What am I currently playing? A few things here and there, but I’ve actually been distracted from doing much of anything due to the advent of The Legend of Heroes Zero no Kiseki.

I am absolutely unashamed about my obsession with Falcom and their games. Back in 2004, when I was having a very rough time of things all over, I preordered a little gem called The Legend of Heroes VI: Sora no Kiseki. See one of the original demo movies for it.

I had no clue, at the time, that I’d have in my hands what I’d say today as arguably the best RPG I’ve ever played.

The first game is a little slow, and the level of Japanese made playing it SO hard. There’s a lot of tricky writing in it, but it is also a very tricky story. However, if most people have been following it, then you would know that Sora no Kiseki does not end as just one game. Then there’s Sora no Kiseki SC, and Sora no Kiseki the 3rd. What’s up with this?

Well, much to my absolute dismay, Sora no Kiseki ends on a cliffhanger.

Any of the people who finished the game in 2004 were forced to wait for the second chapter. The ending was a ‘demo movie’ for the second game.

It took 18 months. SC was released in March 2006. And it took what was already a marvelous RPG and turned it into a beast. It showed that the world of Zemulia and Liberl is one of the most in-depth I’ve ever had the chance to experience in a game. By the time you are done, you’ll not only know the geography, but you’ll know a lot of the history, the organizations that support/hinder Liberl, the nation’s economy, and political standings to any number of other nations around it.

While SC’s ending is very open still, I felt that it had enough closure to be comfortable. What I didn’t expect was the sudden release of Sora no Kiseki the 3rd in July of 2007. This takes what was already known from FC and SC, and openly bridges it to Legend of Heroes VII. This is meant to be a gaiden- a side story. This follows a new pair of lead characters and tells the story a wildly different manner, as well as give hints to one of the more (surprisingly!) secretive organizations of the Zemulia Continent- The Septian Church.

It took all the nice things about SC’s ending and blew them wide open.

So now it’s come to three years later. September 30, 2010- we finally see our new game, The Legend of Heroes Zero no Kiseki.

It now sets the stage to Crossbell, another nation in Zemulia, and follows the characters Lloyd Bannings and Elie MacDowell. What does this new story have in store? I’m willing to bet that what’s in the video is only the bare surface of this game. I won’t be surprised if it can’t be contained into one RPG- Falcom got me on it once! But I’m eager for this ride!

13 days left.

I’ve waited for this for three years. Thirteen days should not be this hard.