Top 3 Most Wanted Games

[Kamitsune]

[ZetaBladeX13]

[AppleInject]

1) Etrian Odyssey 3
2) 7th Dragon
3) Bioshock 2
... 4) Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (forced to purchase for sister)

My next paycheck is going entirely to importing. >_<

[Twat]

Shamefully, Final Fantasy IV DS has made me want another. It would not surprise me if they announced The Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden at e3 this year. From what I understand it sold out of stock on its week of release in Japan. If something as rigid as Final Fantasy III DS can sell here, then I can only except Square-Enix to do the smart thing and cash in.

At some point, Vapour Trail brought the game up last year if I am not mistaken. It was brushed off as uninteresting in response and with what information was available at the time, it was. In some ways it still is... but I can never have enough RPGs with classic elements so I will keep an eye out.

[Kimiko]

In N-America, you can download FF VIII for PSP already.

[Twat]

But Final Fantasy VIII is such a horrible game. ;~;

[Kimiko]

I don't know. I've never played any FF beyond VII

[Twat]

That is most fortunate, however I do want to try XIII when I get the chance. I feel that the series went downhill starting from VII. Which is not to say VII itself is bad, albeit overrated. Regardless of my opinion, Square-Enix is not credited for many of the great things they do. Final Fantasy has evolved much better than some of the other long-standing video game franchises out there. There are many aspects that I wish I could point out and have them improve, et tu. While they make many questionable decisions it is clear that they listen to their fans, to meet the needs of things that became more important in the modern age... like class/character balance. It is mostly the story and themes that bother me these days. Too much steampunk is bad for someone who does not like steampunk. :/

Do give IX a try if you can, though. It left me with a glimmer of hope after VIII which I will never forget.

[Kimiko]

I hear you on the steampunk aspect. I'm not fond of that myself. I mean, the occasional gunner class character is okay, but not too much machinery in my Fantasy please.

I've heard others say that FF IX is good. I hope Squeenix will put it on PSP too. Although FF VIII has yet to appear for download over here, so it may be a while.

[Vapour Trail]

RE: Final Fantasy Four Warriors of Light, I did buy it but only played maybe six or seven hours before shelving it. It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination but it also feels very regressive. I guess if you're into self-consciously old school games, you might like it. Mostly it just left me kind of bored, though.

The Final Fantasy hate on this board is pretty puzzling, by the way. The series generally has strong, interesting, and (usually) non-sexualized female characters, so I would've thought the series would get more love here from someone other than me. Odd, but whatever.

EDIT: And on topic, my three most wanted games.
1. Battlefield Bad Company 2
2. God of War 3
3. Etrian Odyssey 3, I guess.

[Twat]

[Kimiko]

I'm a 'prominent feminist figure'.. Wow, I feel so high-class

But yeah, I like Final Fantasy games (I've only played I - VII), but I wouldn't say they have 'strong, interesting, non-sexualized female characters'. They are often squishy wizards, are completely overshadowed in the story by the male main character, and their costumes are always much more revealing than any of the mens' (except maybe the bare-chested brawler). It's not like things like that ruin a game for me (there'd be hardly any RPGs left for me to play if that were the case). It just saddens me that in 2010 there are still so few female main characters in RPGs.

[Sampson]

I've said this before, but I've only played the first six games, and the only ones I really like are V and VI.

I was good, although its lack of story is a bit draining.
II had a strange growth system that I really didn't like.
III was like I, only with more story. Strangely enough, I really don't like this one. Maybe it's because I only played the 3D version of this, but I couldn't fall in love with it.
IV had fine gameplay, although I hate the majority of the playable characters and I wasn't absorbed in the environment at all. And the final dungeon (the first part, at least) was just boring.

V finally got the job system right, in my opinion. III was close, though. While the story isn't really thrilling, I still enjoy this game a lot because the customization aspect. The fact that it, out of all the first six, has my favorite battle theme helps. The environment was a lot more impressive than IV's, too.

VI had customization too, although it was only in terms of stats, since everyone's going to have the same spells in the end if you're willing to train them. It easily had the best story in the series so far, and the characters, both the protagonists and the antagonists, were interesting. And it had Dancing Mad.

Actually, I can't really remember too many sexualized female characters in this game. Other than the dancers in the games and other NPCs and enemies, the main female leads weren't particularly sexual. Terra and Celes both experienced love, but that's about it. Faris did have gender identity issues, and nothing was wrong with Lenna. I don't feel qualified to pass judgment on FFIV's cast since I hate most of them.

[Vapour Trail]

[Kimiko]