Category Archives: thoughts

Recent Happenings–Me at VGW and StreetPass Meets

Well, besides that book review, I’ve been a little MIA as of late, huh? Time to fix that!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m now a member of the lovely, inspiring team at www.videogamewriters.com! I’ll be covering news and some reviews, with a slight angle towards Japan-only releases and news fresh from the land of the rising sun. I believe my first review for them will actually be of Grand Knights History for the PSP in September, and I’m looking forward to it! (thanks to The Gay Gamer for making me aware of this game in the first place!) So far I’ve written a few news articles, and most notably an opinion piece on Nintendo’s decision to exclude DVD playback capabilities while pursuing possible social network connectivity in the Wii U, so if you’re at all interested, I’d love if you gave it a read! If you want to be a real pal, show your support for me and the rest of the team at Video Game Writers by following us on Facebook and/or Twitter! And I highly suggest you check out some of the other articles on the site, it really is a pleasure to read (and there was absolutely no mention of booth babes in any of their E3 coverage!).

In other news, we had another StreetPass Brisbane meetup last weekend, where one of our members was kind enough to pass on her copy of Alice in Wonderland for the DS to me! It’s one of the only movie/game tie-ins that ever looked any good to me, so I’m excited to check it out.

Another one of our members ordered the giant AR card from Nintendo Club Australia, and he brought it along to the event so that we all could take some snazzy 3D photos of giant Mii’s and Nintendo characters. We got a lot of questions and interested passers-by. Here’s what we looked like:

Nothing like a bunch of 3DS fans gathering together, I say! In fact, this Saturday has been declared 3DS StreetPass Day by none other than Nintendo, and to show StreetPass Brisbane’s support we’ll be holding an event on the day, too. I’ll be trying my hand at hosting a Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition tournament (wish me luck, I’ve never done something like this before!).

I’d love to write more but since this post is long overdue, I think I’ll leave it at that for now and save the rest for subsequent posts. I don’t like how dead things are getting around here!

Book Review: ‘Family Ties & Torn Skies’

First, let me say that I’m rather embarrassed that this review has taken me so long to finish! I was honored to receive a review copy, but unfortunately various other exciting things all happening around the same time (such as my joining the staff of the amazing gaming website, Video Game Writers! more on that later) meant that I couldn’t dedicate the time I needed to produce a good review. And, since I told myself my next post would be this book review (as motivation to finish it quickly), the result has been that this blog has had a serious lack of posts as of late. I’m terribly sorry! Now that things are settling down, you should expect to see more regular posts from me.

Without further ado, on to my very first book review!

Family Ties & Torn Skies is a collection of stories and poems from from http://tornworld.net, a comprehensive site that compiles the rich and expansive universe of Torn World, created by Ellen Million. The anthology is broken into two parts, the first half focusing on the Snow-Unicorn Riders, an isolated arctic community, and the Empire, an expansive civilization ruled by science and order. As the title suggests, the central focus of this particular collection is on family and the journey from youth to adulthood.

Reading through the various stories, I was amazed at the amount of depth and detail given to the fantastic realm of Torn World. I was particularly enchanted with the Snow-Unicorn Riders stories and their culture and customs, as they are depicted as living close to nature, and the bonds created between members of certain age-sets (groups of individuals who are of similar age and form lifelong bonds with one another) were interesting to see develop over time.

Fantasy fans should find much to like in these stories, but those looking for a lot of action might find this collection to be a little dry, as the focus really is on family and community, and as such there is often more dialogue than action (don’t expect any epic, Lord of the Rings-style battles here). That said, there is so much love and care that has gone into crafting Torn World that it is hard not to be impressed by its charm. The book is also riddled with lovely illustrations that really bring a sense of familiar warmth to the whole package.

To get started, you may consider clicking around the Torn World website to get a sense of what kind of style the book is in. There is so much free media available that it really is worth taking a look at–for example, here is a link to one of the stories included in the anthology, titled “Fala the Leader.” The site was also helpful for me as I was reading the book so that I could keep track of the characters and learn more about some of the customs and creatures mentioned. If anything, this is one of my main quibbles with the anthology–though it attempts to educate its readers on so many aspects of the world, sometimes there is so much new information that it is very difficult to keep things straight, and at times I wish things were explained a little more, as someone who wasn’t familiar with the website before picking this up.

I highly suggest you check out the site and, if you like what you see, consider supporting this immense artistic collective by purchasing Family Ties & Torn Skies. It’s available as an ebook for only $4.99, or you can preorder the hardcover anthology and get a free copy of the ebook in the meantime for $14.99. You can definitely see the passion and enthusiasm in each and every one of the contributors to this collection, and it is an enjoyable read, albeit sometimes rough around the edges. I look forward to seeing more from Torn World in the future.

Recent Articles on Women in Games: Female Characters, Feminism in FF, and the Lara Croft Reboot

It’s funny, when I first started this blog I really thought I’d have a hard time coming up with things to write about, but now I’m finding the exact opposite to be true! I have so much I want to write about that it’s actually quite hard for me to decide what I want to cover from post to post. I guess that’s a good thing!

Before I get started on the “meat” of this post, I’d like to mention that my most recent article is up at Total Retro Gaming (formerly Norwich Retro Gaming) and is on the PS1 2D shooter, Einhander. Take a look and let me know what you think! (Note: Unfortunately the site isn’t working correctly for me at the moment, so for the time being I’ll have to direct you to the main page and ask that you click on “news” in order to see my Einhander piece)

So, as many of you who already know me are well aware, I often contemplate the role of women in the gaming community and representations of female characters in the games we play. I’ll also be the first to tell you that I consider myself a feminist, even though that term seems to have so many negative connotations these days (no, I am not a femi-nazi, I do not hate men, and yes I changed my last name when I got married). I consider myself to be a reasonable human being who doesn’t advocate for the advancement of women over men, but equality for men and women in all facets of life. On that note, I believe overly sexist or stereotyped portrayals of both men and women in any type of media, be it video games, film, or literature, to be worth considering. Ok, no more ranting, I just wanted you all to have your facts straight before I dive in.

Yes, I would buy this

To get things started, Jen over at Video Game Writers has just published a very interesting piece titled “Where have all the strong female character gone?” that I strongly suggest giving a read. Here are a couple of excerpts:

“As of late, there has been an emergence of what I call ‘Brittany Spears Feminism.’ This is the idea that states ‘I dress like a stripper because I’m empowered!’ Because of this, there is now a turn to justify latex costumes and triple-D bust lines by claiming they are empowering. I draw your attention to Bayonetta. Large tits? Check. Skin tight outfit? Check. Sexy attitude on par with a soft core porn star? Double check. But wait! She has intellectual glasses! She’s empowering to female gamers! No, she is a vamped up tart who you are trying to market to me as a strong female figure, when in reality she is little more than eye candy for boys. I’m just not buying it — that is not how it works.” [emphasis by the author]

“Now is the time to make a very important point: wielding a giant sword, and reminding all the chauvinistic males in the game that the character is a woman, and will totally kick some dude’s ass, does not a strong female make. It makes for an angry girl stereotype.”

I find myself agreeing with many of the points Jen makes, but at times her article suggests that rather than having physically strong female characters, she would prefer to see weaker women who are physically agile. I think that the idea that women can’t be as strong as men is also a stereotype, and I personally have no problems with a strong female character who can wield a giant sword and kick ass, as long as she has emotional depth. Let me think of an example… Hm, well, I don’t think I can, but if you do, leave it in the comments!

Rydia from Final Fantasy IV

I don’t want to spend too much time on any one thing, since I have a couple of other pieces I’d like to cover, so I’ll move on to the next article for now. I recently was informed by the awesome blog What can I do with a BA in Japanese Studies? (which covers all sorts of things related to scholarship on Japan and is definitely worth a look if you’re interested in studying the language or literature) of another blog by a current graduate student in the East Asian Languages and Civilizations Department at the University of Pennsylvania who focuses on contemporary Japanese literature and culture. She has done a lovely 5 part piece on Feminism in Final Fantasy and I highly suggest giving it a read, as it is really well written. I’d love to say more on the topic, but I’ll let the article speak for itself and move on to the last piece I would like to draw your attention to today.

Brad over at Drinking CoffeeCola mentioned an  article in his most recent post that discusses the Lara Croft reboot and the possible implications of focusing on a young, more anatomically correct Lara who has so far only been shown as a beat-up, bloody mess. I definitely agree with him that this portrayal of her is sightly disturbing, and though it may be too early to tell how this will play out in the game as a whole. For now I think it’s safe to say that I am not very happy how, in an attempt to make Lara more “real,” the advertising team feel it is necessary to focus so heavily on her weakened state in the promotional images.

From this…

To this?

Really, that second image is just disturbing. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how the game plays out, though I’m not much of a Tomb Raider fan as it is, so I probably won’t be picking it up regardless.

So, to wrap things up, feel free to let me know what you think of these various articles (if you decide to check them out) in the comments! For those of you who have had enough just reading through my post, how about sharing your favorite female video game characters? My husband and I are quite fond of Beatrix from Final Fantasy IX, and I’m partial to Freya from FFIX, as well.

My next post will be something a little different: A book review!

The Downfall of Final Fantasy?

First of all, I’m happy to announce that I am now a member of the team of writers over at Norwich Retro Gaming! My first post was a small piece on a new Pokemon typing game for the Nintendo DS, but I’ll be doing a weekly feature about all the great games that are out there that no one’s ever heard of! (ok, I’ve heard of them, but more people should be playing them!) You can check out my Pokemon typing post  here. 
Now, this post has really been a long time coming, that’s for sure. I’ve been involved in discussions on forums debating the pros and cons of the Final Fantasy series, what defines the series, all of that. Because Final Fantasy is so dear to my heart as the series that got me into gaming, I’m going tell you all what I think about the franchise, what makes the games good, and why I can’t bring myself to finish Final Fantasy XIII.
I’ll have to begin with a disclaimer–I have only played Final Fantasy VII through XIII. Though I have seen VI played and dabbled in the DS port of IV, I feel that I don’t have the authority to really talk about the older installments in the series. This may turn some people off, claiming that I’m not a “true” Final Fantasy fan, but I don’t think how many games you’ve played or which is your favorite has any basis in whether or not you can call yourself a fan of the series (mine’s IX, if you were wondering, but that’s for another post).
Cloud from FFVII
Final Fantasy is undeniably the most popular Japanese RPG (role playing game) series worldwide. While Dragon Quest may have more notoriety back in its home country, it’s Final Fantasy (hereafter referred to as FF) that sells consoles and makes the news. Most gamers have probably played at least one Final Fantasy game, or know enough about the franchise to recognize iconic names such as “Cloud” or “chocobo.” Final Fantasy VII marked a revolution in the series and was the first game to utilize full 3D graphics in its cutscenes, and is still regarded as one of the best by many fans. It was this game, in fact, that turned me on to the series and opened my eyes to the world of gaming.
So what makes these games different from other Japanese RPGs? First, I have to talk about the graphics. From FFVII on, Final Fantasy games set the bar for high-quality game graphics, with each new installment looking prettier than the last. FFX was the first game to feature fully-rendered lip movements on its characters, and XIII went even further to introduce lifelike eye movements to the world of gaming. The environments are detailed and immersive, and both Yoshitaka Amano and Tetsuya Nomura’s art direction has created some unique and memorable characters over the years.
One of the most well-remembered cutscenes from FFVIII
Though for the most part each FF game is in separate world with new characters and story from other installments, each title can be linked to one another through familiar enemies, items, and even characters. Chocobos and moogles are perhaps the most iconic recurring creatures in the series. In practically every FF game there is a character named Cid, as well (though this doesn’t mean the Cids have anything to do with one another). The battle system may be revamped and tweaked, but generally there are core elements, such as magic and summoning, that remain very similar. I could go on and on, but for the purposes of this article I’m going to have to stop here. 
An illustration by Yoshitaka Amano of Zidane and Dagger from FFIX (source)
So, you’re probably still wondering why I haven’t played much of FFXII if I’m such a self-proclaimed Final Fantasy lover. Well, the first thing that struck me about FFXII was the lack of towns. I actually never realized how much I loved exploring and talking to NPCs until Square Enix decided to eliminate that element altogether. Sure, there are cutscenes and dialogue, but when the player is in control it is a constant hack-and-slash fest until the end of the area and the next cutscene. Then it’s just rinse and repeat until about 20 hours into the game where it finally opens up and provides you with an area to explore, complete with a few sidequests (this is what I’ve heard, I never even got this far). I’m sorry, but I just don’t have the time or interest to invest 20 hours into a game before it lets me do any exploring. I could talk about my relative distaste for the characters in XIII, or even how I’m not sold on the fast-paced “can’t-believe-it’s-not-real-time” battles, but it’s really the lack of exploration that made me put the game down for good. 
FFXII is undeniably pretty, but does it have substance?
Where is the series going from here? I think it’s clear from Square Enix’s public statements that they’re taking hints from popular Western RPGs and trying to tweak their image into something that just doesn’t match up with the Final Fantasy so close to my heart. They’re moving away from open-ended exploration to fast-paced linearity, and while FFXIII was received with mixed reviews, it clearly garnered them enough sales to do a direct sequel–something that has only happened one other time in Final Fantasy history. With all of their various spin-offs (think FFVII: Crisis Core for the PSP, FFXII: Revenant Wings for the DS, and many others), Final Fantasy is becoming a big franchise that is trying to cater to more and more different kinds of gamers–but is it at the cost of their existing fanbase? If anyone else shares my opinion, then I’d say yes. 
But enough about me–what do you think? Loved FFXIII and think I’m full of it? Have a soft spot for FFIII? Let me know in the comments!