Jared Rea

My favorite source for all things fighting, NewChallenger, updated with a link to the YouTube account for South Korea’s official SF2:CE scene, which is not only active but still hosting tournaments as well. Even better, their most recent footage seems completely devoid of M.Bison bicycle loop shenanigans! Do check it out if you’re a fan of careful spacing and mind games.

Now that I’ve been afflicted with all this free time, I can go back and tackle a few games from a genre I’ve long since abandoned. No, I won’t be playing any highly advanced submarine simulations, but some Japanese RPG’s. You see, there was a time when I gobbled up every turn-based grind that came over from the great island nation, but I was also in middle school and my social life solely consisted of going to the bowling alley to play some Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting. Since the release of Final Fantasy IX (loved it), I’ve only seriously played two JRPG’s: Dragon Quest VIII and Pokemon. I didn’t even come close to completing Dragon Quest and the only time I became a Pokemon master, Mew was considered an impossible dream.

I’m either past my grinding prime or I have the attention span of a chickpea. Either way, I’m looking to ease my way back into these infernal time leeches and I’m doing it with Eternal Sonata — Tri-Cescendo’s ode to Tales for the Xbox 360. In most Japanese RPG’s, your party consists of mostly blue-haired, anime heroes who talk with their hands on their hips all the time. Eternal Sonata, thankfully, kicks this trend to the curb.

It instead features blue-haired, anime heroes who absolutely refuse to lower their arms.

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