Gunblades

[Elok]

In FF, regular guns do like 10hp worth of damage, compared to 10000hp of damage with a decent sword

Actually, in FF8 Irvine (the "sniper" character, who uses a rifle) is almost as combat-effective as Squall. Unlike Squall, however, he can't get critical hits just by pressing the R1 button at the right moment, and for some reason the unwieldy friggin' gunblade is incapable of missing an enemy. Literally incapable. Squall can be blinded by magic and swinging for one of those little cactus-monsters the size of a baby squirrel--the ones that dodge just about every damn attack, including Irvine's, with ease--and it's a guaranteed hit. But Irvine is almost as good as Squall. He's about tied for damage with Zell . . . who runs up to the enemy and punches them.

In related bizarre JRPG-stuff news, I saw a game called "Bravely Default" for sale at Wal-Mart the other day. Was disappointed to learn the plot did not involve overthrowing the Dark Lord by having everyone refuse to pay their mortgages.

[regexcellent]

I've played every one of the Tales games (that have been localized anyway) with my brothers. They are fun to play multiplayer but god is the story ****ing awful in each and every one of them. Invariably the plot is about a bunch of teenagers using the power of friendship to defeat soylent green, global warming, and God. Variations exist, such as whether soylent green directly causes global warming and the specific type of cap and trade measure implemented in the conclusion.

[Elok]

? I've played the original and Symphonia (only beat the former), and neither was all that bad. Not by JRPG standards, anyway. Final Fantasy VII was much more stridently anti-corporate and environmentalist. As for anti-God, hell, how many Xenogears games have there been? Also, Final Fantasy Tactics, where the final boss was a very thinly disguised second coming of Christ. And Final Fantasy X. And the entire Star Ocean series, before bowdlerization. Breath of Fire II comes to mind as well. "Death to Jesus" is basically a whole subgenre of JRPG.

[Elok]

... They made final fantasy games after 6? I thought that the fell into development he'll, like those matrix sequels and the star wars prequels that were never made.

I'll bite. Why was 7 bad and 6 good? The main differences were the cutscenes and limit breaks. Otherwise they essentially crossed out "Magicite" and "Kefka" and wrote in "Materia" and "Sephiroth" respectively. Fewer characters too, but they had the same ratio of "awesome" to "why the hell would I ever use that dude in my party?" And they were both very heavy on gameplay cheesing.

[N35t0r]

Actually, in FF8 Irvine (the "sniper" character, who uses a rifle) is almost as combat-effective as Squall. Unlike Squall, however, he can't get critical hits just by pressing the R1 button at the right moment,

Um, yes? They all can.

[Elok]

Did you play the PC version or something? Because I've played the PS1 version more than I like to remember, and it just doesn't work for anyone but Squall or Seifer. No matter how you time it--unless the timing is so utterly merciless for everyone but them that you have to have coked-up-tennis-player reflexes to do it. A drugged monkey can do it with Squall or Seifer. Indeed, in-game they tell you that pressing the "trigger" button represents pulling the trigger on the gunblade.

[self biased]

I'll bite. Why was 7 bad and 6 good? The main differences were the cutscenes and limit breaks. Otherwise they essentially crossed out "Magicite" and "Kefka" and wrote in "Materia" and "Sephiroth" respectively. Fewer characters too, but they had the same ratio of "awesome" to "why the hell would I ever use that dude in my party?" And they were both very heavy on gameplay cheesing.

seven is the cheap knockoff of six. i found six's story profoundly more engaging too.

[regexcellent]

I've only played FFX. How did they not all drown in that big floating ball of water? The national sport is ****ing stupid.

? I've played the original and Symphonia (only beat the former), and neither was all that bad. Not by JRPG standards, anyway. Final Fantasy VII was much more stridently anti-corporate and environmentalist. As for anti-God, hell, how many Xenogears games have there been? Also, Final Fantasy Tactics, where the final boss was a very thinly disguised second coming of Christ. And Final Fantasy X. And the entire Star Ocean series, before bowdlerization. Breath of Fire II comes to mind as well. "Death to Jesus" is basically a whole subgenre of JRPG.

Okay, I'll admit both Symphonia and Vesperia are solid games--the rest, less so--and it helps if you've only played one or two of them because you don't pick up on the formula.

[Elok]

What'd you have against nine, then? It undid a lot of the issues with the last two--no more angst, less brokenness/cheese (if you didn't use auto-regen), the characters were less stupid and shallow, and the plot tried to tackle something a bit more serious than "let's love our friends/down with Wal-Mart."

[DaShi]

9 actually didn't have a cohesive plot. The whole game was designed to be a mish-mash of components from the previous games. Despite an enjoyable fighting system, it's poorly structured story ultimately made it forgettable.

8 is pretty much universally reviled for its annoying teenage characters and making you run through the same ****ing areas over and over again.

7 is still fairly acclaimed for its technical achievements (though clearly quite dated now), engaging story, and wide range of activities.

6 is generally consider the apex of the series, with its dynamic characters, sprawling world and story, and it technological achievements on the SNES.

[DaShi]

Actually, in FF8 Irvine (the "sniper" character, who uses a rifle) is almost as combat-effective as Squall. Unlike Squall, however, he can't get critical hits just by pressing the R1 button at the right moment, and for some reason the unwieldy friggin' gunblade is incapable of missing an enemy. Literally incapable. Squall can be blinded by magic and swinging for one of those little cactus-monsters the size of a baby squirrel--the ones that dodge just about every damn attack, including Irvine's, with ease--and it's a guaranteed hit. But Irvine is almost as good as Squall. He's about tied for damage with Zell . . . who runs up to the enemy and punches them.

I can't remember the crits stuff. But Irvine was one of the best damage dealers in the late game, especially with his limit breaks. Him, Squall, and Rinoa make the final battle a breeze.

[ZEE]

Elok is a nerd.

[Elok]

I can't remember the crits stuff. But Irvine was one of the best damage dealers in the late game, especially with his limit breaks. Him, Squall, and Rinoa make the final battle a breeze.

I preferred Quistis to Rinoa, mostly because I couldn't stand to see her launch the dog off her arm one more frigging time. But yes, Irvine was second only to Squall for awesome damage. Unless you use Zell's cheap Booya-Punch Rush loop, which is unbearably annoying even by FF8 standards.

[Sava]

I never cared much for FF games

[N35t0r]

Did you play the PC version or something? Because I've played the PS1 version more than I like to remember, and it just doesn't work for anyone but Squall or Seifer. No matter how you time it--unless the timing is so utterly merciless for everyone but them that you have to have coked-up-tennis-player reflexes to do it. A drugged monkey can do it with Squall or Seifer. Indeed, in-game they tell you that pressing the "trigger" button represents pulling the trigger on the gunblade.

Yeah, PC. That could be it.



I think 85% of the time spent playing FF8 was spent boosting summons.