Board 8 > Leonhart plays lots of Final Fantasy games! [spoilers] [nostalgia] [squall]

(+) Yeah! (+)

I can think of basically two songs from it that I'd say I "really like" (The Landing and Maybe I'm A Lion) and two more that I'd say are pretty good (The Extreme and...whatever the card game music is called <_<), which is less than nearly every other game in the series.

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Mistake you're making - overlooking the fact that we might not want to be saved.

"Shuffle and Boogie" is a pretty whatever song.

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"But you have been given freedom. Freedom to be...outside."
"I am lightning...the rain transformed."

Find Your Way
Force Your Way
Battle theme
Train Mission
The Oath
The Landing
Laguna's battle theme
Balamb and maybe other town themes
Fisherman's Horizon
Blue Fields
Maybe I'm a Lion
The song when you fight Griever
The Extreme
The Ending
Deling City
The one when the Garden starts to fly

All Top tier or near top tier, off the top of my head

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Lunatic Pandora and Ultimecia's Castle how could I forget

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

"Don't Be Afraid" and "Blue Fields" are lower tier regular battle and world map themes, respectively.

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"The great GF...Bahamut."
"...GF? I...? Using my powers...It is you humans...I fear..."

Of the series or ever?

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

In the series.

There are plenty of games out there with worse battle theme or world map themes. "Don't Be Afraid" and "Blue Fields" aren't bad songs. Just...average, really. But the rest of the series has some pretty good battle themes and world map themes, so those two rank on the lower end of the spectrum.

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I mean I think they're above average.

But the series does have some fantastic battle and world map themes, so they could find themselves close to the bottom.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

OMG, FFIX's steal rate is the worst f***ing thing ever.

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http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9413/cutepuppy16.png - Number of people that D'awwed: 63

Zidane is a terrible thief, yeah.

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"Why must we always choose between certain death and probable death?"
"I'm in an epic battle to the death, FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELF!"

I'm not sure this Demon's Mail is worth the 40 minutes it's taken so far to attempt to steal.

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http://i45.tinypic.com/fpchec.gif
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9413/cutepuppy16.png - Number of people that D'awwed: 63

I think the worst part about FFIX is that in addition to the steal rate, they give some bosses multiple good things to steal.

That's literally the only thing that makes that boss fight in the Ice Cavern difficult. You have to survive long enough to steal everything from Sealion and Black Waltz No. 1!

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"Stay with me until the end. Please."
"Not until the end. Always."

Luckily the first Black Waltz doesn't have anything worth stealing!

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"First time I got punched in the face, I was like "oh no", then I was like "this is a story"."

Looks like there's another Demon's Mail in an upcoming Chocograph treasure, so I'll give Zidane five more minutes to stop being a dickhead before moving on.

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"First time I got punched in the face, I was like "oh no", then I was like "this is a story"."

Yeah I'm pretty sure the ass steal rate in FF9 is half the reason I don't really like Zidane

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

Speaking of Triple Triad, I don't like going first! I'd much rather go second!

I'm the same in other competitive games, too. I never like being the first one to play.

Iron Giant in the centre-tile as your first move pretty much wins you the game, though!

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James - Board 8's Resident Warm And Safe, Slipper-Wearing User
& The Cream of Porcupine Tree Fanboyism

Oh god, the FFIX steal rate. So much time wasted trying to steal stuff.
**** the Fairy Flute. It's not even any good, and you can get one later anyway. Why did I once spend 30 minutes trying to steal that piece of crap (and eventually saying "screw it" and give up)? The Master Thief ability really needed to be available much earlier.

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SuperNiceDog owned me in the Guru. Or do I have to stop using the word "owned" in order to not offend black people due to slavery?

Oh god, the FFIX steal rate. So much time wasted trying to steal stuff.
**** the Fairy Flute. It's not even any good, and you can get one later anyway. Why did I once spend about 3 hours trying to steal that piece of crap (and eventually saying "screw it" and give up)? The Master Thief ability really needed to be available much earlier.

This.

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James - Board 8's Resident Warm And Safe, Slipper-Wearing User
& The Cream of Porcupine Tree Fanboyism

I could tell the Fairy Flute wasn't happening after a few minutes.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

LeonhartFour posted...
"Don't Be Afraid" and "Blue Fields" are lower tier regular battle and world map themes, respectively.

They're both near the top, actually!

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I'm no longer a Nadal supporter. Andy Murray is my new favorite player/person. -Princess Anri

Nope, lower tier.

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http://www.gifsoup.com/view/593815/frasier-and-niles-dance-o.gif

Yeah they're pretty much completely forgettable. That's my problem with FFVIII's soundtrack actually: Despite having a decent amount of good tracks all the commonly occurring themes are pretty lackluster. I think Force Your Way and Man With The Machine Gun are the only two themes that play more than once or twice that I like

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

Well, FFVIII doesn't reuse a lot of tracks anyway, from my recollection.

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I honestly couldn't tell you since I can't remember any of them. Most of the songs I like are tied to events or specific fights-- stuff that plays for extended periods like in dungeons or towns I have no attachment to is basically the problem. Granted these are usually the weaker parts of an RPG's soundtrack but there are usually a few standout tracks in there at least.

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

YOUR FACE is usually the weaker parts of an RPG's soundtrack.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Fisherman's Horizon is a pretty standout town theme. Silence and Motion is quite good, too. I like Find Your Way as a dungeon theme. It's not remarkable per se, but it's solid.

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Yeah Fisherman's Horizon is great stuff. I usually don't want to leave after I get there.

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I do because I can.....and because I'm bored.
http://www.yourgamercards.net/trophy/a/Micer101.png

I didn't get to play any FFVIII yesterday because I was busy having a nice chat with my good buddy, Jeff Zero! We had some nice FF-related discussions, and I thought some of our observations were pretty neat and things I'd like to share with you guys so I don't have to go through the effort of remembering them/typing them out later, so enjoy!

Jeff Zero 12:12 am
Of course
Actually though
The approach to Dollet is what really sends the most shivers down my spine in early-game
That music man

Leonhart4 12:12 am
The Landing

Jeff Zero 12:12 am
And that stoic stare
The Landing
Yep
Top ten track for me

Leonhart4 12:12 am
The very beginning
Where it does the heartbeat sound as you're going across the water

Jeff Zero 12:12 am
dundun DUNDUN dundun
bumbum
bumbum
DUNDUNDUN dundun DUNDUNDUNDUN
bumbum
DUNDUNDUN
so good

Leonhart4 12:13 am
Yep, good stuff
And the Squall staredown is pretty great, too
The early part of the game is pretty good for dialogue when you get it, but you don't get much of it
I enjoy the conversations on the way to Dollet

Leonhart4 12:14 am
Also, I realized how charming and witty Quistis is at the very beginning of the game, and how quickly she loses it after Squall shuts her down

Jeff Zero 12:14 am
Yeah, she's great

Leonhart4 12:14 am
"Good luck, Seifer."
"Instructor, I hate it when people wish me luck. Save those words for a bad student that needs them, eh?"
"Very well then...Good luck, Seifer."
Also, Squall and Seifer are excellent foils. I love observing the contrasts between them

Leonhart4 12:16 am
You can see them in virtually any scene they're in together

Jeff Zero 12:16 am
They're wonderful, wonderful foils, I agree
And that exchange is priceless
Gets me very single time

Leonhart4 12:16 am
Seifer gets burned so hard that he has to put Quistis on "The List"
Whatever that is

Jeff Zero 12:18 am
Dat List

Leonhart4 12:18 am
I wonder how many people are on it and what he uses it for

Leonhart4 12:21 am
You know, I think one of the reasons I love FFVIII so much is because I love foils, and Squall has so many of 'em. Seifer, Zell, Rinoa, and Laguna are all Squall foils in many regards.

Jeff Zero 12:22 am
Mm, yeah, everyone can be a foil to him with all that development he goes through, it's great

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"The great GF...Bahamut."
"...GF? I...? Using my powers...It is you humans...I fear..."

Leonhart4 12:26 am
Yeah, the Fujin stuff was pretty great
How she manages to just...speak her heart and be honest without all the one word terseness
It was pretty unexpected

Jeff Zero 12:26 am
I love it
Xenogears has a cast of antagonists bigger than FFT's

Leonhart4 12:26 am
Sensitivity is about the last thing you expect out of Fujin

Jeff Zero 12:27 am
So yeah, you know what I'm saying
They're quite varied
Some are monsters, some are very, very understandable and relatable
I like it when stories have a mixture

Jeff Zero 12:27 am
Yeah, true

Leonhart4 12:27 am
And you don't expect her to speak against Seifer either because she's so diehard loyal to him

Jeff Zero 12:27 am
Yeah
It's one of my absolute favorite twists in the PSX era, actually
One of my favorites from FFVIII for sure

Leonhart4 12:28 am
I kinda wish they had explored the dynamic between the three of them more

Jeff Zero 12:28 am
It blew me away as a kid

Leonhart4 12:28 am
Like, what makes Raijin and Fujin so unerringly loyal to Seifer?
What do they see in him that no one else does?
There must be SOMETHING

Jeff Zero 12:28 am
He's incredibly passionate
I think they respected that

Leonhart4 12:28 am
Oh yeah, can't deny that
Guy had a dream and followed it
Even if it eventually got the better of him

Leonhart4 12:30 am
Other people see the potential in Seifer, too. Quistis and Cid refer to it. He just...has so many other problems that keep him from living up to it

Jeff Zero 12:30 am
Which is what I like about his part in the epilogue, it's very clear that the artists intend to convey that chance now that he's calmed down and settled to pursue his dreams in a better way, with a better, more mature and sensible approach

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"I can set you free, mate."
"My freedom was forfeit long ago!"

Aw man Jeff Zero.

Besaid topic was the best.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Leonhart4 12:32 am
I like to think all the stuff with Rinoa and Adel opened his eyes to what a monster he had become, how he was able to throw a girl he claimed to care about into the arms of a demonic sorceress
You can see him run off right after he does that, if I'm not mistaken. Either way, once the battle with Adel is over, Seifer's long gone

Jeff Zero 12:33 am
Yeah, I believe you're correct
He's a very impressionable youth, and I think there's something profound to be said for the sorceress' indoctrination methodology on top of that

Leonhart4 12:34 am
I like to make a correlation to Seifer at the end of Disc 2, when he gets so offended that Squall would call him a monster and tries to justify his actions

Jeff Zero 12:34 am
Oh man

Leonhart4 12:34 am
And then he realizes Squall was right all along

Jeff Zero 12:34 am
Benezia totally could have been Sorceress Benezia in FFVIII
but anyway

Jeff Zero 12:34 am
Yeah, it's pretty nifty
I recall something similar

Leonhart4 12:34 am
Yeah, I noticed the connection with the indoctrination thing
I remember someone writing a fanfic about Seifer getting put on trial for war crimes, and the indoctrination thing was one of the big defenses they made on his behalf
It was a well written fanfic, actually

Leonhart4 12:37 am
The dynamic between Squall and Zell is really understated in FFVIII, but I think it's pretty impressive. Squall is basically everything Zell wants to be but isn't, and Squall basically has everything Zell wants, but Squall himself doesn't want it
Zell wants to be the hero, wants to be the leader, wants to be the calm, cool, collected general

Jeff Zero 12:39 am
Yeah, but it's just not him

Jeff Zero 12:39 am
He's warm, twitchy
It's a good dynamic
VIII is filled with good dynamics, it's one of its core strengths

Leonhart4 12:40 am
Whenever people talk about how Squall never shows any concern or care for his teammates before Disc 3, I always think of that scene in the D-District Prison where Squall runs off on his own to save Zell
Of course, he has to hit Zell on the head with the butt of the gunblade to get him to stop showing his appreciation, but still

Leonhart4 12:42 am
People badmouth FFVIII's cast for being static characters who don't experience much development, but I think they work really well together. They have good chemistry, and I think they grow as a unit, even though they may not grow individually
You can see at the end of Disc 1 that they don't really work that well together
But you get to the end of Disc 2, and you see a big difference
And even more so at the end of Disc 3

Jeff Zero 12:43 am
Yeah, that's an interesting way of putting it
It's a different kind of development, and very much in-line with the setting
This group of young mercenaries, world-traveling extraordinaries
It's going to be a logical thing to see a focus on their working together
It's a different form of storytelling approach, one that is almost as old and just as valid
I don't care for it quite as much as seeing characters individually grow more, but I like it

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Leonhart4 12:44 am
And with the focus on Squall opening up to others, it makes sense to focus on friendship as well, not just romance
And Squall learning to work with others

Leonhart4 12:44 am
But the entire team is one giant mess at the end of Disc 1. Look at how many things go wrong
Somehow it almost works out in the end, but a lot of that was luck

Jeff Zero 12:46 am
Yes, it's quite chaotic
Compared to the smoother going at the climax of Disc 2 and the even smoother going amidst fantastical odds at the climax of Disc 3

Leonhart4 12:47 am
Yeah, you can tell by the end of Disc 2 that Squall's NOT QUITE there yet with the stuff with Rinoa
But the speech and then rescuing Rinoa
And it's like, that was the last big hurdle

Jeff Zero 12:47 am
Indeed

Leonhart4 12:47 am
Throughout Disc 3, they're a very cohesive unit
Even with Squall going AWOL with Rinoa, everyone else was prepared for it and they were ready to help him when the time came

Jeff Zero 12:48 am
Yeah, it's a nice storytelling device imo

Jeff Zero 12:49 am
I just would have liked a bit more in the way of supplemental individual development, but it doesn't slay me like it does to some

And then just a little FFIX discussion!

Jeff Zero 1:00 am
Yeah, little in IX bothered me, although the Necron thing is... I don't hate it
I don't
But I do wish there was more

Leonhart4 1:00 am
I don't really hate it either, but yeah, I wanted more
And I wanted them to explain those crystal shards
They made them seem so important, but nothing really ever came of it

Jeff Zero 1:01 am
I wasn't overly fond of how the temples were handled, and yet at the same time I was a big fan of it
It's complicated
I wanted to actually explore them, a la old-school
But the directing was sound

Leonhart4 1:01 am
I love the temples for the character interaction, especially Vivi and Steiner

Jeff Zero 1:01 am
yeah, exactly
it's all exceptionally well-done

Leonhart4 1:01 am
"...I trust you, Vivi."

Jeff Zero 1:01 am
but it makes me want to do things the old, tough way too

Leonhart4 1:01 am
Man, chills

Jeff Zero 1:01 am
Yeah

Leonhart4 1:01 am
The first time he calls him JUST Vivi and not Master Vivi

Jeff Zero 1:02 am
Characterization is FFIX's strongest point, I think, and it has a few strong points for sure
Yep
The brilliant thing about FFIX
Is that the writers make sure you go into it thinking it's just so damn jovial by comparison

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"I can set you free, mate."
"My freedom was forfeit long ago!"

From: pjbasis | #330
Aw man Jeff Zero.

Besaid topic was the best.

FFX-2 Besaid music still superior

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I still say Don't Be Afraid and Blue Fields are underrated!

Only FF9 and maybe FF13 have better battle themes, IMO. There's more competition for Blue Fields, but still a lot better than it gets credit for.

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I'm no longer a Nadal supporter. Andy Murray is my new favorite player/person. -Princess Anri

FFVII's, FFIX's, FFX's, and FFXIII's are all better battle themes.

The rest of them are all pretty whatever, Don't Be Afraid included.

FFV, FFVI, FFVII, and FFIX all have better world map themes than Blue Fields, and some of those games have MULTIPLE world map themes that are better!

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FF7's battle theme zzzz

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I'm no longer a Nadal supporter. Andy Murray is my new favorite player/person. -Princess Anri

Fighting might be the best one! It's pretty close between FFVII's and FFXIII's for best battle theme.

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"Stay with me until the end. Please."
"Not until the end. Always."

No chance.

9 > 13 > 8 > 4 > 10 > 3 > 5 > 7 > 1 > 2 > 6

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I'm no longer a Nadal supporter. Andy Murray is my new favorite player/person. -Princess Anri

I feel that entire conversation is basically

Leon: "Isn't FFVIII awesome it's so awesome let me tell you how awesome it is"
JZ: "Yeah it's pretty awesome"

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

From: pjbasis | #339
I feel that entire conversation is basically

Leon: "Isn't FFVIII awesome it's so awesome let me tell you how awesome it is"
JZ: "Yeah it's pretty awesome"

Well, what else did you expect the conversation to be like?

We both think FFVIII is awesome, so that's what the conversation gears toward!

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http://i848.photobucket.com/albums/ab48/Leonhart4/Squall.jpg

I guess I didn't get the tone across right, but it was supposed to be more like an excited little kid talking to an adult who really doesn't care as much.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Well, I have more love for the game than he does, so it's only natural that I'm the more talkative one.

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I thought it was funny.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Yeah well I thought your FACE was funny too

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There's no excuse for Necron, come on now.

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From his looks Magus is Macho Man Randy Savage as an anime zombie. The black wind howls, and one of you will snap into a Slim Jim ooh yeeeah! -sonicblastpunch

We weren't making excuses for Necron! We were just saying we wished there was more to him, and he could've been better.

Part of that discussion was inspired by fanfiction talk, but I decided to cut that part out!

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From: pjbasis | Posted: 1/26/2012 7:27:56 PM | #339
I feel that entire conversation is basically

Leon: "Isn't FFVIII awesome it's so awesome let me tell you how awesome it is"
JZ: "Yeah it's pretty awesome"

It was yeah v_v, wasted my time reading that

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I do because I can.....and because I'm bored.

From: most_games_r_ok | #347
It was yeah v_v, wasted my time reading that

Then you're basically wasting your time reading anything I post in this topic if that's how you feel! This is a topic full of my personal opinions and musings on the series, and that conversation is no different than anything else I'll post in this topic aside from the fact that no one else will be involved in what I post!

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http://www.gifsoup.com/view/593815/frasier-and-niles-dance-o.gif

I mean seriously, what else are you expecting from this topic anyway?

We talked about tons of other stuff! I just posted the FF related information and doctored the conversation to cut out most of the stuff that wasn't related to it.

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From: LeonhartFour | Posted: 1/26/2012 8:23:35 PM | #348
that conversation is no different than anything else I'll post in this topic

Precisely why it was a waste, I realized that you would post your love for FFVIII later.

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I do because I can.....and because I'm bored.