Old Grandma Hardcore

This blog is the chronicle of my experiences with Grandma, the video-game playing queen of her age-bracket and weight class. She will beat any PS2, XBox, GameCube, etc., console game put in front of her, just like she always has. These are her stories. She is absolutely real. She lives in Cleveland.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Live G-Hole discussion thread with Grandma

Okay! Fire up your televisions, The G-Hole starts on MTV in just 30 minutes here on the East Coast (8:00pm). Grandma's review of Final Fantasy XII will be in this episode, although I'm not sure in which order the segments are. Tonight, we'll be bullshitting about Final Fantasy XII and whatever else your playing right here. It's an open thread, so pretty much anything goes.

So what's on your goddamn mind?!

[Archived Thread]

52 Comments:

  • At 7:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Good evening grandma!

     
  • At 7:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    hi everybody!!!

     
  • At 7:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    GRANDMA!!!! I FINALLY GET TO TALK TO YOU!!

     
  • At 7:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    so should I go to the bathroom now?

     
  • At 7:52 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    Hi everybody!

    So what's everybody playing at the moment?

     
  • At 8:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hi Grandma and Tim, and everyone else in the OGHC family!

    Hmm, at the moment I'm playing Tales of Eternia on the PSP. It's really good (especially since I'd just finished playing Tales of Symphonia).

    I'm also still working on Jade Empire, and I need to get around to playing Kingdom Hearts 2, as well as finishing Fatal Frame 3 (that game kicks my arse every time I try it - it seems so much harder than the first two Fatal Frame games.)

    Does anyone know anything about the game Baten Kaitos for the Gamecube? Is it worth getting? I just don't want to pay $76US for a game that isn't good. I've never played a turn-based RPG game before so I don't really know what to expect. Anyone got any suggestions?

     
  • At 8:07 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    Jen, I haven't heard about Baten Kaitos but now I'm intrigued :) Turn based RPGS are a dime a dozen but we'll come up with a good list by the end of the night.

    I think Tales of Eternia is one for the PSP that we HAVE but haven't played yet. We're stuck on FFXII at the moment!

     
  • At 8:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I can't believe they sent Blair to chreynoble. jesus!!

     
  • At 8:13 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    i think they were making fun of the ying yang twins in that segment :)

     
  • At 8:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    OGHC!!

     
  • At 8:28 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    Gerald's reviews are incredibly short, but that man knows his games. Seriously, you ask him anything about anything game related and he could tell you.

     
  • At 8:34 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    yeah, it was... short :)

    they have to cram a lot into one 30 minute program.

     
  • At 8:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    tim, was that your name in the credits?

     
  • At 8:39 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    I didn't see. Probably not :)

     
  • At 8:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    so grandma- how many hours do you have into final fantasy xii?

     
  • At 8:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Segments were way too short. It works for an online show, but it does not work, at all, for a TV show. Very disappointing. I wanted to hear more from Grandma about FFXII!

    Things I liked: the Shadow of the Colossus bit was funny, the Wii demos made me slobber, and the segment on arcades in Tokyo caught my interest.

     
  • At 8:46 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    sam - she said 155hrs so far (she wants to get everything)

    stephanie m. - yeah, the segments have to be really really short because of the time constraints. Even the chreynobel segment was cut fairly short and you can imagine how much it costs to send Blair to the Ukraine. But! Now that Grandma's review has been aired, we can give a full grandma review of Final Fantasy XII here.

    I love the animations :) That guy's a genius.

     
  • At 8:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    So it's been shown? Yay! (a shame everyone says the Grandma-quotient was so low because of time restraints.) Anyone know when they're going to get the show up online so I can see it too?

    Here's the IGN page for Baten Kaitos: http://au.cube.ign.com/objects/481/481671.html
    There's also a sequel apparently (or maybe it's meant to be a prequel? Not sure) called Baten Kaitos Origins. That one's here: http://au.cube.ign.com/objects/772/772298.html

     
  • At 9:02 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    Jen, yeah it was really short- but most of the segments were.

    Here's Grandma's input on Baten Kaitos: "well, if it was made by the same folks as Xenosaga, then it's probably excellent! Hell, now I'm interested, too. I feel like I've neglected my poor gamecube! The next game I was going to buy for it was Zelda: Twilight Princess because I can't get a Wii just yet!"

     
  • At 9:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    what was up with the audio on grandma's review? it sounds like it was over modulated or somethin.

     
  • At 9:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Looking forward to seeing Grandma's FFXI review here, then. :D I've already put 50 hours into it, and I love it to death. Would like to hear Grandma's view on the new gambit and license systems, and the difficulty level.

    Also, Grandma, have you ever played Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story?

     
  • At 9:17 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    stephanie m. - I'll just let her answer:

    "The gambit system is nice once you get the hang of it. That's the thing, it's all easy enough to understand, the license board and gambit systems, but that doesn't make the game inherently EASY. The license board concept is kinda silly when you think about it, like some guy is going to come around asking to see your license for a particular weapon if some monster is set on destroying you! But it works for the game. If you get to Archades, I think it is, you can buy Golden Amulets that give you x2 license points. The best part is, if you put them on the three people in the party that are on standby, they get double license points while you're leveling up your other characters! There's another amulet that gives you x2 EXP, so I have three of them and three of the other and just level up for hours. Trust me, if you don't, the game will be IMPOSSIBLE. It gets very very hard, which is just how I like it!"

     
  • At 9:18 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    "I have played Final Fantasy Tactics but like an idiot I traded it in a while back after getting through it. I guess it's hard to find anymore :)"

     
  • At 9:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    hey its on mtv2 right now as well

     
  • At 9:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hi Grandma!!

    You haven't had an ask grandma hardcore thingy in a while.

    lol so what do you have to say to the people camping outside their bestbuys for the ps3?

     
  • At 10:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Thanks Grandma! I'm almost to Archades now, and can't wait to get those accessories you mentioned. I'm excited to hear that the game gets even harder -- I've had some pretty wild fights hunting the marks so far, I can't imagine how difficult the endgame bosses must be. Sounds like a blast. :)

    Vagrant Story is even more expensive and rare than Final Fantasy Tactics, but it's a highly rated game made by the same people who made Tactics and XII. A lot of people have been comparing XII with the online Final Fantasy, but it's a lot more like Vagrant Story, in terms of the combat system, setting, and storyline.

     
  • At 10:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I am playing FFXII at the moment, too, and I love it. I am also playing Tales of the Abyss, Bully, Baten Kaitos Origins, and Prey, though all of those games have are being neglected in favor of FFXII. Loved grandma's review of FFXII, especially her comments on Fran. Very funny stuff.

     
  • At 10:53 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    james_runyon - how far into FFXII are you? It turns out that both Grandma and I fucked up in trying to get the ultimate weapon. Apparently, there are certain treasure chests you can't open throughout the game in order for it to appear later. Because we got our copy a couple weeks before it came out in stores, the only guides online were in japanese. go figure :P

     
  • At 11:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Right now, I am at Balfonheim, right after Draklor Laboratories. I have spent the last day or so hunting marks, and I have fought and defeated three of the optional espers. You must be talking about the Zodiac Spear, which i think I missed, too, because I am sure I opened at least one of the chests I wasn't supposed to, but oh well.

    If you want a really good guide on gamefaqs.com, use the one written by kouli. it is for the Japanese version, but I have used when I had trouble, and it helped me superbly.

    The Zodiac Spear is really the only missable thing in the game, it seems. Well, there is the Genji equipment, which you can only steal during the battle with Gilgamesh in Lhusu Mines. I haven't done that yet, though. Vaan is level 51, Balthier 47, Fran 33, Basch 38, Ashe 34, and Penelo 34. I, like Grandma, took advantage of the Embroidered Tippet, the accessory that lets you get double EXP.

     
  • At 11:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    we are about 26 hrs into ffXII atm we switch between that world of warcraft and valykrie profile 2. has she tried the valkyrie 2 yet. its pretty fun

     
  • At 11:16 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    james_runyon - that's the thing, but the way I see it, the zodiak spear is only what, +150 attack? And it's a 2H weapon so no shield so it would only suit a specialized character that you level up to be a physical attacker, so it's no big loss, really. I didn't know about the Genji armor, though. Maybe Grandma has it. She always steals like crazy on boss fights from remembering the crazy days of VII and VIII where you HAD to steal in order to get the good stuff. And back then it was a bitch because if it was on a different PSOne disc, chances are you can't go back to get it :)

    Right now I have Vaan at lv85 and everyone else is lv60 straight across the board. I level up way too much though. I play my save when Grandma's not playing hers, so I have to use the time wisely.

    anonymous - valkylrie profile, now THAT is a game I know she's played and loved. The second looks fantastic.

     
  • At 11:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I always want a shield to block attacks, it has saved me many times, even from deadly spells, so I tend to avoid two-handed weapons. I really love Valkyrie Profile 2, though I haven't beaten it yet.

    Vaan, Balthier, and Basch are my three powerhouses, outfitted with the best armor and weapons available. Penelo and Fran have every spell unlocked on the license board, so they are essentially mages. Ashe has a lot of magic, too, but she also makes for a good physical fighter. Fran is my archer, and I think she serves well in that capacity, and had taken down a lot of annoying flying foes.

    How far away is grandma from having everything, notably all the Espers and finishing all the bounty hunts? And those Sky Pirate's Den unlockables?

     
  • At 11:51 PM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    james_runyon - I think she has five espers yet to go, right now she's focusing on the hunts. The monsters in the hunts isn't the problem, it's FINDING the damn things sometimes. At least after the lighthouse you can buy teleport stones which made things easier, but until then it's a whole lot of running through areas with enemies that don't have enough exp to justifiy leveling up.

     
  • At 11:58 PM, Blogger Mogwai said…

    Hey Grandma! How are you this evening? I got to go to Nintendo World 2006 a couple of days ago and see the Wii. I lacked the patience to wait in line to play it but everything and everyone I saw there looked like they were having a blast.

    I have been playing a lot of Contact for my DS lately and am thinking about snagging Vice City Stories for my PSP. If you want a pretty good RPG for the DS you should try out Contact.

    See ya later!

     
  • At 12:03 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yeah, the hunts can be annoying, I stocked up on Teleport Stones at the Bazaar in Rabanastre. The ones I have finished recently are Antlion, Overlord, and Dark Steel, White Mousse, and Orthros. I am working on finishing all the ones I have accepted, including Death Scythe, Goliath, and Carrot Stalk.

    I beat Trickster, too, and that fight made me really angry, because it puts up a fucking shield that makes it temporarily immune to physical attacks, and even quickenings don't work against it. The Espers I got are Zalera, Adrammelech, Mateus, Belias, and Exodus. I wish Grandma luck, and hope there is a video or two out soon that shows her playing. I would love to see what she says during tough fights.

     
  • At 12:06 AM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    mogwai - grandma says:

    "hey! How have you been! I'll have to check out Contact. I have a feeling after we get Lumines II thats going to be our PSP burner for a while. That and Final Fantasy III is coming out for the DS and I don't know if I could avoid that one :) My grandson has been looking forward to that one too. And Tim. I have a feeling after XII that's what I'm going to play. I still have to unlock everything in Guitar Hero II, though. I don't know, there's a lot I'm looking forward to right now."

     
  • At 12:10 AM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    james_runyon - grandma says:

    "Oh god, that stupid goddamn chocobo kicked my ass the first time, but after I leveled up a bit it was nothing at all. The trick I found was to put bows on everyone so it couldn't run so much. Also, Disable came in handy during that fight. Carrot would probably be the hardest of those you mentioned, just remember you CAN'T KILL ANYTHING in the forest at ALL right before that fight. It took me an hour of running around holding down R2 to figure that one out :)"

     
  • At 12:14 AM, Blogger Mogwai said…

    Ohh...FFIII is eating my soul. Its a good game.

    Has Every Extend Extra for the PSP come out there yet? Its by the same guy that created Lumines and is supposed to be pretty addictive as well. I loved Lumines.

     
  • At 12:23 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Bloodwing gave me some trouble, because stupid skeletons and specters kept appearing, and using Thundara, Blizzara, and status effects. And I realized that unlike every other fucking bat in the whole game, you cannot hit it with swords, or I couldn't. So I spammed magic, and used bows to bring it down, though it repeatedly leeched me.

    I have run through many areas where the enemies have been too tough, I usually do it with a single character, because if I have a full party, the other two idiots tend to get attacked and die, and then I have to revive them or wait til I get to a save point. I will remember grandma's words when I tackle that big weed.

    And, is it just me, or is Sap the most annoying status effect ever?

     
  • At 12:30 AM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    mogwai - grandma says:

    "I don't think so, but I'll check it out. Lumines on the 360 was really, really short, so it will be nice to have another full version PSP game."

    james_runyon - grandma says:

    "there's another one like that coming up in the nabudes deadlands. The skeletons never really stop coming (the one where the guy says it's 'hidden beyond the tall grasses and heavy fog'. It's only a mark V, but if you're not leveled up, don't even try yet, wait a little while. Otherwise you'll just want to shoot yourself. The two statuses that piss me off the most right now would be disease and stop. If all three people in the party get them then you're pretty much screwed!"

     
  • At 12:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Disable sucks big time, too, because you cannot do anything except move around. No items, magic, physical attacks, nothing. I was hit with that several times, and I do not believe there is any way to cure it, but there is an accessory that can make you immune to it. Disease I have not encountered very much, but I agree with grandma that it blows. My whole party has not been affected by either Disease or stop at the same time, but they have been hit with Sap and Disable, and that forced me to restart, especially with Disable.

     
  • At 12:44 AM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    james_runyon -

    "that's why I can't wait to get a hold of a ribbon. If it's anything like The Ribbon in the other games, I think I know it will help :)"

     
  • At 12:53 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I hope and pray there is a Ribbon. FFVIII did not have a Ribbon, for whatever reason, but then you could use Degenerator on Malboros to kill them instantly, so maybe it didn't matter. I think maybe you can buy Ribbons from a store later on, but I can't be sure. There are more bad status effects in this FF than in any other, so a Ribbon would be great.

     
  • At 1:00 AM, Blogger CtrlAltDelete said…

    "Oh, there's a ribbon. I saw the license for it on the far upper right side of the board. It's just a matter of FINDING the damn thing!"

     
  • At 7:10 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The shield the Trickster mark used is annoying to me because there isn't an obvious visual cue that it has been used unless you pay close attention to the battle log where messages are constantly being replaced by others.

    Once I realized it was up, it's pretty simple to remove by casting Dispel on the Trickster.

     
  • At 6:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Wii.
    Twilight Princess.
    That is all.

     
  • At 2:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Is there any way for European folks to watch those American shows where Grandma turns up?

     
  • At 4:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I still have this saved on TiVo -- I can record this to DVDR and then rip the DVD and share that if you want. Still needed?

     
  • At 2:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hey Grandma, you're great. I'm extremely sorry to hear about the loss of your husband... me and my friends thoughts are with you and your family.

     
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