PSP flOw

It has been officially confirmed that flOw is coming to the PSP. It is good news and if you haven't heard about flOw before, read on.


Wikipedia defines "flow" as "the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing". Jenova Chen (a very gaming name indeed) had the idea to create a game applying this concept. You can read more about it here, but reading is one thing and experiencing it is quite another, so the best way would be to actually play it on its homepage.

Then it has been announced that a PS3 version was being developed. The game received some graphical and gameplay enhancements, but the core gameplay remained the same. Now, PSP is about to get this enhanced version as a downloadable game.

PS3 flOw trailer

Personally, I am very pleased that Sony is finally taking advantage of the PSP online capacity and expanding its downloadable content lineup. First Beats, now flOw, in future Echochrome - life is good.

PS. The only minor spoiler for me is the fact that I am having problems downloading these games to my Custom Firmware PSP. If anyone has a suggestion concerning solution other than going back and forth between Custom and Regular Firmware using Pandora battery - please share it with me.

Recipe for good humour

I know I have written recently that I want ZX Spectrum emulator for my iPhone. Indeed I do, but out of the blue I was struck by other emulator that I also wanted to see and I fell in love with my iPhone even more. Just look at this video :

Then combine it with the following list. Add this news. Result? Silly smile glued to my face all day long.


Yes, it all means in just a couple of days I will be able to play Final Fantasy VI in its first original version on my jail-breaked 1.1.3 iPhone. SNES, FTW! (Sorry, couldn't help it.)

It also means that I will have to finally write a note about Final Fantasy VI. I have intended to do this for quite some time, last occasion being a port of FF6 to Gameboy Advance (some time early last year). I have actually bought GBA to play this game, got disgusted by the quality of the port and sold it later. Nevertheless, I consider sixth part of the series to be on par with Final Fantasy VII when it comes to the story and characters.

So right now I am biting my nails, waiting impatiently for a public release. Hurry up, guys!

Interesting comment on MacBook Air

I have been waiting impatiently for Apple to reveal the specs of that damn new gadget, hoping it would be something interesting. After Steve Jobs presented new MacBook Air Apple stocks went down - and I can see why. The best comment to the machine specifications so far is the comparison below :

'Nuff said.

A bit of deja vu - Final Fantasy Tech Demos history

Okay, so some time in 2005 people got really hyped up because of a certain PS3 Tech Demo that suggested the possibility of Final Fantasy VII remake. If this video doesn't cause a surge of warm, fuzzy memories in you, let me explain - it is hardware rendered version of pre-rendered cinematic from PS1 game, which you can see here or here (the second one is longer, but contains a bit of gameplay showing Cloud jumping off the train).

PS vs PS3 comparison

Collective imagination of gamers population was further teased by speculations in different media, such as this IGN article, or Square-Enix folks hinting at potential remake. Honestly, I can't blame people, as for me Final Fantasy VII is one of the most influential and unique stories of videogame world (together with Silent Hill 2, Final Fantasy VI, Dark Earth, Deus Ex, Morrowind and others)

So recently all the hype re-emerged due to the hidden (not sure about that, as I haven't played the game yet) ending of Final Fantasy Crisis Core, a game that is technically a Final Fantasy VII prequel. Both PS3 Tech Demo and Crisis Core ending share the same renewed look of characters, just like in Final Fantasy Advent Children, which in turn is a sequel (movie sequel to a game... no comments).

Final FantasyCrisis Core ending

Okay, so if you're a gamer, then you probably already know all that, and if you're not, you really don't give a damn anyways.

Still, I wanted to make a point here

Did you know that this kind of tech demo, teasing gamers with the vision of remake, using hardware to render in real time animation that would not be feasible on the earlier generation of consoles - did you know that it has happened before?

A-ha!

Watch this movie showing dance scene (Dance with the Balamb Fish, a beautiful moment by the way) and then this movie that recreates it - the difference being that the first one is a pre-rendered sequence from PS1, while the second one is a PS2 tech demo, rendering the same scene in real time. Sounds familiar?

Both renditions head-to-head comparison for your viewing pleasure.

But that's not all! I have also found two other interesting things. One of them would be tech demo of Final Fantasy VI (considered the best part of the series by many, at least story-wise) on ... Nintendo 64.

Nintendo 64 tech demo

Yes, it is incredible. Looks like Square actually considered what would it be to take a plunge into 3D long before they decided to make Final Fantasy VII for Playstation. One can't help but to wonder about some alternative reality where Final Fantasy series is a Nintendo exclusive... Do you think it would influence the outcome of console wars?

Final Fantasy VII Beta

And speaking of Final Fantasy VII and Square's first ventures into 3D world - have a look at the above movie and see how Final Fantasy VII Beta was different from the actual game that came later on. Observe especially the proportions of protagonists' models and their 2D images in menu...

So you see, it is not the first time we, gamers, are being teased with unfulfilled promises of recreation of our favourite adventures in all-new graphical galore. And that's essentially the point I wanted to make. Share your comments below!

If you don't have money for a tablet...

I know I haven't given much love to Nintendo DS on this webpage. What would you expect, me having a PSP and whatnot. Anyhow, apparently there is a whole homebrew scene on DS too, something that I have shamefully ignored up until now.

The application that has just caught my eye (through Drawn! blog) is called Colors! - it is a homebrew program that changes your DS into a miniature Wacom Cintiq. Well, not really, but close enough. As you might know, I dabble a little in digital drawing and even bought cheapy Toshiba M200 for that purpose. But Nintendo DS is an even cheaper solution to get your feet wet in digital painting, therefore I've found this news interesting enough to bring it to your attention.

Some of the art created with this program looks really neat.

Also, while investigating the topic, I have found two interesting programs that are similar to Colors!, but their purpose is more animation oriented : Inchworm and Animanatee. Be sure to check them out too!

Evil Mario author found

Long time ago I wrote a sarcastic note about how Mario is evil. I have illustrated it with the following image :

Note : the image I used back then was neither watermarked nor signed.

Ever since I have been trying to find who the author of that artwork was. I finally got it a couple days ago. The author is Jose Emroca and you can visit his webpage here.

Cat, princess and the airstrike!

Out of nowhere (OK, not really - check here) I was struck by this game :

...and to think people say they don't make original games anymore!


The game in question is Garden Gnome Carnage - download it here. Give it a chance and watch at least until you see the above screen. Trippy!

Final Fantasy VII - Introduction

As I have mentioned before, I am planning to write (actually, I am already writing it down, only it takes longer than I expected) about Final Fantasy VII Tech Demo and convoluted history of those. But I have come to realize that there are quite a few folks out there who might not know much about the game.

For them, I allow myself to post a little introduction here. A wonderful series by GameTrailers called Final Fantasy Retrospective breaks down each game in detail and the above episode is all about Final Fantasy VII. If you would like to learn what this whole phenomenon is all about, it should prepare you for the incoming post or at least explain why so many people still have vivid memories about this game.


For me the unconventional story, wonderful graphics (at that time - '96 when I got it for my PC), eclectic mix of fantasy and sci-fi, lots of cultural references - it all made it an experience I wouldn't ever forget. The trouble-minded main protagonist, Cloud Strife, with blue eyes shining of Mako energy (resembling Dune characters in this regard), suffering from amnesia (a bit like prince Corwin from Amber cycle) was not a stereotypical cliché macho hero. Same applied to all the rest of game characters - the cast was as memorable as the story and the images that picture them in different (you can find them on the internet) still strike a chord with me.

There, I said it - it is one of the stories that had influenced me the most, not only in the game realm, but also among all the other media. If you haven't heard this tale, you are missing something.

Gaming on iPhone

Yes, we all know that iPhone is cool and all, but the very first question every true gamer should ask is "Are there any games on it?". (I admit that my first thought I've had when I first heard about running unofficial code on it was "I wonder if I there will be ZX Spectrum emulator for iPhone?", but we all know I'm a freak.)

I didn't check gaming prospects right after buying the damn gadget, because I was too busy with jailbreaking and hacking SIM (umm, yes, there were problems). Also, my non-digital life was pretty busy, so the guilty pleasure of gaming unfortunately had to wait.

Finally, I have now investigated the subject and I am pleased to announce that the situation is better then I expected, even though there is no ZX Spectrum... ahem. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, the situation is as follows :

• we have a port of Doom that is supposedly nearly playable in widescreen, if you trust YouTube video that is
• we have a NES emulator that I don't really give a damn about since Contra is unplayable on touchscreen (but hey, for showing off it is good enough)
• we have a SCUMMVM port that might allow me to finally finish Day of the Tentacle
• we have a PSX emulator that is molasses slow and probably will never reach playable speed (but if I'm wrong, I will be very happy)
• we have some wicked physics game that looks intriguing (in fact it is just a port of Crayon Physics)
• and, last but not least, we have a quite good Gameboy Advance emulator!

Final Fantasy Tactics

The last one is my grand favourite so far. There are still glitches, speed needs improvement, some games are not emulated - but heck, being able to play Final Fantasy Tactics on my damn cellphone makes up for all of it.

Arcade games won't ever be the same experience, because touchscreen makes it impossible to have the same reactivity level as on the regular pad and buttons combo. This is what makes NES emulator so crappy (though I appreciate the effort). Gameboy Advance, however, has a large library of premium RPG and strategy games that don't require that fast reaction time and allow for accidental pressing of wrong direction button. Advance Wars, Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy IV, V, VI... It's a pity that Golden Sun doesn't work yet, but hey, it's just the beginning.

Advance Wars

Although there is still room for improvement, I am fairly certain that the successive updates will bring this emulator into near-perfection. After all, when GBA emulation begun on PSP, it was much worse in the beginning, but then became full-fledged emulator. And iPhone has more processing power onboard, even if it doesn't have dedicated graphics unit, so the chances are we will be seeing solid improvements relatively soon.

Now, about that ZX Spectrum emulator port?...

Happy New Year!

Wow, it certainly has been a while since I updated. I normally aim for more or less one post per week, but as always it's easier said than done. There's a couple of interesting posts being conceived, let me tease you a bit :


- many folks get excited over Final Fantasy VII Tech Demo on PS3, especially in connection to the ending of Final Fantasy Crisis Core. But did you know there was also a Final Fantasy VIII Tech Demo on PS2? And Final Fantasy VI Tech Demo on Nintendo 64?


- I got back to playing Blood, my favourite first person perspective shooters from the Build Engine palette and once again I was struck by the number of cultural references. My curiosity pushed me to investigate it a little deeper.


- speaking of DOS times, there is a new build of DosBox for the PSP and you know what that means? That's right, there should be a post about it soon.

- I was torturing my brand new iPhone with new applications, including a couple of emulators. The results were mixed, but there are one or two interesting conclusions to share.

- I played a couple of new games: Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare, Manhunt 2, Wipeout Pulse, PC version of Lumines - and there are still Orange Box and World in Conflict waiting for their turn...

So now you know what will come up on Barts' News anytime soon now. 2007 was a good year for gamers, let us hope 2008 is going to be equally good or even better!

Happy New Year, everybody!