GothicSyn
Blue Mage
So I've recently had several conversations with a friend as he tries to match me in terms of Final Fantasy games, so much so when I collected the Final Fantasy X Plat his reply was "If you can do it, it can't be that hard" So he bought the game and has done nothing but complain since.
Don't get me wrong I'm open enough to criticism but when everything it's Squares fault it becomes a problem for me. This started with non skippable cut scenes for one he is playing for the Plat trophy doesn't care about the story his argument is if he wants to watch a movie he'll go to the cinema. Well there's gripe number Final Fantasy is an always has been story focused first, the story drives the game. Though they put skippable into KH so maybe that could have been done with FFX.
Then comes the sphere grid which is to us players just another twist in the ever evolving worlds of Final Fantasy, a new system for players to play with. "It's over complex and a waste of time should have been left with RPG XP systems" his words not mine. The random battles drive him mad, shouldn't be in a game at all, "I should be able to see my enemies so I can avoid them if I want" another staple of the Final Fantasy Series which is just fine by me I kinda like the surprise.
He took hours to get through the Chocobo trainer the one you need 0.0.0 to get and threw my joypad down in temper several times this got him yelled at! Arguing again the mechanics are crap, OK so he may have a point there the Chocobo mechanics are a little frustrating at times!
His assessment of Final Fantasy is it's a lazy game that has no place in modern gaming my reply is it's a remaster of the 2001 game so it's not frickin modern its just a pretty version of the original game.
The we got onto a conversation about Final Fantasy VII, because "I'm wasting money" buying the PC Port later this year "You've played it to death already grow up and move up" apparently my gaming tastes are in the dark ages and I should embrace modern gaming. This to the me! I play many modern games including Far Cry, Dark Souls, Driveclub, Defiance and more oh and Final Fantasy XIV!
He is also wanting to get the remake which I told him not to bother and we got into a conversation about the games direction which admittedly as a serious fan of the legacy Final Fantasy VII, again I'm living in the dark ages and should move on. While I get that the remake will have changes to the combat and some other bits, like say fixing the horrid translations, expand areas of the story I'm fine with that as long as the experience remains, this is what he seems to fail to grasp.
While FFVII wasn't my first RPG (That goes to Shining Force) it was the first game I truly became engaged in, Unless you count Zombies Ate My Neighbours. I loved the story and the world and the whole fight to save the world. So it will always hold a high standard for me, plus the FMV sequences were absolutely stunning even on the PS1. I spent hours and hours sinking time into this game.
So I think they should leave alone things like the upgrade system, Materia matching and levelling was always tonnes of fun. The number of characters should stay as it is, the ones that crop up from other games can always be handled with FMV or NPC interactions or even Clouds flashbacks. Personally I think the combat should remain as ATB turn based but I can accept just fine they are opting to change this, if it still feels in some way like VII then I'll be happy enough, maybe something along the lines of 12 which worked well enough for what it was.
I have to admit with at least 4 of the main members of the original team been involved in the remake it at least leaves me a little more optimistic in terms of what this game will become. I'm fine to embrace change so long as it doesn't damage the experience that I sunk so many hours into or the world in which I grew to love so deeply. I even went back to play through some of the older titles and have always found the stories immensely captivating and driving to the whole Final Fantasy experience.
I guess I'm just pissy he doesn't get nostalgia but then I am talking about the guy who so far thinks 13 is the best of the bunch, which personally I didn't mind but couldn't invest in the story as deeply because it felt so forced and the linear play style drove me nuts. Even when you get "freedom" to explore your options are still kind of limited. XIII-2 was trying to please far too many people and fans and became a huge mishmash of ideas and the game play seems to have been ignored completely, though the monsters as team members was something new. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed 13 to a point but they changed far too much from the Final Fantasy formula to make it feel like I was playing a Final Fantasy game at all at times.
So our difference of opinion comes down to a fact that I'm stuck in the past and should move on vs my argument of I'm just fine with moving on I just have certain expectations when it comes to what truly makes a Final Fantasy game.
Don't get me wrong I'm open enough to criticism but when everything it's Squares fault it becomes a problem for me. This started with non skippable cut scenes for one he is playing for the Plat trophy doesn't care about the story his argument is if he wants to watch a movie he'll go to the cinema. Well there's gripe number Final Fantasy is an always has been story focused first, the story drives the game. Though they put skippable into KH so maybe that could have been done with FFX.
Then comes the sphere grid which is to us players just another twist in the ever evolving worlds of Final Fantasy, a new system for players to play with. "It's over complex and a waste of time should have been left with RPG XP systems" his words not mine. The random battles drive him mad, shouldn't be in a game at all, "I should be able to see my enemies so I can avoid them if I want" another staple of the Final Fantasy Series which is just fine by me I kinda like the surprise.
He took hours to get through the Chocobo trainer the one you need 0.0.0 to get and threw my joypad down in temper several times this got him yelled at! Arguing again the mechanics are crap, OK so he may have a point there the Chocobo mechanics are a little frustrating at times!
His assessment of Final Fantasy is it's a lazy game that has no place in modern gaming my reply is it's a remaster of the 2001 game so it's not frickin modern its just a pretty version of the original game.
The we got onto a conversation about Final Fantasy VII, because "I'm wasting money" buying the PC Port later this year "You've played it to death already grow up and move up" apparently my gaming tastes are in the dark ages and I should embrace modern gaming. This to the me! I play many modern games including Far Cry, Dark Souls, Driveclub, Defiance and more oh and Final Fantasy XIV!
He is also wanting to get the remake which I told him not to bother and we got into a conversation about the games direction which admittedly as a serious fan of the legacy Final Fantasy VII, again I'm living in the dark ages and should move on. While I get that the remake will have changes to the combat and some other bits, like say fixing the horrid translations, expand areas of the story I'm fine with that as long as the experience remains, this is what he seems to fail to grasp.
While FFVII wasn't my first RPG (That goes to Shining Force) it was the first game I truly became engaged in, Unless you count Zombies Ate My Neighbours. I loved the story and the world and the whole fight to save the world. So it will always hold a high standard for me, plus the FMV sequences were absolutely stunning even on the PS1. I spent hours and hours sinking time into this game.
So I think they should leave alone things like the upgrade system, Materia matching and levelling was always tonnes of fun. The number of characters should stay as it is, the ones that crop up from other games can always be handled with FMV or NPC interactions or even Clouds flashbacks. Personally I think the combat should remain as ATB turn based but I can accept just fine they are opting to change this, if it still feels in some way like VII then I'll be happy enough, maybe something along the lines of 12 which worked well enough for what it was.
I have to admit with at least 4 of the main members of the original team been involved in the remake it at least leaves me a little more optimistic in terms of what this game will become. I'm fine to embrace change so long as it doesn't damage the experience that I sunk so many hours into or the world in which I grew to love so deeply. I even went back to play through some of the older titles and have always found the stories immensely captivating and driving to the whole Final Fantasy experience.
I guess I'm just pissy he doesn't get nostalgia but then I am talking about the guy who so far thinks 13 is the best of the bunch, which personally I didn't mind but couldn't invest in the story as deeply because it felt so forced and the linear play style drove me nuts. Even when you get "freedom" to explore your options are still kind of limited. XIII-2 was trying to please far too many people and fans and became a huge mishmash of ideas and the game play seems to have been ignored completely, though the monsters as team members was something new. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed 13 to a point but they changed far too much from the Final Fantasy formula to make it feel like I was playing a Final Fantasy game at all at times.
So our difference of opinion comes down to a fact that I'm stuck in the past and should move on vs my argument of I'm just fine with moving on I just have certain expectations when it comes to what truly makes a Final Fantasy game.