We've already ranked our Top 7 favorite Final Fantasy games but now it's all about the spinoffs. With the release of Final Fantasy XIII-2 this week, we decided to go back and look at all the games that were not part of the main series...
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Traditional wisdom suggests that fictional superstars never change. Bugs Bunny, Homer Simpson and Superman, for example, have endured for decades with more or less the same appearance. They never age, never look incredibly dated (save for a few misguided revamps that die off) and consistently appeal to a new generation. The same can’t be said for videogame characters, though.
As a technology-based medium, game heroes and villains cannot remain the same. They must constantly evolve, or risk looking “last gen.” That doesn’t mean the new or old designs take precedence, it just means no developer will ever, ever leave its creation alone. Now, with decades of console history to pull from, let’s take a look at the “old” designs and see how they stack up against their modern equivalents...
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An oddball standout among FFXIII's 80+ stellar tracks, "Pulse de Chocobo" will get your ass moving!
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During the past three days we’ve declared the greatest Final Fantasy game of all, hand-picked the franchise’s best LINK TO HERO heroes and jeered at its mightiest LINK TO VILLAINS villains. Today, we’re digging a bit deeper into the series and acknowledging the nearly unsung greatness of their rich, moving soundtracks.
The RPG holds a special place in gamers’ hearts, and with good reason; epic, sweeping stories filled with interesting characters draw the player in and get combined with magic-filled battles against towering monsters and villainous cads.
Yesterday we played goody two shoes and honored the most effective and selfless Final Fantasy heroes in the series’s history. Today, we’re treading the Sith-tinged “fast and easy” path and cuddling up to the franchise’s worst (as in best) villains. Like it or not, they make the story what it is – without their sociopathic antics, we wouldn’t even have a game to play.
Our look back on gaming’s most-massivest RPG franchise continues with a shakedown of the coolest, most capable or selflessly tragic heroes the series has to offer. Yesterday we sorted out which LINK TO TOP 7 game was at the top – today it’s all about the man who ties it all together
As series with 13 entries and an ungodly amount of spin-off titles, Final Fantasy stirs up a great amount of excitement when a new game arrives. XIII hits the US next week, making it not just the first entry on the PS3/360, but also the first numbered sequel since 2006’s Final Fantasy XII.
One reason we like games is that the stakes are high. The good guys are really good, the bad guys are really bad, and the princesses are really doe-eyed. But sometimes, games manage to work in villains that operate in shades of gray… and other times, they accidentally make a villain out of the most sympathetic guy in the story.
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The Topics:
Top 7… trendy game design crutches – gravelly voices and hoods unite!
Batman: Arkham Asylum kicks all our asses – we’ve dubbed it “the Bioshock of 2009,” and brought some moody audio for your discerning ears.Dissidia: Final Fantasy voiceovers – are as stilted and plodding as ever. Anyone tell Square that it’s 2009, not 1999?
And more!
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