G-pinions

Let's just all take a deep breath. It's only a matter of days until the PlayStation 3 and Wii finally come out. We only have to coax a few more days out of our crusty, though beloved, last generation systems before we toss them in the back of our closet forever. Just breathe deeply because, for better or worse, gaming is about to change forever. Will this hobby finally trickle down to people who have never played a game before? Or will the three richest kings of Europe be the only people with enough money to enjoy it? I'm getting a little ahead of myself, though. The new systems aren't coming out until the very end of the week. You'll hear no more next generation chatter from me until these games are mere hours from release. I'll rundown the launch titles for both systems later in the week. Until then, load up on another solid week of portable gaming.

Final Fantasy 3 - You know how impatient I am. The Wii controller was only officially shown 14 months ago. That isn't very long at all. I've spent most of the past year holding my breath and I'm still not blue. But for fans of Final Fantasy, well, they would have long since died from lack of oxygen waiting for FF3 to come out. Luckily, most FF fans are Hindu. People who held their breath waiting for someone to port this game to America have reached maturity in their new life. Perfect timing to celebrate the resurrection of this forgotten entry in one of the most powerful franchises around. For reasons I have never seen explained, this is the first time FF3 will ever be released in America. Either this game is simply unplayable or Square just confused themselves with that ill-advised counting system. No, this is not a remake of the Final Fantasy 3 you played on your SNES. This is a remake of the actual third adventure in the series, built from the ground up to take advantage of the fancy 3D graphics and dual screen gaming we take for granted nowadays. Apparently, the old school gameplay is still intact. You will die and you will curse because this game is essentially an NES title. I guess this game is for completionists who need to check every Final Fantasy off their list. Playing through Final Fantasy 1 and 2 was more than enough old school, Japanese Role Playing for me.

Yoshi's Island DS - I have never finished the original Yoshi's Island. I haven't even come close. I like the game, don't get me wrong, but I was never able to get into it. Every time I would fire it up, my eyes would drift down to Super Mario World and I would immediately lose interest in the affairs of Baby Mario. It may not have been fair, but I stand by my avoidance of this game. Super Mario World was just too fun for its own good. But the Nintendo DS doesn't have that perfect platformer casting a giant shadow upon the world. Super Mario Bros. DS is the best traditional platformer on the system and, to be frank, it's forgettable. Can Yoshi DS lead the NDS into a new golden age for platfromers? I don't think so, but it should be fun.