Breaking up is hard to do

Dear Final Fantasy XII,


How are you? I am fine. Kinda tired and haven't had anyone to talk to for a few days.

Writing this letter is the hardest thing I've had to do. I'm sorry, but I don't think we should see each other anymore. This past month has been great, and I'll always remember the fun we had together, but I'm tired and I need to move on.

It's not you; it's me.

Actually, it is you. You see, you were great at first. Promising quest, innovative battle system, nice graphics, grandiose score... you had it all. But something went terribly wrong. Your endgame sequence, Final Fantasy XII, it just... it just sucks. Yeah, I know that the big tower thing was supposed to be the final dungeon, but it's so anticlimactic. I got through it and it ended, and then all I had to do was board my airship and fight the final three bosses? That's so abrupt. And those last three bosses were so easy, because I spent so much time hunting marks and collecting rare goods to sell for good weapons and armor. In fact, I think I spent more time doing that than I did actually playing the portions of the game that were relevant! And don't get me started on the ridiculous plot, the plot that goes nowhere, with a villain that's totally forgettable. And then there are the main characters, who never develop. They're just there. They have personalities, but we don't learn anything about them, they don't grow or become more interesting. They're just devices for speeding along the story, which is hard to follow because of the stupid stilted language everyone speaks in. Yeah, I know you're going for authenticity, but come on.

There's no use trying to plead with me. My mind is made up. Besides, I've met someone new.



I think you'd like her. She's a bounty hunter, the strong, silent type. Things have really been working out so far. I'm already adept at using the new controls, and I've enjoyed every minute. Things aren't too serious between us yet, but I'm willing to give it time. It's kinda difficult to maintain a relationship with someone who's always wearing bulky orange armor, but I imagine I could get her out of that suit in due time, or if we go out on a date that lasts less than two and a half hours on the hardest difficulty setting with over 70% item completion.

Don't try to change my mind. I won't say that things are over between us forever. You've got that strategy-based spin-off on the DS -- Revenant Wings, was it? And who nows? Some distant summer, after finishing my annual run through Super Mario Sunshine, I might see you sitting on the shelf and think, hey, wouldn't it be great to get back together for a little while? But not now.

I'm sorry.

Sincerely,

TM520

dictated, but not read

Time sink

It's been a while since I last wrote a full-length blog entry on gaming... and it will probably be a little while longer before I write one.

Bottom line, I've been playing Chibi-Robo (massively cute and extremely clever), Tomb Raider Legend (good, but too short), Lego Star Wars II (always awesome) and Taito Legends 2 (love Qix and the Space Invaders sequels, so far not too impressed with much else).

I've now moved on to two games that, together, threaten to devour my soul for all eternity. Final Fantasy XII, which I had been saving for just such a summer drought, needs no introduction and will likely warrant a lengthy, pointless discussion from me at some point in the far-flung future. Picross DS is a little more low-key, but still completely awesome, since it's a collection of picross puzzles you can play using the touch screen, with hundreds of puzzles already on the game card and the promise of many, many more to be made available via download. Time well wasted.