Dante…er…Nero disagrees!

Yahtzee (the reviewer) talks extremely fast, but he uses illustrations to put an emphasis on the sillier aspects of the game. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the review:

“Capcom tried to pull the wool over our eyes by creating a new character called Nero who is dressed and speaks exactly like the character Dante. They even dress the same except that Nero is more of a…”

“Devil May Cry 4 is a game that really wants for me to hate it – because everything about it is as aggressively juvenile as a 12-year-old on Pixie Stix™. But there’s really nothing wrong with the core combat gameplay…it’s as obsessed with style as anything else…”

“From the entire midpoint onwards, you revisit all of the previous levels in reverse order. This was a bad idea in Silent Hill 4 and time has not sweetened it.”

The second light novel was written by the same author as the first: Shin-ya Goikeda. Devil May Cry 2 – the light novel – takes place immediately after the original game and ends at the intro to the Devil May Cry 2 game.

plot summary

In this volume, Dante has fully embraced his devil hunter persona; something he eschewed and hid away from himself in the previous novel. However, his flippant attitude and smart-mouth are still a firm part of Dante’s personality.

Enzo – Dante’s money-grubbing agent – has a job for the devil hunter in the ruins of what was once one of the city’s temples. Dante is attacked almost immediately upon his arrival there by demon possessed soldiers. Dispatching them quickly, Dante is then forced to go head to head with a powerful demoness.

After seriously wounding, but not killing, the demoness Dante meets the person who commissioned him for the job; Beryl.

Beryl is a self-styled devil hunter. She’s on the hunt for a small statuette in the shape of a three headed dog. The demoness that Dante had just battled was in possession of the figurine but it flew off before Dante could finish her. Beryl had wanted Dante to kill the demoness but her arrival interrupted Dante’s coup de grace.

Now, the Beastheads, as the statue is called, is in the hands of the petty thief Ducas. Ducas has no idea the power behind the demonic figurine. However, the city’s crime boss, Cold-blooded Chen, has a very good idea just what the Beastheads can impart to its holder.

Hiding Ducas away from Dante and Beryl, Chen sits back and lets Ducas discover for himself what it means to “know thine own potential.”

Dante and Beryl are thrown into a massive battle shortly after Ducas releases the full potential of the Beastheads. The two end up in a bizarre situation involving Chen, manufactured demons, and an alternate history in which Nelo Angelo is the hero!

review

The second DMC novel read much better than the first one. There weren’t as many awkward scenes or stilted dialog and the word usage has improved two fold. Because of this I finished the whole thing in two sittings (two hours total).

The story was an improvement as well. It was more original than DMC and didn’t get too caught up trying to define Dante; something DMC tried and failed to do. DMC 2 stuck to its video game roots and didn’t get too “deep” or distracted with “emotions”. It is a light novel about a video game, after all.

It’s as if Shin-ya Goikeda has gotten into the cadence of writing about Dante’s exploits after writing the first novel and knows his material and characters better. Some of the language is still a little high for a light novel about a popular video game (I would have preferred the language level to match the subject matter, but, meh, that’s my personal preference). But Goikeda has definitely improved.

DMC2 had the feel of “Hey, we all know and love Dante, and we all know and love what he does, let’s watch him do it!” And it did plow ahead as if Dante was heading into another incarnation of his popular video game series. I think the first novel made the mistake of trying to get everyone involved, even the people unfamiliar with Dante. That didn’t work out too well and made the novel seem deeper than it needed to be. I likes me my shallow, unrepentant action manga/games/anime/ novels! Not everything needs to be the End All, Be All Answer To Burning Questions.

Devil May Cry 2 still reads like a videogame and might not be satisfying for fans who want more depth and background for Dante. However, if you’re in the mood to read as Dante goes on another mission, DMC 2 is the perfect fix.

outta possible four gummies.

The first DMC novel is simply titled, Devil May Cry. Written by Shin-Ya Goikeda in tangent with Devil May Cry director, Hideki Kamiya, Devil May Cry promises to that it: “…takes the thrill of the smash-hit video game to the next level!”

The title leaves no guess work as to what the novel’s about. And the story, just like the title, gets straight to the point:

plot summary

Tony is a mercenary. He gets paid to kick ass and take names, but he’s real choosy about which jobs he agrees to; preferring to take only the most dangerous offers that have a certain feel. Wielding a giant sword and multiple guns of varying pedigree, Tony is a fearsome opponent.

Though Tony is a formidable man, this silver-haired merc is an unusual specimen among his kind; refusing to kill if he can help it and making a hobby of wiping out the city’s local mob. These characteristics have made Tony something of a legend in the underground merc scene. The city’s mercenaries look up to Tony for his smooth fighting skills and unbeatable reputation. They’ve even started emulating his compassionate stance in the field.

Everything Tony’s built up in the city, however, begins to go to hell, literally, with the arrival of the mysterious bandaged mercenary, Gilver. Gilver is quite, unassuming and a master swordsman with his katana.

His skills are almost a match for Tony’s but unlike Tony, Gilver prefers a more, violent solution to the tasks at hand. Although the two mercs are complete opposites they combine their skills, to devastating effect, in tough assignments. Lately, though, Tony’s solo skills have been in less demand as Gilver quietly replaces him as merc top dog.

As if losing his reputation wasn’t enough, Tony has become a target of inhuman attacks. Amidst the re-shifting in the mercenary ranks, is the onset of demons breaking through the veil of reality into the human world. Howling an unfamiliar name, these devilish phantoms stalk Tony relentlessly.

What are these demonic creatures? What do they want with Tony, and furthermore, how is Gilver, Tony’s antithesis, connected to these recent unearthly happenings?

review

I’ve always had a bit of trouble with translated novels. First off, the dialog tends to be stilted. Secondly, there are Japanese ideas and concepts that, if explained to a native speaker, can be explained in one word or short sentence. If explained to most Westerners in their native tongue, however, may take an afternoon to explain (gambatte took 15 minutes). Hence why, I believe, some scenes and dialog in Devil May Cry seemed not to flow very well.

Even though DMC was afflicted to a slight degree with these very real problems of stilted language and awkward scenes, they weren’t too noticeable. The dialog between characters was natural, or at least, as natural as two sword wielding fiends from Hell can be considered “natural”.

I had a much bigger problem with the excessive use of adjectives throughout, which made the novel seem a bit “wordy”.

The story itself while, none too dramatic or original, was still entertaining. Besides the lack of originality, there was also a decided lack of character development in DMC, and much was taken for granted on the part of the writer.

For example: Tony wasn’t given a back story, for whatever reason (oh wait, play the game! *wink, wink*) and fans of the games won’t have a hard time deciphering the “secret” behind Gilver (Oh, c’mon! I know you can figure that one out!). It seemed as if Devil May Cry was written for the already established fan base of the games and not for the uninitiated. Although, the unwashed masses could eke out some enjoyment from the book as well as veteran fans.

The book, however, lived up it’s video game heritage by reading, overall, just like the titular game, but not as fast paced or angst ridden as the original game.

That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, especially as seeing as how this novel was short and didn’t take any scenic shortcuts on the way leading up to the original game’s intro (which was what this novel was; an intro piece to the game.)

Yet, if the video game format was dragged out for any greater length than already done in the novel, the book would have been less entertaining and more tedious. As it was, I grew tired of the wordy descriptions of Tony’s frequent action scenes:

“The assaults constantly caught him off guard. Blades randomly ejected from walls and floors. Flaming cyclones chased friend and foe alike. Even the demons themselves were armed, taking swipes with long scythes.”

Action like that does not translate well, repeatedly, into a full length novel (which this, thank god, wasn’t). Repeated scenes like that only work for short stories, and even then, sparingly.

Interspersed between chapters is artwork, done by Shiro Miwa, illustrating various scenes in the book. The illustrations aren’t consistent however, and actually feel as though more than one artist had a hand in the novel.

All criticisms and nit-picking aside, as a fan of the games, I wasn’t disappointed with the books. I wasn’t disappointed because I read them with the insight that they wouldn’t be anything else but additional “missions” for Dante to carry out for my reading pleasure.

For other die-hard fans of the games, Devil May Cry offers up a brief glimpse of what happens before Devil May Cry. That’s all. The novel isn’t a deep, long look into Dante’s past. If you pick up the novel, don’t expect to learn Dante’s fave color (I’d guess red, but maybe he prefers green) or why he likes strawberry sundaes, or any other nagging questions you may have about the games. This isn’t that book. Instead, pick up this book if all you want is to read another action packed side adventure of everyone’s favorite silver-haired, demon ass-kicker, Dante. This is that book.

out of a possible four gummies.

I own all three Devil May Cry games now and am eager for the fourth installment that’s coming out in Japan; maybe sometime this year (game release dates are iffy). I still haven’t read the manga or novels or gotten the soundtracks (not too keen on videogame soundtracks anyways) but I’m always impressed that they’re out there to begin with.

So, while awaiting for two things to happen…

• Accruing enough cash to buy a Playstation 3
• The release of Devil May Cry 4

…I enlisted the help of Mochi to get me started on researching how the Devil May Cry phenomena began.

The Devil May Cry franchise actually started out, not as it’s own stand-alone game, but as a sequel to the highly acclaimed “survival horror” game, Resident Evil. The structure for DMC turned out so radically different from Resident Evil that the designers turned it from a RE sequel into its own game. They tweaked this RE wanna-be into a more mission-based game, unlike Resident Evil that’s a more open ended game.

Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry received a lot of attention from the gaming world media when it was released in 2001. It was well received but had it’s criticisms:

• Electric Playground commented that “there’s a steep learning curve involved in learning to use Dante’s advanced techniques, and the enemies can be brutally unforgiving even in the first mission.” They also comment on the game’s odd button configuration.
• GameSpy cited the the odd camera angles that “have a mind of their own”, the lengthy self-schooling needed to master Dante’s controls and the on and off again graphics that changed with varying angles.
• GameSpot criticized the game’s conclusion, saying, “…(it) loses its direction, branching into a variety of different genres…” GS also commented on the way the game’s difficulty plateaued at the end.
• Gamecritics criticized that the game lacked character depth and that the emotional impact it should have had was missing.

Criticisms aside, Devil May Cry was lauded as a welcome addition to the gaming world. Sequels followed…

Devil May Cry 2

Devil May Cry 2 hit stores in 2003 but was greeted with mixed reviews. Some thought the game was too dumbed down, others felt that gameplay was sacrificed for style, and many critics felt the game was too easy.

Devil May Cry 3

Devil May Cry 3 was actually a prequel to the Devil May Cry series and was released in 2005. DMC3 was very well received and gathered high marks for not repeating the mistakes of it’s predecessor, for having a well developed story and for installing a system that was highly customizable. However, some critics felt that this latest DMC was too hard. That spurred Capcom to release: Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition; an easier and friendlier version of DMC 3 (read as; game for whiners).

Devil May Cry 4

Devil May Cry 4 is a game that’s been awaited since DMC3’s release. The newest addition to the Devil May Cry lineup will be released, not only on Sony’s Playstation 3, but on PC and the Xbox 360 as well.

That has some DMC and Playstation loyalists howling mad. Some fans fear that a mulitplatform approach like the one producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi is using, might cause an unevenness in gameplay between the platforms, i.e. one will have better features than the others.

The gameplay is being touted as possible only through DMC’s next-gen technology. A truly purchase-inspiring trailer featuring commentary by producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi highlights the games actual play at Gametrailers.com.

One of the biggest departures in this DMC is the initial absence of Dante as a playable character. In his stead is Nero; a dead ringer for Dante and his twin brother Virgil. Nero wields a revolver called Blue Rose and a sword by the name of the Red Queen. He also has a spiffy day-glo arm that harbors his “Devil-Bringer” power. Wikipedia has an excellent article on DMC4 already up.

In between game releases, novels and manga have been published to lead up to the latest DMC game. Two light novels, Devil May Cry, Volume 1 and Devil May Cry Volume 2, have been translated and published in America along with a Devil May Cry 3 two volume manga, Code 1, Dante and Code 2, Virgil.

Now, Devil May Cry is strutting its stylish stuff as an anime. As of June 14th, 2007, the DMC anime has already started airing on the WOWOW network in Japan. Showgate released at Anime Expo 2007 that the DVD will be out in Japan sometime this December. No word yet as to when ADV will be releasing it in the US.

It looks as though the anime will be set up like the games, in the sense that each episode is like a mission from the game. The first episode is rumored to have a small girl as the co-star. I’m confused as to how a child will add to Dante’s ass- kicking abilities. However, if the series is anything like the games, said kid will disappear at the end of the “mission” (here’s hoping).

My one fear is that the anime is just being used to drum up excitement over DMC4’s release later this year. If that’s the case, I don’t know if I hold out much hope for the anime’s visual and story quality. In fact, I’d venture to say that it’ll suck, if, in fact, the DMC anime is just a vehicle to rekindle interest for old fans of the game and to also rope in new fans who’ve never played the games before.

At the end of rummaging through the media properties and briefly glancing at the peripheries (figures, collectibles, posters, etc.) I realized how far Devil May Cry has come from it’s “humble” roots as a Resident Evil castoff. Who knows how far the DMC empire will grow and spread. Could it, in time, become as big as the Final Fantasy franchise? Or will it stay forever a fave only to gamers dedicated to the genre? Only time will tell if this devil will ever cry from lack of interest.

The original Disgaea is a tactical RPG developed by Nippon Ichi Software for the PS2. The well written wit of the game’s dialog has passed the story along into different media such as anime and manga.

Disgaea 2 picks up where the first one left off: Laharl has just taken power as the realm’s new overlord and has much work ahead of him. However, Etna (Laharl’s vassal) has quit and decides to become an overlord herself but in order to do that, she needs to defeat an overlord. So Etna takes all of the Prinnies(demon penguins?) to another realm to defeat the overlord Zenon.

Meanwhile, in the realm of overlord Zenon (Valdime), a curse made by Zenon has made all the humans turn into demons. Adell is the very last human to exist in Valdime and has dedicated his life to defeating Zenon in a fair fight. By accident Adell tries to summon Zenon but gets his daughter, Rozalin, instead. With a new method of finding Zenon Adell (accompanied by Rozalin) goes on a search for Zenon to finaly defeat him once and for all.

Not to sound like a total geek but LOL this is pretty funny stuff. The characters are what you expect of an anime but they don’t take themselves to seriously as they make many, anime and video game references. Again, it’s a pretty typical story but the wit of the characters makes it more of a satire then an actual game or manga.

In the world of Valdime we meet new characters and new types of people set in a Medieval-type of environment. Alongside the Middle Age theme, is the modern technology of today. All the characters and environments together create a very funny place for battle.

One interesting note is how the sequel is set up. In some cases when you have a sequel to a game it will either have an entirely different story or it will continue the story from before, this time the game has done both. Because of this, the story creates new characters to introduce but still has the familiar characters from before.

Each character is designed to how their personality works (no matter how quirky). If the character looks evil, it’s evil. If the characters looks good it’s good. The over the top comedy is shown with many chibi moments and wild expressions. Disgaea 2 is better compared to the Azumanga Daioh style but with a fantasy twist but I believe this is much funnier and much more appealing.

LIKES

• The witty characters
• Characters sense of fashion
• Over the top humor
• PRINNIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Simple art that compliments the story

DISLIKES

• …ummm vol. 2 isn’t out yet

Disgaea 2 is an awesome story with great lovable characters and for that it gets a perfect 5/5.

Nintendo DS

• Crossword de Manabou! Chiri – Rekishi
• Gamics Series Vol. 1: Yokoyama Mitsuteru – San Goku Shi – Vol. 5 – Suishi no Hyou
• Hoshigami
• Iraroji VOW
• Kekkaishi: Karasumori Ayakashi Kidan
• Kurikin Nano Island Story
• Osawari Tantei: Osawa Rina – Season 2 ½
• Sansuu Olympic Iinkai Kouan: Suuji de Kitaeru Nouryoku Training: Argo & Trinca
• Shin Lucky * Star
• Shinri Kenkyuuka Yuukiyuu Kanshuu: Mainichi Kokorobics DS Therapy
• Enpitsude Oku no Hosomichi DS
• Obunsha Deru-jun Chiri DS

Playstation 2

• Killer 7 (CapKore)
• Medal of Honor: Vanguard
• Pachitte Chonmage Tatsujin 12
• Shadow of Rome (CapKore)
• State of Emergency Revenge
• SuperLite 2000: Memories Off: Sorekara Again
• The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2 (SNK Best Collection)
• Guilty Gear XX Accent Core
• Jissen Pachinko Hisshouhou! CR Aladdin Destiny EX
• Kiruto: Anata to Tsumugu Yume to Koi no Dress
• Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o: Melody of the Sun and Sea
• LoveDrops
• Majommusume A La Mode II
• Metal Slug Complete
• Panic Palette
• River Ride Adventure featuring Salomon
• Sumomomomomo: Chijou Saikyou no Yome

Playstation 3:

• NBA Street Homecourt

PSP

• Bleach: Heat the Soul 4
• Juiced Eliminator
• Colin McRae Rally
• Minna no Golf Ba
• Minna no Golf Ba (w/ GPS Receiver)
• Snow Portable

XBOX 360:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
• Forza Motorsport 2
• NBA Street Homecourt
• War Tech: Senko no Ronde

Nintendo Wii

• Jissen Pachi-Slot Pachinko Hisshouhou Sammy’s Collection Fist of the North Star Wii
• Biohazard 4 Wii Edition

Don’t have an import/region-free machine? Here are some upcoming games of note for all of you 日本 fans.

PS2

• Dawn of Mana – Fans of the previous Mana titles will enjoy this one. If you’re not a fan, feel free to forget even reading this.
• Odin Sphere – With innovative gameplay mechanics, beautiful hand-drawn sprites, and Atlus’ track record of inspired RPGs? You’d be silly not to pick this up!
• Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm – I was a fan of the first Iris game, but I never got around to the second title. Any of you acquainted with it?

XBOX 360

• WarTech: Senko no Ronde – Famitsu gave this arcade robot fighter a Gold Medal. With online play and (allegedly) epic boss fights, can this localized version cut the mustard here?

Perhaps that’s why I bought a PLAYSTATION 3.

Regardless, the coolest non-game (non-illegal) application in a very long while has been released for the PS3. folding@Home was created by the smarty-pants at Stanford University. It creates a network of PC, Mac, Linux (all two of you), and PS3 users in order to simulate massive amounts of data that will be used for researching diseases such as Alzheimer’s and

Here is the good ol’ US of A. Notice all the little yellow dots? Those are PS3’s running the simulation data.

Across the pond is Europe with a decent amount of users folding digital proteins. The PS3 was just recently released in Europe and has been selling like fish and chips.

However, Japan is barely lit up at all. Except for lights in the megalopolis we call Tokyo and a few in the Osaka/Kyoto area, there seems to be no PLAYSTATION 3 systems running folding@Home.

Now, the image was taken at 11:30 pm Japanese time, which is a peak hour for folding. It’s not like the Japanese don’t know about the program, because it’s a part of the 1.6 update that was released not too long ago.

I have formulated a few reasons for the low (apparently) support of this program. It could be the lack of available PS3 systems. It’s not selling as bad as the 360, but not as good as the Wii or DS. Another reason might be that Japanese consumers don’t want to pay the high cost of electricity that running a PS3 all night would generate. It has been my experience that some Japanese folks don’t like running air conditioning even in August. Finally, there may not be broadband internet beyond the bounds of big cities. However, everywhere I have been in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Matsuyama, Kyoto. etc) has had broadband internet in some form or another.

There has to be some logical reason for the discrepancy. Do you have some speculation into the subject? Drop a line in the comments.

This is a preview version (but you can play it) in Japanese.

From Wikipedia: Each episode (with the exception of the first case of each game) usually begins with an investigation. During these segments the player must talk to witnesses and search crime scenes in order to gather information and evidence for the trial…In these segments, the player must press witnesses for information in the courtroom and use evidence to point out contradictions in faulty testimonies to prove the player’s client’s innocence or guilt. Producing incorrect evidence leads to a penalty, and if too many mistakes are made, the player loses the case and must start over.
- from Phoenix Wright Wikipedia page.

Here’s another Gyakuten Saiban 4 screenshot.

After I played the demo, I had no intention of picking up this game for a while. A friend of mine got lucky playing poker, however, and I received it as a gift. Lucky me. Well, in spite of that, fate did not seem to want me playing this game. I couldn’t play it for over a week due to broken controllers, a scratched disc, and several other unlucky circumstances. Maybe I should have seen it as a sign.

I was not overly fond of the demo but I still got swept up in the excitement of a new FF. As I mentioned in the demo review, FF’s are some of my favorite games of all time and the allure of a new one is too much for me to resist. I eagerly jumped into this game with my shiny new controller and an honest desire to enjoy the game in spite of the demo.

Gameplay

For their most recent installment, Square Enix released the first console FF with a real-time battle system (I never played Final Fantasy XI – I think that was also in real time). Each character has a set of gambits or commands that control what they do in battle. For instance, you can set up characters to automatically heal themselves if their hit points get below a certain percentage. You can still manually command a character to do something in battle but it takes a bit longer. The battles are fast paced and you don’t really have time to think.

Apart from leveling up, you enhance your characters via the license system. For every enemy killed, you gain experience and license points. The license points are used to obtain licenses that can add hit points, enhance magic, gain strength, etc. There are also licenses for each weapon, accessory, and piece of armor. You can’t just buy a weapon and use it if you don’t have a license for it.

There are many aspects of the gameplay that will be familiar to FF players such as espers, chocobos, quickenings (similar to limit breaks), and of course, plenty of sidequests. I didn’t find the fighting to be overly tedious or difficult. The game is not completely hack and slash but the fighting is mindless and there aren’t really any puzzles to figure out. I pretty much never used my espers and rarely used magic other than to heal. Merely by going through the game with out any sidequests or by wandering around to level up, you can probably still achieve a level that you can beat the game with. I was actually rather disappointed with the ease of the final battle.

Story

The story is set in the world of Ivalice where warring empires and small kingdoms duke it out for the power to rule. To be frank, it is rather dull. I never cared about any of the characters. I never laughed, cried, or really shared any emotions whatsoever with them. It felt to me like a lackluster version of Star Wars and a friend of mine remarked that it “was like watching a really boring war movie.” Then there was the ending…well, I have more interesting things floating in my udon soup right now (seriously—there’s this brown spongy thing – is it a mushroom? tofu?) than the ending to this game. It’s sad really because FF’s are known for their endings.

Graphics

The graphics were of course, outstanding. The CG’s were especially pretty. The environments were vast, beautiful, and full of rich, natural colors. The character designs were rather dull, but then, they fit in with the general dullness of the story. I must admit though, I really liked the Viera. Some of the other anthros were really neat as well. I can’t use enough superlatives to describe the overall graphics in this game. I am very excited to see what the Square Enix team will come up with for the PS3.

Sound

The music is generally entertaining and I never had to mute it in favor of my own music. The FF franchise as a whole generally has good, memorable music. They re-use a few of the more unforgettable tracks from previous FF’s such as the intro theme and victory song from VII.

The voice acting is all really good even though the dialogue was lifeless. It took a while to get used to some of the stranger accents (Fran, the Marquis…), but I really enjoyed Balthier and Cid’s voices.

Overall

This game felt a little too much like an mmorpg, and I really don’t like those. It took me a while to get any enjoyment at all out of this game actually. I couldn’t play it for more than a couple hours at a time without falling asleep. It wasn’t until I was about 60-70 hours into the game and going through extra areas and doing sidequests when I realized that I was enjoying the gameplay. Oh well, they can’t all be winners. I give this game a 5/10.

Gameplay

There are two levels in the demo, one in “active mode” and the other in “wait mode.” This just means that while you are choosing what action to take, the enemies can wait for you or be active. Don’t let that fool you though, the system is in real-time and hardly facilitates real battle strategy (I like my games turn-based). As far as I can tell, the only menu is the battle menu so I don’t know how you arrange your inventory or look at your stats or anything.

The level are filled with minor enemies and there is a boss at the end. You run around and encounter visible enemies. As you defeat enemies (in the same screen), the experience you gain is automatically accrued and the items you win are left on the ground where the enemy died. When you defeat the boss, the familiar FF win theme is played and the level is over.

The summon system is most closely related to that of FFX, where the summon spirit comes out and fights for your party while you disappear.

The camera was horrible IMO. It wouldn’t stay where I aimed it, which caused me to be a little motion-sick.

Story

What I know about the story comes from seeing the intro trailer and the scene after the second level. It is set in the world of Ivalice (coincidentally the name of the world in FF: Tactics, which by the way, is an awesome game) and it appears that a small kingdom is being overtaken by an empire. The playable characters appear to be a ragtag group of people whose camaraderie was forged by this war.

Graphics

Here is one of Square-Enix’s strong suits and one of the things for which they are best known. The in game graphics look great. One of the levels is set on a beach and the water and sky are absolutely gorgeous. The other level is in a very dark, detailed dungeon with creepy statues in it.

The characters look very detailed but they don’t seem to be a huge improvement over FFX’s in game characters, graphic-wise. The monsters are beautiful and incredibly detailed.

The FMV (full-motion video) graphics look stunning, as expected.

Overall

It’s hard to get an accurate portrayal of how this game will play out from the demo*. I want to know how the world map will work:

• *How do we get from place to place?
• *How do we save the game?

There are too many things left unanswered by the demo.

I didn’t really like the game-play but I am not usually a fan of real-time games. I think that my overall impression leans towards disappointment. I will probably wait until this game has been out a while and the price comes down before I buy it. Buy it I will though, because I am a sucker for anything with the Final Fantasy name on it.