M.M. Kin Video Game Review - Final Fantasy V

Look at that! More elemental crystals! We must save the four crystals again or the forces of darkness will take over the world!

Wait... didn't we already do this before? Three times already, if I recall... in FFI, III, and IV. Wow, these crystals must be super-important!

But the game is still good. The storyline is unique enough from previous ones that despite the thing with the Crystals, it doesn't feel like some boring rehash. The Jobs system is back, and impvoed, so that skills you learned from one job path can be chosen/retained even if you choose a different path, so you can be a Thief who knows White or Black magic, or a Mage with physical fighting skills (i.e. Monk or Knight) which makes it pretty awesome.

This is a pretty fantastic installment in the series, with five characters with stories that fit well into the main story, and the artwork and gameplay is pretty fantastic. FFIV had some pretty great graphics, but it was in SNES' earlier days, FFV came along when SNES was improving in its graphics and I loved the designs of some of the bosses/villians.

The Gameboy Advance remake is pretty much what you'd expect from the updated versions of these games - you get bonus dungeons, but also several new Job designations. This game has a certain complecity in its story and world that exceeds FFIV and I wholeheartedly recommend it to FF fans.

Grade

FF5 (SNES version) A-

FF5 (GBA remake) A

M.M. Kin Video Game Review - Final Fantasy IV

I played the original SNES version in English (branded as FFII back then) when I was a teenager, and enjoyed it. The first three games in the FF series all had unique features, and flaws, as if the series was still trying to find/feel its way. FFIV was actually the very first of the original FF series I ever played, and having played the first 3 games since, I can say that FFIV has a more solid story and gameplay compared to its precedessors.

Instead of switching around jobs like in FFIII, each character in FFIV has a job and certain skills, and that doesn't change, though I don't think that's a bad thing for this installment. The story is solid, though like FFI, III, and V, there are four elemental crystals the characters need to locate/save. Kinda repetitive, but eh, whatever.

The characters have backstories/histories, which make them feel more real compared to the generic characters from FFI and III, and FFIV is the best in the series, thus far. At least in my opinion. The story of the villians, and who the real bad guy is, is also decent, and so is the dialogue... there's some funny lines mixed in with the serious/story dialogue. You also get to travel to the Moon, so whee!

Like all the other remakes so far, bonus dungeons and additional items/weapons are introduced, making a good game even better. Not only that, but the characters you previously lost in the SNES version (Cid, the twins, Yang, Edward) return as playable characters, which definitely made me very happy, LOL. All in all, I would say that though the previous games were decent (especially with their remakes) this is the first installment in the series which really, truly feels very FF-like.

Grade

FF4 (SNES version) B

FF4 (Nintendo Gameboy Advance remake) A-

M.M. Kin Video Game Review - Final Fantasy III

 The first time I played this game, it was the oroginal Famicom version (albeit translated into English) I liked this game better than its precedessor, though it was still a basic one. The four main characters all start out as basically nameless OnionKids (you choose the names) and are given no real history. Fortuately in the remake/upgrade, they are given actual names and a history.

The original version was basic but decent, with job classes you could upgrade to as the game progressed, so you could customize your characters to an extent. There are also a few characters who join you temporarily, and the storyline itself is fairly creative, but also at the same time I could not help but sympathize with the villian Xande (Zande in the Famicom English translation) because the Archmage Noah gave him a shitty gift (mortality) compared to his other students Doga (who got magic) and Unei (who got the land of dreams)

Weird thing is, Doga and Unei end up dying anyway (voluntarily) We never see Noah in flashbacks or anything like that, even in the remake of the game, so it'd have been nice if the story had been fleshed out more and Noah's decision explained.

Xande gets so pissed off that it's easy for the Big Bad to use him as a tool and manipulate him Wonder if the great Noah saw that coming, lol.

Compared to the other earlier FF games (1-VII) this game is solidly in the middle as far as the original version goes, and a bit higher as far as the remake goes.

Grade

FF3 (Nintendo/Famicom version) B-

FF3 (Nintendo DS remake) B-

I would have given the DS version a better grade (A-) if it wasn't for the Mognet feature embedded into it. The WiFi feature in Nintendo DS was shut down in 2014, and I did not play this game until what, 2015 or 2016. So I had to use Game Genie codes to access the special features unlockable only by using Mognet. Fuck Mognet.

Book Spotlight - Blood And Other Matter by Kaitlin Bevis

 I've really enjoyed this author's Daughter of Zeus series - all 6 of the books - so when she endeavoured into a new genre (horror/mystery) I was curious to see what kind of story she would write.

I was not disappointed. As far as weiting style goes, she is consistent. The Daughter of Zeus series was written for a YA audience, and so was this, so those familiar with Ms. Bevis's work will not have a hard time getting into this.

Like with her previous books, she does a good job with narration and internal dialogue, so the characters feel real. It's hard to not feel bad for Tess considering what she has to deal with, and the author does a great job of keeping the reader on the edge of their seats, wondering who is behind all this - as someone who has read a fair amount of mysteries, it's nice that the culprit isn't obvious. The various viewpoints are presented well - Tess, her friend, the asshole football players.

The story is nicely-paced, and the ending... OMG. I won't spoil it, but I can honestly say it never occured to me that THAT would happen. Though I would love to read more mytholgical books from Ms. Bevis, I am also absolutely up for reading more of this kind of book too, or whatever else she may decide to write.

Kaitlin Bevis's website - http://kaitlinbevis.com/

Where this book can be purchased - https://amzn.to/2QbFIXN

Kaitlin Bevis's other books - https://www.amazon.com/Kaitlin-Bevis/e/B00875POAG

M.M. Kin Video Game Review - Final Fantasy II

 The first time I played this game, it was the emulated version for the Famicom/NES - translated into English as it had only been available in Japan before.

It was pretty damn weird, the leveling system. To increase your HP you had to basically attack yourself or others in your party, and your magic would gain strength by using the spells. Fortunately, this kind of stat-increasing would not be used in any other FF games, at least those I played (1-7)

The story itself is typical for the FF series - not that that's a bad thing. Your characters are on the run from an evil empire that wants to take over the world. It's been a long time since I played this game, or the GBA update, so I admit there's not a huge amount I remember about the details. You did have key words to remember from conversations, mentioning these keywords to other NPCs would garner you information.

It was an all right game compared to others in the series, and the GBA version did improve it a bit. Not something I recommend unless you're a hardcore FF or RPG fan. Like the other Advanced versions of the FInal Fantasy games, the updated version comes with a bonus dungeon (FF1 and 2 were released together in the Dawn of Souls remake so you can play both games if you get this title)

Grade

FF2 (Nintendo/Famicom) C+

FF2 (Gameboy Advance) B

M.M. Kin Video Game Review - Final Fantasy I

 This wasn't the first of the Final Fantasy games I played, but if you're a FF fan, give the old school a try. I played the original NES version, which compared to subsequent titles, is pretty basic and yes, meh. Nonetheless, it sets a foundation for later games, and featured several items and devices that would become very familiar to longtime FF fans - the metal Adamant/Adamantite, four elements (often in crystals) and several job classes you could choose from to optimize the overall strength of your party (My personal recommendation is Thief, Knight, Black Mage, and White Mage, but that's just a personal preference!)

Gameplay itself is pretty basic, with the HP and GP system you see in most FF games. The MP system was different though, and you could only perform so many magic spells at each level. The number of spells you could cast does increase with each overall level you gain.

The storyline is somewhat simplistic, but easy enough to figure out, and overall it's a decent game for the first in its series, much like Super Mario Bros 1, or Legend of Zelda 1.

That said, I really recommend the GBA version of this game, which smoothed gameplay, brought about better graphics, and improved the MP system and made leveling up easier. After defeating each of the Elemental Fiends, you gained access to a bonus dungeon where you could get rare items and weapons, and even fight bosses from other FF games in the series.

Speaking of items, in the original FF, the item and weapon system was clunky and you could only carry so much at a time. In FF Advance, you can now carry all the weapons and items you like, making optimizing weapons for each player much easier, and you also get a Bestiary, which allows you to see what monsters you have defeated (and how many of each, as well as weak/strong points, possible treasure drops, and the like)

The four characters you play have no history or personality in either version, but the Advanced version is recommended if you ever do try FFI.

Grade

FFI (original Famicom/Nintendo) C

FFI (Game Boy Advance) A-

Stuff

I am going to be using this blog more often. I already have a Goodeads page where I write book reviews, but sadly there is no movie or video game equivalent and I no longer review on Amazon, so I have decided to use this blog for those reviews.

This entry is also an update on all relevant links.

My books on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/M-M-Kin/e/B00BXGVPFY?ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vu00_taft_p1_i0

My books on Smashwords (also available on Apple Store, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and all other channels Smashwords sells through)

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ememkin

My FB page

https://www.facebook.com/mmkinauthor/

My Tumblr

https://mmkin.tumblr.com/

Where I write my book reviews

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12558730-m-m-strawberry-library-reviews

Have a fantastic day!