I now officially hate FFIV DS

[darksword12]

For the following reasons:

-Every boss is impossibly hard
-Rydia doesn't learn Meteor until level 80
-Every enemy has an incredibly annoying counterattack move
-Many enemies have an overpowered non-magical attack (scorch, anyone?).
-Cecil's Dark ability has been nerfed--it no longer hits all enemies
-For that matter, EVERYTHING has been nerfed
-You can no longer play as anyone at the end of the game, and the Lunar Ruins stuff has all been omitted

Am I the only one who feels this way? I don't mind a challenge, but when a game is too difficult, it simply ceases to be entertaining.

[Momiji]

Nope, just you.

Besides, the Lunar Ruins and getting to play as all of the different characters in the end was a GBA thing only. The other four versions or so didn't have that.

As for Dark being nerfed, in the FFII SNES version, Cecil didn't even have Dark.

As for playing through a game a second time, if you like the game enough, you will. (I know I did.)

If a boss is 'impossibly hard', go back and levelgrind. A few levels do make a difference.

Counterattack moves are common in any version of the game, later on.


Basically, the only true annoyance I see in this is that Rydia doesn't learn Meteor until lv. 80. But then again, at that point, you should be able to kill anything...

[darksword12]

I know only the GBA had the lunar ruins. The augment system was made to replace that. This isn't really a major complaint of mine, I guess.

FFII SNES didn't have dark, but it also didn't have recall, salve, or ATB. FFII US was not very truthful to the original in terms of gameplay.

I've beaten plenty of the bosses without level grinding. I'm in the lunar subterrane right now, and everyone is somewhere between level 66 and 68. It's still too hard.

I know counterattacks are common. I've seen them in other versions, too. But this time, the counterattacks are BRUTAL. I can't think of an example off the top of my head, but the bosses are already too hard to begin with. How long does the game expect me to level grind? Once again, this makes the game much less fun. Too much level grinding ruins it for me.

[Momiji]

Well, the Lunar areas are supposed to be hard...

I suppose if you hate it that much, I have an address you can send the game to...

[Flying Mullet]

One of the major critiques/praises of the Final Fantasy series is that it's difficulty is set up so that minimal level-grinding is required. Perhaps they chose a different direction with this game in requiring more level grinding. With so many versions of the game out, it's likely that they geared this game to the more hard-core gamer as there are plenty of other versions that cater to those that aren't keen on the increased difficulty.

Also, are you spamming the attack/magic(black) commands to try and obliterate your enemies? If so, try to use more of the support skills and magics to compliment your battle strategy.

[Vermachtnis]

I like Dark better in this one. Almost every boss is by itself. And who uses skills on random encounters at that point in the game.

[Zeromus_X]

-Every boss is impossibly hard

I don't think so. It just requires a different strategy than before.

-Rydia doesn't learn Meteor until level 80

Meteor is kinda terrible anyway.

-Every enemy has an incredibly annoying counterattack move

The enemies were programmed to counterattack certain actions in every version of the game. It's just now the game outright tells you it's a counter.

-Cecil's Dark ability has been nerfed--it no longer hits all enemies

Yes, now it hits one enemy for extreme damage, even more so when hitting a weakness.

-You can no longer play as anyone at the end of the game, and the Lunar Ruins stuff has all been omitted

GBA version only.

-Squeenix has the gall to think you'll play the game through a second time (okay, that's not really an argument).

Like Momiji said, it's just for people who enjoy the game enough to play it again. And, to be fair, the optional bosses almost require you to play through two or three times to get the augments necessary to defeat them.

[darksword12]

One of the major critiques/praises of the Final Fantasy series is that it's difficulty is set up so that minimal level-grinding is required. Perhaps they chose a different direction with this game in requiring more level grinding. With so many versions of the game out, it's likely that they geared this game to the more hard-core gamer as there are plenty of other versions that cater to those that aren't keen on the increased difficulty.

Also, are you spamming the attack/magic(black) commands to try and obliterate your enemies? If so, try to use more of the support skills and magics to compliment your battle strategy.

I would do that, but it would drain me dry of MP. Any way to get around that without killing my ether supply?

EDIT: BTW, Zeromus_X, I already admitted my last comment was not a valid argument. I'm going to go delete it so people stop responding...

[Yar]

-Every boss is impossibly hard

Not true, I've beat the game. The bosses are harder yes, that was the appeal for me. But they aren't impossible.

-Rydia doesn't learn Meteor until level 80

Unless you really want to grind that high you don't need Rydia to know Meteor. Many enemies just counter it anyway. My Rydia did not learn Meteor. Bahamut ftw.

-Every enemy has an incredibly annoying counterattack move

All enemies' counter attacks are caused by doing something specific, so stop doing whatever causes the counter-attack.

-Many enemies have an overpowered non-magical attack (scorch, anyone?).

Either run away or fight these enemies and get to higher levels.

-Cecil's Dark ability has been nerfed--it no longer hits all enemies

His Dark wasn't really useful in the first place, so there really isn't much change here. You'll only have Cecil for as a Dark Knight for about 3 hours anyway.

-For that matter, EVERYTHING has been nerfed

Yeah, Yang's Kick is ruined. :rolleyes2

-You can no longer play as anyone at the end of the game, and the Lunar Ruins stuff has all been omitted

You couldn't play as everyone in the original. That was a special addition to the GBA just like augments are to this one.

-Squeenix has the gall to think you'll play the game through a second time (okay, that's not really an argument).

I'll be playing through it again for EoFF Plays next month. I intend to play both the DS and then GBA version for speed completion. Sometimes there's also a "SNES on a SNES" completion so I might need to do that, too.

Also, FFIIUS did have ATB just so you know.

[darksword12]

Not true, I've beat the game. The bosses are harder yes, that was the appeal for me. But they aren't impossible.

"Hard" is in the eye of the beholder. What is hard to me may not be hard to you. I don't think it's easy to argue on this point... I need to start reviewing my posts.

Unless you really want to grind that high you don't need Rydia to know Meteor. Many enemies just counter it anyway. My Rydia did not learn Meteor. Bahamut ftw.

I guess considering that Meteor is supposed to be legendary and stuff, Squeenix decided it should be hard for Rydia to learn it, but still, I like meteor... even though they basically replaced it with Bahamut.

All enemies' counter attacks are caused by doing something specific, so stop doing whatever causes the counter-attack.

They counter EVERYTHING. There have been battles in which nearly every action I take is countered. It eventually becomes very annoying.

Either run away or fight these enemies and get to higher levels.

I do run away from the battles with the non-magical attacks, but it kind of damages my EXP gain.

His Dark wasn't really useful in the first place, so there really isn't much change here. You'll only have Cecil for as a Dark Knight for about 3 hours anyway.

Dark was useful for large groups of enemies. I am a dark knight enthusiast, so if I only have a dark knight for three hours, I don't want that dark knight to be so completely different from most other dark knights in the series.

You couldn't play as everyone in the original. That was a special addition to the GBA just like augments are to this one.

The GBA version of this game spoiled me, I'll admit. I still think playing as all the characters was better than the augment system, though.

I'll be playing through it again for EoFF Plays next month. I intend to play both the DS and then GBA version for speed completion. Sometimes there's also a "SNES on a SNES" completion so I might need to do that, too.

That wasn't a very good argument, and I've deleted it. Especially considering that I'm going to be doing New Game+ too... guess I'm a glutton for punishment.

I don't hate FFIV DS per se... I just have a love-hate relationship with it. It's a good port, but it can get really frustrating at times.

[Yar]

Meh, to each his own, I guess. As far as bosses go, yes they're hard I'll admit that. I was just saying they aren't impossible.

The game is hella frustrating. At times I thought we'd see an airborne DS. I died to Lugae like 20 times.

Can I just ask, what are your levels and where are you?

[ljkkjlcm9]

I've actually struggled with a few bosses. It actually got to the point on the Dark Elf and the Bella Sisters, that only my Cecil was alive. For the Dark Elf, I literally healed myself every turn. When he attacked, my Cecil had counter. Eventually I won and gained 5 levels for Cecil. For the Bella Sisters it was similar, except I had protect and shell at that point, and they intelligently cast reflect on the reflect, giving me reflect. I was basically invulnerable to magic, and countered anything physical. On top of that, the first time I fought Barbarracia, she kicked my ass. The second time however, I owned her, and I didn't do any level grinding, I just went back and tried again.... strategy makes a HUGE difference.

Sadly though, I will be starting over. I didn't get Doublecast cause I didn't give enough augments to Palom/Porom, and I want to get that skill my first playthrough. I literally just beat the Bella sisters though, so I only have like 9 hours on the game.

I must say, as much as I liked the choose any character thing, the augment system is may more customizable, and I'm liking this version of the game more than any other version.

THE JACKEL

[darksword12]

My characters are all in the high 60's and I'm in the lunar subterrane. No one's responding to my other thread, so I'd like to ask now: am I underleveled?

Oh, and Dr. Lugae was rage-inducing. I eventually just used elixirs on him.

[Yar]

You're ready to beat the game. I beat it at 63-67. Try not to fight every battle in the core until you find a save spot.

If you feel underleveled, this is the place to beef yourself up.

[rubah]

It's a heck of a lot better than the snes version, which was what I played before this one.