Final Fantasy [LTT Discussion Thread]

[Albatross]

First: Yes I looked for a related topic! I could not find one through native search or through google search. If one exists, I'm sorry I missed it. The search function isn't all that good, I guess. Unless this type of thing isn't allowed on LinusTechTips and in that case, wow, sorry. :blink:

 

(I'm working on a new render of the series logo...this one isn't very good.)

 

Welcome to the unofficial (official) LTT Final Fantasy Discussion thread (let's put Kingdom Hearts into this too; it is technically a FF title). Now I realize this is a PC gaming community and that, probably or rather most likely, most of you hate consoles or maybe even Final Fantasy with a burning passion but I'm sure there are members here who love/like consoles and Final Fantasy. So I went looking for the thread and saw that we do not have one! What is that about? To think there would be one person...

 

I'd say this is the place to discuss everything related to Final Fantasy, but since this is the console section, we gotta keep it to the games (no movies etc etc). I'll edit the thread as soon as I'm done collecting links. The links will point to various sites for guides, tips, cheats (if you are into that thing), mods (where they exist), sites to buy the games, sites to optimize if you play on PC emulation (that still counts! lol), and any other site that can, or does, provide information concerning the series. I will of course keep it as organized as I can.

 

For now, discussy-discussy please as I set things up. I guess I'll get it started by asking the common questions:

 

• Favorite game?
• Favorite soundtrack?
• Favorite character?
• Favorite villain?
• Favorite enemy and boss?
• Favorite summon/esper/gf/aeon/etc etc?

 

And more depthy questions:

 

• What do you guys think of the change of direction Final Fantasy has been going through? Do you like that they are making it more "linear" and that they exclude one of the most common elements in a FF title, the world map/exploration to cities?
• What would you like to see FF do in the future? (please give some detail on this and if possible, why)
• What do you think Square Enix is doing wrong with Final Fantasy? (please give details--and don't answer this to cause a flame war or anything, please.)

[Askew]

• Favourite game - FFVII
• Favourite soundtrack - FFX
• Favourite Character - Red XIII(Nanaki)/Vivi Ornitier
• Favourite villain - The entity of Shinra corp/the atmosphere of the Shinra menace felt like the presence of a villain to me.
• Favourite enemy/boss - Ultimecia
• Favourite summon - Shiva

 

What do I think of the recent change of direction? I think exactly what you wrote, there's no more world map, no more non linear travel between multiple locations during the story (no more places like Gold Saucer, or a university that is able to fly and still be the homely and fully explorable inside that you spent the former part of the game getting to know), it's more of a tunnel to run through with some big boxes drawn into it at random intervals along the way.

 

I'd like FF to do what it will never do, and return to a combat system like the materia in FFVII, non VO dialogue (Tidus in FFX kill me now), cool artstyles like FFIX and as many moogles as possible too. Basically what it was between 7 and 9 minus ridiculous things like the unskippable GF animations in 8 for example, and as a way to ease people into the older styles perhaps introduce a character booster for people who cannot be bothered with the combat system (like there is in the PC versions of 7 and I believe 8) or maybe even go as far as having more than one combat system in the game that can be selected either at the beginning or alternated between during play. (The sphere grid from FFX would be a good alternative to materia/junctioning in a modern take.)

 

I think that squeenix has tried to make the series more accessible and modern while at the same time trying to keep to certain roots in an attempt to please old and new players alike, but to me all it has done is put me off, FFXIII was horrible for me, I felt like I was running down a corridor the whole time, I disliked the characters and the VO (especially characters like Vanille) exacerbated that dislike a lot, I also felt detached from FFXII because of the combat system, I disliked it despite liking the world and the exploration aspects.

 

 

Nice thread BTW, I'm no FF expert because I haven't even played 1-6, but I'll follow to find out more.

[Albatross]

@Askew

 

Good picks! Shiva is one of the best.

 

The games definitely feel more like running through a tunnel now. I think it started with X, though it wasn't so bad then. When we were finally hit with a FF title in modernized graphics it feels like that's when we were hit with all these modifications that "ruined" the games. For example, imagine what FFX would have been like if there was a world map you could cross or maybe even slightly open-world (exist one down, small map of the outside world "map" that leads to the entrance of another city/dungeon).

 

Final Fantasy XII, sort of, to be more precise. If they absolutely could not go with a world map like the older titles they could have done something like this for X-2 and XIII. In XII you had maps that functioned as the "world map" (as you obviously know, but explaining just for the sake of it lol) that you could explore and weren't straight lines or tunnels, they were full of beautiful scenery and all sorts of twists and turns, and felt like a world you could immerse yourself in.

 

I could understand why you dislike the battle system. A lot of people did. I personally loved it (preferred the older systems definitely) but it was challenging if you set it so where the enemies could attack and not wait (no pause). The International version of the game promised to change it all and apparently, by the word of the haters of XII, it made the game 100000x better. You might be interested in the changes.

 

As for your thoughts on XIII...agreed! I raged and raged when the first game came out and I saw all the walkthroughs. How could anyone think that was a good idea? I thought maybe if I played it it wouldn't be like that, but I was wrong. The story just barely made the game decent. It would have been better without the linear maps and horrible acting. And I thought I was the only one who thought the VO was horrible! It was so over the top (Fang was decent I guess) and so awkward I had to mute the TV to go on. And then to top it all off? They ended the series as some high school dream! Straight out of a fanfiction! :lol:

 

*you should definitely check out the older titles. They may not be as impressive as VII-VIII when it comes to graphics or "intense" gameplay+changes  but they offer a great time for its stories and characters. VI probably has the best cast in the series, where everyone was given their spotlight and had the best "old" system and summon system. V had a great cast that managed to deliver the drama and humor almost perfectly...and on top of that, it has a great soundtrack.

[Mistgrim]

• Favorite game: FF3/6 

Favorite soundtrack: FFVII

Favorite character:Balthear

Favorite villain: Sephroth

Favorite enemy and boss: Paragon (FFx-2), Emerald Weapon (that sucker took some patience) 

Favorite summon/esper/gf/aeon/: Bahumat zero/ Knights of the round

-With every iteration they seem to go farther and farther from the ideal of fantasy, the very word brings to mind "open world" and it may just be me but it feels a little like someone copy and pasting

-Would love to see FF be an rpg with some depth and complexity, be open world,100% realtime battle and non predictive enemy AI. I'm thinking DayZ but in rpg and without the zombies, it  should feel like you had to learn a spell or move, or that you actually had to use your brain to beat an enemy

-Quantity over quality, i think thats a major issue, a watered down game will sell more copies than a game designed for hard core fans

[Albatross]

 

• Favorite game: FF3/6 
• Favorite soundtrack: FFVII
• Favorite character:Balthear
• Favorite villain: Sephroth
• Favorite enemy and boss: Paragon (FFx-2), Emerald Weapon (that sucker took some patience) 
• Favorite summon/esper/gf/aeon/: Bahumat zero/ Knights of the round

-With every iteration they seem to go farther and farther from the ideal of fantasy, the very word brings to mind "open world" and it may just be me but it feels a little like someone copy and pasting

-Would love to see FF be an rpg with some depth and complexity, be open world,100% realtime battle and non predictive enemy AI. I'm thinking DayZ but in rpg and without the zombies, it  should feel like you had to learn a spell or move, or that you actually had to use your brain to beat an enemy

-Quantity over quality, i think thats a major issue, a watered down game will sell more copies than a game designed for hard core fans

 

 

I like your picks! VII's

and

were probably the best musical pieces in the entire game! Of course Cloud's theme and Aerith's theme are equally amazing. And good character pick. Balthier took the best of any FF character and that of Han Solo and then combined it. :lol: Which boss is Paragon? I don't recall that name...

 

If I understand your meaning, it isn't just you. A  FF title returning to its roots yet managing to be complex, open world entirely and a smart AI would probably make it the best FF title, if they also did good on story and soundtrack of course. Having to actually learn your spells or moves would also make for an interesting Final Fantasy game. I felt like they almost tried it with VIII, having to scan and rip magic from the enemies, but it fell way too short.

 

I wonder why that is so...you would think people would want a game that had substance to it.

[Mistgrim]

 Which boss is Paragon? I don't recall that name...

 

 

From final fantasy wiki "Paragon is an optional boss in Final Fantasy X-2 located in the bottom of the Via Infinito dungeon underneath Bevelle. Paragon is the unsent spirit of Lord Zaon.This weapon-type boss is considered to be one of Final Fantasy X-2's two superbosses, along withTrema, who awaits the party after Paragon's defeat."

 

And like his name implies, it can be a long fight

[Albatross]

From final fantasy wiki "Paragon is an optional boss in Final Fantasy X-2 located in the bottom of the Via Infinito dungeon underneath Bevelle. Paragon is the unsent spirit of Lord Zaon.This weapon-type boss is considered to be one of Final Fantasy X-2's two superbosses, along withTrema, who awaits the party after Paragon's defeat."

 

And like his name implies, it can be a long fight

 

Thank you!

 

Paragon kind of looks like a version of Weapon, or some offspring. I don't think I ever fought this thing in X-2...gotta check it out when I get the Remaster on PS3. :lol:

[Mistgrim]

Thank you!

 

Paragon kind of looks like a version of Weapon, or some offspring. I don't think I ever fought this thing in X-2...gotta check it out when I get the Remaster on PS3. :lol:

 

If i remember correctly that dungeon was like 100 levels deep, filled with monsters that had one hit kill moves....just couldn't resist the challenge. Only one major complaint about FFX-2, the final boss was waaay too easy, wasn't prepared to face him when i found him, and was like ok not gonna win, so i didn't really try and then the fight was over.......

[KPZ211997]

Favorite game: Final Fantasy VI, IV (Android version tho, wasn't born when the game was released)

Favorite OST: Blinded By Light (FFXIII), Force your Way (Boss theme FFVIII), Decisive Battle (FF VI boss theme), Zeromus (FFIV final boss theme)

Favorite character: Terra, Celes, Locke (FFVI), Cecil, Rosa, Kain, Palom + Porom (FFIV), Snow, Noel Kreiss (FFXIII) and can't forget Mog as well

Favorite villain: Kefka (FF VI), Caius Ballad (FFXIII-2, LRFFXIII)

Favorite Enemy & Boss: Gilgamesh (especially in FF XIII-2's DLC), Bhunivelze (LRFFXIII)

Favorite Summon: Bahamut

 

 

1. The change of direction in Final Fantasy has been wrong since FFXIII, they took away FF's elements like dungeons, tresure chests, map exploration, airships, side missions ..etc.. and throw in such "linear" map and a very straightfoward storyline to make it look like a movie

2. I would like SE to do these to FF

- Bring back at least 2/3 of old FF's elements while retaining good storyline, graphics (These are what FF fans are dying for)

- Stop putting extra bosses into DLC and such (old FF get extra bosses, so why new games can't, it's not like SE is about to go bankrupt soon)

- Expanding more combat type, not just the same turn-based in the last 14 FF games (counts FFXIII and FFXIII-2 because Paradigm Shift is somewhat similar to turn-based but more intensive and button smashing), I am so fed up of turn-based, but please do NOT make the game FPS or racing type, it's a freaking JRPG!

3. What is SE doing something wrong to FF? Milking the eff-ing out of the you-know-which game they thought to be good but in reality, not (Excluding FFX)

[Albatross]

News on Kingdom Hearts III if anyone is interested!

 

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/07/06/kingdom-hearts-iii-development-is-in-full-throttle-hints-at-frozen-appearance/

 

Wonderful news. I have been waiting patiently for this for a really long time. It feels like it was seven billion years ago that I went out twelve am in the morning to purchase KHII. :lol:

 

If i remember correctly that dungeon was like 100 levels deep, filled with monsters that had one hit kill moves....just couldn't resist the challenge. Only one major complaint about FFX-2, the final boss was waaay too easy, wasn't prepared to face him when i found him, and was like ok not gonna win, so i didn't really try and then the fight was over.......

 

Yea, I don't recall this dungeon at all. I remember an island in X where you could fight Weapon. And agreed. X-2's biggest fault, I thought, was how easy the end boss was. I just smashed the button and it was dead (okay, sometimes I stopped to cure). It would have been nice to face the end boss with difficulty of say Emerald Weapon or Bahamut from VIII or maybe even the likes of Ultima from XII.

 

Favorite game: Final Fantasy VI, IV (Android version tho, wasn't born when the game was released)

Favorite OST: Blinded By Light (FFXIII), Force your Way (Boss theme FFVIII), Decisive Battle (FF VI boss theme), Zeromus (FFIV final boss theme)

Favorite character: Terra, Celes, Locke (FFVI), Cecil, Rosa, Kain, Palom + Porom (FFIV), Snow, Noel Kreiss (FFXIII) and can't forget Mog as well

Favorite villain: Kefka (FF VI), Caius Ballad (FFXIII-2, LRFFXIII)

Favorite Enemy & Boss: Gilgamesh (especially in FF XIII-2's DLC), Bhunivelze (LRFFXIII)

Favorite Summon: Bahamut

 

Ah! I seriously suggest looking into the GBA version of the game, or the PSN at least. The Android/iOS version has typeos and it just doesn't feel the same. but real glad to see it as one of your favorites! Which IV do you own?

 

And finally, some musical love for VIII and VI. Decisive Battle is a great piece, especially when it is done like this. Though the piano version of Mystic Forest is great too. I like your choice in favorite characters. Terra, Celes, and Kain make for some of the most fleshed characters. I mean Celes obviously has that moment where it just feels like she suddenly changed but a lot of people make a bigger deal out of it than they should...considering the game had way less space etc to work with than its successors.

 

You seem to like XIII (I am not knocking it!), do you mind if I ask how you felt about the series in whole? Did you have any complaints as the game went on, things you personally would have added to improve overall experience and story?

 

*obligatory "Gilgamesh is awesome" comment.

 

1. The change of direction in Final Fantasy has been wrong since FFXIII, they took away FF's elements like dungeons, tresure chests, map exploration, airships, side missions ..etc.. and throw in such "linear" map and a very straightfoward storyline to make it look like a movie

2. I would like SE to do these to FF

- Bring back at least 2/3 of old FF's elements while retaining good storyline, graphics (These are what FF fans are dying for)

- Stop putting extra bosses into DLC and such (old FF get extra bosses, so why new games can't, it's not like SE is about to go bankrupt soon)

- Expanding more combat type, not just the same turn-based in the last 14 FF games (counts FFXIII and FFXIII-2 because Paradigm Shift is somewhat similar to turn-based but more intensive and button smashing), I am so fed up of turn-based, but please do NOT make the game FPS or racing type, it's a freaking JRPG!

3. What is SE doing something wrong to FF? Milking the eff-ing out of the you-know-which game they thought to be good but in reality, not (Excluding FFX)

 

Maybe whenever FFNeverGonnaBeReleased gets released it will bring back all those old features. From the latest preview, it looks like it is "open world" and the enemies function more like the enemies in Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XII. Honestly though, I wouldn't put it passed them to decide to take the game apart and rebuild it, changing the gameplay and story once again.

 

What has it been? Ten years since they said this game would come? Maybe if they didn't waste so much time on milking VII and XIII to death they could have gotten this game out...I mean XV looks like it could be the most promising FF title in a long time.

 

I think it might be a while until SE realizes that fans want both graphics and story (and gameplay!). They are too hellbent on providing stunning visuals they they do a half-assed job on the flesh of characters, story, environment etc etc. So I definitely agree with you here. The DLC thing is definitely not going to die off any time soon, sadly. They see just how much money someone could make off of DLC. With it they can strangle every last drop of money out of fans' pockets. :lol:

 

It would be interesting to see alternative fighting styles as a selection option for future titles...though as you said, no FPS or racing styles please!

[Mistgrim]

I just hope FF isn't one of those franchises that is milked until it dies and then has to be revived, like two or three years later

[Albatross]

I just hope FF isn't one of those franchises that is milked until it dies and then has to be revived, like two or three years later

 

With the rate they are going it probably will be, unless FFXIV: ARR continues to sell/do well. Then it will probably take a while.

[Hidden Orange]

Favorite game? Will not answer since I only finished Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2 while I did play through X, XII, and Crystal Chronicles. I also saw Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

 

Favorite soundtrack?

- LR:FFXIII,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

- FFXIII,

- CC: FFVII,

(

) ,

 (

) - FFX,

 and

 - FFXII,

(

) and

(

) - FFVII. I like music. 

 

Favorite character? Auron, Jecht, Oerba Yun Fang, Sazh Katzroy, Snow Villiers - he looks like Dante in a way -, Balthier, Basch fon Ronsenberg, Lightning Farron, Fran, Cid Highwind, Zack Fair, Reno, Rude, and er... Tifa Lockhart.

 

Favorite villain? Gabranth, the frustrated knight seeking honor. I hated Seymour, Vayne, and something about Caius Ballad pisses me off despite his epic voice. I won't say anything about the other villains from games I never played even though I saw them in action in some games, spin-offs, and Dissidia.

 

Favorite enemy and boss?

and Gigantuar in XIII; you can probably guess why and yes, it involves another "green man".

 

Favorite summon/esper/gf/aeon/etc etc?

.

 

Everything else? That's a story for another day.

[KPZ211997]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You seem to like XIII (I am not knocking it!), do you mind if I ask how you felt about the series in whole? Did you have any complaints as the game went on, things you personally would have added to improve overall experience and story?

 

Because XIII is my first PS3 game, tbh XIII isn't that bad, out of the trilogy, the original has the best storyline and I liked it most, it focused on developing character's feeling and emotion when being put as l'Cie - Cocoon's enemy. And the way they express their feelings (except Lightning since she was completely emotionless til the end of LRFFXIII) is great. I liked Snow and Serah most, then Vanille and Fang, Lightning just meh, female version of Cloud, too emotionless

 

However, the gameplay ruined the experience, they absolutely focused on storyline that this game has ZERO replay value. After the storyline, there is not much to do than exploiting Admantortoise's instant KO weakness to lv up Crystarium. Also FF's iconic element were taken away as well

 

XIII's ost is pretty good even without Nobuo, Hamauzu is a great composer too

 

IMO: XIII's storyline + LRFFXIII's combat system and character developement's system and open world = the great XIII, they had been milking this game to fix their mistake in the original so much, the game should have ended in XIII, not expanding in 2 more games

[KPZ211997]

News on Kingdom Hearts III if anyone is interested!

 

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/07/06/kingdom-hearts-iii-development-is-in-full-throttle-hints-at-frozen-appearance/

 

Wonderful news. I have been waiting patiently for this for a really long time. It feels like it was seven billion years ago that I went out twelve am in the morning to purchase KHII. :lol:

 

 

Yea, I don't recall this dungeon at all. I remember an island in X where you could fight Weapon. And agreed. X-2's biggest fault, I thought, was how easy the end boss was. I just smashed the button and it was dead (okay, sometimes I stopped to cure). It would have been nice to face the end boss with difficulty of say Emerald Weapon or Bahamut from VIII or maybe even the likes of Ultima from XII.

 

 

Ah! I seriously suggest looking into the GBA version of the game, or the PSN at least. The Android/iOS version has typeos and it just doesn't feel the same. but real glad to see it as one of your favorites! Which IV do you own?

 

And finally, some musical love for VIII and VI. Decisive Battle is a great piece, especially when it is done like this. Though the piano version of Mystic Forest is great too. I like your choice in favorite characters. Terra, Celes, and Kain make for some of the most fleshed characters. I mean Celes obviously has that moment where it just feels like she suddenly changed but a lot of people make a bigger deal out of it than they should...considering the game had way less space etc to work with than its successors.

 

You seem to like XIII (I am not knocking it!), do you mind if I ask how you felt about the series in whole? Did you have any complaints as the game went on, things you personally would have added to improve overall experience and story?

 

*obligatory "Gilgamesh is awesome" comment.

 

 

Maybe whenever FFNeverGonnaBeReleased gets released it will bring back all those old features. From the latest preview, it looks like it is "open world" and the enemies function more like the enemies in Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XII. Honestly though, I wouldn't put it passed them to decide to take the game apart and rebuild it, changing the gameplay and story once again.

 

What has it been? Ten years since they said this game would come? Maybe if they didn't waste so much time on milking VII and XIII to death they could have gotten this game out...I mean XV looks like it could be the most promising FF title in a long time.

 

I think it might be a while until SE realizes that fans want both graphics and story (and gameplay!). They are too hellbent on providing stunning visuals they they do a half-assed job on the flesh of characters, story, environment etc etc. So I definitely agree with you here. The DLC thing is definitely not going to die off any time soon, sadly. They see just how much money someone could make off of DLC. With it they can strangle every last drop of money out of fans' pockets. :lol:

 

It would be interesting to see alternative fighting styles as a selection option for future titles...though as you said, no FPS or racing styles please!

I own the original and the after years, both of them are very good

For Vi, in Android version, I got all main characters Ultima, all ultimate weapon and armor, have all equipped with dualcast and 1 mp cost for magic, and all I did later was to open auto and watching the screen while my character destroying all the living thing they encountered, so yeah it's kind of awkward. But the old ost got me right in, when I first heard Forever Rachel, and Locke's back storyline, I almost shed tear, IT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GAME SOUNDTRACK AND GAME SCENE HUMAN HAVE EVER CREATED

[snes]

• Favorite game?

 

Final Fantasy IX. One of my favourite games on the original PlayStation.

I also liked the remake of Final Fantasy III on the DS.

 

• Favorite character?

 

Vivi and Moq. I especially missed Moy in the newer games.

 

 

• What do you guys think of the change of direction Final Fantasy has been going through? Do you like that they are making it more "linear" and that they exclude one of the most common elements in a FF title, the world map/exploration to cities?

 

Not too impressed, to be honest.

 

 

• What would you like to see FF do in the future? (please give some detail on this and if possible, why)

 

I would like to see them go back to their roots. Bravely Default was really good. A bit repetitive but I liked the overal art style, the character design and the battle system was pretty much the best thing ever.

 

• What do you think Square Enix is doing wrong with Final Fantasy? (please give details--and don't answer this to cause a flame war or anything, please.)

 

To me it seems as if they are trying to impress westerners, which IMO is a mistake. They are a japanese developer and many of us used to love their games because they were a bit quirky and different. I personally don't like the more realistic graphics and character design. Not at all. The series is called Final Fantasy and to me realistic graphics are the exact opposite of what a fantasy based game should look like. When I hear the word "fantasy", I tend to think of fairytales and stuff that I usually don't see when I turn on the TV and switch to the news channel.

[ejm_110]

• Favorite game? Final Fantasy VII

• Favorite soundtrack? Can't remember

Favorite character? Can't remember

Favorite villain? Sephiroth

Favorite enemy and boss? Emerald from FF7

Favorite summon/esper/gf/aeon/etc etc? Bahamut/s

 

And more depthy questions:

 

• What do you guys think of the change of direction Final Fantasy has been going through? Do you like that they are making it more "linear" and that they exclude one of the most common elements in a FF title, the world map/exploration to cities?

The linear style killed the FF.

• What would you like to see FF do in the future? (please give some detail on this and if possible, why)

I would like the combination of FFVII materia, FFX sphere gried and FFXIII battle system.

• What do you think Square Enix is doing wrong with Final Fantasy? (please give details--and don't answer this to cause a flame war or anything, please.)