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FINAL FANTASY Community Thread: XV Mainline Entries and Counting
- Thread starter Kagari
- Start date
This has probably been mentioned several times in this thread and others, but Squall's attraction to Rinoa is so damn subtle.
He's deep in denial for most the game. You can hear his thoughts but even his thoughts are desperately trying to keep up the illusion of being in control and uncaring. He has a minor breakdown in Disc 1 at Galbadia due to this. In Disc 2 that denial chips away and by Disc 3 it is completely gone, both in his thoughts and outside. That's why gamers are shocked, there were no obvious hints or gradual affection. Especially not on the side of the player, who is playing as him.
He secretly admits he built up a whole "Squall doesn't care" so that people would see him in a certain way. The fake Squall that fans think is so cool is a personality he created in self defense.
As for Rinoa, she gets him. Since she has no reserve like the other students who have known him as a taciturn guy all their lives, she unconsciously pushed all the right buttons by being direct.
Her attraction to him was initially a physical thing and later she felt safe with him. Note Squall's similarity to her father (also a gargantuan military asshole) and how those two men see to eye with each other.
Squall doesn't dance with Quistis but does with her. Squall doesn't shake hands with Zell but does with her. He lets her physically touch, hug, and hang onto him. He doesn't do this with anyone else, yet he hasn't known her as long. And all this is before Disc 3.
Maybe it's because other characters seem to unload their personal problems onto Squall. Rinoa keeps her at-home problems under wraps until the very last minute. She is often trying to find a way to brighten the mood, making him (although he'd never admit it) and others, feel better. She wouldn't try so hard if she wasn't attracted to him.
Sorry for jumping in late on the Rinoa/Squall talk, it's fresh in my mind because my wedding had some FF8 themed stuff and there was a FF8 challenge at fanfiction.net all of August and I'm slowly reading through.
lazybones18
Banned
Looks like my order for FFI/II NES OST has been canceled from CDJapan. I'll buy it used from Amazon. Just can't settle with only having the PS version
Replaying FFXII on my recently acquired PS2 
What the fuck happened? This game was so awesome (only flaw is the licence board that created identical characters).
The voice acting, the cities, the atmosphere. It was one living breathing world, with some of the best characters ever in a FF game (Basch, Fran & Balthier).
What has happened between this game and 13, 13-2 and 14?
Why is the voice acting so good on this ps2 game and why is it story at least coherent.
What the fuck happened? This game was so awesome (only flaw is the licence board that created identical characters).
The voice acting, the cities, the atmosphere. It was one living breathing world, with some of the best characters ever in a FF game (Basch, Fran & Balthier).
What has happened between this game and 13, 13-2 and 14?
Why is the voice acting so good on this ps2 game and why is it story at least coherent
.Replaying FFXII on my recently acquired PS2
What the fuck happened? This game was so awesome (only flaw is the licence board that created identical characters).
The voice acting, the cities, the atmosphere. It was one living breathing world, with some of the best characters ever in a FF game (Basch, Fran & Balthier).
What has happened between this game and 13, 13-2 and 14?
Why is the voice acting so good on this ps2 game and why is it story at least coherent
Matsuno is a better director and writer than Toriyama.
Why is the voice acting so good on this ps2 game and why is it story at least coherent
For the first part, Alexander O Smith. I may be wrong, and somebody will correct me if so, but I recall that he had authority to pick his voice actors for his translated script, seeking those with more theater experience, rather than a usual crop of the usual game VAs.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
Congratulations! You look gorgeous (seriously, I love your hair)!
I see quite a bit of FF8 influence in there. (Also, nice location; one of my friends got married there recently and it's very lovely, especially during the summer.)
Meccanical
Member
Been talking about friends about Amano because we got this book at indigo now
One thing we brought up, why is it that we associate more with the Nomura characters even though we love the games Amano worked on and love his artstyle more. We think it's because with Nomura there's no disconnect between the character physical design and story/personality, while with Amano the artwork is beautiful but doesn't always match the impression you had of a character.
Thanks Schala, by the way I'm working on revamping my Schala site completely (all new content)... last layout was from like 2001, lol CRT screens.
edit:
It is finally complete now! http://rinoa.nu/schala
One thing we brought up, why is it that we associate more with the Nomura characters even though we love the games Amano worked on and love his artstyle more. We think it's because with Nomura there's no disconnect between the character physical design and story/personality, while with Amano the artwork is beautiful but doesn't always match the impression you had of a character.
Congratulations! You look gorgeous (seriously, I love your hair)!
I see quite a bit of FF8 influence in there. (Also, nice location; one of my friends got married there recently and it's very lovely, especially during the summer.)
Thanks Schala, by the way I'm working on revamping my Schala site completely (all new content)... last layout was from like 2001, lol CRT screens.
edit:
It is finally complete now! http://rinoa.nu/schala
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Just wondering, how would you rank the difficulty of each Final Fantasy game?
I'd say FFIII, FFIV (and the complete collection), FFV, and FFX had difficult moments.
FFIII - The overall game was difficult due to the lack of savepoints in the final dungeon.
FFIV - The
was difficult, the difficulty suddenly jumped in this area.
FFV - Despite the game being sort of a breeze, the final boss was kinda crazy.
FFX - Specifically the bosses such as
I'd say FFIII, FFIV (and the complete collection), FFV, and FFX had difficult moments.
FFIII - The overall game was difficult due to the lack of savepoints in the final dungeon.
FFIV - The
Moon
FFV - Despite the game being sort of a breeze, the final boss was kinda crazy.
FFX - Specifically the bosses such as
all the variations of Seymour, Yunalesca, and Sin (the one you have around 10 turns only to kill him)
Playing FFXII without grinding is fun and challenging.
I always hear complaints about how easy it was, but my reasoning is that it depends on the amount of grinding the player does. On my first run, I just played through the game without doing many of the hunts. I just did what had to be done. The bosses were a challenge, and I had to think about the gambits I was using, and actually change gambits mid-combat, and take control of characters for manual imputs. On my second playthrough, I did almost everything, wich meant that most of the storyline was very easy.
FFIV was challenging, but not always in a good way.
I always hear complaints about how easy it was, but my reasoning is that it depends on the amount of grinding the player does. On my first run, I just played through the game without doing many of the hunts. I just did what had to be done. The bosses were a challenge, and I had to think about the gambits I was using, and actually change gambits mid-combat, and take control of characters for manual imputs. On my second playthrough, I did almost everything, wich meant that most of the storyline was very easy.
FFIV was challenging, but not always in a good way.
harriet the spy
Member
Got to chapter 12 of FFXIII. Still liking combat a ton, especially after the world opened up on Gran Pulse. I still think it overall is a great game, but it could have been so much more with better pacing and a more open world.
How far am i from the end?
How far am i from the end?
Almost done.
You can spend hours in Gran Pulse...or you could powergame and probably finish it in under 5 hours.
lazybones18
Banned
*listens to The Spy*
....just what I wanted to hear. Cheesy porn music
....just what I wanted to hear. Cheesy porn music
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
I just want to say I take back FFXII being the worst FF out there. I like it in fact (but not enough to talk to every NPC and do all of the hunts and side quests). Although it's slightly on par with FFXIII for me (for the record, I like FFXIII).
The worst FF now for me is FFII.
The worst FF now for me is FFII.
Preach.
I used to think FFXII was the worse too until FFII. Playing that makes you want to try out the FFs you didn't like before and like them.
Btw, your avatar creeps me the fuck out. lol
I've been saying FF2 is the worst FF for a long time, and it's objectively true.
For all the other games' faults, all of them are at least playable. Nobody played FF2nes without a guide and liked it.
Anyone who says hyperbole like any of the modern FFs are THE WORST FF EVER...they're just wrong.
For all the other games' faults, all of them are at least playable. Nobody played FF2nes without a guide and liked it.
Anyone who says hyperbole like any of the modern FFs are THE WORST FF EVER...they're just wrong.
Canis lupus
Member
Is there any event in the foreseeable future where we will hear more of FFX HD?
Perfo
Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
JUMP FESTA or the rumored event taking place in January.
CountBlack
Member
How many people have been to Distant Worlds?
I went last March and it was a blast. Nobuo showed up too and played Dark World
I went last March and it was a blast. Nobuo showed up too and played Dark World
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Also FFIII isn't as terrible as they make it out. The NES version is vastly superior in my opinion.
Although it has the worst final dungeon (no saves leading to the final boss, what the hell).
Although it has the worst final dungeon (no saves leading to the final boss, what the hell).
FFII is a bit too different for my liking. I don't like systems like the Elder Scrolls where you level up stuff by doing it or whatever.
I don't think I'll ever see the NES version as superior personally. I don't care for generic characters either so I'm glad the DS version gave them some pizzaz.
tiggerkiddo
Member
It seemed like the one Final Fantasy game that really hated your ever living guts. I love how no nonsense it was, you wander one pixel off the beated path and you're good as dead.
On that note, the first FF and the third are the only mainline ones I haven't beaten, I need to get to that.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
FF needs difficulty modes. Desperately. Desperately.
Playing Persona 4: Golden's Very Hard mode made me realize how much satisfaction I get from harder stuff.
I feel like I'm losing interest in the series partially because I don't find it that challenging outside of extra bosses.
Playing Persona 4: Golden's Very Hard mode made me realize how much satisfaction I get from harder stuff.
I feel like I'm losing interest in the series partially because I don't find it that challenging outside of extra bosses.
Haven't peeked in here for a while, but that's pretty darn cool and very lovely to look at. I'll check it a little more when I get home. :O
tiggerkiddo
Member
I dunno, they would probably do it dumb like give the enemies a huge amount of health and do more damage. If the enemies fought smarter that would be one thing but I'm not sure Square would do that.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
I wouldn't be surprised given that that majority of difficulty modes in RPGs (read: Tales) do it by stat multiplier... But iirc, I think in FF8, enemies got more attacks as they levelled up with you which was fine.
...but I'm just tired of being bored when playing FF's battles. Creating an artificial difficulty on my part by doing a low-level run, not using magic/summons (well, I don't do that anyway because they take so damn long to cast and play out now), etc. isn't my idea of having lotsa fun. I hate to admit it sometimes, but the emphasis on buffing/debuffing/defense and the level cap in FF13 actually did it some favours in some circumstances. When they nerfed everything and made everything piss easy in FF13-2, I became very irritated with it and that's why I couldn't find a lot to have fun with in that game.
Honestly, the only fun parts of FF13-2 are the cameo battles and those are DLC. :|
tiggerkiddo
Member
True but you could also just keep your guys in low health and spam Limit Breaks in 8. It didn't help it was pretty easy to get your weapons upgraded too so...bye bye challenge!
And I have to disagree, FF 13 did it horribly. Everything was a HP tank and battles took forever, especially if you didn't break them. They really need to put their work into the AI and make it smart like using scan, using attacks to target your known weaknesses, going after your healer...stuff like that.
And I have to disagree, FF 13 did it horribly. Everything was a HP tank and battles took forever, especially if you didn't break them. They really need to put their work into the AI and make it smart like using scan, using attacks to target your known weaknesses, going after your healer...stuff like that.
Meccanical
Member
Schala, you're avatar is festive and hilarious.
Anyway, I never really found any part of FFXIII challenging except, Barthandelus and Cid.
Then again not so much challenging as "bullshit" considering that whole "LOOK AT THE PARADIGMS CHANGE" camera that slows your actions but the boss moves undeterred.
Sure they fixed that in XIII-2, but that doesn't help the first.
I'm honestly surprised I played XIII for as long as I did.
Anyway, I never really found any part of FFXIII challenging except, Barthandelus and Cid.
Then again not so much challenging as "bullshit" considering that whole "LOOK AT THE PARADIGMS CHANGE" camera that slows your actions but the boss moves undeterred.
Sure they fixed that in XIII-2, but that doesn't help the first.
I'm honestly surprised I played XIII for as long as I did.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
A very kind poster did my avatar for me in the Christmas thread. I have yet to start my shopping and practice for baking a pie!
The bosses that I liked and had lots of fun with in FF13 were: both Bart battles, Mission 51, Mission 62 and Mission 64. Three of those are postgame battles.
...I can't believe I'm going to defend FF13 like this (shit, I don't even like the battle system much), but...
Battles in FF13 should never ever ever take you that long. Ever. It surprises me when people say they've been fighting a boss for half an hour when they really should only be taking at most 7-9 minutes. The game tried to introduce stuff to you slowly and but didn't make it explicit that you should start to learn buffing and debuffing which are your best friends in that game as you should not be relying on offense alone. If you rely on offense alone and solely increasing the break gauge without taking into account buffing/debuffing and the synergy passive skills that each job comes equipped with, of course it's going to take forever to battle it out. Think of it like a DMC-style gauge--try different things and you can get it done faster. And you can use Scan. That's what Librascopes were for.
My issues with FF13 were:
-you cannot move people out of the way of AoE attacks (oh hey, why the fuck is my healer standing close to the defender, no get out of the way because the defender is drawing an aoe attack what is wrong with you you're going to die!!!)
-needs more micromanaging gambits
-switch leader, which was added in FF13-2 (yay!)
-i hate auto-battle with a passion
-and probably more stuff I can't think of from the top of my head
</defending FF13>
All I know is that I don't want to play that game ever again. Got the platinum. Never want to play it ever again.
The bosses that I liked and had lots of fun with in FF13 were: both Bart battles, Mission 51, Mission 62 and Mission 64. Three of those are postgame battles.
Re: FF8, that's true. Aura exploit can completely break the game. :/
...I can't believe I'm going to defend FF13 like this (shit, I don't even like the battle system much), but...
Battles in FF13 should never ever ever take you that long. Ever. It surprises me when people say they've been fighting a boss for half an hour when they really should only be taking at most 7-9 minutes. The game tried to introduce stuff to you slowly and but didn't make it explicit that you should start to learn buffing and debuffing which are your best friends in that game as you should not be relying on offense alone. If you rely on offense alone and solely increasing the break gauge without taking into account buffing/debuffing and the synergy passive skills that each job comes equipped with, of course it's going to take forever to battle it out. Think of it like a DMC-style gauge--try different things and you can get it done faster. And you can use Scan. That's what Librascopes were for.
My issues with FF13 were:
-you cannot move people out of the way of AoE attacks (oh hey, why the fuck is my healer standing close to the defender, no get out of the way because the defender is drawing an aoe attack what is wrong with you you're going to die!!!)
-needs more micromanaging gambits
-switch leader, which was added in FF13-2 (yay!)
-i hate auto-battle with a passion
-and probably more stuff I can't think of from the top of my head
</defending FF13>
All I know is that I don't want to play that game ever again. Got the platinum. Never want to play it ever again.
Meccanical
Member
Honestly XIII should have just KEPT the damn system of X-2.
It was basically the same thing in XIII, only they made it worse in every way.
And I don't even like X-2 and I know that.
It was basically the same thing in XIII, only they made it worse in every way.
And I don't even like X-2 and I know that.
tiggerkiddo
Member
Oh I understood the battle system after awhile but even with the debuffing system and such...well it took me a good portion of the game to really understand it but even when using those abilities smartly, I still thought some of the enemies took just a tad too long for my liking to demolish. I guess I'm one of those who is just used to level grinding like mad and I want to be rewarded for my level grinding by smashing everything into dust within seconds.
Meccanical
Member
Yeah I feel like it artificially pads all the fights really, you have to stagger them to do any real damage and that's just a drag to me.
tiggerkiddo
Member
You want a dull and demanding battle? Go fight Yiazmat. Or imagine Yiazmat with double the hp and capable of dishing out damage like Omega Mark in the top half of the Great Crystal?
Meccanical
Member
That's one hunt I stayed away from.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
Forget Yiazmat.
Pandemonium Warden / Absolute Virtue.
Pandemonium Warden / Absolute Virtue.
Meccanical
Member
I've heard stories about that, didn't it take like several days to beat that thing initially?
tiggerkiddo
Member
That's small fry compared to farming all the items for Tournesol, I swear that took me like fifty hours to do...=(
Marks...I love those so much in FFXII, that was the most fun part of the game. I wish there were more to do, I was really sad when I realized Yiazmat was it.
Despite his HP, Yiazmat was pretty easy compared to Mr. Omega Mark who did insane amounts of damage.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
Pandemonium Warden initially took a team 18 hours and it induced vomiting and fainting spells for some people.
FFXI truly has the hardest FF bosses. I know that firsthand. (Put more time into FFXI than I care to share)
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
FFXI probably has the best story in the series as well.
I wonder if FFXIV 2.0 will measure up to those standards.
I wonder if FFXIV 2.0 will measure up to those standards.
tiggerkiddo
Member
And am I the only one who wants to play the first Final Fantasy and hunt down WarMech so I can smash it? Because other than beating the game, that's my main goal.
I guess i'll start working on my FF playthrough again soon. FF2 on PSP -> FF3 DS. I guess I'll play FF4 on the SNES?
I know I shouldn't hope at this point, but I indeed hope it does. I look forward to trying out the alpha on the 28th and see if it does.
I know I shouldn't hope at this point, but I indeed hope it does. I look forward to trying out the alpha on the 28th and see if it does.
Been playing FF3 on my PSP. They really cleaned up a lot of the assets and stuff.
Just finally got the 2nd set of jobs...I've also been very SLOWLY making progress due to being kinda busy.
The remastered music also sounds a bit different from the DS version. But I've been playing with Classic music, which I think is a lot better.
True story. FF2 NES was some crazy, wonky, hard shit.
FFIII may have had a ridiculous Final Boss gauntlet, but the overall game wasn't terribly hard.
FF2 had a lot of hidden mechanics and a dozen ways to screw you over.
Omega's not really that hard with some nifty Reverse/Decoy gambits. Yiazmat was just a fucking wall of HP and some silly gimmicks (like insta-kill BS and damage reduction; luckily, he's a crapton easier in IZJS).
Just finally got the 2nd set of jobs...I've also been very SLOWLY making progress due to being kinda busy.
The remastered music also sounds a bit different from the DS version. But I've been playing with Classic music, which I think is a lot better.
True story. FF2 NES was some crazy, wonky, hard shit.
FFIII may have had a ridiculous Final Boss gauntlet, but the overall game wasn't terribly hard.
FF2 had a lot of hidden mechanics and a dozen ways to screw you over.
Omega's not really that hard with some nifty Reverse/Decoy gambits. Yiazmat was just a fucking wall of HP and some silly gimmicks (like insta-kill BS and damage reduction; luckily, he's a crapton easier in IZJS).
tiggerkiddo
Member
I actually was trying to beat Omega Mark without Reverse/Decoy and...I almost did it before he turned Red and went really stupid with the damage...ouch. Seriously 8000 with one shot, not cool. I had to relent and do it the other way but it still felt dirty for doing so.