Should Final Fantasy XII get a re-release?
- Thread starter thejboy88
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I think that has been a major issue with Square's writing from FFX onwards. They do create interesting fantasy worlds, but often the writing in the main story just doesn't explain enough for the player to fully understand what is going on. They rely on the player either going deep into sidequests for a few snippets of new information, finding and reading in game notes on the plot and world, or finding an outside source, such as a wiki or the Ultimania guidebooks.Dalisclock said:
It took me a while to learn the motive of the final enemy of FFX, because the game only says "he's the one really running the show, he's at this spot, fight him." A wiki (with info from the Japan-only FFX Ultimania) had to explain the very reason why story of the game even took place.
FFXII was slightly better in this department, sometimes opposite even. It mostly threw so much info you almost needed to take notes on the politics of Ivalice. Although, there were still plenty of times when the main story left out details that would have been appreciated. Or, those details were quickly drowned out by less important dialog.
FFXIII? Pfff. Look up all of the important details on a wiki. (The wiki is probably more interactive anyway.)
Hopefully, FFXV breaks this tradition, but I don't have any faith in modern SE.
That tendency existed before FFX. In FFVII, you wouldn't really know very much about Jenova-- wouldn't know that it could mimic others, and was mimicking Sephiroth for much of the game-- unless you caught little snippets of conversation. You could miss Vincent, and much of Sephiroth's (and Hojo's) backstory, very easily too. The story of VIII wasn't easy to miss, exactly, but took a fair amount of intuition to figure out.Hairless Mammoth said:
Yu Yevon? A fair point, but a point that could equally be applied to III & IX.Hairless Mammoth said:
Yeah, I guess it's just about whether it actually bites you or not. I never played XIII only XIII-2, and I am utterly gobsmacked at how detatched I feel from combat.Dalisclock said:
Does anyone know if it gets any better? Combat just feels so automatic and pointless.
On one level, I totally agree about IX, how the who Terra/Gaia conflict is kind of hinted at in the background, not to mention there's the ruins on the one continent, which are pretty much the only thing there(and the entire continent is uninhabited) which are somehow linked to Terra but you just have to assume it has something to do with the whole fusion attempt. And of course, Necron, for whom only theories exist why he exists(other then being an homage to the FF tradition of having a otherworldly real final boss thrown it late in the game). However, the world and characters felt vibrant and interesting regardless, and that's where it made the difference to me.Silvanus said:
III? III was pretty high fantasy, complete with an ancient god-like creature living in a huge Crystal tower being controlled by/in alliance with the essence of darkness itself because he got a shoddy gift(being able to die). It has enough story to get you to go to the next place, establish some kind of threat and doesn't ask much more then that. Or were you talking about VI?
Which goes back to something I mentioned earlier. After finishing X, I went back(as I am wont to do) and checked out TVTROPES about it and what I read on the TVTROPES was a hell of a lot more engaging and interesting then the game I had just completed. Suddenly a lot of this stuff starts making sense and the world seems a lot deeper and real.Hairless Mammoth said:
The problem being that, I shouldn't have to go somewhere else to get that. I shouldn't have to read a wiki to experience the TRUE depth of the game because the game didn't do a good job of presenting itself. I shouldn't have to read an accompanying novel to figure out the story.
And XIII did the same thing. I was more enthralled by reading about it on TVTROPES then I was actually watching game on LP(nope, I'm not sacificing 60 hours of my life. 10 hours of cut scenes and terrible dialogue was regrettable enough). In fact, it feels like this was more interesting then the actual game itself. And there's something wrong there.
I was talking about III as opposed to VI; only referring to how both III and IX had end bosses coming out of nowhere (or with very little warning), much like Yu Yevon.Dalisclock said:
To be clear, I have no problem with that. I even kind of enjoy it in an odd way. I was just disagreeing with Hairless Mammoth that this kind of thing only cropped up with X and after.
Fair enough. I think Yu Yevon gets more shit because of his importance to the mystery of Sin and yet the answer to who he was and why Sin exists pretty much just gets thrown in at the end and in a rather perfunctory way. In contrast to other bosses who were tossed in at the end of other games who just appear out of nowhere(I'm looking at you Necron) and don't seem to have any bearing on the game as a whole.Silvanus said:
I want it to be re-released in two forms.
1. Whatever shitty monstrosity Square Enix is trying to make now.
2. In it's original format but with significantly updated graphics (not merely an HD release) and at least translation fixes. Not sure how voice acting could be added successfully except if they redid the cut scenes.
1. Whatever shitty monstrosity Square Enix is trying to make now.
2. In it's original format but with significantly updated graphics (not merely an HD release) and at least translation fixes. Not sure how voice acting could be added successfully except if they redid the cut scenes.
