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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 17:16:55 GMT -5
10. Final Fantasy Anthology Final Fantasy Anthology is a compilation of two Final Fantasy console role-playing games by Square for the Sony PlayStation. Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI are featured in the North American edition, while Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V are in the PAL region edition. The games were ported by TOSE from the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System versions. Final Fantasy Anthology was published in North America on October 5, 1999 by Square Electronic Arts and in the PAL region on May 17, 2002 by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. In Japan, all three games were released for the PlayStation both individually and packaged together as part of a limited edition box set called Final Fantasy Collection. Although all three games differ little from the original Japanese versions in terms of gameplay, graphics, and sound, a number of extras were added, including art galleries, bestiaries, and two full motion video opening and ending sequences not present in the original releases.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 17:20:05 GMT -5
9. Silent Hill Silent Hill is a video game, the first in the survival horror series with the same name. The game was released in North America on January 31, 1999, Japan on March 4, 1999, and in Europe on August 1, 1999. It was released exclusively on the Sony PlayStation. A movie adaptation based on this game has been made and was released theatrically on April 21, 2006. Seven years ago Harry Mason and his wife found a baby by the road and adopted her as their own, naming her Cheryl. Though his wife soon died, Harry Mason continued to love Cheryl as his own daughter. At the start of the game we find Harry Mason and Cheryl going to the resort town of Silent Hill. Strange events occur before they have even entered the town. A cop on a motorbike drives past them and only moments later Harry sees the bike lying by the side of the road and the cop is nowhere in sight. Soon afterwards a figure suddenly appears on the road (arguably Alessa Gillespe), causing Harry to swerve the car and slide off the road. When he regains consciousness, Harry discovers that Cheryl is missing and that he has slipped into a strange dimension shrouded in fog. It's soon clear that this place is unlike any place he's been before. Strange creatures lurk within the fog and as Harry follows what he thinks is his daughter's silhouette all over town, he realizes that the town has a darker and more dangerous side to it. Silent Hill has five separate endings. Each ending is achieved based on how the game was played. The Bad ending is the easiest to get as it requires no extra exploring, just for the player to finish the game. The Good+ and UFO endings require experimentation and exploration. Some are quick to label one particular ending as the absolute Canon ending based on varied conflicting sources, but Konami themselves have never officially taken a position and have instead stated each ending presents its own unique story arc.[citation needed] However, it should be noted that if one follows the series plotline as a whole, then the entire premise of the third installment in the series eliminates the possibility of the "Bad" and "Bad+" endings from being Canonical endings in the full series plotline. * Bad: Attained by killing Cybil and not rescuing Kaufmann. Upon finishing the game, the player sees that Harry is still in his crashed Jeep, dying, suggesting the entire game was a hallucination. * Bad+: If the player rescues Cybil, but not Kaufmann, this ending is achieved. Cybil is present for the ending. Instead of fighting the demon god as the final boss, Harry instead fights Alessa. After defeating Alessa, Harry hears Cheryl's voice through the defeated Alessa one last time. Harry sits on the floor distraught because he realizes he has lost his daughter. Cybil tells him that they need to go, but they are trapped, as fire rains and the Otherworld starts collapsing around them. * Good: This ending is achieved when the player fails to rescue Cybil but manages to rescue Kaufmann. Kaufmann shows up at the final boss confrontation with the demon god. After Harry defeats the boss, Alessa reappears and hands Harry a baby. She then creates a portal where he escapes. Kaufmann makes a move to follow him, but a blood-soaked Lisa Garland crawls up through the floor and stops him, dragging him screaming into a pit. In the last scene, Harry ends up running on a dark street when the game ends. * Good+: If the player rescues both Cybil and Kaufmann, this ending will appear. Both Kaufmann and Cybil are present for the final battle with the demon god boss. After the demon god is defeated by Harry, Alessa reappears and hands Harry a baby and creates a portal for him to escape. Both he and Cybil go through the portal that lands them where Cheryl was initially found seven years ago. Cybil is then shown standing next to Harry as he looks at the new baby he has, and the game ends. After obtaining this ending, the opening video, in which Harry and his wife find Cheryl on the side of the road, is changed to the ending video where Cybil is with Harry looking at the baby instead. Kaufmann's fate is the same as you would achieve if you received the good ending. * UFO: This is a joke ending, and not considered an "official" ending by many fans, who consider it to be more of an easter egg. Harry uses a 'channelling stone' in certain areas, noticing the presence of UFOs after doing so. The final time it is done, on top of the lighthouse, a UFO lands and abducts Harry after he asks if they know where his daughter is, "She's about this tall, black hair" (a humorous reference to the fact that Harry's line whenever he meets somebody throughout the game is "Have you seen my daughter?", etc.) A credit sequence is then played where a song plays. A voice can be heard repeating the name "Silent Hill" occasionally. The abduction scene is presented in several still images referencing the Mars Attacks series of trading cards. This concept became so popular with fans that Team Silent included alternate UFO endings for both Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3. These endings appear to create a separate storyline, with the third game's UFO ending referring to the first two games' UFO ending.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 17:28:11 GMT -5
8. WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role (Exciting Pro Wrestling 2 in Japan) is a professional wrestling video game released on the PlayStation console by THQ and developed by YUKE's Future Media Creators. It is part of the WWF SmackDown! series based on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) professional wrestling promotion. It is the sequel to WWF SmackDown! and was succeeded by WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It on the PlayStation 2. This was the last of the six WWF games made for the PlayStation. The Season Mode was also modified in this game. Along with removing the pre-season mode from the original, Know Your Role gave more storylines and more matches per show. These changes were given a mixed reaction, some proclaiming the bigger variety of storylines in the game. although there were some flaws in the Season Mode, such as skipped matches being fought between two battling meters. Another issue was the long loading times needed for even the most insignificant scenes, such as a wrestler walking down a corridor. However, the Season Mode is multiplayer, with up to four players playing as superstars in a Season. The Create-A-Superstar mode improved greatly from its predecessor. Taking ideas from WWF Attitude, fans could now put more detail into the superstars such as facial features and attire. The original head, upper and lower body mode from the original could still be used in this game as well. A new Create-A-Taunt feature was also added in which you can create a new taunt for your superstars. The arsenal of moves available increased in this game (such as The Rock's spinebuster and sharpshooter), expanded to accompany not only superstars in the game but also those not in the game. Movesets of superstars from other wrestling promotions such WCW or Japanese promotions could be used for created superstars. In terms of gameplay, wrestlers have more striking moves with the inclusion of moves made by combining the X button with a horizontal and a vertical arrow button. Double team moves in tag team matches were also a new inclusion as well, and could be pulled off by placing an opponent in your partner's corner and making a turnbuckle move. However, this made double team moves impossible in Tornado Tag matches. The entrance style of wrestlers from the previous game still existed in Know Your Role. Although more entrance movies were added, they still appeared in front of a superstar's TitanTron video and not the entrance stage like other wrestling games released around the same time, such as WWF No Mercy. It was also speculated that Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler would provide commentary for the game, but this feature was not added until WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It although you can sometimes hear The King. Also J.R. has a line when the copyright info is shown at the beginning. Featured Wrestlers:* Albert * Al Snow * Big Bossman * Bradshaw * Bubba Ray Dudley * Bull Buchanan * Crash Holly * Chris Benoit * Chris Jericho * Christian * Chyna * Dean Malenko * D'Lo Brown * D'Von Dudley * Edge * Eddie Guerrero * Essa Rios * Faarooq * Funaki * Gangrel * The Goodfather * Grandmaster Sexay * Hardcore Holly * Ivory * Jacqueline * Jeff Hardy * Kane * The Kat * Kurt Angle * Lita * Mankind * Mark Henry * Matt Hardy * Paul Bearer * Perry Saturn * Road Dogg * Rikishi * The Rock * Scotty Too Hotty * Shane McMahon * Stephanie McMahon * Steve Blackman * Steven Richards * TAKA Michinoku * Tazz * Test * Tori * Triple H * Trish Stratus * The Undertaker * Val Venis * Vince McMahon * Viscera * X-Pac Unlockable Wrestlers:* Billy Gunn * Shawn Michaels * Stone Cold Steve Austin * Mick Foley * Cactus Jack * Pat Patterson * Gerald Brisco * Debra * Joey Abs * Pete Gas * Rodney * Michael Cole * Big Show * Ken Shamrock * Jeff Jarrett * Goldust * Earl Hebner * Terri Runnels * Godfather's Ho's - The Ho's that comes out with The Godfather in SmackDown! one, is creatable in CAW Mode
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Post by forgottensinpwf on Nov 14, 2007 17:32:02 GMT -5
big show and Goldust aren't in the game.
Show's model is, but could only be unlocked via hacking.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 17:33:16 GMT -5
7. Tekken 3 Tekken 3 is the third installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It was the first game released on Namco's System 12 hardware (an improvement to the original two Tekken games, which used System 11). It was the last installment of Tekken for the PlayStation. It was released for the PlayStation in 1998, and in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 as part of Tekken 5's Arcade History mode. The PlayStation port became a major critical and commercial success, and is still widely regarded as one of the greatest fighting games ever released. Tekken 3 maintains the same basic fighting system as its predecessors, but brings improvements, such as significantly more detailed graphics and animation, 15 new characters added to the game's roster, and faster and more fluid gameplay. Perhaps the most noticeable change in Tekken 3 is sidestepping, allowing fighters to step "into" or "out of" the background, whereas the element of depth had been largely insignificant in previous Tekken games. Jumping was toned down in Tekken 3, no longer allowing fighters to jump to extreme heights (as was present in previous games) but keeping leaps to reasonable, realistic heights which made air combat more controllable. The improved engine allowed for quick recoveries from knock-downs, more escapes from tackles and stuns, and newly-created combo throws. Tekken 3 was the first Tekken to feature a beat-up mini-game called Tekken Force. Tekken Force pitted the player in various stages against enemies in a side-scrolling fashion. If the player succeds in beating the whole mini-game, Dr.Bosconovitch would be a playable character. This was continued in Tekken 4 and succeeded by the "Devil Within" mini-game in Tekken 5. There is also a mini-game called Tekken Ball, similar to beach volleyball, where one has to "charge" a ball (hit the ball with a powerful attack) in order to hurt the opponent. The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 draws to a close. Jun Kazama comes to the stunning realization that Kazuya Mishima's supernatural strength stems from Devil. But she cannot help being drawn to him, propelled by a mystic force beyond her control. Several days later, the final challenger arrives to face Kazuya, the organizer of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2. In a reprise of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 1, father and son clash in a cursed blood battle. Eventually, Heihachi Mishima emerges, scarred, but victorious, to regain control of the immense Mishima Zaibatsu. Unaware of Devil's presence, Heihachi casts the lifeless Kazuya into a volcano. As Kazuya's body burns, the Devil appears before the pregnant Jun Kazama in a bid to enter the soul of the new life beating within her. But in a desperate struggle for the future of her child, Jun defeats Devil and retires to desolate Yakushima so as to raise Kazuya's son, Jin Kazama, alone. Having regained control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, Heihachi sets about to further increase his powers. He embarks on a crusade to win the trust of world leaders by putting wars and conflicts to rest. Using his immeasurable wealth, he forms Tekkenshu, a mercenary group employed to quell conflicts efficiently. He also takes a strong interest in the well being of developing nations by helping them build agricultural systems that will sustain them. Through Heihachi's efforts, the world appears to be regaining peace. Around fifteen years have passed, and Jin Kazama is now 15 years old. Under Heihachi's orders, the Tekken Force are excavating a Central American archeological site when they discover a mysterious life form. Heihachi orders the creature's capture, but loses contact with the Tekkenshu after a garbled radio message, "... they are all dead... Ogre (Fighting God)?!..." Upon arriving at the dig, Heihachi finds a field of corpses. Heihachi is wracked by sorrow, but also realizes that the power of the mysterious life form could be the key to his long dormant dream of world domination. To obtain this mysterious power of Ogre, and the world, Heihachi tempts the fates once again... Within weeks, strange disappearances occur throughout the world. Persons of strong soul, masters of martial arts, and other derivative fighting disciplines are reported missing with no knowledge of their whereabouts. Jun Kazama instinctively picks up on the dark power encroaching on her life. She has no understanding of what it is, but senses that she has become a target. Accepting her destiny, she tells Jin everything that she knows of their haunted past to prepare him for the fateful day that she now feels is imminent. She tells Jin to go to his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, if anything should befall her. Her intuition proves right on a cold and stormy night. Ogre comes to the mountains, bringing a chilling, swirling wind. Jun instructs Jin to run away. But against his mother's pleas, Jin opts to face Ogre and is knocked unconscious. When Jin awakens, the house and everything around it is burned to the ground. Jin searches frantically for his mother, but she is nowhere to be found. Jun has died at Ogre's hands. Honoring her instructions, Jin goes to Heihachi and begs to be trained in order exact revenge. Heihachi, hearing Jin's tale, is convinced that Ogre is after the souls of powerful fighters. To attract Ogre, Heihachi decides to host the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3. Four years later, on Jin Kazama's 19th birthday, the curtains rise for The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3. The true ending in this game is Jin's ending. Jin finaly achieved his goal and killed ogre, but is shot in the head by Heihachi. Jin is then revived by the devil in himself and flies away. Jin counts as the true winner of the tournament but Julia Chang also came close as she defeated Ogre in his first form but left with her mother during which Ogre morphed into his true form and attacked Jin who defeated him. Returning Characters* Paul Phoenix * Nina Williams * Anna Williams (unlockable) * Heihachi Mishima (unlockable) * Yoshimitsu * Lei Wulong New Characters* Jin Kazama (Kazuya Mishima and Jun Kazama's son) * Ling Xiaoyu (Wang Jinrei's grand daughter) * Hwoarang (Baek Doo San's student) * Eddy Gordo * Forrest Law (Marshall Law's son) * King II (Armour King's apprentice) * Kuma Jr.(unlockable) * Bryan Fury (unlockable/time-released) * Gun Jack (unlockable/time-released/ Incarnation of Jack, Jack-2 and Prototype Jack) * Ogre (unlockable/time-released) (sub-boss when playing every character) * True Ogre (unlockable/time-released) (incarnation of Ogre incorporating long-ranged attacks) (final boss when playing every character) * Julia Chang (Michelle Chang's adopted daughter) (unlockable/time-released) * Panda (unlockable/time-released) * Mokujin (unlockable/time-released) * Tiger Jackson (unlockable/ Extra costume for Eddy Gordo) Bonus Characters (Playstation Version Only)* Gon (unlockable by either defeating him in the Tekken Ball mode, by placing anywhere on the rankings in the Survival mode and entering "GON" as your initials, or by beating the game with Doctor Boskonovitch) * Doctor Boskonovitch (unlockable by beating him in the extra stage of Tekken Force, available only when you complete it for the fourth time) Tekken 3 was originally ported to the PlayStation with two new characters. The PlayStation version features Tekken Force and Tekken Ball, which aren't in the PlayStation version of Tekken 2.
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Post by kitsunestar on Nov 14, 2007 17:39:41 GMT -5
big show and Goldust aren't in the game. Show's model is, but could only be unlocked via hacking. It could appear in Royal Rumbles entirely by Accident, though.
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Post by forgottensinpwf on Nov 14, 2007 17:40:48 GMT -5
oh yeah, i remember that.
man i used to play the hell out of Smackdown 2. my favourite one next to HCTP.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 17:41:48 GMT -5
6. Final Fantasy VIII Final Fantasy VIII is a 1999 console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Sony PlayStation video game console and Windows-based personal computers as a part of the Final Fantasy video game series. The game's story focuses on a group of young mercenaries who are drawn into an international conflict, and seek to protect the world from a sorceress manipulating the war for her own purposes. Thirteen weeks after its release, Final Fantasy VIII had earned more than US$50 million in sales, making it the fastest selling Final Fantasy title. Additionally, Final Fantasy VIII was voted the 22nd-best game of all time by readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu. Final Fantasy VIII departed from many traditional standards of the Final Fantasy series. It is the first game in the series to consistently use realistically proportioned characters, the first to feature a vocal piece as its theme music, did not have a Magic Point-based system for spellcasting, and one of the only titles to deviate from the series' traditional means of increasing a character's power. Like Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII consists of three main modes of play: the world map, the field map, and the battle screen. The world map is a 3D display in which the player may navigate freely across a small-scale rendering of the game world. Characters travel across the world map in a variety of ways, including by foot, car, Chocobo, train, and airship. The field map consists of controllable 3D characters overlaid on one or more 2D pre-rendered backgrounds, which represent environmental locations such as towns or forests. The battle screen is a 3D model of a location such as a street or room, where turn-based fights between playable characters and CPU-controlled enemies take place. The interface is menu-driven, as in previous titles, but with the typical weapon and armor systems removed and new features present, such as the Junction system. Also featured is a collectible card-based minigame called "Triple Triad". This new system designed by battle designer Hiroyuki Ito revolves around "summonable" monsters, called "Guardian Forces" (GFs). A character must have a GF assigned ("junctioned") to them before he or she can do anything in battle besides "Attack" with their weapon, such as "Magic", "GF" (summoning), and "Item". While previous Final Fantasy titles provided each character with a limited pool of Magic Points (MP) that were consumed by each spell, in Final Fantasy VIII, spells are "drawn" (obtained) from enemies, Draw Points distributed throughout the game's environments, and usable items. Spells are then stocked on characters as quantified inventory (up to 100 at a time) and are consumed one by one when used. GFs allow characters to "junction" these spells to their own statistics—such as Strength, Vitality, Evade, and Luck—for various bonuses. The flexibility of this system makes it possible to build a powerful party early in the game. This alternative use of GFs was a significant departure for the Final Fantasy series, as summoned creatures were previously used almost exclusively to deliver a single devastating attack during battles. Furthermore, the system replaced the equipment system of previous games with a permanent, specialized weapon for each character; each weapon can be upgraded several times, which increases its power and alters its appearance. For example, Squall begins with a gunblade called the Revolver, but after fully upgrading it, it becomes the Lion Heart. As in Final Fantasy VII, each character has unique special attacks called "Limit Breaks" ("Special Arts" in the original Japanese version). Whereas Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VII are triggered by filling the Limit meter through taking damage, in Final Fantasy VIII, they are randomly available every turn when the character's health (Hit Points, or HP) is below 32% of its current maximum, and influenced also by the negative status effects the character is afflicted with. This system is similar to the Desperation Attacks from Final Fantasy VI, which are triggered on rare occasions when a character is near death. The magic spell Aura increases the probability of Limit Breaks appearing, regardless of a character's remaining Hit Points. Another change is that most of the main characters' special techniques feature interactive elements, ranging from a slot machine design to fighting game-style button inputs. These elements, which are dependent on the character and the nature of the Limit Break, can be used to increase the potency of the attack. Experience points are awarded following successful battles against randomly encountered enemies. When a character accumulates a certain amount of experience points, he or she gains a "level", which increases that character's base statistics. Unlike previous Final Fantasy games, however, randomly encountered enemies have no set level — their levels increase alongside those of the playable characters. Higher-level enemies are capable of inflicting and withstanding significantly more damage, and may have additional special attacks. Statistic increases from "leveling up" are minuscule compared with those that are available through the Junction system. In addition to gaining levels, Guardian Forces earn Ability Points (AP) after battles, which are allocated to special abilities that Guardian Forces can learn. When a GF has learned an ability, that ability becomes available for any character — and, in some cases, the entire character party — to use. Through learned abilities, GFs can receive attack enhancements in battle, refine magical spells from items, provide bonuses to characters when leveling up, provide access to shops, and add battle commands. Most of Final Fantasy VIII is set on an unnamed fantasy world with one moon. The planet comprises five major landmasses, with Esthar, the largest, covering most of the eastern portion of the map. Galbadia, the second largest continent, lies to the west, and contains many of the game's locations. The northernmost landmass is Trabia, an Arctic region. Positioned roughly in the middle of the world map lies Balamb, the smallest continent, the island on which the game begins. The remaining two landmasses are smaller and mostly desolate, riddled with rough, rocky terrain caused by the impact of a "Lunar Cry", an event where monsters from the moon fall to the planet. The southernmost landmass includes an archipelago of broken sections of land that have drifted apart. Islands and marine structures flesh out the rest of the game world, and a handful of off-world locations round out the game's playable areas. As part of a theme desired by director Yoshinori Kitase to give the game a foreign atmosphere, various designs were given to its locations using the style of internationally familiar places, while also maintaining a fantasy atmosphere. Inspiration ranged from ancient Egyptian and Greek architecture, to the city of Paris, France, to an idealized futuristic European society. The six main playable characters in Final Fantasy VIII are Squall Leonhart, a loner who keeps his focus on his duty to avoid vulnerability; Rinoa Heartilly, an outspoken and passionate young woman who follows her heart in all situations; Quistis Trepe, an instructor with a serious, patient attitude; Zell Dincht, a martial artist with a passion for martial arts and hot dogs; Selphie Tilmitt, a cheerful girl who loves music and flies the spacecraft Ragnarok; and Irvine Kinneas, a marksman and consummate ladies' man. Playable supporting characters include Laguna Loire, Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac, who appear in "flashback" sequences, and antagonists Seifer Almasy and Edea Kramer. During the game's pre-production, character designer Tetsuya Nomura suggested the game be given a "school days" feel. Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima already had a story in mind in which the main characters were the same age; their ideas meshed, taking form as the "Garden" military academies. Nojima planned that the two playable parties featured in the game (Squall's present day group and Laguna Loire's group from the past) would be highly contrasted with one another. This idea was conveyed through the age and experience of Laguna's group, versus the youth and naïveté of Squall's group. To maintain the game's theme of a foreign atmosphere, the characters were designed to have predominantly European appearances. The first Final Fantasy VIII character designed was Squall. Desiring to add a unique angle to Squall's appearance and emphasize his role as the central character, Nomura gave him a scar across his brow and the bridge of his nose. As there was not yet a detailed history conceived for the character, Nomura left the explanation for Squall's scar to Nojima. Squall was given a gunblade, a fictional revolver–sword hybrid that functions primarily as a sword, with an added damaging vibration feature activated by use of its gun mechanism, similar to a vibroblade. His character design was complemented by a fur ruff along the collar of his jacket, incorporated by Nomura as a challenge for the game's FMV designers. Nomura ended up altering each character's appearance before they reached the final design stage, which required sacrificing his original intentions. For instance, he had originally wanted Seifer Almasy to be involved in a love triangle with Rinoa and Squall. As another example, Quistis was to originally be designed with a skirt, but in the end was given a long skirt worn over pants. With Rinoa wearing a mini-skirt over shorts, this led to a conflict with the intended notion that one of the female characters would wear a skirt. A compromise was made in this regard with Selphie's design: she was originally intended to be wearing overalls, but Nomura decided that her outfit should be something of a combination of the two. Finally, when designing Rinoa, Nomura decided to avoid the temptation of FMV technology by making her "cute" and full of personality, instead of "too beautiful". With Final Fantasy VIII came the inclusion of some designs Nomura had previously drawn, but had not yet used in a Final Fantasy game. These were the designs of Edea, Fujin and Raijin. The latter two had originally been designed for use in Final Fantasy VII, but with the inclusion of the Turks characters in that game, it was felt that Fujin and Raijin were unnecessary. Nomura had designed Edea before the development of Final Fantasy VII, based on the style of Yoshitaka Amano. Final Fantasy VIII begins as Squall duels with Seifer in a training session outside the military academy known as "Garden". The two cadets scar one another's faces and are returned to Garden for treatment. Meanwhile, the Galbadian regime invades the Dollet Dukedom, forcing Dollet to hire the Balamb Garden branch of "SeeD" — Garden's elite mercenary force — for aid. SeeD uses the mission as a field examination for its graduation-eligible cadets, and with the help of his instructor, Quistis, Squall passes its prerequisite and is assigned to a squad with Zell and Seifer. In Dollet, Seifer abandons his team halfway through the mission, forcing Selphie to accompany Squall and Zell for the duration. After the mission, SeeD halts the Galbadian advance; Squall, Zell and Selphie graduate to SeeD status; and Seifer is disciplined for acting against orders. Shortly after graduating, Squall meets Rinoa, whose attitude and approach to life are apparently the opposite of his own. Assigned with Zell and Selphie to help her Galbadian resistance, Squall learns that a sorceress named Edea is the mastermind behind Galbadia's hostilities. Under orders from the Galbadia and Balamb Gardens, Squall and his comrades — now joined by Rinoa, Quistis and Irvine — attempt to assassinate Edea. Despite a nearly flawless execution of the plan, the party is defeated and detained. Squall's party also learns that Seifer has left Garden to become Edea's second-in-command. After escaping detainment, the team splits into two units, both of which are controlled by the player in separate scenarios. Squall's group stops an internal conflict at Balamb Garden incited by NORG, SeeD's financial supporter, while Selphie's squad interferes with a Galbadian missile attack on the Balamb and Trabia Gardens. The missile launch forces Squall to turn Balamb Garden into a mobile fortress to avoid the attack, leaving the facility temporarily uncontrollable until it collides with the docks at Fisherman's Horizon. While Squall negotiates with the mayor of the town, Galbadia invades in search of a girl named "Ellone", who had been staying at the Garden until recently. Galbadia is unable to find Ellone; she eventually escapes to Esthar, the game's technological superpower. Throughout the game, Ellone sends Squall and his allies into a series of flashbacks set seventeen years in the past. The scenes center on Laguna and his two friends, Kiros and Ward. During the flashbacks, Laguna changes from Galbadian soldier to the self-appointed defender of a small country village, and then from the leader of a resistance movement against Sorceress Adel to the president of Esthar. Meanwhile, Squall deals with personal conflicts fueled by the game's ongoing developments, such as Balamb Garden's Headmaster Cid appointing him as SeeD's new leader, and his increasing love for Rinoa. During an investigation of Trabia Garden's ruins, Squall and his comrades learn that — with the exception of Rinoa — they were raised along with Seifer and Ellone in an orphanage run by Edea; they later developed amnesia due to their use of Guardian Forces. It is also revealed that Cid and Edea had founded Garden and SeeD to defeat evil sorceresses. After these revelations, the full forces of Balamb Garden and the Galbadian army, led by Squall and Seifer respectively, engage in conflict. After Balamb defeats Galbadia, the player learns that Edea is merely an unwilling tool for a greater sorceress known as "Ultimecia", who resides in the future and wishes to compress all time into a single moment; it is for this reason she has sought Ellone. A conclusive battle with Edea forces Ultimecia to transfer her powers to Rinoa, allowing Edea to survive, but leaving Rinoa frozen in a coma. Squall becomes obsessed with waking her and seeks the help of Dr. Odine, a renowned scientist living in Esthar. While Rinoa is being treated on Esthar's space station, Ultimecia uses her to free Sorceress Adel from her orbital prison. Ultimecia then orders Seifer to activate Esthar's Lunatic Pandora facility, inciting a rain of monsters from the moon that sends Adel's containment device to the planet's surface. Having selected Adel as her next host, Ultimecia abandons Rinoa in outer space. Squall rescues her, and they return to the planet on a derelict starship. However, delegates from Esthar isolate Rinoa for fear of her sorceress abilities, forcing Squall to rescue her. Laguna apologizes for the incident and announces Dr. Odine's plan to let Ultimecia possess Rinoa and use Ellone's power to compress time, as it would allow Squall's group to confront Ultimecia in her era. To do this, Squall's team infiltrates Lunatic Pandora, defeats Seifer and Adel, and has Rinoa inherit her sorceress powers. Time Compression is thus initiated, allowing Squall and his friends to travel to Ultimecia's era to defeat her. With Ultimecia defeated, the universe begins returning to normal; however, Squall is nearly lost in the flow of time as he witnesses the origins of the game's story. When a dying Ultimecia travels back in time to pass her powers to Edea, Squall informs Edea of the concepts of Garden and SeeD that she will create. Afterward, he is warped back into the timestream where he is trapped until finally being rescued by Rinoa. At the end of the game, Squall kisses Rinoa during SeeD's victory celebration.
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Post by kitsunestar on Nov 14, 2007 17:42:14 GMT -5
oh yeah, i remember that. man i used to play the hell out of Smackdown 2. my favourite one next to HCTP. The even weirder part is, once he showed up in a Royal Rumble, he'd appear as a blank space in the list of managers that you could assign to people.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 17:48:25 GMT -5
Now For A Countdown Update
200. Fear Effect 199. Arc The Lad II 198. Croc: Legend Of The Goobos 197. NFL Gameday 2000 196. Philosoma 195. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 194. Star Wars: Rebel Assault II 193. Discworld 192. Psychic Force 191. Point Blank 190. Metal Slug X 189. Einhander 188. ECW Anarchy Rulz 187. Guilty Gear 186. Bust A Groove 185. Wild 9 184. Blasto 183. Jumping Flash 182. Rollcage 181. Ray Storm 180. Treasures Of The Deep 179. Dark Stalkers 3 178. Vandal Hearts II 177. Star Wars: Dark Forces 176. Pandemonium 175. Madden NFL 2003 174. Darkstalkers 173. Omega Boost 172. Madden NFL 2001 171. Vandal Hearts 170. Jet Moto 169. Croc 2 168. WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game 167. Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 166. You Don't Know Jack 165. PaRappa The Rapper 164. Evil Zone 163. Bloody Roar 162. Fighting Force 2 161. Area 51 160. Ridge Racer 159. Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 158. WipEout 3 157. Theme Hospital 156. Quake II 155. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together 154. Ape Escape 153. Fighting Force 152. King Of The Fighters 95 151. Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha 150. Hydro Thunder 149. Colin McRae Rally 148. Legend Of Mana 147. Saga Frontier 146. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo 145. Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown 144. Mega Man X3 143. Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage 142. Kagero: Deception 2 141. WCW Nitro 140. Rayman 2: The Great Escape 139. NHL 98 138. Mortal Kombat 4 137. TOCA: Touring Cars 2 136. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped 135. Vigilante 8 134. Power Move Pro Wrestling 133. Rayman 132. Terra Diver 131. Spyro: Year Of The Dragon 130. Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash Of The Super Heroes 129. World Cup 98 128. The Raiden Project 127. Tecmo's Deception: Invitation To The Darkness 126. Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko 125. Front Mission 3 124. Jet Moto 2 123. Mega Man Legends 122. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete 121. Spyro The Dragon 120. Micro Maniacs 119. NHL 99 118. Final Fantasy VI 117. Star Ocean: The Second Story 116. Diablo 115. Bust A Groove 2 114. Theme Park 113. Dragon Warrior VII 112. Breath Of Fire IV 111. Rival Schools: United By Fate 110. ESPN Extreme Games 109. Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? 108. Tenchu 2: Birth Of Stealth Assassins 107. Bushido Blade 2 106. Slap Happy Rhythm Busters 105. The Rugrats: The Search For Reptar 104. Worms 103. Grandia 102. Breath Of Fire III 101. Speed Freaks 100. Nightmare Creatures 99. Panzer Bandit 98. Monster Rancher 97. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 96. Command & Conquer 95. X-COM: UFO Defense 94. Gradius Gaiden 93. V.R. Baseball '99 92. Jade Cocoon: Story of Tamamayu 91. Medal Of Honor: Underground 90. Worms: Armageddon 89. Monster Rancher 2 88. Skullmonkeys 87. WipEout 86. Dino Crisis 2 85. Thunderforce IV 84. Rage Racer 83. Parasite Eve 82. Xenogears 81. Ogre Battle: March Of The Black Queen 80. ISS Pro Evolution 2 79. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 78. Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit 77. Grand Theft Auto 76. Chrono Trigger 75. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 74. NASCAR 98 73. The Adventures Of Little Ralph 72. Tomb Raider III: The Adventures Of Laura Croft 71. Intelligent Qube 70. Wild Arms 2 69. Mega Man X5 68. UnJammer Lammy 67. G-Police 66. Gungage 65. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete 64. MediEvil 63. Mega Man X4 62. Die Hard Trilogy 61. Doom 60. WWF Attitude 59. Mega Man X6 58. Valkyrie Profile 57. Gex 56. WCW Mayhem 55. Final Fantasy Origins 54. WCW vs. The World 53. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 52. Crash Team Racing 51. Madden NFL 2000 50. Medal Of Honor 49. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 48. Klonoa: Door To Phantomile 47. Spider-Man 46. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins 45. Mortal Kombat Trilogy 44. Mega Man 8 43. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back 42. Dino Crisis 41. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 40. Destruction Derby 2 39. Suikoden II 38. Parasite Eve II 37. Destruction Derby 36. Twisted Metal 35. Legacy Of Kain: Soulk Reaver 34. Vagrant Story 33. Silent Bomber 32. Legend Of Dragoon 31. Wild Arms 30. Gex: Enter The Gecko 29. Oddworld: Abe's Exxodus 28. Crash Bandicoot 27. Suikoden 26. WWF Smackdown 25. Tekken 24. Tomb Raider II 23. Driver: You Are The Wheelman 22. Soul Edge 21. Chrono Crpss 20. Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night 19. Gran Turismo 18. Final Fantasy Chronicles 17. Gran Turismo 2 16. Syphon Filter 15. Twisted Metal 2 14. Final Fantasy Tactics 13. Street Fighter Alpha 3 12. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis 11. Tekken 2 10. Final Fantasy Anthology 9. Silent Hill 8. WWF Smackdown: Know Your Role 7. Tekken 3 6. Final Fantasy VIII
Now for clues to the next five games on the list
* Cloud Nine
* Seven Deadly Sins
* This Game Is Solid
* Touch Of Evil
* UnRuly Residents
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 17:48:59 GMT -5
I accidently gave you one of the clues that were in the Top 5
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Post by Z-A Sandbaggin' Son of a b!%@h on Nov 14, 2007 17:55:59 GMT -5
I was guessing top 10 for twisted metal 2. And I love how these boards give RPG's so much love. Makes me happy to be here.
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Post by MGH on Nov 14, 2007 18:04:03 GMT -5
This top 5 is about to very closely mirror my top 5. I loves me some Metal Gear and Resident Evil.
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Post by B'Cup x on Nov 14, 2007 18:09:22 GMT -5
Hang on, Am I really stupid (highly likely) or is Tomb Raider not in this?
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 18:42:53 GMT -5
Hang on, Am I really stupid (highly likely) or is Tomb Raider not in this? The original Tomb Raider did not make the list.
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Eunös ✈
Dalek
Duck Feet Expert
Tolerated, just not practically liked.
Posts: 59,197
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Post by Eunös ✈ on Nov 14, 2007 18:48:03 GMT -5
Final Fantasy 7 and 9, Resident Evil 1 and 2, Metal Gear Solid.
Somewhere in the Top 5
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 18:59:00 GMT -5
5. Resident Evil Resident Evil, known in Japan as Biohazard, is a survival horror video game by Capcom and is the inaugural title and 1st installment in the Resident Evil series. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sony PlayStation and has subsequently been ported to the Sega Saturn and PC. A Directors Cut was also released. In 2002, a remake of the game was released for the Nintendo GameCube featuring new graphics, voice acting and many significant gameplay changes. A Nintendo DS port of the original was released in early 2006. It was the first game to be dubbed a "survival horror," a term coined by Capcom to promote the title. The original game opens on the evening of July 23, 1998 in the fictional Raccoon City a midwestern town, where a number of grisly murders have taken place on the outskirts of town. Victims were attacked in their homes by a group of assailants, who left evidence of cannibalism. Local law enforcement sends in the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team. After contact is lost, the Alpha Team is sent out to find Bravo Team and to continue the investigation. Alpha Team locates the downed Bravo Team helicopter, but there is no sign of survivors; only a severed hand is found. While searching the area for further clues, Alpha Team is attacked by ferocious dogs, which kill one of the team's members, Joseph Frost. Alpha's helicopter pilot, Brad Vickers, suddenly lifts off and abandons the team. Pursued by the violent dogs who killed their colleague, Alpha Team is forced to seek refuge within a nearby mansion, believed to be abandoned. With the dogs roaming the outside of the building, the four remaining Alpha Team members (Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Barry Burton and Albert Wesker) are besieged within. A gun shot rings out, to which the player's selected character moves to investigate. At this point, the player takes control of the character and begins to explore the mansion. One of the first discoveries to be made is a member of Bravo Team, Kenneth Sullivan, being eaten by a zombie (in the remake you find a tape that shows Kenneth die). The character eventually finds the mansion to be anything but abandoned, riddled with puzzles, traps, and horrors. Scattered documents and files suggest that a series of illegal experiments and criminal activities were being undertaken on the property by a clandestine research team, under the authority and supervision of pharmaceutical conglomerate, the Umbrella Corporation. The creatures roaming the mansion and surrounding region are the results of these experiments, which have exposed the mansion's personnel and various animals and insects to a highly contagious and mutagenic biological agent known as the "T-Virus" (hence the Japanese title, "Biohazard"). After navigating a series of tunnels, passageways and buildings, the player discovers a secret underground laboratory containing detailed records of the Umbrella Corporation's experiments. In the lab, Albert Wesker reveals that he is a double agent working for Umbrella and releases the "Tyrant T-002," a giant humanoid monster created through prolonged exposure to the T-Virus. Upon release, the Tyrant turns toward Wesker and impales him with its left arm. The player then apparently slays the Tyrant. After slaying the Tyrant, a self-destruct program is triggered. After the player calls for a rescue chopper, the Tyrant bursts through the roof of the lab onto the helipad and attacks. Suddenly resistant to bullets, the Tyrant is finally slain when the chopper pilot, Brad Vickers, drops a rocket launcher and the player uses it to completely destroy the creature. The player escapes in the chopper and the game ends as the mansion explodes. The ending varies depending on choices made by the player. The ending plays out as described above in Chris' endings and Jill's endings if you save only one or neither of your teammates. In Jill's best ending, Wesker is not impaled, but knocked out and disappears after killing the Tyrant the first time. The self-destruct mechanism is activated afterwards by Wesker. After saving Chris and killing the Tyrant a second time, Jill and the others escape as the mansion explodes. Unlike subsequent Resident Evil games, the first game had a live-action opening and endings in the style of a horror B-movie. The opening footage in Western releases was significantly re-cut to exclude much of the gore. Although Capcom had intended to include the complete and uncensored version of the intro in the later releases, only the PC, some North American and European Sega Saturn releases, and the German and French PAL PlayStation Director's Cut releases contained the original FMV. The gameplay environment consists of polygonal 3D characters placed over prerendered 2D backgrounds. As such, the game relies on pre-determined camera angles as opposed to a real-time camera. As a result, the game uses a "tank-like" control scheme. Instead of the player moving the character in the direction pushed on the control stick, the character instead moves forwards by pressing up, backwards by pressing down and will turn on the spot by pushing left or right directional buttons. Many of the series' detractors have criticized this control scheme, claiming that it is confusing and unsuitable for a third-person game. The camera angles are used to convey an ominous, cinematic feel, claimed by the developers to have been impossible to achieve with standard 3D technology of the period. The prerendered backgrounds would also allow the developers to add a level of detail previously impossible for 3D technology of the time. The player fights enemies by arming the character with a weapon. When attacking, the player remains static and can turn their character and aim their weapon level, up or down. Initially, the only weapons available to the player are a combat knife and a Beretta 92FS, but later in the game, more weapons become accessible to the player such as the Remington M870 and a Colt Python. Ammunition for firearms is severely limited. The player must survive by fighting against the various monsters that populate the mansion. The most common enemies in the game are zombies, which are slow-moving and easy to outrun, but hard to avoid in close quarters. During later sections of the game, the player must also fight against zombie dogs (known as "Cerberus"), Hunters, Chimeras and Web Spinners, as well as small enemies such as crows, wasps and adders. The player must also fight against bosses such as a giant snake, a mutated plant, a giant spider, the Plant 42, a giant shark, and the Tyrant. Health is restored by using first-aid sprays or healing herbs. Of the two, healing herbs are more common and restore a portion of the player's health, while first-aid sprays are more scarce, but will restore the player's health completely. There are three types of healing herbs available: the Green Herb for restoring health, the Blue Herb, which cures poison, and the Red Herb, which can't be used by itself, but will triple the healing power of a green herb when mixed with one. The player must navigate through the mansion by picking up various keys and items which are integral to the game's progress, while solving puzzles along the way. The player has a limited capacity for carrying items and this enforces the need to carry only essential items in order to have space for new items. As such, boxes are available for the player to store any item for later use. The player can save progress by locating a typewriter and using an ink ribbon to save gameplay data. Ink ribbons are available in a limited quantity, forcing the player to think carefully about whether they have made enough progress to justify saving the game. This method has also been criticized by many, but designer Shinji Mikami defended this aspect by arguing that it increases the tension in the game. There are also various documents available which provide the solutions to certain puzzles or simply further divulge the plot. Resident Evil has the player take control of either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine. There are differences in abilities, items and supporting characters, resulting in a unique scenario for each character. Successive Resident Evil titles utilized a similar template, including a male and female lead in each release with few exceptions. Playable Characters* Chris Redfield - Chris is stronger than Jill, making him more resistant to enemy attacks. He can carry six items and starts with a knife. He needs "Old Keys" to unlock doors where Jill can simply use her lock pick. Chris's supporting character is Rebecca Chambers, who will render primarily passive assistance to the player. * Jill Valentine - Jill's scenario is the easier of the two, as she has a higher carrying capacity and a lock pick. Jill's supporting character is Barry Burton, who will render primarily offensive assistance to the player. Despite her great capacity for holding items, she is physically weaker, and slower, than Chris. * Rebecca Chambers is also playable for certain portions of Chris' scenario, provided the player encounters her at a certain point and undertakes tasks in a specific order. Due to these requirements, a player may complete the game without having taken control of Rebecca. Rebecca is equipped with the S.T.A.R.S. standard Beretta 92FS and is unable to retrieve further weaponry and certain items. She has six item slots and her exploration range is limited. The player may take control of Rebecca at two separate points in Resident Evil. Supporting Characters* Barry Burton - In Chris' scenario, Barry only appears in the opening scene and disappears in the beginning, with Wesker presuming him dead. In Jill's scenario, Barry helps throughout the game. Barry often shows up whenever Jill is in need of help. Wesker threatened to kill Barry's family unless he helped him. In the original version, depending on the player's actions (such as waiting for him to replace a lost rope or seeing Enrico with him), Barry survives to help Jill at the end of the game or gets killed by one of the monsters. In the GameCube version, Barry aims his revolver at Jill, but she thwarts him and, depending on a choice made by the player, may or may not give him his gun back. According to the original Resident Evil instruction manual, Barry is very much a 'family man', and in one scenario, he presents Jill with a photograph of himself with his wife and children. He has experienced family troubles at home, which explains the stress he often exhibits throughout Jill's mission. He also utters some of the game's most infamous dialog; he claims that Jill is the "master of unlocking," and when Jill is almost flattened by a descending ceiling from which Barry helps her escape, he claims that Jill was almost a "Jill sandwich." * Rebecca Chambers - Chris meets her either when she is attending to wounded Bravo team member Richard, or when Chris first enters the mansion infirmary. Rebecca appears during portions of Chris' scenario which call for her expertise, such as mixing chemicals or playing the piano, and can heal Chris at certain points. She also becomes a playable character provided the player undertakes tasks in a specific order. * Albert Wesker - The S.T.A.R.S. team's Commanding Officer and Alpha's team leader, Wesker will make sporadic appearances throughout gameplay, usually to advance the plot. Early into the game, Wesker will vanish mysteriously, leaving players to fend for themselves. In the GameCube remake, Wesker will assist Chris in combat. Most of the missing Bravo Team members will make minor appearances throughout the game and are often critically injured or already dead. In the Director's Cut release, the GameCube remake, and Deadly Silence, Forrest appears as a zombie. In the GameCube release, Richard Aiken plays an extended role in both scenarios if the serum is delivered to him before his death. Although only Rebecca or Barry will escape with the player character, in the canon of the series, it is known that both survived the "mansion incident." EnemiesThe following is a list of creatures the player faces during the course of the original game. The main enemies in the game are known as Bio-Organic Weapons or B.O.W.s; creatures that were infected with the T-Virus and transformed into monsters as result. There are also creatures in the game (such as crows and adders) that underwent secondary mutation as a result of the viral outbreak in the mansion, although they're not technically considered B.O.W.s. This includes the infected research and security personnel wandering the mansion. * Zombie - Previously members of Umbrella's Arklay research team, but infected by the T-Virus during the course of their activities. Hosts show complete loss of memory, extremely heightened aggression and severe tissue deterioration. A lone zombie will not pose a significant threat to the player (especially when equipped with a firearm), but larger numbers can quickly overwhelm the character. * MA-121 Hunter - A lizard like creature with claws long enough to decapitate the player. Initially appearing after the player's return to the mansion from the garden, Hunters are agile, strong and highly aggressive. * MA-39 Cerberus - Dobermans injected with the T-Virus. These creatures were deemed a major success by the Umbrella Corporation, due to their increased strength, speed and aggression. * Crows - These crows have been infected with the T-Virus and, as a result, have become extremely aggressive. They are difficult to shoot and dangerous if the player is already critically injured, but otherwise present only a minor threat. * Plant 42 Tendrils - A mutated plant that was exposed to the T-Virus. Found in the mansion's greenhouse. Not particularly dangerous, the plant will simply strike out at detected movement. * Web Spinner - Large tarantula-based B.O.W.'s, noted for their ability to jump and spit venomous acid. The Web-Spinner was deemed a failure, due to the fact that it couldn't be properly adopted to a specific mission profile. * Adder - Poisonous snakes that infest the area surrounding the mansion. Much like the crows, the snakes are another accidental by-product of the T-Virus leak. These snakes are poisonous and aggressive. * Wasp - Created when a nest within the mansion's rear guardhouse became exposed with the T-Virus. These wasps are about the size of a fist, extremely aggressive and produce toxins within their abdomens. * Sharks - Sharks that underwent infection with the T-Virus. Found in the Guardhouse Basement/Aqua Ring, these sharks have not responded to the effects of the T-Virus as positively as Neptune. Despite that, they have nevertheless been deemed a successful creation by the Umbrella Corporation. * Chimera - B.O.W.s located in the underground lab. Created by combining T-Virus-infected human DNA with T-Virus-infected fly DNA. The Chimera is extremely aggressive, but due to the fact it has the intelligence of a fly, it has set attack patterns. They nest inside vents and wait for enemies to get close, then strike. Although capable of incredible agility, the Chimera was deemed a failure, due to being physically weak. The Hunter, with similar abilities and far greater physical strength, was officially chosen to replace the Chimera. * Crimson Head (GameCube remake only) - An unforeseen side effect of prolonged T-Virus incubation within a human host. After a zombie is supposedly killed, the virus within the host's body continues to mutate until the brain receives a "jolt," and the zombie is revived. Once revived, the zombie's muscular tissue is reinforced, allowing it to move at high speed. The extremities also mutate, creating claws on the hands and feet. The host becomes even more aggressive and capable of sustaining massive damage. The Arklay research team labeled these mutations 'Crimson Heads', due to the severe blood seepage through the host's skin that becomes apparent after mutation. The incubation can be stopped via destruction of the head or by burning the corpse. Bosses* Yawn - A giant python-based BOW with venomous fangs. It earns its name due to the fact that appears to be yawning before biting its prey. It is found in the attic of the mansion, and then returns later on in the game, in the Library. * Crimson Head Prototype 1 (GameCube remake only) - The first Crimson Head created by the Arklay research team, the first Crimson Head subject was found to be more aggressive than the Crimson Head creatures that followed it, killing several researchers. It was sealed inside an elaborate puzzle-lock, in a coffin beneath the mansion's cemetery. It was later revealed that the Prototype Crimson Head was that of the late George Trevor. * Neptune - A shark-based BOW designated Fi-3. Much larger and stronger than its counterparts. * Plant 42 - A giant carnivorous plant that was created by Henry Santon. It occupies two entire rooms of the mansion's guardhouse, and its roots have grown into every inch of the building. * Black Tiger - A giant Web Spinner, that has responded far better to the T-Virus. The Black Tiger is able to capture large prey in its webs. * Lisa Trevor (GameCube remake only) - The daughter of Spencer Mansion's architect, George Trevor. Lisa is a living testament to the cruelty of the Umbrella Corporation. She was taken prisoner alongside her mother, Jessica, and both were infected with numerous incarnations of Umbrella's various viral weapons. Jessica succumbed to an early version of the Progenitor Virus, while Lisa mutated into a horrific creature. She is encountered three times and is completely invulnerable to the player's firearms until the last encounter. * T-002 Tyrant Umbrella's most prized BOW. The Tyrant is the driving force behind the Umbrella Corporation's continual T-Virus research. A controllable, agile and extremely powerful creature that rogue S.T.A.R.S. operative, Albert Wesker, unleashes on the player in the later stages of the game. The Tyrant will mutate into a 'Super Tyrant', increasing its threat profile significantly, after undergoing its 'limiter release' phase. The original PlayStation version of Resident Evil featured several considerable changes between its original Japanese release and its English-language counterparts. The original unedited version of the intro was in color and available for a very short time in North America and Japan, but was forced to be removed due to graphic gory violence. The later Japanese and North American version of the intro was set in black and white and was heavily cut. Many of the more violent scenes (such as an image of half-eaten corpses, and Joseph being mauled by the Cerberuses) from the live-action FMV were removed, including scenes featuring Chris Redfield smoking a cigarette. These were done so to comply with SCEA's censorship standards. The original Japanese PlayStation version also featured two vocal themes performed by J-Pop artist Fumitaka Fuchigami that were not in any other versions of the game. The game's difficulty setting was also increased in its English release in order to make it harder to complete the game in a single rental.[citation needed] The auto-aiming function was disabled and the numbers of ink ribbons found by the player were reduced. Capcom also planned to eliminate the inter-connecting item boxes for the North American version and this was actually implemented in review copies of the game, but was eliminated due to negative feedback from play testers and game reviewers. This feature was brought back in the GameCube version as an unlockable difficulty setting known as "Real Survival." Japanese voice acting for the game was recorded, but ultimately unused. The released Japanese version uses English voice acting with Japanese subtitles, as does every Biohazard sequel released in Japan.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 19:02:23 GMT -5
4. Resident Evil 2 Resident Evil 2, known in Japan as Biohazard 2, is a survival horror game by Capcom originally released for the PlayStation in 1998 and the second installment in the Resident Evil series. It was later ported to the PC, Nintendo 64, game.com, Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo GameCube. Resident Evil 2 follows the same gameplay mechanics as its predecessor. The game's graphics are composed of polygonal character models and items superimposed over pre-rendered graphics, using fixed camera angles. The player must travel through a variety of locations, solving puzzles and fighting numerous mutated creatures, in order to complete the game. The player can arm themselves with a variety of firearms, although ammunition is limited. The game features an improved graphics engine over the previous game, allowing for more zombies to appear on screen. In addition, the player can now determine their character's health based on their animation and body language. A character in the 'caution' stage of injury will cover his stomach with his or her hand, while a character on the verge of death will limp. The game over screens are more gruesome this time, featuring the player's character being devoured by the creature that killed him or her. The main addition to the gameplay is a two-scenario system. As in the original Resident Evil, the game offers two playable characters, each with their own scenario. However, after finishing one character's scenario (referred as the "A" game) and saving the data, a second scenario (the "B" game) is unlocked in which the same series of events are depicted from the other character's perspective. Actions taken by the player during the first scenario affects the player's surroundings during the second scenario. In addition, one character also has access to one area in their B game that they normally would not have access to. There are four scenarios, with two for each character. The canon outline for Resident Evil 2 is Leon A Claire B Similarly to the original game, the player is awarded with unlockable weapons and other bonuses after completing a scenario under certain requirements. A ranking system has been implemented in which the player is graded based not only on the amount of time taken to complete the game, but also on the number of times the game was saved and the number of first-aid sprays used. Several hidden minigames can also be unlocked as well, the "The 4th Survivor", its spoof/harder version "The Tofu Survivor" and in some versions, a minigame called "Extreme Battle". The game is set on September 29, 1998, just 3 months after Resident Evil. Zombies have infested Raccoon City. A biological weapon known as the T-virus was released into the sewer system. Rats then spread the virus to the city's population. Two people make their way to Raccoon City: Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie police officer on his first day on the job, and Claire Redfield, a college student looking for her brother, Chris Redfield. Leon and Claire find themselves fighting against hordes of creatures in their search for survival.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 19:08:22 GMT -5
3. Metal Gear Solid Metal Gear Solid is a tactical espionage action game directed by Hideo Kojima.[2] The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It was well-received publicly and critically, shipping more than six million copies and scoring an average of 94% in the review tallying website Metacritic's aggregate. It is the third title to be released in the Metal Gear series and a direct sequel to Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. Metal Gear Solid's story centers on Solid Snake, a retired soldier who infiltrates a nuclear weapons disposal facility to neutralize the terrorist threat from FOXHOUND, a renegade special forces unit. He attempts to liberate their two hostages, the head of DARPA and the president of a major arms manufacturer, and stops the terrorists from launching a nuclear strike. Snake also confronts and defeats members of FOXHOUND. The commercial success of the title prompted Metal Gear Solid to be enhanced and re-released on PlayStation, and Windows PC under the name Metal Gear Solid: Integral; a remake, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, was later released for the Nintendo GameCube. The game has also spawned sequels and spin-offs. A PlayStation 2 sequel, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, was followed by two prequels — Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops — on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable respectively. Game Boy Color spin-off Ghost Babel was joined by Metal Gear Acid and Metal Gear Acid 2, both on the PlayStation Portable. Another home-console title, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, is dated for release on the PlayStation 3 in early 2008. Despite graphical improvements, Metal Gear Solid's gameplay remains similar to its MSX predecessor Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The player must navigate the protagonist Solid Snake through the game's areas without being detected — detection sets off an alarm, which draws armed enemies to his location. To return to a lower alert setting, the player must hide, and remain undetected by the enemy until a timer reaches zero. To remain undetected, the player can perform techniques which make use of Solid Snake's abilities and the environment, such as crawling under objects, using boxes as cover, ducking or hiding around walls, and making noise to distract the enemy. These are carried out using the third-person camera; which slowly changes its angle to give the player the best strategic view of the area possible, and an on-screen radar, which displays enemy personnel and their field of vision. Solid Snake is armed with many items and gadgets, such as thermal goggles and a cardboard box disguise. This emphasis on stealth promotes a less violent form of gameplay — firefights against large enemy teams will likely result in heavy damage and possible death for the protagonist. Intermixed with the player's progress are plot-progressing cut scenes and radio conversations as well as encounters with boss characters. To progress, players must discover weaknesses of these enemies (such as attack patterns) to defeat them. This is where the player will most often use the game's weapon-set, ranging from pistols to rocket launchers and hand grenades. Game controls and play strategies can also be accessed via the Codec radio, where advice is delivered from Snake's support crew as if the character were playing the video game; for example, the support team may chastise Snake for not saving his progress often enough, or explain his combat moves in terms of which buttons to press on the gamepad. Completion of the title provides the player with a statistical summary of their performance, and a "code name" based upon it, typically the common name of an animal. In a first for the Metal Gear series, a training mode is available in which players can practice hiding techniques, weapons use, and sneaking. In addition to the stealth gameplay, there are set-piece sequences that entail firefights between the player and the enemy from the third-person and first-person perspectives. Metal Gear Solid's protagonist is Solid Snake (voiced by Akio Ôtsuka in Japanese and David Hayter in English), a legendary infiltrator and saboteur. During the mission, Snake receives support and advice via radio. Colonel Roy Campbell (Takeshi Aono and Paul Eiding), Solid Snake's former commanding officer, supports with mission advice and battle tactics. Campbell is joined by Naomi Hunter (Hiromi Tsuru and Jennifer Hale), who gives medical advice; Nastasha Romanenko (Eiko Yamada and Renee Raudman), who provides item and weapon tips; and Mei Ling (Houko Kuwashima and Kim Mai Guest), who saves the player's progress onto a memory card. The main antagonist of the game is Liquid Snake (Banjo Ginga and Cam Clarke), leader of FOXHOUND, and genetic counterpart to Solid Snake. An elite special forces unit, FOXHOUND contains experts specializing in unique tasks. Members are Revolver Ocelot, a Western-style gunslinger and expert interrogator whose weapon of choice is the Colt Single Action Army; Sniper Wolf, a preternatural sniper; Vulcan Raven, a hulking Alaskan mystic armed with an M61 Vulcan torn from a downed F-16; Psycho Mantis, a psychic profiler and psychokinesis expert; and Decoy Octopus, a disguise expert. Other characters include Meryl Silverburgh (Kyoko Terase and Debi Mae West), the niece/daughter of Roy Campbell; Dr. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich (Hideyuki Tanaka and Christopher Randolph), the lead developer of Metal Gear REX; and Cyborg Ninja (Grey Fox) (Kaneto Shiozawa and Greg Eagles), a mysterious cybernetically-enhanced agent who is neither an ally nor an enemy of Snake but clearly opposes FOXHOUND. In 2005 (six years after the events of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake), FOXHOUND and the genetically-enhanced Next-Generation Special Forces unit lead an armed uprising at Shadow Moses, a remote isle located in Alaska's Fox Archipelago and the site of a nuclear weapons disposal facility. In the process, they acquire Metal Gear REX, a nuclear-capable bipedal tank, threatening the U.S. government with a nuclear reprisal if they do not receive a large cash ransom and the remains of the "legendary mercenary" Big Boss. Solid Snake, in retirement at Alaska's Twin Lakes, is forcibly dispatched at the request of Colonel Roy Campbell to penetrate the terrorist defenses and neutralize the threat. Solid Snake first locates hostage Donald Anderson, the DARPA chief. After he informs Snake of Metal Gear REX's deactivation procedure, he mysteriously dies of what appears to be a heart attack. Following a brief encounter with Meryl Silverburgh, who aids their escape from the base prison, Snake continues on to find the other hostage, ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker. He is used as bait by Revolver Ocelot, and Snake is challenged to a gunfight, interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious cyborg ninja who severs Ocelot's arm before escaping. Snake is again briefed on the Metal Gear project by Baker; much like the DARPA Chief, he dies of a sudden heart attack just before revealing key information. Snake then contacts Meryl via Codec, and agrees to meet her in the base's warhead disposal area on the condition he contact Metal Gear's designer, Hal "Otacon" Emmerich. While searching for him, he encounters the giant Vulcan Raven in an M1 Abrams tank, which he swiftly disables, and locates Otacon in his lab. The cyborg ninja Snake previously encountered reappears, and after a hand-to-hand battle reveals himself to be Solid Snake's former ally Gray Fox, who Snake believed he had killed years earlier. Before they can settle their score, the ninja vanishes again. Otacon, while safe, is unaware that Metal Gear is to be used as a nuclear delivery system, and breaks down when Snake informs him that he is continuing his family's close involvement with the US nuclear program. He agrees to aid Snake remotely, using special camouflage to procure information and supplies while remaining unseen. Snake then meets Meryl, and they discuss their differing roles as soldiers- Meryl having joined the military to feel closer to her father, an Army officer killed in action. Ultimately he allows her to accompany him on his mission. Their reunion is brief, and after being telepathically coerced by Psycho Mantis to attack Snake, after defeating Psycho Mantis, Sniper Wolf ambushes them, wounding and capturing Meryl and eventually Snake following a sniper's duel. While imprisoned, Liquid confirms Snake's suspicion that they are twin brothers. He hands Snake over to Ocelot, who tortures him, but Snake quickly escapes, and after being chased to the top of the base's Communications Tower, he encounters Liquid again, in a Hind-D attack helicopter. Despite being outgunned, Snake shoots it down, and upon descending the tower is yet again ambushed by Sniper Wolf, and kills her following a second duel. Otacon, enamored with her, is overwhelmed with grief, but continues to assist Snake. Snake descends into the bowels of the Shadow Moses facility, first cutting through the base forge then down into the warehouses below. Here he encounters Raven again, this time face-to-face, and kills him. Before he dies, Raven reveals that the DARPA Chief who Snake encountered was actually FOXHOUND member Decoy Octopus in disguise. Shortly after, Master Miller calls and reveals that Dr Naomi Hunter, a support agent, had given Solid Snake the genetically engineered virus "FoxDie" during his mission preparations, and is sending coded messages into the facility- Campbell swiftly orders her arrest. The virus, designed to kill people with particular genetic markers via cardiac arrest, was responsible for the deaths of Octopus and the Armstech president. Naomi, struck by guilt, contacts Snake in secret and confesses that she joined the mission to sabotage it, as she is the adoptive sister of the now barely human Gray Fox. However, upon learning of Snake's own tragic past through the current mission, she no longer has the heart to kill him directly, having reprogrammed the virus. Infiltrating Metal Gear's hangar and following the supposed procedure to disarm the warhead, Snake unknowingly activates Metal Gear REX, after which Master Miller reveals himself to be Liquid in disguise. He informs Snake that his entire mission was manipulated by the renegades to allow the launch of the nuclear weapon. As a parting gift as he boards REX, Liquid explains that they are the product of the 1972 Les Enfants Terribles project, a government sponsored effort to clone legendary mercenary Big Boss. However, part of the process requires that their genes be altered, Solid receiving all of Big Boss' dominant genes, and Liquid receiving all the recessive genes. Drawn into battle with Metal Gear REX, Snake manages to disable the machine's sensors with the aid of Otacon, and Gray Fox (who admits to being "Deepthroat") manages to destroy its radome, but is wounded and crushed by its foot. REX is destroyed, but Liquid survives, challenging Snake to a final fist-fight atop Metal Gear, where Snake succeeds and is reunited with Meryl- possibly for the final time, depending on the player's actions. After a protracted jeep-chase with the seemingly unkillable Liquid, Snake finally escapes the facility, and his brother collapses, killed by FoxDie. Colonel Campbell, briefly ousted from command of the mission, calls off a nuclear airstrike intended to obliterate the evidence of the day's events, and officially declares Snake killed in action to prevent the US Government returning for him in the future. In the immediate aftermath, the player finds out Snake is actually genetically inferior to Liquid and has an indeterminate amount of time left before FoxDie kills him. Depending on the player's actions during the game, there are two possible endings: in one ending, Ocelot kills Meryl and Snake escapes with Otacon, while in the other ending, she survives and escapes with Snake. Meryl's survival is recorded as canon by In The Darkness of Shadow Moses, a story featured in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. A telephone conversation following the credits reveals Ocelot to be a double agent for the President of the United States, the "third", Solidus. Ocelot's intention was to gain Baker's disk containing Metal Gear's specifications and deliver it to the president. The English version of Metal Gear Solid (translated by Jeremy Blaustein) contains minor refinements made during localization, such as adjustable difficulty settings, alternative outfits, and a "demo theater" for viewing cut scenes and radio conversations. Some countries in the PAL region received a version of the game dubbed into their language, including Spanish, German, French and Italian. Most PAL versions feature an "Extreme" mode which introduces restrictions such as extended guard vision. A premium package was released in Japan and the PAL region.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Nov 14, 2007 19:17:58 GMT -5
2. Final Fantasy XI Final Fantasy IX is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix), and the ninth installment in the Final Fantasy video game series. It was released in 2000, and is the third and last numbered Final Fantasy game for the Sony PlayStation video game console. Set in a fantasy world of Gaia, Final Fantasy IX's plot centers on a war between several nations, sparked by an ambitious queen. Players follow a young thief named Zidane Tribal, who joins with several others to defeat the Queen. The plot shifts, however, when the characters realize that the Queen is a puppet for an arms dealer named Kuja. Final Fantasy IX was developed alongside Final Fantasy VIII, but took a different path to return to the series' roots with a more traditional fantasy setting. Consequently, Final Fantasy IX was influenced heavily by the original Final Fantasy, and features allusions to other Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy IX introduced new features to the series, such as the Active Time Event, Mognet, and a revamped equipment and skill system. The game has been subject to generally positive reviews and some consider it the best game in the series. However, the game received mixed reception for its return to the style of older Final Fantasy games. In Final Fantasy IX, the player navigates a character throughout the game world, exploring areas and interacting with non-player characters. Most of the game occurs in towns, dungeons, caves, and similar areas, which are referred to as "field screens". To aid exploration on the field screen, Final Fantasy IX introduces the "field icon", an exclamation mark appearing over their lead character's head, signaling that an item or sign is nearby. Players speak with moogles to record their progress, restore life energy with a tent, and purchase items — a deviation from previous installments, which used a save point to perform these functions. Moogles may request that the playable character deliver letters to other Moogles via "Mognet". Players journey between field screen locations via the world map, a three dimensional, downsized representation of Final Fantasy IX's world presented from a top-down perspective. Players can freely navigate around the world map screen unless restricted by terrain, such as water or mountains. To overcome geographical limitations, players can ride emu-like chocobos, sail on a boat, or pilot airships. Like previous Final Fantasy installments, travel across the world map screen and hostile field screen locations is interrupted by random enemy encounters. Final Fantasy IX offers a new approach to town exploration with Active Time Events (ATE), which provide character development, special items, and prompts for key story-altering decisions. At specific points, the player may view events that are occurring simultaneously. ATE is occasionally used to simultaneously control two teams when the party is divided to solve puzzles and navigate mazes. Whenever the playable character encounters an enemy, the map changes to the "battle screen". On the battle screen, the enemy appears on the opposite side of the characters; each battle uses the familiar Active Time Battle system that was first featured in Final Fantasy IV. The character's command list is presented in a window opposite the ATB gauge list; while all characters can physically attack the enemy or use an item from the player's inventory, they also possess unique abilities. For instance, the thief Zidane can steal items from the enemy, Eiko and Garnet can summon "eidolons" to aid the party, and Vivi can use black magic to damage the opposition. These character-specific commands change when the player goes into "Trance mode", which is activated for a short duration when an uncontrollable gauge fills as character sustains damage in a style similar to the Limit Breaks used in Final Fantasy VII. When the gauge is full, the character's strength is amplified, and the player can select special attack commands. Zidane's "Skill" command list, for example, changes to "Dyne", allowing him to execute powerful attacks; Vivi's "Black Magic" command evolves into "Double Black", allowing him to cast two magic spells simultaneously. Through the Configuration screen, the player can change the Battle Style from Normal to Custom, which allows two players to control two characters during battle. However, two controllers must be plugged into the PlayStation. A character's performance in battle is determined by numerical values ("statistics") for categories such as speed, strength, and magical power. Character statistics are driven by experience; when players win battles, they are awarded "experience points", which accumulate until characters gain "experience levels". When characters "level up", the statistics for their attributes permanently increase, which may also be amplified by the types of equipment the character is wearing. Winning battles also awards the player money (Gil), Tetra Master playing cards, and ability points (AP). Final Fantasy IX deviates from the style of customizable characters featured in the last two titles by reviving the character class concept, which designates a character to a certain role in battle. For instance, Vivi is designated as a black mage and is the only character who can use black magic, and Steiner is a knight and is the only character who can use sword skills. The basic function of equipment in Final Fantasy games is to increase character attributes; arming Zidane with a Mythril Vest, for example, increases his base defense statistic. In Final Fantasy IX, weapons and armor include special character abilities, which the character may use once the item is equipped (permitting that the ability matches their class). Once the character accumulates enough ability points in battle, the ability becomes usable without having to keep the item equipped. Abilities are classified into action and support categories. Action abilities consume magic points (MP) and include magic spells and special moves that are used in battle. Support abilities provide functions that remain in effect indefinitely (e.g., the support ability "Antibody" nullifies poisonous attacks), and must be equipped with magic stones to be functional. The maximum number of these stones increases as the characters level up. Final Fantasy IX takes place primarily on the four continents of a world named Gaia (synonymous with Final Fantasy VII's Gaia, but not the same world). Most of Gaia's population resides on the Mist Continent, named so because the entire continent is blanketed in thick mist. Lands outside the Mist Continent — the Outer, Lost and Forgotten continents — are uncharted territories not explored until midway through the game. Several locations on the parallel world of Terra and the dream land of Memoria round out the game's areas. The Mist Continent features four factions: Alexandria, Lindblum, Burmecia, and Cleyra. Each country is separated by mountain ranges; the Cleyran civilization, nestled in a giant tree in the desert, is protected by a constant sandstorm. Gaia is inhabited by humans and various non-human races. The Burmecians are anthropomorphic rats who live in both Burmecia and Cleyra. The Cleyrans, who value dance, split from the Burmecians when the latter started to appreciate "the art of war". The dwarves are short humanoid creatures who appear as inhabitants of the village of Conde Petie on the Outer Continent. Genomes are soulless vessels who exist in Terra to wait for the restoration of Terra when it takes over Gaia; when this occurs, the Terran souls will enter the Genome bodies. Summoners are similar to other humans, but with a horn on their forehead. In the story, only two summoners remain (Garnet and Eiko); the others were exterminated during the Terran warship Invincible's destruction of their homeland of Madain Sari. Lastly, the Qu are large, seemingly androgynous humanoids, who are recognized as fine gourmands. They inhabit marshlands throughout the world where they catch their main source of nutrition: frogs. In Final Fantasy IX, the game's developers sought to make the game's environment more "fantasy-oriented" than its PlayStation predecessors. Since the creators wanted to prevent the series from following a redundant setting, Final Fantasy IX distinctly breaks from the futuristic styles of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII by reintroducing a medieval setting. In the game, the advent of steam technology is just beginning to rise; the population relies on hydropower or wind power for energy sources, but sometimes harness Mist or steam to power more advanced engines. Continuing with the medieval theme, the game's setting is inspired by Norse and Northern European mythology. According to director Hiroyuki Itô, "[The development team is attracted to European history and mythology because of its depth and its drama". The main Final Fantasy IX website says the development of the game's world serves as a culmination of the series by blending the "successful elements of the past, such as a return to the fantasy roots," with newer elements. The eight main playable characters in Final Fantasy IX are Zidane Tribal, a member of a group of bandits called Tantalus and a womanizer; Garnet Til Alexandros XVII (alias Dagger) the Princess of Alexandria who has a strange connection to "Eidolons"; Vivi Orunitia, a young, timid, and kind Black Mage; Adelbert Steiner, the Captain of the Knights of Pluto and loyal servant of Alexandria and Princess Garnet; Freya Crescent, a Dragon Knight from the city of Burmecia; Quina Quen, a genderless Qu whose master wants him/her to travel the world so that s/he will learn about cuisine; Eiko Carol, a six-year-old girl living in Madain Sari, the lost village of the Eidolon summoners; and Amarant Coral, a bounty hunter framed for a crime committed by Zidane that he tried to prevent. Other main characters include Regent Cid Fabool, the charismatic leader of the Lindblum kingdom; Queen Brahne, Garnet's mother and the power-hungry Queen of Alexandria; General Beatrix, the powerful leader of the female knights of Alexandria; and antagonist Kuja, an enemy of Gaia. Other minor characters and groups also appear; their significance and back-stories are revealed as the game progresses. During development, the creators made the characters a high priority. The return to the series' roots also affected the characters' designs, which resulted in characters with "comic-like looks". Uematsu commented that they still attempted to give the characters realism while still appearing comic-like. To accomplish this and to satisfy fans who had become used to the realistic designs of Final Fantasy VIII, the designers stressed creating characters that the player could still easily relate with. Final Fantasy IX begins with Zidane and the Tantalus Theater Troupe kidnapping Princess Garnet during her sixteenth birthday celebration. The group learns that Garnet, who is concerned about Queen Brahne's increasingly erratic behavior, actually wanted to escape to Lindblum to meet with Regent Cid, and had planned to stow away on the theater ship. The Troupe's airship, Prima Vista, is damaged during the escape; it crashes in the Evil Forest, prompting Zidane to continue the trek to Lindblum without the rest of Tantalus. Zidane and Garnet are accompanied by Vivi and Steiner, who became entangled with Tantalus during their escape from Alexandria. During their journey, Garnet adopts the alias "Dagger" and struggles to mingle with the locals. The group learns of a factory that is manufacturing soulless Black Mage warriors for Alexandria's use. Three powerful ones called Black Waltzes are sent by Brahne to retrieve Garnet by force, but in vain. In Lindblum, Zidane meets Freya and joins in Lindblum's Festival of the Hunt. Regent Cid has been turned into a bug-like oglop by his wife Hilda, for his womanizing behavior. Wishing to protect Garnet from Brahne's newfound aggression, he had ordered Tantalus to kidnap her. When the group learns that Alexandria has invaded Burmecia, Freya investigates the situation with Zidane and Vivi, while Dagger and Steiner head to Alexandria to ask Brahne to stop the war. Both parties are powerless to stop her, and Dagger has her eidolons forcibly extracted from her body. Brahne uses Dagger's eidolons to destroy Cleyra, after which she attacks Lindblum, forcing Cid to surrender. Zidane, Freya, and Vivi, after witnessing the assault on Cleyra, rescue Dagger, befriend General Beatrix, and return to Lindblum. Afterward, Cid tells the party about Brahne's arms dealer, Kuja. The party travels to the Outer Continent, the location of Kuja's headquarters, through an underground tunnel with the help of Quina. There, the party meets a young summoner named Eiko, who assumes herself to be the last survivor of Madain Sari. They also discover a village inhabited by self-aware Black Mages. Their pursuit of Kuja leads them to the nearby Iifa Tree, an entity that dissipates fighting-stimulant Mist. They also learn that Kuja uses Mist to create the Black Mages. The party defeats the Iifa Tree's core and stops the Mist from flowing. When the party returns to Madain Sari, they confront Amarant, who was hired by Brahne to apprehend Dagger. Dagger slowly realizes that she is also a Summoner from Madain Sari. Amarant joins the party for his own reasons. At the Iifa Tree, Brahne turns against Kuja and intends to kill him with the eidolon Bahamut. However, Kuja uses the airship Invincible to gain control of Bahamut, killing Brahne and defeating her army. The party returns to Alexandria, and Garnet is crowned Queen. Afterward, Kuja assaults Alexandria with Bahamut. Eiko and Garnet summon the legendary eidolon Alexander, who overpowers Bahamut. Kuja attempts to control Alexander using the Invincible, but is foiled by a mysterious old man named Garland, who destroys Alexander and parts of Alexandria. Kuja, still intent on mastering a powerful eidolon to defeat Garland, shifts his attention to Eiko. The party learns of Kuja's Desert Palace and attempts an assault. However, Kuja imprisons the party and escapes with Eiko to extract her eidolons. During the extraction attempt, Eiko's guardian moogle Mog uses Trance to transform into her true form, the eidolon Madeen, and defeats the process. Learning of the powers of Trance, Kuja escapes to further his aim of defeating Garland. The party rescues Eiko and also finds Hilda, who turns Cid back into a human. He is now able to design an airship for the party that does not need Mist for power. With Hilda's aid, the party pursues Kuja to Terra by opening a portal. In the Terran town of Bran Bal, it is revealed that Garland was created by the people of Terra to orchestrate the process of assimilating Terra into Gaia, as Terra was a dying world. Garland created Genomes — intelligent, sentient beings who lack souls — to become future vessels for the souls of the Terrans. The Iifa Tree's existence, the phenomenon of Mist, the eidolon's destruction, and even Kuja and Zidane's true purpose of existence, were part of the process. Angered by Garland's motives, the party confronts him. However, Kuja has now obtained enough souls to achieve Trance. Trance Kuja ends Garland's life, but not before Garland warns him of his limited lifespan, and that Zidane was created to replace him. Enraged by this revelation, Kuja destroys Terra while the party rescues the Genomes and returns to Gaia on the Invincible. The party discovers that Mist has returned and now envelops all of Gaia. Assisted by the combined forces of Burmecia, Lindblum, and Alexandria, they travel to the Iifa Tree, where they are teleported to a mysterious location called Memoria. The spirit of Garland guides the party to Kuja. When Kuja is defeated, he uses his Trance abilities to destroy the Crystal, the source of life, prompting the appearance of Necron, the "Eternal Darkness" bent on destroying life. After Necron is defeated, Memoria and the Iifa Tree collapse. Although the party escapes, Zidane remains to save Kuja, and is later assumed to have died with Kuja in the collapse. Some time later, Alexandria has been rebuilt, and Tantalus arrives in Alexandria to perform a play for Queen Garnet. During the performance, one of the performers removes his robe and reveals himself to be Zidane. The credits roll as Garnet and Zidane embrace. Other scenes reveal that Vivi somehow has children; Steiner and Beatrix have returned to their old posts as royal bodyguards; Eiko has been adopted by Regent Cid and Hilda; Freya is attempting to start over with her former love, Sir Fratley; and Quina has frequented the Alexandria Castle kitchen.
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