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Final Fantasy Community |OT| "We live not to forget our past, but to learn from it!"

Kev Kev

Member
Well it's a rainy, cold, windy and overcast day here in Daytona Beach, FL, which means it must be time for a Final Fantasy RTTP!!!



wooVF0r.jpg



Looks like @Cutty Flam just recently did an LTTP, so I'm just gonna post my updates in here instead of doing a whole new thread.

As I have done in the past with (most of) my RTTPs and LTTPs, I will make notes as I play (pausing the game and taking short breaks to jot them down while they are fresh in my mind) and I will mostly just copy and paste those notes into a post, lightly editing for readability and clarity. What that means is my opinion on the game may change/evolve over time. I may feel like I hate the game at first and love it by the end, or vice versa. I really like the idea of giving your thoughts as you play, rather than waiting all the way to the end to spit them out. Waiting till the end feels more like a review to me, and that's not what an LTTP or RTTP should be, imo. I like to read people raw reactions and see how their thoughts change over time.

Here are some old RTTPs/LTTPs of mine, if you're interested in checking them out: FFX, FFXII, FFXIII (you'll have to scroll through the thread to see my update posts as they are spread out over several pages. But there are some spicy takes in their if you like that kinda thing :messenger_tears_of_joy: )

This first update will be a bit different as I have just now decided to do this and I'm already close to Shinra HQ and about to leave Midgar. Here are my thoughts so far. Enjoy!

Update #1

Decided to finally play FF7 (OG) and man it’s like a breath of fresh air. The music, the world, NPCs with interesting (and hilarious!) dialogue, a battle system that is slow and methodical and easy, but still a ton of fun. No stress in this game, just pure joy, I’m loving this run so far.

I missed a lot of the wall market side stuff but I don’t think there was anything super useful there, just for fun side content stuff.

I was gonna go no guide but I decided to at least check a missable items guide too make sure I don’t miss any weapons/materia. Last time I played FF7 was like my definitive 100% run, but that was almost 10 years ago so I don’t remember everything. And if I don’t play this game for another 10 years, I want to make sure this is a good run.

Still not “following” the guide tho, just looking at the item run down list for the beginning of each new area. That way I know they are there, but I don’t know exactly where they are. If I feel like I can’t find it or I’m about to miss it, THEN and only then will I read the guide to see what I’m doing wrong.

It’s a fun way to play through old school FFs and ensures I don’t miss anything big. But still without reading the guide, there is probably some important steps I will miss and I’ll probably lose out on something in the game. Hopefully my memory serves me well and I can recall where to go and what to do in the right order and don’t miss much. Wish me luck!

I don’t think I’ll ever do a run as complete as my last one (I did almost everything except defeat emerald weapon), and I’m probably not going to try. If I did I would use a guide and make it a whole separate run where I try to collect one of every item and do absolutely everything. But I will save that play through for another day. I just want to enjoy this run while getting most of the important stuff.
wooVF0r.jpg


UPDATE #2

Shinra HQ

-So I took my time getting up to this point. I’ve exhausted dialogue options whenever possible, searched every area including tapping X on random spots or peculiar looking stuff. I’ve also tried to steal and sense a lot, figuring out each enemy’s weakness and stocking up on ethers, tranquilizers, ghost hands, etc. It’s been fun! I like to do slow, through play throughs, checking a guide only if I want to be sure to not pass any missable stuff. But for the most part I’ll just be exploring every inch as if I’ve never played it and enjoy it with out too much outside help.

-Almost passed floors 2 and 3 in Shinra building 🤦‍♂️ I went back down to floor 1 and headed up the stairs to find an area I’ve neve been to. In all these years, after a dozen or so play throughs and I saw a little cutscene over never seen (the one showing Shinra cars)!! Crazyness. Man I love this game.

-I opted to take the elevator because I find the stairs to be annoying. Although there is some great dialogue on the stairs segment, so I kiss that but 🤷‍♂️ who cares I’ve seen it all before

-Man, the little side games they have also by the way are great. On floor 60 you hide behind statues from guards, then signal your team after you. It’s easy, satisfying, and really fun, especially when you nail it on the first try. But still now, all these years later it’s just this fun little game within the game, and they’re all over the place in FF7. I love it.

-And here again on floor 62 with the numbered books. I don’t remember how to do these at all (in fact this might be a good time to peak at my missable items FAQ in GameFAQs). But this is great, I miss having these little puzzles all the time, FF these days are really lacking in this stuff. It really helps keep the game fun and mixes things up.

-So I had to pay for hints but I got the elemental materia which is a HUGE missable considering there are only 3 in the game. I’d hate to really want that third one in my three person party near the endgame and just be SOL. Yeah, the missable item guide is totally worth it.

-Stole 5 carbon bangles and a hard edge while in Shinra HQ 😎 my char’s will be pretty stacked for the early game, and add a bit of grinding and I’ll be unstoppable muahaha

-Even the bike mini game was fun! Way more than Remake, for sure! It’s just a better mini game, I don’t know how to explain it but they just feel like so much more fun in this game! In Remake they are just these cheap, synthetic, carbon copies that feel like simulations of the originals, and ultimately just not fun. Crazyness

-So I made it to Kalm. Stole from the monsters I encountered between Midgar and here and found some useful hi potions and ethers. I’m gonna have to farm some of those hi potions before I leave here, they are too valuable at the moment. Not gonna lie, I think I need to do a bit of grinding first, my Steal’s aren’t landing most of the time, and since your level is what mostly determines steal success (along with Dexterity) it’d be much easier in the long run if I grind a bit, not only for steal success but just to make sure I don’t die too often.

-One quick note: I asked a question about whether or not there is hidden stuff in the walls and whatnot worth finding, and I got some answers but nothing super definitive. So I’ve decided to search anything interesting looking, and if I’m feeling up to it I’ll hit all the nooks and cranny as, but no promises that shit is a time killer lol. I will however report in these notes what I found.

-And first home in kalm I searched had a closet door that looked like nothing. Searched it and bam, door opens and earned an Ether. Not crazy useful, especially since I’m actively stealing them in battles, but I fun surprise! And certainly useful.

That’s it for now! I’ll try to keep these things tight and short but it’s tough. There’s so much to comment on, especially after playing through Remake and comparing and contrasting to that. I’ll post again soon 🤘
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I started up a play through of the OG NES Final Fantasy. For some reason I thought I had played it before. Turns out I definitely haven’t. I’ve been tempted to play through the entire series for a few years now. I don’t know that I will truly hold myself to that but I can decide one game at a time.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
I started up a play through of the OG NES Final Fantasy. For some reason I thought I had played it before. Turns out I definitely haven’t. I’ve been tempted to play through the entire series for a few years now. I don’t know that I will truly hold myself to that but I can decide one game at a time.

Playing with save states? It can be quite punishing. Also the NES version has a handful of glitches.

The good news is that the game isn't that long. And there's plenty of alternative versions (PS1 which is hard and looks a little nicer; PSP which is easy and looks a lot nicer) if you care to switch.
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Playing with save states? It can be quite punishing. Also the NES version has a handful of glitches.

The good news is that the game isn't that long. And there's plenty of alternative versions (PS1 which is hard and looks a little nicer; PSP which is easy and looks a lot nicer) if you care to switch.
I am playing on hardcore mode for Retro Achievements so no save states.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Resonant Arc has been uploading their longform podcast series, this time on FFX.



Their FFVIII and FF Tactics podcasts were fantastic. So far this has gone similarly in depth. I don't agree with every little point of analysis they make, and some of it is superfluous, but overall there's interesting material here. Makes for a great driving or work podcast.
 
I'm a huge fan or Resonant Arc! Every episode is a joy to listen to -- the only podcast I'm following consistently. Usually reviews and even analysis videos don't drill down much into the details of a game like a scene, a dialogue, the direction in a cutscene, symbolism, themes, and so on.
 

DelireMan7

Member
I really like Resonant Arc channel. Watched all their Retrospective reviews.

I haven't watch their podcast on FFVIII and Xenogears because I haven't play them yet. I have started the FFX one.
It's really nice to see how they go deep on analysis and development history.
 

SlimeGooGoo

Party Gooper
I started up a play through of the OG NES Final Fantasy. For some reason I thought I had played it before. Turns out I definitely haven’t. I’ve been tempted to play through the entire series for a few years now. I don’t know that I will truly hold myself to that but I can decide one game at a time.
How is it going?
 
Interesting.

I wonder if he's a fan of Matsuno.
He definitely is, according to this interview:
So of course, I love the great game that creator Yasumi Matsuno makes. And around the time I joined the company, one of his favorite games was “Tactics Ogre.” And that had made such an impact on myself that I felt that one of these days I want to work with Matsuno-san. And to create a game together. And so I tried to work really hard to build my career in the gaming industry. But the timing didn’t match at first. Matsuno-san created “Final Fantasy XII” but by the time I joined Square Enix, Matsuno-san had already left the company.
 
It's sad that Matsuno got burned by Square Enix.
Matsuno was one of the few that knows how to write serious character (his games never had weabooish characters like FF16 has)
I find it even sadder that Matsuno hasn't produced anything noteworthy since he quit Square. Sakaguchi, despite being older, kept making games in the PS3/360/Wii era and experimented with mobile gaming up until now. I think Matsuno needs someone to re-ignite his creative drive and give him the playground where he can unleash his talent. I'm baffled that since 2012/13, after the release of Crimson Shroud, no one, at least to my knowledge, has offered him a job or a project where he can do anything he wants with a decent budget.
 

Kev Kev

Member
what are some classic FF things do you guys want in XVI?

im hoping for a really solid chocobo side game. i loved how they handled it is 7 and 9. 15 was actually alright too from what i remember. i want ones that can traverse certain terrain in large sections of the map to reach hidden areas and what not, like water chocobos, mountain chocobos, etc. they could lead to hidden dungeons, items, etc. maybe bring back chocobo racing, catching and/or breeding
 

Labadal

Member
I want them to look at XIII, and XV, and do whatever they can to not make XVI anything like them.

For what I would like: MAYBE a minigame or two. A card game, and hunts.
 

Kumomeme

Member
Interesting.

I wonder if he's a fan of Matsuno.
he is. working with Matsuno is his dream. he even invited Matsuno to work on Ivalice 24man raid content in Stormblood expansion.

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Kazutoyo Maehiro also fans of Yasumi Matsuno's writing. he used to tell about how it influence his work.
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not just them. the whole division is consist of tons of people who either used to work with Matsuno(including title like Vagrant story and Tactics Ogre), fans with him or even atleast used to work with Ivalice related game(FF12, Tactics etc). Yasumi Matsuno has good relationship with the devs team too.

EwlD-GkWEAIliwo
 
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what are some classic FF things do you guys want in XVI?

im hoping for a really solid chocobo side game. i loved how they handled it is 7 and 9. 15 was actually alright too from what i remember. i want ones that can traverse certain terrain in large sections of the map to reach hidden areas and what not, like water chocobos, mountain chocobos, etc. they could lead to hidden dungeons, items, etc. maybe bring back chocobo racing, catching and/or breeding
I want a party, not just Clive.

I also want to fly an airship. Not holding my breath for it though.

Also I want there to be plenty of different cities to visit. FFXV had too few cities. XIII had none.
 

Kev Kev

Member
I'm replaying FF15 for the first time since release, and I'm sorry guys but I really like this game.

It's flawed, has terrible flow/direction, the narrative is a confusing mess, the cut scenes feel misplaced and unfinished, the battle could have been infinitely better with a few simple tweaks, and so, so, so many more complaints... but god damn if this gameplay loop isn't fun as hell, and Final Fantasy as fuck.

I'm 20 hours in and I just now left the desert. I feel like the world just opened up and I'm going to explore the forest, water areas, mountains and hillsides, and more. It feels adventurous and liberates you to truly explore a beautiful world. There is always something to find, enemies to fight, places to fish, hunts to clean up, caves to plunder, chocobo racing and riding to do, ingredients to find and more.

At night time I head back into town or find somewhere to camp outside. Then I cook some food, maybe do some tranining, maybe have a short talk with one of "the bro's" (I actually hate calling them that lol), and perhaps an extra side mission at dawn. Then I buy, sell, craft, work on my skill tree, swap gear, upgrade weapons with Cid, etc., and head back out for another day.

And everything from the beasts, to the weapons, items, skill and NPCs, really feels like FF to me. That's hard to explain, but it undoubtedly taps into that exciting and adventurous feeling with me every time I play it, and contains all the "FF Things" that you see in every FF game. It all feels very FF and very familiar, despite the glaring flaws.

I'm having a blast!

Again, FF15 is wildly flawed, and easily one fo the worst FF games, imo. But this gameplay loop is genuinely fun and I'm only 1/3 of the way through the game. It feels adventurous, like I'm going on a journey, which is something I feel as been missing from FF since the PS1 generation. If you can get past the flaws, there is a lot to enjoy here.

I'm looking forward to taking my time with FF15 this time around. I think I rushed through it on my first play through. Oh and I'm gonna watch that anime and the other CG thing! I saw them both once and they were really well done.
 

Kev Kev

Member
Christ, FF15 is a mess lol. But when it’s just the four characters, the Regalia and the open world, I genuinely like it. I’m having fun doing all the things, leveling up, finding tombs, fishing, doing hunts and more. It’s just everything else that is a train wreck, and the story is just bananas. I have no idea what’s going on lol. 60 hours in and if I’m still digging it I’ll put another 60 hours doing all the hunts, quests and other end game stuff.
 
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Kev Kev

Member
The part where he wipes my entire party with a single move
Lol, yep that’s the FFX I remember. Happens a lot with the end game bosses too. Very frustrating 🤬. I’m usually a purist but I have no issues looking strategies for FFX bosses bc so many of them have one-hit, party killing moves.
 

NahaNago

Member
Christ, FF15 is a mess lol. But when it’s just the four characters, the Regalia and the open world, I genuinely like it. I’m having fun doing all the things, leveling up, finding tombs, fishing, doing hunts and more. It’s just everything else that is a train wreck, and the story is just bananas. I have no idea what’s going on lol. 60 hours in and if I’m still digging it I’ll put another 60 hours doing all the hunts, quests and other end game stuff.
Yeah, I loved the interaction between the characters and the drive and camping. I kinda wish that was pretty much the whole game of them just going on a road trip. I would have liked them to just auto generate a massive like continent and just plopped monsters all over with a few key areas for folks to visit along the way and fighting the main boss at the end. I didn't even finish the game. I think I ended up stopping somewhere a little after that sea city. I'll try and finish the game before the end of next month since I'm focusing on my studies right now.
 
And just when there's talking about FFXV, this video pops up...


I personally like the game. It leaked into the street before the official release day, so I even managed to play it before then (without any patch, not a recommended experience) and ended up getting the Platinum on PS4. Not in my Top 5, but a fun game nonetheless.
 
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Oh, and sorry for double-posting, but ProJared released his FFXII video a few days ago. It'll be fun to watch him play FFXIII (unless he ignores it and jumps directly into his FFXIV review):

 

Celcius

°Temp. member
I'm replaying FF15 for the first time since release, and I'm sorry guys but I really like this game.

It's flawed, has terrible flow/direction, the narrative is a confusing mess, the cut scenes feel misplaced and unfinished, the battle could have been infinitely better with a few simple tweaks, and so, so, so many more complaints... but god damn if this gameplay loop isn't fun as hell, and Final Fantasy as fuck.

I'm 20 hours in and I just now left the desert. I feel like the world just opened up and I'm going to explore the forest, water areas, mountains and hillsides, and more. It feels adventurous and liberates you to truly explore a beautiful world. There is always something to find, enemies to fight, places to fish, hunts to clean up, caves to plunder, chocobo racing and riding to do, ingredients to find and more.

At night time I head back into town or find somewhere to camp outside. Then I cook some food, maybe do some tranining, maybe have a short talk with one of "the bro's" (I actually hate calling them that lol), and perhaps an extra side mission at dawn. Then I buy, sell, craft, work on my skill tree, swap gear, upgrade weapons with Cid, etc., and head back out for another day.

And everything from the beasts, to the weapons, items, skill and NPCs, really feels like FF to me. That's hard to explain, but it undoubtedly taps into that exciting and adventurous feeling with me every time I play it, and contains all the "FF Things" that you see in every FF game. It all feels very FF and very familiar, despite the glaring flaws.

I'm having a blast!

Again, FF15 is wildly flawed, and easily one fo the worst FF games, imo. But this gameplay loop is genuinely fun and I'm only 1/3 of the way through the game. It feels adventurous, like I'm going on a journey, which is something I feel as been missing from FF since the PS1 generation. If you can get past the flaws, there is a lot to enjoy here.

I'm looking forward to taking my time with FF15 this time around. I think I rushed through it on my first play through. Oh and I'm gonna watch that anime and the other CG thing! I saw them both once and they were really well done.
Maybe an unpopular opinion but FF15 is my 3rd favorite FF game.

1. FF7 and FF7 Remake
2. FF14
3. FF15
4. FF Tactics
5. FF6

that's my top 5
 

Kev Kev

Member
Maybe an unpopular opinion but FF15 is my 3rd favorite FF game.

1. FF7 and FF7 Remake
2. FF14
3. FF15
4. FF Tactics
5. FF6

that's my top 5
I wound up putting 150+ hours into FF15 and really enjoyed it more this time around. Not that I didn’t the first time, it was just better this time.

I did all the hunts, all the dungeons except the last 2 Menace dungeons, all of the quests minus a few insignificant ones, didn’t do all the meals or fishing because it was just tedious and far too time consuming (they really should have cut the fishing content in half, it’s just ridiculous), all the chocobo races, all driving races, got all the ultimate weapons, all Armiger weapons, acquired most of the best gear in the game, maxed all tech skills, upgraded all Cid weapons, found all cactuar statues, and more.

And that’s all before touching DLC, which I got with the version I bought. I’ll probably go back and play them some day.

There are something here and there that I didn’t bother with, like the gambling colliseum in Altissia. I’m sure I could have looked up a guide and knocked into it, but it just seemed time consuming and annoying. I also didn’t stay at every single camp spot, hotel and RV spot for the morning side missions with the bros. Again it just seemed tedious and something I didn’t need.

And even after all that I’m still think about going back and just exploring the world more and checking if there’s any Easter eggs or secrets I missed.

It was genuinely one of the more enjoyable FF experiences I’ve had. It’s just that the game doesn’t really open up until your like 40 hours in. And even then, for me it was more like 80 hours in where I thought things REALLY started to open up and the world felt alive and conquerable. Before maxing out chocobos and fishing all the outposts/parking spots, it incredibly tedious and annoying to traverse the map. And even after doing those things, there is an efficient way to travel that is specific, and if you don’t figure that out you’re going to be wasting a lot of time driving.

At about 120 hours, I really felt like I had conquered the world, I felt powerful, I felt like I was finally mastering the controls and the game mechanics, etc. But most people aren’t going to play that many hours, so I genuinely feel the game is good but it suffers from extremely poor pacing, among lots of other stuff.

But if you can manage to hang in there and just have fun with the gameplay loop, it really opens up and gets better and better ever 30-40 hours it honestly feels a lot more like a single player game with and MMO setup. Like it’s meant for you to come back to it for months at a time. Not just be a 50 hour campaign.

There are tons of other issues with it, but I’m sure we’ve all heard those complaints so I’ll refrain. But man, what a hell of a ride that was. I’m really glad I went back and gave it the time. I had a blast and I still contend FF15 was a step in the right direction for the series, even if it’s very flawed.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
I played the original FF7 on PS1 and still have all of my saves on memory card which have been copied to my PS3. However, I see that the game is currently on sale on all major platforms. Should I buy the original PS1 version on PS3? or the Switch or Steam or PS4 version? Looks like the Steam version requires some kind of account or registration? Is the Switch version not 1080p (though I'd be playing portable mode anyway). Does the Switch version have any crashing issues? Will running the ps1 version on ps3 have bad input lag issues? Did the ps4 music bug get fixed?

Or are they all great ports and there's no wrong answer?
 

Mopey bloke

Member
Well, do you still have the original PSX discs? If so, play on PS3.

Get the Steam version if you will mod the game, Reunion mod. It's a fan localisation + bugfixes and other optional enhancements. Otherwise, you can also mod the PS1 game with the new translation and some bugfixes. You can find both on ff7.live Then you'd have to play on emulator. The Steam version does require account registration, but I think you can download an exe that'll just bypass that from PCGamingWiki. I really haven't thought about the registration in years. I wonder if they removed it.

The modern console versions are equivalent, and the music bug is fixed. If you want a vanilla experience, the PSX version is probably still the best way to play as there is no good replacement for their responsive 60 FPS battle windows, and all modern consoles versions will be derived of the old PC port and that wasn't a good port. It has missing effects and worse frame rate in combat.

The ports aren't awful though. They're all an acceptable experience.

You may want to watch this video to hear differences between the versions.
 
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DonkeyPunchJr

World’s Biggest Weeb
Just gotta share some of the crazy shit OpenAI made. This thing is like the ultimate copypasta machine:

It was a typical day at school when the bullies decided to target me. They had always teased me for my love of video games, but this time they were targeting my favorite game - Final Fantasy XIII.

"Hey, nerdy boy, still playing that lame game? Why don't you get a life?" they taunted, pushing me against the lockers.

I tried to ignore them, but their jeers only grew louder. I knew I had to do something before it escalated any further.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to the bullies and stood tall. "Actually, I happen to be an expert on Japanese culture, and Final Fantasy XIII is a masterpiece of storytelling and artwork," I said confidently.

The bullies sneered, not expecting my response. But I wasn't finished yet. I began to demonstrate some martial arts poses I had learned, showing off my strength and agility.

The bullies' eyes widened in fear as I moved with precision and grace. They looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.

"Please, we're sorry!" they begged, falling to their knees.

A large crowd of onlookers had gathered, clapping and cheering for me. I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment as I stood victorious.

From that day on, the bullies never dared to bother me again. My love for Final Fantasy XIII and my knowledge of Japanese culture had earned me the respect and admiration of my peers. It was a moment I would never forget.
 

DonkeyPunchJr

World’s Biggest Weeb
Ok one more:

I was walking through the school courtyard when I heard a group of jocks snickering and laughing. As I approached, I saw them gathered around a phone, watching the infamous Tidus laughing scene from Final Fantasy X.

"What a loser," one of them sneered. "He's supposed to be the main character and he can't even keep a straight face."

I couldn't believe my ears. These guys had no idea what they were talking about. I had to do something.

I marched over to the group and stood tall. "You guys simply don't understand Japanese culture," I explained. "In Japan, laughter is seen as a sign of honesty and vulnerability. It's a way of showing genuine emotion."

The jocks looked at me with disbelief. "Oh please, you think you're some kind of expert just because you play video games?" one of them sneered.

I wasn't going to back down. I picked up a nearby broomstick and demonstrated my polearm skills, twirling and spinning the broom with ease.

The jocks' jaws dropped as they watched in amazement. "Please, we're sorry!" they begged, falling to their knees. "We promise to educate ourselves on Japanese culture."

A large crowd of onlookers had gathered, clapping and cheering for me. I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment as I stood victorious.

From that day on, the jocks never dared to make fun of Japanese culture again. They even asked me for recommendations on other games and anime to watch, eager to learn more about the rich and diverse culture of Japan. It was a moment I would never forget.
 
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