).

But enough about drinks! How about a three-berry pancake stack with Moogle insignia? I think it’s safe to say that I’d be ordering this one.

They’ll also be offering a “Queen’s Crown” fruit parfait. It contains pineapple, apple, orange, banana, and cherry. Yum!

Finally, Artnia will also be selling some good old-fashioned chocolate featuring a number of Final Fantasy XI-inspired designs. I don’t know if I could eat them! (I’d probably manage)

Next up is the Creamy Mami collaboration with another café in Tokyo (all the best things in Japan are in Tokyo, it seems) called Patisserie Swallowtail White Rose. This also happens to be an anniversary special, in this case celebrating 30 years of Creamy Mami, a magical girl anime from the early 80s. If you’re curious about the show, you can watch it for free, legally, on Anime Sols!

Anyway, pictured above is the first item on the café’s limited special menu, two mini tarts (one sweet potato and the other green tea flavored) and a Creamy Mami mug that you can bring home with you.

Apparently sweets with special characters printed on them is a common item at Patisserie Swallowtail, as a cursory look at their website reveals a couple of different collaborations that feature character macaroons and cookies. The purple macaroon is blueberry flavored, the blue one is pistachio, the yellow-green one is lemon, and the pink one is strawberry. Nothing too special, but the designs are cute!

Now, for the real star of the show: the Creamy Mami cake! At only about $6.50, I’d say it’s a real steal, though I’d imagine it’s probably quite small in person. It contains cheese and raspberry mousse, but honestly, if I could, I would probably buy it regardless of flavor! Too bad the Creamy Mami collaboration is only running for two weeks, meaning even locals would probably have a hard time getting their hands on these limited-run sweets.

Well, this concludes this installment of Japan Envy! Are you hungry yet? I know I am…

The Great Japanese Game Haul of 2013 – PlayStation Edition (with Giveaway!)

The time has finally come… to show off my haul of video games from my recent trip to Japan! I was originally going to throw everything together in one massive post, but it turned out to be far too unwieldy (apparently I like to write a lot… who knew?), so I’ve broken it up into two: the PlayStation edition, which you’re viewing now, and a Nintendo edition, which will come later this week. Sorry for all the “hey look what I got!” posts, but what’s a Japanese entertainment blog without excessive Japanese entertainment purchases, right?

I bought a new bookshelf specifically to hold everything I bought in Japan.
Feel free to judge

But before I begin, I’ll briefly detail my “criteria” for game purchases during my trip. I spoke briefly about my wishlist on episode 3 of Chic Pixel Plus, but I was most looking forward picking up a few GBA games to beef up my collection and a handful of random titles that are harder to find/more expensive outside of Japan. Ultimately, I was a little disappointed by the GBA game selection in Osaka (more on that in the Nintendo post), but I ended up with eight PSP games, five PS2 games, five GBA games, four PSone games, and two DS games. That’s 24 games total! Since I needed an easy way to break this up into two posts, I’ll just be going over the games I bought for PlayStation systems today.

First up are the four PlayStation one titles I picked up during my trip: Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon (Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon), The Vision of Escaflowne, Marriage, and Tamamayu Monogatari, better known as Jade Cocoon: Story of Tamamayu. Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon and Marriage were my two whim purchases – Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon was only $1 and I’ve been amassing a bit of a Chocobo game collection lately, whereas Marriage caught my eye because of the oh-so-descriptive title and the fact that the back of the box touts that it’s a dating sim that takes place after the protagonist has already married the girl of his dreams. Sure, sign me up!

The Vision of Escaflowne and Tamamayu Monogatari, however, are two titles that I’ve been wanting to add to my collection for quite a while. In particular, The Vision of Escaflowne is a game I’ve been pining for for a number of years now, so finding a copy in great condition was a real highlight of my many game store visits. And, while I’ve always wanted to play Jade Cocoon, I’ve been holding out for Tamamayu Monogatari due to its awesome cover art illustrated by none other than Katsuya Kondō of Kiki’s Delivery Service fame, so it’s great to finally have that, as well!

Next we have the first half of my PSP game haul. Final Fantasy Type-0, Pop’n Music Portable 2, and Gekka Ryōran Romance were all on my list, so no big surprises here. Actually, these three games were probably the ones that cost me the most, as none of them have really gone down in price. I looked for a used copy of Gekka Ryōran Romance (an otome game) for ages and finally settled on a new copy for around $50, only to find a used limited edition for about the same price the very next day!

Now for what I like to call the “Monster Hunter Haul”… Funnily enough, I had only planned on picking up one of the Airu Mura titles, which feature Monster Hunter‘s adorable Felyne characters in an Animal Crossing-like world, but soon after I found G I stumbled on a store that was selling the original title for only $1 new! They also had Monster Hunter Portable 2 for only $1, so against my better judgement I went ahead and bought both. 

Ao no Kiseki and Nayuta no Kiseki, however, were, without a doubt, my biggest random splurges of the trip. For those unfamiliar, they’re both part of what’s known as the The Legend of Heroes series by developer Nihon Falcom, with The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for the PSP probably being one of the most well-known titles available in English. Well, I know next to nothing about the series aside from the fact that many of my good friends say it’s one of the best JPRG series out there, so when I saw both of these collector’s editions available for relatively cheap, I figured I’d bite. From what I understand, Nayuta no Kiseki is actually more of a spinoff that doesn’t need any prior knowledge of the series to play. Ao no Kiseki, on the other hand, is the second part of the seventh entry in the series and is preceded by Zero no Kiseki, meaning I really need to play that before diving into this one.

Above you can see two PS2 gems I grabbed – the one on the left, Love Com, is the game adaptation of one of my favorite shojo manga series. It seems like it might have some otome game elements, and for less than $5, I couldn’t pass up!

Otometeki Koi Kakumei Love Revo!!, on the other hand, is a title I’ve had my eye on for ages but never picked up. As you can probably guess from the cover, it’s an otome game, but with a twist – Love Revo puts players in the shoes of an overweight girl who wants to return to her thinner “glory days” and win the guy of her dreams. If you think that sounds rather horrible (“Lose weight and you too can get a boyfriend!”), don’t worry, I’m mainly interested in it because I’d like to see how the game handles the weight loss/relationship aspect. I don’t have high hopes, but it could prove to be an amusing train wreck. Again, at $5, I won’t consider it a major loss even if it is awful.

Next up is a little title I’ve been meaning to get my hands on for ages, Boku no Natsuyasumi 2! Well, not this title specifically, but I’ve always wanted to try a Boku no Natsuyasumi game and this is the one I ended up with. I can’t wait to give it a go!

Now these were a great deal – I managed to grab the premium boxes of both Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3: Unmei no Labyrinth and Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4 for only $10 total! As you can probably tell, they are entries in the same series, which is well known for being one of the few otome games that incorporates RPG elements. While I originally just wanted to pick up 4 due to it having more appealing character designs (to me), when I saw the HaruToki 3 premium box for only $5, I had to snag it, as well.

The unfortunate part of this story is that Unmei no Labyrinth is actually what’s usually referred to as a “gaiden” game, meaning it’s a side story (I believe in this case it takes the characters out of their fantasy world and puts them in a high school setting). I can’t very well play it if I haven’t played the original HaruToki 3! I guess that’s another game to add to my list…

Now here’s a game I wasn’t thinking would pick up at all, but I couldn’t pass it up when I saw a brand new copy of the limited edition on sale for only $3! So into the basket it went. Kanuchi Shiroki Tsubasa no Shou is, as you’ve probably guessed, another otome game. I don’t know much about it aside from the fact that it takes place in a fantasy setting and is broken into two games, with “white” being the first part and “black” being the second part. Since there are a lot of neat goodies in all these limited edition boxes, I’ll do a more in-depth posts on them in the future.

If it isn’t obvious by now, PS2 otome games are extremely cheap and in great abundance! Many of these titles also have PSP versions that generally go for $40 or more and are often only ports or have minor additional content. As such, I highly recommend folks interested in checking out otome games to look for PS2 titles… but be wary of eBay! Otome game prices seem to be hugely inflated there, so I’d suggest going through a friend who can buy second-hand titles from Japan and mail them to you or an import service that will help you buy from sellers on Amazon.co.jp or Yahoo Japan and ship internationally.

fuzzy stegosaurus not included

But guess what? I have one extra copy of the PS2 version of Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4 to give away to a lucky reader! All you have to do is comment on this post with “I wanna live an otome life!” for an entry into the drawing. If you’d like an additional chance to win, please share this article on Facebook or Twitter and leave me a comment linking to your post! Giveaway runs until Saturday, September 28th at 9 pm EST. Please note you’ll need either a modded PS2 or a Japanese PS2 in order to play the game, but you’re still welcome to enter even you don’t currently the have means to play it.

Well, that’s it for the PlayStation side of my game purchases in Japan… Stay tuned for the significantly smaller Nintendo side of things later this week!

Update: The giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to Chalgyr for winning the random drawing! I’ll be getting in contact with you shortly. And a big thanks to everyone who entered! Keep checking back for more giveaways in the future. 

Battle Princess of Arcadia looks like a super cute, HD Odin Sphere

I’ve always been a fan of NIS America for consistently bringing super niche Japanese titles to western audiences, but I’ll admit many of their recent titles, such as Mugen Souls and the Neptunia series, haven’t really appealed to me. For one reason or another, however, I’ve never quite kept up to date with what their Japanese parent company, Nippon Ichi Software, has been working working on. Well, perhaps I should be, as I just read up on their upcoming September release, Battle Princess of Arcadia (Arukadiasu no ikusahime), and I must say, it looks right up my alley!

Edit: Whoops, it turns out that NIS is just the publisher. Apollosoft, the folks who did Ragnarok Tactics, are the developers!

The first thing about Battle Princess of Arcadia that caught my eye, aside from the fact that the characters seem to be plagued with the same disease that caused the Fire Emblem: Awakening characters to not have feet, is the game’s bright, watercolor-esque art style. As the title of the post suggests, it very much strikes me as a cute version of Odin Sphere, which can only be a good thing in my book!

Illustration of the game’s worlds

The gameplay itself looks to be quite similar to Odin Sphere, as well… At least in terms of the fact that both are 2D side-scrollers. Battle Princess of Arcadia has been described as a beat’em up title, suggesting a lack of tactical/RPG elements, but players will be able to have three characters in their party to swap in and out during a level at any given time, which should provide an added layer of strategy not seen in usual beat’em up games. In addition, you apparently even have an army to control: 

Though the environments aren’t nearly as detailed as those found in Odin Sphere, I’m really digging the overall look, and if the combat does tend toward the simpler side (I’ll admit Odin Sphere was a bit tough for me), then I think Battle Princess Arcadia could be a real winner. Oh, and there’s a goose king. for good measure: 

Adorable! Hopefully NISA will pick this one up, since it’s being published by their parent company. The game releases in Japan on September 26th, and I look forward to seeing how it’s received!

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn just launched and I’m already addicted

First, I should qualify that statement with the fact that not only did I participate in the phase four beta weekend, but I also put in some time during the early access period before today’s official launch, so it’s not like I just started yesterday! Of course, that probably makes me sound even crazier, especially since when I mentioned Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn on the other day’s podcast, it had only just piqued my interest. Well, all I can say is that a lot has happened since then!

This isn’t my first time playing an online game – long-time readers will recall that I had a brief stint with Phantasy Star Online 2 last year, but Final Fantasy XIV is much more of a traditional MMO in that you’re with hundreds, if not thousands, of players at the same time. I won’t delve far into the gameplay and systems because frankly, I don’t really know much beyond what I’ve played so far (approximately 10 hours), but I’ve heard it’s similar structurally to World of Warcraft. 

The first thing that drew me to FFXIV was its amazing art direction. In fact, I love the art so much that I immediately went and downloaded the PS3 theme as soon as I knew it was available. I hate to be superficial, but when a game’s art captures my heart, that can often be enough to make me want to give it a go. Since FFXIV had a free open beta weekend before the full launch, that’s exactly what I did!

Especially fun for the open beta weekend was the fact that people could choose to try the game out on both the PC and PS3, as normally players have to purchase both versions separately. I gave both a go, and while the PS3 version was competent (and ultimately the one I went with for logistical reasons), I can see why most MMO gaming is done on the PC. Unfortunately my PC isn’t much of a powerhouse, so I couldn’t get any real high quality screenshots, but even on a low-quality system the game looks very nice, which can again be chalked up to the great art direction. All of the pictures in this post, by the way, were taking on said PC during the open beta weekend.

Can’t have a Final Fantasy game without Moogles!

Of course, one of the most fun aspects of an MMO is creating your own character. As soon as I heard about the different races available in FFXIV, I knew I wanted to be a male Miqo’te. As you can see, the Miqo’te are blessed with some very neat cat-like characteristics, making them a popular choice for the catgirl-loving crowd in particular. My suave catboy is named Chive Thistlewood, continuing my trend of naming my characters after food. Here’s my full character card courtesy of Firestream.net:

For a starting class, I chose pugilist, which means Chive specializes in hand-to-hand combat. For a quick comparison, think Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII. From a gameplay perspective, I’m much more interested in getting in close and hacking away at enemies than I am at hanging back and dealing ranged damage or shooting fireballs, so it seemed like a good place to start. The great thing about Final Fantasy XIV, though, is that you can change your class at a drop of a hat by equipping a different weapon, so if I ever get tired of being a pugilist, a new class is just a click away! There are also a variety of non-combat classes such as fishing or mining, but I’ve decided that appearance is everything, so I’m working on leveling up my weaver class so I can outfit Chive in the best threads in town!

Race ya!

Suffice it to say, after playing just a few hours over the open beta weekend, I was hooked. I immediately went out and preordered the PS3 version in order to get an early access code (which meant I could start playing a few days before the official launch). Unfortunately, by the time I had committed myself to purchasing the game, the North American version of the amazing collector’s edition was all sold out, so I settled for the regular version… and then proceeded to scour the internet for stores selling the collector’s edition like the hopelessly obsessed woman I’ve become. Lo and behold, I managed to nab a European PAL copy, and should be coming in the mail in a few days! I’ll definitely do a post sharing that when it arrives.

What’s a Final Fantasy game without Chocobos?

Unfortunately, the game’s early access and official launch yesterday have been marred with issues that plague all MMO releases: login errors and overcrowded servers. I personally haven’t had many issues logging in until today, but I’ve been amazed to hear that some folks weren’t able to sign in at all during the early access, or that people literally can’t create characters on the servers they want because they’re full. Since none of this as been a major issue for me, it hasn’t significantly impacted my impressions of the game, but it’s worth noting for those reading this who are thinking of jumping on board.

If you asked me a month ago, I would’ve never thought Final Fantasy XIV would be my cup of tea. Now, I practically eat, drink, and sleep FFXIV! Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s safe to say that this is the first Final Fantasy that has grabbed me in a number of years. I hope Chive and I have many more months, and maybe even years, of adventuring ahead of us!