#My favorite game is Final Fantasy IX. it was the first one i played in the franchise and opened me up to RPGs in general. also

[styrmwb]

References to Previous Final Fantasies in Dawntrail

Or, how 9 + 11 + 6 = 14, somehow. (SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY)

I've played every mainline FF, plus a few others, so one of my favorite things about playing XIV is seeing what they do with previous FFs, and how they incorporate it into the world/story. Dawntrail very very much did this, to the point that I could literally predict plot points before they happened. (THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT I LOVED THIS)

So I figured I would put down my fanboying in text form, for people to read the insanity of a madman who has played too many JRPGs from a single series.

Note: I have not completed every single side quest, but I have done the entire MSQ, every dungeon, and 3/5 of the role quests. This isn't a complete collection, just what I noticed :)

V

Krile's "real name" is Maya. The original Krile in FFV was Krile Meyer Baldesion. (XIV might also have the middle name but I don't remember! I'm gonna put it here regardless!)

VI

Valigarmanda is the first Esper you encounter in VI, right at the start of the game. Its summon attack is Tri-Disaster. I really liked how they kept it frozen in ice, just like the original, and because Tri-Disaster is a SMN ability, they changed it to Tulidisaster to fit the Tural location.

Pictomancer was first in VI as well, being Relm's job. She even got to be in XIV as well, being credited as the Archon who created the art (HA). Shoutouts to the Relm reborn joke it needed to happen

IX

One of the two most important games in this expansion. There is A Lot here.

The preorder bonus/deluxe edition had a Wind-Up Zidane and Garnet, the two main protagonists of FFIX.

Alexandria is lifted directly from IX. The name, the style of the buildings, and even the castle with the crystal popping out of the top, shown in the dungeon and in Yesterland in Living Memory.

(This is the Dissidia NT version, but I wanted a picture that showed the castle and the roof architecture)

Solution Nine is named after one of Zidane's Dyne abilities. While not direct, Living Memory, the final zone, is very reminiscent of Memoria, the final dungeon of IX. I wonder if you can get a special sword by completing the entire MSQ in under 2 hours?

Living Memory also features quite a few locations from IX. The Canal Town looks very similar to Treno, and features a location called the Daguerreo Medical Collection, named after the city as well. Underneath Proto Alexandria in Yesterland, where the data terminal lies, looks very similar to the part of Alexandria Castle where Steiner can grind to level 99 (I don't know how else to describe it if you know you know). In the Windspath Gardens lies the Cleyra Museum of Nature, also named after the IX city.

Some quest text in Living Memory tells you about other locations in the Unlost World. Lindblum, the city that holds hunts and is very technologically advanced; Conde Petie, where the Dwarves are from (mentioned by a Milalla who said he was from there), and the Iifa Tree. There might even be more here, that I either missed or haven't done yet.

Another quest has you go on a treasure hunt for a password. This password? "I Want to Be Your Canary", the play from FFIX.

Solution Nine has a couple buildings with monsters from IX as signs. One building features a Mu (Which is also mentioned in Living Memory), and another building features Yans, both friendly and not friendly.

Another monster that I noticed a reference to was the Gimme Cat, which is featured on the popcorn in Living Memory. It's also mentioned as an energy drink, but called a "Gimme Bat" instead? I guess it does have bat wings.

While XIV doesn't have any direct plot important characters from IX, the ones we do have are very reminiscent of its cast, and clearly are done like that on purpose.

Otis is Steiner (with maybe a little tiny bit of Beatrix depending on how you look at it). Captain of the Knights of Alexandria, he speaks in an older fashion, similar to Steiner, and is very loyal to his princess.

Sphene is an interesting mix. The most obvious one is Garnet, both being Queens of Alexandria, being named after stones, and loving their people. The other one, which might be argued isn't intended, is Garland.

(No, not those guys. The other one.)

Garland in IX is an artificial being whose purpose is to continue his world's life. To do this, he would try to fuse Terra (his planet), with Gaia (the main planet), and control Gaian souls for Terra instead. What did Sphene do? Try to fuse her reflection with the Source, to use their souls for her own people. I personally think this is a very clear similarity.

In general, because of this similarity, the latter half of Dawntrail shares very similar themes with IX's plots, dealing with death and souls. I also think it's pretty funny that both start out pretty happy and cartoony, and end fairly depressing and existential.

Another plot point used in the MSQ is the play sequence. While IX's is based off love, and XIV's is the history of Alexandria, both feature a sword fight scene. (99 out of 100 nobles approve).

Finally, several songs from IX are used in Dawntrail. In the above mentioned play, Swords of Fury plays, just like the original. And a few scenes later, Vamo'alla Flamenco (previously used for the DNC quests) plays, though it should have been during the sword fight!! Prima Vista Orchestra and Fleeting Life are used in several scenes, usually involving Sphene. Something to Protect also appears, but in a scene I can't recall. Finally, the Court Jesters' theme gets a remix as the main song in the Strayborough Deadwalk.

X

There is a singular joke in Heritage Found made about dodging lightning bolts right before the flash so they don't hit you. The person who wrote this line wanted to induce PTSD in as many people as they could with only a single line of dialogue.

XI

The other most important game in the expansion. In a way, Dawntrail FEELS like it could have been an XI expansion in another lifetime. I might be looking too much into it, but I feel as though this was foreshadowed back in the first patch of Endwalker, as Dawntrail takes A LOT from the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion.

In Endwalker, the Alzadaal's Legacy dungeon was based off of the Alzadaal Underwater Ruins in Aht Urhgan. The dungeon used many models from XI, such as the Rampart, the Xzomit (hell yes!), and the Acrolith. The dungeon had a visual similarity, as well as the areas in the dungeon being named after zones in Aht Urhgan (Bhaflau Thickets, Arrapago Reef, and Mount Zhayolm). I know this is Endwalker and not Dawntrail but trust me it's important for the foreshadowing.

Gulool Ja Ja was a boss in the Besieged mode of ToAU, leading the Mamool Ja Savages to assault Al Zahbi. Both incarnations of this character are VERY different from each other.

Similarly, Gurfurlur was also a boss in Besieged, leading the Troll Mercenaries. It's very funny to me that both of these warmongers became such nice people in Tural.

The Yok Huy as a whole are actually Trolls from XI. The different name I assume coming from the fact that Trolls are already an enemy in XIV, in Labyrinthos.

While this isn't direct, and is probably unintentional, the fact that the final boss in Vanguard was a naga/lamia like entity only makes me wonder if it was somehow a callback to Medusa and the Undead Swarm, the last remaining Besieged invaders.

Zoraal Ja is a Notorious Monster in the areas around Aht Urhgan.

To continue on with Mamool Ja facts, Mamook is an area in ToAU. They don't look very similar, but they do both share the title of Autarch as their ruler. Mamool Ja in general come from XI, so it's no surprise that in the expansion that well, expands on them, it uses XI for inspiration.

This next one might be a little insane. The general plot of Treasures of Aht Urhgan, is that after killing Promathia, a god that wishes to end all life, the Adventurer goes to a completely different area to have a relatively calmer adventure. Here, they meet a female member of royalty named Aphmau. Her brother, Razfahd, unable to rule over the country, has a conquering nature, and uses an Automaton body to control Alexander for his goals. This... can't be a coincidence, right?? We kill the Endsinger, who wanted to end all life, go to a completely different area to have a relatively calmer adventure with our female member of royalty, Wuk Lamat, and we fight against Zoraal Ja, her war hungry brother that is unable to rule, so he uses the power of Alexandria (a mech suit) for his goals. You... you see what I'm cooking here right??? RIGHT!?!?!

To piggyback off of this, Wuk Lamat very much fits the role of the XI heroine. A girl who is very clearly the main character of the story, and hangs around you more than anyone else.

Edit: one last thing that I forgot to put down before posting, one of the hunts uses the Magic Pot model from XI. We love Magic Pot.

I THINK that should be everything I found? I know for a fact we're going to get more since the Alliance Raids are based of off XI (I'm so excited)

XIII

A couple enemy models were used from XIII.

The Silver Lobos in Urqopacha use the XIII model. I'm fairly sure they've never been used in XIV yet, but I could be wrong.

Similarly, the Strayborough Deadwalk uses the Gremlin/Ahriman enemies. I do not think they've been used before this, feel free to yell at me if I'm wrong :)

Type-0

While not like, direct, the concept of erasing the memories of anyone who has died (especially seen as a blessing) was a major plot point of Type-0's world.

I think that's everything? My memory isn't the greatest, so I'm sure there's something I noticed that I missed, and again; I haven't done everything, so there might be even more out there that I've yet to find!

Please, feel free to comment anything else that you may have noticed, and hopefully you enjoyed reading :)

[smokeybrandreviews]

Festival Season

I am a massive fan of MegaTen games. I love everything about them; the battle systems, characters, and overall world. I fell in love with the summoning and fusion systems of these games almost immediately and longed for other franchises to do something similar. It was basically Digimon Fusion before Digimon was a thing. Who wouldn’t want to Lego two Pokemon into a goddamn MewTwo? The missus introduced me to this brave new world with the purchase of Digital Devil Saga so long ago. It was one of the first gifts I ever got her. Watching her play that sh*t really awakened something within me. It was like watching my kid brother playing Final Fantasy IX for the first time but with, you know, violent monstrosities. Way back then, during the golden age of the JRPG, on the PS2, we made it a point to play all of the obscure titles. Nippon Ichi and Atlus were our bread and butter. We had copies of Stella Deus, every DIsgaea available, and even Soul Nomad. No one talks about Soul Nomad. One day, she came home with Persona 3. On that list was Persona 3 vanilla. Bro, after we booted it up and those first few notes of Burn My Dread popped, I was hooked. I must have put three hundred hours into that game. I conquered everything I could in that game, romanced every option, and completed one hundred percent of that sh*t. I unlocked every Persona on just two runs and readily did it again when FES released. The Answer was kind if disappointing but I didn’t mind running through the enhanced world of P3 once again. And then I did it one more time when P3P dropped, though, admittedly, Portable is my least favorite of the lot. Persona 3 opened my eyes to a world of RPGs beyond just your Final Fantasys and Dragon Warriors. Because I enjoyed this one game so much, I was open to trying out others. I wouldn’t have touched Magna Carta if not for Persona. I would have missed out on Rogue Galaxy. Wouldn’t have given Shining Force EXA a second thought. If I had never played Persona 3, I would have never played 4 or 5, and that sh*t seems so bewildering to me because those games are some of my all-time favorites. In fact, for a long while, Persona 5 was my favorite of these games. I wrote a whole thing about, about how, while I loved 3, 5 was a close second. It had legitimately closed that gap after Royal dropped but then Persona 3 Reload was announced. Guess who pulled ahead once again.

I got Reload day one and immediately dove into to. It felt familiar, yet, new. It definitely got all the bells and whistles that made Persona 5 so enjoyable but was still definitely Persona 3. I got my copy for the PS4 so, while the presentation is loads better than the original, and it shows, it’s comparable to Persona 5. Having that “side-by-side” experience just solidifies that P3 IS my favorite Persona title and one of my all-time favorite games, period. I was a little bummed Burn My Dread wasn’t the opening song but Full Moon Full ain’t too shabby on its own. More than that, the quality of life changes are amazing. It’s the little things like the Online Saves or the fact you don't get fatigued in Tartarus anymore. I love how the original character designs got a remix, bringing them closer in line with that Persona 5 aesthetic, and boy do they steal from that P5 aesthetic let me tell you! The thing is, though, it feels full circle to me. I remember, way back when I was playing P5 (shout out to Tae Takemi, best girl in the entire game), that P5 feels like the spiritual successor to P3 in every way P4 is not. Don’t get me wrong, P4 is a classic, but it feels out of place in the trio, almost disconnected. Also, I remember hating Teddy. It’s like, did P3 influence P5, only to have that sh*t bleed back into Reload? I don’t know, and I don’t really care. I get to play Persona 3, on my PS4, with the look of Persona 5. I cannot stress how dope that is. Also, Satanael is DLC. You KNOW I bought due and have been decimating the early game! Thanatos is my second favorite Persona, always, Alice is the first (especially after I customize her), but Ren’s ultimate Persona is a strong third. Like, laughably so. There’s just something about summoning a Demon God that feels so…powerful. Also, you shoot God in the face. How can you not love that?

I’m ten hours into Reload and it is everything I ever dreamed  a full-on Persona 3 remake should be. This isn’t that bait and switch FFVII pulled with Remake. No, for all intents and purposes, this IS Persona 3 but with modern game play and graphics. It’s like I’m popping ion the game for the very first time, damn near twenty years later. The Protagonist is as stoic as ever and the city of Tatsumi Port Island is alive with a vibrancy only the power of PS4 could bring. Building this game on the Unreal engine was a stroke of genius because the models are crisp, detailed, and fluid. There are so many little particle effects that make everything pop. The biggest upgrade is the UI. The thing is, I’m old as f*ck. I’ve been gaming since the old NES days. I’ve seen the evolution of video game and, for me, they peaked way back in the PS3 era. When P3 originally came out, I had no problem with how the title was presented. It got a little flashier with P3P and Persona 4 added their own flair, but Persona 5 really went in on the showmanship. P3R gets a bit of that and it goes a very long way to captivating the player. I thought modern hardware would affect the charm of these OG designs, but it doesn’t. It actually enhances them considerably. It’s subtle, but the bodies are longer, the eyes are smaller, and the overall proportions feel more realistic. I kind of love it. I also love the redesigns, so far. I mean, Mitsuru is gorgeous and I adore the new-ish Elizabeth model, but I’m holding judgment until the very end when I get to see Nyx again. And definitely get my ass throttled by her. Now, admittedly, not all that shimmers is gold. The fact that the Answer, the additional part of FES, isn’t included in what is a very obvious FES remake, kind of bones. I hear that it will be DLC down the line and that sucks. I like Metis. Her design was dope. I’m also not that huge a fan of Thanatos’ first reveal being made with in-game models. The visceral nature of that genesis feels lost when not in animation. It’s good in its own way but, goddamn, did that sh*t hit different way back when. These are, of course, superficial gripes because I am having the time of my life with this game! And it’s only the first play through. That New Game is about to slap crazy hard! I cannot wait to run it back with my heavy hitters on deck. Satanael be damned, getting Thanatos and my laughably OP Alice in the mix is going to be the best!

[starfallpod]

Hello hello everyone! We’re kicking off our crowdfunding efforts TOMORROW, and to help get everyone excited, I thought I’d give a little rundown of what you can expect from all our reward tiers!

$5 Tier - Potato Skins

At this level, you’ll get a social media shoutout with a personalized ticket, as seen below.

Nifty, huh?

$15 Tier - Hearty Stew

You’ll get access to the first level of our digital bundle, which comes jam-packed with Valentines, our tarot cards, recipe cards from the cast, and TWO whole blooper reels!

Oh - and you get a cover art sticker!

$30 Tier - Biscuits (Chocolate Ones)

You’ll get a digital copy of “Troupes On Carts,” which is a 30+ TTRPG hack of how to play your game in the world of Starfall! You also get physical copies of our tarot cards, an “I Sword of Like You” Valentine, and a backer-exclusive letter from your friend, Fennel! AND - a secret bonus sticker!

What is ON this secret bonus sticker, you may ask? Well, you’ll just have to order and find out 😉

$50 tier - Sal’s Famous Everything Sandwich

You’ll get detailed digital annotated scripts of two episodes - Act I, Scene ii, where Leona first met the troupe, and the as of yet unreleased Act I, Scene xiii. You’ll also get a physical, handwritten recipe card!

What kind of recipe? Well, there’s a few in rotation, including my family favorite pasta sauce and something from my grandmother’s own recipe cards simply called “Delightful Salad.”

$100 Tier - Tea with Elsibel

Hey, did you know we recorded a nearly 3-hour talkback about Scenes viii & ix? Well, at this tier, you’ll get to hear ALL of that and become a card carrying member of the Hayver Apologists.

You’ll also get one of the original handwritten pages from a Starfall first draft notebook, AND a handwritten copy of the letter from your friend, Fennel!

$250 tier - MEATS!

Join at this level and you’ll get to add a piece to Starfall (and Falsten’s) canon. You’ll get to name a saint or design a play that’ll show up in a future episode of Starfall! You’ll also get a copy of a Starfall episode of your choosing on cassette. Because physical media good.

$1000 - Fried Potatoes

This is it - the best we can offer. At this tier, you can finally “Let Dalyn Say Fuck,” aka choose a character this season and let them say 1 (one) real-world swear. Oh, and I suppose you’ll be an executive producer all season as thanks for that.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! You’ll also get physical copies of “Troupes On Carts,” our annotated scripts, AND, I will send you one of the full handwritten notebooks I used to write first drafts of Starfall episodes in - a truly one of a kind item.

So, uh…yeah. Hope that sounds fun!

[alltheoutsinfreeeee]

inspired by/blatantly stolen from this post

little bits of thoughts and details, as well as spoilers, about each below

Favorite Game of All Time: Final Fantasy IX! From characters to themes to soundtrack, while each parts on their own might be inferior to other games, in its full package nothing will ever beat out FFIX for me. I love this game with all my heart.

Favorite Series: The Tales series~ Their stories always manage to capture me, the character designs are iconic... They might be trope-heavy and sometimes predictable, but its MY trope-heavy and sometimes predictable game series.

Best Soundtrack: Ar tonelico II. This was actually very hard and AT2 does still have several contenders. TWEWY, Terraria Calamity Mod, Pokémon... In the end AT2 won out for now because. Well. It's not often a soundtrack is a huge deal in-universe, songs have their own conlang(s) with grammar and everything, and the soundtrack was specifically designed to sound like it was produced on in-universe instruments as opposed to real life ones. Why did I pick AT2 instead of 1 or 3? It's my favorite and I'm biased.

Favorite Protagonist: Niko OneShot and Kirby! Feel good characters that always make me smile. I would die for them. (hey who's that hiding in there, where did he come from--)

Favorite Villain: Magolor, Kuja, Ardyn. My boys, my chew toys. I would die for them, but for entirely different reasons that for Niko or Kirby, and if I hear anything bad about them in my presence I will throw hands. (in my head anyways, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and i shy away from online confrontation. just hope i will never meet you offline because in that case WILL argue in their favor with you for hours.)

Best Story: Finding Paradise. I adore the characters, the game makes me cry everytime I play it, it left even more of an emotional impact than To The Moon did, I have never felt more personally attacked or seen by a video game, let's move on.

Have not played but want to: Digimon Survive I own and have started, but lost motivation a few hours in. I still wanna finish it one day because I keep hearing only good things about it and I'm a sucker for character development and insect Digimon. OMORI I also own and also have finished one route, but I haven't gotten to the hikkikomori route yet. One day. Kirby Squeak Squad/Mouse Attack I genuinely have never played and wish to change that one day. Sassy mouse phantom thief with cane and ice magic? That's entirely my aesthetic.

You Love Everyone Hates: Final Fantasy XV and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. In both cases I think the hate has mostly subsided by now, but I vividly remember many people disliking both games to an unfair degree. Neither are as bad as people made them out to be.

You Hate Everyone Loves: No :3

Best Art Style: CrossCode, The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog and The World Ends With You. I like anime artystyle and I'm proud. CrossCode is beautiful pixel art, TMoSTH is so unbelievably cozy, and TWEWY is just *chef's kiss*

Favorite Ending: After careful deliberating I went with Ar tonelico 3. The culmination of an overarching story of three games, connecting with the Planet, making up for sins and ultimately taking the first steps towards salvation. With Ec Tisia sounding in a new age as the credits roll. Beautiful.

Favorite Boss Fight: Sister Friede in Dark Souls 3. * disclaimer that I have never actually played DS3, but I love everything about this fight. Setting, atmosphere, dialogue, music, surprises... Truly peak, even if maybe a stereotypical answer to this question.

Childhood Game: Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy VII and IX. Most N64 Mario games as well as Pokémon Crystal could be put on here, but I feel like those three are the ones that stuck with me the most.

Relaxing Game: OoT and Kirby again, but also Pokémon Platinum. OoT might sound weird at first, but with the soundtrack, the fishing pond as well as the ranch there really are a lot of cozy spots in the game. Kirby doesn't need an explanation, cozy and relaxing are a core part of the series. Platinum is here because of the soundtrack and nostalgia. It's my for now unrivaled favorite Pokémon game.

Stressful Game: Bloodborne and In Stars and Time. Bloodborne is self-explanatory, but also it's my favorite out of the Soulsborne games. In Stars and Time isn't stressful in the same way a Soulsborne game is, ISAT is emotionally stressful (positive and complimentory). My favorite video game party in several years.

Game you always come back to: FFIX, Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess and Platinum. Kingdom Hearts and TWEWY can also be on here, but the space is a too small.

Guilty Pleasure: The Ar tonelico trilogy. Not because the gameplay, story, music or characters are bad, but because there are some. Let's say outdated anime tropes in it. If you can live with some unnecessary fanservice and also less than stellar localizations in favor for genuinely amazing worldbuilding, and fantastic characters and songs, I am lovingly putting the games in your hands.

Tons of Hours Played: TWEWY, Platinum and Tales of Vesperia. You guys don't know how obsessed teenage me was with TWEWY. Platinum is, again, my favorite Pokémon game. And I wouldn't ever have gotten started on tumblr if it wasn't for Vesperia~ I keep gushing over Symphonia and the Abyss, but Vesperia's my go-to Tales game. Not one character I dislike in the whole party. They are all my children. Yes, even the 35 year old.

[iamsweden]

I was tagged by @cafeinnewdelsta to list my five comfort characters!

(this was SO hard btw)

1. Cyrus Albright (Octopath Traveler) - Right now, this little nerd is at the top of the list because he is literally me. We're both history nerds. I'm famously asexual and bad at noticing flirting. His philosophy on making education more accessible is perfect and I will always agree with anything that comes out of this guy's mouth. 10/10, I adore him and he encourages me to be a better me <3.

2. Xie Lian (Heaven Official's Blessing) - Stories about folks who hit rock bottom but find the hope to keep going always knock me out, and no one is a better example of it than this guy, our favorite trash god. He's such an inspiration because he keeps going. He believes in himself and the inherent goodness of others and, much like Cyrus, encourages me to be a better person.

3. Lucca (Chrono Trigger) - I've loved Lucca all my life and I'll keep loving her. She's so smart and resourceful and so, so caring of her friends, family, and the world. Chrono Trigger is one of the most important things in my life and whenever I think about the game, I always think of how much I love Lucca.

4. Tres Horny Boys (TAZ Balance) - I KNOW I'm cheating, but seriously how can anyone not see Taako, Merle, and Magnus as a unit? The entirety of TAZ Balance is a major comfort for me. I listened to the podcast for the first time during a really rough point in my life and it helped me through it. These three guys embody hope and love like nobody else. When I'm feeling down, I relisten to Balance or just think about these guys and they pick me back up.

5. Zack Fair (Final Fantasy VII) - Look. Just like everyone else in 2007, I played Crisis Core and ruined my life. Zack is everything to me. He's a hero. In a story full of heroes, real or not, Zack Fair is a hero. It's the perseverance to do good in a world that wants to knock you down that really gets me, you know?

Honorable mentions: Ophilia Clement (Octopath), Garnet (Final Fantasy IX), Allen Walker (D. Gray Man), Yuna (Final Fantasy X), Fjord (Critical Role), Caduceus (Critical Role), Yona (Akatsuki no Yona)

I'll tag @auncyen, @lyxthen, @shady-cactus, and anyone else who wants to do this!

[dundunny]

Final Fantasy XVI

Final Fantasy XVI completed, and wow, I think it's my favorite Final Fantasy since IX, and I'm surprised more people aren't talking about it (focusing on VIIR2?). It's not a perfect game and has some glaring flaws, but I haven't had this much fun playing a Final Fantasy in a long time.

I'll start with the issues, and I think number one is the items, which affects the game twofold. First is there's a completely fucked up weapon upgrade system. Literally after I get a shiny new sword, barely an hour later I've gotten another one. It's like Square didn't track when a player should get trying out something new. The second is the rewards for exploration or epic battles don't matter. There are maybe a dozen different upgrade materials in the whole game, most of which you get pretty early on. So I'm literally running around the final area and finding fucking sharp fangs, which I started collecting way back in the beginning when Clive was like fifteen. Yeah, (some) bounties have good drops, but I literally defeated Bahamut and got forty bloody hides, of which I already owned hundreds. None of the accessories felt like game changers either, so opening up treasure chests felt like meh. You need a sort of nice reward for effort. If I'm gonna walk across the map for some distant treasure, it better not be five of what I already have hundreds of. It's annoying because they put so much effort into everything else, so literally hiring one dude whose sole job is this I feel shouldn't've been hard.

Then there are regular battles. Let me say this first: boss battles were amazing and I was completely satisfied with them. But XVI suffered from the same issue as Hogwarts Legacy: too little variation in enemies and you're way overleveled early on. There's no incentive to fight regular enemies on the map because you're not getting much EXP since you're already way over, their drops are pointless like every other item, so they're more or less just an annoyance you avoid. I didn't put any effort in trying basic encounters, and I beat the game one level below max. So what's the point. Given how much effort Square put into the battle system, it's a shame they didn't let me flex my muscles with it more often.

This is a personal preference but I think others would agree: I'm a big environments fiend, and you don't get to explore any of the major cities. Hell, you never see the Iron Kingdom's capital even in a cutscene. The cities are just dungeons, so you're basically there as a continuous fight so you don’t have time to appreciate the surroundings, and when you do everything is in the process of being destroyed or already is. You don’t even get to visit what should be a moderately sized town, Port Isolde, and even Northreach felt like a minor checkpoint before the capital moved. All that's left are small towns or even just hovels. I wonder if they were trying to save resources on environments; Oriflamme looks amazing from the outside, I can't imagine having the render all of that.

That being said, dungeons are following the trend of a linear path with perhaps a quick diversion for treasure. There's no puzzles, no thought (although a good portion of the time the dungeons are mid-battle of a large attack so there isn't time). XVI isn't alone in this; I've noticed most RPGs in recent years don't do the puzzle route as much anymore.

Another minor complaint is at times they would shove the point down the player's throat until it became fantastical. Yes, slavery is bad and people abuse slaves. However, I cannot imagine even in the cotton-picking South some person would purposefully have other people's slaves be killed by a giant wolf. That is someone else's property. Slaves to that extent are safe from others besides the master. Some dude is not going to go out and start murdering slaves randomly because even the law protects the master's possessions. It just doesn't make any sense.

Now onto the good things: pretty much everything else. The plot is solid and feels like Final Fantasy returning to form. Big crystals that need to be destroyed, kingdoms falling, a higher power controlling things behind the scenes... One thing I appreciate, and I think many recent games have lost this, is XVI had many sidequests that had us check in on friends we've met along the way and continue with their subplots. You never really forget these people and it shows how a network of connections and bonds is maintained. Even Eastpool, which was massacred fairly early on, rises up again much later on.

Another factor that I think is important is I just like Clive a lot. He's also my favorite Final Fantasy protagonist since IX. Don't get me wrong; I did like Lightning but if I ever had to work toward a common goal with her in real life, I probably would punch her in the face. I have no idea how she was ever in the military because she has zero sense of teamwork, and she acts like an asshole to even people who are actively trying to help her. Clive in contrast is very mature, has strong leadership abilities, not overly angry or obnoxious or lonerlike, and is just trying to do good in the world. He does make mistakes, but they're reasonable ones that happen because he didn't have all the information or there were circumstances he couldn't've foreseen, unlike other protagonists who do things you know are wrong and stupid but they do it anyway for the sake of plot. He makes the effort to play with the kids even though he isn't great at it, and they admire him for that. Even when he's angry in the beginning of the game, he's still respectful toward Cid and says, "Thanks for saving me, I have nothing against you or your group, I just have my own path I need to take." He recognizes his own weaknesses, and in such situations seeks assistence or delegates to others. He feels like an actual, filled-out human being, and kudos to whoever wrote him.

The other members of the cast are great too. Jill is very badass but a bit quiet and subdued, but given her time in the Iron Kingdom that's understandable. I thought Joshua would just be a plot point, but he really grew into his own. Cid was fun to be with, and I was sad when he was gone. Gav as always was cool. The enemies were great too. Benedikta died early on, but they threw in a great backstory with the little time they had. Kupka was an idiot and not deep, but you could feel his love and pain. Dion's path was surprising and I never knew what his next step was.

The battle system is definitely the best in the series. It was cool to experiment with each of the summons, and really it can be tailored easily to your style. No one I've asked equipped the same three summons. It feels like they were trying to reach a God of War level of combat, but simultaneously they fumbled on the actual fights. Again, bosses were amazing, but regular fights were just meh. I guess that's why they threw in so many boss fights so frequently.

In terms of music XV was definitely better, but I wouldn't stick my nose up to this. As with many aspects of the game, there were a lot of throwbacks. Prelude and the Final Fantasy Theme came up repeatedly, but also On the Shoulders of Giants had the traditional Final Fantasy regular battle opening. And also randomly for one of the times you fight Ultima, it's the FFI world map theme. I've definitely heard better, but I could listen to this OST on its own. The lyrics however are stupid. From what I'm understanding, they tasked the English translator to provide them, and considering this is the dude that wrote out "such foul attaint may not be sublimed through gainstanding," you can tell where this is going. I'll give a few examples:

A sickle forged of adamant To server the man from his hooded past No more a slave to sorrow's gloom In onychine eyes burn chthonic doom An evil hidng from the sun Blinding, he screameth eschaton immanent Now in its wake yawned lightless abyss Yon gaping maw his circumfix

I feel like this written by a high schooler who believes using as much SAT vocabulary they just learned makes them sound more intelligent. I don't know why anyone would compose this.

Visually it's all right. XV had a prettier environment, but this wasn't bad, especially when you're walking around Rosaria. I touched on how you never explore epic architecture, but the nature is beautiful. Unfortunately in the second half of the game when everything goes to shit, the world gets this haze over it and nothing is appealing to look at (which isn't unusual; other Final Fantasies, especially VI had catastrophic situations in the second half of the game). I guess that's kinda the point; the Blight is wiping out everything and actually Clive's efforts could ultimately be for naught and it's too late.

Which is how I'm going to end: It's a very depressing game. There's a lot of death, a lot of tragedy, a lot of loss. Clive lives a totally fucked up life, and he's not alone. The fact I still enjoyed this never-ending sadness demonstrates how well it was done. Totally recommend, play it as soon as you can.

Also... can we address that whole Barnabas and his mom thing? They had literally one scene with that and never mentioned it again. What the fuck was with that?

[janetkwallace]

Every media has its ups and downs.

Every season has that episode with dubious quality, every movie has that one scene that makes you go "but that makes no sense", every comic book has that one confusing mess of a retcon... Nothing is perfect, that should be clear. A friend of mine once said that Final Fantasy IX, the game I'll be commenting on today, also one of my favorite games ever, is the "perfect imperfection", and that somehow sticks to me. I'll always think of that quote whenever I think about this game because... It fits so damn well with the way I feel about IX as a whole. 

I was 12, 13, I can't remember very well, but I was young and studying at middle school when I first got to play this game. IX had an impact on me, that I can't deny. I was hooked in by the first moment, from that ominous "dream" Princess Garnet has in the opening to being introduced to each characters (you even get to play as some of them, that's a novelty), the kidnap the princess plot that follows to exiting Alexandria, I wanted to see where Zidane and the party would go next.

Seeing more and more characters being introduced, the plot thickening, the story showing a darker side in contrast to the first hours of comfort that were given during the short stay at Alexandria, it was fascinating, like opening the pages of a book and, on each page, something happens and you wonder what will happen next, only to discover that things do happen, but not in the way you often expect them to. And boy, does this game have lots and lots of dark moments you were not expecting, they come all of sudden, like the scene where you witness Black Mages falling from a cargo ship like liveless dolls or the Burmecian genocide that occurs at the end of the first Disc or a woman who got blind during the battle of Lindblum.

See, this is why IX is a favorite of mine, it's not afraid of doing these things and more. It takes risks by going from a lighthearted mood to utterly soul-crushing moments. Sure, there's darkness, but not without hope, or a silly element in between. It's not a bad game by any means, it still holds up despite being made two decades ago, it's got a great cast of characters, an interesting world, a magical feel right at the start, yet there are things that can be said that are not done well or that are a source of complaint.

There's the battle system that some find to be slow, the lack of difficulty that makes the game a cakewalk for some, the age of the graphics, the unfinishedness felt during the last segments of the game... It's not a perfect game by any means, and to be honest, criticism can't be avoided, even for the things we appreciate and care about. Today, I'm here to comment on that one scene that stood out for me as an example of what makes Final Fantasy IX the "perfect imperfection", that one scene that is one of my least favorite moments in the game. Not a character, or a location, or a musical track, but an event in the main story that, in a way or the other, changed me forever.

Said event happens during the Alexandria Castle segment on Disc 2. For a bit of context: There's war going on Burmecia, and Alexandria is involved. Garnet goes to Alexandria to confront her mother head on about the massacre unfolding, Brahne replies something like "oh but the Burmecians were planning to attack us first and I had no choice but to attack them before they did", you're given a choice to believe or not believe her (which really doesn't do much of a difference), then Kuja comes in and casts a spell on Garnet to make her fall asleep. Soon after, Zorn and Thorn extract her eidolons, which Brahne uses to conquer the nations through Disc 2, a prime example being Odin's summoning that lead to Cleyra's destruction, but not before Beatrix manages to steal the desert star gem as part of a subplot about a super duper eidolon stronger than everything else that Brahne never got hold of because she died in a conflict at the end of Disc 2.

And that's the backstory, my folks. Anyway... The party arrives at Alexandria Castle through a teleportation device (which's oddly never brought up again, go figure), you're given a time limit to rescue Garnet before she dies and this is where it feels like all of the current characters and their plot lines converge at a single point. It's where the game says "we've got to give a conclusion to these character's current arcs as we move on to the next big thing", and it doesn't do that very well. To begin with, Steiner, Freya and Beatrix, as well as the Tantalus folks, are no longer seen until the beginning of Disc 3, so you think "well, they're side characters, and the game wants some room to breathe and it can't do that when there are so many plot lines going on at the same time, so the solution is to give a conclusion to them right here and then it'll focus on them later again".

But that doesn't happen.

As a matter of fact, it's an anticlimactic cliffhanger we got here, a sort of "To be continued" scenario that never gets to be continued the way it should've been. Think about it... Steiner, who once had a black and white view of the world at large, now questions whether Alexandria was always right. At first, he showed disapproval to Zidane's behavior and methods, but now he came to respect him, a thief who's far more honest than the Queen corrupted by greed. Freya saw Burmecia in ruins and thought she had a chance to save Cleyra, but she did not, she failed with both but is still fighting for what she believes in rather than give up so easily. Beatrix, who's been an unbeatable warrior fighting for Alexandria, now joins forces with the party and stands against Brahne, who she used to be loyal to. The Tantalus members are there to help the three knights out during Garnet's escape, and suddenly, you find yourself outside of Alexandria, and those who stood behind are not heard or seen until Disc 3.

During my first gameplay, I wondered if I’d see those characters again, be it in a cutscene or a side quest, but no, we don’t see them again. Zidane briefly mentions them and that’s it. Disc 3 is yet to happen while you move to another continent to find out about Kuja. The rest of the game, after this point, feels like it’s about searching for Kuja’s whereabouts, to the detriment of the subplots. Do we see more of Steiner’s new attitude? We do, but only a few times. Do we know how Freya feels after the tragedy of losing her people? Only in a few scenes, but with no further detail. Do we see Beatrix doing something to show her change of heart means something? Well… No. I mean, if you count her supporting the party on the Iifa Tree battle that occurs on Disc 4, then yes, but when it comes to apologizing to the people who were injured in the conflict, she never does that. She asks for the citizens of Burmecia to forgive her at one point, but not in the face of the survivors themselves.

I'll admit that, back then, I felt betrayed. It left me sour, with a bad aftertaste in the mouth. It felt wrong, retrograde, unnatural, all kinds of things. This is the moment where the game doesn't take risks, it takes the easy way out by sidelining those characters. It felt like reading a book and flipping the page only to realize they were torn off at the last minute or that they never came to be. Those characters, their personalities, their storylines, it felt like they were taken away. They’re still there, but it’s not like they’re that important, which feels wrong. The game outright says those characters do matter, that you should care for them, but then Freya doesn’t have anything else to comment on about Burmecia or Cleyra? How does that affect her or how she stands up despite having every reason to give up, a thing she never does? Or what about Beatrix being complacent of Alexandria’s atrocities, why is not that brought up again? Not even by Steiner, who has changed a lot since his first appearance. 

I'm older now, but to this day, I'm still figuring out why, of all Final Fantasy games, or any games in general, why IX had to be the one that made me join a fandom. Why I draw fanarts, why I write fanfiction, why I'm writing this right now about IX. I wonder who I would be if I never played this game, would I still be myself? After all of these years, I’m still disappointed by how things are, and although spite is a fuel for creativity, it can’t be the sole reason you do the things you do whenever something in canon doesn’t feel right for you. Like, I came to appreciate side characters and the potential they hold for storytelling after I played Final Fantasy IX, and I saw it happen in other media as well, characters whose stories are fascinating yet little is explored about them.

What do you do in this case? Do you wait for a possible person who happens to share the same thoughts as you do to write everything down about the characters you like? I certainly don’t, because if there’s only one person who can flesh out characters, as well as settings that are characters by themselves, the way you want... It can be only you and nobody else. 

[jessjustplay]

Happy 20 Years to Final Fantasy X-2!

November 18, 2023

Released 20 years ago in NA on November 18, 2003 💜 Final Fantasy X-2 is one of my all-time favorite games! Yes, IX was my first FF (so I call it my favorite) but X-2 was paramount to my childhood. I was an 11 year old girl watching 3 girls be the main characters of a video game… of course I was obsessed. 🥲

As you can tell, my strategy guide did not sit pretty on the bookshelf. I took that book everywhere with me! I loved this game so much & I remember planning out my dresspheres and sphere grids. 😂 I also remember restarting the PS2 over & over just to rewatch the fun intro!💃

I think some people expected a “FFX sequel” to be an exact copy+paste extension of FFX, so when they played X-2, they were let down. Sucks for them. This game is awesome. 🥰💜🩷

[mister-e-muss]

Alright. Time for another Backlog Report. May ‘24

As always, thoughts are below.

Etrian Mystery Dungeon

Being completely honest, I didn’t quite know what to expect with this one. While I know that Mystery Dungeon is a larger series than its iconic crossovers with Pokémon, I wasn’t sure how the formula would work when melded to a different series, especially one as anti-roguelike as Etrian Odyssey.

I enjoyed how the game played out as a shrunken-down version of EO’s team and character building. I liked the idea of locking a dungeon’s layout. IMO, that was a nice way to find a middle ground between EO’s mapping and MD’s random generation.

In a word, I liked it. Do I think it’s a good game? Sure. Do I think it’s a great game? Unfortunately not.

The narrative is painfully sparse. While Etrian Odyssey is known for its sparse narratives, I was hoping for something more along the lines of Etrian Odyssey Untold. It seems perfectly fine for most of it, but the ending feels distinctly undercooked, with the main antagonist not having even a single word of dialogue.

While I locked the combat, it doesn’t feel as deep as could be. For that matter, having the FOE’s require status ailments for any damage to be down just feels like an extra bit of restriction. I don’t like it when customizable games like this have a built-in wrong answer.

The soundtrack is also a mixed bag. This game does have my favorite rendition of The End of Raging Waves, many of the tracks are either unfitting, loop too often, or both. (EO2’s FOE theme was not meant to be an exploration track dammit!)

I enjoyed this game as a whole. But solid gold, it is not.

Final Fantasy XII; The Zodiac Age

To start with, who talks about this game?

No, really, who talks about this game? Who wakes up in the morning, offers their daily prayers to the Ashelia B’nargin Dalmasca shrine kept in the closet, and walks out the door thinking “Oh boy, I cannot wait to spend another day telling people about my favorite game of all time: Final Fantasy XII.” (You can’t hear me through the post, but I’m laughing rn because that is a sentence that has never been said.)

FfXII is in a weird place in the series. It isn’t as foundational to the series as the first four, nor as widely popular as VI, VII, and X. It doesn’t quite generate the same vitriol from disappointed fans as XIII, XV, and to a lesser extent, II and VIII. (Btw, playing VIII, and it is just fine.) Even it’s immediate precursor XI is of more value as an object of curiosity in a “What would a FF MMO look like before they made XIV good?” Hell, even when discussing the more overlooked hidden gems among the series, it still has less fans than IX and V. The most people seem to think about this game, myself included before I actually played it, is “Well I know there’s a X, and XIII is supposed to be the Worst Game Evar, so logically there has to be two more in between there.” For that matter, I think the reason why XIII has so many design choices it does, is because XII is also so very much XII.

Looking at the game as a whole, I think it’s easy to see why this one slipped so hard under the radar. Final Fantasy XII is not a game that presents itself all that well. That’s not to say it looks bad or plays bad. If anything the world design is gorgeous. But it is a game that takes a while to reveal the true appeal.

Truthfully, this was one of my first purchases for the switch, alongside Fire Emblem Three Houses and Digimon Story CyberSleuth. (Incidentally, CyberSleuth is a really really good monster catcher game and you should go play it.) Over two years and 60 hours, I explored the world of Ivalice.

The gambits are a great bit of customization. They involve you in the decision-making and let you fine tune a party that functions well enough to tear through superbosses. But it takes until the third hour at least for you to get enough to really start playing around with the system, and even then, it sometimes isn’t as refined as you’d like it to be. Multiple times I wished I could add a second condition to a certain action. Sometimes when playing, I jokingly thought to myself “Man, this gambit system is groundbreaking. Now if only it could be included in a game where combat was fun in its own right.” Why hello there Unicorn Overlord :D!

Playing this game, it felt like I was in conversation with it. One where I wanted it to be something that it wasn’t.

“Do you want to play a game where the main fun of combat doesn’t come from combat itself but by refining your strategies and party-comp?”

“That sounds vague and abstract, but I’m willing to work with it.”

“How about an upgrade/skill tree style of system that restricts you from using equipment until you unlock the very specific ability to use it, and all of the would-be stat boosts are also abstract and don’t actually change your numbers?”

“That just sounds like the Sphere Grid from X, but worse in every conceivable way. Will I receive weapons that don’t benefit any of my party members’ jobs?”

“You’re guaranteed to.”

“Shit.”

“Okay, how about a political drama set in a diverse and expansive world, with a really cool magic-science aesthetic and a culture that isn’t just Europe-but-fancy?”

“That actually sounds pretty cool. You’re going to tie in this grand overarching narrative with individual character arcs that flesh out both person and world right?”

“. . . Kind of. Think less ‘Characters driving plot’ and more along the lines of ‘Plot happens to characters.’”

Briefly touching on the characters: I like most of them, but I wish there was more actually between them. Vaan makes a friendship comment to Ashe in the very late game at it feels almost completely undeserved because These People Don’t Interact. As for Vaan himself, I talked briefly with a mutual of mine about it, and I repeat here. I don’t hate Vaan. I just wish he had more going for him as a protagonist. I kept waiting for him to be an interesting or engaging character and he only had around three moments of substance in the whole game. He has a very undercooked revenge story that lasts for barely 5 hours with sidequests, and beyond that his main job in the party is to Not Know Things, and be wowed by all the pretty sights. There’s an argument to be made about how X did something similar with Tidus, but the key difference there is that Tidus is actually engaging of a character, with a character arc that lasts the whole game, and whose ignorance is used to provide the player and the party extra perspective, even coming to challenge the status quo.

The soundtrack is also not my favorite. Not that it has many bad tracks, just not many that really stick. I still hold that FFIV has one of the best soundtracks in the series. Both this game and Etrian Mystery Dungeon suffer from a common problem with the soundtrack, and it’s an unfortunate side effect of how these games are designed. Seemless integration of combat into exploration also means that there’s very little dedicated combat music, so you’d better enjoy listening to those world themes because they aren’t going anywhere.

For all that FFXII does that doesn’t jell with me completely, I should have hated this game. Either that or forgotten about it like everyone else. Honestly, if I had a wider selection of games in my early Switch library, I might have done just that. And yet for all my grievances with this game, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. I loved exploring the world of Ivalice. Even when I finished this game, I’m not entirely sure I was ready to say goodbye to it. However I also really really wanted to start on Harvestella, so off to the very short and underwhelming final dungeon I went.

If you enjoy Xenoblade as a series, I feel like you owe it to yourself to try out Final Fantasy XII. It might not be anyone’s favorite game of all time, but it is worth the time spent.

[nimdreams]

Dagger's Eidolon

One of my identities is that of an eidolon, a summoned being that can be bound to a summoner. The first time I learned about eidolons was in Final Fantasy IX. I first played it when it came out in 2000 when I was 11 and it has been my favorite game ever since. The game starts with Dagger's 16th birthday, and when I was young I saw her as a big sister. Soon, I passed that age, and now at 35 my feelings about her have changed and grown. It is strange how I grow older while she remains the same in my eyes. As the years went by, I felt more and more like an eidolon and I consider being Dagger's eidolon specifically, a paratype of mine. I feel very close to her, and protective of her. I have always self inserted myself into Final Fantasy IX's story and it didn't take long for me to put myself as her main eidolon. A companion in animal form, and then a majestic version as my true form as an eidolon, with holy (light) as my attack element.

My relationship with her has changed a lot since first meeting her. My place in FFIX has changed. As I grow older, I expect to feel more and more like a wiser ancient being, to guide Dagger through her hardships where she once guided, and was an example for, me.

I listen to FFIX music every day, and think about her and all my friends from Gaia with a smile. Their Gaia is my hearthome, a place I long for and am always happy to visit.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Dragon Quest VIII, Journey of the Cursed King, was a major touchstone for the series. Stateside we saw a serious attempt to market the series and push this as an on-ramp to something with a legacy. Bundled it with a Final Fantasy XII demo. This would be the first since the Square Enix merger, DQ was the banner series for the latter if you didn't know. We also get Level-5 as a developer hot off of one of my all-time favorite games, Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle. Man that game is amazing. And so is Dragon Quest VIII, one that will top many favorites lists though it'd be a middle tier one for me.

First, we're in the PS2 era so this is a huge graphical step up. Having Akira Toriyama on board as an art director really gets to shine from here on. Cutscenes are fully voiced and have a lot more movement. There's a double-edged sword here though. You're only going to have a preset four-member party. The story is solid but pretty pedestrian. Like, by this point we've had some solid subversions of the hero's journey. Felt like they just wanted to play that side safe. Yangus, Jessica, & Angelo are all fun though. The skill point system gives room to customize as well.

What you do get to expand on is your monster team. On the overworld you can see some dudes wandering around. They're stronger but you can recruit them. Run them through team battles in an arena and call your team into battle for a few turns. This is not optional; you will need a good one to handle some later bosses. Excellent mechanic. You also get a rudimentary crafting system. IX is going to expand on this a lot more but it works here. All in all, I like VIII. Just wish it would have taken a few more chances.

[styrmwb]

I beat Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

This might be the longest game from start to finish I've ever played

Not in the sense that this is a long game but in the fact that this is the first real game I ever played (I'm sorry, I'm not considering pc learning programs for baby), and it took me approximately 18-19 years to get around to Finally beating it. It's very funny to say that my first experience into gaming was a strategy game. I also think that somewhere, deep down in my heart, this planted the seed for what games I ended up loving in my present. Experiencing this game with an adult mind was ALMOST a fresh experience, yet I uncovered a lot of old memories and experiences during it.

This game is goddamn addicting. I Genuinely had so much trouble putting it down at times because I just Kept Wanting To Play. Let me explain to you my thoughts :)

Gameplay

I love RPGs to the bottom of my heart; HOWEVER. I have Always Always Always HATED gear management. I don't think I ever truly appreciated it in a game until Final Fantasy IX, where equipping gear and holding onto it taught you abilities permanently. It made me care about my gear and when to equip it more than just stat buffs and "yeah I guess I'll get fire immunity whatever". I LOVE that system so much. Another system that I love to the bottom of my heart (also an FF Classic but Dragon Quest gave me this too) is the job/class system. The freedom of changing my characters to be whatever I want and to mix and match their abilities is so fun and leads to a lot of flavor and mechanics. Final Fantasy V does it the best imo. So what do I get here? I get 2 of my favorite RPG mechanics of all time put into one!!! The reason this game is so addicting is it's basically to me character building simulator. I am constantly thinking about job paths, what I want each of my guys to be, how much time am I putting them in battles and spreading across their usage and swapping gear to maximize AP gains and make a small army of broken warriors. It's an absolute joy. The base gameplay is super solid too which helps. I mean, I love strategy RPGs (I am, unfortunately, a Fire Emblem bitch), so you literally can't go wrong with it.

I loved the jobs in this game. In fact, I'm gonna be a big nerd and tell you about my whole clan because this is MY post and I make the rules

Marche - Paladin/Fighter: World's Strongest Child. Fighter's damage output is insane, and has a wide range of abilities that helped out with its accuracy or distance, as well as just some meaty hits to annihilate. I went into Paladin just for some extra defense, and was also blessed with some good support skills and a stupid strong nuke in Holy Blade.

Montblanc - Mog Knight/Juggler: To be real here, I fucked up with this dude. I Did Not know what I wanted to do with him, and messed his stats up a little as a result. But Juggler is such a good support unit, especially with Dagger's disable + damage and Smile's instant turn ratio. Mog Knight did not perform how I wanted it to, but it has funny ability names.

Nikolai - Hunter/Archer: As I mentioned before, I'm a Fire Emblem bitch; and what that means is that I'm used to archers sucking shit (fuck you Python hit your damned shots). I was NOT expecting the bowman here to be as goated as he was. The utility of the aim abilities from damage boosting to disabling the enemy, as well as hunt's huge monster damage, this dude was a prime stay throughout the entire playthrough.

Chelney - Dragoon/Gladiator: This guy took a bit to load up, but once he did, holy shit. Absolute damage demon. Dragoon's wide range of AOE abilities + spear usage given some extra strength and smaller focus when needed from Gladiator, on top of the insane movement I gave him meant I had a Bangaa missile land wherever I wanted it to.

Eugene - Sage/White Mage/Beastmaster (when needed): Another unit I didn't really do optimally. White Mage is obviously a great support as it always is, but I genuinely thought Sage was gonna be a support type. Instead I got some damage skills (which to be fair were nice to have) that were super rare to find and didn't feel really BEEFY. Beastmaster was mostly there to support the Blue Mage.

Gertrude - Red Mage/Summoner: The early playthrough goat and 1/2 of the reason why I think Viera units are the best units in the game. Red Mage's wide variety of abilities came in clutch, as well as the bit of Fencer I gave her at first to cover both magic and physical. Then came Summoner, which was just "haha drop a big explosion". THEN I got Doublecast. "HAHA DROP TWO BIG EXPLOSIONS". Very very very fun unit, I just wish she actually managed to hit more. I blame myself for not giving her more movement to get behind the enemy.

Skimble - Time Mage/Black Mage: The epitome of a glass cannon, Poor Skimble could nuke anyone he saw but kept constantly getting targeted and killed. I actually did really like this mix of jobs because he could pull off support and damage well whenever I needed.

Gotwald - Bishop/White Monk: Not the most used unit, but a VERY fun combination of jobs. Bishop is like, Good Sage, with its healing and damage magic, and then the White Monk abilities balanced it out with some physical attacks as needed and Revive. Thematically it all balances out very well, I loved this.

Gallahad - Ninja: Another unit I didn't really know what to do with. He started out as a thief but I never really liked stealing in games (mainly cause it just never seemed worth the trouble). It was worth it to get to Ninja, though. His damage output, especially once I unlocked Double Sword was insane. The utility of Ninja Skills are also awesome, I just wish he could land them.

Agatha - Assassin/Sniper: I lied when I said Gertrude was 1/2 of what convinced me Vieras were the best. Agatha is 5/6ths of what convinced me of this fact. Having her in Sniper was already really solid with Doubleshot, Death Scythe, Aim:Weapon, etc (a really funny combo was dooming someone then using Montblanc to speed up their turns and thus their demise.) But then Assassin? Holy shit. Literally just instantly killing anything across the field, dashing around at mach speed, everything in her range. Once I mastered Ultima Buster and gave her back a greatbow, everyone was just "am I going to Last Breath or Ultima Buster you? You get one shot either way". Insane unit.

Karl - Gunner/Animist: This is such a fun long range hide in the back of the map combo. Gunner has surprisingly crazy damage, and it can keep up that damage AND cause statuses. Animist rounds it out nicely with the self heal and AOE attacks (oh I can't shoot you? Get Chocobo'd, idiot.)

Nobel - Blue Mage/Fighter: This is a Blue Mage that is 1000% worth the investment. You don't even need all the spells. Matra Magic is one of the funniest spells in a strategy game I've ever used, and even beyond that I had Twister and Dragon Force. Fighter was there to give them extra meat for their attack based spells, as well as no MP options because Damage > MP is a thing and is good.

That was my clan, and I feel like most everyone got their time to shine (even if certain bunnies and lizards got a little more than others). There are some jobs I wish I got to experience a little more but I just couldn't put the investment into it. Illusionist and Alchemist are a couple that I think I could have cooked with in an alternate timeline; Templar as well. Gadgeteer scares me, but a luck based affect everyone class is really funny conceptually. I also really appreciated how throughout the game, the base jobs weren't always invalidated, and they had their place when needed.

I think building characters, while it is the part I enjoyed the most through the game, is very much sunk cost. You gotta just invest in your guys from the get go cause nobody you recruit later is going to even out just due to amount of abilities.

Other gameplay things I liked: customizable map is really cool. I ended up going with an optimized guide just cause I wanted treasure and I know I don't play games more than once often so I was going for full 100%, but as a replayability feature it's SO cool. I also actually quite enjoyed the little bit of time management that was there; it reminded me of Persona. Hold off to accept this mission cause I can't make it in time to do these other couple, plan out my optimal route to hit as many or as little battles as I could in this period. Map navigation was an actual part of the game which was cool.

The Law system gives me feelings so complicated. Thematically, it's very cool and fits in perfectly in the world (or I should say the world is built around it very well.) And theoretically, it really gives you incentive to switch around your units and plan out their growth. But in my experience, 80% of the time it was just annoying? (which again, flavor wise, VERY accurate). Like there were times where I got hit with "do not hit animals go to jail" on a mission I did not know was exclusively full of animals. I also don't think they were the clearest things at times, and you really do just have to get punished to find out the limits of stuff. It's not The Worst, but I don't think I had a lot of fun with it. Except when it prevented the enemies from doing something that was hilarious. Stupid Illusionist can't do anything when target all is illegal lmfao

To tie in two previous points, I think Jagds were a very cool area. The trade off of no laws but for permadeath is neat, and those zones actually gave me fear and made me try to plan and prepare when I went around them. I also have a memory of my childhood playthrough losing my favorite guy so I didn't want a repeat of that hahaha. But I think the permadeath eventually becomes WAY more of a punishment than it should be due to how hard raising a character is. One wrong move, and the guy you put dozens of hours and AP into is gone. I will say, this game absolutely made me anal about saving constantly, so that might be good? Maybe?

Two things I can strictly say I disliked, were the randomness and dispatch missions/mission items. When it comes to randomness, I feel like I was really blocked out of certain things just because I couldn't get the units or items I wanted. I didn't get the chance to recruit a second Viera for so long, which sucks when jobs are race based. (I read somewhere that it was based off month but I found that out way too late). Items as well; when abilities are locked to gear, you Need gear to reach potentials. But I barely got any Sage weapons, I was losing out on a lot of ice magic cause I just couldn't get the items, and I literally never got to figure out how to steal said weapons cause I didn't get the weapon to do that. It bothered me. Mission items are the absolute bane of my existence. I HATED them. You need them for so many missions, but those missions will appear WAY before you can even get the items, and some items are one time get only meaning you can screw yourself out of everything, which I hated. Yes, I know that if I was playing this back in the day (and if I had friends when I was playing this back in the day), you could trade and link for items, but as a solo player, it just doesn't work. The mystery difficulty of dispatch missions sucked too. I had to look up the formula just to figure out how to make something guaranteed to win.

I think this wins the award for Game With Gameplay I Actually Really Cared For And Had Opinions About 2024

Story + Characters

As a kid, I really didn't think about the story at all even though I could read it just fine. I was just a small one who named his character ABCDabcdef and had fun moving my guys around (also god damn I was a lot smarter than I thought considering how far I got) My adult brain though, was actually able to appreciate what this game was. I think it offers a really interesting inversion on the Isekai genre, before the Isekai genre even blew up. What if the main character wanted to go home? For a GBA game in 2003, I feel like this was surprisingly... profound? is that the word? I'm not saying it was the greatest piece of media ever written, in fact I think there were a couple areas where I would have liked a little more clarification/details, but like, for what it is. It's really cool.

Marche I think is an interesting character. He felt very... responsible. Like "haha ok guys we had our fun but we Need to go back." He was able to call the bullshit on the world, and try to pull everything back to reality. I felt this even further reading about his backstory and relationship to his family. Sure, he had freedom, but he dedicated his effort To his brother, and his mother, to make them happy, even at the cost of his own. He's a character that I very much appreciated and related to. Although, I think I would have liked more to his motivation. A stronger reason behind his intense want to go home.

Ritz and Doned were fine. I like them, but there isn't much To them. Ritz was a cool, strong character who I liked how she never backed down from her wants, and Doned hit close to my heart, being a very accurate younger brother; and I felt for him, "gaining" the health he always wanted. I really liked the scene between him and Marche fighting about what the other has. But they didn't get to show up much, which stinks, and in Ritz's case especially I wish her motivation was a little stronger.

Mewt I think was the perfect character to cause this story and this world. I completely understood his struggles between the bullying and the loss of his mother, seeing the struggles of his father, and wanting that all to go away, dealing with, or more aptly NOT dealing with the pain by running away from it. His mental state literally shaped the world, from the laws of the land to creating an overpowered coping mechanism in the form of him but backwards (fuck you Llednar you're too damn strong).

This game has a good Cid. I expected him to be a shithead, but in the real world he was just depressed and in Ivalice he was actually really honorable.

Montblanc and Shara were both good friends to their respective child, but I do wish they both had a little more background/depth. (I also wish that Shara hit literally any of her shots come on I wasted a unit slot on you)

Both the Nu Mou surprised me; Babus actually made me feel for the dude, clearly caring about his prince and fighting for him; his behavior and appearance made me think he was Mewt's stuffed animal given life. Ezel's fucking hilarious, this dude said FUCK the government, laws are no fun at all. I love that dude so much.

I don't have much to say about Remedi, as she's literally an extension of Mewt. She serves her role as being that physical incarnation of a metaphysical concept to plunge your sword into that every FF game needs.

To kinda summarize my point, I did like everything, and I thought there were a lot of cool concepts. The game made me feel feelings, it plucked at my heart a little. But it's not as deep as I would have liked, I don't think. Granted, this is a GBA game. I'm not expecting Shakespeare or anything, but if we ever got a remake or something? I'd love some expansion.

Apart from the main story, I actually quite enjoyed the background story of Clan Borzoi. These guys are being menaces, you defeat them, and through reading the rumors and dispatch missions, you find out their leader runs away in a boat you helped him with, only for him to come back 4x as evil, bringing fiends and becoming a fucking vampire. It was honestly a joy and a side plot that Did Not need to be there but I loved.

The post game 100% completion judge storyline was fun too. We get more Cid screentime AND we get to fight against the law being shitty and corrupt which you always love to see.

Art

I love this game's art style and direction. The portraits, the way everyone looks, is so fun, it's cartoony and unique. The monster designs are so special yet still recognizably classic. The game itself is really colorful and vibrant which makes it a joy to look at, especially as I can't tear myself away from playing it.

Even the animations just make me really happy to look at, although I recognize part of that is nostalgia. The spells are fun, like the demi squishy circle, or the Illusionist full screen hellfests (Stardust is the best one). Even the summon animations, for being on a GBA game, had that classic FF sense of grandness, power, and being over the top. I love looking at this game.

Music

It's amazing how even through the GBA sounds, this is very recognizably a Sakimoto soundtrack. I can feel that grand feeling that the XII OST gives me in the form of beeps and boops. I don't care what some people say, I love the way the GBA sounds, and I think this game has a very good soundtrack. The title theme lives in my head rent free, as well as the bar theme. Marche's theme is also probably one of my favorites, being a slower piece compared to most of the game.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

See it's funny cause Marche is a stranger in paradise and I'm about to talk about the origins of Final Fantasy

Go play the silly Jack game dammit

I never truly appreciated how FF this game is. I will preface this by saying I Have Not played the original Tactics yet (I should have done it before Advance but childhood experiences win the matchup low diff), so my experiences are mainly second hand, that might affect some of my outlook. But as I was saying, this game feels INCREDIBLY classic Final Fantasy. Between the monsters, the jobs, the colorful nature of the game, the references to previous characters (I saw the four fiends! And Gilgame[sh]!) the fantastical aspects over the more serious political drama, I get the same vibes as the first few FF games, which makes me happy. I honestly feel like this game feels more FF than XII does (I am not saying XII is not an FF game it obviously is).

Speaking of XII, it is INSANE how much Tactics Advance brought to that game, and how little credit I feel the general public attributes to it. Like, This Game Came First. This game created Viera, Bangaa, Nu Mou. This game had Montblanc and Nono. This game had the Giza Plains. This game had monsters like Carrot. This game created Judges! So much of XII's identity is Tactics, and playing through this made me realize that even more of it is still Tactics. We wouldn't have Fran, we wouldn't have Gabranth, without Tactics Advance, and I wish this game got the respect it was due.

Shoutouts to XIV being the only game to acknowledge it in the form of Clan Nutsy. (I'm retroactively mad at Theatrhythm for not doing ANYTHING)

Post Too Long! Red Card: Go To Prison!

I'm so glad I finally got to finish this game, and complete a mission that I've had since I was a kid. I specifically remember giving up on the Llednar -> Mateus combo, and now here I am, 100% completion.

I can absolutely see why I put so much time into this game; it's addicting, and it has so many features and aspects of games that I love put into one package, even if there are bits I could do without.

The game as a whole feels ahead of its time, and even beyond the console it was on, and I hope one day it can get the recognition it deserves, rather than only getting a rerelease on the Wii U. I do recommend any FF fan to play this game. To finish off the post, I would say;

8/10. An absolutely addicting fun time and a key point in the history of my favorite franchise, as well as my own life. It's got some frustrations and imperfections, but it's such a solid experience.

[auronlu]

what’s a good place if I wanna dip my toes into Final Fantasy, or RPGs?

( I already play Pokemon (

Hmmm. I'm not sure. A lot of the old one have been reissued on Steam and iOS/Android but are obviously a bit dated now.

i've actually fallen behind on recent games (gasp) and may not be the best person to recommend.

My very favorite is Final Fantasy X, now available as a remaster along with its sequel on Windows (download it through Steam), Nintendo Switch, Playstation 3-4 and Vita, and XBox One. Unfortunately they only came out with an iOS/Android version in Japan.

Final Fantasy IX is a good classic game with a lot of heart, which I think would be an easy jump for a pokemon player. It's been adapted to iOS/Android as well as most of the above, so you can play it on a tablet or phone.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is a modern retelling/adaptation of the most popular RPG of all time, with great graphics, gameplay, and beloved characters, available on Windows through Steam or Playstation 4-5. I haven't had a chance to play it yet, but the main knock on it seems to be that it's a bit linear, which might actually help a newer player (it naturally steers you in the direction of plot).

Or, if you want to dip your toes in a very simple Final Fsntasy game with retro graphics. Final Fantasy Dimensions is a phone game in four chapters with the first chapter free. The graphics are in the style of the very first Final Fantasy games when they were on the Gsmeboy or other little portable consoles, but the secret to Final Fantasy's success is that the gameplay, magic system, types of characters, and storytelling style tends to remain the same, even as game consoles and graphics evolve —much like Doctor Who, there are core elements, even if it changes a lot over the years! (except, unlike Dr Who, each Final Fantasy game number is a different universe with a different set of characters, the way Jago & Litefoot are different from the Sarah Jane Adventures.)

Anyway, I'm going to invite my followers to make recommendations because they are probably more up-to-date than I am.

[mycomicbox]

You seem to be a huge fan of RPG’s what is your RPG favorite game and/or series?

Man, where do I even begin? You can't make me pick just one! I'm just going to go down the list of RPG series that I've played and enjoyed:

Pokémon: My bread-and-butter series since I was 9. My first game was X, but since then, I have played all of the mainline games from the Game Boy to the Switch (currently playing through Violet). I just love battling with those funky lil' creachers :3

Mario & Luigi (and by extension Super Mario RPG): A very charming Mario spin-off series with some unique twists on the RPG formula, mainly with using timed button presses to execute attacks. Unfortunately, the developer AlphaDream shut down a few years ago, so this series is probably dead...

Undertale and Deltarune: C'mon... do I even need to go into detail?

EarthBound/M🌏THER: I love medieval fantasy, but it's sometimes fun to avert tropes. Rather than playing as a knight or mage slaying dragons and goblins, you're a bunch of ragtag kids using PSI and baseball bats to fight animals, gang members, and animated objects. Plus, the series is full of great jokes and overall just OOZES charm. Also MOTHER 3 made me cry.

OMORI: The one that you were probably expecting. Lovely music and presentation, a heart-wrenching story, and beautifully displays mental illness without making a mockery of it.

Final Fantasy: I've only played a few of these (I, III, IV, V, and currently playing through IX), but I have enjoyed the ones that I have played. I've heard good things about VI, VII, X, and especially XIV (though XIV is an MMORPG and those intimidate me). I have to say that my favorite so far is V, simply because of the excellent job system. Speaking of job systems...

Bravely Default: A series that I've gotten into back in May of this year, and it recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. A sister series to Final Fantasy that's basically a love letter to the JRPGs of old, with an excellent job system and a unique twist on turn-based combat with the Brave and Default commands. The fandom is frustratingly small, however...

Now for some RPG series that I'm wanting to try:

Persona: When the Switch port of Persona 5 Royal dropped, my brother and I both pitched in money to buy it, so I do own it. I just haven't touched it yet because I have so many other unfinished games on my plate. I WILL get to it, though, and that's a promise. If I like it, I might pick up P3P and P4G once those release on the Switch.

Dragon Quest: I've only played the first one so far and when I finished it, I was like "yep, that certainly was an RPG from the NES". Even though it isn't necessary, I want to try to play the games in numerical order (skipping over X because I can't read Japanese), though like I said, I want to clear out my backlog first.

Octopath Traveler: Love the 2D-HD style, and I've heard that it does have a job system of some kind. Also there's apparently a sequel on its way.

Fire Emblem, Triangle Strategy, and Final Fantasy Tactics: I'm lumping these together for one reason. All of the games I've listed so far are your standard turn-based RPGs, with your units on one side and enemies on the other. However, I am open to trying more tactical/strategy games where positioning matters. I've head good things about FFT, and I did find TriStrat at Walmart for relatively cheap. In the case of FE, however... what game do I even start with?

[toggle1-mrfipp]

Opera Omnia Burst Themes 1/?

With Opera Omnia shutting down, I decided to make a few posts about one of my favorite parts of the game: The Burst Weapons. Not because they were a powerful, much sought after weapon tier that gave big numbers with massive benefits, but because I have a love for Final Fantasy music, and what BTs I wanted was strongly dependent on what song would play when used.

These posts are meant to be more for the sake of archiving what there had been more than anything else, but at the very least I am going to list a large number of great FF songs.

The first listing will be the songs that we had gotten during the game's lifetime.

Final Fantasy I Warrior of Light: Battle Garland: Miniboss Theme

Final Fantasy II Firion: The Rebel Army Leon: The Imperial Army Minwu: Battle Theme A

Final Fantasy III Onion Knight: Battle 2 Cloud of Darkness: This is The Last Battle

Final Fantasy IV Cecil Harvey (Dark Knight): The Red Wings Cecil Harvey (Paladin): Battle 2 Kain Highwind: The Final Battle Rydia: Rydia's Theme Rosa Joanna Farrell: Theme of Love (Remake) Fusoya: The Final Battle (Remake) Golbez: Battle with the Four Fiends Rubicante: Battle with the Four Fiends (Remake) Ceodoe Harvey: Battle 2 (Remake) Ursula: Fabul (Remake) Leonora: Troian Beauty

Final Fantasy V Bartz Klauser: Battle 2 Faris Scherwiz: Pirates Ahoy! Lenna Charlotte Tycoon: Lenna's Theme Dorgann Klauser: Home, Sweet Home Kelgar: Deception Xezat: Castle of Dawn Gilgamesh: Battle on the Big Bridge Exdeath: The Final Battle

Final Fantasy VI Terra Branford: The Decisive Battle Locke Cole: Locke's Theme Sabin Rene Figaro: The Unforgiven Setzer Gabbianni: Setzer's Theme Edgar Roni Figaro: Edgar & Sabin's Theme Celes Chere: Searching For Friends Relm Arrowny: Relm's Theme Mog: Protect the Espers Strago Magus: Strago's Theme Leo Cristophe: Battle Theme Kefka Palazzo: Dancing Mad

Final Fantasy VII Cloud Strife: Fight On! Tifa Lockhart: JENOVA COMPLETE Yuffie Kisaragi: Wutai Vincent Valentine: Chaotic End Aerith Gainsborough: Aerith's Theme Cait Sith: Cait Sith's Theme Jesse Rasberry: Let the Battles Begin! Sephiroth: One-Winged Angel Zack Fair: The Price of Freedom Cissnei: Ecounter Angeal Hewley: Dreams and Honor Reno: Turk's Theme Rufus Shinra: Shinra Inc Kadaj: J-E-N-O-V-A (Advent Children) Weiss: Fight Tune: Weiss the Immaculate

Final Fantasy VIII Squall Leonhart: Force Your Way Laguna Loire: The Man with the Machine Gun Irvine Kinneas: The Stage is Set Quistis Trepe: Don't Be Afraid Selphie Tilmitt: Where I Belong Rinoa Heartilly: Premonition Fujin: Only a Plank Between One and Perdition Ultimecia: The Extreme

Final Fantasy IX Zidane Tribal: Not Alone Vivi Ornitier: Breaking Through the South Gate Garnet Til Alexandros XVII: Alexander Eiko Carol: Eiko's Theme Quina Quen: Quina's Theme Amarant Coral: Amarant's Theme Kuja: Dark Messenger Beatrix: Something to Protect

Final Fantasy X Tidus: Battle Theme Yuna: A Contest of Aeons Auron: This is Your Story Braska: Final Battle Seymour Guado: Battle with Seymour Jecht: Otherworld Paine: Yuripa, Fight! No. 2

Next Entry

[seradyn]

6 questions;

I was tagged by @blossom-adventures to answer some fun questions 😁

1. Last Song? - On the Wing by Owl City. They’re one of my favorite bands; I’ve listened to them since I was very young. Even had a little CD player I used to listen to this album with. This song is absolutely gorgeous.

2. Last show? - I don’t watch much cable/network stuff. But if you’re really looking for something new My Name is Earl has always been a comfort show of mine. I watched it with my dad and sister and it’s really a fantastic show. Although be warned it got canceled on a cliffhanger, so there’s no satisfactory ending. I mostly watch YouTube though.

3. Currently watching? - Similar to previous question, right now I’m watching a YouTube series. Revisiting Needs Gaming play Ark: Survival Evolved because one of characters on the show, Thick44 (real name Tony Schnur), passed away recently. I watched them play Ark back in high school, so I wanted to revisit that series to pay respects to Tony. Their videos have brought me countless hours of entertainment. Me, my sister, and her fiancé all play Ark together too, so I always felt a deep connection to this series in particular.

Long live the Wyvern King.

4. Currently reading? - Exclusively fanfics 😂 The last one I read was Sweet Disaster by creative_frequency on AO3. Very sweet Ardyn story with some great smut thrown in. You should definitely check it out if you’re an Ardyn person. If you read part two, I suggest you pick the second outcome if you want the best ending 🥰

5. Current obsession? - Well, I’ve dedicated an entire blog to Ardyn soooo 😂😂 speaks for itself I think. Aside from that though, Final Fantasy in general has been an amazing community to join. I’ve only been a fan for about 2 years, I grew up a Nintendo kid and never had access to the consoles that had FF. Got into FFVII in 2020 and it was over. The amount of love and connection I feel to the characters constantly surprises me. And playing Dissidia has made me love the characters from games I haven’t played yet. I currently have all the pixel remasters, FFVII-IX on switch, X, XII, XIII, and XV on steam. I’m halfway through IX, with X being first in line for me to play next. I hope I can get to all of them 😁

6. Unrelated obsession? - I have quiet a few, although FF will always be my greatest love. Pokémon would probably be my second biggest obsession. One of my first ever games was Pokémon Pearl, and I’ve loved the games since. I’m like a walking encyclopedia for the damn pocket monsters 😂 I also played around in competitive VGC, so I’m a pretty good battler too.

This was fun! Thank you for the tag! I’ll poke @savage-rhi if they want to answer 🥰 I hope you and blossom are doing well ❤️