The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy Book 3

The Sky Book Three contains Amano's sketches and paintings for Final Fantasy VII (1997), VIII (1999), IX (2000), and X (2001), depicting characters such as Zidane Tribal, Garnet Til Alexandros XVII, Adelbert Steiner, Vivi Orunitia, Amarant Coral, Queen Brahne, and many others. Bonuses include a series of silkscreen images done for Final Fantasy VIII, unreleased pen-and-ink sketches of the Gunblade, and designs for the gemlike logo of Final Fantasy IX.

The first two books of the re-release being as wonderful as I expected, the anticipation for the third and final was certainly huge.  Not only was this because of getting to enjoy another Final Fantasy book, but it was the one including the games from the series that have stuck with me most to this day.  It was truly a delight to get another shot at viewing Book Three in the trilogy for The Sky: Art of Final Fantasy.

It should be more than obvious by now that this is a wonderful book with endless pages of amazing art.  The name Final Fantasy is one that for many people automatically produces images of beautiful visuals to go along with great stories.  For the third consecutive time, Yoshitaka Amano has provided a large collection of illustrations to support the series.  Adding another batch of art like his strengthens one of the key factors in what makes it so successful.

I cannot deny that as excellent as it was to see all the art from the first two books, this was the one I looked forward to most.  With it showing us pieces Amano did for numbers VII, VIII, IX and X, this was the best collection for me personally.  Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the art for VII in particular, but there were some specific ones for VIII that I really loved.

Now that Dark Horse has been kind enough to give folks a second chance at these books, it would be a wise choice to do so.  At some point I’ll probably try to search for copies of the originals, but having these will more than hold me until then.  The only disappointment I have now is that there’s no more of them to read, but it has been so nice checking them out and think everyone should.

For more on The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy or other Dark Horse books, check out Dark Horse Comics.

The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy Book Three will be available 11/19

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.

The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy Book 2

The Sky Book Two contains Amano's sketches and paintings for Final Fantasy IV (1991), V (1992), and VI (1994), depicting characters such as Cecil Harvey, Rydia, Bartz Klauser, Lenna Charlotte Tycoon, Faris Scherwiz, Terra Branford, Locke Cole, Sabin Rene Figaro, Shadow, Setzer Gabbiani, Celes Chere, and, of course, Mog (among many others!). Bonuses include Amano's art for the 1994 Final Fantasy Grand Finale CD and the 1994 Pinball Mandala series, and advertisement lithographs of the 1999 Final Fantasy Collection exclusive watch.

After having a very pleasant experience with the first book of The Sky re-release, I couldn’t wait to see book two.  To be totally honest, my excitement is primarily based on the fact that it’s another piece of Final Fantasy that I could get my hands on.  Although Book Two of The Sky collection may not be new to the fandom in general, it’s a brand new treat for me and one that I was very ready to jump into.

Once again, we are given a book packed full of spectacular art from start to finish.  Anyone who knows Final Fantasy knows the quality of beautiful artwork that comes along with it.  In the event you don’t, you’ll get to see almost 300 pages of the kind of illustrations from Yoshitaka Amano that makes the series so visually amazing.  As with the first book, this is a fantastic way to reinforce the love fans already have and break future fans into the world.

The next book in this artistic journey through Final Fantasy was just as gorgeous as the first.  Even if you don’t know the games at all, having a look at an art book like this is still worthwhile.  This collection covers Amano’s artwork for games IV, V and VI within the main titles of the series.  I particularly enjoyed seeing his illustrations for the adorable Mog characters, which if you aren’t familiar with you’ll instantly fall in love with.

If you sadly missed out on the original box set or slipcase set, this is a really nice chance to pick it up fresh.  Granted, even if you have it in one of those formats, getting it in easy to carry digital format couldn’t be a bad thing.  No matter the case, I’m certainly happy to have been able to see this and totally can’t wait for the last one.

For more on The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy or other Dark Horse books, check out Dark Horse Comics.

The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy Book Two will be available 11/5

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.

The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy Book 1

Dark Horse is pleased to offer the stunning visions of designer Yoshitaka Amano as individual volumes previously available only as a part of the now sold-out The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy Boxed Set or still-available The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy Slipcased Edition. The legend begins here with The Sky Book One, containing Amano's sketches and paintings for the first three Final Fantasy games. Introduced are characters such as Princess Sarah, Firion, Cid, Maria, Sara Altney, Alus Restor, Ricard Highwind, and many others.

Having previously missed out on the original release, getting a new opportunity to check out an art book for Final Fantasy is truly a delight for me.  Being such a huge fan of the series in general, I automatically jump at the chance to enjoy any bit of content.  The re-release of all three books for The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy is more than welcomed, especially with this being my first time seeing them.  As soon as I opened Book One, I finally got to see what I’ve been missing out on this whole time.

This book is purely an art book, through and through.  That is not at all a bad thing for quite a few reasons.  As it is, artwork that comes out of the Final Fantasy universe is always gorgeous.  It really just comes with the territory.  With that being said, having an entire book filled with the illustrations of Yoshitaka Amano makes it all the more spectacular.  Whether or not you already know the name, once you finish with this book you’ll know why it’s a name to remember.  On top of all that, sometimes it’s just nice to sit down with a book of nothing but beautiful artwork on a rainy day and this fits that bill.

A book like this is such a visual treat, regardless of being a Final Fantasy fan or not.  Page after page of what is virtually like seeing Amano’s sketchbooks is time absolutely well spent.  Covering his contributions to Final Fantasy I, II and III, art lovers and obviously fans will get to see such a wonderful collection of his work here.  I’ve always appreciated seeing the behind the scenes work from games and movies, so being from Final Fantasy this was way up there for me.

Anyone that was lucky enough to get the long since sold out box set, or even the slipcase set may not necessarily see the need to acquire this.  For anyone that has not been able to do so before, this is an excellent time to grab them as the three books come out individually.  I personally cannot wait for the next two and would suggest everyone new to them should plan to pick them up.

For more on The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy or other Dark Horse books, check out Dark Horse Comics.

The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy Book One will be available 10/22

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.

FFXIV: A Realm Reborn - One Year Later

With my time in the game nearing the one year mark (since live release not beta), I figured now is as good as any time to do up a review.  After spending far too much of my life playing a certain well known MMO, I never thought I’d jump back into another.  I dabbled in a few here and there since my days in WoW, but never for long or with much interest.  Then again, I never expected to have one come out that met just the right criteria to give me without much reason not to play.  So, without further ado, we have the chronicles of my soon to be year in the world of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

I suppose I should first start off by saying that even as huge of a fan of Final Fantasy as I am, I admittedly never played the original Final Fantasy XIV aka Version 1.  I never even played XI to be perfectly honest.  At the time these MMOs for the series came out, I just wasn’t in the mindset of that game genre for one reason or another.  Having now been immersed in A Realm Reborn (ARR as I’ll now refer to it throughout the review), I do sort of wish I had given that one a chance even if it performed less than stellar.

With this being my first MMO in a while, I hoped the transition back into that style of play would be smooth.  Barring any time adjusting to the game’s particular interface, the world itself, and various aspects of gameplay, the learning curve into ARR wasn’t bad at all.  The primary challenge that I personally face is playing on a PS3 as opposed to a PC.  It obviously presents limitations in things like target acquisition and casting spells, but you learn to get past it.  Anyone that can’t help but resort to PC methods, fortunately keyboard/mouse setup is an option with the PS3.

For those that enjoy the actual lore and story of a game, the one you’ll experience in ARR is wonderful.  Throughout any of the various classes and jobs you level, as well as all the dungeons, there is a really good amount of exciting storyline.  Even some of the quests you encounter have some really neat stories.  What’s really nice is that you can go back and watch cutscenes later on that you may have skipped.  I’ve skipped some in the interest of time, but the content I’ve followed thus far has been fantastic.

Visually, ARR is absolutely gorgeous as any long time fan of the Final Fantasy line would expect.  The world itself is filled with a plethora of stunning environments, in both the main world and the unique dungeons.  Characters are just as pleasing to the eye, with a nearly infinite amount of choices for how they appear, as well as numerous outfits that you can often customize as well.  Even now, I still find myself briefly distracted at times just gazing at my surroundings.

All around, the time I’ve spent in ARR has been extremely fun and well worth playing.  Being just a casual player, there’s a good amount of dungeons and content I haven’t touched yet.  Even so, I don’t feel as if it’s necessary to rush through it in order to get my money’s worth.  Coming up on a year on playing launch, I would easily suggest this game to anyone looking to try an MMO.  Or, you know, maybe trying to get out of Azeroth and into Eorzea.