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[jb1234]

I'm into the 2.4 patch content of FFXIV. It's fine. The game is still struggling to come up with characters I care about but every so often, there's a story arc that's somewhat interesting. It just doesn't especially feel like it's building up to something. It's very obvious that these are mostly filler quests, even more so than ARR's.

It's also very repetitive. Every patch includes a new primal fight but they all feel shoehorned into the story. Something interesting will be happening

Spoiler

(the refugee story)

and then nope, gotta pause it because a new primal's in town!

The gameplay itself has gotten a little more interesting because a friend of mine has started playing so I've been helping him get through the early dungeons unsynced. It's nice to have someone to talk to that I know, as opposed to the randoms in my FC.

With a whole bunch of games coming out (Zelda, Horizon, NieR, Persona 5), I'll probably be lapsing my subscription for a while. Just don't see myself having the time. And it's not like the game is going anywhere.

(Honestly, I just don't understand why all the NPCs are so undeveloped. Especially the Scions, the people you see the most. They all have the same blank slate personalities and exist just to spout exposition. I think of Minfilia and I struggle to come up with words to define her. Strong leader lady? Pretty? Likes giving me fetch quests?)

 

[Jucksalbe]

My main gripes:

• The aforementioned magic is bugged and does nothing. The same happens with many other skills. How can this happen?

Weird bugs like that seem to be a series tradition at least up until FF7.

• Characters can't forget magic they've learned so coupled with the lack of descriptions it could have lead to a bad experience. Thankfully the working magic were the ones with strightforward names and thankfully there are faqs/guides/etc. to help.

I've never played much of the NES version (only have it Wii VC, well and a JP copy of 1+2), so I'm wondering is this something they simply delegated to the manual? Old games often do that.

 

[Heropon]

Weird bugs like that seem to be a series tradition at least up until FF7.

The most funny bugs are when entire stats go to the dump. At the same time I can understand why during normal gameplay someone might not notice that one stat isn't doing what it should but I thought designers also used controlled environments to test that. I suppose not or that's done before stats get bugged and then don't try anymore.

I've never played much of the NES version (only have it Wii VC, well and a JP copy of 1+2), so I'm wondering is this something they simply delegated to the manual? Old games often do that.

I've looked in this web https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/ and yes, the printed manual has all the descriptions. Meanwhile the VC style one only gets to level 3 magic. Too bad the "This spell is bugged" description doesn't appear and can lead to wasted slots either way.

 

[-Mutsukki-]

So today I beat the Cloud of Darkness.

Final Fantasy III was as good as I expected, but also a lot more frustrating than what I was prepared for. Having beaten II last year and hating it, I was expecting III to be better and a return to form to I. And in a lot of ways, it was! Unlike FFII, most of the dungeons (but not all) in III are a joy to explore, they always have something there for you. Almost zero dead ends and long-winded fake paths.

What ruined dungeons most of the times though, was the high enemy encounter rate and composition. Hoo boy, is it frustrating! Between enemies that can put you to sleep instantly, appears in groups of 4 and deal obscene damage and enemies that simply multiply if you hit them with the wrong weapons I was on the verge of snapping my monitor in half. I know this is a common complain with III but jesus, it's infuriating. Having to battle in Mini form isn't that better either. You could change them all to Black Mages, but that's only worth it the first time. Also, the job system itself is pretty weird, a lot of classes are kinda useless and others overpowered. It can lead itself to smart fights like

Spoiler

Garuda and Odin

where having

Spoiler

4 Dragoons

is a guaranteed win and that's kinda fun, but it's too bad that you're almost required to have 2 Ninjas and 2 Sages to beat the game by the end.

The story and world actually reminds me more of any Dragon Quest game than Final Fantasy. It's so simple and yet so charming, with every town having it's kind of story and charming side characters like the four old men or Doga and Unei.

Spoiler

The scale of the world also really caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to leave my floating continent and then I wasn't expecting the world bellow to ressurface from the water and even then I wasn't expecting a whole underwater map to be explorable! It is kind of amazing for a NES game.

It also has a great soundtrack, a huge step up from Final Fantasy II in every sense. Varied dungeon themes, good battle themes, great character themes (for Doga and Unei) and Syrcus Tower and World of Darkness are just so good that you have to stop and wait for the song to loop sometimes. Also having beaten the FFXIV Crystal Tower raid before playing III it was fun recognizing and seeing where a lot of elements and mechanics came from. I plan on replaying that now so I can see it all again but through a different light.

In the end, even though there were some rocky roads from the Water Crystal to the Earth, it was pretty much smooth sailing after that and even smoother after Eureka (which I await anxiously for when it comes to XIV with Stormblood). Though it kinda felt too long at times, I really enjoyed it overall! It was charming and fun and I can totally see why this is Yoshi-P's favorite FF.

 

[BumRush]

So, I don't play a lot of games anymore, but somehow I finished FFXV (PS4) and FFIX (Steam) since December.

My goal is to finish FFV (which I'm playing through on Vita) next.

FFV is great so far - just finished

Spoiler

Karnak

- but I have one major gripe: ABP is sooooooooo effing hard to come by. Any advice around where I am? I like grinding in old school handheld RPGs, but 1 ABP per battle is overkill.

 

[br3wnor]

So, I don't play a lot of games anymore, but somehow I finished FFXV (PS4) and FFIX (Steam) since December.

My goal is to finish FFV (which I'm playing through on Vita) next.

FFV is great so far - just finished

Spoiler

Karnak

- but I have one major gripe: ABP is sooooooooo effing hard to come by. Any advice around where I am? I like grinding in old school handheld RPGs, but 1 ABP per battle is overkill.

ABP gain is annoying for sure but I didn't find myself grinding for it until later in the game. I don't have a recommendation for where you right now but eventually you will find yourself in the basement of a castle

Spoiler

Bal Castle

and can grind the fuck out of the mobs there. 4-8 ABP per battle, I spent at least 5 hours grinding there in my play through and got pretty OP. Made it that point of the game w/ no major problems in term of not getting enough ABP.

Have fun, FFV is really, really awesome.

 

[BumRush]

ABP gain is annoying for sure but I didn't find myself grinding for it until later in the game. I don't have a recommendation for where you right now but eventually you will find yourself in the basement of a castle

Spoiler

Bal Castle

and can grind the fuck out of the mobs there. 4-8 ABP per battle, I spent at least 5 hours grinding there in my play through and got pretty OP. Made it that point of the game w/ no major problems in term of not getting enough ABP.

Have fun, FFV is really, really awesome.

Okay thanks, that sounds much better lol.

 

[Tenrius]

So, I don't play a lot of games anymore, but somehow I finished FFXV (PS4) and FFIX (Steam) since December.

My goal is to finish FFV (which I'm playing through on Vita) next.

FFV is great so far - just finished

Spoiler

Karnak

- but I have one major gripe: ABP is sooooooooo effing hard to come by. Any advice around where I am? I like grinding in old school handheld RPGs, but 1 ABP per battle is overkill.

ABP gain is annoying for sure but I didn't find myself grinding for it until later in the game. I don't have a recommendation for where you right now but eventually you will find yourself in the basement of a castle

Spoiler

Bal Castle

and can grind the fuck out of the mobs there. 4-8 ABP per battle, I spent at least 5 hours grinding there in my play through and got pretty OP. Made it that point of the game w/ no major problems in term of not getting enough ABP.

Have fun, FFV is really, really awesome.

Don't worry about ABP just yet. Later on, enemies will regularly give you much larger amounts of it, not just in that basement. The's game is designed so that you begin mastering jobs by the latter half of the game. I've mastered a bunch of jobs by the latter third without any grinding, so you should be fine. You might want to consult a guide on how to get summons though, because many of them are optional and missable.

 

[BumRush]

Don't worry about ABP just yet. Later on, enemies will regularly give you much larger amounts of it, not just in that basement. The's game is designed so that you begin mastering jobs by the latter half of the game. I've mastered a bunch of jobs by the latter third without any grinding, so you should be fine. You might want to consult a guide on how to get summons though, because many of them are optional and missable.

Thanks. Yeah ill keep playing, not grinding until 3+ ABP is the norm. Only real reason to grind now is so that I can buy all of the items for sale.

 

[Lindsay]

Since our new party member is behind in levels lets train her up in the Train Graveyard! It has the same baddies from the reactor (keep this in mind for later) so they're nice and easy on her. With alil of that done its time to board that lil 2 car train (also keep this in mind for later).

You wastes no time in harassing other passengers. Dudes 35 years old, he should really practice better gun-arm safety and not point it in peoples faces menacingly all of the time.

"Arrival time at Sector 4 Station will 11:45." Will what 11:45?? I seriously dun understand!

You says they're all gonna jump off the train in 3 minutes, which is plenty of time to go talking to people, or maybe not since the security has caught onto the group! Only 15 seconds to run over to the trains other car! Which is more than enough time to spare to go talking to people. Ya get rewarded for it so why not?

That Johnny guy is here to! He really is leaving Midgar but for where? And um... who is he again and of what relation to the party o.o?

At the front of the train we learn everyone is an action hero as This is the first ta jump off the moving hi-speed train! Is it me or does You have the wrong idea about leadership? Shouldn't the leader lead by... leading as in jumping off the train first? This isn't a sinking ship he's goin' down with. btw we ran through 5 cars of this 2 car train.

Now the point of getting off at the front of the train was ta run 7 screens back and endlessly fight Shinra grunts right? Or was it to battle bugs and rocket launchers? Wait... if there are rocket launchers on the tracks how do the trains... oh forget it.

Is You worried about going down the chute cause he's claustrophobic or because he's a big guy an worried he'll get stuck? Anyways it leads to this place and to Wedge! When did he get off the train an how'd he beat us down here?

Seems its Jessie's fault the train security caught onto 'em. Making a special id made of love for What was just a bad idea even if her heart was in the right place. Lets hope the bomb she made doesn't backfire somehow. Why're they not seeing the mission through like they did last time an why're they relying on What to blow the reactor instead of their leader??

btw this is a Blugu. Don't question how or why its here.

This place looks familiar! However its totally different cause we can slide down instead of taking the stairs! The next room dun seem much different but hey more showing off our ridiculously high jumping ability!

Another re-used room and re-used moment of What collapsing! Instead of hearing voices he remembers This angry over the death of her dad and townspeople.

No boss fight after the bombs planted this time nor a countdown. But just like before ya gotta backtrack all the way out then upstairs then up an elevator to... a timing puzzle! Hitting that button in synch with the others is no problem for me!

And then a trap! Grunts in the waiting and the president of Shinra himself! He's there for some trash talking and then nopes out after summoning a big old robot to fight!

Woah, there. This is ex-SOLDIER to? Is that what she's saying here? Strange comments aside You has the right attitude! Bust this hunk of junk up!

An what a junker it is! This thing runs out moves an power really fast. And its back is always turned to at least one party member so deadly back attacks trash its health in no time!

Geez even with self-destruct that crappy bot took out only a small section of the walkway! (Spoilers: This won't spill her many things to say for a long time to come.) It did however leave What in kinda a bad situation...

Aaaand with the reactors explosion their insides are liqui... wait that didn't happen last time so why would it this time? What does seem ta be in some danger cause it looks like he's in for a real big fall.

REAL BIG.

 

[kswiston]

Blame Nintendo for my FF Tactics hiatus. Once I started to wind down my FE Heroes play time, Breath of the Wild came out...

I need to not start Persona 5 in April to get back on track. Especially aince we have more Fire Emblem in May.

 

[Lindsay]

The party resumes with What either dead or alive. Alls we know is someones talkin' at his barely responsive butt. All in all its a real short conversation that just doesn't go anywhere.

Hey its that space case from the start of the game! She's still an incoherent airhead cause seriously, she's saying the church came crashing down on her? Gotta be a pretty tough lady if thats the case!

Umm excuse me? Can we go back an check the tapes? Cause I'm super sure she was the one in a daze, what with not having noticed a giant fuckoff explosion having happened like 10 feet away!!

I'm with What on this one. Her mother handed down the worlds only non-functioning materia? BS. I bet its an All materia an she tried pairing it with Steal or something that just wouldn't go with it.

I give up trying to follow her conversations. None of this flows together to make any sort of sense.

Some dude enters the church an all of a sudden Look asks What to be her bodyguard with the payment being a date. Aren't bodyguards supposed ta not get romantically invested in the person they're protecting?

I mean. He still makes more sense then Look does fwiw. Still, make up your damn mind man!

These grunts know whats up even if "a little weird" is being generous.

It was always gonna come down to battling it out huh? Best not to do it in the only place in Midgar where flowers grow, or whatever Look was on about earlier.

Some not so great leadership going on here! Do one thing, order your peeps to not do it! This Reno dude must be the lovable comic relief person on the baddies side!

In order to get away, both What and Look make a jump across a really big gap.

...so why in the heck can Look not do this significantly smaller jump?? Oh wells, gotta play bodyguard at some point.

Mr. Comic Relief just turned real callous real fast. What couldn't protect Look from a hail of gunfire but surely he can still live up to his bodyguard duty!

Could do our job, or just fuck about an nearly clobber our client with barrels! If we do the latter, she has to fight solo against grunts and their dogs. Which frankly isn't an issue for her anyway so why not soak up some exp for Look?

Look fights her way through waves of baddies, jumps the gap she refused to do previously, catches up to What, and gets lit on fire by a Hedgehog Pie! Why'd she wanna hire What anyway? She can take alot of crap an keep on going!

Safe an sound outside, What gives a quick rundown on the Turks job. They apparently were scouting Look to join SOLDIER but she doesn't wanna go with such shady peeps!

While taking a breather amongst a buncha rubbish Look shoots What a question. His mako colored eyes caught her attention showing that she must know abit about SOLDIER.

After escaping the church lets head right on back to it! But first, WHOLE EATER.

Seems as though Looks gotta a couple of lil helpers in her flower care business. But What strongly believes child labor is wrong! The kids dun seem ta get the issue here, sadly enough. Anyways, gotta get back on track!

Hmm...

 

[Doctrine Dark]

I want to continue on with my 4 yr old Final Fantasy 1 playthrough. It's been awhile. The main reason why I quit is because I'm pretty sure my character types are unable to get out of the dungeon I'm currently in. I have a Fighter (Strongest of the group) Black Mage, Monk, and a Thief.

My party has been able to defeat most of the bosses because of good synergy, but it seems like the lack of a White Mage has made things way harder now. I might have to start a new game because now I'm fighting enemies that are powerful enough to take out a member in a single attack. The Black Mage almost always goes down immediately. Final Fantasy 1 is tough.

 

[MAX PAYMENT]

What are opinions on X and XII?

I've still only ever finished FFXV

 

[kswiston]

What are opinions on X and XII?

I've still only ever finished FFXV

I liked both of them, but they play very differently from each other and from FFXV. Given that FFX remaster goes on sale quite often on both PS4 and PC, it seems like a good time to try it out. At this point, you might as well wait for the FFXII Remaster to try that game.

 

[Lynx_7]

I was planning on playing through II and III (the only non-MMO, non-sequel titles left for me to play) for the first time but with how little time I currently have and how many games from 2017 alone I already have on my backlog I'm not sure I'll be able to make it in time.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

I still want to celebrate this year's anniversary.

 

[Tenrius]

What are opinions on X and XII?

I've still only ever finished FFXV

XII is one of the best RPGs around. Not sure about X, I started it several times, but never finished.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

Finished FF V a while back!

Simply a joy to play, despite not having the captivating story (aeana tells me it's actually good, just not told very dramatically) or the iconic protagonists/antagonists as VI has.

The bosses are really fun and mostly challenging. You have to find a good and balanced setup, few of them can be outright cheesed (or at least I never found out how to ), and the game doesn't really have the sudden difficulty peaks that VI sort of has (except in some avoidable areas, like some desert encounters early on). It's sort of more linear than VI, but that doesn't really bother me. I like knowing where I am supposed to go in FF games, while still having some freedom to fly around if I feel like it.

The job system is probably what I like the best about V, despite the increased incentive to grind job points. I know grinding is not strictly required, but who wouldn't want their casters to master Red Mage just for !Dualcast, or their fighters to master Ranger just for !RapidFire or Ninja for !DualWield? etc

Just love playing FF on my new good-screen GBA tbh.

Maybe I'll try to play FF IX on Steam next, if I can find some time

 

[Big Papa Husker]

If I was to get Final Fantasy IV for a first time player which version would you recommend? They have a DS so I'm struggling to decide between DS and GBA versions. They have played Pokemon quite a bit so they are familiar with JRPGs.

 

[Spehornoob]

If I was to get Final Fantasy IV for a first time player which version would you recommend? They have a DS so I'm struggling to decide between DS and GBA versions.

First time player as in "first time to the series" or "first time playing FFIV".

I really like the DS version, but it's really hard. Like "enemies can petrify you in the first area" hard. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who's not overly familiar with turn based JRPGs.

 

[Big Papa Husker]

First time player as in "first time to the series" or "first time playing FFIV".

I really like the DS version, but it's really hard. Like "enemies can petrify you in the first area" hard. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who's not overly familiar with turn based JRPGs.

First time to the series. They have played Pokemon so they are familiar with RPGs. I would assume they would be aware of status effects.

 

[PaulBizkit]

Alright, finished FFVII a couple of weeks ago and forgot to post it here. It was incredible to play it again after 13 years... so many cool things to find.

Will update later

If I was to get Final Fantasy IV for a first time player which version would you recommend? They have a DS so I'm struggling to decide between DS and GBA versions.

The PSP version is definitely the best (correct translation, item descriptions, a couple of QOL improvements and an overall amazing presentation) but if you must choose between GBA and DS, go with the GBA version.

 

[Nairume]

For a first time player, probably the GBA version. The DS version is good and makes a lot of positive changes, but it's also a harder version of a game that was already known for being a challenge.

The only caveat with the GBA version is that it has a glitch in the combat system that can cause characters to either miss turns or get extra turns. It's not bad enough to be a deal breaker, but can be annoying. It was fixed in the European version, so it might be worth tracking that down if you aren't already looking at it to begin with.

 

[afternoon delight]

What are the SNES negatives about IV? I always get confused with the SNES/PS1 US/JP release differences.

 

[Fou-Lu]

I really want to play some of FF for the anniversary, but I am not one for replaying games. There are several spin-offs and versions of games I haven't played but I am not sure what to go with.

I have played:
FFI - NES, GBA and PSP versions
FFII - GBA and PSP versions
FFIII - DS version
FFIV - PSP version
FFV - GBA version
FFVI - GBA version
FFVII - PSX and Steam versions
FFVIII - PSX and Steam versions
FFIX - PSX version
FFX - PS3 version
FFXII - PS2 version
FFXIII - Steam version
FFXV - PS4 version
FFCC, RoF, EoT
FF Explorers
FFXIII-2 - Steam version
FF Tactics - PSP version

 

[Nairume]

I really want to play some of FF for the anniversary, but I am not one for replaying games. There are several spin-offs and versions of games I haven't played but I am not sure what to go with.

I have played:
FFI - NES, GBA and PSP versions
FFII - GBA and PSP versions
FFIII - DS version
FFIV - PSP version
FFV - GBA version
FFVI - GBA version
FFVII - PSX and Steam versions
FFVIII - PSX and Steam versions
FFIX - PSX version
FFX - PS3 version
FFXII - PS2 version
FFXIII - Steam version
FFXV - PS4 version
FFCC, RoF, EoT
FF Explorers
FFXIII-2 - Steam version
FF Tactics - PSP version

In terms of different versions of games you've played:

FF1: Try the PS1 version. It has the updated visuals and mechanical tweaks (namely characters automatically changing their targets if their original target gets killed before their turn comes up) from the other remakes, but it has the difficulty of the NES version mostly intact and still has the old D&D based spell system.

FF3: Play the NES version. The DS remake changed up enough to where it'll still feel different despite still being the same general game. It's also better.

FF4: If you've not played the actual fullblown remake of the game (the one on DS, mobile, steam), I'd recommend that. Just as with the DS remake of FF3, there's enough changes there to where it'll be a fresh experience.

As for a new game, play the Wii Chocobo Dungeon game if you can. It's a fun Mystery Dungeon game and has some amazing remixes of older FF music.

What are the SNES negatives about IV? I always get confused with the SNES/PS1 US/JP release differences.

The biggest "negative" about the SNES version is that the official english version is the one with cut materials and lowered difficulty to try and make the game more accessible. It's completely playable and is still a solid game, but you'll have to resort to fan translations if you want to play an SNES version of the game that isn't missing content.

 

[Big Papa Husker]

Well all I could find locally was the DS version, so that's what I got.

 

[Riesenfass]

I've never played a FF game before, and started playing through FFX on my Vita.

So far the gameplay is ok, but man o man do they love putting cutscenes in... Every 5 minutes it seems there is something new to watch - does it stay like this throughout or is it just in the beginning?

The dialog is also pretty terrible, especially between Yuna and Tidus.

I realize the above might seem negative but I am enjoying it so far, it's just different than I was expecting.

 

[afternoon delight]

The biggest "negative" about the SNES version is that the official english version is the one with cut materials and lowered difficulty to try and make the game more accessible. It's completely playable and is still a solid game, but you'll have to resort to fan translations if you want to play an SNES version of the game that isn't missing content.

ROUGH. Thank you for the insight.

 

[jb1234]

Well all I could find locally was the DS version, so that's what I got.

I think they'll have a great time with it. The DS version is great, a good challenge. A lot of people bitch about the graphical style but I choose gameplay over visuals and the DS version shines over all the others in that department.

 

[Apple Turnover]

I've never played a FF game before, and started playing through FFX on my Vita.

So far the gameplay is ok, but man o man do they love putting cutscenes in... Every 5 minutes it seems there is something new to watch - does it stay like this throughout or is it just in the beginning?

There's a fair amount of scenes throughout the entire game.

 

[Riesenfass]

There's a fair amount of scenes throughout the entire game.

Ok thanks.

I do really like the world, music, enemy designs, and combat.

 

[dancrane212]

I've had numerous false starts since I first rented the Origins collection at Rogers Video way back when, but with my completion of the original Dragon Quest I figured now was as good a time as any to give it another go.

I decided to go with the PSP version since, after holding my old 2000 model after years of using a Go/Vita, I was surprised how good the console feels in my hands and was looking for something to play on it (the easier difficulty also was an appeal...). I'm currently exploring the "Cavern of Earth" and despite the insane random encounter (at one point every step I took spawned Gigas and lizard enemies) I'm enjoying myself. I appreciate the game being a much more directed experience than DQ1; I don't find myself getting lost like I did in that game thanks to how the world opens up over-time.

 

[Lindsay]

Okays getting back on track means being roadblocked by a couple of goons. Or maybe not since thats not even the way to Look's house. Once in the town portion of Sector 5 we're immediately told of some sick dude living in a pipe.

Thanks Look. Once again proving her inability to make a lick of sense!

Is it me or does this man does not work as advertized? Cause I'm not seeing any "uuh"'s or "aahh"'s here! Also not seeing the relevance of bringing up the fact that he has a tattoo.

"spoke out public against"? Not gonna let that one slide either! Along with news & tv in general there are ads! For a bar. In a young boys bedroom. Guess he's saving up ta go there someday so lets not take his stash of cash!

Another first! A shop that exclusively sells Materia! And getting called out for entering and looting homes? No! Ya can't do that! Looting peoples homes is an rpg staple! Don't go breaking unwritten rules & 4th walls like this!

So about the church being the only place flowers grow in Midgar... was she full of crap? There's a big field of 'em right outside her home ffs. By the way, the Cover Materia is found here. The person equipped with it will occasionally take an attack meant for an ally. Look has proven weak defensively so far, so anyones first inclination will be to put it on What, right? After all he is her bodyguard. SYMBOLISM!

This is still the slums ya? Real nice looking home she's got all things considered. Now that the job is done and we've met the mom its time ta cash in on that date right?

Nah! What's in a hurry to get back to This! The reason being that Look still can't form complete sentences! "is this a girl?" this what? Is what a girl? What is this? I just dun get it.

Another person that knows about SOLDIERs trademark eyecolor! And a hint that Look knew more about that group than she was letting on. She asks What to abandon the sleepover (not together!) plans an sneak outta the house while Look sleeps an head to Sector 7 on his own.

What collapses again... but this time its into a comfy bed which is more normal than doing so inside of a reactor. He gets a nice lil sleepy dream about some time he was chilling at home with his doting mom!

In order ta sneak outta the house we gotta not run, or walk to closely to her door, or purposely open her door >.>; Otherwise she busts ya! An since we did get busted is it any surprise that she catches on to the plan? The real question is how she got all the way there before What did!

So its on to Sector 7 by way of Sector 6, with the first stop being everyones favorite screen! Perspective Land! Its home to the infamous Hell House baddie which people know & love! Its a real unique enemy since it has not only more attacks than the average baddie but also a desperation form when its health drops to a certain point. Pretty good for grinding 1-1 limits!

Taking a break after grinding is only natural but using that time to chat about more SOLDIER stuff and first boyfriends who's names totally don't matter isn't how I'd spend it!

Suddenly the Sector 7 gate opens and out comes a giant bird pulling a carriage? With This riding in the back? Detour time! Gonna follow after her with Look forcibly tagging along again!

Dunno why this place is supposed ta be scary, seems pretty ordinary from a first glance. Guess we'll have to explore around an find out why - next time!

 

[Fou-Lu]

In terms of different versions of games you've played:

FF1: Try the PS1 version. It has the updated visuals and mechanical tweaks (namely characters automatically changing their targets if their original target gets killed before their turn comes up) from the other remakes, but it has the difficulty of the NES version mostly intact and still has the old D&D based spell system.

FF3: Play the NES version. The DS remake changed up enough to where it'll still feel different despite still being the same general game. It's also better.

FF4: If you've not played the actual fullblown remake of the game (the one on DS, mobile, steam), I'd recommend that. Just as with the DS remake of FF3, there's enough changes there to where it'll be a fresh experience.

As for a new game, play the Wii Chocobo Dungeon game if you can. It's a fun Mystery Dungeon game and has some amazing remixes of older FF music.

I do have the FF4 remake on Steam, maybe I'll give it a shot. I would love to try the original version of FF3 as I found the remake one of the more forgettable entries in the series.

 

[dancrane212]

That's one down...plenty more to go.

I felt the game made a better first impression than Dragon Quest but the incredibly high encounter rate that I, at least from the spell shops I found, wasn't able to decease really wore on me in the back half. It's not as if the encounters were difficult or anything it was just tedious to have to wade through 5-8 battles to get to where I needed to go on the overworld even with the airship thanks to the abundance of forests, swamps and deserts. Is the encounter rate this bad in the other versions of the game?

The combat (when not just spamming 'X') was more enjoyable than Dragon Quest since you have an actual party to split up your actions with. It was nice not to have to rely on getting a lucky break on the final boss to succeed this time around since I was able to buff/heal the team while still attacking. It's a shame the game was so easy that I hardly had to plan in those encounters but on the other side if all of the random encounters were actually difficult I might have just left the game mid-way through.

 

[Lindsay]

Okies, this place is dangerous cause using a computer can get ya shot at by some turret on some random buildings ceiling! Welcome back!

Danger aside... it's that Johnny guy! He's the one contemplating perusing whatever this facility is yet craps on What who also may wanna go there? The nerve!

YES! CATS ARE GREAT!!! Also this barker is full of crap. Ya don't get a coupon just for entering. I went in and confirmed that myself! Ya gotta buy a meal first!

I "shore" do! Wait... what? Excuse me is he talking about Look? Rude much? Pretty sure selling her wouldn't prevent her from tagging along anyhow.

Why is this guy shit talking potential clients? Unpopular dweeb isn't how I'd describe What. Would like ta see him go up to any other SOLDIER an call 'em a dweeb!

Why doesn't this dude just go use some other restroom? Ridiculous! We traded our pharmacy coupon for a digestive so lets tear the door open on this poor sick lady and throw it at her! Think the town was less dangerous towards ladys before What showed up. Although... she was thankful and gave us some sexy cologne for the trouble so??

Dudes got a tank in his store. Don't think anyone'd be brave enough ta send complaints his way!

This is inside this place trying to become the Don's bride. Did she suddenly fall in love while we were away? I dunno but something tells me Look's been holding onto this lil idea for awhile now. Totally not something she came up with on the spot.

An no. Running into some random dead end won't save What from his fate. Off to get a tailor made dress for him! The tailor seems abit crabby however.

The dress got made in record time! But that alones not gonna fool anyone! Gotta hit up the gym to meet more peeps like What! Plus a buncha other places to if we want.

For starters lets indulge in some corporate espionage! Dudes allergic to women so he makes Look not listen in on the convo. Why work for a guy like that?! For going along with it we get a diamond tiara which I'ma bet is not real diamonds. Oh an by the way since they spent the night at the inn... shouldn't the Don be through with choosing his bride by now?

Got a membership pass to the Honey Bee Inn for free so ya know we gotta make use of it! But uhhh huh... I don't understand any of this. Not the dialogue, nor why in the hell Johnny is crawling around on the ground like some kind of creep.

The first thing ta do once inside a place like this is some keyhole peeping! What's totally not a weirdo, honest. I mean take President Shinra for example. He's into some strange stuff as shown here. Even stranger is that he'd visit a place in the slums. Surely there's a more upscale place on the plates he can do his roleplaying at?

Can also spy on a kindly old couple but who'd do that? Not like there's anything interesting ta see in there...

Anyhow we gotta choose between the Group Room and the &$#% Room. The latter sounds interesting to me!

What the &$#%...?!

 

[jb1234]

That's one down...plenty more to go.

I felt the game made a better first impression than Dragon Quest but the incredibly high encounter rate that I, at least from the spell shops I found, wasn't able to decease really wore on me in the back half. It's not as if the encounters were difficult or anything it was just tedious to have to wade through 5-8 battles to get to where I needed to go on the overworld even with the airship thanks to the abundance of forests, swamps and deserts. Is the encounter rate this bad in the other versions of the game?

The combat (when not just spamming 'X') was more enjoyable than Dragon Quest since you have an actual party to split up your actions with. It was nice not to have to rely on getting a lucky break on the final boss to succeed this time around since I was able to buff/heal the team while still attacking. It's a shame the game was so easy that I hardly had to plan in those encounters but on the other side if all of the random encounters were actually difficult I might have just left the game mid-way through.

The encounter rate is very high no matter what version you play. The big difference is that the difficulty has been utterly nerfed in most of the remakes. If you want to play FF1 as it was meant to be experienced, try out the original NES version.

 

[allintospace]

Started up the PS4 version of FFX for some chill nostalgia this morning. Thought it had a speed up option for battles but I can't see one. Must just be the PC version. = Still, it looks great and it's been long enough since I played it last that I know what I'm doing but the details are cloudy. Keeps me interested.

 

[Lindsay]

About what happened where things left off... What wasn't killed by a ghost taking the form of him. He's still alive an things are happening! Weird conversations like other times he's collapsed, and thumping & pounding signifying he's got a headache maybe? Seems he got a full heal outta the deal, not that it was needed.

The hecks goin' on here?? Who's Mukki an why is any of this? The bee lady gives What some lingerie for his trouble which just adds to the questions! Better to just move on!

Dudes taking the whole dressup thing alil to seriously! Coulda had Look put the makeup on him rather than barging into the ladys dressing room! An now he's gonna walk around with just the makeup part of the disguise on. Not to bright!

While all that was going on inside the inn, outside Look was busily selling her flowers. Think she may need a business manager since her criteria for pricing seems ta be all over the place.

Gotta compete to win a wig! Getting all worked up doing squats surely isn't gonna mess up your makeup or anything!

After many trials the disguise is complete! Miss What is here! An being called out immediately. What's weird? C'mon, he's proven himself to be a perfectly normal Ex-SOLDIER!

Despite being a tough looking guy, What's disguise is fooling everyone! I like how its "The Don Corneo" as if there were any others.

NO OTHER WAY.

So anyways after the second big reactor boom This and You caught one of The Don's goons hanging around and This decided to do some investigating. But the only way to get close to The Don is to be chosen as his bride for the night!

Woohoo! What's going to be a bride! Seriously though what is with this Corneo guy. What a major creepo. He even pawns off This and Look to his goons.

This guy sure doesn't waste time! But how come there's a Hyper by his bedside? Is there some deeper meaning behind that? >.>;

Is it really a compliment ta not be tired of looking at someone ya just met like a minute ago? And why bring You into this? What knows other guys like uh... Johnny, and... Mukki!

What's more of a smooth talker than The Don could ever hope to be. Just bringing up You got the old fool already starting ta spill the beans!

The Don's a slum king but it seems even he answers to Shinra. I dun think this public safety guy is doing his job right if his plan is to straight up kill... the public. And the heck did "and want to infiltrate their hideout" mean anyway? Line makes no sense.

Props on the dude for admitting he's scum. Can't even get mad at him for dunking everyone despite having guessed the correct answer!

Quick cutaway to President Shinra an a couple new faces. Guess the Turks work under mister public safety so we're up to executive level dudes here! Least a couple of 'em seemingly have a conscious / are against the craziest possible plan to take out like half a dozen people!

Back to the... sewers? An right into a boss fight with Aps whatever thats supposed ta mean. This monsters not to bright since one of its attacks damages itself more than it does the party! Practically disposes itself!

Gah! Don't give up so easily, This! There's still time... for crime! People in this world can't commit robbery without having a Steal materia!

Gotta try Steal out on all kinds of baddies, starting with the mutated turtles living in the sewer!

Thankfully the sewer level was mercifully short an we're back in Sector 7! Also good news since this means it hasn't been crushed yet. Bad news? Still can't get rid of Look.

 

[BumRush]

Goal for the year:

Finish:

• FFV - in progress
• FFIX (again) - finished via Steam
• FFXII (again)
• FFXV - finished via PS4

I had only ever messed around with FFV but it's fantastic. About 10 hours in and really enjoying it. I'm playing it on Vita so I only really play on business trips.

 

[Ultratech]

Beat XIII-2 a couple of weeks back, but kinda forgot to say anything here.

For the most part, I really liked playing through it much more than I did XIII.
I don't really have access to the DLC though, so I'm not dealing with that.
I did go and get a large majority of the Fragments though. Really liked reading the stories they had you got them. Some good stuff in there.

That said...(ending spoilers ahoy)

Spoiler

that's pretty ballsy to kill off one of the MCs and then fuck everyone over in the process, but I guess I'll have to play Lightning Returns to see how everything plays out.
Caius was a pretty good villain too; had good (if twisted) motivations for what he was doing and pretty much won despite you beating him anyhow.
I will say that I hate how Time Travel and its effects are kinda presented in the game, but I think nearly anything having to do with that subject tends to have some flaws.

 

[Fou-Lu]

I started the Steam version of FFIV but... Persona 5 is here, so it might be waiting a while. Plus finals are coming up.

 

[Lindsay]

Here's a part of the train graveyard not visited before! Plenty of items scattered about for the collectin'! And ghosts. Don't forget the ghosts! They can be fought with convential means an even stolen from! An as This said before, just follow the light an navigating through heres no prob!

Stealing this item on the very first try is downright illegal so as punishment this Eligor fellow glared at the whole party really hard. btw what are these and other new baddies doing in the train graveyard now? They certainly weren't there earlier...

Dudes got a death wish. He heard the plate fall rumor yet refuses to abandon the post he's worked for so many long years. C'mon! Thats just no good!

Theres battles raging all the way up the strange and wonderful place! And the good guys are down by one... Wedddggeeee!! Seems like only What can survive a fall like that.

What is pissed an ready ta get in on the action! Look takes off ta go make sure Marlene gets out safely, and the rest the crowd...

...sticks around ta gawk! There's even an item salesman looking to make one quick last gil before imminent death.

Just a step up an the party gets ambushed by some rad looking propeller dudes. This shows off her new limit to 'em!

Biggs! Jessie?? Even more of the teams been taken out >_<!

You's still kickin' but Reno slipped through an just condemned an untold number of people to their deaths. Time to make him pay!

He's got the powers of imprisonment an shocking the ever lovin' heck outta peeps! Plus he can run from battle which puts him on the level of the thief baddies in the Sector 5 slums.

Great another Turks. He seems sadistic like Reno to. Is that part of the job requirement? Sector 7 is hosed and these jerks got an escape copter. Which is more than everyone else in the area has!

A rope of indeterminate length & strength may save the party but what of everyone else??

Crushed. An I'm sure the people living up top aren't doing so well either.

An its no sweat off the Presidents back. Why would the deaths of a sixteenth or more of his towns population get to him?

Marlene is potentially safe & sound but everyone else not so much. The time for mourning doesn't last long. Its time for revenge! Killing is okay when You's group is the one doing it, right?

Before proceeding though, What has another one of his lil episodes. Dude really needs ta see someone about this collapsing bit.

Maybe giving the Honey Bee Inn another shot could help him? We'll never know since they only accept "cultured customers". Crud.

????????? Dunno what the first persons talking about but this other guy isn't wrong!

NO CIVILIAN CASUALTIES.

Its the kid we didn't steal from before! For not doing that he gifts us a Turbo Ether! btw we may have another Look on our hands with this one. Acting like its the best day of his life as if completely oblivious to the horrors that just went down.

Whatevs! Lets go see what Looks mom is up to! Flashbacks?! Been awhile since we had one of those!

Oh nuts. Is Look a lab experiment? That'd explain alot about her!

Wow, Tsengs known Look for at least 15 years huh? And only managed to get his hands on her now since she exchanged herself for Marlene's safety. Someone was slacking on the job!

The plan is to take the fight to the Shinra HQ! But the train station there is kinda gone. Back to Wall Market ta dig up some info!

Info with a side of shameless advertisement! That was easy. Look fell for it an went in for another meal. Some things can't be helped! If only he'd talked to other people first he could saved his cash. Cause lots of 'em are talking about the weapon shop owner and climbing up top.

Before heading up lets go visit The Don! He doesn't seem ta be around however. We can enter a previously locked room and nab a free Phoenix Down. In the torture room one of his lackies has been tied down! Serves him right!

Oh ffs. What is already throwing in the towel?! Fortunately You's optimism sets him straight! Now for an absurdly ridiculous climb!! Which really didn't turn out to be as difficult as What had imagined. Alil tricky in spots but over really quickly.

Seeing as its got its own patrol copter the Shinra HQ sure is one heavily fortified looking office building!

But is that gonna stop 'em? Heck no!

 

[Arthea]

While I wait for Cosmic Star Heroine to be patched, I decided to join in finally. I've played all FF mainline games (many several times), aside of FF14, 15, type-0 and Lightning returns.I plan to play all that were released on steam and I rebought them for eventual marathon minus FF14.
So starting with FFIII, I've bought a remake on DS, but never got around to playing it, I played original decades ago and I remember only bits and pieces as I didn't like it all that much and it's one of a few FF I've never replayed.

My first thought was how I wish that this game looked like this:

instead of looking like this.... :

but there is nothing I can do about it, checked if there are any mods improving character models but there aren't any.

I also hoped to be able to save everywhere, no such luck.

One would think that at least saving could be no longer an issue, but apparently that's too much to ask for.

Enough complaining, though

I forgot how unfair this game can be with all not being able to save/no dungeon maps/ enemies surprising you and wiping you out. This will be fun.

Got to the first boss, and fist crystal gave me some classes, after a lot of procrastination I went with two red mages, one thief (no way I'm playing this game without a thief!) and a monk. A bit later I changed my mind and switched one red mage to black mage for a time being.

With dread I awaited a game taking away that ship from me, what happened very soon after, Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

 

[SpaceBridge]

So I restarted FFX-2, and I really love the battle system. I don't really care about 100% completion to get true ending. I just wanna fight stuff. Can I just play the game as I want without using a guide and still enjoy it?

 

[Arthea]

So I restarted FFX-2, and I really love the battle system. I don't really care about 100% completion to get true ending. I just wanna fight stuff. Can I just play the game as I want without using a guide and still enjoy it?

absolutely, you'll miss some stuff, but imo it's the best way to play your first time.

 

[Lindsay]

An we're off to an action packed start! Busting in was the right idea since all they've got for security are plain ol' grunts!

Some peeps don't wanna fight which gives the team a chance to read Shinra's bulletin board! Another ad for some foreign bar and this week's Shinra Inc. phrase are there! "Shinra's Future Is The World's Future" huh? We also get a chance to visit the gift shop!

Talk about a mangled line of dialogue! "Hey, wait! You can't open those without permission!" is prolly closer to what was intended?

Before moving on theres time ta watch an ad! Mako is basically Oil right? Just slam some of that green goo into the gas tank an head out on road trip!

Into an elevator and a series of battles! Each time it stops some baddies hop in, like the Mighty Grunts! Better than the standard issue ones in that they have two forms and take more then one shot ta beat.

Reminder that this an office building where ordinary people work! We're not here to fight them...

We're here to fight robots! And these... things! That drop "Loco weed". >.>

Despite what You says there is time for messing around! What decided to go back to the first floor and exit the building to explore an alternative path.

I know this is just a side entrance but this screen looks kinda outta place for an office building. The excrutiatingly long stair climbs reward is a single Elixir. Very not worth the tedium and time spent!

After busting in and kicking much butt ya would think the whole place is on high alert security-wise but nah! Nothing to see here!

No, really. These people suck at their jobs or just don't care lol.

Ready for a stealth section?? The guards here will attack if ya blatantly stroll by 'em. I say that cause theres no way they don't see/hear the team charging on by! This floor is totally not heavily guarded.

Next floor up is a dedicated lounge. Nice place for employees to complain about the state of the building and talk up the non-existent security!

The answer is Mako. I mean, it is this time. Sometimes its different. What, no question has even been posed yet? So what?!

See what'd I tell ya? No need ta bribe the deputy mayor for hints! Now lets leave Mayor Domino to continue wallowing in his dead end fake job and move on!

This floor is skippable but why not solve alil puzzle for prizes? If ya mess up you can have the doors shut and try again so there is no fail state. That Star Pendant is a poison block which may come in handy sooner or later?

Another skippable place but hitting up the gym may not be a bad idea. Can rest up for free! Try to buy an energy drink... but the machine clogs up and kicking it doesn't help! And meet the head of security lol.

The free ride up from Domino's keycard ends here! Gotta puzzle through here ta earn one that lets ya access the next floor. Lotta running back and forth here but thankfully baddies return after being absent for the past few floors!

Movin' on up to the conference floor we find the obligatory rpg time waster NPC. His dialogues just this over an over an over an RYDEL RYDEL RYDEL RYDEL... er what?

Some strong hints from employees with actual things ta say lead the party to the bathroom for some spying! Sector 7 won't be rebuilt and the Promised Land whatever that is, is within Shinra's reach? AND mako fees are going up? Annnnnd none of the extra cash is going towards the space program?! Lame news all around!

They're gonna breed Look?? She may have some issues but she super doesn't deserve having some weird science guy getting his freak on with her!

Scarlet just noticed the stench? Well at least one of 'em finally did!

C'mon What. You're starting to lose some credibility here. Never been to HQ before, never met or even seen Hojo either. I dunno, maybe he was stationed some place far from Midgar. In any case Hojo seems to have forgotten to lock the door so its time to explore the science floor!

 

[wtd2009]

I'm curious what else awaits us this year for this event. anyone think it's reasonable to get a release window for ff7r at e3 or ps3?