General Chat

[Aficio]

Great idea, the Russian.

And I'm really happy to know that Dev and Mystik love Final Fantasy series FFVII gave me deepest impression.

[ACMILAN1983]

I've heard about that before actually (scoreboard thing), first time seeing it though lol. Is it just me or are the people there rather "dodgy" looking fellows.

I think Final Fantasy played a huge role in a lot of gamers of a couple of generations. I feel some of the best gaming experiences I've had are with FF games as I've played a significant amount of the main series.

FFVII was actually the first I played, but I borrowed it from a friend so didn't get too far through, but it left an impression on me. VIII was the first I played fully and I still adore that game (I think many underrate it, though I understand it was a departure from what had come before), after which I went back to VII and completed that. Like you, it left an impression on me for sure. I then played IX, which again left a massive impression on me, I remember as I saw the epilogue I felt really sad because an amazing journey was over.

X came on PS2 and while it was amazing (it's still one of my favourite games), I think some of the flaws that have been seen in some later games were creeping in, but it's qualities still left me enamoured. X-2 left less of an impression, the bizarre J-Pop theme didn't captivate me, but XII was mostly a return to form for me. Less so for the characters, but the mature story and expansive world really impressed me. In between X and XII I also played VI, which while obviously dated, left a big impression on me with it's forward thinking system and some really great moments (the suicide scene and the opera still being classic scenes imo).

Then came the XIII trilogy. While the first wasn't terrible imo, it left me disappointed with the poor characters and lack of real world building, feeling ultimately like a cinematic, but shallow experience. XIII-2 addressed many flaws of the first but ended up with just as bad if not worse characters and the story went from being generally uninteresting to downright rubbish. As for the third part, I didn't even bother, as I couldn't be bothered with that world/characters/story anymore and I'm sick of Square Enix pushing Lightning as a marquee character for the FF series for some bizarre reason.

As for XI and XIV, I'm not an MMO player tbh so never played them, while I've generally avoided most spin-offs (although FF Type-0 does interest me a lot). I think while on the topic of FF games, it's hard not to give credit to some who created this series. Hironobu Sakaguchi is the creator and I think was vital in his role in making FF such a success. He was heavily involved in all titles until X with exception to VIII. I think it's evident that the title where he was really much less involved (X) is the one where many would argue the series started going a little wayward, though I think the director of X and the XIII series (Motomu Toriyama) has played a big role in this shift in direction (definitely imo a worse one).

Yohinori Kitase also deserves recognition for better or worse, being a director and producer on many titles. On the one hand he played a big role in great titles like VI, VII, VIII and X, while on the other, he's been criticised in his heavy support as producer for Toriyama's direction in X and XIII.

Another figure who deserves recognition imo is Nobuo Uematsu, who composed the music for FF games until X (which he still did a lot of the music for). He's an incredible composer and has created some of the most iconic music in gaming history. It's evident that the series has struggled somewhat to be recognised for its music since he left.

That said, I'm actually pretty optimistic for the future of FF games. Toriyama seems less involved (thankfully), but instead new talent is coming through and taking control of the franchise. The first is/was Tetsuya Nomura, who has been involved in FF character designs since VII (many will argue actually for the worst). He's also been director for Kingdom Hearts games, another massive hit series for Square. He was director of FFXV until a couple of years ago, but following what appears to have been a project going through development hell, he has now been moved to work on KH3. This isn't necessarily for the worst, as the guy who is taking his place on XV is Hajime Tabata, the director for the aforementioned Type-0 (which until now has only seen release in Japan) and FFVII Crisis Core, both of which have seen critical acclaim and at the same time have evolved FF gameplay. I'm personally also optimistic for the music, as Yoko Shimomura is scoring XV and has a great track record in gaming history, creating some memorable music.

While of less interest for me personally, it's worth noting that FFXIV was a disaster when first released and actually almost killed Square Enix, but it was then entrusted in the hands of Naoki Yoshida who has managed to not just turn around the project, but made it massively successful, another figure who can help FF return to being a great series.

I didn't intend for this post to be this long, but FF has a place close to my heart and it's nice to reminisce about the experiences of the past and even more nice to feel optimistic about its future (something I haven't felt for years now).

[Mystik]

Dev if you haven't done so yet, I definitely advocate acquiring an emulator to play the original few Final Fantasy games. Obviously the graphics aren't next gen but the gameplay was absolute quality and I had a lot of fun playing those on my computer. I did not play as much of VII, VIII, IX or X because I didn't feel like committing the time to playing the whole game. I played through all of XII and XIII and definitely had a great time. Regret not spending more time on those older games. Can't wait for XV!

Side note: Chrono trigger was also one of my favourite RPGs as well..although it's been many years since I have played it.

[ACMILAN1983]

Dev if you haven't done so yet, I definitely advocate acquiring an emulator to play the original few Final Fantasy games. Obviously the graphics aren't next gen but the gameplay was absolute quality and I had a lot of fun playing those on my computer. I did not play as much of VII, VIII, IX or X because I didn't feel like committing the time to playing the whole game. I played through all of XII and XIII and definitely had a great time. Regret not spending more time on those older games. Can't wait for XV!

Side note: Chrono trigger was also one of my favourite RPGs as well..although it's been many years since I have played it.

I've been tempted to go back and play them tbh. I'm disappointed to hear the graphics aren't spectacular though .

I'm definitely one who grew up on FF games from VI through X, which for me personally remain the benchmark for the series, as they reached a peak in terms of storytelling, character development (this especially) and production values, which were groundbreaking for the times. I'm not that big on the menu driven/turn based gameplay of FF games actually, so I'm looking forward to more action orientated combat in XV.

On XII and XIII. I think XII is an interesting game, one which achieved a huge amount of success despite going through a very troubled development (the designer for the game left Square Enix halfway through). One thing that bothered me was the two "lead" characters, Vaan and Penelo, who Square directors crowbarred into the game to appeal to a younger demographic (personally I think that's why Vaan and Penelo are just empty shell characters with no real purpose). Apparently, the original lead character was one which eventually became Basch in the final game.

On XIII, I understand why people enjoy it, as I actually enjoyed the battle system and general polish of the world and cut scenes (production values were top notch), but beyond that felt it was very limited. The story was ok imo, nothing special by any means though. However, the characters were just god awful imo, I pretty much hated all of them. That along with the limited scope for exploration or interaction with the world meant I never felt engrossed in the game.

That's my hope for XV, that it returns to telling a rich story with well developed characters.

[Aficio]

Wow, I enjoy your posts. I play different kinds of games, and I stopped most of them because of time shortage. However, Final Fantasy and Football Manager are exceptions.

I haven't played Chrono Trigger, because there were some errors when I ran the emulator. Besides the main series, I think that Legend of the Dragoon is also quite good.

[ACMILAN1983]

Thanks. I love to play a variety of games too, the only real constant being usually FIFA or PES. I used to play Football Manager, back when it was Championship Manager, but truth is I just don't get the time for it. These days, I'm playing Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, which is surprisingly good fun, just a very well made and solid traditional 3D platformer.

I've played Chrono Trigger and it remains one of my all time favourite RPGs. I just love the design and world, plus the music is excellent. Unsurprisingly, one of the designers is the creator of Final Fantasy and you do get the impression it takes a lot from that series. There was a kind of sequel/remake on PS1 called Chrono Cross, which was meant to be amazing, but I never played it and don't think it ever got a western release.

Continuing with the JRPG theme, I'd massively recommend Ni No Kuni to anyone who likes JRPGs. It's an amazing game from Level 5 (a team with a great history of JRPGs) and Studio Ghibli (who made some of the most successful Japanese anime ever).

Plus have any of you played the Last of Us? Honestly, that's one of the greatest games I've ever played, it's simply incredible.

I found more news of FF15 yesterday too. Apparently, there's not likely to be the option to switch characters in battle because it's very hard to do and the battle mechanics are now a little less like Kingdom Hearts and more like Final Fantasy Type-0, though it's going to definitely be its own thing.

[Aficio]

Thank Dev for the names. I will put them on my Lunar New Year Festival list

[ACMILAN1983]

Lunar new year festival?

[Mystik]

I feel like I preferred the turnbase FF games where you choose each characters move yourself. I don't know how this "controlling one character" is going to work. I'm a sap and will probably buy the game anyway but I am a little skeptical until I get more details

[Aficio]

@Dev: The most important holiday in Vietnam is Lunar new year festival which happens around the first day of lunar calendar. We also enjoy the longest break from work or school, about 1-2 weeks. And I could have more time for myself.