Games You Don't Play #5: FireFighter F.D. 18 PS2

I really love to play video games that aren't like the rest. When I saw Firefighter F.D. 18 come through the store, I had to pick it up. I've always thought firefighters were really cool, ever since I was a child. The reason is probably because my father was a firefighter (Retired/Disabled).
To me, this game is pretty cool. I guess the only reason I think it's cool is because it's a Firefighter game and it's not something you see or play everyday.
In Firefighter F.D. 18, you play as Dean McGregor, a firefighter who is determined to save anyone in trouble. The reason he's so determined, and I mean more determined than any other firefighter in the world, is because he lost a loved one to a fire. That seems like a pretty good reason!!!
You're trying to save people caught in fires set by an arsonist who has some some sort of vendetta against Dean. Along the way you'll also meet a woman named Emily, a news reporter who seems like she's in the way but ends up helping you as the story progresses.
The controls in this game are manageable but sometimes clumsy and you have no camera control unless you're standing still. It's not such a big deal though, because the camera usually stays in a pretty good spot.
Everything that happens in this game is scripted, so after a few times of dying (if you die at all) you will have the entire map memorized.
There are a few items you can pick up along the way to heal yourself like first aid kits, which help a lot because sometimes fire embers or explosions happen and catch you on fire, depleting your health quickly. You can also get rid of the fire burning you by running around (Whatever happened to "Stop Drop and Roll"?).
You are on a time limit in this game, dictated by your survivors health bar. The more damage they take, the less time you have, so save them before they die, because if you don't, your mission will end and you'll have to start over again.
This game has most things any action-adventure game would include, action, adventure, boss battles, you name it. The boss battles to me are the most interesting part, because it's more like fighting a monster than an actual fire. The AI is good but still somewhat predictable and easy to memorize. You can usually defeat the fire by calling backup and blasting it, resulting in a somewhat hilarious scream.

Other things of note are the dialogue and music. Both are very dramatic.

I give this game a 6.5 out of 10.

Pick it up if you're a collector (it's quite rare) or a fan of firefighters!!

MOTHER3 impressions... 1 year later

I knew that I would love Mother 3 from the time it was announced .
The first screenshots only proved that fact even more..

I did not download the rom or look at anything I shouldn't have before I got the game. I'm pretty positive I got it next day shipping, my bill was pretty high, but it was worth it. I didn't want to wait any longer.
I loaded up Mother 3 into my GameBoy Player, plugged in my trusty Hori controller and pressed the power button. To be honest with you, when I finally saw "MOTHER 3" come on the TV screen, I started to cry. I didn't ever think this day would come. I was completely over-whelmed when the naming character screen came up, because it reminded me so much of EarthBound. I noticed everything about it. When I named my first character and I heard "OK desu-ka" I pretty much freaked out.
When they do an overview of the world, showing you the town, the houses, etc. I felt it was very familiar, but not too familiar. It felt new, yet nostalgic. I was amazed. I literally had tears running down my cheek.
I felt the graphics were amazing. I had heard a few other people say that the graphics weren't that great, that they looked the same as EB on SNES, etc. But I felt it was much more detailed while still keeping the minimalism that Mother is famous for.
The movements of the characters were much more fluid and I could actually see body parts moving. It's definitely not 16-bit grade.
The music was amazing. I was humming the tunes for months, making everyone listen to the tracks that were ripped from the game.
I wasn't so sure about the theme at first, I almost thought it was going to be a country-western themed game, and I was really afraid of that, but I stayed open minded and reminded myself that "This is Mother 3!!!!" and I definitely wasn't disappointed as I progressed through the game.
There were parts that made me laugh, parts that made me cry, and parts that made me think, all in a language I can't read or understand.
I felt that Mother 3 trancended all language barriers and could touch anyone if they just gave it a chance.
I truly felt that, "Strange, Funny and Heartrendering" was the best slogan for it because it was so true. Much better than "This game stinks!" like it's predecesor.
Mother's audience/fans have grown up and matured a lot since Mother 2's release, and the series as a whole has aswell. The story is much more mature.
I honestly think that if Mother 3 would have been released on N64, I might not have enjoyed it as much, if it were to have this story. I might have been too young to fully comprehend the story, even if it were completely in English.
I was very happy about this game, more than happy, ecstatic even.
I was proud of Itoi. He proved to the world again how much of an amazing storyteller he is, how deep he is and the genius he is.
This game proves it.
I couldn't have been, and still couldn't be happier with the game.. Well, if it were in English that would be nice, but hey! People are working on it!! And I can experience it all over again when that happens.

Mother 3 thoughts

Well, I've read the reviews, I've played through the first chapter and a bit of the second chapter and all I can say is "Wow". While I'm taking it slow and waiting for an English release (I don't understand Japanese) the game is already sucking me in. I feel like Mother 3 is a true sequel. Some people in Japan seem to dislike Flint and the other characters, and at first, I too was very skeptical, but I have definitely fallen in love with every aspect of the game. Even not understanding the language of the game, it's very easy to follow what's going on with the story.
Like I said above, it's a true sequel. It's not Mother 2.5 or EarthBound 1.5... It's truely it's very own game. I agree with the 1up review that the game has become more sophisticated. I feel like the series has matured with it's own gaming audience. Most of us EB players were aprox. 9-11 years old when the game was released, and now we are all 19-22. More mature, more sophisticated, more intelligent.
I'm becomming more and more optimistic about the US release of Mother 3, and possibly Mother 1+2 (Hopefully to be sold under the title "Mother 1+2=3 - EarthBound" in a box set :P) because of the reviews, many people are saying that if Nintendo of America passes this game up it'd be a big mistake. I fully agree with this, and say that if Nintendo doesn't release these games in America, they may as well pack up and leave now, because their company will dissapoint thousands of gamers and fans.
So I ordered Mother 3 and the T-shirt aswell, from Shigesato Itoi's website. The red one of course, but I wanted the Franklin Badge one too. I just couldn't see myself spending $60 on two shirts, even for my favorite game series of all time (and quite possibly my favorite "THINGS" ever).. And I seriously doubt I'll be able to find the shirt in my size on eBay.
I'll definitely be posting pictures of me - playing Mother 3, on my GB Player with my GB Player Hori controller that looks just like a SNES controller, in my Mother 3 t-shirt. Ohhh don't doubt me. I have to save this for posterity. This is a landmark in my life and I realize that it's only a game and it's a little sad that I'm so obcessed with it but anyone that has been waiting patiently for 11 years would be the same exact way.

It's kind of annoying that the people around me don't understand the meaningfulness of this game for me. The only people that can understand are my boyfriend, my sister, my father and of course all the other SM.net people out there.

I haven't even actually told my dad about the game yet. I'm almost considering sending him a GameBoy Advance and Mother 2 and Mother 3 in the mail so he can play them. You see.... the series is so meaningful for me mainly because of one reason. I'll tell you why!

Well, when I was about 9 years old I was with my dad at the local Blockbuster looking for games to rent just like we did every week (My dad had a broken foot and was disabled and I was very sick) We spent a lot of time together back then. My dad was my very best friend. I loved him so much back then. He was my idol! We did everything together (before my stepmother came into the picture) Yes yes... I was daddy's little girl. Well, anyhow, I saw the ginormous EarthBound box at the top of the shelves and said "Daddy I wanna rent that one!!!!!" So we rented that one. What was cool was that they even rented out the Strat guide with it. The perfect addition to the perfect game. We took it home, played it, and became instantly obcessed. Well, we were very poor at that time.
Soon after that, I nearly lost my dad to another woman (years later I would lose that battle) and she wouldn't let us buy the game, even though we had been saving. (yes, saving, like i said, POOR) So the lady made me work outside in our lot all summer long with her, pulling weeds, tilling the soil, planting plants, even trees, placing landscape perfectly. I worked my ass off.... for one thing and one thing alone. The last chance to connect with my father before I lost him forever. To buy EarthBound.
Now the game was still $59.99 at Wal-Mart at the time, so one day in mid-August she took me to the store and finally bought the game, totally suprised me with it. I cried I was so happy. That night, my dad and I began to play the game. He nearly lived in my room for those 2 weeks it took us to beat the game the first time... Many nights sleeping in the same bed, with the game still on. It's my favorite memory of my father, just before he went off the deep end. He loved the game as much as I did, and even shed a tear during the end of the game.
That was the last video game I ever played with my father again. That was 10 years ago.

I now live in a different state than my dad, with a different parent. I see him maybe once a year if that, and barely talk to him. We are completely different people. But we still hold one strong bond together... EarthBound.

This is why I vow to send him the games and a GameBoy Advance. Even if there isn't an OFFICIAL English release, I will download the ROMs and transfer them to flash carts. I will make my very own boxes for the games with my own artwork drawn over them (another bond we shared, art) and hopefully we can bond again over the games, even miles and miles away. I'm hoping that Mother 3 will ressurect my relationship with my father. That would be the greatest gift that Shigesato Itoi could give to me, and if it's possible I'd like to thank him if this game can bring my father and I back together.

Well, that's all for now! Thanks for reading. :)