Shadowbrings is looming on the horizon with only one month until the trifecta of FanFests is over and we likely get the finale of Stormblood at around the same time. Pie and I have been excited about the expansion and I think a lot of the drive, outside our usual obsession, has been centered around the Ivalician content. FF Tactics held so much sway and power in both of our lives because of how attached we were to that game. We're both very fond of its interesting class systems, art direction, beautiful sprite work and music, and how compelling the story and character customization system is. The Ivalician themed 24-person raid in Stormblood has only served to stoke the fires of our fandom.

When FFXII came out in 2006, I was inundated with work. I was in a place in my life where I imagine quite a number of us find ourselves; I finally had the money to buy all the games I wanted, but paradoxically, none of the time. I booted it up once or twice, as was the obligatory process of possessing, but not truly owning a game, and didn't get much further than that. I remember when I got through the opening cutscene and found, what I thought at the time was a war-epic with a lot of focus on armies, it immediately soured to my taste. The political sphere at the time had enough conflict in the post 9/11 world for me to have the slightest desire for that.

Flash-forward to now. We only recently completed the Ivalician raid in FFXIV, complete with Fran, Bangaa, and locales steeped in FFXII lore, and I've found this immense drive to go back and explore the game, especially with the idea that we might be getting more Ivalician lore in Shadowbringers. So I dug out my steelbook of the game, dusted it off and plugged it into the TV.

My first thought? Yuck. Old games suck on newer TVs without any sort of device to correct for the older resolutions. "Well...", I thought, "This is exactly why I've kept my old 350-pound 36" CRT TV around~". I've absolutely refused to get rid of my beloved TV because part of loving, appreciating, and being able to really relive old games to Pie and me is being able to see them "As intended". These games were made with these TVs in mind, and the one I purchased was a really good model from the end of the CRT era and I can't help but love it.

Kat suggested I play the remaster, FFXII Zodiac Age, since she owns it, but I just couldn't do it. It just looks too gross and doesn't retain any of the grit and charm of the original...especially when said original is on a CRT. It feels fundamentally flawed and like a cash-grab from a company that has been good at sacrificing artistic style to modernize their games so they can sell it one more time. But all that aside, I've been playing FFXII on the PS2 on a CRT and have been enjoying every moment! It feels new and nostalgic all at the same time and serves as a good reminder to appreciate all the hard work, effort and love that went into something like FFXII. And my CRT. Don't you ever die on me, CRT-kun ;-;