On shelves today, bitches!!!

It’s no surprise that I’ve had a love affair with these series since FFVII (notorious for converting casual gamers into RPG nuts), which makes me compulsively want to buy everything that has a Square-Enix logo in front of the box. I mean besides those horrible "SaGa" games.

Final Fantasy VII in particular brings a lot of good and bad memories, because it came out when I was a freshman at Mayagüez, and that game became some sort of pacifier for all the fucked up shit I went through there. My only purpose during those years was waiting for the weekend so I could lose myself in Midgar and forget about my last flunked exam, or my stolen bag, or how expensive the new chemistry book is. Initially I left the PS1 back at home in Bayamón so I could concentrate on my studies, but I couldn’t bear it. Games became the only consolation during that lonely, depressing time I spent in that fucking hellhole.

Anyway, after Final Fantasy VII made that gigantic splash on PS1 last decade, it’s been kinda hard for Square to emulate the same rabid fan reaction with the following games and spinnoffs. Hell, even the only "next-gen" Final Fantasy title on PS2 (FFX) failed to cause as much commotion and worship as FFVII. Personally, I think that in terms of following, only FFVI and FFVII have made a lot of long lasting noise. Until this new title.

I had a chance to play a small preview beta thingie, and lemme tell ya, this game totally breaks the FF gameplay we’ve come to expect from Square’s flagship franchise. Gone are the intrusive turn-based you-hit-me/I-hit-you-back battles. Now the craze is all live action monster bashing with little or no menu usage (hey, you still need a way to use potions and spells and stuff) but you gotta learn how to use that stuff on the fly, or the monsters will own you even before you can say "Firaga".

Gone are the flashy Summon monster entrances/exits. They’re no longer just uncontrollable avatars that you Summon->gawk at->watch them leave after they wreak havoc. Now the mofos actually join you in battle and fight alongside you. How fucking cool is that.

Well I’ll stop praising the game because everything I’m saying has been discussed ad nauseam in forums, game websites and blogs, and I don’t feel like recycling regurgitated fanboy gushes.

Just buy this fucking game if you have enjoyed any of it’s incarnations over the years, and let Square-enix know that they can count with our money if they keep cranking up quality stuff like this every time.

Now excuse me while I go to Gamestop and redeem my FF XII Collector’s Edition Presale. I have no fucking idea how I’ll get to play this game with Guild Wars Nightfall and Mortal Kombat Armageddon waiting for me back home. Now you know why I bitch about compulsive game buying. Yeah, it’s that bad.

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