Bio
Games played 2022 forward

Stars:
1.0 - Not For Me
2.0 - Didn't Like It
3.0 - Neutral
3.5 - It's Fine
4.0 - Liked It
4.5 - Loved it
5.0 - Perfect

Personal Ratings
1★
5★

Badges


GOTY '23

Participated in the 2023 Game of the Year Event

N00b

Played 100+ games

Donor

Liked 50+ reviews / lists

2 Years of Service

Being part of the Backloggd community for 2 years

GOTY '22

Participated in the 2022 Game of the Year Event

Busy Day

Journaled 5+ games in a single day

Liked

Gained 10+ total review likes

Roadtrip

Voted for at least 3 features on the roadmap

Best Friends

Become mutual friends with at least 3 others

Noticed

Gained 3+ followers

Favorite Games

Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics
Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon
Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy

114

Total Games Played

015

Played in 2024

012

Games Backloggd


Recently Played See More

SnowRunner
SnowRunner

Mar 24

Balatro
Balatro

Mar 21

Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII

Mar 20

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin

Mar 18

Mars After Midnight
Mars After Midnight

Mar 12

Recently Reviewed See More

Final Fantasy 7 is a timeless classic. I think I always knew that but it wasn't until I decided that the time was finally here to replay it in full to truly understand that. It's a game that's truly bigger than itself, now more than ever being remade as a trilogy, but the cultural and industry impacts of FF7 are still as important now as it was when it was released. There are big landmark games that shape the types of games that get made but also have such profound impacts on what games we, as the hobbyists, choose to play. This is very often either someone my age's first RPG or the one that made the biggest case for the genre. I cannot remember many RPGs prior to FF7 but I know I started playing a ton of them after.

I think the best part of revisiting a game from my childhood is that I understood so much more of it this time. I think I knew the materia system was a great magic system, but I really 'got' it now. I think I knew the story was great, but it's so much better now. The themes of environmentalism and anti-corporatism feel more at place now in 2024 than 1997. The characters have such a richer depth through the lens of an adult. Cloud was always cast as this moody loner, but it comes through a lot clearer that his aloofness and 'coolness' is a cover for insecurity and a fear of disappointment. The dichotomy of Tifa and Aerith also stuck out to me more. Tifa being the monk/brawler character, typically brash and loud characters, struggles with being scared of her memories and of what is going on with Cloud and often cannot find her words. Meanwhile, her opposite, Aerith, the typical White Mage, whom are often fragile and meek, is bold and funny and confident. She often takes charge and why her absence is felt much more deeply. I have to mention that Cait Sith/Reeve stuck out a lot more as an adult with a career more than as a kid. I think a lot of people hate this character for being a spy, but there's this conflict of him being loyal to the company and his place in the party. It reminded me a lot of stories of people who worked at Enron who were not involved in the fraud. The conflict of needing to be employed vs clear villainy.

Thankfully now there is easy access to guides and this game's secrets have been spoiled multiple times over. As a kid, I never interacted with the chocobo breeding/racing aspect, so I had never got Knights of the Round. I decided to see new parts of this game and being able to ride around on a gold chocobo makes you see the world in a different way. It's actually pretty nice to be able to look at an old game, during a replay, with a new experience in the mix. There are still some things I am leaving incomplete however. Emerald and Ruby Weapon will maybe have to wait another 25+ years.

There's so much that is impressive with this game. I've been stunned at this perfect pacing where I previously thought it would have dragged. I have truly been impressed by the materia system. I am charmed by these characters in a new way. This story hits harder in the world we now inhabit. It's truly a game I think is worth playing at any time and it is always going to be this classic game.

"Boy, I wish anime high school Seven Samurai / Battlestar Galactica was real..."

This is a game about memories. About remembering the past that created you as the person you are now. So the fascination grows that this release is a remake of a game about memories. Almost like a story from your own life told and retold to the point where fact and fiction have blurred. I couldn't help thinking about Cing, the original developer of these games, as I played. I never played the originals, but Hotel Dusk holds a special place in my heart and Cing, despite their eventual bankruptcy, has an oversized presence in what they created in the DS/Wii era. A time slowly being forgotten. 

I have been thinking about remakes a lot more lately. Most likely due to the obvious lower costs than to make something brand new and sell a known quantity, but regardless it is the current trend in gaming at the moment. I think Another Code falls into the territory of it plays like how you remember games of that era playing like. But it is a false memory. That's not how it was. This is not how it is. 

For better or worse, we age. Our memories fade. They became less reliable. A ghost isn't going to help us solve puzzles and remember things perfectly. I don't know what that says about art or games. I don't know what that should say. Maybe calling games like this remakes does a disservice not just to the work Cing did or the newer work that Arc System Works did. And they did a great job. They make a game that is beautiful and plays well. It's a wonderful experience. Maybe there should be new ways to discuss these types of games.

In music, there are cover songs. An artist does their interpretation of another musician's song. Maybe they play it straight, maybe they make it their own. There are songs so old that no one even knows who originally made it. Memories being imperfect. History and record keeping being imperfect. But maybe there should be a concept of a "cover game". A developer making their version of another developer's game. Something to think about as this medium gets older and as we get older. 

Did I overthink a game that is a simple walk around, listen to the story and solve simple puzzles game? Absolutely. But not many games make you think about bigger topics outside of it. The dichotomy of memories being a thing of our pasts but also the only thing we can ever leave behind. Much like the game did paraphrasing Hemingway, we die two deaths.