There are several similarities between Final Fantasy V and its younger sibling, Final Fantasy III. Chiefly of which, both games stayed exclusively in Japan well after the series moved on to the PlayStation in the mid-90s. For a time, Square Enix (formally SquareSoft) was uncertain if western audiences would grasp the deeper gameplay mechanics that drove character growth. But after the global success of Final Fantasy VII, they decided it was time to start bridging the gap in sequels in the US lineup. As a result, Final Fantasy V was the first to be released as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology compilation on the PlayStation in 1999.

Around this time of year, I like to make a list of my best games SO FAR, because usually the AAA titles are released later in the year during the holiday season, and the titles that came out earlier tend to be forgotten.  So here’s when those games get their due.  Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed.  And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet.  Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!

I dipped my foot in a lot of games over the July 4th break. I was still on my random kick but also played some for rewards points, some gladly so. I have to admit, I have been using streaming in order to get Game Pass rewards points on games I mostly don't want to play. I only had to start them for the points anyway. Anyhow, here are the barrel-full of games I played. 

You may not know about the Pocky and Rocky game series, but they’ve had four titles under their belt with a new one that just came out!  They’re 2-D shooters, but they don’t auto-scroll (think Ikari Warriors or Commando), but it’s the theme that makes them stand out.  The games have a Japanese myths and legends motif.  They’re really fun games, but also really hard!  Or maybe I just suck at them, I dunno.  Anyway, since the new game just came out, I thought I’d be your tour guide in this shrine featuring all the games in the series!  So let’s begin!

In the summer of 2000, I needed a new game to play. At that time, I was still a PS1 gamer. Being a RPG lover, my two choices were Square's Chrono Cross and Valkyrie Profile, a game from a resurgent Enix and Tri-Ace, makers of Star Ocean: The Second Story from a year prior. Of the two, Valkyrie Profile looked more interesting, so that's what I went with. And while I did later play Chrono Cross, I wasn't too impressed by it. But Valkyrie Profile went on to become one of my favorite PS1 RPGs, and considering how many of those there were, that was pretty impressive. 

Back during the PSOne days, Square released a mascot kart racing game featuring cute versions of their Final Fantasy staple characters.  You know, chocobo, moogle, white and black mages, etc.  It was called Chocobo Racing.  I wanted to get this game when it came out, but I was poor college student at the time and couldn’t afford to get it at full price.  Plus I heard it was getting a lot of bad reviews, so I decided to wait for a while.  Shortly after I graduated college, I found a new copy of Chocobo Racing at a flea market and it was only 20 bucks.  And since I had a bit more disposable income by then, I decided to get it.  And you know what?  Despite it having such bad reviews, I really liked it!  Sure it was no where near as good as Mario Kart or other mascot racers at the time such as Diddy Kong Racing and Crash Team Racing.  But I really liked how they implemented Final Fantasy themes and tropes into the gameplay and presentation.  So when Square-Enix showed a sequel of sorts last year coming to the Switch called Chocobo GP, I was really excited and wanted to get it.  So now I finally have it and I wanted to talk about it and all the characters and tracks found therein.  So let’s get started!

When Final Fantasy VII appeared in the late 90s, my initial reaction was that of shock at the significant gulf in sequels for the US. It was a harsh reality to learn that, of the three mainline Final Fantasy releases we received, Japan had double that number by the start of the PlayStation era. As time marched on, Square (now Square Enix) eventually released the sequels we had missed. Meanwhile, I’ve been playing a nearly 30-year-long game of catch-up since 1997. A particular blind spot for me was Final Fantasy III- the last one to be developed for the Famicom. However, after finally getting around to playing it, I now have a new appreciation for this long-running series.

Another year of gaming comes to an end. I guess it was kind of a sleepy year for games if you like big tentpole titles, but I honestly found plenty to play. Almost all of my gaming was done on Switch, which is set to pass both the Wii and PS1 in total install base by the end of the year. I didn't really bother pursuing the PS5 or the XSX|S this year, as there isn't a lot on those systems to justify a purchase.

Boy this has been one roller coaster of a year, with lots of ups and downs.  But it’s the end of the year so you know what that means?  It’s time for my “Best Games of 2021 Awards Show!”  Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed.  And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet.  Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!

I guess I don't have one game I'm totally obsessed with right now, so it's jumping around a lot from game to game. This will change on Nov 5 (I think) when Forza Horizon 5 drops. 

Hey folks, guess what?  After many years of being denied a press pass into E3, I finally got in again!  But then, this year’s show was only virtual, so I think pretty much ANYONE with a gaming site should’ve gotten a press pass.  But I’ll make the best of the situation and write an article about it anyway!  So here it is! 

One of the most recent downloadable titles for from Square Enix is one of their 32-bit classics,  SaGa Frontier. Originally released on PS1 in 1997 in Japan and in early 1998 in the US, it was one of the first games after FFVII that I bought for my new PlayStation. It certainly didn't have quite the razzle-dazzle of FFVII, but it had a style I really liked. Unlike a lot of other Square classics, SaGa Frontier never got a re-release as a Greatest Hits title or a PS1 Classic, though it was popular enough in Japan to be included on their version of the PlayStation Classic. It seemed destined to be lost to the ages, until now. SaGa Frontier Remastered is now available on the PS4 and the Switch, which is remarkable when you consider that when it was originally released, Nintendo and Square weren't on the best terms, as well as PC, iOS, and Android. I chose the Switch version.

I’m really excited about the upcoming release of New Pokémon Snap.  The original was a special game to me, and I’ll explain why in this blog.  The mainline Pokémon games are great, but I haven’t played any of the more recent ones because I feel they are all pretty much the same game.  Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Why fix what isn’t broken?  And with every new generation of Pokémon game comes a new generation of kids to enjoy them, and while they may be the same game to me, it’s new to them.  While I haven’t played a new mainline Pokémon game since Black & White, I still like the Pokémon settings and characters and do enjoy a lot of the spin-off games.  So in this blog we’re going to take a look at some of my favorite Pokémon spin-off games in honor of the upcoming release of New Pokémon Snap!

Games Beaten

Not a full day today, but enough. 

Pixlpeeps I still have time here on the Pacific Coast so I didn’t forget the final day BaD. Let’s catch up for this week, shall we?

Games of the Decade: Expansion Pass #9/Blog a Day #22

Phoenix

So...late October was my last post date? Good to know that nothing has changed. We're about to enter the last week of February so let's see if I can make an effort to blog more before BaD 2021 wraps up.