Support NeoGAF

[BlackClouds]

It be nice to have a magazine or site that had the love of games of Gamefan, the videogame culture of Gamfan, but some actual journalistic skills and sensibility.

It would be nice. I miss the old Gamefan. There's really nobody fighting for the small, or underhyped games anymore. I'd have missed out on some truly great games if it wasn't for Gamefan's coverage. Death to the corporate, money first machine!

 

[Mr_Furious]

There's really nobody fighting for the small, or underhyped games anymore.

I'd give Dave H some credit here. He's atleast trying to cover the underdogs and has devoted ample coverage throughout just about every issue of Play so far.

Yadda yadda yadda, yeah yeah yeah, Dave sux and all that jazz but whatever. I still appreciate his efforts.

 

[Zilch]

There's really nobody fighting for the small, or underhyped games anymore.

Nerds on message boards do all the work nowadays.

 

[JackFrost2012]

We get that here, plus we can incite and participate in their squared-circle antics. Schizo old-school Sega fans, cognitive dissonance made manifest as Nintendo fans, the MS-Sega hybrid types, Sony teenboys ripe with SOCOM/GTA fetishism, holier-than-thou Japanophiles, hentai dorks determined to hide their desire to buy anything with anime bosoms behind specious claims of taste, PC riceboys, online gaming pulpiteers, catass MMORPG-only nerds, elitist assholes who thrive on controversy and negativity and contribute nothing but smarmy meta-commentary: you won't get that crazy-ass variety with any old magazine, no matter HOW many dorks you sample.

Can we put this in the GAF masthead?

BTW, I'd like to think I'm a Japanophile/elitist asshole providing meta-commentary hybrid!

P.S. FFVIII >> FFVII >>>>> FFIX, and I will argue that until the DAY I DIE. THAT'S RIGHT, BITCHES. FFVIII IS THE BEST ONE. NOW WHATCHU GONNA DO ABOUT IT??

 

[Drinky Crow]

I hated FF8's plot and pacing, but OH MAN THE JUNCTION SYSTEM rocked. Great soundtrack, too.

 

[Dead]

You guys are talking about Final Fantasy

 

[Drinky Crow]

Yeah, I'm a fuckin' fruit.

 

[xexex]

here's how I rank videogame mags:

1.) old, old Sendai EGM
2.) Video Games & Computer Entertainment
3.) Next Generation
4.) old, old Game Players
5.) Game Fan

 

[Crazymoogle]

P.S. FFVIII >> FFVII >>>>> FFIX, and I will argue that until the DAY I DIE. THAT'S RIGHT, BITCHES. FFVIII IS THE BEST ONE. NOW WHATCHU GONNA DO ABOUT IT??

I hear that beat, J-money. FF8 fuh life

Seriously though FFVIII >>> FFVII >>>>> FFIX

 

[ferricide]

I hated FF8's plot and pacing, but OH MAN THE JUNCTION SYSTEM rocked. Great soundtrack, too.

funny, i think the exact opposite. golly.

FF8 is neither the best nor the worst game in the series. it was my favorite on PS1, but i found IX unplayably gay... so i didn't play it.

HOW DID I GET SUCKED INTO THIS CONVERSATION OH NOES

edit... upon reflection, yeah, the pacing sucked balls.

 

[Nerevar]

They were a major reason I bought a Jaguar.

Many years later, I found out they were on acid when they played their review stuff for the release.


I want my money back, GameFan.

 

[Patrick Klepek]

FFVIII > FFVII > FFIX indeed

 

[skip]

4 out of 4 smart people agree. 8 > 7 > 9.

 

[etiolate]

FF8 belongs in the same guest house as Mystical Quest.

 

[FortNinety]

Oh boy, another Gamefan jerk-off fest.

First off, I love hearing people complain the lack of "heart and soul" that Gamefan embodied. It's called nostalgia folks.

Secondly, I hope all of you who sorely miss your dear departed publication realize that the legacy of Gamefan lives on today. Whenever you read a poorly worded, blinded by fanboy love, review with a rating scale that defies elementary school logic, you're seeing the vestiges of Gamefan's handiwork.

For the record, I really dug the effort of the jap-bastards, acid tripping Cybermorph, blue shadow counting-era Gamefan. That kind of drama just doesn't play in game media nowadays, and I miss it.

I can't believe people would be willing to pay for such inane chatter when it can be found for free all across the internet.

They were a major reason I bought a Jaguar.

Many years later, I found out they were on acid when they played their review stuff for the release.


I want my money back, GameFan.

Amen brother, amen.

 

[JackFrost2012]

FF8 belongs in the same guest house as Mystical Quest.

Mystic Quest. Which I'd rather replay than FFIX.

No, really, I would. Doom Castle theme > FFIX's eminently forgettable, algorithmically-generated Uematsuesque soundtrack.

 

[etiolate]

I liked IX despite the over abundance of random battles. It had towns and a world I found interesting and most of all, FINALLY a character I could enjoy after not caring about anyone in 7 or 8.

 

[Patrick Klepek]

FFIX is so fucking trash. i hate it almost as much as FF X-2 -- but not quite. FF X-2 holds a special place in my heart.

 

[Tellaerin]

4 out of 4 smart people agree. 8 > 7 > 9.

Smart you may be, but if there's one thing this thread's convinced me of, it's that intelligence and taste aren't related. While I was never especially fond of FF VII, my feelings toward the game stopped short of actual dislike. I can't say the same about FF VIII, the RPG that brought us a lead character who was an unsympathetic, unlikable prick bastard, a muddled mess of a plot that felt like the scenario writer gave up halfway through the project, and experimental play mechanics (draw, junction system, weapons upgrading as opposed to a conventional item system) that might be described as 'a miserable failure' if I happened to be feeling charitable. It may occupy a special place in your heart (and others'), but as far as I'm concerned, that game sucked hard. Literally the only RPG I've ever had to force myself to finish, which is saying something.

 

[BuddyC]

FFIX is so fucking trash. i hate it almost as much as FF X-2 -- but not quite. FF X-2 holds a special place in my heart.

This is why we can never be together.

 

[Dead]

Screw you guys, IX was good fun, likeable characters, great setting, nice art direction.

unlike the abortion of a game that is FF8...and X and X2

 

[JackFrost2012]

Screw you guys, IX was good fun, likeable characters, great setting, nice art direction.

unlike the abortion of a game that is FF8...and X and X2

oh, you did not just say "X and X-2" as if they were interchangeable!!!

you ... you ... aaaaaahh!!!!

EDIT: Every last one of FFIX's characters makes me want to die, with the exception of Vivi, who just makes me sleepy.

 

[MarkRyan]

GameFan's chat room still exists and gets used (the GF_Tavern). Uhh, but I wouldn't recommend it to most.

 

[Dead]

oh, you did not just say "X and X-2" as if they were interchangeable!!!

you ... you ... aaaaaahh!!!!

EDIT: Every last one of FFIX's characters makes me want to die, with the exception of Vivi, who just makes me sleepy.

what if I did? what are YOU going to do about it?

thats what I thought. :lol

 

[JackFrost2012]

what if I did? what are YOU going to do about it?

THIS!

 

[Dead]

awesome

 

[etiolate]

Orko > Meg Ryan

Yeah, thats right.

 

[JackFrost2012]

Orko > Meg Ryan

Yeah, thats right.

my name is vivi and i'm a robot and i'm sad so i write in lower case letters and nobody has ever done a story about artificial beings struggling to be human before and also i trip a lot and pee in this one scene so if you enjoyed episode i then final fantasy ix should be right up your alley whine whine whine

 

[DJ_Tet]

They were a major reason I bought a Jaguar.

Many years later, I found out they were on acid when they played their review stuff for the release.


I want my money back, GameFan.

Word. Fuck Gamefan. They were a nice mag, but went WAY overboard for games that they advertised, and went WAY WAY overboard on the Jaguar love. I guess without them I would have never had Tempest 2000 and AvP, but I could live without those for the $500 I spent on that system.

Gamefan is/was overrated. Fuck em.

 

[Dead]

my name is vivi and i'm a robot and i'm sad so i write in lower case letters and nobody has ever done a story about artificial beings struggling to be human before and also i trip a lot and pee in this one scene so if you enjoyed episode i then final fantasy ix should be right up your alley whine whine whine

Make better posts than this. Please

 

[Mumbles]

That review is one of the reasons why Gamefan rocked. People mock their journalistic credibility, but overlook the fact they had enough sense to give games like FF8 and Donkey Kong 64 less than stellar reviews. They had the sense to see that these games wouldn't stand up over time, while everyone else was orgasming and ignoring the obvious issues with the games.

Funny, FF8 is the only one of the PSX FFs that I can still stand to play. It doesn't have as many awful minigames as FF7, and isn't as flat-out stupid as FF9. The junction system is reasonably useful, with good payoff as long as you think about what you're doing for a second, and the plot actually takes the game mechanics into account. FF9 especially was a huge step backwards from where the series was going, with the idiotic plot and asinine characters. Maybe FF12 will see a recovery from that disaster...

 

[border]

There are a few guys on GAF that used to be Gamefan staff members, they should get together and revive it...

I think they're a bit too different now, but it would be funny.

Editorial 1 : Why Tecmo games rule and Itagaki creates groundbreaking titles of disbelief

Editorial 2 : Why you should give your heart to Jesus....and gays are going to hell

Editorial 3 : How to justify pirating PS2 games even though you have thousands to spend on a bleeding-edge home theater system

 

[etiolate]

I would keep fighting the good fight against FFVIII, but you guys would just use Guardian Force and win.

 

[JackFrost2012]

I would keep fighting the good fight against FFVIII, but you guys would just use Guardian Force and win.

Wow, people don't still argue "FFVIII's battle system just has you just summon Guardian Forces over and over," do they? ...do they?

 

[Patrick Klepek]

my name is vivi and i'm a robot and i'm sad so i write in lower case letters and nobody has ever done a story about artificial beings struggling to be human before and also i trip a lot and pee in this one scene so if you enjoyed episode i then final fantasy ix should be right up your alley whine whine whine

:lol

 

[Eggo]

I can't really say why I like or defend FFVIII so much (especially since it has been about five years since it's been released, and I've largely moved on from it), but it's probably because I saw that Square was trying to do something different with their series in it, with a stat system that didn't revolve around sitting on the world map powerlevelling, characters that had, although extremely limited, development that didn't revlove around going through a special dungeon and getting personal keepsake X, a "realistic" take on a fantasy world (other than the flying garden I noticed there wasn't a lot of the typical Deux Ex Machina bullshit like Squall busting out planet killing lasers when Rinoa got hurt) and a hero that actually didn't want to "big adventure" or impress someone like FF heroes before him. Then they tossed all that aside for IX and just gave us a tired amalgamation of IV and VI to sate nostalgia freaks, and it kind of bugged me because I wanted to see the series move forward.

I guess we agree to disagree. I saw FFVIII as the step backwards and the disappointment and FFIX as the return to what everyone wanted. You saw it reversed. They definitely tried to do something different with VIII and it upset a lot of people, which is why there was a huge backlash against that game (hence FFIX: The Apology).

 

[XS+]

There are a few guys on GAF that used to be Gamefan staff members, they should get together and revive it...sponsered by GAF and we shall rule all!!!

DCX

That sounds kind of like the relationship the short-lived Gamefan revival GameGO had with the TNL boards.. and that didn't end well at all iirc.

 

[Eggo]

I think they're a bit too different now, but it would be funny.

Editorial 1 : Why Tecmo games rule and Itagaki creates groundbreaking titles of disbelief

Editorial 2 : Why you should give your heart to Jesus....and gays are going to hell

Editorial 3 : How to justify pirating PS2 games even though you have thousands to spend on a bleeding-edge home theater system

Keep up with the times. I left Tecmo years ago. It's more like: "Why Spidey DS rules j00! Reggie said it... now I say it... so go buy it! (and pre-order Call of Duty: Finest Hour too)"

 

[ckohler]

I still have a bunch of GameFan issues in my closet for posterity.

Their huge six page review of the import Sonic CD was incredible. That was one of the great things about GameFan. They filled each of their pages to the max with screenshots until they were practically bleeding off the edge of the page.

 

[JackFrost2012]

(hence FFIX: The Apology).

See, since FFVII, FFVIII, FFX are a clear evolutionary path, with the same core staff, I see IX as more of an aberration than an apology. That is to say: FFVII, VIII, X are all steps forward; IX is a step ... sideways.

Also, since VIII and IX were in development concurrently (IX was done at Square's Honolulu studio while Sakaguchi was destroying the company with his movie), and the main staff started on X immediately after finishing VIII, it's disingenous to claim IX is a "reaction" to VIII. An intentionally planned counterbalance, sure. But one Square thought of before fans "backlashed" against VIII.

In any case, I KNOW THAT SALES ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF GAME QUALITY, but FFIX sold about half the copies worldwide of VII, VIII, and X. (I'll track down the exact numbers later.) So while "fandom" may have embraced it, in a wider view of things, IX is a relative failure for the series.

If FFIX is "the apology," then Sakaguchi getting the boot was Square's "not accepted."

 

[Tellaerin]

FF9 especially was a huge step backwards from where the series was going, with the idiotic plot and asinine characters.

Funny, it seemed to me that increasingly idiotic plots and asinine characters (particularly the heroes) was where the series was headed, judging by the progression from VII to VIII. At the rate they were going, IX would've had a hero so noxiously antisocial and hateful, players would be thoroughly disgusted with him before they even got the game out of the shrinkwrap.

 

[border]

Keep up with the times. I left Tecmo years ago.

Fine, fine.

NCAA 2005 review : Those little jap bastards love to freak, especially while playing Tony Hawk's Underground 2 featuring Tony Hawk and Bam Margera. No I take that back I know those little jap bastards freak on the amplified terror of Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil.

 

[Dead]

Funny, it seemed to me that increasingly idiotic plots and asinine characters (particularly the heroes) was where the series was headed, judging by the progression from VII to VIII. At the rate they were going, IX would've had a hero so noxiously antisocial and hateful, players would be thoroughly disgusted with him before they even got the game out of the shrinkwrap.

Quoted for fucking truth!

 

[BlackClouds]

I still have a bunch of GameFan issues in my closet for posterity.

Their huge six page review of the import Sonic CD was incredible. That was one of the great things about GameFan. They filled each of their pages to the max with screenshots until they were practically bleeding off the edge of the page.

No doubt. That was Gamefan's best asset, the sheer amount of coverage of the industry, domestic and import. Magazines today are have almost nothing in them, and can be read in 30 minutes. Also, anybody with common sense could actually use the coverage to their advantage.

For instance, the pictures and information in the mag showed that that Jaguar was not going to be a system even worth looking at, despite the hard sell hype job. Low poly counts, lack of big time third party support, barely above Genesis/Snes level 2D stuff, obvious D level games. Hype rarely motivates me, so I was able to see through the hype to find the information in the articles/reviews to make my owned informed decisions. So what they hyped games and systems I wouldn't be caught dead buying, I let people have their fun, as long as I can get mine. You can easily tell that the hype was heartfelt, so it was easy to ignore if I felt it was unwarrented. BTW, I would not admit in public that I bought a Jag at full price, doesn't look good.

Nerds have not replaced Gamefan, nor has any of the pay information sites. Nerds/fanboys don't know shit about anything so they are the current information source? That's retarded.

 

[mosaic]

Looking at Gamefan's coverage of Gunstar Heroes felt almost as good as my GF giving me a blow back in the day.

It ticked down issue after issue after that one.... hit mediocrity somewhere around purple shadows... wasn't worth a damn by the time the Jap bastards incident happened.....

Oddly enough, Gamepro has been sending me free issues lately, and they seem to have improved quite a bit from a couple years ago.

Gamepro getting better. The Red Sox winning the series. Cats and Dogs living together!

 

[FnordChan]

Word. Fuck Gamefan. They were a nice mag, but went WAY overboard for games that they advertised, and went WAY WAY overboard on the Jaguar love.

"Atari is back, come pet the cat."

FnordChan

 

[Miburou]

Mystic Quest. Which I'd rather replay than FFIX.

No, really, I would. Doom Castle theme > FFIX's eminently forgettable, algorithmically-generated Uematsuesque soundtrack.

Oh, come on, You Are Not Alone was friggin' awesome.

 

[OmniGamer]

I still have a bunch of GameFan issues in my closet for posterity.

Their huge six page review of the import Sonic CD was incredible. That was one of the great things about GameFan. They filled each of their pages to the max with screenshots until they were practically bleeding off the edge of the page.

I was going to post this too....their layouts were great...I loved that for the most part there wasn't a "standard"...no template...sometimes the edges of the pages would be bordered with a slideshow of a game's intro for instance. I even made a compilation of their FFVII coverage.

I say this with slight reservation, since it's been about 5-8 years maybe since i've read it regularly, but it just felt like a gamer's mag. It felt like it was written by gamers who write, rather than writers who (play) game(s)....I don't remember what the coverage of the other mag's were like when NiGHTS for the Saturn came out, but i was glad GameFan didn't just bust a load on Super Mario 64 solely....they gave NiGHTS(i'm a crusader against conventional capitalization....wonders if anyone will catch that), a chunky amount of coverage along side Mario 64.

So what about the SS SFA blue shadows thing? Nick Rox was Nick Rox and I guess was a stickler for exact arcade>home conversions, I found it more humorous than anything.

Anyway, there was nothing better back in the day then meeting my friends at the comic shop, buying a few comix and GameFan, reading it on the bus on the way to the arcade and back.

 

[JackFrost2012]

Oh, come on, You Are Not Alone was friggin' awesome.

It sucked, I can't remember a single note of it, I played the game TWICE for review and that song didn't stick out either time. I can't figure out why fans hold that song up as something good. RAR FFIX HATE SMASH

 

[Miburou]

It's strange. While I didn't find the game as offensive as some have, I didn't really like it that much, either. Yet I loved the music, and found many pieces to be quite memorable. It's my favorite FF soundtrack, yet most fans seem to find it bland.