I think I prefer Triple Triad. It's at least understandable.
Zidane reminds me of the Gelflings from The Dark Crystal.
I'll post updates more or less like Nicky's FFVII thread when I'm at my computer![]()
First time encounter with Ragtime Mouse! That was fun(I answered incorrectly and he blew up one of my party members)
Observations so far:
Queen Brahne appears to be a frightening clown who has run away from an evil circus and somehow through her tricks of the trade managed to fool the people of the land enough to obtain monarchial status in order to rule over them. Garnet must be adopted; there is simply no other explanation for the mortifying difference in physical appearance.
Zidane is a bit too focused on the ladies, isn't he! Around the time when he wondered to himself, "Maybe she'll reward me with a kiss or two," I wondered to myself if I could take him seriously through the rest of the game. It's a nice change of pace from Squall's broody brooding, but I don't know how much more female desperation I can take. Thankfully, he seems to have lightened up a bit. I am so pleased that Garnet can hold her own and isn't afraid to show her disinterest. I would roll my eyes if the actual love story began this early in the game.
Freya is my favorite character so far and she is a badass. I also love love Beatrix and can't wait to see more of her! I've known part of her story since before I started this game and always admired girls who dressed up as her for cosplays, etc.
I am very much enjoying the leveling up and ability customizations. One of the things I loved about FFVIII was how freely the junctioning system allowed you to customize the characters to suit your needs. I am a little irritated that there isn't quite so much freedom with this system. The obvious restrictions set up to guide the characters into the roles they are meant for bother me. For example, I dislike using Blue Magic - I've never liked using it. I also dislike the fact that Vivi is pidgeon-holed into a magic-specific role that relies on MP to function in battles. Characters with physical strength don't rely on AP to function in battles, so the fact that I am having to keep a constant and steady flow of Ethers available in order to make use of Vivi during battle is confusing and bothersome to me.
Pretty fed up with Steiner's tantrums.
The Vivi kidnapping business made me incredibly sad. Vivi himself makes me sad! He's so timid and sad, I just want to give him a big hug and tell him everything will be okay. I'm looking forward to some hopeful character development there and also wondering about more behind his story.
Thanks to everyone who recommended the synthesization methods! I admit I was a little confused at first and was trying to sell out a bunch of equipment I had outgrown, and for some reason thought that synthesization only applied to Zidane so I got rid of some hats and leather stuff that I later found out I could have used. Lesson learned!
I am enjoying the story so far. My eyebrows raised a bit with Cid pulling the whole "I arranged for your kidnapping so you'd be safe" business, but I guess it fits well enough. I've only just now made it to Disc 2 and turned it off before even changing the disk to go to bed, otherwise I'd have been up all night continuing to play.
Also, Kuja is much more androgynous than I suppose I expected. That hair and them hips! Why is it that several of the games' villains have such luscious locks of hair? Sephiroth, Seymour, now Kuja. I'm sure there are more. Is this a pattern or a running joke I'm not yet aware of?
I can see why so many people enjoy this game. I am becoming lost in the fantasy aspects of it. I enjoy the fact that it's a bit more fantastical than FFVIII, which seems pretty logical to me if there were to be a contest of "which FF could theoretically be real" (I know we've had these threads in the past). I appreciate how realistic FFVIII is, but this game is on another plane, and I am really enjoying the fantasy behind it. If this were the first Final Fantasy I played, I'm sure it would be my favorite. I think it's safe to say, though, that FFVIII will always be my favorite because it's the one I started out with.
Excited to begin Disk 2 tomorrow!
I'm pretty sure I dreamed about this game last night. Ridiculous.
Never liked Freya, always found her a bit dull. Beatrix is indeed fantastic and I can't believe you hate Steiner! Steiner is brilliant. The way he talks, the way he walks (clank clank!) and the never ending stream of indignance - I smurfing love him.
I don't hate him! I'm just sick of his tantrums and him jumping up and down all the time!
The jumping up and down with the clanking is the best bit! It's so ridiculous, I love it.
He's a silly man who gets nothing but the short end of the stick all the time. I do like his clanking, though.