Final Fantasy

[hogso]

2 hours ago, jjaacckk91 said:

After a few years hiatus from the villatalk final fantasy chat, its brilliant to see the same names still getting incredibly excited about the new final fantasy releases.

Looking forward to rebirth, I hope it's as good as you're all making it sound.

I'll be here forever!

[Dante_Lockhart]

If I could only play 1 series of games for the rest of my life and nothing else, it would be FF.

[villa4europe]

9 minutes ago, Dante_Lockhart said:

If I could only play 1 series of games for the rest of my life and nothing else, it would be FF.

Ooooooooooo

Taking that as a good question 

And the answer is resident evil with FF probably 2nd and then MGS also in the top 5

Ps1 forever 

Spoiler

I'm aware FF and MGS did not start their life on Ps1 but to me they are synonymous with that console 

 

[Keyblade]

On 14/02/2024 at 08:47, villa4europe said:

Ooooooooooo

Taking that as a good question 

And the answer is resident evil with FF probably 2nd and then MGS also in the top 5

Ps1 forever 

  Hide contents

I'm aware FF and MGS did not start their life on Ps1 but to me they are synonymous with that console 

 

One of Nintendo's greatest cockups was pissing off Sony with the Nintendo Playstation debacle and having a cartridge based system in the 5th generation (N64).

[ender4]

On 14/02/2024 at 13:37, Dante_Lockhart said:

If I could only play 1 series of games for the rest of my life and nothing else, it would be FF.

Oooo I’m going with Far Cry or Assassin’s Creed just for the big open worlds that I can sandbox in.

[hogso]

I always liked this theory, not that I agreed with it, but it's a good one. 

Can be debunked really easily by considering that certain enemy cards can be obtained on disc one which you wouldn't otherwise have knowledge of until after Squall's 'death' - ergo, he can't have died then. 

The real question for me has always been is Squall alive at the end? I have appreciated that ambiguity in FF endings though, as well as the many bittersweet endings the series is (or should be) famous for. 

 

[Dante_Lockhart]

I always interpretted it as Squall dying at the end. It just made the most sense to me.

[GarethRDR]

I interpreted it as I'd finally had one Irn-Bru chew bar too many that day, and drastically scaled back my consumption thereafter.

[Dante_Lockhart]

Reviews for Rebirth should be coming in later this week shouldn't they?

[hogso]

2 hours ago, Dante_Lockhart said:

Reviews for Rebirth should be coming in later this week shouldn't they?

This Thursday at 2pm GMT. 

[HKP90]

I'm torn, man. the original FF7 is my favourite game of all time, but I've not really been able to get immersed in any of the series after X. 

Call me old fashioned, but I preferred the FF games when combat was considered, simple to pick up but with enough depth to require effort to master. For me that is turn based. I don't want to button mash, or have the computer take over most of the decision making in the party. And I want to see the whole battle, not wrestle with a drunken camera.

FF for me is not an FPS, and it's not an action RPG. There are games in those genres I like, but they are not FF.

I'm not sure why turn based games have dropped out of favour quite so much. Not dramatic enough I suppose. Persona 5 and XCOM have shown that there is still a place for them, though. I like a good turn based RPG, or turn based strategy. It's not a dirty mechanic.

[Designer1]

23 minutes ago, HKP90 said:

 I like a good turn based RPG, or turn based strategy. It's not a dirty mechanic.

Have you played Lost Eidolons? If not, I would definitely check it out.

[HKP90]

6 minutes ago, Designer1 said:

Have you played Lost Eidolons? If not, I would definitely check it out.

No I will check that out, thanks.

[villa4europe]

Honest I got immersed in it purely out of nostalgia, the new combat was serviceable to ok, the biggest issue the game had was the side missions are shite and structured in a way that made them boring, the combat also imo has some arena problems in the "open" world which I'm interested how the next installment handles being bigger and more open

But seriously walking round midgar and just looking up at the sky and seeing the plates above you and properly realising what this world is... They did an incredible job of it, I put hours in to just gazing at it 

Gold saucer would be a great example of that, as good as that place is really it doesn't work as an actual building, the back ground screens and tubes do a lot of work for them, I'm expecting the new game to turn it in to a properly laid out functioning building that makes sense (well kind of at least...)

And that's the joy of the game, they've lifted all their restrictions, it feels like a naturally evolved game 

[Dante_Lockhart]

1 hour ago, HKP90 said:

I'm torn, man. the original FF7 is my favourite game of all time, but I've not really been able to get immersed in any of the series after X. 

Call me old fashioned, but I preferred the FF games when combat was considered, simple to pick up but with enough depth to require effort to master. For me that is turn based. I don't want to button mash, or have the computer take over most of the decision making in the party. And I want to see the whole battle, not wrestle with a drunken camera.

FF for me is not an FPS, and it's not an action RPG. There are games in those genres I like, but they are not FF.

I'm not sure why turn based games have dropped out of favour quite so much. Not dramatic enough I suppose. Persona 5 and XCOM have shown that there is still a place for them, though. I like a good turn based RPG, or turn based strategy. It's not a dirty mechanic.

Battle wise FF13 is more turn based, but quite fun to master.

[HKP90]

19 minutes ago, Dante_Lockhart said:

Battle wise FF13 is more turn based, but quite fun to master.

I disliked that one for a number of reasons. and it pains me to say it as I was soooo looking forward to it. 

Firstly, it's a trope, but it's so linear. I've not got anything against linear story driven gameplay, but in FF13 you end up running down lots of corridors and platforms which are sparsely populated, and with almost nothing to interact with. It was almost like the bits between fights were virtually pointless. The cut scenes were very pretty I will give it that. 

Secondly you only control one player at a time, with the others being AI controlled. That made me feel like I was barely controlling the battles. 

Was it ever explained why you could summon? I mean in the lore? FFX- it was the fayth, and summoners could draw on the power, FF7 it is materia, etc etc. There was a reason why people could summon these massive freaking monsters. Maybe it's explained in FF13, but I will admit I never got anywhere close to the end before giving it up. 

In short, I think after X (12 was OK, but had some of the problems above) the developers appeared to have focused on graphics and plot, rather than spending time building up the world and lore in which the characters inhabit. I thought 15 was going to solve this, but the combat was so janky for me that I couldn't enjoy it.  I know it's an action RPG, but the Witcher 3 showed how to build worlds, whilst still keeping a story. Paradoxically FF13 et al seem more old fashioned than the older titles. It feels like Square are trying to compete with modern titles, but for whatever reason are well behind. 

Look I hope with every iteration they get their mojo back, but imo they have focused on the wrong things, and have taken the series down entirely the wrong paths. I doubt they can (or want to) go back at this point. 

 

[hogso]

SE very recently disbanded their Tokyo RPG Factory, which was originally set up to produce RPGs in a classic style - they did that to moderate degrees of success (I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear are probably 6 or 7 out of 10 games for me), but even they changed tact and went more action based with their final game (Oninaki). 

There are some really good examples of modern turn based RPGs, the likes of Chained Echoes, Cosmic Star Heroine, Sea of Stars, Astlibra...but the king in the modern era is almost certainly Persona, BUT  RGG's move to make Yazuka / Like a Dragon 7 turn based was a fascinating move, as it doesn't really seem to have done their sales any harm. I do find it makes the older games a bit more difficult to go back to though. 

I can't shake the feeling though that all of them are simply emulating what has come before and there isn't anything particularly interesting going on that has been able to keep my interest. At least with the stuff I've tried. 

I do like the move to giving some of the older games in the genre a fresh coat of paint though, Live a Live and Radical Dreamers / Chrono Cross are good examples, and the upcoming release for Suikoden I+II. Long time readers of this thread will know how much I pine for Xenogears to get the HD treatment. 

There's almost certainly a reluctance from the top JRPG producers at various developers to 'go back' to turn based, as it feels like  they are innovating anymore. It's the same reason that FF7 wasn't a remake that matched the story beats exactly, the devs just had no interest in doing it (I think Kitase said if they did do that it would be the last game they ever made, as it would only happen if they had run out of ideas).

As for summons in FFXIII @HKP90, yeah there is a lore reason, your mileage will vary on what that reason is. I can't remember the in's and out's of why the characters in XIII have been given a Focus which means they are L'Cie, but once they have that brand, the goddess Etro sends 'messengers' to aid them in accomplishing their Focus, in the form of Eidolons which they can summon. 

Edited February 21 by hogso

[HKP90]

48 minutes ago, hogso said:

SE very recently disbanded their Tokyo RPG Factory, which was originally set up to produce RPGs in a classic style - they did that to moderate degrees of success (I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear are probably 6 or 7 out of 10 games for me), but even they changed tact and went more action based with their final game (Oninaki). 

There are some really good examples of modern turn based RPGs, the likes of Chained Echoes, Cosmic Star Heroine, Sea of Stars...and there's another really well thought of game on Steam, that I can't recall the name of...the king in the modern era is almost certainly Persona, BUT  RGG's move to make Yazuka / Like a Dragon 7 turn based was a fascinating move, as it doesn't really seem to have done their sales any harm. I do find it makes the older games a bit more difficult to go back to though. 

I can't shake the feeling though that all of them are simply emulating what has come before and there isn't anything particularly interesting going on that has been able to keep my interest. At least with the stuff I've tried. 

I do like the move to giving some of the older games in the genre a fresh coat of paint though, Live a Live and Radical Dreamers / Chrono Cross are good examples, and the upcoming release for Suikoden I+II. Long time readers of this thread will know how much I pine for Xenogears to get the HD treatment. 

There's almost certainly a reluctance from the top JRPG producers at various developers to 'go back' to turn based, as it feels like  they are innovating anymore. It's the same reason that FF7 wasn't a remake that matched the story beats exactly, the devs just had no interest in doing it (I think Kitase said if they did do that it would be the last game they ever made, as it would only happen if they had run out of ideas).

As for summons in FFXIII @HKP90, yeah there is a lore reason, your mileage will vary on what that reason is. I can't remember the in's and out's of why the characters in XIII have been given a Focus which means they are L'Cie, but once they have that brand, the goddess Etro sends 'messengers' to aid them in accomplishing their Focus, in the form of Eidolons which they can summon. 

It's probably uncool or living in the past, nostalgia etc. but this is 1000% what I wanted from the remake. Make the best game of all time again with proper graphics and with voice acting. Yes, yes, times have moved on etc. But I have to ask why they made the remake if they only wanted to change it? It's not as if they are exploring vastly different plot points. We all know how it ends, and who....ahem....doesn't make it. If they just wanted to mess around with the mechanics, they could have made an entirely new game. 

[Dante_Lockhart]

I'd love a remake of the Shadow Hearts games.

[villa4europe]

3 hours ago, hogso said:

SE very recently disbanded their Tokyo RPG Factory, which was originally set up to produce RPGs in a classic style - they did that to moderate degrees of success (I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear are probably 6 or 7 out of 10 games for me), but even they changed tact and went more action based with their final game (Oninaki). 

There are some really good examples of modern turn based RPGs, the likes of Chained Echoes, Cosmic Star Heroine, Sea of Stars...and there's another really well thought of game on Steam, that I can't recall the name of...the king in the modern era is almost certainly Persona, BUT  RGG's move to make Yazuka / Like a Dragon 7 turn based was a fascinating move, as it doesn't really seem to have done their sales any harm. I do find it makes the older games a bit more difficult to go back to though. 

I can't shake the feeling though that all of them are simply emulating what has come before and there isn't anything particularly interesting going on that has been able to keep my interest. At least with the stuff I've tried. 

I do like the move to giving some of the older games in the genre a fresh coat of paint though, Live a Live and Radical Dreamers / Chrono Cross are good examples, and the upcoming release for Suikoden I+II. Long time readers of this thread will know how much I pine for Xenogears to get the HD treatment. 

There's almost certainly a reluctance from the top JRPG producers at various developers to 'go back' to turn based, as it feels like  they are innovating anymore. It's the same reason that FF7 wasn't a remake that matched the story beats exactly, the devs just had no interest in doing it (I think Kitase said if they did do that it would be the last game they ever made, as it would only happen if they had run out of ideas).

As for summons in FFXIII @HKP90, yeah there is a lore reason, your mileage will vary on what that reason is. I can't remember the in's and out's of why the characters in XIII have been given a Focus which means they are L'Cie, but once they have that brand, the goddess Etro sends 'messengers' to aid them in accomplishing their Focus, in the form of Eidolons which they can summon. 

Octopath traveller?? 

I thought that was considered the best turn based game for a while, I know it's SE but I think a different division