Julius

Well, there we go. Xbox just couldn't hold out any longer, could they? Great prices for both, solid pieces of hardware. Won't be there Day 1, but wouldn't be surprised if I end up picking up a Series S once Xbox has started firing on all cylinders with their own studios a little ways down the road. All Access is a great idea, interested to see how it goes with this offering. Still find a Tuesday release for a console a little odd, wonder if that means they know something about that Friday that we don't...

Put a couple more hours in tonight, just left Cleyra. Yeah, still really enjoying it. Story and pacing is picking up a bit now, and things have been much more interesting since Burmecia. Think I've found the most annoying part of the game, which is related to dialogue options. I normally press 'X' to initiate a new text box, then again to have it speed up and for me to read through it, which has worked everywhere in the game...except with dialogue options! I have lost count at the number of times I've done this exact same sequence and accidentally chosen a dialogue option. We're seriously lucky no-one has died as a result of this yet... Just want to highlight how excellent the town music is in this game. The dumbfounded innocence of Vivi clashing with the mischief of Alexandria; the calm and relaxed border village of Dali, with its bedtime story styled melody; the simple nature but winding streets of of Lindblum; the tired and melancholic desperation of Burmecia; the chaotic locals meeting the classy nobles of Treno; and the traditional and stoic whimsy of Cleyra. A long way to go yet, I'm sure, but Uematsu has made a very convincing case so far for IX having the best town themes! Did I mention how awesome Vivi is before? I love just how courageous he's willing to be for the other characters, and how much Zidane likes to tease him about girls, but most importantly how protective Zidane is. As ever, looking forward to playing some more tomorrow. Everything unfolding on this airship sure is interesting - oh, and what a cutscene!

This Japanese 35th Anniversary ad is probably one of the best adverts I've seen in a veeeeeery long time. Got to appreciate those transitions!

Looks like Nintendo's tactics have paid off, at least in America. On Amazon US, second-highest selling game of the year already. Sitting a bit lower over here on Amazon UK, just checked and it's down at #35 below Animal Crossing again, but also The Last of Us Part II, TLOU2 steel book, Minecraft (Switch), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokémon Sword...and a three pack of Animal Crossing amiibo and Just Dance 2020 (Switch). But still, obviously doing crazy well. So, same time next year for some weird Zelda hijinks?

Yeah that's certainly possible, at the moment I guess I don't see them wanting to do it until they come out with a PS5 Slim at a lower price point, and feel like they at least want to spend the first year of the PS5 focused solely on the console and games. Not to say there won't be games, because I think we're expecting continued support for PSVR anyways on the PS5. Just don't want to see them rushing into it, and I think COVID production issues could still be a massive issue next year. Either way, imagine the PS5's 3D audio tech could go a long way to bettering the offerings we see on PSVR2. Here's hoping

PSVR is Sony's focus this week. Because of course it is But in all seriousness, glad they're continuing to support PSVR. Hopefully we end up with a PSVR2 in a couple of years?

Yeah that's my bad, got Burmecia's positioning mixed up, I should've just named the Grotto but I couldn't name it for the life of me when typing up my thoughts last night And yeah, I really liked when they did that in VI too early on and you got to decide what order you did things in (some of the later utilisations...not as much). Dagger and Steiner are abysmally low levelled compared to Zidane and company, but I'm sure that's just down to the way things have unfolded so far, looking forward to bringing them up to speed! Yeah, looks terrific. I always love when fans manage things like this, but at the same time, can't help but question why Square Enix don't tidy their own games up that nicely when bringing them to modern systems. But I do question a lot of Square Enix's decisions, much as I love what I've played from them, so no surprise there

@Mr_Odwin that's a really strange list! I started reading it and immediately thought it might have been based on IMDb from how it starts out, but it really deviates quite a bit after the first few. I looked it up on Amazon and the like expecting a source on the top 100, but I found nothing. How odd. Like you say, it looks like a mixed bag - some great stuff on there, but, uh, films like Hachi as a Top 100 film? No offense to it, but I've never seen that film in all the Top 100 lists I've read! Also can't help but notice a lack of foreign films, and at a glance I'm not seeing any Ghibli films either? Might have just missed them skimming through though. Either way, good to hear you're finding films that you're enjoying! Only one I haven't watched from those you highlighted as your favourites so far is Inglourious Basterds, really need to get to that myself at some point, because I really like all the other films you highlighted!

Having played VI for the first time back in March earlier this year, I would heartily recommend it. It's got a stellar cast of characters, most of whom have an awesome arc, world class soundtrack (guess that goes without saying!), snappy battle mechanics, great sprites with charming animations, and a really well told story. It's aged very well, which doesn't hurt much either! I love VII, but that last third of the original does go a little bit off the rails, and I do think VI is a bit more cohesive in that regard. I'm looking forward to one day diving into the older games (before VI, the original, IV, and V are probably what I'm most interested in checking out; of course, X is high on the list of FF's I want to check out too!), but for now, I'm really enjoying IX. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about that scene at the top of Lindblum, it's been such a charming and beautiful experience so far. Can't wait to dig into it a bit more this evening!

Yeah, that's exactly where I encountered them for the first time too, en route to Burmecia, but maybe you can encounter them elsewhere? Guessing that's probably the earliest you can encounter them, though. Hope I don't run into anymore...

Put some more time into this today, just got to the point where I'm waiting patiently at the station as Dagger and Steiner to start making my way back down into Alexandria. Still very much enjoying it. Yeah, so I mentioned music yesterday, but I have to again today, because I'm humming the battle theme and the overworld theme constantly. Festival of the Hunt is my favourite full track so far, but the occasional line or hum or la-de-da we get of Melodies of Life / A Place to Call Home (which I've heard before a few times listening to the Distant Worlds albums) is constantly sending chills down my spine. Was borderline tearing up earlier with that scene at the top of Lindblum. And again - this is a track I've heard before. Plenty of times. Uematsu Quite surprised at how linear an experience it's been so far, at least thinking back to VI and VII, because I'm sure it had opened up by now. Not a complaint at all, it's been quite nice having it be so strongly directed and linear by this point because it just means I'm getting beat after beat with these characters and noticing glimpses of growth...but one side of my party is definitely much more powerful (like literally double the amount of levels...) than the other right now! Only other real issue I've come up with since is, similar to VII, traversing the pre-rendered backgrounds can definitely take a bit of getting used to. Not a real problem, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it does feel a bit awkward at times! I've only wiped once so far, which came against this ridiculously OP dragon above Burmecia. Sure, the Moogles warned me something dangerous was up ahead...but they were also running from the Black Mages, who have been a cake walk so far, so how I supposed to know?! I'm guessing that was the Grand Dragon @drahkon mentioned in one of the posts above from a few years back? Oh and just need to mention how monstrous The Ogre is. Heck yeah I'm happy with slaughtering monsters with that thing! Yeah, I'm in a weird spot with it when it comes to speeding it up. On the one hand, it just makes things faster, and yeah it's a bit on the slow side, so this should be a great thing. But on the other, I quite like the concept of ATB, and having the speed boost on only seems like it would effectively if using Wait instead of Active (which I might end up using, but am choosing not to right now, because...ATB ). As I found out when being immediately humiliated in the Festival of the Hunt after not realising there wouldn't be much of a chance for prep, went into the first battle on relatively low health, and very, very barely scraped by after going in with that boost on

So yeah. This is the JRPG I've been wanting to dig into these past few days (well, weeks, if I'm being honest!), and I finally decide to take the chance to start tonight. Just a couple of hours in so far having made it through the Ice Cavern, so still very early goings. But I'm really liking it so far. It doesn't quite have the hook or urgency at the start that VI or VII had, in my opinion, but honestly, I'm appreciating the change of pace because I feel like I have a better grasp of these characters than I did the casts in the other games by this point. I can appreciate a slow burn when done well, and there have definitely been a couple of seeds planted early on which I'm sure will see some form of payoff way down the line. I think a lot of what I'm liking comes down to just how expressive characters are in the FMV's, which are certainly a step up in so many ways when compared with VII's. You just get such a good feel for the characters and the world they're in (loving some of the pre-rendered backgrounds here, though some I'll admit look a little faded), and this goes hand in hand with Uematsu's soundtrack (because it's never too early in a Final Fantasy game to bring that up). Speaking of which, so many call backs to older games and classic tracks, I know this is something of a love letter to earlier FF games but man am I all about hearing Uematsu return to that. Look, all I'm saying is that expressing just how timid and somewhat clumsy Vivi is early on, and how in awe he is by an airship flying overhead without any dialogue, just an orchestra and some animation work which is over two decades old by this point, is something pretty incredible. I was instantly connected to and had a solid understanding of this short kid in a funny-looking hat - this will never not be awesome. It's something which the other two Final Fantasy games I've played so far managed also, but that doesn't make it any less incredible. I'm also a big fan of the Active Time Events, or ATE's. It's so fun to just see what's going on elsewhere, especially when it's not mandatory. It all just feels so relaxed, and I'm happy about that. Favourite one so far is absolutely hearing the band playing Rufus's Welcome Ceremony in VII, got a good chuckle from me. Only real issue so far I think would be just how slow battles are. I know there's a speed boost option (which I'm making good use of), but the fact that I go into battles wanting to not use it (even boss battles!), then finding myself almost needing to very shortly after just to keep things moving, is the only thing I'd highlight as any sort of negative. Boss fights I've had so far haven't been incredibly interesting (Ice Cavern one especially so...), but again, still very early on; I'm sure that will change. Last thing I have to mention... Looking forward to making some more progress with this tomorrow!

I mentioned it in the anime thread because I wasn't sure where to put, but seeing as we've got this dedicated thread, might as well move it here I guess Key art: Description: @martinist, I'm guessing it at least covers the first game and parts of - if not the whole of - the second too, just judging from the description. The "beyond Hong Kong" line could be applicable to both the latter part of II and the whole of III, but if it's only 13 episodes, I can't imagine it getting it to III? Not sure of course, but that would seem...kind of brisk paced, but then I guess a roughly four-episode arc per game could work? Just wouldn't be much room for growth apart from with Ryo though, I guess. And if it's going to be a more mature retelling, filling in some gaps, I'd rather they leave room for future seasons? I wonder if this is them gearing up to either continue the story in another medium instead of making IV as a game, or if this is to get more people invested ahead of a potential fourth game. I'm leaning towards the latter, just considering the general reception to III. And we better see the forklift races in all their glory! But apparently it's the director from One Punch Man S2, which I haven't seen, but also haven't heard the greatest of things about? Something to keep an eye on for sure, either way.

As someone who works a lot with people who struggle with debt, and has had many conversations with people about their debts and everything that comes with that, I just want to recognise that it sounds like that was a massive undertaking. It's not easy to clear debt even if you have the disposable income and a plan to do it, and it's even harder to talk about a lot of the time too because of how debt is viewed, so it really can weigh people down. I can't imagine the ins and outs of what you've been through while dealing with it, because it impacts people so differently, but either way, this is big! Congrats Cube!

I mean, if a club were going to do it, I feel like they would have had that conversation with Messi already. I think his interview shows that whoever wants him is going to be patient. And yeah... don't think we'll be in for him as much as Abramovich is a big fan of Messi and tiki-taka, he wouldn't suit the style of play we're building towards, or the players we've signed this summer, especially with such a focus on signing youth. It would seemingly fly in the face of everything Lampard is trying to centre our team around, so great a player as he is...I just don't see it happening. Also, I know FFP is being relaxed somewhat as a result of COVID, but as @Kav mentioned, even with that I don't think we'd be able to pull it off based on our current structure. It's hard to see us financing a move in a similar way to how Juve financed Ronaldo's salary (getting Fiat to step in). The club which suits him most is undeniably going to be City, and while I'm sure they'll try to get plans ready for a free transfer next summer now instead, this is going to allow them to get the team even more prepared for a Champions League run with Messi, because their match against Lyon showed a lot of tactical weaknesses in Pep's side, and there are certainly some key areas which need strengthening still. From the sounds of it even City weren't planning on paying the €700 million, and at most were planning on a €300 million bid depending on how the contract review went. Either way, like Messi, I don't see Pep or Txiki wanting to burn bridges with Barça in such a way. Yeah, this is a good point. That and the fact that you and us both can't really offer a team with the potential for a run deep into the Champions League, nor can our projects really afford to do anything but focus on the rebuilds we've already done. And thing is, his style of play isn't best suited for probably any club in England except City, and even outside of England, who could want to build a team around him? He'd ruin Bayern's wage structure; PSG already have the attacking quality, it's just about everywhere else that they need to strengthen; Juve has already shown what happens when not using one of the greatest of all-time in a way which makes sense - why they haven't learned from Zidane's template of resting him plenty for key matches I'm not sure - much as I'd love to see Messi and Ronaldo share a kit; and Real were never seriously going to be in for him other than to be cheeky, but Perez is a romantic (other than that whole Figo incident, but I guess he wasn't Barça blood like Messi is) and I doubt he'd have been interested (think he'd much rather wait on Mbappé). City's offer to have him for a few years then ship him off to NYC honestly sounds like the smarter move to me for Messi (unless he was ever serious about moving back to Old Boys): a couple of last cracks at the UCL with the manager who he had his best seasons with, a team suited to him and can compete on all fronts without him playing every game, and then the chance to retire in America. It gives him the potential for one last hurrah in Europe and the chance to really put eyes on the MLS. And of course I'd selfishly hope Ronaldo ends up in America too, on the same team obviously, just so we can see what that's like

Got to love Gamexplain sometimes

Had no idea where to put this, so I guess I'll put it here: Shenmue is getting an anime adaptation. So, I think this is pretty big news, all things considered, because after the poor critical reception to - and sales performance of - Shenmue III, I feel like they might be testing this as a means to either continue the story in another medium, or to get more people invested in the series if a Shenmue IV is in the works and does come to fruition. s crossed we hear some familiar music and it manages to capture the Shenmue vibe. From the description I'm guessing it covers the first game and at least a good portion of the second game, if not all of it. Have to imagine that would mean a pretty brisk pace, but then again, taking out some of the somewhat time-consuming tasks out of the equation in the game could streamline it.

Messi's staying at Barça, but only because he doesn't want to go up against the "club of his life." Full GOAL interview here (how the heck did they of all places swoop in for this scoop?). Some choice quotes for your perusal: Good to see him go in on this board, they deserve nothing but the worst. Curious to see if he'll be leaving next summer either, what with the elections in March and a new board, and the potential for a new manager to come in at that point. Basically being held hostage for a year. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

The textures on the cat suits are making me feel super uncomfortable.

I remember trying this out a couple of years ago and not really feeling it a couple of hours in. Maybe I'll give it another go at some point? Either way, CDPR really know how to get in the good graces of their fans, don't they? One of the few

Response from @Glen-i saying it wasn't Game Freak who made this game, but Chunsoft, in 3, 2, 1...

Not sure when I'm going to get to playing it (a JRPG for a week or so, then we've got Mario 3D All-Stars...), but hey, it's here at least! Hopefully get around to playing it by the end of the month.

To be clear, I was speaking strictly about the world, characters, and combat all (pretty much) being improved upon, it was a continuation of the same sentence, but that's my bad for not being clearer when I finished the game back in April I shared what I thought the flaws were, so I'm certainly not of the opinion that everything is better this time around, just that pretty much all of the the world, (to clarify, main cast/secondary) characters, and the combat are; the rest I guess we'll have to wait and see! I love the original game, and really want to play it all through again before Part 2 of the Remake Project, but the parts I mentioned just feel so much more fleshed out here. Yes, there are issues with pacing and other things which are going to split opinion, but Midgar being realised as fully as it is; the care and thought put in to flesh out the main cast (who are written better in my opinion this time around) and many of the secondary characters; as well as the moment-to-moment enjoyment I got from the combat is what I'm referring to, mainly. I love turn-based battles, but it's the way in which the new battle system pays homage to and incorporates the original which makes me enjoy it so much, especially with it feeling so much more involved. It needs some refinement, without a doubt, but it's a solid foundation for this project's combat system as a whole. I'm also a big fan of the pre-rendered backgrounds of the original, but yeah, that's not what I was talking about

So I completely missed the new trailer for No Time To Die, so sharing it in case anyone else did too Looks great, honestly been such a long year I forgot this was even managing to come out in November! Feel like they might have shown a little too much, though.

Yeah, so if you're going to shadow drop a Direct, this is how you do it: you make sure it's good! But seriously, this is probably the Direct which is the best paced - and had the best mix of announcements and surprises - since what, last year's September Direct? I was going to suggest E3 2019, but Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, Banjo coming to Smash, SNES Online, dates for a slew of already announced and exciting first party titles...that was a really good Direct looking back at it now. A big fan of a lot of their announcements, first time I've come away in a long time saying "yes, I'm getting more than one game from that Direct!". Really hope Zelda gets similar treatment for its 35th next year, because man am I ready to experience some of those too! Curious to see what Pokémon does - I know it's not just Nintendo calling those shots, but it is their 25th, so while I'm waiting for a Diamond/Pearl Remake...who knows, they might so something crazy. I mean there's not much they need to do, in my opinion. They can't directly compete with next gen on so many fronts, and I think it would have been very unwise for them to release a massive title like Breath of the Wild 2 or a potential Switch Pro. Competing directly like that wouldn't have been good for them anyways, even more so with limited budgets for most as a result of COVID. Thee Switch is having its best year to date, and if nothing else I think it's going to work just like the box office, as it's primed to be solid counter-programming for both next gen consoles: an already existing library of great games on a console probably only nearing its midway point. Perhaps the only thing I would suggest Nintendo potentially does in response to next gen launching is - assuming those consoles come in at £500 or more - is dropping their price to £249.99 or a little less, especially if a Pro is on the way in time for next Christmas. Being able to say that you're selling at half the price (or less!) of the other consoles on the market is a massive sell to most, and let's not forget that those next gen consoles could well end up selling out. Though all that being said, yes I'd love another game this year, but it's already a pretty busy end to the year for them with a game published by them nearly every month? 3D All-Stars this month, Pikmin 3 next month, and we've still got Bravely Default II on the way too - not quite what everyone wanted I don't think, but it's just how the year has played out unfortunately. And let's not forget the Pokémon DLC and another Smash character I imagine in that period as well. But I'd be happy to be wrong