I wonder how many relationships have been ruined by this phrase. One person doesn’t want to lose their gaming progress and the other wants to do something that may have been planned well in advance.

So saving everywhere is sweet, right? Well, it completely nails that particular problem. But is it perfect?

As far as I can find, the first game to offer save points was Final Fantasy IV on the Super Famicom. Prior to that there were places where you could save, sure. In Final Fantasy it was the inns. In Dragon Quest it was the king. And in many Famicom RPGs you could save outside of towns and dungeons at any time.

This was notorious in Final Fantasy III where the final dungeon was a huge romp with no way to mark your progress midway. That dungeon was something to power through or to give up at.

If you operated solely under the concepts console RPGs worked with, the mid-dungeon save points in FFIV were a blessing. Of course many games, PC games, were already allowing saving anywhere.

Ys did it. Plenty of other dungeon crawlers did it. Many games that weren’t RPGs were letting you save your progress anywhere.

That’s terrible, isn’t it? That the games wouldn’t let you save anywhere, that is. It is your progress, and the game dares to not allow you to keep it.

Except it really changes how the game plays, I think. That defines the rules of the game. I’m much more cautious when a misstep could cost me hours of gameplay. It adds a layer of real world tension when I can’t save at any point and reload anywhere.

It’s worth noting that Dragon Quest hit a happy middle ground by having any game over send you back to where you started.

But having to quit at a particular moment and not being able to save progress is damning. It has had me left consoles running for hours because I had a sudden thing to do. This mindset also makes it hard for me to play a game before I have to do something “important” like go to work (which is important) or eat dinner or meet a friend or something.

At least, on console games.

Isn’t it funny that many handheld games have save anywhere or suspend save features for the games when nowadays you could just put the handheld to sleep? Still, this feature is not available in most console games.

I’ve been playing the PSP release Trails in the Sky First Chapter (空の軌跡FC) on my Vita for the past week or so and have really been enjoying it. But it, like most Falcom games as I have played, lets you save anywhere.

This has been damning for me.

Since it looks like a classic console RPG I think like it is one. I keep waiting for save points to save at. And since it is also being played on a handheld I always just put the system to sleep when duty calls.

The other day I got into a battle that I couldn’t win. I had to give up. And then I looked at the save file I was about to reload.

It was an hour prior.

Honestly, that was lucky. I had saved several times where there were gaps.

The save point is a nice reminder that “Hey, maybe you should save the game. You have been playing for a while.”

But it also tells a lot. Once the save point appears you know something is going to happen. You either hit the midpoint of a dungeon or are about to fight a boss. It’s a big flag telling the player that something is going to happen.

In-game spoilers, if you will.

While I am glad many games are starting to instate anywhere saving, I still don’t like it entirely. Often, it helps to break the game.

A big choice is about to happen in the game? Save, try one route and if it doesn’t work, reload. It just cheapens the whole experience.

This is where FFXIII-2′s bad load times have been helping me in that regard. Since it takes forever to reload saving anywhere doesn’t have that much of an impact. But in games like Fallout 3 where I could save and load in an instant, it was far too tempting to abuse it.

That comes down to the players choice, of course, but it is part of the rules of the game, isn’t it? When I can save and how much effort it takes to do so are not simple functions but rather define how I will play and even enjoy the game.

First up is HeadCounter.

The idea for HeadCounter came to me when I realized all the counter apps I used were just not cutting it. I wanted to have multiple values on the same screen and I wanted to be able to know the total of them all.

As I was working on it, the idea to focus it towards a head counting app, basically knowing how many ladies and gentlemen were coming into a bar, for example, would be interesting. I added a ratio display and the ability to show not only the sum but difference (counter 1 minus counter 2) and product of the values.

I learned a few things about iOS programming on this project but the biggest one that there is no “Done” button on the number pad. This was frustrating until I realized I could, when the text box that was numbers only was being displayed, add a done button to the Navigation Bar making that handle closing it. It wouldn’t work if I didn’t have the Navigation Bar or if there was a done button there that served another purpose. It was a happy coincidence that it was able to come together like this.

January

Policenauts

Another Code

The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons

February

Final Fantasy Tactics

Magical Drop F

March

Catherine

Wario Land

Wario Land 2

Donkey Kong ’94

Rockman 10

April

Kirby’s Dream Land

Portopia Serial Murder Case

Memories Off 6 T-Wave

May

Game Dev Story

June

Kirby’s Dreamland 2

July

August

Ghost Trick

VVVVVV

September

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D

October

Super Mario Land

November

December

Super Mario 3D Land

Dragon Quest: Slime Mori-mori 3

Find Mii

My goal was 25 games and I completed 23. Not shabby at all. I think I’ll shoot for 25 again in 2012. I did sell a lot of games this year so my backlog is a bit smaller, but I still want to try to get as many games beaten as possible.

Only four games were actually not on handhelds. Catherine, Rockman 10, Portopia and VVVVVV. Looks like I shouldn’t be buying too many console games. I did finish three of the five 3DS games I bought, so that’s a real good start for that system. Hopefully the Vita gets some stuff but I think I’ll be using it to clear out some PSP games for the time being.

I think I enjoyed gaming a good deal more in 2011 than 2010 so here is hoping 2012 is even better.

First, the disappointments!

The Five Biggest Disappointments in Gaming of 2011
5. The Xbox 360
After not touching it for almost a year I decided to sell it. This is the first time I have sold a console that wasn’t being replaced in some shape or form. It was just tiring owning a console that had nothing for me at all.

4. Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP
I’m partially convinced this was some big joke that I wasn’t in on. It is a pretty game. And that is about it. The combat is uninteresting, the puzzles are nonsensical and the dialogue feels like it is either trying to insult me or attempting to be hip. I can’t say I liked the game at all. However, the work behind it is impressive and I’ll be checking out any future projects from them.

3. Dark Souls
Sometimes games hold you by the hand far too much. From Software decided to not do that in this case. What came out was a game that many people seem to love but just required too time for me to get into. Which was a shame because the game was so interesting. But it eventually got to the point where I felt as if I was playing to spite the game, not for fun.

2. The 3DS Launch Lineup
The first time in years I didn’t buy a new system at launch. A Nintendo system at that. There was just nothing interesting at all. Crazily enough, it quickly turned around and has a nice little lineup now. Still, it was arguably one of the worst launch lists ever.

1. Sony
Goodness. What went right for this company in 2011? I don’t think I have to go through the list, but it is pretty embarrassing. And to top it off, I hear today that they support SOPA. It just wasn’t a pretty year for Sony and they are going to have to do quite a bit to make up for it.

Top Five Games of 2011

Yarr Matey, Not Everything Piratey is Poopdecky! Fifth Best Game of 2011
Dragon Quest Slime Mori Mori 3: Slimes on a Boat
What a surprise. Well, not really but yes. With One Piece creating pirate mania here in Japan I was a little disappointed to see the sequel to Rocket Slime would be essentially replacing tanks with boats. Not only did it work, it made the game much better with the open world exploration that naturally works with boats. A beautiful sequel.

Gonna Make You Wanna Jump! Fourth Best Game of 2011
Super Mario 3D Land
This game defined how 3D effects should be used on the 3DS. One cannot help but wonder how things would have been different had this been released on the same day as the 3DS.

Childhood Lost or Found? Third Best Game of 2011
Monster Hunter Tri G
Monster Hunter was this odd duck that I just didn’t get. Then I tried Portable 3rd. So why isn’t the HD version on my list instead of Tri G? Even though I have only put thirty hours into this I love it so much more. It is Portable 3rd to another degree. Maybe degrees even. I’m going to be getting many hours out of this.
Special Mentions Monster Hunter Portable 3rd and Portable 3rd HD
These two specifically got me into Monster Hunting and I put over one hundred hours in two months. I needed experience players to get me into the game, but once I did, I was hooked.

Almost made it! The Second Best Game of 2011
Final Fantasy Type-0
What a game. I could love it only for the evolution of the ATB改 battle system, but that’s not all. It has a hell of a story going for it as well and it just oozes the feelings that a Final Fantasy game should while being original in its own right.
Special Mention Final Fantasy XIII-2
It was a magical year for Final Fantasy! Kind of. I did not have enough time to get into 13-2 but what I have played is great. Instead of going a different route like with 10-2, 13-2 improves on the original and adds some interesting twists. Had I gotten further it may have made it somewhere on this list.

OH HOW YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS:
The Book of Revenant’s Game of the Year 2011
Catherine
This game just succeeded in every category. But I’ve already gushed about this game enough. It was not only a wonderful game but has made me extremely excited to see what else will come from Atlus in the future.

Cool, huh?

So I was playing FFXIII-2 this morning and I started thinking of Last Remnant. There’s another game a lot of people hated. It is almost as if hated games and I are a thing.

But what I was thinking about had less to do with hate and more to do with the flow of battles.

Last Remnant had a giant bar on the top of the screen during every fight and it showed which side was ahead. The side who was ahead also got bonuses if I remember correctly, so the more ahead you were the harder it would be for your foes to come back. And painfully vice versa.

Last Remnant also did not let you control your individual characters. You ordered issues to groups as a whole, and you in general controlled around three or four groups.

The key point here is that the individual attacks did matter but not to the extent that you the player needed to select them. Ordering attacks, healing or magic was enough to let the characters figure out what to do so you could focus on having the whole team of yours push the tide of battle towards victory¹.

So what the heck does this have to do with Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2?

Starting in FFIV with the introduction of the ATB timing began to matter. It was not just about what attacks to use but when to use them. Many bosses had points in which certain attacks would be ineffective or even trigger devastating counter attacks. One of my favorite things become finding the groove to get into to successfully finish the battle.

FFXIII for better or worse made every fight like this. Find out how to best break an enemy and eliminate them. Battles became tougher, but thanks to being able to continue right before a fight in case of defeat, progress was never lost.

What struck me about this importance of battle flow was while playing XIII-2 this morning I fought what is probably the first real boss of the game. The game recommended switching the characters jobs to Defender when a big attack was about to strike. Here, I wasn’t choosing my specific command based on the situation, but rather my set of commands.

And that is what I really enjoy about the XIII/XIII-2 battle system. The specific commands themselves do not so much control the flow of the battle rather than the job that you select for the character at the time. It is controlling the flow by ordering what subset of commands the character can currently select from.

1. Of course, being AI it didn’t always work perfectly.

Things started off with a blast Friday night. It was weird because I wasn’t excited for any actual game, but just new hardware has that bit of special tanginess to it.

12/16/2011 – 8:19 PM
I’m either starting to get excited for the Vita or have a bad case of gas.

12/17/2011 – 5:22 AM
Time to start the inaka Vita wait! First off! Breakfast! I think I shall toast some bread.

12/17/2011 – 6:48 AM
Inaka #Vita launch update: Playing #FFXIII2 in a warm blanket. About to hang laundry.

12/17/2011 – 7:11 AM
Inaka #vitalaunch update: Laundry hung. Diaper changed. Now: Shower! This shit is intense.

12/17/2011 – 7:21 AM
Holy shit! Five star rated Vita software on PSN! Downloading now! #vitalaunch #omg http://pic.twitter.com/nEpdUxmp

12/17/2011 – 7:24 AM
Recommended soft for NicoNico Douga downloaders: Quiz game, mahjong, Culdcept expansion pack and simple 1500 games.

12/17/2011 – 7:32 AM
Downloading Vita demos. Only Sawari Ma Cool (wat), Kamaitachi no Yoru, Musou NEXT, Dark Quest, Power Smash 4 and… Now PSN is timing out!

12/17/2011 – 7:33 AM
Can’t connect to PSN. Keeps timing out. #vitalaunch #truestory

12/17/2011 – 7:37 AM
Back on PSN. That was all the demos. Except for Ridge Racer, but that demo is ¥3000. #vitalaunch

12/17/2011 – 7:43 AM
Download, my pretties! (I am not helping server issues.) Still have not picked my launch title. http://pic.twitter.com/jr4H7nN4

12/17/2011 – 8:15 AM
Demo downloads complete! My game tab on my ps3 is now ugly as sin. Thanks Sony! #vitalaunch

12/17/2011 – 8:29 AM
Told my son “Good morning! Happy Vita Launch Day!” as he woke up. He farted. #excite #vitalaunch

My son was not as excited as I.

And so it starts.

12/17/2011 – 9:45 AM
Out to get my vita. Hopefully there is no line.

12/17/2011 – 9:57 AM
First stop Yamasa Denki. People waiting outside: 1. Plus me. 2. Store opens in three minutes!

12/17/2011 – 10:04 AM
10 people in line, only 5 of us actually wanted Vitas. 3 wifi, 2 3G. #vitalaunch #lol

12/17/2011 – 10:09 AM
100 3G 50 Wifis at this store. Five people buying. Lots of old people buying heaters. #vitalaunch

12/17/2011 – 10:36 AM
Pretty much people buying no software except for dynasty warriors and Kamaitachi no Yoru. #vitalaunch

12/17/2011 – 10:38 AM
I did convince a guy to get #FF零式 instead of too many launch games. #awesome #vitalaunch

12/17/2011 – 10:41 AM
In line: Two people buying Vitas, two kids buying Super Mario 3D Land, one buying Mario Kart Wii, woman buying body soap. #vitalaunch

It was sort of hilarious how most of the people in line didn’t actually know what the Vita was. When they actually let us into the store I chatted with the two guys behind me for a while. One ended up getting Dynasty Warriors and Shin Kamaitachi no Yoru and the other guy just got Dynasty Warriors. I did see a business man type guy pick up a copy of Hot Shots Golf.

While chatting in line, no one really seemed excited about the actual games that were coming out. It was pretty much a “I’m going to buy this new thing.” sort of event.

12/17/2011 – 11:24 AM
Here is the haul! Didn’t get a game just yet. Gonna finish #FF零式 and play demos. Thanks for following my inaka report! http://pic.twitter.com/uqIkNjnJ

Hey English speaking gamers in Japan. I know as you think about getting that Crystal Black Playstation (Playstaion?) Vita in your hands on Saturday you are wondering which of the launch titles to get.

Maybe you will get only one. Maybe you will get ten.

Let’s be honest, though. Most of them will be looked back on in a few years as titles that you weren’t particularly fond of. Some may be gimmicky, some may be rushed and some may just be poor quality. There may be one or two that you enjoyed greatly, but they won’t be the vast majority.

So I’m asking, no, pleading with you to consider buying less launch titles and instead purchase the digital version of Final Fantasy Type-0.

It’s a really rad game. And you may have passed on it because it was released so close to the Vita’s launch. I mean, who wants UMDs anymore? The UMD Passport system isn’t doing anyone much of a favor.

Or maybe you said you would get it as soon as the Vita launches. Do you remember? If you forgot, please take this as your reminder.

The game is really fun. If you hated FF13, don’t worry. It’s nary a thing like it. If you liked FF13, first off, you are really cool. Secondly, you should still get Type-0. You’ll like it. Trust me.

Instead of getting a few half-assed launch titles, treat yourself to one of the biggest surprises of the year. A solid Final Fantasy spin off title that some might say is more deserving of being a true Final Fantasy than some of the more recent numbered releases.

What makes the game so darn good?

First, it is an evolution of the fast paced battle systems found in FFX-2 and Crisis Core. It offers fourteen characters who all play a bit differently, allowing players to find characters they really enjoy.

Secondly, it really packs a punch in the story department. It offers a lot that many fans of Final Fantasy would not expect from the series, especially this day in age. Only a few hours into the game I was shocked again and again with what the developers decided to do with this game. They are pushing the boundaries of what I expect from a Final Fantasy story.

And finally, it is really just a well put together game. It has polish. It doesn’t feel sloppy. It does not feel like a cheap cash in. Hard work clearly went into making this game and it should be rewarded.

Buy FF0. Play it on your Vita. Tell your friends.

You won’t¹ regret it!

Hugs and kisses,

Eric

1. No promises!

Nintendo’s 3DS did not do so hot at the ¥25000 ($320) price point. So they dropped the price.

A solid ¥10,000 ($128) drop.

They gave early adopters ten free Nintendo games back in September. Now they are giving ten free GBA games on December 16. Will these make up for it?

I often use the site Suruga-ya.jp to check used game prices. They seem pretty fair and are usually a bit less than what I see in game stores around me. Now, I know Kansai is said to be a bit more expensive for used games than Tokyo. Okay, but still. Let’s hit up Suruga-ya and see what their prices are for the ten games. I went for the “no box, no manual” copies when they had them.

F-Zero GBA : ¥300 ($3)
Wario Land 4 : ¥400 ($5)
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames　: ¥470 ($6)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong : ¥520 ($6)
Mario Kart: Super Circuit : ¥800 ($10)
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror : ¥1050 ($13)
Super Mario Advance 3 : ¥1,060 ($13)
Metroid Fusion (With box and manual) : ¥1,780 ($22)
Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap : ¥2000 ($25)
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (With box and manual) : ¥3600 ($46)

That totals at around ¥11,980 ($149). Not too shabby!

Now, could these games be found cheaper? I do not doubt it. But I could go right now and order all ten games and it would probably cost me at least what the discount on the 3DS was if not more. And even if I did go around stores hunting for the copies, that would take a lot of time.

Out of all ten games I personally only own the US copies of Wario Ware and Fire Emblem. So I lucked out an got eight games that I don’t have and I prefer having Japanese copies these days anyway. For something that Nintendo did not have to do, I’d say I’m quite pleased.

Alas, my PSP is on its last legs and it just seems more practical to upgrade to a Vita. It can play PSP games that I own digital versions of. And Sony has graciously provided a method to allow me discounts on the digital versions of UMD games I already own! Hooray!

Getting the software is easy enough. Just log onto the PSN Store on your PSP and search for UMD. You can also poke around through the menus if you want, but searching is the fastest I found. Download the application, start it up and then put in a UMD when it asks! I have nine UMDs total so…

Let’s try the games!

Breath of Fire III (Region 3) – Denied!
The 3rd Birthday – Nope!
Last Ranker – Nada.
Persona – Success!
Riviera – Failure.
Half Minute Hero – Discount!
Far East of Eden PC Engine Best Collection – No discount.
Crisis Core – No discount for Gackt software, apparently.
Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection – No dice!

Only two survived. Or something like that.

Okay so two out of nine. And to be fair, one isn’t even a Japanese region UMD. So two out of eight, although I strongly doubt BoF3 would be on the list anyway since it is a Capcom game.

This title is not available for UMD Passport right now. That or you are too young for it.

I do like how the error is this game isn’t available for discount OR its rating is higher than the age settings my PSP account allows. I wonder if there is a way to block AKB48 dating sims themselves.

What happens if I try to register a game I have already registered?

Jeeze, we registered you already! What else do you want!

Just a generic looking error. Oh well, that is to be expected.

So now, let’s discount shopping!

Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything in the store that let me access my registered games directly.

And the UMD Passport folder only offered me what I already had.

Okay then! Let’s searching!

Finding Persona was fairly easy. And by fairly easy I mean I had to use the slow PSP input system. Either way it came up in the search and look!

Rated B for guns.

Five hundred yen! I’m pretty sure a used copy of the UMD sells for less than that at most stores right now. But there it is. And not only is it on sale for me, it specifically says that it is the UMD Passport discount. Okay, now let’s find Half Minute Hero or 勇者30 as it is known in Japan.

Hmm, nothing comes up for ゆうしゃ. Looks like it is hunting time!

There you are, my little discounted game.

There it is! Only took me about 15 button presses. Of course I already had a rough idea where it would be. And it is another ¥500 game!

So, I’m pleasantly surprised that two of my games actually showed up. And they are at the “reasonable” price. Of course, the games I really want to play on my Vita are not available.

Here is a list of what actually is available.

Overall the software feels like it was slapped together very quickly. It is not particularly inviting to me, someone upgrading from the PSP to the Vita. Were it not for my PSP not able to function without being plugged into a power source, getting a Vita day one would lose even more luster.

Sure, they want me to buy PSVita software. I get that. But the whole thing, the lack of an option to take me directly to the store after I register the software, no list of what I have registered (or at least it is not easy to find) and the general boringness of the UMD Passport software doesn’t really scream “Thanks for being a PSP user. We hope you enjoy the Vita.” It feels like an obligation rather than an exciting gateway to get me to drop my PSP and go one hundred percent Vita from now on.

Were the download versions I’m getting priced at zero yen, I’d expect that. But I’m paying for these, albeit at a discount. This is almost free money for Sony and the developers. I already bought the game once. However Sony does not seem to be making any solid effort to not have an awkward and clumsy presentation.