Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Square Enix

They don't make JRPGs like they used to, but maybe that's a good thing.

While classic JRPGs thrived during the PlayStation 1 era and saw major innovations during the PlayStation 2 era, the PlayStation 3 era marked a major fall from grace for the genre. Save for a few major titles like Dark Souls and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, fresh JRPG releases had grown increasingly scarce, and even the more major titles like Final Fantasy XIII were plagued by mixed reviews.

But with the PlayStation 4, JRPGs have seen a return to prominence. Sure, there may not be as many individual releases of bizarre, unheard of IPs like there were during the PS1 era, but PS4 era JRPGs have more than made up for quantity with quality. These are the best-of-the-best:

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CULTURE

The "Final Fantasy VII Remake" Demo Is Pure Joy

With fresh gameplay, Final Fantasy VII Remake looks great and plays great.

Final Fantasy VII Remake - Final Trailer | PS4

There's a certain surrealism inherent to playing the demo of a game that you've been doggedly following for five years.

Going into the demo for Final Fantasy VII Remake, I knew exactly what to expect—After all, the demo was first playable at E3 2019, and videos of second-hand playthroughs have been on YouTube ever since. I knew that the demo covered Cloud's first mission alongside Barret and the eco-terrorist group, Avalanche. I knew that I'd get to slash the sh!t out of some Shinra goons. I knew that a giant metal scorpion waited for me at the Mako reactor's core.

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Gaming

ROLE PLAYGROUND | Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Somehow this game feels both traditional and totally new, and I'm loving it.

It's very easy for a JRPG to become repetitious - it can fall back into the same old tropes and get lost in its faux-grand storyline.

It's not the games aren't trying their best to be original - usually they are, but when you boil everything down it's always the same: Some evil group or person is threatening the kingdom, so a group of ragtag rebels seek to take them down all the while - something eviler lurks beneath the surface.

It's a simple formula, but it's effective. Hell, Final Fantasy has made an entire franchise out recycling that plot over and over and over and over again. But Final Fantasy makes the right changes - they fix up the game play or add a few more elements that previous games have never had before. They attempt to improve.

Level 5's Ni No Kuni II doesn't just attempt to improve - it succeeds. It takes it's simple plot, and packs it with so much fun things to do that you don't even realize that you've definitely played something like it before. Whether your mustering up your troop or building up your town Dark Cloud-style - you'll never stop having fun.

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Gaming

VIDEO GAY-MER | What are some great gay couples in video games?

They are few and far between, but I've managed to narrow down a few of my favorites.

In the world of queer gaming, we have to latch onto the canon queer couples that we're given.

We don't see a lot of them, and when we do, we love them with all of our hearts. Admittedly, half of the time one of them dies or they're barely there, but even then they matter a little bit. They matter much more than the queerbait-y, kind-of-sort-of-barely couples that we're given (cough-cough Life is Strange cough-cough).

It's hard to pick some, because you have the think about exactly what counts as "canon." Like, Life is Strange is not canon - it's hinted at and never followed through. Sorry, but that ending where you pick Chloe doesn't count. So, in the end, these are the main criteria for this small list:

1. They have to be a romance between two out characters.

2. Neither can die - because killing queer characters for pain is annoying. Queer people die/have died enough in real life.

3. If they are optional - then they have to be a romance-able option that affects your character.

4. If they are side characters, then they need to be a major driving force in the game.

And with that, here are a few of my favorite couples.

Gregg and Angus (Night in the Woods)

A couple of months back, I wrote about Night in the Woods and its important contribution to the queer gaming world. This little adventure/exploration game had some astounding representations of bisexuality and mental illness. But the heart of the game lies in the relationship between characters Angus and Gregg.

When I played through the game a second time, it floored me how layered these guys' relationship was. Mostly, you see this through Gregg. You hear him constantly talking about how he doesn't deserve Angus, because Angus is a really good guy. This is a typical trope in a lot of relationships in media, but it's not something you see in a lot of queer relationships.

Most of the time, it constantly revolves around the struggle with sexuality and coming to terms with that while being in a relationship. Both Angus and Gregg are very real gay characters in the sense that they don't have to deal with that. Sure, they both probably dealt with that separately - but by the time Night in the Woods starts, they're in a committed relationship. The only issue is Gregg's idea that he isn't good enough for his boyfriend, because he thinks he's trash.

And while that is sad, it's really great to see queer characters getting treated like real people with real problems.

Samantha and Lonnie (Gone Home)

Now, on the other end of the spectrum, we have Samantha and Lonnie from the queer classic, Gone Home! This couple has the odd distinction of never appearing on screen. We hear Samantha's voice, but we never interact with either her or Lonnie. Instead, we take the role of Katie, Samantha's sister, as she pieces together what happened in her home while she was away.

During your time, you figure out that Samantha had a hard time adjusting to life in her new high school. But, she finds solace in a girl named Yolanda, or Lonnie, and eventually they become romantically intertwined. However, when Katie and Sam's parents find out - Sam is forbidden to see Lonnie. And Lonnie finds out that she's about to ship out to join the army.

However, all is not lost, they do end up together. While it's tragic that Samantha had to suffer - what makes her and Lonnie's relationship so important is the power it gave Samantha. Not only did she get the courage to leave her home, but she found acceptance and love in someone. There was no suicide, there was no death or physical pain of any sort. And Samantha didn't let the tragedy of her parents' horrible parenting define her.

And while we never find out what Katie thinks of everything - I like to believe that she loves Sam and Lonnie just as much as I do.

The Sole Survivor and Preston

I know, I have a lot of negative opinions about Fallout 4 - but even I can't deny that they did right by us queer folk by including some amazing same-sex romancing options. My favorite of which has to be the goody two-shoes of the Commonwealth, Preston Garvey. I don't know what it is about this guy. Is it because he fights for the people of the Commonwealth with such tenacity? Or is it because he looks to you as a friend and a beacon of hope, not just for the people, but for himself?

What makes this relationship, and literally every queer relationship option in this game, is how important each character is to the game and unapologetically in love with you they are allowed to fall. Each character plays an important part in the story, or they have a specific side quest that has a pretty interesting story attached. Preston, for example, brings back an entire militia to defend the Commonwealth.

Preston is important, and his sexuality does not define him, but he is also never afraid to love you. There is never a moment where he's like, "But you're a man!" None of the characters are like that. They just fall in love with you - and that means so much! Doesn't it?

So, what did you think of my list? Did you agree? Did you not agree? Well, if you did, wonderful! If not, tell me why in the comments. Or, better yet, tell me what you think your list would be! I'd like to hear more from you guys.

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Gaming

GAMING NEWS | These "Kingdom Hearts III" trailers have me FREAKING OUT!

It's not much, but any kind of release of ANYTHING has me feeling spoiled.

For those you that don't know, I am a huge fan of Kingdom Hearts. It's one of the first games I ever beat completely, and I have followed it carefully since 2005 - back when I was just a 9 year-old little tyke. Since it's first game, Kingdom Hearts has been a massive success across virtually every platform (except for anything Microsoft owned, for now) thanks to its many, many prequels and mid-quels. But despite the success, people have been wondering just what's happening with third main installment.

Back in 2013, a reveal trailer was released and showed that not only was Kingdom Hearts III finally in development, but it was going to be on an all new engine with a nice new set of intense battle mechanics. Of course, the fanfare was short lived as we were quickly told that the game was far from finished.

Flash-forward to last week. Not only have we been given an amazing trailer that seems to contain a lot of new content, but we've also got Hikaru Utada's latest theme! And let me tell you something, it is beautiful. Plus, we also have a new trailer from the D23 expo, showcasing new worlds and some brilliant new game play mechanics. It looks dazzling and chaotic and more alive than I've seen a Kingdom Hearts game since KH2.

KINGDOM HEARTS III Theme Song Trailer – “Don’t Think Twice” by Hikaru Utada

KINGDOM HEARTS III is coming to Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation® 4 in 2018. Fore More Information: https://goo.gl/mJVt5i International superstar Hika...

KINGDOM HEARTS III – D23 Expo Japan 2018 Monsters, Inc. Trailer

KINGDOM HEARTS III is coming to Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation® 4 in 2018. Find more information: https://goo.gl/mKWRUC Originally aired at Disney’s...


Here are my thoughts on both trailers:

The Monster's Inc. World and Toy Story

I'm super pumped about this. I think they're an amazing addition to the many Disney-filled world's we've been given in the past. I'm pumped to see Pixar finally making an appearance in the Kingdom Hearts mythos. And it seems like the design team has worked really hard in keeping the spirits of the both Toy Story and Monster's Inc. in their design. Although, I am curious as to how they're going to incorporate each of the games' stories into the game.

From what little we've seen, it feels like they're taking more of a KH1 approach - and making the story of each world revolve around Sora and company. Unlike KH2, which had every world going through the stories of the films they were inspired by... and Sora just happened to step in and help.

Who knows?

Tangled World

We've also seen more of the beautiful forested world - and I'm pretty sure that it's the Tangled world that got confirmed a while back. It looks amazing - and I can't wait to explore every nook and cranny of it.

Marluxia

What? Where did he come from? I guess I shouldn't be surprised - after all, we all know how crazy this series can get. For those that don't know, Marluxia was the final boss of Sora's section of the Gameboy Advanced midquel, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. And here he is, back again - or perhaps this isn't Marluxia? Maybe he's returned to normal, and just kept the cool coat.

I know I would have.

Sora/Ventus/Roxas/Vanitas

This crazy grouping seems to also be getting some closure. We even see Vanitas - the dark version of BbS protagonist, Ventus - approaching Sora and doing something nefarious. Perhaps we'll find out why Vanitas looks so much like Sora? We also see Xemnas and company confronting Sora - no doubt trying to talk to him about Roxas for whatever reason? I don't know for sure.

The only person that isn't really talked about is Ventus - who we saw react to Sora's happiness at the end of Dream Drop Distance. I can only imagine what's going to happen with them - after all, it seems that Terra, Ventus, and Aqua are going to be a major part of this installment.

Riku and Mickey

We also see an clip of Riku abandoning his old, dark keyblade in the World of Darkness - and saying that he doesn't need it anymore. I can't wait to see what this game has in store for him - I hope they do the KH:3D route and give us both his and Sora' story side-by-side.

What's Missing?

Nothing, as far as I can see. I think they are smart in steadily revealing their details. The game is set to come out this year, and is apparently supposed to have a surprise that creator, Tetsuya Nomura, has been wanting to add since he created the series.

But that could be me hoping too much.

What do you think? Is there anything I've missed? Is there some story element that went over my head that was confirmed ages ago? Let me know!

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Listen, I sat down with every intention of playing Monster Hunter: World and loving the hell out of it. It's a game that's beautiful and grand, but this grandiose beauty got lost in the game's playability. I also walked into this game blind - having never played a MH game before in my life. And sure, that definitely hindered my experience - because I know that this series has specific conventions, but that shouldn't matter.

A big game like this should be able to appeal to more than just fans, and obviously it has, but I feel like there are some key issues that need to be addressed. While the world is beautiful, and the character designs are fun and funky, it gets screwed over by clunky fight controls that overshadow the game's more innovative moments.

THE GAME

Monster Hunter: World takes place on a continent called The New World, a mostly uninhabited continent filled with a lush, harsh environment. Several fleets have come to the island and created settlements for both research and obviously hunting and tracking the many creatures that inhabit the island. You take control of your Hunter, and along with your Handler, are called with the Fifth Fleet - which has been summoned by the Research Commission.

Upon arrival, you barely survive an encounter with a massive Elder Dragon, Zorah Magdaros, and make it to the settlement of Astera. Once you settle in, you are told that the Fifth Fleet is responsible for figuring what draws the Zorah Magdaros to this lush, new world by tracking it's movements and setting up camp based on where it goes. And by clearing out other hostile monsters, of course.

THE GOOD

There's a lot of good in this game, obviously. It's received massive acclaim upon its release. I think the biggest part has to be the lush world design and the active environments within that world. From the very beginning, I was treated to a world so beautiful and vibrant and got I mesmerized by it. It's very difficult for an open world to feel so alive - and I'm thankful that these guys made it such an important aspect of the game.

I know that when I travel around this world for a hunt - I'm going to interact with an environment that reacts to me, and that matters! It mostly works really well, it makes the hunts very dynamic and if it weren't for the controls - I'd keep singing praises.

Of course, the environments aren't the only thing that this game has going for it. I was surprised at how much I liked the character designs. I'm usually a less-is-more kind of guy - growing up with Enix's out-there designs would do that to you - but there's a certain charm in the way Monster Hunter does things. The big weapons seem small next to the large enemies - and the freedom in the character creator helps you make whatever kind of character you want! It's nice.

THE BAD

The bad part of this game concerns me the most. In a game that revolves Monster Hunting, the controls just need to be better. A lot of this bled through from previous games - and I understand that, and I'm sure that a lot of people have gotten used to them. And obviously a lot of other people have managed to power through - but I just couldn't. From the first fight - I struggled.

I didn't struggle because the game was hard (or harder than a game like this should be), I struggled because the fighting mechanics were annoying. The combo system felt slow and obnoxious - even with the so-called fast movement weapons like the sword and shield.

New controls should be a learning curve, but I feel like there should be a level of intuitiveness that just wasn't there for me. It really breaks the immersion and makes the game less fun, which is unfortunate, because there is a lot of really good stuff here. But games need good controls and I don't think Monster Hunter: World has them.

THE BOTTOM LINE

This game is hit or miss. It was a definite miss for me, and I won't be purchasing my own copy. I'm glad my little brother has his! I do think that some people will find it fun, and the obviously already have, so I'd definitely say rent the game first. In some way? Maybe? But yeah, I didn't enjoy it, because the controls weren't fun.

I don't care how beautiful a game is - it has to be fun.

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