Final Fantasy?

[MrRubix]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Interesting point about the renting... that's actually a pretty good idea. I haven't really done that before, myself. Makes sense to pay less to rent a game that has no replay value, but you may still enjoy for the initial run regardless.

[Shashakiro]

Re: Final Fantasy?

I don't usually play games with no replay value, since my general rule is: if I enjoyed it the first time, I will enjoy it (albeit less) the second time, years later. This is true of every game I've bought and liked, and this is why I don't rent games--either way I'm wasting my money.

As for reviews, I typically lump them into the general "feeling" I have towards buying a game. I always try to do a bit of research on a game before buying it, which includes subjective reviews, but also trailers, or popularity, or actual info about the game. For example, I didn't buy GH: Aerosmith, despite being a GH fanatic. The reason? I read about how horribly distracting the fretboard is and how you're forced to play on it. Since I'm partially colorblind and the vast majority of GH fretboard patterns have caused me to miss notes for no reason, this was easily enough to keep me away from the game. Would any reviewer have stressed that? Almost certainly not, since it's irrelevant to most people. But since I know what matters to me, I do research on a game and see whether those things that matter are there, rather than take a reviewer's word that "this game is great!" when he could really just be wowed by some cool animation/graphics that I care zero for.

The result of this is that I can name about two games that I've purchased that I can actually say I thought were bad (and far, far more that I HAVEN'T purchased, so it's not like I'm just super easy to please). I'm pretty pleased with that. And by the way, both of said games are FF games (10-2 and 12). >_>

p.s. The difference I've noticed between Tales fans and FF fans is that Tales fans can write pages about why they love the Tales games, and the sum total of explanation FF fans can usually offer is "FF IS THE BEST SERIES EVER". I have yet to actually read a legitimate attempt at an argument as to why FF is even close to as good (and I'd love to hear one).

[ShAiOnEi]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Final fantasy 12 in my opinion is far the worst in the genre. I had high hopes for that game when I bought it and after about 20 hours of gameplay I had reached all of my skills and levels that were available in the game. Talk about losing interest fast.

[MrRubix]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Well, I've played the FF series up until FFX (I haven't touched anything after that). I admit I have very little exposure to RPG's, and FF comprises most of my "RPG experience." My favorite out of the series was FF7, and for these reasons:

1. I thought the story was interesting. I didn't find it "deep," but I love the idea of starting the game immediately jumping into action, and then having events roll out in front of you. Throughout the game you experience flashbacks and piece together Cloud's backstory, and along the way you get a few rather cool plot twists (even though a few might be seen as predictable). The fact that Cloud essentially had a warped form of amnesia made the game interesting, since it meant we could never really trust his explanation when it came to his past.

2. The battle system was simple, yet fun. No complex controls/menus to worry about or anything -- the Limit Break system was fun and intuitive. My only complaint would be that usually the strategies involved leveling up and then spamming the enemy with your most powerful summons. I kinda wished strategy played a larger role.

3. Side quests were generally pretty fun, whether it was racing Chocobos or fighting in the Battle Square, or taking time out to search for a more powerful piece of armor or equipment, or battling a mega-villain like Emerald or Ruby Weapon.

4. The music I think speaks for itself. The soundtrack was very catchy and memorable.

Needless to say, I don't think FF7 is a perfect game by any means. It's just been the most fun RPG I've played to date, but I'm open to suggestions.




Basically, I want an RPG where:

1. Brains and strategy are favored more than mindless leveling-up. I always hated the idea of wasting hours just battling easy enemies so that my strongest attack was strong enough to do considerable damage. And yet, I want the battling to be reasonably fast-paced such that it doesn't feel like a slow, agonizing game of chess or something.

2. I want a storyline that isn't overly cliche (not all cliches are bad ones, but in general, cliches require moderation to be effective), and has characters I actually care about who have distinct personalities and show some form of progression/development as the game unfolds. I like having a story that keeps me on my toes, always guessing/thinking of what may happen next.

3. I'd like for there to be many sidequests to ensure the game isn't merely a linear experience.

4. A great soundtrack -- memorable themes add so much value to a game.

5. Graphics aren't a high priority for me if everything else is amazing.

[ShAiOnEi]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Well, I've played the FF series up until FFX (I haven't touched anything after that). I admit I have very little exposure to RPG's, and FF comprises most of my "RPG experience." My favorite out of the series was FF7, and for these reasons:

1. I thought the story was interesting. I didn't find it "deep," but I love the idea of starting the game immediately jumping into action, and then having events roll out in front of you. Throughout the game you experience flashbacks and piece together Cloud's backstory, and along the way you get a few rather cool plot twists (even though a few might be seen as predictable). The fact that Cloud essentially had a warped form of amnesia made the game interesting, since it meant we could never really trust his explanation when it came to his past.

2. The battle system was simple, yet fun. No complex controls/menus to worry about or anything -- the Limit Break system was fun and intuitive. My only complaint would be that usually the strategies involved leveling up and then spamming the enemy with your most powerful summons. I kinda wished strategy played a larger role.

3. Side quests were generally pretty fun, whether it was racing Chocobos or fighting in the Battle Square, or taking time out to search for a more powerful piece of armor or equipment, or battling a mega-villain like Emerald or Ruby Weapon.

4. The music I think speaks for itself. The soundtrack was very catchy and memorable.

Needless to say, I don't think FF7 is a perfect game by any means. It's just been the most fun RPG I've played to date, but I'm open to suggestions.




Basically, I want an RPG where:

1. Brains and strategy are favored more than mindless leveling-up. I always hated the idea of wasting hours just battling easy enemies so that my strongest attack was strong enough to do considerable damage. And yet, I want the battling to be reasonably fast-paced such that it doesn't feel like a slow, agonizing game of chess or something.

2. I want a storyline that isn't overly cliche (not all cliches are bad ones, but in general, cliches require moderation to be effective), and has characters I actually care about who have distinct personalities and show some form of progression/development as the game unfolds. I like having a story that keeps me on my toes, always guessing/thinking of what may happen next.

3. I'd like for there to be many sidequests to ensure the game isn't merely a linear experience.

4. A great soundtrack -- memorable themes add so much value to a game.

5. Graphics aren't a high priority for me if everything else is amazing.

Star Ocean Till the end of time.

[Shashakiro]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Star Ocean Till the end of time.

dear god no. unless you like "OMG IT WAS ALL A DREAM" plot twists and having normal wandering mosters be more difficult than bosses

[MrRubix]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Shash: What would you recommend and why?

[Shashakiro]

Re: Final Fantasy?

TotA. It seems to match what you'd want pretty damn well, except for:

-Battle system doesn't exactly take brains, but definitely takes some skill to master. The fact that my friend tried around 15 times to beat a boss, failed, and I picked it up and beat it easily for him can tell you something about how much skill can be involved.

-I don't really know if TotA's story "keeps you on your toes" but it's certainly not at all predictable from the outset, although by a certain point in the game you have a pretty clear idea of what you're trying to accomplish and who exactly the "bad guys" are. It definitely does take a while to get there, though.

-Soundtrack is subjective, but I love TotA's and the God-General battle theme is one of my single favorite battle tracks ever.

-Graphics are ok, nothing special but nothing to detract from the rest of the game. And in battle they're really good IMO, especially for Mystic Artes.

The only REALLY annoyingly bad thing about this game is the load times, and that's only if you're impatient as hell like me. They're not THAT bad, but compared to Symphonia which has practically none, it's a little disappointing, and for me personally it (and a couple small other things) bothers me enough that I wind up enjoying Symphonia more. But that's just me, and honestly if I was recommending to someone else (like you) I'd recommend TotA first.

But yeah, the story is ****ing terrific and the characters are the most believable and well-developed I've ever seen in a game. Even the "villians" are developed quite well, and you can really understand and empathize with their motives, something that's lacking from a LOT of games but is absolutely present in both Tales games I've played. And although the game is linear (if you want pure nonlinear, play Morrowind or Oblvion), there are a ton of sidequests/minigames to do, and they all contribute towards the very clear "100% completion" goal of getting all the titles, which will require multiple playthroughs and hundreds of hours. Although for that you really will need a guide, since some of them are not only unintuitive, but missable.

Give it a try if you're looking for a great RPG to spend a lot of time on (Longest RPG I've ever played, clocking in at over 50 hours for just the main story).

[MrRubix]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Forgive my ignorance but what does TotA stand for?

-Battle system doesn't exactly take brains, but definitely takes some skill to master. The fact that my friend tried around 15 times to beat a boss, failed, and I picked it up and beat it easily for him can tell you something about how much skill can be involved.

This is what I like to hear

-I don't really know if TotA's story "keeps you on your toes" but it's certainly not at all predictable from the outset, although by a certain point in the game you have a pretty clear idea of what you're trying to accomplish and who exactly the "bad guys" are. It definitely does take a while to get there, though.

That's totally fine. I mean coming out with a random plot element last minute can be a bad thing. In FFIX, the final enemy, Necron, literally just comes out of nowhere.

The only REALLY annoyingly bad thing about this game is the load times, and that's only if you're impatient as hell like me. They're not THAT bad, but compared to Symphonia which has practically none, it's a little disappointing, and for me personally it (and a couple small other things) bothers me enough that I wind up enjoying Symphonia more. But that's just me, and honestly if I was recommending to someone else (like you) I'd recommend TotA first.

Hmmm, load times do bother me. I might look into both TotA and Symphonia though.

But yeah, the story is ****ing terrific and the characters are the most believable and well-developed I've ever seen in a game. Even the "villians" are developed quite well, and you can really understand and empathize with their motives, something that's lacking from a LOT of games but is absolutely present in both Tales games I've played.

I love it when villains are developed... that is also pretty huge for me.

[Sir_Thomas]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Star Ocean Till the end of time.

Star Ocean for the SNES (Get a translated rom..):
Really cool skill system (Alchemy, music, etc..)
They like to throw in puzzles that if you cant figure em out, you either use a strat. guide or quit playing (I have a NO STRAT. GUIDE policy. I get pissed off if someone tells me which door to go through non the less reading a book that plays the game for me.)

Star Ocean 2: The game is amazing. Incorporated a more in depth skill system like the first. The story is somewhat generic, but the premise is cool. Oh yeah, bad ass battle system too (Like the first.).


Grandia II: AWESOME story but anime styled art... The battle system is quite amazing on top of that. Strategy + ATB system.

Oh yeah, and the spells are AMAZING. Cutscenes for most of the high level spells .

[MrRubix]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Ah yeah, that reminds me. Can cutscene spells be turned off? One thing that annoyed me about FFVII was when it came to summons like Knights of the Round. It was cool to see all those Knights RAPE THE ENEMY OF THEIR HP IN AN ULTIMATE PWNAGE FASHION, but after using it like 10 times, I just wanted them to get it over with.

[Shashakiro]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Symphonia has a somewhat weaker story/characters, but definitely has better sidequest stuff and the load times are amazing (it takes about a quarter of a second, quite literally, to save in that game, and around ten seconds to save in TotA). Aside from that they're about the same amazingly high quality IMO.

Rubix: There are no cutscene spells except for Mystic Artes, which are AWESOME but not particularly long. Cutscenes themselves can't really be skipped, unfortunately, but I can't really see why you'd want to unless you're majorly underleveled and understocked for a boss.

Here, Squeek posted this earlier. You can get an idea of what the battle system looks like late-game (and this is a very optional boss in the arena, so no spoiler really). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXGA-fmrQ7Q That Fortune's Arc spell towards the beginning, which is by far the best move in the entire game, is also probably the longest spell animation.

[COTMFreak]

Re: Final Fantasy?

Rubix: I'm quite certain that you can't turn off spell effects, you just got to sit through them. Which doesn't pose too much of a problem since they are not too long. It pretty much makes up in terms of story, battle system, and definitely music (it's composed by Noriyuki Iwadare <3).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITF20x4QkG8

It's a normal battle so it doesn't contain much spoilers except for party members, lol.

(lol sup people decided to pop in randomly)

[ShAiOnEi]

Re: Final Fantasy?

For some reason I hated tales of the abyss for the story and the battle system. It really didn't appeal to me that much. After about 10 hours of the game I immediately stopped playing.

[Shashakiro]

Re: Final Fantasy?

To be fair, what you actually mean is that you hate the first ten hours of the story. Which is fine, but let's just put it this way...if you didn't get to Akzeriuth, you didn't *really* get to much of what the story is like IMO >_>