I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change....

[Wolf Kanno]

So a few years ago, I made this little thread (http://forums.eyesonff.com/general-final-fantasy/107928-i-love-you-but.html). I just rediscovered it while I was tome hunting in the forum backlogs and thought it would be kind of neat to dust it off and make a new version of the thread.

The rules are simple:


All right, here's an interesting idea I thought of to offer and interesting introspect of the series. Name your favorite FF(s) and list things you would honestly change about them. Deep down we know that no game is perfect and even our personal favorite gems may have a few flaws we overlook cause we love them so much and the rest was so damn awsome.

Of course, in order to limit stupid fan answers, I'm setting up ground rules.
1) No stupid answers like "The only flaw with FFVII is that it ended! I could have played it forever! Clouds my stud! Wheee!!!"

2) No pretentious answers like "The only problem with FFVI is that it was so perfect it makes every RPG before and after irrelevant! Bow before the greatness of 16-bit superiority!"

3) You cannot wish that other characters appeared in the game. "Squall, totally should have been in FFIX!" Also, on a similiar note, you cannot wish for sequels or side stories or spinoffs...

4) Please be respectful to others opinions when commenting on their views.

5) Lunarweaver can't say he wishes Tidus was real ;) Also any answer of a similiar meaning is outlawed. (That means you Goldenboko...)


So basically say what you would change to make your favorite FFs even better or maybe even change what you felt would make the games you don't care for more desirable.

[kotora]

I'd expand more on FF7s story and world. The setup was great but it lacked in execution.

Also FF8 needs some reworking on the story. I don't like how Ultimecia swooped in and hijacked the story at the last minute.

[Darkwolf090]

As for FFIV I love it alot, but I wish that well first off that more then just Tellah died, would of been more meaning full, uh other then that im having some issues of what else to add to it or change.... maybe that you end up with 3 different airships that you need one for its own reason and the other two cant do that, like the hover craft hook and such, gets a kinda old of land and changing airships all the damn time but im a grinder and a 100% must get kind of person.

More detail into the 4 Fiends but I think they do that in After Years I havent played it yet, they just kinda show up and go "Oooo Im evil and I love Golbez so I must kill you! Rawr!" (Not that its bad to love Golbez...)

[Shaibana]

FFXIII:
id better could have been shorter, of have more story. becaus at some parts ur just walking for an hour to the nxt piece of story. wich at some points started to anoy me.
also the upgrades on the weapons could have been better thought through, i didnt see any structure in it.

Edit: ow ya.. and the bosses take way too long (or thats just me, haha!!)

[Loony BoB]

FFV could have had a better villain. A tree? Really?

FFVII could have had more interesting dungeons. Too many mountains, caves, craters and old buildings for my liking - basically what I refer to as 'the rocky, dull-coloured, boring parts'. It would have been nice to see some more open dungeons such as forests etc. I know there is the Ancient Forest, but that seems to me to be about it.

FFVIII could have been harder. You should never have the option of becoming invincible for almost the entire boss battle.

FFXII could have really benefited from something like FFXIII's datalogs. I lost track of the storyline too often.

FFXIII could have had a bit more exploration going on when it comes to discovering the rest of the human-less world.

[cloud_doll]

FFVIII - Seriously, change the fact that they were from the same orphanage. Idk that just really bothered me.

FFXII - They shouldn't give you the option to skip over the story bits. In the other games you had to watch the clips so for the most part you knew what was going on. In XII I skipped over everything then lost the story. I know, I know, then I shouldn't have skipped over them! But I just can't have the option. I have to be forced into the story.

[Jiro]

I'd expand more on FF7s story and world. The setup was great but it lacked in execution.

Also FF8 needs some reworking on the story. I don't like how Ultimecia swooped in and hijacked the story at the last minute.

This.

[Depression Moon]

Final Fantasy IX: Allowed trance to be stored so it won't be wasted when it's triggered by a weak random enemy, but doesn't even get used because another character was already preparing for an attack when that character was in trance. The game could've been a little bit more difficult.

[blackmage_nuke]

FF6: weaken the overpowered characters to make the game less cheap (and power up some characters with crappy skills). Examples I can think of; I would make Blitz require MP, Tools either be 1 use per battle or have some kind of ammo system, Runic work on every magic spell, Gau would be able to leap an enemy outside the veldt but it works in a final blow sort of way like morphing monsters to items in FFVII (the veldt would still be available as is incase you missed out on a monster or boss). I would either leave swordtech as is or make cyan a dark knight like character which allows him to pick whichever swordtech he wants but he spends hp to use it. And have the moves that are damage OR instant kill inflict damage even when the instant kill is activated since so many monsters are imune to it (particularly Cyan's Swordtech and chainsaw). I cant think of a way to power up Morph so I would use it more, maybe make it last until you deactivate it, but it drains mp every turn, and it allows terra to summon any esper I have already collected or any esper that is not currently equiped.
Also either add some kind of emotional scene for reviving Cid or make it compulsory that he dies.

FFIX: remove necron

off the top of my head for all games FFVII and later: Reintroduce the Geomancer class.

[Vermachtnis]

V Advance: In the post-game, bring back everything from the void. And have a place in the bonus dungeon that leads there for the people that wanna go back. Also have the forked tower monsters show up someplace else for the OCD people who need 100%.

I: I wanna female Black Belt option

IV DS: Why only four New Game+? And why did you take out the Lunar Dungeon and party swapping from Advance?

VIII: In the final dungeon we should be able to play as Edea and Seifer and maybe Raijin and Fuujin. Not just give them to us either, give us a side quest to get them with the Ragnarok.

Every Final Fantasy: Alternate Costumes

[Flying Arrow]

VII.

- Difficulty: I love the combat and customization systems but wish the game would hit a bit harder, generally. There are occasionally some difficulty spikes, but they are few and far between. Maybe I'm just too good at the game.

- Translation: The game as it exists has some utterly shameful dialogue. Someone with some writing skill and aesthetic sense should really do a re-translation mod or something. (I secretly wish I had the time and resources to do it myself.)

- Out-of-place mini-games: The motorcycle bit is fine, but snowboarding and submarining can drown under a frozen lake.

- Characters: I generally like all the characters, but the Cait Sith scenario is outright stupid. I understand and appreciate the Reeve twist, but... a giant moogle doll?

- Villains: Again, I generally like all the villains, too, but wish certain ones played larger roles. Shinra could have been a bit less moustache-twirly and Jenova should have been a more prominent element of the endgame.

[Hot Shot]

II: Give the characters more personality and they should have had a bit mor character interaction.

V: Give Krile more of a backstory. And they should have made the side-quests have a bit of a plot (Like the Wutai side-quest in VII)

VI: Make all the characters abilities more balanced.

VIII: Scrap the Junctioning system. It was the worst ever.

IX: We should have more control over when we use trance.

X: Should have had an ATB system.

[Wolf Kanno]

FFI: Probably just re-balance the Thief and Master Monk, cause one is useless and the other is really not much of an upgrade.

FFII: I wish that weapons granted more diversity. Beyond a few of them affecting your stat growth, there is really no reason to ever use some of them. Lances are the major ones, they offer nothing that another weapon can't do better. I also wish that leveling magic was easier cause its the most time consuming thing to level up in the game and yet the game makes having them important.

FFIII: The Caller class needs to be rebalanced cause it's probably one of the more useless classes. I wish Xande had more of a physical presence in the story. While I'm a bit understanding about an Eldritch Abomination from Beyond being just a named whispered by the scared locals it's another when it's a powerful human type character. He's got a sympathetic backstory and a legion of demons, so what, it didn't change me from dropping him like he was another nobody boss. There are reasons why he's overlooked.

FFIV: For the most part, I'm pretty happy with the original FFIV with its high difficulty and it's predetermined party set-ups. All the new elements that the GBA port and DS remake added were nice but I feel they change the original experience too greatly and I can't help but feel like they are just catering to new fans who can't appreciate the way the game was.

With that said, the one thing I wish was added was more of the supplement material. Reading the Settai Shiryou Hen (Japanese Character guide) for the game, there is a ton of character information that is missing and world history that is never shown in the game and I found it all to be fascinating. The origins of Mysidia, the history behind the Deathbringer, not to mention the family history of Kain, Roda, and Cecil add a decent amount of depth to the game. The love triangle is far more complex when you learn about Rosa's family and Kain's family are actually close together politically and that Cecil is an outcast cause of his unknown and assumed non-noble heritage. Granted, they don't change the story very much but it does change some context that makes the game interesting to me at least.

FFV: If there ever was a game that needed more elaboration on its backstory it's FFV. I love the game, but even I can't deny it's plot sometimes feels a bit random... What little backstory that is given, is nothing more than a means to justify some of the weirder plot twists. Beyond that, maybe downplay Kile a little cause she comes across a little too "perfect" at times.

FFVI: Major game re-balancing, certain people need to be nerfed (Figaro Bros.), certain characters need to be buffed (Cyan/Strago), certain equipment, spells, and mechanics need to be nerfed. Enemies need to be beefier.

Like FFIV, I would also love if some of the supplement material was spoken of in the game. The origins of the Empire and Gestahl's rise to power, the background info that reveals why Narshe is so important to the Empire and the Returners (It's because its the second strongest military power in VI's world).

There are also some stuff that was left on the cutting room floor that I wish had been implemented. Apparently acquiring Gogo was different, he would randomly appear in towns in the ruined world looking like one of your party members not currently in your team and you had to confront Gogo with the actual party member to reveal it's true identity and convince Gogo to join you.

I also wish they had kept the original scenario for Celes. She was suppose to slowly lose her sanity like Kefka, because of the Magitech infusion process, and it is only through her love with Locke that she overcomes the side effects. Originally, Terra is not saved by the power of "Love, friendship and believing in her humanity". Instead she dies with the rest of the espers, sacrificing her life to save the world. It was changed cause the team didn't have the balls to give the game a downer ending. Despite all this, I'm happy with the games normal story so this story stuff is kind of optional, I just feel it would have been interesting to explore though hardly necessary.

FFVII: This is almost going to be a copy/paste of VI. Mostly re-balancing of certain materia and Weapons. I would have liked a few more buff/healing type or unconventional attack type level 3/4 Limit Breaks cause having most of the teams end game game LB's doing straight up multi-damage is a bit boring. Make the enemies harder.

I would have liked for Tifa to actually try to tell your party that Cloud's version of the Nibelheim incident was fishy cause this greatly bothers me for how illogical it was not do so. I would also fill up some awkward plot elements like Cid joining the team and create better closure for some of the characters stories (mostly Barret and Red XIII). Also, the game needs a much better reason for trying to stop Shin-Ra in Disc 2. It makes absolutely no sense, doesn't matter if you fail or succeed beyond getting a summon.

I also wish there was one time where you could have actually fought the real Sephiroth before the final battle. Right after Cloud gives the black materia, it would have been perfect for an unwinnable battle against Sephy (Cloud being absent from the party as well) so you could build up some of tension going into the final battle. Hell, I wish Sephy actually got some dialogue when you finally confront him. He is oddly one of the more chatty villains in the series and I was actually half expecting him to give the party another "I'm a god and you are all insects compared to me" speech and instead, I'm given total silence and the party wailing how strong he was. Also, I agree with Flying Arrow that Jenova should have had a larger role beyond being a walking plot device.

FFVIII: Re-balance the Junction system. Basically remove the stat% up abiltiites and make magic more useful and necessary to use so you have to make more strategic uses how you equip your party and what you do in battle. Re-balance the Limit Breaks so they are not as overpowered and give Quistis a new Limit cause Blue Magic should never be a Limit Break. Also make weapon upgrades more useful. If I can't significant stat bonuses then at least let better weapons have some cool special effects and support abilities. Also, I hate having to have the item command be something I have to choose to equip. Just let it be a default skill cause it seems ridiculous you need a summon to teach you how to drink a potion. :roll2

Plotwise... there are a lot of things I would like to change but for the most part, I would just like to flesh out the supporting cast (Zell and Quistis especially), make Seifer more relevant to the story and actually build up the love triangle. I also wish the game had explored the worlds politics more and explore the idea of Garden and SeeD more. Any other changes I would want would require massive re-writes of the plot.

FFIX: Better loading times. I also would like a few reworks of the casts combat abilities. Mostly I want to nerf Zidane cause it kinda bugs me that despite being a thief wearing cloth armor and using knives. He can actually take and deal damage on the same level as my full armored Knight and and Dragoon characters. I wouldn't mind him being nerfed a bi to make him more consistent with his job role. I wish Dagger could have been able to retrieve some her summons earlier. It's kind of annoying that she has one summon for half the game and then the game drops all of them on her at once while also giving her a plot device uselessness at the same time. I don't mind not getting Atmos, Odin, and Bahamut so late but was there really a good reason to deny her Shiva and Ifrit for so long. By the time she gets access to them, Vivi is already out-damaging them with his black magic. Amarant needs better magic defense. Dear god he can't take a magic hit...

Story wise, I would have probably eased Zidane's true past in a bit better. I also wish the game had extended Freya's story beyond the second disc and given her and Vivi better resolutions. I always feel like the third disc becomes the Zidane/Dagger show and the rest of the cast is pretty much ignored beyond silly diversions like Amarant's Ipsen Castle incident. Necron should also be removed or at least better placed in the story. I also would have preferred a more ambiguous ending instead of the semi-fairy tale one you get.

FFXII: More skills on the License Board, including some Job class faves like Duel wield, Jump, and double cast. Some more support skills and maybe an item that reduces the chances of instant death working so Zodiark won't be such a cheap bastard. I would rework the Bazaar system and make it closer to FFTA2's version. This way you can better keep track of what supplies you need and what you want to build instead of wasting materials to make a lower tier item. I would also remove the respawning treasure chests in favor of a traditional one. I don't need to farm anymore than I have to SE and I find myself avoiding treasure chests in XII cause I'm guaranteed to walk away disappointed most of the time.

Speaking of which, I also wish most of the Ultimate weapons were earned through a quest. The bazaar system is fine, but I find making legendary artifacts of doom and then having to buy them is a bit silly. I wish there were more story reasons to get some of the weapons and armor.

Espers could be a little more self sufficient and I wish they didn't consume the summoners MP or better yet, took the summoners place and let the other party members stay. I wouldn't mind if Quickening were more balanced as well.

Beyond that, I just wish some of the ideas that were left on the cutting room floor had made it in. Such as playable airship battles, hiring Clans to help you tackle marks, and even a job class system.

Story wise, just fix the pacing, which might be hard to implement without reworking some of the maps but I feel just breaking up the monotony of travel with a few nonsensical cutscenes would make most people appreciate the story better. I also wish that some of the backstory elements were better fleshed out such as Gabranth and Basch's relationship and the fact Vayne killed his older brothers by order of his father. I would probably redo everything about Sky Fortress Bahamut but most of my problems with it stem from my own interpretation of the story and I have no hard evidence to suggest it was suppose to be different but oh well. I prefer the idea of Vayne being a misguided hero instead of having him degrade into an I R EVIL role at the 11th hour of the plot.

I also would have preferred Basch as the main hero. This doesn't mean I would have dropped Vaan or Penelo, I actually like them but I feel Basch and Ashe should have been better designated as the leaders of the party and gotten more screen time. They are both infinitely more interesting.

FFTactics: Mostly rebalance of some of the classes especially stat growth, there is no logical reason why ninja's should give you that good of stat growth. Calculators need to be nerfed, while standard mage classes need to be buffed. Melee classes need to be nerfed a bit. It should be easier to obtain JP in the game without having to grind battles or worse, turn a battle into a JP farming event by spamming non-lethal abilities on your own party.

Some of the specialty classes from the non-generics need to be rebalanced. The Twins should be more useful while the swordmasters need to be nerfed. The story missions need to level with your party so they don't become absolutely mind-numbingly easy just because you decided to master a class or two...

[NeoCracker]

I'll just post on FF IX for now. :P

Loading times I'll agree on, as well as fleshing out Freya's story more. Lot of potential there that doesn't get explored.

And speed up the combat speed, especially early game it's slow as hell.

[Roogle]

Final Fantasy VI: I agree with Wolf Kanno and his assessment on this game.

Final Fantasy VII: This game requires a better localization and better graphics. There are times that I was confused as to what was going on because of how poor the dialogue and the graphics were!

Final Fantasy VIII: I would like to see a large expansion on the plot that allows for the inclusion of secondary characters like Quistis, Zell, Selphie, and Irvine. I think that Ultimecia is a good antagonist for the entirety of the game, but the story could be greatly enhanced if it explores her motivations and desires. The game has a lot of potential for exploring multiple points of view if only because of Ellone and her powers, and I think that Ellone, herself, has a good story waiting to be fleshed out.

Additionally, I would like to refine gameplay elements like the Junction system and the Guardian Force system and remove the benefits of Triple Triad as that simple game has far too much influence over gameplay.

Final Fantasy IX: I would like to see predetermined parties for the entirety of the game similar to Final Fantasy IV.