Final Fantasy vs. Other Square RPGs

[qwertysaur]

No Legend of Mana? :rabite:

I haven't actually gotten a chance to play it yet

[Del Murder]

When was it terrible?

I said rarely terrible. Infinite Undiscovery was pretty fun. Nowhere near perfect (which is why my interactions are rarely terrible; it's my antonym to ALWAYS MARVELLOUS), but I think a step in the right direction.

Well, rarely implies that terribleness happened at some point, so I was just wondering when.

[Bolivar]

I'm actually about to start Xenogears for the first time in the coming days, so I really can't wait to see how this game stacks up.

I like their non-FF RPGs, but I wouldn't say that one is categorically better than the other. Chrono Trigger was great, and certainly put the SNES FFs to shame for me, but it's obvious how Square took what they learned on that and implemented it into the PlayStation FFs. I don't think CT is better than VII, VIII and IX. Parasite Eve was great, but it was different and I can't say it was better.

I love DQ for some of the same reasons as FF and I put the SNES ones I've played on about the same level as FF. The Director of FFIV said it in a PlayStation Blog interview lately, but there's always going to be a place for classic RPGs and story/character focused RPGs. That's the divide I see between FF and DQ,, although Tokita said that FFIV began how FF would combine the two. I just think DQ doesn't get enough credit, mostly because it's style is so classic, people misonstrue it with lack of innovation.

Also, Tactics Ogre is insane, and even though it's better written and arguably the battle system is more thought out, there's a lot of things FF does that it doesn't bother to do.

So it depends, but I'm very excited to play Xenogears.

[Flying Arrow]

I like their non-FF RPGs, but I wouldn't say that one is categorically better than the other. Chrono Trigger was great, and certainly put the SNES FFs to shame for me, but it's obvious how Square took what they learned on that and implemented it into the PlayStation FFs. I don't think CT is better than VII, VIII and IX.

This is a very unusual opinion. I don't agree or disagree with you, necessarily (I get completely different things from each those games). I'm just curious - how do you think the PS1 FF trilogy is better than CT, and exactly what do you see Square having implemented into them from CT? Also, what's your opinion on Chrono Cross?

[Bolivar]

I like their non-FF RPGs, but I wouldn't say that one is categorically better than the other. Chrono Trigger was great, and certainly put the SNES FFs to shame for me, but it's obvious how Square took what they learned on that and implemented it into the PlayStation FFs. I don't think CT is better than VII, VIII and IX.

This is a very unusual opinion. I don't agree or disagree with you, necessarily (I get completely different things from each those games). I'm just curious - how do you think the PS1 FF trilogy is better than CT, and exactly what do you see Square having implemented into them from CT? Also, what's your opinion on Chrono Cross?

The biggest change going from the Nintendo FF titles to the PlayStation titles, to me, was changing the field screen from overhead, four directions, to allowing the characters to move in nearly any direction, with the camera in any position the director wanted. This was the breakthrough in Chrono Trigger I feel set the tone for the future of Final Fantasy.

The example off the top of my head is early on where Chrono escapes the prison and fights that dragon tank on a bridge, which he walks on from left to right. When I beat Chrono Trigger, I played FFVI again, and the game was almost ruined for me because it seemed so static and limited compared to Chrono Trigger. I know FFVI tried to do similar things, most notably Celes standing on the balcony during the opera scene, but other than that, it was just hard to play VI.

I also think the more manga/anime style came from CT (esp. b/c Akira Toriyama did the art), and the flashier battles with all kinds of abilities being used (which the frequently used Limit Breaks seemed to fill in for) heavily influenced FFVII IMO. You also have to figure that the key people on FFVII, Kitase, Nomura, etc. were all apart of the Chrono Trigger experiment and I'm sure it affected their game design philosophies tremendously.

The reason I think the PSOne games are better is... complicated. One, I think the added memory of a CD helped tremendously (just remembered CT comically referred to how little memory it had to use (isn't it amazing what you can do with (x)mb???)). Discs allowed for FMV, which completed the last thing they needed to have those "i can't believe that just happened!" set pieces that modern gaming is so entrhalled with; the fact that they had seamless transitions between cutscenes and gameplay made this insanely intertwined interactive experience; the games were longer; they had more and greater detailed backgrounds; the soundtracks had better sound quality. There are creative things I think are better, I think Chrono Trigger kept just one too many outdated plot and character vestiges of classic RPGs that the following FF titles tried to destroy. It's kind of another topic, but overall when i look at the total final product of each game, I like the PSOne games a lot better.


I've never played Chrono Cross. I want to, though!

[Seshiri54]

I wish Square Enix would challenge itself more by trying to do different things like they did in the PS1 days. Square Enix seems to only want to play it safe with Final Fantasy. I love Final Fantasy, but it isn't the only thing in existence! There are other great titles like Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, etc. that took the chance to bring people original, captivating stories. I'd like to see different series from Square Enix like in the Playstation days.

I also think they could take more chances with storytelling within the Final Fantasy franchise itself.

[Jessweeee♪]

Seshiri: If you own a DS you should try The world Ends With You. It's unlike anything else I've ever played!

I don't really deviate from Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts much when it comes to Square. My favorite is probably Threads of Fate. I've heard nice thing about The Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery, but I haven't even looked into them.

[I Took the Red Pill]

In my opinion the Chrono games are the greatest things Square (+Enix) has produced. The PS1 Final Fantasies never blew me away; in fact I really only hold IV and X in any sort of high esteem, but still inferior to my beloved Chronos.

[Haha_YouAint]

I honestly think Sakaguchi's Mistwalker studios will probably outshine the FF series soon with some of their games.

[Mercen-X]

Well, when I originally played VII back in 1997, I would've said it was the best RPG in the universe and pwns all other experiences. That's before I knew what pwn meant and before I ever played any other RPG.

Today, I'll readily admit FF titles are hardly the pinnacle of RPGs. There's just so much "unfinished"-ness, there's always something about one of the installments that will leave feeling it could have been a bit better and actually has been done better by another RPG. Final Fantasy's boon is that it tries to diversify with its mechanics. Throughout the span of its series, its added different experiences like memorizing phrases during conversation, using the environment during combat, player-interaction during combat, and they've had plenty of fun mini-games, some either being easy or cheesy.
You know, I think that if they release a third Dissidia, they should introduce a third Deity who can alter reality as an explanation for why it should be accepted as canon despite it's utter fan-service-laden parodyish ridiculosity.
My point being... I don't remember.
Spent.

[Ashley Riot]

Some believe ff is the best. Personally iv not played anything better... apart from vagrant story (Which is a game that was probably too advanced for its time)

After playing one ff it can get boring. FF battles and leveling up just bore me. Im in it for the story.

[Bastian]

Only DQVIII for me comes close to rivaling the FF games, probably because it is the most similar to FF than any of the other games (which turned off a lot of DQ fans I've noticed).

Wait, how is DQVIII any more like FF than any of the other DQ games? The only difference between DQVIII and other DQs would be that it uses big 3D models third-person perspective instead of a more classic overhead perspective. THAT is what turned a lot of DQ fans off. Is that FF? No, that's just 3D third person perspective (and part of the reason I stopped playing FF after 7).

For me, Secret of Mana and SD3 are better than than any Final Fantasy game. As much as I love FFIV, if I had to choose between it and Secret of Mana, I think I would side with Secret of Mana.

[Bolivar]

Wait, how is DQVIII any more like FF than any of the other DQ games? The only difference between DQVIII and other DQs would be that it uses big 3D models third-person perspective instead of a more classic overhead perspective. THAT is what turned a lot of DQ fans off. Is that FF? No, that's just 3D third person perspective (and part of the reason I stopped playing FF after 7).

Well there's also the use of third person during battles... I don't know, I'm not entirely sure what Del Murder meant but VIII does make some big departures because it had such a huge focus on graphics that bled into every other facet of the game. Like the DQ games have always had these huge diverse worlds for you to explore every nook and cranny and now that's just so much more satisfying in DQVIII. Ok I'm not sure where I'm going with this but I am hungerin to play some DQ... brb.

[Del Murder]

Yeah, I meant mostly on looks.

[NeoCracker]

IX is my favorite square game, followed by Chrono Trigger and FF VI. After that comes in their other games like Legend of Mana, Chrono Cross, Super Mario RPG and what not, in no particular order mind you.

On a whole their Non-FF titles are superior, but I still find it hard to beat out VI and IX.

Though if we look at outside Square, Persona 3 and 4 beat out FF, even IX.