I have moved

This is to let everyone know that I've moved my blog to another address (and with a new name).  I hope that you all will continue to visit at my new address, which is:
http://www.i-praxis.blogspot.com/
- look forward to seeing you there.

How to decide the best JRPG ever made?

This is a question that will gain a wide variety of responses from JRPG fans and gamers.  But how do we truly determine which is really the best one ever made?  Over the years, there have been quite a number of polls conducted, with some games featuring in just about everyone - while some truly wonderful games either don't get a mention, or poll rather poorly.  One way to determine how popular a game is, is through sales - and on that basis, Final Fantasy VII would probably win (amassing over 10 million sales - incl. PSN downloads).  But just because it sold a lot of copies, does that make it the most popular JRPG of all time?  It's good indication, but certainly not a guarantee. 

Another indication could be demands from a game's fans for the developer to make a sequel, or a remake if it's an older game.  It's no secret that fans of Final Fantasy VII have been crying out (virtually screaming) to Square-Enix for both, for well over a decade now.  While Square-Enix have yet to respond with either (despite confirming a remake has been green-lit), they have made a prequel game as well as a sequel in the form of a CGI movie.  The recent annoncement of a HD remake of Final Fantasy X will please some fans, but undoubtably frustrate and baffle others.  It certainly would make more sense to develop a HD remake of their most popular and most successful game ever.  Could this be an indication that Final Fantasy VII is the greatest JRPG of all time?  It's definitely a strong indicator.

It's no secret that Final Fantasy VII practically sold the Playstion 1 console and RPGs to the world, not to mention making the RPG a certifiable genre.  Imagine what would have happened if Nintendo had made the Nintendo64 console with discs rather than cartridges - Nintendo would not have lost the Final Fantasy series to Sony for one thing.

There's no doubt that Final Fantasy VII is popular and well-known, and topped (or rated very highly) in nearly ever poll - so it would be a fair comment to declare it the greatest JRPG of all-time.  But ... there have been other JRPGs that have sold well, rated well in polls and have fans wanting sequels.  Games from other popular series such as Dragon Quest, Star Ocean, Megami Tensei, Ys, Xenosaga, Grandia and Shadow Hearts - to name but a few - all have done well and become popular.

Whatever the sales figures, or the results of polls, or the legions of fans - deciding the most popular JRPG of all time is certainly always going to be a source of conjecture amongst gamers and fans of JRPGs.

JRPGs are alive and kicking

There's been talk over recent months that the JRPG genre is dead, and that developers are turning away from them.  With a new development company established to make specifically JRPGs, and a dozen titles due to come out over the next 12 months, talk of the JRPG being dead is severely misguided.
  

One of the surprising aspect of 2011 is that there have been no titles released on the Xbox360, although Final Fantasy XIII-2 is due for release in Japan in December.  Also, there has been an increase of titles released on the PS3 - more this year than in all the previous years of the PS3's life (putting aside all the ports of Xbox360 exclusives).  Releases of JRPGs on the PSP and DS continue to be a constant.

So, what can fans of JRPGs expect over the next 12 months?  Here's a list of some of what is to come for Home Consoles:

Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Xbox360/PS3)

 Xbox360

Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Dec.15 in Japan, Jan. 31 in Nth.America, Feb.2 in Australia & Feb.3 in Europe)

Star Ocean 5 (in early stages of production, so no release date is forthcoming)

Final Fantasy Versus XIII (not officially confirmed for the 360 as yet, there is no sign of a release date)

Playstation 3

Tales of Graces F (expected release in mid-March, 2012 - possibly Australia, the US and Europe)

Ni no Kuni (PS3/DS)

Ni no Kuni [a Level-5/Studio Gibli co-production] (Nov. 17 in Japan, with plans for an international release)

 Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Dec.15 in Japan, Jan. 31 in Nth.America, Feb.2 in Australia & Feb.3 in Europe)

 Tales of Xilia (Expected September 8 release in Japan, with plans for an international release)

Final Fantasy Versus XIII (so far there is no sign of a release date as yet)

The Last Story (Wii)

Nintendo Wii

Xenoblade Chronicles (just release in Australia and Europe, so far no mention of a US release)

The Last Story (early-2012 in Australia and Europe, no word on a US release)

Dragon Quest X (possibly late-2011/early-2012 in Japan, with a planned international release)

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nov. 18 in Europe, Nov. 20 in the US, Nov./Dec. in Australia)

Pandora's Tower (early-2012 in Australia and Europe, no word on a US release)

There are many more coming out than is actually listed here, but with little or no information about them.  Additionally, there are even more coming out for the PSP, DS and 3DS - including a DS version of Ni no Kuni (already released in Japan), White Knight Chronicles: Origins (PSP - released last month in Australia), Final Fantasy: Type-0 (PSP [2xUMDs] - October 23 release for Japan, with no date yet for international release), The Little Battlers (PSP), a port of PS2 game Tales of the Abyss (3DS - Nov. 25, 2011 for Europe & Feb. 14, 2012 for US), Tales of Innocence R (Vita) and a HD remake of Final Fantasy X (Vita/PS3).

So all you fans and haters out there take notice - the JRPG is going to be around for a very long time to come.

 

Playstation Vita versus Nintendo 3DS: early thoughts

 

Nintendo's 3DS has been out for while now, and while there are some great improvements over its predecessor - the DS/DSi - how does it compare against the PSP and its successor, the Playstation Vita?  Well, firstly the graphics and screen are a significant improvement, and at least bring it on par with the PSP.  And while the 3D screen is larger than the 2D screen (or even the DS screens), it is still smaller than the PSPs. 

The 3D feature is incredible and adds a fantastic new dimension to gameplay, though its difficult to use it for long durations of time - which is a problem for long games like RPGs.  The promised feature of 3D movies has yet to even eventuate, and demand is so less than expected that Nintendo have dropped the price considerably. 

While I've been tempted to get a 3DS, I've held off, preferring my PSP and waiting for the Vita.  From what I've seen of Sony's new handheld, I'm blown away at what it is capable of.  It has a larger and higher quality screen than the PSP (that is touch, similar to quality smartphones), a touchpad on the back, 2 x control sticks (compared to the 3DS' one) and the processing power of a Xbox360/PS3.  So powerful is the Vita, that a PS3 game was ported (yes, ported) to the Vita (and it only took around a week to do so!). 

It will use a new type of flash-card in place of the UMD that the PSP uses ... and while Sony have said it can play PSP games downloaded from the PSN, it still has not addressed the issue that has been raised by PSP owners - being able to play UMD games (since it does not have a disc drive).  There has been talk of an exchange option, where UMD games can be exchanged for the new flash-card format, but if this does go ahead, it looks as if it may only happen in Japan.  Also, there is no feature that allows gamers to play the Vita through the TV ... so no being able to play the big Vita games on a big screen (which, considering the potential for PS3-like Vita games, is rather disappointing).

With both the 3DS and the Vita expected to be about the same price upon the Vita's release, and both backward compatible, it's really going to be a matter of which system has the games us gamers want to play.  Both systems have improved remarkably over the DS and PSP, and while the 3DS has 3D and the ability to be backward compatible with its physical games, the Vita has the power and speed of a high-end home console, not to mention several dozen games already in development and being supported by every major developer on the planet.  And if Sony can sort out the issue with playing physical PSP games on the Vita, and have it able to play through the TV, then I will be getting the Vita over the 3DS.

But as any good gamer would say, you should always go for the system that has the games that you want to play on it.

SONY PSP-3000 versus Nintendo DSi

Can’t decide which handheld gaming console you want to buy?   Hopefully this comparative list will help.  And while the PSPs graphics are similar to the PS2, and the DSi closer to SNES/PS1, you should also take into account which system has the games you want to play.  Additionally, you have to hunt around for movies on UMD (as none have been released since late last year) – but they can be downloaded from the PlayStation store.   (I’ll try and put together a comparison between the SONY PSP2 and the Nintendo 3DS once both systems are released).

Specification	SONY PSP-3000	Nintendo DSi
Dimensions	w169.4mm/d18.6mm/h71.4mm	w137mm/d18.9mm/h74.9mm
Weight	189g (incl.battery)	214g (with touch pen)
Screen	4.3inch (16:9) TFT drive/full-transparent type	2 x 3.25inch (4:3) TFT-LCD (1 x Touch Screen)
Screen Resolution	480 x 272 16.77 million colours	256 x 192 260,000 colours
CPU	Based on MIPS R4000/32-bit 1-333 MHz	1 x 67 MHz (ARM) 1 x 33 MHz (ARM7TDMI)
Camera	Optical Go!Cam (1.3mp)	2 x built-in cameras (VGA 0.3mp)
Storage	64mb internal flash memory (DDR SDRAM) Memory Stick (up to 16gb)* UMD (1.8gb)	256mb internal flash memory SD slot (up to 2gb) SDHC card (up to 32gb)
Connectivity	Wi-Fi Browser Headphone Jack High Speed USB 2.0 Video Out	Wi-Fi Browser Headphone Jack Mic. connector
Online Store	Yes (PlayStation Store)	Yes (DSi Shop)
Battery Life	4- 6hrs (games) 4-5hrs (UMD movies)	3-4hrs (highest brightness)
Charge Time	1hr and 30mins	2hrs and 30mins
Charge	AC adaptor USB cable	AC adaptor
Sound	Built-in stereo speakers & mic. Multi-channel Audio/3D sound	Built-in mic.
Audio/Video files	MP3 with MPEG-1/2 MP4 (MPEG-4 AAC) WAVE (Linear PCM) WMA	AAC (ext: .m4a, .mp4, .3gp)
Store and display photos	Yes	Yes
Features	Wireless Multiplayer View photos Read Digital Comics Skype Remote Play (Access PS3) Connect to TV	Wireless MultiPlayer View photos Pictochat

*possibly up to 128gb