Final Fantasy

[Liam]

So Gamesmaster magazine gave XIII 81% talking about it being really linear with only one side quest and being a case of walk down a corridor, fight, cut scene, upgrade, repeat. Really hope they're wide of the mark :/

Apparently, first 3rd or so is very, very linear. It gets less so, but there isn't as much stuff to do as you'd get in FFVII or some of the other versions.

However, I think they do have something similar to the Clan Hunting sidequest, which gets a good number of hours extra out of the game.

[tenaciousg]

God, I'd better stop procrastinating and actually get to beating FFXII in the next five weeks, then.

[Liam]

So, FFVIII is finally on the PSN Store.

Having not played it in years (as it always seemed to be the hardest to find at a reasonable price to pick up for the PS1), anyone wanna give me a quick run through of important stuff to remember heading into the game? The best way to go forward, essentially.

[TKz]

So, FFVIII is finally on the PSN Store.

Having not played it in years (as it always seemed to be the hardest to find at a reasonable price to pick up for the PS1), anyone wanna give me a quick run through of important stuff to remember heading into the game? The best way to go forward, essentially.

Spend the first hour or so of the game just drawing 100 of every magic you can from enemies for each character (apart from Seifer). Then junction them all to your ATK/HP stats. Then you're pretty much a beast. And... erh... that's about it. Oh, and don't forget to draw out the Siren GF from the big bird thing on top of the Dollet Tower. I don't remember the actual GF being worth using, but I think it had like a special ability that was totally worth having.

[Ruki]

Play the card game. A lot.

[Benji]

So, FFVIII is finally on the PSN Store.

Having not played it in years (as it always seemed to be the hardest to find at a reasonable price to pick up for the PS1), anyone wanna give me a quick run through of important stuff to remember heading into the game? The best way to go forward, essentially.

Early game tips:

- Due to level syncing, drawing magic and syncing it is more important than levelling up.

- Pass as many written tests as possible early to make shitloads of money.

- When you use the Magic Lamp (gotten from Cid when you leave for your first mission), just use Diablos' own Gravity magic against it, it'll cause it to cure you and take down its own HP fast, whilst Diablos itself has some absolutely essential abilities.

- Oh, and ALWAYS see what you can draw from new enemies.

[TKz]

And don't ever bother with Rinoa. Because she's useless. >_>

[Benji]

Angelo is a million times more useful than Rinoa. That's no joke, Angelo can be amazingly useful.

[Ruki]

Having difficulty with a boss? Use Meltdown on that fucker. Oh, and it's not until later in the game, but Leviathan has an ability Recover, which is amazing. Early on, before you get Ifrit, run back and forth on the beach fightin the fish, collect the fish fins or whatever, use the ability to turn it into magic (I think like....5 water spells)...get 100, junction to Strength, and you are good for awhile.

And play the card game.

[stokeriño]

Sooooooo it's 32 days until Final Fantasy XIII is released.

This is a game that retains a similar conception of the battle system that I hated so very, very much in XII. It also, from the various trailers, seems to have a plot that contains an overwhelming quantity of emotional blubbing (more so than usual for FF) - which, although not a damning quality like a Star Wars mishmash was, is not necessarily a selling point either. It is a game that I am, or should be, more "giving a chance" than really anticipating.

And yet I can feel growing excitement within me as the release date approaches.

Wwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyy??? >_<

[Liam]

All I've heard about the battle system so far is really good things, so hopefully, the tweaks will work for you.

[ZJ Penn]

I've read in a couple of reviews that they played pretty much the whole game without having to input any commands. The gambits did it all for them. I'm trying really hard to get excited for this, but everything I read about it seems to signal a shift away from the FF 7-10's that I really loved on the PS1/2.

[Liam]

Yeah, it probably was the same for FFXII though. It comes down to what you fancy doing though, surely? If you want to leave it to Gambits, then do it, otherwise you can still put the commands in.

The way the Gambit system is presented, it surely should be able to play the game without inputting further commands, because it is supposed to be a way of attacking creatures without inputting commands in the first place.

[Captain Kirk]

I really dislike the system they seem to be moving too, what's wrong with the old tried and tested methods from the I-X.

It's worked for every other JRPG so it ain't broke don't fix it.

[TKz]

Yeah, I get why they're doing all the active battles and bullshit, but it doesn't change the fact that what attracted me to FF was the original Battle System, where you could plan out all your attacks and what you were going to do next etc.

[badotori]

Part of it lies with the constant rise of the Western RPG, I think. With games like Oblivion, Mass Effect and Fallout getting such positive reviews and making ridiculous amounts of money, firms like Square and now Level-5 (grr ) seem to feel the need to Westernise their battle system by adding MMO elements and making it operate in real time to make it more accessible for the Western gamer. Yes, I agree, real-time battles are something that I thought I'd never see in an FF game, but I think it's just Japanese firms attempting to follow the inescapable trend. As many firms that create JRPG's suddenly alter their battle mechanics and their philosophies in regards to game-making to suit the new expectations, it's going to create these teething problems where they try to find the compromise between Western and Japanese methods.

Which sucks for us that like the old battle system, I suppose. I'd personally got used to the ATB's or CTB's and had liked that system ever since I played IX nine years ago.

[Benji]

Re-playing Final Fantasy VIII makes me really want them to do a prequel again, I'd love to see Laguna's journey expanded.

[TKz]

Going to play through FFX whilst I wait for FFXIII to be released, man, I always forget how much I love this game. I've always considered 8 to be my favourite Final Fantasy, but I think FFX is either tied or an incredibly close second. It helps that not only did I love the game, but they also released a sequel for me to enjoy.

[rocksta]

Not sure if this has been posted in here yet XIII scored a 70% from PSM3

[tenaciousg]

I really shouldn't be listening to the soundtracks of the PSX games...

It makes me really wanna play through them, X, and XII.