Sigh... I wish :/ And yet here I am. Still no PS4. Although I'm hoping TZA will at least get a Steam release somewhere in the near future!
We can do a revival of this marathon then, eh?
Sigh... I wish :/ And yet here I am. Still no PS4. Although I'm hoping TZA will at least get a Steam release somewhere in the near future!
We can do a revival of this marathon then, eh?
Well, it isn't really out yet. I'd definitely love to see a FFXII LP at some point!Originally Posted by Karifean
EDIT: Now that you're done... has your top ten ranking of the FFs 1 - 10 changed? Has any of these games moved up or down in your estimations?
In any case, not a moment too soon. I got DQVIII on pre-order so I should have it on Friday
Since you might have missed that edit.
Okay, starting off with some thought on X:
-Overall, I'd say I enjoyed it. I'm a bit more forgiving towards it now, but it still doesn't change the fact that I think it's the weakest game I've played in this marathon.
Some good stuff:
-I liked the battles for the most part. Manipulating turn order is an interesting concept that can make for very satisfying battles if executed well.
-The music is nice for the most part, mainly thanks to the input of Hamauzu, though some of Uematsu's and Nakano's tracks are very nice as well. I don't think there was ever really an FF with poor music, so that's pretty much a given.
-I also like some of the story themes going on, and though the execution leaves a lot to be desired, IMO, I feel the story comes from a sincere place and it appears to have genuinely touched a lot of people. Had it been handled differently, perhaps I'd be as enthusiastic about it as so many other people.
-I mostly enjoyed the party and their interactions. Like I said earlier, despite the glaring lack of voice direction, the individual voices are actually pretty good and help convey what the characters are like very well.
BUUUUUT
-While battles are interesting on paper, the system is anything but balanced. Having just four elements and having them plastered all over (not to mention the really stupid thing where fire is good against ice BUT ALSO vice versa) takes away the depth of the system and you're basically left with "switch in X character to win"
-I cannot understand why people love the sphere grid so much. Sure, it lets you customize your characters freely, but it's insanely cumbersome compared to a regular leveling system. And then there's the fact that most of the sphere grid is tiny, negligible changes, but the rest is insanely broken and not even that hard to access (e.g. Holy, Full Break). And then there's the fact that Kimahri is pretty much screwed from the getgo - it took me a lot of early effort to make him useful from the start, though it did pay off in the end.
-Whoever thought this format of chocobo racing was a good idea needs to be hanged by the balls from a bridge. Same goes for the guy who thought expecting the player to play fifty blitzball matches was reasonable.
-Hands-down, the worst dungeon design in the whole marathon. Still not as bad as XIII's "keep holding the analog stick down for forty and hope something interesting happens soon", but the simplistic nature of the areas is not compelling in the slightest. My wife started FFIII while I was playing X, and let me tell you, that game's first dungeon was more complex than X's final dungeon. And that is saying a lot.
-Uematsu should be lynched for that battle theme. I get it, man. I know you were burnt out after composing for IX - one of your finest work, tbh, and it's no wonder you had little energy left for this game. But you had two more perfectly good composers. Either of them would have done a better job than you. Because that battle theme is the worst thing. Probably even worse than the original PS1 Persona battle theme even though it's not as actively ear-assultingly bad. I'm sorry to say this, since I've admired you for your work for so long, but this travesty is honestly one of the bigger contributing factors why I don't like this game too much.
-As I mentioned before, the story is tragic and touching on paper, but the execution is very, very flawed. The thing about stories like this is that usually less is more. The less the characters would keep talking about their feelings and oh how hard it is to be a summoner/have a bad dad/have to be on this journey and see death constantly. Aside from maybe two cutscenes and the characters constantly talking about it, the game doesn't really take its time to show you how horrifying this reality is and why the summoners think it's worth it to bring the Calm. Just looking at the game, you'd think it's just a nice little story taking place in a tropical paradise - visual storytelling is a thing and it's a thing that I think X fails at. Add to that the fact that there's enough unsent to make up a soccer team (in a game where you have seven party members and the number of plot-relevant characters that aren't in the party isn't even that much), and the whole tragedy of death - or should I use the game's insanely pretentious terminology and call it a "spiral of death" - ends up ringing completely hollow.
-This brings me to absolutely the worst part of the story - Seymour. I don't care that he has the worst voice, looks like he has a can opener on his head, or that his robes seemingly give him a beer belly. Seymour is terrible not only because he has no place in this plot, but he actively makes it worse just by existing. I can see exactly what they wanted to achieve with him - a creepy dude with mommy issues who wants to become one with this force that is integral to the world. But while it worked with Sephiroth because he was at the center of FFVII from the very start even before you knew about himm, Seymour fails because the main story would be completely unchanged without him. And yes, him being there makes it worse. He's there to build tension regarding Tidus and Yuna's relationship with that whole wedding bulltrout, but Tidus and Yuna already have conflict - they're falling in love even though in the end one of them will be gone. Same with how he wants to merge with Sin - it adds nothing to the plot, which is that Sin is a huge threat anyway and you would want to rid Spira of it regardless of his input, so it's really hard to focus on how Sin is such a terrible force of nature that smurfs up people's lives when the game is also trying to put a human face on it -- oh wait, we already had that too with Jecht! And we don't need another corrupt Yevon official - Mika and Kinoc are already there and are scummy enough for us to mistrust the institution. I have a feeling - and I am actually certain about it with regards to the romance plot - that the story could have had more focus and worked more effectively had he not been there. It's really enough that Tidus doesn't know that Yuna is going to die and that she's letting herself fall in love even though she knows it's not meant to be - that alone is far more gut-wrenching on its own than with a forced marriage plot and having Yuna behave like the biggest idiot on the planet.
In the end, I don't actively hate this game. My main problem is that this game follows some sensibilities that I really do not enjoy. And with X being so popular, you can see why this has caused problems in the future. People who loved X (and there were many) were very conflicted about XII - which is a game that actually really speaks to me on so many levels and I can't wait to play it again once TZA comes out - so then when XIII came out it followed X's sensibilities and exaggerated them even further, making for a game that I found no enjoyment in. I just find it sad that X was big enough to make such an impact on a series that I thought could be going a different, more interesting direction.
Thoughts on the marathon as a whole coming in a few minutes.
I am very happy I managed to fulfil my goal with this marathon. Sure, I had breaks in the meantime, but I still managed to play these FFs in order, which is something that I'd been planning on since forever. On the one hand, it was cool to experience all these games again - some only for the second time, while others for the third, fourth or fifth), but at the same time, I'm kind of glad I have this behind me and can give all those FFs I just played a rest for a good couple of years
Thanks to everyone who has been following me and supporting me throughout. This wasn't really a Let's Play and not a lot of interesting stuff really happened, but you guys stuck around and offered advice. And I'm very glad that happened
Ugh... Hate questions like these. I have no top ten ranking. Ranking things is pointless because this stuff constantly changes depending on mood and other factors. Whatever lists I made in the past are irrelevant at this point regardless of the marathon because these things are constantly fluctuating and I'm not gonna go ahead and limit myself by introducing a list that will dictate what I am allowed to say my favorite FFs are
What I can tell you, however, was whether my enjoyment of specific games in the series has remained the same, decreased, or increased from when I last played them!
FFI - unchanged
Despite being able to choose a different party at the start, I don't think there's a lot of replay value in this game. It's short and you can breeze through it, which is probably why I played it so many times. Nothing struck me as better or worse than I remember, though.
FFII - unchanged
What I said about I pretty much applies here as well, except instead of jobs say weapons and spells. Seriously underappreciated little gem. It still has one of the best overworld themes in the series, IMO.
FFIII - increased exponentially
I never imagined picking the Geomancer could be such a game changer! Seeing all those spells take thousands of damage by the game's mid-point is so satisfying.
FFIV - increased
Another game I've played many times, but this is the first time I've noticed how perfectly paced it is. I still think it has the best-constructed story in the series, even if the plot itself is not that interesting by today's standards.
FFV - unchanged
Still the same funny romp with jobs and excellent music as it always has been. FFV is pretty damn timeless.
FFVI - unchanged
It's still the same tale of epic proportions, though I will admit that I've played it way too soon after the last time for it to not feel repetitive.
FFVII - decreased
How could I forget how bad Disc 2 was? I was honestly baffled by how sloppy this game was since in my memory it was one of the greats. Seeing how bad that second disc was made me have this tiny crisis that made me wonder if it was even worth it to continue the marathon. But I persevered. I honestly blame the horrible translation for tarnishing my experience as well.
FFVIII - increased
I forgot how cool the junction system is, how strong the main cast was, and how much more cohesive the narrative was from VII. So glad this game happened.
FFIX - unchanged
FFIX is still as great as ever. An incredibly charming game that deals with some heavy themes while still having tons of stuff to do. A perfect end to an era.
FFX - increased
While I still don't like the fact that X's popularity overshadows so many games that deserve to be remembered better, X was nevertheless a bit more fun to play than the last time I tried the HD remaster. Still wish they'd edited Seymour out for this version, though
Your assessment of X is fair, I for one enjoy X but I am a massive fan of playing Blitz. "1, 2, 3... TEACH US HOW TO BLITZ"
I still don't get the battle theme hate. I love it. Love love love it. Is it my favourite battle theme of the series? Not sure... but it's definitely up there with VII and VIII's
It's just agonizingly slow and insanely disjointed. Like Uematsu was just throwing out all the unused ideas he had for previous battle themes.
Maybe to you it's no big deal, but for around two years in music school we've had a whole class devoted to musical piece analysis. And seeing how bad this theme and having to endure it every five minutes was smurfing painful
Speaking of, I think ranking regular battle themes will be much easier!
1. FFVI
2. FFVIII
4. FFVII (tbh, this is only this high because of that one part; you know the one)
5. FFIV
6. FFV
7. FFII
8. FFIII
9. FFIX
10. FFX
I don't really feel strongly about the top three, but I do about the bottom three. Uematsu can't really do slow battle themes. But at least IX and III (ESPECIALLY III) make up for it with excellent boss themes. X... not so much.
Heh, VI would probably be near the bottom of my list. Actually let's try this...
#1 VII
#2 VIII
#3 IX
#4 X
#5 XIII
#6 V
#7 IV
#8 I
#9 X-2
#10 VI
X-2 wasn't even part of the marathon, you ninny!
And you are dead to me. And not because you put VI at the bottom, since the top of my list was pretty arbitrary. But X at number 4 is just blasphemous. You dare come disrespect me in my home, on the day of my daughter's wedding.
Of course, if I were to make a list of all the regular battle themes in the series, XIII would win, but I'm going just by marathon games
Regular boss themes are next!
1. FFIII (ESPECIALLY that B-part! It's understated and yet so epic because of it and with the buildup before! Brilliant!)
2. FFII (yes, the weird vaguely Middle-Eastern sounding one. It's so good.)
3. FFV
4. FFVIII
5. FFIX
6. FFVII
7. FFVI
8. FFIV
9. FFI
10. FFX
Oh, well, I don't really feel like I can properly judge the II and III themes since I haven't heard them in action =P
But X at #4 is perfectly justifiable. It's catchy as hell. I do kinda wish it didn't play during monster arena and superboss shenanigans to separate those from regular goons a bit, but eh, that's a problem with sound direction, not the music itself.
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