Time travel and deadly robots are both common sci-fi cliches. So it’s probably no surprise that both of them are used heavily in the Terminator franchise, and in the Cell arc of Dragon Ball. But I believe the similarities between these two series go beyond mere coincidence.

In explaining these similarities, I’ll obviously have to spoil major plot points from both series. So, be warned, if that’s actually a concern to anyone. But note that I’ll only be referencing the first two Terminator movies, since everything else was produced long after Dragon Ball ended.

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It’s no secret that I adore the Dragon Ball manga. It’s one of my most prized possessions. I love it so much that I summarized each chapter on my site years ago, as my way of sharing its contents with the world. Curtis Hoffmann’s summaries were what inspired me to buy the manga in the first place, so I was sort of hoping to do the same for others. And I still love it enough that I’m gradually trying to clean up those summaries, along with a few other things that give me an excuse to re-read the series.

Over the years, I’ve also complained many times about the additions and alterations in its anime adaptations. Back in the day, people would get outright offended when I told them something was “filler” during in-universe arguments. But I still enjoy watching the anime, or at least most of it. Even if it isn’t my ideal version of the story, it still has wonderful acting and music, along with lots of pretty colors. And the crappy anime-original material still had its charm, even if it’s just ironic enjoyment in some cases. (Like seeing a lengthy flashback of Piccolo’s life story as Gokuu and Freeza duke it out on an exploding planet. That’s just amazing.)

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So I imported Final Fantasy XIII recently, and just received it the other day, but I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. As an experiment, I’m going to try doing some sort of “coverage” here of my playthrough of it. Unlike most people interested in this game, however, I completely skipped the PS2 generation. Unless you count the PC version of Final Fantasy XI, which I bought when it first came out in the US, and it was horrible back then. Otherwise, I’ve only played I-IX, so this will be my first game with voice acting, and my first game without Uematsu’s music. I don’t really know or care what the deal is with the main song, either. I just don’t like playing Final Fantasy games in English because I’m a bitter old lady.

But anyway, first, I’d like to talk about the version I got. I bought it because it was (and still is, as of this writing) on sale at PlayAsia for much less than its normal price. In fact, it’s less than what the US version costs. And that’s even with shipping factored in, if you pick a cheap option. But even though it’s in Japanese, it’s not exactly the version released in Japan. It’s a Japanese language version of the game released in countries like Hong Kong and Taiwan. But it is NTSC (supporting 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p, according to the back cover), and everything from the manual to the game itself (I have checked that much) is Japanese only. There is one extra sheet that includes Chinese and English translations of the menus and controls, though. But otherwise, it’s almost identical to the Japanese version, content-wise. It just doesn’t have that code for Final Fantasy XIV, which I’m guessing one wouldn’t be able to use unless they had a Japanese residence anyway. So if you are interested in importing the game, this version seems just as good as the one from Japan. Though, I honestly don’t know which song is used, not having played it yet, aside from the opening video and options menu. But I’d assume it’s the Japanese song, since all the other audio is in Japanese.

Anyway, I took some pictures of the case and manual and stuff, for those who might be curious about it. And before you think it, turning the flash off would have made these look even worse. My camera sucks. But click them for full-size. Read the rest of this entry »