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Join sisters NinJaSistah and Pandalicious and the rest of the ESH Crew each day as they discuss video games, tech gadgets, anime, manga... pretty much everything within the geek chic lifestyle.

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    Final Fantasy XIV- It's beta sign-up time!

    posted @ 12/16/2009 08:21:00 PM by Vichus Smith
    Behold, the portal to your dreams:




    Now is the time to sign up for the Final Fantasy XIV beta! If you're a Squeenix maniac, if you crave Final Fantasy RPGs, then why are you reading this? Go here and become one of the chosen few! Sorry, kids, you've gotta be 18+ to apply :(

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    The Grin is gone, but the FF Fortress lives on

    posted @ 9/23/2009 06:53:00 PM by Vichus Smith



    Swedish game developer Grin Studios was a company that brought you titles like Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 1 and 2, Ballistics and Bandits: Pheonix Rising.

    More recently, Grin had a less than stellar run with titles like Wanted: Weapons of Fate, Terminator Salvation and Bionic Commando. Because of financial issues, Grin had to turn the lights off. There was a curious diamond lying in the rubble, though. It is a Square-Enix title code named "Fortress."

    Fortress is believed to be a Final Fantasy spin-off that takes the franchise in a different direction. The guys at grin describe their unfinished work as a "masterpiece," and, judging from the artwork that appeared around the net, that was most likely true.

    Luckily, this "Fortress" is not a sad orphan that will die alone, since Square-Enix still wants to complete it.

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    DSi Discussion: The World Ends With You

    posted @ 8/19/2009 02:37:00 PM by Pandalicious

    All the world needs is me...




    The world of the interwebs is well aware of my intimate love/lust relationship with Square Enix,so it should be of no surprise that I would be interested in a game by the name of The World Ends With You. We experience a different approach to the RPG category. In this game, we are not transported to a different time in history or into a realm of fantasy. For once the setting is modern time. It is modern day Tokyo, which is the epicenter of fashion trends, culture and the end...of the world?

    This doesn't seem to make sense during the opening sequence of this game. The world isn't fashioned after every apocalypse or post apocalypse game. It allows us to see that the end of world as we know it doesn't necessarily involve explosions, natural disasters or political schemes gone crazy.

    In The World Ends with You, you play Neku. In my opinion he is every EMO character we have encountered in all of the Square Enix RPG's to date. However you have to make him at the age that in Japan where it is alright to let him out into the real world. [Which we all know is 10 and above] For my sake I will say that he is about about 14 or 15 years old. He is overflowing with boyish angst and attitude which if you didn't have a younger brother or were ever male can lead you to find him EXTREMELY ANNOYING!

    As always, he has no idea who he is (besides his name)where he is(which is Tokyo), and why there are frogs with tribal markings all over them, beating the ever-loving crap outta him! This game wastes no time throwing the basic mechanics at you. Keep in mind that the game uses both screens of the Nintendo DS. While one character is in one zone the other character is in a completely different one. They both share the same amount of HP so you have to be aware what is going on at all times! Controlling Neku isn't very hard at all; his abilities are simple movements of your stylus across the touch screen. Shiki is a little more difficult as her abilities are linked to the directional pad [or the letter buttons for lefties!][Note: If you new to the Nintendo DS world then be warned that the combat system may appear unfamiliar to you. Frustration and anger are common emotions to encounter...especially with new games.]

    Pairings are very common in RPG land, so no sooner do you learn how to move do you meet your first party member, Shiki. Now, she is very ditsy in the beginning. She pretty much brow beats you to make a pact with her [No she isn't Satan.....as far as I know] and once you've signed your name in blood *cough* I mean agree to the pact, you are forever partners. She throws a lot information at you, which as Neku you dismiss because you have the hugest chip on your shoulder. [What else is new?!]

    The premise of the game's story is as follows: Neku, Shiki and several others are called Players. Each of them have pins that grant them special powers *IF* they are wearing them [Note: Make sure to Equip pins from the start...unlike me who did not] Once players have been selected they are notified that they have to survive this "game" for seven days. As a price for being a player the most important thing of value to you is taken away. If you win, you get it restored to you, if you don't... well don't get it back and your right to exist is taken too. That's right! You don't just die...but your existence gets completely wiped out...but no pressure...its only a game.

    This leads me to believe that Neku valued his life more than anything, which is why he doesn't remember a gosh darn thing! Shiki's most valued thing is her best friend Eri [Hmmm now I know what you are thinking, and I thought the exact same thing too but no, they are really friends...The type of friends who loved each other and did everything together, maybe even made out once or twice..OK I'm sorry...back to the game =(]

    So we have our protagonist and his band of prepubescent followers and as for the antagonists we have Reapers. They are people who also have special abilities. They can erase players and Noises [Which are the beast like monsters you fight to save the world.] It is the Reapers job to set up missions for the players along with a time limit in which to complete the given task. If players do not do this in time the reapers get to erase them. However they are only allowed to give one mission a day, and if they do not erase a certain amount of players they themselves get erased. It is truly a dog eat dog world in this RPG.

    Now, if you are a fan of games like Kingdom Hearts then the animation style will be very appealing to you. Neku resembles Sora only, taller, thinner and A LOT more EMO. Shiki kind of looks like a very slutty version of Kairi...and I haven't seen a Riku look-a-like yet but that doesn't mean he doesn't exist! [He better exist dammit!]

    Another positive in this game, would be it's soundtrack. It is very Tokyo urban which is very catchy to the ear. I plan to get all the songs for this soundtrack, I swear the game and music industry have a great thing going on here! I can hardly wait to get fully immersed into this game. I aim for this to be the first DS game that I play completely through. Wish me all luck, or else the world will end....with me....

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    Infinite Undiscovery Review

    posted @ 12/03/2008 03:00:00 PM by Douceswild


    There's been some pretty good RPGs coming out on the Xbox 360. Most of them have been awesome, but everyone once in while there's one that just doesn't quite cut the mustard. Unfortunately, Square Enix's Infinite Undiscovery has trouble even getting the jar open.

    Infinite Undiscovery takes place in a world containing a moon, which is the home of a god who is considered the source of magical blessings upon humans. Those that are born under certain phases of the moon are tattooed with sigils known as Lunaglyphs, which grant powers and abilities. A group called the Order of Chains has shackled the moon to the ground, disrupting the flow of power and balance, thus bringing disarray. The hope and fate of the world rests in the hand of Sigmund the Liberator who has the power to cut the chains and restore order. You take on the role of Capell, a musician who mysteriously looks like Sigmund.

    The character personalities are well defined and enjoyable. The dialogue, which is mostly voiced over, really fleshes out the almost 20 playable characters. Narrative inserts are engaging and something to look forward to as it enhances the story.



    The gameplay leaves something to be desired. There are many aspects to the combat, which is good and bad. Although real-time combat provides a variety of moves, the amount of button-pressing that comes with performing the abilities is overwhelming and hard to remember at times resulting in constant sifting through the tutorial for a refresher course. You have the basing weak, but fast attack and the strong, but slow attack as well as combos. These are hard to connect on mobile foes due to the lack of target autolock and lengthy animations. You will always be controlling Capell, but the “Connect” feature allows you to issue commands to allies and utilize their abilities either in combat or through small puzzle-solving situations. If you die then you have to wait and hope that a party member sees fit to revive you before the timer ticks down and it’s game over.



    The lack of save points right before boss battles can be frustrating, resulting in a lengthy retracing and refighting your way through a dungeon or area if you die during the encounter. Seeing as how some of the boss fights are complicated and may take a few tries to get the fight down, you may be doing this a lot.



    Visually, this is one of the prettiest games out there.The world is beautiful and full of color and detail, but the directions you are given to find the next waypoint are extremely vague, which makes it easy to get lost along the winding paths. You will come across the frequent “go south” or “go west” and that’s it. It’s sounds simple enough but a few landmarks to look for from the quest-giver would have made the search a lot easier and less time-consuming.

    As far as RPGs’ go, Infinite Undiscovery comes in short at about 20 hours. There’s just not much there but the basic storyline and stunning graphics. Features like item creation add a bit of side enjoyment but not enough to make you feel as though you got your money’s worth. Pass on this tittle at its’ current price of $39.99, but if you can find it in a bargain bin or Gamefly it, then give it a shot.

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    My Life As A King

    posted @ 5/13/2008 09:25:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    SquEnix has announced that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King is now available via WiiWare, Nintendo’s new downloadable games service.

    In MLAAKyour mission is to rebuild a deserted kingdom and discover what it takes to rule a nation. MLAAK is a new sim game from SquEnix complete with a storyline that includes varying difficulty levels, 17 building types and a total of 38 dungeons. MLAAK allows players to raise "adventurers" [people] of the Clavat race, customizing them with the four available jobs, and build an inn to encourage other tribes (Lilty, Selkie, Yuke) to visit their kingdom.

    The game will set you back a cool 1,500 Wii Points but has a lot of add-on content that will be available for download later on. Expand your kingdom with extra dungeons, house bundle packs and new outfits to customize characters. Click the image on right to see the add-on breakdown.

    Rebuild a nation by building houses and shops, carefully considering the best interests of the citizens. If you do it right your nation regains its former glory and the "secrets of the land..." may be revealed. Enlist adventurers with varying levels, jobs and abilities to carry out dangerous missions in return for rewards. Be mindful of the passage of time, and plan each day accordingly in order to efficiently carry out construction efforts. If it's done right, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King may be just as addictive as Animal Crossing!

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    New RPG from Squenix

    posted @ 2/16/2008 11:53:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Squenix has a new RPG for the Nintendo DS dropping in April, and surprise surprise, it's not a Final Fantasy title.

    Seriously, I'm not playing. Squenix can actually make a non-FF game, and on the DS to boot.

    The game is called The World Ends With You and is from the creative minds behind Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts but is not Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts. Squenix wants you to know, trust, and believe this.

    The World Ends With You is an action-RPG adventure set in modern-day Tokyo. Originally released in Japan as Subarashiki Kono Sekai, the games major influences are said to be based on the current trends in music, fashion, and design of Japan.

    The story starts with the player taking over as Neku Sakuraba. Neku is a keep to myself, total non-social 15-year-old boy who one day wakes up to find himself in Shibuya [the shopping district of Tokyo, Japan] unexpectedly. Neku receives a text message warning him that he will cease to exist unless he accomplishes a certain mission. Without gaining a full grasp of what is going on, Neku proceeds through the streets of Shibuya carrying out the designated tasks. Most of the gameplay focuses on finding clues and battling the bad guys, which are called "Noise" in this game. Players can use Neku's mindreading abilities to hear people's thoughts by using the DS touch screen. The game feature lists includes:

    • Distinctive modern art style created by a team of artists led by Tetsuya Nomura,
    • Innovative Stride-Cross Battle System allows players to control two characters simultaneously, unleashing special attacks with the stylus
    • The ability to collect a vast array of custom-designed pins, each with a powerful psychic ability that can be activated with the right touch or sound command
    • Customize characters with Shibuya’s coolest fashions and exchange items with other players via Mingle Mode
    • Experience an amazing soundtrack combining a fusion of musical influences from hip-hop to rock to electronica
    • Battle with up to three friends in Tin Pin Slammer, an exciting and fast-paced mini-game, via local wireless connection.


    If they weren't trying to pitch me so hard on how cool this game is, and how stylish it is, I might actually be interested in it. Well see what happens on April 22nd.

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