I hate new RPG's and the Final Fantasy series...

Zelda's not an RPG.

And no, I don't agree, the FF series remained excellent up to X. XI however should've been titled FF Online, or something, and not be part of the series. IV and IX are the best in the series, in my opinion.

I also look forward to XII.

Come to think of it, what was that last RPG to be released on a console? I'm thinking Xenosaga 2, maybe (never played it). The rest of the games touted as "RPGs" are mostly turn-based treasure hunting. I think Baten Kaitos is the last time I used some form of strategy on a console. Hoorah for generation next.

EDIT: nm about XS2, as it would seem to be another work of cinema. 😞

To be honest, I prefer games with a sci-fi edge, but that's because I just love Sci-Fi! I can, however, see what you're saying. A lot of games are doing similar things recently. I believe that games developers are pandering to the masses. People nowadays don't care about swords and stuff, they want big guns and things that go boom! And games have followed that trend by giving them all the gee-whiz things kids demand.

That's not to say, however, that every single game is going to be set in the future or whatnot. If you look hard enough, you can easily find other RPGs that will suit your particular tastes. Morrowind might be a good one to try.

And Mikeron - I believe it might have been Star Wars : Knights of the Old Republic 2 - The Sith Lords (try saying that 5 times fast) on the X-Box. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I agree that the FF series lost something after breaking ties with Nintendo. I've played VII, but never finished it. The only other modern one I've tried was IX I think, the one with Zidane, the one that to some extent returned to the medieval type fantasy setting instead of high-tech. I lost interest in it as well and never finished it.

I've heard great things about Kingdom Hearts, but never got around to playing it, since I don't have a PS2. I've started Baiten Kaitos, but I'm not particularly fond of the card battle system. I imagine it gets better as you progress and have more versatile cards. I keep waiting for something great to come along, but I've yet to see it.

I could never get into the original Final Fantasy, but FFIV through FFVI (Japanese numbering) were fantastic. I liked FFVII quite a bit, but it can't hold a candle to FFVI.

Aside from FFVII, I've only played a few Square games since Super Mario RPG on the SNES. Chrono Cross was gorgeous, had terrific music and a very fun battle system, but overall I was disappointed with it. Sword of Mana, a remake of Final Fantasy Adventure for the GBA, was a big let down too - the original is far better. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was fun, but I only played it for a few hours with a friend of mine. It's definitely a game not worth playing alone though.

I plan on getting Legend of Mana, but I have a feeling it's going to be Sword of Mana all over again. I guess I can't blame Square so much though, cause it's Brownie Brown who made those. If only they would port Seiken Densetsu 3! Then we'd get a "real" Mana game.

As for new RPGs, Tales of Symphonia, despite it's cliched story and lackluster music, has great characters, some interesting plot twists, terrific visuals and voice acting (imo), and a very fun battle system. It was a breath of fresh air for me in terms of RPGs. It's only $20 now, so there's so reason not to get it. And then there's Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Trust me when I say just go out and buy it and don't ask questions. It's awesome.

People will have differeing opinions, and OBVIOUSLY Square is doing just fine with the way the game is now. I do not dislike Sci-Fi at all...I have read the entire Dune series of books if that means anything to you...I just do not want my genres crossed.

Final Fantasy began as a medieval adventure; it has since become science fiction. I think this series is the biggest let down seeing as how I, at one time, thought myself to be one of the biggest fans of this series in the world. You have to understand that these games meant a lot to me growing up...I spent a lot of time on them and had a lot of fun playing through them (in the age where there were no walkthroughs or players guides). I remember that FF7 came out in September and stores in my area got it three days later than the others...I was FURIOUS. I came home from football practice EVERYDAY waiting for the stores to get it. When I finally got it, I played it nonstop for a week . I could play it now and not remember a single thing about it really, that is how meaningless it was to me after finishing it...I don't even remember the final boss...who it was, what he looked like, or anything.

I know it's almost heresy to denounce the Final Fantasy series on a gaming message board, but I am just really frustrated with the way Squaresoft have done things...

DUWILLI wrote:I know it's almost heresy to denounce the Final Fantasy series on a gaming message board, but I am just really frustrated with the way Squaresoft have done things...

Eh, don't worry about it. There aren't any HUGE Squaresoft fans at AGN as far as I know.

I just lost interest in RPGs altogether anymore. I wasn't an early fan of RPGs, but somewhere along in elementary school, I actually started playing my first RPG. It was a breath of fresh air, and I couldn't get enough of the genre. I would at least try to rent an RPG and play it as much as I could, that is if I didn't have money to buy it. And I'm pretty sure at one time, that was the most played genre of games for me. But sometime when I got in highschool, I just stopped playing them. And ever since, when I pick on up, I get bored. They all seem the same to me. Theres something about them I can't stand. I don't want to play any of the RPGs on my PS2. And as much as I like Mario, I can't even stand to play Paper Mario, or Mario and Luigi. :shrug:

DUWILLI wrote:
Final Fantasy began as a medieval adventure; it has since become science fiction.

No, it hasn't. FFVII was a steampunk/post industrial set game with many fantasy elements sprinkled about. FFVIII is the only one to approach actual science fiction elements.

IX had a fantasy midieval setting, and X was in a sense the most midieval of the series; the fact much of the plot revolved around a people's fanatic unquestioning devotion to a religion that winds up being an instrument of the villain resembles something out of the middle ages than anything science fiction.

XI was also a fantasy setting, with the most sophisticated technology being early gunpowder weapons and some of the devices used by the Moblins(FFXI had things called Moblins).

XII is also believed to have a medieval like setting, although its based in the same world as found in FFTA.

Oh, I used to love Final fantasy games too. FF1, 3, 4 and 6 were all fantastic, escpecially 6 which is my favorite game even today. But FF7 was mediocre at best and the god-awful graphics didn't help (I'm not talking about the spectacular backgrounds). FF8 was pure crap though maybe I shouldn't say so because I haven't finished it. FF9 was actually ok, but FF10... goddamn what a craptastic game that was.

And if I compare all these modern RPGs to the ones from the 8 and 16-bit era, the old RPGs are much much better than these new ones. But though these "serious" RPGs have failed IMO, the "not so serious" ones like Mario & Luigi Superstarsaga are excellent exceptions.

I guess flying in a "Big Whale" to the moon and fighting interplanetary beings in outer space doesn't constitute as science fiction...

Final Fantasy III STARTS with those magi-tek armors...mechs!!!!!!

There are other things in that one...but it was still at a pretty tolerable level.

The whole game of Final Fantasy 7...jesus...you get to ride in a SUBMARINE, all of the cities are industrialized, there are carnivals with lights...maybe not SCIENCE FICTION, but certainly futuristic.

On a side note, I thought Shining Force and Suikoden were incredible games. I basically have just been trying to say I don't want submarines, neon lights, casinos in games that have sword fighting.

The only one I really didn't like was FFVIII. That one sucked. I never played FFXI and don't plan to. I agree that shouldn't have even been numbered (they can number that and still release games with names like "Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles"? Honestly any one that isn't a pure RPG shouldn't be numbered).

I am not a huge fan of the NES ones either, but I think that is more because I never played them originally and now they just seem out of date. I have the PSX port of FF 1 and 2 (japanese) but could never get into them much. Esp. FF2 which just seemed confusing and overly hard at the beginning of the game.

I am pretty stoked for FFXII though. From what I have seen from trailers it looks bad-ass.

vegeta1215 wrote:Eh, don't worry about it. There aren't any HUGE Squaresoft fans at AGN as far as I know.

DUWILLI wrote:
The whole game of Final Fantasy 7...jesus...you get to ride in a SUBMARINE, all of the cities are industrialized, there are carnivals with lights...maybe not SCIENCE FICTION, but certainly futuristic.

Hardly futuristic, we're beyond industrialization, submarines are powered by nuclear reactors, and our carnivals(amusement parks really) have attractions comparable if not superior to the golden saucer.

Actually, FFVII's setting was highly refreshing, considering the majority of RPGs up to that point were medieval fantasy settings. And you're right, the FF series has always had some sci-fi elements.

I seem to recall in Final Fantasy I, exploring a castle suspended in the atmosphere, and then occasionally being blasted with a nuclear attack by a robot monstrosity named WarMech.

The only game to have a setting that was consistently modern and futuristic was VIII, that's it. The rest of the series were purely fantasy with some minor injections of sci-fiish elements.

I'm hardly the person to talk about the FF series, but from a mere glance and a few minutes of play of the newer ones, it does seem to me that the series has become more, what I like to say, "fruity"

Early titles did seem strictly medieval fantasy, as some of the newer titles now seem to feature brightly dressed characters, an odd sense of clothing style, and feminine looking male leads.

:shrug:

Personally, I think that the "mideval" theme is a bit over done. Most RPG's out there take place in a "mideval" setting. That's why I'm looking forward to "Lost in Blue" for the DS. This RPG actually looks like a pretty fun game. It's a refreshing twist to the RPG's we have today.

Darth Marsden wrote: And Warlock (Did you know you share your name with a Bond villain? Read 'License Renewed' by John Gardner. Wouldn't normally mention it but I've just finished reading it), you really should try FF9. It's very different from FF8, and there's a good chance you'll like it. Also, try the GBA versions of FF1 & 2. Much better then the PS ports. I kind of agree with you on the numbering system though, and I honestly believe that they shouldn't have numbered the online one. What do I do know when I play through the series and get to 11? There's no story to finish! Waa!

First off, Warlock has absolutely nothing to do with James Bond. It's such a common word that I'm sure its the name of a million other characters in other things.

Second, I said Final Fantasy 11, not 9. I have 9. I've played it. It's fun.

I still feel bad for never having finished FFIX. I think I got it right around the time that I really got into EverQuest, and once I got sucked into that I lost much of my urge to play console games, Wind Waker and Metroid Prime being the only ones I've really played since then. I seem to recall having gotten to Disc 2, something about a sandstorm and a big tree... bleh, I'll have to start it again from the beginning one of these days.

Archibaldo wrote:That's why I'm looking forward to "Lost in Blue" for the DS. This RPG actually looks like a pretty fun game. It's a refreshing twist to the RPG's we have today.

I'm looking forward to Lost in Blue too, which is a sequel to the GBC game Survival Kids.

If you can find it, should check out Survival Kids while you wait. It's an over-head adventure game kind of like Zelda, but you have to find items and merge them to form new ones. You use items to solve puzzles and try to get off the island. Meanwhile, you have to eat, drink, and sleep to keep yourself alive. It's a fun game.

Shadowblazer wrote:I still feel bad for never having finished FFIX. I think I got it right around the time that I really got into EverQuest, and once I got sucked into that I lost much of my urge to play console games, Wind Waker and Metroid Prime being the only ones I've really played since then. I seem to recall having gotten to Disc 2, something about a sandstorm and a big tree... bleh, I'll have to start it again from the beginning one of these days.

I still feel bad for not finishing FF7! And 9.. and 10.. and X2.. and most of the rest :P I don't know what it is.. I am crazy like that. I have a tendancy to get right to the end, only to want to find every secret before killing the last boss and then I get side tracked and never finish it :P I still have to beat FF6 on Anthology which I bought in like February or something.. though I have beaten that game before on the SNES..

Warlock wrote:I still feel bad for not finishing FF7! And 9.. and 10.. and X2.. and most of the rest :P I don't know what it is.. I am crazy like that. I have a tendancy to get right to the end, only to want to find every secret before killing the last boss and then I get side tracked and never finish it :P I still have to beat FF6 on Anthology which I bought in like February or something.. though I have beaten that game before on the SNES..

I'm guilty of that sort of behavior as well. Sometimes I go ahead and "finish" the boss anyway, but it still nags me that I haven't done all the side quests, tracked down the best equipment, etc. I've done exactly that with FF:CC. Heck, I even started over in X-Men Legends cause I missed a couple of discs, and then I got sidetracked and haven't yet finished the game.

Warlock wrote:First off, Warlock has absolutely nothing to do with James Bond. It's such a common word that I'm sure its the name of a million other characters in other things.

Second, I said Final Fantasy 11, not 9. I have 9. I've played it. It's fun.

Darth Marsden wrote:(I'm on FF2 at them moment, and yes, it is a rom. It's all legal though, I've honestly lent my copy to a friend and he's taking bloody forever on it. Keeps dying)

Anyway, I really can't stand turn-based RPGs. It completely ruins the experience for me and bores me so fast I usually don't get more than a few hours in. Super Mario RPG is one of the two turn-based games I've beaten, probably because its battles manage to stay interesting despite taking turns (the other is Pokemon, which was also pretty fun despite being turn-based). Final Fantasy 6 became so boring for me at the end that I couldn't bring myelf to beat the final dungeon. I quit after leaving the city in FF7. I quit early on in FF8 because the only thing that interested me was Triple Triad. I can't even play the NES FF games because I think they're so terrible. Chrono Trigger managed to remain exciting long enough for me to get a ways into it, but I still couldn't finish that. What it comes down to is that games with random encounters and turn-based battles really suck. 😉 Seiken Densetsu (Secret of Mana) games, Secret of Evermore, and Kingdom Hearts are some of the best RPGs ever made, and hell, Secret of Evermore wasn't even that great. It just so happens that they're a joy to play through and some of them even manage to have the great RPG qualities that other, more boring RPGs tend to have. I really never understood the draw to turn-based battles because all it is is the same thing every time: select Attack, or maybe pick a spell from the Magic list. Use an item now and then. You never have to move your character around to dodge and you never have the opportunity to use any sort of skill (with few exceptions, such as Quest 64. That battles system was better than most turn-based ones).

How you people can play these games and enjoy them, I'll never know.

Shadowblazer wrote:That's my problem exactly! I'm such a damn completist that by the time I've been to one end of the world and back a few hundred times trying to get everything, I just plain start to lose interest.

Yep, same here. It's been six years since I picked up Final Fantasy VI on my SNES. I'm still building levels and trying to get everyone to learn every spell I can before heading into Kefka's tower.

Now that you mention it, it's something I really need to stop doing - you know, being so worried about missing something in a game. Doing so can really change your experience.Then again, if every game made every item available at any point in the game (like many Zelda games do), we wouldn't have to worry.

Vagla wrote:It's legal? So it's safe for me to assume, then, that you dumped the ROM of the game yourself from your particular FF2 cart and are being extra careful not to play it at the same time that your friend is playing the original game on the real system? I find that hard to believe. 😉

Anyway, I really can't stand turn-based RPGs. It completely ruins the experience for me and bores me so fast I usually don't get more than a few hours in. Super Mario RPG is one of the two turn-based games I've beaten, probably because its battles manage to stay interesting despite taking turns (the other is Pokemon, which was also pretty fun despite being turn-based). Final Fantasy 6 became so boring for me at the end that I couldn't bring myelf to beat the final dungeon. I quit after leaving the city in FF7. I quit early on in FF8 because the only thing that interested me was Triple Triad. I can't even play the NES FF games because I think they're so terrible. Chrono Trigger managed to remain exciting long enough for me to get a ways into it, but I still couldn't finish that. What it comes down to is that games with random encounters and turn-based battles really suck. 😉 Seiken Densetsu (Secret of Mana) games, Secret of Evermore, and Kingdom Hearts are some of the best RPGs ever made, and hell, Secret of Evermore wasn't even that great. It just so happens that they're a joy to play through and some of them even manage to have the great RPG qualities that other, more boring RPGs tend to have. I really never understood the draw to turn-based battles because all it is is the same thing every time: select Attack, or maybe pick a spell from the Magic list. Use an item now and then. You never have to move your character around to dodge and you never have the opportunity to use any sort of skill (with few exceptions, such as Quest 64. That battles system was better than most turn-based ones).

How you people can play these games and enjoy them, I'll never know.

When you mention Triple Triad in FF8, do you mean the card game, cause that was fun. More sub-quests like that please!

I never touched the FF9 card game, or Blizball for that matter.

Usually with the FF's I'll get to very close to the final boss, get my ass kicked, lose interest and pick up something else. Did it in FF1, FF9 (came back a year or so later with the ultimate weapons and kicked his ass, though), and FF10. I really didn't like FF10, big contrast with FF9. 10 seemed like I was playing one long cinematic, I didn't really explore the overworld at all, I just ran in a straight line. The only control I really seemed to have was in battles. It wasn't until Jecht killed me for the fifth time that I decided to go back and see if I missed anything, and the game seemed designed that way because you had no overworld control.
FFCC is confusing the hell outta me. Is there a story at all? I completed year two and so far I haven't figured out a plot at all, haven't seen anything to earn it the title RPG. Fun, though.
Golden Sun (I and II) are probably the last RPG's I played and seriously enjoyed. And damn, those were really good games....