Music To My Ears: 1990

Here I'm going to attempt to introduce another new element to the blog, namely that of playlist recommendations.

I often find myself trying to relive the sounds of a particular year, sometimes just for the shock feeling of 'did this really come out that long ago?!', so I've decided to begin by going back to my childhood in the early 90s. Hopefully if you have the songs and give it a go, maybe the music will take you away.

I try to aim for some diversity, but my preference has always been rock music so expect a fair amount of it!

Each year will consist of 25 selected songs, in no particular order. And let's face it, I'm bound to have a boatload of great tracks missing too!!

1990

Crazy - Seal

A Little Time - Beautiful South

Healing Hands - Elton John

Sacrifice - Elton John

Show Me Heaven - Maria McKee

She's So High - Blur

Forever - Kiss

(I Wanna Give You) Devotion - Nomad

We Die Young - Alice in Chains

Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter - Iron Maiden

Thunderstruck - AC/DC

This Is How It Feels - Inspiral Carpets

Freedom '90 - George Michael

Infinity - Guru Josh

Step On - Happy Mondays

Lazyitis - Happy Mondays

I Go To Extremes - Billy Joel

Dub Be Good To Me - Beats International

Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O' Connor

Black Cat - Janet Jackson

Ride On Time - Black Box

Promise Me - Beverley Craven

Gonna Make You Sweat - C+C Music Factory

Groove is in the Heart - Deee-Lite

Fool's Gold - Stone Roses

Bit of a random mix up there, hopefully a little bit of something for everyone!!

Next time I'll crack out 1991 :-)

Review: Final Fantasy II (PSP/PS Vita)

My aim to play through each entry in the mainline Final Fantasy series (excluding online titles) has just notched up its second way point as I have just recently completed the Anniversary Edition of Final Fantasy II using my Playstation Vita. 

This game has something of a bad reputation amongst fans of the series, owing to historic problems in older versions of the game relating to character stat improvements (primarily). This was my first time playing through the game, and I can honestly say that I felt this game was a step above the original Final Fantasy in almost every way. Read on for more..

Story

This entry marks the first time in a Final Fantasy game that there is a real, tangible and interactive narrative taking place. The game begins with the lead heroes Firion, Maria, Guy and Leon fleeing their home town after it was attacked by the Palamecian Empire. After this initial encounter, Leon disappears and the rest of the group are discovered by rebels. The plot of the game consists of a quest to destroy the Empire's 'Dreadnought' warship, before progressing on to the quest of liberating the land from Emperor Mateus.

There are very few twists along the way, aside from one that may seem very predictable. The plot is therefore straightforward, but the game contains a supporting cast which add a fair element of variety to the game play as well as to the plot itself. Side characters such as Minwu and Ricard ended up being my preferred characters in the narrative.

For the Anniversary Edition, there are also two 'bonus quests' included, the Arcane Labyrinth and Soul of Rebirth. Each has its own self contained narrative, SoR more than the Arcane Labyrinth, but these also help in fleshing out various aspects of the story and make the additional game play more interesting to play through.

As far as story is concerned, FF2 has already progressed massively beyond its forebear, in big ways as well as some smaller ones - the addition of main characters that actually speak, for one! The game feels far more guided by the narrative in this instalment than the original game where the plot felt somewhat loose.

By modern standards, this story is nothing groundbreaking at all and you certainly should not be expecting some of the indepth lore found in contemporary gaming, but there is an attractive quality in this games relatively straightforward narrative that kept me interested throughout.

Visuals

The visuals are an area of subtle improvements over the original Final Fantasy. Character animations during story related scenes are small but noticeable improvements when compared to the first game. This also goes for dialogue - portraits of the characters are used to express basic emotions during conversations and can also help provide a reminder of certain villains' appearances and other members of the supporting cast.

During battles, the monsters' artwork has been completely overhauled from the original game, and in many cases this is a great thing - Gigas monsters, Golems, Dragons and the Iron Giant for example, all looked like they would be genuinely tough battles based on their appearances alone. Spells cast during the battles had mainly anti-climactic animations - I was relatively disappointed on my first uses of Flare and Ultima looking like they weren't quite as impressive as the story made them sound. Another small touch in battles that I found quirky was the party running off screen at the end of a battle - I believe this is the first and only time I recall this happening in a Final Fantasy title.

Environments tended to look similar to those in Final Fantasy, I felt. I didn't find myself wowed by any of the villages, despite subtle improvements to relatively minor assets. However, later areas of the game such as Pandaemonium were much more impressive to see, boasting a wide range of colours and detail.

The overall look of the game is still very retro and almost childish in its art form, but this game is very much a product of its time and if you intend to play through, it is best to accept the art style as part of the games charm. The sprites will grow on you!

Audio

A hallmark of a Final Fantasy game is a great soundtrack, and this game delivers well. Gone are the repetitive and grating shop jingles of the first game, however  the core game still uses a small selection of tracks to cover each of the games areas.

The world map music is fantastic, catchy and melodic but determined and moody at the same time. Likewise the battle theme is driven, calling on elements of the world map theme and varying slightly to deliver a catchy tune. This is without mentioning the music for the final battle of the game, and the final dungeon. This series of games has always, in my view, delivered in spades when it comes to a climactic final confrontation and Final Fantasy II is no exception.

There are drawbacks, however. The NES technology this game was originally developed for means that there are a limited number of tracks and they do still become repetitive after several dungeon trawls, or after visiting numerous towns or castles. The music in all cases is catchy but it does wear thin when you are accustomed to more modern, ever-changing soundtracks in games.

Gameplay

Like its predecessor, Final Fantasy II's game play is where the title has to deliver. In my view, it does. Beyond the template layout of the game itself (tropes such as the world map, currency, random battles etc) the actual core battle mechanics have been completely and utterly scrapped, resulting in a totally fresh experience from start to end.

The levelling system works in a similar way to Elder Scrolls, in the sense that using a particular skill will cause it to level up. For example, the more you use a spear then the higher your proficiency with a spear will be. Or the more you use a type of magic, the more potent it will become (up to a maximum of 16 magic levels). Suffice to say that by the end of the game you would be unlikely to have maximised many of these skills unless you spent a very lengthy amount of time grinding.

In the game's original release, this system proved to be controversial and seems to be one of the chief reasons people don't bother with it now. This is unnecessary with the anniversary edition - I found that the only time I really had to grind throughout the entire game was when saving currency for equipment, and I certainly did not resort to the often referred method for 'cheating' to level up.

The addition of the Arcane Labyrinth section to the game provided me, as the player, with the opportunity to level up my party at numerous points throughout the game to gain rare equipment and open up the plot line of the associated side quest - if you are considering playing, do it this way and your grinding fears will be alleviated.

This game is also notable for other reasons, such as the introduction of Chocobos (big yellow birds) as a form of transport, the first in-game appearance of a character using the name of 'Cid', the introduction of the Ultima spell and Behemoth monsters, among others. Each of these aspects all assisted in building the games mythos and game play in a positive way.

Honestly, I had a blast with this game. My biggest gripe would be the lack of intuity with quests like the Arcane Labyrinth. Compared with the rest of the game and it's linearity, this dungeon threw a spanner in the works by forcing me to research online to save potentially hours of time in working out how it works. Otherwise, I felt that the game play thoroughly complemented the story and I enjoyed both immensely.

Even on completion, the game unlocks a new dungeon which replays the story's final hours from a different perspective. This added an additional five hours of time to my total, making it a 45 hour investment of time to complete the game. As if that wasn't enough, there is also an in-game bestiary for you to complete which was another fun little distraction in its own right.

Summary

In all, this game makes for a solid entry in the Final Fantasy series. I feel that history has been unkind to this game, and that this Anniversary Edition is very much the definitive way to experience Final Fantasy II without the issues and pains from the original version.

It also marks a solid route of innovation and development over the original game. Instead of clinging onto elements that were successful, Squaresoft instead delivered a brand new experience from start to finish, setting a hallmark for what would become a standard of the Final Fantasy series.

Rating 4/5

Tips and Tricks: Final Fantasy II - Arcane Labyrinth

So I am nearing completion of my first ever playthrough of Final Fantasy II (Anniversary Edition) on the Playstation Vita, and during my time with the game I noticed that there seem to be a few elements up in the air with regards to the Arcane Labyrinth.

The Arcane Labyrinth is a collection of three dungeons (and three bosses) and one super boss that can be accessed relatively early on in the game. The dungeons are traversed by the usage of 'key terms', a prominent mechanic in FF2. Each key term you use takes you to a new level, with a certain puzzle or challenge being required for completion in each case.

The North-West Labyrinth has four floors and one boss level, North-East has seven floors and one boss level, and South has ten floors and one boss level. Completion of all three dungeons is required to access the superboss Phrekyos.

Yes yes, but what is the point of all this? Ultimate weapons of course! The Labyrinth allows you to gain access to an ultimate weapon for each character in your party, including the temporary ones. This means it is in your interest to dive in as early as possible, just bear in mind the character you want the weapon for must be in your party at the time for you to equip it - otherwise it's a wasted trip.

Taking on a tricky dungeon very early on can be daunting, especially when bonus areas like this are often left until post-game completion. So here is what I did to tackle this challenge:

Guides
There are some great guides out there which were instrumental in helping me get through the dungeons in a timely manner, two that I found most helpful were:

http://www.supercheats.com/psp/walkthroughs/finalfantasyiianniversaryedition-walkthrough02.txt
A walkthrough for each level in the labyrinth, labelled by the associated key term. Pay attention to which new key terms can be gained by a level, if any; and

http://www.gamefaqs.com/psp/937910-final-fantasy-ii-anniversary-edition/faqs/49816
A guide to which key terms are best used for each character. To actually receive the relevant weapon, you must ensure that the choices of key term made in the dungeons are 'compatible' with your character of choice, and these are all detailed in the link.

Process
I found the best way of dealing with these was simply one level at a time. This is particularly useful when you are tackling a new collection of key terms, as you can complete one dungeon, gain a new key word, leave the dungeon, save your progress (and exp), and then re enter the Labyrinth to complete the next stage, and so on. This is particularly useful as you cannot save from within the Labyrinth, so if your party dies then your progress will be lost.

This is also useful for learning the layouts of the stages and assessing a quick exit for each level - once you complete the required task of a particular key term, you do not have to do so again. For example, every time you select the 'Wild Rose' key term, it is only your first time through that you must defeat all enemy soldiers. Every subsequent time you can simply bolt for the exit to speed things up.

When to Tackle?

I found the following times best to take on the Arcane Labyrinth, depending on the weapon you hope to acquire:

Minwu - after the Dreadnought launches, before returning to Altair take the time to unlock all key words to this stage, and then unlock Minwu's weapon.

Josef - after receiving the snowcraft. Make it a priority to get his ultimate weapon - the stat increases from recently obtaining Minwu's weapon should set your party at an advantage.

Gordon - do not attempt this until the second time Gordon joins your party. When you are tasked with heading to the Coliseum, take a detour to the Arcane Labyrinths first.

Leila - this was the only ultimate weapon that I considered expendable and so did not bother. However, if you are inclined to gain Leila's weapon then do so after visiting the Cave of Mysidia.

Ricard - best tackled after your first battle with the Emperor, and prior to entering Palamecia Castle to deal with the Dark Knight.

Leon, Maria, Guy, Firion - before entering the Jade Passage. At this point you should be able to wrap up any new key term levels and gain significant stat boosts to assist in traversing the Jade Passage and onwards.

The final set will be the biggest traul, and with the now stronger bosses to fight can be quite difficult. However, if you have taken the time to level up by attempting the Labyrinths earlier in the game, as suggested above, then you should not find yourself at a disadvantage.

Bosses
The boss monsters change as the game progresses and should never be 'too tough' - a Big Horn was the first boss I fought, whilst by the end of the game you are set against the likes of a Black Dragon.

Final Notes
And remember, you must complete all three Labyrinths and defeat Phrekyos for each individual weapon for each respective character. This can be grueling, but it is the most fun way to give a bit of purpose to level grinding!!

As a final note, Phrekyos' lair (Arcane Sanctuary) can be found above Poft, in between the NW and NE Arcane Labyrinths. There is a small range of mountains which have a tiny white dot marking the entrance. And be prepared, Phrekyos is a very tough battle indeed no matter which point of the game you are at!

Hope the info above helps, any questions or comments please sound off below.

Album Review: High Hopes (Bruce Springsteen)

My first album review, and it's fitting that this should be by one of my most recently discovered musical heroes. Bruce Springsteen first caught my attention with Wrecking Ball in 2012, and I like many others have been awaiting the followup, which debuted earlier in 2014 in the form of High Hopes.

Composed of various covers, re-imaginings and outtakes from previous albums, plus a new partnership with Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, the album is a solid addition to Springsteen's catalogue, with some patchy aspects which are perhaps due to the nature of this mish-mashed project.

The Music

Truthfully this album took a couple of listens for me to really warm up to. The debut single, High Hopes, on first listen, left me cold compared to the tracks from Wrecking Ball. However, immediate redemption came on learning that a studio version of American Skin (41 Shots) was to be included in the album - a track for which I had longed for a definitive studio rendition for as long as I had been a fan (far shorter for me than some others).

This feels like an album that needs to grow on the listener - the first tracks that I enjoyed on a basic level were Harry's Place (which feels like a Bruce vs Goodfellas mashup), American Skin (one of Bruce's finest songs, with a driving beat and a killer solo by Tom Morello), Hunter of Invisible Game (a great ballad track), and Ghost of Tom Joad (a rocked-up duet with Tom Morello, giving the track a renewed feeling). Only four tracks out of twelve!! Incidentally, these remain the tracks that I would consider essential to the album, with many others making for pleasant, if forgettable listens.

High Hopes and Just Like Fire Would both felt anti climactic despite their attempted bombast. Down In The Hole makes for a solid and brooding Bruce track, however the following three tracks I felt were the weakest on the album. The record comes to a close with The Wall and Dream Baby Dream, which were a great contrast from each other and a solid way for the record to come to an end.

A mixed bag, then, in terms of quality. I found the covers tracks to be very middle of the road, while many of the songs from Bruce's back catalogue comprised the strongest segments of the album.

Length

As with every Springsteen record, this album has a respectable length at twelve tracks running just under one hour, with most tracks being an average length of four and a half minutes. However, there are a few tracks contained within with longer track times - fortunately, these comprise some of the albums strongest moments.

This is a record you could completely finish on a morning commute, so well worth taking the time out to listen.

Summary

It is difficult to recommend this album as wholly essential - it has moments of greatness, and with American Skin the album contains one of my single favourite Springsteen tracks. However, the at-times forgettable quality of several of the tracks included prevent the album from being truly great.

The quality is varied enough that the weaker songs are bolstered by the stronger ones around them, and at no point should you really find yourself reaching for the off switch, though the skip button could be a different matter.

For every weaker track on the album, you will find a great moment which, if you are already a fan of Bruce, makes the album worth investing in. Perhaps best avoided if you are looking to hear Bruce for the first time - try 2012's Wrecking Ball instead.

Rating

3/5

Top Tracks

American Skin (41 Shots)
The Hunter of Invisible Game
The Ghost of Tom Joad
The Wall

Review: Limbo (PS Vita)

Inbetween the completion of Final Fantasy I and beginning to tackle Final Fantasy II (review and a tips post both coming soon), I took some time out to play one of the Playstation brand's more celebrated 'Indie' titles, Limbo. Admittedly I was very late to the party with this one, but nonetheless found the game to be very convenient for portability, more than a little 'moreish', and actually refreshingly short. Playing on the Vita System, read on for my impressions below...

Story

The story of Limbo is perhaps intended more for interpretation by the audience. There is no real driving narrative, every hint that we have for the plotline is derived entirely from the opening few seconds, the journey itself of the silent protagonist, and the somewhat cryptic ending.

Limbo is not what I would describe as a narrative given game, rather the environment exists as a means for the game to take place. Perhaps the name of the game is a clue in itself - it did cross my mind as to whether the game was intended to be set in the traditional 'limbo' or 'purgatory' ideal, so more of a spiritual setting than anything else.

Nonetheless, the journey of the leading character, a small boy, takes us through a forest, a tribal area, a factory/technological environment and a city, with a smattering of caves included for good measure. There is a journey here, though its purpose remains something of a mystery to me, even after completion.

Visuals

Limbo is distinctive. Very distinctive in fact - the visual flair of the game is comprised entirely of silhouettes, and makes fantastic usage of light and dark in all areas - one particular section being set in perpetual darkness so that only the protagonists eyes were visible.

The creatures and characters encountered on the way are conveyed with all of the eeriness, and to an extent, otherworldly-ness that could be required of them - the bugs and insects in this game are a particular highlight, but at risk of spoilers I will say no more.

The backgrounds of the game provide significant detail and contrast to the silhouette-esque foreground. The forest comes to life with the thick ancient trees packing the backdrop, and the more urban areas equally come to life with vibrant electricity sparking, water cascading from pipes, electric saws spinning with menace and so on. Each of the visual elements reinforce the environments convincingly, sometimes the switch from one to another is so seamless that it can almost go unnoticed.
I can't really even begin to assess drawbacks from the visual style, the appearance of the game gives the title its identity, enhances the gameplay and ensures a consistent atmosphere throughout.

A final special note goes to the death animations, some of which I found to be startlingly gory. Given some of the situations encountered it makes sense, but my expectation going in was that player deaths would be far 'easier on the eyes'. Subverted my expectations with this, but it actually helped in my efforts to prevent the character from dying.

Music

Not much can be said about the games soundtrack, given that it doesn't really have one. That said, Limbo's audio standards are incredible. Any feelings of impending doom I felt during this game were cultivated by the audio - I mentioned earlier a pitch black area. This portion requires navigation by sound ONLY - which means estimating when to take risks, such as timing when to jump over a mechanised moving saw without being able to see it.

Tension was achieved admirably by the mix of the visuals and audio, and I would insist that, if possible, this game be played with the use of headphones. It will make it that much more impressive.

Gameplay

This brings me to the gameplay itself, and to be honest this title marked a refreshing change for me. Puzzle based games tend not to entice me so much, having far more of a preference for action and narrative based games. Many of the sequences involved in the game are straightforward with a gradual incline in difficulty as the game progresses. There were sections towards the end of the game where I would be close to tearing my hair out, but would then notice a small yet obvious detail that would present me with a quick solution (particularly with the anti-gravity sections).

Repetitive deaths did become frustrating in faster paced areas, particularly an encounter with a large creature earlier on in the game where I could find no means of escape for a time. However, with perseverance the answer did eventually present itself.

The game is a thinker, and to reveal all of the games secrets you should try venturing to areas which may seem inaccessible - admittedly, with help from an online guide I succeeded in locating the games trophies. Otherwise, I have no doubt that the game would have been completed whilst utterly missing the secret areas.

Limbo is also addictive, you might find it punishing when getting stuck but there will always be a niggling feeling to try just one more time, changing that one small detail to see if it helps. The game is also fast moving, there are never any real 'downtime' moments aside from just not moving, urging you ever onwards.

Summary

Limbo, then, is an achievement in almost all areas. Addictive gameplay supported by unique visuals and an exceptional attention to audio detail make this something of a sensory experience.

The biggest negative I can take away is that I felt absolutely no compulsion to play through the adventure again, short of revisiting specific moments for trophy purposes. Unfortunately this is something of an issue, even later DLC support with shorter independent puzzles might have worked well to flesh things out.

The relatively short time (my completion was between three and a half to four hours) that you play Limbo will be memorable, and it will be engaging, and you will want more. It is just a shame that there is little the game offers that really compels us to return to it later. However, at the incredibly reasonable price point on PSN (for free at times with PS+ subscription), this game demands your attention for at least one playthrough, and it will be one of those games that you do not want to put down.

Ranking: 3.5/5