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Notice: Cubed3 are no longer accepting new reader blogs (as of 17th January 2015). Existing blog entries will be available to read, archived below.

Phoenew: Grandia 2 (Playstation 2)

Now Playing: Nothin
Now Listening to: Nothin
Now Watching: Erm...Somethin

Game Art’s sequel to the best selling PSOne title Grandia ventured out into the world on SEGA’s ill-fated wonder-machine, the Dreamcast, back in 2001. There, it was lauded as one of the finest experiences on the console, and an ideal companion to another great RPG experience-Skies of Arcadia-although the Dreamcast’s limited lifespan denied Grandia 2 the audience it truly deserved. This injustice was remedied not long after, as the game saw release on both the Playstation 2 and the PC a year later, fully intact.

Grandia 2 follows the story of Ryudo, a self-proclaimed Geohound (like a jack-of-all-trades Mercenary), as he is assigned the task of protecting a Songstress as she attempts to seal away a great evil. Naturally, it isn’t quite as simple as that, and not everything goes swimmingly.
Setting the backdrop for the story is the tale of the ‘Battle of Good and Evil’ (catchy huh?), where the God of Light, Granas, battled the invading Devil of Darkness known as Valmar; Granas emerged victorious, although he could only scatter Valmar into pieces across the globe, and subsequently falls into a strength-regaining slumber for 10 Millenia, leaving the crack in the earth caused by the final swing of his sword as a lasting reminder of the battle.
The story, although it may sound rather Cliche, develops into one of the darkest, most hard-hitting and apocalyptic plots you’ll ever see in a videogame, and that’s not even mentioning the excellent character development alongside it, and a fair bit of Comedy mixed in too; this is one script you’ll enjoy seeing through to the end.

The Overworld gameplay takes place via an isometric viewpoint (there is no explorable World Map, although the alternative; pathways between settlements, is fine), and consists of all your Party Members (up to 4 at a time) on the screen following Ryudo in a line (think Final Fantasy 8 and you get the idea). Towns, Caves and Open Areas are simple to explore, with context-sensitive points popping up every now and then. There are no random battles; you can see enemies before you may or may not engage them, depending on your choice; a definite plus for those who conserve their energy for later fights.
The main Battle System uses a variation of the popular Active Time System, where your characters and foes take it in turns to attack. Unlike most though, all parties involved move around the field with pre-scripted techniques; it doesn’t sound like a vital element of the system, but it affects the nature of certain attacks and moves, so being able to use movement correctly is worth learning.
A time gauge along the bottom of the screen, along with small portraited-markers, determines the order of the battle’s participant’s actions, so there’ll never be a simple case of one pre-assigned person after the other each round.
Each Character and Enemy’s stats on the field are measured in traditional factors; Hit Points (HP) that determine remaining and maximum health, Magic Points (MP) that restrict the amount of powerful magic you can use, and Special Points (SP) which put a stop to Special Attack abuse temptation. For each battle victory, as well as regular Experience Points and Money as the spoils of victory, you also gain special Magic and Special Coins, which can be used to upgrade their significant other. This can be another beneficial motivation to level-grind (of which there is a fair bit needed by the end), and some of the later techniques can be visually dazzling and physically astronomical. All in all, this system is highly enjoyable to use, with excellent backing tracks and sufficient challenge.

Most of the characters and environments in Grandia 2 are portrayed in a refined-polygonal style reminiscent of most Dreamcast games. Whilst this format has its charms, it hasn’t gone through the test of time unscathed unfortunately. Many of the techniques and moves in battle make up for this however, and when the story kicks in, the look of the game will be the last thing on your mind.
The structure of the world you’ll explore in Grandia 2 is set fairly well, with something new to see at every corner, and each town being as memorable as the last. The enemies, particularly the main antagonists, deliver a good amount of variety and character to the game, and apparent lack of imagination from the Developers is very scarce.

Music is another high point of the game; Noriyuki Iwadare, a renowned composer of whom also brought his talent to Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the third in the Phoenix Wright saga, headlines the score for Grandia 2, and does it superbly. You’ll deliberately get into battles just to hear the regular battle theme, and marvel at the dramatic flair of the event music.
The voicework for this title is highly commendable, with Ubisoft bringing in an all-star cast of voice actors, including Cam Clark, who voiced Liquid Snake and Leonardo of TMNT, Paul Eiding, a.k.a. MGS’s Colonel Campbell, and even Jennifer Hale of Sheena Fujibayashi and Samus Aran fame. Although not every cutscene and speaking part of the game is voice-acted, the most important ones generally are, and the actors do an excellent job of bringing out the personalities, the conflictions, and the feelings of their lieges.


Fight!! Ver. 1 - Grandia II

No game is perfect though, and depending on your preferences, Grandia 2 might annoy.
For one, the main text from conversational characters in the game is revealed fairly slowly. In most other games the text can be sped up; not here though. This can be a good thing however, it helps ensure you never miss a vital detail, and it also enforces a more realistic feel for the characters; after all, you wouldn’t be able to speak a whole paragraph full of words in two seconds, would you?
Another moot point to be considered is that the game sometimes feels a bit too linear in places; like you’re being pushed from A to B with little room to explore. Again, this one depends on preference; I myself like linear RPGs, some games players don’t.
Lastly, the difficulty. As mentioned before, Grandia 2 will give you a decent-sized challenge, for better or worse. But there is a steep complexity curve towards the end of the game that many (including myself) will fall at. This involves a fair bit of Level-grinding and time to conquer; a possible game-ending annoyance to some.

Grandia 2 pulls its weight in the longevity department, offering over 25-30 hours of game time, and combines it with a brilliant story, likeable characters, an imaginative world, and an excellent Battle System to form a game that any RPG fan needs to experience, and with many stores selling second-hand PS2 versions for a fiver, what have you got to lose?

V-Rated Mode? Oh Shi-

Now Playing: Viiiiiiewtiful Joe
Now Listening to: Buggered if I know. :/
Now Watching: The Google Box in the corner of the room.

Few things make you truly appreciate a dull, boring and (ultimately) relaxing Sunday such as a full-blown job, wouldn't you say?
I haven't been here much this week (hence the lack of Stars Smilie), due to a straight 7-7 traveling and working day, so I haven't really been able to participate in the Wifi stuff and all the spats that seem to flare up here on a daily basis. So, while I have a few hours to collect my thoughts, I reckon that I should actually write a proper Blog for once. Smilie

Righto then, been training for new position at a New store in Norwich (woohoo! Smilie), so that involves 3 hours of travel a day ( Smilie ), and working my ass off for the rest of it. Surprisingly fun so far, so that's all good. Smilie

Only usually have a couple of hours free before I hit the sack each night, so I've been using it for a bit of Animal Crossing, Web Browsing, Anime watching (FullMetal Alchemist is surprisingly good Smilie ) and most recently, a revisit of Viewtiful Joe.
I beat that game years ago, but only on Kids mode ( Smilie ), so I've been going through it on Adult Mode. This morning, I finally completed it properly, after leaving barely a hair on my scalp and a window unsmashed. Smilie Surprising how good of a fighter Sylvia is, although that gibberish they speak in the cut scenes is rather annoying. Still, I managed it, and am now going through it again on V-Rated. (See Supes? I'm gonna unlock them the fair and non-cheaty way, unlike a certain somebody I can name. Smilie )

Aside from all that though, not much else going on in my sad little life Smilie , although there might be some romantic potential with a couple of the chicks I'm working with now, so it's all good. Smilie

Righto, see you guys when I see you.

eBay selling Extravaganza - Round 2

Yup, me again. Got another round of games I'll selling right now, be sure to have a look if you're interested. I might add some more in the next few days.

Tales of Symphonia

Skies of Arcadia Legends

No More Heroes

Super Smash Bros Brawl

Yup, I'm slowly falling from Gaming's lifelong hold. Smilie

Phoenew: Zone of the Enders (Playstation 2)

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Hideo Kojima, of developer and publisher Konami, can best be described as a bit out of left field, if you go by his penned storylines for the Metal Gear Solid games, and bizarre (although excellent) gaming experiments like the Solar Sensor on top of Boktai’s GBA cartridge, and dealing with topics like Genetic Engineering, Nanotechnology and illuminati-esque organisations; unusual for Videogames in general.
Although the MGS series is by far Kojima’s most revered of franchises, there is another that helped propel the second in the Metal Gear line to even greater heights. Kicking off the start of a series that would span two consoles, a movie production, and even a 26-episode Anime series, Zone of the Enders (abbreviated to Z.O.E for short) brought truly outstanding Visual Flair and an imaginative plotline to the Playstation 2, which to that point had no game to prove the console’s ability above that of the Dreamcast. Zone of the Enders hit European, Japan and US markets within the space of 25 days in March 2001, and provided a lifeline to starved Metal Gear Solid fans with a free demo disc. Most didn’t need that disc to justify their purchase though, as Z.O.E was a fantastic game in its own right. Question is, would a new player today like it just it much?

Image for The story for Zone of the Enders takes place on a colonised Mars in the 22nd Century, in a time where those in power on Earth have imposed exploitive laws and taxes on people living on the red planet, dubbed ‘Enders’ by the former. Naturally, a rebel group rises up against these actions, and by piloting mechanical vehicles known as ‘Orbital Frames’, they strike back.
In this game you take control of Leo Stenbuck, a young boy that whilst trying to escape the fighting between the factions of Earth and the Rebels on a space colony orbiting Mars, happens upon an Orbital Frame named Jehuty (pictured left), and accidentally finds himself the pilot of the Frame. Forced to use Jehuty to aid those he holds dear, and strike back against enemy forces, you’ll guide Leo through numerous stages and fights with a varying list of tasks and objectives.

The first thing that will strike you about this game is the visuals. Of course, they doesn’t look too impressive by today’s HD standards, but at the time this game was the showcase the Playstation 2 needed, and it still holds up terrifically well to this very day. Not a single frame-rate dip anywhere, even when enemies and lasers are rushing at the screen at maddening speeds, even when buildings and environments are crumbling around you after a blistering battle. Z.O.E is quite a treat for the eyes.

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Z.O.E’s music is also excellent. Composed by Norihiko Hibino, Maki Kirioka, Akihiro Honda, Shuichi Kobori and Toshiyuki Kakuta, the soundtrack was also released to retail a month after the game, and with good reason, as it is one of Konami’s finest.

The basics of the gameplay are simple to explain; you take direct control of Jehuty the Orbital Frame, and take on opponents and targets in 3D space with speed boosts, Melee Blade attacks, and a multitude of additional weapons, depending of choice. The system uses a lock-on to help with accuracy, much like Ocarina of Time’s Z-Targeting, so there are no worries about missing strikes unnecessarily. Battle in general is fast, furious, and chaotic, although never unfair, and quite enjoyable. It can become repetitive if you stick to the same tactics and weapons, but since most of the enemies follow different assault patterns (although there aren’t very many different enemy designs) this’ll rarely become an issue.
Many of the bosses (including your main rival) are a decent challenge, although most of them will require a certain weapon or accessory before they can be beaten, and that raises the issue of Backtracking, which you’ll need to do some of. Not a dealbreaker (think of it as being like Metroid’s backtracking), although all of the enemies you’ve beaten in an area before will re-appear if you visit again.
The game’s levels are split into areas, which can be reached via an overhead scrolling globe of the Space Colony (no space exploring here). The globe is simple to navigate, and provides yet another spectacular sight to compliment Z.O.E’s flair.
Controls for both Globe Navigation and Fighting are equally easy and intuitive. Although using the Triangle Button to Gain Height and X to Desend may feel a little alien at first, they become second nature in no time at all; you’ll be zipping around and kicking ass like Reggie at a Ubisoft Party before you know it.

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One thing that has to be mentioned about this game is the excellent Character Presentation. Although the Voice Acting (and by extension the Lip-synching) isn’t the greatest ever seen, and some repeat and over-emphasise too much (Jehuty’s computer being the main culprit), the development of the key plot-based personalities, usually shown through lengthy cut-scenes (nowhere near as long and/or boring as MGS’s) and events, is second-to-none. You’ll end up sympathising with Leo’s actions and circumstances, and questioning which actions, either his or his rival’s, is the best course to follow, as their goals are the same, but with different mindsets. Kojima’s zany storytelling and character development is alive and well in Z.O.E, and unlike Metal Gear Solid’s plotline which sometimes borders on insane and completely irrational events in the real world, this game always stays on the right side of conventional imagining.
Another trait of the story that has to be mentioned is of Jehuty’s A.I computer, ADA. Although ADA begins as an emotionless entity committed to accomplishing her mission regardless of the consequences on Human Life, you’ll see how Leo’s compassion and sincerity influence her decisions and lead her to gain more Human-like feelings and traits. This whole endeavour is one of the most remarkable things about Zone Of The Enders; there is seldom else you’ll find that’ll present a connection of person and machine intelligence as strikingly as here.

The main, single player game will last you around 10-15 hours, and there is a robust and fun, if slightly limited 2-player Battle Mode (with a selection of the main game’s Orbital Frames) to unlock. This may not seem like much, but considering that you’ll easily be able to find Z.O.E in one of GAME’s 4 for 10 Pounds selection shelves, it is an absolute bargain, and not a PS2 game to be missed. One fool’s junk is another smarter guy’s treasure, and it can be yours, as it is mine.

Hmm, what'd I miss?

Now Playing: Sonic Unleashed
Now Listening to: The World Of Goo Soundtrack
Now Watching: BBC News (yep I've gone boring)

Not quite as long as I planned to be absent from posting stuff, but what can I say, I missed you lot. Smilie

Anyway, that month sure went quick. With the lack of C3 (and forums in general) posting, I could focus on other stuff. My Youtube profile has seen a massive kick up the ass (search Phoenixtus to find it Smilie) so be sure to take a peek sometime.
I had a big eBay flogging spree, which I kindly asked Supes to tell you all about, not sure if he has or not. Smilie If ya curious, I made about 175 quid in total.
Lots of doom and gloom about the economy, and all this recession (sick of hearing that word now) business, but I'm not doing too bad on the job front; joined up with a top agency, and have a special event to attend on Friday, plus the throwing-down-throats sessions of CV distributing I've had in the last few weeks.
Speaking of jobs, I've had my pay through from my two Redundant positions, and am now in the fortunate position of having more money now than I've ever had at one time. Smilie Not gonna use any of it though, not until I've gotten double what I have now. Smilie

Okay, that's the synopsis done, now to the nitty-gritty stuff. One of the reasons I buggered off from here in the first place is because I realized how easily I could be influenced into buying talked-about games that I really don't need. I've now quelled that urge, thus will only be getting one, just one, game in the next three months (you can probably guess which one it is).

That's about it I guess.

...oh yeah, just wanted to mention; I'm still keeping up my Phoenews every week, and from this point forward, I'm expanding into games for Non-Nintendo consoles as well. The first one from that camp will be popping up this week, so please look forward to it, as I had a fair bit of fun writing it. Smilie
On a related note to that actually, just wanted to say that I won't be using review scores anymore. I've long since realized that a mere number cannot possibly sum up a game's contents fairly, and thus I'm going to let the text do the talking in future.

Great to see you guys again. Smilie

Adios...for now...

A new year is upon us, and brings with it new opportunity, new horizons and new events. At least, that's what I like to believe, but you probably didn't click to this page to read me rambling, so let's cut to the chase. Smilie

I'll be off C3, and forums in general, for a while, and in particular not posting up any more news here. Some of you may be curious to know why, and to be honest with you, I'm not entirely sure myself, there are lots of potential reasons. I'm spending too much time online, wanting to try new things, boredom, my lack of enthusiasm, personal life issues, could be any of them. So I'm-a gonna take a nice long break.

Most of you guys should still see me around elsewhere; Mario Kart Wii, Smash Online, Xbox Live, Facebook, MSN for a couple of you, its not like I'm vanishing off the face of the planet or anything. Smilie Just taking a hiatus from the online world of gaming. Smilie

So then...

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Happy New Year to all of you, and potentially Happy Easter too. Smilie

R.I.P Woolworths. :'(

Now Playing: World of Goo: It's feckin awesome! :D
Now Watching: New Bleach episode. 199 now I think. :P
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It's been touched upon in a forum thread, but I felt the imminent closure of one of the best-known British stores deserved a bit more focus, from an employee no less. Smilie

So, in roughly a fortnight's time, Woolworths will be completely gone from the face of the UK. No more Pick & Mix (which I am yet to try, whoops Smilie) and no more of that convenient 'bit of everything' shop plonked right in the middle of town. Smilie

I have to admit, the people I work with are incredibly admirable. Despite the prospect of losing their jobs, they're still working their hardest with no sign of a frown anywhere. Thankfully me losing my position isn't too hard on me considering I haven't been there very long, but for those that have built their livelihoods around their work, I have nothing but respect for the way they're taking it.
I've got my path for the next few months planned out (including a conveniently-timed Braces payment from the Jobcentre Smilie), so there's no ill-timed problems on my end from all this. Smilie There are lots of hours left to work, ergo lots more money to earn, and the thoughts of being able to try something new with an excellent reference under my belt. Smilie

It's almost surreal in my branch, how everything is gradually emptying out. Now that we have a definitive closing date of just before New Years Day, we're trying to get rid of everything, and when i say that, I mean everything. Shelves, Stands, the lot. One bloke actually bought a Hand-Basket today for a quid. Smilie

Anyone remember the first game, or even the first thing you bought from a Woolworths? I can't, although I owe my YuGiOh handheld obsession, my Wind Waker double-disc game, and my No More Heroes and Zack & Wiki games to my branch. Smilie

...of course, this isn't the only job I'm losing; the Card Shop is closing too. Just my luck, eh? Smilie

Lightning Strikes Same Place Twice? I Bloody Hope Not.

Now Playing: Final Fantasy 9 - Getting ready for Zidane's emo phase. :D
Now Listening to: Ichirin no Hana

Following a forum member's advice, today I packed up my Wii and scooted off to post it. Why, you may ask? Well, it feels more like a XBox 360 situation, but seeing as how I rarely use mine at the moment, I doubt it'll pop its clogs anytime soon. Smilie

Ever since I got my copy of Brawl back in July, my Wii has done 360 impersonations whenever I played the game. Fair enough, I thought at the time, that minor niggle was well noted, as long as the game worked, it was fine. And for a time, it was...

Until every other Wii game I have decided to try and mimic Brawl whenever I played them, and it wasn't just the noise. Loading times were practically doubled (apparently loading speeds are affected by how full your Flash memory is, but don't quote me on that Smilie), and in a few rare instances, VC games and Channels didn't load at all.

So, I thought, to heck with it, lets send it to the brainiacs and let them figure out what's up. And that's what I took care of this morning, but now I have something else to fret about; I had to send it by bloomin Parcel Force, the same gits that lost my White DS Lite not long ago. Thankfully this time I didn't send my console in crappy wrapping paper and with all the accessories, so it should be safe. Never sure with those muppets though...

I hope they hurry up with it, I have Sonic Unleashed to play next Friday. Smilie

Has anyone here dealt with Nintendo's Repair service, and could you tell me roughly how long they take? Cheers. Smilie

*Final Fantasy Victory Fanfare*

Now Playing: FF9 Disc 2
Now Watching: Iron Man

Okay, so two blog pieces in close proximity of each other is a little aloof, I know. But I have to celebrate somewhere. Finally, after 10 years I beat the bastards! Smilie

Needless to say, FF7 Spoilers coming up, so current or yet-to-try FF7 Players had best stay away. That means YOU Superlink. Smilie

After all this, it comes as no surprise that the final boss is pitiful in comparison. A 4xCut and a couple of Mimes, and he's popped his clogs. Smilie

Well, that's my FF7 replay over with for another year (and fully complete for once Smilie), time to head back on FF9. Smilie

New Ocarina of Time Secret?

Now Playing: FF7, Resisting urge to play Band new copy of FF9

When you're doing some mundane task for hours on end, how often do you find your thoughts drifting to videogames? In my case, it's quite often, even more so lately given my new job in a card shop (Yu-Gi-Oh, Card Shop, ooh the irony Smilie). One thought that has been stuck in my head lately as a result is from that title consistently named as the best ever; Zelda Ocarina of Time.

Given that Nintendo are no strangers to sticking subliminal Messages in their games, particularly in the Zelda series (Majora's Mask Hidden History of Termina (?)), so having a closer look at OoT isn't much of a surprise. But this thought piece isn't about the Arwing from Lylat wars, or the fact that the Skull Kid from Majora's Mask is the one you play Music with in Ocarina (At 1.40), it's about something I couldn't even find a hint of on Zelda Wiki (and if this page is any indication, I kinda hope I'm wrong).

Are Link and Zelda Brother and Sister? Twins even?

I'm really just focusing on the two incarnations of the characters from Ocarina of Time (and Majora by extension), although I suppose it's possible in the other games too.

What made me think about this was the unusual way that the parents of Link and Zelda are presented, or not presented, in the game. When Link first meets the Princess in that Castle Courtyard, we hear mention of her father, the King, but we don't see him, and he is presumed to be dead 7 years later. Later on, when Link's Hylian past is revealed to him (Hylian, the same as the residents of Hyrule Town, and by extension, the royal family), we hear mention of his Mother who escaped from a war 10 years previous to the start of the game, of whom is also never seen. Strange that we hear no mention of Zelda's mother, or Link's father anywhere in the game, wouldn't you say?

Of course, this is all speculation, but what if those missing parents have been mentioned? What if Hyrule's Queen was forced into a situation where she had to escape enemy soldiers by running injured into the forest, where she had to give her son to the Great Deku Tree before dying? What if the reason the King dismisses Zelda's dreams so quickly is because she dreamt a lot of her mother and brother in her younger years, and over time she forgot about both of them (the part where she murmurs that Link's name sounds familiar to her is a strong hint). Although the fact that Link and Zelda have the same haircolour and the same height is relatively minor, and that the two Triforce parts of Wisdom and Courage find their wielders so easily (plus if Ocarina really is the first game in the storyline, that relationship between the two could have set a trend, so to speak).

I'm probably missing some parts from the game, as I'm typing almost all of this from memory, and I'm probably wrong, but it's all good speculative discussion material, and it's probably already been said elsewhere. Just goes to show that I think too much really. Smilie

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