Final Fantasy Discussion Thread

[Bush Leagues]

Well, I have mixed opinions about FF7. I almost certainly won't buy the re-make (not owning a PS4 or Xbox 1 will do that). I think FF7 is actually pretty good for a while into the game, even after Midgar. The talk at Kalm where Cloud reminisces was well done, and I felt pretty immersed and interested; even on subsequent playthroughs, I like looking to see if I can find details I've missed before. Honestly, I feel like the first disc is great - it builds up nicely, you get the major plot incident at the end, and you have even more reason to hate Sephiroth. Disc 1 ends, and all that's left is a snowboarding mini-game to encounter him at the northern crater. It's great.

And then disc 2 starts. And no-one, especially the player, has any idea what's going on. Eventually disc 2 ends, and all that's left in the main storyline is to head to the northern crater again to kill Sephiroth and end the game. So Disc 3 is also really good, because it's the end of the story. But disc 2 is a mess of BS that's completely impenetrable.

The draw system was interesting in VIII, but more importantly, 8 had the card game, which makes it among the best FF games of all time. That card game was so fun. Even though I didn't completely understand it.

[Sun Fin]

How dare you slag off FF8, it is one of the greatest JRPGs of all time!

[Iain]

The draw system was interesting in VIII, but more importantly, 8 had the card game, which makes it among the best FF games of all time. That card game was so fun. Even though I didn't completely understand it.

I hated in FF8 how the rules kept changing in that blasted card game, it made me play the game less so I could avoid the constant rule changes. Mind you when you meet that guy far in the future that has all the cards you need, I just thought it was funny.

"So here we are at the end of time cut off from the world as we know it......How about a Game of cards?"

[Mikhail]

Playing FFVII Remake right now. I'm enjoying it but I don't think I'm too fond of the battle system. Maybe I'm just lazy but I feel like I'm mashing buttons.

I just bought all of the FF games during the steam sale and my goal for the year is to play the majority or all of them. I'll also get back to playing some FFXIV soonish.

[James]

I have been playing the Final Fantasy VI “Pixel” remake on my phone lately. Probably the fourth version of that game I have played through? Never really gets old…

Playing FFVII Remake right now. I'm enjoying it but I don't think I'm too fond of the battle system. Maybe I'm just lazy but I feel like I'm mashing buttons.

This is the ground-up new version being released in installments? I really enjoyed the first part. But weirdly didn’t finish it because a part of me was a bit annoyed at the idea of it taking so long to play through the full game I remember. Which seems kind of silly to type out.

Final Fantasy XV was loads of fun for me.

[Kong Wen]

This is the ground-up new version being released in installments? I really enjoyed the first part. But weirdly didn’t finish it because a part of me was a bit annoyed at the idea of it taking so long to play through the full game I remember. Which seems kind of silly to type out.

It's not a remake or a "version" though, it's a new/different game. Remake isn't describing the game, it's part of the title... for reasons that become obvious in the plot if you play long enough.

Mikhail mentioned Final Fantasy XIV, which I just started playing for the first time this summer. I traditionally hate MMOs (and I still do), but after Destiny died an ignominious death in 2017, my buds and I were searching for a good social game to play together. We carved as much meat off of Monster Hunter World as we could, and then finally settled on FFXIV. I don't even really know what's going on, we pretty much just park in a party chat and shoot the shit while running fetch quests. For that, it's great.

[Mikhail]

I have been playing the Final Fantasy VI “Pixel” remake on my phone lately. Probably the fourth version of that game I have played through? Never really gets old…

Is VI your favourite?
I was legitimately trying to decide on my next FF game but couldn't choose between IV vs VI. You recommend VI?

[James]

Is VI your favourite?
I was legitimately trying to decide on my next FF game but couldn't choose between IV vs VI. You recommend VI?

VI is my favorite. As one of the old folks (heh) I grew up with each installment of this game (as realized by the western world, which meant not all installments) coming out on consoles. IV seems to be a particular fan favorite, and I love it too, but I think VI has much more interesting characters, storyline, and more interesting gameplay. Another strike against IV is that the mechanics show their age a bit more, give or take depending on the remake. Both of them played a role in establishing some role-playing tropes. The relatively open progression of the second half of VI was also an absolute delight. And still is. Heaps of hidden goodies and fun surprises.

V, which was not originally released in the US (didn’t get to play it as a kiddo) is another favorite.

It's not a remake or a "version" though, it's a new/different game. Remake isn't describing the game, it's part of the title... for reasons that become obvious in the plot if you play long enough.

Mikhail mentioned Final Fantasy XIV, which I just started playing for the first time this summer. I traditionally hate MMOs (and I still do), but after Destiny died an ignominious death in 2017, my buds and I were searching for a good social game to play together. We carved as much meat off of Monster Hunter World as we could, and then finally settled on FFXIV. I don't even really know what's going on, we pretty much just park in a party chat and shoot the shit while running fetch quests. For that, it's great.

Maybe I didn’t play long enough. What I did play amounted to a much more evolved and expanded progression of the story from ol’ school VII. Which is no strike against it in my book. But it was this that left me feeling a wee bit bummed about walking away at the cliffhanger that sees the world expand beyond Midgard. That was a real “holy shit” point in the game for young me.

I’ll revisit it. I was having a grand time.

I’ve never touched any of the MMORPG entires in the FF series. I think there is two? But I’ve also generally avoided all MMORPG games due to how involved they seem to become in terms of planning, time online, and time dedicated. It didn’t help that I literally knew two couples who went through divorces over WoW (for a probably obvious reason). I’m sure I’m missing out in a lot. But I am aware of that part of my brain that could get really... dedicated... to a game like this.

[Mikhail]

VI is my favorite. As one of the old folks (heh) I grew up with each installment of this game (as realized by the western world, which meant not all installments) coming out on consoles. IV seems to be a particular fan favorite, and I love it too, but I think VI has much more interesting characters, storyline, and more interesting gameplay. Another strike against IV is that the mechanics show their age a bit more, give or take depending on the remake. Both of them played a role in establishing some role-playing tropes. The relatively open progression of the second half of VI was also an absolute delight. And still is. Heaps of hidden goodies and fun surprises.

V, which was not originally released in the US (didn’t get to play it as a kiddo) is another favorite.

I see. Well everyone seems to point me towards 6 so I guess I'll do that one next. Hopefully it's fun. I tried out FF1 for a few hours last year and it was just rough. Obviously 5 extra iterations would have had lots of improvements in it but the pre-FF7 FFs are just jarring to me when the first one I ever really played was FF7.

I’ve never touched any of the MMORPG entires in the FF series. I think there is two? But I’ve also generally avoided all MMORPG games due to how involved they seem to become in terms of planning, time online, and time dedicated. It didn’t help that I literally knew two couples who went through divorces over WoW (for a probably obvious reason). I’m sure I’m missing out in a lot. But I am aware of that part of my brain that could get really... dedicated... to a game like this.

I would honestly treat FF14 as a single player game over an MMO. I would say about 90% of the story content you could do by yourself and the game does well to match you with others when you need to group so you wouldn't really need to do any planning or pre-gaming coordination. And any story related group content (like dungeons or raids), even if you're bad at the game, can be easily bypassed because the majority of players can easily carry others through it. I basically played and beat all of the expansions as a solo player and I enjoyed my time immensely. Furthermore, there's very little in the way of FOMO or time-gated/weekly content that is required so you can generally take your time (subscription permitting of course). I would venture to say that a non-minority of FF14 players treat the game as a single player story game than a hardcore MMO.

Of course that isn't to say that there's nothing in the game if you wanted something hardcore or something you want to really dedicate yourself to. There are plenty of professions, collectibles, group content, transmogs, side quests, etc., that you can really sink your teeth into if that's what you want to do. But that's up to the player really. I find that in general, FF14 respects the player's time compared to other MMOs like WoW.

[James]

I see. Well everyone seems to point me towards 6 so I guess I'll do that one next. Hopefully it's fun. I tried out FF1 for a few hours last year and it was just rough. Obviously 5 extra iterations would have had lots of improvements in it but the pre-FF7 FFs are just jarring to me when the first one I ever really played was FF7.

VI exists at a sort of sweet spot in pre-3D gaming. The sprite-based graphics were at their pinnacle, and have aged phenomenally well. Much better than I would say earlier 3D-based graphics have. And the game systems and game development had also evolved considerably from earlier console and game generations, so a lot of the pain points in older games had been smoothed out.

FF1 exists on an extreme, in this case. Especially if someone is playing version which is more true to the original. Things like buying potions one at a time through slow-to-refresh menus feel really awful from any sort of more modern gaming mindset. It also features components like the slow overworld movement, slow battles, etc. Some of the FF1 remakes fix a lot of this and improve the game considerably. Which is great, because it really is a fantastic game. But even having grown up with it, it is painful for me to go back to some of those mechanics.

VI is just pure fun.

I would honestly treat FF14 as a single player game over an MMO. I would say about 90% of the story content you could do by yourself and the game does well to match you with others when you need to group so you wouldn't really need to do any planning or pre-gaming coordination. And any story related group content (like dungeons or raids), even if you're bad at the game, can be easily bypassed because the majority of players can easily carry others through it. I basically played and beat all of the expansions as a solo player and I enjoyed my time immensely. Furthermore, there's very little in the way of FOMO or time-gated/weekly content that is required so you can generally take your time (subscription permitting of course). I would venture to say that a non-minority of FF14 players treat the game as a single player story game than a hardcore MMO.

Of course that isn't to say that there's nothing in the game if you wanted something hardcore or something you want to really dedicate yourself to. There are plenty of professions, collectibles, group content, transmogs, side quests, etc., that you can really sink your teeth into if that's what you want to do. But that's up to the player really. I find that in general, FF14 respects the player's time compared to other MMOs like WoW.

That doesn’t sound so bad. And really, that’s how I would probably end up playing it.