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Dragon Quest IX

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DragonQuestIXBoxArtJP

So, it’s been a while since I got my teeth into a lengthy RPG on the DS – largely because I haven’t actually owned a DS for a couple of years. My recent acquisition, however, of a shiny new blue 3DS means that I have a huge backlog of JRPGs to catch up on. It seemed fitting that a Square Enix one was first.

Recently, most of my gaming time has been spent on either the brutal-tastic Dark Souls on the 360 or beta testing The Old Republic on the PC. It’s problematic doing this at the weekend due to both my boys nurturing an unhealthy Skyrim obsession – Matts on the PC and Tristan on the 360. So, handheld gaming is where it’s at.

So, while this is a game diary entry, I have to come clean and say that I’ve done nothing more than stick the cart in the 3DS. I will create a character today, and it will be a little girly called Bague (because it’s tradition, dontcha-know) but it’s likely to be tomorrow before I actually start playing. Here’s to the next hundred or so hours of slime-bashing!

Also (whispers) I should probably confess that this is my first Dragon Quest game!

Fallout 3 (360) & Final Fantasy (iPhone)

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I haven’t done a game diary post in aaaaaaages – mostly because I’ve been so busy doing five-minutely status updates via facebook and twitter that there’s been little point. Well, hell – I do still play the occasional game, so I’m gonna make a point of putting the occasional update here, if only to justify having a co-located server hosting the site :)

So, Fallout 3. Thing is, I seem to have been playing this game (on and off) for years. Which probably isn’t an exaggeration. I mean, the game is HUGE and then there’s expansions on top of that. Despite being about level 10 and completing the Anchorage and Mothership add-ons, I’ve barely scratched the surface. In main quest terms, I’ve only just done the initial ‘slap the dish on top of the Washington Monument’ mission.

Long term Nelefans (and those who have had a wee nose through the past stories archives on this very site) will be aware that I like the Final Fantasy games A Lot(tm). I played through FF1 on the GBA a couple of years back, so why on earth am I doing it again on the iPhone? Because it’s lovely, that’s why. Graphically, it’s a straight port of the PSP version, but the touch controls are a joy to use. Not only that, but it can be nabbed from the app store for a couple of quid. Number 2 is there too. Anyhoo, I’ve only just started playing – formed a party, done a few random encounters, then I’m gonna head north to get my arse handed to me by the bad guy.

Metroid Prime (Wii)

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Still plugging away at Prime. The game should have had these controls since the very beginning. I’ve only just ganked the boss guarding the morphball bomb (the sentry thing that shoots flames at the war wasp nest) and I took it down in a fraction of the time it took first time round on the cube – mostly because of the added ability to circle-straff while independently shooting other things.

Awesomeness.

Final Fantasy (iPhone)

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This is the fourth platform I’ve played FF1 on – others being SNES, PS1 and GBA. I have to say, the iPhone version is easily the best. It seems to be a straight port of the very pretty PSP version but with the added advantage of well thought out touch controls. And it’s only a fiver – considerably less than I paid for the other versions.

‘hang on’, you cry. ‘why are you playing a game you’ve already completed?’

Because it’s awesome and it’s on my phone :)

So, gabled Garland and I’m heading north on a crystal hunt.

Paper Mario (Wii VC)

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OK, so I sneaked a wee go while Tristan was playing Team Fortress 2. So, having woken up in a Goomba hut, I proceeded to go looking for Grampa Goomba, fell off a building, found a hammer in a bush, thumped some blocks, thumped more Goombas, then finally met the King Goomba and thumped him too. Then I saved.