I managed to buy the game through the SE Market just fine, so I'm playing on my Galaxy Nexus instead of my iPad. Truth be told, with the screen size, I find the controls to be just fine for movement. If it's like this on the iPhone, I'm surprised anybody had any complaints. I don't even feel like I have that much worse control than with a dpad in a 2D RPG like this. It was another story entirely on the larger iPad screen, of course!
At any rate, I'm in chapter 1 still and I'm having a good time. The music is just so incredible. I love Mizuta so much, and I wish he got more projects at SE. Balance-wise, it seems way better than After Years, and dungeon design also seems dramatically better, which is great. I hope to unlock the job system soon, and see whether the strange limitations I've heard about end up bothering me or not.
Oh wow, you haven't gotten jobs yet? If you like FF5, you'll love it. And yes the music is awesome. Mizuta has been getting a lot more work lately though no? Since he's done with FFXI.
Well you seem to gain JP really quickly later on even if the total in the game is restricted. I'm in the bard sub chapter right now and my character have all around 10JP in stock since I don't spend them all at once but only when required. I do hate the fact that advanced jobs are restricted to either the warriors of light or of darkness.
As for what I think about the game so far:
While I do think the game feels really cheap, it is quite enjoyable so far. I think it's a good game for the FF 25th anniversary as the game itself is like an homage to past FF games. If you've played most of the classic FF (I to VI) you will recognize many events and cameos from these games.
Some examples (spoilers)
-You need to find dragon grass to heal a dragon and the grass is surrounded by flowers that damage your team.
-The elf king sacrifice himself like Tellah in FFIV in a 1 on 1 battle against a bad guy but instead of using the meteor spell, he uses some kind of ultimate bow skills. Oh and he also had forgotten all of these skills before
-You end up beating up a bunch of pirates that were plaguing the pub in a town
-There are 4 elemental fiends like in FFIV. They are humanoids and talk and one of them heal you to full health before you face him just like Rubicante did in that game.
-There's a temporary party member that is a bard... and named Eduardo!
-There is even a joke about Cloud and Aeris in the game
Another good thing is while each chapters take place in self contained area, you eventually get to a part where "rifts" open and can teleport you to previous regions you visited so you can go back to previous era and explore if you missed a summon or want to try a side dungeon you were to weak to explore before.
I have to say that the game isn't very challenging so far. Indeed, random encounters are often more challenging than the boss battles. It might eventually becomes much harder later on though.
As for the jobs. So far it's hard to gauge which ones are great and which aren't as each job has 20 level to master and you acquire job one at a time after the initial set. Right now I do feel like the summoners are gimped since the summons aren't shared by both team and they are spread across both world. The warriors of light will get Ramuh while the warriors of Darkness get Titan and so on. It's not very good for strategies since you can't have all elements at the same time. Both lists will probably merge when the teams meet each other but so far it's not a very interesting job.
So what's the deal with SMN? How do you get new summons? Is it a find them deal like past games or is dependent upon job level? I'm asking because I don't want to spend JP on raising the SMN level if there's no point to it currently.
You have to find them. You start with Sylph and you have to find the rest. They are not really hard to find so far. People in town generally gives you hints like saying there are frequent thunderstorms in cave near the village or that earthquake are frequen in another cave
I'm really on the fence for this one. I'm a sucker for 16-bit Final Fantasy and this game does a good job of replicating the feel of FFV. It's super generic and the graphics and design are very plain and lifeless, but I don't mind that much. The music, on the other hand, is awesome.
I have developed a hatred for touch controls and this game is no exception. It gives me cramps after playing on my iPhone, like most other iPhone games. It's not unplayable, but there's not a single moment where I'm not wishing I could play this with a controller instead.
But I said it before and I say it again: $30 for this is insane. It's absolutely batshit crazy. It's old lady dancing in her underoos while rubbing herself with peanut butter crazy. This is probably the most expensive game on the App Store and by a fair margin. Square was pretty devious to split the game up and sell it piecemeal. I don't know if this happens in other platforms, but on iPhone the text is broken up in a really obnoxious way, like this:
"Warriors of destiny, please save the cr
ystal from the evil that has befallen o
ur land."
This looks so laughably amateurish it makes the $30 price tag even more surreal.
Alright, yesterday I was about to write the whole game off solely because of the controls. Today I decided to give it another shot.
I found that simply putting the iPad in my lap and controlling the game exclusively with my index fingers is a massive improvement over using my thumbs. Using thumbs the virtual dpad was borderline unplayable. Now the game has a chance.
So this is only 4 chapters right? Even if I wasn't so impressed by the prologue I still want the game because of how the battle theme rubs me the good way (and promise of job system). Thankfully I don't even have to pay for it due to some coupons I can use for Itunes store cash or I would not consider it. Then again I shouldn't support Square Enix ridiculous price. But there are not that many classic Final Fantasy games out there. Need some more impressions!
I'm not really following. I don't understand the point of using the job system, which lets you change jobs any time you want, but then require you to make permanent decisions that affect job growth for each individual character. It really, really does not jibe with the philosophy of the job system itself.
you had to figure out how to open the secret passage in the castle, it was very VN-y
.
I wanted to go about doing each chapter's challenge dungeon as soon as I finished them but apparently the first one had its challenge dungeon removed...
Oh well :/
Well you seem to gain JP really quickly later on even if the total in the game is restricted. I'm in the bard sub chapter right now and my character have all around 10JP in stock since I don't spend them all at once but only when required. I do hate the fact that advanced jobs are restricted to either the warriors of light or of darkness.
As for what I think about the game so far:
While I do think the game feels really cheap, it is quite enjoyable so far. I think it's a good game for the FF 25th anniversary as the game itself is like an homage to past FF games. If you've played most of the classic FF (I to VI) you will recognize many events and cameos from these games.
Some examples (spoilers)
-You need to find dragon grass to heal a dragon and the grass is surrounded by flowers that damage your team.
-The elf king sacrifice himself like Tellah in FFIV in a 1 on 1 battle against a bad guy but instead of using the meteor spell, he uses some kind of ultimate bow skills. Oh and he also had forgotten all of these skills before
-You end up beating up a bunch of pirates that were plaguing the pub in a town
-There are 4 elemental fiends like in FFIV. They are humanoids and talk and one of them heal you to full health before you face him just like Rubicante did in that game.
-There's a temporary party member that is a bard... and named Eduardo!
-There is even a joke about Cloud and Aeris in the game
Another good thing is while each chapters take place in self contained area, you eventually get to a part where "rifts" open and can teleport you to previous regions you visited so you can go back to previous era and explore if you missed a summon or want to try a side dungeon you were to weak to explore before.
I have to say that the game isn't very challenging so far. Indeed, random encounters are often more challenging than the boss battles. It might eventually becomes much harder later on though.
As for the jobs. So far it's hard to gauge which ones are great and which aren't as each job has 20 level to master and you acquire job one at a time after the initial set. Right now I do feel like the summoners are gimped since the summons aren't shared by both team and they are spread across both world. The warriors of light will get Ramuh while the warriors of Darkness get Titan and so on. It's not very good for strategies since you can't have all elements at the same time. Both lists will probably merge when the teams meet each other but so far it's not a very interesting job.
You have to find them. You start with Sylph and you have to find the rest. They are not really hard to find so far. People in town generally gives you hints like saying there are frequent thunderstorms in cave near the village or that earthquake are frequen in another cave
When you hijack the warship and it ends up crashing in the forest... It was all very similar to FFIX's beginning when the Prima Vista crashes on the Evil Forest.
Good catch. Yes, it was actually set to Spanish. Changing it to English fixed it:
I wonder why this happens. Probably has to do with changes in text formatting or spacing system-wide when switching languages, but I'd never seen affect an App in this way before.
There's no way they were going to match the quality of games from that era with a game put together in the mobile division. FF4, 5, 6 all had the major backing of Squaresoft because they were first-tier projects for the company. It's just not realistic to expect anything like that with this game, honestly.
That's a question I often asked myself these past few years. You say that expecting 'legendary FF' quality is unrealistic nowadays, and while I can't say otherwise based on what Squeenix has released, let's say on mobile devices, I must ask : why ? (._. ')
I mean, the budget of games like FF4-6, and even 7-9, must be nothing to the money-sink next gen games are. What element do I miss in the equation ? Surely Square still has the talents needed, why is it that when talking about Square production you must choose between AAA on home consoles and subpar on mobile ? (their handheld output is another thing)
Why can't we expect from them let's say FF6-7 quality on mobile ?
I'm not discussing FF Dimensions here, the game maybe have great merits and I plan to play it once I will have another hardware than an ipad 1 crash-machine.
That's a question I often asked myself these past few years. You say that expecting 'legendary FF' quality is unrealistic nowadays, and while I can't say otherwise based on what Squeenix has released, let's say on mobile devices, I must ask : why ? (._. ')
I mean, the budget of games like FF4-6, and even 7-9, must be nothing to the money-sink next gen games are. What element do I miss in the equation ? Surely Square still has the talents needed, why is it that when talking about Square production you must choose between AAA on home consoles and subpar on mobile ? (their handheld output is another thing)
Why can't we expect from them let's say FF6-7 quality on mobile ?
I'm not discussing FF Dimensions here, the game maybe have great merits and I plan to play it once I will have another hardware than an ipad 1 crash-machine.
Chapter 2 is really long. I'm now in the dark knight part and it's still the second chapter. I've finally been able to go back to the dragoon village and defeat the monsters in the chests in the hidden cave. You get a pretty nice ring that gives you auto protect when equipped.
I'm still in chapter 1 - just got through Lienn castle - but I am honest to goodness having a great time. I've "maxed" half of the jobs on each character so far, though, and haven't gotten any JP yet (I haven't missed any, have I?).
I'm still in chapter 1 - just got through Lienn castle - but I am honest to goodness having a great time. I've "maxed" half of the jobs on each character so far, though, and haven't gotten any JP yet (I haven't missed any, have I?).
According to the JP wiki for the original game they are in the challenge dungeons but I don't think they are in this version so far. I've yet to find a challenge dungeon...
Just curious to those who are playing the game. Is chapter 1 (or following chapters) much better than prologue or it is similar in quality? and do the generic characters ever get goofy or silly? Because despite the cliched characters the Final Fantasy games always had silly characters. Which is one thing I have liked about the games opposed to other RPGS.
Yeah, I'm in the second sub chapter of Chapter 2, and this game will definitely be a 40 hour affair unless the later chapers are shorter, which seems doubtful considering they still have a lot of sub chapters each. If you were to, say, gauge a game on a dollar per hour basis, then this game seems like it will deliver and more.
And like Aeana, I'm having a great time. Feels good to experience an old school FF game with a job system. Kudos Square.
Yeah, I'm in the second sub chapter of Chapter 2, and this game will definitely be a 40 hour affair unless the later chapers are shorter, which seems doubtful considering they still have a lot of sub chapters each. If you were to, say, gauge a game on a dollar per hour basis, then this game seems like it will deliver and more.
And like Aeana, I'm having a great time. Feels good to experience an old school FF game with a job system. Kudos Square.
It's also worth noting the game seems pretty balanced. Enemies are challenging but not completely over bearing like in TAY (not to mention the fact that not every battle is a back attack). Bosses are also quite tough. The last boss I faced could do two attacks in a row and attack pretty fast too. Slow is basically imperative to survival. Think 4 DS. If you don't cast Slow bosses can easily overwhelm you. The last boss I faced had a ton of HP too, I used quite a few 500+ damage attacks among many other attacks before it finally went down. Protect is also very useful.
It's also worth noting the game seems pretty balanced. Enemies are challenging but not completely over bearing like in TAY (not to mention the fact that not every battle is a back attack). Bosses are also quite tough. The last boss I faced could do two attacks in a row and attack pretty fast too. Slow is basically imperative to survival. Think 4 DS. If you don't cast Slow bosses can easily overwhelm you. The last boss I faced had a ton of HP too, I used quite a few 500+ damage attacks among many other attacks before it finally went down. Protect is also very useful.
Yep. If TAY and 4 DS taught me anything, is that you need to get Slow on a boss, an protect/Shell on yourself ASAP.
ALso, I like how there is a visual indicator on when status effects are about to wear off. I think I notice on bosses that they start to blink faster when slow is about to wear off, and the status icon next to your names starts to blink when your buffs are beginning to wear off.
I was reading some reviews, and a common complaint seems to be that music is reused from older FF games.
I don't know what to say about that. It's certainly kind of an insult to Mizuta for his amazing work, that's for sure. It's all original besides the prelude. Even the chocobo arrangement is unique.
According to the JP wiki for the original game they are in the challenge dungeons but I don't think they are in this version so far. I've yet to find a challenge dungeon...
Well, they removed the first challenge dungeon. To get to the others (if they are in this version) you have to talk to moogles scattered across the world.
I was reading some reviews, and a common complaint seems to be that music is reused from older FF games.
I don't know what to say about that. It's certainly kind of an insult to Mizuta for his amazing work, that's for sure. It's all original besides the prelude. Even the chocobo arrangement is unique.
WHAT? That's so insulting. Not only is it all original, but the soundtrack is shaping up to be able to stand among the best of the series. What a shame.
Also I had no idea there were supposed to be challenge dungeons but I've encountered none so far. There was a secret passage in Deist in the Dragoon chapter where a moogle tells you that you should come back later when you're stronger, so I dont know if that is it or it's something else. Wonder why they'd remove them.
WHAT? That's so insulting. Not only is it all original, but the soundtrack is shaping up to be able to stand among the best of the series. What a shame.
Also I had no idea there were supposed to be challenge dungeons but I've encountered none so far. There was a secret passage in Deist in the Dragoon chapter where a moogle tells you that you should come back later when you're stronger, so I dont know if that is it or it's something else. Wonder why they'd remove them.
No I did this part. There are two chests inside and the treasures are a Sleep blade and a Protect bangle. I don't think the challenge dungeons are in.
In the original you could save your game after clearing an episode and load that. You would talk to the moogle like you would take to Namingway in TAY.
No I did this part. There are two chests inside and the treasures are a Sleep blade and a Protect bangle. I don't think the challenge dungeons are in.
In the original you could save your game after clearing an episode and load that. You would talk to the moogle like you would take to Namingway in TAY.
So... I broke and purchased Chapter 2 today after finishing up Chapter 1 last night. I am enjoying it, but I do agree with Aeana that the restrictions on the job leveling system are a bit unnecessary.
The music is great. The encounter rate isn't much of a problem, except for the damn Cait Sith and confusion in the first dungeon of Chapter 2.
I like all of the name drops from previous Final Fantasy titles, such as Braska, Lux, Diest, etc.
Back with my original party in chapter 2! Gotta say, this game has almost perfect balance. I'm always struggling with encounters but never actually die. The Ranger quest boss got me but only barely, and once I stopped relying exclusively on Sylph I had little trouble.
Just did a neat FF1 throwback. Really enjoying it. Disappointed that you have to be in a high-leveled class in order to get a new ability slot, but I guess even that makes sense. Job system seems really focused on building one character up high instead of getting a balance of multiple abilities.
Anyway I finished the second sub chapter and I have to say, the last area of the chapter was gorgeous. The boss wasn't hard so much as annoying due to status effects. I still owned him though. Now I'm in the third sub chapter. Love this game.
You need your characters to have more than 1000 HP because when you kill those avengers they cast quake. Treasures aren't that great anyway. A sleep blade and a protect bangle.
Made it to the casino and man the prizes are expensive :S
Balance-wise, it seems way better than After Years, and dungeon design also seems dramatically better, which is great. I hope to unlock the job system soon, and see whether the strange limitations I've heard about end up bothering me or not.
