Recipe for good humour

I know I have written recently that I want ZX Spectrum emulator for my iPhone. Indeed I do, but out of the blue I was struck by other emulator that I also wanted to see and I fell in love with my iPhone even more. Just look at this video :

Then combine it with the following list. Add this news. Result? Silly smile glued to my face all day long.

Yes, it all means in just a couple of days I will be able to play Final Fantasy VI in its first original version on my jail-breaked 1.1.3 iPhone. SNES, FTW! (Sorry, couldn’t help it.)

It also means that I will have to finally write a note about Final Fantasy VI. I have intended to do this for quite some time, last occasion being a port of FF6 to Gameboy Advance (some time early last year). I have actually bought GBA to play this game, got disgusted by the quality of the port and sold it later. Nevertheless, I consider sixth part of the series to be on par with Final Fantasy VII when it comes to the story and characters.

So right now I am biting my nails, waiting impatiently for a public release. Hurry up, guys!

Recipe for good humour

I know I have written recently that I want ZX Spectrum emulator for my iPhone. Indeed I do, but out of the blue I was struck by other emulator that I also wanted to see and I fell in love with my iPhone even more. Just look at this video :

Then combine it with the following list. Add this news. Result? Silly smile glued to my face all day long.

Yes, it all means in just a couple of days I will be able to play Final Fantasy VI in its first original version on my jail-breaked 1.1.3 iPhone. SNES, FTW! (Sorry, couldn’t help it.)

It also means that I will have to finally write a note about Final Fantasy VI. I have intended to do this for quite some time, last occasion being a port of FF6 to Gameboy Advance (some time early last year). I have actually bought GBA to play this game, got disgusted by the quality of the port and sold it later. Nevertheless, I consider sixth part of the series to be on par with Final Fantasy VII when it comes to the story and characters.

So right now I am biting my nails, waiting impatiently for a public release. Hurry up, guys!

A bit of deja vu – Final Fantasy Tech Demos history

Okay, so some time in 2005 people got really hyped up because of a certain PS3 Tech Demo that suggested the possibility of Final Fantasy VII remake. If this video doesn’t cause a surge of warm, fuzzy memories in you, let me explain – it is hardware rendered version of pre-rendered cinematic from PS1 game, which you can see here or here (the second one is longer, but contains a bit of gameplay showing Cloud jumping off the train).

PS vs PS3 comparison

Collective imagination of gamers population was further teased by speculations in different media, such as this IGN article, or Square-Enix folks hinting at potential remake. Honestly, I can’t blame people, as for me Final Fantasy VII is one of the most influential and unique stories of videogame world (together with Silent Hill 2, Final Fantasy VI, Dark Earth, Deus Ex, Morrowind and others)

So recently all the hype re-emerged due to the hidden (not sure about that, as I haven’t played the game yet) ending of Final Fantasy Crisis Core, a game that is technically a Final Fantasy VII prequel. Both PS3 Tech Demo and Crisis Core ending share the same renewed look of characters, just like in Final Fantasy Advent Children, which in turn is a sequel (movie sequel to a game… no comments).

Final FantasyCrisis Core ending

Okay, so if you’re a gamer, then you probably already know all that, and if you’re not, you really don’t give a damn anyways.

Still, I wanted to make a point here

Did you know that this kind of tech demo, teasing gamers with the vision of remake, using hardware to render in real time animation that would not be feasible on the earlier generation of consoles – did you know that it has happened before?

A-ha!

Watch this movie showing dance scene (Dance with the Balamb Fish, a beautiful moment by the way) and then this movie that recreates it – the difference being that the first one is a pre-rendered sequence from PS1, while the second one is a PS2 tech demo, rendering the same scene in real time. Sounds familiar?

Both renditions head-to-head comparison for your viewing pleasure.

But that’s not all! I have also found two other interesting things. One of them would be tech demo of Final Fantasy VI (considered the best part of the series by many, at least story-wise) on … Nintendo 64.

Nintendo 64 tech demo

Yes, it is incredible. Looks like Square actually considered what would it be to take a plunge into 3D long before they decided to make Final Fantasy VII for Playstation. One can’t help but to wonder about some alternative reality where Final Fantasy series is a Nintendo exclusive… Do you think it would influence the outcome of console wars?

Final Fantasy VII Beta

And speaking of Final Fantasy VII and Square’s first ventures into 3D world – have a look at the above movie and see how Final Fantasy VII Beta was different from the actual game that came later on. Observe especially the proportions of protagonists’ models and their 2D images in menu…

So you see, it is not the first time we, gamers, are being teased with unfulfilled promises of recreation of our favourite adventures in all-new graphical galore. And that’s essentially the point I wanted to make. Share your comments below!

Final Fantasy VII – Introduction

As I have mentioned before, I am planning to write (actually, I am already writing it down, only it takes longer than I expected) about Final Fantasy VII Tech Demo and convoluted history of those. But I have come to realize that there are quite a few folks out there who might not know much about the game.

For them, I allow myself to post a little introduction here. A wonderful series by GameTrailers called Final Fantasy Retrospective breaks down each game in detail and the above episode is all about Final Fantasy VII. If you would like to learn what this whole phenomenon is all about, it should prepare you for the incoming post or at least explain why so many people still have vivid memories about this game.

For me the unconventional story, wonderful graphics (at that time – ’96 when I got it for my PC), eclectic mix of fantasy and sci-fi, lots of cultural references – it all made it an experience I wouldn’t ever forget. The trouble-minded main protagonist, Cloud Strife, with blue eyes shining of Mako energy (resembling Dune characters in this regard), suffering from amnesia (a bit like prince Corwin from Amber cycle) was not a stereotypical cliché macho hero. Same applied to all the rest of game characters – the cast was as memorable as the story and the images that picture them in different (you can find them on the internet) still strike a chord with me.

There, I said it – it is one of the stories that had influenced me the most, not only in the game realm, but also among all the other media. If you haven’t heard this tale, you are missing something.

Final Fantasy VII – Introduction

As I have mentioned before, I am planning to write (actually, I am already writing it down, only it takes longer than I expected) about Final Fantasy VII Tech Demo and convoluted history of those. But I have come to realize that there are quite a few folks out there who might not know much about the game.

For them, I allow myself to post a little introduction here. A wonderful series by GameTrailers called Final Fantasy Retrospective breaks down each game in detail and the above episode is all about Final Fantasy VII. If you would like to learn what this whole phenomenon is all about, it should prepare you for the incoming post or at least explain why so many people still have vivid memories about this game.

For me the unconventional story, wonderful graphics (at that time – ’96 when I got it for my PC), eclectic mix of fantasy and sci-fi, lots of cultural references – it all made it an experience I wouldn’t ever forget. The trouble-minded main protagonist, Cloud Strife, with blue eyes shining of Mako energy (resembling Dune characters in this regard), suffering from amnesia (a bit like prince Corwin from Amber cycle) was not a stereotypical cliché macho hero. Same applied to all the rest of game characters – the cast was as memorable as the story and the images that picture them in different (you can find them on the internet) still strike a chord with me.

There, I said it – it is one of the stories that had influenced me the most, not only in the game realm, but also among all the other media. If you haven’t heard this tale, you are missing something.

General Tacticus’ Final Fantasy

Some time ago I was getting excited over the incoming PSP version of Final Fantasy Tactics. I assumed that it would be an entirely new game or at least very refurbished version of old hit.

Recently a batch of new screens has hit the web and in the meantime I have managed to play the original (via Pops emulator on my PSP, of course). And now I am having ambivalent feelings…

Incoming PSP version

Original PSX version

While I still am happy about the new game for PSP, I am beginning to have doubts about it being a new thing. Also, I know it is a version in progress, but Square, please, do something with that textures and lightning, will you? Otherwise I’ll have to stick with this iteration.

General Tacticus’ Final Fantasy

Some time ago I was getting excited over the incoming PSP version of Final Fantasy Tactics. I assumed that it would be an entirely new game or at least very refurbished version of old hit.

Recently a batch of new screens has hit the web and in the meantime I have managed to play the original (via Pops emulator on my PSP, of course). And now I am having ambivalent feelings…

Incoming PSP version

Original PSX version

While I still am happy about the new game for PSP, I am beginning to have doubts about it being a new thing. Also, I know it is a version in progress, but Square, please, do something with that textures and lightning, will you? Otherwise I’ll have to stick with this iteration.

Say hi to 3.02OE-B

As promised in the previous post, I spent this day upgrading my PSP’s firmware to the newest and coolest one by Dark_Alex – namely 3.02OE-B – and playing with PSX (or PS1) emulation.

It took me some time, because first of all I needed to find all the appropriate files (no brickers, please), read HowTos and testimonials on forums to know what I’m doing, then I continued with converting my Final Fantasy VII isos to PBP format readable by Pops (the PSX emulator found in the 3.02 firmware), only to spend another hours struggling with YouTube and my camera (the result can be seen below).

Final Fantasy VII on Barts’ PSP.

There were a couple of hiccups here and there – for example I have learnt the difference between PAL and NTSC (resulting in corrupted display of my PAL FF7). Fortunately I managed to correct it with a program called Zapper (you can find it here), but it took some more time. As for YouTube and recording video from PSP – don’t even get me started.

But the efforts were well worth it. The PSX emulator runs smoothly and does its job very well in case of most games. The custom firmware is great, eliminating the need to use DevHook both for UMDs requiring higher firmware than 1.50 (meaning most of them) and for ISO emulation (done on the flight, user can run ISOs straight from game menu). Homebrew programs can be run both in kxploit versions (for 1.50) and normal ones (for 1.00). All the goodies from 3.02 firmware are there (visualisations, RSS and so on).

All in all, I am very pleased with my new firmware and the new possibilities it opens. This is truly a great Christmas present for the PSP community.

I promise to post more details anytime soon (such as which HowTos are good, what tricks there are and so on), but I thought I’d share the impressions together with a movie to show you how great it is.

Final Fantasy Tactics reborn on PSP

I can barely contain my joy. there seems to be more and more A+ grade titles coming up for the PSP.

I think everyone knows Square-Enix franchise, Final Fantasy. Slightly less popular was its turn-based strategy offspring, Final Fantasy Tactics. The game debuted on PS1 with a follow-up on Gameboy Advance, and both were considered to be one of the very best games for the systems. I myself have very fond memories of GBA version.

Well, recently a preview appeared in Japanese magazine Shonen Jump, indicating that there will be another sequel of the franchise arriving on PSP. Apart from batch of screens, there’s hardly any other information, but the official webpage will open soon.

Stay tuned for more information – as soon as it surfaces I’ll post it here!

EDIT : The official webpage has just opened! There is not much to see there yet, but I’ll report if anything surfaces.

EDIT2 : There is a shaky cam trailer available over the net. Enjoy :

Final Fantasy Tactics reborn on PSP

I can barely contain my joy. there seems to be more and more A+ grade titles coming up for the PSP.

I think everyone knows Square-Enix franchise, Final Fantasy. Slightly less popular was its turn-based strategy offspring, Final Fantasy Tactics. The game debuted on PS1 with a follow-up on Gameboy Advance, and both were considered to be one of the very best games for the systems. I myself have very fond memories of GBA version.

Well, recently a preview appeared in Japanese magazine Shonen Jump, indicating that there will be another sequel of the franchise arriving on PSP. Apart from batch of screens, there’s hardly any other information, but the official webpage will open soon.

Stay tuned for more information – as soon as it surfaces I’ll post it here!

EDIT : The official webpage has just opened! There is not much to see there yet, but I’ll report if anything surfaces.

EDIT2 : There is a shaky cam trailer available over the net. Enjoy :