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[Arthea]

FF3 is grinding the game, well, if you want all achievements that is. I probably will skip on remaining grinding after killing Iron Giant, it's just way too much, too slow and too boring.

 

[SilverArrow20XX]

I played through the NES version of III a few months back, and it still holds up pretty well. Didn't even grind much at all either. Other than 2 bad luck ambush wipes the difficulty wasn't a problem either. Though the second of those was right before the final boss. Good thing I started saving state at the start of each floor after my first bad luck wipe much earlier in the game.

The DS version has save points in dungeons if I recall, so it's much less aggravating if you get killed by bullshit.

FF3 is grinding the game, well, if you want all achievements that is. I probably will skip on remaining grinding after killing Iron Giant, it's just way too much, too slow and too boring.

Just looked up the Steam achievements. Yuck at Jack of all Trades. Of course there's "Open all chests" and "100% Bestiary" trophies too. Both of which will be missed by everybody not using a guide. Glad I don't care about Steam achievements. FFIII's bestiary is weird too, since you can't access it from menu like all the other remakes.

 

[PedroPanache]

FFVII's translation is stiff and awkward. I often wonder how much better the story and characters would have come across with a better team localizing it.

I haven't played FFIX in a long time, but I do remember the translation being really good. The characters had personality and the writing had some flair to it that was sorely lacking with VII.

Playing through X and X-2, it's interesting to see the struggles Square had in localising their first major game with voice acting. What strikes me most about X is how uneven it is. The odd choices that were seemingly made when, for instance, speeding up dialogue to match the lip-sync, and just butchering the line-read in the process. They ruined Tidus' big moment with his 'old man' (ugh!) by speeding up the 'I hate you' line. Not to mention failing to match tone from one sentence to the next in certain scenes. The opening act in Zanarkand is a major offender for this. Tidus' and Auron's VA are all over the place during that entire sequence. Thankfully X-2 is much better in that regard. More even and no more awkward pauses from Yuna.

 

[Jucksalbe]

Bought Final Fantasy XI today since it's on sale. It's the only mainline FF game I've never played at all. I'll try to write a bit about it (or at least post some screenshots) as soon as I get to the "playing" part and not just the "staring at server issues" part.

 

[jb1234]

I haven't played FFIX in a long time, but I do remember the translation being really good. The characters had personality and the writing had some flair to it that was sorely lacking with VII.

Playing through X and X-2, it's interesting to see the struggles Square had in localising their first major game with voice acting. What strikes me most about X is how uneven it is. The odd choices that were seemingly made when, for instance, speeding up dialogue to match the lip-sync, and just butchering the line-read in the process. They ruined Tidus' big moment with his 'old man' (ugh!) by speeding up the 'I hate you' line. Not to mention failing to match tone from one sentence to the next in certain scenes. The opening act in Zanarkand is a major offender for this. Tidus' and Auron's VA are all over the place during that entire sequence. Thankfully X-2 is much better in that regard. More even and no more awkward pauses from Yuna.

Yeah, I replayed IX quite recently and its translation is quite solid. It's really just their early PSX games they struggled with (FFT, SaGa Frontier).

 

[Matski]

The issues with the earlier PSX translations make sense if you know the background at Squaresoft during the time. After releasing SMRPG, the company uprooted their offices from Seattle to the west coast. Ted Woolsey decided he didn't want to uproot his family. His departure left Square's translation department without a senior translator. They were completely negligent in sorting the situation out and their only translator - Michael Baskett was given little-to-no support. It was until FFVIII's impending release that Square started taking translation work more seriously, hiring people like Alexander O. Smith. But it took until late 1999 to early 2000 for the translators to get good support from the development teams, which is why games like FFIX and Vagrant Story have much better localisation efforts than their earlier PSX counterparts.

If FFVII's translation is really bugging any of you, get the Reunion mod. There are a couple of unresolved bugs in the current version but it's much better than the default script. It also gives the option to replace all the terrible box-monster overworld models with versions similar to the battle-mode models. Considering Square-Enix are unlikely to retranslate it themselves, it's as good as we're going to get for the original game.

 

[kromeo]

Kind of wondering if I, II, and III are worth my time?

No honestly, outside of wanting to experience the whole series. None of those game offer anything that the snes triology didn't greatly improve on

 

[Lindsay]

Good ol' tinctures.

Later on you'll encounter "Last Elixir". When I was 10, I thought it was some cosmically deep statement on environmentalism. Somehow.

I'd be pretty happy if Last Elixir and a couple other goofs found their way into the remake in some small way!

 

[PedroPanache]

The issues with the earlier PSX translations make sense if you know the background at Squaresoft during the time. After releasing SMRPG, the company uprooted their offices from Seattle to the west coast. Ted Woolsey decided he didn't want to uproot his family. His departure left Square's translation department without a senior translator. They were completely negligent in sorting the situation out and their only translator - Michael Baskett was given little-to-no support. It was until FFVIII's impending release that Square started taking translation work more seriously, hiring people like Alexander O. Smith. But it took until late 1999 to early 2000 for the translators to get good support from the development teams, which is why games like FFIX and Vagrant Story have much better localisation efforts than their earlier PSX counterparts.

If FFVII's translation is really bugging any of you, get the Reunion mod. There are a couple of unresolved bugs in the current version but it's much better than the default script. It also gives the option to replace all the terrible box-monster overworld models with versions similar to the battle-mode models. Considering Square-Enix are unlikely to retranslate it themselves, it's as good as we're going to get for the original game.

I once read a fantastic article that covered all this and I can't find it anywhere anymore. For some reason I have it in my head that it was by Jeremy Parish, but I could be completely wrong about that. Either way, it covered their localisation woes and how FFIX came together to be the crowning jewel of the early PS era translation work. If anyone remembers that article, or can find it, I'd love to read it again.

 

[Arthea]

Just looked up the Steam achievements. Yuck at Jack of all Trades. Of course there's "Open all chests" and "100% Bestiary" trophies too. Both of which will be missed by everybody not using a guide. Glad I don't care about Steam achievements. FFIII's bestiary is weird too, since you can't access it from menu like all the other remakes.

I got 100% chest achievement, granted I used checklist.

lvl 80+ still can't kill Iron Giant. Seeing how slow leveling is in this game, I think maybe grinding a bard and viking job levels would be faster after all. I already have ninja, he just dies almost instantly.

 

[Jucksalbe]

Finally managed to install Final Fantasy XI. Took me two days because of all the server problems and even then it only worked because someone on Reddit uploaded all the files. The game updater said it was still supposed to take me over 10 hours to download it all and that's when it was actually working (which it rarely did).

Oh well, I played the game for a bit. For now it's just totally confusing to me. The intro conversation was constantly interrupted by some quiz event that was going on, so I could hardly follow it. Now I have no idea where to go and everything looks the same. lol

At least I fought for a bit and made it to level 3, but every minute I just wanted to play FF14 instead. Couldn't figure out how to take screenshots either. There's supposedly a dedicated button for it, but either it doesn't work or I just couldn't find where they are saved.

 

[Matski]

I once read a fantastic article that covered all this and I can't find it anywhere anymore. For some reason I have it in my head that it was by Jeremy Parish, but I could be completely wrong about that. Either way, it covered their localisation woes and how FFIX came together to be the crowning jewel of the early PS era translation work. If anyone remembers that article, or can find it, I'd love to read it again.

Interesting that you've seen it all in one article, I'd like to read it. Most of the info I had was pieced together through various articles, such as the recent oral history by Polygon or interviews with translators like Richard Honeywood.

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

Man years half over and square still hasn't done anything with this anniversary outside of some dumb cup o noodles.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

I got XIII-2 for PC, but the port is really really bad. frame rate was dropping into the teens even with graphics setting turned down.

I really hope SE takes PC ports more seriously.

 

[wtd2009]

Man years half over and square still hasn't done anything with this anniversary outside of some dumb cup o noodles.

I am bummed about this as well. I was under the impression that there would be related news and new announcements sprinkled in throughout the year. I guess we'll have to wait for some of these game shows and conventions to see if there really is more stuff planned. Kind of weird that there isn't a time line for announcements or something though.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Man years half over and square still hasn't done anything with this anniversary outside of some dumb cup o noodles.

I'm relieved they didnt announce FFXVI with nothing but a logo, i dont want another 5 years wait between announcement and release. I want them to do what Bethesda did with Fallout 4.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

Now that my brother is letting me borrow his controller, I can finally participate in this.

 

[MilkBeard]

I'm almost done with my playthrough of Final Fantasy XV (very close to getting the platinum, probably about 5 or so more hours of play).

I'm still in a Final Fantasy mood, but want something new and involved, so I'm planning to trade my Playstation Plus subscription for a sub in Final Fantasy XIV. It is long overdue, and it will definitely make the wait easy for FF VIIR and whatever else they have next in the future.

 

[Lindsay]

In the end, making that dolphin jump was painless! To bad for the others, they miss out on a heck of a nice view! Their loss!

Now play Spot the What! He's definitely on screen an not hidden behind anything! How much zoom will you need to apply to find him?!

Oh nuts! A buncha soldiers! But they're not after What, phew!

Wait... rookie? Hey hold on!

What gets nostalgic but shakes those feelings off and goes along for the ride. Better to not let on that he's their enemy!

Gah! The parades already started! Also, sup Rufus. Been awhile.

While making Shinra look bad would normally be a good thing, who knows how the TV peeps would react if What's performance was a ratings bomb. So he went all in an played his role super well!

The airship is 3 days away from being ready to go and the air force planes aren't ready either. So mister bigshot president will be crossing the sea... in a cargo boat. Not the most stylish ride. Heidegger gets rightfully reprimanded for these failures and his dumb laugh. But really now. Is this boat ride gonna take less then 3 days? Seems like this is a trip they could just wait out alil but whatevs!

Some post-parade gossip clues What in to the fact that a man in a Black Cape, which is capitalized as such for reasons unknown, has been going around town killing soldiers. Serial killer on the loose? Can't be Sephiroth since he doesn't wear a cape.

Now What coulda got some real off duty time from his not real soldier job, but he mouths off and gets drug back for some more drillin'!

Rufus shall be sent off in his dingy old cargo ship in style! Luckily our marching buddies are back to help teach What! In return he teaches them his victory pose! Works just as well with a rifle as it does a giant fuck off sword!

Free roam time at last! Gonna check all of what Junon has to offer, including its bars! One of the dudes isn't feeling well, another says What looks to young to be here, and Rude says to join in he has to take the mask off. Not a good idea so away he goes!

Did ya know there was backstory for What's temporary uniform? This guy overslept and well... despite being a Shinra grunt I feel bad for him!

Down below is a Respectable Inn housing an intermediate tutorial hall! Now most people would see tutorial stuff and run off, but What is a helpful kinda guy so he gets to talking about Materia growth and, um, well... how he's good at math!

Oh and how he still doesn't actually give a shit about the environment. -.- btw those ghostly figures are actual ghosts! They're from the original tutorial hall back in Sector 7! Since they're dead we now know that news report saying Shinra had evacuated everyone was a crock of crap!

Ahh the good ol' 1/35th scale soldier figure! The source of many rumors and intrigue! In reality its just a junky trash item which takes up inventory space. Its not alone in that regard, there will be others!

Pfft! As if that kinda info will ever be relevant! And for those keeping track, now its not Black Cape its Black-caped.

The rest of the Turks are also in town getting hammered. Presidential security at its finest!

Lookie! Some former SOLDIERs do retire to a peaceful and more importantly, normal life! Wonder if he received a gift basket full of dumbapples upon retiring? >.>

Hey, could that be the same guy that was refusing to give up his train seat way back when? Nah! That guy was Shinra Manager, but here we have Shinra manager. Unless the terminology updated Black Cape-style...? Ignoring his fussing, check out that weapon store logo! Its amazing and who wouldn't wanna buy from there?! Us, cause he messed up his shipment order and only has lame stuff ta sell!

By showing off our totally not provocative "gun" poses we earn a round of applause from Rufus as well as a sweet new sword from Heidegger! Being in the military can pay off at times huh?

That crazy old Hojo up and retired?! He seems like the kinda guy who'd be married to his work so this is outta nowhere.

wtf? Everyone did the dolphin jump? An what is he even saying here??

Farewell eastern continent! For now we'll be journeying to the west!

 

[Arthea]

70 hours of grinding... I've beaten Iron Giant at 90ish levels. That was an evil boss on itself, but that jack of all trades achievement is something else, it might be not the worst achievement ever but most pointless 200 hour long grind achievement to be sure.

Onto FF4 now, I hope it doesn't have achievements like this.

 

[Man God]

Beat FF II on the GBA for the first time. Only played the original version before. Soul of Rebirth is excellent.

 

[jb1234]

70 hours of grinding... I've beaten Iron Giant at 90ish levels. That was an evil boss on itself, but that jack of all trades achievement is something else, it might be not the worst achievement ever but most pointless 200 hour long grind achievement to be sure.

Onto FF4 now, I hope it doesn't have achievements like this.

Get ready to weep.

 

[Apple Turnover]

Slightly off topic, but celebrated the FF Anniversary by attending Distant Worlds tonight - and it was incredible.

If you get a chance to go, I strongly recommend it. Teared up more than a couple times during the performance

 

[Arthea]

Get ready to weep.

I just checked achievements, so I need to beat a game twice... still not as bad as FF3.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

i have a question. I'm finally playing something this year. I booted up my Chronicles version of IV on my PS3, but I notice some weird stuff. Objects in the environment have this black shadow that constantly flashes around them. It's annoying. Is there something wrong with my disc or is it the PS3's emulation?

Slightly off topic, but celebrated the FF Anniversary by attending Distant Worlds tonight - and it was incredible.

If you get a chance to go, I strongly recommend it. Teared up more than a couple times during the performance

I always wanted to go to one of those. So they performed the Distant Worlds III album?

 

[DarkStream]

Started playing FF XII again (PS2 International Zodiac patched to display English).
Never really tried to get into it before. I'm about 6 hours in and I'm not feeling it at all.
I appreciate the art style, I think Gambits are cool, but the actual game play is somewhat boring. Combat feels really hands off. Story not really doing much either.

I guess I stopped enjoying FF after 10.

 

[Apple Turnover]

I always wanted to go to one of those. So they performed the Distant Worlds III album?

I'm not entirely sure what's on it to say yes or no, unfortunately

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

I'm not entirely sure what's on it to say yes or no, unfortunately

http://store.ffdistantworlds.com/album/distant-worlds-iii-more-music-from-final-fantasy

 

[MilkBeard]

Slightly off topic, but celebrated the FF Anniversary by attending Distant Worlds tonight - and it was incredible.

If you get a chance to go, I strongly recommend it. Teared up more than a couple times during the performance

Damn, I've listened to the distant worlds recordings on Spotify countless times, and I've always wanted to go. Maybe one day I will if it comes near me.

 

[Apple Turnover]

http://store.ffdistantworlds.com/album/distant-worlds-iii-more-music-from-final-fantasy

They did play a few of those songs, but for the most part, they were different. I would have killed to hear Answers though

Some of what they did do was Liberi Fatali, Noctis Apocalyptis, To Zanarkand, One Winged Angel, among others

 

[Lindsay]

Crusin' along on the sea~ leavin' Junon an that unnamed mass murderer behind~

Wait whats with the zoom in? Oh right, oh wait! This is an rpg! What kinda giant baddie has gotten in the ships way? Kraken maybe?

?? Nothin' so far. Look wants ta ride on the airship and What's being kinda a jerk going for full overkill. Its just an airship dude.

Instead of being a downer he oughta be focusing on laying low since ya know this is a boat. Not really anyplace to escape to if these hardworking an highly motivated Shinra guys catch on. Gotta blend in dude!

...right. Blending in an laying low. >_>

No time for revenge when alarms are rung and suspicions raised!

The gangs all here so the group decides outta the blue that Sephiroth must be the reason for the alert. Because only themselves and him are the only suspicious people in the world, right?

See? Jump to conclusions much?

While searching the ship they run into some Marines who smartly put 'em to sleep though that alone isn't enough ta win. Plus a personal fave of mine, Scrutin Eye! How can ya not love saying their name?!

Hmmmmmm. Nopes! Still not buyin' it! This guys dialogue box never gives him a name so its possible this is just a Sephiroth look-alike. Or it could be the translation being wonky as usual. Whoever that is, he just flies off and leaves a monstrous present behind!

Wait... pre-emptive attack on a boss?! Despite the party being knocked over and the boss getting dropped behind 'em? Hey thats fine I'll take whatever advantage I can have!

Jenova-Birth likes using lasers an putting a Stop to a party members actions. Can be kinda a drag being down one member but overall its a chumpy boss! Ironically it drops an accessory called White Cape. If What equips this, will people start refering to him as Man in a White Cape o.o?

That lil tentacle things not only an arm but its also that huge monster they just fought? Weirdness!

Such a short trip! Just what speed was this friggin tub moving at anyhow?!

Right here is kinda like one of the best conversations in the game ya know? Or any game for that matter! I take it You heard about What's crossdressing adventure and immediately finds Looks "cute" remark worrying lol.

When in a fancy resort town, take some time off for R&R! That's the spirit!

Is this an early example of straight up in-game advertising o.o?

Heidegger's in trouble again! The guys not doing very good work under the new president. Seems like Shinra's not very effective outside its home turf of Midgar.

Ooooh! Now this looks like my kinda town! Gonna go ahead an check it out!

 

[Lindsay]

Straight across from the docks is a home for sale! "Shinra Villa"? How original. Is signing off on selling the villa he inherited the reason for him heading overseas?!

Over in the bar are people travelling the world for the sake of sports, surfing, Chocobo racing, snowboarding... they must be loaded. Mukki's here as well and enjoying the fact that he doesn't look outta place in his usual getup!

Out around the corner is FF XIII, kids, and a ball. What intercepts the kids ball and kicks it at his animal buddy which gets him barking mad lol. Johnny's taken up residence here and is none to happy to see What for some reason or another!

Look did indeed head for the beach, but hasn't changed so she's not gonna get much of a tan in her usual outfit! As much as What may want to ignore it Hojo's here! So many reunions between the party and people form Midgar lately!

Small talks all well an good but getting a tan in a labcoat? He's as helpless at this as Look is!

Way ta come off like a blind fanboy, What!

Hojo offers What a job, which he nearly refuses with his blade! What must have some deep pent up anger at such an idea. But c'mon now, Hojo resigned from Shinra so he's technically not an enemy I think?

Not only is he still rude to Look, he also didn't know her real mom had died! Why in the heck was everyone all like Look is the last Ancient when for all they knew her mom was still alive? Getting the feeling the Shinra bigwigs do their jobs half-assed!

Hojo clams up giving on the vague hint of going west. Fortunately one of the ladies attending to him is a good interpreter! Seems like the parties gotta go pretty far into this continent! By the way this was all entirely optional. Coulda walked right outta town an off to the next plot point without having a reunion with Hojo.

Moving away from fun in the sun the party finds themselves blocked by more shallow water and confronted with a family of Grangalan! The smaller they get the weaker they are but still thats alot of silver "wheels" shot their way!

Up an around to a nice looking photo op spot then around an down to... another cave?

Nope! An open road, or mountain path even. Can steal a fresh new weapon for FF XIII from this baddie here. A fellow traveller talks about some guy in black cloak who passed through earlier. Is this another term change for Black Cape? For some reason You lets out a sigh here. He must be getting sick of these inconsistancies.

Right up ahead is what the heck a reactor outta nowhere?! An the partys gonna do nothing about it 'cept stroll on by? The allure of fighting Bloatfloat is to strong! Another respectably named baddie! Just beyond theres another kinda pointless screen. Couldn't even hide an item or two here?

Walking on railroad tracks is just asking for trouble, however its usually not the track breaks from under ya an send ya dropping kind! Both treasures were missed this time but two other falls awaited which allowed What to snag 'em!

Can't continue on until the bridge is lowered and Helpy Hand shows up ta point What in the right direction! (^ ^);

Just past that shack is a place What climbs up an encounters baby birdies!! You and This are both so enamoured by the cuteness that What decides not to ruffle any feathers an leaves the treasure be.

Whats abit bothered by how cramped the shack is but it takes just a sec to lower the bridge so he's outta there in no time! In alil tucked away spot is some dude and his bulldozer. Just here ta steal his stuff! Speaking of stealing, This stole this Bombs right arm! Did she just rip it off?

Ahh... nothin' like civilization greeting ya with a punch in the face! This place seriously looks crummier than the Midgar slums an You's responsible for this somehow?

Buggy? Cross river? I'm very interested! Thing is, the darn guy doesn't say how or where to get one an that bites! The kids onto a shiny thing and is in the process of trying ta get it. Could it be a legendary Mini Medal?! Good luck kid!

Haven't had a chat about tattoos in awhile. They're not really What's thing so he doesn't know all to much abou... Black Cape? BLACK CAPE? ffffffffff

Leaving town in angers not gonna do much good. Can't walk through the desert but ya can walk around it an fight baddies that have different attacks based on the card they draw which is neat. But ya kinda locked in here, no place else ta go on this huge chunk of land. Gotta head back to North Corel...

 

[Gui_PT]

I need help!

I purchased the physical copy of Final Fantasy VII/ VIII Double Pack Edition but it doesn't come with a steam registration code.

What am I doing wrong?

Edit: Nevermind!

 

[Lindsay]

Back in North Corel by some kinda skyrail thing, You's all like That Time, 4 Years Ago... yes! More flashbacks! Ya know we really don't know much about You despite him having been in the party even earlier than This so its time he got his due.

Coal is out, Mako is in. Its the wave of the future! Everyone in town is all for it aside from Dyne who just wants ta stick with traditional high polution energy sources. An we learn You has a wife! Marlene came from a stable two parent family!

Coal was retired, Mako was adopted an this is how Shinra repays the people?!

A rebel faction from Corel attacked the reactor? Suuuure. You lost his town, best friend, wife and so much more. Its no wonder he took up arms against Shinra!

The thing that isn't explained however is why we're going to this ridiculously over the top amusement park / casino which costs 3000 gil just for a day pass!

Once inside the main lobby Look decides ta troll the heck outta You which causes him to run off in frustration. Something is seriously wrong with that girl, so she's gonna be left behind with FF XIII while What and This go have fun!

Lotsa places to visit here! Sure this place is owned and operated by Shinra, but the teams already paid their way in. May as well make the most of it!

First up is Speed Square where we meet a very under-dressed dude not unlike Mukki. Black Materia? Haven't heard of that one before, yet Dio calls What a liar for saying he doesn't know about it. Jerk!

Because some other dude What's age came asking about the materia Dio assumes anyone else that age would to. C'mon man thats just dumb. An now its not other people saying Black Cape, but What to. Why. Tattoo on the hand eh? Just more proof this guy can't be Sephiroth, since he wears gloves.

Since the Speed Square attracion costs 10 GP we can't do it right now. So instead lets bet on birds! What the Chocobo think of the crazy VR landscape they're running through I don't know, but it sure is a thing ta look at! Luck was on What's side and he won a decent item which was traded for 15 GP. Not a bad start.

Nothing happening at the Event Square right now. Just some peeps hanging out. Just gonna have ta head on to the next attraction for now.

Whoops! Went back to Chocobo Square by accident and... huh? These Shrina goons weren't here on the first visit. Something happened recently?

Round Square is open for business an What's got the GP so in he and This go! This gondola ride lets ya experience the sights & sounds of the Gold Saucer from the outside!

Sights like... Dio you narcissistic bastard x.x

Hey wait a minute isn't that Event Square? Thought they were closed today! Grr! What's just as unhappy ta see that Dio statue again lol. Let us off this ride!!

Such a spooky looking place! Now that catches What's interest an he decides that attraction should be the next destination!

 

[Lindsay]

This ghost hotel is like waaaayyy overdone to the point where its more goofy than spooky! Its also got another flier for that bar we last heard about in the Shinra HQ. Unlike every other inn in the world, this is the one ya can't go upstairs an check the rooms out. Gotta pay up first so forget that! Hey at least its gift / item shop takes regular money!

Down to just Battle Square and Wonder Square an since the formers name says it all, we're gonna go with the latter an see what its all about... once What and this fortune-telling machine are done meeting & greeting.

After a couple of generic fortunes, Mr Meows spits out a super cryptic one that surprises even him! He's so curious about it that he forces his way into the party! Been a long, long time since we got a new member an I'm feelin' good about this guy. Potential party mainstay material right here!

Oh heck yeah! This place houses an arcade crammed with all kinds of games! Starting with "Basketball Game" No dunks here! That double chance text is a trap btw! Pressing circle thinking it'll close that dialogue box will result in a whiffed throw -_-;;

What takes on "Arm Wrestling Mega Sumo" and beats both the Sumo and Wrestler to earn a solid 3 GP for 200 gil.

"Wonder Catcher" is a good old fashioned crane game! May get something, may get nothing. In this case What got 3 GP. No button mashing needed either!

"G Bike"? Hey!! Shinra is making money off of the parties real life experiences! Real easy way to earn 10 GP but c'mon!

This stationary "Fortune Telling" things advice dun make much sense to me!

The next games pretty strange. "Mog House" wants ya to feed Mr. Mog here just enough ta get him to fly. To little or to much an he plummets to the ground! What succeeds in the first portion of the game but fails the next. Poor Mog... we'll come back an try ta set things right another time ;.;

With the snowboard game being hogged and the submarine machine out of order alls we got left ta check out is "3D Battler". Rock paper scissor style combat means ya press a button & pray you land a hit. What made it up to Round 3 but fell there.

Since we now got the GP ta check it out, gonna make a stop back at Speed Square to ride the rails an shoot at all kinds of weird stuffs! I like the score What got so I'ma ignore braggarts going on about their much better ones ~_~

This sure isn't a great introduction to Battle Square. Dead soldiers an even ordinary staff members all shot up. Did Look's trolling cause You to snap?!

Being caught at the scene of a crime is never good! Running when you're innocent is hardly the best idea either, but I guess Dio is too imposing a figure to stand up to?

He's got some strange machines that prove tough enough to catch an restrain everyone. An safely dump 'em into a pit who even knows how far down it goes?

Back in jail again, this time a desert hell prison! You isn't exactly eager to stick around with the group which is pretty suspicious.

Race Chocobo's or live here forever? That doesn't sound appealing! Betting on 'em is one thing but riding 'em ourselves? Dunno. Gonna have ta sleep on that one.

...ya, sticking around here would suck. We want out!

Mr. Coates here is dressed real nice, you'd think he would be the boss of this dump but its someone else apparently. Only after talking to the real boss do we get to go through him to race for our freedom!

This building looks familiar... but n/m that! You is... uh oh. He's got his gun and target in sight.

 

[Lindsay]

He really fired!! At a random thug! How could we ever not trust in You?

Yup he's totally innocent, well of the current events anyway. Now the flashbacking resumes!

You and Dyne were out having a looksee at Shinra's reactor construction in action only to return to the sights of their hometown engulfed in flames! btw Isn't it strange how Corel appears ta be surrounded by mountains and forest?

Shinra grunts show up and shoot the poor old mayor in the back! Then turn their guns towards You and Dyne! Their aims real bad so Scarlet steps in ta personally dabble in dirty work.

...with her invisible gun? Dunno how she does it but buth of 'em get hit and lose an arm but as we know by now neither die.

You got an artifical arm afterwards but fell into depression for some time. After which he tossed it out and got that gun grafted into his arm all to take revenge on Shinra!

Looks heart is in the right place but she's not thinking about party balance. 2 gun arm guys would just be redundant ya know?

You's prepared to apologize an meet his maker but no ones havin' any of that, including What! He's really come a long way in the whole caring about others department.

Found a nice photo op location in this dingy old place. Plus a chest that's already been opened & looted. How depressing -_-

They say ya can't get outta this place on foot but ya all know by now the party are risk takers! So into the seemingly endless desert they went!

Many giant worms were encountered! Stole Turbo Ethers from them while Mr Meows proved his worth already by getting high rolls with his Dice limit break! Can only imagine how amazing his next one will be! An elusive flying kick using Cactuar was encountered! They're real hard ta hit but we got L4 Suicide on our side which brings their HP down to one hit away from killing level! 1 exp... 1 ap... 10,000 gil?! That was well worth the effort of defeating!

All of that wandering led the team to a car junkyard. There was another thing in the desert but I guess thats left for peeps ta find out on their own! Anyhow ya can steal X-Potion from those spiky things on wheels as well as picking up Matra Magic for the second Enemy Skill materia. The other dudes "teach" you the skill Laser! All in all theres some good stuff ta be picked up here in the desert!

Just up ahead is Dyne! This seems like the beginning of a happy reunion!

Ya I know no ones gonna fall for that! Lives touched by Shinra in one way or another tend to get screwed over even to the point of turning friends on each other.

Dyne's been going around killing innocent people because why not? He wants ta kill and destroy everything, even the world itself! I wouldn't mind killing dialogue boxes which don't fit the screen width...

Turns out Marlene is Dynes kid an instead of being happy to find out she's alive, he wants ta kill her. Dudes full blown insane no other way about it.

Which bring us to a duel! Because 1 v 1 fights (especially boss fights) are what party-based rpgs excel at. The pinnacle of battle... right?

Dynes got some cool looking attacks an thats it. As a boss he's all flash an no substance. Stole some X-Potions recently or put the Restore materia on You? Maybe set his limit break back to Level 1's so ya can use Big Shot quickly and effectively? You're gonna win with ease!

That fight didn't bring him back to his senses any an he proceeds to kill himself surrounded by SYMBOLISM.

You dude, ya got more issues than the whole blood thing. Ya let your 4 year old adopted daughter help out in a bar...

All the way back in prison town You demands ta be let out an we find out that Dyne was the boss of the place! Isn't him being dead gonna mess up the whole system here?

Nope its not gonna turn into a lawless land so easily. Rules are still rules an that means only 1 person can go up at a time. Naturally, everyones gonna leave another oddjob to What...

Ester here's gonna be What's manager an provide him with a Chocobo to race with! An lets him know that the other jockeys may not all be criminals. Peeps from all over are in on this action!

And also... birds can be set to automatic or manual transmission o.o??

In the jockey waiting room we're greeted by an ace Chocobo racer. Why introduce someone like that?! This racing business is a one & done thing. Not like we should care about this dudes status or consider him a rival!

Somebody left a summon materia just lying around an What decides ta pinch it before heading off to the race for freedom!!!

 

[Lindsay]

It was a close race but What proves he's a natural born jockey by claiming a win his first time out there! Woohoo!

Dio passed a note on to Ester and wtf? "Now that you are victorious"??? Sounds like he woulda kept everyone locked up until What won despite knowing they're innocent. What the hell Dio.

Wait seriously? He met Sephiroth and lived? Sounds like a load ta me.

!!!!!!!!!! At long last the rivers can be crossed! Thanks for the ride, Dio! But as for your suggestion of heading towards Gongaga since thats where "Sephiroth" was going? F that!

First things first, make use of Mr Meows Manipulate materia ta harvest a fresh an powerful new enemy skill! Harpy's know Aqualung, which is basically the water version of Beta! Over at the beach we can pick up Big Guard from Beachplugs! Haste+Barrier+M Barrier? We dun have access to any of that magic seperately yet so getting 'em all in one package rocks!

Back in Costa del Sol Johnny is doing well, one of the soccer kids has a real confusing comment, the group which was there for surfing seems to have moved on, and What is strangely eager ta lotion up this lady!

The cargo ship peeps take no issue with stowaways which means the parties heading on back east! Even the air force is on their side, giving 'em free copter rides!

Now that we're back over here we can snag the ever useful White Wind enemy skill from Zemzelett! This restores as many HP as the person using it has to the whole party and cures many status effects and ignores M Barrier and Reflect! Restore materia...? Who needs you anymore?

Now that we can cross rivers we can get to this cave at long last! The old man somehow knows how many battles you've fought, how many you've ran from, and something about large materia o.o? At 366 battles he gave us a Bolt Ring and at 377 a Mythril which strangely enough is a Key Item. Those are usually needed to progress in games so its good we came back here huh?

While in the area word of another Shinra attack on Fort Condor came in and was skillfully repelled by the forces under What's command!

The party also beat up the Zolom again to get Beta for their second enemy skill materia!

An with business on this continent finished again its time to head back! Could pay a toll and have to run through all of Junon to get to the cargo ship, or go for a dolphin ride! The choice is clear!

That small building we saw awhile back is now accessible except for the fact that common courtesy is suddenly a thing? You've barged into many homes why make an exception for this place!?

Right around the corner is this rundown lookin' place! The Turks are hanging around talking about the girls they like ; Elena runs in acting as if they were expecting What and the others ta show up. Isn't this the place Dio said they should visit? Did he send them right into an ambush??

Mr Meows got a limit break called Slots an even without lining up the reels in any special way it still unleashes big big damage on the Turks! So much for that rematch Reno wanted cause him and Rude got stomped lol.

A spy in the party? I think not. Like I said, this is all Dio selling 'em out!

Further in we come face to face with "Heavy Tank". 50% dino, 50% tank, 100% amazing!

Another ruined reactor? Scarlet and Tseng working together? Whats next, bumping into Reeve? Are any of Shinra's major players even in Midgar anymore?

Come ta think about it, that old man in the cave mentioned large materia an its something Scarlet is after in order to make the ultimate weapon. That doesn't sound good! Oh an the materia in the remains of this reactor isn't junky! Its a perfectly good new summon... Titan!!

Here we gots another town devastated by a reactor gone wrong. This one suddenly exploded 3 years ago and left many people dead and the town in shambles.

Couple of older folks notice that What has the SOLDIER look about him an asks if he knows about their missing son Zack, who was also first class. Seems he left home about 10 years ago saying he was gonna join SOLDIER.

What hasn't gotta clue. This and Look on the other hand? They're seeming awfully suspicious about something.

This isn't fessing up ta knowing this Zack fellow an instead makes the conversation about What. Think he hit a nerve cause she's sounding abit snippy at the end there!

Aha! So Zack was Looks first boyfriend! That's one long kept secret unveiled! An yeah What, when ya put it that way you not knowing him is strange. FYI all this stuff is once again, optional! Ya never gotta set foot inside the town outskirts, reactor, or town itself. Ya could also visit without This, Look, or neither of them in the party an miss out on their Zack business.

The lil frog baddie heres called Touch Me which is a weird a name as any. Can nab its Frog Song enemy skill from it which is pretty cool. Cooler still is that frog'd party members have a unique victory pose!

Moving along past Gongaga we see this spot which looks outta place. I'ma keep an eye on that. Also learn that the Golems of this world are robots. Not questioning it!

Another town eh? Gonna park the buggy here an have a look around, next time!

 

[themagicalkitsune]

Combo breaking the barrage of images...

Anyone know if early or late class changes in Final Fantasy 1 impact stat growth? I'm grinding right now in the PSP version to reach level 99 and at some point I'll have to leave and upgrade my classes, so I want to know if doing it sooner is better than later.

 

[Jucksalbe]

The companion SMT anniversary thread is now live!

 

[Lindsay]

Combo breaking the barrage of images...

Anyone know if early or late class changes in Final Fantasy 1 impact stat growth? I'm grinding right now in the PSP version to reach level 99 and at some point I'll have to leave and upgrade my classes, so I want to know if doing it sooner is better than later.

The first FF has classes? Is that a new remake thing? An hows the game/port? Never played the original game but have been interested in the PSP version for some time but have been holding back on getting it.

 

[themagicalkitsune]

The first FF has classes? Is that a new remake thing? An hows the game/port? Never played the original game but have been interested in the PSP version for some time but have been holding back on getting it.

No it's been there since the original. You have very limited jobs though, you can only choose between Warrior, Thief, Monk and White / Red / Black Mage. At some point you get to upgrade the jobs to more powerful extensions.

The PSP version of FF1 looks beautiful but is too easy, so don't go in looking for a challenge. The actual challenge is in the post game; they've added four hard dungeons with bosses from FF 3,4,5 and 6 (like Cagnazzo, Ahriman, Shinryu, Ultros etc.), plus they added a fifth one that is exclusive to the PSP version and has an insanely tough final boss. I'm grinding to beat that one. If that sounds interesting then go for the PSP version.

Otherwise the Origins version (PS1 - maybe available via PSN?) has a bit more challenge and still looks pretty for its time at least.

 

[Lindsay]

No it's been there since the original. You have very limited jobs though, you can only choose between Warrior, Thief, Monk and White / Red / Black Mage. At some point you get to upgrade the jobs to more powerful extensions.

Ohhh wows never knew that. Makes me wonder why jobs aren't a constant series staple now since they were there from the first game!

The PSP version of FF1 looks beautiful but is too easy, so don't go in looking for a challenge. The actual challenge is in the post game; they've added four hard dungeons with bosses from FF 3,4,5 and 6 (like Cagnazzo, Ahriman, Shinryu, Ultros etc.), plus they added a fifth one that is exclusive to the PSP version and has an insanely tough final boss. I'm grinding to beat that one. If that sounds interesting then go for the PSP version.

Beautiful? Easy? Sounds good to me! Annoying post-game? Sounds like second playthrough material. Now I'll have ta fight even harder to not pick up a copy right now. Switching between 3 other rpgs right now as it is!

 

[jb1234]

Beautiful? Easy? Sounds good to me! Annoying post-game? Sounds like second playthrough material. Now I'll have ta fight even harder to not pick up a copy right now. Switching between 3 other rpgs right now as it is!

Honestly, it's so easy that it's really boring. The game practically plays itself. There's another version out there that maintains a better difficulty curse (I think the PSX one).

 

[SilverArrow20XX]

plus they added a fifth one that is exclusive to the PSP version and has an insanely tough final boss. I'm grinding to beat that one

There's a floor in that dungeon that is nothing but Warmechs for every random battle. I went from level 75ish to 99 in about 10 minutes.

 

[sphinx]

I just started FFX for the first time ever. I have no idea what awaits me, either storywise or gameplaywise.

I do know, though, that SE loves to put lots of missables/one-time-chance thingies in their games.

can someone give a runthrough of missables in this game? mentioning places and items is ok, just no story spoilers please.

I think I learned somewhere that Tidus's main final weapon can be missed if some things are done or something.

I'd appreciate any help!

 

[SilverArrow20XX]

I just started FFX for the first time ever. I have no idea what awaits me, either storywise or gameplaywise.

I do know, though, that SE loves to put lots of missables/one-time-chance thingies in their games.

can someone give a runthrough of missables in this game? mentioning places and items is ok, just no story spoilers please.

I think I learned somewhere that Tidus's main final weapon can be missed if some things are done or something.

I'd appreciate any help!

There are a few important items, that become trapped behind dark Aeons if you don't get them before they appear. One of them is a Jecht Sphere in Besaid (needed for Auron's final overdrive), which you'll have to backtrack all the way back to on foot after getting the first sphere if you don't want to fight Dark Valefor. One of them is Tidus's Crest for his ultimate weapon, which is in the room where you fight the boss at the end of the Zanarkand ruins. If you don't get it the first time you're there, it'll be blocked by Dark Bahamut, the hardest Dark Aeon. These items are not really missable, but you'll need to get uber strong or use Yoimbo to get them later.

The real missable items are the Al Bhed Primers in the Home area. that area cannot be returned to after it's completed. There are 3 of them. You will almost definitely miss one if you aren't looking carefully. All other primers are not missable.

I think that's really it as far as missable items that actually matter go.

 

[Apple Turnover]

The real missable items are the Al Bhed Primers in the Home area. that area cannot be returned to after it's completed. There are 3 of them. You will almost definitely miss one if you aren't looking carefully. All other primers are not missable.

I think that's really it as far as missable items that actually matter go.

I think Bevelle Temple also has one at the start, very easy to miss since it practically blends in with the floor

 

[SilverArrow20XX]

I think Bevelle Temple also has one at the start, very easy to miss since it practically blends in with the floor

That one's on the bridge, which can be returned to after using the airship.

 

[tonka]

I think Bevelle Temple also has one at the start, very easy to miss since it practically blends in with the floor

I'm 99% sure if you miss that one it reappears somewhere on bikanel later

 

[Apple Turnover]

That one's on the bridge, which can be returned to after using the airship.

I'm 99% sure if you miss that one it reappears somewhere on bikanel later

Good to know, always thought it was missable forever