Brontoforumus Archive
Game Boards => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Rico on July 22, 2008, 10:37:25 PM
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FFIV remake is hot as hell.
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Pacobird did some detective work and found that almost the whole cast of FFIV worked on Odin Sphere as well.
This explains why it's so weird to me, hearing Rosa tell Cecil she loves him -- she's cheating on Oswald with Cornelius, the brazen hussy!
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God I hate it when FFXII cheats.
ME: Okay, this is working fine. We've got the boss down to 10% health and...
BOSS: *one-hit kill*
ME: YOU CAN'T DO THAT!
BOSS: Sorry, is this better? *infinite combo*
ME: NO, NO IT ISN'T.
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The theory is generally that as soon as you get a boss to 27% hp, you instantly switch in your off-team (who should all have three full MQs ready) and chain that fucker to death before he uses renew/white wind/paling/thunder fuck.
My inability to time things makes this kind of a problem, though.
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I don't recall having these kinds of problems, unless it was one of those optional bosses. Of course, I has bubble belts nailed to my collective asses as soon as they were available.
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It's mainly a problem with marks, but the main bosses are kind of guilty of it too. I've had them suddenly spam their special, party-damaging attack three times in a row when I've gotten them to low health, for example.
Also I apparently put this in the wrong topic because it was very late and I was two parts pissed and three parts groggy. Feel free to shuffle the conversation over.
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You know, I keep ranking this game pretty highly, but I've also not managed to play more than 10 hours into it. And I'm remembering why. The further I get, the more it becomes a Final Fantasy I Can't Fucking Stand.
There are a lot of those.
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You know, I keep ranking this game pretty highly, but I've also not managed to play more than 10 hours into it. And I'm remembering why. The further I get, the more it becomes a Final Fantasy I Can't Fucking Stand.
There are a lot of those.
Every person I know who played this game (including myself) quit at the same spot: the lighthouse. Apparently it's really damn close to the end of the game, but even though up until that point I was addicted to the game, it just seems to be the point where people go "okay, I'm done".
On another note, I recently started playing the first Etrian Odyssey. It's tough but addicting, as I'm sure everyone already knows. At least it's helping pass the time during the summer break. (Speaking of which, I'm kind of annoyed that Disgaea 3 is coming out the day after the fall semester at my college starts. Talk about bad fucking timing for a grindathon.)
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I didn't like XII within 72 hours of buying it.
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Co-incidentally i am playing through FF12 right now as well! I am liking it just fine, but i am using the Power Walkthrough on gamefaqs, since i had previously played through to Archades when i was living in Tucson and i didn't want to fuck around getting back to where i was. I'm level 40 or so and i have had the Zodiac Spear for some ten-odd levels! Everyone has all their quickenings! I have 6 Gold Amulets and 6 Embroidered Tippets! It's wonderful.
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Every person I know who played this game (including myself) quit at the same spot: the lighthouse.
Technically, I did too. I completed the lighthouse, but plotwise I never got any further. It was the King Behemoth mark that was the straw that broke the camel's back, though.
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Every person I know who played this game (including myself) quit at the same spot: the lighthouse.
Technically, I did too. I completed the lighthouse, but plotwise I never got any further. It was the King Behemoth mark that was the straw that broke the camel's back, though.
I don't exactly remember, but I think that's the mark that stopped me, as well. Between the lighthouse and not being able to complete any more marks, I just got fed up and quit. Maybe one day I'll play it again with that power walkthrough.
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I played like a few minutes of FF12, but haven't played it in so long that when I do get around to playing it (need to beat some games that a friend loaned me first), what exactly am I looking out for with this 'King Behemoth' Mark
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I still need to buy FFXII and finish it...as soon as I remember where I was.
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FFIV remake is hot as hell.
Agreed. Although I don't remember Golbez being such a fucking whore.
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Almost lost the will to play at the tower of babil. Oh boy, random encounters that can kill, in one turn, every single non-fire-immune party member and the return of Zombie Seymour for dessert!
::(:
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I played like a few minutes of FF12, but haven't played it in so long that when I do get around to playing it (need to beat some games that a friend loaned me first), what exactly am I looking out for with this 'King Behemoth' Mark
Imagine a really really big map. A really big map covered in fog. In fact, make it two really big maps, covered in fog, where you can't see more than a foot in front of your face.
Now go clear out every single monsters on the map to make the King Behemoth spawn. And then die when he gets down to 2% health and watch as all the monsters you cleared out respawn. ::(:
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That sounds like... every other hunt in the game. ::(:
I really, really dislike how faithfully they recreated the MMO experience in some places.
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I spurred myself to finally play through Final Fantasy V (fan-translated SNES ROM, I own the PSX version but fuck that). The last couple of times I ended up quitting because I couldn't get enough ABP to seriously level my jobs early on (around clearing the ancient library the first time) and got bored. This time I just said "fuck it, I'm just going to get enough job levels to be viable and go with it" and that ended up working. It was nice to actually have a challenge for once (the last RPG I played was Ar Tonelico which, although pretty good, is about as hard as melted ice cream), although I didn't bother trying to kill the optional bosses because seriously, fuck that noise. I still think the game is nowhere near as good as 6 and a bit below 4, but I no longer think of the game as being just plain terrible.
One thing that really fucking ticks me off, though, is that later in the game one of your members who is mostly geared towards fighting and challenge and might is replaced by another who is basically a speedy caster. What. The. Fuck. She starts with all the skills and equipment the other guy had, but if you're like me then you trained the first guy to be a front row fighting guy, while new girl is better suited to casting from the back, which means Faris would be better off taking a front line fighting spot, except I always put her on casting duty alongside Lenna (because you really need 2 casters, especially once you start getting the good time magic spells and red magic is no longer really viable), and ARHGRHGRHRBRHRRBRGHGHBR. Of course it's possible to retool both characters, but by then you've already grinded a lot of ABP and it's much easier to just say "fuck it, I'll just go with it". You could just train the first guy as a mage from the start, of course, but then you're saddled with a subpar caster for like 2/3rds of the damn game. All in all, just a poor design decision. If you're going to replace my big burly fighter character, then MAKE THE REPLACEMENT ANOTHER BIG BURLY FIGHTER CHARACTER. It's just common sense!
Also, Xfight doesn't work with Magic Sword. Boo. I suppose Flare Sword x 8 (Xfight + 2 weapons) would have broken the game, but, well, I like breaking games. Shove me down the yellow brick road and call me a munchkin!
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I still haven't been able to get through FF5, but since I've been on a FF kick this week I gave it another shot the other day. Playing it side by side with FF4 I was struck by how much worse the story and characters in 5 are. I mean 4 isn't exactly Shakespeare, but it's surprisingly nuanced for a video game from 1991. Whereas, by comparison, (and I'm sure the fan-translation is partly responsible for this) 5 feels like someone's RPGmaker project.
Though I suppose it shouldn't really come as a surprise that the most draconically linear FF is also the one with pretty much the best story.
You know, a thought just occurred to me: the arc of VII-XIII is basically a repeat of I-VII.
I: the standard that all its descendants are based on. Popular, but not really that amazing when you look back at it.
II: characters had more personality and the story was vaguely more interesting, but the weird leveling system made everyone hate it anyway.
III: play-it-safe return to the basics with clearly defined jobs, a straightforward story, and a fucking shitload of airships, the most powerful of which is named "Invincible".
IV: a fairly constrained but moderately compelling story about one effeminate blonde swordsman and his dysfunctional family issues.
V: brought back the job system but everyone hated it.
VI: vastly epic in scope with lots of interesting characters and a well-developed world but not a particularly interesting overarching narrative.
VII: flashy, overbearing, with a pseudo-modern setting and a fractured narrative that was basically about grown men with improbable hairstyles looking pretty and having emotional breakdowns over their cellphones.
Time flows like a river... and history repeats...
VII: the standard that all its descendants are based on. Popular, but not really that amazing when you look back at it.
VIII: characters had more personality and the story was vaguely more interesting, but the weird leveling system made everyone hate it anyway.
IX: play-it-safe return to the basics with clearly defined jobs, a straightforward story, and a fucking shitload of airships, the most powerful of which is named "Invincible".
X: a fairly constrained but moderately compelling story about one effeminate blonde swordsman and his dysfunctional family issues.
XI: brought back the job system but everyone hated it.
XII: vastly epic in scope with lots of interesting characters and a well-developed world but not a particularly interesting overarching narrative.
XIII: Flashy? Check. Overbearing? Check. Pseudo-modern setting? Check. Motorcycles? You better fucking believe it.
From this we can easily extrapolate the quality of each new FF game years before it is even released, in perpetuity. THIS IS SCIENCE, PEOPLE.
Oddly enough in this cycle of aeons, FFVII is the cosmic turning point, being both the end of one age and the beginning of the next, which certainly seems to be how it's perceived by a lot of people. I believe the Vedas describe it as "jumping the celestial shark"...
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wow, i wish i could give you karma for that.
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So you're saying that Final Fantasy XVI will be my favorite game ever?
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Er, so does that make XIII also the next standard? You sort of used VII for two things there.
And why's it such a huge shock that FF7 marked a huge turning point? It's where the series left the yoke of Nintendo and where it gained a whole third dimension. A lot of the staff was shuffled around, overrated character artist Amano got replaced by overrated character artist Nomura, and new evil overlord company Sony demanded the deliberate shift to a graphics-over-gameplay dynamic that would pretty much carry the series through the next two generations, among a bunch of other things.
There are a lot of patterns within the series, honestly, but it depends on where you're looking at it from. For example, from where I'm standing, every odd-numbered FF is automatically terrible (#1 straddling a fine damn line until you get to Marsh Cave and then it flies off the line screaming and flailing).
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Er, so does that make XIII also the next standard?
Yes, it does.
And why's it such a huge shock that FF7 marked a huge turning point?
It's not a huge shock. It's just that I didn't purposely factor that fact into my cycle, it simply emerged naturally. I thought that was cute. I was originally just focused on the similarities between IV-VI and X-XII, but then I realised I could expand it to cover the whole series and it fit perfectly.
So you're saying that Final Fantasy XVI will be my favorite game ever?
I don't know... maybe? I like 4 a lot better than 10... even though 10 had an interesting story and a great battle system, plodding through the actual game was so god damn obnoxious that I grew to pretty much loathe it entirely.
Which is really strange because you'd think Good Story + Good Battles = Good RPG, but apparently you'd be wrong!
I suppose the difference may be that FF4 is a cliché story told reasonably well, whereas FF10 is an interesting story told very badly. It also doesn't help that basically every character in 10 is utterly intolerable.
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basically every character in 10 is utterly intolerable.
B-b-but what about Bondage Queen McGoth's A-lot?
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I know this sounds weird coming from me but
BOOBS ALONE ARE NOT ENOUGH
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She's easy on the eyes, but has all the personality of a trying-too-hard goth. Go figure.
Auron was the only compelling character out of the whole lot, if only because he was playing puppet master of the group.
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(Some of) FFX's characters become much more tolerable if you ignore the voices.
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Shut up classic.
I actually played (partway) through 10 a while ago after finishing P3 and before borrowing FF12 so i could get a start on it.* I really, truly love the character growth system -- when i first heard of the sphere grid in a magazine a thousand years ago, i was nonplussed, but MAN does it work out well in practice. The battles are super tight and enjoyable, the lingering feeling that i should constantly swap people in to get EXP notwithstanding (and given that kimahri and wakka are about as useful as a useless, superfluous pair of numbskulls, that's entirely my own madness tripping me up). I don't mind the cast of characters, with the exception of Yuna, since you could basically replace her voice with a 100 dB explosion and i wouldn't be any more irritated than i am every time she opens her mouth as it is. The presentation of that game is so completely horrible that i can't imagine how anyone could ever complete it. I lost count of how many times they fucked up your movement and consequently irritated the shit out of me by constantly changing the position of the static camera by the time i hit besaid village and the animations the cast do while talking are painful to behold. Also the CG cutscenes are SO bad, i want to barf whenever i see CG-Tidus emote.
If it was all SNES-style sprites i would play the SHIT out of that game. In fact, can we get a 2d FF10 remake for DS? That would be pretty good.
*GOD WHY AM I ON SUCH A FUCKING RPG KICK RIGHT NOW I AM ONLY PLAYING JAPPO SWORDFESTS AND THE DOOM ROGUELIKE (BTW I TOTALLY KILLED THE CYBERDEMON FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY I AM SO MONEY $$$$)
MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE THE NIGHTLY DANCE OF BLEEDING SWORDS REMINDS ME THAT I STILL LIVE
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For example, from where I'm standing, every odd-numbered FF is automatically terrible
...you totally stole that from Star Trek.
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For example, from where I'm standing, every odd-numbered FF is automatically terrible
...you totally stole that from Star Trek.
Hell, I remember reading people say that (about FF) since FF7 came out... which was odd, considering that the only other odd-numbered FF to be released in the US prior to that was the original.
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basically every character in 10 is utterly intolerable.
B-b-but what about Bondage Queen McGoth's A-lot?
I don't know, I thought Anima was pretty cool.
Also the CG cutscenes are SO bad, i want to barf whenever i see CG-Tidus emote.
Gellllllllllflinnnnnnng.
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I suppose the difference may be that FF4 is a cliché story told reasonably well, whereas FF10 is an interesting story told very badly. It also doesn't help that basically every character in 10 is utterly intolerable.
Whereas every character in FF4 came off as terribly bland and generic, which is really kind of amazing. When you have a party consisting of a murderous evil knight with his own airship platoon, a 10-year-old girl with command over a legion of gods and monsters, and an ancient suicidal wizard bent on revenge, it really takes a lot to make them seem uninteresting. And yet they manage!
Still, mediocre beats atrocious by definition.
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My Year of Flops (http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/the_final_tally) disagrees.
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I still haven't been able to get through FF5, but since I've been on a FF kick this week I gave it another shot the other day. Playing it side by side with FF4 I was struck by how much worse the story and characters in 5 are. I mean 4 isn't exactly Shakespeare, but it's surprisingly nuanced for a video game from 1991. Whereas, by comparison, (and I'm sure the fan-translation is partly responsible for this) 5 feels like someone's RPGmaker project.
It's really sad that it took to Final Fantasy V Advance to get a good translation for my favorite FF game. After slogging through the fan translation on emulators and the PSX Anthologies version (which managed to be even worse), I was crying tears of joy when FFVA came along and reminded me what my game needed.
Also, since not many had the joy of going through PSX Final Fantasy V, I leave you two enemy names to show how utterly fucked up the translation was.
Wyvern was mangled into: Y Burn.
and Tonberry got mangled into: Dinglberry. Yes. The name was too long for the space limit. Even though Final Fantasy 8 had been released already, and Tonberry was the new US standard. Despite the fact that it was released alongside FF6 with an army of Pugs. They chose the highly dubious "Dinglberry".
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So where does FFX-2 fit into this grand circle of life?
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It can replace XI if you like.
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Also:
(and given that kimahri and wakka are about as useful as a useless, superfluous pair of numbskulls, that's entirely my own madness tripping me up).
Wakka's not useless! He can kill birds with his deadly balls!
That's one of the things I thought was super-spiffy about FFX's battle system - the idea that every character had an enemy type that they were best against. Tidus had quick little bastards who evaded too much, Wakka had flying little bastards who evaded too much, Auron was for big armored dudes, Lulu was for flans and elementals, Rikku sucked except for her instant-kill machine thing, and Yuna's purpose in life was to keep her Aeon army primed and ready to blitz the shit out of boss monsters.
...and then there's Kimahri. ::(:
Yet Another Useless Blue Mage aside, the specialization of each character was pretty brilliant, and made for one of the few FF games where the characters were actually unique within the mechanics of the game itself.
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I enjoy the systems of most Final Fantasy games but think that they need better characters and stories to accompany them.
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...and then there's Kimahri. ::(:
Yet Another Useless Blue Mage aside, the specialization of each character was pretty brilliant, and made for one of the few FF games where the characters were actually unique within the mechanics of the game itself.
I can see what they were TRYING to do with Kimahri -- putting him in the center of the sphere grid means you can make him anything you want.
It's a decent enough idea in theory, it just doesn't work very well in practice.
...Someone should split this. I was going to do it, but then I remembered I made Det a global mod so I wouldn't have to split so many threads myself.
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The problem with making Kimahri into whatever you want is that, like Brentai said, you already have one person for each enemy type already... and you need to swap people into battle to get them experience. If I were to, say, have Kimahri follow Auron's path, then I would have to choose between the two of them to use against armored enemies, and as a result they'd each get less experience. So, yeah, doesn't work well in practice.
...Goddammit, I want to play this game again, and I've already done that a few times. I've even completed the monster catching TWICE. And the stupid Chocobo race TWICE.
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The sphere grid was a problem for him (he could only ever be a clone of another character) but his biggest downfall is that he didn't have a place anywhere in the power balance, which meant he sucked against every single enemy type. If there were some kind of lioness monster that Kimahri could poke with his spear then he'd be a part of the standard character rotation more often.
Also I wanna say I loved the hell out of the sphere grid and hated its presentation, mainly because its chessboard-circle bullshit made a legitimately awesome leveling system look like a cynical gimmick. Seriously, though, the SG's biggest strength is the License Board's biggest weakness - every character had a section of the board designed just for them and could explore multiple variations of growth without straying outside of their class archetype, while at the same time having the option of crossing over into other people's sections but only with a conscious effort to do so. Rikku could turn into Auron if you wanted, but you had to damn well be doing it on purpose in order for it to happen. The LB, on the other hand, sort of encourages everyone to become a generic sword/shield-user with Cure, and you need to make a specific effort if you want your party to NOT be a bunch of the same people (which I'm doing this time around, and it's not working out quite as well as when I just had everybody but weak-ass Fran dogpile on the nearest monster and occasionally heal).
Also, it adds an extra unnecessary step to equipment management, which is already bad enough with shops spread all the hell over every city.
...Someone should split this.
I've been waiting for it since a page ago.
(Also Rosencrantz sorry for parroting what you just said you posted that while I was typing and I'm not going back to edit okay)
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And the stupid Chocobo race TWICE.
You're insane. Did you do the lightning and butterfly minigames twice as well? God damn.
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I liked having Kimahri as a second Tidus, mostly because it's fun to stack up delay effects. I gave him spears with piercing, and he could support anyone against anything. The only reason I ever took him off the active team was because I wanted to let someone else get some exp for a change.
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And the stupid Chocobo race TWICE.
You're insane. Did you do the lightning and butterfly minigames twice as well? God damn.
I am insane. But to my credit, I only did the lightning once and I have never completed the butterfly minigame. Oh, and I've never played Blitzball enough to unlock Wakka's weapon.
Now that I think about it, the first time I did all this stuff was several years ago when I was in my air force tech school, and I was stuck on the base and since it was Mississippi in the summer nobody wanted to go outside so most people just stayed in and played games. The second time was when I had my first two wisdom teeth removed.
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My second time through the game I intended to powergame and everything, but then I got a random-drop sword for Tidus really, really early in the game that had Petrify on it, and pretty much used that to solve every problem I had, ever. Apparently while most enemies are death-immune, almost none of them have any resistance to Petrify at all. At that point going for ultimate weapons and such just seemed like a waste of time. I even managed to use it to kill myself during the fight with Yu Yevon.
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My second time through the game I intended to powergame and everything, but then I got a random-drop sword for Tidus really, really early in the game that had Petrify on it, and pretty much used that to solve every problem I had, ever. Apparently while most enemies are death-immune, almost none of them have any resistance to Petrify at all. At that point going for ultimate weapons and such just seemed like a waste of time.
Hell yes! On my first playthrough I got that same weapon (the snake guys who petrify you near Djose temple drop it) and I couldn't believe how useful it was. Even those giant Ochus in the following area go down in one hit to it. So, naturally, on my second playthrough I kept fighting the snakes to get the drop... and it took at least a few hours. A similar thing happened on my first playthrough of SotN: I somehow got TWO Crissaegrim drops without knowing what they were, but every time since then I have to equip all the luck equipment and sit there for way too long to get a single one.
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See, Brentai, the problem with Wakka is that Lulu can ALSO hit flying enemies just fine.
Also, the clear solution to having to swap everyone in all the time to get EXP is to just have everyone constantly attacking the wrong enemy.
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.. now I really want to play the International version of FFX, where everyone starts in the middle of the board. Is there a version where the menus aren't all ching chong wing wong?
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The International and PAL versions of the game include an optional "Expert" version of the Sphere Grid; in these versions, all of the characters start in the middle of the grid and may follow whichever path the player chooses. As a tradeoff, however, the Expert grid has noticeably fewer nodes in total, thus decreasing the total statistic upgrades available during the game.
You know what I'm going to say here.
"Sounds like the License Board to me!"
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.. now I really want to play the International version of FFX, where everyone starts in the middle of the board. Is there a version where the menus aren't all ching chong wing wong?
At the beginning of the game, you select if you want English or Japanese. Unfortunately, the language option page is in Japanese, but once you get past that the game seems to be 100% English. There's a thread about the game over on the ToastyForums (http://www.gamespite.net/talkingtime/showthread.php?t=5090&page=3), including some screenshots of the menus and Expert Grid, which are completely translated.
MY question, however, is: is there any way to play this on a PS3 without opening it up and messing with it, or do decent PS2 emulators exist yet? I've been wanting to try this version for a long time. I've heard that there are ways to play Japanese games on a PS2 by using some device instead of modding the console, too - if that does exist, I could just borrow my brother's PS2.
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You know what I'm going to say here.
"Sounds like the License Board to me!"
Kind of, except I think you'd still end up specializing. It's more a "choose which characters get which classes" situation than "make everybody basically identical".
I might be wrong, of course; haven't played 10 in years and don't know how feasible it would be to play through the game with a legion of characters who know rudimentary abilities in each area. But remembering Kimarhi leads me to think the answer is "not very".
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Wait, that reminds me. They ALSO did an international version of FF12 with the "zodiac" license grid. If I remember correctly, there were 12 different zodiac license grids and you could choose one for each character and it gave them a more specific job class. So... more like FF10, really.
I REALLY want to play that one, especially since I haven't even finished FF12 compared to how many times I've played FF10, but I also remember hearing that this one didn't have the English text in it. Don't know if that's true or not, though.
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While it'd be awesome to turn Auron into a caster and Yuna into a powerhouse from the get-go, it still doesn't work on account of the whole power balance thing. If you're not playing Auron for strength then you're just going to give yourself a hard time against armored foes, etc.
haven't played 10 in years
SEVEN! ...you're just getting everyone back for the X-Files thing, aren't you?
Wait, that reminds me. They ALSO did an international version of FF12 with the "zodiac" license grid. If I remember correctly, there were 12 different zodiac license grids and you could choose one for each character and it gave them a more specific job class. So... more like FF10, really.
Shoulda frickin' did that in the first place, though that's not going to magically make the map design and enemy balance any better.
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The zodiac boards also have little blocked-off sections of all the boards that are bridged by summons and quickenings -- to that end everyone has more than 3 quickening spaces on their board and they don't all cost the same amount. They're also MUCH more powerful than the regular board -- which you can still pick, if you want... call it "Ophiuchus" i guess -- for example, the Red Mage board has something like 12 goddamn Magic Boosts.
God, i wanna play the international version so much.
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I don't like when console publishers(?) pull this secondary release bullshit. Are publishing companies being such fuckers that we get P3 before the game is really done, after which we get P3:FES?
I'm probably looking at this the wrong way. Feel free to correct me if it's really an issue of "Our fans loved X so much, we wanted to give them more!" and not "People are eating this shit up; I bet some balance tweaks and maybe a little more content would let us sell the game TWICE."
This whole thing might be a little hypocritical of me, as I have GGXX and GGXXAC (which introduces balance changes, a few extra characters, and expanded mechanics). I think balance in competitive multiplayer games is a slightly different ballpark, though.
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haven't played 10 in years
SEVEN! ...you're just getting everyone back for the X-Files thing, aren't you?
Er, no.
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do decent PS2 emulators exist yet?
PCSX2 (http://www.pcsx2.net/) claims to run FFX and FFXII playably, and I see no reason to doubt it, but it will be at a ridiculously low framerate even on a mighty computer. Worth a try, though.
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Y'know, I bet that with an emulator you'd be able to clear some of those fucking minigames in FFX.
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What, by turning up the framerate so they don't bore you to failure?
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Who says you need an emu for that
(http://www.viewonline.com/pages/articles/images/PS2CodeBreaker.gif)
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What, by turning up the framerate so they don't bore you to failure?
dohohohoho
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I feel slightly dirty at inadvertantly starting this particular thread, being the raging Dragon Quest fanboy that I am, but the farther I get into the FFIV remake, the more I enjoy it. But then again, is a Final Fantasy game where you have to Slow and defense-down the bosses really a Final Fantasy game?
With regards to X, I probably would've played through it about 3 more times if there were an option to auto-fill Sphere Grid nodes you pass.
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Playing through FF7 for the first time in about 10 years. It's a lot better than I remember it being, but I'm still struck by how flat and uninteresting all these characters are. I know the plot is mostly about Sephiroth and all that, but Jesus, woman abusing Cid is the most likable character.
Still better than 8 where ever character made me want to choke them.
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I don't like when console publishers(?) pull this secondary release bullshit. Are publishing companies being such fuckers that we get P3 before the game is really done, after which we get P3:FES?
At least in the case of Persona 3, you've got it backwards. Persona 3 comes out at full price, collectors buy the shit out of it because it's Atlus and therefore likely to be hard to find, driving the price up, and then FES comes out with the full game included at 19.99. So, really, FES was an amazing gesture compared to the shit Square pulls in Japan with their "international editions".
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I have love at plot of this game.
"Ah! I is third time today capture by empire!"
"Now I do dropping mystery power of old rock inside boat! WHAT POSSIBLE HAPPENS TO GO WRONG?"
"Congratulation, you is make Empire explode. ON PURPOSE YES."
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It's like Final Fantasy V all over again.
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God I hate it when FFXII cheats.
ME: Okay, this is working fine. We've got the boss down to 10% health and...
BOSS: *one-hit kill*
ME: YOU CAN'T DO THAT!
BOSS: Sorry, is this better? *infinite combo*
ME: NO, NO IT ISN'T.
No, seriously, Square, fucking cut it the fucking hell out. I am tired of spending 20 minutes finding a boss, whittling it down to such-and-such percent, and then you telling me that I'll need about another ten levels before I ever have a chance of winning. This is not fun.
Seriously after the first few dungeons the whole game feels like a chore. Is there any payoff at all for sticking with it?
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No, seriously, Square, fucking cut it the fucking hell out. I am tired of spending 20 minutes finding a boss, whittling it down to such-and-such percent, and then you telling me that I'll need about another ten levels before I ever have a chance of winning. This is not fun.
Seriously after the first few dungeons the whole game feels like a chore. Is there any payoff at all for sticking with it?
I think I got into the habit of either saving up my main party's Quickenings for when that happened, or saving my backup party's (who I never leveled up), which was useful at least one or twice to dish out some fast damage during those parts.
-
I didn't like using huge amounts of mana for an attack that might not actually do a lot of damage, so I never used Quickenings. Unfortunately, I found out about at the point where I had to fight the 6-mandragora team that the boss fights are almost BUILT around Quickenings after a certain point. So I quit.
-
My quickenings don't do nearly enough damage to actually turn the situation around. The main problem is that I'm actually genuinely skilled at the game enough that I can tough it out with an opponent that seriously outclasses me, as long as it doesn't do anything ridiculous like off my whole party in one attack. Which of course it does. But only after wasting my time.
This has not happened only once.
-
I wanted to love FFXII, but I agree with poorly localized guy; the bosses are cheap and stupid and I hate them.
Also, Penelo's hair.
-
I didn't mind the bosses and I loved Penelo's hair. Actually, Penelo in general is the only female character in that game that doesn't seem utterly ridiculous. It's a shame since the characters in 12 are otherwise pretty good.
-
I see nothing utterly ridiculous about a Scandinavian rabbit woman.
Oh.. oh wait. Yeah. That is silly.
-
I find Ashe's ridiculous hooker suit to be the worst offender.
The shorts. The retarded skirt-shorts. WHY :MENDOZAAAAA:
-
No. Nothing is worse than Basch.
-
I'm Captain Basch Von Rosenburg!
-
I'm Captain Basch Fon Ronsenburg!
-
DALMASCAN... SPEEDS BY, BASCH FON RONSENBURG
DON'T LISTEN... TO ONDORE'S LIES, BASCH FON RONSENBURG
BASCH, HE CAN REALLY MOVE
BASCH, HE'S GOT ATTITUDE
BASCH, HE IS IN FACT STILL ALIIEEIIEEIIIVE
-
:wat:
-
The shorts. The retarded skirt-shorts. WHY
::(: Did your... Did your balls drop off?
-
LOOK OUT, WHEN HE STORMS THROUGH
BASCH FON RONSENBURG
HIS PLAID VEST MIGHT BLIND YOU
BASCH FON RONSENBURG
BASCH, HE'S GOT BATTLE LORE
BASCH, TO SILENCE ONDORE
BASCH, HE IS REALLY STILL ALIVE!
HE IS REALLY STILL ALIVE!
HE FEELS FANTASTIC AND HE'S STILL ALIVE!
-
The shorts. The retarded skirt-shorts. WHY
::(: Did your... Did your balls drop off?
Being Doominous Von Doomenmeyer The 23rd, I am obligated to remind you of my incredible wealth and obligatory taste associated with such.
As such, I consider it possible for a whore to be unattractive by virtue of being too whorish.
Of course, Fran's outfit is stupid for battle logistics reasons, but pretty dapper for fapping reasons. And Penelo's got an ass that just won't quit.
-
The problem with Ashe is that she dresses like a whore and then acts like she's better than you. It creates a cognitive dissonance that can only be resolved by slapping the bitch in her royal mouth.
-
honestly penelo's outfit is worse anyway
lingerie print
what
-
The problem with Ashe is that she dresses like a whore and then acts like she's better than you.
I'm dressed like a Mediterranean gigolo.
Sure, my shampoo works out split ends better than her own, but that's about where my superiority ends.
-
You guys are weeeeeeeeeeeeird. I fucking hate Penelo. Hell, the only characters I cared for were Basch, Balthier, Ashe and Fran. Vaan and Penelo are just terrible add-ons to a cast that was perfectly fine on its own.
-
Oh, no, i like Penelo because she doesn't dress like a 100% twat. She and Vaan are totally incidental to the story, moreso than any FF character to date, and have no real reason to be hanging on besides, i guess, curiosity/patriotism/boredom.
-
I stopped playing FF12 at those oil platforms in the Jagd, but ... I really liked the role Vaan (and, to a lesser extent, Penelo) played. It obviously was Ashe and Basch's story, but I appreciate the seperation between protagonist and viewpoint character. It lended a really interesting context to the high politics that were afoot.
I wish I could stomach the gameplay and grind more, I was really digging that story.
-
The problem with Ashe is that she dresses like a whore and then acts like she's better than you. It creates a cognitive dissonance that can only be resolved by slapping the bitch in her royal mouth.
honestly penelo's outfit is worse anyway
lingerie print
what
Complaining about stupid fucking clothing in FF is like Complaining that the SUN IS TOO MADE OUT OF HYDROGEN
-
THE WAY THE SUN CONVERTS HYDROGEN INTO HELIUM VIA NUCLEAR FUSION DISGUSTS ME.
-
I'm dressed like a Mediterranean gigolo.
Well I'm not. Vaan is. I'm not Vaan, and I don't appreciate the game's insistance that I am. I'm the guy saving the fucking world, not the stupid thief kid who joined the party because he had nothing better to do.
I really liked the role Vaan (and, to a lesser extent, Penelo) played. It obviously was Ashe and Basch's story, but I appreciate the seperation between protagonist and viewpoint character. It lended a really interesting context to the high politics that were afoot.
See, Tidus filled that role okay. He was literally a narrator, and a viewpoint for the player who's never been to Spira before, and yeah his having to have the intelligence of the lowest common denominator got annoying after a while (Lulu even points out that Tidus' ignorance extends past ignorance and includes a total lack of observational skills), but he served a purpose damn it.
Vaan doesn't serve that purpose. He's not narrating the story. There's no excuse for his ignorance. He's not doing the party any good - the very few times he actually does something, he's fucking them over badly - and at several points during the game the characters themselves look Vaan in the face and ask him what the hell he's doing there, and his answer is, word for word, "I don't know! But if I keep hanging out with you guys, maybe I'll find out!"
Vaan is a third-string character, about as important as, say, Gau in the grand scheme of things, and is unfortunately elevated to the point where he's pretty much in your face 24/7. It doesn't help that he's genuinely unlikable either.
(Incidentally, he's actually kind of cool in FFTA2, which leads me to believe that his standard "punk kid to slick adult" conversion not through the course of the game, but through the course of a string of spinoffs and cameos.)
There are a couple dozen developer interviews that state that Basch was meant to be the main character for the longest time, and the order came down later from the suits that they wanted another hip Okinawan kid for the lead character, plot be damned. So I think they kind of sabotaged Vaan partly out of frustration, and partly to make hip Okinawan kids as lead characters seem more obnoxious. And man did they succeed.
Also, Penelo is totally not the one who isn't dressed stupid. Tell me what that thing she's wearing is even called and I might begin to agree with you.
-
(Incidentally, he's actually kind of cool in FFTA2, which leads me to believe that his standard "punk kid to slick adult" conversion not through the course of the game, but through the course of a string of spinoffs and cameos.)
Doesn't FFTA2 also give him a shirt?
-
Coolness in Ivalice is inversely proportional to how much of your body is exposed.
Balthier: Almost completely covered.
Vayne: Also fully clothed, plus his hair counts as an accessory.
Penelo: Meh.
Larsa: Up top, fully clothed and fairly intelligent. Down below... okay, kid, we get it. Why don't you just look Balthier in the eyes and say, "I require your penis, sirrah"?
Basch: As a general, he was effective and well-dressed. Then some fucker threw him into the Salvation Army discount pile and he's never been the same since.
Ashe: Her fall from grace is symbolized by stripping down into her FFXII-2 outfit.
Vaan: No matter how many shirts you equip him with, he keeps torturing you with his washboard abs. I mean his abs are literally a washboard.
Fran: Seems cool at first, but then she A) opens her mouth and B) has, like, no stats. She's there to punish players who insist on keeping her in their main lineup because of her sweet Rabbitasstre.
-
Coolness in Ivalice is inversely proportional to how much of your body is exposed.
How do Final Fantasy Tactics and Ramza's chapter 4 buttpants figure in to this?
-
Vaan: No matter how many shirts you equip him with, he keeps torturing you with his washboard abs. I mean his abs are literally a washboard.
he just draws them on with a pencil
EDIT
How do Final Fantasy Tactics and Ramza's chapter 4 buttpants figure in to this?
you'll note that basch's coolest outfit in 12 also has buttpants that give an uncompromising, visionary view of his package.
-
And what about Luso in FFTA2? Fucker's wearing more clothes and accessories than anyone else put together.
I suppose you could say that while he wasn't especially cool, I certainly didn't hate him, especially as much as Vaan or most of the FF leads.
-
See also: Ashley Riot's assless shorts
-
visionary view
-
at several points during the game the characters themselves look Vaan in the face and ask him what the hell he's doing there, and his answer is, word for word, "I don't know! But if I keep hanging out with you guys, maybe I'll find out!"
(http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t322/DetonatorNova/motive2.jpg)
-
All of the above, in Vaan's case.
-
Don't say revenge, don't say revenge.
-
I said it depends on how much body is exposed, not how many clothes there are actually are. To that end:
And what about Luso in FFTA2? Fucker's wearing more clothes and accessories than anyone else put together.
And yet he's still managed to have his 10-year-old boytits right up in your face. Fail.
How do Final Fantasy Tactics and Ramza's chapter 4 buttpants figure in to this?
Ramza's buttpants create the illusion that Ramza's ass is exposed when it's really not, just as Ramza create the illusion that he's completely ineffectual when he... may or may not be.
Further evidence: Agrias is basically a woman encased in a tank, and she is awesome. Gafgarion and Orlandu are even better, and both take huge pains to cover up as much of themselves as they can (helmets, hoods, beards, WHATEVER IT TAKES).
See also: Ashley Riot's assless shorts
Case closed.
-
Olympic Ceremonies are on, and I'm listening to Vaan and Penelo quote Tactics like a couple of geeks.
Fuck those two in their noses.
-
what
-
Olympic Ceremonies are on, and I'm listening to Vaan and Penelo quote Tactics like a couple of geeks.
Fuck those two in their noses.
I nearly went crazy when I saw that part. I couldn't tell if I had imagined it, and I was without an internet connection so I couldn't ask anyone else if it existed.
-
explain
-
srsly
-
Okay.
I'm not 100% sure when this scene occurs since it's been almost two years, but I'm sure Brentai can be more specific. I think it's during the part where the party leaves the Plains area and heads towards the forest where the Viera village is located. While the actual important characters are talking story stuff, Vaan, Penelo, and I think Larsa are in the back simply quoting certain lines from FFT such as "I got a good feeling!" and "This is the way!"
I think the only reason why I heard this was because I was in my extremely tiny, practically cardboard room in Qatar and I had to use headphones if I wanted to hear my games.
-
explain
srsly
I'm sure Brentai can be more specific.
Naaw.
But hey, on a totally unrelated note, I figured out how to use my card to actually record video.
...except YouTube actually cuts out most of Penelo and Vaan's babbling, even though it comes through clear in the original file. I guess it's some sort of 5.1 back-speaker easter egg, which would explain why you guys are so confused. I'll see about encoding it in mono and get back to you guys in a few.
EDIT: There we go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIPu-aUiJTo
-
...how did I not catch that? I'm slipping in my old age.
Anyway: AWESOME
-
Further evidence: Agrias is basically a woman encased in a tank, and she is awesome. Gafgarion and Orlandu are even better, and both take huge pains to cover up as much of themselves as they can (helmets, hoods, beards, WHATEVER IT TAKES).
I'd offer up Meliadhoul as a counter, but apparently they buffed her in the PSP version and made her skills hit naked people too, which actually makes her kind of useful.
See also: Ashley Riot's assless shorts
Case closed.
The reinforcements are ineffectual?
Well, at least the enemy is the same way.
-
Further evidence: Agrias is basically a woman encased in a tank, and she is awesome. Gafgarion and Orlandu are even better, and both take huge pains to cover up as much of themselves as they can (helmets, hoods, beards, WHATEVER IT TAKES).
I'd offer up Meliadhoul as a counter, but apparently they buffed her in the PSP version and made her skills hit naked people too, which actually makes her kind of useful.
Meliadoul's only problem is that you get her after Orlandu. Unless you HAVE TO BREAK EVERYTHING it's kind of redundant.
-
It's better to have Balthier steal everything, in any case.
-
He has to get there before Orlandu kills everyone, though.
-
I decided I didn't want to use Orlandu, so that was never an issue for me. I stole his sword and gave it to Beowulf so he could run around turning everyone into chickens instead.
-
Other than the fact that you actually have to go slightly out of your way to get Beowulf, how's that much different?
-
!!!ORLANDU!!!
|
|
!BEOWULF!
|
|
|
BALFLEAR
AGRIAS
|
MELIADOUL
|
OPTIMIZED NORMAL HUMANS
|
REIS, WORKER 8, BYBLOS
|
|
|
|
UNOPTIMIZED NORMAL HUMANS
|
MONSTERS
|
CLOUD
<snipping 40 lines>
|
MALAK
|
|
RAFA
-
Other than the fact that you actually have to go slightly out of your way to get Beowulf, how's that much different?
I like Beowulf better than Orlandu, that's the difference.
-
(heirarchy of toughess)
ACTUALLY i should probably split monsters up into Useful Monsters (chocobo, skeleton, dragon, ahriman) and Bad Monsters (goblin, bird, malboro, etc.) and if i really wanted i guess i could mention that tier 3 monsters are like a half-notch above tier 1/2 monsters, but whatever.
If i can ever jack my friend's PSP again i should get back to work on my Pokemon playthrough.
-
ACTUALLY i should probably split monsters up into Useful Monsters (chocobo, skeleton, dragon, ahriman) and Bad Monsters (goblin, bird, malboro, etc.) and if i really wanted i guess i could mention that tier 3 monsters are like a half-notch above tier 1/2 monsters, but whatever.
...does that put any of the monsters above a standard mook, though?
Also, Mustadio is completely missing. As he should be.
-
I've played FFT many, many times and Mustadio is the only story character I have ever used (and only once or twice, at that). I think I usually made him into a chemist so he could still use guns and his Aim skills. The game is easy enough using a Calculator, so I've never felt like using Orlandu or anyone else.
-
...does that put any of the monsters above a standard mook, though?
No.
Also, Mustadio is completely missing. As he should be.
yeah, intentional omission.
-
I thought he was pretty good with some knight skills.
-
So are chemists, though.
-
I stopped playing FFT after I made two ninjas who had all of the Dragoon (fuck "Lancer") jumping abilities and then realized that guns counted as a two handed weapon and thus cannot be duel-wielded. :sadpanda:
I mean come on, jumping, dual-wielding gunners that can hit you from the other side of the map? Fuck you square, fuck you in the grass flute! Wiznaibus!
-
Dragoon (fuck "Lancer")
Nono, they're Dragoons now. The new translation totally made sense of that game!
Fuck you square, fuck you in the grass flute! Wiznaibus!
You, on the other hand, may be beyond hope.
-
Mustadio's snipe abilities were pretty useful, I thought.
I also noticed that Ramza isn't on the list.
Oh hey, why are Rafa and Malak so far below Unomptimized Normal Humans? Sure, their base jobs suck ass, but you can just retrain them. It's not like anyone uses Squire abilities. Same goes for Cloud, really, although with Short Charge he can be useful (if he didn't start at FUCKING LEVEL ONE).
-
By the point you get those boners they've been Squires (or what the fuck ever) for so long that they are absolutely useless. Also, Rafa has no fucking brave, making her useful for checking for traps... and that is about it.
Also, Cloud goddamn starts at level one, so FUCK that.
You mostly don't get to pick whether you use Ramza. He's a slightly better optimized/unoptimized human. I actually ought to note that "optimized" means "gained levels as the right fucking jobs and wasn't a squire forever, as well as having really good/cheap skill loadouts."
-
Cloud can do 999 damage to certain bosses.
It's far from worth the effort, but you can do it and pretend it means you have a massive penis and aren't just taking advantage of an overly simplistic damage calculation.
-
So can Orlandeaux. :whoops:
-
Ramza was doing 999 damage to bosses long before any special characters were!
-
...why did I bother sticking up for ol' dildo-head again?
-
...why did I bother sticking up for ol' dildo-head again?
Because you're a sentimental old coot?
-
...or that fateful night at the Honeybee Inn?
(Or is it "Honeybee Manor"? Fuck, never mind.)
-
HIS NAME IS THUNDER GOD CID!
-
That's his nickname.
His name's not even Cid.
(Neither is the guy's from FFTA2, even though he makes a point of it being so to Al-Cid. He's a Cidolfus just like Orlandu/deaux/do and Doctor Vaguely-Related-To-Mustadio.)
-
Over eighteen hours to kill a single boss. (http://petfoodalpha.com/?p=1055)
It turns out, the guys behind FFXI are completely fucking insane. I don't know if Jonathan Blow knows anything about FFXI, but if he thinks WoW is "unethical" because you can choose to grind in it, he'd probably say FFXI is pure evil.
Oh hey, and I should mention that a similarly difficult boss called Absolute Virtue can kill an entire raid in one attack, as well as heal itself to full hit points. It can do this at any time. It's been around for over two years, and has only been killed legitimately like 3 times.
-
I can almost respect that. Making a boss that's truly a legendary kill, and not just something you do 20 times waiting for the right armor to drop. Too bad the entire game damn is kinda like that.
I've always wanted to make an MMO with a boss that literally takes an entire server to kill. It would not show up very often. More like once, actually.
-
Everquest already did it. There was this ghost dragon spawning event that could only be triggered once per server, and technically should have been unkillable. At least one server actually did manage to pull it off, although much drama ensued between the players and the devs when the first time the dragon was despawned after nearly being killed. If the devs really wanted it to be unkillable, they should have set the immortal flag.
-
If you stat it... they will kill it?
-
Man I wish I could see those chat logs.
<elfdood2> brb puking
<loRDKIlL> lol i puked too
<loRDKIlL> 2 min ago
<m0rd0r> where r u jon
<m0rdor> jon? u pukin?
<m0rd0r> u pukin jon?
<jonast> wtf i just woke up
<loRDKIlL> lol u went 2 bed!! rotfl
<jonast> no asshole i just pulled my face of off my ketboard
<jonast> FUCK it its 9 already
<jonast> wtf
<m0rd0r> u alrite dude
<jonast> brb pukng
-
Over eighteen hours to kill a single boss. (http://petfoodalpha.com/?p=1055)
It turns out, the guys behind FFXI are completely fucking insane. I don't know if Jonathan Blow knows anything about FFXI, but if he thinks WoW is "unethical" because you can choose to grind in it, he'd probably say FFXI is pure evil.
Oh hey, and I should mention that a similarly difficult boss called Absolute Virtue can kill an entire raid in one attack, as well as heal itself to full hit points. It can do this at any time. It's been around for over two years, and has only been killed legitimately like 3 times.
My understanding was that Absolute Virtue has never really been legitimately killed, as he had some sort of AI error where he just quit doing anything if you survived long enough.
-
HEY! Surviving that long is tough enough. Right!?
-
Yeah, I'm going to have to go with the "you didn't really earn that" argument not really holding a lot of water.
Then again, it does mean that you just have to pretty much hold out and not attack for 18 hours.
-
Yeah, I'm going to have to go with the "you didn't really earn that" argument not really holding a lot of water.
Then again, it does mean that you just have to pretty much hold out and not attack for 18 hours.
Less they didn't earn it and more it was intended to be harder.
The funny thing is SE claims they don't put any bosses into the game until a moderate sized play test group is able to down them, they even release videos and such. Only people have noticed the play testers doing impossible things during some of the videos and/or the video cuts our during some of the really hard moments of the fight.
-
Everquest already did it. There was this ghost dragon spawning event that could only be triggered once per server, and technically should have been unkillable. At least one server actually did manage to pull it off, although much drama ensued between the players and the devs when the first time the dragon was despawned after nearly being killed. If the devs really wanted it to be unkillable, they should have set the immortal flag.
^ refers to the Sleeper. (http://www.albrandes.com/skden/articles/sleeper.asp)
"The guild Conquest...was accused of using an exploit when fighting the third Warder. They were accused of having their raid under the bridge where the warder could not reach them while their main tank built aggro on the dragon without doing damage, so it couldn't start summoning."
::D:
"The guild was disbanded and all it's members suspended and two memebers were banned as they had previously been warned from similar exploitation."
:sadpanda:
-
"The guild Conquest...was accused of using an exploit when fighting the third Warder. They were accused of having their raid under the bridge where the warder could not reach them while their main tank built aggro on the dragon without doing damage, so it couldn't start summoning."
So they were accused of... using strategy?
-
Any strategy that rewards ingenuity over outright grinding means you are cheating and will be banned.
-
"The guild Conquest...was accused of using an exploit when fighting the third Warder. They were accused of having their raid under the bridge where the warder could not reach them while their main tank built aggro on the dragon without doing damage, so it couldn't start summoning."
So they were accused of... using strategy?
Not the only time, either.
"...your main party will contain 1 Warlock & 1 Rogue and then 2 other classes dones't matter for summoning. The rogue will sneak past ALL the mobs and get right up to the main Lava boss. Right then ask the Warlock to summon the rogue, when the rogue gets the "Accept Summon" button he will go and smack the boss from behind and then port. OK get ready, because 2 minutes later the boss will arrive at the doorstep of the instance and he's tough! Conquest beat him legit but this way you can skip all the raid mobs. Enjoy. This may be patched in upcoming patch however as of now it works so use caution."
I'm too lazy to check whether Conquest pioneered the summon pull, but it was still pretty fun to read about, back when it was still news (and working and not a bannable offense).
-
Berserk is amazingly useful in FFXII, I keep finding out.
Would probably get me banned if the game were online.
-
Nega-Remedy is basically god tier, and makes most of the mark fights pretty much a walk.
-
So basically, to make this game fair, you have to cheat all the time.
Somehow I had forgotten that this game was descended from FF Tactics. ::(:
-
Berserk is amazingly useful in FFXII, I keep finding out.
Would probably get me banned if the game were online.
Berserk raises your speed slightly, and of course Haste increases it even more than that. But if you combine the two statuses, it increases your speed more than the two percentages put together. I basically won every boss fight by having one character healing and another casting statuses on my main fighter: Bubble, Haste, Berserk, Bravery, Protect, and so on.
-
Not on me. On them.
"lolz I keep running away"
"Yeah, why don't you come here and say that to my face, tough guy?"
"FEEL MY IMPOTENT RAGE!"
"BONK!"
"lolz I keep reducing your HP to single digits"
"Hey knucklehead, I'm talkin' to you!"
"FEEL THE WRATH OF MY LITTLE STICK!"
"BONK!"
-
Over eighteen hours to kill a single boss. (http://petfoodalpha.com/?p=1055)
It turns out, the guys behind FFXI are completely fucking insane. I don't know if Jonathan Blow knows anything about FFXI, but if he thinks WoW is "unethical" because you can choose to grind in it, he'd probably say FFXI is pure evil.
Oh hey, and I should mention that a similarly difficult boss called Absolute Virtue can kill an entire raid in one attack, as well as heal itself to full hit points. It can do this at any time. It's been around for over two years, and has only been killed legitimately like 3 times.
The guild estimates that at the rate they were killing it it'd take another five or six hours to down, they just quit at 18 hours. So roughly a boss that 24 hours to kill.
I'd just like to point out that this boss has something like 20 different forms, all with unique appearances and art and spells and abilities (correct me if I'm wrong and there's recycled stuff). That's a big effort and a lot of man-hours dedicated to concept art, modeling, texture art and skinning, rigging, spell design, spell coding, spell visual effect design, scripting, and AI for all of those, on top of the standard amount of design time going into the items it drops (graphics and stats).
That's a lot of work that's only going to be experienced by the most dedicated of the best geared of the highest-end guilds; a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the playerbase. Content that almost nobody will see.
I'd argue that it's interesting on some far-out artistic level, like a performance piece, or a buddhist sand mandala. It's also very bad game design.
-
It's not entirely unfounded from SE's perspective. I mean how much do you remember about FF7? The first thing people remember is that ditz getting stabbed, sure, but the second and third things are usually 2) Knights of the Round and 3) Ruby Weapon. Content that's pretty much the endgamest of the endgame, yet it sort of put them on the map.
People who are still playing FFXI are, to be honest, pretty clearly obsessed. I don't think people devoting a day to the "experience" of the whole damned thing is going to be that unheard of. Rare, yes, but not unheard of.
That said: my sister sent me a link to this story this morning, so it's spilling out into mainstream news. That's bad.
-
From what I've heard, the first time Absolute Virtue was killed it took 30 hours. This is when it didn't glitch and stop doing anything, but did have an exploit where you could hide from it behind a wall.
Apparently it took one of the larger guilds working in shifts.
-
King Bomb.
-
I'd just like to point out that this boss has something like 20 different forms, all with unique appearances and art and spells and abilities (correct me if I'm wrong and there's recycled stuff).
19 out of 20 of its forms are previous bosses you fight during the plot of the game, and its main form seems to be extremely similar to a regular monster. It also seems to have no truly new abilities. So no, they didn't really spend a lot of time making the boss. I bet the hardest part was coding in the respawning.
-
Man, I told myself I'd spend some at least some time trying to get through XII today instead of focusing only on TF2.
Guess how that turned out.
Seriously, though... the game with Spy, or the game with King Bomb? It is very hard to pick the latter, knowing what your options are.
-
How about BLITZBALL?!
-
Seriously, though... the game with Spy, or the game with King Bomb?
I appear to have burst into flames!
-
How about BLITZBALL?!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/aett/jecht.jpg)
-
that's not very nice dad :sadpanda:
-
Away with you, James Arnold Taylor! Don't come back until you're being Ratchet again!
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IQQ_5_ml3U
-
rotflmao
-
I'd just like to point out that this boss has something like 20 different forms, all with unique appearances and art and spells and abilities (correct me if I'm wrong and there's recycled stuff).
19 out of 20 of its forms are previous bosses you fight during the plot of the game, and its main form seems to be extremely similar to a regular monster. It also seems to have no truly new abilities.
With the amount of time players spend fighting mandragoras, caterpillars, crabs, and goblins, that isn't nearly as surprising as it should be.
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rotflmao
...You've been waiting THREE MONTHS to do that.
Let none ever question your dedication to overly elaborate, very silly jokes.
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I don't get it.
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He registered back in May, and hasn't posted until now.
Welcome to the boards. Please mind the many corpses of SoraCross as you enter.
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He's not new.
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All right, I just got to Phon Coast.
BALTHIER: Hey Ashe, wanna hear my backstory?
ASHE: Nnnnnn...o?
BALTHIER: BLAH BLAH BLAH JUDGES BLAH BLAH DR. CID BLAH I HATE MY FATHER BLAH
ASHE: Oh sweet Jesus, you are the leading man.
BALTHIER: Am I cooler now?
ASHE: No.
In all fairness, other than the I hate you dad bits, his backstory is actually eerily a lot like... Celes?
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That's a lot of work that's only going to be experienced by the most dedicated of the best geared of the highest-end guilds; a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the playerbase. Content that almost nobody will see.
I'd argue that it's interesting on some far-out artistic level, like a performance piece, or a buddhist sand mandala. It's also very bad game design.
No, it's not.
Having something that only the truly skilled and dedicated can attain is not bad game design.
You've been working for Blizzard too long.
Casuals need Illidan too
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Holy GOD FF12 sucks if you do anything but cheat to get through the main storyline.
And even then i'm pretty sure they ran up against their deadline before they actually put in the story.
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Oof. Split today between going out to get a piece of the world's largest tamale and playing FF12, since i am torrenting Spore and the internet is thus closed.
Blew through a crapton of hunts, and then the entirety of the Great Crystal at Giruvegan, all the way up through the Pharos at Ridorana. Basically, until the end of Giruvegan there's no plot to speak of (see: kvetching in last post) and then right after that they UNLEASH THE MOTHERFUCKIN' PLOT BOMB which basically amounts to about 4 paragraphs' worth of story. Still, it's more than i had expected from the game!
The Pharos is such a monotonous horrible pain in the ass that it almost drove me to tears. I am glad that i ninja'd through the upper layers of the Great Crystal after getting the Treaty-blade so i could nab Excalibur, since EVERY FUCKING ENEMY IN THE WHOLE DUNGEON IS WEAK TO HOLY
9999 EVERY HIT ::D: ::D:
On the other hand i really wish that i was playing the international version for the ability to break the damage cap (as well as the zodiac boards &c.).
Will probably finish off the game after blowing through two hunts tomorrow to attain Space Master rank and buy... whatever that unlocks. the last thing i got was the Cat-ear Hood, which grants +20 Vitality and +50(!!!) Speed, which is fucking nifty, if not actually that useful to a team of two two-handed sword wielders and Ashe with the Zodiac Spear... I might also not bother, since i have a Save The Queen, Excalibur, ZS, and Magepower Shishaks and Maximillians for the whole team, meaning the game's basically done. On the other other hand i have some really good mage armor just sitting around and i don't have the Masamune yet...
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Also, the message outside the Pharos ends with the signature, "In Blood, Raithwall" which i guess is supposed to sound cool but in practice just reminds me of Cake Wrecks. (http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to.html)
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I think I remember one of the testers going on about that one, actually. Do us a solid, any time you see something stupid in that game, punch your fist towards the sky and shout :MENDOZAAAAA: "REEDEEEEEEEEEER!!!!" Just... trust me.
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The Pharos is such a monotonous horrible pain in the ass that it almost drove me to tears. I am glad that i ninja'd through the upper layers of the Great Crystal after getting the Treaty-blade so i could nab Excalibur, since EVERY FUCKING ENEMY IN THE WHOLE DUNGEON IS WEAK TO HOLY
Wait, is that the part with the timed door puzzles while you're getting raped in the face by high-level Behemoths and Malboros and such? Because I tried that for about an hour and then decided it could fuck itself.
Of course, I'm assuming you're using a walkthrough seeing as you actually managed to get the Zodiac Spear, and I imagine it's much easier if you actually have a fucking clue where to go. (But you still don't get an area map!)
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Man, you guys are making it sound like I'm going to need to have the codebreaker by me the entire time I'm playing FF12.
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Only if you want to get the stupid optional shit.
You DO know how Final Fantasy games work, right?
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Having beaten 1 (NES, PSX, GBA), 2, (PSX, GBA), 3 (DS), 4 (SNES Hardtype, PSX, GBA, working on DS), 5 (SNES, PSX, GBA) 6 (SNES, PSX, GBA) 7 (PC), 8 (PC), 9, 10, Mystic Quest, Adventure (Grey Brick)....
Yes. I know how FF games work.
BEAT ME MORE SQUARE-SOFT, BEAT ME MORE.
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To be fair, I was only going for the normal optional shit, and I was pretty damn thankful that the TV Tuner setup made it so easy to click over to GameFAQs. Normally I make it a point to play FFs through without a guide, so make of it what you will.
(Or just make of it what I did: after the second time I consulted the FAQ and said to myself "the fuck I would have figured that out without looking it up", I just started looking shit up in the first place.)
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I seem to remember hearing somewhere that FF12 was designed with the expectation that people would share information. Like, it's not *supposed* to be reasonable to complete on your own. Heh.
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To be fair, the original LoZ (best game evar) was designed that way, and don't get me fucking started on FF9 (which I didn't play very far, but don't get me started on it anyway.)
But yeah, I hate it when Square tries to make buying the textbook a requirement for the class. Fortunately, they only do it a couple of times in Lee-Ham's cycle, so we're good for a while.
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I seem to remember hearing somewhere that FF12 was designed with the expectation that people would buy the official strategy guide. Like, it's not *supposed* to be reasonable to complete on your own. Heh.
Makes sense to me. As Brent noted, designers have been doing this for decades.
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To be fair, I was only going for the normal optional shit, and I was pretty damn thankful that the TV Tuner setup made it so easy to click over to GameFAQs. Normally I make it a point to play FFs through without a guide, so make of it what you will.
(Or just make of it what I did: after the second time I consulted the FAQ and said to myself "the fuck I would have figured that out without looking it up", I just started looking shit up in the first place.)
It was that Chocobo hunt, wasn't it? Or the Zodiac Spear?
That fucking chocobo hunt though! I spent a good half an hour on it before I busted open the guide to find out that the fucker is INVISIBLE!
:MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA: :MENDOZAAAAA:
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Er, I think it was some much earlier hunt, but something like that.
I don't give two shits about the Zodiac Spear. Playing through the game the first time with the ultimate secret weapon is just lame. ...although considering how they flicked the switch to make all enemies apparently start doing 2x damage once you're expected to have Bubble, I kind of don't want to see how much HP they're going to start having once I'm playing it again.
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I beat it without the Zodiac Spear, but that was after the point where I said "Fuck this, I'm done with the hunts." Which was shortly after I spent an hour whittling Gilgamesh down.
There are a lot of things that piss me off in games. Hour-long battles are among them. Hard to say whether REALLY EASY hour-long battles (such as the Gilgamesh one) are worse than hard ones that keep you on your toes to the end -- I guess the hard ones are probably worse because then you might actually die and have to do them over.
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I'm certain the worst kind of all is CHECK THIS OUT TIME. TO. DIE. BY THE POWER OF ALTHENA HRRRRRRRRAAAAGH!!! CHECK THIS OUT TIME. TO. DIE. BY THE POWER OF ALTHENA HRRRRRRRRAAAAGH!!! CHECK THIS OUT TIME. TO. DIE. BY THE POWER OF ALTHENA HRRRRRRRRAAAAGH!!! CHECK THIS OUT TIME. TO. DIE. BY THE POWER OF ALTHENA HRRRRRRRRAAAAGH!!!
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IT SHALL BE ENGRAVED UPON YOUR SOUL
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I had trouble getting into Shining Force simply for the fact that every attack was an unnecessary cutscene. It probably wouldn't bother me if I had played it BEFORE FFT and Arc the Lad.
...And tangentially, I'm thinking maybe I should dig up my saved copies of KateStory XIII-XVI and clean them up and post them on my site, XII-style.
...Also: it seems that next year is the 15th anniversary of the thing. We should probably do a thing then. ...It's 2 AM and my vocabulary is wiped; I should get to bed instead of re-skimming XII.
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I'm certain the worst kind of all is CHECK THIS OUT TIME. TO. DIE. BY THE POWER OF ALTHENA HRRRRRRRRAAAAGH!!! CHECK THIS OUT TIME. TO. DIE. BY THE POWER OF ALTHENA HRRRRRRRRAAAAGH!!! CHECK THIS OUT TIME. TO. DIE. BY THE POWER OF ALTHENA HRRRRRRRRAAAAGH!!! CHECK THIS OUT TIME. TO. DIE. BY THE POWER OF ALTHENA HRRRRRRRRAAAAGH!!!
You know the first time I beat him I didn't save and died because I failed to realize I had to use the plot device I had been carrying around the whole game to avoid Luna vaporizing me
Yeah I was sort of angry at myself but mostly at the game
Also if you could never quote Nash again ever that would be cool
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I seem to remember hearing somewhere that FF12 was designed with the expectation that people would buy the official strategy guide. Like, it's not *supposed* to be reasonable to complete on your own. Heh.
Makes sense to me. As Brent noted, designers have been doing this for decades.
unrelated note, the guy at Gamestop tried to sell me a Spore strategy guide.
:wat:
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...how does that even WORK.
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I beat it without the Zodiac Spear, but that was after the point where I said "Fuck this, I'm done with the hunts." Which was shortly after I spent an hour whittling Gilgamesh down.
Yeah, i had to keep turning my allies off so i could steal from him before killing him. So glad I'm following the power FAQ.
Although, it actually doesn't mention the Excalibur... though it suggests spending 10,000 hours grinding adamantite and gnoma entites for the Ultima Sword, which, along with Lindwyrm, the Tournesol, the Nosada, and a handful of other things i could mention, were put into the game for the express purpose of trying to break FF series completionists of their self-destructive habits (to absolutely no avail, of course).
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I would like to note here that I picked up the official strategy guide for FF12 at a bookshop one time, and couldn't find any mention of the "do not pick up these chests" element to get the Zodiac Spear.
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I know the Brady Games book I had called out the chests.
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You know the first time I beat him I didn't save and died because I failed to realize I had to use the plot device I had been carrying around the whole game to avoid Luna vaporizing me
Yeah I was sort of angry at myself but mostly at the game
I made this mistake the first time too. But I was young and stupid and thought 'What's she going to do? One shot me?'.
:derp:
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I basically just knew something was the hell up when I was given the chance to save.
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You know the first time I beat him I didn't save and died because I failed to realize I had to use the plot device I had been carrying around the whole game to avoid Luna vaporizing me
Er yes but when you die it only takes you back like 30 seconds to right before you have to cross the bridge thingy with the plot device. You don't have to re-fight the last boss.
Leastways, in the Sega CD version. Don't know about the PS1 version.
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The PS1 version kicks you out to the title screen.
Also the final boss takes like a half hour to kill (which is why I brought it up). I don't think he did that in the original.
Also also, Kyle makes fun of you for being murdered by your girlfriend.
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Yeah, I was on the PS1.
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I was ready for some kind of boss fight shenanigans from playing Lunar 2 first, so I just looked at a guide for the fight to see if there were any particular fuck you aspects to it. Turns out yes, so I was prepared.
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The PS1 version kicks you out to the title screen.
Christ. Looks like all the people saying the original is better had good reason.
Also the final boss takes like a half hour to kill (which is why I brought it up). I don't think he did that in the original.
Seems like it took awhile, anyway. I remember a moment of panic when Luna killed me that I was going to have to fight him again, but then I didn't.
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To be fair, the remake is pretty damn good except for, well, that.
Oh, and the fact that you could sell the ocarina in the demo, and then continue off that save. Game continued as normal until, well... yeah.
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I don't know if you could sell the Ocarina, but during the demo, you could've pulled the ocarina out of Alex's inventory, screwing you over in the last bit.
That's something I'd like to see more games do. Not the "fuck you over in the end" thing, but preview demos that carry over in to the retail copy.
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BUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH why do three random merchants in westersands/estersands/GODDAMN BARHEIM PASSAGE carry the best magic spells in the game
suck my dick square
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blah blah blah strategy guide
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If there's one game that you probably didn't need to fight God at the end of, FF12 is probably it.
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Yeah, you just fight Jesus instead.
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It is an Ivalice game.
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i was able to put up with it in Suikoden 2, which did kind of the same thing, but that's because it was actually alluded to. Also, because i had any emotional attachment to the characters, at all.
the best parts of the game for me were when Fran and Balthier have a moment at the Pharos, and when Vaan and Ashe talk on the bridge in the land of the garif, because those are the only moments i can think of when anybody actually displays any kind of emotional attachment to any other feature in the game's world. The rest of the time it's just fetching things and chasing the nefarious Dr. Cid around, and who gives a flying fuck about that?
Still kind of digesting the game, but i'll say that i wish i had spent those 70-odd hours learning French or something.
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The first fight with Cid is pretty fucking sweet, though!
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Again, I quit when Balthier started splurting out his entire backstory like he was drunk or something. If that's what passes for character development these days, eat me.
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I'd say the Basch/Ash and Gabranth/Larsa guard/lord/lady relationships were decent enough. Although I don't recall the latter cropping up until the end of the game -- though that could easily be due to the fact that I didn't play for about a year before I finally finished the damn thing.
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Well I guess there was the part where Gabranth stabbed the other judge with his sword, hur hur hur.
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Actually i was going to mention (but then people commandeered my computer to play spore) that the judges were another high point. I liked seeing them interact and liked the Imperials generally.
Why the fuck didn't you get to play as the judges instead of some nobodies from the provinces? That would have been a lot more fun. Of course, this line of reasoning leads only to madness, because WHY GODDAMN ANYTHING IN THAT FUCKING GAME !)(&%!%)(
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I imagine you could make a very cool sequel out of some of the big concepts.
It might be cool. Maybe you could control a full squad of 6-8 instead of just 3. And maybe there could be class-changing involved.
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I've been chugging through FF4DS, refusing to use Augments like a stubborn bitch.
Did they crank up the difficulty a bit to make up for Augments? Golbez in the Underground (Right after Cid leaves) wiped the floor with me repeatedly until I got lucky and got Shell/Protect/Haste/Blink all up on Cecil before the actual battle started.
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They did.
It's possible to get petrified to Game Over right outside of Baron at the beginning of the game. Those bird enemies have a "slow" petrify ability, and there's no way to get Cecil or Kain fast enough to prevent at least one of them from fully petrifying, because I think that gold needles are prohibitively expensive at that point in the game. So, Game Over right out of the gate. Save as soon as you get out of Baron Castle, yo.
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Actually i was going to mention (but then people commandeered my computer to play spore) that the judges were another high point. I liked seeing them interact and liked the Imperials generally.
Yeah, what a concept; the most annoying element of FFTA turned into, well, an example of the layers-on-layers of royal backstabbing from the original FFT.
Why the fuck didn't you get to play as the judges instead of some nobodies from the provinces? That would have been a lot more fun.
Which goes back to "Why isn't Basch the main character?"
So, Game Over right out of the gate. Save as soon as you get out of Baron Castle, yo.
I just made a beeline for the Chocobo forest.
(Don't own the game, but got to play a friend's copy for about 20 minutes.)
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Did they crank up the difficulty a bit to make up for Augments?
They did crank up the difficulty, but I doubt it was to compensate for Augments because the Augments are fucking useless.
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Did they crank up the difficulty a bit to make up for Augments?
They did crank up the difficulty, but I doubt it was to compensate for Augments because the Augments are fucking useless.
Double Magic and Long Range are pretty useful, but yeah, most of them are laaame.
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Pulling up an Augment FAQ now. I ordinarily try to do shit on my own, but I am given to understand that the Augment system is totally counterintuitive (blah blah strategy guide blah).
I can see how Reach would be useful on Edge given his abysmal defense score. Or on Cecil to make him an even better tank.
I can see how Phoenix could be useful in places too; there've been plenty of times I've called Ashura and hoped she'd land on "Raise on party".
Bottom line, though, is that the whole thing's a stupid idea and they should've just done like Advance and let you pick your final party.
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Give Phoenix to Kain. He's pretty much guaranteed to be the last guy standing, because you should be making him jump every opportunity you get, and he never uses that 50 MP by endgame that's in his pocket. So he uses Phoenix on death, everyone else stands back up, and you wake him up and throw him an Ether.
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Which goes back to "Why isn't Basch the main character?"
Again: last second demographic-based decision from the suits.
The main reason Vaan isn't a developed character is because they didn't even have time to develop him.
Pulling up an Augment FAQ now. I ordinarily try to do shit on my own, but I am given to understand that the Augment system is totally counterintuitive (blah blah strategy guide blah).
Two words for you.
Materia.
Fusion.
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Again: last second demographic-based decision from the suits.
The main reason Vaan isn't a developed character is because they didn't even have time to develop him.
is this actually canon? i had always half-assumed it to be an excuse.
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Makes sense. The only numbered Final Fantasy in the past 15 years to have a halfway interesting protagonist was the worst seller of the bunch.
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Again: last second demographic-based decision from the suits.
The main reason Vaan isn't a developed character is because they didn't even have time to develop him.
is this actually canon? i had always half-assumed it to be an excuse.
Er, if by "canon" you mean "straight from the developers' mouths", then yes.
Makes sense. The only numbered Final Fantasy in the past 15 years to have a halfway interesting protagonist was the worst seller of the bunch.
And if you go back past that you realize that there have been a sum total of two.
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:wat: Which protagonists are you going to praise?
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The protagonists from 6 and 9 were the best, with Cecil getting an honorable mention just because he's not a teenager.
And, yes, I know 6 didn't have a clear protagonist. Good thing all the characters in the running for it were interesting.
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Considering all the intense remake, re-release, revamp and Disidia nonsense, I'm renewing hope for a FF8 spinoff staring Seifer.
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The way Fujin and Raijin were designed, you'd think they would've been PCs at some point.
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How about the fact that they and Seifer are actually more interesting than the entire player group.
I like Laguna and his retarded cliche buddies more than the coward and mute brigade, really.
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The totally rockin' battle theme may have had something to do with it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2vpqd9gKXk
...I used to keep a save file in the second Laguna dream in the Lunatic Pandora for this reason.
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I have often said that FF8 would have been dramatically improved simply by removing Squall and making Laguna the main character.
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Replace the one-dimensional emo kid with the one-dimensional bumbling idiot? I think they tried that.
(Also: 4 and 9.)
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The way Fujin and Raijin were designed, you'd think they would've been PCs at some point.
If it means anything to you, they were originally designed for FFVII. Deemed as too similar to the Turks, they were cut.
How about the fact that they and Seifer are actually more interesting than the entire player group.
Zell & Raijin feel about equal, and Quistis at least started off as possibly interesting.
But zee future refused to kchange.
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Zell & Raijin
Earnestly annoying vs Catchphrase guy isn't very equal. Zell loses by a mile.
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Only due to more exposure.
also: hot dogs lalalalala not listening hot dogs
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I'm pretty sure everybody hated Zell before the end of his introductory cutscene.
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Speaking of characters, am I alone in liking Wakka?
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I'm pretty sure everybody hated Zell before the end of his introductory cutscene.
I find your lack of Ganbare! spirit disturbing.
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Considering all the intense remake, re-release, revamp and Disidia nonsense, I'm renewing hope for a FF8 spinoff staring Seifer.
Final Fantasy Gaiden. Believe.
Speaking of characters, am I alone in liking Wakka?
Wakka is Bender. Bender is love.
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Praise be to Yevon, ya?
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Final Fantasy Gaiden. Believe.
(http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/4338/381oz3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(the link goes to Imageshack, it's their linking thing they want everyone to do)
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...which got remade too.
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I have often said that FF8 would have been dramatically improved simply by removing Squall and replacing him with Paine.
:suave:
If nothing else, it would've put an end to the little love story they had going there.
EDIT that completely ignores the next two posts because they already posted after the first part was put up: Either that or after that one ballroom scene things would've cut to a couple hours later with Paine smoking in bed looking bored and shooting occasional glances over to a traumatized-looking Riona before shrugging, tossing the cigarette away, getting up, putting on her jacket and heading out to smack the shit out of Zell, just because.
...
Is it bad that I think that this is a really good idea?
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hawt
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I have often said that FF8 would have been dramatically improved simply by removing Squall and replacing him with Paine.
:suave:
If nothing else, it would've put an end to the little love story they had going there.
:ohshi~: Wh-WHY WOULD THAT PUT AN END TO IT!?
It doesn't matter tho'.
I'm waiting for 8-bit style FF9 remake. ::D:
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...which got remade too.
And sucked 20 dicks a minute until i threw the game away.
Speaking of characters, am I alone in liking Wakka?
He's a racist hawaiian zealot, what's not to like? :)
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blitzball
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I'm waiting for 8-bit style FF9 remake. ::D:
Butbutbut 9 was so clearly based on the 16-bit ones!
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Speaking of characters, am I alone in liking Wakka?
He's a racist hawaiian zealot, what's not to like? :)
Only one of those applies by the end! It's almost like real character development.
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The best part was that both revelations were taken fairly gradually and grudgingly. It wasn't like scales fell from his eyes and he vowed to change his ways.
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Well, until he beat up his personal Jesus.
And before that, the Pope. Four times.
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I doubt you'd want to be catholic after kicking the pope, Mary, and Jesus in the crotch, either.
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To be fair, his pope was only slightly more dead than our pope.
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To be fair, his pope was only slightly more dead than our pope.
And would anybody really be surprised if it turned out that our pope was unsent?
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To be fair, his pope was only slightly more dead than our pope.
And would anybody really be surprised if it turned out that our pope was unsent?
I would. Don't the unsent, like, not age or something?
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Actually I'm fairly certain they do age: [spoiler]Auron died like 10+ years before Tidus came to town, and if you compare how he looked back then (during those memory bits at the ruined blitzball stadium-turned-holy-ground) to how he looks in the game proper he's obviously aged. There's probably a limit to it, though - Mika died of old age, yet at the trial he still just looks old, as opposed to absolutely ancient. Then again, they never specify when exactly he died, so maybe he just died like right before the game proper started.[/spoiler]
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Come to think of it, every person who seems the least bit elder is an unsent in that game. Yeah, even that fucking guy.
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Probably because Sin (or various fiends) kills basically everyone in the entire world, eventually. None of the characters have living parents, although there are some old people here and there.
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I tried to play through some of FF10 today, actually.
As God is my witness, i will never play another Final Fantasy game again.
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Are you kidding? Do you know how many times I was tempted to play FFX, but go crosseyed during the title screen so it looks like XII and I can say I beat that game?
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If you want the best RPG ever, play 6.
If you want a long mellow drama anime, play 7.
If you want Laguna and the 2nd worse battle system in FF, play 8
If you want Jecte and HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! play 10.
If you want to play 12, do yourself a favor and play .hack//IMOQ instead, as 12 sucks.
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I am so disappointed in you.
If you want the bestest RPG evar, play 6.
If you want a long mellow drama anime, play 7.
If you want Laguna and the 2nd worse battle system in FF, play 8
If you want Jecte and HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! play 10.
If you want to play 12, do yourself a favor and play .hack//IMOQ instead, as 12 sucks.
I made it more you for you.
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Classic, to elevate yourself in a barbaric society you have to attack those lower in standing than you, not higher.
10 plays better than 12 (IT WOULD ABOUT HAVE TO !@&$) but it is so insufferable in every other way that i can't handle it. The designs make me want to throw up -- not just the characters, which... jesus christ, but even the menus, the design principle of which was evidently "try to use every single color at least once." Blitzball... why the hell is Wakka's usefulness as a character tied to the worst, most time-consuming, most random, most skill-less minigame in FF history? "Maester?" "Fayth?" Was there seriously a time when i could put up with this kind of game without my eyes rolling clean out of my head??
There was a word i couldn't think of when i was playing through 12 to describe my grievances with the series as a whole, but i just realized it -- "decadent." The whole series (at least of late, but i am willing to admit that this may be true of every game in the series ever!) is honestly the queerest, more overdramatic tweeny horseshit that i can't imagine i ever played willingly. I can't tell if it's pandering or if SE is hiring people straight off Deviantart but one way or another 10 and 12 are so self-indulgent as to defy description.
It doesn't help that i keep reading about the international versions and wishing i could at least be playing those instead.
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Also every time i see Tidus, Yuna or Rikku in cutscene-vision i instinctively pull the corners of my eyes back with my thumbs and go CHING CHING WING WONG WE RIKE FLIED LICE
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I can't help but respect 10 at least a little for so blatantly admitting they ran out of ideas and didn't care.
"The bad guy is SIN. SIN is bad. Bad SIN."
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I'm an obsessive grindwhore, albeit less so nowadays, and so the more recent Final Fantasy games, and even stuff like the Nippon Ichi games entertain me because I can completely break the combat system.
I mean, come on, if you can hack Jecht apart in three turns with Tidus hitting for OVER NINETYTHOUSAAAAAAAAAAAND damage each turn before Jecht even gets a chance to breathe, THAT'S epic.
(here, I would insert the "I HATE YOU DAD *sniffle*" video, but I'm at work, and work blocks youtube.)
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I mean, come on, if you can hack Jecht apart in three turns with Tidus hitting for OVER NINETYTHOUSAAAAAAAAAAAND damage each turn before Jecht even gets a chance to breathe, THAT'S anticlimactic.
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I liked FF10 for Fightan Giant Monsters(awesome boss environments are awesome) and Tidus high-fiving the ghost of his dad and also FF10 has some pretty choice musical bits i.e. "To Zanarkand"
otherwise absolute trash. If anybody actually used Rikimahru I want to see you after class.
I can't help but respect 10 at least a little for so blatantly admitting they ran out of ideas and didn't care.
"The bad guy is SIN. SIN is bad. Bad SIN."
After experiencing FF12 it is hilarious to note that FF10 has a strictly ok, workable story at it's very bare bones. Any serious look at it just disappoints because the whole GOD IS ACTIVELY DESTROYING THE WORLD IN A SUIT OF ARMOR CRAFTED FROM THE SOULS OF THE DEAD WHO MAY OR MAY NOT EXIST AND CAN WILL THEMSELVES TO BE UNDEAD is pretty cool but the ultimate explanation for it is JUST BECAUSE LOL.
No really re-write FF10 as a religious/government conspiracy thriller(EDIT: STARRING JECHT AND MAKE IT A REDNECK BUDDY MOVIE PERHAPS THOSE WERE THE BEST CUTSCENES)
I also like that for all the crimes against humanity the rest of the voice cast engaged in, the guy who did Seymour seemed to really enjoy himself.
THIS POST ENDS HERE.
AND YOUR MEANINGLESS EXISTENCE WITH IT!
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McDohl, I think you're looking for this one: "http://www-youtube-com/watch?v=PJsK2NrYyCU"? (I know that is the lamest way to get around the youTube integration sorry)
Norondor, please stop trying to confuse me into thinking you are actually completely retarded by tacking on completely insane comments to opinions that I might be able to agree with.
I AM PROUD OF MY (PRESUMABLY) ROUND EYES AND RACIST STEREOTYPES
That's actually a disconnect I've been getting pissed about as early as Ico. I guess we round eyes care more about our in-game avatars having dicks eyes whose size we can relate to than consistency in a character. <Insert rib at despised politician here.>
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Tidus seriously has buck teeth in his FMV model. It is really off-putting, and not least of all because his polygonal model looks nothing like that.
I also like that for all the crimes against humanity the rest of the voice cast engaged in, the guy who did Seymour seemed to really enjoy himself.
Yuna
S+
S
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C- <--
D
F
Everyone else is between "awful" and "ok" most of the time.
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If you want the best RPG ever, play 6.
Nah. FF6 actually kind of sucks these days. The music is still good, though.
As far as I can tell, honestly, the only Final Fantasy that really holds up well is FF5. Story may suck balls, sure, but it's still an honest-to-goodness blast to play.
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<INCOHERENT RAGE AT DN>
Going through the PS version a few years ago was still pretty fun, and it's scenarios were still a lot of fun (if a bit by-the-book). You talking about how there's only one really viable combat strategy or some such a thing?
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I wonder if I can play FF5 without mastering classes and making everyone no-job engines of destruction.
No, no I can't. :sadpanda:
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:wat: But what kind of creature (for surely, you could not call them human) would WANT such a thing?
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Yeah, FF5 exists pretty much to be broken horribly.
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If you want the best RPG ever, play 6.
Nah. FF6 actually kind of sucks these days, even though it still has fun quirks and witty bits of writing/encounters that most modern day RPGs can't compare to, like Ultros, that thing in the Empire where you talk to soldiers to convince them that peace is awesome, the story actually progressing beyond a static point in time, and so on.
(http://doom.pyoko.org/GodDammitFellas.jpg)
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You talking about how there's only one really viable combat strategy or some such a thing?
No. It's just not that good anymore. The first time I ever played it was on the Playstation (greatest hits version of anthologies, no less), and then again later on the gameboy advance. Fun, sure, and I can definitely see how it could've been the greatest game ever when it came out for the SNES.
But then, the same could be said for all the other Final Fantasy games.
I mean, when I first played FF7, it was the greatest game ever. And I had it during a time in which I didn't own a memory card, so I ended up replaying the first six or so hours ritually for like two months. I can still play it, still enjoy it, still love it. Doesn't make it the best game ever.
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I ended up replaying the first six or so hours ritually for like two months.
:ohshi~: :omg: :endit: :scanners:
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Midgar blows and is annoying.
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I played FF6 after FF7, and FF7 is my first and favorite.
(http://doom.pyoko.org/GodDammitKefka.jpg)
My first was FF4, for the record.
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I'm pretty careful about checking myself. It irks me when people wear their rosy nostalgia glasses and shove crap like Wild Arms and Kid Icarus in my face.
That said, I think FF6 was and is pretty fucking boss. Great characters, cool narrative. Art design, Jesus! That game used pixels to ooze style. And the world fucking explodes! I wish we saw more games that had such a solid core to them like FF6.
But I mean that's just, like, my opinion, man.
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If DN just wants to admit that he is not experienced with critical analysis of story and/or game design, that's cool. It might keep him from becoming a worse person than say, Classic.
But if he doesn't, that won't change that FF6 is basically a rock solid product.
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My first Final Fantasy was FF1. I never got much further than the Earth Cave back in the day.
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FF6 is actually fairly weak on gameplay, even I'll admit that one. Fortunately it was well aware of this and most of the time you'll spend playing is focused on story and characters, and the times you have to actually play the game they wrap it in some set pieces that have never even been challenged for awesome (tearing up Narshe in a set of Magitek, fighting the Phantom Train, the defense of Tritoch, the mine cart escape sequence, I'M JUST GETTING STARTED HERE).
FF6 had the best characters. FFX had the best gameplay. FF7, of all goddam things, probably had the most compelling - if somewhat muddled - overarching narrative. FF4 was probably the best for striking the right balance between story, characters, and actual gameplay, but it never specifically played to any of its strengths, so it stands out in far fewer minds than it probably deserves.
And FFXII... well, to be perfectly honest, it's too fucking long. It's the first (valid) FF to creep over the standard 40-hour mark and it perfectly demonstrate why these games typically don't. FFXII is fantastic in the beginning, where the plot is interesting and the system is fresh and well-balanced (and where you're only starting to get to know Vaan). It loses its luster as time goes on, and between 30-40 hours is where its welcome wears out. Had that been near the end, then it would be business as usual: you just grit through the last few dungeons, see the ending, and okay that's fine, write up your opinion. But that's the halfway point on FFXII, and that means that, in practice, half the game sucks.
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I played FF6 after FF7, and FF7 is my first and favorite.
I wouldn't say FF7 is my favorite. But, yeah, I do like it more than FF6.
I just couldn't get into it, to be honest. The gameplay just wasn't that great, and those amazing scenarios you guys keep going on about didn't really do it for me, either. I thought the Phantom Train, though itself pretty cool, was inappropriately placed (what with a genocide having taken place about five minutes prior). I thought it was kind of goofy that the two adorable sprites bouncing around on-screen was suppose to represent an epic duel to the death between an evil emperor and an insane sorcerer atop of ancient, floating continent of godly destruction. And I also thought it was sort of weird that nobody thought to discuss with Terra about carrying around her dead-ass rock of a father.
Chrono Trigger got past this by A) taking itself more lightly and B) using more articulate sprites. And Final Fantasy V, despite having a dumb-ass story with even more embarrassing sequences (Turtle / Exdeath Dragonball Z battle) at least had the decency to have completely awesome gameplay.
Nevertheless, clearly I am wrong because I dislike FF6.
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Nevertheless, clearly I am wrong because I dislike FF6.
Oh good. You came around.
Seriously though, this is understandable considering the order you came into things. In a time when FF6 was more or less the pinnacle of graphical storytelling, it let your imagination run wild and do a lot of the work. Hence this fucking orgy we just had.
Really though, when the inevitable DS remake hits our shores, you should give it another go. It might help you appreciate the meat and potatoes of the game a bit more.
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Nevertheless, clearly I am wrong because I dislike FF6.
Oh good. You came around.
Seriously though, this is understandable considering the order you came into things. In a time when FF6 was more or less the pinnacle of graphical storytelling, it let your imagination run wild and do a lot of the work. Hence this fucking orgy we just had.
Really though, when the inevitable DS remake hits our shores, you should give it another go. It might help you appreciate the meat and potatoes of the game a bit more.
Except it'll suck because all the Woosely translation lines will be gone. It'll be like Diet Cheery FF6.
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Well, also: Gilgamesh > Ultros
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Squeenix has been pretty self-referential lately. I do not fear for the future of submariners and their offspring.
Well, also: Gilgamesh > Ultros
Okay, NOW you're just plain old, flat-out, unequivocally, 2+2=3 wrong. Get out of here.
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Well, also: Gilgamesh > Ultros
:ohshi~: I can't agree, but I can't disagree.
Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to review your post.
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Honestly, I would not mind seeing an FF4 DS-style remake of FF6. What with the voice acting and whatnot, provided they preserve the GBA port bonus content. However, if FF4 set the precedent of drastically changing the way the game works (via the Augment system), then I wonder what they'd do to the FF6 system.
Warning - while you were typing 3 new replies have been posted. You may wish to review your post.
Wow.
Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to review your post.
FUCKING CHRIST.
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I've discovered that excepting DN's responses, everything I would have added to the conversation has been put in almost word-for-word since Doom's last post.
:derp:
FF6 is way too entrenched in a rosy fortress of nostalgia for me to get a good look at it. Still, its got at its core a reasonably large and somewhat developed cast, scenarios I really enjoy, and the last step into making essentially interchangeable PCs. Whether or not the last one is actually good is up to you, I'm pretty divided on it myself.
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Nevertheless, clearly I am wrong because I dislike FF6.
:strawman:
FF6 sucks
This is wrong.
FF6 wasn't very good to me because of my unique experience and timing with it.
This is correct.
I'm sorry that I can't just let you walk around spewing verbal diarrhea, but not everybody has quite as large a "Reaction Shot" folder as I do.
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FF6 had the best characters.
True, but -- as pointed out by Sora, of all people (a stuck clock is right twice a day) -- a lot of its charm comes down to the Woolsey translation. Have you played the RPGOne version? Apparently they've redone half of it since I played it, so it might be better now, but pretty much the only thing it had going for it in version 1.0 was cursing.
FFX had the best gameplay.
Change "gameplay" to "combat system" and I'm willing to agree. The dungeon maps sucked, though. I believe it was you who described them as having all the complexity of Super Mario Bros levels.
I'll repeat that 6 is my favorite but that Chrono Trigger has aged better -- the GBA version of 6 was a joy, particularly with its script that was twice as detailed as the original while still maintaining the aforementioned Woolsey charm, but the truth is I'm getting too fucking old for random encounters.
Honestly, I would not mind seeing an FF4 DS-style remake of FF6. What with the voice acting and whatnot, provided they preserve the GBA port bonus content.
Now see, for my money FF6A's bonus content was MUCH less important than FF4A's. Getting to choose your endgame party in 4 is a much bigger deal than the Dragon Cave. (Never finished the Dragon Cave. It's nice to have something that can kill the party that beat Kefka in two rounds, but no magic AP and no save points? Come the fuck ON.)
That said, a good rebalancing is just what 6 needs. Things like Bum Rush shouldn't be game-breaking. ...Don't know WHAT they could do about the old eight-hits thing, though.
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Double Post to make a shocking statement more shocking:
FF7, of all goddam things, probably had the most compelling - if somewhat muddled - overarching narrative
Agreed. They also seemed to spend a lot of time ripping the player away from the better parts of that narrative. Midgar was pretty bad ass for it's time, the Shinra Company more so. Maybe if it took place entirely in Midgar...
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Missed about a page there. Moving back:
I can't help but respect 10 at least a little for so blatantly admitting they ran out of ideas and didn't care.
"The bad guy is SIN. SIN is bad. Bad SIN."
In fairness, arguably the best RPG of the 32-bit era contains the line, "Luca Blight is a blight on this land."
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True, but -- as pointed out by Sora, of all people (a stuck clock is right twice a day) --
6:10:50!
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True, but -- as pointed out by Sora, of all people (a stuck clock is right twice a day) --
6:10:50!
>edger_jason.jpg
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Well, also: Gilgamesh > Ultros
(http://home.comcast.net/~pepsicaps/coyflip.jpg)(http://home.comcast.net/~pepsicaps/relm_action.gif)
You're nothing more than a stupid octopus.
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Nevertheless, clearly I am wrong because I dislike FF6.
:strawman:
Well, yeah, that was the joke. Thank you for explaining it to everybody.
FF6 sucks
This is wrong.
FF6 wasn't very good to me because of my unique experience and timing with it.
This is correct.
I'm sorry that I can't just let you walk around spewing verbal diarrhea, but not everybody has quite as large a "Reaction Shot" folder as I do.
Well, how good could it be, then? I mean, my "unique experience and timing" (I owned a Genesis) wasn't much different with Chrono Trigger, which I played after Chrono Cross (which I loved, many times over), but that didn't stop me from having a blast with it anyway. Ditto Final Fantasy V.
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Dude, are you trying to break every interest predicting AI on the planet?
Out of curiosity, which did you play first? FF6 or CT?
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As much as I
hate disagree with DN, I can sorta see where he's coming from since I feel somewhat the same way about Chrono Trigger. I don't hate it, but whenever someone sings its endless praises (sup parish), I just want to hate it more. Very iconoclastic of me, I know, but for some reason I just never held CT to be as venerable as FF6 or even FF4.
Maybe I'll replay it when it hits DS and pop a million boners. Who knows?
Note: I played FF1, 4, 6, 7 and 8 in the order of American release. CT was played after FF6 but before FF7.
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I'm just not sure what's not to like about CT. But perhaps it has a lot to do with my amazing tolerance for tedium.
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It's too short and has a cast of characters assembled entirely of cliches.
That said, the stuff it does wrong is pretty heavily outweighed by the stuff it does right and, as I noted earlier, the stuff it does that STILL seems novel 13 years later.
Final Fantasy 4 and 6 have aged better than any of the rest of the series, but they're still starting to show their seams if you give them another play-through.
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FF6 had the best characters.
True, but -- as pointed out by Sora, of all people (a stuck clock is right twice a day) -- a lot of its charm comes down to the Woolsey translation. Have you played the RPGOne version? Apparently they've redone half of it since I played it, so it might be better now, but pretty much the only thing it had going for it in version 1.0 was cursing.
...what's wrong with a decent translation being largely responsible for a game's quality? There are certainly some games that suffered horribly for poor ones, and some that are overrated for their good ones (not naming names, we're already having too many debates in this topic already), so the translation is basically a part of the package you're buying.
Besides, it's not like the characters don't stand on their own... the dashing thief, the troubled mage, the goofy but strong-hearted knight... you notice something about those archetypes? They didn't necessarily show up in 1-5 in such forms, but when Square went and thought of the "classics" when cocking up FFIX, they naturally went for Locke, Terra and Cyan.
FFX had the best gameplay.
Change "gameplay" to "combat system" and I'm willing to agree. The dungeon maps sucked, though. I believe it was you who described them as having all the complexity of Super Mario Bros levels.
Okay, point. But lately I've been learning to appreciate minimalist dungeon layouts, especially from Square. Complicated mazes, like random battles, just... don't work in the new dimension.
Honestly, I would not mind seeing an FF4 DS-style remake of FF6. What with the voice acting and whatnot, provided they preserve the GBA port bonus content.
That said, a good rebalancing is just what 6 needs. Things like Bum Rush shouldn't be game-breaking. ...Don't know WHAT they could do about the old eight-hits thing, though.
Honestly you'll have broken the game way before you get Bum Rush. Which, really, proves your point.
Could go for an FF6 rebalancing too, with each character having a more defined role. As much as I loved Locke, his Steal ability was pretty unattractive compared to Blitz, Slot, Dance etc., and Celes/Terra become almost irrelevant when everyone gains the ability to sling around spells (not that I ever used anything that wasn't Cure).
A stricter economy, limits on what spell each character can learn, a total re-leveling of everyone's secondary powersets and making almost esoteric shit like Desperation more accessible, would be aces.
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Celes' Runic blows chunks, but you didn't abuse Terra's Morph? :wat: I guess you didn't need it, but... If the idea of having a naked pink girl doing horrible things to your enemies wasn't appealing I don't know what was.
I also liked Locke's steal ability a lot more when it started getting me a million genji gloves.
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Throwing Locke at a few choice bosses is funny, but again, you don't really need to do that.
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Atma Weapon was the coolest pixel weapon ever. A gold and blue light saber that was twice your size,AND left tracers where ever the fuck it went. Fuck Rainbow Katana, Atma Weapon was ball'n.
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I have had a weird experience with the series. My first Final Fantasy was 8. My second was 10, and only then did I go back and enjoy the earlier ones. I'm not sure how much this has scarred me.
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Atma Weapon was the coolest pixel weapon ever. A gold and blue light saber that was twice your size,AND left tracers where ever the fuck it went. Fuck Rainbow Katana, Atma Weapon was ball'n.
I would actually submit that Atma Weapon is ABAP. When i played through FF6 whoever i liked the most got the damn laser sword.
Where's Lee-Ham's post on the FF series' recursion? I quite want to read it now, having beaten my head against two of the series' most recent installments (and finally finding out that my FF11 account was cancelled... last month, without me doing anything about it).
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Pretty much the opposite. The series is like 60% lame. No, wait.
14610
66% lame. Less if you take it on faith that 3 is actually pretty good if you can withstand the torturous introduction sequence.
Where's Lee-Ham's post on the FF series' recursion?
First page I think.
EDIT: Yep. (http://brontoforum.us/index.php?topic=939.msg19255)
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Oh, so it is.
I was going to say he was wrong about FF12 having a bunch of interesting characters, but then i remembered all the people who you don't play as are pretty compelling, particularly the imperials.
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Oh I dunno, some of the more important NPCs were pretty obnoxious too.
*snort* *snort* *grovel* *grovel*
*kupo*
*snort* *snort* addle-pated *snort* *spit*
Wot? Din't paey? You got blood on me knoif mate!
Etcetera.
You know what kills me? Two of the characters I actually liked got shot and stabbed to death before the game even began.
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Well ok, the larger point here is that the main characters are all cool-looking statues who don't do anything but stand around and remind you that they're cool.
Balthier only ever does one thing in the whole fucking game besides pose and be snarky, and it ruins the ending.
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*kupo*
(http://brontoforum.us/Themes/default/images/post/a2.gif) Is there a problem here? You wanna dance? Alright, let's do the man dance snuffykins.
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Oh, what? You're going to take me with your 25% weak status attack? Your substandard air render? Your ability to sit on top of a trash mob? Go away.
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(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/diowho/bcpomegarpgi2.png)
Someone say "Dance"?
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(http://brontoforum.us/Themes/default/images/post/a2.gif) Looks like Clan Rocket's blasting off again!
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Clan Clu Clux is actually a much more unique name than I expected it to be.
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...what's wrong with a decent translation being largely responsible for a game's quality? There are certainly some games that suffered horribly for poor ones, and some that are overrated for their good ones (not naming names, we're already having too many debates in this topic already), so the translation is basically a part of the package you're buying.
Sorta. But the original FFT and Suikoden 2 are both examples of beloved games with pretty poor translations.
Besides, it's not like the characters don't stand on their own... the dashing thief, the troubled mage, the goofy but strong-hearted knight... you notice something about those archetypes? They didn't necessarily show up in 1-5 in such forms, but when Square went and thought of the "classics" when cocking up FFIX, they naturally went for Locke, Terra and Cyan.
4 was nothing BUT archetypes.
And the fuckers kept coming back from the dead.
Okay, point. But lately I've been learning to appreciate minimalist dungeon layouts, especially from Square. Complicated mazes, like random battles, just... don't work in the new dimension.
It's not so much the dimension as the proportions. You can't build a complex dungeon TO SCALE.
The latest EGM, the one about Mirror's Edge, talks about how totally disproportionate Faith would look in a third-person view, but that the visual cues you get from seeing, say, her feet onscreen in situations where you would absolutely not be able to see your own feet in real life justify the design decision.
For whatever's wrong with games like FF7 and 9, having characters who are CLEARLY not the correct scale for the world they're inhabiting has some clear design advantages.
Could go for an FF6 rebalancing too, with each character having a more defined role. As much as I loved Locke, his Steal ability was pretty unattractive compared to Blitz, Slot, Dance etc.,
...I literally did not remember Dance being in 6 until the next page with all the Mog references. (In fairness, I am pretty drunk.) I was never attracted to abilities like Dance, Rage, or Vincent's Limit Breaks that require you to give up control of your character. For some reason I do not like just sitting there waiting for the fourth member of my party to inevitably die because he can't resurrect the others.
and Celes/Terra become almost irrelevant when everyone gains the ability to sling around spells (not that I ever used anything that wasn't Cure).
Again, Runic is useful in mmmmaybe two battles. I don't know how rebalancing could fix that. Rebalancing could EASILY fix Morph, though.
Clan Clu Clux is actually a much more unique name than I expected it to be.
...That's probably because it should be "Cu Clux".
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...what's wrong with a decent translation being largely responsible for a game's quality? There are certainly some games that suffered horribly for poor ones, and some that are overrated for their good ones (not naming names, we're already having too many debates in this topic already), so the translation is basically a part of the package you're buying.
Sorta. But the original FFT and Suikoden 2 are both examples of beloved games with pretty poor translations.
I was thinking of both of those in the "suffered horribly" column, actually. It kept both from being very mainstream popular.
Okay, point. But lately I've been learning to appreciate minimalist dungeon layouts, especially from Square. Complicated mazes, like random battles, just... don't work in the new dimension.
It's not so much the dimension as the proportions. You can't build a complex dungeon TO SCALE.
Well, you can, but you get FFXII.
The latest EGM, the one about Mirror's Edge, talks about how totally disproportionate Faith would look in a third-person view, but that the visual cues you get from seeing, say, her feet onscreen in situations where you would absolutely not be able to see your own feet in real life justify the design decision.
...did I mention how much I want to play that game?
For whatever's wrong with games like FF7 and 9, having characters who are CLEARLY not the correct scale for the world they're inhabiting has some clear design advantages.
It... actually worked like crap in FF7 though. Might have turned out better in 9, but I'll take your word for it.
But I'll grant that doing similar worked out okay in the Grandia and Wild Arms serieseseses.
Could go for an FF6 rebalancing too, with each character having a more defined role. As much as I loved Locke, his Steal ability was pretty unattractive compared to Blitz, Slot, Dance etc.,
...I literally did not remember Dance being in 6 until the next page with all the Mog references. (In fairness, I am pretty drunk.) I was never attracted to abilities like Dance, Rage, or Vincent's Limit Breaks that require you to give up control of your character. For some reason I do not like just sitting there waiting for the fourth member of my party to inevitably die because he can't resurrect the others.
Dance was pretty damn useful, though, and you could stop it at any time.
and Celes/Terra become almost irrelevant when everyone gains the ability to sling around spells (not that I ever used anything that wasn't Cure).
Again, Runic is useful in mmmmaybe two battles. I don't know how rebalancing could fix that. Rebalancing could EASILY fix Morph, though.
Same way you rebalance Steal by tightening up the economy. Make MP more precious, so that Celes' ability to easily renew it makes her one of the premiere casters again.
Clan Clu Clux is actually a much more unique name than I expected it to be.
...That's probably because it should be "Cu Clux".
...should I be embarrassed about my ignorance of hate groups?
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I want to submit "Breath of Fire II" to "Horrible Translation but a good game" but that game had problems on a level beyond DO YOU WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT SHAMANS.
The main examples:
There are a number of items that give you Holy Resistance. There are no enemies that attack with Holy.
The item "FastShoe" does nothing. Nada. Zip.
There's more, there is this UNGODLY huge FAQ on GameFAQs where some guy basically dissected the game down to the 0s and 1s and it's completely FASCINATING to anyone who loves that sort of thing. It has a full list of "What the fuck, Capcom, this is not how a game works"
As far as FF6 Rebalancing goes, Gau would need probably a good workover. Several of his rages can give you a massive advantage, to the point of making you near unbeatable. One of the first rages you get will have Gau cast Life3 over and over again with no limit most of the time.
Also they could actually make all of the Rage List accessable.
One second on this, I have a friend who is a hardcore ff6 nerd. I want her take on how one could 'rebalance' ff6.
Her take: She agrees on the idea that magic should be regulated a bit more - perhaps make Terra and Celes the only two capable of learning all of it. Everyone else can only learn a specific set of spells - say, 20-50% of the total list, depending on who they are. Locke, for example, being near Narshe and being all going I PROTECT YOU and being a thief, he'd be able to learn cure, the support ones...whereas someone like Sabin, who's all about beating the shit out of things could learn an array of attack spells.
re: Extra Shit. EXPAND ON THE HISTORY MORE. Let us dabble in the War of the Magi, or the sealing of the dragons, let us dip our toes into the historical things only referenced in the game! Final Fantasy 5 Advance where you [spoiler]fought Euno, the person who FIRST ripped open the Rift[/spoiler] was great. Totally not needed for the meat of the story, but still attached and you got to feel like you DID something.
FUCK.
LET US SEE INTO THE BACKSTORY OF MOTHERFUCKING -KEFKA-. LET US SEE JUST HOW HE WAS BEFORE HE WAS FUCKING NUTS. All we have now is some drunk bar guy going "Magi Augmentation made him plumb loco! Now he dresses like a gay clown"
Give is MORE ON THAT, PLEASE.
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The limitation is a good idea, but I don't think it should lock out whole schools except in individual cases (Sabin would be a great example, as he's a musclehead), as opposed to simply super high level spells.
I think upping the stats related to spell effectiveness on Terra, Strago, Celes, and Relm and then downing it on everyone else would be a much more natural limiter. Maybe total MP as well.
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I don't know about rebalancing. To me, a part of the charm of Final Fantasy games is that the systems are constructed in such a way that, if you know what you're doing, you can make everything trivially easy. The already rewarding sensation of achieving complete understanding and mastery of a system was reinforced by granting overwhelming power when this mastery was applied.
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ANTICLIMAX ANTICLIMAX ANTICLIMAX.
Am i the only one who actually likes legitimately hard fights, where you scrape by be being a fuckin' hero-genius?
wait, nobody but me ever played legend of legaia :nyoro-n:
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I played Legend of Legaia and it's totally not as cool sequel! ::D:
Granted, most of my boss fights in Legend of Legaia went like RAISE SPIRIT CHAIN AS MANY ARTS AS POSSIBLE INTO SUPER/HYPER/MYSTIC ARTS FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE! :angry:
I should play it again. I miss it. :luv: :wuv:
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FUCK.
LET US SEE INTO THE BACKSTORY OF MOTHERFUCKING -KEFKA-. LET US SEE JUST HOW HE WAS BEFORE HE WAS FUCKING NUTS. All we have now is some drunk bar guy going "Magi Augmentation made him plumb loco! Now he dresses like a gay clown"
Give is MORE ON THAT, PLEASE.
[spoiler]Kefka is Shadow's friend from the dreams. He is captured robbing that train and used as a guinea pig for the magitek stuff. The only way to prove this is that Shadow's friend and Kefka have the same speech mannerisms.. in the Japanese version.[/spoiler]
I played Legend of Legaia! It had a lot of grand fights that really kicked your ass! JESUS CHRIST, PRINCE KORT!
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I played Legend of Legaia! It had a lot of grand fights that really kicked your ass!
But all I really remember from them was using a painfully rote set of techniques that had been developed through about an hour of grinding to feel even somewhat comparable to the boss' power, and then watching as my attacks sliver-stealing ability was undone by the boss casting a low-rank healing spell.
I'm pretty sure I beat the first couple of bosses, but gave up when the game did not become any easier with a full party's resources to create the kind of boss-crushing synergies that I find really enjoyable.
Then again, my favorite battle system in recent memory is Grandia2 (first played all of two years ago!) where my party without much grinding became essentially unstoppable in normal combat, and even from day one are abusing power hits to smack down the already very manageable bosses. :shrug: Maybe I don't actually like "tough" battles?
Also, one hell of a spoiler.
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Since when can you cancel Dance? How? Why have I never run into documentation of this before?
I don't think you can cull out one aspect of the game and say the game lives or dies on that alone. Decent writing is important, yes, but the promotion of "son of a submariner!" from a bit of charming curse-evasion to pop-cultural icon for wacky prose doesn't help the game in any way.
Then again, I haven't yet tired of the use of archaic terminology in Ivalice, yet, so what do I know.
To me, the fact that you never have to break any of VI's systems is a strength. Sure, you can find the obscure forest of incredibly hard dinosaurs and slaughter them for incredible power, but the fact that you don't need to is what makes the extra edge rewarding--that, and the fact that most people never would have discovered it (if the internet and strategy guides didn't exist to take the mystery from everything.)
Desperation skills should be an obscure, unlikely occurrence. The power creep that gradually made them more reliable over the next several games turned something amazing and magical into something humdrum--yet another videogame system to exploit. There is an audience for systems to exploit; there is also an audience for mystery. Let them each have their games.
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Desperation skills should be an obscure, unlikely occurrence. The power creep that gradually made them more reliable over the next several games turned something amazing and magical into something humdrum--yet another videogame system to exploit. There is an audience for systems to exploit; there is also an audience for mystery. Let them each have their games.
And YouTube for the people who don't feel like trying get them to trigger in FFVI! I've beaten it four times and yet I've only seen Sabin and Shadow's and that kind of annoys me. ::D:
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I think I've only ever seen moogle punch, personally. I played the hell out of FF 3/6, too.
I am firmly of the opinion that Chrono Trigger has yet to be bested, overall.
edit: I rather liked Final Fantasy Legend. Monsters that eat other monsters to become stronger, robots building themselves into walking weapons platforms, mutant psyckers, and well-read warriors climb a mysterious tower, beat up it's mythical inhabitants, and kill god ('cause he's a dick).
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I want to submit "Breath of Fire II" to "Horrible Translation but a good game" but that game had problems on a level beyond DO YOU WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT SHAMANS.
The main examples:
There are a number of items that give you Holy Resistance. There are no enemies that attack with Holy.
The item "FastShoe" does nothing. Nada. Zip.
You think that's a deal breaker? FF6 had a stat for accuracy, but never calculated hit rates. That means stuff like Blind and Accuracy+ did absolutely nothing.
It goes without saying that that would have to be fixed in the rebalance.
As far as FF6 Rebalancing goes, Gau would need probably a good workover. Several of his rages can give you a massive advantage, to the point of making you near unbeatable. One of the first rages you get will have Gau cast Life3 over and over again with no limit most of the time.
Gau's fine - most of his gamebreaker Rages you have to dig around for.
One second on this, I have a friend who is a hardcore ff6 nerd. I want her take on how one could 'rebalance' ff6.
Her take: She agrees on the idea that magic should be regulated a bit more - perhaps make Terra and Celes the only two capable of learning all of it. Everyone else can only learn a specific set of spells - say, 20-50% of the total list, depending on who they are. Locke, for example, being near Narshe and being all going I PROTECT YOU and being a thief, he'd be able to learn cure, the support ones...whereas someone like Sabin, who's all about beating the shit out of things could learn an array of attack spells.
My idea exactly, though I forget if I actually said so. Honestly I'd rather see the restriction be on what Espers each characters could equip. Not only does it affect spells, but it also limits the way you can grow each character (but still offers options). Sabin could be limited to equipping Attack and Accuracy Espers, for example, but not Magic.
It'd also be nice to retool the character growth system so that you don't have to worry about every level you gain before meeting Ramuh actively working against you.
re: Extra Shit. EXPAND ON THE HISTORY MORE. Let us dabble in the War of the Magi, or the sealing of the dragons, let us dip our toes into the historical things only referenced in the game!
Honestly I'm still waiting for an FF6 prequel.
FUCK.
LET US SEE INTO THE BACKSTORY OF MOTHERFUCKING -KEFKA-. LET US SEE JUST HOW HE WAS BEFORE HE WAS FUCKING NUTS. All we have now is some drunk bar guy going "Magi Augmentation made him plumb loco! Now he dresses like a gay clown"
Give is MORE ON THAT, PLEASE.
Er, I always thought Kefka had been dicked with since he was a child, like Celes was.
I don't know about rebalancing. To me, a part of the charm of Final Fantasy games is that the systems are constructed in such a way that, if you know what you're doing, you can make everything trivially easy. The already rewarding sensation of achieving complete understanding and mastery of a system was reinforced by granting overwhelming power when this mastery was applied.
Yes, well, FF6 allows you to make the entire game trivially easy even if you don't know what the hell you're doing (FF6 was my first RPG.) We're just trying to make it more of an accomplishment, really.
Fuck, how hard is it to make some kind of overhaul ROM patch?
Am i the only one who actually likes legitimately hard fights, where you scrape by be being a fuckin' hero-genius?
I always thought the Lunar series was pretty good about that, Ghaleon aside.
To me, the fact that you never have to break any of VI's systems is a strength.
No, you don't have to. Even if you never search for any of the game's hidden stuff, you still have Autocrossbow, Air Render and Slot.
Or just Air Render and Slot if you're doing the absolute minimum.
I am firmly of the opinion that Chrono Trigger has yet to be bested, overall.
What? No. That game is even more trivial.
edit: I rather liked Final Fantasy Legend. Monsters that eat other monsters to become stronger, robots building themselves into walking weapons platforms, mutant psyckers, and well-read warriors climb a mysterious tower, beat up it's mythical inhabitants, and kill god ('cause he's a dick).
FFL is basically SaGa 1. SaGa games are pretty much the opposite end of the challenge spectrum; everything will fuck you over in that series.
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I am firmly of the opinion that Chrono Trigger has yet to be bested, overall.
What? No. That game is even more trivial.
We shall simply have to be of two opinions on the matter. I shan't be swayed.
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Gau's fine - most of his gamebreaker Rages you have to dig around for.
Black Cat is one you will probably start with, and it does more damage than anything in the entire game... put together.
Also, i forgot about Lunar being hard, but it is, you're right. Rather like DQ in that respect, but like ff10 i have severe aesthetic problems with both games that resulted in me not being able to put up with actually playing them.
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Every time I've played a SaGa game (including FF2) I've wanted to love it. I've wanted to love it so badly, and I do. Until the growth stops, the joy of building is gone, and suddenly I realize that in my zeal to grow and expand I've limited options that would make the game bearable in difficulty.
But I guess it's time to try it again.
T- Newbie:
I don't think you can "voluntarily" cancel dance. Though, I think because it's a different status than berserk, you can break it that way. Or, you know, let mog die. In which case his statuses are reset.
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Dance eventually ends, as far as i remember, but it's been a long damn time since i have played FF6.
You can end rage by petrifying Gau, but if you have good rages, you really don't want to.
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Also, i forgot about Lunar being hard, but it is, you're right. Rather like DQ in that respect, but like ff10 i have severe aesthetic problems with both games that resulted in me not being able to put up with actually playing them.
...the hell's wrong with Lunar? Other than the first game's obnoxiously cheery opening half, which goes away the moment [spoiler]the bad guy shows up and immediately kills the shit out of one of the most likable characters.[/spoiler]
Also, I remember being able to cancel dance with something like X button or running, but maybe I made it up. It's not like I ever wanted Mog to stop Dancing and do something else.
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[spoiler]Kefka is Shadow's friend from the dreams. He is captured robbing that train and used as a guinea pig for the magitek stuff. The only way to prove this is that Shadow's friend and Kefka have the same speech mannerisms.. in the Japanese version.[/spoiler]
I played Legend of Legaia! It had a lot of grand fights that really kicked your ass! JESUS CHRIST, PRINCE KORT!
This requires more proof, and maybe youtube videos.
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If I somehow end up in Japan 13 years ago I'll post some screen shots just for you.
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...what's wrong with a decent translation being largely responsible for a game's quality? There are certainly some games that suffered horribly for poor ones, and some that are overrated for their good ones (not naming names, we're already having too many debates in this topic already), so the translation is basically a part of the package you're buying.
Sorta. But the original FFT and Suikoden 2 are both examples of beloved games with pretty poor translations.
I was thinking of both of those in the "suffered horribly" column, actually. It kept both from being very mainstream popular.
But FF6 and Chrono Trigger weren't really mainstream popular either.
You think that's a deal breaker? FF6 had a stat for accuracy, but never calculated hit rates. That means stuff like Blind and Accuracy+ did absolutely nothing.
It goes without saying that that would have to be fixed in the rebalance.
I guess that technically qualifies as a rebalance, but I consider it more of a bug fix -- and it's already fixed in FF6A. Mount Zozo plays much much differently when you can't hit anybody with physical attacks.
Gau's fine - most of his gamebreaker Rages you have to dig around for.
Black Cat is one you will probably start with, and it does more damage than anything in the entire game... put together.
You don't start with it. You pretty much have to deliberately wander in the forest west of Doma until you get a Black Cat encounter so you'll be able to find them on the Veldt.
And re: Lunar: I played the Sega CD version so I can't vouch for the PS1 remake, but I died twice over the course of the whole game. It was not a hard game.
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If I remember correctly with the PS1 remakes, they scaled the bosses' stats against Alex's level, so all the boss fights are extreme uphill battles.
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SSSC's battle system is almost completely different from SS's, really. That said it's a lot more "challenging" than "difficult", which in other words is juuuuuust right. Except for a few specific bosses (Saline Slimer and Black Dragon, DAMN IT).
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oh god don't remind me :ohshi~:
How about that fucking boss in Lunar 2 at the end of the Haunted Mansion? D:
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I really only remember the plant boss.
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No, you don't have to. Even if you never search for any of the game's hidden stuff, you still have Autocrossbow, Air Render and Slot.
Or just Air Render and Slot if you're doing the absolute minimum.
Hell, how many characters in FF6 have defense ignoring twice the damage of Fight command zero MP attacks? Usually right from the get go?
FF6's entire system is kind of broken when you START the game with Cyan Dispatching, Sabin Pummeling, Edgar Drilling, and Shadow's ridiculously cost effective shurikens (and random attack dog)?
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"Throw" itself has always been kind of broken in FF games. Shurikens are ridiculously cheap and you have old weapons coming out the ass. And throwing even the weakest weapon does 3k damage minimum.
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"Throw" itself has always been kind of broken in FF games. Shurikens are ridiculously cheap and you have old weapons coming out the ass. And throwing even the weakest weapon does 3k damage minimum.
3k? Shadow never did above 600 tops throwing anything in WoB.
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And Edge still sucks no matter WHAT you try to do to him.
Motherfucker takes more damage than Rydia.
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Which is actually the only decent thing Augments do in FF4 DS: Allow him to attack for full damage from the back row.
Why the hell did they decide to completely fuck up the moon again?
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Wait, how did they fuck up the moon? I just cleared the Tower of Babil.
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Rootdown remains a good poster. (http://astolpho.livejournal.com/323545.html?style=mine)
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Mostly it's just a retarded difficulty spike? Would you like your entire party to be paralyzed before anyone's window pops up? Would you like to be annihilated if you don't Toad the wizards the second you run into a party? Then the moon's random encounters are for you!
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Frankly, Exdeath is a boring villain. He's like Golbez, but instead of being brainwashed, he is a tree.
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Frankly, Exdeath is a boring villain. He's like Golbez, but instead of being brainwashed, he is a tree.
FF5 has bland, cookie-cutter characters?
That is a pretty controversial assertion there.
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Being a tree isn't very bland! It's boring, but not bland!
Trees are boring!
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When everyone is a princess, being a princess is bland.
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I just think it's more interesting when the villain's natural enemy is the heroes, rather than Paul Bunyan.
I don't know why I'm even saying these things.
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The fact that Exdeath can really be said to have "natural enemies" is proof of his lameness.
You don't see Kefka up in his habitat all fearing on light warriors and mountain lions.
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You don't know that! He probably had all sorts of mountain lion related issues until he figured out how to fire enormous lasers from out of wherever he was doing that!
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I don't remember ever seeing a mountain lion in the World of Ruin. They were probably the first to go.
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I thought human decency was Kefka's enemy. I mean... He's a clown, right?
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Human decency and mountain lions. You've clearly never been to Clown School.
First thing they teach you is to hold your arms out and yell in a loud, deep voice.
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So where does FFX-2 fit into this grand circle of life?
head and shoulders above the rest of these pleb final fantasies
basically if we jumped straight from ff6 to ffx-2 and then picked up at crisis core and lost odyssey i'd be perfectly happy
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...so okay. In this version, not only does Cid jump off an airship from a great height while holding a bomb, but you actually SEE the bomb start to explode and then A GIANT FUCKING VOLCANIC ERUPTION follow.
I mean, the "EVERYBODY LIVES!" bit was silly enough the FIRST time; now they're just openly mocking it.
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No, Cid's just that tough.
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Cid and Yang are action heroes and Final Fantasy 4 is actually a genre cross-over but nobody noticed at the time.
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...anyway. Pretty solid in most places, but spell effects take entirely too fucking long, which makes battles with large numbers of spellcasting opponents move fucking GLACIALLY. Like, hit X and go get a beer. Is there a reason I have to watch the same effect five times in succession if a spell gets cast on my party? IIRC the original, the effects were shorter AND overlapped. And don't get me started on having to watch a closeup animation every single time anyone does anything that's not Attack or Item. (And is there a way to skip summon animations, or have we, as I suspect, gone back in time to 1997?)
Also, Dualcast is implemented in a half-witted manner. You can't Raise and then Cure somebody (unless you target the whole party), because you can't cast Cure spells on dead party members and it doesn't register that after you cast Raise they won't be dead anymore. The "half-wit" part comes in where it DOES fucking check your MP after the first spell you choose and grays out any spells you won't have enough to cast afterward -- so there IS a fucking check for something else and it would have been TRIVIAL to add one for "Was the first spell Raise?"
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I'm almost done with a replay of FF9, because 1) I can play it on my PSP and I'm always in need of a portable game to play, and 2) because I realized that I've played every other main series FF more recently than my last playthrough of this one.
It's kinda sad that I had more fun with the Chocograph sidequest than the main game, and not just because the items you get totally break the game.
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And is there a way to skip summon animations, or have we, as I suspect, gone back in time to 1997?
This is FFIV DS we're talking about I assume? Just hit Start.
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Hey, so.
Anybody here actually give a flying fuck about Final Fantasy XIII?
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I'll play it. Every main series FF has been at least pretty fun the first time around, and they usually have nice music and visuals.
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Not after FF12. :serious:
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Buying a new PC/Laptop instead of an exploding X-Bawks or a Redonkulous PSTriple thanks.
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I'll wait and see what the game is actually like first.
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Most especially after FF12. Nyah!
... Which FF13 are we talking about here?
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I'll probably play it.
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I would probably play it if I owned a console that would play it.
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Not after FF12. :serious:
Would share the sentiment, except I'd have stopped playing Final Fantasy in the 90s if I thought the quality of one was indicative of any of the others.
(Note that I stopped playing RPGs for about a decade after briefly toying with FF1, so you know.)
That said, if MGS4 didn't make me buy a Generation 6 console, FF13 is definitely not going to cut it.
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Aside from all the completely and utterly done to death mamma's boy jokes, bishie/girly boy jokes, and overcompensating jokes, I have never seen anyone, ever, give any logical reasons why Seph is a dumb villain/character.
Some people also dislike him because he is popular. Shrug. I thought he was a pretty sinister and intimidating villain with a better background than I CAME FROM SPACE TO EAT YOUR PLANET/I CAME FROM HELL TO EAT YOUR PLANET/I CAME FROM THE LAST FIVE MINUTES OF THE GAME TO EAT YOUR PLANET that most end bosses get.
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You know, once you muscle your way past the gag reflex, all kinds of possibilities open up.
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I just never cared much either way about Sephiroth. He was sort of a man in what looked to me like a horribly generic villain getup who I chased around the world whilst trying to figure out what the plot of the game was. Nothing he ever did really struck me as much of... anything.
But then, I sort of had that feeling about every single little thing about that game. So.
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I just never cared much either way about Sephiroth. He was sort of a man in what looked to me like a horribly generic villain getup who I chased around the world whilst trying to figure out what the plot of the game was. Nothing he ever did really struck me as much of... anything.
Yeah, well i could say the same ab--
But then, I sort of had that feeling about every single little thing about that game. So.
Yeah, glad we're on the same page. FF7 is secretly not an RPG, but a kusoge! nobody knows it but me.
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I have no idea what Sephiroth's story or motivations are (I know he somehow manages to be Cloud's childhood friend, a trauma victim, an orphan, a scientific experiment and the Sealed Evil at the same time because he's a fucking hog but I don't know exactly how these events correlate) but I'm gonna give my opinion anyway.
I think the main issue is not that whether he's evil enough to destroy the whole world while furiously humping his mother's severed head. He's evil alright. He killed Aeris after all (okay one of his clones did).
The problem is that the fangirls completely ignore he's a psychopath with no respect for human life just because he's pretty. Kinda like how every girl wants to bone Draco Malfoy despite him being a spineless bully.
Maybe the same getup that makes every teenage girl go squee also makes every man instantly not respect him.
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...he's text.
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Aside from all the completely and utterly done to death mamma's boy jokes, bishie/girly boy jokes, and overcompensating jokes, I have never seen anyone, ever, give any logical reasons why Seph is a dumb villain/character.
Some people also dislike him because he is popular. Shrug. I thought he was a pretty sinister and intimidating villain with a better background than I CAME FROM SPACE TO EAT YOUR PLANET/I CAME FROM HELL TO EAT YOUR PLANET/I CAME FROM THE LAST FIVE MINUTES OF THE GAME TO EAT YOUR PLANET that most end bosses get.
MY MOM CAME FROM SPACE TO EAT YOUR PLANET isn't really that much better.
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I'm trying to think of what Sephiroth really did in FF7. He dropped off bosses and taunted you every so often, yeah, but that's standard RPG fare, as is using your party to further his own goals and trying to destroy the world/achieve apotheosis. Hnh.
Okay, okay, lessee here: Freaked out, burned a village, disappeared for a while, killed the old Shinra president, killed a giant snake, killed Aeris, did some sort of strange summoning thing with all his clones that achieved... something, then Cloud delivered the Black Materia to him and he spent the rest of the game in a giant crater while you fought Shinra before markedly not succeeding in destroying the world.
Come to think of it, Shinra was the one that fucked with you for most of the game.
MY MOM CAME FROM SPACE TO EAT YOUR PLANET isn't really that much better.
Didn't Lovecraft write something about this?
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Sephiroth took Shinra out of the villain spotlight and that to me was inexcusable.
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MY MOM CAME FROM SPACE TO EAT YOUR PLANET isn't really that much better.
Sephiroth is not the same entity as Jenova and has a separate background.
I'm trying to think of what Sephiroth really did in FF7.
Less than Kefka. Kefka takes the cake and then fries it with a giant ray of light as far as Villains Who Did Shit. But Kefka is a completely one dimensional crazy clown rawks. I'd argue that Sephiroth is a more complicated character than any other Final Fantasy End Boss, not that that means that much.
killed Aeris
I think we've had other threads where we've discussed how this was actually a fairly moving scene, for those who were not spoiled. Though not everyone gave a shit, obviously. Dismissing it, or associating it entirely with Aeris' character, is cheating Sephy of the fact that it is something bad he accomplished as a villain that was not immediately, or ever, fixed.
Sephiroth took Shinra out of the villain spotlight and that to me was inexcusable.
The game goes about 5 points downhill once you leave Midgar and the cool shadowrunnery atmosphere it had, in my opinion, so yeah, I agree.
Again, none of these things are actual logical reasons why --
I just realized I was seriously defending a videogame character with long silver hair and a katana as long as Roger's Penis Roger's Erect Penis from a game that is at best mediocre in comparison to others of its type, even only confined to the FF series.
I LIKE SIN BEST BECAUSE I HAVE DADDY ISSUES AND KILLING HIM MADE ME FEEL GOOD.
...
...
...
...
I hate you, Dad.
p.s. if anyone calls spoiler on me for that i will be forced to inform you that you are merely a dream of a dead civilization or some crazy fucked up bullshit. from space.
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We're talking about FF7 now? Okay.
spent the rest of the game in a giant crater while you fought Shinra before markedly not succeeding in destroying the world.
Actually, he spent the whole game in the giant crater. All those times you see him, like when he kill Aeris and snuck aboard the S.S. Manhood? Clones. Clones which turn into giant headless naked women which you have to fight.
How did Sephiroth end up in the crater? When Cloud chucked him into the lifestream being sucked up by the Nibelheim Reactor, of course. So, basically, everything that goes wrong is Cloud's fault.
Ha ha.
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Like Zara mentioned, just about everything that Sephiroth did that wasn't shown in a flashback was actually done by one of his clones or whatever the fuck they were. (Aaaand DN beat me to it as I was writing this post.)
You know, I would gladly replay FFVII with a new translation. I'm surprised that The Internet hasn't made a patch yet, but on the other hand, it would probably be full of Cloud-kun and Aerith-chan and such. I'll just keep holding my breath for a new translation patch for Breath of Fire II that isn't in German (http://bof2.blogspot.com/).
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My understanding was that they were psychic projections. Hence the reason he could, you know, pass through walls and shit.
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Nope. Clones. Hojo made them. In a lab. With scraps.
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I kind of want a screenshot/script rip to prove it, but I also don't want to ask someone to do an LP of FF7.
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Begun, these clone wars have.
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They're not clones. They're... puppets.
*thwack*
Okay, fine, they're the people Hojo injected with S Cells Jenova Cells that Sephiroth managed to take control of. Cloud was supposed to be one but he sucked, Zack was supposed to be one but he died, and Red XIII was supposed to be one but he was, erm, a dog. The real Sephiroth is apparently the one trapped in the big ice cube up in Ice Cave or whatever. How the fuck he got there, and why nobody thinks to just blow up the ice cube with the real Sephiroth in it, are beyond me.
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I thought he ended up in the Ice Cave or whatever because he was looking for the Black Materia, with which he planned to put a huge dent in the Earth so he could tap into the life stream and learn everything or something.
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How the fuck he got there, and why nobody thinks to just blow up the ice cube with the real Sephiroth in it, are beyond me.
How did Sephiroth end up in the crater? When Cloud chucked him into the lifestream being sucked up by the Nibelheim Reactor, of course. So, basically, everything that goes wrong is Cloud's fault.
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I thought he ended up in the Ice Cave or whatever because he was looking for the Black Materia, with which he planned to put a huge dent in the Earth so he could tap into the life stream and learn everything or something.
More like crack the Earth open, drink all the lifestream and explode become God and use the shattered remains of the planet to sail around the universe eating other planets. Just like Galactus Megatron his mom.
FF7 is the only 40-hour RPG I know of where I can safely say they were just making up the entire plot as they were going along. (Oops, take that back... they tried to do it with Xenogears too.)
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A bold new era in narrative design?
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Chrono Cross was 40 hours, wasn't it?
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Chrono Cross was the result of tossing 7 different scripts into an n-gram parser.
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Fun Fact: The same guy who wrote FF7 also wrote Xenogears and Chrono Cross.
For various definitions of "fun." :ohshi~:
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Masato Kato? Only filled in certain scenes.
You can probably guess which ones.
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FF7 is the only 40-hour RPG I know of where I can safely say they were just making up the entire plot as they were going along.
The dire lack of consistency from location to location is a strong indicator that the kitchen sink approach was in full-swing later into the project. Only Junon & Midgar share any strong semblance to one another. The rest appear to be ripped not only from entirely different geographic expanses, but time periods altogether.
:facepalm: In the preview for the game, GameFan magazine pointed out just how special Squaresoft was as a developer for placing a homely Chocobo Farm into what otherwise appeared to be an entirely steampunk title at the time.
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Dire lack of consistency? More like were you at all paying attention?
Midgard and Junon, you may notice, are surrounded by miles of dead earth—the result of power being drained from the planet. Did you get a look at these cities? You may notice that they in one case made almost entirely out of power stations or in the other sucking lifestream straight off the seafloor. It takes a lot to power these "steampunk" cities. Look at the only towns that have makou reactors, i.e. Nibelheim and Corel: Nibelheim has about enough for the executive mansion to have power, and Corel burned down (I am pretty sure the only reason that the Gold Saucer can run off that one makou reactor is because tents don't have electric lamps). What are the other towns with makou reactors? Oh wait, there aren't any? So I guess they are just supposed to be magically "steampunk" then? Jesus.
Then you'll notice that the places the Shin-Ra pay attention to are "steampunk" as well; case in point—Rocket Town. Did you play this part of the game? The part where Cid is pissed because Shin-Ra put a bunch of crap all over his town and then left it there to die? Did you notice how about 2% of that rocket isn't fuel?
In short, I guess I don't know why you think having a ranch or something that isn't "steampunk" a bad thing, because it makes a lot of sense to me. "Dire lack of consistency" more like "completely unflawed consistency".
current mood: boggled
current music: aerith's theme (F.U.C.K.T.R.A.S.H. MIX)
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Nibelheim and Corel both had reactors. Corel was burned down because of some anti-Shinra attitude or whatever, and the reactor remained there (presumably to power the Gold Saucer).
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Oh yeah, I meant to say those are the only two other towns with makou reactors.
I'M STILL RIGHT
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You know, I would gladly replay FFVII with a new translation. I'm surprised that The Internet hasn't made a patch yet, but on the other hand, it would probably be full of Cloud-kun and Aerith-chan and such.
The PC version actually has a non-ridiculous translation, so all that's needed would be a script insert I suppose. When I played it I was all "I wonder where all those silly errors I've heard about are".
Too bad I can't make it work on my system anymore. Well... I haven't tried it on my new video card, but eh. I'd probably have more success emulating the PSX version.
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...Damn it, my copy of FF7 PC disappeared. But holy shit, I remember playing it, and you thought that the HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK of FF7's soundtrack sounds awful? Try it through a really crappy MIDI soundfont. As if any sort of soundfont could make it sound better.
Now I sort of want to pirate it simply for educational purposes.
Oh, and something just occured to me: the PC port of FF7 and FF8 (I think) was done by Eidos.
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Nope. Clones. Hojo made them. In a lab. With scraps.
When I understood that in a replay, it was a rather surreal game for me.
But that's mostly because I had played Misadventures of Tron Bonne recently and kept thinking of Sephiroth Clone #1 as a Servbot. :OoO:
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Don't forget Banora!
...
:negative: :mahboi: :determined: :ohshi~: :fuckyou: :over9000: :ohgod: :scanners: :gameover:
For the apples.
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Man, you guys also don't know a damned thing about dear old Sephy, do you?
Sephiroth—the original—is the result of Hojo and Lucrecia agreeing to letting Professor Gast add JENOVA cells to their unborn child. Lucrecia was Gast's assistant, and Hojo was probably always a raving loon, so it's not too shocking that this would happen. Though Vincent Valentine, ex-Turk, wanted to stop Lurcrecia, he didn't have the courage. When he finally did speak up, Hojo did whatever Hojo does, leaving Vincent to spend a decade or two (iirc) in his coffin in the Shin-Ra Mansion's basement. No doubt he was witness to Sephiroth laying waste to Nibelheim. Lucrecia died in childbirth, and Hojo told him his mother was JENOVA. This would prove to be very important.
Sephiroth is the culmination of the JENOVA project. JENOVA is a lifeform that fell from the heavens, as told by the Cetra. This obviously means space (which is clearly why Shin-Ra wanted to go to space at all—they are not interested in exploration but rather the spoils of conquest). He was put into SOLDIER and took on the job of training the "recruits" who were just like him: Zack and Cloud, first and foremost. It's not stated implicitly, but there is no other reason they would go along with him, when he is more accurately carrying you on his shoulders during the "flashbacks".
Hojo doesn't ever stop at JENOVA cells, though. While arguably more powerful than makou infusion, they aren't really going to last forever, so he begins cultivating SOLDIER recruits in vats of makou, sometimes going too far and creating the monsters we see during one of the flashbacks—though he did infect a precious few with JENOVA cells from time to time; most notably Cloud, Zack, and all the black robed men you see around. (Personally, I think this is the best explanation for monsters I've ever seen in a game; most games [FF8, Legend of Dragoon] say they come from the moon. It doesn't make sense for monsters to exist, so I am glad that it was explained well in FFVII. As Barret says, "Damn, Shinra! The more I hear, the more I hate 'em!") And it isn't as though turning men into monsters via makou energy is unheard of: the WEAPONS are monsters created by the planet for defense out of the Lifestream, which is what makou really is. Enraged, Sephiroth destroys the vats. He realizes Hojo fucking up is the reason he is out here in the sticks at all.
Later in the same series of flashbacks, we see Sephiroth in the hidden basement library in the Shin-Ra Mansion: the place all of Gast's old journals ended up. He pages through them. Cloud approaches him, only to be ignored. He hears Sephiroth reading aloud to himself: "...an organism that was apparently dead, was found in a 2000 year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named that organism, Jenova... X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient ...X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova Project approved. The use of Mako Reactor I approved for use... My mother's name is Jenova... Jenova Project... Is this just a coincidence? Professor Gast... Why didn't you tell me anything? ...Why did you die?" This is when he begins to realize that he has been wronged. He begins to realize he was one of Hojo's experiments. Father or not, Hojo is going to pay—this is Sephiroth's resolution.
The next time Cloud visits him, Sephiroth calls him a traitor.
Sephiroth: Ha, ha, ha...... Who is it!? Hmph...traitor.
Cloud: Traitor?
Sephiroth: You ignorant traitor. I'll tell you. This was an itinerant race. They would migrate in, settle the Planet, then move on... At the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness. But, those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving back one whit in return! Those are your ancestors.
Cloud: Sephiroth...
Sephiroth: Long ago, disaster struck this planet. Your ancestors escaped... They survived because they hid. The Planet was saved by sacrificing the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued to increase. Now all that's left of the Cetra is in these reports.
Cloud: What does that have to do with you?
Sephiroth: Don't you get it? An Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of 2000 years ago. The Jenova Project. The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients......no, the Cetra! ...I am the one that was produced.
Cloud: Pr...produced!?
Sephiroth: Yes. Professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project and genius scientist, produced me.
Cloud: How...how did he...? Se...Sephiroth?
Sephiroth: Out of my way. I'm going to see my mother.
And so we see it. He realizes, after days spent reading, that he is the final heir to the Cetra. If JENOVA ever "fell from the sky", it was because she traveled to the planet with the rest of the Cetra (as explained elsewhere). Realizing this, he goes to see his mother. On the way, he destroys Nibelheim for the hell of it.
I'm going to pause here. Does Sephiroth have a reason to be pissed yet? Hm, he was an experiment, lied to, and then used to cover up for his sniveling father's fuck-ups in some mountain town? No, I'd say he has no reason to complain. None at all.
This also causes him to go a bit batshit. He goes to the Nibelheim reactor and pulls the JENOVA cells from the back room, talking to himself about being the chosen one and "Mother's rightful place as ruler of the planet". While it is possible that JENOVA could have spoken to him as Sephiroth later spoke to his puppets, I am not sure she did, and he may have just been off his rocker at this point. In response to all this bullshit, Cloud tells him to calm down, which gets him a sword through his chest for his trouble. But you know, Cloud is resilient, and made of nearly the same thing as ol' Sephy, and promptly takes the sword out and chucks Sephiroth into the core of the reactor, which connects straight to the Lifestream. (Hence later he is in the crater, frozen in makou.)
This by no means puts our dear boy out of commission. Instead of doing his dirty work himself, he uses the power of the makou around him and his own JENOVA cells to take control of the minds of all the SOLDIER members who also have JENOVA cells. Some die, but many do his dirty work well enough; often they transform so uncannily into him that everybody in the damned world thinks it was Sephiroth who kills Aerith, when in reality it was one of his puppets. All of these puppets, after fulfilling their purpose—recon on the boat to Costa del Sol, killing the other last surviving Cetra to ensure his place as Emperor-God, etc.—transform into the JENOVA beasts you then fight: Birth, Life, Death, and Absolute. Side note: they never walk through walls or teleport. The game is told from Cloud's perspective. You are seeing them flicker because Sephiroth is messing with Cloud's mind for fun. He knows what Cloud is, what he has done, and what he will do. He lets Cloud get the Black Materia, then makes him give it to him. It is a game to Sephiroth. He is hoping that Cloud is abandoned (thereby sharing the same fate that Sephiroth believes he had) rather than killed. He is very much a masochist in this regard. You'll also note that he only outright kills those without JENOVA cells, such as President Shin-Ra, or the Midgard Zolom.
Sephiroth doesn't just want to destroy the planet. He isn't mad at it so much as the people living on it; they are the descendants of the people who let his mother die. That is why he summons Meteor. He knows that the planet can repair itself if only Shin-Ra stops draining it, and isn't worried. As you should know, the Cetra were not indigenous to the planet, they merely met their end there. Before that they traveled space, planet hopping, searching for the Promised Land. My personal theory is that the Cetra did find the Promised Land in the form of the Lifestream, and they "returned" to it by letting themselves die while the ancestors of modern humans protected themselves. If so, that only adds to Sephiroth's character; he is so mind-warped and crazy that he doesn't understand the Cetra wanted to die, and he is stuck in the Promised Land. This technique is called "dramatic irony". But that's a theory better fleshed out in another post.
Shin-Ra begins to take notice once he summons a giant rock (with bad transparency around the sides) and holes up in the crater, so they decide to shoot him with the Junon canon (The Sister Ray) from Midgard. Sephiroth takes this as his cue to unleash the WEAPONS, which go on to wreak some fucking havoc. This is about when Cloud decides he needs to finally kill Sephiroth, who just doesn't understand the concept of simple human life anymore, and does. Though Sephiroth throws one final clone at the team (JENOVA Absolute) and transforms twice in an attempt to kill them, it's not enough by that point. Cloud has stopped caring that Sephiroth is some kind of batshit telepath and straight-up kills Sephiroth, shirt or no shirt.
I don't know, maybe if you had the reading comprehension of a ten year old (and I know many of you probably did) when you played this game the first time, I don't think this is terribly hard to understand. It's a simple matter of a man who was wronged by a corporation and his father, which led him to an investigation, which led him to go crazy and try and bring about a new era. I guess he isn't necessarily a villain so much as he is just really pissed. It's very clear that throughout the game Cloud is basically fighting this guy for no reason, because Sephiroth is really just playing around with him while he tries to accomplish his own goals (occasionally using Cloud to help). If you want to talk about Cloud being a shitty protagonist, we can talk. I've got some things I could say about him, as well. But don't you dare talk about Sephiroth. He is one of the few great villains around.
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lloyd was cooler
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TOTALLY TUBULAR, DUDES!
We're back in the late 90's again!
Isn't time travel wonderful?
While we're here, let's discuss the depth of Xenogears!
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Did Lloyd have a ten foot sword? No?
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yea he didnt have to compensate
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But don't you dare talk about Sephiroth. He is one of the few great villains around.
Ehhhh, he's really let himself go.
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/driftycity/d983817c51634e01d3be26f7dd8d02bb.jpg)
Did Lloyd have a ten foot sword? No?
Big Boss says hello.
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/driftycity/62fac059e368ba9bd7faf66346ad11e5.jpg)
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Huge FF7 post
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/aett/1220489290181.gif)
Sadly, I can see myself writing a similar post in defense of FF8. :hurr:
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yea he didnt have to compensate
Says the guy with a spurting cock in his avatar.
But don't you dare talk about Sephiroth. He is one of the few great villains around.
Ehhhh, he's really let himself go.
(http://...)
Did Lloyd have a ten foot sword? No?
Big Boss says hello.
(http://...)
Oh sorry, I didn't realize that the pornographic drivel on Danbooru was the authority over a work of art such as FFVII.
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Oh sorry, I didn't realize that the pornographic drivel on Danbooru was the authority over a work of art such as FFVII.
10/10. Your theory was actually pretty good. Probably the only way I can imagine FF7 as anything other than a creative abortion.
But why, man? Why did you post this? The troll was going so good... I'm sure Guildenstern was whacking off in sheer admiration... and then you blow it!
Dude. :facepalm:
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Mostly I posted that to make it clear that an image as a response is not acceptable. If you are going to debate with me, the least you can do is make an attempt at something like courtesy.
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So it's perfectly straightforward when you fill in all the plot holes by extrapolating from subtext.
Somebody at Square thought they were Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Didn't quite work out.
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I'm sorry but it's over. The illusion has faded. "Work of art" was a red flag, pal.
Kefka did it better, lawl.
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Sadly, I can see myself writing a similar post in defense of FF8. :hurr:
My opinion: You don't need to. Despite the completely arbitrary leveling and character improvement system and DRAW DRAW DRAW, FF8 gave us a pseudo-futuristic world that was totally not steampunk like FF7 tried to be at the outset.
There ARE a few parts, however, that are pretty indefensible, such as GUNBLADE, and DRAW DRAW DRAW.
From what I gather, SeeD is a paramilitary organization, so why is their logistics system completely nonexistent? A simple shop menu connected to an acquisitions officer (Xu, perhaps!) where you could outfit yourself with basic spells (nothing game breaking, like, say, Ultima, Meteor, Meltdown, or what have you), which would still take tangible resources. Don't have enough money to finish junctioning Rinoa with Firaga? Sorry, gotta wait until your next paycheck (or, since this is a fairly modern world: Credit! Interest!)
...wait, that would be retarded. Like hell would I want to balance Squall's checkbook.
EDIT: Wow, I completely spun away from my original thought.
FF8 GUD :hurr:
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yea he didnt have to compensate
Says the guy with a spurting cock in his avatar.
yet not half as gay as your hard-on for sephie-kun
p.s. time to take this to real world for an objective evaluation of whether lloyd > sephiroth
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He was put into SOLDIER and took on the job of training the "recruits" who were just like him: Zack and Cloud, first and foremost.
Please go away.
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The thing about FF8 is that you can choose to play it in a tedious and suboptimal way if you want to and it'll still work. Once you get the item refine abilities - and you can get them right off the bat if you want - you never need to DRAW DRAW DRAW again.
Gunblades are still dumb, though.
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yet not half as gay as your hard-on for sephie-kun
I'd sooner cosplay Cid, thank you.
I'm sorry but it's over. The illusion has faded. "Work of art" was a red flag, pal.
Kefka did it better, lawl.
And what would you call it? Sorry, but I was never trolling you. You're all just wrong. Irrevocably wrong.
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Oh man it's never easy to end a relationship.
It's over. It's definitely all you. Sorry brah.
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So how much of that mentioned in the game, how much of it is in the supplemental plot guides, how much is explained in the movies/spin-offs and how much of it is pure conjecture? Because I'm pretty sure that all of that wasn't in FF7 proper.
EDIT: Oh wait, wait, Dohl had a good idea. Someone start a Xeno* thread. If he has something to say along the same lines I wanna hear him out. :goodnews:
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It's all in the text. Start reading. (http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/197341/18433)
The only thing that is conjecture is the bit towards the end that I prefix with "Personally, I think etc".
Anyway, starting a Xeno* thread will do you no good; I've never played them.
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Perhaps less provocative, if you want to talk about why OOT is an awful game, we can do that.
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...
I hate you all.
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It's all in the text. Start reading. (http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/197341/18433)
Some quick citations would be nice. I mean, you're making the argument here, not me, so...
Plus, y'know, I'm busy with Suikoden II. Luca Blight's a hell of a guy.
Anyway, starting a Xeno* thread will do you no good; I've never played them.
I think you'd like them a lot. They seem up your alley.
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Does Xenowhatever have materia?
As for citing, the thing I quoted is straight from there. It's a lot easier to understand the game if you just read it instead of play it. Not to mention all the useless shit in there you can just skip.
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(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/driftycity/18copy.jpg)
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/driftycity/19copy.jpg)
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/driftycity/06copy.jpg)
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Does Xenowhatever have materia?
The Xeno* games/quasi-series (Xenogears on PS1, then Xenosaga Episodes I-III on PS2) have plots and characters that are, by and large, far more compelling than most RPG fare. FF7 included. Honestly, I think it's pretty telling that ten years after it was released I'm still playing XG and still discovering nuances that I hadn't seen before.
On the topic of antagonists, Ramsus from Xenogears in particular strikes me as being somewhat similar to Sephiroth but far superior in terms of believability, being a fine example of a tragic (and eventually a tragicomic, in Shakespearean terms) primary villain. The lack of criticism about him certainly is telling.
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I don't care what anyone says.
Cid Highwind has the best theme ever.
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This thread has truly become gay enough to merit the name of Final Fantasy.
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Does Xenowhatever have materia?
The Xeno* games/quasi-series (Xenogears on PS1, then Xenosaga Episodes I-III on PS2) have plots and characters that are, by and large, far more compelling than most RPG fare. FF7 included. Honestly, I think it's pretty telling that ten years after it was released I'm still playing XG and still discovering nuances that I hadn't seen before.
On the topic of antagonists, Ramsus from Xenogears in particular strikes me as being somewhat similar to Sephiroth but far superior in terms of believability, being a fine example of a tragic (and eventually a tragicomic, in Shakespearean terms) primary villain. The lack of criticism about him certainly is telling.
I love Xenogears, but Ramsus really isn't a very compelling villain to me. Mostly because he's past "tragic" and actually into "pathetic".
Id and Graph had ominous down perfectly. Miang was nice too. Ramsus was the most fleshed out, but honestly I think that ended up hurting him.
The best villain in Xenogears is [spoiler]Citan, before he convinces you it was all a ruse and he was really doing it for your own good and you go back to adventuring with him anyway.[/spoiler]
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Mostly I posted that to make it clear that an image as a response is not acceptable. If you are going to debate with me, the least you can do is make an attempt at something like courtesy.
:wat:
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...god damn it Arc.
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Brentai/18copycopy.jpg)
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Brentai/19copycopy.jpg)
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Brentai/06copycopy.jpg)
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there is something very slightly off about the perspective on the gun in the second panel when you look at the cylinder and the barrel.
I can't place it but it's one of those lovecraftian slowly-driven-mad-by-impossible-sights things.
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The gun isn't drawn, for one thing. It's a CG model.
The way Usopp there is holding it and the way it's shown are different. It doesn't look like he's actually holding it.
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that and the way his terrifying size and shape changing nose is somehow over the gun.
ITS THE NOSE OF THE TINDALOS :ohshi~:
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Perhaps less provocative, if you want to talk about why OOT is an awful game, we can do that.
That's easy. Owls, text too slow, Hyrule field. Put the fork in it, that discussion is done.
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But why, man? Why did you post this? The troll was going so good... I'm sure Guildenstern was whacking off in sheer admiration...
Only in sheer admiration of his sheer cojones for so clearly overplaying his hand.
Are you saying you seriously saw his first post and thought it was legit? I saw a post fapping off for paragraphs over FF7, complete with spelling "mako" with a "u", and I went straight for his IP to see who he really was.
...frankly I'd have guessed OHak since he's the only one who seems to be taking him seriously, but it's not.
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It was completely Sephie-Kun all over, but it was actually the sort of thing that I couldn't refute without replaying FF7.
So I'm glad he overextended and fucked up, sparing me a 30 hour ordeal worse than death!
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Owls
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Brentai/enraged.gif)
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Brentai/enragedhuge.gif)
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Brentai/enragedhuuge.gif)
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Brentai/enragedhuuuge.gif)
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Brentai/enragedhuuuuge.gif)
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would you like to read that again?
Yes <
No
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I went straight for his IP to see who he really was.
Er, who was/is he?
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Yes <
:ohgod:
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Owls
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Brentai/enraged.gif)
[...]
Actually it's more like
(http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/3875/enragedcz5.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
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My money's on SoraCross.
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I came from the future of this post to add this note to the beginning of it to say that this... thing is not actually directed at anyone, least of all Thad.
Are you saying you seriously saw his first post and thought it was legit? I saw a post fapping off for paragraphs over FF7, complete with spelling "mako" with a "u", and I went straight for his IP to see who he really was.
...frankly I'd have guessed OHak since he's the only one who seems to be taking him seriously, but it's not.
Oh, now that's just insulting. Since when have I ever written something that ungodly verbose about something I liked? Especially Sephiroth, of all things, a character more known for what he looked like than what he actually did. Say what the fuck you will about Ultimecia and her profoundly retarded "time kompression" plan, or Necron and how he had fuck-all to do with anything that happened, at all, EVER, at least people bother to remember them for what they did or didn't do. Sephiroth? Fuck his resume, he's a bare-chested jackass in a big black coat with less testosterone and body hair than a twelve-year-old boy and ten goddamn feet of sword.
Ten goddamn feet of sword. In a game with cyborg gun arms, megaphones and an artillery cannon that can take out cities but is stuck with a twenty-degree cone of fire pointing at a country that couldn't start another war if they tried, and in a series that gave us the fucking gunblade and whatever the shit that basket on a stick was in FF9, this strikes me as a decision with all the sense of Pickett's Charge. The only difference between the people who gave Sephy that waste of iron and the Confederate commanders is that the Confederates heard the plan and said, "this is the dumbest fucking thing ever." No word on what it would be like if the roles were reversed, but somewhere there's probably a dimension where a bunch of displaced Japanese committed seppuku over a strikingly piss-poor military blunder that they thought was the greatest idea ever and pubescents on the Internet masturbate to a game where a spiky-haired douche chases after an evil Abraham Lincoln. If you really care about it figuring it out enough, go make a machine that lets you punch through dimensions. I'll wait.
I don't play JRPGs for the realism - shit, I just got done with one that put me up against Hitler on a UFO built by the Mayans - but sometime I just get blindsided by fridge logic when I'm busy trying to get the party to shut up about how much they miss the bland Mary Sue (I missed her too folks, mostly because my only choices for the Magic Spammer party role are Yuffie and Goddamn Cait Sith, but I'm getting over it and moving on with my life and so should you, now shut up and let me kill things) and start trying to figure shit out. Fridge logic like "how the hell does he walk around with that thing?" Because it's a sorry fucking state of affairs when you can fucking castrate the villain by going up a tight flight of stairs. You see this?
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b85/ohakubi/spiral-staircase.jpg)
This staircase could kick Sephiroth's ass.
Compare this to Daleks, who got their asses kicked by stairs but then - and get this - realized how stupid it was to not have legs on their robots, then gave their robots legs! They realized what their flaw was, then corrected it! Meanwhile, SOLDIER headquarters probably spent tens of thousands of dollars re-plastering all the stonework after Sephy there tore the shit out of the walls with his gigantic masterwork bastard sword, not to mention all the people he ended up cutting in half whenever he turned around too quickly.
The buster sword? Giant fucking cricket bat, might be hollow, the thing would still hurt like hell either way. It could be some ridiculous space-age alloy or some shit like that too; hell, say that they dunked it in a giant Makouououououou vat or maaaaaagic or something to make it lighter. But at least you could still use a damn elevator when carrying it. Sephiroth's sword? Fuck no, fuck that, fuck whoever came up with it. They should've snapped that fucking thing in half to make two smaller swords and had him fight with those. He'd still be the same insufferable chode who keeps getting dragged out of his fucking coffin in the Lifestream or wherever the fuck people go when they die to make more money for Squaresoft, but at least he could take "revolving doors" off his list of mortal enemies. Plus he'd fit right in with Drizz't and all the other retards who think dressing in black and carrying around two swords is cool. Like, oh, say... most of Sephiroth's fanbase. It's funny how that works.
...and I was only going to humor him to see if he was really serious. I have this thing where I find it very hard to write off people as being utterly irredeemable. Which, in retrospect, was a massive lapse in judgement. My bad.
Plus, y'know... if it was me there'd be that whole "shitting where you eat" thing.
EDIT: I'm going to guess it was Demogorgon.
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If you really care about it figuring it out enough, go make a machine that lets you punch through dimensions. I'll wait.
Done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x92fV1bJMnY
They realized what their flaw was, then corrected it! Meanwhile, SOLDIER headquarters probably spent tens of thousands of dollars re-plastering all the stonework after Sephy there tore the shit out of the walls with his gigantic masterwork bastard sword, not to mention all the people he ended up cutting in half whenever he turned around too quickly.
He carries it on his back, you know. Just like everyone else. It's only a little taller than him, so the worst he'll do is scrape the ground a lot.
It could be some ridiculous space-age alloy or some shit like that too; hell, say that they dunked it in a giant Makouououououou vat or maaaaaagic or something to make it lighter.
Nope! Best part of Crisis Core was the revelation that the Buster Sword was too damn heavy to use by the person who it was specially made for. Who was a 1st Class SOLDIER with shoulders about as wide as Cloud is tall.
...and I was only going to humor him to see if he was really serious.
He was... pretty obviously not. There were definitely ways to tell without, you know, biting the hook.
EDIT: I'm going to guess it was Demogorgon.
It was Cassius.
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They realized what their flaw was, then corrected it! Meanwhile, SOLDIER headquarters probably spent tens of thousands of dollars re-plastering all the stonework after Sephy there tore the shit out of the walls with his gigantic masterwork bastard sword, not to mention all the people he ended up cutting in half whenever he turned around too quickly.
He carries it on his back, you know. Just like everyone else. It's only a little taller than him, so the worst he'll do is scrape the ground a lot.
Oh man, in a way that's even worse. They'd have to knock out little furrows in the ceiling for him to stick the top of his sword through and low-hanging arches would knock him on back onto his ass if he was in any sort of hurry and forgot they were there. Plus stairs would still be his mortal enemy.
It could be some ridiculous space-age alloy or some shit like that too; hell, say that they dunked it in a giant Makouououououou vat or maaaaaagic or something to make it lighter.
Nope! Best part of Crisis Core was the revelation that the Buster Sword was too damn heavy to use by the person who it was specially made for. Who was a 1st Class SOLDIER with shoulders about as wide as Cloud is tall.
New theory! SOLDIER Requisitions Office transcends space and time with a TARDIS full of shit nobody in their right mind would use in a fight to see how many people they can get to use them. If you can figure out how to use it effectively in a fight, congratulations! You're probably skilled enough to save the world! Probably!
Their magnum opus consists of a staff with three triggers, a magazine feed, a revolver drum, a sword blade on one end, a wiffle ball menacing with spikes of leather on a chain on the other end and no visible barrels. Once they find a born master of this weapon they will embark on their plan to kill God Himself, only to get there and discover that all the Shin Megami Tensei protagonists beat them to the punch.
They also talk like Space Pirates from all those Metroid Prime "TUUUUUUUBES!!" comics.
...and I was only going to humor him to see if he was really serious.
He was... pretty obviously not. There were definitely ways to tell without, you know, biting the hook.
Yeah, I'm really horrible at this sort of thing. :nyoro~n:
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It could be some ridiculous space-age alloy or some shit like that too; hell, say that they dunked it in a giant Makouououououou vat or maaaaaagic or something to make it lighter.
Nope! Best part of Crisis Core was the revelation that the Buster Sword was too damn heavy to use by the person who it was specially made for. Who was a 1st Class SOLDIER with shoulders about as wide as Cloud is tall.
WHAT THE FUCK.
now i'm even happier that i didn't bother with crisis core/advent children.
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Oh it gets so much better. They spend so much time talking about how deeply symbolic the Buster Sword is, how it represents Angeal/Zack's hopes and dreams, etc. etc... and all the time I'm mumbling to myself, "It's the weakest sword in Final Fantasy VII. It only has two materia slots. I sold the stupid thing to some anonymous merchant the moment I found a shop that carried a better one."
Actually IIRC you can't actually sell the Buster Sword, but the point remains that I never so much as considered re-equipping it once it was deprecated.
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They spend so much time talking about how deeply symbolic the Buster Sword is, how it represents Angeal/Zack's hopes and dreams, etc. etc...
What the hell
You replace it with a Nailbat, for fuck's sake.
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To be fair, Cloud does suck.
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Awwwww, Crisis Core is great.
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Sure, just not for the story.
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I came from the future of this post to add this note to the beginning of it to say that this... thing is not actually directed at anyone, least of all Thad.
Are you saying you seriously saw his first post and thought it was legit? I saw a post fapping off for paragraphs over FF7, complete with spelling "mako" with a "u", and I went straight for his IP to see who he really was.
...frankly I'd have guessed OHak since he's the only one who seems to be taking him seriously, but it's not.
Oh, now that's just insulting. Since when have I ever written something that ungodly verbose about something I liked? Especially Sephiroth, of all things, a character more known for what he looked like than what he actually did. Say what the fuck you will about Ultimecia and her profoundly retarded "time kompression" plan, or Necron and how he had fuck-all to do with anything that happened, at all, EVER, at least people bother to remember them for what they did or didn't do. Sephiroth? Fuck his resume, he's a bare-chested jackass in a big black coat with less testosterone and body hair than a twelve-year-old boy and ten goddamn feet of sword.
Ten goddamn feet of sword. In a game with cyborg gun arms, megaphones and an artillery cannon that can take out cities but is stuck with a twenty-degree cone of fire pointing at a country that couldn't start another war if they tried, and in a series that gave us the fucking gunblade and whatever the shit that basket on a stick was in FF9, this strikes me as a decision with all the sense of Pickett's Charge. The only difference between the people who gave Sephy that waste of iron and the Confederate commanders is that the Confederates heard the plan and said, "this is the dumbest fucking thing ever." No word on what it would be like if the roles were reversed, but somewhere there's probably a dimension where a bunch of displaced Japanese committed seppuku over a strikingly piss-poor military blunder that they thought was the greatest idea ever and pubescents on the Internet masturbate to a game where a spiky-haired douche chases after an evil Abraham Lincoln. If you really care about it figuring it out enough, go make a machine that lets you punch through dimensions. I'll wait.
I don't play JRPGs for the realism - shit, I just got done with one that put me up against Hitler on a UFO built by the Mayans - but sometime I just get blindsided by fridge logic when I'm busy trying to get the party to shut up about how much they miss the bland Mary Sue (I missed her too folks, mostly because my only choices for the Magic Spammer party role are Yuffie and Goddamn Cait Sith, but I'm getting over it and moving on with my life and so should you, now shut up and let me kill things) and start trying to figure shit out. Fridge logic like "how the hell does he walk around with that thing?" Because it's a sorry fucking state of affairs when you can fucking castrate the villain by going up a tight flight of stairs. You see this?
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b85/ohakubi/spiral-staircase.jpg)
This staircase could kick Sephiroth's ass.
Compare this to Daleks, who got their asses kicked by stairs but then - and get this - realized how stupid it was to not have legs on their robots, then gave their robots legs! They realized what their flaw was, then corrected it! Meanwhile, SOLDIER headquarters probably spent tens of thousands of dollars re-plastering all the stonework after Sephy there tore the shit out of the walls with his gigantic masterwork bastard sword, not to mention all the people he ended up cutting in half whenever he turned around too quickly.
The buster sword? Giant fucking cricket bat, might be hollow, the thing would still hurt like hell either way. It could be some ridiculous space-age alloy or some shit like that too; hell, say that they dunked it in a giant Makouououououou vat or maaaaaagic or something to make it lighter. But at least you could still use a damn elevator when carrying it. Sephiroth's sword? Fuck no, fuck that, fuck whoever came up with it. They should've snapped that fucking thing in half to make two smaller swords and had him fight with those. He'd still be the same insufferable chode who keeps getting dragged out of his fucking coffin in the Lifestream or wherever the fuck people go when they die to make more money for Squaresoft, but at least he could take "revolving doors" off his list of mortal enemies. Plus he'd fit right in with Drizz't and all the other retards who think dressing in black and carrying around two swords is cool. Like, oh, say... most of Sephiroth's fanbase. It's funny how that works.
...and I was only going to humor him to see if he was really serious. I have this thing where I find it very hard to write off people as being utterly irredeemable. Which, in retrospect, was a massive lapse in judgement. My bad.
Plus, y'know... if it was me there'd be that whole "shitting where you eat" thing.
EDIT: I'm going to guess it was Demogorgon.
I don't think it is entirely fair to judge a character's merits based on how he is remembered by a bunch of 14 year olds on the Internet. Perhaps you should read my post again.
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As opposed to the theory you developed when you were 14 years old.
If you missed it, we already know you are a troll. Please formulate a new theory, like maybe why Ultimecia wasn't the stupidest stupid to stupid stupid.
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Please formulate a new theory, like maybe why Ultimecia wasn't the stupidest stupid to stupid stupid.
Anyone who hates Squall and his gang of dipshits can't be all bad.
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She didn't even acknowledge them until they came and stuck a Gunblade up her arse.
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She had her eyes on the prize, whatever the fuck it was. :wat:
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You know who was a great villain? Cecil. Fucker burned down a whole summoner village for no reason.
Then he got all repenty. :disapprove:
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Ritzia is the best villain ever.
Nobody suspected a thing.
Even after she already did it.
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She had her eyes on the prize, whatever the fuck it was. :wat:
Time kompression, man. Time kompression. Every moment in time happens at the same time. You know how libraries charge you for overdue books? If time was kompressed, the time you took the book out would be the same exact time that it would be fifty years overdue. You wouldn't even get to read it and you'd be paying hundreds of dollars in late fees. Milk would spoil after being left out too long the moment you poured it into the glass. Your TiVo would be impossible to set properly! History classes would have to cover an infinite amount of history and would end up getting kompressed into an infinite length of time, forcing you to sit there and listen to your professor forever!
Insidious!
I don't think it is entirely fair to judge a character's merits based on how he is remembered by a bunch of 14 year olds on the Internet.
I disagree! :whoops: My summary is much better, anyway; I think anyone here would agree, and I'm not just saying that because I'm fishing for compliments!
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I think the idea was that she would get to rule everything ever, literally, but without that inevitably tiresome immortality business.
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You know who was a great villain? Cecil. Fucker burned down a whole summoner village for no reason.
Then he got all repenty. :disapprove:
Technically he did not know he was going to burn down a whole village if memory serves right. He was just given a ring that him and kain were supposed to take when the ring came to life. He however killed the mothers summon which killed her though.
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I was being facetious.
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I think the idea was that she would get to rule everything ever, literally, but without that inevitably tiresome immortality business.
'tis merely a boon of her original plan of making infinite money off of library late fees. Not every big plot has to be centered around ruling the world or becoming a god, you know.
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Milk would spoil after being left out too long the moment you poured it into the glass.
Not only would it have spoiled as it was poured, but you'd already be drinking it. Truly, the potential for practical jokes is infinite. Or self-defeating. :nyoro~n:
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Squall always struck me as starting off a reasonably normal (if introverted and stoic) guy until he started being surrounded by idiots with no hope of escape or respite, and he just couldn't cope. Any of us, in that situation, would experience a similar spiral into depression and wienerdom. That's what makes it so scary.
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The game bait-n-switches you. You start off with Overt Sexual Overtones Quistis, then the game snatches her away from you for hours, replacing her with Captain ADD Falcon Punch and Perky Loli Train Fetishist.
I think Squall deserves an apology for all these years of...
(http://www.ffcompendium.com/misc/kh-leon-a.jpg)
...No, never mind.
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So Dissidia is pretty fun, if completely incomprehensible to me. Everyone seems to have gone to the Advent Children school of
flying jumping, but it actually helps in this case. I haven't played them all so I can't judge balance...yet.
Villians are purchased from the in-game store for 500pp, and you get 10pp for each 'Quick-Play' match you do, as well as a good fistful for going through the story. Doing the Prologue (Pretty much a tutorial as Warrior of Light) and doing a few quick-play matches got me enough PP to buy one. So I went for Kefka.
Thoughts:
Terra & Kefka both seem to be magic users. They can NOT take a hit worth shit, but their magic is pretty powerful, able to hit the other guy from extremely long range (Both have an attack that simply hits the other guy wherever they are) I kept getting my butt kicked by CPU Cloud with both, but I want to write off some of the steamrolling due to not being able to read stuff.
Zidane is hot shit. Dancing around and using Thief Arts all up in the place. Walloped both Squall and Butz as him.
Super Moves seem to be taken directly from the games, and it is awesome. Terra's 'EX Mode' is Esper Form, and her 'EX Burst' is Riot Blade, which was her desperation attack. Zidane is Trance Mode & Reverse Gaia, with Warrior of the Light's mode being turn into Knight and cast Protega, and his EX burst is called 'Oversoul'
So far pretty fun, but unless you have a translation guide near you don't get it.
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Squall always struck me as starting off a reasonably normal (if introverted and stoic) guy until he started being surrounded by idiots with no hope of escape or respite, and he just couldn't cope.
Except he started the game as a whiny loser. He got better through the power of idiotic friendship.
Damn, you were my only hope for anybody even remotely knowing what the hell I was talking about with the Ritzia thing.
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So I went for Kefka.
But not Exdeath.
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Reading over Lyrai's post, it occurred to me that I hadn't a clue as to what genre Dissidia belonged to. After watching a trailer video, I slumped away just as uninformed as before. Then reading over previews, I saw that they had labeled the oddity as a Brawler. Hunting down an actual gameplay video, a Brawler was nowhere to be seen. Merely flashing particle and light effects, smacking into one another.
:serious: Dissidia is now deemed a rhythm game, and is thus required to come packed with a vibrator add-on.
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Dissidia is now deemed a rhythm game, and is thus required to come packed with a vibrator add-on.
:luv: OoOOOH Sephy-Sama! :luv:
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XIII coming to Japan in '09, America after April '10. (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/15/reuters-final-fantasy-xiii-coming-2009-to-japan-overseas-after/)
Delay cited as needing more time for the closing of pools:
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/driftycity/ffxiisazhkalzroy-1.jpg) (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/14/spiky-hair-and-afros-new-playable-ff-xiii-character-revealed/)
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I'm sort of pissed at Square-Enix, because I left specifically because there was really no place to advance to there and then they opened a local development office.
Fuck you, guys.
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If this game has the sort of character customization I've come to expect from Final Fantasy, then I will make that guy [spoiler]a black mage[/spoiler].
(http://remod.cakearmy.org/images/smilies/Ultros.gif)
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"...uses two pistol-like weapons..."
Oh, Japan.
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The sheriff is a n- :racist: !!
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This kind of mindfucked me when I realized Barret was the only black guy in the world in FF7 and there was never a black guy in any other game.
None.
Even Marlene is white.
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I'm pretty sure there were black NPCs.
And Marlene is white because she's Dyne's daughter, not Barret's.
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Fran is kind of chocolatey.
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This kind of mindfucked me when I realized Barret was the only black guy in the world in FF7 and there was never a black guy in any other game.
None.
Even Marlene is white.
That gay michael-jackson guy in the Laguna dreams in FF8 was black. Or at least dark-skinned. I'm pretty sure FF8 had a lot of negritos in it.
On the other hand there hasn't been a truly JaAsian character since Yuffie. Those Japanese truly hate themselves.
PS: Fran's not human :sadpanda:
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that's because she's a video game character, duh.
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FF8 had Kiros and Fujin (or was it Raijin? I can never keep those two straight).
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It was Raijin.
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I also seem to recall there were NPCs of various ethnicities.
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Oh, when I played FF8 I got distracted by Triple Triad and stopped playing around the time I the train was taken over by zombies because really? So nothing really sticks with me about that one.
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...is it okay if I ban this guy?
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He stopped playing FF8 in the middle of the first of it's many terrible parts?
Call the Troll Police!
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...yes, because he's contributed so much worthwhile conversation up to this point.
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If you do, don't ban my IP, because I share it with Norondor.
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Oh, when I played FF8 I got distracted by Triple Triad and stopped playing around the time I the train was taken over by zombies because really? So nothing really sticks with me about that one.
Jerkass of a male lead? Vapid dumbass of a female lead? Stupid plot twists? Poorly-received entry in a long-running franchise? Zombies on a train?
I think I know what the problem was.
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b85/ohakubi/re0.jpg)
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...yes, because he's contributed so much worthwhile conversation up to this point.
He single-handedly saved the Adolf Hitler II thread.
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Wasn't the entire cast of FFX vaguely Asian?
FF7 had a lot more noogies in it than you think, just most of them were NPCs. Rude was kind of a black guy who didn't get enough sun but kept getting lighter as the subseries went on until he was fucking alabaster in that cellphone game. You don't see any black guys in the Compilation stuff ever except Barrett, and they ignore him as much as they possibly can.
Will be interesting to see if their bent on making everything into an MMORPG lately means they're going to have a more ethnically diverse world now, though. One Wacky Afro says no.
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only in the cutscenes. (in reference to ffx)
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...yes, because he's contributed so much worthwhile conversation up to this point.
FF7 nonsense = not worth banning, FF8 nonsense = worth banning?
Thad are you trying to tell us something about your favorite entry in the Final Fantasy series
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The most ridiculous part of the game for me was when it's revealed that the evil sorceress is actually a good sorceress who was being controlled by another evil sorceress IN THE FUTURE. A whole 2 discs was spent on how Edea is evil and she's gonna take over the world and all that, and then when you beat her "oh hey, it was a time-traveling sorceress from out of nowhere, WAIT WHAT". FFIX topped this by having Necron swoop in literally right after the second to final boss fight and yell "I AM EVIL AND WANT TO DESTROY UNIVERSE YOU AND I FIGHT NOW OKAY?", but it's still ridiculous.
RE MegaMeadowtron: At the very least he's smarter than SoraCross. And besides, we haven't banned Guild, and I don't see how new guy is any worse.
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PU, this might sound weird, but I'm really happy that you remembered that Ultimecia is first mentioned by-name at the beginning of disk 3. Many people think that, like Necron, she is just a random person to appear as the final boss because they clearly weren't paying any attention at all.
Side-note: The coolest foreshadowing moment in FF8 is when you go to Timber early on in the game, and you see the signal that has been blocking radio/television receptions for 17 years, which you later discover is coming from Adel's Tomb in orbit. Words repeat endlessly: "I WILL NEVER LET YOU FORGET ABOUT ME I AM HERE BRING ME BACK THERE"
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Oh Adel. May your freakish androgyny be fast forgotten.
Seriously. While foreshadowed or not, "radio/tv signals stopped because FREAKY MANCHICK IN SPACEBOX" is the most from left field moment in FF8.
Even more so than when Ultemecia junctioned herself unto YOUR ASS.
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...yes, because he's contributed so much worthwhile conversation up to this point.
He single-handedly saved the Adolf Hitler II thread.
...I still haven't read it.
...I'm TIRED, okay?
...yes, because he's contributed so much worthwhile conversation up to this point.
FF7 nonsense = not worth banning, FF8 nonsense = worth banning?
Thad are you trying to tell us something about your favorite entry in the Final Fantasy series
More like "constant stream of nonsense regardless of subject".
Hell, I hate FF8 as much as the next guy. But there's no reason to be vapid and banal about it.
FFIX topped this by having Necron swoop in literally right after the second to final boss fight and yell "I AM EVIL AND WANT TO DESTROY UNIVERSE YOU AND I FIGHT NOW OKAY?", but it's still ridiculous.
Necron is, like most of FF9, a self-referential fanwank. He's just like Zeromus. FF8 is hardly the first of the series to spend the whole game building up one villain and then pull a "MIND CONTROL!" bit at the end.
RE MegaMeadowtron: At the very least he's smarter than SoraCross. And besides, we haven't banned Guild, and I don't see how new guy is any worse.
We can't ban Guild because I Sharkey loves him.
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Pretty sure nothing beats WE ALL GREW UP IN THE SAME ORPHANAGE.
EXCEPT YOU RINOA.
YOU'RE ONLY IN OUR CLUB BECAUSE YOU'RE FUCKING OUR PRESIDENT.
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I wouldn't have minded them all growing up. It's them 'forgetting.'
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Pretty sure nothing beats WE ALL GREW UP IN THE SAME ORPHANAGE.
EXCEPT YOU RINOA.
YOU'RE ONLY IN OUR CLUB BECAUSE YOU'RE FUCKING OUR PRESIDENT.
Well, I thought that was spoke for itself, so it's why I skipped it.
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This kind of mindfucked me when I realized Barret was the only black guy in the world in FF7 and there was never a black guy in any other game.
None.
Even Marlene is white.
General Leo? Sure, he was a dark-skinned blond, but...hair dye? I dunno.
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I wouldn't have minded them all growing up. It's them 'forgetting.'
That's what kills me. Okay, so they lost their memories after years of GF abuse. That makes sense and is kinda poignant (remember, Drugs Made Out of Summoned Monsters are Bad!)
The thing is... Squall gets his first GF (and his first GF) at the beginning of the game, so he's been using them for a sum total of a week. And most of the party members you get don't have GFs at all... despite that being a prerequisite for taking the final exam... yeah, fuck it, this game's plot is more full of holes than a female tentacle monster.
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This kind of mindfucked me when I realized Barret was the only black guy in the world in FF7 and there was never a black guy in any other game.
None.
Even Marlene is white.
General Leo? Sure, he was a dark-skinned blond, but...hair dye? I dunno.
(http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/3357/kirosnw9.jpg): Hey, fuck you guys.
edit: beaten to the punch damn
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I wouldn't have minded them all growing up. It's them 'forgetting.'
That's what kills me. Okay, so they lost their memories after years of GF abuse. That makes sense and is kinda poignant (remember, Drugs Made Out of Summoned Monsters are Bad!)
The thing is... Squall gets his first GF (and his first GF) at the beginning of the game, so he's been using them for a sum total of a week. And most of the party members you get don't have GFs at all... despite that being a prerequisite for taking the final exam... yeah, fuck it, this game's plot is more full of holes than a female tentacle monster.
Doesn't Irvine mention that at his garden they never use those, which is why he remembers?
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Ifrit wasn't Squall's first GF. Squall had both Quetzalcoatl and Shiva loaded into the computer at his desk, so presumably he had been training with them for some time. Selphie mentions that she had never used GFs before transferring to Balamb Garden, though, but even if her memory wasn't nearly as wiped as Squall's (or Quistis' or Zell's) that can be explained away by her being a spaz. Also, because it's been around a decade and people tend to change during those awkward teen years.
And yeah, Irvine still remembered but he said something about how he didn't want to bring it up because nobody else seemed to remember and he didn't want to sound like an idiot.
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GFs produce a kind of radiation that unwrinkles brains. Living in a dorm full of GF users exposes your brain to the radiation and causes it to become as smooth as a baby's butt.
You're welcome.
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Actually, Selphie goes out of her way to point out she found a GF at a young age and
was raped by it, booyaka used it and thus couldn't remember anything either.
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well then there you go
Any word on a FFVII remake? Is that just a rumor I heard or a dream I had? Please say no.
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Actually, Selphie goes out of her way to point out she found a GF at a young age and was raped by it, booyaka used it and thus couldn't remember anything either.
That's right! I'm surprised that I forgot that.
I tried replaying the game a couple of weeks ago on my PSP, but there's some stupid glitch that causes it to freeze up... right at the fucking end of disk one. I like to do a lot of unnecessary grinding for magic and abilities at the beginning of the game, so I'm not anxious to start it all over again just yet. At least I still own the actual discs so I can avoid stupid emulation problems.
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Any word on a FFVII remake?
It's packin' heat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IknpTX5lec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uea8Cwbz7es
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Good enough for ya?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yjHKDqyLu4&feature=channel_page
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Replaying FFXII makes me wish there were more MMOs without other people, subscription fees, or ridiculous amounts of grinding between each level.
Hell, if the quality was good enough, I'd be fine if they dropped any one of the above problems.
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FFXII really just proves that one out of three is still awful.
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Reading over Lyrai's post, it occurred to me that I hadn't a clue as to what genre Dissidia belonged to. After watching a trailer video, I slumped away just as uninformed as before. Then reading over previews, I saw that they had labeled the oddity as a Brawler. Hunting down an actual gameplay video, a Brawler was nowhere to be seen. Merely flashing particle and light effects, smacking into one another.
:serious: Dissidia is now deemed a rhythm game, and is thus required to come packed with a vibrator add-on.
It's Super Smash Bros.
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FFXII really just proves that one out of three is still awful.
If only there were FFXII expansions. I'd pay for more Marks, new areas (Rozzarria? FFT's setting or Vagrant Story's? somewhere new?), and so on.
Of course, I'm the kind of person who would be happy with just more of the stuff I like. I'd go crazy for Shadow of the Colossus with sixteen new colossi, plot be damned.
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FFXII really just proves that one out of three is still awful.
If only there were FFXII expansions. I'd pay for more Marks, new areas (Rozzarria? FFT's setting or Vagrant Story's? somewhere new?), and so on.
This seems like the sort of thing Square will do when they start putting FFs on the PS3/360. Judging from what they are doing with FFCC on the Wii, there'll be downloadable content like that. Or maybe there won't be, because the games will be perfect, intact masterpieces in the eyes of Square.
I am remembering right about the Wii FFCC, right? Maybe it is a WiiWare thing they did where you could buy more stuff though?
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My Life as a King has lots of stuff you have to pay for. They also said the new Wii Crystal Chronicles will have some kind of online support, but I don't know how specific they were in their release.
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Yeah, I'm not sure how much I trust Square-Enix with downloadable content, or at least the price of it. (Lousy Square-Enix tax...)
They also said the new Wii Crystal Chronicles will have some kind of online support, but I don't know how specific they were in their release.
Wait, they're already planning another CC? That was fast.
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They were planning two to begin with. I'm not sure what happened to the other one.
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Is it going to be another WiiWare game or another one in the vein of Ring of Fate/Echoes of Time? How IS Life as a King, anyway?
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<3<3<3 My Life as a King. It's great, but if you get it I highly recommend buying the extra content for dungeons and the other races. Otherwise, all you have are clavats, and clavats can suck me. No male selkies though, which makes me angry too.
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Is it going to be another WiiWare game or another one in the vein of Ring of Fate/Echoes of Time?
Single-player Kingdom-Heartsish like set in the CC universe, or a CC universe anyway. Apparently it's been in Development Hell for a while but they're still on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_Crystal_Chronicles:_The_Crystal_Bearers
How IS Life as a King, anyway?
Well, LD seems to like it. AFAIK (I was on the marginally better Chocobo's Dungeon at the time) it's sort of a bastard SimCity/Harvest Moon type thing. The problem is it's $20 to start with (or was) and you have to pay $5 for each extra race, which why the fuck would you play a CC game without the other races. So before you even begin you've spent $35 on a WiiWare game and you haven't even bought half the content yet.
Square likes pyos. They are not afraid to say this.
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I'm just about at the point where I quit FFXII the first time. Actually, it's the point where several others have told me that they've quit (Pharos Lighthouse). I did get the Zodiac Spear this time, which is nice as it's twice as powerful as any other weapon I currently have, so maybe that will help me with some of the higher-level Marks that frustrated me in my first playthrough. It's close to reaching 9999 damage, though, and I've heard that there's no way to break the damage limit in this game apart from doing multi-hit combos (which seem to be rare with spears, if not flat-out impossible).
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My advice? Fuck the marks, just plow on through to the ending. Most of the marks are bullshit hard, and to top it off some of them are near impossible to even reveal in the first place (I never did fight King Behemoth). Just skip that shit and beat the game, I guarantee you'll be happier for it.
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King Behemoth was the one that made me stop playing. I killed every Mark up to him, and then after uncovering big bertha by wiping out every single enemy across two giant fields covered in obscuring fog, he killed me down at his last percentages of life. You have to wipe out every single enemy every time you want to fight him.
I never turned FFXII on again.
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It's not like it matters, as FFXII has no ending or story
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I'm finally at the point where I only care about the story in RPGs and have tired of the MUST REVEAL EVERY LAST SLOT OF THE SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE THING stuff (FF4 Advance bestiary). It's mostly because I haven't plowed through games with that in a while and upon looking back I've realized it doesn't fucking matter at all in retrospect.
I just wonder why "you will instantly forget all the grinding crap as soon as you put down this game" took so long to click.
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I beat Gilgamesh last night, which was one of the Marks I was unable to complete on my first playthrough. The battle took me at least half an hour, but I even managed to steal all of the Genji Equipment! ...Only to discover that every piece of it was slightly weaker than the armor I had recently bought. Still, the Masamune + Genji Gloves is a great combo.
Went on to try Fafnir, who slaughtered me instantly in my first game. I lasted a couple of minutes, took off a, well, visible part of his HP, then died horribly. Yeah, I really should just try to beat the damn plot and have one less unfinished RPG hanging over my head.
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I beat Gilgamesh last night, which was one of the Marks I was unable to complete on my first playthrough.
1: Ally: Balthier: Reverse
2: Ally: Balthier: Lure
3: Self; HP<50%: Cure II
4: Nearest Enemy: Attack
There, i just beat every mark for you.
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I guess you should put in Ally; Any: Remedy between 2 and 3
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I'm finally at the point where I only care about the story in RPGs and have tired of the MUST REVEAL EVERY LAST SLOT OF THE SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE THING stuff (FF4 Advance bestiary). It's mostly because I haven't plowed through games with that in a while and upon looking back I've realized it doesn't fucking matter at all in retrospect.
I just wonder why "you will instantly forget all the grinding crap as soon as you put down this game" took so long to click.
Apparently, it only matters if other people can see it in Dal.
Not that I care about what people see in Dal. I'm just saying I know a lot of people who no longer max out single player RPGs and instead have 573897539075 mounts and pets and every title and achievement.
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When I play that I'm too busy /saluting questgivers and staring at awesome views from cliff edges to grind rep.
(or to level, lol)
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I've been playing FF8 chiefly because one of you yelled at me for stopping at the zombie train part, but so far I have gotten a little ways into disc three and I still think this is the stupidest game in existence.
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I'm finally at the point where I only care about the story in RPGs and have tired of the MUST REVEAL EVERY LAST SLOT OF THE SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE THING stuff (FF4 Advance bestiary). It's mostly because I haven't plowed through games with that in a while and upon looking back I've realized it doesn't fucking matter at all in retrospect.
I just wonder why "you will instantly forget all the grinding crap as soon as you put down this game" took so long to click.
Apparently, it only matters if other people can see it in Dal.
Not that I care about what people see in Dal. I'm just saying I know a lot of people who no longer max out single player RPGs and instead have 573897539075 mounts and pets and every title and achievement.
That's maybe the one thing I missed about the verizon job. The fact that most RPGs (Pokemon included) were turn-based, they were so very easily completed while on the phones. Added bonus was that that phones were so mind-numblingly boring, grinding was fun by comparison!
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On the flipside, when I was playing turn-based RPGs for 8 hours a day, I spent most of the time talking to other people to take my mind off the boredom.
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I've been playing FF8 chiefly because one of you yelled at me for stopping at the zombie train part, but so far I have gotten a little ways into disc three and I still think this is the stupidest game in existence.
It is. I still like it, though.
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On the flipside, when I was playing turn-based RPGs for 8 hours a day, I spent most of the time talking to other people to take my mind off the boredom.
This is why i tend not to play RPGs or similar games without other people watching.
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Turn-based RPGs are the only type of game I cannot sit and watch though.
...well there are probably others, but in general I could watch a guy fail at Ninja Gaiden for hours but once the dungeon crawling starts I get up to make a sandwich.
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On the flipside, when I was playing turn-based RPGs for 8 hours a day, I spent most of the time talking to other people to take my mind off the boredom.
This is why i tend not to play RPGs or similar games without other people watching.
I just tell people to go find something else to do if they get bored of watching me. :nyoro~n:
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He said "without," not "with."
My girlfriend watches the talky parts of Persona 4, but not so much the dungeon crawl or, much worse, my fusion debacles.
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Since i've been watching FF8 while Tyler plays it i am struck by the fact that the music is the worst, not only in the FF series but maybe in any game ever released. The only halfway-decent track is the battle music for Laguna and none of the music you hear in any location ever fits the ambiance. Why does the lunar science lab have german oompah-pah music? I swear.
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Despite my love for FF8, I agree that it does have a mostly-bad soundtrack with a few exceptions. The weirdest part is that, usually when I read an anti-FF8 review, they usually say something like "despite its great soundtrack, the game sucks etc. etc."
I love this track, but the creators must have also because they overuse it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kia3MaNO60
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That's a derivative of the ten songs used for ruins in FF7
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Well, okay, I guess it's alright. But it can't really make up for the rest of the soundtrack, and also it's in like two areas
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Under her control may be the best bad song in the series. I love singing or humming it when I drive or go for a walk, for some reason.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu5pSfBLrMs
pom, pa pom, pa po po pom, pa pom, pa pa po pom
po pa pom, pa po po pom po pa pom, pa pa po pom
:nyoro~n:
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He said "without," not "with."
My girlfriend watches the talky parts of Persona 4, but not so much the dungeon crawl or, much worse, my fusion debacles.
Oops, misread.
I can't really do RPGs with other people around. I always feel awkward running around talking to people and shopping with someone over my shoulder.
Quick edit: The only songs in FFVIII I like are Balamb Garden, Breezy, KCompression of Time, Force Your Way, Martial Law, Maybe I'm A Lion, The Land, The Man With the Machine Gun, The Salt Flats, The Spy and The Winner. Everything else was pretty much meh to me. But then again, I've yet to like an entire soundtrack to date.
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But then again, I've yet to like an entire soundtrack to date.
Wings of the Goddess
no, really
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Since i've been watching FF8 while Tyler plays it i am struck by the fact that the music is the worst, not only in the FF series but maybe in any game ever released. The only halfway-decent track is the battle music for Laguna and none of the music you hear in any location ever fits the ambiance. Why does the lunar science lab have german oompah-pah music? I swear.
I liked the normal battle theme as well because of its weird rhythm thing it has going on, but it is kinda generic Uematsu.
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Somehow all the music in the game basically sounds like a pc shareware game circa 1993.
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But then again, I've yet to like an entire soundtrack to date.
Wings of the Goddess
no, really
If it's anything like the rest of the FFXI soundtrack, there'll only be like 6 or so songs that are any good. I plucked some of the fight music from XI, but none of it really grew on me.
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Some of the Arrange Albums for FF8 are pretty nice. I enjoy the orchestrated version of Love Grows.
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I like the boss music despite it being terrible because everytime it builds tempo I remember the really good second Seifer fight.
KNEEL BEFORE ME *WHIRLWIND HELL*
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I uh, never got to see Whirlwind Hell because I one-shotted him. And Edea.
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WHOOPS i guess Squall has STR+20% and STR+40% and full-life junctioned to STR and is at critical health
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPS seventeen thousand damage
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a lot of people say that the problem with ff8 was bad hackneyed writing and the fact that you had to draw magic from bosses to be useful
While junctioning/drawing was precisely what made the game awful, Norondor has illustrated why.
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I liked junctioning and drawing.
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:disapprove:
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You don't have to draw in battle at all, except getting summons from bosses. Card, Card Mod, and magic refinement gives you everything you need. Plus the occasional draw point for the unnecessary rare spells.
Also, physical attacks are more efficient sources of damage, both in real-time and game-time, than summons. Also, the game is easier if you never level up.
I like the junction system. The draw system is just misleading, though.
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While I mostly agree with you BB, nothing is more fun than casting meltdown and then smacking the crap out of monsters. Nothing.
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FF8 and FF12 suffer from similar problems in that the proper way to progress through the game is completely different from the way in which you are explicitly told to. Had the tutorials either been clearer or even less clear on exactly the wrong points then neither would have ended up as quite the torturous grindfests that most people ended up naively playing.
FF8 at least would still be pretty bad, but at least it would be easier to appreciate the fact that, really honestly, it's the prettiest of all the Final Fantasies, getting in right before the implosion of Square's CG workshops that it never quite recovered from.
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Armed with this knowledge, I might give 12 another try.
Some day.
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No. You don't need to do that. Here is a detailed plot synopsis, so you are not missing anything: For no reason, five people follow some bitch around, who goes to a lot of dungeons, until at the end she gets on the death star and fights god for no reason.
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...that was a pretty good movie though.
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Apart from the fact that i was still waiting for the storyline to start while the ending credits were rolling, i guess.
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I think in theory, junctioning is a good idea. It means you focus more on applying your spoils than just gaining spoils. Unfortunately, it was done really poorly.
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Junctioning made me feel like a genius back in high school, because it seemed like nobody (even one "hardcore" FF fan) could figure it out and was having trouble with the game since their stats were all at, like, 6 or whatever.
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I really enjoyed FF8. So much so that I apparently decided that I wanted the last fight to be as hard as possible, and I leveled to 99 before I went to do it.
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The joke is that the difficulty doesn't change at any level.
In fact, I thought the game became easier at higher levels because as soon as you got "Limit Breaks At Full Health The Spell", you didn't have to even anticipate one of the following only-two-dangers-in-the-game:
1) Somebody at critical health gets hit before they one-shot
2) MARLBORO
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The joke is that the difficulty doesn't change at any level.
Bosses scale to your level
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Exactly, the difficulty stays at the exact same level.
Though in practice it got easier because your stats were being multiplied and theirs weren't.
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No, it gets harder. Your stats can go up totally independently of your level (Level-up -> draw -> Junction).
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My only real distinction was that you learn the spell Aura and the draw lists from monsters is slightly based on leveling.
Who cares anyway, FF8's system was just a wildly tacky set of hoops as compared to the standard set of hoops.
They could have cleaved entirely through the super terrible writing problem by having Seifer be the player character.
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My only real distinction was that you learn the spell Aura and the draw lists from monsters is slightly based on leveling.
Level-Up command
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If you abuse cards and just junction Enc-None at like level 16 or 17 when you can get it, you have max stats as if you were 99 but the bosses don't. Everyone but Noro is dumb.
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Good thing Square listened to the people who hated different battle systems in their Final Fantasies, and went back to a more traditional style in IX and then I fell asleep during a boss fight.
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They could have cleaved entirely through the super terrible writing problem by having Seifer be the player character.
I've always said Laguna.
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Well now we know who keeps asking Square for more moron protagonists.
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They could have cleaved entirely through the super terrible writing problem by having Seifer be the player character.
I've always said Laguna.
You mean Laguna "Let's stop the Evil Sorceress by actually facilitating her evil plans" Loire?
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FF8 is fucked up because you can reach level 100.
Which means that you can have everyone in your party completely maxed out but a single Lv.5 Death will still kill all of them, instantly.
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I simply evaluate Final Fantasy games based on the musical composition and then by 'contains playable characters with machine gun'.
So yeah. I admit. I liked eight.
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For the man with the machine gun?
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More the machine gun itself than the guy.
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Man, that Laguna chick is hot.
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Just chiming in to point out that yes, Wings of the Goddess soundtrack is really good.
This may or may not count but so is the Lost Odyssey soundtrack.
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Good thing Square listened to the people who hated different battle systems in their Final Fantasies, and went back to a more traditional style in IX and then I fell asleep during a boss fight.
I'm glad someone else brought up IX first. I loved Disk 1, due to its good soundtrack, cool city design, humor, and brisk pace. As soon as you travel to the second continent it just slows to a halt and you visit one boring, brown location after another. Until you briefly visit a boring white location and a boring (but pretty) blue location.
God help me, but I found the Chocobo Hot and Cold minigame to be fun, but until the very end of the game the rewards are pretty much only for your mages, allowing you to get high-level spells way ahead of time. Also, for the first half of the game Vivi had the highest defense in my party due to some armor I got on the first disk.
And yeah, the boss fights put me to sleep, too. Trying to steal all three items from each boss - even using up all of Zidane's AP on his steal-boosting abilities - takes forever but most bosses have equipment that teaches useful or rare abilities and spells...
I've replayed the game a couple of times, but I always stop at Pandemonium out of boredom and I've never made it back to the disappointment that was Necron. Say what you will about FFVIII and Ultimecia, but at least she is mentioned by name early on in disk 3 and her direct presence is felt all the way back on disk 1, even if you don't meet her face-to-face.
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Armed with this knowledge, I might give 12 another try.
Some day.
No. You don't need to do that. Here is a detailed plot synopsis, so you are not missing anything: For no reason, five people follow some bitch around, who goes to a lot of dungeons, until at the end she gets on the death star and fights god for no reason.
One more thing you should see if you're still thinking about playing 12:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSyfGm6wXgs
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I'm going to be honest: I don't think I ever used Steal in FF9. It's also the first of two Final Fantasies I actually beat (the second being X, right before I got FFX-2).
Also, I like FFX-2. Apparently that makes me some sort of sex offender.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSyfGm6wXgs
I actually did that to the entire QA office once.
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Brentai wins Square Enix Trolling Game.
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I've got to say that as stupid as the entire game is, the entire Time Compression (or rather, KOMPRESSION xd get it) is pretty cool/visually interesting, and Ultimecia's castle is badass. It's also not very hard but all these FAQs make it sound hard?
To play this game well you are supposed to NOT FIGHT ANYTHING except event battles until you get to Diablos, at which point you fight only certain kinds of monsters to get Encounter None, and then you wait until you can fly the Garden to get Tonberry King which gives you the Lvl Up skill. I didn't bother, though: I got up to about level 50, so I can draw most of the best magic, and just never used it. So now I have 100 ultimas, 100 meteors, 100 triples, etc. All the best magic. Squall does 9999 on most enemies with high defense just by attacking, which is almost dissapointing. Nothing about Ultimecia's castle is hard. Even the enemies you are supposed to kill by using GFs are easy. It's terrible. I hope Ultimecia is hard. Or interesting. Or I at least don't kill her in one hit.
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I have some bad news for you dude
Also i really liked the part where you crash your ship right through the Lunatic Pandora and Fuujin and Raijin are like UHHHH and you're like SURPRISE, COCKFAGS and one-shot them both
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I like how one-shot takes on a very special meaning in this particular game.
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"Have Squall use Renzokuken and win the fight instantly?"
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So when it came down to it, I couldn't get her to choose my main party, and ended up having to play a fun mini-game where I let her kill Zell, Selphie and Rinoa so I could bring in Squall, Irvine, and Quistis. As soon as the three of them were in battle, I hit Ultimecia with Squall's limit and killed her. At this point I used a Holy War, because why not.
I went through the remaining three bosses doing Squall's limit at 9999 a hit, so like I dunno WAY TOO MUCH DAMAGE per turn, plus Irvine used Darkside I think twice and Quistis um stood there. Holy War ends in like six turns, I think, and I finished the game before it ended. Not sure why the final final final final boss is Culex's girlfriend, but whatever.
Zell choking on a hot dog was almost worth playing the game. He didn't die though, so it wasn't. Final verdict: 1/10. It succeeds only in being a video game.
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Goodbye, Zeromus EG. You are the hollowest victory I have known.
Lunar Bahamut was cool though. Literally killed him on my very last chance when I thought I'd already blown the fight.
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Romo needs to learn how to time his jumps better.
...reading this thread has made me realise that despite a good deal of nostalgia around Final Fantasy, the only FF game I actually want to play again or talk about is Tactics.
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I've got to say that as stupid as the entire game is, the entire Time Compression (or rather, KOMPRESSION xd get it) is pretty cool/visually interesting, and Ultimecia's castle is badass. It's also not very hard but all these FAQs make it sound hard?
To play this game well you are supposed to NOT FIGHT ANYTHING except event battles until you get to Diablos, at which point you fight only certain kinds of monsters to get Encounter None, and then you wait until you can fly the Garden to get Tonberry King which gives you the Lvl Up skill. I didn't bother, though: I got up to about level 50, so I can draw most of the best magic, and just never used it. So now I have 100 ultimas, 100 meteors, 100 triples, etc. All the best magic. Squall does 9999 on most enemies with high defense just by attacking, which is almost dissapointing. Nothing about Ultimecia's castle is hard. Even the enemies you are supposed to kill by using GFs are easy. It's terrible. I hope Ultimecia is hard. Or interesting. Or I at least don't kill her in one hit.
ProTip: Quetzalcoatl gets Card, and Carded monsters give AP or whatever it is to level up GFs but no EXP.
Also, DN, X-2 is the most interesting and inventive FF since like 5. Megastars!
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Romo needs to learn how to time his jumps better.
...reading this thread has made me realise that despite a good deal of nostalgia around Final Fantasy, the only FF game I actually want to play again or talk about is Tactics.
Mm, I love Tactics. Great story, fun job classes and skill sets. A monster system you can use to have Ramza + 4 monsters, and FUCK I WANNA PLAY IT AGAIN. :sadpanda:
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Also, DN, X-2 is the most interesting and inventive FF since like 5. Megastars!
And V wasn't actually very good. X-2 is a lot of fun, has one of the more enjoyable Square battle systems, and actually manages to have likable characters with not a fourteen year-old girlboy in sight.
In fact I think I may go play it again for a lark.
And by play I mean spam R1 because Gunner is broken as shit.
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Not being too proud to admit FF X-2 is awesome, hilarious, and really well-designed* is a sign of maturity.
*I like RPGs that are not only completely breakable, but have substantial, story-enhancing bonus content (sup Bevelle Dungeon) that assumes you've broken the game by the time you get there.
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ProTip: Quetzalcoatl gets Card, and Carded monsters give AP or whatever it is to level up GFs but no EXP.
Yes, and if you stand in just the right spot you can fight Cactuars before you can fly, who give 10 AP a pop and help you get the Cactuar summon, which is what he meant by "certain fights."
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*I like RPGs that are not only completely breakable, but have substantial, story-enhancing bonus content (sup Bevelle Dungeon) that assumes you've broken the game by the time you get there.
You'd absolutely adore the optional 60% of Crisis Core.
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I am a big booster of Crisis Core yes
Embarassing confession: last summer, I was so into playing it at the gym that I lost like 15 lbs. in a month with extended sessions on the Stairmaster to keep going.
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Theory: Cloud is the great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grandson of Paine
It explains everything
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Advance reports of Dissidia say that it is a work of genius, the best Final Fantasy in years, and improves on the Smash Bros. formula in virtually every way possible for a handheld with relatively limited multiplayer functionality.
So, I guess the new topic is Square's remarkable ability to fairly consistently take the Worst Ideas Ever and make good games out of them (FFX2, Kingdom Hearts, etc.).
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Are good reviews the result of the quality of a game Square makes or just the devoted following of the fanbase? Because the most hardcore of Square fans still eagerly await each Kingdom Hearts game as though it were diamonds served on a plate of pure orgasms.
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PoE and Qt3 forum posters are universally positive, and those communities waste no time in bashing weeaboos.
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friday: i hate you for reminding me of the "ffx is a prequel to ff7" theory from a while ago.
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Any single Squaresoft game is a love-it-or-hate-it affair depending on what gamer category you're in, and unfortunately there's absolutely no way to predict which category that's going to be, as Casual RPG fans found out the hard way when the company split all the franchises previously geared towards them into "for drooling jocks" and "for obsessive-compulsive geeks" somewhere in the late 90s.
What I'm trying to say is, regardless of whether or not Dissidia is a good game, you're going to have to flip a coin to figure out whether or not you'll like it. If you're the kind of person who actually owns a PSP in the first place then it's probably a good bet.
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chillax bro
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friday: i hate you for reminding me of the "ffx is a prequel to ff7" theory from a while ago.
One of X-2's writers (Kasushige Nojima) actually admitted in the FFX Ultimania guide (http://www.willamette.edu/~ejohnson/nojima.htm) that he actually did intend to imply that FFX is a prequel to FFVII, so it's not just a theory. :nyoro~n:
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Er, yeah. The fact that the kid spewing all the crap about how pyreflies might one day solidify into "magical sources" and you could build a "floating city of light" was named Shinra kind of gave it away.
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chillax bro
Too late, I think I could have used you in the other topic.
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friday: i hate you for reminding me of the "ffx is a prequel to ff7" theory from a while ago.
One of X-2's writers (Kasushige Nojima) actually admitted in the FFX Ultimania guide (http://www.willamette.edu/~ejohnson/nojima.htm) that he actually did intend to imply that FFX is a prequel to FFVII, so it's not just a theory. :nyoro~n:
:oh: :pop:
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At first I'm all like "FFX is a prequel to FF7 what?" then I thought for like 3 seconds and realized, "That's about as unenlightening a connection as Shadow being Relm's father."
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Well it's only a prequel in that the world of Spira is like a thousand years before the world of FF7 (did that world have a name? I forget) so yeah, not really information of any value.
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Well, it does prove that all the work you did in FFX/FFX-2 trying to stop the unending cycle of self-destruction had absolutely no damn effect at all.
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Karmic balance and all that.
Anyway, I could've sworn I wrote a post about my intention to play FFX-2 after I finish KH2, but, either I didn't hit Post, or someone baleeted that shit. I'm thinking the latter, as I'm sure none of the mods are that bipolar.
Then again, didn't Arc make Brent a mod?
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Never played X or X-2 and that makes me kinda sad.
Tactics: I hated that they forced you to use Ramza. I maxed him out (all jobs all skills) twice and that's very sad.
Final Fantasy VI made me cry. It's the only time I ever have cried during a vidjagame. I think I was having a bad year.
Final Fantasy in general seems only to make me sad! When's the next one come out again?
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I haven't deleted a single thing so far.
I do keep hitting Modify instead of Quote by mistake though.
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ProTip: Quetzalcoatl gets Card, and Carded monsters give AP or whatever it is to level up GFs but no EXP.
Yes, and if you stand in just the right spot you can fight Cactuars before you can fly, who give 10 AP a pop and help you get the Cactuar summon, which is what he meant by "certain fights."
It's 20 AP and 1 EXP, which is the best in the game anywhere. Card is pretty useful but you don't ever need to use it.
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I've got to say that as stupid as the entire game is, the entire Time Compression (or rather, KOMPRESSION xd get it) is pretty cool/visually interesting, and Ultimecia's castle is badass. It's also not very hard but all these FAQs make it sound hard?
To play this game well you are supposed to NOT FIGHT ANYTHING except event battles until you get to Diablos, at which point you fight only certain kinds of monsters to get Encounter None, and then you wait until you can fly the Garden to get Tonberry King which gives you the Lvl Up skill. I didn't bother, though: I got up to about level 50, so I can draw most of the best magic, and just never used it. So now I have 100 ultimas, 100 meteors, 100 triples, etc. All the best magic. Squall does 9999 on most enemies with high defense just by attacking, which is almost dissapointing. Nothing about Ultimecia's castle is hard. Even the enemies you are supposed to kill by using GFs are easy. It's terrible. I hope Ultimecia is hard. Or interesting. Or I at least don't kill her in one hit.
ProTip: Quetzalcoatl gets Card, and Carded monsters give AP or whatever it is to level up GFs but no EXP.
Also, DN, X-2 is the most interesting and inventive FF since like 5. Megastars!
Actually, the best plan is to not level up the whole game (do all your GF ability grinding in the Dollet mission), get Bahamut (who lets you equip FOUR passive abilities), get Cactuar (who HAS all the stat bonus at level up abilities), then start grinding characters one at a time.
And V wasn't actually very good.
You're dead to me, Rico! :enraged:
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Come on, Roger. We both know that none of the twelve princesses had 64hhhhh breasts, so don't pretend you really want to defend the game.
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I dunno, man. All the fanart I see makes Faris pretty stacked.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zySU8m15mFg
1:40 and 6:10
This looks pretty certifiably good. Music and visual design are top dollar and that's the main thing I've learned to look for in Final Fantasies. It'll be so weird if a Final Fantasy is what finally gets me to buy a PS3. I mean, I wouldn't be buying it just for the FF but the camel's got to go sometime.
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It'll be so weird if a Final Fantasy is what finally gets me to buy a PS3.
Last year they confirmed that FFXIII was coming out for 360 as well. (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168704)
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I dunno, man. All the fanart I see makes Faris pretty stacked.
Th-then how does she pass for a man??? :gay4:
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Final Fantasy V has no story at all, but has simultaneously made the greatest contribution to the mechanics of the series.
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I dunno, man. All the fanart I see makes Faris pretty stacked.
Th-then how does she pass for a man??? :gay4:
(http://pictureposter.allbrand.nu/pictures/Fortinbras/naotoav.png) It can be done!
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I will be playing this entire game with afro bird's nest man.
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I can't tell if I'm supposed to be doubly offended or if it's supposed to cancel out. I mean, I'm white for chrissakes.
Every battle theme from now on must contain J-Pop.
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Persona 3 and 4 said they'd like to speak to you. Something about burning your dread, i guess?
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I actually think it sounds REALLY similar to Reach Out to The Truth, actually. One of you people who've actually played the damn game tell me if I'm crazy.
(Note: Referring only to the random-ass upbeat riff in the middle of what's apparently the normal battle theme, at 6:34).
EDIT: Apparently that is the normal theme. All the boring proto-symphonic stuff in the fight before is just the standard tutorial-battle-music-that-sucks.
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That battle system really smacks of FFX-2. :perfect:
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I actually think it sounds REALLY similar to Reach Out to The Truth, actually. One of you people who've actually played the damn game tell me if I'm crazy.
If it were composed by Nobuo Uematsu then... yeah, definitely.
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I, too, look forward to Final Fantasy vs Half-Life
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I just noticed how every one of the afro guy's battle animations is some sort of jive disco thing.
Though given that the main character does a tiny backflip after every attack I think they're just not taking the battle animations seriously in general.
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Come on, Roger. We both know that none of the twelve princesses had 64hhhhh breasts, so don't pretend you really want to defend the game.
The gameplay was aces to me, and I love the story. It takes itself lightly when it needs to... and well, so what if it took it ten years to get a translation that was above adequate.
64hhhhh breasts
Well that certainly might be appeal
Band measure of 64 inches
:ohgod: :ohgod: :ohgod:
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My life as A Dark Lord. (http://na.square-enix.com/mlaad/)
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I didn't get the previous wiiware game, but I just might have to nab this one.
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So playing FF7 on my PSP, apparantly when Sleepel is cast, SHODAN completely attacks the game and crashes the shit out of it.
This is actually kind of awesome.
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Okay a quick firmware update has removed SHODAN. 8( But at least now soldiers in the shinra building are not THE MOST POWERFUL ENEMIES IN THE GAME anymore.
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Wait, so your copy of FF7 had a bug in it that made relative power levels make sense?
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well in that they completely broke the game, spewing out green glitch gibberish and slowing everything to an unseeable crawl .. yes.
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The built-in PS1 emulator on PSP still has total showstopper bugs in some games, especially on manually-converted-to-PSP-format versions. Updating the firmware also included updating the emulator version.
With some games, though, a newer version of the emulator might introduce new bugs. If you've got the right stop pulled out in your custom firmware (and I think it comes by default in the M33 ones these days), hold R while booting the PS1 game and you can choose which emulator version you want to use for that game.
-
Man, I guess I'm not the only guy who's replaying FF7.
-
I was thinking about it!
-
I replayed it for a while on my PSP last year until... I stopped for some reason. Can't remember why, but some new game probably came out and distracted me.
-
I recently started watching a FF7 Let's Play and it made me want to try and make the PC version work again. Thinking about it, there's something about the enemy design in that game that really turns me on. I think it's because there aren't many textures, and things have actual volume to them; by comparison the enemies in FF8 look like crappy papercraft models.
This is kind of eerie. Reminds me of that time when a bunch of us dreamed about presidents.
-
so it turns out every single time i play ff7
i completely fucking forget that the chocobo lure is a materia
and run around in circles for like two hours before realizing this fact
-
run through the swamp
fight the zolom
trust me on this one
-
TOO LATE I EQUIPPED IT AND GOT A CHOCOBO ON THE VERY NEXT BATTLE
-
FIGHT THE MIDGAR ZOLOM
GET BETA
-
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Brentai/advice.jpg)
-
Well advice dog isn't really called for, as that is actually good advice.
-
Unless you want a semblance of challenge, since Beta is almost game-breakingly powerful for it's cost.
-
I've never had any luck with the Zolom before level 30, though.
-
True, but it's still retardedly efficient until you start gaming the materia system.
I never understood why aqua and trine were so relatively crap, especially trine.
-
Matra magic only for the fact it fires MISSILES.
Hey that was really cool for me back then.
-
Aqualung and Trine are only really good because they are better than the lightning spells you should have (and you don't get a water spell other than Leviathan) and you fight a couple bosses that are weak to them before you get Bolt2 or whatever. Beta is amazing and if I remember right I nab it around level 12. Matra Magic is 2 cool 4 school tho.
-
Alternately, and you should all know this so why am I posting it, run through the swamp and right before the zolom smacks into you, open the menu and save your game. Actually, I don't remember if you need to save. But he should respawn far enough away that you can get to the dumb cave without bothering him. It's better to grind on those enemies to level a tiny bit so you can get beta from the zolom anyway.
-
Aqualung and Trine are only really good because they are better than the lightning spells you should have (and you don't get a water spell other than Leviathan) and you fight a couple bosses that are weak to them before you get Bolt2 or whatever. Beta is amazing and if I remember right I nab it around level 12. Matra Magic is 2 cool 4 school tho.
Big Guard and White Wind are the only enemy skills you need. And you DO need them.
-
...I would totally get a PSP and play old games if I thought I would actually have any kind of time for that.
I'm still working on the second level of Haggle Man 3.
Kinda wanna get DQ5 at some point!
-
I'm surprised at how good FF7PC looks with the hi-res patch and antialiasing forced on. The lack of textures really helps it; it just looks clean. It's funny how it's the FMVs that look terrible now, heh.
I think I just might play it until the novelty wears off.
-
Didn't Eidos also fix a lot of the grammatical errors in that port?
Because I'm really missing my FF7 PC CDs. :sadpanda:
I bet my PC would run it SO MUCH BETTER now.
Back in 1998, when I first got it, it was running at about 10 FPS.
-
I'm actually surprised we haven't seen fan translations of PS1-era games take off yet. FF7 could benefit from one, but Xenogears could be improved about a million percent.
-
First thing I'd hack in is a text speed boost.
And a scene skip like they did in Xenosaga.
-
I don't think anyone is particularly eager to tackle disc 2 of Xenogears.
-
hi-res patch
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/driftycity/ff7-1.gif)
:attn: Oh Yeah!
(http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/driftycity/ff7-2.gif)
:attn: Oh No!
-
I'm actually surprised we haven't seen fan translations of PS1-era games take off yet. FF7 could benefit from one, but Xenogears could be improved about a million percent.
I am very anxious for the day this happens, but we're still getting fan translations of fifteen-year-old SNES games (http://brontoforum.us/index.php?topic=31.msg77317#msg77317).
-
You know, I don't really see how FF7 would benefit that much from a high-res texture pack. The character models are all gouraud shaded, and the backgrounds are all prerendered. The only things it would effect would be the world map and battle backgrounds.
-
There are small textures on models here and there that would kind of benefit from such a patch, like eyes, or Barret's tattoo. Plus there are the in-battle special effects like hit sparks, etc. Minor stuff.
:attn: Oh No!
Yeah, that's something you gotta live with. But it strikes me even now how detailed the pre-rendered stuff is. Just walking around 7th Heaven or Corneo's mansion, or even an insignificant place like Johnny's parents' house, you can see the kind of background stuff that would be too technologically expensive to replicate in real-time 3D until much, much later. It's hell of pixelated but the art direction makes it tolerable somehow.
Didn't Eidos also fix a lot of the grammatical errors in that port?
Yyyyup.
(http://zedpower.dreamhosters.com/images/misc/sickguypsx.jpg)
(http://zedpower.dreamhosters.com/images/misc/sickguypc.jpg)
:perfect:
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I'm actually surprised we haven't seen fan translations of PS1-era games take off yet. FF7 could benefit from one, but Xenogears could be improved about a million percent.
Do you mean retranslations or fan translations in general? I think in general things are getting closer (Innocent Sin, Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden and Alpha on the way), just because people are starting to run out of SNES games. There is a much higher bar to translating PSX games, because of generally more script to hack through. I think retranslations might take a bit longer, though, especially Xenogears.
-
I dunno. That's kind of like the original Metal Gear. It's not as charming when the guys aren't feeling asleep.
-
They re-did SotN and it was worse
-
I remember asking that a lot of the old silly lines from FFT be put back into War of the Lions alongside the slightly more comprehensible translation. No dice though.
The fact that they took out battle shouts altogether for some reason didn't help. There wasn't even any place to put "Life is short... bury!"
-
I remember asking that a lot of the old silly lines from FFT be put back into War of the Lions alongside the slightly more comprehensible translation. No dice though.
Well, they got crammed into that one scene in FF12, at least.
-
The fact that they took out battle shouts altogether for some reason didn't help. There wasn't even any place to put "Life is short... bury!"
... those are in the game still :/
-
at least... i'm pretty sure they are...???
-
Trust me, Nor, I played the thing a lot fucking longer than you.
...I should hope.
-
I'm pretty sure my brother and i were talking about how we didn't like the new ones as much! OH GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING ¯\°_o/¯
-
They re-did SotN and it was worse
Good point. I stand down.
-
I'm pretty sure my brother and i were talking about how we didn't like the new ones as much! OH GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING ¯\°_o/¯
They left the battle shouts in the game...
...in Japan!
-
(http://brontoforum.us/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=1344;type=avatar)
Stop stealing my shtick, Chucklefuck!
...in America.
-
I loved Battle Shouts! They were always so cheesy-cool and spontaneous!
The fact that they took out battle shouts altogether
(http://doom.pyoko.org/SOANGRY.jpg)
-
How would they do a fan translation of Xenogears? Was there a PC port to work with, or would they release edited Playstation .iso files?
-
Likely just a patch for the Playstation version, as the ToP PSX team plans to do.
-
(http://brontoforum.us/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=1344;type=avatar)
Stop stealing my shtick, Chucklefuck!
...in America.
You're no different from all the others, Bandit Keith. Just another pawn to THE MAN!
The man...in America!
-
Likely just a patch for the Playstation version, as the ToP PSX team plans to do.
There's a fan translation out for the PS2 game Namco X Capcom, actually.
EDIT: ...in America.
-
The hard part is finding a DVD-ROM Swap Magic disk that isn't faulty like the two I've gone through. :facepalm:
-
Okay, Final Fantasy X-2.
You really are trying to keep me from getting the Mascot dressphere, aren't you?
Angra Mainyu, this game's uber-boss, has over 300000 hit points. The standard strategy is to have two dark knights wail on him with Darkness, while your third is an Alchemist, churning up Mega-Potions like there's no tomorrow.
The entire time, he's pounding you with various attacks, most of which are inconsequential. However, he can launch a multi-hit random target attack like the Comet spell, smashing the snot out of your characters. Couple this with the fact that one of his arms can fire a Bad Breath-like spell. The only thing you have to worry about this is the confusion, because one poorly-aimed Darkness will mean TPK.
GUESS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER 20 MINUTES OF ME FIGHTING THIS PIECE OF SHIT.
-
Mwahahaha.
It's been so long since I played it, but isn't there something you can use to prevent confusion? I don't recall if there was much in the way of equipment, or not.
-
Yeah, there are a couple of accessories. I don't even know why my Alchemist also has White Magic accessible. Angra Mainyu regularly obliterates MP.
-
Well advice dog isn't really called for, as that is actually good advice.
(http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o396/maxarutaru/kaminawolf-1.jpg)
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You know, fooling around with some abilities I've never used before, I've fallen in love with Lady Luck. Her dice spells are actually pretty neat. Unlike previous dice-based attacks, they're actually pretty neat if you roll doubles. I rolled boxcars, and it dealt 12 hits of double damage, and later, I rolled snake eyes, and it dealt two hits at x20 damage.
-
(http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o396/maxarutaru/kaminawolf-1.jpg)
Courage Wolf is more acceptable yes
-
I think pretty much everybody discovers how amazing Lady Luck is purely by accident, when grinding Double EXP on it.
-
Dice are cool, I've never been able to make Slots work. Ever.
Seriously, fuck slots. More like sluts.
-
Dice are cool, I've never been able to make Slots work. Ever.
Seriously, fuck slots. More like sluts.
Random? Terrible? Not very pleasing?
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Well, I believe you can pause scum those. Triple 7s not only nets you an instant win in most cases, but the enemies also give you more experience, gil, and items.
-
Angra Mainyu, this game's uber-boss, has over 300000 hit points.
You're talking about the guy at the bottom of the 100 floor dungeon, after Paragon?
Because when I played, he was a fucking joke compared to 'gon, or even Chac. He had a fuckton of hp... and that's it.
Not saying you suck or anything, I'm just curious how it is that you're having such problems with him when I remember Paragon hitting twice as hard, twice as fast, and Chac being a really huge douchebag with his unresistable petrify followed by his "I bite your stoned chick and she disintegrates, never to be seen again, before you can use an item to cure her WITH THE CHARACTER YOU HAD ON FULL-METER STANDBY SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT PURPOSE, mwha ha ha ha ha" bullshit 10-20 minutes into the fight.
Keep in mind I haven't played that game for, uh, fifty million billion trillion years, so I may be making random shit up.
Also I remember having Mascot while going through the 100 floor dungeon
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No, I'm talking about that fucker in the Bikanel Desert. I need to beat that fucker so I can get Episode Completes for both of those.
THEN I get the Mascot.
-
I need to waste yet another 50 hours of my life. I need a Final Fantasy to play. Either FFVII, VIII, IX, X or X-2.
-
Nine.
-
Okay, nine it is.
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Uh no do a zero materia run of FF7.
-
Why the hell would anybody waste time on an easy mode run of FF7
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No items Barret only final destination
-
Beat the Emerald weapon in under two minutes!
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If my madness continues (I have kinda paused after arriving at Costa Del Sol right now just due to other shiny things) I plan to actually play completely through FFVIII for the very first time next. The last time I tried I actually made it to disc two!
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ffff i need to finish X-2 but no-one has it.
-
I could sell you my copy.
-
i am a filthy povertoid.
-
:yarr:
-
isn't PS2 emulation still pretty shithouse? I might be behind the times.
-
Support for games in general is pretty poor, but any game with "Final Fantasy" in the title will probably have been focused on pretty hard.
-
Point taken.
-
No, I'm talking about that fucker in the Bikanel Desert.
I have no memory of this.
You're going to have me look it up to make sure I didn't miss something, and that may possibly lead to me playing X-2 again, and I will never forgive you if that is the case
no i don't want to hear the entire forum praise the battle system or whatever again, i just can't take the rikku anymore
i have nightmares
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Remind me again what was so great about the X-2 battle system. If I remember correctly it basically boiled down to having to do some sort of multiple-class change with all your characters during every battle to maximize your XP or stats or something.
Granted, X-1 had the same shuffling BS going on but it did it pretty well. Most battles became a sort of weird puzzle game in which you had to make every move count towards your goal of keeping every enemy alive while each of your characters got an attack in while not taking any damage.
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It's probably the best incarnation of the ATB system, though yeah, having to swap dress spheres around in-battle if you wanted stat boosts was pretty gay, though no more gay than having to swap in every single character every single battle for a hit if you wanted all your team to level up in X, though I guess for some reason you personally didn't mind it, so yeah.
Mechanically, X-2 may be the best Final Fantasy, but look what you're comparing it to. And unlike most of its predecessors, it has absolutely zero likable characters. It's a jrpg and I do not play jrpgs for the fucking mechanics.
Your mileage may vary but if you seriously enjoy Yuna the personality-less boring girl or Paine the personality-less emo girl or Rikku the personality-FULL hyper girl you need to stop watching so much harem anime
-
All that being said it was good enough for me to play all the way through it and clear out the 100 floor dungeon, so maybe I am just a bitter, cynical jerk who needs to go shopping more so she can "score new clothes x4!"
-
I think FF4 was the best mechanically, as fucking sad as that is.
FUCK IT
:advice:
PLAY GRANDIA INSTEAD
-
:ohmy: Justin, do you love me?
:mikey: Of course I do! And I love Sue, and flowers, and birds, and oooh shiny
-
Grandia more like Blandia
edit: nope I was thinking of Star Ocean again
-
MECHANICS. FOCUS PEOPLE.
-
uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
LIFE IS SHORT, BURY!
-
YOU DON'T GET TO SAY THAT ANYMORE
-
LIGHT FADE TO SILENCE AND WIND GATHER POWER
-
Mascot Dressphere MOTHERFUCKING GET.
You know, why in the holy sweet fuck did Leblanc steal Yuna's Garment Grid for the express purpose of putting on a concert?
Oh wait fanservice :nyoro~n:
-
Remind me again what was so great about the X-2 battle system. If I remember correctly it basically boiled down to having to do some sort of multiple-class change with all your characters during every battle to maximize your XP or stats or something.
Granted, X-1 had the same shuffling BS going on but it did it pretty well. Most battles became a sort of weird puzzle game in which you had to make every move count towards your goal of keeping every enemy alive while each of your characters got an attack in while not taking any damage.
To be fair, you don't HAVE to do that. You only have to if you have some sort of insane OCD compulsion to do everything perfectly even if it's not needed to beat the game.
...like me.
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Stupid and un-sexy fanservice
Although i know the world of random bullshit has surrounded me, i won't give in to it now.
-
I think OCD is a minimum requirement to wanting to play any of those games for more than an hour.
-
I bet the sword of kings thing in Earthbound drove you batshit, didn't it, Mars?
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Most battles became a sort of weird puzzle game in which you had to make every move count towards your goal of keeping every enemy alive while each of your characters got an attack in while not taking any damage.
... Wasn't the whole damn point behind each character having an innate strength against specific enemy types to keep your characters in rotation and thus evenly leveled? And, while we're at it, wasn't the whole damn point behind the refine skills in FF8 to create your own magic rather than spend hours drawing from enemies? And blah blahblah the blah blah?
Also, RE: Final Fantasy X-2's characters. I don't recall a single ten minute-long speech about how people should live their lives and choose their own destiny and what the fuck ever and how the Yamato Nadeshiko (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YamatoNadeshiko) is herself no matter what she becomes. So, fuck it, FFX-2 is better than any RPG with Voice Acting as far as I am concerned.
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I bet the sword of kings thing in Earthbound drove you batshit, didn't it, Mars?
Amusingly, playing Earthbound again recently, the Sword of Kings dropped for me on like the second starman I fought. It was unreal.
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... Wasn't the whole damn point behind each character having an innate strength against specific enemy types to keep your characters in rotation and thus evenly leveled? And, while we're at it, wasn't the whole damn point behind the refine skills in FF8 to create your own magic rather than spend hours drawing from enemies? And blah blahblah the blah blah?
Either you're fully aware and being ironic or missing that point I've made several times that the game specifically tells you that you should do it the other way.
In FFX the idea is constantly reinforced by the bonus XP you get for rotating characters. Everybody goes for the extra XP except for those who are actually pulling out a stopwatch during battles to see if finishing more quickly actually lets you level up faster.
Also, RE: Final Fantasy X-2's characters. I don't recall a single ten minute-long speech about how people should live their lives and choose their own destiny and what the fuck ever and how the Yamato Nadeshiko (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YamatoNadeshiko) is herself no matter what she becomes.
I think you just fell asleep during those parts.
Isn't the entire game about how Yuna has to be true to herself even while she fights crime as a multi-cosplayer?
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I think you just fell asleep during those parts.
Very possibly.
Isn't the entire game about how Yuna has to be true to herself even while she fights crime as a multi-cosplayer?
I thought it was that she should move on with her life rather than waste it trying to recover the things she lost. While fighting crime as a multi-cosplayer.
Either you're fully aware and being ironic or missing that point I've made several times that the game specifically tells you that you should do it the other way.
In FFX the idea is constantly reinforced by the bonus XP you get for rotating characters. Everybody goes for the extra XP except for those who are actually pulling out a stopwatch during battles to see if finishing more quickly actually lets you level up faster.
Apparently I have been missing your point. That's the first time I've ever heard about bonus XP gained for rotating characters.
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Well I meant FF8 specifically and all FF games in general, but hunh.
You probably enjoyed FFX a lot more for it, honestly.
...come to think of it I'd like to be afflicted with your selective narcolepsy. It must be a beautiful life.
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I bet the sword of kings thing in Earthbound drove you batshit, didn't it, Mars?
Nah. I only have OCD about keeping all my characters at about the same level, and even that's broken for some games (hi, most SRPGs). I think I miscommunicated my kind of OCD in that post.
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I didn't know FFX had bonus xp for rotating: it came so fast, I couldn't tell the difference. I figured a grid dot every 1-2 fights was fast enough.
This was helpful since I could only be arsed to switch in four characters anyway. Tidus for Fast, Auron for Defense, Wakka for Flies and LuLu for Blindingly Obvious FF Elemental Weakness.
Oh and my default team was Tidus/Auron/LuLu and Rikku doesn't count because anyone can get Steal and Robots are wimps anyway. So I'm guessing this may explain why I enjoyed FFX a lot aside from very specific cutscenes.
-
The secret to enjoying any Final Fantasy is knowing which parts to ignore.
-
That's the first time I've ever heard about bonus XP gained for rotating characters.
are you fucking kidding me
-
Dude.
Dude.
Dude.
Look at who you are talking to.
-
It's completely moot anyway; like I said, you were essentially forced to swap characters, so you're pretty much going to get that bonus XP anyway. I hardly see the difference between rotating through the entire party each battle so they all get XP and rotating through the entire party each battle so they all get XP and a little BONUS XP.
-
I don't think FFX has any super serious forced party member segments anyway(Rihkimaru being the tuffest and even then really easy) so it honestly doesn't matter past hitting the big four I already mentioned and leveling your chosen cheesenators.
Anyone ever Summon Cheesed?
-
There was a bit where you were forced to use Tidus/Wakka/Rikku because they were the only FREAKISH GILL-MEN in the party.
-
See above re: too easy who cares.
-
See, and that makes the Blitzball shit in X-2 even more WTF, because suddenly, the Gullwings + Biggs and Wedge who are all like "Wait, what?" can play. Now, granted, this works about as well as you'd imagine: A bunch of people who have never played blitzball (exception: Brother) get their asses stomped unless you train them up.
-
It's not like they grew gills on the spot, or something. It just came down to learning to not breathe.
Which leads me to the theory that everyone in Spira is already dead.
Some are just more dead that others.
-
They don't realize it but they're actually already on the Not-Far-But-Not-Close-Enough-To-Walkplane.
-
HOLY SHIT
THIS MEANS CLOUD IS ALSO A DEAD GUY
IT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING
-
Didn't I make a fucking ten page post about that shit MY FIRST DAY HERE
-
Oh, no, I cut that part out. I remember now--decided it was too far off topic. But I had it sketched out.
-
They don't realize it but they're actually already on the Not-Far-But-Not-Close-Enough-To-Walkplane.
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/disponi/auron.jpg) : ...
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/disponi/HJO.jpg) : ...
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/disponi/auron.jpg) : ...
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/disponi/HJO.jpg) : ...
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/disponi/auron.jpg) : Fuck off, Kid.
-
I still consider your Sephiroth posts to be your best posts, Yyler.
EDIT: though the Ultimate Showdown comes a close second
-
Speaking of FFX, did anyone actually use kimahari?
-
I have. Many times. He can learn steal long before you get Rikku. Then, you can take him all through Auron and Wakkawakka and Tidus' grids.
-
In FFX the idea is constantly reinforced by the bonus XP you get for rotating characters. Everybody goes for the extra XP except for those who are actually pulling out a stopwatch during battles to see if finishing more quickly actually lets you level up faster.
Wait. By "bonus XP", are you referring to the fact that XP awarded at the end of battle only goes to characters who participated in that battle? Is it divided up among the characters, or is the listed amount awarded to each character?
-
As I remember it the normal XP of the enemy is divided evenly among your characters and then everyone who actually participated in the battle (even if it was just to switch in and cast cure on themselves) gets like a 10% bonus on top.
So one way to look at it if I'm jiggling the math right is you can get as little as ~65% of the total potential XP for the battle if you only use one character, ~75% if you use three, and 100% if you figure out how to rotate them all in.
Fucking around and switching people isn't really hard; the real tricky part is the fact that the battle system is set up such that you can usually do it without taking any damage. I really did set up a lot of the challenge in that game for myself.
-
Ah, excellent. Thanks.
I think my philosophy must have been that, while I can get more XP per fight if I take the time to swap everybody out, I can do more fights in the same amount of time if I just fight as efficiently as possible. Now I kind of want to start playing X again just to see if that was actually the case.
-
You know a good way to rip through FFX?
Spam Summon Overdrives.
-
As I remember it the normal XP of the enemy is divided evenly among your characters and then everyone who actually participated in the battle (even if it was just to switch in and cast cure on themselves) gets like a 10% bonus on top.
This doesn't sound right to me. At the end of the game when I take three of my characters to grind on Cactuars, they'll gain a bazillion levels but the rest of my party doesn't get anything. I'm checking out the game now, but I've always thought that characters will ONLY gain experience if they participate in the battle.
EDIT: Okay, I checked it out. In the battle results screen, you don't even SEE characters who didn't participate, unless they entered and left without performing an action, in which case they still receive zero experience.
-
As I remember it the normal XP of the enemy is divided evenly among your characters and then everyone who actually participated in the battle (even if it was just to switch in and cast cure on themselves) gets like a 10% bonus on top.[/i]
-
As I remember it the normal XP of the enemy is divided evenly among your characters and then everyone who actually participated in the battle (even if it was just to switch in and cast cure on themselves) gets like a 10% bonus on top.
Um.
So what you're saying that he's saying is: each character who participated gets full experience plus 10% more. So then, who doesn't get the 10% bonus? The people who get zero experience for not participating?
-
I'm more than willing to admit I may be misremembering. The only way to be sure would be to go back and play it again, and no.
-
I just checked yet again, this time completing a battle in one turn so that my other two characters could not even act. (Even defending counts as an action worthy of earning their share of experience points, so I had to complete the battle before they even had a chance to do that.) Tidus gained all of the experience for casting Ultima and killing all the monsters, while Rikku and Auron received exactly zero.
-
That sounds more like I was remembering. Is the awarded experience divided between the acting characters, or is it, uh, 'duplicated' for each acting characters?
For example: let's say killing Monster X gets you 100 XP. Does using Tidus AND Wakka earn them each 50, or each 100?
-
They each get 100.
I don't know if there's BONUS XP, per se, but having everyone do something, even that useless crabass kimahri, effectively multiplies the XP you get for every single battle.
-
So basically 15%-100% total experience.
So yeah the constant rotation thing makes a difference.
PS If you really want to blow through the game, then two words: Petrification Sword.
-
so when is yyler gonna tell us about his theories re: cloud
-
the last time i talked about it irl you zoned out because it goes on too long
-
man when was that
-
But the beautiful thing about forum threads is that they can be perused at your leisure or preserved for future reference, so Norondor gets a sleep aid and the rest of us get something to read. Post it already.
-
man when was that
yes
exactly
But the beautiful thing about forum threads is that they can be perused at your leisure or preserved for future reference, so Norondor gets a sleep aid and the rest of us get something to read. Post it already.
Give me a while to decide if I should write this bullshit out and then actually write it out
seriously should probably kill myself rather than think about this, but
-
seriously should probably kill myself rather than think about this, but
If everyone that sentiment applied to actually followed your advice, there'd be none of us left.
-
So hey I'm playing Final Fantasy IX.
Isn't it wonderful how worthless Trances are? I just started up the Ice Cavern, and I've had three non-scripted Trances already; Zidane went into Trance mode against the Evil Forest boss right as the final blow was landed, and then both Vivi AND Steiner went SSJ at the same time against a handful of mook monsters.
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Steiner going Trance is pretty much "You win this fight"
Zidane's trance list is pretty stupid long, all but two of them are just "Hellacrazy damage", which peak out at 9999 pretty early on.
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So, Cloud. His name is Cloud, and his memories are foggy. Deep.
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Steiner going Trance is pretty much "You win this fight"
What he's trying to say is that if Steiner's going Trance you had probably already won the fight already, now you have to watch a bunch of crazy shit special effects to move on.
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Steiner's trance is not as awesome as like, Zidane's. And regardless, frog drop just wins anyway since it can do the most damage. C'mon now.
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So whatever happened to XIII Versus?
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It's in development, but got pushed back in importance while they finished up XIII.
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Sounds like a good reason to release standard edition of game, wait six months, release mildly updated edition of game, both retailing at release for $60.
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Norondor
Sounds like a good reason to release standard edition of game, wait six months, release mildly updated edition of game, both retailing at release for $60, both of which I will buy. Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
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That'll be rather difficult without a PS3 or X-Bawks 360.
I guess you could've red-texted my name to any other sucker.
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Done. Turns out you can't mix quotes that link to the post and colors. Who knew?
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Are you intentionally making a comparison to Persona 3 there or...?
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I was referring to FF10 International and FF12 Zodiac.
I'm still pretty bitter about Zodiac.
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We didn't get either of those though. I can see where you can feel ripped off about that, but it's not like you had to go out and buy them.
Unless you actually did, at which point you kind of lose my sympathy.
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FF12 tanked in price pretty quick for a FF game. I could've snatched a Zodiac release for $10 clearance at my work with a bit of patience.
also joke joke is joke. I don't even know what Versus is.
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It's Final Fantasy Forever.
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No, seriously, this was from a week ago:
Nomura told Famitsu that the voice recording for FFXIII is in its final stages. Versus-wise, Nomura says that the game's costume designer has finished up the character outfits for the main character and his comrades.
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No, seriously, this was from a week ago:
Nomura told Famitsu that the voice recording for FFXIII is in its final stages. Versus-wise, Nomura says that the game's costume designer has finished up the character outfits for the main character and his comrades.
Good to see they're tightening their belts.
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g .. g .. g ..
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:painful:
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:humpf:
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:perfect:
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So, I'm playing through FFX again. About the only odd decision I made in this game this time around was which exit to take Kimahri out of his portion of the sphere grid. I chose Rikku's this time. Normally, I take him out in to Auron's, because BRUISER, but I wonder how he'll turn out if I go straight for Use and Steal, then zip him through Rikku's coattails.
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I usually turn him into a backup healer. Then at least he's doing something.
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The steal is useful since I believe Biron and Yenke offer up Level 3 key spheres.
Or something of similar use.
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The first time I played FFX Kimarhi was a better Rikku than Rikku.
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Well, as I see it, if you take him through Rikku's section, you can start stealing stuff by the time you get to the Mihen Highroad, as opposed to just before Guadosalam. I don't think there's anything miraculous about stealing before then. Maybe the bosses between now and them have nice items you can gank. While I was in that section of the grid, I also gave Kimahri Use, so that when the time comes, and I'm short Yuna, I'll have a second healer. Those Al Bhed sure know how to brew potions. 2000 HP to party? Yes plz.
Something that just occurred to me: You need two Level 1 Key Spheres to actually get to Rikku's section. The only way to do this on Mihen Highroad is to push the Chocobo Eater off the cliff during that boss battle.
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wait, the chocobo eater doesn't always fall off?
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:ohshi~:
So, uh, I may have just grabbed my PS2 out of my game storage cabinet and hooked it up to my Mythbuntu box to start a replay of Final Fantasy X; damn your eyes.
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wait, the chocobo eater doesn't always fall off?
I think the only time I've made him fall off is during my first playthrough - on every playthrough since, I've been leveled enough to kill him long before that happens.
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What I did was start out with Tidus, Lulu, and one of the bruisers (Wakka/Kimahri/Auron). Tidus hastes the bruiser, then Lulu, then tags out for another bruiser. Lulu casts fire the entire time, and the bruisers attack attack attack. If I hadn't knocked him off, he would have had about 3000 more HP to chip through.
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Here's a wild hair I had up my ass. Once Rikku joined my party, I realized that two dedicated characters going through Rikku's section of the sphere grid was redundant. She has Steal and Use, which is all that I went to that part of the grid for. So I'm taking Rikku back across the path that Kimahri used to get to it. I'm thinking of taking her in to either Wakka's or Tidus's portion of the grid.
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I'd argue for Tidus'. That way you'd have two Time Mages.
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Looking at the path, I have an interesting choice to make. Rikku just started Tidus's grid. A few slots after Haste is a level 2 lock that opens up in to the latter half of Auron's grid. I don't mind if Rikku has Slow or Hastega.
-
Just take everybody through everybody's grid!
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That's the plan, eventually. I'm grinding for levels on the Highbridge after escaping Bevelle. Poor Kimahri, missing out on all this XP.
EDIT: Uh...wow. I've hit the end of Auron's grid with him, and I don't have any level 3 keys to get him out of there. Guess I'm not grinding anymore.
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Somewhere on Mt. Gagazet, during battle:
Yuna: My will is strong!
Me: My cause is just! MY AEON IS VERY LARGE. *summon Bahamut*
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I'm dumb.
I was on third form of Yunalesca. The whole time, she's shooting me up with Zombie, which inverts the effects of healing. Know how I TPK'ed?
I used a Megalixir. :derp:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A
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Pretty sure I did that. At least Curaga.
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Wow, McDohl, you're really making a lot of progress today. And damn you for making me want to play FFX again, when I just replayed it last August. :khaaan:
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The thing about Yunalesca is that she comes right the fuck after that one bastard-shit Seymour battle where he zombifies and then revives your whole party. So by that point you really ought to be watching out for that.
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hey guys i have a better plot for X-2
instead of an all girl team you have an all boy team
yeah you play as Auron, Jecht, and Braska
The boss of the game is Jecht vs Sin, and then Auron vs Yunalesca, which he loses
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I think they did that and called it Crisis Core.
Ooh, ooh. Will it have all the same mechanics as the current FFX-2, including magical girl-esque transformations?
Because I'd SO play that :wuv:
Anyway, here's how the group stands on the Sphere grid now that I was able to pick up some Level 3 Key Spheres, although I did teleport some people around a bit.
Tidus: Currently in the beginning of Yuna's grid, heading backwards toward Kimahri's, and eventually toward Wakka's.
Wakka: Probably the logical progression, headed in to the latter half of Auron's grid after finishing his own. Oh, and of the three swimming characters, his is the highest magic stat, so I used Black Magic Spheres to teach him the -ga series of spells.
Kimahri: Headed straight for Rikku's grid at the start, passing through the beginning of Lulu's on the way back to his own grid. I'm taking him up through Tidus' grid to make his speed even more ungodly high. He's still a decent fighter, because I used the strength sphere you get way back at the Luca tournament in his grid. The two Luck Spheres I've found on the way also went to him as I found Fortune Spheres to use them with. He crits more often than anyone now.
Yuna: Her grid exit's in to Rikku's, and I'm cool with that for now. I'll give her Steal and Use before sliding her along through Kimahri's grid in to Lulu's for tasty Black Magic action.
Lulu: Once completing her own grid, I was out of Level 3 key spheres, and that would have put her in to Wakka's grid. Attack and Accuracy, two stats that a goth chick who uses dolls to attack doesn't need. I got impatient and teleported her back to the start, and moved her up through Kimahri's grid. It was about this time that I beat Yunalesca, and I glanced at my sphere list, and I have five Level 4 Key Spheres. Guess what this means?
Ultima.
Rikku: Taking Steal and Use, and eventually Mug via a Skill Sphere after Kimahri learned it, she's become an excellent second thief with bruiser capabilities. I took her back up through Kimahri's grid, up through the start of Tidus's, just past Haste, through a portion of Auron's, and back to Tidus's. Her attack power is now equal to Tidus's.
I'm really pleased with how my experiments with the Sphere Grid have paid off.
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I've always hated the fucking Sylph Cave. Big maze, high proportion of random encounters, most of which are easy but take fucking forever.
The DS version has managed to make it even MORE obnoxious, mostly by making spell effects take longer than they used to. Hope you like watching the fucking Silence animation TWENTY CONSECUTIVE TIMES!
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Yeah, I'm done with FFX for a while now.
Meanwhile, two years later, Yuna recalls why she's actually glad that Macalania Forest is dying or whatever as she's crawling through the Via Infinito.
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And what the fuck is this shit where I can't dualcast Raise-Curaga on somebody who's dead? Isn't that the single most obvious, most useful application of Dualcast?
And isn't the game ALREADY set up so that cure spells default to somebody else if they're targeted on somebody who's dead, thus defeating the entire purpose of protecting the player from casting them on dead people?
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Yeah, that is aggravating. I think I came up with a workaround, but I can't remember.
So, FFX-2. When I last left our heroines, they were probing the depths of the Via Infinito. I'm now down to about Cloister 57-ish. I have just learned the beauty of Catnip and Trigger Happy. 17-ish hits of 9999 damage? yes plz
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I remember discovering that, and deciding I couldn't use it because it was cheating.
I think I ended up using it on Chac, though. After wiping due to his impossible to avoid petri-removal a million times.
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Getting wiped by Elder Drakes about ten times, and that butterfly bullshit in FFX has destroyed my desire to do things normally. Trema thinks he can outsmart me. Maybe. *sniff* Maybe. I don't think he can outsmart bullet.
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I tried the Via Infinito once and was promptly slaughtered by the first boss (maybe even sub-boss). In one move. I think the game expects you to cheat.
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Last time I played FFX-2, I remember getting the Rabbite's Foot. Then the Via Infintotallyneato bored me and out-cheaped me so I ignored it.
And I couldn't get the mascot sphere because I DID NOT SHILL GOOD ENOUGH.
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I tried the Via Infinito once and was promptly slaughtered by the first boss (maybe even sub-boss). In one move. I think the game expects you to cheat.
If you're talking about the Giant Tonberrys, you're supposed to avoid them.
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oh no. no. I'm talking about that dragon that keeps hopping back and forth.
Yeah that's as far as I can get.
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Those would be the Greater Drakes.
I just remembered a while ago that I never beat Crisis Core.
BRENTAI, I SAW YOUR NAME :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Also, Hojo is Colonel Campbell, and Reno is Raiden.
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Too bad my name wasn't in the instruction book for that one.
(Funny story, and for context I'll mention again that I slipped my name into one of the screenshots for the FFT:War of Lions manual. Karna, the Vietnamese girl who was gathering screenshots with me, elected to have her name entered as a Goblin. Which was funny enough, but we found out later it actually was one of the random names for Goblins. Heh.)
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instruction book
instruwhatwhat?
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:rolleyes:
Men.
-
Yes we testers lead boring lives.
I was actually upset about being the only guy whose name wasn't used for a monster in the extra-secret level in Chocobo's Dungeon. Despite the fact that A) Nobody fucking played Chocobo's Dungeon B) Certainly nobody went to the secret dungeon (which you needed a password from some game mag to access) and C) I actually told them to leave me out, since they were one monster short to include all of us and I had already done the manual thing.
I just really had nothing better to do than bitch about it for the rest of the project.
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Karna
Huh, apparently she became a model artist and is responsible for this guy. (http://www.goarmy.com/ChatWithStar.do)
You might think he looks unnatural but she can really stare at you like that.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OZ1PRWpbyI
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Square continues its proud tradition of constructing entire trailers out of nothing but pre-rendered cutscenes. They've told us nothing about this game but that it's PS3 exclusive and online, and that apparently there are dragons.
Haven't seen anything else online from Square as of recent, so I can only assume it's poised to suck about as much D as FF11.
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Looks like it's the same damn races from 11, so I've already lost interest.
-
The day Square lets me roll a moogle is the day I
let them put a cock directly into my mouth play their stupid MMO.
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Catgirls are required by law in Japan, Brentai. And elves by law in any given fantasy setting.
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Honestly, I'd play a Final Fantasy MMORPG if it took place in Ivalice. And if I could role a Moogle.
And if that Moogle's class was Riskbreaker.
Right after I finished jizzing all over my pants.
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I would have preferred the Ivalice races too. Fuck, I would have preferred FFX's humans/guado/al bhed/ronso races over FFXI's. I do hope that they add at least a couple new races to the mix, at the very least.
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Square dropped the ball on Moogle PCs in XII. The lack of Ivalice's diversity reflected in the cast really bothered me more than anything else. I think they tried to bullshit excuse it by claiming that Humes are the only race with the inclination for this shit. I would have at least liked a Bangaa PC.
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I agree on all counts. For as varied the race in Ivalice are, there's no reason why the PC team should have only one non-human.
Ivalice MMO? I'd be all over that on principal.
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A ha, it's not Final Fantasy XIV, it's Final Fantasy XI-V
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A ha, it's not Final Fantasy XIV, it's Final Fantasy XI-V
Well, FFXI did have four expansions already...
-
I still maintain SE learned a lot from FFXI and the current game is about as unrecognizeable from the original as it could be without completely overhauling it in a way that would be impossible given the limitations of the PS2's technology.
since XIV is being developed by the same guys who've been adding the decidedly decent parts of XI (Treasures of Aht Urghan), I am cautiously optimistic for the FF WoW clone we wanted from the start.
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since XIV is being developed by the same guys who've been adding the decidedly decent parts of XI (Treasures of Aht Urghan), I am cautiously optimistic for the FF WoW clone we wanted from the start.
Well, FFXI came out two full years before WoW, but I think I get what you're saying. In any case, I'm cautiously optimistic as well.
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I just want to see some fanboy head explosions.
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Pretty sure everybody was asking for WoW before WoW actually came and delivered.
(Since all WoW ever was was a straight-up EverQuest clone that simply wasn't run by fucking idiots.)
...
(In other words, don't get your hopes up for a Square MMO being good.)
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Liveblog on FFXIV press conference. (http://e3.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/696020/Live-Blog-Square-Enix-E3-2009-Press-Conference.html) Will update with bigger details.
Same races included because FFXI players are nostalgic beardos. No substantial connection between the game worlds; presumably similar FF tropes.
Wow, the press isn't wasting any time...
They admit WoW influence and want to aim for more casual players. Stuff like Level Sync is getting carried over and they want solo progression to be available from the start.
They are maintaining worldwide, non-regional servers. Ugh.
Somebody asked if they'd have some process by which longtime FFXI players could transfer to XIV or get a head start or something, which is a stupid question, but the response was that they want people to play both games. Megalol, sure, but it probably means they'll be different experiences, insofar as any FF is different from the others.
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Q: Will you try to move players from XI to XIV or will they be separate communities?
A: It's up to the community themselves. We envision users that will hopefully play XI one day and XIV another. They will be independent, but users are free to play both.
:wakka:
Good to hear about the solo stuff, though.
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The scene of the Galka fighting all the little floaty pod-people from the video is using the ingame engine.
Holy shit.
They want more "many vs. many" traditional RPG battles this time around.
" The player can grow & develop in a more natural way without putting too much weight on the player. We will expand the job system to make it fairly different from the one in FFXI. "
asheronscallol
"Another very important concept that takes a different direction from FFXI, for FFXIV we want to make it so the player can choose to play solo, in a party, 40 minutes, all-day... there will be content for ALL of those play styles and systems for all of those play styles."
So it looks like FFXIV is going to be a post-WoW MMO. Anybody who's paid attention to my post history at all should know I think such a game, if pulled off (lol), would signify the end times.
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They're finally giving up on PlayOnline! Well, except for people still playing FFXI, I imagine.
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FFXIV not necessarily a PS3 exclusive (http://kotaku.com/5277561/final-fantasy-xiv-360-version-still-a-distinct-possibility):
See, they'd like to clarify yesterday's announcement that the game was "exclusive" to the PS3. It's not. There'll also be a PC version. Following that, however, a carefully-worded statement said "in terms of all other hardware, including Microsoft consoles, we are considering all other options at this time".
-
Sony: FFXIV will be a PS3 exclusive!
Squenix: No, not really.
Sony: :nyoro~n:
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I've been doing a new playthrough of Final Fantasy 6 Advance on my GBA during bus rides to work and I'm just getting the airship right now.
In an effort to make this more challenging or just play the game from a different angle, I'm using only the characters I practically never touch otherwise. Celes, Locke, maybe Gau, Terra when I can. It's definitely more engaging but I still hate Gau despite how good he is right now in the game.
Any ideas how to make this more difficult without making it a retarded slog? I guess just running with two or three guys instead of the full four would be potentially good times. I could also just cut out magic entirely, maybe besides cure and such after battles.
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the problem with the gba version is if you tape down the a button on the river your batteries will probably run out before you hit level 99.
Anyway, hit up the G FAQS and poke around a bit, there are all sorts of challenge guides posted for pretty much every Final Fantasy a f a i k.
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Don't use magicite. Just stick to everyone's innate stats and leave magic the sole domain of magic users.
It's actually not that challenging, but it brings the balance closer to FF4, which is nice.
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You know, for all the bitching I hear about the "Easytype" or whatever release of FF4 (hereafter referred to as FF2 because I'm :america:), it really does have the perfect balance. Every time you enter a dungeon it's like WOAH-OH THIS IS KILLING ME YOU GUYS and then you soldier on for a couple of levels and usually find the right equipment to fight them with lying around so that by the time you get to the boss you're basically just steamrolling over all these fuckers whilst gaily waving the bird at them.
This is how every JRPG should work forever.
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It's been a while since I've done a JRPG. I dunno the battles in this game are not really fun opportunities so much as they are a constant neverending string of problems I try to get past as quickly as possible. I mean I guess that since I know where the plot's going I shouldn't be racing through - I should be enjoying it - yet I have zero desire to stay in any of these battles longer than I need to. Boss battles included.
There's not a ton of strategy or potential for strategy here beyond the FF1 basics. The difficulty as it is, I don't much need to do anything but repeat the same set of commands over and over until I win.
I think... I think I finally Played Final Fantasy VI Enough.
(Also MAN this post-Woosley "professional" GBA translation kind of sucked all the character out of this thing didn't it?)
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Like Kefka is just this massively limp-dicked MacGyver villian in this one instead of a terriflyingly insane man allowed to do whatever he wants.
THEY KEEP TONING HIM DOWN
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It's been a while since I've done a JRPG. I dunno the battles in this game are not really fun opportunities so much as they are a constant neverending string of problems I try to get past as quickly as possible. I mean I guess that since I know where the plot's going I shouldn't be racing through - I should be enjoying it - yet I have zero desire to stay in any of these battles longer than I need to. Boss battles included.
Well, fast paced is the focus, and you are rewarded for blasting through foes as quickly as possible. In some later encounters, dealing with enemies (or at least certain ones) quickly becomes paramount, or you can soon find yourself fighting a losing battle.
It was a nice change of pace, however I don't find anything really compelling enough to get me to play again.
I kinda miss the strategy in FFX, although I don't miss juggling party members to make sure everyone got xp.
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Oh, apparently there's an FF13 topic and a Final Fantasy topic.
And now we're kind of talking about both at once, so I can't just splitmerge the mistake.
Ka-lol.
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Like Kefka is just this massively limp-dicked MacGyver villian in this one instead of a terriflyingly insane man allowed to do whatever he wants.
THEY KEEP TONING HIM DOWN
Can you elaborate on this horseshit
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There's not a whole lot of subtlety this time around. Kefka's just actively trying to be an evil dick rather than trying to amuse himself in this translation. I mean if you somehow couldn't figure it out before that he was a bad guy the GBA spells it out at every opportunity.
I know FF6 isn't shakespeare but I don't recall nearly this much humorless hand-holding.
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Oh, apparently there's an FF13 topic and a Final Fantasy topic.
And now we're kind of talking about both at once, so I can't just splitmerge the mistake.
Ka-lol.
I'm gonna do it anyway. Already splitmerged the topics once the other way around, so I'm not gonna just let them get muddled again.
T Kabbage: maybe you just remember the FF3 translation as being better than it actually was? I don't want to accuse anyone of nostalgia goggles, but I didn't have any problem with FF6 Advance's translation.
You know, for all the bitching I hear about the "Easytype" or whatever release of FF4 (hereafter referred to as FF2 because I'm :america:), it really does have the perfect balance. Every time you enter a dungeon it's like WOAH-OH THIS IS KILLING ME YOU GUYS and then you soldier on for a couple of levels and usually find the right equipment to fight them with lying around so that by the time you get to the boss you're basically just steamrolling over all these fuckers whilst gaily waving the bird at them.
This is how every JRPG should work forever.
In terms of balance, my favorite JRPG is Mother 3. I haven't played a whole lot of JRPGs, but Mother 3 struck a fine balance that forced you to actually use strategy during bosses, and even then you'd only win by the skin of your teeth.
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Probably nostalgia goggles, yes.
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FF3's translation mostly worked because the translator was often forced by censorship and space constraints to make the characters sound like insane idiots. In Kefka's case he was simply allowed to run with it.
I mean there's just something awesome about a guy who you know is the most dangerous and evil fucker in the world, but when you see him, instead of detailing a plan, he's just jumping around, squatting on shit, waving his arms around and screaming random crap like "Son of a submariner!" and "HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE". It'd be like if Mongrel's avatar were a godlike harbinger of destruction.
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Yeah, exactly.
Granted, it worked better when I was 12, but it's the same thing that made the DCAU Joker work so well. He was actually pretty funny, and you wanted to like the guy, but he also happened to be a homicidal psychopath.
I guess the problem I've got with the new translation is that he seems like he knows what he's doing, he's just eccentric. It's way more unsettling when Kefka's this sociopath who the emperor keeps sending on important, politically delicate missions. He's too valuable a commodity not to be used, and Kefka gets to do all kinds of fun stuff. He has as much power and authority as Leo but he uses it to entertain himself rather than for any greater purpose.
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FF3's translation mostly worked because the translator was often forced by censorship and space constraints to make the characters sound like insane idiots. In Kefka's case he was simply allowed to run with it.
I mean there's just something awesome about a guy who you know is the most dangerous and evil fucker in the world, but when you see him, instead of detailing a plan, he's just jumping around, squatting on shit, waving his arms around and screaming random crap like "Son of a submariner!" and "HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE". It'd be like if Mongrel's avatar were a godlike harbinger of destruction.
Somebody give the hobo a clown suit, stat!
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See, I remember the FF6A translation being pretty good, retaining a lot of the flavor of Woolsey-the-L-is-before-the-S-guys's translation (I'm almost certain "Son of a submariner" was in there) and mostly just fleshing it out by making pretty much every line of dialogue twice as long ("He's always been fair with me" becomes "He's always put others ahead of himself").
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(I'm almost certain "Son of a submariner" was in there)
Actually, it was changed to "Son of a sandworm". But all-in-all, it was an improved translation, moreso than Chrono Trigger DS's, which made everything a little bit more bland. (Not awful, just a little less interesting.)
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The GBA ports' translations were all quite good; FF5A in particular is pretty hilarious. FF6A retains the Woolsey sort of charm while taking out the actual bowlderization, and it's got, if anything, more flavor as a result. It wasn't until after that game that that localization studio got into the increasingly bland faux-Shakespearian crap.
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The bland faux-Shakesperian crap is basically due to just two guys in Japan, Smith and Reeder. They are pretty much the anathema of SEI testers.
...though I just looked it up and apparently the translator on FF6A was the localization producer on FFT: War of the Lions (aka FFT: Crank the Middle Ages Bullshit Up to Eleven). So uh, huh.
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Yeah, but FF6A had better source material. Like I said, the Woolsey stuff didn't get thrown out so much as expanded (my recollection is that "You licentious howler!" is still in there, but now she says "I call this one Humpty, and this one Dumpty.").
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For the most part this seems like a bad thing to me. Characters over-explain their intentions and feelings, it feels artificial. It's like you understanding exactly what they're feeling and thinking takes priority over whether or not they talk like actual people or stick to their character. Sabin on the Phantom Train is just not nearly as colorful this time around.
But maybe that's how it was in the japanese version, and Sabin's character as I knew it only came from Woolsey.
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I don't think they over-explain so much as, er, explain.
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Apparently I was supposed to go to Monster Land back when all the enemies in that cave were still kicking my ass, because immediately afterwards you lose a party member, and then get railroaded into the Giant of Bab-Il if you try to replace him.
Now it's sort of tough, except of course when I get surprise-attacked by D. Machin. Then it's sort of "Rydia is the only survivor with 50 HP because she cast Fire-3 at the last moment, boy I'm glad I don't have to revert to an earlier save."
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ALSO: FF6A corrects some of the awkward bits in the Woolsey translation.
"We're trying to get them to side with the Returners, and underground resistance group" is the "AI...you mean artificial intelligence?" of FF6. It is an audience handholding line that makes NO SENSE for the character to actually say, as both he and the person he is talking to already know the definition of the term he is defining. It's fixed in FF6A.
But I'm pretty sure Cyan STILL doesn't address anyone as "thou" until AFTER Sabin's "Confound it all! Now I'm starting to talk like you!" line.
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Here's a question:
Is there some sort of explanation for the apparent retcon that Cait Sith rides around on Red XIII instead of a giant stuffed Moogle robot?
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A robot riding on top of another robot would just be silly.
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My question is how this teaming up came about in this retcon.
Red XIII was in the Shinra Building being subjected to God knows what, and robot cat was either not built yet or halfway around the world at the Gold Saucer.
Of course, I am trying to make sense out of not just Final Fantasy VII, but a retcon from a terrible movie BASED on Final Fantasy VII.
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You should consider the fact that, like many such things, Cait Sith exists because one of the designers wanted a talking cat in their game, because they thought it would be cute or amusing or it would sell better. He's not like an actual part of the story or an honest-to-god character, you should just think of him like you'd think of like... Kappa the Imp, or Ultros the talking squid.
That is to say, you have already thought way more about this thing than anyone involved in the project.
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The animators admitted that they couldn't make the giant moogle plushie not look fucking retarded in Advent Children's CG, so they just stuck the cat on top of Red XIII and used him as little as possible.
A similar answer is given for "Why is Reeve still doing everything via a stupid cat puppet?" (Because nobody in the audience would have recognized Reeve.)
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I want an answer that goes by movie logic, damn it!
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Reeve is clearly insane.
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Because the Cait Sith robot is level 99, and Reeve's like level 2 or 3 tops.
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You're dancing around the issue. Red XIII, while young for his dead species, still has 40+ years of knowledge and experience under his belt. Where the hell would he acquire the robot cat that serves as Shinra's mole, under what circumstances, and why the hell would he deign himself to serve as this stupid thing's mount?
I'm shelving the whole "Why the fuck is Reeve going about this stupid means to spy on Cloud's team?" thing for now. I want to figure out this situation first before I move there.
PRE-POST EDIT: Looking in to it, apparently there was a directors' cut of Advent Children that fixes the continuity issue of Cait Sith riding on Red XIII during Marlene's recap of the events of FF7. So yeah.
So now the question becomes "Why the hell is Red XIII putting up with Reeve sticking this thing on his back?"
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Because who doesn't like a cuddly cat robot?
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Dude it's CAIT SITH
This is the ULTIMATE THING YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TAKE SERIOUSLY
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You should consider the fact that, like many such things, Cait Sith exists because one of the designers wanted a talking cat in their game, because they thought it would be cute or amusing or it would sell better. He's not like an actual part of the story or an honest-to-god character, you should just think of him like you'd think of like... Kappa the Imp, or Ultros the talking squid.
Or Neelix.
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It has been argued in some circles that Cait Sith is not dissimilar to Neelix in many regards.
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oh snap, guess who just got on the short bus for ffxiv beta-town!
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Uhhhhh...
Spram?
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...yes.
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Cait Sith is like
Like when I first played 7 I was like
ok, this is the joke character
this character is a joke
I am going to ignore this character because it is very clearly a joke character not meant to be taken seriously, sort of like Mog, and it even looks like Mog! While not being even 1/100 as cool but whatever! Hey it has slots as its Limit Break! How absolutely fucking useless, I will shelve this bitch and go back to using Red and Cid.
And then they like. Like. Cait Sith is a spy? And he has betrayed you? Am I supposed to take this character seriously now? Wait, I thought he was the joke character? Um, he is being piloted by some Shinra exec I don't remember back in Midgar? OK?
And then they immediately make you disregard any and all seriousness taking-ness by shoving YET ANOTHER CAIT SITH WHO IS A REPLICA OF THE ORIGINAL AT YOU and when your characters ACTUALLY BALK AT HOW INSANE THIS IS Cait Sith responds by saying SO WHAT I AM FORCING YOU TO TAKE ME WITH YOU BECAUSE LOOK OVER THERE
Cait Sith remains, to me, the strangest character to ever be put into a video game.
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FF7 had a lot of characters I hated using, and unfortunately, I was forced to use all of those hated characters at some point during the game.
The disc 2 transition was one of the worst things I have ever, ever had the displeasure of playing.
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I have a multipost Final Fantasy 7 retrospective outlined and I'm not afraid to use it.
Part One: Final Fantasy 7 PC Mods. (http://www.corporate-sellout.com/index.php/2011/05/24/ff7-pc-mods/)
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Tidus roll'd (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udPkc6JwxGc#ws)
God, it sounds like a fucking crow. Maybe the English one wasn't so bad after all. I will probably never rag on James Arnold Taylor's Tidus again though, that's for sure.
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Good read, Thad, I look forward to the next update.
Re: Tidus
That scene, when I first saw it, caused me to question the very reality I lived in. It was so strange, so out of place, so just... bizarre that I couldn't process what caused it to exist. Someone, somewhere, must have felt some sort of emotional connection to the scene, that's surely what they were trying for. But Tidus was, if it's even possible, a worse protagonist than Squall. Squall was a dick and an emo, but Tidus is the annoying kid who tags along with your group because your mom made you take him. In fact, I felt basically zero emotional connection with ANY of the X characters, except maybe Wakka, Auron, and Jecht.
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I found myself in a strange world...
I thought about Blitzball.
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That scene really is just the very essence of awkward.
In fact, I felt basically zero emotional connection with ANY of the X characters, except maybe Wakka, Auron, and Jecht.
Aw com'on, there's no way I'm buying that any of those three left any sort of impression on you.
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Clearly you are all insane, and stupid, because Rin was obviously the single most sympathetic and interesting character in any Final Fantasy ever created, including the ones I made up in my Fan Fiction (Like the crossover story about Sephiroth going to Equestria and learning the magic of Friendship after having sex with Rainbow Dash and a character entirely of my own creation, Sepherim).
What I am trying to get across to you neanderthals is that I am going to beat this half-assed joke into the ground until I hit fucking China.
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ok well shut up instead
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Aw com'on, there's no way I'm buying that any of those three left any sort of impression on you.
Don't get me wrong. I don't care about Wakka, or Auron, or Jecht, but they at least had some semblance of character. I almost started to care about Wakka's slow transformation from blind religious following to free thinking, I felt a twang of emotion when Auron lost his two best friends to the final summoning, and Jecht, well, having an alcoholic dad myself made it hard not to at least somewhat connect with the idea that an addict could kick the habit for the greater good.
But overall, you're right. I didn't, and don't, give a shit about any of the X characters. Especially compared to the characters from 4 and 6, or even 5.
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but Tidus is the annoying kid who tags along with your group because your mom made you take him.
I just realized how apt this metaphor really is. Nobody wanted to take Tidus with them, because they all thought he was an annoying kid, but Auron made them, due to his promise to Jecht.
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So then from whence came his assertion that it was his story?
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Tidus worms his way into the group long before they meet Auron, because everyone thought he was literally brain-damaged and took pity on him. Lulu even mentions at that one destroyed village that she's starting to realize that he's actually just that dumb.
I don't think anyone left that game under the impression that he wasn't just the narrator in the grand scheme of things. At least he's still an actual element of the plot, unlike tagalong Vaan.
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I don't think anyone left that game under the impression that he wasn't just the narrator in the grand scheme of things.
I know at least one guy who did. My nextdoor neighbor, my first two years of college; he was very insistent that it really was Tidus's story and he wasn't just the narrator, my assertions to the contrary.
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Tidus literally exists within the game world itself as an apparition of a memory of something long dead. He exists to facilitate and bear witness to the end of the dream that sustains him.
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That two line summary makes FFX seem interesting.
EDIT:
Also the tag-along PC isn't a bad idea, is it? I mean, often we only give the player the thinnest illusion of choice regarding the PC's actions, and the player is often unequipped to deal with the situation he's thrust into.
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I don't think anyone left that game under the impression that he wasn't just the narrator in the grand scheme of things. At least he's still an actual element of the plot, unlike tagalong Vaan.
or double tagalong penelo
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Tidus worms his way into the group long before they meet Auron, because everyone thought he was literally brain-damaged and took pity on him.
This is true, but so is my metaphor; they took Tidus with them at first because Yuna was going to show him the biggest city so he could get help. Once they get there (Lucca? I think? don't remember) they are going to leave him behind but then Auron says "I'll be your guardian if Tidus is also allowed to be your guardian" and they basically have to accept because Auron is the best guardian ever.
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Also the tag-along PC isn't a bad idea, is it? I mean, often we only give the player the thinnest illusion of choice regarding the PC's actions, and the player is often unequipped to deal with the situation he's thrust into.
There's nothing wrong with a POV character, but "amnesia" and "inconsequential teenage tagalong" are both fucking played at this point.
FF4 drops you smack-dab into the middle of a story. Mass Effect lets you pick a preselected origin and THEN drops you into the middle of a story. FF7...well, Cloud sucks, and it DOES turn out later that he has amnesia, but it has a damn decent beginning.
Tactics has the neat trick of revealing at the end that the narrator is a minor supporting character from the game. In The Witcher 2, it becomes clear after awhile that the journal is written by Dandelion, which fits quite nicely. (Still too goddamn much reliance on amnesia, though -- with the awkward tradeoff that this time the game doesn't use amnesia as an excuse for a tutorial and just flashes tooltips onscreen for a few seconds while you're getting stabbed in the face.)
And comedy games like Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness can get away with Hilarious Voice-Over Narrator. (Though that game also manages a neat trick of dropping your avatar in the middle of a bunch of crazy shit without prelude.)
Back to the point, I guess: there's a difference between a character who gets swept up into a big adventure without initially knowing what's going on (Link, Crono, Ramza, Butz, Zidane, any given protagonist in a Dragon Quest or Suikoden game, and Terra, even though she's another damn amnesia case) and a character who serves no story purpose and is there only to hold the player's hand (Tidus, Vaan, Penelo, maybe Crono, and Finch in the goddamn movie version of V for Vendetta).
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I think Classic's point was that making the main PC largely inconsequential to the story softens the blow of the player himself having little control over the story's events. Nice idea, but doesn't really work in practice - remember how awesome it was to watch the climactic final battle of Oblivion play out over there while you did a bunch of petty bullshit? Whoo.
(Good thing the climax of Bethesda's next game was so much more interactive!)
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Suikoden managed the neat trick of balancing a very linear story with the feeling that the hero was being forced to make tough decisions (even if the player actually wasn't and they were just a bunch of "But thou MUST!" loops). Suikoden 2 did it better still, with the optional sidequest where you run the fuck away, one of the Stars dies looking for you, and you can optionally even just keep running and end the game there.
The rest of the games I mentioned are similar -- story develops the same way no matter what you do (even Mass Effect -- though maybe not Witcher 2, I suppose), you have very little agency, but they still manage to make you feel like you're character's important and driving the story.
Useless protagonists aren't fun, and while they might make people like my neighbor feel better about linear stories, they're much less impressive to people with a basic grasp of storytelling.
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So then from whence came his assertion that it was his story?
It's a mantra against the powerlessness and passivity that's allowed Sin to be reborn and keep shitting all over Spira for a thousand years. One of the things that isn't reall talked about with FFX and I wish people would acknowledge is that the party doesn't do anything special to destroy Sin; they just break with orthodoxy.
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People don't talk about that? Pity; I don't recall it being a subtle point.
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Tidus' presence is undoubtedly what fucks everything up, but he's still not the main character.
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Although I JUST realized that the point at which the game stops being linear and opens up the world to you is the point in the story at which the party decides to screw the rules. Up until then the player is just as much a participant in Yuna's death march as everyone else.
That's kind of amazing but I wish they hadn't decided to go and apply that same level design to a bunch of later games with no such central theme.
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Tidus is an anachronistic Marty Stu dropped clean into an otherwise internally-consistent fantasy world to be the best at everything and then bone the female lead.
FFX is its own fanfic.
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People don't talk about that? Pity; I don't recall it being a subtle point.
Yeah. Really is a shame, because if FFX has anything going for it story-wise it's that it actually does a pretty good job of creating a civilization so completely psychologically broken and defeatist that by the time you get to the Big Reveal it actually seems somewhat plausible that it took a complete outsider (three, actually, if you count Rikku and Auron) to say "fuck this; we have a perfectly good airship lying around so let's fly it into Sin's face".
I mean, Tidus is a narrator, for sure, but since FFX made the rather-daring-for-its-time decision to tell a story that was actually about something rather than just a recording of events (like basically every other FF except Tactics), he's still a lot more relevant to his story than most video game characters.
EDIT: I guess in light of this, I have to give a slight nod to 13 for pretty clearly wanting to be about something (impermanence? relationship between man and divine?) even if the story was a horribly-paced mess from start to finish with relentlessly unlikable and unmemorable characters without even the decency to give me a good game for the trouble.
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There's more significance to the phrase "This is my story" than just the idea that "it's a story about me". Yuna's story is one that's been told to her her entire life, about how summoners go to Zanarkand and summon the Final Aeon and sacrifice themselves for a temporary calm. Tidus, as an outsider, has the perspective to go "No, fuck that, this is my story, I'm telling it my way, and in my version of this story we don't do any of that." His insistence on having a happily ever after in his story is what allows the group to overturn a thousand years of the entire world saying no.
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Yes, exactly. Notably, "this is my story" wasn't something Tidus came up with on his own; Auron tells him it's his story before he has any idea what's going on, which gives it another layer in that Auron already knows Tidus isn't real.
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The thing about destroying Sin forever was that it could only have been done by "You-Know-Who". The society is defeatist because they know that destroying Sin outside of the final summoning is impossible. Sin is a huge Godzilla thing that can explode a force field that disintegrates all life in the area around it, can suffer cannon shot without injury, and even concentrated energy weapons don't do much. The implication is Sin is literally impossible for humans to beat.
Remember when you pilot the Airship into Sin's face and everyone is like "uhhhh, he's just going to destroy us" but then Sin just sort of sits there and lets you beat him up so you can go inside him? And nobody understands why that is happening. Hell, the only reason Sin kills everybody with EXPLODING DISINTEGRATION FIELD early on is to show You-Know-Who exactly what Sin is, and why it must be destroyed.
Yeah. The only reason Sin was destroyed for good is because Jecht had some measure of control of Sin. Jecht let you kill him. Jecht set himself up to be the next Sin and told Auron to go get his son to kill him to free Spira forever.
Jecht is the main character of X.
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You guys are continuing to make FFX sound like something I'd want to play and experience. Why are you doing this to me?
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FFX is a good game even if the characters are mostly boring as shit. The battle system alone is maybe one of FF's best.
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However, skip X-2. While it arguably has the best Battle System of any FF, ever, it is a 1 in all other categories.
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Since it's already been observed by several reliable posters over the years that I have shit taste in vidya gaems I guess there isn't any danger in me saying X-2 is the first of several examples of the 2000s trend of FF spinoffs being better than main series games.
-better battle system
-better script
-more exploration
-darker plot if you knew where to look
-more challenging post-game content
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-better battle system
yeah, agreed
-better script
Depends what you mean. I think the dialog was better written, but the overall plot was stupid.
-more exploration
This is true, but it felt all fucking pointless to me. Going back to the same places over and over again every chapter felt like super busy work just to get that 100% completion and not miss anything important. Turns out there's absolutely nothing important in X-2 to miss!
-darker plot if you knew where to look
I suppose this is true. Honestly haven't played the games recently enough to give my opinion here.
-more challenging post-game content
Yeah, the 100 floor dungeon was pretty well done, I'll give it that.
I guess if you don't mind superhyper charlies angels scored 3x tonic gimme a y gimme an r gimme a break gameplay, you could enjoy X-2. The style it was presented in just constantly grated on my nerves.
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However there is one thing about X-2 that is worth seeing and it is the following
Rikku-Snake,Snake,Snnnnaaaaaaaaakkkkeee! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avaZny349VA#)
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I admit I look back on X-2 with rose-colored glasses in large part because it is the only FF to date to prominently feature the culture and society of cactuars.
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I need to get back to X-2 sometime. I have no problem with playing a game entirely for the battle system.
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There's nothing wrong with X-2's battle system but really, X-1's was fucking devil's food cake with tits. You people are cracked.
Anyway yes FFX is the rare non-shit Final Fantasy and should be experienced, even if it has dangerous levels of AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAA!
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I sometimes get this feeling like I'm the only person on the internet who paid attention to the lines immediately before and after that laughter scene. Yes it sounds ridiculous and fake and forced. That's the point, that he's forcing it, and right after they break out in real laughter at how stupid that was. Because he was trying to cheer her up. Jeez.
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I think everyone realizes it's purposely shitty, but that's the thing. They're just TOO GOOD at making you feel embarassed to be watching them.
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I wasn't embarrassed watching them, but I was glad I was watching it alone.
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Related: Noro and I had some random dude subletting the third room in our duplex and he rolled out of his room at 9:30 AM one day at the EXACT MOMENT kingdom hearts 2 decided to explain the concept of finny fun to our living room
yeah he lasted about 3 months and I still sort of feel bad about it :(
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Really, any part of Kingdom Hearts 2 would have been mortifying
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Yeah, I kind of wish he'd been around for Shadow Hearts: Covenant, because there's a game with the decency to laugh with you.
I need to get back to X-2 sometime. I have no problem with playing a game entirely for the battle system.
X-2 stands on the weight of its battle system alone but I would argue it'd still be a good game without it; you'll want a walkthrough, though, because its biggest flaw is that the really fun stuff later on (100-floor dungeon, cactuar extravaganza, dark side story I won't spoil, etc) has a bunch of easily-missed prereqs.
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I've occasionally wished I could change my class load out in the middle of combat in FFIV. So X-2's combat system seems interesting.
Yeah, I kind of wish he'd been around for Shadow Hearts: Covenant, because there's a game with the decency to laugh with you.
I played to the point where you went to the Japans. I remember a lot of excitingly stupid scenes leading up to that point though.
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LUCHADOR VAMPIRE GUYS!
As an aside, I picked up the PSP FF1 port and damn if it isn't nice but I am v. irritated it doesn't have at least an option to revert to the old D&D castings/day-based spell system.
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Related: Noro and I had some random dude subletting the third room in our duplex and he rolled out of his room at 9:30 AM one day at the EXACT MOMENT kingdom hearts 2 decided to explain the concept of finny fun to our living room
yeah he lasted about 3 months and I still sort of feel bad about it :(
i hate you so much kingdom hearts 2
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I played to the point where you went to the Japans. I remember a lot of excitingly stupid scenes leading up to that point though.
you missed the best track in the game and probably one of the better battle themes of all time imnsho
[TOP 100] RPG Battle Themes #67 Shadow Hearts Covenant (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seFe8nxig70#)
Also i'm 90% sure Dr. Moreau shows up there
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Damn it, I missed the ffx discussion. FFX was the second ps2 game I ever played. Was fantastic.
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Are you lying to me? You promised once to never lie to me, and that looks like a lie.
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FFX made the rather-daring-for-its-time decision to tell a story that was actually about something rather than just a recording of events (like basically every other FF except Tactics)
For all that's wrong with 7, it DOES skim the surface of quite a lot of deep themes, perhaps most notably Japan's complex relationship with nuclear power (a point that particularly stands out in light of recent events).
...hey, we're finally all talking about Final Fantasy again. Maybe I SHOULD get back to work on my blog.
FFX is a good game even if the characters are mostly boring as shit. The battle system alone is maybe one of FF's best.
Dun-duh-duh-duh-duh-dut-DUT-dunnnnn...
As an aside, I picked up the PSP FF1 port and damn if it isn't nice but I am v. irritated it doesn't have at least an option to revert to the old D&D castings/day-based spell system.
Yeah, they let you do that back in the PS1 re-re-rerelease. Don't know why they dropped it in subsequent re-re-re-rereleases.
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I actually couldn't get into FFX's battle system, since I had just come from BoF4 at the time, and I felt that the latter title just handled the "swappable party in combat" gimmick better.
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Good read, Thad, I look forward to the next update.
It's up. (http://www.corporate-sellout.com/index.php/2011/07/16/ff7-iconic-images/)
This one examines a fan mod to replace the chibis with more realistic character models, and why that is a bad idea because FF7 is a silly, silly game. Includes Scott McCloud's observations on realistic versus iconic art, and a film critic's assertion that Monster House puts everything else in the history of animation to shame.
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Look, Cloud!
Gold Saucer!
Gold Saucer!
Gold Saucer!
It's only a model.
Shh.
On second thought, let's not go to Gold Saucer. Tis a silly place.
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...Out of morbid curiosity, I decided to look up the dumbfuck critic who said Monster House is the first great work in the history of animation and see what he's writing these days.
His latest op/ed is about how people who are upset about Netflix's 60% price increase are stupid and need to stop whining.
So yeah, the SF Chronicle just pays people to be gigantic trolls, I guess.
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Come on, man; Armand White's job is basically to disagree with everything Roger Ebert says and he's fucking awesome.
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That's not the guy I'm referring to.
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Final Fantasy X is the only Final Fantasy that doesn't have the finger.
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ff11 also has no finger
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the finger is metaphorical
as it gives it to you, the player
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ff11 has been the casual-friendliest MMO with the most varied PVE content available for like 5 years now
trufax
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showing that if you fuck it up hard enough at the beginning, no manner of redemption will save you
especially when your next mmo launch shows the company at large somehow hasn't learned a fucking thing
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ff11 has been the casual-friendliest MMO with the most varied PVE content available for like 5 years now
trufax
i had to download a separate program just to get a non retarded screen resolution and also numpad movement
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i fail to see how numpad movement is in any way worse than wasd or even in any way different also windowing has been standard for years
the release was double garbage, but it's honest to goodness gotten better in every way, and the later storylines (not nation storylines, not ROTZ) are probably up there with the better ones in the rest of the series
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I'm going to have to call you out on being casual friendly when I've genuinely wanted to play the game two or three separate times and have never made it past level 10 because the beginning of the game is terrible and there have been no interface improvements at all.
Do you know why people got hooked on WoW? Because when you played it you actually had abilities to use!
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Yeah, you have a lot of abilities to use but that amounts to a rigid rotation of one to three buttons 99% of the time, unless you are a healer. The rest of your abilities don't even need to be on your bar because they are for another spec or just useless, e.g. Disarm Traps or Detect Undead or two thirds of your abilities as a Paladin at any given time. In essence, your "be in combat" command consists of pianoing across your keyboard's number row.
Most of the melee jobs in FFXI effectively have a lot of long-cooldown abilities instead of all their damage coming from mashing 2-2-2-3. This means you have less to do but i don't think that's actually bad, aaaaaand in fact i feel like WoW's design is at odds with itself in a really nasty way, since the entire game takes place in the interface but you die to things outside of it all the time. It's not a coincidence that it's so fucking hard for people not to stand in fires, they're not trained that the world is anything but purely graphical window dressing for interface quest until they hit the level cap.
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(Despite this, all my commonly-used abilities in FFXI are macroed on ctrl/alt+1-10 exactly like i would do them in WoW)
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my apparently too subtle point was that if I wanted to do nothing but auto attack monsters to death for hours before I could do anything I would, I dunno, play a SNES Final Fantasy with frame skip and a bound together.
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No, i got that, but what i'm saying is that i like final fantasy games, and if you made a game that could to any degree be accurately described as a co-op final fantasy game i would probably be into that.
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The people have spoken and they demand more facerolling.
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i fail to see how numpad movement is in any way worse than wasd or even in any way different also windowing has been standard for years
I've always hated the reasoning, "Well this is how *I* play, so I don't see how it's a problem that you don't have the option of playing the game the way YOU would like to."
Particularly on key remapping which, hey Japan, IS REALLY FUCKING TRIVIAL TO IMPLEMENT.
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There actually is a WASD setting, non-intuitively called "Compact" under the assumption that anyone not playing on a small laptop keyboard would gravitate to numpad movement (which, again, works really well since this is a PS2 game, and the buttons all map to one hand that way). You can reassign all your keys, too, an option i think they added a couple months after US release. I'm just saying, is all.
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Can I target things with the mouse? Or look around with it? Or be allowed to touch it?
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not very bloody well i'll tell you that much
the ability to poke things in the world was really patched-in and is acts a bit weird, presumably because in the other two versions of the game there's literally no such code in the game's UI and it's somewhat spotty. sometimes enemies have bigger clickable bounding boxes than you'd think and things that are close to the camera often take up the whole entire screen and you can't click around them.
you can, however, use it as a virtual analog stick by clicking and dragging; left mouse for left stick to walk around, right mouse for right stick to adjust camera. Clicking both at the same time engages auto-run.
I never use it since by default, movement is 8462, autorun is 7 and camera/menu control is on arrow keys, under my right thumb. If you don't have enormous meaty paws it probably wouldn't work nearly as well.
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Got bored at work; read entire fucking thread.
Some things, in keeping with my latest exploration of FF7:
You know, I would gladly replay FFVII with a new translation. I'm surprised that The Internet hasn't made a patch yet, but on the other hand, it would probably be full of Cloud-kun and Aerith-chan and such.
The PC version actually has a non-ridiculous translation
Bullshit. Yes, they fixed "This guy are sick" and "Off course!/No, way!" The script is still a goddamn error-riddled mess that will get you killed on the first boss.
That said: there IS a utility for hacking the script, and a fan translation (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=11867.msg164679) is underway. I, too, worry about over-literal nonsense, but translator DLPB actually E-Mailed a response to my blog post to assure me that he's not going to be as literal with the dialogue as he is with the characters' names.
How would they do a fan translation of Xenogears? Was there a PC port to work with, or would they release edited Playstation .iso files?
I'd still quite like to see a Xenogears hack/translation.
Anyhow, no, no PC version, but if Q-gears (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?board=12.0) (login required) ever gets finished, that should make Xenogears and FF9 portable. Basically it's a custom version of the FF7 engine -- like Exult (http://exult.sourceforge.net/) is for the Ultima 7 engine.
...anyhow. I should probably put the last part of my FF7 Retrospective up soon. It's basically done.
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I don't see the point of retranslating Xenogears. The official translation is pretty damn competent IMO, it's just the original text that makes no sense.
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"Pretty damn competent" for a game that can't spell its characters' names consistently.
It's definitely got its moments (MAD SKILLZ!), and maybe the original script really IS just as incoherent. But it's a clear product of 32-bit-era, still-trying-to-figure-out-how-the-fuck-to-translate-large-scripts-competently Square.
Plus it seriously needs a Speed Up Text button.
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I find that it helps if you narrate the entire game in funny voices.
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I narrate EVERYTHING in funny voices.
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Meanwhile i've been playing FF14 now that patch 1.19 is out. Mor Dhona is so Uematsu-y it hurts.
Final Fantasy XIV - Mor Dhona Battle Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23N092e3gl4#)
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Welp, posted the Grand Finale (http://www.corporate-sellout.com/index.php/2011/10/08/ff7-14-years-later/).
Thoughts?
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Q: Hello. I started playing after release, but I quit after hitting rank 30. I plan to come back. In your eyes, what do you think is the main feature of the game in its current state? It would help a lot if you can clear that up for players that are planning to return to the game.
A: To be honest, I consider that we're about half way to the point where we can confidently call it "FINAL FANTASY". However, if we are talking about 1.19, I would have to say chocobos and Ifrit will be the main content. Everyone should get that FF-feeling with this content.
probably about right
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Welp, posted the Grand Finale (http://www.corporate-sellout.com/index.php/2011/10/08/ff7-14-years-later/).
Thoughts?
I think I have to agree with your conclusion: FFVII is a very adolescent game. Unfortunately, since it had such a spectacular impact on the demographic (I hesitate to use terms like 'cultural touchstone,' but...) it meant that it would become one of those generation-defining artifacts, and you'd probably still find fans of it who were too young to have actually played the game in 1997.
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Hm. I don't hang around with enough teenagers to really test my hypothesis, but I bet if there's anyone who's played the game and is too young to have played it in initial release, they probably have an older sibling.
There was a period around the turn of the century when I started running into friends of my brother's who had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned He-Man. (Of course, damn near every cartoon from the 1980's has had a relaunch by now, and you'd have to start going to, I dunno, Jem or MASK to hit a point where that would still work now. And those were certainly not He-Man big.)
There's also the rather interesting corollary that FF7 coincided exactly with the rise of Rule 34, but I decided my closing paragraph was pretty much perfect without adding that point to it.
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Squaresoft announces Final Fantasy XIV-2 (http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/teaser/) (kinda)
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Now 40% More Competant!™
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i think it's more like, "this time we're not farming it out to the chinese!"
apparently the lead developer (well, the new one, after the original guy was thrown under a bus, possibly literally) went to management after polling players on what they didn't like and made the case that FF13 didn't exactly light the world on fire, and FF14's review scores were, in a word, apocalyptic, so he got what appears to be practically unlimited budget and 2 years to fix the series' reputation. The game's already night-and-day from release, and at this point i feel like i can see where the game can become legitimately world-class.
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So hey. The guys at Square want to repair Final Fantasy's image.
And then they release this:
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Change the FutureTrailer [HD] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmd-P6IMt4Y#ws)
I think they're missing the point.
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I get it
because even the trailer is far too fucking long and boring
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Picked up the PSP remake of the original FF.
God damn, these are some of the most gorgeous sprites I've ever seen. Imagine if somebody actually made a game that looked like that instead of just grafting them onto a 10-year-old remake of a 20-year-old game.
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【FF零式】 オープニング（特別編集版） (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmQT2MfrDMA#ws)
Maybe it's because I'm an old man but when I think of Final Fantasy I think of blue seas and green fields, chocobos eating carrots and cute black mages with their silly hats. Watch the video.
I would love to play a Modern 3D Final Fantasy that has the FF1/3/4/5 look and feel... No, FF9 came close but it was still different.
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...
Absolutely no fucking substance to that whatsoever.
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Wait, I thought Squarenix had some money, what's their excuse for the textures on that chocobo? :disappoint:
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Isn't it a PSP game?
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(http://0xdeadbeef.brontoforum.us/BumpOfChicken.png)
That's a hell of an image to end that on.
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Oh no, you're not done with WotL until you've defeated [spoiler]Delita[/spoiler].
...I don't get it.
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Oh no, you're not done with WotL until you've defeated [spoiler]Delita[/spoiler].
...I don't get it.
The last co-op battle is [spoiler]a ten-round throwdown against 100 enemies, including a lot of story dudes, and the last wave is Delita, Valmafra, and 8 Dark Knights[/spoiler].
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Ah, okay, multiplayer.
Because I've pretty well exhausted the single-player.
Probably not worth the hassle to try multiplayer, given that I'm running a homebrew firmware and don't currently have WEP set up in my house.
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Trust me, it's not worth the hassle even when playing on two LAN-connected devkits.
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I had a feeling. What IS it with Japanese people and online multiplayer?
Plus, everybody I know who recently bought the game bought the iPhone version (of course).
Wonder if there's a way to hack the thing and get it to do the multiplayer missions in solo mode. But really, if I want to keep playing a PSP game where I move guys around a grid, it's not like I don't have other options.
(Splitmerged into this thread, because it makes much more sense here.)
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I got these at Goodwill. They were two dollars.
(http://i.imgur.com/RQTW7.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/dlYKm.jpg)
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Blitz Ace? That's not even a suit!
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Inspired by Sharkey's story about naming every character 'Lavos' in Chrono Trigger, I'm playing through FF7 and naming every character 'Sephiroth'.
(http://dohl.brontoforum.us/FF7/ff7lol.jpg)
(http://dohl.brontoforum.us/FF7/flower.jpg)
The results so far are pretty amusing.
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Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC Coliseum Boss Battle Ultros and Typhon [Uninvited Invertebrate] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX0KVtF9luc#noexternalembed-ws)
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Final Fantasy XIII-2 Gilgamesh DLC Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XsQIHGSNhs#ws)
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DiMaggio or no, it'd be nice if I could hear the music better over all the shouting.
Anyway. 16 minutes is like a third of what it took me to whittle him down in 12, so I guess that's progress.
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Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Clash on the Big Bridge (Gilgamesh Battle Theme) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53dyuDOaoHM#ws)
Because Thad's worth it too.
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SQUARE ENIX IS FINALLY DOING A NEW VERSION OF FF7 (http://finalfantasyviipc.com/en)
Muttley laugh (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKm5xQyD2vE#)
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I don't understand why they don't just remake ff7 alter code F or whatever and make infinity dollars
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SQUARE ENIX IS FINALLY DOING A NEW VERSION OF FF7UPSCALING THE GRAPHICS AND ADDING ACHIEVMENTS TO THE PC VERSION OF FF7 (http://finalfantasyviipc.com/en)
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i know that the ff7 remake will never happen because square is fucking broke and it would cost like, guam to make it
but god i want it just to watch photo realistic cait sith snowboarding gleefully after aerith is fucking murdered
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Hm. I've a sinking feeling a bunch of people at qhimm (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php) are about to get C&D's.
There are positives here -- at minimum, I think we can expect to end up with cleaner versions of the cutscenes than we will ever get from a fan project. And you won't have to rely on a bunch of patches and kludges just to get the damn thing to work in the first place.
Beyond that, well, "minimum" may be exactly what we get. SE MIGHT go to the trouble of sticking hi-res versions of all the static backgrounds in the game, but I'm betting we're more likely to see the same old lo-res versions with filters slapped on top of them.
And I'm definitely not holding my breath for a new translation.
Find yourself stuck on a difficult section or lacking the funds to buy that vital Phoenix Down? With the Character Booster you can increase your HP, MP and Gil levels to their maximum, all with the simple click of a button, leaving you to enjoy your adventure.
Yeah, that was always my biggest gripe with Final Fantasy 7: the game wasn't NEARLY easy enough.
So here's a question: do these Cloud Saves mean can I save anywhere now?
ADDING:
FINAL FANTASY VII for PC - Announcement Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr4TgU4SKLc#ws)
In the grand tradition of the original FF7 commercials, there is not one second of actual gameplay here. What we CAN confirm: movies look better, aaaaand that's pretty much it. Can't count on 16x9 support just because it's in the ad, but I'd file it somewhere between "maybe" and "probably". (The cutscenes at least probably won't run in a tiny box anymore.) Music sounds the same in the ad as in the PS1 game, but again, that doesn't reflect how it'll necessarily sound in-game.
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16x9 would present a pretty big problem for the pre-rendered backgrounds.
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Not all of them. Certainly the ones that only take up a single screen, but not the ones that scroll.
But yeah, this is looking more and more like just "straight port with a couple quick fixes to get the damn thing to run and work right and do some stupid achievements crap".
If they really wanted to they could go back to the originals and produce a hi-res version of each background. But this looks a lot more like a quick cash grab than something that will have that kind of care and effort.
(Not sure if that makes it more or less likely that they'd go after the modders.)
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If they really wanted to they could go back to the originals and produce a hi-res version of each background.
It would probably have taken a goof-up of colossal proportions, but maybe they actually can't, not without redoing them from scratch. Like some drone destroyed the original files or some dumb little thing like that. It would explain a lot.
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Also, this
Find yourself stuck on a difficult section or lacking the funds to buy that vital Phoenix Down? With the Character Booster you can increase your HP, MP and Gil levels to their maximum, all with the simple click of a button, leaving you to enjoy your adventure.
...smells of "pay to win with dlc!" type shenanigans to me.
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You know, I wonder if modern computers could just straight up run the pre-rendered backgrounds as a real-time object. I mean, they're old as dirt, never looked that particularly complex in the first place, and the view pretty much limits you a small portion of it anyway.
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Worst case scenario, your PC could, you know, pre-render them.
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If they really wanted to they could go back to the originals and produce a hi-res version of each background.
It would probably have taken a goof-up of colossal proportions, but maybe they actually can't, not without redoing them from scratch. Like some drone destroyed the original files or some dumb little thing like that. It would explain a lot.
I find that pretty unlikely; I think it's money that's preventing that from happening, not an actual lack of (game) resources.
But that's basically what the fans are doing on Project Bombing Mission, I think: tracing the original backgrounds in a vector-graphics program to create hi-res versions basically from scratch.
Course, they're just doing the very first part of the game and it's still such a huge project that it might never get finished.
You know, I wonder if modern computers could just straight up run the pre-rendered backgrounds as a real-time object. I mean, they're old as dirt, never looked that particularly complex in the first place, and the view pretty much limits you a small portion of it anyway.
I 'spect so, but at that point you might as well just rewrite the engine to allow camera rotation and other useful twenty-first century things. In which case, why bother with the clunky original backgrounds at all?
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Because at that point you're just remaking the game entirely, so you may as well just remake the game entirely rather than piggyback on ancient assets.
edit: dur don't mind me i'm only half awake.
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They do have a good 3D engine in Crisis Core, and could easily use that.
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I really doubt those world files contain enough "unseen" data to make free roaming a good idea. Even if everything you see in those shots are fully modeled, that's still tiny chunks of a larger environment; do you want to have to worry about looking the wrong way in Cosmo Canyon and finding yourself suddenly staring into a yawning black void?
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Also I know it's probably been a while since most people have played it, so they may have forgotten how absurdly detailed the environments in FF7 actually are since nobody knew how to design 3D environments efficiently at the time. But uh, yeah... that.
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Well, right, I don't think anybody's disagreeing.
What I said was that by the time you're doing actual real-time rendering you may as well completely redo the environments anyway.
I stand by that, because even if you restored them from higher-res scans/rendered them in real-time, those backgrounds would still be a goddamn mess.
(http://www.corporate-sellout.com/img/ff7-trainyard.png)
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Along the train track route on the way to Corel there is a hidden cave with nothing in it except an abandoned bulldozer and an old tarp. This cave serves no purpose and as far as I know the bulldozer model is not used in any other part of the game.
I just wanted to bring this up as an example of how little the developers knew what they were doing, at least by modern industry standards.
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Oh Jesus, that fucking cave.
Remember I hit a ridonkulous number of random monsters on the way to and from it on my playthrough last year.
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Not suggesting that they make a free look camera, but more that they could have an easier time scaling the graphics while also not making it look like Cloud is just hovering in air.
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Tbf it would involve adding in a new rendering engine (since not everything in those backgrounds is a flat untextured polygon) and that's probably still more work than they're putting into this.
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So... FFVII leaked onto Square's store and was pulled... from what people have seen so far:
Ogg files present in the game are recorded MIDIs off probably a sound card or synth, instead of the original PSX sound track. This includes OWA which is completely missing its lyrics.
Videos are upscaled versions of the original PSX videos (possibly with extra compression added to make them look worse)
Also contains SecuROM DRM.
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*Insert every bloody negative icon here*
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Look what I found:
(http://i49.tinypic.com/2vvn7mg.jpg)
[spoiler]
It's a Mexican Black Mage![/spoiler]
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So FF7 is on Steam. It's the same godawful PC version, except without SecuROM.
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Well, nice that there's no SecuROM, anyhow.
There's a tutorial (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=13212.0) over at Qhimm on how to get mods running on the re-release versions. The sheer breadth of what's available is pretty overwhelming but there's some neat stuff out there. I wrote about my experience two years ago (http://www.corporate-sellout.com/index.php/2011/05/24/ff7-pc-mods/); things have come along a bit since then and, among other things, it looks like that thread's got an installer that greatly simplifies the process of installing mods (putting a whole lot of them in one place so you don't have to install them individually).
I'll probably save my next replay for when the fan translation (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=11649.0) is finished. Maybe it'll be good, maybe it won't, but I'm interested in finding out.
Apparently that's actually not so far off (jumping to the end of the thread, he says he's in the home stretch but working through a bunch of fiddly box placement issues); I bet it's out soon enough that I won't get to it until well after release. Low priority; currently I'm working my way through a replay of FF6A, having stalled out somewhere in the middle of FF5A and FF4DS. (And FF1 PSP, though mostly I was just playing that to kill time in-between other stuff. And, come to think of it, I never finished FF3DS either.)
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At first I was pleased with the FF7 bit on steam. But it still uses the shitty midi files from the original PC version, and that is completely unexcusable.
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Let me know when fans have remade FF1-6 in that engine.
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At first I was pleased with the FF7 bit on steam. But it still uses the shitty midi files from the original PC version, and that is completely unexcusable.
There's a tool called FF7Music (see link above) that will let you replace the music with the PS1 versions, with a pretty solid remastered version, or even arbitrary oggs of your choosing. (I replaced the terrible FF7 victory fanfare with a Minibosses cover version.) It's kind of an ugly hack (you have to run the ff7music binary, and THAT works as a wrapper and calls the main binary, and my recollection is that it didn't respect modern permissions settings and had to be run as admin), but if you've already paid for the thing I certainly wouldn't play it without it.
Let me know when fans have remade FF1-6 in that engine.
I'm sure that if it ever DOES get finished, the forums will one day be littered with half-completed, abandoned attempts to do just that. Whether anyone actually manages to succeed at it? Well, I wouldn't rule out the possibility but I wouldn't bet on it either.
Presumably the priority will be to get games that were actually designed with the same engine to work in it -- that's Xenogears, FF8&9, and maybe some others I can't think of offhand.
Would be interesting to see some homebrew with it too, but I'm not convinced an FF7-based engine is the best place to start a game design project in this decade. But I'm still pretty impressed by what they've done with Q-Gears so far and the final product could wind up being pretty versatile.
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To be clear, I didn't buy it. I meant that I would if they put any effort at all to make it a decent port. It's not even like it would have been hard for them to do.
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Fair enough. The fan hacks are pretty impressive -- but of course that also throws how thoroughly half-assed the port is into even sharper relief.
At least they fixed the movies. Sort of, a little.
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Finally getting around to listening to Balance and Ruin (http://ff6.ocremix.org), and there a surprising number of stand-out tracks. Smoke and Clouds (Locke); Ascension of a Madman (Kefka); La Montaña de los Caballos Jovenes (Mt. Koltz); Fistful of Nickels (Shadow); and Gobble, Snarf, Snap (Phantom Train) are all excellent and that's just off the first disc. The later discs get a bit more techno, but all in all very satisfied with how this turned out.
THAD EDIT: Fixed link.
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Yeah, I'm on my way to bed so I'm just going to link to my blog post (http://www.corporate-sellout.com/index.php/2013/07/09/balance-and-ruin/) about it again, but I think it's pretty damn great.
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That's what I get for Googling to find the link and then trying to quickly fix the absurd string of referral characters. The other discs aren't quite as loaded as the first one, but still very satisfied. If you skip Event Horizon the end of the third disc starting at Tranquil Rest going straight through disc 4's Trauermarsch skipping Endless Stair is a solid 9 tracks. The story I heard is that XPRTNovice hadn't really done any game music rearrangements until he submitted a contest entry for this project, which is too bad because his stuff is amazing and I would unreservedly give him project MVP.
Disappointed by Impressario, though, which I only mention because everyone else loves it and I need to feel edgy and cool. It's a cool arrangement, but after the pretty solid first three minutes, when it breaks out into Aria the vocalists can't keep up with the demands anymore, at which point it's kind of the arranger's job to move some stuff around. Although I was pleasantly surprised that there was very little Bohemian Rhapsody (the solo nod right around 5 minutes, and a couple bits that aren't really arranged in the 6th minute) and way more Dream Theater's Metropolis Pt. II: Scenes From a Memory album. There, take that, consensus!
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That's what I get for Googling to find the link and then trying to quickly fix the absurd string of referral characters.
Wasn't actually an issue with the URL you pasted, it was the tagging; it looked like you started to do straight-url-in-url-tags but changed your mind partway through; you wound up linking to http://ff6.ocremix.org/ (http://ff6.ocremix.org/)[/url.
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Is there anything in FF6 worse than the Auction House (http://www.corporate-sellout.com/index.php/2013/08/01/the-auction-house-is-the-worst-thing-in-final-fantasy-6/)?
I contend that there is not. You can make a compelling case for the Fanatics' Tower, but given that you can actually walk in and out of there in five minutes with everything you want and without resorting to savestates, I have to give the nod to Jidoor.
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Auction House is pretty bad, but ... Veldt.
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Ah, you sniped me in the middle of an edit. I was just in the process of adding:
The Veldt is bullshit too, but at least it's easy to get good-enough rages without having to fuck around all day. And it's got the Veldt Theme going for it.
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The Auction House gets worse on subsequent playthroughs. The first couple times around, it's one of the most charming things in a game that is, let's be honest, a much better narrative than an actual game.
Now, The Veldt is pretty much the Auction House without the charm, with more wandering in circles and getting into random battles, and Gau's rages are mostly useless anyway.
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The difference is definitely scale, and that cuts both ways. If you're looking for something specific at the Auction House, it doesn't take quite as long to find it, and once you're done there's not really any reason to go back.
Whereas with the Veldt, there's a whole lot more noise. On the plus side, you CAN at least feel like you're accomplishing something by leaping on enemies that weren't the ones you expected, and you rack up AP. OTOH, if you're looking for something in particular, it takes a lot longer to find it. And you're right -- most of the rages suck. Largely due to the fact that it's an "act like a monster" skill in a game where the monsters have absolutely no AI and all their behavior is either completely scripted or completely random.
Veldt's also at least theoretically useful for learning Blue Magic, but in practice Blue Magic in FF6 is a lot like Rage -- there are a handful of good ones that you might want to use if you ever bother putting him in your party, but the majority are just going to sit there.
EDIT TO ADD: I poked around Romhacking and found that a guy going by HatZen08 has a patch for Gau to learn rages automatically, in every battle (http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1371/) and another that gives him (and Relm's Sketch) the full range of moves (http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1395/) for each monster instead of just two.
Interesting. Maybe next playthrough.
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The discussion of TAY got me thinking, once again, about what a GOOD sequel to a classic FF would look like (http://www.corporate-sellout.com/index.php/2013/08/08/final-fantasy-prequels-id-actually-like-to-see/).
tl;dr I'd like to play Galuf's band of Dawn Warriors, live the War of the Magi, or ESPECIALLY play the Dark Warriors referenced in FF3's backstory.
(Yes, all prequels. Because setting a story after the ending of most FF games is stupid.)
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Final Fantasy Dimensions (iOS, Android) features a party of Light Warriors & a party of Dark Warriors sharing the protagonist spotlight. No idea as to it's quality or how well it pulls it off, but I imagine in this day and age if it was absolutely terrible, we'd have heard that about it by now.
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I... got Dimensions when it was super-on-sale a while back. It is not good. It's maybe good ENOUGH that you MIGHT like some of it, if you really really try, but the plot is non-existent, the graphics are nightmarishly ugly, and the gameplay is just kind of tedious. Don't get it unless you're crazy desperate.
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TA Plays: Final Fantasy Dimensions - Brad, Eli, Nissa, and Jared Go On an Adventure (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6xNY87EUvQ#ws)
Turn off the sound, skip to the middle. It is literally a shitty RPG Maker game.
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I solved the Veldt problem by never ever using Gau because are you fucking serious
I just replace him with Gogo or Umaro for Kefka's tower
He literally never has to be in your party past the Serpent Trench (iirc)
sometimes I never even recruit him in WoR
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Cat Scratch is pretty broken though.
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oh, fun fact about ff6 some of you might not know: if you do the "Wolf guy steals gold hairpin in Narshe" event and decline to save Mog, leaving him to plummet to his death, you can still recruit him as normal in WoR.
I know because I did that on my very first playthrough, and then was confused by this random moogle forcing his way into my party, acting like he knew me already somehow.
Cat Scratch is pretty broken though.
oh, sure, I'm not saying Gau is a bad character. He's great if you know how to break him. I just don't fucking bother.
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Well sure but you don't need Zona Seeker or Golem either. I think everything we've listed as a travesty is optional.
(Coliseum.)
I'm actually making a concerted effort to use characters on this playthrough who I generally don't use. Floating Continent was a pretty different experience with Locke, Strago, and Relm (and Shadow); had to play a lot more defensively.
Anyway, despite my being much more likely to use a Gold Hairpin than Mog, I still always save Mog and run him around a bit. Partly because you can only grab the Water dance in the WoB (though that's no longer true in FF6A; the fight with Leviathan gives you one last shot at it).
And, y'know, if you're going to fill up your final parties, you have to have at least ONE of Mog, Umaro, or Gau. That's just math.
(Specifically, the pigeonhole principle! I remember that from college!)
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I dunno, I used him on my latest playthrough, alongside Relm, just for the challenge. He's a hard character to have fun with, that's for sure.
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Floating Continent was a pretty different experience with Strago
As someone who usually likes blue magic and blue mages, taking Strago to the Floating Condiment gets you so much magic. I mean it's stuff like Level-X spells and 1000 Needles and stuff -- not the best spells -- but there's a lot to be learned.
Oh, and L5Death instantly wipes the Gigantos, or whatever they renamed that first monster-in-a-box.
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Final Fantasy Dimensions has good combat and character systems, somewhat padded and cheaply-produced dungeon design, and poor writing. It's worth checking out despite the low production values.
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oh, fun fact about ff6 some of you might not know: if you do the "Wolf guy steals gold hairpin in Narshe" event and decline to save Mog, leaving him to plummet to his death, you can still recruit him as normal in WoR.
no but that reminds me of a fun fact I know about FFVII that almost no one else seems to know: you can do the Wutai/Yuffie sidequests while playing as Tifa or Cid on disc two. Totally worth doing.
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Gau can be hilariously broken -- Magic Urn is a "party can never die" sort of win button -- but so many abilities in the game kill monsters more quickly he's just outclassed. The ability to hack something apart with a chainsaw or huck a longspear through a monster's eye socket at fifty paces just doesn't compare to pretending to be a cat.
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Thing is, Gau is broken, but so many things in FF6 are incredibly mind-bogglingly broken that he kind of requires an effort by comparison.
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I never really figured out which monsters it was worth it for Gau to be.
Like...
Most of them were such non-issue roadbumps that I would never have thought to have him use cat scratch.
The monsters that were impressive, like Intangir, Gau never seemed to live up to.
EDIT:
I liked Mog because he was a moogle and he was described as SLAM DANCING.
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Intangir is another good defensive Rage, giving him scads of immunities, but requires you to have Muted him first. Otherwise he'll uses Pep Up/Fusion/whatever and self-sacrifice.
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And at least Gau is more useful than Cyan.
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Them's fightin' words.
Cyan's a solid tank with attacks that do decent damage and never miss. Granted, half of them are stupid, and the charge time's a bit of a deterrent, but he's still one of the more useful characters in the game.
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Cyan was my preferred character for being permanently transformed into an Imp, equipping all the Imp-specific gear, and holding the relic that replaces attack with Jump and the relic that upgrades jump damage or whatever.
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charge time's a bit of a deterrent
Charge time isn't a deterrent for Dispatch/Fang, since you just push the confirm button as soon as the Bushido charge meter comes up. Extra damage and perfect accuracy on every turn.
I guess I'd better cover all of this stuff when I do an LP of it.
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charge time's a bit of a deterrent
Charge time isn't a deterrent for Dispatch/Fang, since you just push the confirm button as soon as the Bushido charge meter comes up. Extra damage and perfect accuracy on every turn.
attacks that do decent damage and never miss.
I assumed it would be clear that I was not complaining about the charge time for the move that doesn't have any charge time.
But I use the four-hits attacks pretty frequently, and occasionally the all-targets stun attack, and once in awhile the attack that drains HP and MP if I need some of those.
But yes, Dispatch is pretty much always useful. Cyan is one of the handful of characters in the game (alongside Edgar, Sabin, and a Thief Glove-equipped Locke) for whom there is pretty much no reason ever to use the Fight command.
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And once you get Quick, Cyan gets pretty ridiculous if you don't mind the waiting.
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Once you get Quick, EVERYBODY is ridiculous.
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Thanks, guys. I've really been trying to hold out on FF6ing again until the (3)DS remake, since I enjoyed three and four so much, but too bad.
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When I first bought the game, up until my sixth playthrough, I always rolled with Cyan. I rolled with Cyan because he was a dang fool SAMURAI. He was THE LAST SAMURAI.
That forgives a lot.
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Thanks, guys. I've really been trying to hold out on FF6ing again until the (3)DS remake, since I enjoyed three and four so much, but too bad.
See, Balance and Ruin was what did ME in.
At any rate, while I'm sure there's bound to be another remake someday, I'm not exactly holding my breath, either. While SE presumably owns all the resources from the DS versions of 3&4, the company that actually developed them is off doing other stuff now and SE hasn't shown any interest in using those resources for anything -- going so far as to release yet another FF4 remake on the PSP that's based on the GBA version and is a step backward from the DS in a lot of ways.
(Indeed, I'd say that's exactly the kind of remake we're likeliest to see of FF5 and 6, should one surface in the next few years -- not based on the DS remakes of 3 and 4, but the PSP ones of 1, 2, and 4.)
Anyway, since you're replaying now: for this playthrough I opted for FF6A with the color and sound restoration patches. I think that was a great call. But I'm already thinking of what I'll do on my next playthrough -- I'm thinking SNES version with the Woolsey Uncensored patch, and slap some of the significant gameplay change patches on there too (like the ones we were talking about a bit ago, with Gau automatically learning rages and having access to all 4 moves for each monster instead of just 2).
But, y'know, it's not like I'm going to jump right into my next playthrough as soon as I'm done with this one.
Which I'm not, yet. Got a house dropped on me. Pondering whether it's actually possible to grab all the treasure chests and still get out in time, given Celes's current weak levels. I'm thinking maybe Black Belt + Hermes Sandals + hope they don't hit me with Break + probably run from most battles anyway?
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It's actually a little bizarre for me to see people talking about FF6 as, like, an actual game with tactics and stuff. I always thought the RPG bits were just the glue holding together a pretty good steampunk fantasy novel.
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Yeah, you kinda have to work for it.
Helps a bit to have a fixed version of the game, too. Mount Zozo is a completely different experience without the Evade bug -- the monsters there are supposed to be almost impossible to hit with regular attacks.
And it's been interesting poking through the gameplay hacks to see what people have fixed. (Another thought occurs to me: both Lore and Gogo's Magic command should be usable in the Fanatics' Tower.)
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Adding: You know, the more I think about it, the more I think a wholescale rebalancing along the lines of FF3&4DS is exactly what 6 needs. Shame it's the least likely outcome for a remake at this point, should one even happen in the near future.
Another example: in terms of pure damage, claws are the best type of weapon. As already noted, there is no reason for Sabin ever to use the Fight command.
Things like the Veldt and the Auction House are fixable. Runic dould be made useful past the point where your party learns magic simply by making it only absorb enemy magic. And so on.
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If I were redoing the game I'd just do away with the Fight command completely and let everyone have their own wholly unique attack mechanic. That'd mean a lot of new minigames and some changes to existing specials (Cyan shouldn't hold up the entire damn fight, Setzer shouldn't randomly end the game), but I don't think many people would complain.
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That'd be pretty tempting, yeah. Make Terra and Strago pure magic, say? And give them an FF12-style Charge move in case they run out of MP.
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Further thoughts:
Give monsters AI. Make them only heal as needed, and not re-cast offensive/debuff/negative status spells on characters they have no effect on. Obviously you'd need to rebalance their attacks, because there would be absolutely no reason for a Stray Cat ever to use its standard attack instead of Cat Scratch. (Which I guess is the same problem with Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, and the Fight command.) Maybe add charge time to the more powerful attacks? I'll get back to charge time in a minute.
Either give Gau, Mog, and Umaro AI much like what I described above, or make them controllable. Make your character controllable in the Coliseum, too.
Gau/Veldt:
Make Gau automatically learn rages from every monster he defeats, whether he's on the Veldt or not.
Veldt can still serve a purpose as the place where you can re-fight monsters from earlier in the game -- but needs a few tweaks.
First of all, get rid of the current arrangement of monsters (where you fight a random group from an ordered list). Split the Veldt up by region -- maybe arrange it so that it resembles the world map in miniature. Go to an area on the miniature map and you'll fight monsters from that part of the world map. (Obviously this would be a little trickier to implement in the WoR -- do you have a mix of WoB and WoR monsters in each region, or find some way to split it up into two miniature world maps?)
And no more missable Veldt monsters. If you've been to a region, monsters from that region will show up on the Veldt, whether you've encountered them or not. (The exceptions would be the two bosses, provided you even keep them as Veldt monsters; that was always kinda weird.)
Celes: While Terra and Strago make sense as pure mages from a plot perspective, Celes doesn't. She's been raised as a warrior from infancy; you'd have to expect she'd at least know how to handle a sword when MP runs out. I say make her an FF5-style Mage Knight; give her the ability to enchant weapons with elements or effects. You could keep Runic (as described above, in a more useful context where it only absorbs enemy magic), or you could drop it entirely in favor of Magic Sword.
Magic: The four natural mages (Terra, Celes, Strago, Relm) should have visibly better magical aptitude than everybody else. I think everybody else's magic stats (Magic, MP, M Evade, M Def) should be nerfed -- not to the point where magic is useless, but to the point where it's noticeably less effective than when the natural mages do it. (Gogo's actually a pretty good example of a character who can still use any ability in the game but is visibly worse at it than its natural practitioner.) I'm thinking you could also add charge times for the non-natural magic users to cast their spells.
And speaking of charge times, that's what you do with Cyan. Have him pick his attack from a menu and then initiate the counter; if you want to do, say, #7, it'll still take just as long to prepare, but everybody else in the party can keep doing their thing while he's preparing it.
Also, either eliminate his intermediate attacks or make them useful.
Similar goes for Edgar -- there's not really much reason to use any of his tools except Autocrossbow and Chainsaw.
I say nerf Chainsaw a bit. (Make the difference between it and Drill more striking -- make it useless against monsters with high def, for example, so that Drill is clearly a better choice there.) Make monsters more susceptible to Bioblaster and Noiseblaster (and maybe add some more tools that cause different status ailments) -- here's a thought, maybe even make monsters that would normally repel a Bio or Confuse spell susceptible to the Tool version.
Introduce Debilitator way earlier in the game -- say, before the Magitek Research Facility. (Technically it's possible to steal one from the crane boss, but it's rare and that still means you get it immediately after the part of the game where it would be most useful.)
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Oh, and no missable dances, either. Create some persistent location where you can learn the Water Dance in the WoR. Maybe make the Serpent Trench, Ebot's Rock, anywhere else that was underwater in the WoB into a marshland that counts as water.
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Not a big fan of misses, in general. For dances, at least, there could be some short little button game at the bottom, which would determine how good of an attack you got, or if you stumbled. One missed button would send Mog wobbling, and a second would send him stumbling.
I feel like the Coliseum needs that nail-biting AI-driven shitfest, where victory is almost entirely dependent on how well you equipped him, how well you exploited the game with relics, and how dang lucky you are.
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Disagree; I'd rather control it than just watch as a spectator.
But if you're going to keep it out of the player's control, then it SHOULD fucking-well be AI-controlled instead of random. Sabin should never, ever use Spiraler, and if you know Firaga you shouldn't be casting Fire.
That's part of the problem -- the randomness of the Coliseum is actually a disincentive to learn a broad range of spells, because that simply increases the likelihood of casting something stupid.
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The Coliseum comes down to either using Mog (who can reach 255 defense and magic defense and thereby become immune to everything some enemies can do) or Gogo (whose actions you have more control over). It's not a very interesting puzzle.
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I'll probably drop all this into a blog post into the next few days, but more thoughts:
On the question of whether Gau, Umaro, and Mog should be changed to AI-based strategy or just be controllable: why not both? Have them run on AI naturally, but introduce a Relic somewhere late in the WoB or early in the WoR that works similarly to the Fake Mustache and ALLOWS you to control them.
On the Auction House:
FF9 had an Auction House that actually behaved like an auction house; do it like that. Make players bid; place them up against simple AI behavior from townspeople; reward good betting strategies while keeping the results somewhat unpredictable. Maybe even have an online component to it, let players trade items -- you can put restrictions on it (like one purchase a day) if you really want to, but I wouldn't worry that much about people gaming it, really.
The joke events could still happen I guess, but limit them to once each.
And keep a high probability that the important items -- the two Espers and, provided we keep Gilgamesh, Excalipoor as well, shouldn't be too hard to get ahold of. It's okay to have some rare stuff in there -- maybe a very low probability of super-powerful, super-rare items like Economizers and Offerings showing up -- but I don't think any UNIQUE items should be such a bastard to get.
And while we're talking about rare items, having the Excalibur and other high-end equipment not show up until the very end of the game is dumb. It should be obtainable earlier.
(Making the player choose between Ragnarok the Esper and Ragnarok the Sword, while still allowing you to steal the sword from one of the Goddesses, is okay by me, though. ...but maybe make it not such a pain in the ass to get rare steals. Maybe do like the more recent games have done and allow monsters to carry multiple items so if you keep stealing for long enough you'll eventually get the rare one?)
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I guess I'd better cover all of this stuff when I do an LP of it.
If I don't get to be Setzer I will shit in your living heart. Or end the game instantly. Whatever.
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I bought Final Fantasy VII on Steam because why the hell not. Playing on a keyboard is less than ideal, but I've managed to make it so much more bearable by binding what I guess you'd call the "face buttons" to WASD.
I... I just wanted to brag about binding the buttons to WASD. Doing that made me feel clever.
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So somebody saw my old blog post about the aborted Kurt Busiek/Mike Mignola/Dell Barras FF4 comic (http://www.corporate-sellout.com/index.php/2012/08/30/busiek-mignola-final-fantasy/) and linked me to a photo of the original cover art for issue #4 (http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1085129).
I'm not precisely sure what's going on here, but I like it.
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Oh goody! This is out now.
(http://i.imgur.com/9A1bMw5.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/Y1DUczv.jpg)
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(https://24.media.tumblr.com/56967c778e1f8add53f8462b5ea2892e/tumblr_mzfl9vKEnW1qcyr9fo6_500.jpg)
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(http://imgur.com/vPfazQJ.jpg)
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(http://i.imgur.com/BEEWqCH.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/GTrgHmk.jpg)
:ohgod:
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They made this game only to annoy people, didn't they?
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Apparently there's an achievement for getting all of Gau's rages, and Cyan's Bushido will let you select which one you want, and then charge up in the background without you needing to babysit the meter.
So you win some you lose some. Or most. You lose most.
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Apparently there's an achievement for getting all of Gau's rages
(http://intentionallyblank.net/images/forumresources/octonope.gif)
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holy jesus CHRIST those images
I mean I know this is a worthless post that just repeats what everyone else is saying but FUCKING CHRIST
so anyway in an effort to bring this post some actual content, I'm eating subway right now, with garden salsa chips, it's pretty good, it's a sweet onion chicken teriyaki on sourdough, which i was surprised to see on their 5 dollar footlong all january menu, cause i don't think it was included last year? I may be misremembering
and for some reason when I unlocked my computer today it was in the very lowest resolution setting and I had to manually change it back
oh and I had a dream that I was hiking with a friend and we were caught in a volcano eruption and we surfed down the lava wave on rocks to a lake to escape
p. cool
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Had Subway for the first time in years yesterday. Their five dollar menu is far more interesting than any Final Fantasy game
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Friday please do not cast your virgin eyes upon Celes and Locke's in-game portait pictures
I beg of you
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You can't say that and not offer pics, I'm sure as shit not buying this thing.
edit: found Locke!
(http://i.imgur.com/suCGtnX.jpg)
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(http://i.imgur.com/m395iej.jpg)
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(http://i.imgur.com/m395iej.jpg)
espierath
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/WuzosQo.jpg)
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Apparently there's an achievement for getting all of Gau's rages, and Cyan's Bushido will let you select which one you want, and then charge up in the background without you needing to babysit the meter.
So you win some you lose some. Or most. You lose most.
When you say "all his rages", do you mean "all the ones you CAN get" or "hahahahahahahaha bad programming"
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I initially balked at the images of FF5 but have found it to be surprisingly not-so-bad. There's a really jarring kind of mismatch going on between the people sprites and the background and creature sprites, vaguely like that Dragonlance movie where the draconians were CG and everything else was cel-animated (and the Amano portraits add a third, even less similar art style). But on the whole it hasn't been nearly as bad as it looked in screenshots on a PC monitor.
But FF6 looks quite a lot worse than 5 did.
OTOH:
That redrawn background in the Narshe battle looks pretty keen.
I actually don't hate that portrait of Locke; it's pretty similar to the original in-game version and at least it doesn't create the kind of jarring Amano mismatch I mentioned above.
AND
while it was initially pretty weird to see that they redid Figaro's graphic, it's actually pretty cool that it now looks like a miniturized version of the Figaro layout instead of Generic Castle Sprite.
But mainly it doesn't make me want to play 6 on my phone so much as pick Advance back up.
(And when I say "back up" I mean "backup", as my most current save was on my stolen PSP. Still, my most recent backup's not TOO far earlier than that -- I think it's right after I got the Falcon, whereas my PSP save I'd gotten a little bit farther and recruited Gau and Cyan.
And beaten the Wind Dragon early by raging Intangir, which I won't fucking be doing again. Tedious as hell even when holding the Fast Forward button.)
EDIT: Oh also it looks like they've rearranged the menus compared to 5 and actually made them worse.
(Big problem in 5 was that they stuck the menu in a single column on the far right of the screen and you have to scroll to actually see all the commands. 6 has fewer commands so I thought it wouldn't be an issue, but -- nope, stuck at the bottom of the screen with scrollbars.)
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Apparently someone's translated and rebalanced the bootleg Chinese NES remake of FF7 (http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1657/).
Oh and also the fan retranslation of FF7PC (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=14914.0) is done, though from skimming the thread it looks like you might want to wait until release 2 for the initial issues to get worked out.