/vr/ - Retro Games

Playing through pic related. The ridiculous encounter rate turned what would have otherwise been a highly enjoyable game into a tedious slog.

>>2625510
Is this a meta thread? Nah, just kidding. I know FF7 by all quantifiable means the greatest JRPG of all time. I'm on a double-dose of Shin Megami Tensei myself at the current time - both console and portable but I'm afraid neither are quite retro so I'll just post a picture of Persona 2-2

I'm currently playing through FF9. I didn't like it when I was younger but now that my balls have dropped it's actually pretty fucking entertaining. The humor is pretty top tier.

What pisses me off though, is the slow as fuck battle load times. It takes a good 30 seconds just to let me start the fight because the camera is zooming in on rocks and shit.

>>2625525
Also playing FFIX. Just started. Never got far as a kid because I ended up not knowing what to do next. Just died on that Plant boss. Was totally shocked at how tough that was. I know now to use potions as faat as possible after a Thunder and it'll be much easier this time around but it's been a while since Ive gotten my ass kicked like that.

>>2625514
Skip it and play the fourth one, it's way better in every regard.

>>2625510
>FFVII, the game puts a smile on my face with its humor
People who talk about Cloud and FF7 being emo haven't played it. The game is pretty silly.

>>2625570

Good to know, not him, but slogging through too now. I'm already past timeskip, at the plant, so I guess I'm still going to finish it.

>>2625572
Wasn't cloud made more edgy after this game? Not familiar with FF that much, so...

>>2625572
Cloud is a snarky bastard in 7, and the time he is in a slump is brief and damn well justified. Advent Children and Kingdom Hearts got his portrayal completely wrong.

>>2625560
Some of the battles can be a bitch for sure. The game has an entertaining main quest and so many side quests, it's hard to get bored. For example, right now I'm catching frogs at a pond to increase the damage of my Frog Drog spell, this is funny as fuck.

>>2625580
in the movies and spinoffs, yep, you're correct

>>2625572
Cecil and the leading ladies of VI are more deserving of the "emo" title than pre-Compilation Cloud, tbh.
And it's those fans of IV and VI that primarily bash on Cloud.

>>2625572

That was such a wonderful surprise for me when I first got into FFVII. Nobody from either side of the hype/hate wagon ever really mentions just how much heart this game has put into its humor and that ended up being a big reason why I enjoyed it so much.

>>2625572
In the original game I never saw Cloud act remotely emo aside from when Tifa visited his consciousness in the lifestream or something. I don't know why everyone over exaggerates a trait of his which was barely existent to begin with.

>>2625581
Nomura being given creative freedom of the Final Fanatasy universe is one of the reasons Square has fallen from grace. Advent Children was offensively bad and only served to further tarnish FF7's already less-than-favorable reputation.

>>2625861
>>2625580
>>2625581
Cloud as a character, just like FF7 as a game, fell victim to the culture change that came immediately after.

>>2626094
What are you talking about? The problem was Sakaguchi leaving and Nomura being given too much responsibility.

>>2625624
I'll say what I've said before about this, and it's that you can't really properly compare the stories of the SNES Final Fantasies with FFVII on those grounds because down to the basics of how their stories are told they have different presentation. FFIV and VI come off as more melodramatic and campy at times mostly because they have a more theatrical, operatic presentation to them as a way to make up for the fact that the SNES couldn't handle cinematic styles with different camera angles and views of the characters faces like that without it becoming actual cutscene stills, which would cause a rift in player immersion. Characters talk in monologues and arias about their emotion and musical cues take a far heavier note, Cecil, Celes, and Terra seem more emo simply because they need to say it more than Cloud would (and this isn't calling Cloud emo.) Contrast with VII which is full of action shots and FMV that it can use to communicate things, and a more cinematic style in its script with how characters talk with so many one-liners.

Anyway, I've just started really playing SMT on SNES for the first time and I'm having quite a bit of fun. I'm not far at all but I like the diplomacy options the game offers, it's really entertaining to shittalk demons and try to memorize the correct patterns to get on their good side.

>>2626095
That's victim blaming. Sakaguchi made Final Fantasy games, not pseudo-sequels and crap. The AUDIENCE wanted more and they wanted it to be all "90s". Sakaguchi made 90s video games become like FF7. Nomura made the FF7 story become like 90s culture.

>>2626131
And by 90s culture you mean emo as fuck?

>>2625521
How is the PSP version of Innocent Sin compared to the PS1 version? I'm probably gonna play one of the two after I'm through with FFIX since I love the SMT series but got into it kind of late.

>>2626131
You're confusing American culture with the rest of the world. Not to mention that's an extremely reductive way of looking at an era.

>>2625525
>>2625560
I also started fairly recently (last week or so, just got to the summoner village).

The only way the overworld is bearable to me if I turn on frame skipping because goddamn are those battles slow, boring and frequent. Loving it aside from that, though.

>>2626140
I honestly couldn't tell you but the Playstation version has been fan translated and in all likelihood there's a patched and converted version ready for play on PSP floating around out there. I played that version and I usually prefer the original versions of games but that's just superficial preference on my part. I imagine the remake has more content.

>>2626147
Japanese culture reflects American culture from a few years before. Sakagachi has vision, Nobura just tries to do what he thinks people want.

>>2625525
I'm playing FFIX currently as well. Couldn't find anything I liked, so I went back to a game that I loved. Using a walkthrough this time around because I want to 100% for the first time.

>>2626164
>Japan! It's 2011's America!

>>2626237
>Implying it's not

>>2626170
>I want to 100% for the first time.

I hate to say it but with FF9 this is absolutely impossible. You either do a 99% run and miss Excalibur II or you put all your focus on speed running the game for Excalibur II and miss everything else.

>>2625510
Never played one Final Fantasy game, I've watched a friend's brother play ff7 on pc back when was first released.

I recently bought 3 ff games for the ps1, ff7-9. Having never played one should I start with the nes games or could I just put in ff7 and play? Don't wanna start on 7 and realize I should of started from the beginning.

>>2626602
Oddly enough, despite the names being numeric the games have little to do with each other, so you can start at 7, and then play 3 and not miss a beat. They're all self contained, or at least the main series is. The benefit to playing them in order is seeing how the series evolved since then, and how much it has expanded since '87. So go for it, play FF7.

>>2626252
nah. Japanese women have an elegance and sophistication that is unmatched by american skanks. also they're all slender rather than obese.

>>2626257
Oh gay.
Shit, guess I'm going for a 99% run then.

>>2626693
You're being ironic, right?

>>2626108
>more theatrical, operatic
>monologues and arias about their emotion and musical cues take a far heavier note
>Cecil, Celes, and Terra seem more emo simply because they need to say it more than Cloud would

This is actually really neat. I hadn't thought about the SNES games being more that way.

>>2626257
>>2626760
It's actually quite possible, but difficult and involves a lot of practice, resets, and RNG. There is a perfect game w/ Excalibur II FAQ on GameFAQs if you're interested.

Personally, I just go for the easier 99% and skip the Excalibur II. I'm one that likes to do everything in a game, but being time-gated for one item isn't worth not experiencing the game at my own pace.

>>2626919
Yeah, it's also why I love the flowery translation of DS IV so much because it suits the style perfectly. Also it helps to come to the realization when FFVI has a literal opera in it and the whole of VI's soundtrack.

>>2626602
The games have nothing to do with each other save for direct sequels like X-2, XIII-2 etc. Start with FF7 since it's a good starting point.

>>2626602
I'd recommend starting with 4, 5, 6, 7, or 9. Any of them would be good choices.

>>2626928
Well said. My thoughts exactly.

ff8 is underrated. it has great style and quirks. i think its the best of the 3 on the playstation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn5NjUMzPVw

>>2627027
>Recommending 9
Look, I'll leave my personal opinion of the game out of this and stick to the facts: it's slow. The battle animations slow the game down to a crawl and that's not just a good experience to give someone new to the franchise.

>>2627027
>>2627993
My honest opinions:
>FF1
A bit dated, enjoyable and definitely on the shorter side which is really nice for JRPG's.
>FF2 and 3
Never played. No opinion
>FF4
Not a bad starting point if you're absolutely new to JRPGs. Very few decisions to make since you have no choice in characters you use or how they are built.
>FF5
Personally I feel this is objectively the best NES-SNES era Final Fantasy. Lots of customization available, and your gear choices do play a large effect. Just the right amount of difficulty.
>FF6
I think this game is honestly one of the worst. Forgettable story, too many characters, a pseudo-customization system which esentially just devolves into everyone learning all magic (or Cures at the very least) so its hardly customization.
>FF7
Best starting point on PS1 by far. Customization via coloured marbles, which are transferable between characters when you're forced to use others. Every character has some minor storyline that gets developed at least a little bit. Really solid pacing, and the money/exp curve is on point. Tons of fun minigames to break up the action and is a genuinely enjoyable experience.
>FF8
FF8 is more complicated. The story is hit or miss depending on your feelings on time-related storylines. The junction system is incredibly breakable, and you can use refines and card modding to get access to the ultimate weapon before the end of the first disc.
>FF9
Terrible all around. Its slow paced, the story is a mess, and its just absolutely an abomination. I can't see why so many people love it.

>>2628038
>FF6 the worst
>FF8 better than FF9

Simply wow. Opinions are opinions but that's just objectively wrong.

>>2628051
>objectively

>>2628051
That statement is wrong. You can't have someones opinion be objectively wrong.

>>2628051
FF6 is terrible. Its basically FF4, and people have basically commonly accepted that FF4 isn't that good because its so linear.

Which is exactly what FF6 is.

Its completely linear until WoR. Then you get options of where to go. The customization is non-existant. Everyone has their own skillsets, and there are 2 archetypes, fighters and casters.

Terra, Celes, Relm, and Strago are your primary casters.

Everyone else usually falls into a fighter archetype, which devolves into spamming attack or using their overpowered skill (Tools, Blitz, etc).

Its boring as hell. It suffers from Chrono Cross-style of having too many characters so none of them get any real development (outside of like, Terra, Celes, Sabin and Edgar).

Everyone just seems to love it for some reason. I'd bank on it being peoples first final fantasy.

FF8 is objectively better the 9. FF8 is incredibly breakable and replayable. The story is good and if you actually pay attention things aren't just "out of the blue" like the stupid "Squalls dead" article states.

FF9 is just boring and bland. Its story very much IS out of the blue (unliek FF8's) and it realistically has no redeeming features over anything else in the series. Its also incredibly slow with horrid load times, battle times, and actions taking forever.

Fucking fight me. FF6 and 9 are terrible games.

>>2628096

i'm sure you have praised much worse games during your time shitposting in vr anon.
It's ok. Keep on raging.

>>2628096
>FF9 is just boring and bland. Its story very much IS out of the blue
You called?

>>2626252
>mode shit
>ever being representative of what people actually wears

>>2625574
Friend, you still have a long, long way to go.

Which 5 rpg games would you recommend for the playstation, either your favourites, or the rpgs you would choose if you could have no others.

>>2628096
NO SHUT UP FF6 IS THE BEST JRPG EVER MADE YOU'RE JUST A STUPID FF7 FANBOY REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

>>2628096
i...hmm... i dont even know what to say... how can someone be so wrong xD

So I'm thinking about to play another Final Fantasy. I've played VI and VII so far and want to go with V or IV now. Which one of the two would you recommend?

For reference, so far I've liked FF VI more but VII also is a great game I think.

>>2628420
Play them both, but if you can only choose one then go with V.

>>2628038
>Terrible all around. Its slow paced, the story is a mess, and its just absolutely an abomination. I can't see why so many people love it.

At the time you had FF7 and FF8 released just a few years prior which made drastic deviations from prior entries. They completely got rid of character classes in favor of virtually fully customizeable characters. They went from a typical fantasy environment to a more futuristic sci-fi environment.

So if you were a fan of the series, FF9 was a return to a game more similar to 1, 2, and 3 (U.S. numbering). People who were fans of the series through then appreciated that and put up with the slow pace of battles.

If you came into the series at 7 or 8, you would generally say 'wtf is this?' if you played FF9 in the year 2000.

Honestly, I think there are two bad parts to the game: first is the fact that the animations are wayyy too long, complete with a good 3 second pause before they even start. Add the 30 seconds to even start the battle and this really slows the game to a slog. But FF8 also suffered from this.

The second is chocobo hot and cold. I thought that the whole chocobo breeding side quest really put a dent in FF7's enjoyability, and bringing a form of this into 9 was a big mistake.

>>2628096
> The customization is non-existant.

I felt that the extreme customization of characters was a big weakness in FF7 and 8. I don't want to play a game where characters only differ in appearance, I want to play a game where there's a really compelling gameplay reason to take character A over character B.

Also, the only way to give magic to every character is to grind the shit out of the game, and every.single.jrpg will be ridiculously easy and sucky if you sit there and grind. That's just the way the genre went.

> Completely linear until the WOR
That comprises the last 3rd of the game. The firs time I played through the game, I spent more time exploring the WOR than anything else in about 45 hours of play time. And FF7 and 8 are completely linear until the very end of disk 2 or 3, respectively, and the final disk is only used for the last dungeon.

> Its boring as hell. It suffers from Chrono Cross-style of having too many characters so none of them get any real development (outside of like, Terra, Celes, Sabin and Edgar).

If you want robust character develop, read a book. This is a game.

>>2628420

I would recommend IV inbetween those two. FFV is like classic (FF3 or the original one) with SNES graphics and battles. FF4 was the one that changed everything.

I would ALSO recommend FF9 if you liked these oldschool ones, and FFX, a personal favorite.

Who knows, you might enjoy Tactics and FF12 too.

>>2628721

Characters differ in more than just appearance. Their level-up growth and limit break sets are completely different. The differences in level-up growth are more noticeable in 8 than 7.

>>2628721
>if you want robust character develop, read a book

Or actually play a good storyline.

>>2628235
Given that you're asking for favorites...

SaGa Frontier
SaGa Frontier 2
Vagrant Story
Front Mission 2
Arc The Lad trilogy

Though I'd also heartily reccomend BoFIV, Star Ocean 2, Valkyrie Profile, Vandal Hearts 2, Legend of Mana and Koudelka.
There are so many of them it's difficult to make a short list though, and it also really depends on how you like your JRPGs.

>>2625525
I know most people disagree but that is one of my fav final fantasy

damn, story,characters,boss, music it's all awesome

>>2628710
My first was Final Fantasy 2. Then I played Final Fantasy on NES, then I played FF3, then 7, then 8 then 9.

9 was bad. Thats all there is too it. You can argue that its a "return to its roots" but I will argue that its a downgrade. The systems in place in FF7 and 8 were fantastic and going away from it back to the archaic model wasn't enjoyable.

>>2628721
Thats not true at all.
>Vincent or Barret (and I think Yuffie) have long range weapons which mean they can sit in the back row and have full damage
Theres also the Long Range materia which you can give to anyone which does the same thing.
>Vincent has some very high Hit Rate weapons which can be used with Deathblow Materia to give very high chance of critical hits constantly.
>Certain characters favor magic
>Limit breaks aren't always just damage, some have utility

FF8 I'll give you is more homogenous, but I believe thats because you're constantly forced to use all your party members which is a good thing. Its not like others where you just pick your top 3-4 and then stick with them while everyone else gets sidelined. Its one of the reasons I think FF5 is so great. You literally have the same core party members throughout the entirety of the game.

Linearity isn't inherently a bad thing. But "feeling" Linear is. When you get the Airship in FF6 you can't fly around freely, Setzer literally sits it down near Vector and thats your only option. When you get vehicles in FF7 theres sidequests you can do, you can go back to Junon with the buggy and do some stuff, you can take the Tiny Bronco to Wutai or explore (and grind on the Mideel area monsters extremely early to power level), and find other things, theres optional stuff to do. FF6 gives you basically nothing optional until WoR.

>If you want robust character development, read a book, this is a game.

I want both. This is kind of where your argument goes to pieces tbh. You should be striving for greatness in all aspects of your game.

>>2628420
IV is more driven by narrative and characters progression is locked on a set path.
V is more like the first 3 games where you're given free reign on how to develop them given what you have at the time. Still has a grand story, but not as melodramatic.

>>2626140
They made hitler cooler by "censoring" him.

>>2629154
We get it, you have bad taste. Keep that shit to yourself though lol

>>2625570
Highly subjective. You'll find an equal amount of people saying the reverse.

>>2625574
Dont take that as given lore please. In actuality, the encounter rate is just as bad in IV as it is in III. It is still highly enjoyable as a game, i mean for fucks sakes you can get reduced encounter accessories early on in the game.

Dont discard III just because of someones bad taste, please.

>>2626140
Innocent SIn is unplayable after playing the PS2 version. The only reason is how cluttered up and highly annoying the battle interface is on the original compared to the streamlined (but no less complex) system on the psp one

>>2629314
All the BoF's kind of suck (outside of Dragon Quarter, because it actually does something unique and interesting)

This whole hating on 3 and loving 4 thing is pretty new, I'm guessing its for hipster cred or something.

3 is pretty bland, 4 is a more robust and complete story. but gameplay wise its still the same sloppy pig that 3 is.

>>2625510
>FF1
It's a pretty damn fun spin on the Dragon Quest sort of thing.
>FF2
I love SaGa, and I thought this had some pretty awful ideas. Systems started here to be perfected later though.
>FF3
Pretty fun, but IMO it's outclassed in every way by V. Harder ending though.
>FF4
Pretty good for beginners. I like the GBA/PSP extras better, gotta love beating up Zeromus with Yang and Cid and then going through some crazy random adventures in the ruins.
>FF5
My personal favorite. I love the battle system, more exploration-oriented story, and overall fun feeling this game has. I'm probably one of the few who actually tries to make different characters out of the jobs instead of dual weild/rapid fire/spellblade though.
>FF6
This game is fun but not as fun as V to me. Pretty cool story. Sadly [spioler]Ted Woolsey Uncensored[/spoiler] is probably the closest we're ever getting to a definitive version.
>FF7
Honestly, VI did the plot better. That said, the materia system isn't bad and it's got far less bugs than the former.
>FF8
Ugh, just ugh. I admire it for turning all the RPG mechanics on their head, but not only the the story absolutely insulting to time-based plots but it's also a grim forecast of what's to come in the series.
>FF9
A hell of a lot better than 8. I always find myself coming back to this one, the humor and callouts are neat, and there's a whole ton of exploration to do. The game's at it's best when the whole point is just dicking around the world instead of stopping a bad Kefka impersonation. A lot of my favorite characters are in this one, particularly the female party members.
>FFT
Up until a second half it's a pretty unique story for an FF game. FFV job system comes back, bringing up it's endless customization again.
>Chocobo's Racing
Solid kart racer, wish there was more content.
>Chocobo's Dungeon 2
There's better roguelikes on the system, but it's still good fun.

Final Fantasy II was my personal favorite, and yes, I have played and finished the entire main series, and even some of the spin-offs.

I guess the degree of character customization has a lot to do with it. Any character can be made to specialize in anything, and if you feel particularly grindy, you can make them specialize simultaneously in everything at once. There's also the whole open-world feel going for it, or at least sort of open. You still have to advance all the plot-related elements before you can head into the final dungeon.

I prefer games with a higher difficulty curve, as well. If a game doesn't challenge you enough, then it doesn't feel very rewarding to finish it. This is one of the reasons why I don't go back and replay FF7 - you can breeze right through the game without even trying to grind or exploiting any particular skills or party setups. The earlier FF games were a lot more fun in that you had to play around with everything and discover effective class setups or cheap strategies for yourself. Hell, it was practically necessary, given all the lethal status effects enemies were constantly trying to stick on you.

I really enjoy the SaGa franchise, especially some of the remade versions like SaGa 2 and 3 for the DS and Makai Toushi SaGa on the Wonderswan.

Romancing SaGa for PS2 was also the most SaGa thing ever.

>>2629339
>tfw grinding more than I should in FFII to get equipment I want.
It's not grindy but at least it's fairly comfortable. I like the system tbh.

>>2629423
Forgot my picture.

>>2629318
PSP* version even

Speaking of FF2, little known fact: Equipping an Aegis Shield in your primary hand will cause you to score double the number of hits with the weapon in your off hand. This means you're getting essentially the same effect as dual-wielding, but you get the benefits of having a shield as well. Your damage output will be slightly less because the weapon is in your off hand, but it's nonetheless a useful feature.

>>2629335
>I'm probably one of the few who actually tries to make different characters out of the jobs instead of dual weild/rapid fire/spellblade though.

Yes, you're very special, keep giving yourself a pat on the back

>>2629335
>I'm probably one of the few
Do you have any evidence other than your own false sense of self-importance to back this up?

>>2629615
Most threads about it on /vr/ outside of fiesta suggest it, nearly as much as two ninjas two sages for 3.