I just can't

[maybee]

It's okay, I think we all have that one Final Fantasy that has a strong fanbase, but when you try and play it- you just hate it. I feel like this towards the OG FF Tactics.

FF 9 is just "not for you ", it's okay to stop and not keep playing if you want.

Haha coincidentally enough, FFT is another much-beloved FF that I really can't get into.

!

I thought that I was the only one ! The gameplay is just soooooo slow, and the story and characters are like watching grass grow.

Don't see what others see in it. Tactics A2 really brightens everything up though imo.

[Vyk]

Toss my vote in for FFT as well, but then again, it's the same for almost every SRPG since. I was brought up on Shining Force for strategy rpgs, and games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem, that only let you play the game during fights wears me out no matter how droll the plot and characters are. I wonder why more strategy rpgs forego their rpg parts and any interaction outside of combat is usually just a visual novel menu set-up and not actual gameplay. There's only one other SRPG I can think of that lets you walk around between fights and explore the world and talk to people and it's an obscure SNES game that can only be played with translation patches

[Wolf Kanno]

Toss my vote in for FFT as well, but then again, it's the same for almost every SRPG since. I was brought up on Shining Force for strategy rpgs, and games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem, that only let you play the game during fights wears me out no matter how droll the plot and characters are. I wonder why more strategy rpgs forego their rpg parts and any interaction outside of combat is usually just a visual novel menu set-up and not actual gameplay. There's only one other SRPG I can think of that lets you walk around between fights and explore the world and talk to people and it's an obscure SNES game that can only be played with translation patches

Arc the Lad

[krissy]

Toss my vote in for FFT as well, but then again, it's the same for almost every SRPG since. I was brought up on Shining Force for strategy rpgs, and games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem, that only let you play the game during fights wears me out no matter how droll the plot and characters are. I wonder why more strategy rpgs forego their rpg parts and any interaction outside of combat is usually just a visual novel menu set-up and not actual gameplay. There's only one other SRPG I can think of that lets you walk around between fights and explore the world and talk to people and it's an obscure SNES game that can only be played with translation patches

Arc the Lad

unrelated to anything but ive never played arc the lad games but

sephiroth and celes is in arc the lad 3???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhDqUwd2Hls


edit: set design in FF9 is spectacular, so maybe that'll get you going
architecture wise it's incredible
it's like a ghibli movie had sex with ff6

[Elly]

do yourself a favor and pick up the Arc the Lad Collection, best SRPG i've ever played, it doesn't punish the player for grinding up levels like Tactics does... that 5 hour dungeon in the first one though, it's even longer in AtL 2...

[Vyk]

I keep forgetting they exist, and I think Wolf has reminded me a couple of times when I complain that nobody does tactical RPGs the way Shining Force does, and I keep forgetting about that series. My brother had loaned me the PS2 game, and I emulated the first 3, and played about 10 hours of the first one, and stopped for some reason. Probably a life event. Probably a house fire. And never got back to it. I'll have to grab them on my Vita...

Do any of them require prior knowledge? Are they direct sequels? Or can I jump into an older one first. I forgive a lot of Shining Forces quirks for nostalgia's sake. But I remember Arc the Lad 1 being rough around the edges, and I'm wondering if the sequels are more refined and/or easier to get into

[Elly]

Ark the Lad 1 & 2 are directly connected, and game saves carry over the first 3 games, there's 2 more that i know of for the PS2, Twilight of the Spirits and another one that i missed picking up so i don't remember its name offhand...

OT: i wish they'd do a re-release/remake of FF IX where they fix the Trance and do away with dumb stuff like requiring Magic Crystals to equip skills... also making Beatrix a permanent party member would drastically improve the game...

[Wolf Kanno]

I keep forgetting they exist, and I think Wolf has reminded me a couple of times when I complain that nobody does tactical RPGs the way Shining Force does, and I keep forgetting about that series. My brother had loaned me the PS2 game, and I emulated the first 3, and played about 10 hours of the first one, and stopped for some reason. Probably a life event. Probably a house fire. And never got back to it. I'll have to grab them on my Vita...

Do any of them require prior knowledge? Are they direct sequels? Or can I jump into an older one first. I forgive a lot of Shining Forces quirks for nostalgia's sake. But I remember Arc the Lad 1 being rough around the edges, and I'm wondering if the sequels are more refined and/or easier to get into

The first two games were originally meant to be one game but Sony had them rush out what became the first game, so it's a lot more blah and incredibly short (the game can be finished in about ten hours) in comparison. AtL2 is a vast improvement in terms of gameplay and balance, though it gets really grindy with some of the late game missions, and probably has more characters than it should. The game also has a weird difficulty spike towards the end that is a bit annoying, especially with a final boss that is designed to be more frustrating than he should be, but it's also likely that I was simply too burnt out by the end and rushed it as well. With all that said, Arc 2 was a pretty cool game and it's tied very closely to Arc 1 which you should also play through. Arc 3 improves gameplay, but I didn't care for the story or characters as much.

[Madame Adequate]

Update I have since completed FF9 for the first time ever and my opinion of it has improved, modestly. I still don't rate it terribly highly, but I do have more understanding of where the appeal is now and I can see why other people would like it whereas when I made the OP it genuinely eluded me. 8/10 pretty good.

[Quindiana Jones]

I love you again.

[Christmas]

I was like OMG WTF BBQ during the Bahamut Vs Alexander scene. It was SOOOOOOOO epic at that time.

Now it just left me wondering does Bahamut has a penis or something? Or the tail is actually something else?