Okay, am I getting Final Fantasy Tactics? I found the original WAY too hard all three times I started it. But $10? I'm tempted to try the remake...
[quote name='Chocoburger']Eh, I like turn based JRPGs a lot (heck, my username is based off Final Fantasy), but how fun are these? I know the old FF titles had a lot of cheap and unfair deaths (open a treasure box and out spawns a giant golden dragon that is way too powerful for you).
I know FF1 doesn't have much of a story, but how is FF2's story? Worth it?[/QUOTE]
Neither has all the much of a story, but honestly both have better stories than the typical modern Japanese RPGs.
I don't think the old Final Fantasy games have cheap deaths-you'll need to do level grinding like any Japanese RPG, but I can't remember anything cheap really. No more so than other games in the genre.
Though actually the PSP version is WAY easier. In the original if your character was set to attack an enemy who got killed before their attack, they'd just lose their turn. Now it's like other games where they just move on to another enemy. I'm not sure if that's the only change or not, but for whatever reason it feels super easy and streamlined compared to the original (which never felt cheap), so it's even more fun probably.
And the remake is awesome-unlike the DS games that IMO are fugly and slow, this has graphics and music that are remade directly from the originals, but better. Still completely iconic character sprites, but much higher resolution and much more colorful, etc. The town layouts and things are even the same! The music is the same way with what's either orchestral versions of the original music or really good synthesis.
It's how I wish the whole series had been remade. I liked FF3 pretty well, but frankly I'd have preferred the NES graphics to the DS, and really wish it had been done on the PSP like these two.
[quote name='ryushe']I wanna' bite but I know I'll never play it, or when I finally do, I'll be able to get both for $10.
Thanks though op.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't count on that. Square's done a good job keeping the Playstation Final Fantasy releases in print, but still, I wouldn't count on them being around much longer.
[quote name='espionage']i enjoyed ff1 for its nostalgia since i played it originally on the nes. i also played through and beat ff2, but that's probably a game i would never want to play again. i found the story lame and the gameplay not as traditional ff as I would like. in a way, i think that squaresoft had the right idea in not originally releasing ff2 and ff3 in the states and don't really recommend ff2 or ff3 to casual rpg fans - maybe only hardcore ff completionists that want all the ff games. ff4 and on can still be played and enjoyed today by all gamers but ff2 and ff3 were just kinda blah. that's only my opinion, of course.[/QUOTE]
I somewhat agree with that, though I'd still recommend FF 2-5 over most Japanese RPGs (and 1 of course). I think the SNES release of FF4 was actually better than the Japanese version (and the version we've been getting since the PS1) as it was fast paced. The Japanese version is a grind fest which removes that, while also lacking the customization of FF3 or 5.
Final Fantasy 2 is basically the original Saga. They guy who's "co" responsible for it left the FF series after that to make the Saga series. If you've played Saga 1-3, you'll totally see FF2 as the first entry in that series. It's weird, but not unplayable. Now the later Saga games-the ones after the Gameboy, are GARBAGE, and I think most everything that guy has made post-Gameboy is garbage (he's the guy giving us all this Crystal Chronicles crap too...basically Square tosses out Sakaguchi, and keeps the guy making Saga Frontier and Crystal Chronicles 90: Quest for the Crystals...yay?)
Anyway, Final Fantasy 2 (and Saga 1) don't show experience points. They have them somehow or other, but they're all under the surface. Basically the more powerful the enemies you beat, the more your stats may go up after a battle, and level grinding works, you just don't have a hard "level" that you know you're working for.
FAQs will tell you to have your characters attack each to gain stats, and talk about how "broken" the system is and what not. Now maybe that works, but it's boring as hell, and I didn't find it effective. I just gave up and that "strategy" and started playing the game. I may have found a way to "cheat" though. Pretty early on there's this occupied castle/town. You're not really supposed to go there until later, but can go any time. It's got these knights in it that you can talk to to fight, over and over again. I could beat one pretty easily early on, but they were so much higher "level" than us that we just kept going up and up and up in our stats. I just kept fighting this guy over and over again until we weren't getting more stats-maybe an hour or two (not different from how long I'd normally be level grinding in an RPG).
After that I just played it like normal, and can't remember grinding until right before the end of the game, where I did for a few hours just to be on the safe side.
So that may have been cheating (except not really-it's part of the game and might work in other spots too), but the game played okay. It's not my favorite entry in the series, but it works.
Now I don't own the PSP version yet, and I'm going to get it today. If it's like the PSP FF1, then it's probably more streamlined/easier, so even more playable.
[quote name='Thrinn']Your opinion seems to be shared by a lot of people who've played FF2. I hear that Square tried to streamline the gameplay for the PSP (or maybe it was the GBA version), but even after that work it was still a train wreck. Wasn't that the game where the only way to efficiently level your guys was to have them attack each other rather than the monsters?[/QUOTE]
NO absolutely not. As per above I found that boring, and a pretty terrible strategy. I tried it for a few minutes, didn't see good results and it was a pain doing it. Just play the game like normal. If you need it, hunt down some easy prey to take down like I did to gain stats.
I think Saga 1 is better, but it's not a train wreck. (And much better than say Saga Frontier or whatever.)
[quote name='opportunity777']The PSP version of one is awesome.[/QUOTE]
^ This. This is how a remake SHOULD be done. Resident Evil on the Gamecube is another rare example of an awesome remake, although that arguably doesn't replace the original as much as this does.
[quote name='donteatsoap7']Does anyone know if this is all the time or just limited?
I really want a PSP and to get into FF and this would be a great start!
Thanks.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't risk waiting. Square's done a good job keeping Final Fantasy stuff in print, but you're not going to see much better than this, and this could be it.
[quote name='Ivanhoe']Wish we could play these on the PS3.
[/QUOTE]
I'd rather have them portable personally.
