Final Fantasy Tactics

[SnowFire]

Grum: Point taken. As much as I like the rest of FF8, I'm not a fan of the battles as much as in pretty much any other battle system in the series since 4j/2. I do agree that having you sit there in a boss battle healing yourself while drawing rare spells does take away the intensity- it's almost like your characters are mocking the boss, saying "Hahaha, we can withstand you indefinitely, so we're going to toy with you awhile until actually unleashing our powers and killing you in two rounds."

The problem is the incredibly schizoprenic battle system difficulty. I've seen posts by people who still had 30 Fires or something similarly pathetic junctioned to Strength on late Disc 2 and they're having serious problems, needing to use GFs all the time. And then there's me, who kills everything he doesn't want to draw from nigh-on-instantly because I know where to get the really good spells fast. In an ideal world, there would be a difficulty setting to let me actually be vaugely challeneged by something other than Omega Weapon, and let other people not have to summon GFs all day.

[Kassiopeia]

I was a bit dumbass myself when playing FFVIII the first time; by Disc 2 I had Firaga, sure, but only one or two of it per persona. I never thought the stat boost would increase if there was more magic junctioned.

Draw = Pain. And I'm not talkin about the spell.

And even Omega is easy if you bother to get the Gilgamesh or even Laguna cards.

[Kassiopeia]

Btw, battles go quick if you read something off screen, have the console right next to you with the tv, and just play like a robot, i.e. using a learnt pattern, like driving a car or a bike. The subconsciousness does the drawing, while you browse, say, Apolyton. If you play the PC version or if your PC is in another room this might prove difficult, however.

Edit: Grumbold - you thought the plot of FFVIII was interesting? Well, I guess it's a matter of perspective.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Kassiopeia
I was a bit dumbass myself when playing FFVIII the first time; by Disc 2 I had Firaga, sure, but only one or two of it per persona. I never thought the stat boost would increase if there was more magic junctioned.

Draw = Pain. And I'm not talkin about the spell.

And even Omega is easy if you bother to get the Gilgamesh or even Laguna cards.

I never used the powers of the cards

that would spoil the collection

Jon Miller

[Grumbold]

Originally posted by Kassiopeia
Edit: Grumbold - you thought the plot of FFVIII was interesting? Well, I guess it's a matter of perspective.

I was trying to be nice. The plot was pretty SeeDy

Compared to other RPG's the Japanese ones do at least manage to hit a certain quality level and bother to include emotional involvement and character flaws. D&D games tend to be just "Evil is going on. Find the source. Kill it. Find it was a front for something else. Kill it. Repeat until end of game." I don't like their prescripting that leaves you with no way to influence the story but I do like their depth.

[SnowFire]

Kass: Sure, I had the Gilgamesh card (not that I would have found it without a little advice from my roommate, though). But beating Omega with Holy Wars is not the point. In a game where all the battles are too easy, why wimp out on the one hard battle?

It's a great, wonderful challenge to beat Omega sans Holy Wars. You have to have mastered the system and play excellently to stand a chance.

Also, the differentness of FF8's plot was, as Grumbold pointed out, quite a strength. The characterization in particular helped carry things through when the main plot wobbled a bit, most notably of Squall.

[CapitanGarlic]

If you like FFT, then you'll definately like the Tactics Ogre games (made by the same folks). I have the GBA game and it's hella cool.

If I could ever find the SNES rom in english, that would be grand, but it ain't going to happen. DAMN YOU, SONY!

[FlameFlash]

CaptainGarlic... are you looking for the Ogre Battle SNES ROM? (I might be able to help.)

Looking forward to the GBA game too, though kind of waiting for somebody else I know to get the game too, part of the annoying thing about FFT or any of those other types of games is saying to a friend, my army could beat up your army and then not being able to prove it.

[ChaotikVisions]

Yes, FFT is a great game, unless you happen to have a random battle versus 12-15 monks(and get slaughtered). Great if you like strategy. Story is decent, but not great.

I'd also suggest Vandal Hearts 1 and 2 if you like that, about the same as FFT on gameplay and story. But, if you want a really good strategy game like this, you need to try FRONT MISSION 3. I say it all caps, because the game is great. I beat it two different ways, thorougly enjoying it each time. Also the cutscense are great, especially when you actually see 'IT'. The game itself is turn-based strategy like the others but your using mechs equipped with various weapons, you also get skills by random chance and you get better at the weapon your using. Pretty interesting, all in all. It is an RPG as well, though its mostly linear, just with a few different paths you can take.

[SnowFire]

Nah, he's referring to Tactics Ogre, which I do have the ROM of, but I don't speak Japanese.

Because everybody gushed over TO and how it was a hardcore version of FFT crossed with Ogre Battle (both of which are great), I went out on eBay and got it a few years back for 60 or so bucks. What a total waste of money. The GBA version from what I hear cleaned up stuff a lot, but the PSX version has serious, game-crippling problems which I don't feel like listing out in full at the moment. But ugh.

P.S. I agree, FM3 is an excellent game. I beat both scenarios as well.

[FlameFlash]

What platform is that Front Mission 3 published on?

*nods* Ogre Battle and FFT combined... that would be interesting to say the least.

I've heard nothing but good things about the GBA version... I've got to just stop dragging my feet and go and get it.

[Jon Miller]

front mission 3 is a PS game

it is still on my to get list

Jon Miller

[FlameFlash]

I'll certainly have to look into getting it then.

[Jon Miller]

The last time I bought a PS1 game I was down to Front Mission 3 and Chrono Cross. I chose Chrono Cross, I am uncertain if I chose rightly.

Jon Miller

[FlameFlash]

Well, I enjoyed Chrono Cross... bought it when it first came out, was only slightly annoyed when the price dropped, but not very much.

I just wish my wish list wasn't so big at amazon.com...