FF Hits and Misses

[Raistlin]

G4 has an article discussing some of the hits and misses of FF innovation. According to them:

Hits: I, IV, VII, X

Misses: II, VIII, XIII, XIV

I actually agree with a lot of it, despite not liking X overall. The selection of what games they discussed is a bit questionable, though I suppose volume was a concern. For example, XII's combat and gambit system was very new to the series, as was the game's plot and development. I'm not sure whether to classify that as a "hit" or "miss," because it definitely had both positives and negatives.

What do you think? Any other major hits/misses in the series?

[Jinx]

For me, I LOVE FFX, but I think getting rid of the world map was a big Miss. The first 2/3 of the game are really linear, but honestly, most FF games are pretty linear to a certain point (at least in terms of going from point A to point B to continue on in the story, if not physically so.) But after you fight Yunalesca you finally get control of the airship...but you just go to places by selecting them on a list? This makes me sad, and from what I hear, it carried over to FFXIII as well.

[Del Murder]

FFIII should be a hit since it pretty much defined the job system for all the future games that used it. FFI has jobs but they are more like choosing specific characters to make your party. FFIII is the first game to give you job selection to allow you to make an almost endless supply of combinations on the fly.

[Wolf Kanno]

I've never been one to believe a game could be perfect in every way, so for me, I would rather point out the hits or misses in each game, cause I feel every game misses to some degree.

FFI

Hit - Re-playability, Unlike it's contemporaries at the time, FFI was the only game that actually offered a reason to play it again, with the player controlling what party you start out with and 6 classes, it was actually fun to play through the game with multiple different party set-ups.

Miss - The original was bugged as hell making half the equipment and half the spells useless. Later ports/remakes fixed this but also tampered with the game to make it more accessible to newbie players afraid to see a Game Over screen occasionally.

FFII

Hit - Giving players control of the parties progression and customization. This was so ahead of its time and we would never see anything of a similar scope until FFVI. Once you learn how the system factors everything, you'll realize how ingenious it is. It was also the first entry to actually try to create a character based story.

Miss - Leveling system was poorly implemented unfortunately so while it was a novel idea way ahead of it's time, it's implementation made it rather reviled in the series. The dungeons are also atrocious in this game. With a high encounter rate combined with several dead ends and empty rooms that force the player to have to fight additional unnecessary battles. If you ever wanted to see a great argument against random encounters, FFII is your poster child.

FFIII

Hit - Introduced the first major iteration of the beloved Job Class system. The game also utilized a concept of making smart uses of the class to progress as you may need a certain spell or certain professions to proceed through a dungeon or defeat a boss.

Miss - Said job class system is a bit unbalanced. Some jobs are useless from the get go (Scholar/Evoker) others way overpowered (Sage, Ninja) and many players don't appreciate hitting brick walls in the gameplay cause the game tells them they have to use a certain class to proceed. The lack of save points and the incredibly difficult final boss encounters also make the Crystal Tower/World of Darkness one of the nastiest dungeons in the series unless you're a cheater using save states.

FFIV

Hit - Introduced ATB battle system, established the character driven story concept in the series. Had a fun and wonderful cast of characters and some wonderful locations. The story designated party also forced players to think tactfully as they were often not using a party they would want for some of the tougher dungeons.

Miss - Early ATB was a bit sluggish and really added some unnecessary hindrances to some of the job classes, the game also did a 180 degree on the entire franchise up until this point as the player has almost zero control of their party and their customization. A very stark contrast from the previous three entries.

FFV

Hit - The perfected Job Class system with the new Sub Class system has given us what technically amounts to the final iteration of the system, as future versions are simply just the same system with a few new factors like extra sub-classes or some statistical mixing. The game also has several secrets to explore, several optional boss battles, and some clever dungeon set-ups. Not to mention the flexibility of the sub-class system and better balancing overall, helps to remove or at least lessen the blow of FFIII's problems.

Miss - Story took a dive, while it does have a fun cast and a cool villain, FFV is always going to be overlooked from a narrative perspective because it's sandwiched between IV and VI. The game also introduced the dreaded Omni-character class with the way the Bare/Freelancer Class works. Chances are, most players final party consists of a combination of Bare and Mime classes, due to how overpowered they can become.

FFVI & FFVII*

Hit - Pushed the series into character driven stories and pushed the envelope of visual techniques to show story telling. Great dungeon designs, side-quests, and very open ended character customization. Easily the two most accessible entries in the franchise...

Miss - ...because said customization and an abundant amount of overpowered skills, abilities and gameplay mechanics make them some of the easiest entries in the series. You can defeat both of their final bosses in one round and the hardest enemies are actually optional fights for whom most of the games overpowered mechanics were really designed for.

* Cause they have the same strengths and weaknesses.

FFVIII

Hit - Decided to explore and really change up the regular RPG formula. Introduced the ideas of summons being something more than just over-glorified Black Magic with their own life bars. The Junction system probably gave the player the greatest control of their parties development over any other entry in the series. Limit break implementation also allowed characters to remain somewhat more distinct from each other.

Miss - Junction system, much like FFII's system was just implemented terribly with the game's numerous checks and balances proving to be ineffectual, and the game being one of the easiest to bork in the series. The plot is also a mix bag for most people.

FFIX

Hit - Went back to the series roots without completely compromising modern advancements made since the 8-bit/16-bit days. A clever and rather well implemented skill system, a great abundance of side-quests and optional content, really pushed what could be expected from a world map design with little visual flairs like the flying airships or the Mist. Not to mention Vivi is adorable. Trance also offered more strategy for the characters.

Miss - The loading, especially with battles, is atrocious especially considering how well previous installments had been about this since FFIV. Some skills cannot escape the overpowered skill curse from previous entries, and the story stipulations make this game have one of the worst summoner classes in the series, who don't really earn their keep until late in the third disc. Not too many people were frilled with Trance...

FFX

Hit - Introduced voice acting, great visual set design, and introduced CTB to create a more strategic battle system. As well as a equipment customization system and a new leveling system that allows characters to pertain individual strengths until late in the game or with serious tinkering. Introduced a summon system that finally changed them from being FMV magic spells to something unique for the player.

Miss - Game is incredibly easy, made even more ridiculous by the Legendary Weapons who allow you to kill the games final boss in a single attack. The summon system was also way overpowered. The CTB system only shines during non-scripted boss fights, weapon customization and character customization don't really begin to hold much weight until late in the game after you are well ready to beat the game, meaning the bulk of customization is built for the post-game.Voice acting also creates issues which makes apparent many of the weaknesses of JRPG writing. Game is very linear until near the end, and the removal of a world map makes Spira feel like the smallest world in the FF franchise. Half the plot is left in the Ultimania, lost in translation, or deceptively hinted by one of the worst narration mouthpieces to ever grace a JRPG, Maechen...

FFXII

Hit - One of the most non-linear entries in the series, with a story that tries to be more historical in context and deal more with world powers waging war over unstoppable evil from beyond and magical McGuffans (though they're in there too). The game utilizes a more open and flexible version of FFTactics' version of the Job Class System with players able to control equipment/skill options to radically change their characters roles in combat. The game also perfects FFX-2's ATB system with shorter cast times for big spells and dropping the unmanageable combo system. Limit Breaks are made to be less player crutches and more player gambles. Very well thought out world and history. Gambit system fixes many issues with A.I. party members, and allows combat to be smoother and faster by relegating minor tasks to the A.I. partners. Gambit system can also be turned off and played somewhat like an old school entry. The game is filled with optional boss battles and side-quests, as well as an amusing datalog that tells superfluous but interesting info about the world and creatures that inhabit it.

Miss - Serious disconnect between the story, player, and gameplay concerning the License System. So much so, it's spawned some hilarious but somewhat true satire... Without many restrictions, it's very easy to build a party of clones, and the Gambit system is often too accessible, meaning you can build a party that can play the game without you. Esper system was also poorly done. The open-endedness of the game world also took a toll on the story and the pacing, making it quite easy to get lost in the myriad of quests that you forget the story, or make a simple journey take hours upon hours to complete. The game's Offline MMO gameplay also turns off many people.


I'm having a hard time thinking of anything new and innovative XIII did that was exceptional. So I'm omitting it so this doesn't turn into a pure "XIII Sucks" post

[Raistlin]

For me, I LOVE FFX, but I think getting rid of the world map was a big Miss.

I also love world maps, so while it's not my biggest complaint about X, I agree. World maps are fun and are important for immersion and to give a sense of the scope of the world.

FFIII should be a hit since it pretty much defined the job system for all the future games that used it. FFI has jobs but they are more like choosing specific characters to make your party. FFIII is the first game to give you job selection to allow you to make an almost endless supply of combinations on the fly.

FFIII was a "hit" for job selection in beta form. FFI was Job Selection alpha-stage version 0.1; III was beta-stage version 0.5; V was the first release of 1.0; and Tactics was 2.0. III was definitely significant as laying the foundation, so I agree that you're right it deserves points for that much innovation.

WK: I started responding to a number of points you made, but quickly realized I would just end up agreeing with all of it.

[Mirage]

FF8 wasn't a miss, that's for sure.

[Quindiana Jones]

I always enjoyed the License Board from FFXII. That, to me, felt like the story spilling into the gameplay, as under the new regime it made sense that many things would be restricted. So the matter of buying a hat not only had the feeling of improving my character attached to it, but also a sense that we were becoming independent.

Although there ain't no one telling Basch what to do.

[Kenshin IV]

FFVI & FFVII*

Hit - Pushed the series into character driven stories and pushed the envelope of visual techniques to show story telling. Great dungeon designs, side-quests, and very open ended character customization. Easily the two most accessible entries in the franchise...

Miss - ...because said customization and an abundant amount of overpowered skills, abilities and gameplay mechanics make them some of the easiest entries in the series. You can defeat both of their final bosses in one round and the hardest enemies are actually optional fights for whom most of the games overpowered mechanics were really designed for.

Absolutely, 100% accurate. I've always found it really interesting to see what type of fans gravitate to what games. People who want story first and gameplay second always gravitate towards Six or Seven (or Eight or Ten), and people in the gameplay crowd usually gravitate towards Three or Five (and are more forgiving of Twelve).

Personally, I've always felt you can have both games that focus more on story and games that focus more on gameplay in the series, as long as that game does what it's focused on very well (Seven with story, Five with gameplay, for example).

P.S. Of course, there are games that balance it out (Four and Nine, for example) and those ones seem to be loved by both the story and the gameplay crowds.