Final Fantasy

[KennedyKiller]

There was a lot to read there. So like a True American, I skipped it, and now am just gonna give my opinion!

Final Fantasy Tactics is the greatest FF game of all time!

 

[Deathstroke]

@AgentZero

What? No, they dont. Every numbered Final Fantasy game takes place in a different world, with different characters and having a different story. All of them have different gameplay too. Auto Battle only exists in FF XIII and its sequel XIII-2.

The only FF games that continue the same story and feature the same characters are sequels and spin-offs to certain FF games such as Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 or the upcoming Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Because they are sequels to previous FF games, they are not numbered main entries.

The Main Party Characters & Villains of each Final Fantasy:

Final Fantasy (1987)

Light Warrior #1
Light Warrior #2
Light Warrior #3
Light Warrior #4

Villain: Garland/Chaos
Final Fantasy II (1988)

Firion
Maria
Guy
Leon

Temporarily playable:

Gordon
Josef
Leila
Minwu
Ricard

Villain: Mateus (Emperor of Palamecia)
Final Fantasy III (1990)

Luneth
Arc
Refia
Ingus

Villain: Cloud of Darkness

Final Fantasy IV (1991)

Cecil Harvey
Kain Highwind
Rosa Farrell
Cid Pollendina
Rydia
Tellah
Edward Chris von Muir
Yang Fang Leiden
Palum & Porom
Edward Geraldine
Fusoya

Villain: Zemus/Zeromus

Final Fantasy V (1992)

Bartz Klauser
Lenna Charlotte Tycoon
Galuf Doe
Faris Scherwiz/Sarisa Schwerwill Tycoon
Krile Mayer Baldesion

Villain: ExDeath/Neo ExDeath

Final Fantasy VI (1994)

Terra Branford
Locke Cole
Celes Chere
Edgar Figaro
Sabin Figaro
Cyan Garamonde
Shadow
Gau
Setzer Gabbiani
Strago Magus
Relm Arrowny
Mog
Gogo
Umaro

Temporarily playable:

Leo Christophe
Banon

Villain: Kefka Palazzo

Final Fantasy VII (1997)

Cloud Strife
Barret Wallace
Tifa Lockheart
Aerith Gainsborough
Red XIII
Yuffie Kisaragi
Cait Sith
Vincent Valentine
Cid Highwind

Villains: Sephiroth & JENOVA

Final Fantasy VIII (1999)

Squall Leonhart
Quistis Trepe
Zell Dincht
Selphie Tilmitt
Rinoa Heartilly
Irvine Kinneas

Temporarily playable:

Seifer Almasy
Laguna Loire
Kiros Seagull
Ward Zabac
Edea Kramer

Villain: Sorceress Ultimecia

Final Fantasy IX (2000)

Zidane Tribal
Adelbert Steiner
Vivi Orunitia
Sara/Princess Garnet/Dagger
Eiko Carol
Amarand Coral
Freya Crescent
Quina Quen

Temporarily playable:

Marcus
Blank
Cinna
Beatrix

Villains: Kuja and Necron

Final Fantasy X (2001)

Tidus
Yuna
Rikku
Lulu
Wakka
Auron
Kimahri

Temporarily playable: Seymour

Villains: Seymour and Yu-Yevon/SIN


Final Fantasy XI (2002)

No specific characters because FF XI is an Online-RPG

Final Fantasy XII (2006)

Vaan
Ashe
Penelo
Balthier
Fran
Basch

Villains: Vayne Solidor and Venat

Final Fantasy XIII (2009)

Claire "Lightning" Farron
Snow Villiers
Hope Estheim
Oerba Yun Fang
Oerba Dia Vanille
Saszh Katzroy

Villains: Primarch Dysley/Barthendelus and Orphan

Final Fantasy XIV (2010/2013)

No specific characters since FF XIV (like FF XI) is an Online-RPG

Final Fantasy XV (2015)

Confirmed Characters:

Noctis Lucis Caelum
Stella Nox Fleuret
Gladiolus Amicitia
Ignis Stupeo Scientia
Prompto Argentum
Cor Leonis
Female Dragon Knight (Name still unknown but confirmed as party member)

 

[Jay]

Its cool, don't worry about it. FFIV was the first one I played, but it was VII that brought me into it. FF VIII definitely is the more technical one to play. The junction system seemed cool at first for me. Though shortly later its like why do I have to keep drawing all this magic from monsters to do some basic actions? I didn't like the cast much either. Squall and Zell are cool and had a funny friendship. Other then them I don't know, the rest seemed uninteresting to me. Along with their world and the people in it. Its just something about it that bored me to death. And that overworld theme... shivers lol. I didn't finish it myself, but I do know the story having watched LPs of it. Some of the music tracks as always are amazing. It does have some cool looking summons and limit breaks. I seen the Triple Triad game gets pretty deep too. FFIX was what VIII did for you in terms of emotions and truly bringing you into their world. Absolutely loved everything about IX and it is a masterpiece. Don't hate me for this, but VIII felt like a really bad Japanese soap opera lol. Maybe I'll try it again some day. I do want to at least beat it once.

But in contrast I feel the same way about FF I, II and V that you feel about VIII. I just cant get into those games, they feel like a joyless chore and I just cant invest myself emotionally into the world and characters. I am generally not a big fan of the NES/SNES era of Final Fantasy. I got into FF with VII and VIII and those game had really completely redefined the style of the series. The graphics style of the Nintendo-FFs is one of my biggest problems. This 2D sprites stuff really isnt my thing and feels so silly to me in a FF game. It severely limits the presentation and storytelling and those tiny, cute sprites-models of the characters make it very hard for me to attach myself to them and to invest myself emotionally into it.

FF1 is so mind numbingly easy with hardly any story lol. FFII is rather very difficult because its easy to get lost cause there's no sense of direction. Though I actually like the battle system of combining and switching weapons. But if you walk the wrong way into an area 20+ levels higher you're done lol. Wow, I'm surprised you don't like V. The story was a step up and the battle system with all the different job classes were fun to master. X-2 later would go back to it. The 2D sprites have a special novelty to it. I don't mind them at all long as the story, gameplay, and cast is good. But you played the best two IV and VI so that's good.

I should add that I do not come from the background of RPG. In fact I dont play any other RPGs but Final Fantasy. They just dont appeal to me at all. I always say that while I am a hardcore FF-fan, I am certainly no RPG-fan in general. Final Fantasy just has something really special (I used to call that the "Final Fantasy Style") that affects me emotionally and appeals to me so much. But I tried other RPGs that were recommended to me and none of them could evoke that same feeling. And what I love most in an FF game (and thats really what made me love them in the first place when I came to the series with VII and VIII) is the cinematic presentation, the feeling of true emotions and playing a giant movie. And that really only started with VII and then developed from there while FF I-VI were more classic and pure RPGs who didnt focus as much on presentation and a cinematic way of storytelling because they didnt really have the technology for it. And I am sure that if I had played FF IV, V or VI first I would probably feel different about it (or maybe they wouldnt have appealed to me at all and I would never have become a fan of the series) but I came to it with VII and VIII and it was really their style and movie-esque presentation (as well as those much more realistic and elaborate graphics then what you had before VII) that made me love it. I mean the backgrounds, the animations, the summon sequences, the battle effects, animation of the characters - all that made me be in utter awe back then.

That's fine. At least you picked one of the best to play lol. There's other RPGS I play other than FF. Its definitely a pioneer of games and what they can be visual and musically. The whole mythology and magic is what drew me in as well. Seeing that as a kid my mind was blown lol. If I were to recommend two great Action RPGS it would be Namco's Tales Of series and Star Ocean.

Also something I´d like to add about the issue of comparing the games: I think its okay to compare certain aspects of the games. You can certainly compare things like quality of the story, gameplay, music or really anything that applies to all of them. I am just saying people shouldnt compare things that are meant to be unique to each game like the type of universe, character or story.

Right. That was what I was trying to do between VII, IX, and X cast. VII felt like a epic come ride along while IX and X you really got to know everyone on a personal level.

 

[Deathstroke]

Yeah I actually dislike FF V the most of all FF games. The whole setting and story is just so damn boring to me. The characters (unlike in IV and VI) are also some of the most bland and uninteresting in the whole series.

About VIII: well thats the cool thing about the junction system. You dont really need to spend endless time with drawing magic from monsters. I almost never do that. Just by collecting all of the rare cards and then transforming them into items and spells will give you all the spells you need. I got most spells just by using the converting abilities that you learn with the GF. But thats exactly what I mean - you can use the junction system in so many different ways with so many different combinations and possibilities. Its probably the most complex gameplay system in the series.

I recently did complete playthroughs of VIII and IX again (including all best weapons, skills, fully maxed characters, all sidequests and optional bosses etc.) before starting my VII playthrough and they ended up being the best runs I ever did on those games (Which is really saying something since I played each of these through at least 20 times in the last 15 years).

On VII I have just beaten JENOVA Death and am about to enter the Northern Crater. Its quite bad that I´ll have to replace both Cloud and Tifa for a while now, since they are both in my my main party (Cloud, Tifa, Cid). But my playthrough is going extremely good. I have already almost all of the best spells for my materia (Fire/Ice/Bolt/Cure/Quake/Bio/Demi 3, Comet 2) have most of the best enemy skills and maxed out my first materias already. Party is around Lv.45.

Its going good

 

[AgentZero]

But I watched FF XII as well, and that had auto battle.

 

[Deathstroke]

No it has a completely different battle system then XIII. On XII you still have to choose every action of your party leader, he wont choose them for you. There is no Auto Battle option in XII. You can control only the party leader but you can set up so-called Gambits which will determine exactly how your party members will react and act in battle.

Final Fantasy I - III have a turn based system, meaning that every party members has its own turn in battle and you have to input every command for every character.

Final Fantasy IV introduced the ATB (Active Time Battle) battle system where every character has an ATB gauge which fills automatically and once its filled you can input your command for that character. While the system of how to develop your characters changed for every game, the ATB battle system was the basic gameplay system for FF IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and IX.

Final Fantasy X returned to the turn based system of FF I-III with a new system called CTB (Character Turn Based). here every character and every enemy has their turn and a timetable in the corner of the screen shows you exactly the order of turns. Once its a characters turn you can input commands for him and the game will not continue (and enemies wont attack) until you have done that and your character has executed the action you commanded. This makes this gameplay probably the most strategic and chess-like gameplaysystem because you always see on the timetable when it will be the enemies turn and can plan your strategy in advance. Several actions also change the timetable (powerful skills or magic usually result in a longer recovery time for a character and it will take longer until its his turn again) and you can also influence the order of the turns by using magic like Haste (which will give the party members more turns) or Slow (which will give the enemies less turns). Also the speed stats of the characters determine how often it will be their turn before its the enemies turn.

FF XII was the first game in the series that abandoned the traditional concept of turn based battles or classic ATB. It was the first game where you could control only the party leader and where you could move freely around during battle. Instead as I said before you could set up Gambits which would determine the exact actions of your other party members and how they will react on certain situations. But that kind of gameplay was never done before FF XII.

FF XIII then became somewhat of a blend between XII´s battle system and the more traditional ATB. For instance like on XII you could only control the party leader and could set up paradigms (a certain configuration of job classes) which would determine the job class of each character during battle. However unlike in XII you couldnt determine exactly which actions the other party members would perform and how they would react to situations. That became all AI controlled.

But on the other hand FF XIII returned to the classic system of having a battle screen and an ATB gauge (though this one is different from classic ATB since on XIII you can actually chain several different actions together once its your turn)

Maybe you misinterpret the term "Auto Battle". Auto Battle is an option in FF XIII that you select which will make the AI of the game select your battle commands for you. That is Auto Battle. But you are not forced to use this . You can ignore the auto battle command and just select your actions manually if you choose to.

FF XII doesnt have Auto Battle because there is no option that will make the game choose your actions for you. You only control the party leader but you still have to choose your commands manually. Though there is an option in XII for you to repeat your last actions so you dont have to input the same commands each time manually. But again this is entirely optional.


Another thing that confuses me is that you thought each Final Fantasy has the same characters and follows the same storyline. Why would you think that if you have seen videos of FF XII ? That doesnt make any sense at all. I mean if you have seen FF XII then you clearly should have noticed that this is a very different game from FF XIII, with a different battle system, different characters and a whole different world. Yet you said to me yesterday you thought every FF game follows the same story and has the same world and characters? That doesnt make sense at all!!

 

[Jay]

Yeah I actually dislike FF V the most of all FF games. The whole setting and story is just so damn boring to me. The characters (unlike in IV and VI) are also some of the most bland and uninteresting in the whole series.

Did you give up on it, looked up the story, or beat it once?

About VIII: well thats the cool thing about the junction system. You dont really need to spend endless time with drawing magic from monsters. I almost never do that. Just by collecting all of the rare cards and then transforming them into items and spells will give you all the spells you need. I got most spells just by using the converting abilities that you learn with the GF. But thats exactly what I mean - you can use the junction system in so many different ways with so many different combinations and possibilities. Its probably the most complex gameplay system in the series.

Right. I seen some tricks that can make things go WAY easier and faster. Like the card method. I might give it another go and try to finish it.

On VII I have just beaten JENOVA Death and am about to enter the Northern Crater. Its quite bad that I´ll have to replace both Cloud and Tifa for a while now, since they are both in my my main party (Cloud, Tifa, Cid). But my playthrough is going extremely good. I have already almost all of the best spells for my materia (Fire/Ice/Bolt/Cure/Quake/Bio/Demi 3, Comet 2) have most of the best enemy skills and maxed out my first materias already. Party is around Lv.45. Its going good

Nice. I did a perfect playthrough awhile back. Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie was my main.

While on the topic of FFVII, what's your take the PS3 tech demo. They've remade every FF I-VI (FFVI remake is on Android and iOS) and VII would be next. The video came out seven years ago and the rumor still going strong. With the PS4 out now it couldn't be a better time. Do you really think it was just to show off the PS3 or were they hinting at it possibly being remade? And would you even want it to be or do you think that would tarnish its reputation?

 

[Deathstroke]

I have given up on FF V pretty much after they save the first crystal. I just couldnt stick with it anymore, it was such a joyless chore. But I read the entire story of it on wiki. Its a step down from FF IV in every way. The only cool thing about it seems to be ExDeath but I am not gonna grind myself through this bore just to see him. Sakaguchi is so widely praised for being the creator of FF (and rightfully so) and people keep saying that once he left Square the series went downhill. But to be honest, the FFs he directed were the worst in the series to me (Both IV and VI were not directed by him and he directed none of the FFs of the Playstation era) and it was his failure with Spirits within that nearly bankrupted the company and forced them into the merger with Enix. Yet he is still glorified as the ultimate god of Final Fantasy who was the heart of the franchise. I will be forever grateful to hm that he created this series but other than that and some great creative work on FF IX (which was conceived and written for the most part by him since it was a throwback to his old FFs) that he did, I think that most of the games he was involved with on a deeper level were the worst in the series.

While ironically people like Yoshinori Kitase (director of FF VI, VII, VIII and X as well as producer of FF XIII), Hiroyuki Itou (director of FF IV and IX), Shinji Hashimoto (producer of FF VI, VII and X as well as director of FF VIII) , who all still work for Square Enix are constantly overlooked (or at least their work of the past is) by fans. I also noticed that there has formed an immense hatred for Motomu Toriyama because he directed the FF XIII-games but people seem to forget that he already worked on FF VII, VIII and X as producer, event creator and co-writer. In fact the legendary moment of Aeriths death was his idea.

Someone else who is either overlooked or frowned upon is storywriter Kazujige Nojima, which is really unbelievable. Yes he wrote FF XIII (not the sequel though) and especially the XIII-haters give him a lot of **** for that. But the man also wrote FF VII, VIII, X and co-wrote FF XV with Nomura for gods sake. Yet these people are either overlooked or way underappreciated and Sakaguchi (who wrote and directed the worst entries - at least in my opinion) gets glorified. Well at least the fans still hold Tetsuya Nomura (character designer of FF VII, VIII, X and XIIII, co-writer of FF VII, battle designer of FF VI, creator of the Kingdom Hearts series, writer and director of Advent Children and producer, co-writer and co-director of FF XV) in high regard.

Nomura is probably my favorite Square-staff member. His designs of world and characters DEFINE Final Fantasy to me. And with the exception of IX (that Nomura wasnt involved with) all of my favorite games in the series feature his designs and work. Just look at the list of characters he created: Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Sephiroth, Squall, Seifer, Edea, Zell, Ultimecia, Tidus, Yuna, Auron, Rikku, Lightning, Snow, Fang, Caius, Noctis or Stella. Its his design style that embodies FF the most to me (having come to the series with VII and VIII) and I practically love everything he has done on FF with his creations and designs. I also loved his work on Advent Children and cant wait for his first self-produced and directed FF (XV). Nomura, Kitase and series composer Uematsu are my personal triumvirate of Final Fantasy.


As for FF VII´s Tech Demo:

That was of course a dream come true. When I saw that for the first time I think I had tears of joy in my eyes man. And they only put that together within a matter of a few days (Indicating that an actual PS3-version of FF VII would look even better). But we shouldnt interpret more into it then it is. Its just a Tech demo. They made a Final Fantasy VIII Tech Demo for PS2 as well (The dance scene of Squall and Rinoa) but we never got a FF VIII remake for PS2. And I imagine they might do a Tech Demo for PS4 as well (FF IX this time, maybe?). These Tech Demos are not meant as announcements for remakes, just demos to show off the power of a new console. People interpret way too much into them.

Would I love a FF VII Remake for PS4 ? hell yeah. I´d go insane with joy. And with the memory capacity and power of the PS4 they could actually pull it off (It would never have been possible on PS3 to recreate FF VII because the limited memory capacity couldnt create a huge world like that in HD graphics. Thats why FF XIII was so linear and lacked a more open world and optional stuff to explore - back then it wasnt possible with that level of quality in the graphics. Lightning Returns which has an open world and lots of exploration and content has really taken the PS3 to the absolute limit, resulting even in some framerate problems in some areas of the game. That game is really pushing the limits of the PS3 to the max and you couldnt recreate FF VII with all its world and content while having that kind of graphics.

Thats also why they moved development of FF XV to PS4 because the were facing the same issues. What they want to do with this game cant be done on PS3. They tried hard but met with failures, which is probably the reason for the massive development time and delay. But with PS4 they can finally achieve what they want to do with FF XV without having to sacrifice or compromise anything. So I guess on PS4 a true FF VII remake finally might be possible but I dont think they will do this. The FF VII remake has been rumored for over 10 years and nothing ever came out of it. Hoping for a remake by now is like an insider joke. I have accepted long ago that we wont get one. They have focused all their attention on FF XV now which will probably be out in 2015 and they already said they might do sequels and spin-offs for that game because its only a part of a larger "Epic" which sounds like they conceive the saga of FF XV from the beginning as a multiple-game story (which has never been done before) so my guess is that they´ll be working on that for the next 7 years at least.

Besides the FF series has greatly evolved since the days of FF VII and is now going into a more dynamic action-oriented direction with FF XV. It would be pretty weird if they would now make a FF VII remake for PS4 that has the gameplay system of 1997. It would be much more likely they would conceive a completely new gameplay system for a remake, which feels more like modern day FF and then endless legions of fans would go berserk that FF VII doesnt feel like before anymore. So all in all wouldnt a remake do more harm to the game then good? I mean certainly it would be awesome to see the game in PS4 graphics with voice acting and ingame-cutscenes to tell the story, no doubt. But gameplay would (and should) be changed to adapt it to modern times and audiences. While this would be a great way for a whole new generation to discover FF VII, it would **** off the veteran fans almost certainly. Veteran Fans are often a paradox to me. They always want the remake, the new graphics, the newest technology but are completely incapable of accepting change. they want a game that looks like 2014 and feels like 1997 and thats just never going to happen.

I am curious what Square will do for the 20th anniversary of FF VII though in a few years. A new CG movie perhaps? That´d be cool. Or another spin-off game that takes place after Dirge of Cerberus, hell maybe even FF VII-2 ? With a true sequel game they wouldnt have to do a 1997-gameplay style. Its certainly easier to pull off then a remake.

But from the look of things its actually much more likely that we will get a Final Fantasy X-3. The novella "FF X-2.5" and the bonus audio-drama in the HD version of FF X both are heavily setting up a sequel

SPOILERS FOLLOW

In the novella Tidus and Yuna end up on a magically created island, where Tidus dies when he accidentally sets off a bomb. Yuna goes to the Farplane and desperate to get Tidus back bends all rules of nature and order and summons him back to life from the Farplane. This however has dire consequences for the balance of life and death on Spira and Tidus also returns a changed man, who has an injury that he keeps from Yuna and feels drained of energy.

In the Bonus Audio Drama of the HD version, Tidus still is a big Blitzball star but is keeping his state and injury from Yuna. Yuna and co. have created a new Order of Yevon (with different approaches and practices then the old Yevon or New Yevon of X-2 though) and are alerted when suddenly deceased people appear as pyrefly-illusions to their loved ones (like in the Farplane in X and X-2) but are able to talk. Eventually people that have been sent are able to return to the physical realm which is a result of Yunas disruption of the natural order of things when she brought Tidus back from the dead. This ultimately results in the return of SIN itself.

Two new characters are introduced. One of them claims to be Aurons daughter but Lulu refuses to believe her, saying that Auron wouldnt have kept this from them and that there are many who claim to be descendants of Jecht, Braska and Auron to share their fame. The other is quite infatuated with Yuna and eventually joins her.

After Yuna finds out about Tidus´true state and his injury she breaks up with him, claiming that she has fallen in love with someone else, which of course hits Tidus quite hard and confuses the hell out of him. When he asks her who that guy is he replies that he doesnt know him and when Tidus asks Lulu about this, Lulu gets angry and tells Tidus that he is an idiot and she thought he would know Yuna better then this by now.

Ultimately Yuna announces at the new Bevelle stadium that SIN has returned and she is going on a new quest to vanquish it once more and restore the natural order in the world. She is accompanied by Lulu, Wakka and the two new characters (no mention of Rikku, Paine and Kimahri though) and Tidus decides to go with her too. When one of the new characters why he would go with her in his state and after she left him he replies "Because I made a promise that I would always be by her side, no matter what"

And thats how it ends.

So if you ask me a FF X-3 is pretty much inevitable. I mean they cant set something like this up and then just leave it open right?



Lightning Returns

There is some news on LR. Apparently a demo has hit the US-PSN (definitely going to check this out!!) and by playing the demo you will get a special outfit for the retail version. You also get Siegfrieds outfit from FF VI when sharing your game stats in the Demo on social media.

You get Yunas outfit from FF X if you pre-order the game on Amazon and if you buy the Collectors edition you get Aeriths outfit from FF VII. You also get Clouds outfit by pre-ordering.

All of the outfits will be available at a later date as DLC on PSN and XBL.

 

[Kairisriku]

I really enjoy these games one of my faces is ffviii and I liked ffx, ffx-2 so much fun love the story lines

 

[Deathstroke]

They are having a massive Final Fantasy sale on the european PSN right now. Every FF game has been reduced in price by 50 % !! You can get the PSP Versions of FF I and II for 4.99 each , FF IV for 9.99, FF V-IX for 4.99 each and FF XIII-2 for 9.99 now. if you dont have one of those immortal classics yet (Shame on you, by the way) - now is the time to get them.


I have been playing FF VII like crazy yesterday. Am on Disc 3 and just defeated Ultimate Weapon. Its going beyond good. I have already unlocked all spells for all materias, maxed out several of my blue and green materias, collected the ultimate weapons for Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Cid, Vincent and Yuffie, have the Lv.4 Limit Breaks for Tifa, Barret, Red, Cid, Vincent, my party is at Lv.60 and I used the W-Item glitch to produce 99 Megaelixirs, Elixirs, Turbo Ethers, Hero Drinks and Remedies.

Next steps on my roadmap:

1.Visit Cosmo Canyon to get Reds ultimate weapon

2.Visit Da-Chao Statue to get the Steal as well materia

3.Breed golden Chocobo and visit the 4 secret caves

4.Get all the remaining materias at Gold Saucer as well as Omnislash for Cloud

5.level up some more and prepare for the battle against the weapons

6.Defeat Emerald Weapon and take the earth harp to the traveler at Kalm to get the master materia

7.Level up some more to prepare for Ruby

8.Defeat Ruby Weapon

9.Head into the North Cave to defeat JENOVA Synthesis and Sephiroth

 

[Spikeyroxas]

I have ff7 and ff8 downloaded already
Maybe I will give ff8 another try and attempt to actually play it through to the end.
Also good god do you always make replies so long?
I feel like my replies are so insignificant compared xD

 

[Deathstroke]

You call that a long reply? I just write what I want and dont really care if its long or short. But yes generally I dont like short replies. They dont mean much and are often just boring to read because there is really nothing too them. People who put passion, heart and commitment into their posts/replies often post longer replies which really have something more to say then the usual 08/15 stuff that everyone posts. I definitely prefer it if people are more detailed and respond in greater detail to what others have to say instead of just posting five casual sentences. But thats just me and my preference.

And I dont mean to offend anyone but honestly I am getting pretty agitated and annoyed by people on the internet who constantly tell me off for my longer posts and replies. Just because some people are too damn lazy to read something longer and more detailed then a twitter message doesnt give them the right to come down on me for writing longer and more committed posts. Thats just how I am. I am not referring to you specifally with this Spikeyroxas so please dont take it the wrong way, its just that I have encountered such dismissive and rejecting attitude towards the length of my posts on many forums and I am getting really sick of it. I just write what I want to write and thats it. I dont care if its 10 sentences or 10.000. If I wanna write it, then I will. Forum discussions to me shouldnt be an exchange of short messages but indepht conversations about something that we obviously all love. But again - maybe that is just me and people just cant appreciate longer posts and want to stick to their short messages. Its just not my style.

Also why are there so many people here who have a problem with FF VIII? Its an awesome game, I have beaten it like 30 times. I honestly dont get you guys problem with this game. Everyone I know who likes FF loves FF VIII. This is so weird....

 

[Spikeyroxas]

Whoa buddy
I haven't got a problem with your replies, I was just noticing.
I prefer to write short replies because it's easier for me and I feel I get to the point faster and easier.

Anyway
I havnt got a problem with final fantasy VIII. I think I got to the part where you can fight Cerberus and get him as a card or whatever they are.
I was doing really well and then he insta killed all 3 of my characters with an EarthQuake. And in my disappointment I forgot to save so lost quite a bit of progress and never bothered to go back.
I used to like having the girl with the whip in my party as well as Renoa?
The one with the dog. The dog was so awesome.
Might start playing it again soon, now it's back in my head...

 

[Deathstroke]

Sry I didnt mean any offense, I have just been attacked for my longer posts in the past that I really cant hear about it any more without getting a bit angry.

Well I defeated Cerberus with one Limit Break

The trick to building a powerful party as early as possible is to collect rare cards, then use converting abilities to turn them into really great items which can be used (again through the use of converting abilities) to create large amounts of magic spells, which normally you wouldnt get until much later in the game.

The key are the Guardian Forces (GF). Thats the creatures you can obtain and summon in battle. But they have another much more important use. They can learn abilities (like the different converting abilities), so its essential to not miss any GF and learn their abilities as fast as possible.

Here is a list of the GF and where to find them:

QUEZACOTL (check Squalls computer in the classroom)
SHIVA (check Squalls computer in the classroom)
IFRIT (must be defeated during the story and is therefore not missable)
SIREN (must be drawn from El Voret during the boss battle in Dollet)
DIABLOS (after using the Wonder Lamp that Cid gives you you will enter a boss battle against Diablos. Defeat him)
BROTHERS (you must defeat Sacred and Minotaur in the tomb of the unknown king. First seperately and then in a 3rd fight again)
CARBUNCLE (must be drawn from Iguion during the boss battle in Deling City)
LEVIATHAN (must be drawn from Master Norg during the boss battle in Balamb Garden on Disc 2)
PANDEMONA (must be drawn from Fujin during the boss battle in Balamb)
CERBERUS (must be defeated in Galbadia Garden on Disc 2)
ALEXANDER (must be drawn from Edea during the boss battle in Galbadia Garden on Disc 2)
DOOMTRAIN (You need 6 Iron Pipes, 6 Marlboro Tentacles & 6 Remedy-2. Then find Solomons Ring at Tears Point on Disc 3 and use it)
CACTUAR (defeat Jumbo-Cactuar in an optional boss battle on Cactuar Island once you have the airship)
TONBERRY (defeat around 20 Tonberries in a row at the Centra Ruins without leaving or saving. then Tonberry King will appear. Defeat him)
BAHAMUT (travel with the airship to the secret research base and walk towards the light pillar when the lights disappear. You eventually will be asked some questions. Give the rigth answers and you will have to fight 2 Ruby Dragons in a row. Afterwards choose the invisible answer when asked again and you will enter a boss battle against Bahamut. Defeat him)
EDEN (after getting Bahamut, you can enter the lower levels of the research base and have to fight your way through a big dungeon full of the most dangerous monsters in the game. After you reach the excavation site, use the machine and you will have to fight Ultima Weapon. Eden can be drawn from him during the battle)

As you can see some of these GFs are really hard to get and you will need a highly maxed out party with high level upgrade weapons if you want to get Bahamut and Eden.

there is also a small number of Bonus GFs, which you can obtain but you cant learn abilities with them or control them. Those are:

ODIN (solve the riddles in the Centra Ruins and unlock the entrance to Odins chamber within a time limit of 20 minutes. Then defeat him before time runs out)

Note: After you get Odin, he will randomly appear at the start of normal battles. If he does he will instantly kill any enemy. he doesnt appear during boss battles.

GILGAMESH (if you get Odin before you fight Seifer on Disc 3, Seifer will kill Odin. After you defeat Seifer, Gilgamesh will appear and replace Odin)

Note: Like Odin, Gilgamesh appears randomly in battles and uses one of four attacks: Zantetsuken will kill any enemy, Masamune will inflict major damage, Excalibur will inflict medium damage and Excalipoor will only inflict 1 HP damage.

PHOENIX (get the item Phoenix Pinion and use it in battle to summon Phoenix. After that he will appear randomly in battles after your party has been wiped out and resurrect them)

BOKO (after you catch your first Chocobo in a Chocobo Forest, you get Boko as a gift. Use Gysahl Greens in battle to summon him. he doesnt inflict much damage though)


In order to create a powerful party as early as possible follow these tips:

-Learn the ability "Card" with Quezacotl as soon as possible. After that he will be able to learn the invaluable ability "Card Mod". Thats the ability you use to convert cards into items.

-You can win the rare Mogry Kid and Quistis cards at Balamb Garden. You get the Ifrit card after defeating Ifrit and can win the Zell card from Zells mother in Balamb. After defeating Diablos you get the Diablos card as well. The Mogry Kid card can be converted into 100 Pet Houses (fully heals all GF) but those are not very important so rather keep the card cause you will need a powerful deck of cards against future card players who hold some of the best rare cards. Keep the Ifrit Card as well (it only converts into items which give a GF the ability to junction elemental magic). The Diablos card converts into items which can be converted with Time magic mod-ability into 100 Demi spells for each character. Thats good for junctioning but the card is powerful so I would rather keep it for card battles. However the Zell and Quistis Cards are the key. The Quistis card converts into items which can be converted with time magic-mod into 150 Triple spells. Triple is one of the most powerful junctioning spells for strength. Junction 100 triple to Squalls strength and he will already have strength stats of nearly 150 on Disc 1. You can later draw also Triple spells from Odin during the boss battle against him to fill up the Triple spells for the other two characters.

The Zell card converts into items which can teach a GF (just use the item on a GF in the Item menu) the ability Strength + 60 %. This is VITAL. Teach it to three different GFs that are junctioned to three different characters (so that each character gets the strength + 60 boost). This combined with 100 triple spells junctioned to strength will give Squall nearly 200 strength (of 255!) on disc 1. He practically will kill every enemy with a single hit and will be able to kill any boss with one LImit Break. Bosses that used to be tough will be reduced to a mere nuisance.

the Diablos battle is pretty tough. as a preperation you need to learn the Life magic mod with Siren and then buy enough Tents (which can be converted with Life magic mod to the best healing spell Curaga) so you can generate 100 Curaga spells for each member of your party. then junction them to HP and the characters HP will dramatically rise from around 600 to nearly 3000 which dramatically increases your chances of beating Diablos as early as possible.

There are many more rare cards that will either teach your GF invaluable abilities (which normally you would only get much later in the game) or can be converted into powerful magic with the mod-abilities. Thats why you should always hunt for the rare cards, always learn the mod abilities with your GF first, dont miss any GFs and make sure as early as possible that your party members will unlock junctioning for stats like HP, strength, magic, vitality, spirit, speed etc.

Since not every GF can learn every ability you will have to divide the GFs evenly between your characters, so that each of them will have access to the best junctions and abilities.

This is my personal preferred setup:

Character 1 (Squall):

Ifrit
Diablos
Cerberus
Alexander
Bahamut
Eden

Character 2 (in my case Zell)

Quezacotl
Shiva
Carbuncle
Leviathan
Pandemona

Character 3 (in my case either Selphie or Rinoa)

Siren
Brothers
Doomtrain
Cactuar
Tonberry



here a list of the rare Cards that you should go after:

GF Cards:

Mogry Kid (from the running kid at Balamb garden)
Quezacotl (from the mayor or his wife in Fishermans Horizon)
Shiva (after you give Thon the Girly magazine on disc 2 which can be found on disc 1 in the Timber maniacs building, he will give you the card)

Ifrit (after defeating Ifrit)
Siren (from the pub owner in Dollet)
Diablos (after defeating Diablos)
Sacred (after defeating the Brothers in the Tomb of the unknown king)
Minotaur (same as with Sacred)
Pandemona (from the hotel owner in Balamb after defeating Fujin and Raijin there)
Cerberus (after defeating cerberus)
Alexander (from Piet at the space station)
Odin (after defeating Odin)
Bahamut (after defeating Bahamut, converts into 100 Megaelixirs!)
Eden (after defeating Ultima Weapon)

Characters:

Squall (from Laguna in Esthar)
Quistis (from a member of her fanclub in the Balamb garden classroom)
Zell (from Zells mother in Balamb)
Selphie (from Selphies friend at Trabia Garden)
Rinoa (from her father at Deling City but you need to lose the Ifrit card to him first)
Laguna (from Ellone at the space station - converts into 100 Hero´s !)
Ward (from Professor Odyne in Esthar)
Seifer (from Principal Cid before you go to Fishermans horizon)
Edea (from Edea at her house on disc 3)


There are a number of cards which you can only obtain by completing or beginning some special sidequests. Those are:

THE CC CLUB QUEST

after you have won enough card battles in Balamb Garden and once you can drive the Garden, if you talk to very certain people in the Garden and challenge them to a Card game, they will reveal themselves to be part of an elite group known as the CC club. By beating each member of the club you will rise in their hierarchy and will be able to play against other members all the way up to the Card King. Several of these members have rare cards:

Leviathan (CC Joker has this card - he is in the training hall by the wooden planks. But he will not always show up)
Carbuncle (Xu aka CC Heart has this card. She is the final member of the club that you face before the King)
Gilgamesh (Quistis aka the Card King has this card. After beating Xu you have to go to your quarters and go to sleep. Then a sequence will follow where Quistis wakes Squall and challenges him to a card duel. This card is extremely valuable since it can be converted to 10 Holy Wars - which can make the whole party invincible. This is very useful in optional super battles like Ultima Weapon or Omega Weapon)

CARD QUEEN QUEST

This is a VERY tough and annoying quest, probably the most frustrating in the entire game. You need to find the Card Queen, play against her and then "follow" her to whichever location she goes next and you need to influence her so she will eventually go to Dollet. If then you lose a very specific card to her, her father will create a new rare card. You then need to find the owner of this new rare card to win it from him. This can be quite a nightmare. Luckily you can also win all of these rare cards directly from the Card Queen on disc 4, when you find her at the escape pod crashsite in esthar (which is a hidden location). However I would at least try to get her father to create the Kiros card as soon as possible because you can convert that one into 3 accelerators which can teach a GF the Auto-haste ability!

These are the rare cards that can be obtained during the quest or on disc 4 from the Card Queen herself:

Kiros
Irvine
Phoenix
Chubby Chocobo
Doomtrain

Oh and a life-saving advice: ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS save your game before you try to win a rare card or convert a rare card.


using this strategy my party was already so powerful at the end of disc 2 (each having over 200 strength and 5000 HP) that boss battles like Cerberus, Seifer or Edea were over after a couple of hits or one Limit Break attack.

Thats why I love the gameplaysystem of FF VIII - if you really utilize it to its fullest you can make your party practically invincible (except for the super bosses Ultima and Omega Weapon, though they will be much easier as well)

 

[Jay]

While ironically people like Yoshinori Kitase (director of FF VI, VII, VIII and X as well as producer of FF XIII), Hiroyuki Itou (director of FF IV and IX), Shinji Hashimoto (producer of FF VI, VII and X as well as director of FF VIII) , who all still work for Square Enix are constantly overlooked (or at least their work of the past is) by fans. I also noticed that there has formed an immense hatred for Motomu Toriyama because he directed the FF XIII-games but people seem to forget that he already worked on FF VII, VIII and X as producer, event creator and co-writer. In fact the legendary moment of Aeriths death was his idea.

Someone else who is either overlooked or frowned upon is storywriter Kazujige Nojima, which is really unbelievable. Yes he wrote FF XIII (not the sequel though) and especially the XIII-haters give him a lot of **** for that. But the man also wrote FF VII, VIII, X and co-wrote FF XV with Nomura for gods sake. Yet these people are either overlooked or way underappreciated and Sakaguchi (who wrote and directed the worst entries - at least in my opinion) gets glorified. Well at least the fans still hold Tetsuya Nomura (character designer of FF VII, VIII, X and XIIII, co-writer of FF VII, battle designer of FF VI, creator of the Kingdom Hearts series, writer and director of Advent Children and producer, co-writer and co-director of FF XV) in high regard.

Nomura is probably my favorite Square-staff member. His designs of world and characters DEFINE Final Fantasy to me. And with the exception of IX (that Nomura wasnt involved with) all of my favorite games in the series feature his designs and work. Just look at the list of characters he created: Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Sephiroth, Squall, Seifer, Edea, Zell, Ultimecia, Tidus, Yuna, Auron, Rikku, Lightning, Snow, Fang, Caius, Noctis or Stella. Its his design style that embodies FF the most to me (having come to the series with VII and VIII) and I practically love everything he has done on FF with his creations and designs. I also loved his work on Advent Children and cant wait for his first self-produced and directed FF (XV). Nomura, Kitase and series composer Uematsu are my personal triumvirate of Final Fantasy.

I agree with nearly everything you said here.

What's your opinion on the XIII trilogy? Did you like XIII and XIII-2? Are you excited for XIII-3? I enjoyed XIII pretty thoroughly. Loved the battle system and I looked beyond its linearity as many complained about. I didn't like the turn they made with XIII-2. I was excited to see another part of it until I saw the new battle system. The Pokemon style gameplay of catching monsters and having them as members turned me off. I still do plan on trying XIII-2 only to finish the story and XIII-3 looks to be interesting.

As for FF VII´s Tech Demo:

That was of course a dream come true. When I saw that for the first time I think I had tears of joy in my eyes man. And they only put that together within a matter of a few days (Indicating that an actual PS3-version of FF VII would look even better). But we shouldnt interpret more into it then it is. Its just a Tech demo. They made a Final Fantasy VIII Tech Demo for PS2 as well (The dance scene of Squall and Rinoa) but we never got a FF VIII remake for PS2. And I imagine they might do a Tech Demo for PS4 as well (FF IX this time, maybe?). These Tech Demos are not meant as announcements for remakes, just demos to show off the power of a new console. People interpret way too much into them.

Would I love a FF VII Remake for PS4 ? hell yeah. I´d go insane with joy. And with the memory capacity and power of the PS4 they could actually pull it off (It would never have been possible on PS3 to recreate FF VII because the limited memory capacity couldnt create a huge world like that in HD graphics. Thats why FF XIII was so linear and lacked a more open world and optional stuff to explore - back then it wasnt possible with that level of quality in the graphics. Lightning Returns which has an open world and lots of exploration and content has really taken the PS3 to the absolute limit, resulting even in some framerate problems in some areas of the game. That game is really pushing the limits of the PS3 to the max and you couldnt recreate FF VII with all its world and content while having that kind of graphics.

Thats also why they moved development of FF XV to PS4 because the were facing the same issues. What they want to do with this game cant be done on PS3. They tried hard but met with failures, which is probably the reason for the massive development time and delay. But with PS4 they can finally achieve what they want to do with FF XV without having to sacrifice or compromise anything. So I guess on PS4 a true FF VII remake finally might be possible but I dont think they will do this. The FF VII remake has been rumored for over 10 years and nothing ever came out of it. Hoping for a remake by now is like an insider joke. I have accepted long ago that we wont get one. They have focused all their attention on FF XV now which will probably be out in 2015 and they already said they might do sequels and spin-offs for that game because its only a part of a larger "Epic" which sounds like they conceive the saga of FF XV from the beginning as a multiple-game story (which has never been done before) so my guess is that they´ll be working on that for the next 7 years at least.

Right. XV was originally suppose to be on the PS3. Until they decided to push it back after seeing how much more power the PS4 had to offer. I definitely would like to see a remake someday. The question is can they pull if off without ruining its former glory. Its not like they're making a completely new game and need things to go off of. They have the world, so do some major graphical reworks and remodeling from the ground up. They have the music score, so they can go back and remix everything. They have the story, so revisualize everything back up and maybe add some new features. For them to remake VII it wouldn't be too much harder than what they've already done with I-VI and X. Now its TRUE the game is nearly two decades which would make it difficult, but that doesn't mean its impossible. If simple modders and hackers did it on the PC, then there's NO excuse for a corporation with millions not being able to. Just YouTube FFVII PC Remake if you want to see yourself. And with the PS4 technology it isn't a dream anymore. Its whether or not they have the courage and people to do it. Now would be the best time more than ever especially since its coming up on its 20 year anniversary. Its been rumored forever that on the 20th anniversary is when they would do it. They know the fans want it and they know they would makes millions. But they keep giving that lame excuse " not until we feel we've made a game that has surpassed VII blah blah" They've come too far to stop at VII and say this is where it ends. People have always said if there is ever a Final "Final Fantasy" it has to be a VII remake. I know its a long stretch, but I still hold a bit of hope.

Besides the FF series has greatly evolved since the days of FF VII and is now going into a more dynamic action-oriented direction with FF XV. It would be pretty weird if they would now make a FF VII remake for PS4 that has the gameplay system of 1997. It would be much more likely they would conceive a completely new gameplay system for a remake, which feels more like modern day FF and then endless legions of fans would go berserk that FF VII doesnt feel like before anymore. So all in all wouldnt a remake do more harm to the game then good? I mean certainly it would be awesome to see the game in PS4 graphics with voice acting and ingame-cutscenes to tell the story, no doubt. But gameplay would (and should) be changed to adapt it to modern times and audiences. While this would be a great way for a whole new generation to discover FF VII, it would **** off the veteran fans almost certainly. Veteran Fans are often a paradox to me. They always want the remake, the new graphics, the newest technology but are completely incapable of accepting change. they want a game that looks like 2014 and feels like 1997 and thats just never going to happen.

That's not true. Turn Based RPG games are still developed and played till this day. VII doesn't have a "style" of gameplay, it has a genre. If they were to release a remake it would be loved regardless. You said you don't play other RPGs so I understand if you didn't know. But no, trust me when I tell you VII's gameplay would alter nothing and wouldn't do harm if it wasn't changed. That's all the fans want is for it TO STAY the same because they're afraid they'll screw something up. Its true they're turning to more action paced games like XV, but it wouldn't change VII comeback. It would still bring in the new generation because they never had the chance to experience it. They could see and play the RPG that kicked off the genre like never before because IT IS remade. If anything I think it would bring in MORE fans because vets can appreciate the original and experience it again. While the new gen can experience it and be brought into the RPG genre. What I'm trying to say is they could and should remake it, and they wouldn't have to change a single thing. You don't change what works, not in this case. That's the way I see it anyway. Not trying change your opinion.

I am curious what Square will do for the 20th anniversary of FF VII though in a few years. A new CG movie perhaps? That´d be cool. Or another spin-off game that takes place after Dirge of Cerberus, hell maybe even FF VII-2 ? With a true sequel game they wouldnt have to do a 1997-gameplay style. Its certainly easier to pull off then a remake.

I really think that's when they'll do it. Though if its not that I have no clue. I don't care much to get another movie. VII-2? Hell yeah, but where could they go with that? I'm all up for a X-3. Though where exactly did you read those spoilers?

Also why are there so many people here who have a problem with FF VIII? Its an awesome game, I have beaten it like 30 times. I honestly dont get you guys problem with this game. Everyone I know who likes FF loves FF VIII. This is so weird....

Lol what? Who else here didn't like VIII besides me?

 

[Deathstroke]

@Jay

I dont know. Today you cant do a remake without changing a single thing. Even the RE Remake changed some stuff and brought in gameplay elements that didnt exist in the original. I think its naive to believe that Square would ever make a FF VII remake and adapting everything from the original game 1:1 and basically just giving it better graphics and sound. The Tech Demo already was different from what we saw in the original opening in FF VII. It tells the same story but Square would be stupid if they wouldnt heavily update the way of how to tell the story because the means of telling the story were obviously limited in 1997. If they would just duplicate FF VII frame by frame with better graphics it would look stupid. They would have to overhaul the entire thing, make it more spectacular, add new dialogue, make it deeper, better, bigger so that in the portrayal of the scenes it wouldnt look inferior to games like XIII or XV. Just the action scenes of FF VII alone would need a massive overhaul for modern times. Its not as easy as you seem to think, that you can just duplicate the whole thing with better graphics. Bit more complicated then that I´m afraid. Also part of VII´s charme is from the way it looked in 1997 and how the story was presented. Adapting that into a whole new style of telling the story (ingame cutscenes, 3D environment, much more realistic graphics etc.) would inevitably change the look and feel of the original. Even if they utilize the gameplay from VII and just make it more fluid and modern looking so that it wont seem outdated - it will still feel like a different game. Even the RE Remake feels very different from the original. Everything is bigger, better, more refined - but it doesnt have the same feeling as the original. Because a remake isnt supposed to be just a copy with better graphics but a game of its own with an identity of its own. A Remake would be inevitably a different game then the one, put out in 1997. You wont get that same game again. Thats not the purpose of a remake. Nor should it ever be. If they would make a Remake I would WANT it to be different then the original. Otherwise its a waste and I just might as well play the original again. If they remake VII then I want it to be bigger, deeper, more spectacular and utilizing all of the modern day storytelling style which they have employed since FF X. You certainly cant tell the story of this game in the same way as in 1997. That would look ridiculous compared to XIII, XV or even the Advent Children film (I LOVE this movie by the way, the action, designs, music etc. is exactly how I would want a VII remake to be like. Huge and epic).

But well it is a very delicate subject. Always has been. Always will be.


As for the FF X spoilers - I have read summaries of the novel on finalfantasy.wikia and I have seen the complete translated script for the audio drama, containing the official translation. So its as legit and official as it gets, my friend This naturally has lit up the Final Fantasy message boards a few weeks ago after the HD remaster was released (The novella was included in the collectors edition in Japan).

As for the subject of the FF XIII-games - I dont even know how many damn arguments and fights I had with people over these games. There is a level of hatred for these games among some "fans" that is almost obsessive. I have never seen anything like it and it makes me sick to my stomach how human beings can stoop to such a level of hatred over a video game and display such a level of vile towards a character. Its sick.

I really like the XIII-games. They were certainly a step up after FF XII for me. While XII was a really great and massive RPG with lots of freedom and content, it heavily lacked the feeling of Final Fantasy for me with terrible music, bad design, boring characters and a shockingly unemotional story.

FF XIII was a complete reverse of that. It had all the design, type of characters and story that I loved about FF and the battle system was enormously fun (once you could fully use it) and felt like FF again with ATB, battle screen and all that. It also has a fantastic mythology (reading all that Datalog stuff about mythology and characters and events definitely increases the emotional depht and experience of the game) and Lightning is definitely one of my most favorite FF characters (haters be damned). And I loved that the story was really about characters and emotions again, about friednships, fate and all that. I sorely missed this type of storytelling on XII. But it should come as no surprise since FF XII wasnt really made by any of the staffmembers of the previous Playstation-FFs whereas FF XIII had several of them attached such as Nomura (design), Kitase (producer), Nojima (story), Hamauzu (music) and Toriyama (director) - and it truly made a difference. And the presentation and storytelling was really the kind of Final Fantasy epic that I want. I mean the scene where the characters return to eden and battle monsters with their Eidolons or the entire Ending is among my most favorite FF-moments of all time and worth the entire game.

However the flipside of it was that the game basically lacked in all the areas that XII as an RPG excelled in. Where XII had massive content, lots of player freedom and exploration, XIII was extremely linear, had almost zero exploration or player freedom for a very large part of the game and even when the game finally opened up it lacked any really compelling optional challenges and quests. The hunt for marks is good and the Trials of Titan were a lot of fun but its just not nearly enough. Add to that the lack of explorable towns, a world that was way too deserted for the most part (which is why it often felt too much like just completing level after level) and that sometimes the game would get enormously repetetive (Palamecia would be a good example) where its just wave after wave of the same battles over and over - those were some rather bothersome flaws.

Another huge mistake the game made is to keep the full battle system from the player for way too long. This resulted in the infamous complain that you "only have to push X all the time" on FF XIII. That however is an outright lie. The battle system is incredibly versatile and especially later on, you have to do far more then just push X. paradigm shifts become essential later on as well as buffing and debuffing. I´d like to see the haters going through the Palamecia or the stuff on Pulse and Eden by "just pressing X". They´d be game over in an instant - especially in the boss fights (Try to fight Barthendelus by only pressing X, lol). I do agree that the game should have made all the nuances and different aspects of the battle system and much sooner but its a very challenging, strategic and dynamic battle system and you certainly have to use it to its fullest to beat the game. Even more so if you want to go for 100 % in the post-story play. I completed nearly everything on this game, I only didnt get platinum because of that annoyingly stupid treasure hunter trophy. Thank god they never had a trophy like that in the sequel or in Lightning Returns. And though I do have some issues with some aspects of the game, ultimately I spend nearly 200 hours on my last playthrough with it which I definitely wouldnt do with a game I dont like. In the end FF XIII was absolutely amazing in all of the aspects that are most important to me on a FF game and had some disappointing flaws in other areas. But I had a really great time with this game and the good stuff definitely outweighs the bad. Its not as good as it could have been but its nowehere near as bad as the haters of FF XIII constantly try to make people believe.


FF XIII-2 would be best summed up as a missed oppertunity. The game has so much good stuff. It nearly removed all of XIII´s flaws and has lots of exploration, freedom and content. The gameplay is even more fluid and fun and is highly addictive. The opening and the ending of the game are absolutely phenomenal and really gave me the moments of shock and awe that you expect from a FF. I think the ending is the most shocking thing since Aeriths death. And XIII-2´s villain Caius (who can turn into Bahamut - how cool is that?) is basically the modern day Sephiroth.

So where went the game so wrong?

Well first of all removing Lightning ( the ultimate face of this saga) as the protagonist was the mother of bad ideas. And her little sis Serah and new hero Noel just dont cut it. The addition of Mog was a nice throwback to FF VI and IX but it wasnt enough to save the cast. Where the game completely tanks is the story parts between the opening and ending. Its a boring, dragging and downright ultra-confusing time-travel chore and every moment which has the oppertunity of being as epic as the stuff in XIII - just isnt. The story and action and whole presentation is a major step down from the first game and it really hurts the game immensely. Basically the only moments when the story (at least in my opinion) truly shines is when Lightning shows up. Like the opening or the final act - now that is fricking epic. If the whole game could have had that level of storytelling, this game would have blown the first one right out of the water. But alas it drowns instead.

Another terrible factor is the music. I dont know what the producers were smoking when they approved this but it sure as hell doesnt sound like a Final Fantasy soundtrack. Its full of experimental and bizarre pop, RNB and even hiphop (!!!!!!!!) music. There are some really AWESOME tracks as well but those are the ones composed by Hamauzu (composer of the XIII soundtrack and co-composer of FF X), while the rest of the soundtrack is done by other composers. Unfortunately those same composers also did the music on Lightning Returns, so I pray they didnt ruin the soundtrack of that game as well.

The feature of catching monsters and having them fight at your side is actually pretty cool. You can also develop those "monsters". By the way the international version of FF X-2 had a similar feature, which we will get to experience in the HD version. There is a colosseum in XIII-2 where you can battle characters from FF XIII or famous bosses from other FFs and upon beating them you can recruit them as monsters to fight in your party. This includes FF XIII-Lightning, Valhalla-Lightning, Snow, Sazh, Omega Weapon, Ultros, Typhon, Jiihl Nabaat and more. And having Valhalla-Lightning at my side in battle and her basically wiping out everything as the supreme commando is just ultra awesome. There is just one catch - these characters are paid DLC that you have to buy first before you can fight them in the Colosseum. In some cases you get them after completing certain story DLC (like in the case of Valhalla-Lightning, Snow and Sazh). Also these battles are the equivalent of the superbosses in other FFs since they are much harder then any normal boss in the game.

Ultimately I had a lot of fun with XIII-2. the gameplay is awesome and more refined, you got lots of freedom, sidequests and exploration and I prefer the new crystarium. You have also probably the most awesome villain since Sephiroth and the opening and ending are really really epic. So there IS a lot to like about this game as well. Unfortunately it utterly tanks when it comes to characters, music and most of the story which is a strict no-go for a Final Fantasy in my opinion. So in the end FF XIII-2 is still a very enjoyable game but misses the oppertunity to best FF XIII.

I am quite excited for Lightning Returns though. Because Lightning is back as protagonist, we have a whole new world after what happened at the end of XIII-2 (LR takes place 500 years later) and we have not only an open world scenario with huge player freedom and amounts of exploration but also a completely new battle system that (much like XV) is totally action-oriented. And the prospect of using different costumes as job classes like in X-2 and with many of the costumes taken from previous FF characters (Cloud, Yuna, Aerith etc.), that sounds pretty exciting to me. reviews in Japan praised the gameplay as fun and dynamic and intuitive but (like with XIII-2) were critical of the story. But the game also provides a definite conclusion to the story and I am definitely looking forward to it.

I just downloaded the demo and plan to play it soon. Will share my thoughts on it afterwards.

 

[Jay]

@Jay I dont know. Today you cant do a remake without changing a single thing. Even the RE Remake changed some stuff and brought in gameplay elements that didnt exist in the original. I think its naive to believe that Square would ever make a FF VII remake and adapting everything from the original game 1:1 and basically just giving it better graphics and sound. The Tech Demo already was different from what we saw in the original opening in FF VII. It tells the same story but Square would be stupid if they wouldnt heavily update the way of how to tell the story because the means of telling the story were obviously limited in 1997. If they would just duplicate FF VII frame by frame with better graphics it would look stupid. They would have to overhaul the entire thing, make it more spectacular, add new dialogue, make it deeper, better, bigger so that in the portrayal of the scenes it wouldnt look inferior to games like XIII or XV. Just the action scenes of FF VII alone would need a massive overhaul for modern times. Its not as easy as you seem to think, that you can just duplicate the whole thing with better graphics. Bit more complicated then that I´m afraid. Also part of VII´s charme is from the way it looked in 1997 and how the story was presented. Adapting that into a whole new style of telling the story (ingame cutscenes, 3D environment, much more realistic graphics etc.) would inevitably change the look and feel of the original. Even if they utilize the gameplay from VII and just make it more fluid and modern looking so that it wont seem outdated - it will still feel like a different game. Even the RE Remake feels very different from the original. Everything is bigger, better, more refined - but it doesnt have the same feeling as the original. Because a remake isnt supposed to be just a copy with better graphics but a game of its own with an identity of its own. A Remake would be inevitably a different game then the one, put out in 1997. You wont get that same game again. Thats not the purpose of a remake. Nor should it ever be. If they would make a Remake I would WANT it to be different then the original. Otherwise its a waste and I just might as well play the original again. If they remake VII then I want it to be bigger, deeper, more spectacular and utilizing all of the modern day storytelling style which they have employed since FF X. You certainly cant tell the story of this game in the same way as in 1997. That would look ridiculous compared to XIII, XV or even the Advent Children film (I LOVE this movie by the way, the action, designs, music etc. is exactly how I would want a VII remake to be like. Huge and epic). But well it is a very delicate subject. Always has been. Always will be.

What I meant by them not having to change anything is the "core" gameplay and story. FFVII at heart doesn't need many improvements. Only visually, musically, dialogue, and definitely the cinematics would need an overhaul. They would only have to update those four key elements while MAYBE expanding upon a few things. The only difference me and you have among others fan would be exactly how much needs to be changed. You say remakes aren't suppose to be the same and they should have their own identity, which I do agree a bit. Though on the other hand I see remakes as being close to the original as possible. The only thing I would want them to change are those four mechanics I said earlier while keeping everything else somewhat the same. But yeah, like you said it is a very delicate situation. Like balancing pins and needles.

@JayAs for the FF X spoilers - I have read summaries of the novel on finalfantasy.wikia and I have seen the complete translated script for the audio drama, containing the official translation. So its as legit and official as it gets, my friend This naturally has lit up the Final Fantasy message boards a few weeks ago after the HD remaster was released (The novella was included in the collectors edition in Japan).

So how soon are we talking till this is out or even revealed?

@JayAs for the subject of the FF XIII-games - I dont even know how many damn arguments and fights I had with people over these games. There is a level of hatred for these games among some "fans" that is almost obsessive. I have never seen anything like it and it makes me sick to my stomach how human beings can stoop to such a level of hatred over a video game and display such a level of vile towards a character. Its sick.I really like the XIII-games. They were certainly a step up after FF XII for me. While XII was a really great and massive RPG with lots of freedom and content, it heavily lacked the feeling of Final Fantasy for me with terrible music, bad design, boring characters and a shockingly unemotional story. FF XIII was a complete reverse of that. It had all the design, type of characters and story that I loved about FF and the battle system was enormously fun (once you could fully use it) and felt like FF again with ATB, battle screen and all that. It also has a fantastic mythology (reading all that Datalog stuff about mythology and characters and events definitely increases the emotional depht and experience of the game) and Lightning is definitely one of my most favorite FF characters (haters be damned). And I loved that the story was really about characters and emotions again, about friednships, fate and all that. I sorely missed this type of storytelling on XII. But it should come as no surprise since FF XII wasnt really made by any of the staffmembers of the previous Playstation-FFs whereas FF XIII had several of them attached such as Nomura (design), Kitase (producer), Nojima (story), Hamauzu (music) and Toriyama (director) - and it truly made a difference. And the presentation and storytelling was really the kind of Final Fantasy epic that I want. I mean the scene where the characters return to eden and battle monsters with their Eidolons or the entire Ending is among my most favorite FF-moments of all time and worth the entire game. However the flipside of it was that the game basically lacked in all the areas that XII as an RPG excelled in. Where XII had massive content, lots of player freedom and exploration, XIII was extremely linear, had almost zero exploration or player freedom for a very large part of the game and even when the game finally opened up it lacked any really compelling optional challenges and quests. The hunt for marks is good and the Trials of Titan were a lot of fun but its just not nearly enough. Add to that the lack of explorable towns, a world that was way too deserted for the most part (which is why it often felt too much like just completing level after level) and that sometimes the game would get enormously repetetive (Palamecia would be a good example) where its just wave after wave of the same battles over and over - those were some rather bothersome flaws. Another huge mistake the game made is to keep the full battle system from the player for way too long. This resulted in the infamous complain that you "only have to push X all the time" on FF XIII. That however is an outright lie. The battle system is incredibly versatile and especially later on, you have to do far more then just push X. paradigm shifts become essential later on as well as buffing and debuffing. I´d like to see the haters going through the Palamecia or the stuff on Pulse and Eden by "just pressing X". They´d be game over in an instant - especially in the boss fights (Try to fight Barthendelus by only pressing X, lol). I do agree that the game should have made all the nuances and different aspects of the battle system and much sooner but its a very challenging, strategic and dynamic battle system and you certainly have to use it to its fullest to beat the game. Even more so if you want to go for 100 % in the post-story play. I completed nearly everything on this game, I only didnt get platinum because of that annoyingly stupid treasure hunter trophy. Thank god they never had a trophy like that in the sequel or in Lightning Returns. And though I do have some issues with some aspects of the game, ultimately I spend nearly 200 hours on my last playthrough with it which I definitely wouldnt do with a game I dont like. In the end FF XIII was absolutely amazing in all of the aspects that are most important to me on a FF game and had some disappointing flaws in other areas. But I had a really great time with this game and the good stuff definitely outweighs the bad. Its not as good as it could have been but its nowehere near as bad as the haters of FF XIII constantly try to make people believe.

I don't hate what they did with the XIII. It was a great addition to the series. The Paradigm system was challenging and kept you on your toes. It gave the exact opposite of not being able to do much in battles and gave you multiple ways to take things on. Lol exactly. Anyone that said you can play this game only by pressing X is a fool and never went pass 30 min. It gets increasingly difficult as you go on making you HAVE to learn the Paradigm and how it works. You wanna know why they made XIII so linear? Because fans complained that when XII released it was TOO big and had TOO much backtracking. XII was big but you had warp crystals later on that would teleport you to anywhere you needed to be. So when Square did cut down the open worldness they complained though THEY were the reason behind it! I swear people don't know what they want majority of the damn time. But yeah, XIII had an amazing gameplay, good story, memorable cast, and music. Snow's theme, nuff said.

@Jay FF XIII-2 would be best summed up as a missed oppertunity. The game has so much good stuff. It nearly removed all of XIII´s flaws and has lots of exploration, freedom and content. The gameplay is even more fluid and fun and is highly addictive. The opening and the ending of the game are absolutely phenomenal and really gave me the moments of shock and awe that you expect from a FF. I think the ending is the most shocking thing since Aeriths death. And XIII-2´s villain Caius (who can turn into Bahamut - how cool is that?) is basically the modern day Sephiroth. So where went the game so wrong? Well first of all removing Lightning ( the ultimate face of this saga) as the protagonist was the mother of bad ideas. And her little sis Serah and new hero Noel just dont cut it. The addition of Mog was a nice throwback to FF VI and IX but it wasnt enough to save the cast. Where the game completely tanks is the story parts between the opening and ending. Its a boring, dragging and downright ultra-confusing time-travel chore and every moment which has the oppertunity of being as epic as the stuff in XIII - just isnt. The story and action and whole presentation is a major step down from the first game and it really hurts the game immensely. Basically the only moments when the story (at least in my opinion) truly shines is when Lightning shows up. Like the opening or the final act - now that is fricking epic. If the whole game could have had that level of storytelling, this game would have blown the first one right out of the water. But alas it drowns instead. Another terrible factor is the music. I dont know what the producers were smoking when they approved this but it sure as hell doesnt sound like a Final Fantasy soundtrack. Its full of experimental and bizarre pop, RNB and even hiphop (!!!!!!!!) music. There are some really AWESOME tracks as well but those are the ones composed by Hamauzu (composer of the XIII soundtrack and co-composer of FF X), while the rest of the soundtrack is done by other composers. Unfortunately those same composers also did the music on Lightning Returns, so I pray they didnt ruin the soundtrack of that game as well. The feature of catching monsters and having them fight at your side is actually pretty cool. You can also develop those "monsters". By the way the international version of FF X-2 had a similar feature, which we will get to experience in the HD version. There is a colosseum in XIII-2 where you can battle characters from FF XIII or famous bosses from other FFs and upon beating them you can recruit them as monsters to fight in your party. This includes FF XIII-Lightning, Valhalla-Lightning, Snow, Sazh, Omega Weapon, Ultros, Typhon, Jiihl Nabaat and more. And having Valhalla-Lightning at my side in battle and her basically wiping out everything as the supreme commando is just ultra awesome. There is just one catch - these characters are paid DLC that you have to buy first before you can fight them in the Colosseum. In some cases you get them after completing certain story DLC (like in the case of Valhalla-Lightning, Snow and Sazh). Also these battles are the equivalent of the superbosses in other FFs since they are much harder then any normal boss in the game. Ultimately I had a lot of fun with XIII-2. the gameplay is awesome and more refined, you got lots of freedom, sidequests and exploration and I prefer the new crystarium. You have also probably the most awesome villain since Sephiroth and the opening and ending are really really epic. So there IS a lot to like about this game as well. Unfortunately it utterly tanks when it comes to characters, music and most of the story which is a strict no-go for a Final Fantasy in my opinion. So in the end FF XIII-2 is still a very enjoyable game but misses the oppertunity to best FF XIII.

I heard XIII-2 battle system was a step up from the original. I also heard good things about the story. Those would be the main two reasons I'd get it. Lightning not being the star of it felt really outta place. Serah and Noel are ok, but not cool enough to where I would want to see their faces the entire game. Lol I heard how they went crazy with the soundtracks this time. It was something I had looked up before it came out and I was like no way this is an real OST....it was. I know the monster mechanics get deep and can be fun, but its just not the same as having a real cast to relate with. I'm sure I'll like it, but whether I'll fully dive into it I don't know. I've also seen the DLC characters and fights. Those are cool and might make up for some things. I'll get it eventually probably before XIII-3 comes out. Though lemme ask you is it any huge link between the two? Far as me needing to play XIII-2 to understand XIII-3 without giving me too many details.

@JayI am quite excited for Lightning Returns though. Because Lightning is back as protagonist, we have a whole new world after what happened at the end of XIII-2 (LR takes place 500 years later) and we have not only an open world scenario with huge player freedom and amounts of exploration but also a completely new battle system that (much like XV) is totally action-oriented. And the prospect of using different costumes as job classes like in X-2 and with many of the costumes taken from previous FF characters (Cloud, Yuna, Aerith etc.), that sounds pretty exciting to me. reviews in Japan praised the gameplay as fun and dynamic and intuitive but (like with XIII-2) were critical of the story. But the game also provides a definite conclusion to the story and I am definitely looking forward to it. I just downloaded the demo and plan to play it soon. Will share my thoughts on it afterwards.

I'm excited for XIII-3 as well, but what? What do you mean costumes will bring different job classes? I know Lightning gets Cloud's uniform and sword as a DLC outfit, but it doesn't give anything else. Btw I noticed you keep saying certain FF are "action oriented". While XIII-3 is full of action, its still a Turn Base RPG. Monster attacks, you attack, etc repeat. XV on the other hand is what you would consider an Action RPG. The freedom to move around anywhere and do whatever you want during battle in real time. Look at this video I posted a page back if you didn't.

What did you think of the XIII-3 demo?

 

[Deathstroke]

About the VII Remake:

Yeah of course a remake needs to stay close to the original, otherwise it becomes a reimagination instead. And I dont think anyone wants to see that happen with VII. But I think the Remake would need to overhaul everything. The gameplay system could be re-created from what the original did but it would still need to be completely re-done. The controls would have to be more fluid, the whole look would have to be overhauled. You got full 3D environment now and story is told through the use of ingame cutscenes with voice acting, facial expressions, motion capture etc. not just cinematics. Basically the entire story would have to be redone in the remake using these new means of storytelling that define the series since FF X. The Tech Demo gave a good impression of that already where the moment when Cloud jumps from the train is done as an ingame cutscene in the Demo. Basically every single story moment of VII or really anything that requires voicing and character animation would have to be redone from the ground up. Its not like with the FF X Remaster where they just recreated it exactly like it was done before. And even that took over 2 years. I think you just imagine this to be much easier than it actually is.

Then as you said of course all of the action stuff - they would have to completely re-do all of that. What made the RE Remake so great (as well as the Tomb Raider Anniversary Remake) was that it had all the stuff from the original but everything was bigger, better and more spectacular. Just compare the battle against neptune in the original with the Remake or the Yawn battle.

So with a game like VII, first of all every single location would have to be massively overhauled. Midgar must truly feel like a giant city and cant feel any less imposing then on Advent Children. Then you got all those cities and locations like Nibelheim, Cosmo Canyon, the Temple, the Forgotten City....I could go on and on. Each of those would have to be redone from scratch. Based on the look of the original (and the AC film) but much bigger, more lively, more detailed, more layered with all the NPCs in it and all the different effects. Its an enormous task. The RE remake basically only had to redo one big mansion. Its like you only redo the Shinra mansion and Nibelheim. But a FF VII Remake needs to do this to an entire world. if you want to have a FF VII with modern graphics and technology, then that would be a game that would be have to created from scratch. The original game would be a mere roadmap, like conceptual designs in movies. But creating this game would be a task that has the same size if not bigger than FF XV. Its actually harder if you want to make a modern game, utilizing modern technology and storytelling-means but also have to work hard to keep it close to the original, always having to work with the idea of "What would it look like if we had created this game today instead of 1997" Its like creating two games at once really. This isnt like simply porting an existing game or recreating the game on a platform with the same look and mechanics (which is what they did with the "remakes" for FF I, II and IV which are really just enhanced ports. the only true remake was FF III for NDS) . The FF X HD Remaster is almost a remake, since they had to actually recreate most of it from the ground up but in this case they could just follow exactly what was done in 2001 with FF X and just do what they did then, only make it look more detailed and sharper.

But a FF VII remake would be a whole different story. Unless you want it to look exactly like in 1997 with pre-rendered backgrounds, no voice acting, no animated story scenes (not talking about CG cinematics) and just have updated character models, re-arranged music and better looking backgrounds. Thats what FF VII would be like if they would give it the same treatment as they did FF X. But if you want a TRUE remake where the game is truly remade from the ground up, utilizing todays modern technology and all the staples that modern FFs use to tell the story - then basically the entire game has to be completely re-created in every single detail. Even in the things they would take from the original version such as the materia system, limit breaks, character development etc. They could recreate it from the original but they would still have to create whole new version of it. There is a million details they would have to deal with too. From the environment, to dialogue, to the cinematic presentation of story and action to music, battle speed, sidequests, animations..the list is nearly endless. Just imagine having FF XV the story, characters and core gameplay of VII and you are about halfway there how a remake should look like and how much work it would be. This would be the single most difficult thing in the history of Square to create.


About FF X:

Its hard to say when or if we will get an announcement for another sequel. I mean the novella and audio drama clearly set up another sequel and obviously thats done deliberately. Its hard to imagine they will tease like this and then just leave it like that. But absolutely nothing is known about any sequel plans. Nojima said that he would like to write another installment in the X series (He also wrote the story of X, the novella and the audio drama) but thats really as much as we got. And even if there is a sequel it could be anything - book, comic series, CG-movie or game. Your guess is as good as mine on this I´m afraid. But no game and no characters have ever emotionally affected me as much as Tidus and Yuna and after I read this stuff I became beyond excited. This game is sacred to me and so is its universe and characters. Its my Bible and my Jesus of gaming.


About FF XIII:

you should definitely play XIII-2. trust me opening and ending are really worth it. Yes Serah, Noel and Mog as Characters cant compare to the original cast but you do meet the cast from XIII in the game. But XIII-2 really deepens and expands the mythology and goes much more into the mythology of the Fal Cie, particularly regarding the goddess Etro. The Ending of the game practically changes the entire world of the FF XIII universe forever and causes everything that is going to happen in the 3rd game. Yeah its highly recommended to beat XIII-2 before playing Lightning Returns (Its deliberately not called XIII-3 by the way). I also greatly recommend to read up on the mythology of the deities in the FF XIII universe since that will play a huge part in XIII-2 and even more so in LR, where the highest of all gods Bhunivelze is the antagonist. If you want to I can post a summary of the story of the gods from the XIII-universe to help you out. It will also give you a much greater understanding of XIII-2´s story. At least it did for me.


About Lightning Returns:

The game is an Action-RPG. You use commands that are assigned to certain buttons and dont choose from a menu anymore. You can move around in battle (though you cant walk wherever you want like in XII). There is an ATB gauge for Lightnings schematas but not for her character. It retains elements from turn based RPGs but it definitely doesnt look like one anymore. It really feels more like an action game with RPG elements from what I have seen. You can even block attacks now like in an action game and execute different abilities with different buttons.

Costumes serve as job classes. You got fighter oriented outfits, White mage, black mage, defense oriented outfits etc. Every outfits gives you certain bonus stats and abilities. For example:

The Astral Lord Garb gives you the locked abilities (abilities which can be executed by pressing certain buttons) Chill Lv.3, Surge Lv.3, Tornado Lv.3 and Flare Lv.3 (this heavily reminds me of the contain materia in FF VII) Your maximum ATB is increased by 50 but the ATB gauge of the schemata with this garb will always start at 0 to counter the advantage of the powerful magic.

The Cloud Outfit (SOLDIER 1st Class) comes with the locked ability Heavy Slash, but no auto abilities. ATB starts at 50 % filled with this costume.

Different costumes give you different stat boosts and ATB properties and also different locked abilities based on their class. You develop Lightning by completing quests and saving souls, there is no Crystarium anymore. Curiously there are no healing magics in the game. You heal by using items and resting at Inns.

The different costumes that are based on other FF characters so far are SOLDIER 1st Class (Cloud), Savior of Spira (Yuna FF X), Gunner (Yuna FF X-2), Midgar Flower Girl (Aerith) and Heartstealer (Locke). Most of those are pre-order DLCs but will also later be available for purchase. I imagine they will add more character costumes later. Personally I would love to see Tifa, Squall, Steiner, Beatrix, Sephiroth, Freya, Rikku , Cecil, Kain, Terra and Ashe added to it.

As for Schematas - Schematas are basically like paradigms. Each Schema consists of one outfit (Garb), a weapon, a shield and two accessories plus one adornment which can be shared by different Schematas. Each Schema has an ATB gauge, with each ability consuming a part of the gauge. once its empty Lightning needs to wait for it to refill. This is why switching between Schematas in battle is vital (which you can do by pressing L1 or R1 in battle) to fully utilize the battle system and score a high rating. enemies can also be staggered after you inflicted enoughd amage on them by achieving higher combos.

You can customize each part of an outfit and even change the outfits colors. There are over 40 different outfits already and you can also get Lightnings outfits from XIII and XIII-2 if you have save files from these games on your HDD.

A unique feature of LR is that you only have a certain amount of time to save the world and complete the game. Its not real time of course but in the world of the game you initially have 7 days I think. This however can be expanded up to 13 days if you complete sidequests and save souls. You have to carefully plan ahead in the game what to do and when since certain events only happen during a very specific time in the game and you have to use your limited time most efficiently. Thats why the New Game + feature is rather important cause its highly unlikely that a player will experience everything on their first run. The world of LR is also massive. It would take 45 minutes just to run from the edge of one continent the the opposing side and there are 4 continents. Its probably the biggest FF world yet (Hence why the PS3 is pushed to the absolute limit by this game). Its the opposite of the linear, condensed FF XIII in almost every way. There are also different difficulty levels and certain challenges which you can only take on under specific conditions. There are also day and night cycles and such.

The world is completely new (the world from XIII and XIII-2 doesnt exist anymore. you will see why after you completed XIII-2) and has entirely new locations and geography. They really try to make this as fresh and different as possible from the previous games which is also why they didnt call it XIII-3.


Here a few images of the FF-character costumes:

CLOUD

AERITH

YUNA

 

[Deathstroke]

Completed my Final Fantasy VII playthrough today and I must say its really the most perfect run I ever had on this game, I´m insanely happy with it.

- Party (Cloud, Tifa, Cid) at Lv. 85

- All ultimate weapons and Limit Breaks

- Thanks to the W-Item trick I generated 99 Megaelixirs, Elixirs, Turbo Ethers etc. never even needed healing magic anymore after this.

- Obtained every materia in the game. Many materias on AP master, including almost all of the green materia

- Successfully bred Golden Chocobo and won everything with him there is at the Chocobo Races

- Completed Battle Square and Ancient Forest

- Defeated Ultimate, Emerald and Ruby Weapons and got the Master Materias for magic, summon and command

- Defeated Sephiroth with utter and absolute ease. In his second form (Safer Sephiroth) he was able to attack me only once before I defeated him. He had never been so easy to me before.


After I already completed FF VIII and IX 100 % again this 100 % completion of FF VII concludes my PSOne FFs re-run. I wanted these playthroughs to become the best playthroughs I have ever done on these three games and they most definitely were. Very, very happy with all three playthroughs. Next up is another playthrough of FF XIII-2 and then Lightning Returns in March before I´ll get to FF X and X-2 HD in April (and my goal is to do the best playthrough I ever had with those two as well)

 

[Jay]

About the VII Remake: Yeah of course a remake needs to stay close to the original, otherwise it becomes a reimagination instead. And I dont think anyone wants to see that happen with VII. But I think the Remake would need to overhaul everything. The gameplay system could be re-created from what the original did but it would still need to be completely re-done. The controls would have to be more fluid, the whole look would have to be overhauled. You got full 3D environment now and story is told through the use of ingame cutscenes with voice acting, facial expressions, motion capture etc. not just cinematics. Basically the entire story would have to be redone in the remake using these new means of storytelling that define the series since FF X. The Tech Demo gave a good impression of that already where the moment when Cloud jumps from the train is done as an ingame cutscene in the Demo. Basically every single story moment of VII or really anything that requires voicing and character animation would have to be redone from the ground up. Its not like with the FF X Remaster where they just recreated it exactly like it was done before. And even that took over 2 years. I think you just imagine this to be much easier than it actually is. Then as you said of course all of the action stuff - they would have to completely re-do all of that. What made the RE Remake so great (as well as the Tomb Raider Anniversary Remake) was that it had all the stuff from the original but everything was bigger, better and more spectacular. Just compare the battle against neptune in the original with the Remake or the Yawn battle. So with a game like VII, first of all every single location would have to be massively overhauled. Midgar must truly feel like a giant city and cant feel any less imposing then on Advent Children. Then you got all those cities and locations like Nibelheim, Cosmo Canyon, the Temple, the Forgotten City....I could go on and on. Each of those would have to be redone from scratch. Based on the look of the original (and the AC film) but much bigger, more lively, more detailed, more layered with all the NPCs in it and all the different effects. Its an enormous task. The RE remake basically only had to redo one big mansion. Its like you only redo the Shinra mansion and Nibelheim. But a FF VII Remake needs to do this to an entire world. if you want to have a FF VII with modern graphics and technology, then that would be a game that would be have to created from scratch. The original game would be a mere roadmap, like conceptual designs in movies. But creating this game would be a task that has the same size if not bigger than FF XV. Its actually harder if you want to make a modern game, utilizing modern technology and storytelling-means but also have to work hard to keep it close to the original, always having to work with the idea of "What would it look like if we had created this game today instead of 1997" Its like creating two games at once really. This isnt like simply porting an existing game or recreating the game on a platform with the same look and mechanics (which is what they did with the "remakes" for FF I, II and IV which are really just enhanced ports. the only true remake was FF III for NDS) . The FF X HD Remaster is almost a remake, since they had to actually recreate most of it from the ground up but in this case they could just follow exactly what was done in 2001 with FF X and just do what they did then, only make it look more detailed and sharper. But a FF VII remake would be a whole different story. Unless you want it to look exactly like in 1997 with pre-rendered backgrounds, no voice acting, no animated story scenes (not talking about CG cinematics) and just have updated character models, re-arranged music and better looking backgrounds. Thats what FF VII would be like if they would give it the same treatment as they did FF X. But if you want a TRUE remake where the game is truly remade from the ground up, utilizing todays modern technology and all the staples that modern FFs use to tell the story - then basically the entire game has to be completely re-created in every single detail. Even in the things they would take from the original version such as the materia system, limit breaks, character development etc. They could recreate it from the original but they would still have to create whole new version of it. There is a million details they would have to deal with too. From the environment, to dialogue, to the cinematic presentation of story and action to music, battle speed, sidequests, animations..the list is nearly endless. Just imagine having FF XV the story, characters and core gameplay of VII and you are about halfway there how a remake should look like and how much work it would be. This would be the single most difficult thing in the history of Square to create.

I know its not as simple to port over the original. Of course certain things would have to be modernized like the towns and world. VII would probably look a lot like XV. I've changed some of my opinions after reading what you wrote. You had some good points, so its not much I have to say. Though its not one thing you mentioned that is impossible for them to do. Square has the technology to do it now and to do it right. It all comes down to if they have the expertise still.

About FF X: Its hard to say when or if we will get an announcement for another sequel. I mean the novella and audio drama clearly set up another sequel and obviously thats done deliberately. Its hard to imagine they will tease like this and then just leave it like that. But absolutely nothing is known about any sequel plans. Nojima said that he would like to write another installment in the X series (He also wrote the story of X, the novella and the audio drama) but thats really as much as we got. And even if there is a sequel it could be anything - book, comic series, CG-movie or game. Your guess is as good as mine on this I´m afraid. But no game and no characters have ever emotionally affected me as much as Tidus and Yuna and after I read this stuff I became beyond excited. This game is sacred to me and so is its universe and characters. Its my Bible and my Jesus of gaming.

Right, its no telling what they could make it as. If it is a game I'd imagine it won't be revealed no time soon.

About FF XIII: you should definitely play XIII-2. trust me opening and ending are really worth it. Yes Serah, Noel and Mog as Characters cant compare to the original cast but you do meet the cast from XIII in the game. But XIII-2 really deepens and expands the mythology and goes much more into the mythology of the Fal Cie, particularly regarding the goddess Etro. The Ending of the game practically changes the entire world of the FF XIII universe forever and causes everything that is going to happen in the 3rd game. Yeah its highly recommended to beat XIII-2 before playing Lightning Returns (Its deliberately not called XIII-3 by the way). I also greatly recommend to read up on the mythology of the deities in the FF XIII universe since that will play a huge part in XIII-2 and even more so in LR, where the highest of all gods Bhunivelze is the antagonist. If you want to I can post a summary of the story of the gods from the XIII-universe to help you out. It will also give you a much greater understanding of XIII-2´s story. At least it did for me.

I know. I asked because I want to know if its worth the time or just read up on the story. Chances are I'll go on and get it. Sure, but I usually don't read spoilers before I play something. Long as it isn't I'll read it.

About Lightning Returns: The game is an Action-RPG. You use commands that are assigned to certain buttons and dont choose from a menu anymore. You can move around in battle (though you cant walk wherever you want like in XII). There is an ATB gauge for Lightnings schematas but not for her character. It retains elements from turn based RPGs but it definitely doesnt look like one anymore. It really feels more like an action game with RPG elements from what I have seen. You can even block attacks now like in an action game and execute different abilities with different buttons. Costumes serve as job classes. You got fighter oriented outfits, White mage, black mage, defense oriented outfits etc. Every outfits gives you certain bonus stats and abilities. For example: The Astral Lord Garb gives you the locked abilities (abilities which can be executed by pressing certain buttons) Chill Lv.3, Surge Lv.3, Tornado Lv.3 and Flare Lv.3 (this heavily reminds me of the contain materia in FF VII) Your maximum ATB is increased by 50 but the ATB gauge of the schemata with this garb will always start at 0 to counter the advantage of the powerful magic. The Cloud Outfit (SOLDIER 1st Class) comes with the locked ability Heavy Slash, but no auto abilities. ATB starts at 50 % filled with this costume. Different costumes give you different stat boosts and ATB properties and also different locked abilities based on their class. You develop Lightning by completing quests and saving souls, there is no Crystarium anymore. Curiously there are no healing magics in the game. You heal by using items and resting at Inns. The different costumes that are based on other FF characters so far are SOLDIER 1st Class (Cloud), Savior of Spira (Yuna FF X), Gunner (Yuna FF X-2), Midgar Flower Girl (Aerith) and Heartstealer (Locke). Most of those are pre-order DLCs but will also later be available for purchase. I imagine they will add more character costumes later. Personally I would love to see Tifa, Squall, Steiner, Beatrix, Sephiroth, Freya, Rikku , Cecil, Kain, Terra and Ashe added to it. As for Schematas - Schematas are basically like paradigms. Each Schema consists of one outfit (Garb), a weapon, a shield and two accessories plus one adornment which can be shared by different Schematas. Each Schema has an ATB gauge, with each ability consuming a part of the gauge. once its empty Lightning needs to wait for it to refill. This is why switching between Schematas in battle is vital (which you can do by pressing L1 or R1 in battle) to fully utilize the battle system and score a high rating. enemies can also be staggered after you inflicted enoughd amage on them by achieving higher combos. You can customize each part of an outfit and even change the outfits colors. There are over 40 different outfits already and you can also get Lightnings outfits from XIII and XIII-2 if you have save files from these games on your HDD. A unique feature of LR is that you only have a certain amount of time to save the world and complete the game. Its not real time of course but in the world of the game you initially have 7 days I think. This however can be expanded up to 13 days if you complete sidequests and save souls. You have to carefully plan ahead in the game what to do and when since certain events only happen during a very specific time in the game and you have to use your limited time most efficiently. Thats why the New Game + feature is rather important cause its highly unlikely that a player will experience everything on their first run. The world of LR is also massive. It would take 45 minutes just to run from the edge of one continent the the opposing side and there are 4 continents. Its probably the biggest FF world yet (Hence why the PS3 is pushed to the absolute limit by this game). Its the opposite of the linear, condensed FF XIII in almost every way. There are also different difficulty levels and certain challenges which you can only take on under specific conditions. There are also day and night cycles and such. The world is completely new (the world from XIII and XIII-2 doesnt exist anymore. you will see why after you completed XIII-2) and has entirely new locations and geography. They really try to make this as fresh and different as possible from the previous games which is also why they didnt call it XIII-3.

Wow, I had no idea the new battle system was changed that much. It sounds great. But wait, no healing magic? No way that can be true lol. Though I'm fine with it if it is. Having to rely on items only in battle will bring an even better challenge. I didn't know each outfit gave bonuses. This will be a great way to show throwbacks to previous FF's. Lightning in a Rosa or Terra costume! The Schematas look like they'll be a fun and interesting way to play. You can customize each part is cool. I don't know what I'll think about the whole 7-13 days thing. Sure that's more than enough time to do probably everything in game, but the feeling of being rushed or you're doomed is pretty daunting. Strategy will definitely be a must on each playthrough. What exactly happens if you don't finish the game before times up? If you know and its a big spoiler don't tell me lol. I try to know little as possible before a game releases. I can say after learning this bit of info my interest for it has went up pretty high.