Final Fantasy Thread

[toxicitizen]

That Mobius Final Fantasy game is coming to Steam in Japan.

 

 

Presumably a western release is also in the cards. Anyone played the mobile version? Is it any good?

[deanb]

FF Mobius is a tad more newer (I think it only just came out this week) and has 3D models though some really terrible lack of AA despite the fact I know my phone is more than capable of handling it so it looks a bit like an upscaled PS2 game. In this you play as one character (named after yourself) and you get "cards" with abilities and jobs to augment how you play each level. You tap to attack (it's also turn based) and get energy orbs to activate certain abilities. It's a bit random in what orbs you get (you can do things to augment the orbs enemies will drop but it's not really an art or skill) which can leave you fucked over in some cases when you're 1 orb short of using Blizzaga or what not. The cards you'll get are mostly based on the new enemies (I say new, but some of the models are definitely ripped from FFXIII so maybe some are from XIV) as drops at end of battles, but you can use your "magicite" currency and ticket drops to "summon" other cards which'll usually feature familiar faces such as a Yuna Cure card n Shiva Blizzaga n what not. You level up both yourself, jobs and the cards which all gets a bit confusing on setting up your characters. Oh and you get "seeds" at the end of battles to spend on levelling up your jobs in specific ways (e.g +5 damage, +100hp, + fire resistance etc). The story is a bit vague in it too, mainly a moogle following your around talking about a prophecy it half remembers about the "Warrior of Light" which is likely you. Exvius had a fair few patches to tweak itself (and pretty consistent content updates too) in early release so I'm gonna stick with Mobius a bit n see how it pans out. Given I'm now back home with a PC, PS4 n PS3 it might not fare well

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.square_enix.android_googleplay.mobiusff_ne

 

I had played it, stopped a while back. IT didn't really wholly engage me and was pretty slow to load up n get going which for a mobile game means it's not quite a "I'm waiting on the bus let's pop something on for a bit". It is extremely simplistic in battles with only a single guy to control which removes the vast majority of tactics you could have, and largely down to luck if you'll get say health orbs to heal up or whatever. Exvius I've stuck with though and that has a better story (still weak by modern standards but there's enough of a thread to it and the characters have some personality to them), and better tactics to it with a broad range of weapons, characters (both original and from past FFs). It's free to play so always worth checking out n see if it clicks for you.

[Mal]

While wondering how Noctis is as a main character, I think back to Tidus and his laugh.

 

God damn it internet. I got to run this mod with some fucked up visuals and filters.

 

At least his English VA is a cool dude.

 

AH HA HA HA HA HA HA

[Mal]

Some history about the making of Final Fantasy VII. I haven't gone through it all but it seems well done. Kind of timely since this year is FFVII's 20th anniversary. I would be surprised if we didn't hear anything about the Remake (remember that?) this year. I actually don't recall hearing much if at all last year. Maybe the multi-part release of the game?

[deanb]

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/536BV89

 

FF Twitter account through out this survey. Dunno if you want to fill it in.

[deanb]

http://www.siliconera.com/2017/02/18/final-fantasy-vii-remake-gets-first-gameplay-image-including-first-boss-fight/

 

Not hugely surprising, but seems it's mostly going as a bit of a FFXV reskin, rather than just taking original game and polishing it up with some higher res models n such.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

Had anyone here played world of final fantasy? Listening to gayme bar podcast talk about it and it sounds tempting.

 

edit: They finished by saying if you don't have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Final Fantasy it's going to be pointless. I've downloaded the so will give that a go. tbh, I kind of forget demos still exist.

Edited February 27, 2017 by TheFlyingGerbil

[deanb]

CyberRat had been playing it tail end of last year and it looked kinda fun. Something I might pick up down the line, though not an immediate buy for me. Not sure it'd require encyclopedic knowledge mind.

[Mister Jack]

Final Fantasy XIV is now free to play up to level 35 with up to eight characters.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Mal]

Quote

XIII is better. XV... isn't really Final Fantasy.

- My younger brother while discussing it with his friends

I was in the kitchen doing my thing and I honestly don't know how to react to that. Are we really going to using XIII to compare to what is and what isn't Final Fantasy? What is Final Fantasy really though? I've had over a decade to ponder that question.

[Mister Jack]

Your brother is objectively wrong to think XIII is better than anything.

[Mal]

What brother?

[deanb]

"It's set in a quasi futuristic world and in 3D. FFVII isn't really Final Fantasy"
"There's no overworld and they've gotten rid of the ATB. FFX isn't really Final Fantasy"
"It's an MMO. FFXI isn't really Final Fantasy"
"It's got real-time battles in an open-world map. FFXII isn't really Final Fantasy"

And so on so forth.

It's funny to see the change in opinion of FFXII to the point where folks have gone from being all "but the gambit system fights for you" to "it's actually a pretty good FF game" to "oooh they're doing a HD remake!"

Which I'm aware my gorgeous walkthrough for is going to be a bit useless for it since it'll be the Zodiac version.

[Mal]

FFXII, after I gave it a chance (I'm sure I said something about that before), was the one that made me give up pondering that question. It's a legit good game perhaps hampered by Vaan and Ashe being the main characters in the story. A Final Fantasy just need good gameplay, story and the typical FF tropes (e.g, magic, chocobos, there is always a Cid and he's usually pretty badass in one way or another that is commonly tech based).

As an aside (spurned on by Vaan and Ashe and Samurai Jack S5), I hope for that someday maybe, just maybe, Square-Enix (and a lot of other devs for that matter) accepts and embrace that us kids and teens who played their games grew up (e.g., us here). Having an older main party, more than the early 20's of say FFXV's cast, would be nice. The early 20's is a... neat time period but discovering what we can do and adventuring can start at any age.

Anyhow, enjoy these fresh Tactics fan art.

[Mister Jack]

I know that originally Basch was supposed to be the protagonist of FFXII but the higher ups were afraid kids wouldn't buy a game starring an old man and so we got Vaan.

[deanb]

Some new screenshots and a bit of news on some of the additional tweaks. Main tweak seems to be this "L-Board Plus" but given I've not played the Int'l version I've no idea how it even played out in the original.

http://www.rpgsite.net/news/5513-final-fantasy-xii-the-zodiac-age-screenshots

[deanb]

 

 

 

I thought these were cool. It's something that had cropped into my head with people going on about "FF8" the other week.

[deanb]

I want them busts. Shame I've not got a spare $199 laying around.

[Mal]

There's no more debate now.

[deanb]

Was there ever a debate?

Since my younger sis has my PS3 I've lent her my copy of FFIX. Impressed on her that it's older than her and if she breaks the discs or what not I will remove an arm n so on. But yeah I'll see if she plays it. Also typing this I've remember I was meant to pass along a spare HDMI cable. Ah well.

[FMW]

Why didn't you people TELL me that FF 9 is the best game in the universe?

1.  The decision to move from portraying urban realism in FF 7 and 8 to the warm colored fantasy pre rendered backgrounds in 9 was such a wonderful decision.  Not just because the backdrops in 9 are aesthetically pleasing, but what they're aiming to portray fits the technology better.  Most of these settings (boring castle interiors aside) feel like little diorama sets laid out to move your heroes through (who are conveniently shaped and proportioned like many dolls).

 

2.  I don't know if this is accidental synergy or not, but this game has this whole theater motif it keeps coming back to.  Even after the opening sequence with the theater troupe the characters keep coming back to quoting these fake melodramas as a lens through which to view different relationships.  I personally feel like it might have worked better if they had thrown out the fantasy and quoted real plays (because how meaningful can a made up quote really be? If you're making them up you ALWAYS have the perfect quote) but the device is nevertheless effective and fits with a lot of the look of the game.

 

3.  So a lot of the anime/JRPG space likes to use "defy your fate/predestination/what your parents want you to be" as an arc.  It works a lot of the time, I don't hate it, and I understand why it would resonate with kids growing up in Japan.  But I've personally gotten less out of that arc over time because as I've grown up I kinda moved to a different understanding of life.  Looking at life as "what the world wants me to be vs what I want to be" is a very contrary and adolescent perspective I think.  The experience of being an adult is much more about seeing who and where you are and figuring out "okay, how do I define myself within this space where I am and how do I carve out my own little bit of happiness in life?"

 

And I feel like FF IX is kinda on that wavelength!  They set up all these characters who in a typical game would be in major conflict with their authority figures.  Steiner is doing duty vs. honor.  Garnet is doing family vs. goodness.  Vivi is doing I'm a weapon but I'm a person.  Even Zidane started out the game by directly defying orders and deciding to bail on the troupe to go help the princess.  But nobody is angsty over it!  And nobody ever does a hard rejection of their role or past.  Steiner decides that being a Knight of Pluto means protecting the princess instead of the Queen, but he's still captain of the Knights of Pluto and he's still as boorishly hung up on that as ever.

 

This crystallized for me when Amarant joined the party. He's the last party member and gets very little introduction.  He's a bounty hunter out to kill you and he abides by a strict kill or be killed philosophy.  Honorable 1 on 1 combat only.  When you defeat him he demands to be slain and has trouble understanding why Zidane won't kill him.  In 90% of games this guy is a recurring villain.  He sticks to his (dumb) philosophy and jumps you again and again in an attempt to balance the world and make events fit his honor code by killing you.  But not here.  In FF 9 he's confused and upset but Zidane just says "Why don't you come with us and try to figure it out along the way?".  So he does.  And he doesn't stop being who he is, the super bounty hunter combat man.  But he figures out a happier and more healthy way to define himself within that role.

 

The way this game approaches character change and self actualization is just so good.  Everyone has a conflict, but it's an internal conflict resolved by how they define themselves within their existing role in the world.  Cecil in FF 4 going from Dark Knight to Paladin lovely, but if he was in FF 9 he would have stayed a dark knight and his story would be about figuring out how to find his own happiness and save the world within that existing class.

 

...but I haven't finished yet so I look forward to Vivi going into hysterics at the end yelling about he's a person and Kuja can't control him any more. :/

 

4. Zidane's outfit is top tier Final Fantasy awful character design.  "So our main character is a sky pirate type character, so give him big naval boots and a vest.  And he's a free spirited thief so... give him a monkey tail.  Monkeys are symbolic!  And he's in a theater troupe so put a frigging cravatte and tie on top of everything."  And here's the thing, it isn't even the worst outfit in the game!  Because garnet is out here running around in orange overalls low cut to make room for her boobs.

[TheMightyEthan]

Okay, now I want to play FF9. Is there a remastered version?

[Mister Jack]

No remaster, and I wouldn't hold my breath for one, but the PC version of the original works alright.  Better than the PC version of FFVII, anyway.

[toxicitizen]

Jack, you make it sound like the PC version is 15 years old or something lol. The version that came out on mobile and Steam last year is pretty much a remaster in all but name. IIRC, they rebuilt the game from the ground up in a new engine and actually touched up the character models a bit and used high res backgrounds when available. They just didn't remake all the art assets from scratch.

[FMW]

And here's another thing.  Walking around towns talking to NPCs to advance the story between dungeons.  It's been a part of the JRPG formula pretty much since the beginning, and often it's a bit of a slog.  Games can sometimes add some spice with side quests, charming NPC dialogue, and lots of hidden goodies but it's still never a highlight of the experience.  FF 9 does these sections better than any other game I've played.  Every time you hit a village the party splits up and folks do their own thing.  And the camera doesn't tether to our anime hero all the time, you just take control of whoever happens to be most interesting at the moment.  And they have all their Active Time Event cut away scenes so even the characters you don't control get to have their own little solo scenes.

So functionally nothing changed.  You're still walking around static town environments talking to NPCs, buying new armor, and triggering a cutscene or two.  But by splitting the characters and actually paying attention to what they do during their down time these parts of the game do a really good job of characterization.  Is there some important royal business at the castle?  Zidane says meh, he goes to the local tavern and the player goes with him.  When you hit the black mage village you control Vivi because it's his part of the story.  When you hit the rat kingdom you control Freya.

And I just find myself wandering "Why didn't this become the genre standard"?  It's not like this is calling for extra technology investment or anything like that.  The gameplay doesn't change.  But splitting the party and selectively choosing who the game follows massively improves the focus of these town segments that are otherwise often flaccid.

Why yes, FF 12 WOULD be a million times better if when I got to town the sequence the game cut to controlling Balthier while he cuts a deal for safe passage going forward, or Basch looking into the local resistance cell, or Penelo doing.... anything.  And some solo content in the towns for Selphie, Zell, Quistis, and Irvine from FF 8 would have gone a long way to making them not completely irrelevant.

Edited July 5, 2017 by FMW