Gryph Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 I would have easily said Eastern up until Final Fantasy 7 was released. Despite that it sucked hard, that game became the model for future Eastern imports. From that point on, most of what has come to the states has been wretched, with a few notable exceptions (IE Final Fantasy 9). Way to go U.S., we might as well have taken the bait on Mystic Quest.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>FF9 Totally rocks every FF fantasy before it and after 5. Shame everyone hates something of it. 7 However, will always be the game Final Fantasy will be known for. No matter what, since it was the game that gave the Final Fantasy series a reinvention. I ditched FF7 a long time ago, and don't mind breaking the cds against the wall.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Final Fantasy 3 (or 6 for you purists) will be the one that I remember because I actually liked it. I don't know if I'd like it now, but I liked it back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agozer Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 I would have easily said Eastern up until Final Fantasy 7 was released. Despite that it sucked hard, that game became the model for future Eastern imports. From that point on, most of what has come to the states has been wretched, with a few notable exceptions (IE Final Fantasy 9). Way to go U.S., we might as well have taken the bait on Mystic Quest.FF9 Totally rocks every FF fantasy before it and after 5. Shame everyone hates something of it. 7 However, will always be the game Final Fantasy will be known for. No matter what, since it was the game that gave the Final Fantasy series a reinvention. I ditched FF7 a long time ago, and don't mind breaking the cds against the wall.Final Fantasy 3 (or 6 for you purists) will be the one that I remember because I actually liked it. I don't know if I'd like it now, but I liked it back then.Well, FFVI was the pinnacle of eastern RPGs... until FFVII came along. Word has it that at one point Hironobu Sakaguchi dropped the FFVII project when he started to doubt if they could pull off the transition to 3D so that the fans would still love it. Needless to say, everything worked well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeval Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Where do some things fit? For example, Strategy RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea? They're mostly Eastern, but don't really fit in with the regular Eastern RPGs.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>How so? I find your reasoning a bit lacking. Games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Disgaea, Phantom Brave, Hoshigami etc. etc. are Tactical RPGs. I'd say they are more than qualified to be in the eastern category. And like Mr. G said, most MMORPGs are pretty much western, with a few excpetions like Final Fantasy XI Online, Phantasy Star Online and a whole bunch of Korean ones.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I kept them seperate because Tactical RPGs and MMORPGs have entirely different gameplay from what people think of when they think Eastern (Final Fantasy, Suikoden) or Western (Fallout, Morrowind) RPGs. Tactical RPGs come from the East, but play more like a turn-based Western RPG. MMORPGs use many of the same principles as Western RPGs, but package them entirely differently. I would have easily said Eastern up until Final Fantasy 7 was released. Despite that it sucked hard, that game became the model for future Eastern imports. From that point on, most of what has come to the states has been wretched, with a few notable exceptions (IE Final Fantasy 9). Way to go U.S., we might as well have taken the bait on Mystic Quest.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>You don't like FF7 yet you find 9 an "exception". Check your weed bag and clean out the beaver tranquilizer.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>FF7 was an extreme dumbing-down of the Final Fantasy series. Equipment selection was reduced to a linear progression of single weapons and a single armor pieces. All of the magic and other special abilities were reduced to a single, incredibly simple, universal, and easily abuseable special ability system. Characters were reduced to a magic stat, some hit points, and some cute limit animations by the Materia system. It didn't matter who you used - the guy with the highest magic and the most materia slots was always the best choice if you knew what you were doing. The story was stupid too, full of throwaway characters and literary cop-outs, but that's subjective so I'll let it slide. In short, FF7 hit a homerun with an easy to learn (and easy to master) system, lots of time-wasting mini-games, and a "cool" attitude, but it sucked as an RPG compared to the SNES titles. FF9, on the other hand, was a welcome return to the series' roots. Characters had individual abilities, so who you used actually made a difference to gameplay beyond the occasional limit break. The item combination system made equipment more interesting than "more AC, more slots." The story was more traditional, but wasn't bogged down with "My main character is a spirited youth, no he's a clone, no he's an incarnation of gaia, no he's the son of a man and a hedgehog" for half the freaking game. But that last point comes down to subjectivity again. The art direction wasn't "cool" like FF7's, but the game was far more intricate and entertaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agozer Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 I sorta agree with Daeval, since FFIX had more vibrant colors and the more traditional graphical output, whereas FFVII and FFVIII were more techy. Still, being techy didn't make those games any less enjoyable on the whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizard Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 FFVIII is still horrible, no one should ever face it. OH OH WERE ALL FROM THE SAME ORPHANAGE! WHAT A FUNKING STRANGE CONINKIDINK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeval Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 I sorta agree with Daeval, since FFIX had more vibrant colors and the more traditional graphical output, whereas FFVII and FFVIII were more techy. Still, being techy didn't make those games any less enjoyable on the whole.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>It wasn't about the difference in graphic style for me. FF2 and FF3 (American again) shared the same difference as FF9 and FF7, but both of the older titles were really good games. With the recent titles, it's the difference in gameplay complexity that bothers me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agozer Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 FFVIII is still horrible, no one should ever face it. OH OH WERE ALL FROM THE SAME ORPHANAGE! WHAT A FUNKING STRANGE CONINKIDINK!lol Yeah, that was kinda fux0red, but the whole sorceress thing was nice methinks. AND TEH FREAKING GUNBLADE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizard Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Dont mac on the gunblade. That thing kicks major amounts of ass. And the girls too...zOMG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoMaster Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 FF8 owns hard...but I don't think the developers knew how to end it properly so orphans for all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverlordMondo Posted February 21, 2005 Author Share Posted February 21, 2005 <{POST_SNAPBACK}>FF7 was an extreme dumbing-down of the Final Fantasy series. Equipment selection was reduced to a linear progression of single weapons and a single armor pieces. All of the magic and other special abilities were reduced to a single, incredibly simple, universal, and easily abuseable special ability system. Characters were reduced to a magic stat, some hit points, and some cute limit animations by the Materia system. It didn't matter who you used - the guy with the highest magic and the most materia slots was always the best choice if you knew what you were doing. The story was stupid too, full of throwaway characters and literary cop-outs, but that's subjective so I'll let it slide. In short, FF7 hit a homerun with an easy to learn (and easy to master) system, lots of time-wasting mini-games, and a "cool" attitude, but it sucked as an RPG compared to the SNES titles. FF9, on the other hand, was a welcome return to the series' roots. Characters had individual abilities, so who you used actually made a difference to gameplay beyond the occasional limit break. The item combination system made equipment more interesting than "more AC, more slots." The story was more traditional, but wasn't bogged down with "My main character is a spirited youth, no he's a clone, no he's an incarnation of gaia, no he's the son of a man and a hedgehog" for half the freaking game. But that last point comes down to subjectivity again. The art direction wasn't "cool" like FF7's, but the game was far more intricate and entertaining.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Yeah, almost. You just have to remove the fact that you did max damage at level 50 without any effort at all. You know Ozma? The "secret" boss of the game? He can be beat as early as level 1. It contained Chocobo "Hot and Cold", the worst minigame ever, and yet, the only way to complete most of the sidequests. Final Fantasy9 didn't mark a return to the series' roots, it marked its downfall. Final Fantasy 7 did remove a lot of equipment slots, leaving only weapon (specific to character), armor (a wristband), and accessory (always a ribbon). But it added the materia system, which I liked. I wish it had been more complicated. Adding things like charcter specific materia, or limiting in some way the materia that could be used, but I still loved the system. My favorite part about it was the support category of materia, that was linked with another materia to give special bonuses. It's like they took away 3 equipment slots, and added 16. Final Fantasy 8 had no equipment slots, but it had junctions, which were kinda cool, but I think I prefer the materia system. Also, Final Fantasy 7 had a great story. If you want useless characters look back at Final Fantasy 9. That red dude? Quina? No purpose at all. Even the main character, what was his story other than he'd been a womanizing thief all his life? Even Vincent from FF7 had more story than that, and he was a completely optional character. Final Fantasy Tactics had one of my favorite systems. Complete with a plethora of skills and every equipment slot you need. All that with the addition of being able to use monsters in battle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agozer Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Dont mac on the gunblade. That thing kicks major amounts of ass. And the girls too...zOMG!I meant that the Gunblade is the epitome of cool. Wrong wording, apologies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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