Been almost a month since my last post. I wanted to do something sooner since I had some time off but truthfully I just wasn’t feeling up to doing much of anything recently. It’s been a pretty rough period for my mental health on top of getting sick a few weeks ago. But I feel a little more up to speed today so here’s what I’ve been up to.
I finally finished off my playthrough of Final Fantasy Tactics earlier this month. As expected, I thought it was amazing. While I think I prefer Tactics Ogre overall, this was still a wonderful game to sit and play through.
Matsuno’s writing is as incredible as always. Characters have strong ideals and motivations, and they all feel very human as expected. Ramza and Delita especially steal the show. Both of them go through excellent character arcs and they’re some of my favorite characters across the series already. I do think it’s a bit of a shame that a lot of the party members kind of phase out of existence after they join you, but I chalk that up as more of a limitation of the original more than a real issue. The newly added dialogue during battles does a lot to make them feel present thankfully. This was great as I really enjoyed characters like Agrias, Beowulf, etc. so it was nice to see them actually exist and talk after they join.
Matsuno also goes above and beyond with the way he approaches the world and its history. Ivalice is an incredible rich setting, and his interest and knowledge of real world events is definitely felt and noticeable. It’s an immersive region, and in many ways is probably my first thought when I think of a “Final Fantasy world”. Which is high praise. It feels lived in and real.
Of course, the combat side of things is quite good as well, so it was a great experience on every aspect. The job system is very flexible and lets you come up with a lot of zany combinations. It’s fun to play a game where you’re not really restricted and your imagination is really the limit. I went with some classic strategies like a White Mage/Arithmetician and Monk/Ninja for several of characters and I had a blast trying to break the game. This is one of my favorite aspects of games like Shin Megami Tensei or Atelier so I felt right at home here.
I will say that I had a few gripes with a few of the job system’s progression. While the job system is quite flexible, I did feel more pressured to grind things out than I would in most games. This was primarily due to how story-based recruitable characters worked. If you want to use them you have to drop one of your custom characters and you probably have a decent amount of skills and Job Points on them. So it felt a tad punishing to swap and grinding a map felt like the expected solution. Sure, I could have stuck with my custom ones but I wanted to see a bit more of these characters who would otherwise vanish from the game.
I also found this game weirdly missing a few QoL features from Tactics Ogre Reborn. While Ivalice Chronicles is a wonderful remaster (remake technically), I was surprised to see they didn’t just copy the same ability to rewind turns from Reborn for example. While this game is nowhere near as difficult, it would have been greatly appreciated for those moments when a one of a kind weapon got destroyed in a battle. The game does autosave each turn, but trying to navigate those was a pretty poor experience. So that was a bit odd when it felt otherwise very lovingly put together.
Overall, I did really love the game. Ramza’s arc in particular and the way this game presents the idea of history’s real heroes is gripping. I can definitely see why it’s so loved and it’s one I would easily recommend to anyone. Ivalice Chronicles especially is full of great features to really get lost in its world. You can feel the love for the original all throughout it. An all-time classic.
I also finally finished Tsukihime A Piece of Blue Glass Moon while I was on vacation this month. I had a blast with this one as well.
I finished the first route focusing on Arcueid previously, so all I had left to do was Ciel’s route. But it ended up being quite a bit longer than I expected so it really just took me some time to come back and finish it. It was a great experience though, with some killer action and great character writing.
When it comes to Visual Novels, I think Type Moon might have my favorite action scenes across the ones I’ve played. Sure, it’s a bit unfair thanks to their high production values but they’re all exciting, well presented, and easy and satisfying to follow. You can easily visualize everything that’s happening which is much appreciated with the over-the-top powers and movements the cast all makes. Which is good since the fights are so exciting. You feel drawn in and they keep you on the edge of your seat. They’re a lot of fun.
I think Nasu especially excels when it comes to his character work though. When he writes Arcueid’s actions, for example, you start to understand why Shiki falls in love with her. She steals every scene she’s in and sells you on the idea of her being a completely captivating vampire princess. And this extends to everyone. They’re all so likeable and interesting across the board. It’s to the point where I can see people liking them even if they don’t care for the story. They’re all so full of life and bursting with energy. I can see why people go so wild for Type Moon characters now.
I did find the pacing a bit slow at points, mostly with some of the school and home segments. But, they do serve a purpose in making the action and suspense feel more earned in my opinion, so I truthfully don’t mind them all that much by the end. In Ciel’s route the school scenes even ended up being rather enjoyable even since she’s so present in them and you get some juicy details and scenes in them.
I can’t wait to see the second part (whenever it does release) as Kohaku was my favorite side character here and has been a favorite of mine in Melty Blood for many years now. Part of me is considering playing the original, but I may just hold off until after Red Garden comes out just to have my experience fresh. I did start Fate/stay night recently though. Miraculously, I’ve never watched the anime for this so I’m curious to see how it stacks up to this and Witch on the Holy Night (which I also loved). Type Moon arc incoming I guess.
On the anime side of things, I found myself rewatching my favorite Monogatari arc, Koimonogatari (Hitagi End). Monogatari for over a decade now has been my favorite series and one I end up revisiting pretty often. I first got into it while I was staying with my best friend while I was in the middle of moving from my childhood home. He bounced off of it but the visuals and dialogue had me in a chokehold and I pretty quickly consumed all of the series at that point on my own after that. I watch every season immediately, read some of the novels, and so on. I’ve even met and gotten autographs from VOFAN (the artist for the novels) and Chiwa Saitou (Senjougahara’s voice actress) out of my love for the series. It means a lot to me.
Over the years I’ve gotten into the habit of rewatching arcs at random. The structure of the series makes it an easy one to do this with, and I’ve appreciated it more and more each time I do. I always notice new details and end up liking every character just a little more. Plus it’s just such a dense show with a lot of information, so it’s a good refresher since I end up forgetting some details over time.
Hitagi End is my favorite arc in the series due to its framing. Kaiki acting as the protagonist is a breath of fresh air here since he’s so different from the other POV characters the series has had. Plus the actual story of him trying to deceive Nadeko (a middle schooler-turned god) to keep her from killing people is just a really compelling plotline. You watch him go through the motions of how he slowly builds up this fake relationship to tear her down. You should hate Kaiki from previous stories yet you can’t help but be charmed by him. He’s deceiving us the same way he’s tricking a child.
The series focuses a lot on the concept of learning to love yourself so you can help yourself. That’s always stuck with me, and it’s a big part of why I enjoy it so much. This arc’s closing lines for its climax in particular are incredibly memorable and some of my favorites in the series:
This ends up having a deeper payoff in the most recent season (Off & Monster Season) which was a big reason I wanted to revisit this. I’m glad I did, since once again I found myself enjoying it even more than I did initially. I love this series.
Special Division 4 