Chrono Triggered

Chrono Trigger is a game that has become something of an enigma to me. Over the years, I have unsuccessfully attempted to dive into this masterpiece. Each attempt has been oddly foiled as you will soon see.

Back in the days when Chrono Trigger was hard to obtain, which wasn’t long ago, I entered the shady world of emulation to get my fix—I did this back in high school…a decade ago.—. Serving me right, for not spending $100 on a physical SNES Chrono Trigger cartridge, I played the game up until the world of the grim future. It was then that I quickly discovered that the emulator I was using was busted! No matter how hard I tried to adjust the emulator settings, the world of the future was blurred by an unintentional fog. I was blind. With no way to go forward, my game was tragically over.

I only wish the emulator had displayed things as clear as the image above.

Fast forward through the Y2k “crisis”, well into the year of 2008, when Nintendo released Chrono Trigger on the Nintendo DS. My second attempt at completing the game was soon to begin. Armed with a charged DS, I spent Christmas of 2008 immersed in the world of Crono, Marle, and Frog. Unlike my earlier foggy attempt at completing the world of the future, I actually got passed it this time. Only to have the DS controls freak out on me unexpectedly. I still do not know what happened but suddenly I had no control over Crono (who was my lead party character). At a total loss and getting my butt beat over and over in battles, I decided enough was enough. So I put the tiny cartridge back in its case and closed it for two solid years.

Recently, I decided that there had to have been a setting changed or something. Suddenly loosing control of my main party member made absolutely no sense to me. Newly empowered, I restarted my earlier game only to be greeted by the game’s amazing soundtrack and setting.

(Take a listen here!)

Chrono Trigger represents what is perhaps the pinnacle of Japanese role playing games. The fusion of story, characters, and sound leave one with a truly memorable experience. Knowing all of this, I refuse to let Chrono Trigger be that game that got away from me.

For the Love of Nook

Reviled by many gamers due to his slumlord-ish ways, Animal Crossing’s Tom Nook is a character I will forever be thankful for. Tom Nook, you see, is single-handedly responsible for easing my wife into the world of video games.

Back in 2004, I met my now wife at a Halloween event hosted at the college we both attended. We literally bumped into each other in the darkness of night. From that moment on, we dated and got to know one another as all couples do. As things began to grow more serious, I knew that I needed to share my love of video games with her. So, I went out and bought her a Nintendo DS and two copies of Animal Crossing. Two copies? One copy for her; one copy for me.

Soon we were enveloped in the chatty world of talking animals and weed pulling. Random bouts of letter writing, fishing, and strange conversations consumed our gaming time. Every once in awhile, we would visit the other’s town and exchange items—it is because of these visits that I was able to obtain a wide variety of fruit trees—. We were both enjoying the time spent playing the game and hanging out with each other.

Our love of Animal Crossing lasted almost a year. I don’t think that I have ever played a game for such a duration of time. One of our final gaming sessions in the game revolved around checking out the New Years celebration. Fireworks exploded in the sky with great bursts of volume and intensity. A sign, situated in the town square, proudly proclaimed, “Happy New Year”. We were surrounded by virtual buddies we had spend countless hours with. It was a happy new year indeed.

Looking back, we both fondly talk about our New Year’s Eve spent in Animal Crossing. If it wasn’t for Tom Nook and his gateway drug game, I’m not sure that my wife would still be playing games like she does today. A big thank you Tom. Your evil squirrel ways will not be forgotten.

Population Control

Articles like this drive me nuts! The population growth scare/myth as been around since the late 1960’s. Interestingly enough, people have continued producing children, the population has continued to grow, and we have yet to experience a catastrophic food shortage. So what gives?

As a Christian, I know that the Bible mandates that we as humans go forth and multiply (Genesis 1:27-28). So it makes sense that the Devil, the ruler of the Earth, would try and stir up something that goes against God’s Word.

The article concludes:

“We want to minimize population growth, and the only viable way to do that is through more effective family planning,” said Casterline.

The Checkpoint – 2/16

A good Wednesday morning to everyone out there. All two of you. Yeah, I see you in the back sir, thanks for stopping by once more.

As I’m cruising around the web this morning, I thought I’d share a few links worthy of your time. Enjoy!

Sometimes video game designers smoke crack...

– Over on 1up.com, Jeremy Parish has been running a series entitled Departing Salute, The Best of the DS. Feel the Magic: XY/XX not withstanding, Parish’s farewell game list for the DS highlights some of the best games on the system.  I highly recommend this informative read, especially if you have somehow managed to miss the gaming goodness of the Nintendo DS.

– Steam has been having a random sale this week. Every day a new game is offered (Monday – Batman: Arkham Asylum; Tuesday – Just Cause 2). Both games featured so far have only cost $7.50. Makes me wish I had saved my allowance money!

– In a news piece that didn’t surprise me at all, Gamespot reports that the movie based on the game BioShock was unable to find funding. That was one trip I wouldn’t have taken anyways.

– Is anyone out there still playing Final Fantasy 11? I’ve been thinking about checking this game out again and was wondering if it was worth it.

– Nice Guy Gamer has a great post on video games and battling anxiety. Check it out!

I think that’s about it for today. Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to leave a comment if you do as it keeps me writing.

 

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