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Review: Final Fantasy X
from the chocobos-sin-and-blitzball dept.
I expected a lot from Final Fantasy X, if only because it's Square's first RPG outing on PS2. Within the FF series, every time the jump to a new console was made, it resulted in either better graphics or gameplay, or in this case, both. Although fighting a battle in FFX initially feels like fighting a battle in one of it's predecessors there's been a significant amount of changes to the combat system.
I'm not going to discuss much in the way of plot or characters, because if you're like me, you'll want to discover that part on your own, since the plot is what keeps console RPGs moving.
What's New?
Final Fantasy games have always been rather combat-heavy, and leveling up at different times had gotten mind-numbingly boring. In an effort to change that, there are many more options during combat. Characters can be swapped in and out of combat at any time, and they can perform moves as soon as entering the battle, so it's no longer a big deal when you have to fight the weak-against-magic monster and you forgot to include a magic user in the party. In the same way, summons (called Aeons this time around) remain summoned until one dismisses them, replacing the party in battle. When an Aeon's HP drops to zero, the party is brought back into battle, but the Aeon can also be dismissed before that. There's still random battles just like previous games in the series, but it feels like they turned down the frequency of the battles a bit, especially from last year's FF9.What would be a new Final Fantasy without a new magic system? This time around, it's a little quirky, but it doesn't disappoint. Remember when I mentioned leveling up being boring? Well this time around there's no character levels. Instead, everything is determined by a large sphere grid, that the characters move on using points they accrue by fighting battles. At various points in the grid, characters can lay different types of spheres that enhance them with new abilities, increased character starts, or more max HP/MP. The result is a non-linear system which is more open ended than magic systems of the past, allowing for greater character customization. The trick is to guide a character to the places on the grid that will allow him/her to get the skills desired while using the least amount of sphere levels (which are essentially travel points). Backtracking on the grid is allowed, but is also counterproductive.
Now onto the most fun part of the game: the graphics! With the capability of the PS2 at its disposal, this is easily the best looking ever Final Fantasy title ever, and it's a beautiful world that's been painted. While walking around, the world really comes alive, as trees sway and grass moves as wind goes past. Many of the characters' facial expressions are done in realtime, and while the scenes aren't picture perfect, they are a far cry from the jagged polygonal models on Playstation as well as the two dimensional sprites from the earlier FF titles. The battle sequences look better than ever also, as characters move more fluidly, and enemies do as well. The already stunning realtime animations are augmented by amazing FMV sequences. My only small complaint here is that there's no way to skip the movies entirely. Since it's still my first time playing the game, I haven't wanted to skip anything, but I still feel sorry for the impatient. There is, however, a configuration setting to turn off the extended summoning animations, so there won't be a five minute wait for the huge Aeons enter from space.
Something else FFX features for the first time in a Final Fantasy game: voice acting! Although not every bit of dialogue is dubbed, the voices that are dubbed are done better than I expected. My only complaint is that the lips were synched to the Japanese dialogue, and never resynched during importing. However, that never stopped me from enjoying a Kung Fu movie, and it doesn't stop me from enjoying the game either. Given that the game was released two months earlier than originally planned, I'll let this detail slide.
What's the Same?
Although the magic system was overhauled, most of the spells are still the same. There's still three levels of elemental spells, and an Ultima spell, and so on. Also, it wouldn't be much of a Final Fantasy without chocobos, and they are featured yet again.When Final Fantasy IX was released last year, it featured characters with the traditional Final Fantasy classes, like summoner, white mage, blue mage, etc. I think Squaresoft found that players enjoyed the return to these classes, and decided to continue the trend. Although each character is ultimately customizable into any class, they each start with suggest paths across the sphere grid that resemble one of the classes.
You know whose reviews I trust? (Score:5, Informative)
ATB (Score:2, Interesting)
generally speaking (and yes, i haven't gotten to a decent boss fight as of yet) it would seem that 'this monster attacks for about 310 damage, this character will need to heal this character next round' now. seems a tad bit stupified.
Re:ATB (Score:4, Insightful)
Some of the boss battles do require some intelligent choices, especially with regards to replacing party members with reserves during battle. With turn based, you have a better idea of when you want to do substitutions. If a character is in danger, you have a good idea if you should bring in a reserve or try to heal.
It's especially useful when using Lulu (trying to avoid spoilers). She starts in a Black Magic area of the sphere grid. With a low HP maximum and no quick way to improve that stat, she nearly requires constant healing at the beginning of the game.
So, while I can't gauge how much of a difference in difficulty it makes, I'm glad that ATB is gone. Especially considering that they removed the pause feature during a battle.
Final? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Final? (Score:5, Funny)
Heh. What will the actual last Final Fantasy game be called? Final Final Fantasy? Final Fantasy: The Final Fantasy?
Money for old rope (Score:2, Interesting)
Droolsome graphics don't
FF Beauty (Score:4, Interesting)
Gamefaq Error (Score:2, Informative)
"Referer Link Error
On every single HTML page of GameFAQs is the following request:
Feel free to link to this page, but not directly to the FAQs.."
So, go directly to http://www.gamefaqs.com.
Posting anon to save karma (Score:2, Insightful)
Pretty boring considering the games that make better use of a computer as a medium for entertainment.
Re:Posting anon to save karma (Score:4, Funny)
In the name of sweet Jebus, please don't ever become a novelist.
Re:Posting anon to save karma (Score:5, Funny)
And wait until you hear the plot! It's totally mindblowing!!!! Supposedly, it involves an evil boss who wants to control the world, and you have to stop him. (the big secret is that evil boss 1 is actually being controlled by a bigger and MORE EVIL evil boss 2!!!) Who knows... I've even heard rumors that there's a REALLY BIG, REAAAALLY EVIL evil boss 3 controlling them all, who wants to destroy the world!
And supposedly, there's a great back-story about your character where you learn that about the mysterious background of your character!!! And I thought he was just a simple cyber-hyper-techno ball player!! Who would've known!!
(sorry if I've given away too much of the plot!)
What the...? (Score:5, Interesting)
And in other news, our weather reporter mounted on a flying pig advises all you denizens of Hell to wrap up warm, because there's a cold snap coming on.
Actually, it's not that surprising. I'm about to embark on a port of some software for the Japanese market, and I've been told to multiply my estimate by 3. I mean, pad it as much as I usually do, then multiply by 3. The Japanese market habitually underpromises and overdelivers, in stark contrast to marketing driven North America and Europe. How quaint!
Older Final Fantasy (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Older Final Fantasy (Score:5, Insightful)
BLIZTBALL bugs?! (Score:1, Informative)
Grrrr (Score:3, Funny)
Old school (Score:1)
Re:Old school (Score:4, Funny)
By the way, do you know if the latest translation patch for the Japanese Super Famicom FF6 has been released? I've been dying to patch my ROM image with it so I can see a more faithful translation of the dialogue.
FF's Battle System is Overrated.. (Score:5, Informative)
ATB has long been the bane of PSX FF games. It was a relic of the limited integer processing capabilities of the SNES's processor and should be left firmly on that platform. It's about time they ditched it altogether and went for something more plausible like Grandia 2.
If you've ever been lucky enough to be graced with this game's precense, you wont be sorry until you complete it, roughly 30 hours later. For those who'd rather get back to the old school days where battling was the game rather than watching an FMV-athon (FF8 ugh!), I'd heartily recommend this game.
The battle system works by having a bar. At the left, you have WAIT. About two thirds of the way across you have COM. On the very end, you have ACT.
The time between WAIT and COM is about as close as you get to ATB. From there, all hell brakes loose. The time between WAIT and COM is purely based upon character speed. The faster your character, the less time until it gets to choose its move.
At COM phase time all time stops. You get a menu of possible actions.
Combo attacks are quick to ACT but also require positioning, a swing and then a retreat. This can take much longer than a well powered special move and may not be appropriate for every situation. On the plus side they do between 2-4 hits depending on items equipped by the character.
Combos will also keep a character pinned. Their icon on the COM-ACT bar will stop momentarily while being slapped down. Yes it is technically possible to keep a bossed pinned using normal attacks until you can Cancel them. More on that in a sec.
Cancel attacks work by basically dragging a character back in the COM-ACT bar. The further advanced along their attack is, the greater amount you drag them back into the WAIT-COM portion. If you hit them before COM you will drag them back about 10-15%. Many a time it has been nailbitingly close to cancelling someone right after they get into COM. They are slower than combo attacks and only hit once so be careful how you use them too.
Both these types of attacks can also Counter. If an enemy is at ACT phase and about to hit, a character can counter that enemy by using a faster initiative attack. Using something like a combo attack on an enemy about to dig into your healer is not only a brilliant way to save the healer but it also does extra damage! If you can time it perfectly, you can even cancel them, not only doing extra damage, but dragging them right back into the WAIT-COM phase.
Last but not least is the special attack. These take the longest to charge but instantly start when you get to ACT. Some specials may even cancel. One of the cheapest moves in the game is to power up Ryudo to max ACT and then use his Tenseiken Slash to cancel a boss attack in process. This actually happens in under a tick when you have enough act and 5 star special. Specials also include magic so theres no need to explain that.
While I havent begun to scratch the surface on the underlying mechanics of the special and magic egg system, I hope that this little explanation will tempt you to go out and grab it. With Dreamcasts being as cheap as they are, you could probably grab one and Grandia 2 for maybe $80 if your lucky. Even less second hand.
Anyway, it'd be nice to see some alternatives reviewed rather than just overrated mainstream hype machines (IMHO anyway, but then again, I live for the battle so YMMV). Oh well, I hope that FFXI will outshine G2 and FFX by a long, long way.
Also, if you are planning to complete this game, it take a few hours from getting the final weapon to seeing the last of the ending. Plan for at least 2-4 hours depending on how well you are along. I must warn you, the final boss is sheer endurance. He has an insane amount of hitpoints >:)
FFX aka... (Score:5, Funny)
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy FF, but it really does seem like a candidate for an annual subscription and "Software as a Service"... ;-)
Suggestions for Total FF Newbie? (Score:3, Interesting)
I bearly watched someone else play... total time logged watching = 13.3 min. I played RPG's before, both console but mostly PC-RPGs. I definitely go for the story more than anything. Well, under tremedous peer pressure, and the desire to join the majority, I've decided to start playing FF. But I have the following concerns, and hope some of you can help me out.
1) Since I have ZERO knowledge of FF (did watch the movie tho, and it's below my expection), I dont know which one I should start with. Should I start with FFX, or is there any chronological order to the series (Ultima comes to mind).
2) Which FF is the BEST, in terms of
a) Story
b) Character development
c) Original Gameplay (magic/combat systems, etc.)
d) Total enjoyment / amount of time needed to beat game. (Important ratio for someone with little free time)
e) Graphics
3) And which is the WORST FF game? I heard FF8 sucked due to its real-time rendering. So is there any FF that I should NOT touch?
Hope someone will give me a start on the FF serious.
And please dont flame me, or I might just to buy "Summoner" instead.
Re:Suggestions for Total FF Newbie? (Score:4, Interesting)
I've been playing FF games since the original came out in, like, '87 or so (I think it was the first or second NES game I ever owned, way back when), and I've played 'em all (yes, I even bought FF: Mystic Quest the week it came out), so I guess I'm as qualified as anyone to opinionate. I'll try not to include any spoilers (or what I think are spoilers), but if I do, know that you've been warned.
1. Each FF game is totally separate in terms of characters, story, world, all that jazz. Things like magic spells, monsters, character classes and parts of the battle system have carried over from one to another (for instance, the Black Mage class in FF 1 makes its return in several of the games in the series, the most memorable being Vivi from FFIX), and a certain "Cid" character has cropped up in every game since 2, but other than that, the games are totally separate. No chronology whatsoever. You could just as easily start with FFX as you could with any other game in the series.
I've only played FFX for a few hours, so I'll save judgement 'til I'm done. Personally, I've got the softspot for the 2-D games (1 through 6). Things were just simpler back then. The 16-bit FF games, for their time, had amazing graphics, and especially sound -- FF4 and 6 have some of the most memorable soundtracks in video games history, and still sound good today. My pick of the 2-D games is probably FFIV (II for the SNES, part of the FF Chronicles set for the PSX). That's totally biased, though, 'cause I love that game to pieces. It's a quick one compared to the rest. I can't get through it now in 8-12 hours or so, but it probably took about 20-24 the first time through. Most FF fans seem to prefer FF VI. (III on the NES, available as part of FF Anthology for the PSX.)
For the 3-D games, if you have a PS2, obviously go with X. If you've just got a PSX, IX is amazing, especially if you've followed the series from the beginning. (I couldn't believe I heard the Marsh Cave music from FF I almost 13 years later in a cave in FFIX!)
2. These questions are all pretty subjective, so no matter what I say I'll probably get flamed by somebody, so I'll try to remain at least partially objective. I'm not far enough into FFX, so I can't comment it on it yet for anything but e)...
a) FF VI probably has the best storyline of them all. It covers a lot of characters and in some spots is even kind of non-linear, since you don't need all of the characters to get through game.
b) Unfortunately, the overload of characters in FF VI means character development leaves a bit to be desired. (It's not that bad, but there are quite a few characters...) I really liked FF IX in this department. Vivi was especially cool.
FF VIII is a total mess in character development. You have this main character, Squall, and from the opening sequence 'til the end of the game, he's a prick. He doesn't mature at all, from beginning to end. He's annoying at first because of his apathy and attitude, but you figure he'll eventually grow out of that towards the end. Guess again.
c) FF IV seemed like a real departure when it first came out in terms of the battle system, because when it hit the US in the form of FF II, it was so different from FF I. It's still the only FF game that lets you use 5 characters in a party, which is pretty cool. I still like it's combat system.
FF VI probably has the most balanced battle system out of the lot. Four characters, lots of skills and abilities that we individual to each character. (Some of the other FF games, like IIIj, V, VII, etc. let you customize characters, making them all pretty homogenous.)
d) I can usually plow through these games in short order, so I'll adjust the time to beat accordingly. Whenever a review site or somebody tells me "at least 40 hours", I always beat it between 25 and 30 or so. So, For each game:
FF I (NES) -- simplistic, but still fun. This one still takes quite a bit of time to finish, but the story along the way is minimal. (Bad guys threaten world, four warriors set out on Quest.) Don't know how long it would take me today, but it's gotta be up there, just 'cause it's a bitch to level up. Say 20-30 hours at least.
FF II (Famicom, get an emulator and a translated version) -- more of a story over FF I, and the battle system has been improved. Starts out with a bang (very first scene is a battle) and starts some of the long lasting traditions of the series (Cid, etc.). The level up system is way different vs. other games in the series and is more like Chrono Cross or the SaGa series. (Or the FF Legend series on the GameBoy.) Haven't a clue how long it took me on this one, probably at least 20+ hours.
FF III (again, emulate) -- the crystals deal from the first game is back. This one was kind of the basis for the job system you see in FF V and FF Tactics. Makes for some cool combinations of classes, like a summoner crossed with a knight and such. Best of show for the 8-bit games. 25 hours or so should do.
FF IV (II on the NES, see FFC on the PSX for the "hard" edition) -- I absolutely love this game. Maybe it's nostalgia, or something, but I love it. No job manipulation like in FF III, but a lot of cool characters. The story is pretty decent, although nothing complicated or never-before-seen. Kain ruled. Probably 25-30 hours for a newbie.
FF V (emulate, or see FFA on the PSX) -- half decent story -- asteroids hit earth, contain visitors from another planet, your planet in danger. The job system from III returns. Overall it's pretty mundane, actually. 30 hours.
FF VI (III SNES, FFA on PSX) -- probably best of show overall for the 16-bit games. Lots of characters, good story, great villians. (Especially Kefka, of course.) Loved Locke and Shadow. 40-45 hours or so, I would think.
FF VII (PSX) -- first of the 3-D games. The story was fscked up at times, especially near the end, but overall, it kicked much ass at the time. Borrows a bit from FF VI in terms of the ability management system, what with the summons and such. Second best of the series on the PSX. 40 hours or so.
FF VIII (PSX) -- Squall is an annoying prick. Most of the characters aren't overly interesting, and the "Draw" system is ridiculous. Basically, you can "Draw" spells from any enemy infinitely, equip them to boost character stats, or cast them. The summon spells are absolutely ridiculous and if you overuse them, you'll go insane. It wasn't the "real-time rendering" that made the game bad, because it doesn't have any (well, except in fights, I guess), it was the ridiculous battle and management systems, the characters, and that stupid fscking love song near the end. 40 hours or so. It's not 100% crap, but compared to the others on the PSX, it leaves MUCH to be desired.
FF IX (PSX) -- best of the PSX games, easily. Likeable characters, good story, lots of stuff borrowed from the other games, a useable management system (eat it, FF VIII), and a return to the series' roots over VII and VIII. (Fantasy, not sci-fi.) Probably tied with FF VI as the overall best in the series as far as I'm concerned. 40 hours or so.
Can't comment on FFX yet, except that to answer e), yes FFX does have the prettiest graphics, but that's always, always secondary to fun, gameplay, storyline, etc.
3. Overall, FF II for the NES is probably my least favorite, not VIII, but yes, VIII sucked large for the reasons mentioned above.
Hope that long, long post helped even a bit.
J
Re:Suggestions for Total FF Newbie? (Score:5, Interesting)
My allegiance to FFVII is probably because it was the first FF game for the Playstation platform, and it represented a quantum leap forward in terms of technology. I remember playing through this game for the first time, watching wide-eyed in near-disbelief as the "camera" panned over such surreal sights as the floating city of Midgar, Rufus' airship, the mountains near Nibelheim, and the missile launch at Rocket Town. Sure, we take intricate FMV sequences like this for granted now, but this was 1997 and nobody had seen anything quite like it before.
I really liked the magic system (materia) in FFVII. It wasn't all that complicated, and it allowed you to experiment with spells and abilities and elementals and combine them in all sorts of fun and interesting ways. It is far superior to the absolutely dreadful "junctioning" system of FFVIII. Thankfully, Square went away from that and back to a more traditional system for FFIX. The combat system in FFVII is simple enough to get a handle on it quickly, and it works well enough to carry itself through the rest of the game (as long as you're prepared for a lot of combat!)
FFVII also has (again, IMHO) among the best music in the series. (Sound of machettes being unsheathed.) This is a subjective observation, of course
I think that FFVII's biggest selling point, however, is its replay value. All of the games (particularly the later ones) have a certain amount of "side quests" that are not necessary to complete in order to win the game, but FFVII has a lot more than any of the others. There are two completely optional characters that you can get in your party and develop (with storylines and quests of their own.) There are lots of "in-game games" that you can play, such as the attractions at the Gold Saucer. You can embark on a career of Chocobo raising with the eventual goal of raising a Gold Chocobo that will allow you to visit every corner of the planet and unearth some magic materia of unspeakable power (Knights of the Round, anyone?) You can take some time at the end of the game to try and defeat the all-powerful Ruby and Emerald Weapons. And that's just scratching the surface.
FFVII is also not without its weak points. The storyline, while easy to follow on a broad scale, is often confusing and muddled when the details are revealed. The story is not as good as the one in, say, Final Fantasy IV, but it definitely holds its own. The main character, Cloud, is maddeningly obstinate and at times you wish you could reach through the television and give him a good clean punch to the gut. In many places, the combat is far too frequent (though this is not just a complaint about FFVII!)
At any rate, that's my take; I like FFVII the best because of the nostalgia and the fond memories of how much it captivated me the first time I played through it. To a large degree, it continues to do so. The bottom line is that all of the games in this series have something to recommend them; this one just happens to be my favorite. Your mileage may vary. Please put your machettes away. Thank you.
No sir, I don't like it. (Score:1)
Monet Graphics (Score:1)
Also, there are a couple times when you get too much action going on around the screen and the system lags for a split second. Not much of a problem because it doesn't last long, but I've already seen people complaining about it.
On an off-topic note, I have to say I'm very disappointed with the introduction to the blitzball mini-game (tiny spoiler ahead for those who haven't gotten past the first blitzball game). Why would a game designer introduce a mini-game by using a version of the game that is almost impossible for the player to win? Do they think that makes me want to keep playing the mini-game throughout the rest of the game? Luckally I think blitzball is kind of fun, so I'll end up playing it from time to time. I still think it's bad design.
Will buy it today (Score:1)
About the graphics... (Score:5, Informative)
Nonetheless, it is a truly remarkable game, really engaging story and the graphics are really detailed in terms of both texture and geometry, but the available resolution and lack of AA unfortunately detracts from the otherwise stunning game. It's better than the PS1 FFs in this respect, (except that shimmering effect I notice...) but with that level of geometry it becomes more disappointing..
Nice... (Score:2)
Get On With It (Score:1)
Almost non-interactive (Score:2)
Bottom line: Amazing visuals? Yes. A game? Sorta, leaning toward no.
A disappointment (Score:1)
Maybe Square wants to redefine RPG-- Roles Plays the Game, not you
And I resold my copy after about 15 hrs. of gameplay.
Something I never quite understood... (Score:1)
What's the point in acting (yes, that's what you are supposed to do in a RPG...) alone? And no, character development != levelling...
Is it as freaking tedious as the others? (Score:1, Redundant)
Unfortunately, interesting character design and nifty effects only go so far. The cool gameplay elements are really few and far between, and more often than not turn out to be less fun than you'd think. After thirty hours of step, fight, step, fight, step, fight I just got bored. Well, more accurately, the games each got to a point where I wasn't entirely certain what I was to do next, and I didn't really get the opportunity to find out because of all the freaking battles I was getting sucked into.
Then again, Chrono Cross didn't have that problem, and I pretty much got tired of it after a while, too. Maybe it's just the formulaic gameplay. With the rare exception of a handful of puzzles, these "RPGs" seem to consist entirely of nearly-identical battles broken up by cutscenes that present you with excruciatingly long chunks of bland melodrama. And the game goes on forever in this manner. I have incomplete savegames for each of the aforementioned titles.
That really sucks, too, because the Final Fantasy games are always so pretty. I'll actually probably end up buying FFX just so I can summon me some badass Ifrit or something. Sigh.
PS2 Hard Drive (Score:1)
Final Fantasy XXX Released (Score:1)
Square Soft today released Final Fantasy XXX, entitled 'Dirty Tricks with Mana' , after a short development period of 9 months. Read on for some game high moments.
Final Fantasy XXX features dozens of new 3D modeled characters, most of them based on real actors from the movie industry. "We mixed experienced and amateur actors, but they all had a good time", says Christina Saynt, main head developer. Ronald Rocco confirms: "Christina is just incredible. Her way of work still blows me everyday". When asked to give more impressions about the development process, Rocco always remember how much cigarrete smoke was in the office, with a little smile. Another developer says: "The team of FF XXX was the most excited I have ever worked before", words of Johnny Longdong Silver, lead actor for the game 3D characters. "We spent night after night looking for holes on the gameplay".
But the most expected feature is Square's new acessory for PSX 6.9, the "Sword of Protection", which let players interact with others on the multiplayer mode. "It's a real simple toy", explains Iamatsu Kokuma, chief programmer. "... and after it's equiped, you still have your hands free to enjoy FF XXX."
Registration for multiplayer gaming is really easy. All the player has to do is send a letter to Square's headquarter, with personal info, a short bio and a photograph. After it's approved by Square's quality control department, the player information is shared with others. Altough unusual these days, you don't have to connect to the internet to play FF XXX multiplayer mode. Instead, all players meet live, face to face, generally on weekends, depending on the number of other players in your area. This really increases overall experience, and we're glad Square revived old concepts. If the player's personalities match, gameplay could go on almost forever.
FF XXX's license agreement includes a clause denying any responsability on these decisions, tough.
PS:
See Miguel, I told you I had your text, huehauheuahueh. You own me some beer now, pal
my 2 cents... (Score:1)
Of course, the magic/battle system wasn't always perfect, and made some games painful to play. (FF II in Japan, where you couldn't save in 3-hour dungeons, or in FF VIII, where all you did was steal magic all day in combat)
With those things in mind, I will say that X's gameplay "feels" like the original FF I -- in a good way! The battles are quick, not overly complicated, not insanely difficult, and you aren't forced to summon Shiva 12 times to beat the common mob. Experience and cash flow without "crunching" (playing *just* for xp/cash). It's unfortunate that I am unable to select the "Japanese voice track," as the English voice acting is quite horrible compared to the Japanese voice acting (which I enjoyed on my friend's import PS2 + import FF X).
Most of all, for the first time in YEARS, this Final Fantasy game will actually allow you to play about 15-20 minutes at a time and SAVE. (other than the PC versions of VII and VIII which allowed you to save anywhere) The cutscenes happen often, but are short enough that you can bear, and you can actually pause them (unlike MGS2).
The 3D world presents a problem when you need to look for doors and treasure chests, as they become hidden. FF VII's simple graphics made it easy to find things, but in FF VIII and IX, I often found myself trying to find the door that opens. X solves this by giving you a overhead map with doors and goals highlighted.
Okay, so all of this sounds like X is stupifying the game -- but it's not. If you have 18 hours a day to spend on a game, maybe this game is too smooth-flowing for you. But for folks like me who have about an hour a day to goof off playing games, FF X's no-load-time, quick-save, fast-gameplay, short-cutscenes are a treat.
Happy Holidays, ya'll!
2 player battles (Score:2, Insightful)
Three observations of my own (Score:1, Interesting)
1) More linear and movie-like. Believe it or not, I haven't had that much opportunity to just wander around and fight things; most of the time I'm watching cutscenes. Even the boss battles literally tell you what to do if you don't have the right idea, and the arrow on the map just plain points you where to go (and without the map, good luck finding anything in the dark), so it's like you're just "pushing X when it tells you to push X" a lot of the time. I expect this to get better once the world map opens up to me, and when the Sphere Grid stops being linear, but it's not a good first sign.
2) Less need to heal constantly & more desire to use magic. This is a good thing. Except for tough boss battles, I haven't healed much at all. Why? Because there are save points about every three feet, and they automatically restore your entire party's HP/MP. Also, when one of your characters is near death, you can just swap in another! This also lets me use magic a lot more than I did in previous FFs, because while before I felt a need to conserve MP for when I might need it, here there's a practically never-ending supply.
3) Control over overdrive! No more "use it or lose it" on the Trance. Once your bar is filled, it stays filled, even across battles, until you're ready to use Overdrive. The little overdrive mini-games are kinda fun too, if relatively easy so far.
Alex
Final Fantasy Comments (Score:1, Interesting)
Tidus? (Score:1)
FFX for the PC? (Score:1)
--Frank
One of the best RPGs I ever played...... (Score:1)
Phantasy Star 4.
One of the few rpgs to come out for the Genesis. But DAMN is it ever good. Note that I played it without having played the first three, so I am aware that I missed out on some of the details that are in this one for fans of the series.
Allow me to first give a bit of series background. (Those who know better feel free to correct.)
In Phantasy Star 1, you were on the planet Parma, a technologically advanced planet in the Algo solar system. You had to fight your way to the Air Castle (big floating castle) and defeat the bad guy. Never played it, so I don't know much more than that.
Phantasy Star 2 was also on Parma (possibly with some travel to other planets) and featured the gaming world's then stock evil boss, Mother Brain. Ended in the destruction of Parma. Some ships from Parma escaped to the other habitable planets in the solar system, and others escaped out toward other stars as big generation ships. (Haven't played much of it.)
PS3 took place aboard one of the aforementioned generation ships. Got annoyed with this one real quick, so I know nothing about it.
Now, the real meat. Phantasy Star 4. WOW.
Tech Specs:
Genesis game. Go get Genecyst and the ROM. (I've had problems with it working right on other emulators, but the latest version of Genecysts works great.) Nice graphics for it's time. 2D of course. Fairly long.
Story:
I won't go too much into it, but it begins on the planet Motavia 1000 years after the destruction of Parma. The devastation caused by the exploding planet threw the other worlds into chaos for awhile. It was the downfall of civilisation. But now, technology is starting to make a comeback, both through research and the discoverey of old cities and machines left over from 1000 years before. (So you do get swords and guns, and who gets them makes sense from their backgrounds.) Your main character is Chaz, a swordsman and Hunter (read: mercenary/bounty hunter/monster exterminator) in training. At first, you're on the quest because you were hired. Then you look into a bit out of curiosity, then because you get really really PISSED. And then the game really starts. (This is a suprisingly long game.)
The story arc is very well developed, and very linear. there are side quests, yes, most of which come in the form of jobs from the Hunter's Guild. (Some are very cool, two are very annoying, and two are extremely usefull......) And a few little secret or side areas that are maily there for fans of the series. (Certain long-lived creatures which were characters in previous games, statues of previous characters dotting the landscape, etc...) And you can rush straight through without talking to anyone, or you can learn all sorts of interesting world details from the townsfolk. Most of them do say different things after major events in thier area.
Gameplay:
Again, linear story, in that you can't go to the next town until you've gotten item X or done event Y, but once you've gotten somewhere, you're free to travel back at any time. This also means that Weapon and Armor stores get better and better as time goes on.
Magic is essentially divided into two parts: Skills and Techniques. Skills are unique to each character, and are generally weapon techniques for your fighters, and powerfull healing techs for your healers. They have a limited number of uses, refreshed when you rest. The number of times you can use them goes up as you level up.
Techniques are more like the magic we are used to. You have these techs, and you use them as many times as you want while you have enough technique points to support it. Many of the basic techs can be cast by several people, though some are far far better at it than others. (Casting your basic Res (heal) with say Hahn might get 60 points of healing... While Rika's casting of it heals by 200. etc. As you level up, you get better at casting them.
You do not buy Skills or Techniques. New S&T are gained automatically through leveling up.
One last important but about the linear aspect: You don't get to pick your characters. There is no swapping. Charcters move in and out of the party as the story dictates, and most of them have good reasons for staying/leaving. Certain ones will stay with you to the end once you get them though. (I will give the example of Gryz, whose town is destroyed by evil baddie Zio, and when he hears that you are going to find Zio, he comes along so he can get his revenge. Once Zio is dead, Gryz leaves.) You can have up to five characters in the party, and they all get to fight.
One of the most important aspects of the fighting is that while you can beat the game just doing basic attack-cast in battles, you'll miss out on the cool (and powerfull) combos. Certain magics can be combined with each other or with skills for some devastating attacks, if you plan it right.
Ah, almost forgot about macros. The play is turn based, so you define what each person is going to do before the turn starts. This lets you do the combos. But they added in a very usefull feature that I haven't seen anywhere else: Macros. These are defined though the menu while outside of battle. They are just preprogrammed attack sequences that let you quickly tell all of your characters what you want them to do, and in what order. the 'A' macro is almost always used as a basic 'everybody attacks' macro for your basic fights. The others I generally use for quickly setting up defence in the first round of a boss fight, or for setting up delicate combos. (IE, set up the combo with the slowest person going first to reduce your chances that a medium-speed monster will interupt the combo in the middle.) A great time saver so you don't have to go through and say "you attack, you heal, attack, attack, attack" every time. You can just say "macro A" and watch the fight commence.
Misc:
A few misc points: One is the talk function. This is VERY nice. It avoids two problems. The first is the "Where the hell do I go now???" problem, even if you've been away in a cave for a week and forgot what you were doing. The second is having the game constantly remind you of what it wants you to do. (Zelda 64 anyone? "HEY!" "HEY!" "HEY!" "All right you damn fairy, the next time you say hey, I'm getting the swatter out...." "HEY!") The talk function is just an option in the menu "talk" that makes your characters have a short conversation on what's going on, and where they should go next. It doesn't bug you, and if you know, you don't have to hit it. Nice.
Again, fans of the series who have played the previous games will see all sorts of references to the previous games, from statues of previous characters, to just the names of familiar places or spells.
Another aspect is that your characters all have lives outside of the story. They've all got hometowns, histories, friends, relatives, etc. If you choose to talk to the people in towns, you get to meet these people, and see how peoplke react to them. (Hahn isn't altogether welcome at home, while Raja is quite popular at his local bar...)
OVERALL:
I cannot recommend this game enough. Die-hard RPGers and newbies both will like this game. The story and the history really draw you in, the graphics are excellent (dated by today's standards, but still damn pretty.) It allows it self to be funny and serious, dark or fun, depending on what is happening. The character development is handled very well, and you have a good mix of wise, experienced characters, and naive, new to the world ones.
New players can choose to take it slow, take time out to fight and level up, while more experienced players can go straight through at lower levels. (The FAQ for this game says of the final boss: Be at least level 50. If that doesn't work, try 55. Then try 60. etc. My second play through got me there at level 30. It was a tough battle, but it is doable, and extremely fun.)
And oddly, whenever I play any other RPG, it starts to get a little tedious and I just start hankering for this game. I've left off in the middle of FF1, 7, and 8 just to go play this one. It really sticks with you.
Whatever your style of play, you will enjoy this game. Go get the emulator and the ROM now! (And remember to look in the Genesis section, because you won't find it in Nintendo.)
Note: I didn't play Phantasy Star Online, because from what I learned before it came out, it was not actually set in the PS universe nor did it have any reference to PS. It was just trying to cash in n the name... Gee... Sort of like all the recent FFs.... But as I recall, nobody else played it either, so I don't think there will be any comparison issues.
Anyone else remember this game as fondly as I do? Anyone actually going to listen to my recommendation? Am I just going to get bounced out of the forum because I wan't actually talking about a FF game, just one that kicks all of the recent FF games's ass? We'll see...
Mycroft
One thing you forgot... (Score:2)
Re:two months early (Score:5, Insightful)
Not to mention Sony certainly doesn't hold a monopoly on the console market. They put out a better product and the sales figures prove it. I expect to see the GameCube come along in sales over the next couple of months the games slated for future release look really good, and the $200 price tag is a huge incentive. I don't know what will happen to the XBox, there is a game or two that looks good, but not many.
I should also point out that your statements premise and conclusion are completely contrary to fact. The XBOX is MS's attempt to gain a foothold in the console market and if successful will eventually begin using their library of unfair business practices against the other players in the market. Thankfully MS rarely does things right and the XBOX will most likely be short lived.
Re:two months early (Score:1)
So, wait.. someone who doesn't like monopolies should buy a Microsoft product? That seems like strange reasoning to me.
What Monopoly?!? (Score:4, Insightful)
First off: although I don't have solid numbers or anything in front of me, I am fairly certain that Microsoft has more of a stranglehold in the Desktop OS market than Sony does in the Game Console market.
While the N64 may not have been nearly as popular as the PSX, it did have its niche as Nintendo targeted most of their games at children. Maybe that hurt Nintendo a bit, but I don't think that makes them any where near as close to death as Apple was a few years back. Nintendo also makes this nifty little handheld product called the GameBoy Advance. The GameBoy series of handheld systems HAS held a virtual monopoly in that market since its original green tinted monochrome release over 10 years ago if I recall correctly. I think that would count as more of a monopoly than Sony has right at this very moment. Would you suggest we all go out and a Sega Game Gear or somesuch in order to rebel against the establishment?
Do I really need to get into Microsoft? I personally use Microsoft products, but arguing that ANYTHING put out by them is an ethical alternative used to fight the big bad "monopoly" is even beyond some of the spin doctorying they have been guilty of. Though I am sure they would see it as an innovative approach and be glad to steal the idea from you.
I am all for making sure there is an alternative, but telling people to steer away from Sony and buy a Microsoft or Nintendo product instead is about the equivilent of steering people away from the vocal stylings of Briteny Spears and saying the more rational decision is to buy Backstreet Boys or N'Sync music instead.
So stop pretending this is another David vs. Goliath or Linux vs. Microsoft situation, because it plainly isn't. Go out and buy the system that has the games you want to play, or buy none at all. Spending 400 dollars to show how anti-establishment you are isn't going to fool anybody.
(on a side note Square probably had enough incentive to push a proven product out quickly in order to make back some of the large amounts of money lost in the making of the flop Final Fantasy movie. Did there president or CEO or whatever not just step down due to just that? If Sony DID twist their arm to ship quickly, they wouldn't have had to twist very hard.)
Re:recommending to fans? (Score:1)
I see what you're getting at, as all games are in a way RPGs, but clearly he met the genre of games that are classified as role playing rather than action, shooter, etc. games.