Lego, Growing Up, and a lot of RPGs: A Review of 2014

If you spent a lot of time watching the news this year, then you might be like me in thinking that 2014 was a pretty awful year. With Ebola rife in western Africa, rebels in eastern Ukraine, the rise of Islamic State, and some incredibly tragic incidents involving planes and ferries, 2014 will probably go down in the history books as quite frankly one of the worst years in the history of everything. Everything, except pop culture. Despite the world being a terribly bleak place to live right now going into 2015, the ways to escape our dreary reality this year were quite spectacular. Some of the most refreshing video games to come out in a long time came out this year. And if you were a film buff, you were treated to some truly awesome movies. To make it more fun, I managed to capture some of it along the way with this blog which is now a year old... for those you who care about that sort of thing. In the same vein as the first post on this blog; which was also a year in review post, I will be highlighting what I believe to be the best of this year in some slightly unconventional categories. If you have no idea what that might entail, you can read the previously mentioned post here.

Best Picture

Winner: Boyhood

Ok, so maybe we're starting with something a little more conventional this year. But as I said in my review of this masterpiece, it's a fantastic film and I cannot sing its praises enough. Watching Boyhood was an amazing experience (getting to participate in a QA with Ellar Coltrane after watching was the cherry on top :) ), and like I alluded to in my review, I imagine that this is what it's like to understand that you're watching history being made. A film that has a perfect score on Metacritic (which is rare), I truly hope that in the upcoming award season it gets the accolades it deserves. I have to also point out that this film has been placed first on several high profile (read: far more legit) film critics lists for top films of the year.

Runner Up: Imitation Game

A well done and witty film about a personal hero of mine, this was another great film. Not to mention that the cast is perfect. It's in theatres now if you haven't seen it.

Most Awesome Movie

Winner: Lego Movie

Pardon the pun, but everything (about this film) is awesome. Also apologies for using the word awesome too much in this blurb. This category was tough, what with Guardians of The Galaxy being so great, How Train Your Dragon 2 being as good as the original, and even the ending of the flawed Hobbit Trilogy being a film that I could watch again and again. But the attention to detail is awesome, the dialogue is awesome, and the plot is (wait for it) awesome. With all the throw away lines and another perfect cast of both good guys and villains, the Lego Movie is movie that was both hilarious and inspiring. A rare film that feels actually original, something that seems harder and harder to come by these days. Truly awesome.

Awesome count: 6

Runner Up: Guardians of The Galaxy

(sorry The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies)

Showing that Marvel doesn't need the Avengers to be successful, this great summer blockbuster shares a lot in common with the Lego Movie in it's combination of humour and heart. Also as I said in my review, it's great soundtrack was one that I played for weeks after.

Best RPG

Winner: Transistor

Picking a winner for category is practically impossible, simply due to the fact that the number of great "RPGs" this year is crazy. If you're wondering why I put RPG in quotes, it's because you can throw Pokemon and Borderlands into this category, despite not following normal genre conventions. Also there are a number of RPGs that aren't being considered because I haven't played them yet, such as Child of Light and Dragon Age: Inquistion. But as I explained in my review of Transistor, its world, atmosphere, characters, story, and of course soundtrack are all so fresh and fun that I wish it wasn't over all too soon. Another great game by Supergiant Games, they really out did themselves.

Runner Up: South Park: The Stick of Truth

I was tempted to give the runner up spot to Bravely Default despite the mediocre second half, but no other game had me laughing more and wanting more. It's a shame that we probably won't see another game like this one, but it's ok. Because South Park: The Stick of Truth combines some simple and fun gameplay mechanics with an amazingly fun world.

Best Non-RPG

Winner: Super Smash Bros for 3DS/Wii U

I don't think I need to explain myself here... it's Super Smash Bros.

Runner up: None

Biggest Disappointment

Winner: Sherlock series 3, episode 3

Compared to how much I loved the first two episodes in the third series, the third episode while not terrible was fairly disappointing. Sherlock's equivalent of flipping the table didn't feel like a satisfying conclusion. And while I'm excited for the mystery of Moriarty's "return", the fact that they have to use him again makes it feel like they can't enter new territory. Of course we're being told that future Sherlock will be "heart-breaking", so like the masochist that I am I more than ready (and super excited) for what is coming.

Runner Up: Newsroom season 3

The entire thing is a disappointment, except any part with Sloan or Don because they are the best characters on the whole bloody show.

Best Indie Album

Winner: The Bleachers- Strange Desires

The debut album of The Bleachers, Strange Desires was a wonderful album. At first I worried that the only song that would be worth listening to would be I Wanna Get Better. But Rollercoaster and Wake Me are equally great tracks, if not better than the first single of the album. The entire album is a treat and yet another great start for a relatively new indie band.

Runner Up: Arcade Fire- Reflektor

I'm aware that the album came out last year, but I saw them on tour in Toronto this year... one of the best shows I've ever been to. Joan of Arc is my personal favourite of this album.

Best Video Game Soundtrack

Winner: Bravely Default 

While I sing and hum the fantastic soundtrack of Transistor, Bravely Default's beautiful ballads and scores are exquisite. That and I'm a sucker for symphonic rock/metal. Seriously the battle theme and character themes are a pure pleasure to listen to

Runner Up: Transistor

Came in at very close second, it's the only game where there's a button so you can hum the soundtrack in-game. That's just how good it is.

Worst Blogger Ever

Winner: Yours Truly

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to try and update this blog more regularly. It's hard to do when you have several other things going on in your life. But this project is one that; despite it's lack of regular updates, I've enjoyed doing over the last year. I hope that 2015 will be an even better year in more ways than one, and I plan on being the best blogger... I can be. After all let's not get too ahead of ourselves here.

Happy New Year Everyone! Let's make 2015 a great one.


Bonus: Best TV Show that I still need to finish

Winner: Fargo

I know how it ends, I just need to watch it. But I keep getting distracted.

Bravely Default and Final Fantasy's Future

While the demo has been out for a few weeks, Bravely Default's upcoming release has generated a lot of positive buzz for the game. But more than anything, what most people are talking about is what a wonderful bit of nostalgia the game is providing to fans; specifically Final Fantasy fans. Besides the wonderfully awful name and a unique battle system, the Bravely Default is basically a Final Fantasy title. Like the 4 Warriors of Light, Bravely Default is another title inspired by Final Fantasy III & V's stellar job system with a unique twist. But since this game is practically another final fantasy title, why isn't it named such. The answer is simple, the name Final Fantasy has a stigma attached to it. As many have pointed out in other blogs, Final Fantasy's recent outings haven't lived up to the reputation that the series tries to associate itself with. But then I thought about the future of the series in general and thought that maybe it isn't as bleak as everyone says it is. With A Realm Reborn doing pretty well considering its terrible start, Bravely Default and Lightning Returns shaping up to be solid games in their own right and Final Fantasy XV looking amazing, Final Fantasy's shine may not be gone yet.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet

Red rose... I mean mage in action

As I mentioned before, Bravely Default is basically a wolf in sheep's clothing (but in a good way). The classes, monsters, themes, and even the spells are of the Final Fantasy universe. And based on the demo that I've become a little obsessed with, I'm looking forward to the finished product. The Brave & Default battle system is an interesting high risk high reward form of combat that adds a lot of strategy to even basic battles. It's vaguely reminiscent of the battle systems implemented in the first two episodes of the Xenosaga games with their stock features. but not just the core gameplay, but the music is fantastic and the art style is amazing, especially if you're like me and loved the art and design of the remade Final Fantasy III. So I'll definitely be picking it up when it comes out on February 7th.

But is the name change necessary even with the clear ties to its parent franchise? Well I think even if it is a simple name change that it's a welcome one. It's wonderfully weird and I think the beginning of what could be a killer franchise in itself. After all, look at how popular Persona has become in comparison to it's main Shin Megami Tensei brothers. Bring on Bravely Default, and if it does well enough in North America its planned sequel Bravely Second (like I said, wonderfully weird)

P.S. I'm unfortunately obsessed with the main battle theme


Lightning strikes thrice

Another demo that was released recently was Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Now the main question is why on earth do we need another Final Fantasy XIII game, especially when for so many people this is the game that they like the least. As someone who thought XIII was ok (only ok, but the music was amazing) and XIII-2 was a big improvement, I'm looking forward to this 'final' (pardon the pun) instalment in the Lightning saga. Playing the demo has definitely strengthened that feeling, although I wish I got more time to play around with the battle system more, as it's definitely shaping up to be the best combat of the three games. But only when the full game comes whether or not this is going to be redemption enough for Lightning's troubled series. Maybe third time's a charm?


Lucky number XV

If there's anything that has me more hopefully in the future of the franchise it's Tetsuya Nomura's opus, or rather what I hope Final Fantasy XV will be. The game was announced 8 years ago, and I believe has been in on and off development for the last 10, though in the last few years it has been worked on heavily.  But even with full action combat, incredibly amazing graphics and what appears to be an incredibly epic and interesting story, who knows if it will actually translate to what the Final Fantasy franchise needs more than anything, an absolutely stellar title to go up their with the other staples in the main numbered series. After all, that's what I thought Final Fantasy XIII was going to do with that amazing, but sadly pre-rendered E3 2006 trailer.

One can dream...

There's only so much rebranding and remaking this franchise can handle, and while it won't be gone for a while, any more problems could be... well, problematic for the franchise's and the studio's continued existence. But here's hoping that with what appears to be a clear and appealing new direction for Square Enix to go, there won't be a "final" Final Fantasy just yet.