21/04/2016
Just the once will not hurt: Summon Night 5 Giveaway
I tend to dislike the very idea of giveaways, which I assimilate to easy clickbaits, and would never have dreamt of organizing one on my very own blog. And yes, this unlikely moment has come to pass, and I'm now offering a digital code for Summon Night 5 to whoever wants to get their paws on it.
I got that code along my limited physical edition of Summon Night 5, and said code is virtually useless to me since I own the physical version of the game. So instead of letting that code unused, which is what is bound to happen if it stays in my hands, I'd rather let someone get it and enjoy the game.
Beware: this code can only be used on the North-American version of the PSN.
The rules are pretty simple: first come, first served. The first person who comments this post to say they want the code will get it. I'm pretty aware that a north-american download code for a PSP RPG lifted from a confidential series is bound to interest but an excruciatingly small number of people, and I don't fancy waiting weeks to get a good batch of comments before performing a draw. I only ask for one thing: tell me in your comment which is your favourite gaming system of all time and why. Just because. I love hearing gaming stories, you know.
Without further ado, the code is yours to take, fellow gamer! Be quick to comment!
Edit: You're welcome to comment and tell me about your favourite gaming system even if you don't want the code. I love reading gaming stories, I do! The code is still here for the taking, by the way. :)
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Oh wow, this is a pretty novel move on your part, Isleif.
ReplyDeleteI'll write a small text of what you're asking for since it sounds fun, but I don't need the code!
I'm personally gonna pick the Sega Saturn as my favorite gaming system. Too many found memories of the times I've spent playing the Saturn games. NiGHTS into Dreams, Sonic Jam (basically a pack of ports of all the Mega Drive/Genesis Sonic games), Panzer Dragoon and Saturn Bomberman are four games that still really give me happy memories and pretty much defined much of my taste on video games. The system had a lot of potential, but unfortunately lost and was quickly forgotten but, even today, I go back to it to replay its games. Ironically, I draw a lot of parallels with the Vita for this. Both full of potential that the company responsible just didn't knew how to use it effectively (and both performing admirably well in their homeland).
Thanks for your input! :) I agree with you regarding the similarity between the Vita and the Saturn. Sega was in a pretty strong position when the 32-bits era kicked off and had the opportunity to make the Saturn a cult system; instead, they blundered its release and supported it poorly during its lifetime, pretty much like Sony with the Vita.
DeleteMy only experience with the Saturn was a couple of play sessions at my cousins' place, during which we played a boring platformer called "Bug!". I was left unimpressed at the time, but I wouldn't be against trying my hand at a couple of Saturn games nowadays! (Especially NiGHTS into Dreams, which seems to be quite the cult classic.)
It was a pretty tough decision though! I was torn between the Saturn, the Game Boy/Game Boy Color or the Game Boy Advance. All for subjective or emotional reasons, of course, not because of the quality or quantity of the game library of the systems per se.
DeleteAh, yes. The similarity between the Saturn and the Vita is pretty funny. Both enjoy(ed) a great success in Japan while being barely alive in the rest of the markets, mainly because of incompetent executives (Bernie Stolar is infamous for killing the Saturn) and yet they both have a rather unique library.
There's ton of cult classics on the Saturn. NiGHTS, Guardian Heroes, Panzer Dragoon Saga and Dragon Force being the most famous. Panzer Dragoon Saga and Dragon Force can fetch for over 200 dollars nowadays. It's insane.
Also, it's kinda unfair that you don't talk about your favorite system, Isleif! C'mon, out with it. What's your pick?
Just like you, I have a seriously hard time picking up my favourite gaming system of all time, the contenders being the Megadrive, the Game Gear, the Game Boy, the DS and the Vita... ^__^
DeleteBut when all is said and done, I would elect the DS as my favourite system ever. Not only did this modest console single-handedly bring me back into gaming, but it also has the largest library of all my gaming systems. Some of my personal cult classics, such as Avalon Code and DQIX, are DS games, and the variety of gaming genres available on the DS is pretty much unrivaled. The DS also kickstarted my collecting. I remember arranging my first batch of DS games in a pile on my nightstand and gazing lovingly at them, unaware that this was only the beginning of a glorious collecting career. Everything felt so new and fresh with the DS, because I was rediscovering the joys of gaming after many years spent indulging in other hobbies. On top of that, I love the shape of the DSi and its sober mate finish.
The Vita comes close second though, with its amazing array of niche RPGs! It may well take the first spot on the long run, who knows...^^
I never had a Mega Drive/Genesis or a SNES, but it was the first Sonic the Hedgehog game on the MD that sparked my interest in videogames. I'd spent entire weekends in my cousin's house just playing that game from start to finish and replaying again!
DeleteThe DS had a really impressive library, that's for sure! I'd argue that my 3DS has more use for my DS games rather than 3DS ones. The PSP also had an equally impressive library but around half of it never left Japan, though. Although now the translation scene is stepping in and making those game accessible to everyone! Like Valkyria Chronicles 3 or the Makai Kingdom and La Pucelle ports. Or 7th Dragon 2020, which was just recently translated.
A shame that both the 3DS and the Vita are, comparatively speaking, a huge letdown when compared to their predecessors. Both are nearing their end and have yet to display the same quality of the previous handheld generation.
I do agree regarding the Vita and 3DS performing less honourably than their predecessors. Although I love the Vita dearly, it's hard to deny that the console was a commercial failure, and its library is bound to disappoint any gamer who's not a niche RPG aficionado. As for the 3DS... No comment.
DeleteThese mediocre performances make me fear that portable gaming as we know and love it may become a thing of the past by the next generation of consoles... I cannot say that I'm elated as such a prospect, but if I have to become a full-time retro gamer for lack of great portable system, then be it!
I love the Vita, too. It's my favorite current-gen system. My 3DS is mostly for a couple of RPGs and other games I was interested in.
DeleteUnfortunately, handheld gaming is in a shaky position. It's undeniable that the mobile market is enormously bigger but the quality is inversely bad. Sometimes I get some (free, of course. I can't fathom why would anyone buy mobile games) mobiles games on my smartphone and they're really really terrible. Not to mention that around 80% of the games are Bejeweled clones and infinite runners. I can sometimes find a rather decent game but why would I waste hours on it when I have other better games at my disposal...?
Regardless of what happens, I agree with you on your last statement. I'd rather go full-on retro gamer than buy any of the present home consoles. I'd thought that Final Fantasy XV would push me into buying a PS4 but after trying out the demo on a friend's house, I don't even have the slightest interest in it. It's a complete trainwreck.
I would gladly dive into mobile gaming if it offered a quality and richness of gameplay similar to the ones boasted by portable consoles; alas, it is far from being the case, even for games with a price tag. The absence of buttons severely hampers the gameplay and forces developers to craft oversimplistic games, and the volatile nature of the average smartphone user encourages the creation of superficial games that can be played a couple of minutes at a time. This kind of gaming might be fine for newcomers, but a seasoned veteran with decades of gaming under their belt cannot decently be satisfied with such simplistic gaming propositions.
DeleteI remember watching a "let's play" of FFXV demo and thinking that it looked like a giant mess. The fighting system seemed unecessarily complicated, the gameplay was unbearably boring and the game world was overstretched and dull, so I fully trust the words of someone like you who actually played the thing. The FF series is nearly dead at that point, and Squeenix just have to ruin the FFVII remake to give the final blow to the series. They should have interrupted it years ago to concentrate on new IPs; it's always better to stop during a series' peak than to let it die a slow, painful death.
The touch controls are horrible. I mean, we can always connect a gamepad to the mobile phone, but, again, why all that hassle? I'll just pick up my Vita or 3DS and I have access to more functional portable gaming hardware and better games.
DeleteFFXV is very VERY far from being complex. It's actually too simple and braindead. You mash one button to attack and hold another to evade all attacks. You don't die right away if your HP hits 0. Not to mention the whole barren and same-y open-worldness. There's a lot of flair thrown in, but it's just that: flair. Like a teacher of mine said "More flowers than fruits." FFXIII: Lightning Returns or FF Type-0 have a lot better combat than that hot mess.
FFVIIR is already in a bad course. They removed the turn-based system and implemented yet another ARPG combat. Reason enough for me to not care at all about the remake either. Honestly, I'd actually be a lot more excited if we'd get the rumored remake of FFXII.
I had a bad feeling about the FFVII remake when I saw the first screenshots of Cloud looking realistic yet still sporting his impossibly huge sword, which makes no sense at all. Either you go for full-blown realism and give him a sword that he can actually carry or you go for a more stylized art style and let him keep his oversized appendix. Not to mention that... Jeez, hyper-realism once again. Can you be any more boring, Squeenix?
DeleteAnd that's without even expanding on the fighting system change or on the fact that the game will have an episodic format. The die seems to be cast, and I'd be surprised if Squeenix didn't completely ruin that remix like they ruined the much-awaited FFXV. I never cared much about Square and FF, but it's still sad to see former videogame glories undergo such a decay... *sigh*
They couldn't possibly remove the Buster Sword though. It's part of the whole VII compilation mythos. It's almost a character and the symbol or icon of FFVII.
DeleteLet's wait and see, like always. I'm more interested in that World of Final Fantasy game anyway, which has already been confirmed to get a physical release outside of Japan.
Oh, I'm pretty aware that they couldn't remove the sword... But in that case, they should have gone for more stylized graphics. There's no way a man can carry such a huge sword on his back, let alone swing it; and whilst this impossibility may be accepted for stylized characters in the name of fantasy, suspension of disbelief is much more difficult to apply to a realistic-looking character. The combination of realistic graphics and unrealistic physics comes across as grotesque and makes the new Cloud look more ridiculous than impressive, and that's not a good start.
DeleteI'm also hyped up for World of Final Fantasy! The level of chibiness is a trifle too high for my taste, but I'll swallow it gladly if the gameplay is stellar!
SquareEnix will always be SquareEnix. They're way off of what the fans really want. They just want to create games that attract the most possible market. Take XV for example: it's basically a mix of all the most common denominator variables possible. ARPG + open-world + realistic as possible graphics.
DeleteFor all the critics XIII got, I'd rather play XIII over XV any day.
Yeah, agreed on the chibiness overload. I really didn't expect SE to go so overboard with it. Still sounds like an awesome game though. I really miss some SE turn-based goodness. I just hope all of my favorite FF characters make it in!
Your description of SquareEnix is spot-on, so I have nothing to add. That's brilliantly summed up.
DeleteStrangely enough, I feel like both Square and Enix have lost a lost of their zest and originality after the merger. Not that they were widely original and cutting-edge before, but... I'm sure they wouldn't dare release a Terranigma or a Final Fantasy Legend II nowadays for fear of alienating a part of their potential audience. That's sad.
I, and a lot of the Squaresoft and Enix fans, agree. Although new DQ games still seem to retain everything they represent. Except for DQ 10 being a MMO, of course. Outside of that, they have slowed down in trying out new IPs and when they do create enw ones, the reception is far from the reception their PS1 or PS2 era non-FF games got.
DeleteFor all that's worth, SaGa Scarlet for the Vita is basically a new SaGa so they're still trying to revive old series. I have high hopes for this one!
Yes, Dragon Quest is an island of unwavering old-schoolness in an ocean of concessions to the hot gaming trends of the moment. Good thing SquareEnix listened to the fanbase and give up on implementing a real-time fighting system in DQIX. Although I'm a huge ARPG aficionado, I'm not in favour of every single RPG sporting such a fighting system just for the sake of it. Turn-based fighting must endure!
DeleteI'm also quite hyped up about SaGa Scarlet. Let's hope it will meet our expectations!