Topic: Final fantasy discussion thread

@themcnoisy: check key items on all vendors and you'll find the extra CDs. Not found 9 yet, though!

@Feena: you got to chapter 3 yet or still hanging in first area? Totally worth it to unlock chocobos, then just go back!

@kyleforrester87: yup, you figured me out XD I'll try to go ahead and reach chapter 3 then! I was kinda just doing that when I saw a man standing next to his car on the side of the road and turns out he needed a repair kit...so I wondered if I missed any other side quest and after waking here and there I found a bunch! But yeah I should really go on...I am probably horribly overleveled for the main storyline. And I want to ride a chocobo!

@johncalmc: @TheDoofingCritic: You guys remember Lulu and Freya though right? Not trying to jump into a sexist tirade and yes its unnecessary - but with gladious making 99% of men feel physically inept then why not? I'm not saying I'm comfortable ogling digital avatars, but its a Japanese game and their sexual culture is significantly different due to ours due to pornography bans since world war 2. I just find it weird that so many people have brought this up, again! Wasn't Megan Fox in Transformers the exact same type of relief, she was an engineer / mechanic as well wasn't she? Rightly or wrongly its there, rather than worrying about a fully clothed avatar, we should be more concerned with the chibi pseudo porn games obviously aimed at youngsters that are available from Japan. That's more concerning in my eyes. Maybe I'm missing something.

So to summarise my first 3 hours with the game, its a breath of fresh air. Far from perfect, the over arching story is lacklustre although the characters are actually a good group of lads - like the inbetweeners minus cock gags. The battling is fun, although it always follows the same beat - lock on, find the weakness, use that weapon to defeat it, run away when low on health, press L1 when your special bars ready and that's about it, although those 5 steps do keep you engaged enough. It would be nice to have a summon already but hopefully like the very first Demo one appears. The landscape is varied and the upgrade paths sweeten the levelling. The fishing, cooking, driving and pinball are all great diversions although none quite as enticing as ff8s cards or Blitzball. Attack Magic is pointless, I'm hoping later on status magic makes an appearance which will be more useful. My main point is this is a final fantasy game, unlike ff12 and ff13 they have unearthed what made the earlier games special and memorable - levelling, specific grinding, cheating systems
, buffing your team, hording potions, secrets, likeable characters, mini games and fantastic music. Now I just need to decide to get on the ferry at level 7 or not?

@themcnoisy: Lulu was a black mage - essentially a witch - beings who have throughout history been portrayed as either grotesque or sexually provocative depending on the story. Cindy is a mechanic, which traditionally looks like this:

It just seems a little gratuitous, is all. And given how the character designs in the game mean that practically every person looks vaguely like the sort of person we'd see walking down the street, it stands out when we see someone like Cindy who's all boobies in your face while she's fixing your carburetor. In a game like Final Fantasy X, Rikku might be bikini-clad, but then that's the fashion in the game. There's lots of characters who look like that, particularly from the sunnier areas. It makes sense. Cindy seems weird because she's the only character who dresses like that (so far) while everyone else looks like an analogue of people from the real world. I think that's why people keep bringing it up, because it's quite jarring and weird.

Edit: Also, right, I'm like twenty hours into the game and literally just found out how to use potions in battle. I don't know whether the combat is too easy and so I never needed the hint, or whether the game is just bad at explaining things, but I just had to make a dent in my hoarded potions/phoenix downs/etc. fighting some giant monster, and now I'm starting to appreciate the extra level of strategy it brings to the battles.

If Cindy wants to dress like that we should just respect that decision and get on with our day.

@johncalmc: And come on bro, the Regalia clearly has fuel injectors not carbs. Leave the wrenching to Cindy

Guys play this game just for Chapter 4 its EPIC.

@TheDoofingCritic: How many hours you played? I've read people have been clearing it in 10-15 hours, but they've obviously just been smashing through the story. I don't want to drag the game on and on but I'm going to take my time (up to a point). I'm about 8-9 hours in Chapter 3.

I've just hit 22 hours and I'm still at the beginning of Chapter 3. I'm just having so much fun doing all the side stuff, completing all the quests before I move on, etc.

Has anyone played around with magic? I've produced some awesome results mixing different items. I just wish it wasn't such a hassle to acquire the elements. Hope the game lets you purchase them later on.

Magic is more trouble than it's worth. It's time consuming tracking down the things you need, and whenever you use it you're likely to catch your own party in the area of effect. You're better off just whacking things with your sword.

On the plus side, the effects when they guys get frosty hair are lovely.

5 hours and on chapter 5

@TheDoofingCritic: i'm 3 hours in and on chapter 3, might do a few side quests and explore for a bit

although in chapter 2 i did come across a level 24 Coeurl when i was level 7, i ran away from that one

I'm twenty hours in and I'm on Chapter 4.

Some mad variances on times, here. I would have spent a bit longer but I killed a lot of time in the demo already.

That's what I thought, too. I guess it's down to the mission structure. I've got a dozen open quests and my main quest is only Chapter 4, not to mention all the time I'm spending fishing, cooking, etc. You can probably drag this game out forever if you want to, or you can likely breeze through it.

@johncalmc: Yeah - I'm worried though as I did the same with MGS5, somehow wracked up 80 odd hours with only 10 missions completed. Then I just lost interest and never managed to clear it. I don't want to get burnt out on this so I'm trying to focus on a bit of everything. I'd rather see the ending and come back to mop up what I missed than spend ages in the beginning areas and get fed up though.

Cindy isn't as bad as Quiet from MGS V at least, and they didn't try some lame excuse like "she has to breathe through her skin". It's not GTA 5 where I understand you have to sleep with a prostitute then shoot her to get your money back. Its not DOA5LR ...It's definitely not gal gun....

That said, it is still blatant fan service and completely not necessary.

I am finally on chapter 2, about 11 hours in...I really took my time.
I love the haunting, suspenseful battle theme variation that kicks in in when the battle is a bit longer than usual, Yoko Shimomura really knows her stuff huh?

I don't have any problem with Cidney "car wash" outfit, but she's just terribly bland in a game where the main guys are so fleshed out. About outfits: the "casual sets" for the boys are so terrible they are amazing XD

6 hours in, chapter 1. I'm gonna move onto chapter 2 tomorrow evening, there aren't many quests that I can see but I took down a level 32 iron giant with my level 9 team. Power! I used like 99 phoenix downs but hey, that's life! (that's a joke btw)

Really enjoying the game but the side quests so far are pretty boring. I was hoping for a bit more than "go across the map to get five green beans to bring back to the man at the market" - are they all like this or has anyone found any with a bit more depth?