Posted: 2004-02-25 05:44am
Guess I might as well...
Here's a few mini-reviews for you guys. Don't worry, no major spoilers.
Final Fantasy Games
FFI: Great game, especially with the Final Fantasy: Origins redesign. Some of the conventions seem a little antiquated (no MP, purchasing spells) and there isn't much plot, but it is hard and a ton of fun to play.
Rating: 8
FFII: I never made it very far in this game, mostly due to the terrible level up system (which ran counter to the way I play RPG's).
Rating: N/A (Really haven't played it enough, but I hated the leveling system so take that for what it's worth)
FFIII: Never played it.
Rating: N/A
FFIV: Ahhh, here is where the fun really began. Great graphics (for the time anyways), great plot about redemption and loyalty, good characters and lots of very cool spells (including the almighty METEO!). This is where Final Fantasy really came into its own and I still pick up this game for a quick play through every now and then.
The story revolved around a Dark Knight named Cecil as he struggles with his loyalty to his king versus his own morality about what he is being ordered into doing. The story eventually grew to encompass a world-threatening situation, but there was always a mix of the epic and the personal which would define the genre for years to come.
Please note that the original SNES version had a terrible translation (damn Nintendo censorship) combined with being based on a much easier version of the game. Play the Final Fantasy Chronicles version instead.
Rating: 9
FFV: Introduced the job system, but the graphics were pretty much carried over directly from FFIV (I'm not kidding). The story was fairly weak, but you could do worse.
Rating: 6
FFVI: Wow, this game was where Square finally solidified themselves as masters of the RPG. FFVI had everything, an amazing, epic plot, a maniacal villain that you just had to both love and hate, a dynamite cast of characters, incredible graphics...I could go on and on.
The story revolved around a young soldier fleeing from the Empire that enslaved her while she attempts to come to grips with her heritage. Please note that although the story starts out centered on a single or small group of characters, this game has the largest character list of any Final Fantasy game. Fear not though, every single one of them is fleshed out in exquisite detail. Particularly memorable are the "Opera Scene" and the villain Kefka's insane laugh.
Rating: 10
FFVII: This was the game that truly took Square RPG's from their 16-bit roots into the 32-bit future. And what a glorious future it was.
FFVII was Square's attempt to make a cinematic game and they succeeded admirably. Full of high quality CG (for the time), a fully 3D world map, 3D characters on pre-rendered backdrops and a suitably epic score, FFVII was the most technologically brilliant game Square had ever produced.
The storyline was suitably epic to fit the new techno-punk style and it was quite a ride from beginning to end. By the end you would be shaking your head at all the preconceptions you had about the plot from the beginning. Without giving too much away, FFVII was the story about an ex-elite soldier named Cloud who is working as a mercenary with a group called AVALANCHE. They are a terrorist organization fighting to try to save the planet from an evil corporation whose explotation of the planetary resource "Mako" is destroying the world from within.
All in all a brilliant, epic game that has been bashed in later years for being a departure from Final Fantasy norms, but has lost none of its splendor from my perspective.
Rating: 10
FFVIII: This is the most controversial Final Fantasy game (well, besides Mystic Quest, but I'm not going there right now), perhaps unfairly so. Square wanted to follow up on the tremendous success of FFVII with another epic game, but instead of being mostly a story driven affair, they decided to go with a more serious character driven game with a love story at its core.
The characters were totally unconventional, each one of the small cast having their own laundry list of personal problems (almost as if they were real teenagers *shock*) and weren't nearly as heroic or pure as past Final Fantasy characters which is probably why they were bashed so unfairly by fans.
The battle system was also unconventional with its unique draw/junction system. Drawing could get repetitive sometimes, but no more so than level building, so it didn't interfere with gameplay too much, although it could have been more involved.
The graphics are absolutely amazing, even today. They may be low res, but the designs are fantastic, and the seamless mating of CG with realtime really brought FFVIII into a league of its own.
FFVIII has been bashed from every direction by critics, but it remains the most successful, and in my mind, the greatest of all the Final Fantasy games.
Rating: 10
FFIX: Hailed as a return to Final Fantasy roots, FFIX had everything that we loved about the classic SNES Final Fantasies. Super-deformed characters, airships, castles, Chocobos, Moogles, Black Mages, etc. It was a successful entry, but certain problems held it back from true greatness.
The storyline revolves around a thief named Zidane who is tasked with kidnapping the Princess of Alexandria while his company puts on a play in the capital. This turns out to be more complicated then it seems, and it soon spans the entire globe turning into a world saving affair (sound familiar?) involving Black Mages, Summon monsters and a strange airship...
The graphics are fantastic, though not as serious or polished as FFVIII's. Still, the main problem wasn't the graphics, story or heroes but the villain. While certainly unique, Kuja comes off more like David Bowie's Goblin King from Labyrinth then a serious villain. Also, the game didn't have quite as much originality as its two predecessors. Still, this was a great entry and worthy of carrying the Final Fantasy name.
Rating: 8
FFX: A leap forward for the Final Fantasy series in graphics, but little else. FFX followed many of the same conventions as its predecessors (not that this is a bad thing) although it introduced a few new quirks (such as the Sphere Grid and Blitzball).
The story revolves around a boy named Tidus who wakes up one day after an attack on his town to an unfamiliar world and a Summoner named Yuna. Together they travel the world trying to defeat a being named “Sin”.
The biggest problem here was that the world Square had created just wasn't as alive or as original as in past games. To make the issue worse, there is no world map, which makes the game world feel small and confined. The characters and storyline are good, but certain things are lacking and some of the final revelations are borderline nonsensical.
Still, it's fun, good looking and definitely Final Fantasy.
Rating: 8
FFX-2: A return to Spira with still no overworld map, but one of the best battle systems ever designed, a new job system and a quirky dose of girl power, FFX-2 was a remarkably effective sequel. It's not much different from Final Fantasy X in the graphics or character department, but its non-linear structure, cool mini-games and fun gameplay made it superior to FFX and a nice experiment with the Final Fantasy formula.
Rating: 9
Here's a few mini-reviews for you guys. Don't worry, no major spoilers.
Final Fantasy Games
FFI: Great game, especially with the Final Fantasy: Origins redesign. Some of the conventions seem a little antiquated (no MP, purchasing spells) and there isn't much plot, but it is hard and a ton of fun to play.
Rating: 8
FFII: I never made it very far in this game, mostly due to the terrible level up system (which ran counter to the way I play RPG's).
Rating: N/A (Really haven't played it enough, but I hated the leveling system so take that for what it's worth)
FFIII: Never played it.
Rating: N/A
FFIV: Ahhh, here is where the fun really began. Great graphics (for the time anyways), great plot about redemption and loyalty, good characters and lots of very cool spells (including the almighty METEO!). This is where Final Fantasy really came into its own and I still pick up this game for a quick play through every now and then.
The story revolved around a Dark Knight named Cecil as he struggles with his loyalty to his king versus his own morality about what he is being ordered into doing. The story eventually grew to encompass a world-threatening situation, but there was always a mix of the epic and the personal which would define the genre for years to come.
Please note that the original SNES version had a terrible translation (damn Nintendo censorship) combined with being based on a much easier version of the game. Play the Final Fantasy Chronicles version instead.
Rating: 9
FFV: Introduced the job system, but the graphics were pretty much carried over directly from FFIV (I'm not kidding). The story was fairly weak, but you could do worse.
Rating: 6
FFVI: Wow, this game was where Square finally solidified themselves as masters of the RPG. FFVI had everything, an amazing, epic plot, a maniacal villain that you just had to both love and hate, a dynamite cast of characters, incredible graphics...I could go on and on.
The story revolved around a young soldier fleeing from the Empire that enslaved her while she attempts to come to grips with her heritage. Please note that although the story starts out centered on a single or small group of characters, this game has the largest character list of any Final Fantasy game. Fear not though, every single one of them is fleshed out in exquisite detail. Particularly memorable are the "Opera Scene" and the villain Kefka's insane laugh.
Rating: 10
FFVII: This was the game that truly took Square RPG's from their 16-bit roots into the 32-bit future. And what a glorious future it was.
FFVII was Square's attempt to make a cinematic game and they succeeded admirably. Full of high quality CG (for the time), a fully 3D world map, 3D characters on pre-rendered backdrops and a suitably epic score, FFVII was the most technologically brilliant game Square had ever produced.
The storyline was suitably epic to fit the new techno-punk style and it was quite a ride from beginning to end. By the end you would be shaking your head at all the preconceptions you had about the plot from the beginning. Without giving too much away, FFVII was the story about an ex-elite soldier named Cloud who is working as a mercenary with a group called AVALANCHE. They are a terrorist organization fighting to try to save the planet from an evil corporation whose explotation of the planetary resource "Mako" is destroying the world from within.
All in all a brilliant, epic game that has been bashed in later years for being a departure from Final Fantasy norms, but has lost none of its splendor from my perspective.
Rating: 10
FFVIII: This is the most controversial Final Fantasy game (well, besides Mystic Quest, but I'm not going there right now), perhaps unfairly so. Square wanted to follow up on the tremendous success of FFVII with another epic game, but instead of being mostly a story driven affair, they decided to go with a more serious character driven game with a love story at its core.
The characters were totally unconventional, each one of the small cast having their own laundry list of personal problems (almost as if they were real teenagers *shock*) and weren't nearly as heroic or pure as past Final Fantasy characters which is probably why they were bashed so unfairly by fans.
The battle system was also unconventional with its unique draw/junction system. Drawing could get repetitive sometimes, but no more so than level building, so it didn't interfere with gameplay too much, although it could have been more involved.
The graphics are absolutely amazing, even today. They may be low res, but the designs are fantastic, and the seamless mating of CG with realtime really brought FFVIII into a league of its own.
FFVIII has been bashed from every direction by critics, but it remains the most successful, and in my mind, the greatest of all the Final Fantasy games.
Rating: 10
FFIX: Hailed as a return to Final Fantasy roots, FFIX had everything that we loved about the classic SNES Final Fantasies. Super-deformed characters, airships, castles, Chocobos, Moogles, Black Mages, etc. It was a successful entry, but certain problems held it back from true greatness.
The storyline revolves around a thief named Zidane who is tasked with kidnapping the Princess of Alexandria while his company puts on a play in the capital. This turns out to be more complicated then it seems, and it soon spans the entire globe turning into a world saving affair (sound familiar?) involving Black Mages, Summon monsters and a strange airship...
The graphics are fantastic, though not as serious or polished as FFVIII's. Still, the main problem wasn't the graphics, story or heroes but the villain. While certainly unique, Kuja comes off more like David Bowie's Goblin King from Labyrinth then a serious villain. Also, the game didn't have quite as much originality as its two predecessors. Still, this was a great entry and worthy of carrying the Final Fantasy name.
Rating: 8
FFX: A leap forward for the Final Fantasy series in graphics, but little else. FFX followed many of the same conventions as its predecessors (not that this is a bad thing) although it introduced a few new quirks (such as the Sphere Grid and Blitzball).
The story revolves around a boy named Tidus who wakes up one day after an attack on his town to an unfamiliar world and a Summoner named Yuna. Together they travel the world trying to defeat a being named “Sin”.
The biggest problem here was that the world Square had created just wasn't as alive or as original as in past games. To make the issue worse, there is no world map, which makes the game world feel small and confined. The characters and storyline are good, but certain things are lacking and some of the final revelations are borderline nonsensical.
Still, it's fun, good looking and definitely Final Fantasy.
Rating: 8
FFX-2: A return to Spira with still no overworld map, but one of the best battle systems ever designed, a new job system and a quirky dose of girl power, FFX-2 was a remarkably effective sequel. It's not much different from Final Fantasy X in the graphics or character department, but its non-linear structure, cool mini-games and fun gameplay made it superior to FFX and a nice experiment with the Final Fantasy formula.
Rating: 9
The reviews I've seen are generally very positive and since my daughter expressed interest in watching me play FFX and liked it because of the pretty graphics and female characters I thought that a game with Disney characters would be cool for her and not tedious for me to play.
I hated this game and everything about it. I hated Squall and his indifference to seemingly everything. I hated the world they were in. I HATED the junction system. I hated the fact that the monsters leveled up as you did, especially since I discovered this after spending about two hours leveling up in the training area. The GFs were spectacular, but it got boring watching them after a few times, and they seemed to be the only powerful thing you had at your disposal. Even the desperation attacks were pretty poor. I remember fighting Edea and getting my ass handed to me four times, then owning her the 5th time because she didn't use her powerful attacks. All the big battles just felt really random.
:mrgreen::mrgreen: