Codenamexen

Soul Blazer...please oh please remake Soul Blazer. Or Actraiser.

-7, but this new one was amaaazing!

I would have picked it up in an instant, it was one of my most anticipated titles this year. That is, if didn't come out at the same time Lords of Shadow did. Castlevania won out, and I never made it back to pick up Enslaved.

Here's the thing about IX that I generally see. For many people, Final Fantasy VII was their first real RPG. They probably played it when they were really young, and fell in love with the "badasses" Cloud and Sephiroth. Big swords! Big boobs! Big monsters! Final Fantasy VII really appealed to young boys when it came out. I don't mean to rag on it, it's a good game, but I don't see it as the greatest by any means.

Okay, but there is still a group of people who started with the original Final Fantasy. In America, they probably also played Final Fantasy IV (II when it came out) and VI (III when it came out) here. They have fond memories of the classic FF archetypes, even more likely if they're familiar with the FF games that had only come out in Japan. When IX comes along, these people fall in love because it hearkens back to the original game. It's a brand new game wrapped in a delicious nostalgia package, where those who started with VII can't really appreciate that aspect and write it off as juvenile.

IX is a tribute to the series roots, and holds strong as one of my all time favorite games.

Imma have to bring along Sniper Wolf--a woman who loves to just watch.