V.J. Erickson's Blog, page 25

"Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem."

“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem.”

- A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal..."

“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.”

- Mark Twain

I find our attitudes towards profanity in the U.S. perplexing,...

I find our attitudes towards profanity in the U.S. perplexing, especially when you compare them to nearly every other English-speaking country on the planet. They tend to save the censorship for racial and sexist slurs, we bleep out body parts and functions. I’m a little embarrassed for us.

Source: Toothpaste for Dinner

I could watch the this moving art installation at the Singapore...

I could watch the this moving art installation at the Singapore Airport all day long. (As in literally moving. It moves.) I’m sad it wasn’t there when I was. Video at Dezeen.

Final Fantasy the First

My first Final Fantasy was the first Final Fantasy. The series didn’t really start to pick up steam in the U.S. until the seventh installment, but I was hooked from the beginning with the original NES version. I had the Nintendo Power guide and everything. I wish I held onto it, because now you can get the thing for $73 bucks on Amazon. What a steal!

Source: Amazon

Unfortunately, because I was only 9 at the time (there I go, dating myself again) and it was my first Japanese RPG, it was too hard for me to finish. I remember being caught more than once on some deep level of a dungeon with half my party turned into stone or poisoned or some other debilitating condition and not having the proper items to cure it. The game is remembered as being hard in general, but I had no sense of leveling up or stockpiling antidotes. The closest thing I had experienced before that was Legend of Zelda and those were things that Link was not required to do.

So, as it turns out, my first time beating the game ever was last weekend. It took me just over 12 hours for the PSP version, which is admittedly significantly easier than the original. Funny how a game that seemed so vast initially seems so small now. The story and mechanics are quaint by today’s standards, but the relatively short length made it a satisfying bite-sized experience.

Images source: Amazon

The same fight as above from the original. You’ve come a long way, baby! 

Image Source: Nerd Cred

The two parties pictured are fairly standard combinations. I like my parties melee-heavy though, so I went a little out of the box with three knights and a red wizard. Turns out, the game is much easier than I remembered, at least with this configuration.

The characters weren’t characters so much as ciphers, or blank slates, so you could mix and match without effect to the story. As I said, it was all very elementary for the series–most first outings are–but the bones were solid and I enjoyed my play-through over two decades after its U.S. release in July 1990. (My birthday is in September. There you go, readers. All the clues you need to piece together my age!)

I spent a fair amount of time looking through Final Fantasy music videos on You Tube. The music is what got me interested in revisiting the games after all. It seems that internet fandom really gravitates to the PS1 and PS2 era games, but I think the Nintendo and SNES tunes were the strongest of the series. They’re somewhat hampered by the soundchip limitations, but they shine on real instruments. Matoya’s Cave is one of my favorites of the series and certainly my favorite from the game. Here it is on piano.

I still think the original is catchy as all hell, but it requires a certain appreciation for NES chiptunes.

Also of note are the Prelude and Main Theme, which recur in most Final Fantasy’s. The Prelude was an afterthought and only took composer Nobuo Uematso 10 minutes to create. It went on to become a series staple. The lesson? Don’t overthink it! Here are the original versions of each.

The Main Theme:

The Prelude:

I’m already well into Final Fantasy 2. I’ll update with a wrap up when I finish!

I love everything about this house, including the Melbourne,...

I love everything about this house, including the Melbourne, Australia location. Way to make a statement!

More info and pics at WebUrbanist.

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."

“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.”

- Mark Twain

Grown-up goats? Meh. Baby goats? Bouncy!

Grown-up goats? Meh. Baby goats? Bouncy!

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but..."

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dog are Awesome

This one has adopted a lion cub. Predictably, the results are adorable.

More pics and the backstory at Buzzfeed.