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So I got a few weeks off. Come August the 15th life'll get busy and serious again, but for now I'm free as can be. And I knew exactly what I needed: I needed to be taken to a magical, far-away land where the sun is always shining. and where I get to save the world again. So that is why I borrowed a friend's Playstation 2 and started up a game of FFX.

I expected to be dissapointed, I guess, since everybody's always saying how FF went downhill after FFVII. All pretty cutscenes with boring characters and a wonky battle system.

I'm thirteen hours in the game and I'm loving it to bits. Colourful cast, a clear ultimate objective, okay music, a pretty world, engaging battle system. The challenge level seems right-on. All in all, FFX is exactly what I hoped it would be.

I haven't played FFIX since it looks unappealing in its cartoonish glory, and I can't sit through Disc 1 of FFVII for the life of me. I've never even witnessed anything from FFXI and upwards except for some trailers. But FFX seems like such a fine installment.

I'm enjoying it a TAD less than I enjoyed FFVIII when I played that a lot of years ago, I should add, but as a teenager playing through the teenager dream that is FFVIII, I'm not sure any game will every top that experience.

So again, I can't comment on the really recent Final Fantasy games, but is it really that much of a minority voice to say that FF the PSX and PS2 games are at least as good as the SNES games?

This post has been edited by Djibriel on 3rd August 2011 12:02

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The Collapse of Heaven and Earth

Quote (Djibriel @ 3rd August 2011 12:55)

So again, I can't comment on the really recent Final Fantasy games, but is it really that much of a minority voice to say that FF the PSX and PS2 games are at least as good as the SNES games?

Without some kind of Final Fantasy census I don't think we'll ever know which era or game is the most popular. Based on the CoN FF music contest I think the SNES era has the most fans, but then this is essentially a SNES FF board. Just from my experience I think the majority of people prefer PSX or PS2 to SNES, but putting FFVII, VIII and X fans together makes up a hell of a number.

I find that FFX is my least favourite of the series. Not because it deviated too much from the norm, or because I'm a diehard for 2D graphics or some rubbish like that, but because it gave me hope of a good game, and showed glimpses of it, but then consistently disappointed me with boring story scenes, unlikeable characters and overly repetitive gameplay. I actually like a lot of the music in the game, however. Regarding FFIX, I find that many people are put off by the graphics. I read that time and time again. Actually one of my earliest memories of FFIX was someone at school telling me to play FFVIII and not IX because he didn't like the cartoony graphics, and that was like 10 years ago. The backgrounds and aesthetic are one of my favourite features of the game! I don't know if the game needs to be sampled for a while before enjoyed or if it's just a matter wholly based on game tastes.

For me I do prefer the PSX and PS2 games. VII, IX and XII are my favourites. Not to say I don't like the SNES games, I really do, I just think that they were very good for their time but now the later games have surpassed them. They might still hold up well as games today but I think for nearly everything that IV and VI are good for IX does it better, and FFT is better than V. The only thing that I enjoy about the SNES games that isn't in the PSX and PS2 is the entire WoR scenario and game structure, which has never been equalled.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

I personally LOVED the battle system, what with the characters having their own specialties, encouraging you to balance your party. I love, love, LOVE it.

Sorry if I sound like a fanboy.

Words cannot describe my love for FFX.

I agree; the world is very well done, and the cast of characters are really well developed. If you like it thus far, I'm pretty confident you'll only like it more by the time you finish. They continue to develop the characters well, and while your ultimate objective will go through a bit of a shift (to be delicate with it ), I think you'll find it to be a good one. I think that FFX does a better job of really connecting the player with the story and building a strong association between the player and the characters. And like I said, if you enjoy it already, you'll love the game's conclusion.

So for me, I would say that I would have to align myself in favor of the PSX FFs and FFX over the SNES FFs. I just find that, with the exception of FFVI, the SNES games are lacking in terms of plot depth.

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

I certainly enjoy FFX, but the cut-scenes (read: voice acting) consistently disappoint me.

And even though I thoroughly enjoy the battle system, I'm also torn there too: in the end, the only distinguishing factor between the characters is their Overdrives.

(That's not to say that this is an FFX-only criticism: it's the same criticism I impute to many games in the series (and to other series), and it leads to the same quandary I have when confronting: how do I balance my munchkin-ist aspirations with my desire for a challenge.)

I got my copy of FFX at Christmas 2003 and I still haven't finished it. Seriously I am still grinding my party to the absolute max. I've completed all the scenarios, beaten all the Dark Aeons and Penance but I don't have the heart to put the game to bed.

Over these past eight years I've accrued some 500+ hours of gameplay, playing intermittently for a few days at a time and my characters average 45000 HP.

But perhaps now it's time to finally *finish* the game. Seems I'll need to give myself plenty of time though - is it true the ending movies last for around an hour? Or is that just my friends yanking my chain?

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"Smoking's bad, mm'kay?"

-Mr Mackey-

I absolutely hate the new FF games. Starting with X. The game play vs graphics changed sides and it went from a game to a barely playable movie. Graphics are the least important thing to me when it comes to an RPG. I still remember spending hours on Swords and Serpents which has, arguably, some of the worst graphics of any game ever. But at least from the time you create your character til the time its over, you are *playing* the game, not watching 10000 cutscenes of the game playing itself.

Quote (fffanbrit @ 15th August 2011 09:10)

I got my copy of FFX at Christmas 2003 and I still haven't finished it. Seriously I am still grinding my party to the absolute max. I've completed all the scenarios, beaten all the Dark Aeons and Penance but I don't have the heart to put the game to bed.

Over these past eight years I've accrued some 500+ hours of gameplay, playing intermittently for a few days at a time and my characters average 45000 HP.

But perhaps now it's time to finally *finish* the game. Seems I'll need to give myself plenty of time though - is it true the ending movies last for around an hour? Or is that just my friends yanking my chain?

You mean.... you did all that, and you've never just finished it? You put off the conclusion that long? Wow, that sounds like torture!Well, if you like the game that much, you'll certainly be impressed with the ending. I wouldn't say the ending scenes take an hour, but if you consider the battles and the scenes all together it might come close. More importantly, the ending is absolutely fantastic, so you'll hardly even notice.

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

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You mean.... you did all that, and you've never just finished it? You put off the conclusion that ong? Wow, that sounds like torture!Well, if you ike the game that much, you'll certainly be mpressed with the ending. I wouldn't say the ending scenes take an hour, but if you consider the battles and the scenes all together it might come close. More importantly, the ending is absolutely fantastic, so you'll hardly even notice. 

Hey Death Penalty. It sounds absurd I know, but I just got so carried away with the sphere grid and customising everything I made getting as high-powered as possible my passion. I am an obsessive level-grinder in RPGs though, so I guess the nature of the sphere grid gave me the perfect excuse to go all-out.

But I think now is the time to finally go and beat the game. Like you say it would be a waste to play all those hours and not see the conclusion.

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"Smoking's bad, mm'kay?"

-Mr Mackey-

Quote (fffanbrit @ 17th August 2011 08:27)

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You mean.... you did all that, and you've never just finished it? You put off the conclusion that ong? Wow, that sounds like torture!Well, if you ike the game that much, you'll certainly be mpressed with the ending. I wouldn't say the ending scenes take an hour, but if you consider the battles and the scenes all together it might come close. More importantly, the ending is absolutely fantastic, so you'll hardly even notice. 

Hey Death Penalty. It sounds absurd I know, but I just got so carried away with the sphere grid and customising everything I made getting as high-powered as possible my passion. I am an obsessive level-grinder in RPGs though, so I guess the nature of the sphere grid gave me the perfect excuse to go all-out.

But I think now is the time to finally go and beat the game. Like you say it would be a waste to play all those hours and not see the conclusion.

You know, it would take a fair bit longer, but you may just want to replay the full story, just since it's been so long. I mean, you've been waiting this long already; you could play the story all the way up to the point you're at now and then switch back to your master file to go through the final battles and ending scenes. Anyhow, just an idea.

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

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You know, it would take a fair bit longer, but you may just want to replay the full story, just since t's been so long. I mean, you've been waiting th ong already; you could play the story all the way up to the point you're at now and then switch back to your master file to go through the final battles and ending scenes. Anyhow, just an idea.

In fact I had the same idea. It does mean putting off the conclusion for a bit longer but the temptation for excessive level-grinding is mitigated.

And it's not like it would be a chore, since I enjoyed FFX immensely. Getting to see all the early scenes again would be like visiting an old long lost friend. Are there any time/low level/sphere grid related playthrough challenges for FFX? Perhaps a challenge to complete the game in under 30 hours?

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"Smoking's bad, mm'kay?"

-Mr Mackey-

Quote (fffanbrit @ 19th August 2011 16:37)

And it's not like it would be a chore, since I enjoyed FFX immensely. Getting to see all the early scenes again would be like visiting an old long lost friend. Are there any time/low level/sphere grid related playthrough challenges for FFX? Perhaps a challenge to complete the game in under 30 hours?

I'm sure there are. However you might want to soak up the story rather than skipping the parts that can be skup. If I'm playing a game for its story I think the best way is to do a natural playthrough without any extra levelling. Sidequests are fine. I find it the most enjoyable.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Quote (sweetdude @ 19th August 2011 14:52)

Quote (fffanbrit @ 19th August 2011 16:37)

And it's not like it would be a chore, since I enjoyed FFX immensely. Getting to see all the early scenes again would be like visiting an old long lost friend. Are there any time/low level/sphere grid related playthrough challenges for FFX? Perhaps a challenge to complete the game in under 30 hours?

I'm sure there are. However you might want to soak up the story rather than skipping the parts that can be skup. If I'm playing a game for its story I think the best way is to do a natural playthrough without any extra levelling. Sidequests are fine. I find it the most enjoyable.

I agree. For a second playthrough (and one that takes place quite some time after your first, I might add), I bet you'd have more fun just playing through to enjoy the story. Like you said, it really is like visiting an old friend.

And that's coming from a guy who replays it annually

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

Thanks for your replies Death Penalty and sweetdude.

I agree playing the game the 'traditional' way would be best. I'll just enjoy the game for what it is and keep the obsessive levelling-up to a minimum. Then when the time comes switch to the older save file and finally finish the game once and for all.

One question I do have is how do game designers balance the prominence of a game's main story arc with the number of possible 'distractions'? It's all very well having loads of side-quests and mini games but what is the risk of these diminishing the main plot's importance? Certainly there's quite a lot to FFX other than the main story. FFX has just one main mini-game, but the sphere grid does present the possibility of achieving some very high stats.

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"Smoking's bad, mm'kay?"

-Mr Mackey-

Quote (fffanbrit @ 20th August 2011 14:33)

One question I do have is how do game designers balance the prominence of a game's main story arc with the number of possible 'distractions'? It's all very well having loads of side-quests and mini games but what is the risk of these diminishing the main plot's importance? Certainly there's quite a lot to FFX other than the main story. FFX has just one main mini-game, but the sphere grid does present the possibility of achieving some very high stats.

Well, I think that Square's goal with the sidequests in FFX was to somehow either tie them into the background of the game or to use them to take you across Spira. If you want to get all the legendary/celestial weapons, you need to visit just about every place on the map. If you want to capture monsters for the arena, you need to visit just about every place on the map. I think a big part of FFX was to make the player intimate with the world of Spira; to really make the player get to know its locations, its people and the spiral of death that dominates it.

Of course, there are other sidequests that are tied in with background information. Omega was a heretic against Yevon. The fayth of Anima was connected to an important non-party character's background in a significant way. I would say this category is a smaller one, though.

Finally, I think that the main story in FFX is just so large and encompassing that there's really no way to detract from it. When going to capture monsters on the Mushroom Rock Road, the very first thing you think of upon entering is going to be Operation Mi'ihen and its outcome. That's the strength of FFX; that the places are so connected to the events of the story. There are a lot of side-plots too, if you will, in the game; Tidus' relationship with his father, for one, is a powerful element that doesn't exactly stem from the main quest. I think that when you look at it all as a whole, it's hard not to see everything pointing in the same direction: towards the ultimate goal of liberating Spira.

Anyhow, those are my thoughts

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

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That's the strength of FFX; that the places are so connected to the events of the story.

I agree entirley. No. 10 certainly had a much more 'organic' and lived-in seeming world. Although the graphics were generally very bright there was more a feeling of 'depth' to FFX's game world. As if there were layers of history that the player didn't even glimpse while playing (and even the game's characters themselves would never know of, IYSWIM).

Another plus point of FFX was the lack of a seperate traversable 'world map'. Since most parts of the world were interconnected (with a few exceptions) to each other the whole of Spira had a more integrated feel, rather than being a bits-and-pieces collection of seperate places. All that made Spira, as a fantasy world, somehow more believable and to me more engaging.

I think it's important for a game to have a story that, as much as possible, 'grows out' from the background and history of the game world itself, rather than having a story that feels like it is somehow detatched from the world it inhabits. In that regard I think FFX does a pretty good job.

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"Smoking's bad, mm'kay?"

-Mr Mackey-

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Another plus point of FFX was the lack of a seperate traversable 'world map'. Since most parts of the world were interconnected (with a few exceptions) to each other the whole of Spira had a more integrated feel, rather than being a bits-and-pieces collection of seperate places. All that made Spira, as a fantasy world, somehow more believable and to me more engaging.

I certainly agree on this point; it's something that squenix really perfected in FFXII. The game's level of realism definitely benefits. As I've mentioned before, however, I would still have liked to be able to actually pilot the airship. They do have a viable plot excuse for preventing this of course, namely that no one in the party would have any knowledge on how to fly an airship, though that was obviously not the reason.

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

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I certainly agree on this point; it's something that squenix really perfected in FFXII. The game's leve of realism definitely benefits. As I've mentioned before, however, I would still have liked to be able to actually pilot the airship. They do have a viable plot excuse for preventing this of course, namely that no one in the party would have any knowledge on how to fly an airship, though that was obviously not the reason

I must admit the loss of a flyable airship was probably my least favourite aspect of FFX, but I suppose that was the price of having a more integrated world with no seperate world map. But Square made quite a few big changes compared to previous FF games. I guess that's one of the benefits a more powerful hardware platform provides - it encourages developers to take some risks and allows them to do things that were hitherto impossible. FFX was in that way a landmark title, in the same way FFIV was being the first SNES title in the series.

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"Smoking's bad, mm'kay?"

-Mr Mackey-