All-Purpose Final Fantasy Thread

[Shareefruck]

I've played them all before, but I could use something to play on the go, plus I don't have a mobile system and don't want to buy one. Hence the curiosity.

I imagine it's trickier with Apple devices, but it's pretty easy to download apps of emulators on Android phones to play the original versions on them (there are some really nice translation/quality of life patches available as well). If that's an option for you on iPad, I'd recommend doing something like that.

Final Fantasy IV on iOS isn't bad, actually.

 

[Gardner McKay]

It kind of bugs me that you guys are just calling it "not being able to recreate nostalgia". While the game had certain flaws that needed to be overlooked and that I would like to see corrected, the things that make it special isn't the childhood memories, but the fact that the spirit of the game and what it did well was really good and holds up, period, in any context. If they preserve that and make a game that nails that quality (whether by keeping it or improving it) and improving the finer quality of life details, that's all that matters to me (and that's what I doubt will be successful). Who cares about nostalgia/sentimentality and who cares about keeping things fresh and unexpected. Those are superficial novelties that have little value or substance, IMO. If something's legitimately good, it's good even if you're aware of the beats ahead of time.

I would hate for them to make random changes for the sake of the temporary shock value of being unexpected/"fresh" for long-time fans. If anything, THAT'S the kind of creative decision that becomes dated quick.

Just do whatever works best.

VII to IX are serviceable (I think they're just the PC ports, right?-- Assuming that's the case, VII is buggy and IX might even be an upgrade), but the earlier ones are abominations that look infinitely worse than the originals, IMO. The up-res-ing just looks gross and really poorly done. I cringe whenever I hear about people being introduced to the games through them.

Regarding the bold, I disagree. I know I am FAR FROM alone in feeling that part of what makes FF7 so special for me are the childhood memories of experiencing that story for the first time. To you it may not be the childhood memories but for me, that is without a doubt part of it. Each person is different.

I do agree with the fact that the spirit of the game and so many of the finer points that made FF7 such a masterpiece, they do hold up over time. But it isn't just about nostalgia/sentimentality or keeping things fresh and unexpected. They are looking at FF7 the way I think a fair amount of people do, not just as a game but as an experience. I am sure there are other portions of FF7 that they would like to have expanded upon further. Maybe Zack? Maybe Vincent? Maybe a more in depth look at Shinra? I don't think expanding upon existing portions of the game would have little value or substance. In fact, I believe they have the exact opposite. My suggestion about having Reeve join your party later in the game? Sure that would be superficial but it was merely a half-assed fanboy suggestion. I do believe there are so many areas that could be explored more in depth that would add value to the game while not taking away from the masterpiece itself.

If they just slapped a fresh coat of paint on the game and re-released it, would I be happy? You bet. I love the original battle system. I would vastly prefer it to the type of system they are going for. But they are not simply slapping a fresh coat of paint on the game and releasing it. They are trying to recreate the magic from the original FF7. It is an all or nothing approach, where either you just update it visually with some very minor bug fixes and release it or, you reinvent the entire game. I feel like the most Square-Enix thing to do here would have been for them to be somewhere in the middle and I am grateful for the fact that they are not doing that.

The fact that they abandoned work from the previous developer, it is encouraging from the aspect that they are serious about this game being as close to perfect as possible.

 

[Shareefruck]

Regarding the bold, I disagree. I know I am FAR FROM alone in feeling that part of what makes FF7 so special for me are the childhood memories of experiencing that story for the first time. To you it may not be the childhood memories but for me, that is without a doubt part of it. Each person is different.

I do agree with the fact that the spirit of the game and so many of the finer points that made FF7 such a masterpiece, they do hold up over time. But it isn't just about nostalgia/sentimentality or keeping things fresh and unexpected. They are looking at FF7 the way I think a fair amount of people do, not just as a game but as an experience. I am sure there are other portions of FF7 that they would like to have expanded upon further. Maybe Zack? Maybe Vincent? Maybe a more in depth look at Shinra? I don't think expanding upon existing portions of the game would have little value or substance. In fact, I believe they have the exact opposite. My suggestion about having Reeve join your party later in the game? Sure that would be superficial but it was merely a half-assed fanboy suggestion. I do believe there are so many areas that could be explored more in depth that would add value to the game while not taking away from the masterpiece itself.

If they just slapped a fresh coat of paint on the game and re-released it, would I be happy? You bet. I love the original battle system. I would vastly prefer it to the type of system they are going for. But they are not simply slapping a fresh coat of paint on the game and releasing it. They are trying to recreate the magic from the original FF7. It is an all or nothing approach, where either you just update it visually with some very minor bug fixes and release it or, you reinvent the entire game. I feel like the most Square-Enix thing to do here would have been for them to be somewhere in the middle and I am grateful for the fact that they are not doing that.

The fact that they abandoned work from the previous developer, it is encouraging from the aspect that they are serious about this game being as close to perfect as possible.

Agreed with most of this. Regarding nostalgia/sentimentality, I get that a lot of people feel differently and put a lot of weight into that, I just kind of wish that wasn't the case. To me, those elements have always felt like rather fickle and superficial things that distract/mislead from the actual substance/greatness/lasting experience of the thing itself (not just talking about FFVII here, but in general). I would hate for it to be a part of the consideration that they cater to when remaking something. Doing that or its inverse (making creative decisions based on the novelty of experiencing something new/different) would only distract from and harm their ability to make the experience perfect (in whatever way would be best, fleshing things out or not), IMO.

And don't get me wrong, I'm in the same boat in that I have nostalgia and fond childhood memories about FFVII (probably more than any other game), it's just not something I particularly care about, want to allow to skew my perception, or find important to consider, generally. To me, the lasting creative experience is the part that's real, and the nostalgia/sentimentality is the part that's illusory and should probably be looked past rather than embraced or reacted to.

 

[Shareefruck]

Apparently, upscaling technology has come a long way, to a degree that I thought for sure was literally impossible. Really cool and exciting stuff, IMO.

 

[Unholy]

Is there another way to play Tactics without a PS1 or PSP and emulators?

 

[Shareefruck]

Is there another way to play Tactics without a PS1 or PSP and emulators?

Only one I can think of is through the PSN store on a PS3.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Apparently, upscaling technology has come a long way, to a degree that I thought for sure was literally impossible. Really cool and exciting stuff, IMO.

Wow man. That is f***ing beautiful.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Is there another way to play Tactics without a PS1 or PSP and emulators?

You can play it on a ps3 if you have the disk.

 

[Shareefruck]

Wow man. That is ****ing beautiful.

I haven't tried it, but apparently it's actually been fully modded into the PC version, which has always looked worse than the PSX version because of the inconsistent upscaling. The FMV and battle background quality still looks inconsistent, but other than that, it looks a lot closer to a proper remaster now, at first glance.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I haven't tried it, but apparently it's actually been fully modded into the PC version, which has always looked worse than the PSX version because of the inconsistent upscaling. The FMV and battle background quality still looks inconsistent, but other than that, it looks a lot closer to a proper remaster now, at first glance.

I’m going to have to try it out. I’ve been hankering for another FFVII playthrough so this would be nice.

 

[Shareefruck]

I’m going to have to try it out. I’ve been hankering for another FFVII playthrough so this would be nice.

I wonder if there's a fan translation mod that improves that flaw as well. Might be worth looking into. Those two things together might potentially make this the best way to experience the game (previously, I would have just said play the PSX version with scanlines).

I actually think that the FFIX re-releases would benefit most from this treatment. As it is, it looks great in virtually every aspect BESIDES for the backgrounds-- this could really put it over the top. It looks like some attempts have been made, but they don't look nearly as good as these FFVII ones do, IMO.

 

[RandV]

Wow man. That is ****ing beautiful.

Pfft, people today would never go for that. A modern FFVII remake has to be fully made in a modern 3D engine and have real time action combat! Oh and because that makes it such a heft project it's okay for them to split it into 3 full purchase price parts and take 10 years to complete it.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Pfft, people today would never go for that. A modern FFVII remake has to be fully made in a modern 3D engine and have real time action combat! Oh and because that makes it such a heft project it's okay for them to split it into 3 full purchase price parts and take 10 years to complete it.

I don’t care about those people. I want it for myself!

 

[Papa Francouz]

Started playing FFIX for the first time last week. Gotta say this game is rather underrated amongst FF fans. Vivi is probably the most likable character out of the FF games I’ve played.

 

[Jovavic]

Vivi is a top FF character, for sure

 

[Nizdizzle]

Started playing FFIX for the first time last week. Gotta say this game is rather underrated amongst FF fans. Vivi is probably the most likable character out of the FF games I’ve played.

I've been playing it again (last played it probably more than 15 years ago) and I'm loving it.

 

[Papa Francouz]

I've been playing it again (last played it probably more than 15 years ago) and I'm loving it.

The actual fantasy aesthetic is really doing it for me. That, plus there’s no bad voice acting to worry about, haha.

 

[Gardner McKay]

Currently playing VIII on Steam, in between my play through of KH III. I suppose I will get IX on the switch. I've tried to play it a few times... couldn't get into it.

 

[Papa Francouz]

Currently playing VIII on Steam, in between my play through of KH III. I suppose I will get IX on the switch. I've tried to play it a few times... couldn't get into it.

What’s caused the resistance with getting into IX? I’ve found it difficult to get into any of the post-IX games, minus XIV. And that’s only because it’s a MMO and I’m a sucker for those.

 

[RempireStateBuilding]

9 is one of my top 3 favorite FFs. 7, 9, 2 (US) probably in that order or swapping 2 and 9. 1 is probably tied for 3rd tbh. 10 has a good vibe too plus a top tier laughing cutscene with Tidus and Yuna. Most of the characters in 9 have great stories and personalities, especially Vivi. I also think I'm the only person in the world who can't get in to 6. Think I've tried to play it about 20 times, but it just never grabbed me like other installments have.

Also someone convince me 15 is a good game because I don't see it. Gorgeous game, but the fact that your party is 4 of the same person just with a very, very slightly different aesthetic/stereotypical personality turns me off. Oh, and the combat is atrocious. If that's how Remake 7's combat is going to be..woof.

 

[BigMac1212]

Apparently, upscaling technology has come a long way, to a degree that I thought for sure was literally impossible. Really cool and exciting stuff, IMO.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Currently playing VIII on Steam, in between my play through of KH III. I suppose I will get IX on the switch. I've tried to play it a few times... couldn't get into it.

I don't know what it is about IX, i've started through it a few times, but I've just been totally unable to get invested into it.

 

[Gardner McKay]

What’s caused the resistance with getting into IX? I’ve found it difficult to get into any of the post-IX games, minus XIV. And that’s only because it’s a MMO and I’m a sucker for those.

I don't know to be honest. It seems like a good game, just have had a hard time. I do think this time around will be different as the Switch has really changed gaming for me.

I don't know what it is about IX, i've started through it a few times, but I've just been totally unable to get invested into it.

Yeah. I want to give it one more try on the Switch as I enjoy games on that console more than others.

 

[Shareefruck]

I love the storytelling presentation, charm, and aesthetic of IX (it's the best looking of the series), but most gameplay elements were lacking, IMO. Battle speed is super slow and tedious, mechanics are kind of uninteresting (especially Trance), and the card game is awful and confusing. People deservedly give VIII a lot of sh** for it's story and draw system, but I actually found the battle mechanics/card game to be at least conceptually interesting, engaging, and intuitive in comparison, even though there are some problems with it in practice.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I love the storytelling presentation, charm, and aesthetic of IX (it's the best looking of the series), but most gameplay elements were lacking, IMO. Battle speed is super slow and tedious, mechanics are kind of uninteresting (especially Trance), and the card game is awful and confusing. People deservedly give VIII a lot of sh** for it's story and draw system, but I actually found the battle mechanics/card game to be at least conceptually interesting and intuitive.

I agree here. The card game in FFVIII was wonderful, and I actually enjoyed some of the little side missions you could do as well. And once you got past the draw system, the battle mechanics were solid. I enjoyed the Limit Break mode in that game, and despite the annoying Draw system, the junctioning was actually really cool, I thought.