Prefered number of world maps

[blackmage_nuke]

I was just thinking about that moment in FF3 when you realise the "world map" isnt "THE world map" and was wondering how many world maps you guys like to have in your FF

[Shauna]

0 is how many is needed, amirite, guys? :chuckle:

[Formalhaut]

I've only played FFs with a single world map, so I suppose one. The danger with more than one world map is that places can be unrevisitable, for example in VI where the WoB turns to the WoR, the entire WoB is gone. Meaning all those places you could go to are gone. With one world map it's simpler and most places are revisitable.

[Chris]

Only one, please. So vexed the first time I played both FFV and FFVI. Not sayin', just sayin'.

[VeloZer0]

I absolutely loved the changing world maps of the FF3-6 days. And I guess FF9 also kind of did that as well.

As for an absolute number I don't know that I can really comment, but 1 is way better than 0 and 2 is even better then one.

EDIT: Is it intentional that I can vote for 2-5 simultaneously? Because I just did.

[Yar]

I thought that FFV's three-but-really-just-one world map was pretty cool. Plus if you count the underwater world that is another map


I really have no preference. If you have just one map, do it right. If you have more, do it right.

[Bolivar]

I always wondered why so many SNES games started using multiple world maps, like if they were able to put a lot more story in the game, but their world maps could only be so large without overloading the system RAM...

While some games made it awesome, I suspect developers would have rather preferred to just tell one awesome story over a large world map.

I voted for 1, although I think RPGs may have evolved past the need for any world map at all. Dragon Quest VIII and Final Fantasy XII did such an awesome job of making every area to scale, which opens up a lot of possibilities for designers to incentivize exploration and hide away little secrets.

[ShinGundam]

More than 5.

I always wondered why so many SNES games started using multiple world maps, like if they were able to put a lot more story in the game, but their world maps could only be so large without overloading the system RAM...

I can't think of any console JRPGs a large world map.

[VeloZer0]

although I think RPGs may have evolved past the need for any world map at all. Dragon Quest VIII and Final Fantasy XII did such an awesome job of making every area to scale,

I'm going to disagree with you on the scale aspect of non-world map games. I don't exactly feel engaged when the entire game world exists in an area the size of my Saturday morning run.

[Bolivar]

I can't think of any console JRPGs a large world map.

Hmm, I thought the RPGs after that generation did a good job of having larger world maps, hence why they stopped the whole multiple world mechanic.

I'm going to disagree with you on the scale aspect of non-world map games. I don't exactly feel engaged when the entire game world exists in an area the size of my Saturday morning run.

Oh come on, you can at least give those two more credit than that! Especially DQVIII's, with how beautiful the change of day was...

[Del Murder]

I like 2 or 3. I love exploring and once I explore the entire map I get a sense of disappointment like Alexander the Great. So when a whole new map opens up it makes me really happy.

[VeloZer0]

Change of day still doesn't have any barring on how small a non-scaling world appears. I can only do so much when walking from Dalmasca to the heart of the Archadian empire is considerably less distance than an average weekday afternoon hike.

[noshowmillk]

2 is my limit before the game just gets annoying.

[Slothy]

I always wondered why so many SNES games started using multiple world maps, like if they were able to put a lot more story in the game, but their world maps could only be so large without overloading the system RAM...

While some games made it awesome, I suspect developers would have rather preferred to just tell one awesome story over a large world map.

Thing is, I don't think those world maps would often take up a lot of space really. Especially something like FFVI where, while the layout changed between the WOB and WOR, much of the art could simply be palette swapped in to save on space. It was a pretty simple way to save on storage space so they could have a larger world really, and without it feeling as visually repetitive as if you kept one world with one predominant art style.

Say what you will about the older games, but they knew how to work within their limitations to get the most out of a game.

As for how many world maps I prefer, I prefer as many as the story requires or can justify. /cop out answer

[Mirage]

I like lots of world maps. However, it's not really the several world maps that is important, it is how you constantly are shown things that you have no idea how to get to, and when you get to them, you suddenly realize that the entire world you thought you knew was just one small part of a much larger thing, and then you're shown even more places you have no idea how to get to there, etc.

It really gives me a desire to explore and go on a real adventure, and it is something I really miss in the later games. Take FF13 for example: for 95% of the game, if you can see something, it is either your next destination or just stupid background graphics that you can never ever actually travel to. There is no excitement, no wonder, no build-up. It just feels like a big ball of meh.

I want the game to tease me with exciting looking places that I can't get to until way later. It feels so rewarding when you can finally get there and the game just showers you with awesome stuff and the long wait just feels like it was so absolutely totally worth it.

Take FF7 as an example. At first, you have a huge city which feels really big and cool. Then you get out of it and you notice that it is just one small place in a huge world. As you travel to Junon, you see distant continents and islands as you travel the shorelines, and places on the other side of the mountain and all you think is "man i wonder what's up there, I can't wait to get there and find out". As you get to the other side of the ocean and get the buggy and drive to cosmo canyon, you see the ancient forest and have no way of getting there and really wonder what's up with that thing. You also notice a seemingly isolated waterfall with something that looks like a dock. What could that possibly mean? Could there be something up there? How the heck do I even get there? This is so exciting!

Most Final Fantasy games do this, until we ran into the PS2 ones. There's not a whole lot of this sort of excitement in FFX. There is some in FFXI and XII though, but not as much as on PS1 and earlier. In FF13, it's almost entirely gone again, and there's not a whole lot of it in 13-2 either. It's a shame, really.