Hootie
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Posts: 19
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Post by Hootie on Mar 7, 2013 7:31:52 GMT -5
sorry hootie I thought that was how everyone felt! I maybe didnt give it a good enough chance? Haha nah, if you didn't like it, then you didn't like it. The second one *was* horribly rushed and unpolished.
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Post by Greenfire32 on Mar 11, 2013 21:29:59 GMT -5
Final Fantasies 1-5 were what I call "introductory," in the sense that SquareSoft knew they had something, but didn't quite know how best to present it. Final Fantasies 6-9 were superb in almost every way. Final Fantasy 10 is what I would consider the last of the "Great" Final Fantasies. While not quite as amazing as it's siblings before it, 10 wasn't a bad game. Still, 10 served as a "gateway" to what is now known as the "Enix Disaster."
After merging with Enix, the now-known SquareEnix, Final Fantasy has been on a steep and steady decline. 11-13 (and respective sequels) have ALL failed to recognize the core elements that made it great: exploration, emphasis on story, turn based combat, etc.
Final Fantasy (up to 10) is my greatest RPG. Honorable mention? Try Lost Odyssey. It's what I would call the spiritual Final Fantasy 11.
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Xargen
Metal Gear
Kickin' names, taking ass.
Posts: 1,651
Now Playing: I PLAY THA VIDJA GAMES!
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Post by Xargen on Mar 11, 2013 22:13:54 GMT -5
Lost Odyssey is pretty awesome, and I agree completely about anything past 10 being a decline of what Final Fantasy is, though I'm still clinging to hope for them to realise what they have lost, and recover it, because honestly I feel like they might be able to, after seeing the improvements made from 13 to 13-2, which I found to be a much better game.
Also, Star Ocean (While still a linear game) is a pretty sweet series (Though I've only really played The Last Hope and Till The End Of Time, and I never completed TTEOT, so I should really get on that lol)
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Post by Greenfire32 on Mar 12, 2013 15:36:21 GMT -5
Lost Odyssey is pretty awesome, and I agree completely about anything past 10 being a decline of what Final Fantasy is, though I'm still clinging to hope for them to realise what they have lost, and recover it, because honestly I feel like they might be able to, after seeing the improvements made from 13 to 13-2, which I found to be a much better game. Also, Star Ocean (While still a linear game) is a pretty sweet series (Though I've only really played The Last Hope and Till The End Of Time, and I never completed TTEOT, so I should really get on that lol) I see you bring up the term "linear" and I wonder if it has anything to do with FF13. I'd like to add to my previous post about Final Fantasy: Final Fantasy games are ALL linear. In every way. You cannot get the water without first getting the flask, but the difference between SquareSoft and SquareEnix games is that in FF's 1-9, you don't realize that it's linear. You feel as if you WANT to do the things the characters want to do (that's what we call good storytelling), and as such you don't even realize that it's a linear experience. But with FF13 you are very plainly and clearly led down a brightly lit hallway who's only obstacle- "Press A to auto-battle" Oh...nevermind then.
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Xargen
Metal Gear
Kickin' names, taking ass.
Posts: 1,651
Now Playing: I PLAY THA VIDJA GAMES!
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Post by Xargen on Mar 12, 2013 19:35:51 GMT -5
Lol, yeah pretty much... Although in many of the Final Fantasy games you CAN actually go wherever you like (In Final Fantasy 3 you get an airship before you actually discover the true world...) and in many of them there are optional things to do that you actually WANT to spend time on (FF7's Gold Saucer and Fort Condor defense game vs FF13's uh... Did it even have any minigames? ) I also recall FF6, after the world's shape is changed, there was no actual true linear way to go, there were several places to go and you could visit in any order, which is why I mentioned FF13-2, there are paths to take differently, and not all paths need to be taken at all
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Post by Greenfire32 on Mar 26, 2013 17:56:04 GMT -5
Lol, yeah pretty much... Although in many of the Final Fantasy games you CAN actually go wherever you like (In Final Fantasy 3 you get an airship before you actually discover the true world...) and in many of them there are optional things to do that you actually WANT to spend time on (FF7's Gold Saucer and Fort Condor defense game vs FF13's uh... Did it even have any minigames? ) I also recall FF6, after the world's shape is changed, there was no actual true linear way to go, there were several places to go and you could visit in any order, which is why I mentioned FF13-2, there are paths to take differently, and not all paths need to be taken at all Sorry it took me so long to reply to this. I honestly don't know what happened... You bring up an interesting point, but at the same time you don't. It's super complicated Final Fantasy (for the sake of the argument, I'm going up to 10) has always been linear. You cannot argue against it. It's impossible. I'm sorry, but that's the truth. It has, however, been really good at HIDING it's linear...ness. As I mentioned previously, the story factors largely into making the player WANT to go where the character HAS to, thereby hiding the fact that the player has no real choice in the matter one way or another. Blah blah blah, we've been here already. What I want to address is the sections of the games that you bring up. The "non-linear" sections. Sorry, but you also have no choice here (excluding the optional quests that ONLY give loot as a reward). Typically, Final Fantasy follows a formula where you are given the illusion of control for 80% of the game, then a brief period of "freedom" in which you get to roam around and do whatever (10%), and then you fight the final boss (10%). That brief period of freedom is FILLED to the brim with optional quests that have zero effect on the outcome of the game, except for tiny cosmetic changes (the play in FFIX). While the player is "free" to play as he or she wishes, the game will NOT progress in any way at all, until the player activates the final boss portion of the game. This is similar to Mass Effect 1's entire gameplay. While the player may choose the order of the missions and planets to go to, once you hit up Virmire, you've entered the endgame. And you can't go to Virmire until you go to the other planets. Now, I'm not saying that Linear=Bad. Not at all, actually. When done right, and it mostly is, Linear=Good. I only bring up the fact that Final Fantasy has ALWAYS been linear, because an extremely common argument against the newer Final Fantasies (post 10) is, "these are so linear." I only bring up the fact that Final Fantasy has ALWAYS been linear, because players seem to have forgotten. And the reason they've forgotten is because Final Fantasy used to be pretty fucking good at hiding it through deep storytelling. 13 was a hallway because it didn't bother to present itself any other way. Even the level designs were 2D sidescrollers in a 3D plain.
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Post by Vote4Pedro on Apr 8, 2013 12:57:31 GMT -5
FF13 does get a lot better when you get to Gran Pulse. Once you get all the characters and open up every skill tree, the battle system really shines as you rearrange paradigms and level grind chainsaw-tail behemoths, crystal zombie giants, and cactuars. But it is a lot like a traditional Final Fantasy game in where it's pretty linear starting out. But the problem is that, where Midgar or Figaro may take a few hours at the beginning of most games, it takes 30 fucking hours of crappy battles and sucktastic story for this to happen in 13. That being said, I did pump over 100 hours into 13 and it's the best $2 purchase I ever made Anyways, on topic, my favorite RPGs are Golden Sun: The Lost Age for GBA, Lost Odyssey, and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
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Post by crankiestseeker on Apr 8, 2013 20:43:37 GMT -5
Paper Mario Thousand Year Door all the way. There is not a thing I would change about it.
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Post by Vote4Pedro on Apr 9, 2013 8:56:21 GMT -5
Paper Mario Thousand Year Door all the way. There is not a thing I would change about it. It's as if you're picking my brain
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Post by kingvoltaire on May 24, 2013 12:56:17 GMT -5
Shin Megami Tensei Series the stories are always very good. I love the Dragon Quest series as well. Xenogears on the PS1 was awesome also the Xenosaga and Xenoblade games are very good.
the thing i love most about the Shin Megami Tensei series is all the variation with the endings and the choices you can make.
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Post by JMMREVIEW on May 24, 2013 13:29:15 GMT -5
It does look pretty nice but sometimes I find different ending annoying, I even find games where there are different paths to take annoying because I always want to know what was down that other path
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Omini
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Post by Omini on Jun 20, 2013 15:07:24 GMT -5
Impossible to pick just one... so I'll have to list a few that I enjoy (and in no particular order) The Last Remnant (XBox 360) Infinite Undiscovery (XBox 360) Lost Odyssey (XBox 360) Tales of Vesperia (Xbox 360) Tales of Symphonia (Gamecube) Final Fantasy VII (PS One) Shadow Hearts: Covenant (PS2) White Knight Chronicles (PS3)
As for what Xargen is saying about Final Fantasy being linear, I see what he means with FF-13. It is linear in the sense that you can't do anything but the story, at least up until Gran Pulse where there's a bit of exploration available... but with previous games, you could explore a bit and play games (such as 7's Gold Saucer, 8 and 9's card game, and FF X's Blitzball). I got fed up with FF-13 because it was sending me down a single road with no detours... I got to Gran Pulse and got fed up.
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Silent Sputnik
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Favorite Game: Warcraft III
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Post by Silent Sputnik on May 9, 2014 9:43:09 GMT -5
Obviously Dark Souls.
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