Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

I was just wondering which of the magic names does everyone prefer? I personally prefer the numbered spells, it kinda shows the power of the spells.

--------------------

If all else fails. beat them to death with sticks!

I went for numbered spells. While the '-a', '-aga' atc. endings do sound more... magicky, the numbers make it that little bit easier to tell exactly what each spell does.

I'm with Wizwum on this issue. Personally, though, I'd prefer names that are neither numbers nor arbitrary suffixes, but somehow descriptive. Like, Fireball could be a standard 1st-order fire magic, while Fireblast might be a standard 3rd-order fire magic, instead of Fire 1 and Fire 3 or Fire and Firaga.

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey @ 26th April 2007 14:31)

I'm with Wizwum on this issue. Personally, though, I'd prefer names that are neither numbers nor arbitrary suffixes, but somehow descriptive. Like, Fireball could be a standard 1st-order fire magic, while Fireblast might be a standard 3rd-order fire magic, instead of Fire 1 and Fire 3 or Fire and Firaga.

See, I *don't* like spells like that, because it's hard to tell which descriptive name outranks which other one.

I didn't have a problem with Fire 1/2/3, and I guess Fire/Fira/Firaga is okay... but I don't like Hastega or Slowga. I'd much rather see something like "mass haste."

--------------------

Veni, vidi, dormivi.

Well, I thought ball would be bigger than a blast, but I admit that that wasn't a good example on my part. But I totally agree with you on the Hastega/Slowga issue.

(lol, I almost typed "Slowgra". What an insult that would be.)

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

I actually like the fire/fira/firaga system. The old system wasn't bad but it just doesn't give the magic that "magical" feel to it.

--------------------

He's Back. He is The_TrueBOSS.
Check me and my partners out at: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheTrueBOSSofJupiter

I'm neutral on the numbers vs. endings thing, but I sort of prefer spells get more unique titles instead of numbered tiers, like the Tales or Grandia series. You know, fireball to firewave to sunflare or something instead of just adding numbers or changing endings.

--------------------

this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

I guess one way to resolve the naming issues would be to simply let the player edit the names of spells and items. Ar Tonelico allows the latter, so it can't be that difficult. It's not like Final Fantasy is an anime, where Lulu has to shout JUPITER THUNDER DRAGON before she can cast thundara, anyway.

--------------------

Veni, vidi, dormivi.

I Always liked the a,aga it just sounds more like spell names than 1/2/3

--------------------

Kupo.

since my first one was the first they implemented that system (VIII) im biased....but i like the -ra, -aga better


--------------------

Aujourdhui a commence avec toi.

I've only played two FFs with the numbering system and my first FF had the -ra, -aga system so I've just grown more accustomed to the latter. It also gives the spells more of a sense of power. That's the effect it has on me, anyway.

This post has been edited by King Eddy on 26th April 2007 22:24

--------------------

Why, hello guys! Haven't been around here in a loooong time!
http://dragcave.net/user/LadyTwi
http://www.backloggery.com/ladytwi

I like the a-aga names. I've played several games with the 1,2,3 - but I still ike the a-aga better because I think it takes away the basicness (?) of the spell name.

--------------------

[img]http://img83.exs.cx:81/img83/2/ramzaanddelita2rayni7wx.jpg[/img]

I cast my vote for 1-2-3. There's no way of knowing what the suffixes mean unless you've played before. They've not very descriptive. To boot, well, it just sounds pretty lame.

"FIRE!" Yay, a real word.
"FIRA!" Uh... is that in the oxford dictionnary?
"FIRAGA!" ????? :x

Picture a new player picking up, say, Final Fantasy X. You get Haste. Cool. Then you get Hastega. What does this do? Does it affect a single person but more than regular Haste? Does it target the entire party? Is it some anti-haste spell used to dispell haste on enemies? And once you find out it affects every enemy, why doesn't Firaga affect everything? Suddently the convention stops respecting itself and it gets confusing.

I think FFVIII was the first to use the A/AGA suffixes. I spent a little while trying to make sense of it, never having been confronted with this before. FFIV (IIe actually) was my first 1-2-3 FF, and I had no trouble understanding that 2 is bigger than 1.

The days of Fire 3 will always be my favorite.

Edit: Not to mention Poisona, which isn't a stronger version of Poison but rather an anti-poison spell. Stona? Same thing. Wtf? :S

This post has been edited by Silverlance on 26th April 2007 23:16

--------------------

"Judge not a man by his thoughts and words, but by
the quality and quantity of liquor in his possession
and the likelyhood of him sharing."

I prefer the proper names, since they actually sound like magical spells. I'm not going to be too intimidated my a mage shouting 'Ice 3 !'

--------------------

OSonic Rave
/ \Last Arcanum
[ ]Strike Raid
XRagnarok

I like the numbered spells, especially the with the four-character limit in the original FF. Casting HRM3 on a matrix of ghosts is fun

--------------------

I know I've been Final Fantasy XII too long - just the other day I referred to a region with no cell service as a Jagd!

Uno dos tres! Repiten mas alto, por favor! Uno dos tres! (cuatro?)

Yeah. The old numbering system says more about the spell than some crappy a -ga -ja ending system.

Although I honestly wish the spells had names like "Spark," "Flame," and "Scorch," similar to the way Lufia does it. You know, to make it sound more like you're making something happen. Something that's not quite a word really ires me except for Ultima. -CSM

This post has been edited by Crazyswordsman on 27th April 2007 02:23

--------------------

The NEW Final Fantasy Wiki!

Join us!

I think the numbered system is lame. I prefer the -ra/-aga suffixes, partially because it's what I'm used to, and becuase magic sounds more mystical and "real" without the numbers added to them.

In the Phantasy Star series (at least 1-4 for the SEGA systems), gi- and na- magic prefixes were used for the differing levels of power which I became accustomed to.

--------------------

"Thought I was dead, eh? Not until I fulfill my dream!"
Seifer Almasy


"The most important part of the story is the ending."
Secret Window


"Peace is but a shadow of death."
Kuja

Fire 1! Fire 2! Fire 3! sounds like something someone just didn't try hard to think about at all. The -a/ga names at least sound special.

As for coming up with other names like, Spark/Flame/Inferno... eh, I'm not really for that, either. I'd rather have the base + suffix/prefix convention for uniformity.

And it just sounds COOLER and sticks more in your head as something "special" than to just call it a run-of-the-mill regular word.

I voted for the numbers. I like the numbers. And since the only game I played with -a and -aga suffixes was FFIX, I'm simply more accustomed to the numbers. Also I think that the whole thing with grading spells is kinda dumb. Why grade spells at all? I'd rather see a game where every spell has the same power, the difference is only in the character levels and enemy's weakness.

--------------------

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one...

This is probably a slight deviation:

I chose the -a -aga endings, but my personal favorite I believe was actually from Kingdom Hearts, in which they ended the spells with -agun (i.e. Friagun, Thundagun)

At least, I think that's the correct reference.

Either way, I like the guns better than the ajas



--------------------

If internal struggles were as enjoyable and glamorous as the self conflicted wars within video game characters, we would all be statues, reveling in perpetual self war. -Me

Play me on Rock Band 2, GH-WT, or any other Xbox GH!
Xbox Gamertag-MeanJerry

I prefered the number system, sometimes the who -aga thing got too much and annoying. At first i didn't mind it on basic fire and blizzard spells but when they added the suffix to poisona and blindga, (and just about every other spell, more notibly on the more recent games ie. FF12) I felt it was too much. And curaja that just confused me more, something like cure 4 would have been better imo.

--------------------

In the end, it boils down to two simple choices. Either you do or you don't.

I like the number system becasue there use to be no names before Fire1, Fire2, Fire3, ect. But at the same time, I like the name system becasue once you get the prefixes down, it's really easy to understand.

I mean, come on, even if someone plays a game with prefixes, and has never played Final Fantasy, do you really believe they will have "that hard" of a time understanding it. Just becasue it's new to them, doesn't mean it's not bad. That's why it's a game, you understand things better as you progress.

Edit

Oh, forgot to say, I null voted since you didn't have the choice of "both" up there.

This post has been edited by FF Master on 29th April 2007 14:29

--------------------

Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Chrsit for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost

Acts 4:12

Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost

I've always prefered the number system. It's simple:

Fire 1 < Fire 2 < Fire 3

--------------------

Could you repeat that?

Despite my being old school, the ara/aga/aja system sounds less "video game command" to me, so I'm more like to prefer that.

I think the REAL question here should be, Japanese abbreviations or English equivalents?
So

LIBRA or LIBRARY?
TELEPO or TELEPORT?

and, of course...
METEO or METEOR?

Edit

Or best yet, regen or regenerate? I just can't think of it being anything besides "regen," myself.

This post has been edited by L. Cully on 30th April 2007 20:32

--------------------

Some ghost of me might greet my son
the day he is delivered.


Eternal Sleep, Track 1-1: The Blue Planet

The reason why "Fire3" and "Bahmut" do not sound too "intimidating" is because back then they didn't have much capacity for more character letters needed to complete a name. A

nd I quite like it better with "Randomspell#" instead of "Randomspell-RA" or "Ramdomspell-AGA" because it just sounds ridiculous. And plus they're more common words, with easy-to-understand tweaks.

What I like about the #'s is that they tell me how strong a spell is. I had some trouble figuring out the difference between Fire, Fira, and Firaga in terms of power.

The suffixes really aren't that much harder to figure out than the numbers. They start off as a normal spell, evolve into a second level '-ra' spell and end with third level '-ga' or even fourth level '-ja' spells. Spells that don't have more than one level are just left normal...it's pretty simple.

Quote

LIBRA or LIBRARY?
TELEPO or TELEPORT?

and, of course...
METEO or METEOR?

Or best yet, regen or regenerate? I just can't think of it being anything besides "regen," myself.

Although the English equivalents sound a bit more sensical, I'll always have a soft spot for the Japanese abbreviations (Meteo just has that in-your-face 'I am a spell name' effect on me)...I don't know if I'd be able to decide which one I'd prefer more.

--------------------

OSonic Rave
/ \Last Arcanum
[ ]Strike Raid
XRagnarok

Quote (Zeromus_X @ 2nd May 2007 22:27)

The suffixes really aren't that much harder to figure out than the numbers. They start off as a normal spell, evolve into a second level '-ra' spell and end with third level '-ga' or even fourth level '-ja' spells. Spells that don't have more than one level are just left normal...it's pretty simple.

That doesn't really work with Poison/Poisona and Stone/Stona though. They're vastly different spells.

Technically it doesn't work with Slow/Slowga and Haste/Hastaga, but you COULD see multi-targetting as an upgrade. The effect remains the same though.

It works well for the elemental damage spells but for the rest, it loses coherance.

--------------------

"Judge not a man by his thoughts and words, but by
the quality and quantity of liquor in his possession
and the likelyhood of him sharing."

To be quite honest, I don't like either and would rather have something like Icicle/Glacier/Blizzard.

--------------------

I'm a general, not some opera floozy!

*insert humourous observation here*

Quote (Crazyswordsman @ 27th April 2007 02:21)

Although I honestly wish the spells had names like "Spark," "Flame," and "Scorch," similar to the way Lufia does it.

I agree with this.

Though out of the two FF styles, I think I prefer, say, Blizzaga to Ice3 simply because it sounds more intimidating.

--------------------

Come with me so I can show you how to live
Burning the candle at both ends
I’m gripping at the walls around me
Don’t complicate it
I’m addicted to this life
I’ll be your token of attention
All my lies come down to this
-Orgy, "Beautiful Disgrace"

I like the numbers better than the suffixes. The suffixes don't sound like magical names, they sound like a pathetic attempt to sound magical. Plus, alot of the time, you end up with awkward words. Try saying Hastega aloud.
As for the problem with Stona and Poisona, they really should be Astone and Apoison for the sake of grammatical accuracy (or anti-).
The number system isn't exactly perfect either, though. I suppose a better system would be to use adjectives. Or -er and -est, though you run into similar sound transition problems.

--------------------

"I had to write four novels before they let me write comic books."
-Brad Meltzer