http://i.imgur.com/WK6jVCp.gif[IMG][/QUOTE]
I wonder if Selphie started composing her train song right then and there.
[quote="Narolf, post: 47376657"]As I've said earlier in another thread related to SE, I would split the FF contingent of NeoGAF into three categories.
[list][*]Old-schoolers, those who stopped believing in the series after VI -- MagiusNecros, Dark-Schala (not so sure about her), etc.
[*]Nomura-stans, those who believe Toryiama and Kitase are the culprits -- Kagari & co.
[*]fanboys, those who believe the series has, is and will always do(ne/ing) fine -- Toth, LuuKyK, me, etc.[/list]Would place you in the first category.[/QUOTE]
I should've checked into this thread earlier, haha.
Nah. I like a lot of the post-VI FFs. I actually hated FFVI when I was a kid, as I detailed somewhat [url=http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=46348437&postcount=3592]here in my FF6 playthrough[/url]. I didn't go back to it until I was in high school, so I don't have that much of an attachment to it like some do. And I haven't played it as many times as some others as a result of being late to the party with it. I feel like it's one of those games where I like it some days for its overall presentation and [I]some[/I] of its characterization, or it's one of those games where I would classify it as just a great game but nothing would stand out to me at that moment.
I like more of the skill-based FFs, or the ones that require a modicum of quick-thinking strategy/preliminary strategizing or customization prior to encountering battles. I'm not sure what I think of FF13's CSB yet even after experimenting with it a lot and getting animation timings recorded and making up spreadsheets and everything for it. I think it could be [I]better[/I], but it sort of works, just not to the extent I would like it to work (this goes into my desire for more micromanagement, but not everyone's into that sort of thing).
The thing about it is I used to play RPGs for the story a lot when I was a kid all the way up to before I graduated high school. I don't know whether or not it was a consequence of growing up, not having a proper mainline Suikoden game this generation (which is actually my favourite game series; I don't think that's a secret to a lot of people, really), or my tastes in games somewhat changing a bit, but I don't play RPGs for the story that much anymore. It's weird and I'm not sure how that happened. I go for the battle systems and ability customization systems now. So if a game does something interesting with its combat or its ability acquisition/customization systems, I'll probably end up liking it a lot. And difficulty options and balancing help out a lot in my enjoyment.
This, in turn, affected which FFs were overall my favourites or maybe the ones I liked the best. I don't have a favourite FF. If you put a gun to my head and made me choose, FF9 would probably be the closest game I'd call my favourite FF because it's my favourite interpretation of what the series is idealized to be, but other games closely follow it (like FF5 and FF10-2--which I'd love to see more and more of... and yes, I'm serious about FF10-2 because I genuinely love that game's systems a lot). I'm incredibly fond of FF10 for various reasons, but one of those reasons is surprisingly enjoying the worldbuilding in that game. I like how they took the time and effort to fashion that world a lot via NPC dialogue, exploration, art direction, continuing musical motifs, etc.
Each game has its own pluses, and each game has its own minuses. I can clearly see that. I guess I can sometimes seem tougher on post-FFVI and more recent games because I can be a little too blunt at times when discussing pros and cons of each thing. And also because I really don't like the cinematics too much (especially the voiced ones where I can't skip through dialogue). They look pretty, but in terms of game design and how people narrate their stories, it's not my preferred way of conveying a story at all (especially since I read faster than the voice actors narrate the dialogue). For the record, I would consider FF13 and FF13-2 as just average, with FF13 being a notch above FF13-2 because of its difficulty and the three postgame missions I enjoyed doing so much with different setups.
I'd say that I don't really fit into either category. I just want to have fun with the games in general and put up with less waffling while I do so (ie: cutscenes aren't really my thing; I respect games that respect players' time, etc.), and I want a modicum of difficulty/difficulty settings. With that said, it probably would seem like I lean closer to the older games because they presumably have less waffling around and battles can finish fast, though that may not necessarily be the case (ex: FF10-2).