Feeling Like a JRPG Fraud & Talking About the Rest of the Games I Played in 2023

Рет қаралды 32,641

Күн бұрын

Today I share some casual thoughts & ramblings about seven titles I played in 2023. I'm hoping that this year I'll share these types of videos on a more frequent basis.
Have you played any of these? If so do we share similar or differing opinions? And I would also love to hear your thoughts concerning the controversial topic I get into in this video. Hopefully there'll be a lively but positive discussion down in the comments :)
Below are many affiliate links, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
One Piece Odyssey (PS5): amzn.to/3SCwZMn
Sword and Fairy Together Forever Premium Edition(PS5): amzn.to/3vXL7ag
Sword and Fairy Together Forever Standard (PS5): store.serenityforge.com/produ...
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir (PS Vita): amzn.to/3HDcetD
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir (PS4): videogamesplus.ca/products/od...
Anno Mutationem (Switch): amzn.to/3Om7Til
Anno Mutationem (PS4): videogamesplus.ca/products/an...
Coffee Talk 1+ 2 Premium (Nintendo Switch): amzn.to/3vPITJM
Coffee Talk Standard (Nintendo Switch): store.serenityforge.com/produ...
The House in Fata Morgana (Nintendo Switch): amzn.to/3ugnLvZ
Final Fantasy VII (Nintendo Switch): amzn.to/3uesT3G
Shelves featured in the background:
8-Tier Shelf With Circular Displays: amzn.to/41Q5lgp
5-Tier Corner Shelf: amzn.to/3BKU8TF
12-Tier Open Shelf: amzn.to/3MroS0X
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Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:30 One Piece Odyssey
06:39 Sword and Fairy Together Forever
12:02 Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
17:44 Anno Mutationem
22:39 Coffee Talk
25:45 The House in Fata Morgana
29:08 Final Fantasy VII
36:16 Outro
____________________________________________________________
For those who may be curious about what my channel name means, it's a play on the magical energy technology system used in one of my favorite series: The Legend of Heroes/Trails/Kiseki games. Pronounced: or·bal·ol·o·gy :)
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Пікірлер: 369

@Ayayaaron62 4 ай бұрын

I don't think anyone could doubt your JRPG cred with that collection in your background lol. Totally agree with you and many others in the comments that it's fine to use updated game systems to lessen the time burden some titles can have. There's so many great games and it's only going to keep getting harder to pick and choose what to play let alone "how" to play them. All that matters is whether you enjoy the options you choose

@flamehiro 4 ай бұрын

Beat > collect 😂

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

@fionnmaccuill415 Is this a contest? lol. I think I've finished a lot of JRPGs after getting back into gaming. I never claimed to be an authority of all JRPGs, but I like sharing the ones I've been able to get to.

@tonyp9313 4 ай бұрын

@@fionnmaccuill415 This shouldn't even matter to you if she's played a lot or very little of her rpg games. She's a collector & collects games & figurines. Again she doesn't have to play her games on normal or harder, without a guide or in 1 sitting. She doesn't have to prove anything to anybody. This is gaming. It's a means to escape reality & just enjoy playing games however you, her or anyone on how they want to play them.

@tonyp9313 4 ай бұрын

@@fionnmaccuill415 So now you are saying that Emily beats 1/100 video games which would be 1% since you brought up this movie buff example. I'm going to stop you right here until we go on further. I don't believe that for 1 sec. I am not even going to be wasting my time & effort to prove you wrong. As she said in her comment she's beaten a lot of them. A lot to me is way more than 1%.

@Buba92 4 ай бұрын

@fionnmaccuill415 I can see your point fionnmaccuuill but I'd have to disagree in this case. It's not quite fair to compare video games to movies. The amount of time it would take Emily to finish 1 rpg vs a movie is really not close. We all only have a limited amount of time in a day nor are a lot of us born with the riches to not work; including Emily whose done great to manage to fit in work, youtube and gaming. I've she also the consideration to respond to her fans which is not free and very considerate of her. I do think she may have missed a few great rpgs and such, but she absolutely has played a lot and quite a strong pace too! As someone who has played more games than anyone I know, she can definitely call herself a gamer or rpg fan if she so chooses in my eyes. I'm grateful she does/is here. But you are also entitled to your opinion, but at the least I don't think it is as fair a comparison to make.

@GarbagePailKids-yp6wq 4 ай бұрын

No one can question your JRPG cred. You’ve keyed me in on some pretty cool games

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Aww thanks - which games in particular? :)

@GarbagePailKids-yp6wq 4 ай бұрын

13 sentinels, coffee talk 1+ 2 and I’m currently playing persona 5 royal. I really like the narrative based (almost visual novel) JRPG and I absolutely adored 13 sentinels. That sword and fairy game looks pretty spot on for my play preference.

@guutenks2498 4 ай бұрын

@@GarbagePailKids-yp6wqplay tactics ogre reborn

@chrisjohn85 4 ай бұрын

Sometimes the moment in time when you play the game matters almost as much. FF7 was my first jrpg. I was 12, and that kind of experience blew my mind and introduced me to a whole new world of gaming. It will always be my favorite, partly because of that impact. Also, I remember the pain of having to wait 6 months to finish it because my friend spilled a Coke all over my ps1 and my parents wouldn’t buy me a new one. Great video as always!

@elahem6940 4 ай бұрын

I mainly listen to YT in the background while i work, so i really enjoy the longer, more rambly vids.

@DekkarJr 4 ай бұрын

saaaaame

@uppernimbus 4 ай бұрын

Coffee Talk is seriously an underrated gem of a game. I love the setting and mood, it's the perfect game to play while nestled under the blanket on a cosy, rainy day or night!

@notmayo 4 ай бұрын

Especially since 1 was on gamepass and now 2 is. Definitely surprised me as I had never played a visual novel before.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Coffee has some of the best setting/moods! Glad to hear you enjoyed it too.

@moystupido 4 ай бұрын

I did the same thing you did with Final Fantasy VII, but with Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. I intended to play it normally, but when I found out way too late in the game about how leveling and scaling works, it would've taken forever to rectify my mistake. So I just put on all the features and blazed through the ending. I was kinda bummed because I wanted to experience the game normally, but I was at a point where I didn't want to invest more hours just to fix that issue. Especially as adults, I don't judge anybody with how they decide to play/experience a game that benefits them and their time the most. At the very least, they got to experience the story and gameplay the way they wanted to!

@NotThatBob 4 ай бұрын

We all love different styles of JRPGs. What I find is often the ones that get average scores on steam and social media, often end up being very very good. Your list of owned JRPGs is great. Yes, you are a true JRPG fan. Also your channel is fun to watch. Cheers

@90shandheldgamer 4 ай бұрын

This is my favorite style of video from you. Doesn't have to be so long but, I just enjoy hearing your thoughts on games you've played. Also I think patreon will be a successful venture for you.

@starcrossedsouls5950 2 ай бұрын

Odin Sphere was the very last game I finished in 2023 as well by juggling my save file between the cloud save function across the PS4 and Vita versions. I absolutely loved it but I totally agree with your point about how setting it to easy is a good way to stave off the repetition of having to repeat a lot of the same stages and bosses across the multiple character routes. Also, subbed. You have a great collection and immaculate taste in games. Keep it up!

@80spowerextreme54 4 ай бұрын

Great start to the day, new vid! Really enjoyed One Piece Odyssey, which makes sense because a lot of the team from Dragon Quest worked on it :)

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Haha, yes! When I found out the same team who worked on DQ11 worked on One Piece it was like an aha moment lol

@greenwood142 4 ай бұрын

I played the original final fantasy 7 for the first time last year and thought it was amazing, I think having different expectations and mindset when playing can greatly effect the experience. Some of my favourite games are ones that I didnt have the right mindset when playing and only realised how good they were after putting them down and coming back to them again months later

@MiamiSunrise 4 ай бұрын

Well stated.

@louvella-sama 4 ай бұрын

THIS. I hated the monastery in FE3H the first time I played it, I wasn't really in the mood for strategy turn-based at the time so I had a really hard time playing through it and I couldn't understand a thing in the game - I was reading and hearing without understanding. I found it tedious and lasted 30 hrs max before I finally put it down to go play Ys VIII which I finished in 1 playthrough. Now, 2.5 years after owning my switch and FE3H (FE3H was one of my first switch games), I went back to FE3H and I absolutely loved the Monastery exploration in between battles pre-time skip. A different mindset, expectations and mood really helps for sure.

@badmeetsevil6163 4 ай бұрын

Well I played FF9 before I played FF7, so when I finally got around to playing FF7 in 2003, I felt it was super underwhelming since FF9 set the standard for me and FF7 lacked in pretty much every aspect in comparison. I also thought it had a weird setting for an FF game with all the guns and stuff since the ones I played before it were FF4, FF6 and FF9, though I only played FF4 and FF6 partially. After completing FF4 for the first time though, I kinda understood where the hype was coming from but I still feel it was a step back from FF6.

@StrawHatGuy_ 4 ай бұрын

Great video! Now I’m more interested in to diving into Anno, luckily I have the Ps5 copy from Limited Run. And I’ve had One Piece Odyssey for the longest time but I was addicted to catching up to the anime. I need to play that soon. Love this! See you on the next one.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Hope you love One Piece Odyssey as much as I did!

@luffysenju2407 4 ай бұрын

Loved hearing your gaming journey! I recently just bought final fantasy 7 on the original ps 1, it’s been great so far. But I agree with you about the encounter rate it’s made the game really easy as my party is over leveled because I roam around trying not to miss a thing!

@gotaplanstan 4 ай бұрын

This is my first video of yours that I've seen, and I really enjoyed it! There's something about listening to other passionate nerds talk about stuff they love that just hits different (cuz of how relatable it is) 😁 Looking forward to checking out the rest of your channel, and for seeing new content of yours!

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Thank you so much :)

@Jakco808 4 ай бұрын

Great video as always!

@mrbinxkitty 4 ай бұрын

I just finished ff1 for the first time and can definitely relate! I used some of the qol additions to reduce the grind and i sort of felt like i didnt get the true experience but then i gave it more thought. Even if you used some features doesnt diminish your experience with it! It just reduces the tedious grind that so many classics leaned into, thats all 😊 Ive been subbed for a bit now and would love to support your patreon!

@storm2156 4 ай бұрын

I've only played a few visual novels. The House in Fata Morgana is one of them, glad to see you are showing it some love. Amazing experience, story is fantastic, art is great, and the soundtrack I still listen to from time to time. Really left an impression on me. I have yet to play A Requiem for Innocence for it and really need to. Beacon Pines is the only other visual novel I've played I like as much as that. Fault Milestone, Muv-Luv, and Roadwarden I also hold in fairly high regards.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

I'm kicking myself for not getting the Beacon Pines physical through LRG's preorder... so hoping I can snag it from VGP once they get their copies in 🤞

@Earthling247 4 ай бұрын

This is a really good video. You did a wonderful job here. Informative and interesting at the same time. Enjoy your content a lot. Thank you.

@Maxbeedo2 4 ай бұрын

It's ok to value your time when trying to get through a backlog, so no shade for using boosters in FF7, coming from someone who played it when it was new. There's definitely cool stuff to do in that game outside of combat, and some of the Remake/Rebirth-relevant stuff is very missable so using a guide was probably smart. While I wouldn't say every mini-game was great, having a lot of them helped with combat fatigue, and when it was new the cinematic camera angles and guitar-riff boss theme made it THE COOLEST battle system I had ever seen and held that title for a long time.

@aceking121212 4 ай бұрын

The best part of old RPGs like ff7 and games of the era are the pre-rendered backgrounds and life they brought to towns. Something I feel that is REALLY lacking in modern RPGs is the Vibrant towns that tell a story or the backgrounds that took love and care to create. Miss em.

@les-os 4 ай бұрын

Excited to see a potential Fata Morgana follow up! playing it on switch now (have the physical too!) - i think it’s my first pure VN experience! Awesome vid as always, I relate to your taste in games so these review style vids are much appreciated!

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Oh I hope you're enjoying Fata Morgana as much as I am!

@TheCakeling 4 ай бұрын

I’m definitely a play games how you want advocate. Having played quite a few older RPGs in the last few years, I have come to appreciate the story one creates with the relationship of the game when played vanilla. Like how you figured out a particular strategy, dug through a specific side quest that had a cool reward. Either way, as long as you are having fun, that’s what matters with games.

@omnigears2062 4 ай бұрын

Great video! Sword and fairy was hard for me to play because of the tiny text. I couldn’t get through it.

@femtrooper 4 ай бұрын

Excellent discussion and you have really made me want to start One Piece Odyssey!!! I own it so I can't wait to try it now!!! Also, Sword and Fairy is DEFINITELY one I want to get!!! I hear you on some of the older JRPGs lol, I played FF7 on my Switch with all the QoL improvements to help - no shame in that!

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

I'm really looking forward to hearing how One Piece Odyssey goes for you! As well as Sword & Fairy 7 :)

@Kj2294 4 ай бұрын

Very insightful about One Piece Odyssey! I only watched like 90 episodes many years ago but I really wanted to play the game. I might give it a go after hearing this review of it!

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!! I found the whole game so charming & like comfort food haha

@Kj2294 4 ай бұрын

@@orbalology haha I'll report back when I do get to play it. Hopefully sometime this year!

@Neilface 4 ай бұрын

I don't think missing out on the gameplay part of VII is as important as seeing some of the story stuff before you play Remake. I was surprised when I played Remake how much more seeing that stuff enhanced the overall experience though. I don't think anyone would question your dedication to JRPG's with that shelf behind you lol. I adore IX, it's probably my favourite FF, but when I last played it on Switch I just used all of the convenience stuff without hesitation, and I still found it to be incredible.

@jarathen1625 4 ай бұрын

Totally understand valuing your time with JRPGs. Tools that help you enjoy the game, and not the endless onslaught of random battles or unexpected difficulty spikes, are a godsend. Especially with older games, where the expectation was a kid would get this as a gift and play it for months and months on end. The only thing I find I have to watch out for is trivializing the entire experience - Fire Emblem games on Easy become almost pointless - but if my options are "this is too easy" or "this was fine until this maddening boss fight I can't get past" in a game I'm primarily playing for story, I'll take the former every time, especially on the first play. More games should support changing difficulty or stats mid-game, or allowing players to skip boss battles that are simply too challenging for whatever reason.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

I really like how the Trails games handle boss encounters by giving the option to lower the difficulty level for a specific fight you lost. It's one of the best features I've seen in JRPGs that values a player's time!

@jarathen1625 4 ай бұрын

@@orbalology I can't believe I forgot about that when setting difficulty in Zero, which is probably too easy (on easy) even for my own lazy taste. Something to not forget again for the rest of the series.

@chocolocojames213 4 ай бұрын

Both Odin Sphere and Dragon's Crown have such good soundtracks. I can listen to it for hours 😄😄😄

@jarathen1625 4 ай бұрын

Vanillaware is so special. Cannot wait for Unicorn Overlord

@maths34 4 ай бұрын

I was also not very good at latte art in Coffee Talk 😬 but I enjoyed the lofi beats and relaxing environment, episode 2 is very rainy day themed. I also have been using a guide as I play through chrono cross for the first time, the switch is great for experiencing older rpgs one has missed, but qol features and guides are nice options to have to budget your time in those experiences

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Haha, my latte art ended up looking so unappetizing 😂 Oh Chrono Cross is one I need to get to as well, I found guides so helpful especially for older JRPGs. They really help make going back to these older titles more approachable & saves a lot of time on the less fun parts.

@eviankatsu 4 ай бұрын

Always love to hear your takes on specific games especially classic jrpgs and with ff7 i felt exactly the same way whenever I played it. I love everything about ff7 (the story, the characters, the music, the world) except actually playing it 😅😅 I think as long as you are able to find value and enjoyment out of a game, it shouldn't matter too much on how you play it.

@patriotsfan122480 4 ай бұрын

My friends and I used to go into the store after school and break out our notebooks to take notes from the guides cause we couldn’t afford them 😂 We still missed stuff or got stuck, so we would just go back and try to find what we got stuck on and help ourselves out that way. I don’t think the way you played the game is wrong, and while yeah, it’s not necessarily as the devs intended, I don’t think they would try to make the game exactly the same way now as they did back then. I do think it’s good that you played the OG before Remake and Rebirth, so you can see the differences that were made between stories, and also catch the little things there for the fans who played the OG. There will still be compilation stuff you may not get, but it feels like the Remake trilogy is really just to set everything into one universe, and make it all cohesive. We won’t know how successful that will be until the 3rd installment, but I hope you enjoy the games and your time with them! I also agree with you on the combat from the OG. While I loved it growing up, when I had nothing but time to grind and play mini games and such, now that I’m older it can feel like a slog, which is why the QoL changes were brought in. I still love the game, but I definitely now prefer Remake’s action-ATB system to the old ATB-turn-based style of the older games. I know among FF fans, that can be considered a sin, but still how I feel overall at this point in my life. The mini games I’ll always love, cause it does add some levity to the game imo, and can be a nice break from things, but I understand if they’re not someone’s favorite thing. I really only used to do them back when I was younger to get the prizes that could come along with them, but now that I’m older (depending on the mini game) I just enjoy the break in the story and the chance to do something different, along with the rewards still 😂

@Mike55690 4 ай бұрын

Absolutely no one will doubt or put into question your JRPG cred Emily, i do feel similar sentiments on 7 (OG) as well, the random encounters get super monotonous after a while and it drags it down, the turn limitations too (the timing, and how short it is), the liberties the remake takes imho make the game a lot more enjoyable for me! I think you'll have a more enjoyable experience with Remake for sure and Rebirth seems to innovate on what Remake did and add small changes/nuances to further improve it as well! As always, stellar video Emily :)

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Thanks Michael! I'm really looking forward to the Remake. May not be able to get to it before Rebirth comes out but definitely want to experience it within the next few months.

@WolfPhoenix0 4 ай бұрын

I really loved The House of Fata Morgana. It's the only VN I've played that surpasses the VN medium and enters into some sort of Renaissance art tier. Made me forget that I was still playing a game. Congrats on completing the OG FF7 too! It's still very much on my my backlog. Also, I definitely like your Patreon idea with first impressions and game recommendations.

@quacc_ 4 ай бұрын

Hey Emily! I’m in the punk hazard arc currently, so I’m somewhat close to being able to finally play One Piece Odyssey! Who is your favorite straw hat?

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Robin is my favorite!!

@quacc_ 4 ай бұрын

@@orbalologywhat a great choice! I feel like over time, Chopper has become my favorite 😂

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Chopper is a really interesting character! And also adorable most of the time haha

@alexandyrj2503 4 ай бұрын

Your gaming journey growing up was exactly the same as mine! 😮 CD rom games first (Abe's Odyssey, Age of Empires), GBC (Pokémon Silver), GBA (heaps) and then PS2 as my first home console. My first two PS2 games were Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X ❤

@antontaun 4 ай бұрын

I'm sorry to hear you were doubting your playing methods with VII; you still had your own unique experience which a lets play can't replace fully. All that being said, I'm definitely interested what you think about Remake and Rebirth after playing the original!

@dusty86 4 ай бұрын

The only thing that bug me about One Piece Odyssey was trying to find the collectible nano cube, since there's no way of tracking which areas you got of them in.

@dylangazaway1310 4 ай бұрын

I played the PS1 version of Final Fantasy VII for the first time last year and I can definitely understand your points about the random encounters and the timed actions in battles. By the time I got to the end of the game I was definitely feeling fatigued. I started FFVII Remake today and I’m already loving it!

@tylercosgrove5869 4 ай бұрын

Love the Trails of Cold steel music in the background 😁

@martypickens1257 4 ай бұрын

I am for sure going to pick up Anno Mutationem, thank you :)

@Suzakuux 4 ай бұрын

Fata Morgana is incredible! I adore it. Which door did you leave off in it? Best way to ask where you are without spoilers.

@kevinmccartney4906 4 ай бұрын

Your Patreon ideas- I think that'd be cool to get your take on a game shortly after playing it. Optionally with spoilers, your call; I'm for them though. Other channels give patrons early access and chat in the Patreon app, which are of value too. I think you would get subscribers without obliging yourself to do separate videos just for patrons, maybe some of both, again your call of course. Looking forward to whatever you decide Emily! 😊

@RE-LOOIE 4 ай бұрын

I can definitely relate with what you said about the original Final Fantasy VII (a game I've only ever made it about 10 hrs into, but loved the Remake 😅). When it comes to difficulty in games, there's a reason things like Dark Souls don't have a difficulty setting. Those games TRULY are meant to be played with a singular difficulty that cannot be toggled. If developers have difficulty settings from Easy - Hard, it's because they want folks to be able to experience the game how THEY want to (Easy for more a story-driven experience, Hard for folks that want more of a challenge). There's no shame in selecting Easy or enabling the quality of life features on an updated version of a game. They're there for a reason, completely agree with you :) Great video as always, Emily, you encouraged me to play One Piece Odyssey sooner rather than later!

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Thanks Rusty, I hope you end up enjoying One Piece Odyssey!

@chasescooper 4 ай бұрын

FF7 has not aged greatly. At the time it was innovative, but I remember my friends and I borrowing the one strategy guide between us and all of us trying to beat it at the same time - it was actually more of a social event, that’s what really made it great at the time for me. Playing it now is rough as a more casual gamer in my older age, albeit I enjoy the nostalgia for a little bit.

@ryuhoshu3303 4 ай бұрын

With all the awesome RPGs available nowadays like the Trails series that you like so much or even the FF7 remakes I can understand how going back and playing such an old game can be quite the shock, but you played it and now you can see what is being changed on the remake, I love FF7, for me and a lot of people it was our first RPG and like they say you never forget your first love 🤣 nostalgia googles are powerful, makes you overlook the flaws but I still believe it's an important game that made an impact on the RPG genre specially in America and because of that we have such wonderful games available now

@JunJunMusume 4 ай бұрын

Very good taste!!! I played a bit of Anno Mutationem but I had to stop at the very beginning at the time, so I decided to pick it back up at another time but first impressions are lovely! Odin Sphere I also got both the Vita and PS4 version. Such a great game. FFVII: This game was my favorite game of all time for more than 20 years! Do I need to say more? And lastly The House in Fate Morgana: Probably among the best stories I have read in my life, that is including many book classics I love.

@StephsTooDef 4 ай бұрын

I really need to get around to playing Coffee Talk 2. Just waiting for the mood to strike. This one piece game looks cool. I’ll have to look into it. Never watched the anime or read the manga but it sounds like a good time. I feel you on House of Fata Morgana. I was playing it a bunch back in September/October and I’m almost done with it. It got heavy so I put it down. Determined to finish it up this year though. Don’t worry about how you played FFVII. I played it a couple years after it was released but I plan on taking advantage of the different ‘perks’ that make things a little less annoying whenever I get around to playing FFVIII and FFIX. As always, great vid!

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Thanks Steph! Hopefully we can both wrap up House of Fata Morgana soon & see how it ends!! :)

@dwade03marion07 4 ай бұрын

Hey Emily! First off, thanks for sharing your game experiences as always! Like to hear on what people think of various games, even if the game in question itself, I'm not really interested in or no interest at all hehe. Second, gonna give some constructive criticism about on how your played FF7, if you don't mind. Obviously, you had every right to play the way you did, and time is precious, so I understand going through the game like you did, so that you can understand what's going on, and ultimately, be more knowledgeable when you start playing the Remakes. With that said, in my opinion, you definitely didn't play the game on how it was supposed to be played lol. I think, it's definitely, on how modern JRPG's (or RPG's in general) have become, with all the nuances that make it easy to play, like being able to avoid encounters, being able to go 2x speed, etc. which obviously, has it's positives, but also it's negatives, (like dumbing down the game) and I think, that made the experience less than ideal for you. It really makes it seem that older JRPG's are bad by comparison, even though they are not. I hope that when you do play another game like the OG FF7, you can take more time (if you do have it) to enjoy and play it in a more ideal fashion hehe :D

@luisarriaga774 4 ай бұрын

Here commenting to boost the algorithm 😁

@dominoscr 4 ай бұрын

Props for even finishing FFVII having never played it before now. It was very much a product of the time it was created. Glad you got to experience it in a way that got you through it. Play stuff however it makes ya happy and for sure it is good to be upfront about what works for you so others can benefit. 😀

@joshualangworthy4794 4 ай бұрын

When I played ff7 on the original PlayStation, back in middle school, I was like wow these are like ps2 graphics on a ps1. I loved the game so much my first play-through was 85 hours, also I had no Guid then and my internet then was dial-up. Later in life when It re-released on the ps4 I replayed it with the cheats on, beat the game under 25 hours but loved every minute of it still!

@jnbrenner 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the vid. I say play how you want... it's ultimately your time that is being spent and you should do whatever gives you the experience that you want. I have Odin Sphere that I haven't had a chance to play yet, was curious what your thoughts on it were going to be. Played FF7 a long time ago and I enjoyed it like most people. The characters and world were the highlight I think, materia system and combat were also good. I can see wanting to speed it up in 2024, esp the long a** summon animations. Go in with the patreon, can't fault anyone for trying to hustle a little bit... esp when you can roll that back into the channel.

@MissBubbles 4 ай бұрын

LOVE Anno Mutationem, such an underrated gem 😍

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

It's so good!!

@nathanknight848 3 ай бұрын

Great collection ❤️❤️❤️

@justinu1182 4 ай бұрын

Great video! Sometimes I feel like a jrpg fraud myself having never played FF7. I feel like I’d probably enjoy playing the original with the QoL features available though

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

JRPG fraud is a good way to put it... I'm stealing this & adjusting my title haha

@wertywerrtyson5529 3 ай бұрын

Just discovered your channel. Seems to be about the games I love as well. And you present the games very well. Regarding FFVII it was the reason I got into video games. I had played Mario and such before but it was FFVII that made me fall in love with being in a virtual world. I didn’t even know much English first time I played it since it’s not my native language but I played it again and again until I finally understood everything. I still think FFVII is the best game of all time. And for me it holds up. Especially with the New Threat mod that makes it more interesting combat wise.

@Efreyra 4 ай бұрын

I played Sword and Fairy last month and you're definitely right, it IS challenging! Bosses have a lot of HP and they hit *extremely* hard no matter how good your equipment is, I had to keep on checking if I was still playing on Normal or if the difficulty setting just rose somehow lol. Still, it's a pretty cool game 💜💜 Looking forward to playing Sword and Fairy 6 some day!

@Walamonga1313 4 ай бұрын

Which Sword and Fairy?

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

The difficulty spikes were pretty crazy looking back. I'm hoping to play Sword & Fairy 6 too someday, I've heard good things!

@avrilwilliams252 4 ай бұрын

I purchased Coffee Talk double pack and hope to get around to it soon : )

@MiamiSunrise 4 ай бұрын

Your intention was to get the story from the original FFVII so the way you played it I have less of any opinion on. Had you stated you wanted to the original game experience on the whole and then altered it to blow through parts of it I would say something very different, but you did not do that. No cred challenged haha! I have a PS5 physical of Anno Mutationem as I feared it would be hard to find and I imagine its going to get that way, but I really was astonished by the previews for it. This is a must play, thanks for showcasing it and reinforcing that. Great video as always Emily! 😊

@kianlin3260 4 ай бұрын

Hi, Emily. I haven't played any of games you mentioned 😬 About FF 7, I don't think it's wrong if you play it using qol features since you only want to know the story for reference before playing the remake 🤔 You have your reason, so don't worry (and over thinking) about it ☺ Thank you for sharing with us, Emily 😘

@thejet4672 4 ай бұрын

A new video yeah! :)

@MoonKast_TV 4 ай бұрын

@orbalology id like to get your opinion on eternal radiance for the switch

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Haven't played it I'm afraid! I've been eyeing the physical copy from 1 Print Games however.

@jasonsumma1530 4 ай бұрын

IF I remember right, the PS1 FFVII came in four CDs which was a long game when it came out. You mention the polygon shapes being different. The funniest thing with that was when it came out, it was the most advanced graphics of the time. This is compared to the pixel that most people grew up with and some of the current competitors at the time were still using. The games weren't the same price as they are now. I want to say FFVII went for $40.00 new and the strategy guide was like $10.00 or so. The great thing with the strategy guide is some of the nice maps with item locations like certain materia. The one mini game I remember the best is the chocobo race which if you put the time and effort into getting a S rank chocobo, you did get some really nice materia and other items so you may want to spend a bit more time on the mini games for the remakes. My only real complaint with FFVII is how many of the materia I had mastered which spawn new ones. This was good if you wanted to share materia among your people but if you weren't careful, you would have 2-3 copies of the same materia. As for Paetron, I'm not sure how profitable it is for creators. Sometimes I wonder if it is more work for the creator than it is worth. At same time, there are some channels which I have been strongly considering joining the paetron side of things.

@edcAdventures. 4 ай бұрын

Hope you make a video on games that are worth collecting or purchasing!

@goober_ 4 ай бұрын

I finally finished my first Trails game (From Zero) and being an older RPG plus the backlog proceeding it, I ended up using a guide to make sure I spoke to everyone etc. I did find out at the end that I'd missed one recipe from Day One (and only day one!) needed to get an ultimate weapon which is pretty cheeky, so no guilt here...

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Oh for Trails I always have to have a guide next to me to make sure I didn't miss anything important. Falcom really loved inserting so many timed hidden quests & cool dialogs in the most unlikely of places lol

@goober_ 4 ай бұрын

@@orbalology oh good, i don't feel as bad now ❤

@calvarsity81 4 ай бұрын

I felt like I was the only person to hear of Anno mutation. That is such a great game. Definitely looking forward to Final Fantasy rebirth the end of this month.

@Krycky 4 ай бұрын

I played FF VII the same way and at 1/4th of the way in too. I would turn on random encounters when exploring a new territory but then off for exploration.

@brandroidanimal 4 ай бұрын

man, odin sphere , anno mutationem and ff7 are three of my favorites... you have pretty good taste as far as i can see...

@JoeNayDoh 4 ай бұрын

FFVII was actually the first JRPG I ever played (I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time) and I can honestly say on my first playthrough I started running from ever random encounter because they got so tedious. Unfortunately then I would get to the next boss and get completely destroyed. Did not understand the concept of "leveling up" lol. That said I played through it multiple times since and as much as I enjoy it as it I don't judge anyone for playing it with some QoL adjustments. Encounter rates on some of those PS1 rpgs are just brutal (some games even had items that would reduce the encounter rates so even the devs knew they were over doing it). Getting the story is the most important part especially going into the FFVII Remake. It really expects you to know they events of the original when you go into it.

@jockmattock9239 4 ай бұрын

Hellooo, the audio at the end of Ys 8 is messed up for a brief moment which bummed us out considering all the time and effort we put into it. PS5 disk, problem. As for cyberpunk content, there's a new genre alert "Brainpunk" game published by Bandai Namco named Scarlett Nexus. Thanks Emily and Co

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Oh I didn't know this! That's disappointing... has it at least gotten patched out?

@jockmattock9239 4 ай бұрын

Doesn't seem like it. We finished it not too long ago. Checked for an update and there was none.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Aww, super disappointing :(

@jockmattock9239 4 ай бұрын

@@orbalology First World Problems

@LyonsGamez 4 ай бұрын

Great video 😀 Have a good day

@sfbsfb 4 ай бұрын

Great video Emily. Regarding Anno: Mutationem, I believe that is also a Chinese-developed game. Looks like it was originally funded by Sony, under their China Hero Project banner. I played the demo, and liked it - probably will pick up the full game sometime. It’s remarkable that you prefer the combat in this game to the combat in Odin sphere. Regarding the concept of cred - I agree with everyone else here. Really, I see no benefit or need to conform to some purported standard for enjoying entertainment products. I do understand the concept of original intent. But it’s also the case that times certainly have changed, along with expectations and lifestyles. And in the end it’s about enjoyment. I recall, when playing Xenoblade Chronicles definitive edition - near the very end, I found myself substantially under-leveled. After 80 or whatever hours, I didn’t feel like grinding further, so I just switched the difficulty to easy at that point. I admit, I would’ve preferred a more consistent or manageable level of challenge for that last section. But I was a bit saturated of that game at that point - and as much as I enjoyed it, I was very much ready for it to conclude.

@eries347 4 ай бұрын

I played ffvii all through junior high and high school but I didn't use a guide as I had no money. A friend had let me borrow his ps1 and a copy of ffvii. I replayed it multiple times as it was my only game then. and the more I played it the more secrets or encounters I would find would make me play it again and again just so I can find everything. That's how I became a final fantasy fan and a jrpg fan. It is understandable about the combat system and random encounters they are quite excessive at times. So I don't fault you for turn on those features to speed up the game. As there are more games than time to play them nowadays. Ps. Play legend of dragoon next.

@MakeAmericaLiftAgain 4 ай бұрын

I’m 32 and just beat Final Fantasy VII for the first time as well. I didn’t utilize any QOL improvements aside from 3x speed. I was confused about what you mentioned about the confusing world map? I didn’t get lost after exploring around a bit. You only really need a guide to figure out how to get Yuffie and Vincent. I have my own problems with the game but overall it was a masterpiece imo. Just watched advent children for the first time too and I enjoyed it, although not an amazing movie.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

At first the random encounters made exploring the overworld map nearly impossible. But even after turning those off it was difficult for me to navigate on the river paths to different areas across the continent for me.

@communicationvast9949 4 ай бұрын

Best KZfaqr ever ! :)

@gastie1 4 ай бұрын

Not sure if you've talked much about this elsewhere (sorry, if I just missed it!) But what are your thoughts on the switch lite? I mostly play on the ps3 and 4. At some stage, I'd like to get a ps5, and so don't think I can justify getting the normal or oled switch models.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

I made some comparisons to the Lite & OLED in my Tears of the Kingdom OLED unboxing! But I will say that the two devices are kinda like night and day. The Switch Lite I think is a great compact system, but the OLED model does provide a better experience especially not only if you want to use the dock & play on a tv/monitor but the screen is really beautiful. But that said you do notice that things are 720p on an OLED more than the Lite, mostly because the smaller screen on the Lite squishes things down so the resolution looks a tad better.

@gastie1 4 ай бұрын

@orbalology thanks for taking the time to reply! I'm quite conflicted about which to get. But probably if I'm honest, I think I'd regret not having the option to connect to the TV, especially on some of the bigger games.

@jamesdorsey5503 4 ай бұрын

Are you picking up the Trails Through Daybreak CE

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Yes!! That was an instant preorder for me :)

@silverian 4 ай бұрын

From these games Final Fantasy VII is the most familiar one. I still need to finish it. I know that FF8 is also long one. I had very odd way to play FF8 during summer times and then continue gameplay next summer. It's really long one and one thing what you said about FF7 (There are things, which might stay hidden/unfound unless you know where to go, are also same with FF8).

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

I have FF8 digitally on the Switch as well, so I'll likely be using the QoL features for that as well lol

@VEN0M415 4 ай бұрын

I got Anno: Mutationem a while ago and veered off to play other games I wanted to play more. Its' not that anno was bad, actually the little I did play it was really fun and I do want to go back soon. I didn't even realize they were doing a physical for it, I missed its launch/pre-order and prices from places like amazon now are.. yikes 💀

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

I think more people are seeing how much of a hidden gem Anno is, so that may explain the spike in price unfortunately. Last I saw VGP has the PS4 physical still available, though the Switch & PS5 versions seem to be more desirable at this time.

@VEN0M415 4 ай бұрын

@@orbalology It caught my eye and I loved the art style, it baffled me that no one was talking about it at the time but im glad more are discovering it. I guess enough people shared positive things around about it to where it warranted a physical release. Hope to to continue it someday soon, I only wish this was on Good Old Games launcher cause a lot of indies I like are on there..

@cjmaverick_ 4 ай бұрын

I definitely enjoy being challenged by games so I try to play them at a moderately difficult level. That being said, there’s a fine line between playing them to experience a worthy challenge that is enjoyable and experiencing outright frustration due to the difficulty. If I spend more than two days and hours on the same boss, I definitely look to change the difficulty - especially as an adult, you only have a finite amount of time to play and retrying the same level or boss over and over again due to the difficulty is not a good way to spend your gaming time.

@coolnightskate 4 ай бұрын

I am playing through of the pixel remaster of FF4, and I’m kind of getting some help on some bosses with the quality of life features as well.. I definitely prefer it over watching a playthrough online. I don’t feel too bad since my main goal is seeing the story. We just don’t have the time that we used to to struggle through it all anymore!

@Ngamergal 4 ай бұрын

Im going to be playing the original FF7 like that on my replay since I really don't remember it well. That said I've been playing the Pixel remasters with 4x exp as these games were meant to be played for hours.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

The QoL features really help reduce the grind for these games. Hope you enjoy your replay :)

@bahamut505ci 4 ай бұрын

I almost bought sword and fairy several times now, I think I will end up buying it eventually. I am also up to date on one piece, I’ve had one piece odyssey in my back log since launch. I can’t wait to play it. I waited too long to get anno mutationem and might have to settle for a digital copy 😢 still waiting on the fate stay/night release for switch wish it would release on ps as well but I think it will only be on switch and steam.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

I saw the announcement for Fate/Stay Night and it looks like it'll be PC & Switch release (for now). Type Moon has the other VNs coming to PS4 so it may be a delayed release for Fate/Stay Night 🤞

@robbyrobot3303 4 ай бұрын

There were text only guides on gamefaqs in the late 90s. I was always impressed when they would recreate the game's logo with alphanumeric characters. And I owe an apology to the school librarian for printing them out there.

@DCFatCat 4 ай бұрын

Hey Emily, so Patreon, love the idea of the spoiler versions on there. as long as they are just time delayed, like post as unlisted videos. So you aren't duplicating entire projects. Two, I did the same thing with Star Ocean Second Story and Super Mario RPG as you did with FF VII, no shame. Also, Nomura has been clear that the story will be changing with the remakes.

@Bowflex2480 4 ай бұрын

nice video Em's. nah don't worry about it your good. yes ff7 og is revered by a lot of people including myself as one of the greatest Jrpg;s ever made , but that's just it: even i have to admit i used some of the enhancements when i replayed it a few years ago. i honestly don't know how we used to play games back then😄😄its all about what you as a gamer find easier and much more enjoyable. hell that's one of the reasons the remake was made in the first place: to give people who never experienced the original game a chance to experience it in a modern way.

@bp2382 4 ай бұрын

7 is my favorite game all time. Played it when it came out when I was 14. Ditched Nintendo and begged my parents for a PlayStation just because of its upcoming release and how much I loved 2 and 3 on the Super Nintendo. But it’s one of those things I think is tied to its time period. It’s hard to look past the flaws of the early 3D era jrpg’s if you’re playing them for the first time. I recently played Xenogears for the first time and I…had similar thoughts towards that game as you’ve expressed about 7. Wish I had some of those qol things when I was playing that game. But luckily we got the remake for 7 and it’s great. And now that you’ve played the original, you have a good foundation going into it. Rebirth is gonna have a 2 Blu-ray Disc physical release! Have to get that…

@MrDesertdogg69 4 ай бұрын

Great video. Not huge into anime, but do like some of the art style. I do like the One Piece characters i find them interesting. Oh liked Odin Sphere have it on PS2 and PS4..Love the art style that Vanillaware does, also liked Dragon's Crown and Muramasa Rebirth. That Anno game looks interesting cause I like the style and the cyberpunk theme. I remember playing FFVII on PS1 I enjoyed it, not my favorite though. Thanks for sharing.

@gabrebr 4 ай бұрын

It's so nice to see that you also like One Piece! And yes, One Piece games usually are not that good xD A RPG turn based game was really welcome to the franchise (: One Piece manga and anime are so good but so hard to adapt in a really good game.

@slarbiter 3 ай бұрын

Currently playing FFVI(III on snes) as my first final fantasy game, definitely a bit grindy but I’m loving it. My first JRPG as a kid was Earthbound then Chrono Trigger. Wish I could’ve grown up with FFVII but my dad wouldn’t let me get a ps1 as a kid 🙃

@thatoneguyoverthere4236 4 ай бұрын

I was a teenager back when ff7 came out and yeah my mind couldn't believe what i was seeing/playing. The graphics at the time were incredible although they haven't aged super well. It was one of my favorite games of all time, i played it for many years. I don't think there is any issue with quality of life features being used. All of us at some point in life come to realize just how little time all of us have in life, i believe you're aware of this. So yeah speed stuff up when possible so you can get more games played through I say.

@nado911 4 ай бұрын

I wouldn't worry about the "integrity" playthrough :-) I'm glad you got to experience it under your own terms, especially since we aren't carefree kids anymore that can spend hours upon hours in those random battles haha. Im also facing a similar predicament with trying to get started with the Trails series 😂

@Wikkens70 4 ай бұрын

Don't feel bad.I got FF7 the day it came out and I could not get into it. I have tried multiple times, I even got the official book hoping it would help me get into the story more but nothing has helped. I have never made it past the first disc. I have played and completed every other FF game up to X-2 but I just can't seem to give a crap about the story or the characters enough to keep playing this one. I haven't tried for over 8 years so I guess I need to try again....at least to get to the next disc to see if it improves.

@Xvyrk 4 ай бұрын

What an interesting video. I was at the same time puzzled and fascinated by your take on FF 7. I'm from 1983, and FF 7 was of course a big gaming moment in my life. There were two thing you said that left me at a loss. The first one was your trouble navigating the world map. I can't really figure out what could have been the problem, it's incredibly basic and barren by modern standard. My take, is that the games you've played probably never thought you how to navigate in a 3D world without an indicator that you'd just follow? This is a genuine question with no ill intent, I can't come up with any other reason ^^' (and it's ok, our knowledge of games can only be derived from the games we've played). The second part is simply a correction: no the games back in the days were not designed around guides, minus I'm sure some exception. You'd buy a guide if you wanted to know all the secrets to the game. Not finishing it. I finished FF7 with a friend as an 14-15 years old with no guide... ... ... It's a linear game, you go from point A to point B. You'd miss on a lot of things, but you'd finish the game nevertheless. I think you simply put to much pressure on yourself, outside of the missable characters there was really no need to play with a guide. I did a replay of FF8 once with a guide, and it felt miserable, I'd strongly advice you to try and play future old RPG just as is, they're usually not nearly as hard as people make them out to be (and yes you'll miss on a lot of secrets but who cares that what a lot of us did back then). : ) But overall even though it might sound negative, absolutely thank you for sharing your perspective, it's fascinating for an older dude like me : ) (and I think actually playing the game even with cheats is still a very different experience from watching it).

@S_Hyde 4 ай бұрын

Couple of these are on my radar, though House in Fata Morgana I ended up not getting due to it being one of those VNs that got butchered by localization.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Interesting, I hear that the localization wasn't too bad for this! Not sure what was changed but my experience has been pretty great so far.

@S_Hyde 4 ай бұрын

maybe I'm confusing it with another one

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

Maybe some of the Science;Adventure games? I've heard some backlash regarding the localization for some of those entries

@GregorySpecter 4 ай бұрын

The book vs game/visual novel battle is a real. I got a backlog of both. I skew towards games with extensive narratives. Balancing between the two medias is hard, especially when I hit those moods where I just can't with reading. Did that stop me from picking up Fata Morgana moments ago? No. I like collecting books as much as I like collecting the games I buy. Can't win.

@katanafourzeronine 4 ай бұрын

Though I suspect you've probably played them, for cozy games I recommend Venba and Unpacking. Truly lovely games.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

I actually haven't played either! Though I've been eyeing the physical release for Unpacking in particular :)

@katanafourzeronine 4 ай бұрын

@@orbalology Unpacking is a wonderful game. I played it for the achievements back in '20, but I loved how sweet it was without any real dialogue or cutscenes.

@mysterical7 4 ай бұрын

I played FF7 as a teenager and for me it was and still is the greatest game of all time. Nostalgia is of course a big factor. However, I think your review is totally fair because of your frame of reference. You mentioned that you started out mostly playing games on PS2. By that time, games and RPGS had already started to change a lot. Up until FF7, I had grown up on the other FF games in the series (FF1, FF6), dragon quest, Phantasy star, games where you had to grind A LOT and in which there was little help given on where you had to go to next. So when FF7 came out, the visual effects were stunning and the grinding was not that bad compared to previous generations games. Also, I didn't buy that many games back then, so I would play through FF7 many times through; exploration and figuring out what to do next did take a lot of time since I didn't use guides that much. On my first playthrough, I missed out on A LOT (Yuffie, Vincent, strongest limit breaks, ultimate weapons, minigames, extra bosses), but that made subsequent playthroughs all the more fun. These days, with so many games coming out at once, and games being so long, people just want to get through them quickly with the help of guides if necessary. It's just a very different way of experiencing gaming than back in the day.

@MandyleePlays 4 ай бұрын

Great vid! I'm glad you're enjoying One Piece Odyssey I’m definitely going to give the game a go once Im caught up. I just got to the time skip, so I’m close ! (For one piece standards lol ) Also with FF7 there’s no shame experiencing a game the way you want and how you want. I’m a big supporter of that.

@orbalology 4 ай бұрын

You've made some great progress on the anime! It took me years to eventually catch up haha.

@ZenaphobeZerj 4 ай бұрын

Honestly I played FF7 the exact same way last year! It was a ton of fun experiencing the game, and having all of the QoL features meant I got to smooth out some parts of the game I would have found tedious or annoying. I think as long as you felt you got something enjoyable out of the experience, then how you engaged with a game shouldn’t matter.