The Great Final Fantasy Retrospective - Let's Mosey

BrawlMan

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Imo. Trash.
You better be talking about first and second game. Phantasy Star III & IV are considered the best in the series, most RPG fans love and respect. I never played them, but I believe it. You insulting PS Online I & II/New Genesis? Dem fightan words, boi.
 

Gamertrek

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Lets be realistic about FF series. the whole entire series is basically DAD or WOW board game but made into something such person barely could understand or even want to understand.
That is why people enjoyed it all together. The Super-80s aka cartoony 1990's was probably the best the game series had to offer.

You want to experience the whole thing then you might as well quietly figure out emulation and playing all the games via max settings.

1 was the original game. The musical score actually is based on a single ( album ) that was popular at the time but that went unnoticed because "it is a stupid videogame". The actual story is no different then any Anime type series that was out at the time like Cream-Lemon, or Robot Carnival. It even has the obvious "Super-happy 80's ending". The best way to play this game would be the NES via emulator ( because their is no true translation ) or even the PSP so called "complete edition" because the alternative would be the GBA.

2-4 was the original series and where things got a lot better. In my opinion is extremely complex story-telling
5-6 Was the commercial/stereotype/super-80's cartoonish years and possible the best years and mot memorable games
7 was the first time the game was in 3d and the demographics of the characters was detail. More like an alternative remake of 6.
8-9 was possible the last original games, with Nine kinda leading to nowhere because the story and big-bad final made no sense.
10 was like 7 just there to show off the hardware, and celebrated their HQ being relocated in Hawaii.
11 was another forgetful MMORPG and not a real game.
12 was like 9, and 6. More like the last ( I mean the last ) thing most closest to what those games was and most good looking, best lines. Just no Kefka. Oh and that fellow from 4 appears.
13 was like 7 or even 10-2 and tried to promote a female agenda towards female audience. They made this game to sell clothing. Like DOA Volleyball sold swimsuits.
14. another MMORPG
15 A story that made no sense at all and attempt to do the modernization thing like 6, 8, 10

...............

FF12 ( with mods sadly ) is the best the genre offer to us at all. Everything else is just a remake or demake. FF4:After was a phone game with stories. Mostly a time killer for waiting inside a car.
I do not think any other FF game ever will be better then 12.
 

Dalisclock

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The only answer is to embark on an even longer and more tedious quest to fill your time. Something like playing every CRPG ever made, although somebody's already doing that.
I give that guy props for his determination, albeit possibly a lack of sanity as well. I guess whatever you enjoy is worth it.
 

meiam

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You should find a longer and more annoying series to play through.

Dragon quest? Ultima? Ys? Tales of? Trails of?

I got nothing.
FF is ultimately really easy to do a retrospective since they're all easily playable (ie you don't need to hunt down original disc/cartridge).

Some of the other one would be more complicated.

Ultima might be possible, although if you though you hated FF8 wait till you get to ultima 8/9. Dragon quest are all the same, nothing to talk about. Ys are just really hard to track and not that interesting. Tale of has a couple that are easily available, but the PS1/2 era would be challenging to find (unless your okay with emulation). Trails of are, imo, just not that interesting, kinda like DQ where every entry is more or less the same.

Other in the JRPG wheelhouse would be fire emblem (hard to play all), xenosaga (same to a lesser extent), maybe star ocean since they're doing another one (again, hard to track, 1 is only available in english with emulation), they're also remaking front mission (again, some aren't availble in english). For some baffling reason SE has been porting a lot of the saga franchise, if your into baffling and borderline experimental game.

You could go for keeping it within Square but just play all their PS1 title.

How about going outside your comfort? Civilization/total war are easily available. Heroes of might and magic too. Xcom?
 
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Gamertrek

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FF games.

Lets be honest about most "Story" games because you know what? My little four year old cousin that visited me kept calling every game out for being a story. Once that story ends the want to go into the game makes no point.

We talk about %110. There is no such thing with these games. Yes sometimes they might install a system or something hidden that allows you to

"Have your cake and eat it too"

Like take FF6, you have the "Odin" summon or the "Gilgamesh" ( whatever it is called via the tear ). Which transform him from being western to being more eastern ( look at the hats ). Again in FF6 you have that sword on the front cover which you could have as a weapon or a summon, which apparently is find-able via some other method but is insane.
Then lets talk about that Air-ship you can not buy because the game will add a new number no matter what. Take General Leo we all want to save him. Well their is actually a way to save him but it is a glitch apparently. Then when they did that GBA thing they added the Dark-dragon which was suppose to be a hidden boss. Again is actually hidden in the game files but is not used/complete.

Lets go back to FF8 ( which is passing through asides usage in the phone games AKA thank you ccp China ). The game had a demo which clearly dictates that Seifer should be a playable character along with his posse. Wouldn't it be awesome we could recruit those characters after the Ultramecia battle? Nope. How about that extra Bahumut dungeon where you fight dragons just for moving while the light is on.

Somebody mentioned Dragon Quest, Y's, or Tales ?????

Dragon Quest ...........Lets be fair. Without the artwork, that game becomes a walk in the park. On Netflix they have that "Dragon Quest V Your story" which is basically the same game from the SNES ( SFC ) days. I mean wow just wow and I am still playing that game right now. No really wow I am just shocked wow. You want to enjoy Dragon Quest right now let me tell you it is not enjoyable.

Granted whatever you play the game on I play it for the characters and story. The original was okay.... and you got a bubble-bath.
Everything after-that was thanks to "Dai Dragon Quest", and western shores barely experienced anything beyond emulation and the Gameboy games.
Honestly I am happy the PC game came out but unhappy about the lack of translation for the MMORPG

About Y's. Y's was my favorite at one point via the PCE. After that it was downhill for that series. The later Y's games is still playable and gives you a new challenge but honestly half the time I am thinking about the girlies rather then the game ( same with Dragon Quest wubba-wubba ) . Y's barely changed and that is good, and that being said the same could be pushed on to "Star Ocean" games.

"Star Ocean" was the apex. We had one bad game and that was the PS2 game. Which could be fixed by using an emualator nowadays and running the game on progressive scan mode ( whatever ). Only then the game becomes something close to the original games. I could be in nirvana with the original game, and for my teenage brain the "Second Story" Anime was good enough outside the GBC game. The sad part the IV game is hard to find. I have the console game but gotta emulate it. Which brings me back to Y's. Y's and "Star Ocean" literally have preserved itself. Yes some of the character designs are lame replicas but beyond that is playable.

About Tales................ We can not count the first original "Tales Of Phantasia" because that is "Star Ocean" team. The PSX Tales games was all clones of the first game. Maybe starting with the GCN Tales and the PS2/3ds Tales do we have anything tangible. I mean yes "clap clap" the recent Tales game for the PC is magnificant 1990's PSX cheese.

1. Outlined 3d characters that looks like if they were animated but in 3d
2. 3d cheap but effect 3d graphics that looks like something from internet artwork or a CGI movie from the PSX but extremly smooth attempting to look like Water-color, or acrylic but obviously 3d.
3. You get your live in game battles.

Lets not forget "Phantasy Star" series. In my opinion out-did everybody just by taking place in space, and pulling off a "Dune" / "Starwars" / "Real world scenario". Where did that joy go? Oh I know they stopped at PSO and rinse and repeat every game afterwards. While not really attempting to patch all of the errors you could encounter in game. How many times are we going to have this "Cool" / "SEGA Style' world and go up against De Rol Lee ( Giant fish-worm crayfish ) in so many variations with slight altercations. In fact I believe one of the final-boss of Universe variant is based off that same creature.

..................

Then we talk about the "marathon collecthon" of these games.

Star Ocean and Tales of Phantasia both have hidden areas where you could level up fast and gain income so later in the game it is not so hard ( just like how real life is suppose to be ). You could "die" at any moment but it makes the "story" more easy to experience instead of "grinding" for hours. Same with FF6, and the Cactus EXP and later Dinosaur/Dragon island EXP.

Beyond that mentality your literally looking through FAQs so you could have that perfect %101 not that it really gains anything outside of an extra-ending. What is funny is how later games ( like "Chrono Cross" ) basically have a gazillion different outcomes for every action you do which in turn prevents you from attempting to back-track to make that specific choice, like hey lets "colllectathon" recruit-able characters.

Speaking of RPG games that is not getting any revamp, PC port, upgrade, DX, or pimped-out treatment. "Adiyn Chronicles: Last Mage" for the N64. Yes you can "collectathon" which is summed up by attempting to find every single hidden item, Yes the game has one or two hidden quests which gives you specialized armor, levels up your characters, and have some more interesting areas to explore. Yes the game has a glitch character that you could recruit to characters that will turn on you, and your "General Leo" type character
that takes the big-one ( and while is a necromancer looks more like a person from a Concentration-camp ) to save the entire party, locking you out of the most powerful spell-caster, and boobs earlier in the game. Yes you got NPC that could live or die based on your actions.

..............

About comfort-zone....."Baulders Gate 3" AKA alien ship crash land and you literally are playing a board-game. After playing that despite the nice looking graphics something like that I would run screaming back to Oblivion or Fallout etc.
 

BrawlMan

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My life feels empty now that this is done. What do i do now?
Get started on Bayonetta. Ragnarök comes out on November 9th. If not that, then some other RPG series, or find something else to play in your backlog. Since you have a Series X you can download Guardian Heroes (360/XBLA). The game is backwards compatible and is usually at $4.99. It's an 2D action-RPG brawler from the Saturn era. The 360 version is remastered with new visuals (you can still switch to the old visuals) and re-done and rebalanced the gameplay to be way faster paced (you can also switch back to the old gameplay as an option too).
 

Gamertrek

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If your feeling empty why not just explore what the PC master race has to offer you. Billions of titles worth burning time on and not one requires a cent spent on DLC. Emulation at it's finest, why play with others when you can play with yourself and save yourself the pain giving your paycheck back to your employer
 

CriticalGaming

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If your feeling empty why not just explore what the PC master race has to offer you. Billions of titles worth burning time on and not one requires a cent spent on DLC. Emulation at it's finest, why play with others when you can play with yourself and save yourself the pain giving your paycheck back to your employer
My available PC is not so hot no more.