Man, I really wish we'd gotten the FFI "expanded universe" comic he had initially planned.
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The Ultimate Final Fantasy Thread: This Guy Are Knock You All Down
- Thread starter Issun
- Start date
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- ...whatever baha-blast bobby corwen caffeine free cherry bahamut zero cid's terrifying teeth did u kno the ffxiv free trial goes to hw? everybody knows dr unne final fantasy ha ha ha ha ha! i like big butz i'm captain basch! i'm here to kill chaos is mythril yummy? lali ho! let's mosey lord blast one to be born from a dragon role-playing game son of a submariner! square square enix stupid sexy balthier wah-wah about wah-wah xbox ps3 3ds nintendo wii sephiroth! sephiroth! you don't know jack garland
ICYMI:
I’ve been playing through Final Fantasy… in 3D! (The 3DS version, with an English translation patch, and a pixel remaster soundtrack patch). I just killed a vampire.
I’ve never actually played FF1 before, but I remember a lot of little details from the various LPs on Talking Time 2.0. So far I’m enjoying it a lot. I went Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage. The 3D effect is a little off in towns, but the depth added to the battle screen is impressive.
I’ve never actually played FF1 before, but I remember a lot of little details from the various LPs on Talking Time 2.0. So far I’m enjoying it a lot. I went Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage. The 3D effect is a little off in towns, but the depth added to the battle screen is impressive.
4-So
Spicy
I find that FF6PR seems to have had the most TLC put into it, especially on the OST. Most of the tracks are really good (except for the baffingly weird Chocobo track), especially Serpent Trench and The Veldt. Also recommend listening with a good set of headphones but that's a general rule of thumb.
Issun
(He/Him)
I am finding this to mostly be the case. I am curious how Squenix would remaster the 7/8/9 music now.
I recently played through Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII and now I'm making a post about it. This game was so much fun... for the first 6 or 7 in-game days. Then I kinda ran out of stuff to do, but still felt like I had to do something because of the time limit, so I just ran around for many hours trying to kill off every monster in the world for the sake of a sidequest that it turns out can't be completed on a first playthrough anyway.
But before that? Awesome stuff. If FFXIII-2 being structured more or less like a normal JRPG was in response to criticism of XIII for being too linear, this was the team flexing their mastery of the engine to make an open world game, kind of similar to a SaGa game in structure, with several main story quests that can be completed, or dropped and resumed later, in any order, along with many sidequests, and both types often have opportunities to handle the situations you encounter in different ways and get equally valid results.
And the combat! It's like FFVII Remake's system adapted for a one character game, although of course it's really the other way around. You switch between three Schema that are basically customizable Roles in FFXIII terms, each with its own ATB gauge - the ones you're not using refill faster, encouraging you to switch often - and its own full set of equipment. That includes a constume, which is both for stats and for fashion. Some of those costumes are kind of bad, but on the other hand, some of them are Velvet Bouncer:
Cool as hell.
And there are some cosplays of classic Final Fantasy jobs that are pretty good:
Oh, you can also edit the colors of the costumes and add accessories:
"I'm on a mission from God."
(apologies for phone pics btw, it turns out you can't just take screenshots on a PS3?)
Anyway, the battle difficulty skews high for the series, as it did in XIII and XIII-2, and the time limit brings back the pressure to play well that XIII had and XIII-2 kind of lacked. In XIII, if you were struggling with a fight, you were probably at or near the level cap for the chapter and there was nowhere to go but forward, so all you could do was learn the fight and play better. In XIII-2, there was usually some other area available where you could level up more or catch better monsters, and then come back to the fight that gave you trouble and win easily without ever choosing to grind. In LR, losing a fight drops you back onto the field with all the resources you spent trying to win returned to you, as in the previous games, but it costs you some time, and while you can always try a different area, traveling there will also take time, so you're really encouraged to try not to die too much or pick fights you can't win, while still giving you options if you're really struggling in a particular spot.
It also has a timed hit system where most skills can be made more effective by pressing the button at the right time, and that includes blocking and dodging skills that can make you almost untouchable like in a Devil May Cry, so it kind of prefigured FFXVI as well as VIIR. And XV with the open world structure, except... Well. Tri-Ace did do some work on this game, after all, and it's an RPG where you play as a woman gathering souls on behalf of a god with questionable intentions to bring them to the next world. With a battle system where all your moves are bound to the four face buttons, and a time limit that creates a sense of urgency without really limiting you that much. It's got a little bit of platforming, even. I mean, I played through every ending of Covenant of the Plume and thought it was all right, I played Exist Archive until it crashed in the middle of a dungeon and I realized I didn't really want to play more of it anyway, and I played the demo of Valkyrie Elysium and didn't get much out of it. For my money, Lightning Returns is the closest we've ever gotten to a real Valkyrie Profile 3.
But before that? Awesome stuff. If FFXIII-2 being structured more or less like a normal JRPG was in response to criticism of XIII for being too linear, this was the team flexing their mastery of the engine to make an open world game, kind of similar to a SaGa game in structure, with several main story quests that can be completed, or dropped and resumed later, in any order, along with many sidequests, and both types often have opportunities to handle the situations you encounter in different ways and get equally valid results.
And the combat! It's like FFVII Remake's system adapted for a one character game, although of course it's really the other way around. You switch between three Schema that are basically customizable Roles in FFXIII terms, each with its own ATB gauge - the ones you're not using refill faster, encouraging you to switch often - and its own full set of equipment. That includes a constume, which is both for stats and for fashion. Some of those costumes are kind of bad, but on the other hand, some of them are Velvet Bouncer:
Cool as hell.
And there are some cosplays of classic Final Fantasy jobs that are pretty good:
"I'm on a mission from God."
(apologies for phone pics btw, it turns out you can't just take screenshots on a PS3?)
Anyway, the battle difficulty skews high for the series, as it did in XIII and XIII-2, and the time limit brings back the pressure to play well that XIII had and XIII-2 kind of lacked. In XIII, if you were struggling with a fight, you were probably at or near the level cap for the chapter and there was nowhere to go but forward, so all you could do was learn the fight and play better. In XIII-2, there was usually some other area available where you could level up more or catch better monsters, and then come back to the fight that gave you trouble and win easily without ever choosing to grind. In LR, losing a fight drops you back onto the field with all the resources you spent trying to win returned to you, as in the previous games, but it costs you some time, and while you can always try a different area, traveling there will also take time, so you're really encouraged to try not to die too much or pick fights you can't win, while still giving you options if you're really struggling in a particular spot.
It also has a timed hit system where most skills can be made more effective by pressing the button at the right time, and that includes blocking and dodging skills that can make you almost untouchable like in a Devil May Cry, so it kind of prefigured FFXVI as well as VIIR. And XV with the open world structure, except... Well. Tri-Ace did do some work on this game, after all, and it's an RPG where you play as a woman gathering souls on behalf of a god with questionable intentions to bring them to the next world. With a battle system where all your moves are bound to the four face buttons, and a time limit that creates a sense of urgency without really limiting you that much. It's got a little bit of platforming, even. I mean, I played through every ending of Covenant of the Plume and thought it was all right, I played Exist Archive until it crashed in the middle of a dungeon and I realized I didn't really want to play more of it anyway, and I played the demo of Valkyrie Elysium and didn't get much out of it. For my money, Lightning Returns is the closest we've ever gotten to a real Valkyrie Profile 3.
Always glad when people enjoy Lightning Returns as it's among my very favourites. I certainly won't claim the Valkyrie Profile parallels aren't present, but the development circumstances are sort of funny around that, since it was XIII-2 that Tri-Ace reportedly had more of an overall impact on in terms of design, and for this sequel so much closer to their pedigree their input was limited to graphical work.
I'll also say that as someone who gauged Valkyrie Elysium through its demo on a base PS4, where I judged it uninteresting and technically unplayable in terms of performance, taking the plunge on it anyway later on (this time on PS5) was something I'm glad I did, because it really does not put its best foot forward even if the demo is identical to the beginning of the game as is. I think it quickly becomes one of the better and more unique action games of the modern era once it builds some momentum beyond the introduction.
I'll also say that as someone who gauged Valkyrie Elysium through its demo on a base PS4, where I judged it uninteresting and technically unplayable in terms of performance, taking the plunge on it anyway later on (this time on PS5) was something I'm glad I did, because it really does not put its best foot forward even if the demo is identical to the beginning of the game as is. I think it quickly becomes one of the better and more unique action games of the modern era once it builds some momentum beyond the introduction.
I also played the demo on a base PS4, and yeah, I could see it at least becoming a fun action game on better hardware. I may have to give it another shot at some point.
And that is interesting about Tri-Ace's involvement with XIII-2, I didn't even know they had worked on that one. I must have been too shocked by that game's ending to pay attention to the credits.
And that is interesting about Tri-Ace's involvement with XIII-2, I didn't even know they had worked on that one. I must have been too shocked by that game's ending to pay attention to the credits.
FelixSH
(He/Him)
These outfits are great. Makes me look forward to Lightning Returns even more.
Has someone here played through the postgame of FF XIII-2? How strong do I have to be, to beat Caius for the paradox endings. No matter where, his regen makes it so that, while I have to heal from his constant attacks, he is at full health again, when I get back to him. Do I need to have all the jobs mastered, and really good monsters?
I'm a bit annoyed. With the Coliseum, they already have a chance to add superhard superbosses, so having three superhard fights block you from paradox endings feels obnoxious. I mean, there are hard, optional fights (like the Long Gui in the Archylte Steppe, a very fun, long battle, harder than then final boss), but Caius is still a different level of hard, more on the frustrating side. Might be personal thing, but I find this battle system lends itself more to marathon fights, less to sprints. But that might be just how I prefer to play games anyway.
Has someone here played through the postgame of FF XIII-2? How strong do I have to be, to beat Caius for the paradox endings. No matter where, his regen makes it so that, while I have to heal from his constant attacks, he is at full health again, when I get back to him. Do I need to have all the jobs mastered, and really good monsters?
I'm a bit annoyed. With the Coliseum, they already have a chance to add superhard superbosses, so having three superhard fights block you from paradox endings feels obnoxious. I mean, there are hard, optional fights (like the Long Gui in the Archylte Steppe, a very fun, long battle, harder than then final boss), but Caius is still a different level of hard, more on the frustrating side. Might be personal thing, but I find this battle system lends itself more to marathon fights, less to sprints. But that might be just how I prefer to play games anyway.
Are Blue Mages worth investing in in FF V?
I’ve had one in my party for a while now and she hasn’t been learning any monster abilities.
I’ve had one in my party for a while now and she hasn’t been learning any monster abilities.
FelixSH
(He/Him)
They have some really fun abilites, especially the level x spells. They are also a bit of work, though. Maybe look at a guide, to find the relevant monsters.
I think the Blue Mage has to be hit by the specific spell, not just see it. And they have to be a Blue Mage, or have that ability as a secondary, that lets them learn stuff. For some spells, a Beastmasters Control ability is useful or even needed.
So, if you are ready to work a bit for that one, it's a somewhat situational, but generally pretty useful job. Definitely fun and versatile.
I think the Blue Mage has to be hit by the specific spell, not just see it. And they have to be a Blue Mage, or have that ability as a secondary, that lets them learn stuff. For some spells, a Beastmasters Control ability is useful or even needed.
So, if you are ready to work a bit for that one, it's a somewhat situational, but generally pretty useful job. Definitely fun and versatile.
If you plan on maxing out all the job levels roughly halfway through the game, they are essential. But for a regular playthrough? Nah. Use em if you want to, otherwise you'll be fine without them.
Thanks! Maybe I’ll set Blue Mage to secondary for a while and see how it goes.
It’s been tough not to go 2-3 Monks early on. They just do the most single and multiple enemy damage for 0 MP and little equipment.
And they're on sale!
Heads up though that the screen shudder exists on all platforms and is not fixed by this patch..
Although, if you want to play these versions and are sensitive to that sort of thing, the PC is now clearly the best option because there are at least mods to mitigate it, without the drawback of not having the stuff in the console release.
Although, if you want to play these versions and are sensitive to that sort of thing, the PC is now clearly the best option because there are at least mods to mitigate it, without the drawback of not having the stuff in the console release.
FelixSH
(He/Him)
I guess the chance that people read this is better here: What's up with the monsters in Lightning Returns? Some are supereasy, or at least perfectly doable, and some have an insane amount of HP and are basically unkillable at the moment. And I don't think I have a chance to know which is which before the fight? Which isn't that bad, because I can always flee, but that takes away an hour of my in-game time.
I also reached Noel, at the end of the first main quest, and he is incredibly strong. How many sidequests should I have done by now? Should I explore all the regions, and do all the sidequests, to even stand a chance? Or do I just have to get much better at blocking, which isn't happening. I think 3d games are too demanding for me, when it comes to reacting to attacks and blocking them in time. And I really don't want to train forever, just to beat him, I guess the game will only get harder from here on out.
I also reached Noel, at the end of the first main quest, and he is incredibly strong. How many sidequests should I have done by now? Should I explore all the regions, and do all the sidequests, to even stand a chance? Or do I just have to get much better at blocking, which isn't happening. I think 3d games are too demanding for me, when it comes to reacting to attacks and blocking them in time. And I really don't want to train forever, just to beat him, I guess the game will only get harder from here on out.
The game is fairly nonlinear, and your progression is gated by a few events and your ability to win fights. If you can't progress where you are right now, work on something else.
Alternatively, the costumes that I assume were originally DLC are extremely powerful and will trivialize Noel and get you unblocked. Dig around the menus to find them. They're worth looking at even if you don't want to cheese your way past this.
Alternatively, the costumes that I assume were originally DLC are extremely powerful and will trivialize Noel and get you unblocked. Dig around the menus to find them. They're worth looking at even if you don't want to cheese your way past this.
It's been a while since I played the game "clean" (as in without having the benefits of a New Game+ or the Mogri-mentioned overpowered DLC costumes), but I think you are more or less expected to explore the "generalities" of the whole world, and then start clearing out area bosses. Each of the areas has a distinct boss/goal, and a lot of guides note that you won't be finishing those until the later days. So bop around, explore, complete some of the smaller sidequests, and come back when things are a little more even. I highly recommend Snow's town from the opening. It is not combat intensive, but I really like it there. There is a meatball-based sidequest.
Also, a general tip that you may or may not want to read regarding gameplay "boss order" (spoiler for a returning character): Save Caius of the Wildlands for last. Guy is a jerk..
Also, a general tip that you may or may not want to read regarding gameplay "boss order" (spoiler for a returning character): Save Caius of the Wildlands for last. Guy is a jerk..
A lot of the tougher enemies really expect you to be good at staggering and at least proficient in perfect timing your guards. Biggest tip I have other than what's already been said is to get your hands on Thundara and Aerora, because chaining those specific spells is basically the best way to stagger most enemies in the game. So yeah, exploration and sidequests will do you good.
FelixSH
(He/Him)
Ok, will do. I assumed the game expected me to stay in the specific area, for some reason, and at least let me get strong enough to do the main quest if I stayed inside.
Also, Clouds stuff didn't seem that much greater than everything else, but maybe that's just because I was overwhelmed. I generally want to play games with some sort of intended difficulty, but it seems somewhat uneven, and just pretty hard. And seemingly, people suggest to start on easy.
Dunno, I already tried doing sidequests, and then a day went by and I didn't get anything done, because I lost myself in running around. I feel like the game doesn't really agree with me. We'll see.
Thanks for the advice, in any case.
Also, Clouds stuff didn't seem that much greater than everything else, but maybe that's just because I was overwhelmed. I generally want to play games with some sort of intended difficulty, but it seems somewhat uneven, and just pretty hard. And seemingly, people suggest to start on easy.
Dunno, I already tried doing sidequests, and then a day went by and I didn't get anything done, because I lost myself in running around. I feel like the game doesn't really agree with me. We'll see.
Thanks for the advice, in any case.
Cloud's garb in particular with the built in Heavy Slash is good because the effect of the garb turns Heavy Slash into something MUCH stronger against a staggered enemy, however it's at the lowest level because it'd be way too strong for a pre-order bonus otherwise, and there's a garb later with a slightly more powerful move that I think they didn't want to make obsolete right when you start playing.