Final Fantasy VII: A Fanboy's Confession

We all cried when Aeris died... yes! yes! I know, that line is as old as the internets. Fortunately, I'm not going to talk about that here. This article was written quite a few years ago, but I felt that it could use a little more exposure. The character descriptions are based on my own speculations and I do not claim them to be completely accurate.

I can still recall it quite vividly. 5 years ago, I stood before a glass counter gawking at the beautiful cover artwork of various playstation titles that sold for 60 pesos per CD. Pirated CDs abound in the Philippines and they were once sold out in the open in shopping malls, but 60 pesos was still a lot of money for me. My mind was already made up, I had 300 pesos in my wallet and I would spend a portion of it to buy the 3d beat-em-up game "fighting force," which was the "in" game at that time. However, I noticed someone playing another game on the store's tv set. It was a quaint game with colorful characters with large heads that I mistook for a kid's game, but there was something about it that caught my attention. The same something that told me this would be the most unforgettable game I would ever play.

Thus, I bought my very first console rpg "Final Fantasy VII" for 175 pesos (about one dollar and fifty cents) and this initiated my journey into the wonderful world of rpgs. I spent hours on the game, reading the dialogues of all the characters, even the villagers, line by line and saving my data whenever I could. I wasn't familiar with the level-up system, the buying from towns, the money, in short, I was a total greenhorn to rpgs. Perhaps this can attribute to my deep-seated fascination and attachment to the game. Spurred on by FF7, I quickly became an rpg fanatic, I scoured the local stores for any and all psx rpgs I could buy. I spent all my free time on rpgs like Lunar, Lunar II, Grandia, Legend of Legaia, Star Ocean 2 and others I failed to mention. Those days before I became interested in the world wide web, were perhaps the apex of my enjoyment of rpgs.

The internet didn't become popular in the Philippines until sometime in 1999, thus, my rpg gaming was never hampered by the influence of the world wide web. It was only about a year ago, when I first read the unbelievable number of posts in the FF7 board on gamefaqs.com or learned about using and writing walkthroughs.

Reading through the various posts in the FF7 board, made me think twice about my own addiction with FF7. The words of the other fans hurt me deeply, though I could never admit it until now. Thus, I was introduced to such derogatory and discriminatory terms like " FF7 fanboy," or "square fanboy." (would you call a female FF7 fanatic a fanboy too then?) They gave these terms an assortment of meanings such as "someone who thinks FF7 is the best rpg only because they've never even heard of rpgs before." Or even worse, "someone who hasn't truly played the game." I was totally lost, caught in a crossfire between those who considered themselves the FF7 elite and the FF7 fanboys. FF7 was reduced to a competition to see who had the best materia, the best character stats, the best anything. I spent many sleepless nights pondering questions like "FF7 was my first rpg and I still think it's the best rpg, so does that make me a fanboy?" and even "I haven't even completed half of what those guys have done, and they don't think FF7 is the best rpg. Maybe I should reconsider?"

Though this experience was mildly traumatic to me, I looked back on my roots. Even before I became interested in rpgs, I was already into anime, thus I looked to the daily anime marathon on AXN, hoping that my troubled soul might find comfort in the catharsis brought about by watching (as one person from a certain forum puts it.) drawings of people with huge eyes. Then, like St. Augustine's awakening brought about by reading Romans 13:13 in the bible. I was awestruck by the words of the corrupt monk Genjo Sanzo reciting his famous lines with the very uplifting song "Open Up Your Mind" playing in the background. "Vanity of Vanities. Kill the Father as you meet him. Kill Buddha as you meet him. Neither fascinated nor bound by anyone. Just live your life in the way you are."


(Though some may find my next few lines amusing and may actually be laughing at me right now in anticipation, I want to emphasize that I am pouring my heartfelt emotions into this article.) Sanzo's words resounded in my head, not literally of course, but it was his words that opened my eyes to how I should deal with my new experiences with rpg fans. I was now clear on my stand on the subject of fans and fanboys and perhaps any other events I may encounter in my life.


I liked FF7 because it was my first rpg. It's true, I also liked it because the graphics were excellent for its time. Yet, I also liked it for a reason much deeper than that, because beyond the graphics, beyond the music, beyond the rants of elite fans, FF7 is an excellent game. It doesn't matter if people start calling me a fanboy, because even if they did, I would still be an rpg gamer and the derogatory label of "fanboy," would sound like a praiseworthy title as long as I could still play rpgs. I realized that there is nothing wrong with being a fanboy, because no matter what your roots, old school, new school, whatever!, it will not change the fact that you are an rpg gamer.


Almost seven years, after its making, (I must be getting old ^_^) it is an opportune time to look back, reflect, and pay tribute to the game that rekindled the dying flames of the rpg revolution, Final Fantasy Seven.

Atmosphere

This is one of the few things I look for in a good rpg. It may not apply to all types of gamers, especially the light of mind. In itself, the atmosphere that I'm referring to here is ultimately indefinable (So you can tell I'm not referring to that invisible thing up there that we learned about once upon a science class.) I could say that it is the culmination of all the parts of the game including music, graphics, setting, but then, I would be telling a lie. Because like it or not, some games have it and some games don't. To name one, the famous gba rpg "Golden Sun" did not evoke any kind of atmosphere, but it still has excellent graphics, gameplay elements etc. On the other hand, any version of Lunar or Breath of Fire has that unique ambiance that really puts you into the game.

Final Fantasy VII's atmosphere gives you the feeling of being inside a world between science fiction and fantasy. During the first few parts of the game inside Midgar, I thought that this was going to be a futuristic "Star Wars" type of game. The mood of the game is generally somber and mournful and this is beautifully manifested in the divine musical scores. Of course, FF7 also has its lighthearted moments, that is quite prevalent in the game's amusement park "The Gold Saucer" but if you look deeper, you will see that beneath the world's largest amusement park, there is also the world's largest prison. Also, the people who live on the ground near the Gold Saucer suffer greatly from destitution. This portrayal of abundance above and scarcity below is subject to different interpretations, none of which are 100% accurate, yet all of them are quite valid. There are many other symbolisms within the game, that sadly, only a handful of gamers will ever come to appreciate.


The bottom line is, unless the rpg can capture my imagination with this key element, the atmosphere, I don't even bother playing it past the first day of purchase and this is why I can replay FF7 for more than a dozen times consecutively and still not get tired of it.

Unique Characters

Cloud Strife
This guy is the main character of the game. At first, he claimed to be an Ex-SOLDIER. SOLDIERS are human beings infused with the substance known as mako energy to become elite weapons of war. It was considered an honor to become a SOLDIER. However, later on, Cloud realizes that he never became a SOLDIER because he was physically weak and the mako infusion process left him physically impaired. This, combined with the trauma of watching his friend Zack gunned to death before him led him to take on Zack's persona.

Although he doesn't remember it until later, he once fought and won against the great war hero turned murderer Sephiroth to fulfill his promise to protect Tifa. Cloud is cocky and arrogant and always seemingly sure of himself, though in truth, he harbors many insecurities. His hair is reminiscent of animes like Dragon Ball Z.

Cloud's die-hard supporters may not admit it, but throughout the course of the game, he is a victim of fate and his decisions are usually influenced by foreshadowing events that he was never even aware of.


Aerith/Aeris Gainsborough
One of the most controversial characters in the game, her early death gives Cloud an extra motive for wanting to pursue Sephiroth.

Aerith is a flower girl from the slums of the city of Midgar. Many people consider her to be one of the sweetest and most innocent video game characters ever made, which is far from accurate. Although her looks say she is sweet and innocent, Aerith is actually a coquettish type of girl, who likes to act sickeningly cute and gets away with it most of the time because of the way she looks. However, she has a kind nature and an undeniable charm. Unlike many fanfics like to portray, she doesn't hate Tifa and never even gave the slightest hint of this during the game. Aerith is the last of the Ancients, a race of beings who could use magic without materia.


Tifa Lockhart
Undoubtedly the most popular FF girl of all time. Why? C'mon you don't need me to tell you that. If you're a guy and can't judge just by looking at her, I doubt you have enough brains to understand most of what I've typed up here.

Tifa is the owner of the bar "Tifa's Seventh Heaven" in Midgar. As Cloud's childhood friend, she soon develops deeper feelings for him when they meet again as adults. She is the kind of person who can get along with anyone and wants everyone to get along as well. This is shown in various scenes in the game, one example is her pacifying Cloud and Barret before they could start a fight. She is also very strong-willed and is not afraid to get personal with her fists.

Barret Wallace
Although he looks and speaks like a hulking moron, Barret is really a very determined and responsible man, who feels the need to take justice into his own hands. He formed the group of radicals known as Avalanche, but all of the members were killed by Shinra except for himself, Tifa and Cloud whom he hired as a mercenary. However, that event can also be viewed as a retribution for their terrorist bombing of one of Midgar's generators that took a lot of innocent lives. A consequence of their actions that they failed to anticipate.

Barret replaced one of his arms with a gun after it was shot by Scarlet of Shinra. He took it upon himself to raise Marlene, the daughter of his best friend Dyne whom he believed to be dead.

Cid Highwind
Like Barret, Cid has a heart of gold hidden beneath a cranky, foul-mouthed exterior. Although this is a blind side of his personality, Cid blames himself for the many failures he has experienced in his life. This includes the failed launching of the Shinra rocket in his town, due to his own negligence and it is manifested in his short-tempered attitude towards his subordinates.

Cid has the ability to become a great leader. His personality commands respect from his men. Perhaps his greatest triumph, was in choosing to join Cloud's party. Since this gave him another chance at his aviation career.

Yuffie Kisaragi
Although acquiring her is optional, Yuffie is one of the more popular FF7 characters. Many people have come to hate her because she steals all your materia in her sidequest and acts like a total brat about it, pulling all kinds of dirty tricks on your party until you can finally catch her.

Yuffie is energetic and fun-loving. Her presence lightens the mood of the game compared to the more mature members of the party. Some FF7 fans speculate that she acts childish because she craves the attention, which she never got from her father.

Vincent Valentine
How many times have we seen this stereotype in anime? Vincent is the cool, quiet and collected guy who can display incredible power when upset. He is also an optional character, but unlike Yuffie, he forms an integral part of the story because of his relationship in the past with Shinra and Sephiroth.

Vincent has a very troubled past and his only reason for joining Cloud's party is to find Sephiroth.

Red XIII
Yep, a cross between a dog and a lion, with a fiery tail and the ability to talk is definitely a cool idea. Red XIII is also known as Nanaki and like Aerith, he is the last of his kind.

Just as his looks would tell, Red XIII's personality is sort of a cross between Cloud and Vincent. He can be wise and cold-hearted, but he can also be cocky and arrogant. Red XIII loves his mother but despises his father for being a coward when the GI tribe attacked his village Cosmo Canyon when he was still a child.

Later on, he learns that his father Seto gave up his life fighting against the GI tribe even after their poisoned arrows had begun to petrify his body. This scene where Red XIII meets the stoned figure of his father is one of the most touching moments of the game.

Cait Sith
Not much can be said about this stuffed toy riding robot cat. His alter ego is a high-ranking official called Reeve from Shinra. Many times in the game he is torn between his loyalties to the FF7 party and Shinra.

Sometime in the game, it is implied that his stuffed toy form, actually has a personality and feelings of its own, separate from Reeve. This view of Cait Sith is more suited to asian gamers who have the cultural and religious background to believe in the spiritual attributes of certain things. If you are not, you may not see where this can be found in the game, or you may not acknowledge it.

Sephiroth
The perfect example of a psychotic antagonist. Sephiroth gained knowledge beyond normal human beings when he fell into the lifestream after fighting Cloud. Some people speculate that the Sephiroth in the game is not even Sephiroth, but a clone created by the cells of Jenova. Sephiroth is almost identical to Kenshin Hemura of Rurouni Kenshin, a calm, composed and cold-hearted killer. Of course, unlike Kenshin, Sephiroth has negative views of human nature, which is why he wanted to destroy everyone by calling down meteor.

So how evil was Sephiroth? My answer is that he wasn't even evil to begin with. Sephiroth's malice was driven by a principle. Though it was a twisted principle by society's standards, to Sephiroth, it was the only way to redeem mankind. If it's a question of morality, Sephiroth's only sin was his method of implementing his plans for the world, which included murder.


This collection of characters, though somewhat incomplete should be enough to prove my point. FF7s characters are excellent and dynamic, but they're not the best rpg characters ever made. I admit that there are other rpgs with better and more well-developed characters. What should be taken into account however, is the intermingling of the characters with the plot. To some, square/square-enix's storylines are convoluted and hard to follow, but it's actually a matter of perspective. To me, the story is like a puzzle, which you have to piece together in order to appreciate. Take note, that you do not need to fully understand all the aspects of the story (characters birthday, character's name, name of place, etc.) in order to appreciate its beauty. Like a piece of classic literature, FF7's story is not only meant to be taken at face value. Once you have replayed the game, you can unearth the many layers of interpretation underneath all the eye-candy.

Personally, FF7 has left me with many great memories and encounters with unique and memorable characters. It has left an indelible mark on my being as a genuine rpg gamer. It has broadened my perspective of the world, rather than close it down as the conservatives might believe. I see this game as a reflection of my own life and my own adventures in the unforgiving jungle of society. And someday, when perhaps, I might leave the world of rpgs, I can rest assured with the knowledge that I was also a part of the world of Final Fantasy Seven. I would like to conclude by saying, just as "Middle-Earth" existed even without Tolkien, FF7s world already existed even without Square or Hironobu Sakaguchi, and who knows, one of us "fanboys" could have produced it if they didn't.

Bullet Philharmonic Orchestra - Bullet Dodging Sim

Here's a minimalist game that will keep you entertained... for a few minutes anyway. BPO is a bullet-dodging simulator for danmaku games that creates its bullet patterns according to the background music that you choose to put inside its "music" directory. It supports most of the popular sound formats (mp3, ogg, wav, mod, mid etc.) although I would recommend converting your mp3 files to wav or ogg with a program like audacity because the game doesn't seem to be too compatible with mp3.

But enough of that, on to the actual game. There are two modes to choose from. BPO is the default mode, where a group of white dots circle on top of you and spew random bullet patterns at you based on the music. The only controls you have are the directional keys. Of course, it goes without saying that the object of the game is to avoid getting hit. You control a red dot with a large green circle around it. Remember that only the red dot can be hit, the green circle is most likely for gauging the distance needed to graze a bullet. A buzz indicator on top of the screen counts how many times you've been hit. Getting buzzed means that you'd be dead in a normal shooter game. You get a bonus score via the bscore indicator if you graze bullets without getting buzzed. Then there's the self-explanatory rank indicator and frames-per-second counter. You get a summary of all your statistics after the music has finished playing.
The other mode selectable from the main menu is AL, which is a slightly harder version of BPO because the white dots now circle around you and shoot from all directions. You can choose to have the cpu play the game to see how the AI handles the bullet patterns, although it doesn't seem to be very good.

The difficulty level of the game is selectable, but even "normal" feels like playing on the insane difficulty levels of most modern doujin shooting games. The bullets come in fast and in large clusters giving your mind no room to process all the projectiles onscreen. Changing the music to something softer doesn't really help. The white dots just shoot less frequently, but the bullets still travel at the same speed.

As shown in the screenshots, BPO's graphics are very basic and it's best treated as a trainer for real shoot-em-ups rather than a full game. The best part about it is that it's a small download at about 1 mb and it's totally free. The author also provides English instructions inside the archive for those who can't read Japanese(like myself).

This game is freeware
Download Page: http://www.vector.co.jp/soft/win95/game/se282205.html

Note: The creator's homepage seems to be down. Oh, and if you're getting buzzed a lot, try not to focus on the red dot too much. You might be falling prey to this optical illusion. Sorry about the awful screenshots. I was too lazy to edit them properly.

AIR Tennis - Breakout Clone

AIR Tennis is a generic breakout clone with a twist of tennis. You move your character horizontally in order to prevent the ball from passing you and attempt to break all the bricks in the stage to advance to the next one. The twist is that instead of just catching the ball, you have to hit it with your racket and depending on the timing of your hit, the ball gains momentum and is able to break multiple bricks at once.

As its name implies, the game uses the characters of AIR. You can select one of the three female leads from the visual novel/series each with their own strengths and weaknesses in Speed, Power and Hyper (lol! I can actually read the moonspeak coz it's just engrish in katakana) although, I'm not sure how much of a difference it actually makes since they all control the same way. Z for left swing, C for right swing and the directional keys for left and right.

The graphics are nothing to write home about. Generic cute sprites matched by colorful backgrounds. I must say that the character art looks a bit unpolished (but it might be intentional), although the sprites of the characters are quite well-made. The animation is also not as smooth as I'd prefer for a modern 3D game. The shadows flicker a lot on my system, but then again, it could be due to my PC's configuration.

Sounds are the generic smack, smack, thwack sounds plus some fun little forgettable background tracks reminiscent of AIR's soundtrack. Certainly not at the level of Tohou OSTs.

The gameplay is nice. After all, it's based on a classic game. They've added quite a few things to make this a unique experience. A power bar on the right of the screen determines how well you've hit the ball. It depletes with each brick or obstacle that it hits. A hyper bar on the right of the screen slowly builds up as you keep hitting the ball and when it fills, you get a temporarily hyper-mode wherein the ball cuts through any bricks that it hits without bouncing back. Each character is equipped with a set number of specials, where they throw projectiles to break more bricks, represented by an "S" sign at the left of the screen which you can activate by pressing... S. There's also combo-hit counter that counts how many bricks you've hit repeatedly. Other than that, it's really just a glorified breakout clone in a pretty AIR package. I'm not sure, but the game seems a bit short. It seems there are only three stages which are all selectable after you've chosen a character.

So that's AIR Tennis for you. A fun, short doujin game for anyone. No Japanese comprehension level necessary to enjoy it. The main menu only has three choices. Start, Ranking and Quit.

Homepage: http://www.geocities.co.jp/Playtown-Queen/4603/

Liberation Army - Shooter/Strategy Game Hybrid

Liberation Army is the Gundam game for gamers on a budget. While, it's a bit dated, I don't think this game gets the attention that it deserves compared to other freeware titles like Warning Forever. It's a real-time-strategy/shooting game hybrid that plays like a 2D Dynasty Warriors clone. This game also reminds me of an old dos shareware game called Gladiator. You control a single unit while leading an entire army of humanoid mechs that look distinctly like mobile suits and engage an opposing army on a 2D battle map.

The gameplay is divided into the preparation and combat phase. During the preparation phase, you are shown the map of the next battle showing your formation as opposed to the enemies. You can buy upgrades for your allies, technology, new units, ships and choose the mobile suit pilot who will participate in battle. You can also customize your pilot's mobile suit by changing/adding/upgrading his/her equipment. In the combat phase, you control your own unit while having the ability to issue commands to your allies. Going rambo straight into a swarm of enemy fighters is the fastest way to get killed, thus, if you're thinking of showing off your Seed Mode or Newtype shooting skills, the game punishes you severely. Zooming straight into enemy territory makes it easier for enemy fighters to land critical hits by shooting you from behind. While your own unit is considerably tougher than normal units (with stronger upgrades), and is equipped with one sub weapon of your choice(even includes the beam saber... though it's kinda hard to use without taking damage), it does not have the ability to take down the entire opposing army all by itself. If you find yourself in a corner of the screen surrounded by enemy units with no allies in range, you'd best retreat to save your pilot from suffering too heavy damage to fight in the next battle.

Umm... this is what happens when you try flying in solo. The one being focus-fired on near the upper-left of the screen is me

Your territory grows in percentage as indicated in the preparation phase every time you win a battle by either making the enemy retreat or destroying all enemy units onscreen. The focus of the game is on slowly gaining ground and destroying enemy ships that deploy more enemy units while keeping your own ships protected. As your territory increases, the difficulty level also increases, with elite enemy mobile suits equal to your own joining the battle, each equipped with their own special subweapons. Luckily, you also earn powerful allies called escorts with their own special weaponry depending on the number of battles you've participated in. That aside, the AI for your escorts is not very good at dodging enemy bullets nor as powerful as the special enemy units, so you'd best not rely on them too much.

The battles seem to go on forever as I've yet to reach anything that indicates that there's an ending to this game. This gives Liberation Army a high replay value but unfortunately, after the novelty has worn off, it can get a bit repetitive.
The graphics are nothing special but work well enough for this type of game. Up to 600 units can fight onscreen at once, which effectively gives you the feeling of being inside a great gundam or macross type war. There's also a variety of midi tracks included in the game and you can manually replace them with your favorite mech-anime theme if you want. Surprisingly, the character art is a bit subpar for a japanese anime-type game as I've noticed that some of the facial proportions on the character portraits are a bit off. Luckily, it's not too noticeable and is not something that will distract you from having fun with this game.

The version of Liberation Army reviewed here is freeware visit the author's homepage here.
http://www.infoseek.livedoor.net/~koushi_okada/

The game has been completely translated into English by Aeon Genesis
http://agtp.romhack.net/project.php?id=libarmy

The Sight of Autumn - Original English Kinetic Novel

This is an Original English Language Visual Novel and technically not a game, so to dispel any prejudice you might have, please read this before continuing: http://www.fleurdelis.com/desiderata.htm I'm a bit biased regarding this "game" because it's in the genre that I prefer.

All done? Good. The Sight of Autumn is a non-branching visual novel in 3 chapters (meaning linear story with no choices) made in flash. The story is about a protagonist who is slowly losing his sight both literally and figuratively speaking and his fated meeting with a blind female counselor. The story is told in the contemporary first-person present-tense style from the protagonist's perspective.

From the introductory logo, it's easy to see that the author put a lot of effort into his creation. I won't mince too many words on this VN nor write a detailed review, since in my opinion, it doesn't deserve that kind of treatment of being analyzed and taken apart piece by piece like some uninspired research paper. While being in essence a semi-animated short story, from the exposition and style of writing, one can tell that this is a very emotional piece meant to impart an experience. This experience should be very different for each individual.

While the individual elements are far from perfect, the art works well for this VN and even features some limited animation.The music is near-professional in quality and has a sad, nostalgic feel to it. I love the instrumental and vocal versions of the main theme. Some might compare this work to japanese doujin such as Narcissu and Red Shift, and while it cannot match up to them in terms of professionalism, the indefinable cathartic quality of The Sight of Autumn does not pale in comparison.

Read this free VN with an open heart.
Download Page http://www.renai.us/game/autumn.shtml
Author's Homepage http://www.eltania.net/m12/

Hmm... oh yah, allow me to shamelessly plug some of my own works here. I'm kinda partial to TSOA because the author's style is very similar to mine.
http://www.renai.us/game/wings.shtml
http://www.renai.us/game/hikariRibbon.shtml
Please read some of the other VN's by Radical Dreamers 2002 on the archives too ^_^. I'm nearly finished on my latest one right now. http://www.renai.us

Suzumiya Haruhi no Chourantou

Suzumiya Haruhi no Chourantou is a 3D free-for-all doujin fighting game by Souvenir Circle that plays like
Powerstone for the Dreamcast or a 3-Dimensional Super-Smash-Bros. It features the characters from
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, specifically, the SOS Dan characters plus Asakura Ryouko and Tsuruya
as the unlockable character.

The game features an Arcade mode, Network Mode, Free Play Mode and the obligatory Story Mode. Arcade mode is
pretty much self-explanatory, you can select which character you wish to play as. The Story Mode,
like in most japanese doujin games, is told in linear visual novel style, with no branching
paths, using half-body portraits of the characters, which is followed by a fight pitting Kyon(the
only playable character in story mode) and one or two AI controlled characters against two or
more members of the SOS Dan. The story is in Japanese, but knowledge of the language isn't
necessary to enjoy the game. Free Play allows you to choose which characters to have on your side, which ones to fight and where to fight. A total of six characters can fight simultaneously. I have yet to try the network mode.

The character graphics and backgrounds in the actual game are fully 3D. The characters are in chibi-form equipped with their own unique weapon (Haruhi with a fan, Mikuru with a broom, Kyon with a schoolbag ... Asakura with her favorite knife) that they use to knock the stuffing out of enemy characters. The character select screen is also a nice touch; featuring the Haruhi characters inside the literature club room just the way you'd expect from the Light Novels and anime. Over-all, the graphics are excellent, and the 3D animation is on par with commercial PS2 titles.

You have free-roaming
control of your character using the keyboard directional keys and the following buttons (ZXCV is
standard for Japanese games) Z = Attack, X = Jump(hold) or Dash(tap), C = guard, V = Special
Attack. Each character controls the same way, but their unique melee attacks and specials requires a different fighting style for each character. You can also interact with objects that randomly materialize in the background. You can pick up a hammer that stuns your opponents, a loudspeaker, and the coveted glowing sphere that transforms your character into a super-powered version of themselves for a limited time (bunny-girl Haruhi, waitress Mikuru, Itsuki... in an outfit that looks very gay indeed :P). Using melee attacks also increases your SOS meter for performing special attacks and each character has a high-damage area-of-effect super(Z+V) that can be used when the SOS meter is over 50%(not sure if this is accurate). Jumping also changes the special moves for some characters.

The gameplay is a love-it or hate-it thing. While it's fun for a Haruhi fanboy like myself to play as the SOS Dan characters, there are some issues with this game that might bring it down a few points for casual gamers. My number one issue is with the controls. It might be because my system is kinda dated, but most likely, it's in the game's coding. There is a bit of a time-lag from the moment you press a certain command until the character actually performs it on-screen. This makes targeting your enemies a chore because you'd need to estimate where a certain enemy sprite will be, and start hitting the attack button before the enemy actually gets to that spot. This kind of guesswork is kinda risky because if you miss and someone else hits you from behind, you take more damage than usual. However, since doujin games are constantly updated, this issue might be fixed in an update patch. Secondly, because the interactivity with the background is quite limited, there's very little variety in the gameplay. Also, the final stage in story mode is isanely difficult, pitting you and Tsuruya against all the SOS Dan members including the brigade chief, Haruhi. If anyone has any tips on beating that stage, please tell me.

The music is fine for this type of game, using only one looping track as the battle BGM.

Generally, this game is a must-have for all Haruhi fans, but if you are, you don't need me to tell you that. For anyone just looking for a fun little 3D fighter/beat-em-up for the PC, you might consider this game if you're not into more in-depth 3D fighters such as Fatal/Fake, Fate Axis, Line-Kill Spirits or Hinokakera.

Souvenir Circle Homepage

This is a bit unrelated... but I do Haruhi fanart too. Here's my Haru-nyan!

Asahina Mikuru Sidescroller Action - Sidescroller Adventure Game

Hehe a photoshoped background.

Hmm... ok I can't read Japanese just yet, so I'm not too sure about the title of this game. Anyway, this is a quaint little game featuring the popular character Asahina Mikuru from the Haruhi Suzumiya light novels and anime adaptation. Mikuru wears her maid cosplay outfit and is equipped with some kind of machine gun that shoots out green beams of light. This is a 2D platformer and your objective is to reach and defeat the end-level bosses of each stage. I've only been able to reach level 2 so far, and it seems the bosses are actually characters from the series. Stage 1 boss is Tsuruya and Stage 2 are Taniguchi and Kunikida.


The controls are the standard Z,X,C plus directional buttons. The gameplay is kinda like a simplified Jazz The Jackrabbit (if you've played that old game). The level design is kinda bland and you get killed with one hit unless you have special move equipped, which you lose if you get hit. The special moves come in the form of contact lenses which gives Mikuru different special abilities such as the rifle dart and my favorite... Mikuru Beeeeeeem!

Are those things rabbits?

The graphics are pretty good for a 2D platformer. The sprites are simple but well-drawn, the 3D effects are reminiscent of fighting games like the Guilty Gear Series and the animation is super-smooth.

However, over-all this a pretty standard, watered down platform with little to offer in terms of depth or innovation. I'd recommend this game strictly for Haruhi fans or as a fun little time waster. It's worth playing just to hear the "Mikuru Beeeem!" voice.

Note: Sorry no downloads

Twin Seeds DX - Tohou Style Vertical Shooter

This is a cute vertical shooter with some catchy tunes and tough boss battles. This is basically danmaku with cute characters where the focus is more on stylish bullet dodging and grazing rather than shooting down your enemies. You know the drill, dodge if you can, bomb when in a pinch. In fact, You can also focus shoot to slow down your character for precision dodging and increased damage but at the cost of your score. Each stage features a 3D scrolling landscape with 2D characters and unique boss battles, each with their own special abilities. There are four levels of difficulty (been a while since I played so this might not be accurate) but all of them are actually quite hard once you reach level 4, which is as far as I can get in this game, because of the way the bullet patterns swarm in on you until you have no place left to dodge. You can continue from the level where you last died even after you exit the game.

This game is freeware, so you can download it from the author's homepage http://www.geocities.jp/pooytwo/

Also, there's another game on the same page, KagaMI, but it seems to be a beta right now.

Idinaloq - Commercial Quality Vertical Shooter

More screenshots plus downloads for the game here:

Game Homepage
http://www.namikaze.org

Ah! Idinaloq! A game that I'd recommend more for its aesthetic appeal rather than the actual gameplay which is actually quite bland. Featured prominently on freeware gaming sites a few years ago; the controls are a bit sluggish and the collision detection is unforgiving. However, you do get unlimited continues, so you can beat this game at any level of play and there's at least 1 unlockable character. Just expect to die a lot if you're more used to the dodge-fest of danmaku games like Tohou Mountain of Faith.

This game is total eye-candy. The anime-style characters are professionally drawn, the 3D graphics (though a bit dated) look stunning, and this is about the only freeware game I know that comes with it's own vocal opening theme complete with a fmv sequence.

Over-all this is game is more of a collectors download for occasional play rather than anything else.