Lurker > TomNook7

91. Doomtrain

y tho

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/006486d6.jpg

UF8 posted...

the real question is what is mario, period

this

how come all the humans need space suits to breathe on the moon, but mario can breathe just fine

Doomtrain

oh shit its a rare FF11 person! *throws master ball*

Also damn that all does sound good actually. And ive been feeling nostalgic for that game. BUT I MUST RESIST

Wanglicious posted...

i'm amused that you hated FF13 so much you not only skipped it but skipped its sequels too.

technically there's also Crisis Core, which is pretty good too!
but i'm just plain impressed that you did as many as you did, especially the MMOs. 11 is essentially gated for anybody trying to get into the series, even if it's understood that 14 is just plain better these days.

I played Crisis Core on PSP a long time ago, but i dont really remember it, so i bought the remaster as a refresher, and its on the backlog lol. One day. I also have Crystal Chronicles on Gamecube and Stranger of Paradise that I really wanna play, but Im gonna be FFd out after Dawntrail lol

And thanks! I got FF11 day 1 on Ps2, and I still have the hard drive and ethernet connector and everything. It was my first ever mmo, and i got really into it, but man was it barebones and mind numbingly difficult. I hear the expansions really improve a lot though. And apparently the story gets legit good. But fuck if I have time for all that these days lmao, one mmo is enough

colliding posted...

no issues whatsoever with the numerical order of the rankings. an 8 is too high for FFXV. drag it through the dirt

15 is in a weird space where it's just very obviously deeply flawed, but it's not because of a lack of effort. They clearly loved what they were making, and it works on a lot of levels. Bigger than the sum of its parts

pjbasis posted...

nahhh you fumbled some numbers to make this happen

Lol i think FF8 was definitely at least a 9/10 for its time (1-10 probably all were actually.) And I was there in 1999 - those graphics and that atmosphere were unbelievable. Nobody really complained about the combat or story back then either - the internet just kinda dogpiled it over time. Also Triple Triad is my all time favorite FF minigame, maybe any minigame in any game ever

But I think they botched that remaster a bit. Those pre rendered backgrounds are some of the best in gaming, but look like shit in the remaster. And they gave the main characters new models, but npcs are still pixely blobs. So yeah i think FF8 falls behind a bit by todays standards thanks to that damn remaster.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Did you do the Stormblood raids....

WHAT HES IN FF14 OH MY GODDDDDDD

Leonhart4 posted...

Balthier is legitimately great. One of my favorite FF characters despite not being a huge fan of XII.

^5

pjbasis posted...

Are you considering 1-12 all "good'

Find out in my ranking topic soon to come

But yeah heres my cool review for ff12:

Wow, so its a dungeon crawler. Back in 2006 i was expecting the follow up to FF1-10, but they took a left turn and did something like Shiren the Wanderer or Persona. Even the items and traps on the world/dungeons are randomized. Just like with 11, 14, 15, 7 remakes, and 16 you gotta drop the expectations that comes with the rest of the series, and look at it objectively for what it is (though i personally think FF desperately needs a return to form. It really needs its RE7 or mega man 9.)

I like being able to choose which path you want to go down on the license board, and at first i kinda hated that you have to buy magic and gambits at the shop. But i get it - its so you dont get too far ahead of the story bosses - and it really does feel rewarding to put in all the work to finally make your gambits pop off

And you cant just leave gambits on and win - because bosses and certain random monsters are HARD like 5 and x-2, and youll have to constantly rethink your strategy (turn off magic if they have Reflect on them for instance)

But there are some systems that are undercooked. Quickenings are some nonsense, and summoning removes two party members, so it severely limits your dps, and also makes it so you cant quicken, so i just never used it. And only being able to form a party of 3 is some balls, especially considering guest npcs will join you and take up a 4th slot.

Because this is a dungeon crawler, the graphics are a lot more simplistic than FFXs, and also its just an entirely new art style (like FF9 did), so I aint mad at it. And damn the eye movements and facial expressions look really good for Ps2. It surprisingly brings a lot of life to the characters. But for some reason the voices all sound like they were recorded on a cheese grater lol? And half the cast is severely underwritten. Penelo barely does or says anything the entire game, and Vaan stops being the main character as soon as Ashe joins the party.

The writing and voice work for Balthier and Fran are legitimately great though. Almost every line from those guys is delivered perfectly. I was being facetious at first when i made them my main characters, but they really are the highlight.

Theres a serious lack of enemy diversity, but the bosses all look and play incredible. Theres no mini games or meaningful side quests, but the hunts are mostly great. Also thanks ff12 for having it so my partys ai constantly walks into traps; thats always fun.

The music - some of it is very reminiscent of FFT and sounds great, and some of it tries to be like a movie soundtrack so theres lots of repetitive forgetful muzak, which is super annoying when thats all hear in a long ass dungeon fighting the same fights over and over.

Overall I like to compare FF12 to FF5 or X-2 because these are all games where the story takes a backseat to combat and customization. But ultimately I think 5 and X-2 do it better. Progression in those games constantly feels exciting, rewarding, and fresh, whereas 12 can definitely be a slog at times. It takes like fifteen hours to multiclass, and you dont get the truly crazy accessories till later in the game, and yeah definitely more of a slow burn.

Overall though - good not great. Thinking my score is gonna be in the lower 8s maybe like 8.3? Gonna think on it, and like i said ill have my main ranking topic up soon. Thanks for reading my dumb playthroughs and see you in the next day or so

Doomtrain

FF12 beated! Ive now beaten every (good) mainline ff game (but only the ff11 core game because fuck all that lol)

https://youtu.be/LGZCKlonx78?feature=shared

Ill post a new topic with my final ranking at some point, and for right now im gonna let ff12 digest and get back to yall with my final thoughts

Nah i gotta earn this shit

I just did some hunt fighting a giant t-rex that had a move that did like 8500 damage even with my protect up, but i have gambits set up for my team where anyone can revive and heal in an emergency, and it was pretty amazing seeing my characters constantly bringing each other back and keeping each other going without me lifting a finger. Like i cracked some mathematical code and found harmony in a perfect equilibrium

I went to Bahamut for the final battle, but everything there kicked my ass, so im doing some hunts / exploring hard areas to get stronger

Glad i did - discovered the Masamune for Basch, and got Hermes Sandals to haste him with. Just gotta beserk him and he goes CRAZY. Also got Bubble Belts to double Balthier and Frans hp

Some of these hunts are really fun too

Thank god somebody else gets it

legend of dragoon remake 100% confirmed

FF14 but i dont care about dailies. I dont want something i enjoy to become a second job lol

Id legit be very interested to hear more from people who love this. Id like to hear an ff12 fans perspective for sure

Like I know it has its devoted fans, but its just one last check mark for me at this point. Its good enough, but a bit of a mixed bag overall. I think the combat and customization were intended to be a highlight, like with ff5 and x-2, but ff12 fumbled it a bit. Ill have more to say when i finish it

a 100 floor long tedious dungeon right at the end of the game, and if you have to leave to restock on items or whatever, you have to restart at floor 1

whew

I must persevere

Its the only good mainline FF i have left

more thoughts:

Its cool that Cid is a bad guy this time, but it sucks hes also just kinda bland and uninteresting

Speaking of bland and uninteresting, vaan and penelo have like nothing to do with the plot lol. Eventually ashe just kinda took over as role of main character

Summoning seems kinda useless, as your dps goes way down, so i just save my mist for quickening

I dont wanna hate on ff12 too bad - its still an 8/10 good game when compared to all other games for the time. If it wasnt called final fantasy people would be like whoa check out this cult classic ps2 jrpg and would probably put it up there with rogue galaxy or whatever. Thank god for fast forward tho. I cant imagine playing this game in slo mo

Just did the dungeon in the giant crystal where you dont have a map and its basically a giant maze of the same room over and over but you gotta keep track of key stones, teleport pads, etc

and im on vacation in another country and didnt have internet where i was, so i had to draw a literal map to get through it

And then i guess this game has ff14s ascians, but in this one theyre called occurians, and they control shit behind the scenes, and one of them is named venat, and

i am so tired

Doomtrain

Balthier used to be a judge? OH SNAP

But wow this chop minigame is some bullshit nvm i hate this game again

Phon coast is dope

The archadian capital is too

The physical manual literally tells you on page 1 not to look at it till after you finish the game lol

Im laying here playing ff12 on my switch, and my wife playing ffx on her switch next to me and its just clearly a much better game

Shes at the part where theyre on the boat, and they shoot the harpoon gun at sin and the fisherman are like SORRY LADY YUNA WE GOTTA GET IT AWAY FROM KILIKA OUR FAMILIES ARE THERE

fucking big ass sin dragging your little ass boat

Music all epic

Switches to a cutscene after every turn

Wakka throws the ball farrrrrrr as shit and hits sin like boop 30 damage

Gotta dive down and fight sinspawn underwater

Im just sitting here like damn i wish i was playing that

Also

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/7/7e26a59d.jpg

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/f01a0784.jpg

HOW

I have no idea how Quickenings work and after reading like three different guides i might not ever get it

^both of those above two posts are true

This game is a bit of a mixed bag and all over the place, kind of like Ashes wardrobe

But Id say the difficulty spikes give FF12s exploration enough of an edge. I went out into a rainy swamp, saw a thunder elemental, and it did like 999 damage to me and in that moment i realized thunder damage is super effective in the rain (just like tactics!)

So not only did i learn to just stay tf away from thunder elementals in the rain, but also i prioritized thunder on frans gambit and immediately turned my luck around

Theres been a bunch of little organic moments like that so far

As soon as there stopped being a main character, this immediately became the Balthier + Fran show

But I aint gonna lie - I got stuck in the Raithwall tomb, and then got stuck on the Belias fight for a bit. It was a little disheartening, but i decided to toughen up and stick with it, and do some monster hunts, explore the maps a little more, etc.

So eventually I got licenses for gear that had magic resistance, saved up enough gil to buy said gear, and even got some better weapons via monster hunts. And i had all my gambits lined up just right, and finally beat Belias.

And even though i really dont have access to much right now (all the cool magic and techs arent available in shops right now), and even though i had the battle running on autopilot it was oddly satisfying

And then we got the Dusk Shard, but Vossler do a betray OH SHIT

And now I have access to the second license board. Im so excited to completely break this shit. I have Balthier as Machinist, Fran as Black Mage, and Basch as Knight, and Ive been reading on some broken combos online, and Im thinking Machinist/White Mage, Black Mage/Monk, and Knight/Bushi

Was the second job license board in the original? I feel like this entire license thing has been completely reworked from how i remember it. Throw in the fast forward, and they really did a lot to fix ff12 in this remaster

Lol i remember not liking vaan back then, but i actually find him pretty likable and endearing now that im older

I remember being on board 8 when his character art was first revealed, and he was shirtless and showing nipple, and just EVERYONE on the internet was so pissed lmao

dont believe ondores lies

Should i be hanging on to any of this loot besides teleport stones?

Also if ivalice takes place in ff14, does that mean they had to worry about the archadian empire AND the garlemald empire? Did garlemald just copy archadias vibe?

Okay so for endwalker, i dont think ff14 has dipped below 9/10 for the last nine years or whatever (compared to all other games). I fully admit im not the biggest fan of the excessive cutscenes or casual gameplay, but a lot of people are, and it wouldnt be such a worldwide phenomenon if it didnt bring a lot of people value. To me ff14 is kinda like smash bros or animal crossing - its intended to be lighthearted, casual fun, but it can also get as intense or hardcore as the player wants. Which isnt an easy balance to strike, and is a testament to good design. Endwalker is probably like a 9.2/10 or something around there

1. FF7 - 10
2. FF6 - 10
3. FFT - 10
4. FF10 - 9.5
5. FF14 SHB - 9.5
6. FF4 - 9.4
7. FF9 - 9.3
8. FF14 EW - 9.2
9. FF14 STB - 9.1
10. FF5 - 9.0
11. FF14 HW - 9.0
12. FF8 - 8.8
13. FFX-2 - 8.5
14. FF16 - 8.4
15. FF3 - 8.4
16. FF14 ARR - 8.3
17. FF1 - 8.3
18. FF11 - 8.3
19. FF15 - 8.1
20. FF7 Remake - 8.0
21. FF2 - 6.0
22. DoC FF7 - 5.5
23. FF13 - 3.0

The only ones left i still wanna play are ff12 and dawntrail, and then i can finally be done with this silly series for 2-3 years lol

Also i guess i didnt realize how heavily inspired ff14s empire is by ff12s. Judges are legatuses and everything

Also ff12s music sounds so much like tactics i love it

Alanna82 posted...

Fran comes with cure no matter what the job shes in, I believe.

Oh shit thank you! I saw Cure in the list but just assumed it was there for Penelo

Ya know, this game actually works if you view it through the lens of a dungeon crawler. And it especially feels that way when you hit the fast forward button

And Im sure the License / Gambit system can make for some broken builds. Back when I was playing FF5 you guys told me about some insane combinations. So yeah please someone tell me how to absolutely break FF12

Ive kinda screwed myself right now though. I had Penelo as white mage, but shes not in the party, and right now ive got Vaan as thief, Balthier as machinist, Fran as black mage, and Basch as guest, and Ive been doing like four dungeons back to back with no way to change jobs or buy items, and im out of potions, so now im caught in a struggle

I know this is one of the black sheeps of the series so I get it if nobody cares

Im going on vacation and bringing the Switch version with me. I havent played it since 2006, and never finished it, and I was pretty lukewarm on it back then, so Im gonna try to give it a fresh perspective almost 20 years later. For context I was also lukewarm on FFX-2 back then but I played it again last year and love it now

And also now that im done with all the FF14 expansions, this is the last game I need for my FF ranking that ive been doing on b8 for over a year now

Also i find it silly Zenos approached the fucking Grand Company of Eorzea, and was like can i go too

And Krile was just like: ok.

It is done.

The Dead Ends was dope. Everyone in my party was either new or rusty, and we really struggled for a bit, which honestly made it more thrilling because i actually had to learn from my mistakes and learn the mechanics

Endsinger reminded me of Cloud of Darkness or Ultimecia, but like actually fleshed out ad a concept lol. And the actual fight itself was great too. Awesome music as usual. And of course gotta love the fight with my boy Zenos

Zenos: you just do all this for the thrill of it, dont you?
Me: yeah you got me

So yeah, good shit. Im gonna let it digest and spend some time thinking on where I wanna place EW in my ranking. There were a lot of highs, but the excessive amount of talk to npc, trigger cutscene really took its toll on me, so well see.

Also im going on vacation for a couple weeks, so i wont be able to get to patch for a while, but ill try to keep this topic bumped till then. Should be able to start patch in early June. Till then, feel free to use this topic to keep discussing ff14, and thanks everyone for your help!

Thanks for your input guys. I ask because ive been working on an FF ranking on board 8 for years, and its gonna be tricky ranking Endwalker.

Bold predictions for when i play the final mission tonight: I really hope zenos snuck aboard the ship and just completely fucks everything up at the end

Him switching bodies with Meteion and projecting the non-emotions of a sociopath across the universe would fucking rule. Just completely derail the Hermes/Meteion subplot lmao

Made it to the final msq quest, but gotta sleep for now. Tomorrow... I beat Endwalker

So were there any significant changes to the core game with endwalker? Was this the first time they introduced pvp? Also any cool side quests / raids i need to do like in shadowbringers?

whoa the Ea are cool

I guess dungeons arent a good example. Id be interested in finding some quantifiable comparison to shadowbringers on cutscenes vs gameplay though, because i swear endwalker seems excessive

Ive seen a lot of people hate ala mhigo, but at least you had to fight stuff. At least we got Lakshmi and snake ladies

Meanwhile I just got to Ultima Thule in Endwalker, and there were two fights in the cut scenes - Meteion beating us in the ship, and Estinien fighting a dragon - and neither of them actually had any gameplay. Its like endwalkers story is too cool to let me play, and it doesnt want me to cramp its style

Ultima Thule is beautiful tho, endwalker is 5 for 5 on locations

The scenes with the Scions the night before we board the ark are legit great. Drinking with Yshtola and Thancred, Alphinaud and Estinien having a bro moment (theyve come so far from HW ;-;)

Looking at some of what you are saying - I personally dont want to dog FF14s gameplay too hard. Its not like traditional jrpgs were ever the pinnacle of interactivity. And I generally stand by 14s combat (even if it doesnt click for me personally a lot of the time), because when you get 8 people going hard and working together on a tough boss, its awesome

And i think the story is great all around, but it was that 8 hour stretch of nonstop running from npc to npc just to watch cut scenes that killed me. So I looked it up, and EW only has like 8 dungeons in the entire game? Thats insanely low compared to some of the others. And that was my main problem here - not enough of a gameplay to story ratio. Especially considering this is a multiplayer game, the excessive storytelling just felt jarring. And about halfway through Elpis everything just started to feel like a tedious slog.

Luckily it seems like its picking back up now though so well see

Yeah I guess this is on me man, because I don't even remember The Binding Coil. All the Allagan stuff in ARR patch just kinda came and went for me - I'm usually one & done on all content - I never went back and replayed any of the dungeons or raids or anything, so I've just kinda forgotten most of it.

It's kinda crazy to me, like is the average joe mmo gamer really keeping track of all this? Because I'm a crazy person who obsesses over lore and takes notes, and I can barely keep track lol

So much of the Ascian/Elpis stuff feels convoluted, BUT like I said earlier every FF game gets convoluted in the third act, and at least 14 has the lore and buildup to have it all check out. And at least they found a way to eventually make the Ascians interesting, considering how bland they were in the first couple expansions

twix