Final Fantasy Thread

[Tonberry]

everything modeled from scratch anyway (i.e. Narshe on a scale of Midgar in Remake), or the other option, which is just re-releasing old games with redrawn sprites and better backgrounds (Pixel Remaster route)

I wish Square hadn't stopped iterating on the 4/3 DS remake style. The Bravely games felt like a natural evolution of these, and I would have KILLED for a Final Fantasy 5 (or 6 I guess) in a style similar to Bravely Default 2.
At the same time, I don't really want them to keep remaking stuff now. The pixel remasters came out and were hit-or-miss, but still an approachable way to play the older titles, and I don't want a future where all we can look forward to is giga blockbuster versions of timeless games we already know and love.
FF7R should really be considered the zenith (both good and bad) of how big and far devs can stretch the whole remake thing. (Until it isn't ofc and they decide to do something even bigger but that's not my point)

 

[SkunkyBeaumont]

 

[MasterEn]

Eh, actually having more polygons or larger textures on models doesn't cost extra, artists work in higher rest then downscale anyway, getting game in 4K just means it would cost less... Higher display resolutions literally doesn't cost a thing, it's a monitor setting. Optimizing game to run well, sure, that's always part of development along with testing and bugfixing.

It's modeling entire cities and making cutscenes and quests that takes a huge toll on development time, and again, we're looking either for a remake, which will need everything modeled from scratch anyway (i.e. Narshe on a scale of Midgar in Remake), or the other option, which is just re-releasing old games with redrawn sprites and better backgrounds (Pixel Remaster route). There isn't an in-between when they can do all that work to make the city in 3D, but in lesser resolution to save money. That's not how design works, It's all or nothing. Either modeling the whole world and dungeons that were 2D before in full detail, or not.

As to Tomb Raider sales, there's a caveat that a lot of the times they were in bundles, with extreme discounts, or blatantly given away for free, I don't know how much those figures include those though. But Square dropping Lara being a bad move is very obvious. Then again, I wouldn't want them to sit on the franchise doing nothing with it.

I hope Crystal Dynamics actually make a new sequel.

i forgot about that part. i remember all of those high quality pictures of super mario 64. i figured that they had two sets of models, one for the game, one for advertisement.

true, we don't know the total profit amount about the reboot games, but i do think it shows that people do like the games quite a lot since they sold that much per installment. and most people wait for sales to maximize their purchasing decision.

 

[Tonberry]

i figured that they had two sets of models, one for the game, one for advertisement.

They did. It’s not as common in modern games though.
It’s not always a good thing too, the models for Stranger of Paradise are notoriously poorly optimized, with gigantic polygon counts. And we all know optimization is one of the biggest issues when it comes to modern games.

 

[Noon]

There all amazing games, even the ones I don’t personally like (right now) I’d never call them bad games, it just such a big series that everyone doesn’t get their “turn” frequently anymore.

Final Fantasy XIII is my game bible. It’s hard to explain it all without rambling (which I would totally do lol) but it’s so advanced in every way story, music, gameplay, design, Com allies behaviour, and using everything in a scene to tell a story not just direct presentation, im still learning things and noticing things about it even now.

And how it does FF tropes but in a new way, and purposely leaves out things to make its identity is so forward thinking I can’t wrap my head around it all. And it’s a giant middle finger to open world games, which at the time rescued me from the Skyrim curse all my friends and family had

I still kick myself for not knowing you hold right to repeat the last sequence you input… I beat the game twice before I knew that!

And FFXIII is 100% complete game, the 2 other games (which are awesome in their own ways) just brought the story material from FFXIII face to face with the human characters, I see it as a 1+2 series not a “to be continued” trilogy.

I wanna ramble so bad but I’ll take a cold shower lol….

Final Fantasy rules!!

 

[Bonkers225]

Looking forward to FFXIV on mobile. Hope they won't blow it.

 

[SkunkyBeaumont]

Looking forward to FFXIV on mobile. Hope they won't blow it.

 

[MasterEn]

They did. It’s not as common in modern games though.
It’s not always a good thing too, the models for Stranger of Paradise are notoriously poorly optimized, with gigantic polygon counts. And we all know optimization is one of the biggest issues when it comes to modern games.

i was thinking about that after i made my post. the consoles are getting strong enough that the models used during programming can be used for the ads and box art and be accurate to the in game presentation.

 

[Xdqwerty]

I love the 3d versión of FF IV

 

[Jeanfranc]

What's everyone's opinion on the Pixel Remasters? I've only tried 1, 3 and 5, and aside from them being sort of ugly (particularly the mixels where menus and in-game stuff have different pixel density) I think they're mostly fine. Much of the new music is fantastic, and I kind of like how they omit the "extra content" from earlier remakes so that it's more just a modern way to play a more original version of the games.
They're kind of overpriced though, I feel.

I mostly prefer the original versions over the PR, the sprites look bad and small in a 16:9 context and the contrast is way to high for all the games, also 8-way movement feels wrong to me.
These versions are also unbalanced and way too easy (without all the optional cheats I mean) and I don't like how the mini map ruins secret paths in FFIII, FFIV, FFV.
VI's translation is sadly still based on the GBA version and lacks the style Woolsey brought to the original game's script, same goes for V where RPGe script from the 1998 fan translation is just better than anything Square ever made for that game.

Also, I love the new soundtracks but I think they don't match the games' looks at all, they feel "wrong" and out of place, this is worsened by the fact the Remasters fuck up the graphics and artstyle for all the games except V, with VI's remaster being the worst offender.

That being said, I think the best version of the original six games are:
FF1 = PSX
FF2 = PSX
FF3 = Famicom
FFIV = DS
FFV = RPGe fan translation of the original Super Famicom version
FFVI = Original Snes version with the Ted Woolsey Uncensored Patch which removes all censorship (text and graphics) but keeps the script mostly intact

 

[MasterEn]

I love the 3d versión of FF IV

i love it as well. it's one of the few times that i've seen Shakespearian-like dialog being used without it coming across as badly implemented.

 

[Ikagura]

I got that one Chocobo racing game for a dirt cheap price.

I'm not even into playing MK clones but I just love old school FF fanservice.


I am feeling that devs of spin-off are more often making old school references because they got more freedom of making stuff than the mainline games. Perhaps they know that hardcore fans (so the ones that know about older games) would be the ones buying spinoffs while a wider base would get the latest mainline entry.

(or that's just me).

Still a good OST

 

[KillerJesusXo]

I feel like I'm gonna ruffle some jimmys but screw it.

Final Fantasy VII Is not that good, I do believe that it is an influential game that completely changed the gaming landscape and 100% deserves all the praise it receives in the world. Without it we wouldn't have honestly a lot of the games we have nowadays because of the flood gates it opened.
BUT, for me it was not fun, the story was mid at best, and I personally like the remake more. We can have a whole discussion about this if you would like but that is my PERSONAL OPINION on it.

FF9, As much as I like the game, its too slow for me, and I can't even explain why it feels so slow to me.

With both previous statements made, VIII Is absolutely incredible, personal favorite of mine and definitely feature full with how it plays with its systems. The junction system, the story, just the way it looks. OOF.

X, complete masterpiece IMO also, the Sphere system is definitely weird to get used to but once you got it its smooth sailing.

13 isn't AS BAD as people make it out to be. Yes it's hella linear BUT honestly, I Enjoyed my time with it, played it very recently actually. Now I can say, Iunno about the sequels they made when they were on that whole kick, but either way 13 issa good game.

XI and XVI were AMAZING additions to the series, BUT I'm a little bias in the regard cause I love MMOS.

X-2 is good, nuff said.

XII is underrated, nuff said.

Anyways just some opinions of mine.

 

[YuriSukiSan]

I feel like I'm gonna ruffle some jimmys but screw it.

Final Fantasy VII Is not that good, I do believe that it is an influential game that completely changed the gaming landscape and 100% deserves all the praise it receives in the world. Without it we wouldn't have honestly a lot of the games we have nowadays because of the flood gates it opened.
BUT, for me it was not fun, the story was mid at best, and I personally like the remake more. We can have a whole discussion about this if you would like but that is my PERSONAL OPINION on it.

FF9, As much as I like the game, its too slow for me, and I can't even explain why it feels so slow to me.

With both previous statements made, VIII Is absolutely incredible, personal favorite of mine and definitely feature full with how it plays with its systems. The junction system, the story, just the way it looks. OOF.

X, complete masterpiece IMO also, the Sphere system is definitely weird to get used to but once you got it its smooth sailing.

13 isn't AS BAD as people make it out to be. Yes it's hella linear BUT honestly, I Enjoyed my time with it, played it very recently actually. Now I can say, Iunno about the sequels they made when they were on that whole kick, but either way 13 issa good game.

XI and XVI were AMAZING additions to the series, BUT I'm a little bias in the regard cause I love MMOS.

X-2 is good, nuff said.

XII is underrated, nuff said.

Anyways just some opinions of mine.

Hey it's not an imageboard! We're here to have a discussion, no one is going to jump down your throat for having a different opinion. How come you don't like 'classic' FF7 much?

 

[KillerJesusXo]

Hey it's not an imageboard! We're here to have a discussion, no one is going to jump down your throat for having a different opinion. How come you don't like 'classic' FF7 much?

The amount of times I've tried to play it and just couldn't get into it, is more than several. Different points of my life also. I do feel like it partially has something to do with the fact that I didn't grow up with the game if that makes sense. The game released 1997 and I was literally only 2 at the time when it did release. So I wasn't even a conscience human when it released.

Even when I did start gaming my first game system was a N64, so I never even had a chance to play it at that point until I had a PS2. Don't get me wrong, my childhood best friend had a PS1 but we played like Tekken and Crash and stuff like that. I didn't really get into RPGs honestly till I was about 11? so 2006, and my first one that I remember really liking was Kingdom Hearts (honestly prolly not my first one but definitely the first one that had an impact on my life.) Before this though, I've attempted numerous times on trying to play it, specially after watching Advent Children (sick movie, dont @ me).

Apart of me feels like me watching Advent Children then trying to play the game kinda soiled it a bit too. Cause as a kid, I was thinking, "The movie looked great and the action is so cool, the game has to be as cool" Inwhich I was obviously sadly mistaken.

Even after all the times I've tried as a kid, I tried as a teenager and even in my early 20s, and now the game just doesn't hold up in my opinion. Specially by this point I played VII I've played IX, X, XII. I didn't like materia, The combat felt slow af, maybe even sluggish?, the polygons just bother me, and even then the story again is mid at best, IMO. Honestly, its prolly not even that bad of a story but by the time I got to a point that I could understand it, I jsut don't care anymore.


Again completely understand the signficance of the game 1000 percent, but I really feel like I tried to join the clb too late and inturn have experienced better games that it paved the way for, which unfortunately made it feel dated to me.


This is at least the only reasons I could honestly come up with in my mind on why.

 

[MasterEn]

The amount of times I've tried to play it and just couldn't get into it, is more than several. Different points of my life also. I do feel like it partially has something to do with the fact that I didn't grow up with the game if that makes sense. The game released 1997 and I was literally only 2 at the time when it did release. So I wasn't even a conscience human when it released.

Even when I did start gaming my first game system was a N64, so I never even had a chance to play it at that point until I had a PS2. Don't get me wrong, my childhood best friend had a PS1 but we played like Tekken and Crash and stuff like that. I didn't really get into RPGs honestly till I was about 11? so 2006, and my first one that I remember really liking was Kingdom Hearts (honestly prolly not my first one but definitely the first one that had an impact on my life.) Before this though, I've attempted numerous times on trying to play it, specially after watching Advent Children (sick movie, dont @ me).

Apart of me feels like me watching Advent Children then trying to play the game kinda soiled it a bit too. Cause as a kid, I was thinking, "The movie looked great and the action is so cool, the game has to be as cool" Inwhich I was obviously sadly mistaken.

Even after all the times I've tried as a kid, I tried as a teenager and even in my early 20s, and now the game just doesn't hold up in my opinion. Specially by this point I played VII I've played IX, X, XII. I didn't like materia, The combat felt slow af, maybe even sluggish?, the polygons just bother me, and even then the story again is mid at best, IMO. Honestly, its prolly not even that bad of a story but by the time I got to a point that I could understand it, I jsut don't care anymore.


Again completely understand the signficance of the game 1000 percent, but I really feel like I tried to join the clb too late and inturn have experienced better games that it paved the way for, which unfortunately made it feel dated to me.


This is at least the only reasons I could honestly come up with in my mind on why.

going by the fact that you played 9, 10 and 12; i would say that you probably like the more medieval like setting more than the modern or futuristic installments. 7 also had a rough and rushed development. it went from snes ->n64 -> psx over the course of 3 years.

 

[KillerJesusXo]

going by the fact that you played 9, 10 and 12; i would say that you probably like the more medieval like setting more than the modern or futuristic installments. 7 also had a rough and rushed development. it went from snes ->n64 -> psx over the course of 3 years.

See you would think that, but I love 15, I actually am obviously quite fond of 13 and I do like the remake of FFVII.

I like the characters, I like the setting, I like a lot about it just not the game itself as a whole package.

With that also being said, I've played numerous RPGs with modern settings, like the Persona series (which is in my top game series of all time), so I don't necessarily believe it has to do with the setting. With that being said though, My preference IS the medieval setting type games, but There are plenty of games with modern settings that I love.

 

[YuriSukiSan]

The amount of times I've tried to play it and just couldn't get into it, is more than several. Different points of my life also. I do feel like it partially has something to do with the fact that I didn't grow up with the game if that makes sense. The game released 1997 and I was literally only 2 at the time when it did release. So I wasn't even a conscience human when it released.

Even when I did start gaming my first game system was a N64, so I never even had a chance to play it at that point until I had a PS2. Don't get me wrong, my childhood best friend had a PS1 but we played like Tekken and Crash and stuff like that. I didn't really get into RPGs honestly till I was about 11? so 2006, and my first one that I remember really liking was Kingdom Hearts (honestly prolly not my first one but definitely the first one that had an impact on my life.) Before this though, I've attempted numerous times on trying to play it, specially after watching Advent Children (sick movie, dont @ me).

Apart of me feels like me watching Advent Children then trying to play the game kinda soiled it a bit too. Cause as a kid, I was thinking, "The movie looked great and the action is so cool, the game has to be as cool" Inwhich I was obviously sadly mistaken.

Even after all the times I've tried as a kid, I tried as a teenager and even in my early 20s, and now the game just doesn't hold up in my opinion. Specially by this point I played VII I've played IX, X, XII. I didn't like materia, The combat felt slow af, maybe even sluggish?, the polygons just bother me, and even then the story again is mid at best, IMO. Honestly, its prolly not even that bad of a story but by the time I got to a point that I could understand it, I jsut don't care anymore.


Again completely understand the signficance of the game 1000 percent, but I really feel like I tried to join the clb too late and inturn have experienced better games that it paved the way for, which unfortunately made it feel dated to me.


This is at least the only reasons I could honestly come up with in my mind on why.

I like FF7 but I don't think it's the best game in the series! I think it's one of the best and it's a little overrated just because it's most people's first introduction to the series but I don't think it's bad, or that you're wrong for feeling the way you do. 9 is my least favourite but everyone loves 9, it's not that I think it's bad or that I don't particularly like it I just don't personally like as much everyone else does apparently! And I agree, 10 despite the immense amount of hate it gets on imageboards (and Tidus' awful VA) it's still a wonderful game. What really made me love it is not just the characters (which I really like) or the music, it's the aesthetic. It's from a certain period in Japanese game developement when they seemed to be obsessed with summer, vacation and tropical settings. I'm not sure if a term has really been coined for that period!

.. In regards to 8, I have a love hate relationship with it personality. I like the characters, and the story, I just don't enjoy playing it. I can't really say why! Personally, there's no real FF game I actually dislike I just like that one the least when it comes to the mainline classic games. When it comes to XI that's basically one of my favourite games of all time, and I feel pretty confident in saying that up to CoP it has one of the better storylines of the entire franchise with some really great characters.

It's hard to really say what I feel about 12 I have an almost kind of disconcerting nostalgia when I play it, it's that interim period when Square was becoming more 'modern' and less Square. I know it's unfinished, it has problems, but anything vaguely related to Ivalice (or FFT) will always have a special place in my heart! Ashe, Balthier, Fran, Basche.. Even Vaan and Penelo are all enjoyable for me. It's a game that really defines the transition period of that era and it evokes a lot of emotion for me.. Almost as much as XI! .. I'm not sure how I feel about 13, I want to dislike it (and 13-2), especially Lightning but I can't bring myself to hate it. XIV is an amazing game up until about the end of Endwalker I personally think. I loathe what Square did to XI by using the funds it generated to fix their mistakes with XIV but I would lying if I said I didn't enjoy my 15 year journey with that game. It's just a pity that DT, Square and Yoshi have gone weird.

.. 15, I think the boyband are cute and maybe Nomura's game would have been much better but I didn't really enjoy it. It's okay, I guess? And 16 has a great story, with great voice acting but NOT!DMC isn't for me.

 

[MasterEn]

See you would think that, but I love 15, I actually am obviously quite fond of 13 and I do like the remake of FFVII.

I like the characters, I like the setting, I like a lot about it just not the game itself as a whole package.

With that also being said, I've played numerous RPGs with modern settings, like the Persona series (which is in my top game series of all time), so I don't necessarily believe it has to do with the setting. With that being said though, My preference IS the medieval setting type games, but There are plenty of games with modern settings that I love.

yeah, i've heard 15 is quite a bit better than people expected. it could be any number of things. and the small things can add up to ruin the experience. your best bet is to list out some stuff from the different games and see what you like and dislike. you'll find some sort of pattern that'll help explain why you don't care much for 7.

 

[KillerJesusXo]

yeah, i've heard 15 is quite a bit better than people expected. it could be any number of things. and the small things can add up to ruin the experience. your best bet is to list out some stuff from the different games and see what you like and dislike. you'll find some sort of pattern that'll help explain why you don't care much for 7.

I realistically believe it's just because I missed the "peak" popularity period, Late to the party honestly, I have no nostalgia associated with it and trying to play it nowadays, again IMO, is rough. I have considered trying to play it again after I played the remake, which is on the list of games I wanna play this year so who knows, maybe this will finally be when it clicks for me.

I like FF7 but I don't think it's the best game in the series! I think it's one of the best and it's a little overrated just because it's most people's first introduction to the series but I don't think it's bad, or that you're wrong for feeling the way you do. 9 is my least favourite but everyone loves 9, it's not that I think it's bad or that I don't particularly like it I just don't personally like as much everyone else does apparently! And I agree, 10 despite the immense amount of hate it gets on imageboards (and Tidus' awful VA) it's still a wonderful game. What really made me love it is not just the characters (which I really like) or the music, it's the aesthetic. It's from a certain period in Japanese game developement when they seemed to be obsessed with summer, vacation and tropical settings. I'm not sure if a term has really been coined for that period!

.. In regards to 8, I have a love hate relationship with it personality. I like the characters, and the story, I just don't enjoy playing it. I can't really say why! Personally, there's no real FF game I actually dislike I just like that one the least when it comes to the mainline classic games. When it comes to XI that's basically one of my favourite games of all time, and I feel pretty confident in saying that up to CoP it has one of the better storylines of the franchise with some really great characters. And, hm. It's hard to really say what I feel about 12 I have an almost kind of disconcerting nostalgia when I play it, it's like that interim period for me when Square was becoming more 'modern' and less Square. I know it's unfinished, it has problems, but anything vaguely related to Ivalice will always have a special place in my heart! Ashe, Balthier, Fran, Basche.. Even Vaan and Penelo are enjoyable for me. It just feels like a game that really defines that transition period and it evokes a lot of emotion for me.. Almost as much as XI! .. I'm not sure how I feel about 13, I want to dislike it (and 13-2), especially Lightning but I can't bring myself to hate it. XIV is an amazing game up until about the end of Endwalker I personally think. I loathe what Square did to XI by using the funds it generated to fix their mistakes with XIV but I would lying if I said I didn't enjoy my 15 year journey with that game. It's just a pity that DT, Square and Yoshi have gone weird.

.. 15, I think the boyband are cute and maybe Nomura's game would have been much better but I didn't really enjoy it. It's okay, I guess? And 16 has a great story, with great voice acting but NOT!DMC isn't for me.

There really Isn't a FF Game I actually dislike, except 7, even 9, like I've played a decent amount through 9 but its such a slog to play through, and that comes down to just the pacing of combat and stuff. I think my problem with 9 is honestly the active combat system. I like being able to think through what I wanna do and not have to rush through my decision making.


Thinking about it wasn't 7 similiar in that aspect?

 

[YuriSukiSan]

There really Isn't a FF Game I actually dislike, except 7, even 9, like I've played a decent amount through 9 but its such a slog to play through, and that comes down to just the pacing of combat and stuff. I think my problem with 9 is honestly the active combat system. I like being able to think through what I wanna do and not have to rush through my decision making.


Thinking about it wasn't 7 similiar in that aspect?

The animation speed bugged me more than anything! It feels like you do a lot of waiting the further the games goes on, it's just annoying.

 

[Strategist]

I enjoy FF7 but I do agree it is overrated by many. It is certainly not the best game in the series, in my opinion. I think the Midgar arc is really strong and well paced, but once you leave Midgar the game gets a lot worse. It is hard carried by the themes/ideas and the cinematics, which were revolutionary at the time. I played it close to release time and everyone was raving about the "moment" (you know) but I didn't see the big whoopla about it. It is not that special of a scene if you play other games in the series. Important characters die all the time in Final Fantasy games.

 

[MasterEn]

I realistically believe it's just because I missed the "peak" popularity period, Late to the party honestly, I have no nostalgia associated with it and trying to play it nowadays, again IMO, is rough. I have considered trying to play it again after I played the remake, which is on the list of games I wanna play this year so who knows, maybe this will finally be when it clicks for me.





There really Isn't a FF Game I actually dislike, except 7, even 9, like I've played a decent amount through 9 but its such a slog to play through, and that comes down to just the pacing of combat and stuff. I think my problem with 9 is honestly the active combat system. I like being able to think through what I wanna do and not have to rush through my decision making.


Thinking about it wasn't 7 similiar in that aspect?

4-9 had the active time battle system. 10had a weird hybrid of the full round turn style of 1-3 with the action adjustment of 4-9. you could see how each action would affect your speed in battle before you committed to the action. megaman x: command mission had a similar system as well.

i missed out on the popularity thing with 7 as well. to me, it was just a game in my friend's giant ass collection of games. video games weren't very popular when i was growing up or where i lived. when i got access to the internet, it seemed like a lot of people liked the game. although i suspect that was mainly due to tifa and the one winged angel song.

 

[KillerJesusXo]

4-9 had the active time battle system. 10had a weird hybrid of the full round turn style of 1-3 with the action adjustment of 4-9. you could see how each action would affect your speed in battle before you committed to the action. megaman x: command mission had a similar system as well.

i missed out on the popularity thing with 7 as well. to me, it was just a game in my friend's giant ass collection of games. video games weren't very popular when i was growing up or where i lived. when i got access to the internet, it seemed like a lot of people liked the game. although i suspect that was mainly due to tifa and the one winged angel song.

I feel like other games did the active battle system better than others though, like stated I love VIII, ironically couldn't really explain why I love VIII But have such an issue with VII and IX.

The animation speed bugged me more than anything! It feels like you do a lot of waiting the further the games goes on, it's just annoying.

In 7 or 9?

I enjoy FF7 but I do agree it is overrated by many. It is certainly not the best game in the series, in my opinion. I think the Midgar arc is really strong and well paced, but once you leave Midgar the game gets a lot worse. It is hard carried by the themes/ideas and the cinematics, which were revolutionary at the time. I played it close to release time and everyone was raving about the "moment" (you know) but I didn't see the big whoopla about it. It is not that special of a scene if you play other games in the series. Important characters die all the time in Final Fantasy games.

See and the midgar section is the section I remember actually liking before I stopped being interested in the game

 

[YuriSukiSan]

In 7 or 9?

In both I would say but it's more eregious in 9. I don't mind the ATB but in the later games it just feels like there's problems with the animations, or at least on the original games on original hardware.