I couldn't get on with IX at all...it looked like it was going to be much better than it actually was, and even knowing that i don't enjoy it, those looks are enough to tempt me to replay it again (twice so far!) Don't like the characters (well maybe Steiner and Vivi are fine, but the rest do nothing for me), don't like the story (nor the twist at the end), don't like the experience/skill system and of course the combat.
I'm going to be in the massive minority i expect but i actually preferred the love story in VIII.
Story wasn't ever a problem for me in IX, but I think that I can see why it wouldn't appeal to some. That said, I really do love VIII, and I think it is the least appreciated of the PSX's golden era. I hated it when it came out, but I played it for the first time like, in '08, and it was a genuinely good game, I thought.
My only problems with IX are that the battle system is sluggish as hell, being bloated by lengthy camera angles, attack animations, and an atb gauge that refuses to fill, and Chocobo Hot and Cold, which I don't like. The music is great, though.
Sunshine is a really fun game...good music too...and a relaxing atmosphere.
Those FF fans Corvo speaks of gives the rest of us a bad rep...=P
I really love the setting for Sunshine. I enjoy that the Gamecube was basically the tropical era for Mario and Zelda. Delphino Island is a colorful, beautiful place, and the music goes so well with the visuals. Game was hard at times, but finishing those acapella scat twisting block demons without the FLUDD was some of the best fun I'd had in a Mario game.
...Eh. I think you'd be "asking" for it no matter what if you started a discussion about the decline in quality of Final Fantasy.
For example, if the title was more inclusive, like,"Why hasn't Square made a game as great as their PS1 classics yet," people who think Final Fantasy hasn't been good since the 2D days would screw up the thread. It'd also have the apologists of the PS2 ones who think they're far better than the PS1 games invading. Hell, even XIII has its defenders that crawl out from the dark corners of GAF. The Final Fantasy fanbase is so ridiculously fractured that any statement about any Final Fantasy game's quality devolves into a bitchfest. I don't think you can win at all.
At the very least, Final Fantasy VII has the advantage of being the peak in a historical context, unlike any other game in the series. I do agree that being that presumptuous about the superiority of it was kind of silly though.
I disagree. I mean yes, when you make an FF thread people will come out of the woodwork, but that's not what I'm talking about here. Also of note is that the claim made in your example does not differ that greatly from the one at hand. It excludes X and XII, which were and are very popular games. If you are going to make the claim that X and XII and to a lesser extent XI aren't as good as VII, VIII, and IX, you should be willing and prepared to defend that point against the people who will want to argue it. After all, that's what makes the discussion a discussion.
That said, when I say, as an example, that "Final Fantasy IV is the greatest JRPG of all time and no one ever made a game that was better than it." I'm being exclusive toward the vast wealth of other good games and also setting IV up on a silver platter for say Dark Schala, to come and knock down a few pegs. If I establish IV as my paragon and say the rest aren't worth their salt, then it stands to reason that people who disagree will point out the game's flaws and that this process, dependent upon my own initial arrogance in staking my claim, will exaggerate to the point of trashing IV entirely.
So if I say "Why doesn't everyone realize that the only good Final Fantasy ever made was IV?" then obviously people are going to come in and trash it to pieces. Because MY INITIAL STATEMENT did nothing to foster a good discussion about the game's contributions to JRPGs, nor the franchise, nor gaming in general. All I did was say "My favorite dick is bigger and better than yours." and when everyone then turns around and says "oh yeah? Well your favorite dick is small and stupid." then I think that that is very much called for.
If threads began "VII was a really great game, let's talk about it." You'd hear more discussion and less dissension. If a thread began "Let's talk about Square Enix and what they're doing wrong," you'd hear more discussion. But if people are going to start a thread already going "Every game that wasn't VII is shit and Square never got better than that." then, well, why should anyone be expected to say anything kind about VII at all if that's the attitude you open your thread with?
