UleTheVee

Final Fantasy is a series that's quite beloved among gamers of all demographics and console generations. It's a franchise that has stood the test of time and has only brought innovation to the RPG genre...
And I HATE Every Single One of Them
The very reason why I always hated Final Fantasy was rather shallow for many. I hated the series because I saw them as constant grind-fests plagued with the annoying and primitive Turn-Based RPG mechanic. I didn't really have another reason to hate them and I always thought it was enough. However, people often said that my criticisms were empty and that "your opinion would change if you gave the games a shot!" or whatever.
So I did.
Let me just say that, after playing all of the main line Final Fantasy games (Not including side-games or spinoffs like Crisis Core - FFVII or FF Tactics), not only has my opinion on FF stayed the same. It also has made me realize that all of the Final Fantasy games have huge flaws that hold them back from being decent games on their own right. While I will definitely elaborate more on that view with future "Ule's View" installments; I will be talking about my thoughts in a general sense.
I started playing Final Fantasy games after Dissidia 012 brought my interest with one character in particular: Lightning. After I played through 012's story mode and enjoying the game as a whole. i joined the Dissidia server and started playing Final Fantasy games in the appropriate order and on their original release forms or PC ports. Right now I am finishing FFXII to gather my thoughts on it, but I fully played I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X-2, XIII, XIII-2, LR, and XV. I didn't touch XI or XIV because those games are MMORPG's and.,. Well, if my opinion on FF didn't change, I don't think my opinion on MMO's will either.
Anyways, while I hate the FF games. I can't say I hate everything related to FF. I do think that there are some aspects in the series that held up quite well on their own regard. The Job System that was introduced in FFIII was a very prominent example of a mechanic that went through a very incredible evolution process. The music of the games also has various high points and it would be a huge disservice to the series to talk about the game's soudtracks. Songs like Eternal Wind (III), Saber's Edge (XIII), Aerith's Theme (VII), Esper Battle (XII), Dancing Mad (VI), Theme of Love (IV), Via Purifico (X), and The Man With The Machine Gun (VIII) are excellent examples of the timeless nature of the Final Fantasy music.
However, FF games were never really that good. FF is not a series I deem worth playing because either the stories are copypaste (I, V, III) awfully written (IV, VIII, II) poorly characterized (XIII, VII, IX) or, even if they actually cover these issues well they have other aspects that hold them back. III has this issue where a giant mountain is materialized right in front of your face in the form of a level grindwall with a boss that does nothing special (Cloud of Darkness), VI and II are held back by the same design flaw.  X is innovative but it also has an extremely painful grind which only gets worse the more characters you bring to the party, The FNC series often brings attempts at innovation and fails miserably at them (And no, I'm not talking about the Hallways, that's the least of the XIII series problems). Finally, XV is .... Well, it's the reason why Turn based RPG players hate Action RPGs. I could go on and talk about which game has what issue but I think the point is clear.
I played them all and I ... Definitely regret doing so with the exception of the Fabula Nova Crystalis series (Again, will be further elaborated in future "Ule's View"). Before someone brings mention to it, yes, there are bosses that break the problems I talked about. Rubicante (IV), Diablos (VIII), Ultros (VI) and such... But those are just a single moment before going back to overpowering everything and everyone.
I will admit, I didn't have to play these games. However, I wanted to show people the compromise I had with being a gaming journalist by not making any sort of biased judgement. This crusade to play every Final Fantasy game started over 2 years ago. Thankfully, the community in the Dissidia discord was quite welcoming to my criticisms of the game. I definitely enjoyed discussing the various problems Final Fantasy games had with them and I also feel like they know how to critically look at their games. It was the best Final Fantasy discussion I've ever had with people and I am grateful to at least make new friendships thanks to this series.
However, my opinion on Final Fantasy as a whole definitely hasn't changed. With upcoming games like the FFVII remake, I definitely will start to skip some games and favor other RPGs instead. I find it sad that I'm writing this text wall while listening to Lightning Returns's version of "Eternal Wind". But I learned a lot about Final Fantasy and the characters and I actually know why people hold this game series in high regard. Why is that? Well, you'll have to stay tuned for future Ule's Views to find out.
So yeah... Sucks to be me I gu ess.

It is about time they start spending time in prison. The punishment is far too lenient because it costs an innocent person their life - they should be sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

I guess the silver lining is that it's not on Steam

I guess the silver lining is that it's not on Steam

During GDC; Google decided to announce Stavia, which is going to be a new Game Streaming platform.
With that said, what do you think about Game Streaming in general? I'm talking things like the aforementioned Stavia or Project xCloud.
 
Personally, there are a lot of concerning factors that need to be taken into account before this sort of thing is considered viable. But with enough patience, we can get through those hurdles.

Good journalistic investigation Dylan! I'm glad you caught the lie before I did.

Never really saw a "deluge" of zombie games per se. but then again, that bandwagon happened like 5 or 6 years ago.
As for my favorite games, it's the usual suspects like Dead Rising, Left 4 Dead 2 and such. The Zombie apocalypse has always been an interesting subject to me and I can see the fun / tragic aspects of it.

Under Night: In-Birth... It literally is an anime fighting game

Recently, I've been playing some Deltarune (I'll even write a bit of an essay here) and I remembered that there are a lot of games that played with your choices or made them meaningless. What games have you found to have been playing you all along?

Welcome to the VGR Forums. I'm the guy who does things but nobody likes.

You should also say that a certain gaming journalist brought you here eeeeeeeeyyyyyyyy!!!!

The reason why he has that sort of money to begin with is because he followed trends and was an appealing content creator. ANyone can do it, it's just a matter of being appealing and having a good set.

I usually love being a journalist who represents the gamers and what they want rather than pleasing the corporations. That means I am usually more outspoken in my own medium than anyone else who could do my job.
 
The whole Exposure Vs. Paid  debacle continues going on and how "Clickbait is feeding websites" is also a huge problem that happens even with YouTubers. The major issue is that humanity LOVES gossip. We literally are in love with seeing scandalous headlines about how they did this or that.
That's funny, considering the forum you're in belongs to a game news website.
But I digress, I don't think that news are a joke and they are still taken extremely seriously in my country. However, the reason for this is because Mexicans tend to go straight to the point (just look at publications like LevelUp, which don't even go for extremely hot hot takes).

I definitely have seen this. However, I must admit that sometimes some members don't really say much to add to the conversation. Since I started making longer posts, I don't think it's an issue with me, but hey..

The best part about this is just how incredibly meaningful an experience can be for the right people in this sort of game. It's certainly good to see that a game could so very well heavily impact someone like this.

>Observer_ is an interesting game to say the least. I should probably start my argument by saying that I have wanted to play this game ever since it came to the Steam Store. Unfortunately, I was in a very tough financial spot and I was forced to skip on the game. The very first thing I heard about >Observer_ is just how good it is on creating an ambience set in a cyberpunk dystopian future.
Thankfully, Bloober Team was kind enough to give me a Review key for the Switch version of the game. I’ll preface my review by saying that I am an extremely big fan of Bloober Team and their games. Layers of Fear is one of my favorite games and I basically owe that experience to Nick Nocturne’s recommendation. Now, I must say that there are a lot of things I liked about >Obersver_. However, I also had a few gripes that have managed to kill some of my thrill for the game. I will definitely say that >Observer_ is an incredible game… Just not exactly what I expected from the development team that made Layers of Fear.
So, what defines >Observer_? Let’s find out.

Story: A Murder Mystery with Thousands of Twists.
>Observer_ sets you on the role of a Detective in a dystopian Cyberpunk world. His name is Daniel Lazarski who is basically under the direction of the leading corporation of the Fifth Polish Republic, Chiron. The world is a dystopian society where a plague killed a lot of people and then a war basically erased what little was left of it. I’m telling you this because it really doesn’t come into play at all during the course of the game. Whether or not you know what Chiron’s purpose is, it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Since this is a Bloober title, the game’s setting will basically focus on the mind of the character in question; not so much the setting where the game is taking place in.
Daniel is an Observer. What this means is that Mr. Lazarski can literally hack into people’s minds and extract important information. He uses this information to solve different crimes that are assigned to him by Chiron. However, this also puts a huge level of strain in him, which makes him dependent of a drug called Synchrozine. Before someone thinks about the implications of the drug and how it could be some sort of mind-control device. Once again, the game literally throws that concept out the window in favor of showing us the mental struggles of our protagonist. In case you haven’t noticed the pattern as of yet; there are a lot of aspects in the game’s story that are basically thrown away in favor of the game’s protagonist and his struggles.
While I certainly came to play >Observer_ to play a Psychological Horror game. I cannot help but notice just how many incredible plot points are basically forgotten by the story. In fact, the game seems to be setting you up for a story where you solve multiple crimes from the get-go. You start in a slum with people who trap themselves in their apartments and slowly work your way up to bigger crimes, right? Wrong. All you literally do in >Observer_ is solve ONE mystery that’s basically taking notes from games like Bioshock. As in, the game literally tells you to solve a crime as the main objective but to do so you basically have to do an entire game’s worth of sidequests. Without spoiling anything, this sort of approach is what killed a bit of my positive thoughts about the game’s story.
However, I certainly get the point that this isn’t a game about the world of >Observer_ or a “Cyberpunk Detective Simulator”. This is a game about a detective that basically is trying to find out who murdered his son. It’s an intriguing and engaging narrative that has a lot of twists and turns and, being a horror game, a lot of moments where the game has you questioning reality.
I just wish the world could’ve been expanded a little bit more. While I certainly understand that I can read the lore about the characters through databases and asking around; I have the feeling that this sort of thing is better off being shown in practice rather than read in text. Show, don’t tell in the purest sense of the word.

Presentation: How to Feel Miserable by Looking Around
The thought that kept popping up my head when it comes to >Observer_’s presentation is “Blade Runner”. It’s a cliché Cyberpunk movie to choose from, I’m aware. However, the environments are bleak and the default climate is Rainy. Exploring the apartment complex is an experience in and off itself. The game has you constantly looking at grim but beautifully detailed environments; the voices of deranged lunatics who are trapped in their apartments due to a lockdown; subtle but charming environment noises that have you wondering if what you listened is actually a person or something else.
All in all, the game certainly allows you to feel like you’re in a horror game. Even though you’re supposed to be safe, the game actually makes you feel afraid of your own environment. The isolation, the claustrophobic environments, and the sound design definitely work a lot in >Observer_’s favor. Definitely something I expected from the team who basically mastered this sort of approach and only gets me giddy for Layers of Fear 2 when it comes out.
However, this sense of dread is only further enhanced whenever Daniel jacks into someone else’s mind to extract information. You get to relive the person’s last memories from their own psyche perspective. Since this is a traumatic event in a horror game; constant hallucinations and surreal environments come aplenty and make you get scared for life. Daniel will literally have to explore through these psychedelic experiences that put the players in nightmarish worlds. The worst part here is, the only way forward is to explore and experiment in these environments that will make you feel unsafe all the time. No words can explain the level of fear this game can instill in your head, so allow me to show you a visual demonstration:
NOTE: Since I don’t have a capture card, I’ll have to cheat a bit and show off the PC version of the game. Do not worry, the Switch version of this game looks the same minus a few details which I’ll address in this review.
While these nightmare sequences are definitely scarring and can make you feel scared. They have a meaning and a story to tell. However, that is up for the player to figure out for themselves. As for threats, there are some (which we’ll cover in the gameplay section) huge threats that can end your game. The really incredible thing that definitely sold this game for me was the fact that the developers at Bloober team integrated the Switch’s HD Rumble feature so well. Whenever a threatening creature is approaching you, you’ll literally feel the vibration from the exact position the threat is at. This gives you a perfectly excellent radar that you’ll be able to feel as well as hear. I definitely love this approach to HD Rumble and will love to see this feature being implemented in other games besides horror. It would help a lot of Stealth games and even some action games.
However, the greatest downside I find is the fact that this game is held back a lot due to the Switch’s hardware. The game runs at 720p 60 FPS on Handheld mode and 1080p 30FPS on Docked mode. At least that’s what my experience felt like. However, in both of the modes the game had some stuttering issues and there were plenty of times where graphics and textures took some time to load. Not only that, but the game can actually be beaten in one session if you really are engaged. My playthrough of >Observer_ (according to my Switch’s data) lasted around 6 hours. That is a huge detriment because the game literally only has value to only be played once. As such, the game’s value is driven down by a lot because of this.
Sadly, some of these issues affect the gameplay side of the game.

Gameplay: The Singularity Collapse
The game is what’s infamously known as a “Walking Simulator”. You’re tasked with talking to residents in the apartment complex; examining crime scenes with the help of your augmentations; and looking into the person’s last memories if such is needed. This is the ENTIRE GAME. Perhaps this is my Layers of Fear favoritism speaking. However, I certainly didn’t feel like I was going through a hallway with plenty of scary stuff to look at. This is the opposite of what I felt >Observer_ had to offer. While I certainly felt scared, or actually related to of these nightmare sequences; The rest of the game started to feel like I am going from Point A to Point B most of the time.
The game loves throwing you into exploration and environmental puzzles. I really love the brain teasers in this game. From stealth sections requiring you to stay on your toes and figuring out the solution to a puzzle while being hunted by a monster to sections where you’re required to look at your surroundings and pay attention to get through; >Observer_ definitely knows how to make the player constantly pay attention. However, the payoff certainly isn’t worth the hassle in some sections. There were some parts of the game where I basically wandered aimlessly looking for the thing that the game wanted me to look for. Not only that, but the enhancements are really underutilized and will only solve a couple of puzzles while the rest of the game can stay turned off.
I mentioned the irrelevance of taking Synchrozine. Every time you get out of a nightmare sequence (or after some time passes), Daniel’s perspective will start to “glitch out”.  As such, you take Synchrozine to “fix your perspective” and see things clearly. In case you think that this is a great way to implement a sense of urgency during investigations; Don’t worry, you will NEVER run out of the drug. Even if there’s the risk of running out; the game will leave plenty of Sinchrozine refills for you to take. Not only that, but taking it or not doesn’t influence the ending of the game.
Speaking of the ending of the game; once again, without spoiling anything. You literally don’t get more than 2 endings for the game which are both completely independent of the player’s actions throughout the game. The saddest part about this is that Bloober team already mastered the influence of player choice through Layers of Fear. So, what’s this game’s excuse? I could go on and talk about how the encounters with the monsters in the game aren’t really necessary (or scary). How the game is reliant on jumpscares sometimes and they aren’t effective (this is coming from someone who downright loathes jumpscares and is constantly unfazed by them). The fact that this game almost always tells players the solutions to the puzzles in a desperate attempt at being accessible. But, I think the point is already driven home… So, let’s go to my conclusion.

Conclusion: It’s Blade Runner, but “Scary”.
>Observer_ is a great disappointment for me. After seeing how masterfully the game and narrative elements were introduced in Layers of Fear, I can’t help but feel like the game could’ve done a lot more. The game feels rushed with how many of the elements of it are either lost or not implemented as well as they could have. I am aware that >Observer_ is more involved than Layers of Fear but I feel like that is because it has the player solving a puzzle or avoiding a monster every now and then. Layers of Fear had slight and subtle ways of impacting the player experience without needing to put random gameplay elements that really were useless. As such, I can forgive the fact that it was a "Walking simulator". But even then, >Observer_ has a lot of issues that come out even if the issue with the design I mentioned was fixed.
The fact that this game can really be played once and literally “delete your file” (A.K.A. force you to replay the entire game again just so you can see the second ending) is a really dumb excuse to pad out game time. Not only that but, this game is also fairly unstable; I’ve had plenty of instances where the game crashed and forced me to replay hours of progress. In fact, the worst offender was when I got a crash during the credits sequence.
I really have to ask Bloober Team: why is this game like this? Being such a big fan of Layers of Fear has really made me see that >Observer_ really only exists to entice the fans of the Cyberpunk genre. Perhaps a lot of players will tell me that the game is this way because of some hidden meaning about control in a dystopian world, to look at the deeper themes of the moral choices about how people shouldn’t be “augmenting” themselves, or whatever. But see, if I want to see a story that revolves around that; I play Deus Ex.
I'm not saying that Layers of Fear is flawless or something of the sort, far from it. I am just saying that the game had more interesting sequences and reality-warping moments that made me feel engaged and forgive the many problems that the game had. This game certainly tries address the criticisms from the community but definitely loses it's idenity in the process in favor of "Adding gameplay" to some sections. However, whenever the game does something well, it does it extremely well. The horror sequences are definitely the greatest highlight in the game. The use of the HD Rumble is both creative and innovative. The fact that you can play this game on the go is an added plus especially if you want to digest these visuals in a more secluded and dark space.
I definitely see the potential that >Observer_ could’ve had. However, it is held back by a lot of issues and I really just am going to go back to playing Layers of Fear. Of course, my experience will not affect my view on Layers of Fear 2. I still am excited about the game and I will definitely hope that the developers at Bloober take the positive aspects of >Observer_ and use them to make that game unforgettable.
FINAL SCORE - >OBSERVER_ FOR NINTENDO SWITCH:
STORY: 6.4/10
GAMEPLAY: 7.1/10
GRAPHICS: 7/10
SOUND: 6.8/10
FINAL SCORE: 6.9/10

It's hard not to be a Cloud9 Fan isn't it?

Putting a rough translation of a twitter thread I made on the issue with a few more additions and revisions
I think the latest Game Overthinker is a bit shortsighted. "Loss of Connection/Community/Access" Is not an issue as games are encouraged to be played in a local setting almost all the time. Heck, that's what Competitive Gaming centers around. Yes, I agree that this sort of community is not as big as the general gaming space or being in line for the latest release of a game. However, eSports is basically becoming mainstream as we speak,. with people training to become better at competing and learning, that tells me the community there is growing and attracting more people.
As for Physical Vs. Digital? I agree, we're literally seeing the worst Digital Stores have to offer with Steam Vs. Epic Games Store majorly making the PC platform uncomfortable to game into. Nobody can tell me otherwise, especially not after the Metro Exodus controversy. Hey guys, did you love the Wii Store and how it's basically GONE now and now you can't get jackshit in terms of the games you had to begin with? Boy, wouldn't it be fun when we get the WiiU shop closing or god forbid any platform we currently use like STEAM?
Something that the Overthinker may have not considered is the fact that Mexico basically is unaffected by this. There are plenty of especialized game stores down here and NONE of them are called Gamestop. Not only that, but they are indie and often have games as far as the NES. This is often seen in places like Veracruz, Mexico CIty, Jalisco, Guerrero, and so on. The reason for  this is because game stores love preserving gaming history. (Yes, as much as people like to see Mexico as the piracy place, it's not.)
However, I still don't think that Physical media has to go. Yes, that's rich coming from a guy who literally buys everything in Digital form now; However, I am aware that I am essentially renting games at full price like bob said. Again, if you really think otherwise, you should go and check the blatant misuse of the term "Individual Game License" to make it seem like you're being sold an item when in reality they can take it off your hands if they feel like it.
On Gaming Merch. You're fucking serious right now gaming community? I remember people condemning Jason Schrier to hell and back for the fact that he "Didn't have any sort of gaming apparel/merch." back when he was debating with Yongyea.  So that means people KNOW that gaming merch is important and apparently it's part of our identity. So why would people be against it? Or is it because Gamestop did it? I mean, the person who was mostly adamant against Gamestop was Cleanprincegaming. And he basically spends time ripping people off like The Quartering.
So yeah, Physical Media leaving the gaming space is definitely the worst thing that could happen to us. Even if Gamestop is as hellish as you want it to be or whatever; I think people should be concerned.

Nevermind, Cleopatra seems to have won

Nevermind, Cleopatra seems to have won

One of the most commonly known symptoms of both autism and aspergers syndrome is the inability to emphasise with others and to express emotions in a rational manner. I myself suffer from this symptom heavily. Feelings such as anger, sadness and fear (foreshadowing) are feelings that I, like many others, have trouble expressing. In particular, I try my absolute hardest to shut off these emotions.
 
The concept of what can be considered as "true fear" varies from person to person. While I'm certainly no psychologist, I would assume that fear can be attributed to hormones within our bloodstream, namely adrenaline. Adrenaline plays a crucial role in triggering a fight-or-flight response, which often goes hand in hand with horror games, but it normally tends to trigger flight more than it does fight. One game that truly helped me understand fear was the newly released remake of Capcom's 1998 survival horror classic - Resident Evil 2.
 
Now, I wouldn't say that I'm a Resident Evil fan, but I wouldn't say that I'm a stranger to the series either. The last Resident Evil game I played before this one was the previous installment, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, but I didn't really get much out of that in terms of fear. One too many Texas Chainsaw vibes for me to take seriously, to be totally honest. But this game actually managed to make me something that arguably no other game before has truly made me: Scared. But not in the way most of you would think. 
 
This game certainly was a first for me. As stated, I have multiple issues with expressing certain emotions, which includes fear. Due to this, I tend to stay away from horror games and obvious rage games, because, to me, they don't invoke the reaction that they want to get out of the average person. But once I actually took the time to immerse myself in the game, I could actually say that I was quite damn frightened. The jumpscares didn't really get much out of me aside from a slight jolt (Fucking door-busting zombie cop), but what really got me was the multitasking that came from certain scenarios, combined with the helplessness you feel when you don't have the suitable resources by means of defending yourself with. One moment towards the end of my day one playthrough (Which lasted up until the first boss fight with William Birkin) was in the police station. One puzzle required me to detonate some C4 in order to access the final medallion needed to open up the secret passageway. Detonating the C4 ended up not only knocking over a shelf, barricading me inside of the room, but also attracting a Licker. Now, this shit got my heart racing like a greyhound that has been forcefed skittles laced with speed.
 
For the record, I had no ammo left for either Matilda (Handgun) or my shotgun, I had no knife, and no healing items, and I was also stuck in a room with what was currently the most dangerous, non-boss enemy in the game. This is what triggered something I'd consider unusual for a video game. My heartbeat got faster, my breathing became more irregular and heavy. However, this feeling actually made me think: On instinct, I used the only "weapon" I had on me at the time - a flashbang grenade. This barely stunned the Licker for long enough for me to unblock the door and escape the room before it came back to it's senses.
 
That one scenario ended up making me experience what I would consider to be true fear. Not the paranoia of when the next zombie will jump out at me, not the gloomy darkness of the police station, just constant, heart-racing adrenaline. This game makes you it's bitch, and it wants you to know that you're helpless. And the best part? I loved it. I loved every second of the last two to three hours I spent playing this game, I ended up loving that surge of adrenaline I got as I saw Leon slowly but surely move this shelf as this horrific mutant creature regained it's consciousness after being hit with the only feasible weapon I had left. I want to feel that again, especially after ending it on a particularly gruesome boss battle...
 
Eyes don't belong on biceps.

So basically you play Action RPGs.
Where's Xenoblade Chronicles?

A lot of fighting games and shooters require peer-to-peer connections to work properly. As such, it's better to have an Ethernet connection to have the most stable connection.

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

Whelp, I don't know anyone else who posts as frequently as Killa. Although, my second best pick would be @Alyxx. Why? Because she does some damn good posts