I can never hail FFXII as one of the best ever simply because they absolutely butchered the story. The premise was amazing, and there are so many things they could've done with it to make it the grandest, most immerse RPG in history. Especially when combined with its large landscape. But instead the story was short, character development cut down, and overall remind me of those horribly edited foreign films that are dumbed down for the American audience. At the very least, FFXII could've had a story database ala Xenosaga 3 to fill in the details that cutscenes ignored. Surprised you recommended this. I've always thought Persona 3/4 cater more to a niche crowd in the west. Since they draw inspirations from dating-sim/visual novels that are ridiculously popular in Japan but barely known in the US.
This is pretty much correct, except I'd put FF10 as 1c. FF12 was one of the worse RPGs I've ever played. The characters were dull, the music recycled (original composer bailed or something), and the story was extremely forgetful. Traveling was especially a pain. I did not enjoy this game at all and more than anything it felt like a chore. Plus the main character looked like a 90 lb. girl. And the sidequests were boring. And trying to beat the super creatures was a headache. As far as FF8 goes, it really is a great game. Aside from Squall's emo-ness and Irvine's chickening out in assassinating the sorceress, the characters are great and the story is unique/romantic. The card game is fun, the junction system and changing items/cards/magic into other items/magic made it all the more interesting. The music is amazing. So many great and memorable scenes in this game. Maybe it's nostalgia hitting me, but overall FF8 is one of the best games I've played. Adventured through the entire world on foot, car, boat, and airship. I bought it again recently on the PSN and have it on my PS3. Started a new file two weeks ago but I haven't been on it. Love this game though. --- Great soundtracks from the game: Liberi Fatali, The Landing, Waltz for the Moon, Julia, Roses and Wine, My Mind (rinoa's theme), Ami, Retaliation, Drifting, The Oath, Where I Belong, Love Grows, Balamb Garden, Find your way, Force your way, Love grows, The stage is set, Trust me, Fragments of memories... Eyes On Me isn't a bad song either. FF8: A++!
After my post, I went and read through the thread and I'm surprised (though not really) that more than just a couple of people dislike it. It might be an age thing. Probably depends on how old you were when you first played it. I liked FF7 because of many reasons that FF is so good: music, story, characters, combat system (materia), side quests, world...etc. FF9 I played and finished but I didn't like it as much as 7, 8, or 10. First, I don't like playing as midgets. Second, I'm not a big fan of monkeys. It's still a great game with special moments, but it did not strike me. I like the "Over the hills" map soundtrack. It was an "OK" game for me. FF10 was good in almost every way, just like 7. My only complaint was that it was too linear but it proved to be a positive thing in a way. Characters, story, music, and world really drew me in. My game file has about 200 hours on it. I did all the sidequests and finished all my sphere grids for every character. Probably my favorite along with FF8 too since it was "romantic" and I love me some romance. FF11 -- did not play. FF12 already whined about, though I already forgot most of it besides the rare cool moments: fighting summons, good graphics (for its time)...some nice scenery. FF13 sucked so bad that it makes me angry. I can't believe they are allowed to call this a FF. I bought the game and the collector's edition guide and I was shaking my head in disbelief by chapter 5 or whatever. You literally went in a straight line and saw a save point every 2 minutes. The graphics are really good but other than that, this is one of the worse games (not just FF) that I've played. Square Enix has murdered what SquareSoft started. Main character female named Lightning? Lolz. Something something sister frozen or dead or something? Ha. Some black dude with an afro and something about his kid? Lolz. Giant dinosaurs everywhere? Meh. I wouldn't doubt it if someone said they pressed X until they beat the game. Extremely disappointing and I stopped before I finished it. I did, however, downloaded someone's save file and beat it and beat that dinosaur with 100 million HP. Ended up trading my FF13 to Amazon for $15. And now they are milking the franchise with FFXIII-2. FF 1-3 or 4-6 (I forgot how they did this) I did not play on the SNES so I don't think my opinion counts, but I did play the remakes on the DS and I have to admit that they weren't very fun, leading me to believe that nostalgia and age is 50% of why we like FF. I might try Versus out. It looks promising and "epic". I'm disappointed that FF is no longer the compelling adventure that it once was. You had to travel the world (sometimes more than one) to get to your ultimate goal and destination. And it felt rewarding. It was fun and memorable. Now it's more of a chore than anything.
Agree with Kao about the music, it was that and the fact the characters looked like people that first drew me to the game. I also really like the battle sequences in VIII. In fact the more I think about it, the more I realize how I loved the musical score of the entire game.
I think you guys are too stuck in the past. The story of 12 had deep meaning, maybe you guys couldn't understand the dialogue. And dull characters? Balthier ranks up there as one of the most badass characters of the series. And Vaan was not the main character, sure he is the one you always see on screen, but the story revolved around Ashe and her decision in the end. All the other characters helped shape her choice. It is her story. Just by that shows me yall didnt pay attention enough to the game and its underlying themes.
All of you FF8 fans actually enjoyed the draw system? I liked the junction aspect for customization, but quickly got sick of spending 10 mins a fight doing the same damn move. And the GF animations all took like 2 mins ( eden took like 4). Plus what a lame whiney bunch of characters, they all acted like the stupid teenagers they were portrayed as. All of that said it was still a great game, just not as great as other in the series. 1.FFVII 2.FFXII ( lacked the story, but the re-vamped battle system was the best of them all) 3.FFIX 4.FFVI 5.FFVIII 6.FFX 7.FFXIII (no towns, no sidequests, might as well have been a leveled game) Hard to judge the old school games, having played them long past their prime. As for non final fantasy's, Chrono trigger moves to the head of the class. Just behind FF7 as the best RPG ever.
Niche or not, as far as gameplay and story go, Persona is the best RPG offering we have these days (and I'd put it up there in my list of best RPGs as well). I mentioned DDS as an option as well (which doesn't have the social link stuff, more of a Final Fantasy clone), but I felt the story was a bit weaker than the Persona games (maybe more so DDS1...though that seems to because you don't have any clue what is going on until you get to DDS2). Nocturne has great gameplay, but it doesn't really do the story thing (it has one, which is OK, but it is more in the background, very unlike a FF). It sounds weird on paper, but the social link stuff really enhances the RPG experience IMO, especially in story/character rich games like these. In other RPGs, you end up be able to "explore" certain characters and their feelings/history/etc. Persona just goes a step further.
I don't want to proselytize you on your choices. I respect your preferences and I'm a big fan of Western RPGs, too but 12 was just bad and droll character wise. Like I said before, after Nalbina, when you get Basch, the story just sunk like an anchor. I actually liked the game a lot, up to that point, although I found it was sorta slow in the beginning but I think it was intentional to help you absorb all the stuff they threw at you. But, after Nalbina, everything just got so lame. K, go to Bhujerba to rescue Penelo. Meet Ashe and search for stones. Find stones and kill some bad guys eventually leading up to the final confrontation with Vayne, who, outside of wanting to destroy Rabanastre, didn't really seem like such a bad guy - just ruthless. There just wasn't a lot of story. The characters didn't grow. Compare that to the other FFs which had a lot of character interaction, growth, and a plot actually revolving around them and XII doesn't hold a candle. I don't know what depth you're referring to. There definitely wasn't any symbolism in there. I liked that it sort of tackled the backstory of FF Tactics, which I really, really like but it wasn't that good story-wise. As some guy already said, it's probably the product of the suits meddling in the development. The game's director, Yasumi Matsuno, has a stellar track record. FFT and Vagrant Story ranked up there. I have a good feeling he came in unprepared for this scale of project, though. The Japanese gaming industry, as a whole, seems to be struggling keeping up with the technology. They get lost on the fine details that they don't get to see the big picture. That's why we're seeing turds like FF XIII which does make XII look good.
I won't comment on the story, since we all have our likes and dislikes, but on the subject of FF8's battle system. Draw: I don't see why you do so much it sickens you. Especially because they don't have to be repeated much if at all. Yes, you spend 10 minutes drawing that high-level spell until you get 300. But wouldn't you also spend 10 minutes beating up some high level monster that drops a rare, shiny weapon that's great for that part of the game? Grinding is part of video games. If you prefer the classical "fight 100 battles by mashing the X button for money" over drawing from the same enemy, it's more a personal preference. But other may prefer a different way to grind. Personally, I find the one or two-time grinding of drawing to be a lot less tedious than continous leveling over and over for a few bonus in stats. I usually take twice because first time, I draw only 100 to test out how well the spell works. If it's good, I draw another 200 later one. Oh, and the draw system can be replace by the modding system as well as playing cards. Enemies drop items that can be modded into spells. A lot lesser spells can be easily replenished this way. Also, you can just play some cards instead. Even on my first no-walkthrough game it was easy enough to play just random people for some very powerful magic. And while I never mod my rare cards until disk 4, they can be quite game-breaking if you get them early and mod them. GFs: I remember just summoning GFs over and over at first because they looked so cool. And then promptly never bothered after figuring out the junction system. Most do less damage than your regular attack with proper junctions. And with limits being triggered by low health, HP junctions + Str junctions are pretty much the way to go against bosses. My favorite aspect of FF8's gameplay is the versatility. You can better yourself by getting high quality drops(items that change into great spells), draw high level spells, or play cards. Heck, anyone who gets addicted to cards can pretty much beat the entire game without winning a single random encounter.
Wrd. 8 was good, but it doesn't even touch 7. There's a reason why it's the best selling FF game to this day.
Id much rather whack away at a monster for 10 minutes instead of draw. That animation took way too long, and in the beginning of the game when you have to draw, it was always a small # of spells you'd get.
8 is one of the greatest and underated. Still, I give the edge to 7 even with the blocky character and all. WTF is up with 13? I wanted to like that game as the graphic are stunning, but having to fight a regular enemy for 30 min each and bosses that last well over that killed the game for me. That's pathetic no one has that much patient no matter how good it is. I don't even mind the linearity game play or the absent of gaining experience. F*** this piece of s***!
Agree, 6 was my favorite by far. 7 wasn't bad. I didn't care for 8, loved 10, but hated X-2 (FF-Charlie's Angels just doesn't work right)
Wouldn't really worry about Versus. Probably going to be on 360. Or if not, it will be PS4/720 (or whatever made-up name you want to call the next Xbox).
I hope so, or maybe I don't. I'd hate to spend another $60 on a game I don't love. I was never buying another system after my PS2. A Gamecube, Xbox360, Wii, and DSlite later, I'm starting to think I was lying to myself. So maybe I'll end up with a PSP or PS3 before all is said and done.
Are PS1 emulators on PCs any good at running games today? Maybe I'll check some of these games out again.
I decided to go ahead restart IX, since I never finished it. I load my memory card just to see whats there, and I now know I left off on Disk 4. I didn't think I ever got that far. Now I'm pissed. I played 47 hours, and have no idea what the hell I was doing. I hope it isn't like VIII where I left off right outside the gateway to Ultimecia. To be honest, I also did that in Kingdom Hearts my first time. Get to the end of the game, and then just quit playing for months not realizing I was one battle away.
