Final Fantasy Discussion Thread

[ehra]

Yeah, the grid itself I liked.... I've always loved the job system and it was nice to see it make a return, sort of.

[j]

That's why you just turn away from the masses masturbating to VII and play some IX.

IX is my favourite FF game

Even though I consider VI the best FF by a fair margin, IX is easily my second favorite.  Great story, characters, soundtrack, visuals, side quests.  Its one major flaw IMO is the battle system; seemed clunky, slow, and not very "fresh" in any way.

-J

[glaurung]

I didn't even mind the characters. I just thought having to grind out your skills off of your weapons was ridiculously stupid gameplay, so much that I didn't bother finishing the game. Having to keep spheres on hand to advance your characters in X pissed me off a fair amount, too.

I agree with everything you said about IX. I never had that much trouble with spheres though. I always seemed to have enough of them.

[AcidLameLTE]

FFIX was great, it gets too much unfair criticism for the change in character design. The characters and the world/setting especially, are some of the best FF has to offer in my opinion. It holds my top spot of the PS/PS2 FF's, sorta tied with VII (depends on which one I played most recently).

The music was great too.

Strangely, I liked the skill leveling system in FFIX

Yeah. It made it quite easy to get some decent skills for every character, in my opinion.

[yorost]

IX is my favourite FF game

 

Playing IX for the first time right now.  Thus far I like it considerably more than VII.  The ability learning is balanced well enough that I'm surprised it bothers people.  You get enough without having to grind out every ability so could ignore it.

I just got to the point where you can regularly change your party members, and I'm pretty set on using Zidane, Dagger, Steiner, and Vivi the rest of the way as they're easily my four favourites.  Never been one to try and pick the most effective groups, I prefer to just stick a small set of characters I like most.  Freya and Amarant might get some more time in the party, though.

Quina's all-around absurd silliness is the only particular negative in the game, similar complaint as I have with Cait Sith.  At least they aren't forced on you as party members most of the game so neither are too big a deal.

Oh, and big kudos to piecing a story together when Ramuh joins Dagger.  That was a story from Final Fantasy II, my favourite Final Fantasy game(played: I,II,III,IV,VII,XII).  Also cool that I got Doga and Une artifacts, references to Final Fantasy III, although I have no idea what good they do other than waste my money at the auction.

[ariich]

FFIX was great, it gets too much unfair criticism for the change in character design. The characters and the world/setting especially, are some of the best FF has to offer in my opinion. It holds my top spot of the PS/PS2 FF's, sorta tied with VII (depends on which one I played most recently).

IX was indeed wonderful. My ONLY issue with it was that the story/twist was pretty similar to VII's but other than that it was great. Definitely my second favourite.

[j]

Oh, and big kudos to piecing a story together when Ramuh joins Dagger.  That was a story from Final Fantasy II, my favourite Final Fantasy game(played: I,II,III,IV,VII,XII).  Also cool that I got Doga and Une artifacts, references to Final Fantasy III, although I have no idea what good they do other than waste my money at the auction.

I thought that stuff was cool as well.  I had a lot of fun trying to find all the various subtle nods to other entries in the series, etc.

Also yorost, play VI.  You've played most of the other old-school FF games, so hopefully you will have no trouble appreciating its genius. 

-J

[Genowyn]

Nothing can beat the music of hundreds of voices screaming in unison!

[yorost]

I finished IX.

All around I liked it a lot more than VII, and a great ending.  They did a good job of selling the downer.  I'll have to try to get around to VIII next year to see what I think for the whole Playstation series.  X is up next for me, but I probably won't start it until after some work deadlines are passed later this month.

j: You're right, VI is the one I probably will enjoy the most out of the ones I haven't played(V, VI, VIII, X).  I have been hoping for standalone remakes for V and VI, though.  The versions with the cardboard boxes are hard to keep nice, and I would like have something that stays nice easily.  Compilations just aren't as nice for shelf browsing, at least to me, so oh well.  I expect they will both get suitable remakes eventually, and I'll hopefully enjoy the entire experience when they do.

[Ultimetalhead]

X is almighty. I don't know if I like it more than VII, but it's totally enjoyable the whole way through. I started on IX, but I haven't had the desire to play it lately for some reason.

[glaurung]

I'm playing X right now actually (second or third playthrough, I can't remember). It's fun to play but the script is pretty terrible. Also, the sphere grid is simple and fast but it doesn't allow for any kind of customization of you characters. Although since this is a class based kind of gameplay you can't really customize your characters too much, can you?

[Ultimetalhead]

I had absolutely ZERO issues with X's leveling system. It wasn't all that customizable, but it allowed for some more balanced teams. Auron, Tidus, and Yuna w/Holy are pretty much unstoppable.

Fuck, I want to play this game again now.

[Dublagent66]

I'm playing X right now actually (second or third playthrough, I can't remember). It's fun to play but the script is pretty terrible. Also, the sphere grid is simple and fast but it doesn't allow for any kind of customization of you characters. Although since this is a class based kind of gameplay you can't really customize your characters too much, can you?

Have you done the Monster Arena sidequest?  There's a ton of stuff you can get for characters as well as Aeons.

[Genowyn]

I love the sphere grid because having Yuna hit for 99999 is awesome. My three main characters (Tidus, Auron, Yuna) had all pretty much conquered the sphere grid.

[j]

I gotta say, X's story was pretty great (although I agree with glaurung that the actual dialogue was weak at times), but I found the gameplay to be lacking.  I played it once and enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I'll play it again.  Out of curiosity, what do you guys consider the best aspects of this game?

@ yorost: I'm with you on hoping for all-out remakes of V and VI.  I think it's just a matter of time, although it would be cool to see them remade on a high-end console instead of the DS (not that I'd complain about a DS remake).  Hopefully they will do the originals justice.

-J

[Ultimetalhead]

Well, I really love X's story, and the dialogue never really bothered me for some reason. Sure, there's some dumb lines, but those never got to me. The battle system, the leveling system, and the Overdrive system are all awesome. The graphics are breathtaking, and I really connected with the characters. Yuna marks the first time I've ever been sexually attracted to a video game character. 

[ariich]

I agree with you J, the story and characters were great, but the gameplay was pretty uninteresting. Kinda the opposite to XII, which had some great characters but some weak ones, including the lead, plus a not-that-great story, but the gameplay was by far my favourite of all the FF games.

[Genowyn]

Well, I really love X's story, and the dialogue never really bothered me for some reason. Sure, there's some dumb lines, but those never got to me. The battle system, the leveling system, and the Overdrive system are all awesome. The graphics are breathtaking, and I really connected with the characters. Yuna marks the first time I've ever been sexually attracted to a video game character. 

Pfft, real men were doing that back when we had sprites.




Check that sweet action out. Mmmm.

not really

[ariich]

[Ultimetalhead]

Gotta love Pixel Porn.

[j]

Well, I really love X's story, and the dialogue never really bothered me for some reason. Sure, there's some dumb lines, but those never got to me. The battle system, the leveling system, and the Overdrive system are all awesome. The graphics are breathtaking, and I really connected with the characters. Yuna marks the first time I've ever been sexually attracted to a video game character. 

   Well, then I can see why you liked the game so much!

Seriously, like ariich said, I loved the story and the characters (and for the record the minor flaws in the dialogue didn't bother me either), but I guess I disagree with you on the battle system.  It was overly simple and bland or something I can't define.  And the sphere grid was innovative, but a little tedious and didn't allow for much customization until you were far beyond having any use for it.

And ariich, I also agree about XII being the antithesis of X in that respect.  That game takes some shit for it's relatively weak plot (and rightfully so, IMO), but the gameplay itself was tons of fun.  One of my old roommates put like 250 hours into that game, which is what made me buy it.  And then I proceeded to put probably close to 100 hours into it!  I think the battle system was too radical a change for some people to handle, perhaps those who are slow, turn-based combat purists.

-J

[Genowyn]

I didn't like FFXII, and the battle system was a lot of the reason for that, but it's not that I'm a "slow, turn-based combat purists." How would you feel if Dream Theater released an album of Trance music? Maybe it's a nice change of pace for people who are into that, but if I buy a Dream Theater album I have certain expectations. Is it wrong to feel the same way about video games?

[Ultimetalhead]

I didn't like FFXII, and the battle system was a lot of the reason for that, but it's not that I'm a "slow, turn-based combat purists." How would you feel if Dream Theater released an album of Trance music? Maybe it's a nice change of pace for people who are into that, but if I buy a Dream Theater album I have certain expectations. Is it wrong to feel the same way about video games?

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS.

[j]

Yeah, my generalization was unfair.  But was it because of your expectations of the series based on past games that you didn't enjoy XII's battle system, or was it just that you dislike those types of more "real-time" hybrid battle systems?

In other words, do you normally like different RPG battle systems that are "less turn based" and you just think XII did it poorly?  Or do you generally prefer your RPGs to have more traditional turn-based ones?

That's what I should have said instead of the pejorative "purists" comment.

-J

[Genowyn]

I generally prefer turn-based RPGs, but my real beef with FFXII is the gambit system. Why play the game yourself when you could practice your AI coding skills?

[glaurung]

I didn't like FFXII, and the battle system was a lot of the reason for that, but it's not that I'm a "slow, turn-based combat purists." How would you feel if Dream Theater released an album of Trance music? Maybe it's a nice change of pace for people who are into that, but if I buy a Dream Theater album I have certain expectations. Is it wrong to feel the same way about video games?

I thought the gameplay in FFXII was some of the most fun I've had playing a FF game. The use of Area of Effect attacks and heals as well as using position brought so many strategies to how you play a FF game. The characters and story was kind of stupid until the very end of the game but I loved the combat. Especially boss fights. I think the combat system is a perfect blend of an MMO's combat mechanics and the turn based system in a FF.

I gotta say, X's story was pretty great (although I agree with glaurung that the actual dialogue was weak at times)

I should have mentioned that. I love the story and it's some of the cheesey dialouge that was annoying for me.  

[j]

I generally prefer turn-based RPGs, but my real beef with FFXII is the gambit system. Why play the game yourself when you could practice your AI coding skills?

Yeah I get what you mean.  I bet it was appealing to people who have never done any type of programming before though.

But honestly, what are you doing in any other turn-based RPG?  You're just inputting those decisions individually.  All the gambit thing does (if you choose to use it, which you don't have to) is allow you to automate some of that.  Your characters' "turns" are still spent in the ways you tell them to.  And barring a couple of mainstays, I was constantly in there changing up my gambits as well, so it's not like you can just set it up and breeze through the game. *shrug*

-J

[Genowyn]

It works the other way around too. I was fighting the boss on the airship(the first one I guess) and Balthier and Basch just stood there like idiots healing in an endless loop because the boss was too strong.

[ehra]

Well, I really love X's story, and the dialogue never really bothered me for some reason. Sure, there's some dumb lines, but those never got to me.

For me it was mainly the "laughing" scene. Can't remember the specifics, but I'm sure everyone knows what I'm talking about. Other than that, I wasn't ever particularly bothered by the dialogue.... it was mainly the timing of a lot of the voice acting that got to me. I remember there being a lot of overly long pauses that would never happen in an actual conversation. KH2 (and probably 1 but I can't remember) had that problem, too.

Plus I don't think you could even skip cutscenes, could you?

[Ultimetalhead]

The laughing scene was ridiculous, but I don't care. The rest of the game was great, even though you couldn't skip cutscenes.

[Edan the Man]

Yeah the awkward pauses are a translation thing, and that laughing scene makes me cringe.

I don't remember if you could skip scenes or not.

[yorost]

I loved XII, although a disclaimer would be that I played the sequel prior to the main game.  Going in I was already familiar with most of the protagonists and liked them already.  I rather liked Vaan being someone observing the main story with his own story taking off at the end.  Less sidequests might actually have helped general opinions on the story, since it sometimes felt like you hadn't touched the main story in a long time.

The battle system felt like a good extension of the Active Time Battle used in the past.  It felt like a Final Fantasy game to me.

The Gambit System was a very welcomed aspect to the game.  It handled repetitive choices perfectly well and you can individually control more advanced battles.  If it isn't working at the moment it was easily turned off, and you weren't forced to use it so the bashing of it all seems meaningless.  It was quite fun playing with it to try and control your players.

[glaurung]

You could have just done what I did with gambits and set them up so all they made your characters do is auto attack (with Baltheir and Fran targeting Flying enemies first) and then I controlled everything else manually. Then you don't have to complain about gambits running a fight for you.

[ariich]

For the record Genowyn, if DT put out a trance album of high quality, then yes I'd probably like it, as I don't really base my opinions on expectations. But it's not a fair analogy though, trance has nothing in common with prog-metal, so that would be more akin to the next FF being a racing game. The change in combat system is more like the difference between Train of Thought and Octavarium.

Anyway I didn't use the gambits that much, but limited use of them really enhanced the gameplay. And it sounds like you weren't really using them very effectively (based on the example you gave) which is hardly the game's fault

[Anaesthesia]

VI: Never finished it, still want to.
VII: Only played it after I had beaten IX and X (I think), so I was spoiled by the graphics, but I can see why people love the story so much. I just find it hard to abstract from the graphics.
VIII: Was very touching for me. I loved the characters, the leveling up system, the GFs and the story. The world map was really fun to explore, but I never got too far in doing sidequests.
IX: My first and favourite evar. <3 the storyline, characters, everythinggggggggggggg.
X: Also very special to me because I played it in a time when I was very young and full of imagination. It still feels very nostalgic to re-play it.
FFX-2: WHAT HAS SCIENCE DONE.
FFXII: Felt too much like na MMO, didn't have the "magical" feeling of the older games.

Not to mention, I'm a KH fangirl.