Post by: honda_insightful on October 10, 2003, 05:36:13 AM
"When I compare the components of VII to the other games, I just don't think it stacks up. The music is good, but Uematsu has composed better. Save for Yuffie, the characters weren't as memorable as other FF denizens. Gameplay has been done better in other FF games. The story is uneven and not as "epic" as other FF tales. The one thing I don't get at all is how people rave about the "materia system," which is the game's prevalent method of character customization and combat. It really deemphasizes individual characters and abilities. One of my buddies said, "Materia makes magic and abilities too interchangeable, so the characters fade away and just become materia slots. So the whole point of characters becomes their limit breaks, which is sort of lame."
Read more here: http://www.gamespy.com/articles/september03/25overrated/index20.shtml
Post by: honda_insightful on October 10, 2003, 05:37:15 AM
#2 WORST game that is. Right after Final Fantasy 2 on the Original Nintendo.
.
IMHO 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, & 10 were all superior. Even 8 was superior which is a pretty serious slam against FF7. I know everyone raves about the story, but for me:
- FF9's story was far more fun (humorous/cute/loveable).
- FF10 was far more emotional and compelling.
- FF5 had the awesome job system to provide infinite replayability.
- FF6 was the most epic and tragic.
In FF6 the bad guy actually WINS and destroys the world. And the characters ALL have fascinating backstories. And even when you "win" the game, the world is still a horrendous mess. No happy endings here. (Except hope... there is hope for a better future!)
FF7 gets all the hype, but FF6 actually *deserves* it, because it's by far the best game. (And don't go saying "FF6 sucks" if you've never played it.)
MY RANKING:
1 FF6 - Terra, Kefka, and all the other awesome characters
2 FF10 - Yuna's gut-wrenching/tear-jerking journey
3 FF9 - Vivi was my favorite + great humor + great battle system
4 FF5 - awesome battle system for infinite replayability
5 FF4 - eh not bad
6 FF3 - eh
7 FF8 - great story/sucky game
8 FF7 - walking materia slots and a boring story
9 FF2 - worst FF ever
FF1 not played yet (and probably never will... it's seriously lacking in story and playability). Yep, FF7 is definitely the 2nd WORST in the series In my opinion.
Post by: GoldShadow1 on October 10, 2003, 07:16:22 AM
Post by: Ian Sane on October 10, 2003, 07:49:17 AM
Post by: Uglydot on October 11, 2003, 08:33:06 AM
Post by: Grey Ninja on October 11, 2003, 10:13:09 AM
Post by: Bill Aurion on October 11, 2003, 11:15:59 AM
Post by: honda_insightful on October 12, 2003, 03:45:54 AM
Quote
It seems as if everybody has mixed feelings about set characters or customizable ones.
I like customizable characters, but I also like a reflection in reality. The goal of RPGs is to try to create a realistic world in which to play. Even though it's fantasy, the game designer tries to follow a realistic and consistent set of rules.
In the real world, it takes TIME to learn new skills. FF10 reflects this reality (you can turn Yuna into a black mage like Lulu, but it takes ~20 hours of game time). Ditto FF9/6/5. Learning new skills takes time. Even in D&D, where you can customize your characters, once you start the game, you're stuck with what you've got. You can change, but it takes several hours to learn the new skills (like real life).
In FF7, reality is thrown out the window. You can teach Cloud to be a tree-hugging, baby-kissing White Mage instantaneously (just switch Materia from Tifa to Cloud). When Aeris died, I just shrugged my shoulders, and I gave Aeris' materia to Tifa. Ditto with Cait Sith; gave his materia to Cid. They are simply walking materia slots... completely interchangeable. Such instantaneous learning is a serious flaw from my POV.
And then there's the story. I don't think it's anything special. To me, it's just the modern world turned into a game. Substitute
-"materia is running out/destroying the world"
with
-"oil is running out/destroying the world",
and you'll see what I mean. It's basically a pro-environmental tale taken from the modern world with some Japanese mythobabble thrown in.
Post by: Bill Aurion on October 12, 2003, 05:43:11 AM
Post by: The All Knowing Lung on October 12, 2003, 07:11:51 AM
FFVII (As someone else stated) fell apart about half way through. Even though I enjoyed it at first, I sat there after it was over thinking was that it? It never really came back together.
Post by: KDR_11k on October 12, 2003, 08:18:44 AM
Post by: Bloodworth on October 12, 2003, 11:04:23 AM
What really angered me though were: 1. The fact that you could never skip summons, which became tedious and frustrating, especially on the final boss. 2. That the final boss looked like a rehash of FFVI's final boss and for no apparent reason. and 3. That the third disc seems entirely unnecessary. I guess they needed it for the video ending, but it just seemed to be there to hype the game more.
For me FFVI has always been the most epic in pretty much every sense. Although I think I like FFIV's story slightly better, perhaps because it's simpler and keeps you going. I only finished FFVI twice, while I went through FFIV dozens of times.
Post by: honda_insightful on October 12, 2003, 05:40:31 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Bill
^---- A very heartless person....
Excuse me... what *exactly* give you the right to call me "heartless"? Do you know me? Have we ever met? What gives you the right to insult me like that?
For the record, I donate about $5000 (sometimes less...sometimes more) each year to the Boystown for orphans. I am hardly a "heartless" person.
So F*** off.
Post by: KnowsNothing on October 12, 2003, 05:57:35 PM
Post by: PIAC on October 12, 2003, 06:05:41 PM
i somehow doubt that bill ment that in every aspect of your life your a heartless bastard, mearly the fact you shrugged your sholders when aeris died, or something.. either way settle down a bit.
Post by: SuperLink666 on October 13, 2003, 12:50:16 PM
Post by: Bill Aurion on October 13, 2003, 03:58:22 PM
Post by: Dirk Temporo on October 15, 2003, 04:38:39 PM
Post by: Uglydot on October 16, 2003, 02:02:49 AM
Post by: Celebi on October 16, 2003, 07:55:52 AM
Post by: Marcus Arillius on October 16, 2003, 02:02:54 PM
Post by: honda_insightful on October 16, 2003, 04:21:17 PM
In FF7, the learning is instantly transferrable. If Cloud knows Fire 3 then he can transfer that learned skill to Tifa just by switching materia. And so all the characters are the same (except for limit breaks).... i.e. walking materia slots / clones.
BTW, I found this essay which I think is rather cool. It describes how Cloud/Sephiroth are NOT the main characters... but instead the main characters in the story are Aeris & Jenova:
No, you cannot just cut and paste somebody else's work into the forums. Link to it and give them a little respect. -Bloodworth
Post by: honda_insightful on October 17, 2003, 04:50:52 AM
Quote
Before FF7, RPGs were more reserved for hard core gamers and never peeked the interest of the majority of gamers. The release of FF7 was so different for many gamers, with its compelling story....
Disagree. I think Final Fantasy 3 (alternate title: FF6) deserves that credit. It was an extremely popular game and high in sales.
Remember... Final Fantasy 3 was *already* a system seller for the Nintendo 64... people bought N64's just so they could play the next installment. When Square left the N64, it sent shockwaves through the gaming world.
Why? Because people LOVED FF3, and they were looking forward to the sequel. FF3 is the RPG that appealed to the majority of gamers.
Post by: Galford on October 17, 2003, 09:24:30 AM
FF7 is a very polarizing games for many reasons. Few of which I see
listed here....
- FF7 when it came out was a game that cost Nintendo the N64
gerenarion for a number of reasons.
- Many old-school gamers could not accept the
direction that FF7 took the series in.
- FF7 opened RPGs to a number of people which had never played a RPG
before, thus many newbies said it was the best RPG ever.
- Yes, it was overhyped, but FF7 had one of the most complex and deep stories in an
RPG, but few people understood it as honda's post points out.
Feel free to add or take from these points, but I'll be up front now.
I believe that FF8 and FF10 are the two best games in the series.
Post by: Uglydot on October 17, 2003, 10:24:32 AM
Post by: Termin8Anakin on October 18, 2003, 04:59:37 AM
Post by: ThePerm on October 18, 2003, 01:14:24 PM
Post by: Gup on October 18, 2003, 06:56:01 PM
Post by: Bloodworth on October 19, 2003, 12:59:11 AM
Post by: Galford on October 19, 2003, 06:46:01 AM
Dragona would shred FF7 to pieces, but from a very skewd point of view.
Which is fine, everyone has a right to there opinion.
Some people like FF7, others don't, there really isn't to much
more to this conversation...
