In case you didn't know, we are currently in the middle of a special event in Final Fantasy XV called the Moogle Chocobo Carnival. Taking place outside of the main game, the town of Altissia has been redecorated for the event with moogles and chocobos all over town and even Noctis himself can dress up in not one, but two different festive outfits to celebrate the franchise's mascots with fun and games for all. To access it, you will need to download the extra content which can come with the season pass, or a free package that apparently has less content but let's in people who can't afford the paid version.
For those of you who are not familiar, chocobos are large yellow birds that are usually ridden in lieu of horses which generally do not exist in the Final Fantasy multiverse introduced in FFII while moogles are white mole like creatures with purple bat wings and big pink noses and a pom pom on top of its head that were introduced in FFIII and both appear in some form in every game since they were introduced. Chocobos are actually pretty cool, they protect you from random encounters while you ride them and they can cross rivers and have a catchy theme song that changes with each game. Moogles are also cool, but much more often get relegated to comic relief and are not taken very seriously. Both are notable as being cute, which can sometimes contrast with the otherwise dark nature of the game's story.
Starting January 24 and going to February 20, these two cute mascots, with a little help from the also cute carbuncle, are taking over FFXV. For those who like open world exploring, this is awesome, there is one main quest and a few subquests, all of which amount to mini games, plus mini games that don't involve quests at all, and you just get to goof around. There are also rewards that should last beyond the event, particularly that Noctis can now take photos himself without Prompto. This feature was introduced because there is a photo component to the event, including one sidequest and some random extras, but Prompto is not with Noctis so he has to do it himself. The main sidequest for photography is the Brother Kupomarov where you photograph six moogle dolls hidden around town with clues in a poem, but if you look closely there are challenges to recreate photos of oddities around town. Finally, once you complete the main quest of getting a voucher for the fireworks show you can watch fireworks and take photos of them from a gondola in the bay around Altissia. In addition to the photography you can also get two new recipes for Ignis by ordering them at the Square Enix Cafe, the moogle cheesecake which reduces tension on the line during fishing and the chocobo tart which enhances stamina when riding chocobos, both of which are handy for special activities during the event, and you can redeem medallions for a decal, fishing lures, and rare treasures that can be used for upgrading weapons as well as other items if you get too many medals somehow. One of the activities is fishing which can net you a new rod and reel or chocomog medals.All of these specials remain in your save file so you can use the items in your regular game when you go back o playing the regular story.
Other sidequests include a diner dash game at one of the restaurants, a puzzle game decorating the Listro Plaza and best of all, the quest to round up lost chocochicks, baby chocobos that run around town. In addition to these quests, there's also the chocobo racing track and at the coliseum you can play carnival games including, whack-a-cactuar and a shooting gallery. One other thing that you can miss is children crying over their lost balloons, which sounds sad, except Noctis can track down the balloons and use his warp to retrieve them, which is not only nice, but you get medals for it. There are medals everywhere, literally, they are just lying on the ground, on tables, medals everywhere. The whole event is basically collecting these medals to get your permanent items.
One last thing to note, I found a glitch where Vyv apears to offer a quest, but it does not work. Talk to him and the game crashes, just take your photo and move on. Now, go on and have fun! Kupo! Kweh!
I wanted to add also my predictions for future downloadable content. We all know they have planned to add chapters where you get to play as Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto, as well as a multiplayer mode. While it sounds cool, nobody has asked why. Here's what I think: Gladiolus and Prompto are going to let us play through the chapters where they get separated from the main party and tell us what they were doing. For Gladiolus this means alternative Chapter 7, we'd get to find out how he got that scar and I'm betting lil' sis Iris will be his back-up, I can't figure much beyond that, but it's enough to get me excited. I haven't gotten as far as Prompto leaving the party, but I know from the wikia that he does get knocked off a train and it takes a while for him to rejoin the team, and the DLC should explain where he went, which may involve fellow Niflheim ex-patriate Aranea Highwind, which would be hilarious if he tries to take advantage of their alone time. I'm not sure about Ignis, though my guess would be during the few days immediately following the Leviathan Incident when Noctis may be out of commission and perhaps there's more to his blindness than we thought. Finally, multiplayer mode, probably during the ten-year gap and revolving around daemon hunting, which would explain rumors of designing your own character, which would be a hunter who is determined to go down swinging. Also, there might be a slight possibility of new Royal Arms; the regular arsenal is probably enough, but Ignis said there's likely as many Royal Arms as kings, and we only get 13 of 113, so there's still one hundred out there, and while Noctis is normally the only one who can wield them, Kingsglaive shows that in times of dire need, others can wield the power of the king, and if that can be considered for fighting Niflheim imperials, it should apply to a well meaning hunter facing a daemonic apocalypse. In any case I purchased my DLC season pass and I'm keeping save files from the points I suspect I'll need for the DLC later.
7th Moon
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Saturday, January 21, 2017
7th Moon on Steam and Riding the Dragon
In the past week I managed to bring out two major projects, 7th Moon is available in beta on Steam and Riding the Dragon, the last book of the Magic of Rochester Trilogy is available on Amazon.
Riding the Dragon is about Ellen Red's twenty-first year. It starts with her birthday when the enchantment that protects her kingdom wears off and undead are free to hunt her and her friends down. Also, she's graduating from college, starting her own fashion line, introducing a whole bunch of changelings to Rochester, and of course making her final decision on whether she's going to marry hunky werewolf Jason or exotic wizard Ralph. To make it all more complicated, the previous leaders of the werewolves and wizards both die under suspicious circumstances and a feud heats up that complicates matters even further. If you like paranormal polyamory with fashion and local culture from western upstate New York, then find out how her story ends. Also a great Valentine's Day gift.
7th Moon is now available on Steam! It took me a few months to figure it out but you can now download the beta of the RPG on Steam. It is quite simply, the book made into game format. I did have to make a few adjustments, I couldn't get all the right artwork for the enemies, so I had to take some liberties with appearance, but it makes it cooler in some cases. Also, I gave more equipment options than were actually in the book so that part is more fun but less accurate. Abilities I try to stay true to, but Douji's powers are definitely more than most readers may expect, though just because I didn't explore it in the book, doesn't mean it's not an accurate reflection of his potential. The story is edited for time and space, but if you would rather play through 7th Moon than read it, than this is the game for you. Feel free to give feedback on 7th Moon in the comments section on Steam so I can work on a better final product. I tried to make it as good as possible, but as it is my first try, I'm sure I missed something, also it's hard to remain objective when I designed it so I know the easiest way to finish it.
Well, I've got three Final Fantasy games to play, so I'm gonna get back to playing, all of you get to enjoying the entertainment I've created for you.
Riding the Dragon is about Ellen Red's twenty-first year. It starts with her birthday when the enchantment that protects her kingdom wears off and undead are free to hunt her and her friends down. Also, she's graduating from college, starting her own fashion line, introducing a whole bunch of changelings to Rochester, and of course making her final decision on whether she's going to marry hunky werewolf Jason or exotic wizard Ralph. To make it all more complicated, the previous leaders of the werewolves and wizards both die under suspicious circumstances and a feud heats up that complicates matters even further. If you like paranormal polyamory with fashion and local culture from western upstate New York, then find out how her story ends. Also a great Valentine's Day gift.
7th Moon is now available on Steam! It took me a few months to figure it out but you can now download the beta of the RPG on Steam. It is quite simply, the book made into game format. I did have to make a few adjustments, I couldn't get all the right artwork for the enemies, so I had to take some liberties with appearance, but it makes it cooler in some cases. Also, I gave more equipment options than were actually in the book so that part is more fun but less accurate. Abilities I try to stay true to, but Douji's powers are definitely more than most readers may expect, though just because I didn't explore it in the book, doesn't mean it's not an accurate reflection of his potential. The story is edited for time and space, but if you would rather play through 7th Moon than read it, than this is the game for you. Feel free to give feedback on 7th Moon in the comments section on Steam so I can work on a better final product. I tried to make it as good as possible, but as it is my first try, I'm sure I missed something, also it's hard to remain objective when I designed it so I know the easiest way to finish it.
Well, I've got three Final Fantasy games to play, so I'm gonna get back to playing, all of you get to enjoying the entertainment I've created for you.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Star Wars Rogue One
I know I'm a little late on this one, but I just watched it last week and that was DBS week, so it kind of took precedence.
Star Wars Rogue One finally answers the question anyone with sense has asked since the original Star Wars, "Why did the Empire build the Death Star with such a simple and obvious weakness?" The answer is that the architect actually did want it destroyed, which, once that fact is revealed, is the only logical explanation.
The movie opens with the architect, Galen Erso, being approached by the Empire demanding that he help them build the Death Star. He is very reluctant, but he has a family he must protect and to do this, he relents so that his daughter, Jyn, can escape. The movie then skips forward to Jyn's adulthood when she gets rescued from prison by the Rebels because they found out that Saw Gerrara, a family friend, got a message from Galen and she may be the only one who can get the inside track on the architect to bring down the Empire. The specific rebels who get her are Cassian Andor and K-2SO, a droid that used to belong to the Empire but got reprogrammed to work for the Rebels and is a bit glitchy, so now he's a sarcastic prick that plays like a more badass C-3PO(who has a cameo). Cassian mostly follows orders and kills without qustion when it suits the mission and is as cold as a droid, but over the course of the movie both he and K-2SO develop more emotion and care for those around them. The Rogue One crew is rounded out by Bodhi Rook, an imperial pilot who defected to deliver Galen's message, and Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus, the last guardians of the crystal mines beneath the sacred city of Jedha where the power source of light sabers came from. Chirrut is the resident badass of the movie because he is a blind monk who has learned to use the Force to fight without sight. Chirrut and Baze are just sort of in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting mixed up with the others for no real good reason, but if you're paying attention, you realize they are guardians of something that no longer needs guarding and this is their last chance to be relevant. Also, the moon they're on gets blown up and they survive only beause they get away with the crew, so it's totally worth letting these two badasses tag along.
The message from Galen Erso was meant for Jyn and explains that he worked for the Empire because he knew they would build the Death Star without him but at least if he cooperated he could build in a weakness, and now that it's complete and ready to destroy planets, he needs for the secret weakness to be known to the rebels. From there the movie is pretty predictable, but that's what makes it interesting, you know how it ends, because it ends where the original Star Wars begins, you know the mission succeeds, you just sit back and watch the events unfold. Chirrut and K-2SO are the best for reasons already stated, but there's alos plenty of easter eggs for fans. Dart Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin both make appearances, the latter utilizing CGI to recreate the original face from over forty years ago, so flawless you won't know unless you think to look for it. Other familiar faces who pop up include Mon Mothma and Bail Organna, Leia's adoptive father, who has a sad moment nea the end when he mentions going back to Alderaan and we know how that goes. Also, pay very close attention and you'll see or hear some old minor rebel members, and astute observers will recognize the guys from the Mos Eisley Cantina who had a fight with Luke Skywalker that ended with Obi Wan Kenobi cutting off one guy's arm with a lght saber as they bump into Jyn Erso on the street. And of course there are a few other nods to Star Wars of the past, including catch phrases like "May the Force be with you" and "I have a bad feeling about this" and on an unrelated nerd note, there is a second where you see K-2SO in the cockpit flipping switches overhead the same way Wash did on Firefly, both characters played by Alan Tudyk, and since he did the motion capture I am 99% certain he did the motion as a wink to his fans.
Now that we've settled the question about the Death Star's weakness, can we work on explaining how Luke Skywalker lived on his father's home planet, with his father's step brother under his father's name and was never found in ~20 years?
Star Wars Rogue One finally answers the question anyone with sense has asked since the original Star Wars, "Why did the Empire build the Death Star with such a simple and obvious weakness?" The answer is that the architect actually did want it destroyed, which, once that fact is revealed, is the only logical explanation.
The movie opens with the architect, Galen Erso, being approached by the Empire demanding that he help them build the Death Star. He is very reluctant, but he has a family he must protect and to do this, he relents so that his daughter, Jyn, can escape. The movie then skips forward to Jyn's adulthood when she gets rescued from prison by the Rebels because they found out that Saw Gerrara, a family friend, got a message from Galen and she may be the only one who can get the inside track on the architect to bring down the Empire. The specific rebels who get her are Cassian Andor and K-2SO, a droid that used to belong to the Empire but got reprogrammed to work for the Rebels and is a bit glitchy, so now he's a sarcastic prick that plays like a more badass C-3PO(who has a cameo). Cassian mostly follows orders and kills without qustion when it suits the mission and is as cold as a droid, but over the course of the movie both he and K-2SO develop more emotion and care for those around them. The Rogue One crew is rounded out by Bodhi Rook, an imperial pilot who defected to deliver Galen's message, and Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus, the last guardians of the crystal mines beneath the sacred city of Jedha where the power source of light sabers came from. Chirrut is the resident badass of the movie because he is a blind monk who has learned to use the Force to fight without sight. Chirrut and Baze are just sort of in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting mixed up with the others for no real good reason, but if you're paying attention, you realize they are guardians of something that no longer needs guarding and this is their last chance to be relevant. Also, the moon they're on gets blown up and they survive only beause they get away with the crew, so it's totally worth letting these two badasses tag along.
The message from Galen Erso was meant for Jyn and explains that he worked for the Empire because he knew they would build the Death Star without him but at least if he cooperated he could build in a weakness, and now that it's complete and ready to destroy planets, he needs for the secret weakness to be known to the rebels. From there the movie is pretty predictable, but that's what makes it interesting, you know how it ends, because it ends where the original Star Wars begins, you know the mission succeeds, you just sit back and watch the events unfold. Chirrut and K-2SO are the best for reasons already stated, but there's alos plenty of easter eggs for fans. Dart Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin both make appearances, the latter utilizing CGI to recreate the original face from over forty years ago, so flawless you won't know unless you think to look for it. Other familiar faces who pop up include Mon Mothma and Bail Organna, Leia's adoptive father, who has a sad moment nea the end when he mentions going back to Alderaan and we know how that goes. Also, pay very close attention and you'll see or hear some old minor rebel members, and astute observers will recognize the guys from the Mos Eisley Cantina who had a fight with Luke Skywalker that ended with Obi Wan Kenobi cutting off one guy's arm with a lght saber as they bump into Jyn Erso on the street. And of course there are a few other nods to Star Wars of the past, including catch phrases like "May the Force be with you" and "I have a bad feeling about this" and on an unrelated nerd note, there is a second where you see K-2SO in the cockpit flipping switches overhead the same way Wash did on Firefly, both characters played by Alan Tudyk, and since he did the motion capture I am 99% certain he did the motion as a wink to his fans.
Now that we've settled the question about the Death Star's weakness, can we work on explaining how Luke Skywalker lived on his father's home planet, with his father's step brother under his father's name and was never found in ~20 years?
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Dragon Ball Super
Tonight is the night, the American television premiere of the first new episode of Dragon Ball in over a decade! If you saw the movies, you kind of know what's going on, but this starts a little before the movies, then bridges them together with a brand new story revolving around Goku and friends facing new foes from other universes. Yes, Goku has climbed the ladder to defeat the strongest this universe has to offer, so there's nothing left except to fight people from other universes, 12 in all to be exact, I believe Goku exists in number 7...or number 4...we'll find out.
So in case you forgot, Dragon Ball Z ended with Goku having defeated Buu, Buu's better half befriending Hercule Satan, Satan's daughter Videl marrying Gohan and having his child, Android 18 marrying Krillin and having his child, and everybody else kind of just going on the same as before. Goku and Vegeta want to keep training because they are saiyans and that's what saiyans do. But Goku is soon to graduate from King Kai's training to find an even greater, Beerus, the God of Destruction. The movie Battle of the Gods is canon and tells how that goes, but we're going to start a little before that and follow everybody as they get ready for the big showdown.
My only complaint is that I wish they would have finished Kai first so it would all run chronologically, but, screw it, we're getting new Dragon Ball! Woo hoo!
So in case you forgot, Dragon Ball Z ended with Goku having defeated Buu, Buu's better half befriending Hercule Satan, Satan's daughter Videl marrying Gohan and having his child, Android 18 marrying Krillin and having his child, and everybody else kind of just going on the same as before. Goku and Vegeta want to keep training because they are saiyans and that's what saiyans do. But Goku is soon to graduate from King Kai's training to find an even greater, Beerus, the God of Destruction. The movie Battle of the Gods is canon and tells how that goes, but we're going to start a little before that and follow everybody as they get ready for the big showdown.
My only complaint is that I wish they would have finished Kai first so it would all run chronologically, but, screw it, we're getting new Dragon Ball! Woo hoo!
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