Final Fantasy Fun

The same disease that makes me a baseball fanatic in RL makes me quite fond of blitzball, that minigame which so many people despise. I actually will play a game for fun as a ten-minute break to wake myself up, the way other people would play a game of Tetris.

I was therefore irked at the abomination done to it in X-2. I didn't touch it. How dare they turn my pretend-you're-athletically-coordinated action game into a team management sim?

The imminent start of baseball drove me to try it again on a whim. And you know, once I get over not being able to control the ball carrier (Shoot! Shoot, you idiot; the clock is running out!), the sim is actually not bad, the moves are slightly more plausible (more types of dodges and tackles, more types of passes, no hit points or players poisoning each other), and I like the new players.

Rikku's two-arm over-the-head throw is hilarious.

But, okay, what really sells it for me?

Lucil / Paine / Miyu (my old favorite of the FFX free agents) is pretty much the best offensive lineup ever.

Lucil kicks butt, takes names. Huzzah.

I do wish they'd found a way to make the game 3D -- they're in a sphere pool, for goodness' sake -- but it's got enough oomph in it for me to enjoy.

And now, "It's time for Dodger baseball." Vin Scully, here I come.

... is evil. It reminds me of a bunch of guys making poo jokes with its repetitive sexual humor, and it shreds FFX unmercifully, but it manages to be wickedly entertaining. I hurt myself laughing. A lot. They have a way with words. Also, more importantly, they noticed that Lulu has a cerebellum despite the fanservice tits.

Edit: Oh yeah, the link to this site.

Of course, VGR's review of X-2, as far as it got, did my heart a world of good. I wish they'd finish it. For a brief moment of insanity I considered volunteering to help, then realized I would undo several years of therapy Also, some of you have helped me find enjoyment in parts of it, much like the Curate's Egg, and if I looked at it through a VGR lens I'd revert to my previous hate-with-great-hate assessment.

I wish I could remember all the things that made me laugh aloud (something I don't do often while reading). The only one I can remember is some line about Yuna dating poor mouse Baralai so she can teach him to wear his underwear UNDERNEATH his pants. Which doesn't seem that funny in retrospect. VGR is a bit like old Monty Python, wherein a 30-second clip isn't that funny, but the cumuluative effect of insanity is such that eventually you'll wheeze with laughter if a hedgehog rises over the top of a skyscraper and intones "Dinsdale."

Also... just because... [Screencap from X-2 which is NSFW]
 

There's quite a lot of people who specifically consider Wakka/Lulu one of their favorite Fandom pairings.

(Spoilers to FFX-2)

( On Wakka and Lulu )


ETA: Wakka/Lulu fans, I am sorry that I got a little too forceful in stating my opinion in a few places here. There are definitely different ways of looking at all this. Please see some of the thoughtful replies below.

Hmmm. I started to reply to this person, and realized that I might make her dislike something she loved. So I decided to ramble here and leave her in peace, even though I've said some of this before.


( my thoughts on X-2 )

I don't really like the White Mage outfits that much but they're occasionally handy. Ditto Berserker on Paine.

I dropped the girls down behind the Besaid waterfall last night with a lure bracer, high defensive grids, haste on the healer, and this trick.

Result:
Healer: Prays very fast.
Other two: attack every turn.

I came back this morning to find they'd all maxed out their job abilities nicely. :)

Okay, that's SO LAZY, but I play games for the adventure, charcters, and plot, more than for the thrill of the combat.

I hate and fear Yojimbo, with a pure, irrational, completely inexplicable hate, the sort we're supposed to reserve for villains like Seymour and Sephiroth (except Yojimbo isn't really sexy).

( Why Yojimbo scares the spit out of me )