Topic: Final fantasy discussion thread

@Feena: I think the fact that the battle systems in the PSOne era retained some kind of similar core dynamic was why those games have stood the test of time in terms of popularity amongst fans of the series. IX might be graphically superior to VI, but playing both of them you can see the similarities between them that make them feel like they belong together in the same series. It's the constant need to "innovate" that has actually turned me off the series, to be honest.

Final Fantasy XII for me was when the series went completely off the rails and was barely recognisable as Final Fantasy any more. It wasn't just the battle system - which I absolutely hated, by the way - but rather the way the entire game was set up, and the self-imposed desire of Square Enix to turn Final Fantasy into something it wasn't. I always got the impression that somebody at Square Enix decided long ago that turn based battle systems were slow and silly, and that the traditional JRPG format was a relic of the past. XII is a step into making things more fluid and action packed, something they'd continue with XIII, but to me it just felt like they were making the games more pedestrian and autonomous.

I used to love going through the menus and selecting my attacks and working out what I could use in any given situation to best tackle an enemy. The real time battles of XII meant that not only did I not have to control two of my party members at all because of the gambit system, I barely had to control the one character I was actually controlling. It became an exercise in watching my party fight things rather than actually doing any fighting, to the point where there were times when I felt I barely had to even hold the controller during battle.

I understand that some people like the idea of the series innovating and changing, and I'm fine with that in concept. I just think that the areas of the series that Square Enix chose to change were the aspects of it that least needed fixing. I guess it just depends which side of the fence you fall on. There's Weezer fans that bemoan the hate that the band have gotten post-Pinkerton, but all I'm saying is, if innovation gets us songs like Beverly Hills, I'd rather they stuck to what they were good at.

i never used gambits on my main character in FFXII, i chose EVERY action for him, you don't have to use gambits on the MC you know but i do understand what you mean though some of the games (like FFXIII) did seem to play on auto pilot

i'm liking FFXV though even though it has some auto options you still have full control of it too

@johncalmc I actually liked XII, but I agree that it was too different from other cannon Final Fantasy titles. I haven't played any of the newer ones yet, but the series seems like it's still good technically, but it doesn't feel like Final Fantasy anymore.

The battle system of XIII was excellent imho! I enjoyed the game and all my complaints with that game have nothing to do with battle at all.
Final Fantasy XII, a vastly superior game imho, felt way less "final Fantasy" than XIII did, I surely agree on this.

For me Final Fantasy has different eras, the lets cobble a cool game together era (ff1-3) the wow they did pretty well lets make these games have more meaning and semblance era (ff4-6) woo hoo that was good so lets make these games really awesome and the best games on the planet era (ff7-10) and finally the we've forgotten how to catch lightning in a bottle so lets really get on the fans t#£# and make good games which are completely lacking in any kind of final fantasy structure but heck plaster the name on it anyway era (ff11-ff15)

FF12 is a great game, heck I even like FF13. But they have gone more and more away from what I enjoyed about Final Fantasy in the first place. In parts FF15 plays more like Unchartered than FF.

I've seen many people champion the battle system of XIII but I thought it was rubbish, if I'm honest. All you have to do is mash Auto-Attack over and over again and then switch Paradigms when your health is getting low. I get that they were going for fast and flashy, but I just didn't think it was any fun at all. Just mash mash mash.

@johncalmc: That's a fair point, obviously the ff13 battling comes into its own during the end game during the Titans Trials, but how many people hung around to see that?

Just chiming in, if we're talking FF13's battle system, I thought it was just terrible. The entire game was, upto the point I played anyway. Corridor, corridor, corridor, battle, x, x, x, corridor, corridor, hope crying, corridor...

...yet I still want to give it another go? haha

@themcnoisy: I did… I Platinumed FFXIII.

Granted I would've preferred for it to be turn-based, but I don't think there was much wrong with the battle mechanics/system. My only complained, was that I found myself looking at the gauges more than the fight itself. lol

@WanderingBullet: lol i have the same problem with Bravely Default, just spend the battles watching the stats on the bottom screen

Final Fantasy XIII was just badly designed on basically every level. It's one massive corridor with so little to explore that the game may as well have played itself. The battles were an exercise in mashing the cross button and little else. The story is nonsensical and instantly forgettable. The characters are cardboard cut-outs that range from mildly annoying to fingernails-down-a-blackboard cringe inducing. The more I think about it the worse it gets.

@themcnoisy: exactly...it really clicked with me by the time I was doing that branching titan quest.

Well everybody has its own opinion, and especially with Final Fantasy it is an exercise in futility to determine what is "the best" and "the worst" but I like to hear you guys sharing your own likes and dislikes! The one I liked the most is VI and the one I like the least is probably VIII though I am sure there are people who despise the first and love the second for valid reasons.

regarding the FFXIII controversy: the battle system was brilliant, easily the best JRPG battle system of last generation as far as I am concerned. And the common remarks that "you just have to push X" is easily applicable to every turn based rpg at the end of the day. It actually was very strategical and layered and I really enjoyed it. You don't have to rely on the auto-system, you can actually input your own commands and 90% of the times you'll choose better...I didn't like how little there was to do OUTSIDE combat and the limited to non-existent exploration and the lack of towns. The characters were alright! I'd take them over some emo - poster guys of past entries or the bland "MMORPG character creation" cast of both Xenoblade games or the anime trope festival of Star Ocean 4 and 5 or most Tales of games.

As subpar for the series as it might be, I am always surprised by how the web make it sound like it is the worst game ever: I played my fair share of JRPGS through the years and it gets much worse than Final Fantasy XIII, though I clearly see its shortcomings. Also: very nice soundtrack, or is it just me? Don't bully me, I come in peace XD

@Feena: i have no problem with FFXIII, in fact i thought it was great game myself, what i hated was when they made 2 games that wasn't needed at all and i think ruined the story, characters and world of FFXIII

i still believe the rumours that FFXIII-2 and LR was made because they had sold the licence to 3 FFXIII games, once Vs became XV and Agito became Type-0 they just threw together XIII-2 and LR to fulfil the licence, hence why they came up with the Time Travel plot that rewrote the original FFXIII ending

guess it's a good thing that FXIII had a resolute ending so you don't have to play XIII-2 or LR at all

also yes the Soundtrack was fantastic, one of the best FF soundtracks in my opinion

Type-0..now I really enjoyed that one.

@kyleforrester87: On your own there mate.

Forgot FF9 is 4 people on the team during battles. Like the older games.

@kyleforrester87: Didn't care for that one too much...I guess you should really check out ffXV, same director and real time combat...
@FullbringIchigo: agreed 100% the sequels were a mess story-wise and utterly unnecessary.

@Feena: i hate to admit it but Lightning Returns is the ONLY Final Fantasy game that i played and NEVER finished (not counting the MMO's because they don't really have a end)

@Feena: Yeah that's why I'm holding out hope for 15. I'll take turn based combat any day over the real time but I actually found Type-0s to be a lot of fun. The story was pretty cool and the last section in particular was classic Final Fantasy goodness. Yeah the graphics sucked but hey.

@themcnoisy: Hey it really wasn't that bad How much did you actually play? Least I enjoyed it enough to finish it, can't say I have done that since FFX lol.

@kyleforrester87: Until chapter 3, the graphics were really bad. It was alright to be fair, but I traded it in before it lost too much value.