Final Fantasy is the stuff of legend. No, seriously-- it is. Just ask any enthusiast about the origins of the series. Watch as their eyes gleam while recounting the story of how it all began. Legend has it that a long time ago (1987) in the land of Japan, a fledgling company known as Square (now Square Enix) wasn’t doing so well financially. Despite earlier releases like Rad Racer and 3-D World Runner, their games weren’t selling well enough to pull them out of the slump. It seemed as if all was lost. Wanting to go out with a bang, Square chose to develop a role-playing game. They called it Final Fantasy (*cue epic music*).
As much as I loved Fire Emblem: Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright, I was skeptical when another game, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia, was announced to be released this year. While I’m happy to see this franchise finally gain some much-needed popularity outside of Japan, I’m not sure if I want to see the series become annualized. I have yet to play through the other two campaigns for last year’s game, and after spending over 40 hours with Echoes I might be good for a while. Or then again, I might be just as addicted as I was last year.
Halloween is here! A time of all kinds of scary things like werewolves, zombies, and diabetes! Not to mention plenty of great games. Whether you want something fun and lighthearted, something that will scare the pants off you*, or something in the middle, the Pixlbit staff has you covered as we talk about our favorite Halloween video games!
We’re all familiar with this famous quote from one of our founding fathers, but what would you add to it if given the chance? As gamers, we thrive on a certain level of consistency from our favorite standbys, whether that be a gaming franchise, system, or company as a whole. For me, it would be this: "…death, taxes, and the fact that I will purchase any handheld system that Nintendo puts on the market."
After three long years, Fire Emblem returns to the 3DS in the form of not one, not two, but three different versions. While the idea of “splitting” the game of Fire Emblem Fates into two retail releases (Birthright and Conquest) and a third downloadable title (Revelations) could be seen as a lazy cash grab from detractors, the execution is anything but. Each game packs in as much content as the 2013 Fire Emblem: Awakening, but gives players a choice in their playstyle preference. Birthright allows would-be tacticians to grind out levels in random battles, while the more challenging Conquest takes its cues from the older Fire Emblem games. This review is based on Birthright.
