FFVII movie

[LightPhoenix]

LightPhoenix - You may be happy to hear that Square has recently released a "sequel" to Final Fantasy Tactics, but its for the Game Boy Advanced.

I actually had a copy a week before it came out... *whistle* Let's just say it's good to know people in retail. And yes, I had it pre-ordered, I didn't "take" anyone else's copy.

Rant not relevant to discussion follows:

FFTA is alright, but it doesn't offer anything over FFT did originally. IMO the goal of a sequel to to improve upon a game - fix the bad, refine the decent, and keep the good. While FFTA had a very enjoyable story, and the mission system was really cool, there wasn't NEAR enough variation in battles to keep it interesting - just like FFT. I would have prefered to see missions that were more like Vandal Hearts - that game has some really creative missions that you have to do. I highly suggest playing it if you have the time. The sequel isn't near as good however. I also feel FFTA was really hindered by being on the GBA - the menus are extremely clunky, the graphics are so-so, and I had a serious issue with races/classes... all of which were the way they were, IMO, because of the limitations on size a GBA cartridge has.

 

[Caliber]

Was FFTA full of all the mispellings that plagued FFT (particularly in the Missions, which were ALL poorly translated)?

 

[LightPhoenix]

Was FFTA full of all the mispellings that plagued FFT (particularly in the Missions, which were ALL poorly translated)?

FFTA had a number of translation errors in the missions in FFTA, mostly with names not being consistent. Nothing really notable though, luckily. All of the main characters are consistently spelled. A few things you read for side-missions just don't make sense... I'm not sure if it's the light-hearted nature of the game, or because someone couldn't read kanji right. Also, a few of the ability descriptions and law descriptions are vague or deceptively worded, but nothing too difficult to figure out, especially if you've played the first one.

That said, the side-missions in this game don't really have anything to do with the story, and the main missions are translated well, so it's not really an issue. Since the main story isn't near as complex as FFT, there wasn't as much to bungle, so it works out well.

 

[aliensex]

The movie sounds cool, but I don't know if its a must see for me.

FFVII wasn't my first RPG, but it is still one of my all time most favourite. It's definately my #1 among the Final Fantasy series. That materia system just kicks all kind of buttocks! Tactics is definately up there (me and my one friend have been bitching and moaning for a PS sequal to that for quite some time as well ).

The main point of the this movie Epilogue of the game is to put some long burning questions to rest, the main one being, "did humanity survive?"

 

[LightPhoenix]

That materia system just kicks all kind of buttocks! Tactics is definately up there (me and my one friend have been bitching and moaning for a PS sequal to that for quite some time as well ).

The main point of the this movie Epilogue of the game is to put some long burning questions to rest, the main one being, "did humanity survive?"

I could not stand the materia system... it took pretty much any individuality out of battle by allowing anyone to be anything. I thought that out of the PS/PS2 FFs, FF10 nailed it the best.

And the ambiguous nature of the end of FF7 is the only part of the story I liked. It makes you think... god forbid we do that. It's like the ending to Crouching Tiger...

Spoiler

did she die or didn't she

?

 

[aliensex]

I could not stand the materia system... it took pretty much any individuality out of battle by allowing anyone to be anything. I thought that out of the PS/PS2 FFs, FF10 nailed it the best.

Really? I felt that FF10 was the worst in that regard. You could only go so far on the grid before you were basically forced to jump onto someone else's path. If you race through the game (doing the minimum of side quests, leveling up, etc.) and just concentrate on doing the story, then yes, each is unique. But that is not what most RPGers will do now is it Spend any good amount of extra time, and every character is on everyone else's sphere grid, and characters become obsolete (this happens to Tidus, Wakka, and Auron especially).

I actually think FFX-2 will be the best in this regard, since the dress sphere's do the leveling up and gain the abilities, and you can only equip one at any time.

I agree about the ambiguous endings though. FFVII's ending did spawn a great deal of debate and fan fiction over what happened at the end. Gets the juices flowin

 

[aliensex]

I could not stand the materia system... it took pretty much any individuality out of battle by allowing anyone to be anything. I thought that out of the PS/PS2 FFs, FF10 nailed it the best.

Really? I felt that FF10 was the worst in that regard. You could only go so far on the grid before you were basically forced to jump onto someone else's path. If you race through the game (doing the minimum of side quests, leveling up, etc.) and just concentrate on doing the story, then yes, each is unique. But that is not what most RPGers will do now is it Spend any good amount of extra time, and every character is on everyone else's sphere grid, and characters become obsolete (this happens to Tidus, Wakka, and Auron especially).

I actually think FFX-2 will be the best in this regard, since the dress sphere's do the leveling up and gain the abilities, and you can only equip one at any time.

I agree about the ambiguous endings though. FFVII's ending did spawn a great deal of debate and fan fiction over what happened at the end. Gets the juices flowin

 

[LightPhoenix]

Really? I felt that FF10 was the worst in that regard. You could only go so far on the grid before you were basically forced to jump onto someone else's path. If you race through the game (doing the minimum of side quests, leveling up, etc.) and just concentrate on doing the story, then yes, each is unique. But that is not what most RPGers will do now is it

Personal rant follows, everything is IMO:

I've played through all ten Final Fantasy games. I do my best to rush through the battles because you know what? The battle system has barely changed since FF2. ATB in FF4 and Desperation Attacks in FF6 were the last innovations, IMO. Even those weren't grand. ATB would matter more if there was strategy involved, but there really isn't. And Desperation Attacks add very little to the battles overall besides another ability to use. I enjoyed the battle system the first few times, but after over ten years of it, it's just gotten stale. I pretty much ONLY play FF for story nowadays.

FF10 nailed it because it caters to both crowds. People like me who want a little individuality in their battles benefit from going through the game fast. People who want to build uber-characters also benefit, by being able to go more slowly. Plus, it made an active attempt to include all the characters in battle, and made it easy to do so. Do I think it was perfect? No. Was it a step in the right direction? Definitely.

Now... I wouldn't mind doing side-quests and stuff. But what FF lately has been putting in their games is not side-quests, but tedious pointless tasks to fill out the game, because they know it's basically an interactive movie otherwise. Often these are pointless - dodging butterflies and lightning (to use FF10 for an example) is not a side-quest. It's a pointless obstacle. A side-quest should establish or expand a side-story or character.

Note I think this is different than a mini-game. Blitzball is a mini-game, though not a very fun one IMO. I liked the card games and the races (in FF7) a lot more. These are meant to be diversions from the story (though work best when meshed with it) and are pretty much expected in RPGs now - again IMO because they need to pad out the linearity as best they can.

Which brings me to the last "side-quest" - optional bosses. Now, I was watching my brother play FF10 and fighting at the monster arena. There was no strategy involved at all in this - you needed Auto-Phoenix for most most of the battles, you needed Break HP Limit for some of them, and so on. This is not strategy, this is mindless button mashing. I liked FF7's bosses (*gasp*) because they DID require a lot of strategy, assuming you weren't using Knights of the Round.

*big breath*

Sorry for the rant!

I actually think FFX-2 will be the best in this regard, since the dress sphere's do the leveling up and gain the abilities, and you can only equip one at any time.

Which is the same exact system they used in FF5. I fondly remember building up my job levels in the basement of that castle in the third world, fighting the tombstones and using softs on them repeatedly.

Was it my favorite? Eh... but I think it's the one they should be using in their tactical games (FFT, FFTA), at least.

I'll save my discussion on what my optimal system would be for another day.

 

[aliensex]

Good points Phoenix. I still think the Materia system was better than the sphere grid, mainly because it was simple to use, as well as being versatile. It lead to quite a few possibilities without much fuss to use. Thas why I like it the best.

The side quests in FFX were mainly about getting the super weapons, and were made tedious primarily to reduce the internet factor. You couldn't just know where to go to get them, you actually had to have skill. Personally, I didn't do the 250 lightning bolt dodge, and NEVER WILL

Definately not enough character building side quests, I agree. One reason why I like the idea of a companion movie. I wonder if this movie sells well, if that will mean more big RPGs will ship out an epilogue movie, maybe even a short 20 minute one on the DVD itself, or a second disk.