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Final Fantasy Omnibus


Chaos

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Plotwise, FF8's problem seems to be too many isolated hooks and threads that are interesting and potentially fascinating/excellent on their own, but have no syngery with each other so the overall narrative suffers.  As though it bears the scars of being written by a committee where each member got to nominate their one veto-proof Really Awesome Idea to include in the story and somebody had to stitch all this discordant stuff into one story.  Changing its mind on what it wants to be, repeatedly.

 

I mean, they're child soldiers with their early memories wiped, using a performance enhancer the rest of the world has implicitly banned because of its side effects.  How awesomely dark and horror-filled could THAT hook be?  Give Squall some real existential angst.

 

So many other potentially awesome subplots the game leaves frustratingly undeveloped and unexplored (Irvine could have so much more focus put on him as The Only One Who Remembers [And Also The Outsider] and all the frustration and conflict coming from that, and fighting an uphill battle to remind everybody)

 

Either that, or just keeping the story tight and focusing on its main love triangle theme and not trying to make it anything wider in scope than that, would've made the story so much better.

 

The Junction system is annoying and does indeed punish you for casting magic (though again, if the narrative made more hay out of the GF as dodgy performance enhancer/Faustian Bargain struck with magical beings, the disincentive to cast would make more thematic sense).

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Very happy to not see blind praise for FFVIII. It was one of, if not the worst entry in the main series. A few years ago I saw all this praise for it with no one really being able to specify what they actually liked about it. I found found the leveling system annoying my first play around, but I got used to it and don't hate it too much now though its far from a favorite. The cast is the most bland cast I could recall seeing since the early games when they had almost literally no personality. And its been a bit since I played, but I recall the story not making much sense to me either. The one thing I did enjoy about it though was the battle between Gardens. Thought it was great action filled crazy event.

 

I love VIII. I love the crazy level of customizability that the junction system gave me. I get the complaint that it sorta penalizes you for using magic, especially in the early going, but once you get into the game and start stockpiling the higher level and status magics, I never found it to be an issue.

 

Thank you for this. You are one of two people who has ever given me an actual reason for why they like it. I don't even hate the game despite my complaints. It just annoys me to see what feels like blind & hollow praise.

I wonder if I'm the only one who really liked XII.  Now, yes, the story is a bit of a mess, especially since the 'main' character really ends up as a secondary character.  I found it far better to just use the princess as the main.

There are actually quite a few who liked XII. The fandom for it is generally even split over loving or hating it.

 

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I wonder if I'm the only one who really liked XII.  Now, yes, the story is a bit of a mess, especially since the 'main' character really ends up as a secondary character.  I found it far better to just use the princess as the main.

I thought XII was a ton of fun, but I also mostly ignored the story bits.  I dug the new combat and the gambit system, although it would be nice if they would have given you more gambits sooner.  

 

IX is by far my favorite of the Sony-era games.  It just hit all the things I love about the series while avoiding the worst excesses.

 

I don't love Tactics as much as most people.  It's fine, but give me the choice between that and Disgaea and I'll pick Disgaea every time.

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I'll readily admit that I've only played the main Final Fantasy series, because when I see a game listed like this:

 

Dissidia Final Fantasy Duodecim 012

 

I have no idea what I'm looking at and move along.

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I really enjoyed Tactics A2. The story was so light that it floated away from you but the job system for your troops was fun. 

 

I just want to learn skills. I swear that's all I want in video game life. Exploration, hidden items, learning character specific skills (though some general ones are okay too), and character development based sidequests. 

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Final Fantasy X is the only one I've ever finished which is odd because I did not love Titus but I really liked the world around him. Sin was fucking awesome too. I was pumped for the trailer of XV. Is anyone else into this or what? I guess there's no release date but the gameplay trailer has me intrigued..

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I'll readily admit that I've only played the main Final Fantasy series, because when I see a game listed like this:

Dissidia Final Fantasy Duodecim 012

I have no idea what I'm looking at and move along.

I've had that on my Vita for ages and everytime I try it I'm kinda confused. Maybe I not the smart.

Square really does a lot of annoying things. Why can't I get Crisis Core on the PS store? Why not bring Type-0 to the US? Most of these Japanese game companies could learn a thing or 2 about keeping fans happy.

Anyways my order with little to no details is...

VI - duh.

IX -

IV

VII

V

VIII - That card game really is awesome. They need to rework that and release it on the App Store ASAP.

X - The only one I never beat. That stupid section with the glowing orbs. Might be my most hated area of a game. Ever.

III

XIII - It's an interesting internal debate between 13 and 3...

XII I fucking loathe. I can't imagine trying it again. Did someone mention the DS game Revenant Wings? How is that?

I've been meaning to pick up another DS game 4 Heroes of Light in advance of Bravely Default. Any opinions on that game?

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Final Fantasy VIII has a plot riddled with crater-sized plot holes, paper thin, annoying characters, a magic/junction system that can see you be unbeatable 5 hours in by simply abusing the fun but paper thin card game, annoying sidequests that you couldn't POSSIBLY solve without use of an FAQ, that annoying ass mission in the fucking desert dungeon when you're running round and round like a Scooby Doo episode, a really bad translation and completely drops everything that is the slightest bit interesting for time-jumping, convoluted sorceress, weepy bullshit.

 

But, since I played it non-stop as a child, every single bit of it is ingrained onto my very being and I could sit down now, load up a save from any point in the game and pick right up with an encyclopedic knowledge of what cards to refine, what magic to junction and where to go next. Some people know how to save lives, I know how to get unlimited energy crystals from monsters in Esthar. Jesus Christ.

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Final Fantasy VIII has a plot riddled with crater-sized plot holes, paper thin, annoying characters, a magic/junction system that can see you be unbeatable 5 hours in by simply abusing the fun but paper thin card game, annoying sidequests that you couldn't POSSIBLY solve without use of an FAQ, that annoying ass mission in the fucking desert dungeon when you're running round and round like a Scooby Doo episode, a really bad translation and completely drops everything that is the slightest bit interesting for time-jumping, convoluted sorceress, weepy bullshit.

 

But, since I played it non-stop as a child, every single bit of it is ingrained onto my very being and I could sit down now, load up a save from any point in the game and pick right up with an encyclopedic knowledge of what cards to refine, what magic to junction and where to go next. Some people know how to save lives, I know how to get unlimited energy crystals from monsters in Esthar. Jesus Christ.

 

There should be a special branch of therapy for you.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm just mad I can't find my physical copy of the game because I feel like loading all my spells and GFs on Seifer, piss about on Dollet for a few hours, and make the game a fucking JOKE by the time he leaves and gets replaced by useless-ass ADHD poster child and precursor to the self-photo movement Selphie Telmitt, but I can't justify dropping $10 on the PS Store to DL it on my console. Thanks, D_n_D.

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That's always the most frustrating part of any RPG: "For fuck's sake, why couldn't you be that strong when you were on my team?" Thank Jebus you didn't have to fight Auron in 10. He would've the final boss or something.

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I'm just mad I can't find my physical copy of the game because I feel like loading all my spells and GFs on Seifer, piss about on Dollet for a few hours, and make the game a fucking JOKE by the time he leaves and gets replaced by useless-ass ADHD poster child and precursor to the self-photo movement Selphie Telmitt, but I can't justify dropping $10 on the PS Store to DL it on my console. Thanks, D_n_D.

 

You jest, but her in-cut-scene suggestion of "Blow It To Smithereens With a Rocket Launcher" was a way more practical idea (and more in line with the tactical thinking you'd expect from PROFESSIONAL SOLDIERS) than the bullshit train jumping minigame players ended up having to do during that phase of the game.  Would've been a more fun minigame, too.  Stock FF party roster Perky Airhead Girl that she is, I'm discovering as I play through the game again she often comes off as the Shakespearian Fool (i.e. the only one talking any sense) in some of the game's more tortured leaps of logic to set up the next set-piece of game play.  And her ideas on how to chop the Gordian Knot are no-sold by the "sane" members of the team every time.

 

Just one of many frustrating yet compelling bits of FF8's fascinatingly incoherent narrative.  And I could nerd out all fucking day about this damn game's story line but I already have done too much in a thread that's supposed to be about the entire series.

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I guess the overall storylines of 7 and 8 didn't bother me. What did bother me is that almost all characters interaction is centered around two fuckers who don't even like people. So, why the fuck is he is the leader? "Hey Cloud, what should we do next?" "Fuck if I know." "Hey, I think we should do this!" "...." Most of the two games' conversations are built around the leaders being verbally abusive or just shitty towards the people and most of the other people just take it.

 

 

I guess that was a much welcome and needed change in 9. Zidane wasn't the strongest or smartest, but it was pretty damn clear why he was the leader of the pack.

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Probably the best part of IX is how unabashedly fun the beginning is. Right from the get go, you know what you're getting into. It's a big play/thief/romp. 

 

And the immediate tip off that FFIX was finally marking the return of the Four Man Party (which was actually the last hurrah of the four man party as it turned out) that I miss about the early installments of the series and blame FF7 and it's success for killing off.

 

How am I supposed to rename my adventuring party after The Horsemen when there's only 3 of them?  So inconsiderate, Square.

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That's always the most frustrating part of any RPG: "For fuck's sake, why couldn't you be that strong when you were on my team?" Thank Jebus you didn't have to fight Auron in 10. He would've the final boss or something.

Hell, once Seifer has a shitload of -aga level spells from the refine abilities you get from maxing out your GFs, he's NOTHING when you actually fight him because you got a hundred game breaker spells junctioned in your attack stat and will easily hit him for damage that in any other franchise would invoke the Chunky Salsa rule. The only guys who MIGHT give you problems is Bahamut and Omega, and Meltdown + Limit Breaks would make those two fights five minutes TOTAL. At MOST.

I'm just mad I can't find my physical copy of the game because I feel like loading all my spells and GFs on Seifer, piss about on Dollet for a few hours, and make the game a fucking JOKE by the time he leaves and gets replaced by useless-ass ADHD poster child and precursor to the self-photo movement Selphie Telmitt, but I can't justify dropping $10 on the PS Store to DL it on my console. Thanks, D_n_D.

You jest, but her in-cut-scene suggestion of "Blow It To Smithereens With a Rocket Launcher" was a way more practical idea (and more in line with the tactical thinking you'd expect from PROFESSIONAL SOLDIERS) than the bullshit train jumping minigame players ended up having to do during that phase of the game. Would've been a more fun minigame, too. Stock FF party roster Perky Airhead Girl that she is, I'm discovering as I play through the game again she often comes off as the Shakespearian Fool (i.e. the only one talking any sense) in some of the game's more tortured leaps of logic to set up the next set-piece of game play. And her ideas on how to chop the Gordian Knot are no-sold by the "sane" members of the team every time.

Just one of many frustrating yet compelling bits of FF8's fascinatingly incoherent narrative. And I could nerd out all fucking day about this damn game's story line but I already have done too much in a thread that's supposed to be about the entire series.

I treat FF8 the same way I treat FF5. The plot? Pbpbpbpbt. It's all about the system and how many ways you can crack it open and make the game almost INSULTINGLY easy. That's why the Four Job Fiesta is a thing every year; it handcuffs you to four jobs at random and forces you to make the best of it. Stuck with a dinky Red Mage? Sucks for you, bub, hope Doublecasting Fira helps you. Get a Samurai? You can literally throw money at your problems til they go away. Some motherfuckers get stuck with a Berserker, and there's a version of the challenge for MORE Berserkers. A few years ago someone beat the challenge with THREE Berserkers and a Knight. THAT'S a challenge.
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