http://home.eyesonff.com/blog.php/25609-Edge7 The Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums are the premier place for Final Fantasy fans to meet and discuss this classic video game series. Join our community today. en Wed, 13 May 2026 13:29:15 GMT vBulletin 60 http://home.eyesonff.com/images/images_neoclassic/misc/rss.jpg http://home.eyesonff.com/blog.php/25609-Edge7 http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/6217-Sonic-3-A-Follow-Up Sat, 19 Aug 2017 22:46:31 GMT I was telling Darth-Ganon that I decided to revisit Sonic 3, a game I previously couldn't see the appeal of, after beating Sonic Mania, which in terms of design seemed like a half step between Sonic 2 and 3. I can now happily say that Sonic 3 has definitely grown on me, but I only grew to love it once I approached its level design differently than from most other Sonic games:

To start, I loved Sonic 2 because it was very arcadey; alternate paths are easy to spot, but also easy to miss and be locked out of; for example, a player hits a Spring on the wall and gets thrown into a slower route, so their next run of that level will hopefully result in remembering to jump as they get closer to that same point. This level design also applies to Sonic Advance; my second 2D Sonic game (for those curious, the first was Sonic CD, but I lost it pretty early as a kid) and the first one I beat, so this was the approach I grew up with. Now that I think about it, most Modern Sonic games that utilize the "Boost" formula also have a similar design philosophy. The order I've played Sonic games is more convoluted than the order I've played Final Fantasy games, but suffice to say I was used to a certain style of level design for Sonic.

Anyway, returning to Sonic 2 specifically, my second favorite quality about it is that the game rewards you for replaying over and over again by rewarding continues for finishing the levels quickly, leading an inexperienced player to get a little further with every playthrough. It encourages twitch timing and a tiny bit of memorization, which are some of my favorite things (I really like Treasure games like Sin and Punishment and Alien Soldier)

I previously couldn't get into Sonic 3 because the large levels didn't accommodate for that same arcade-y style. That being said, I've only just realized it's more comparable to Super Metroid, which happens to be one of my top 10 games. Like Super Metroid, the speed only really comes in once you've explored and mapped out the fastest route for yourself. The gratification isn't as instant, but I realize now that it doesn't have to be. The massive environments tell the story for the game, and the player is encouraged to take their time with the levels; you're more likely to be bombarded with continues by playing Bonus and Special Stages than gunning for the end of the stage, and said special stages also give the player a chance to earn a shield that will best help them to continue exploring. A game over doesn't encourage you to play the entire game faster, but rather, the save system enables you to load up the zone you're on to see what you've missed (a function made even nicer with the level select unlocked upon finishing the game).
So anyway, yeah. Sonic 3 is a kickass game that I couldn't appreciate for the longest time because its design philosophy was more unorthodox than what I expected. It's the equivalent of playing a Final Fantasy game that plays like Dragon Age (FFXII), or expecting a Star Wars game to play like the 1983 game when in reality it's a dog-fighting flight simulator (SW Tie Fighter) it's unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome.

I still hate Marble Garden though ]]> Edge7 http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/6217-Sonic-3-A-Follow-Up http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/6215-Final-Fantasy-V-making-me-feel Tue, 01 Aug 2017 20:25:19 GMT Okay, so I get that a lot of the criticisms towards FFV's plot/characters are justified, but I just beat Atomos, and I realize that this entire adventure has just been Galuf slowly losing all of his friends, and its seriously smurfing me up. Seriously though, for a serious often panned for it's melodrama, there's something very subdued and nuanced about the way Galuf mourns Xezat for a game that's normally so tongue-in-cheek. Really loving FFV so far. I had put it down for a while because I was beginning to feel overwhelmed by all the jobs, but I'm back in. ]]> Edge7 http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/6215-Final-Fantasy-V-making-me-feel http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/6171-*Getting*-Vagrant-Story Sat, 08 Oct 2016 17:53:15 GMT Hi everyone! It's been more than a while. Graduated College, trying to find work, you know how that goes. It's funny that my first forum post in so long isn't about FFXV, but about a 16 year old game that all of 20 people have played.

So for about 4 years (on and off), I struggled through Vagrant Story, every time I felt like I understood its mechanics, I would immediately be thrown back down to earth with a new enemy type (screw the gremlins, the little Satan-spawns). Somehow, I miraculously beat Guildenstern about two months ago (blowing all of my PP with Phantom Pain, and using Raging Ache), and after pouring through a couple of GameFAQs to figure out what the hell I was missing a couple weeks ago, I blew through the game's NG+ in a weekend, .

Holy crap you guys, I don't think there's a more satisfying experience than realizing that a game you thought was just timed button hits and leveling up your weapons is actually a game about min-maxing your gear for a specific opponent, needing to know when to set buffs and what stat necessarily needs buffing. Elemental affinities were way more important than I thought, because I never knew that an enemy's elemental resistance can seriously nerf your attacks, same with the weapon type. I had so much fun this time around that I want to try to go through the game again with a clean save and see the game's difficulty through a new light.

(I still have no clue how forging weapons works though)

But anyway, I just wanted to gush about the mechanics of this weird-wonderful-unorthodox-amazing game. ]]> Edge7 http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/6171-*Getting*-Vagrant-Story http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/5722-665-Posts Tue, 23 Sep 2014 23:06:13 GMT Uh oh... Uh oh... ]]> Edge7 http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/5722-665-Posts http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/1211-Best-Birthday-Ever Sun, 24 Mar 2013 23:58:19 GMT Sorry, this was just something I needed to share. Attachment 42162 (http://home.eyesonff.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=42162) Paul Eiding apologizing because he missed my birthday?! Holy crap! Sorry, this was just something I needed to share.


Paul Eiding apologizing because he missed my birthday?! Holy crap! ]]> Edge7 http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/1211-Best-Birthday-Ever http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/1209-Hello-again-guys Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:22:40 GMT Yeah, so I've been gone for a while. I just haven't been able to sit down and type here. Second Semester's sucker-punched me a couple of times. Because of this, I'm probably not going to get around to finishing my Aria of Sorrow let's play, but I'm glad that I've started to see other people do let's plays, and I'd love to do one in the future. Anyway, just thought I'd post a blog to drop in and say "hi". ]]> Edge7 http://home.eyesonff.com/entry.php/1209-Hello-again-guys