EoFF RPG Thunderdome 2020: Final Match!

[Lord Golbez]

If I get to choose two categories, then it's definitely the game I prefer, which is FFT.

The two categories I chose were plot and gameplay. I chose them not due to any particular strengths of each game but because these are the most important categories to me in rating games in general. CT would have had a stronger lead in side content/replay value, but as I've said in the past, I don't really value this category as as a separate category because whether content is optional or not isn't particularly important to me. How that content, optional or otherwise, contributes to the overall other categories is. Cast and villains are pretty important to me too, but ultimately a.good cast/villains in the context of bad story won't work. Those categories are subservient to plot in the same way replay value is subservient to gameplay. Music and art direction are both nice to have, but not critical categories for me unless they venture into truly awful territory. Art direction is a little more essential than music in the sense that I can't opt out and still play the game if it looks truly horrendous, whereas there's always the mute button for music. Nevertheless, it's only going to carry weight with me in the extremes of awful to look at or truly phenomenal. Neither game is bad enough in either category (indeed they are both quite good in music) for these to be terribly relevant.

Plot - FFT wins this category handily. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy CT's story. It's a nice, simple fantasy story, but it's generally fairly cliche throughout. It can't really hold a candle to the dark, mature story of FFT which is full of political intrigue. I gave Xenogears the win on this category over FFT, partly because I feel FFT falters on the plot a bit later on, and stand by it, but Xenogears has a much deeper, more involved story than CT. CT just can't compare to either of these games on plot.

Gameplay -. This one is a bit more of a mixed bag. FFT has a deeper, more complex and strategic battle and character growth system. On the other hand, CT has a simple, fun system that you can pick up and enjoy any time with no hassle. It also allows you to enjoy the gameplay further through options like new game plus whereas extending gameplay beyond a single playthrough in FFT tends toward the more methodical trying out different job and ability combos. Thus, which game I prefer in this category comes down to a matter of mood. I'm a bit torn. I'm leaning CT in this category because I can enjoy it pretty much any time I like, while I have to be in the right mood for FFT. On the other hand, I feel like FFT has so much more to offer when I have the patience for it. So I'm giving the win in this category narrowly to CT, but right or wrong it doesn't really matter. The mere fact I'm so torn on gameplay, while FFT's victory on plot is decisive makes the overall decision easy. FFT is the winner!