Poll: How amazing was blitzball.

[Ninja-Jordan]

So I think it's pretty much agreed that FFX was an ok game, it looked beautiful and the combat was sick. The story was a little bit out the fucking window, but aside from that it was pretty decent. But lets not overlook the coolest thing about it. BLITZBALL. Underwater soccer, how cool was that?

 

[scorptatious]

I couldn't really get into Blitzball. Beyond the mandatory first game, I've barely ever touched it during my time with FFX.

I'm sure it's awesome once you know how everything works, but unfortunately, I'm an impatient bastard and just want to get on with the main game.

 

[OrpheusTelos]

I love Final Fantasy X.

But I detest Blitzball.

Not so much the concept of it, but the stupid minigame.

 

[TehCookie]

I love it when games have minigames like that to break up the normal game, but I didn't play blitzball aside from the mandatory games. Probably because I'm not fond of sports games, but it didn't stop me from winning all the ones I did play.

 

[waj9876]

It was closer to basketball than soccer. Kind of both really.

But yeah, blitzball was pretty cool. Now if only they could have made it as cool to play as it looked in the cutscenes.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Yeah I really liked playing Blitzball. I spent ages just scouting the best players and leveling them up. I don't get the hate for it, sure the first match was bullshit but it was fun after that.

 

[Tanis]

It was okay, but I preferred FF8's card game more.

 

[k7avenger]

It wasn't the worst mini game I've ever played in a video game, but it's far from the best.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Blitzball was the best part of that game, and one of only two parts that were worth a damn (the other being the battle system.) FFX put me off the FF series after absolutely loving it as a kid, but if they made a standalone Blitzball game, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

[GloatingSwine]

It was P. dull, let's face it. Given that the winning strategy was always "get one goal, maintain possession so enemy can't score past your hopeless keeper".


Also not a good idea to introduce your signature minigame with a rigged game that you are supposed to lose hopelessly, because that will just make players associate it with being annoyed.

 

[Asita]

I was very annoyed at it. At the end of the day the part that was most distinctive about it (the giant sphere of water) was never utilized. You don't get to swim up or down, you're as limited to a flat plane as if you were playing on dry land. Really, I don't see why they even bothered with it instead of just making it an actual soccer/football game. I mean really, the key difference was that the players used swimming animations instead of running animations, and that's an aesthetic difference rather than a mechanical one.

 

[Leemaster777]

I'll admit, beyond the initial forced game, I only ever played Blitzball in order to get Wakka's ultimate weapon. That said, I didn't hate the time I sunk into it.

It was okay. Passable. Inoffensive. A decent way to pass the time that didn't feel too much like a grind. But I wouldn't go back and play it unless I had to.

But in it's defense... at least it's not as bad as Blitzball in FFX-2. God, that was awful.

 

[Aris Khandr]

I would seriously buy a stand-alone Blitzball title. Just so long as it is a bit more balanced than it was in FFX. After getting a few levels, the HP cost of the Jecht Shot became so trivial that you could pretty much do it all match, and the AI was so bad that I could pass the ball to my speedy player, and the entire team would chase them around the pitch despite all of them being slower. Had they split up and tried actual blocking, they wouldn't have lost nearly as badly.

 

[Tiamattt]

I loved it, probably my favorite FF mini-game of all time.

It's far from perfect granted, but compared to most other FF "mini-games" it felt like a actual game instead of the chores they usually are.

 

[ACM_Shadow]

Blitzball was total shite, cant defend it, just terrible.... (FFX-2 version)

(meanwhile FFX)
Now that i have that out of my hair, i have to say that it was an enjoyable time sink. It actually had decent mechanics with the players, and the gameplay wasn't too bad (minus the chase the ball AI). however if they had more animations (try shooting it pass 3 people and the goalie...) and didn't have a major exploit (hide behind your goalie ftw) it would've been beyond awesome. Add into the fact that you can get a couple of cool moves, and unlock Wakka's ultimate weapon with it and it becomes an epic game.
Really if they had a 3D version instead of moving on a single plane, it would've been worth a standalone game to me.

However if we talk about FF minigames, i have to go with FF8's card game as well. Quick, fun and takes forever to get all of the cards. (never wanted to get rid of ifrit, originally i thought i couldn't get it back)

 

[2xDouble]

I had fun with it... until I started chasing the Saturn Sigil. Won about a million games (never lost since the first game), got to maximum level on my main team, even recruited back all of the Aurochs to power up Wakka's special kick... Never even saw the damned thing.

 

[WeepingAngels]

Square must have thought that JRPG fans are the same as sports fans, they were wrong. Everytime I play FFX, I try to rush through the mandatory Blitzball game.

 

[Roxas1359]

I actually enjoyed Blitzball a lot, and had fun playing it and leveling up my team. And this is coming from someone who normally hates any sports game at all.

 

[Agayek]

It was P. dull, let's face it. Given that the winning strategy was always "get one goal, maintain possession so enemy can't score past your hopeless keeper".


Also not a good idea to introduce your signature minigame with a rigged game that you are supposed to lose hopelessly, because that will just make players associate it with being annoyed.

It's actually pretty easy to win that first game. You just need to get the Jecht Shot on the boat to Luca, then follow the strategy of "1) Give the ball to Tidus 2) Jecht Shot 3) Repeat". It's surprisingly easy to win that way.

 

[GloatingSwine]

It was P. dull, let's face it. Given that the winning strategy was always "get one goal, maintain possession so enemy can't score past your hopeless keeper".


Also not a good idea to introduce your signature minigame with a rigged game that you are supposed to lose hopelessly, because that will just make players associate it with being annoyed.

It's actually pretty easy to win that first game. You just need to get the Jecht Shot on the boat to Luca, then follow the strategy of "1) Give the ball to Tidus 2) Jecht Shot 3) Repeat". It's surprisingly easy to win that way.

Yeah, it's easy to win if you already know how to play the minigame. But most people don't the first time they play the game, and this is the first time you encounter it.

You are supposed to lose that game, it's possible to win it if you already know what you're doing, but this is the first introduction of the minigame, it is introduced in a context where you are supposed to lose at it, and that makes the players dislike it.

(PS: scoring repeatedly without suffering immediate equalisers is p. difficult because it gives the enemy possession when you score and all your players are terrible so it's hard to get it back and your keeper couldn't catch a cold standing around in the rain with no pants on, so getting the ball, timewasting until the clock is almost out and then scoring with Jecht Shot is easier, but again, you need to know how to cheese the AI at blitzball as soon as the minigame is introduced.)