My gripes with the complete collection...

[Fynn]

While I love the Complete Collection on the PSP for what they did with the After Years, I am really not satisfied with the treatment FFIV got. It's basically FFIV Advance with "nicer" graphics. The difficulty level is the same, all the improvements to the gameplay that are there in the DS remake are gone, making this feel like a step backwards (oh, Edward, I had already forgotten how you used to suck ). So that's one thing. Now, about the "nicer" graphics... 2D games with HD artwork are nice, as evidenced with the After Yeares which, in my opinion, look gorgeous, but TAY has one thing FFIV doesn't - a consistent art style. Overworld sprites are Amano-inspired, while the battle sprites and portraits are clearly meant to be inspired by the original game (and those didn't match each other there either, but since that was an old game it can be excused. Here - not so much). Thus, Paladin Cecil looks like his Amano design on the overworld, with very long hair and blue eyes, on the portrait his hair is mid-length, while in battle he has short hair and green eyes... Now, this may be a nitpick, but I think these days, such inconsistencies in art style are unacceptable. The same thing bothered me about BoFIII. Guess it's a pet peeve of mine.

So, what do you guys like/don't like about the Complete Collection?

[Mirage]

What I don't like is that it's not available on PSN.

[Sephex]

I felt the After Years leans way too hard on FFIV nostalgia. They had some good ideas in that story, but they also felt obligated to recreate every major event in the game.

[Hollycat]

What I don't like is that it's not available on PSN.

Yeah it is.

[Mirage]

Not for PS3

[Fynn]

Well, the best thing about this version of TAY is that it's portable...

[Mirage]

Not if you don't have a portable console.

[Fynn]

Not if you don't have a portable console.

I'm so sorry for you

[VeloZer0]

Some of us prefer the option of real controllers and TVs over portability.

[Wolf Kanno]

Then get a Wii and a Classic Controller and stop your bitching.

I agree with Sephex, TAY's plot-lines are basically you replaying most of FFIV again just with some new characters. Some of the new gameplay mechanics are really nice which is why I kept playing it, but I never felt like the plot really justified itself. It was like X-2 or the Compilation, where I kind of felt like the story was just pulled out of the creator's ass so they can print some more money rather than actually try to extend an IP in a meaningful way.

I also really just don't like Squenix's HD Sprites, I've always felt they looked kind of overly cartoony for some reason.

[Mirage]

I think it's really amusing how you think the solution is "buy something for 150 bucks + the cost of the game" when it could just as easily have been solved with "release it on PSN".

[Wolf Kanno]

No, I'm just telling you that there is an option to play it on a console, whether you can or not is your own problem. The Japanese market has mostly moved the JRPG genre to handhelds so you may just want to buck up and buy a Vita or 3DS this generation instead of one of the consoles if you wish to play the bulk of the genre anymore. Consoles are just becoming impractical in Japan, so developers are going where those consumers are going, to phones and handhelds.

[Roogle]

I felt the After Years leans way too hard on FFIV nostalgia. They had some good ideas in that story, but they also felt obligated to recreate every major event in the game.

I believe that was its purpose. It originally made its debut as a simple mobile game and I don't think too much emphasis was placed on the story during its development. It had to have simple plots to keep up with the chapter release format designed for mobile phones at the time.

[Fynn]

Oh, and one more thing. Think TAY was pointless? What about the -Interlude-, huh?

[Hollycat]

No one is going to argue that. But hey, at $12, the CC aint bad.