The Video Game Thread v3

[dissentowner]

Japan sale on PS4 right now so I picked up the two early Final Fantasy's I never played and beat, FF9 and FF 10/X2 remakes. That should hold me over for a while.

[White Out 403]

I really made an effort to try and have fun with flight simulator X but I just couldn't. What a boring ####ing game

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Japan sale on PS4 right now so I picked up the two early Final Fantasy's I never played and beat, FF9 and FF 10/X2 remakes. That should hold me over for a while.

9 is great. 10/x2... is... something that happened.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

I really made an effort to try and have fun with flight simulator X but I just couldn't. What a boring ####ing game

Gotta get into a sweet flight sim like DCS. Once you learn how to actually fly the thing, you have to learn how to not get exploded to death

[OutOfTheCube]

FFX is awesome, one of the best in the series.

X-2 is bad though, that can be a hard pass.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Ehhhh... FFX isn't great. The voice acting is horrendous, the weird growth system is less rewarding and less imaginative that most of the things they've done, the bad guy (and especially his minions) are really obnoxious and cheesy, the characters are unbalanced and many of them aren't all that much fun to play with... There's a lot wrong with FFX, and it gets a pass from a lot of people for whom it was the first they played, or because it was the first of a new generation. But objectively, I think it's middle of the pack.

[Raekwon]

Just wanted to share this site I found recently, have you ever wondered if a game is on sale and where? look no further (Seems to be PC only?)

https://isthereanydeal.com/

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Ehhhh... FFX isn't great. The voice acting is horrendous, the weird growth system is less rewarding and less imaginative that most of the things they've done, the bad guy (and especially his minions) are really obnoxious and cheesy, the characters are unbalanced and many of them aren't all that much fun to play with... There's a lot wrong with FFX, and it gets a pass from a lot of people for whom it was the first they played, or because it was the first of a new generation. But objectively, I think it's middle of the pack.

X certainly has its issues with the voice acting, particularly as the first fully voiced game in the series. And it is by far the most linear game of the series - surpassing even XIII. But the biggest reason why everyone thinks it is great is the fact that it has perhaps one of the top two story lines in FF history (for me, only VI tops it) and some of the best characters. And as far as playing the characters goes, I disagree with your take. Except for Auron, who is ridiculously overpowered, and Khimari, who simply exists, the rest of the cast has a good balance of strengths and weaknesses that makes not only playing them all viable, but necessary. At least until the end game when Yuna's summons become so overpowered that they just rake everything.

For me, it's a top tier FF game. Only VI clearly ahead, and VII and XII a little behind. X-2, OTOH, is pretty much a drug-induced WTF. It wasn't bad, but as far as mainline entries go, that one is clearly the black sheep of the series.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

For me, it's a top tier FF game. Only VI clearly ahead, and VII and XII a little behind.

Whoof... I mean to each their own but that is a bold take. The protagonist is annoying, Yuna is embarrassingly meek, the bad guy is, as mentioned, awful... What is it you like about the story? I don't think there was much about it that surprised me, and when it did, I didn't really care. Was I supposed to care about Jecht? I could barely stand Tidus most of the time... maybe that was the issue. The ending scene is one of the best in any FF, but that doesn't make up for the many hours that go before it, in my opinion.

I dunno; for me, IV, VI, VII, IX and XII are clearly ahead of it even though XII falters massively towards the end.

EDIT: On a sort of related note (story driven JRPGs), is Trails in the Sky a rabbit hole worth going down at this point? It's on sale on Steam.

[Huntingwhale]

I was playing Metal Gear Survive before it is due to get taken off of Gamepass. I tried it for a couple hours but just couldn't get into it. Got to a point in the game where I need a certain loot item to craft before I can move on, I can't find it. Game pretty much stopped there.

Started playing Darksiders 3. Much more fun. Good hack 'n' slash game.

Streets of Rage 4 also came out recently. Now that is a FUN game if you want an old-school style beat-'em-up game that's been updated.

[Mazrim]

For FFX, I find that Spira feels more fleshed out world than most Final Fantasy games. They put a lot of effort into world-building and the different races/tribes that inhabit it. I think that's part of why it resonates so well with people. It also feels pretty well paced and has lots of varied locales which really helps keep the game moving.

Similar to FFVII, it has an approachable combat system that's easy to pick up, which of course comes with some downsides.

I doubt many people like Seymour as a villain, but he was always a sideshow to Sin anyways.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Whoof... I mean to each their own but that is a bold take. The protagonist is annoying, Yuna is embarrassingly meek, the bad guy is, as mentioned, awful... What is it you like about the story? I don't think there was much about it that surprised me, and when it did, I didn't really care. Was I supposed to care about Jecht? I could barely stand Tidus most of the time... maybe that was the issue. The ending scene is one of the best in any FF, but that doesn't make up for the many hours that go before it, in my opinion.

I dunno; for me, IV, VI, VII, IX and XII are clearly ahead of it even though XII falters massively towards the end.

EDIT: On a sort of related note (story driven JRPGs), is Trails in the Sky a rabbit hole worth going down at this point? It's on sale on Steam.

For Trails in the Sky, I guess that depends on whether you want to play the fan translation of the third game. Oddly, that one never came west. I haven't played any of the Sky games, but the Trails of Cold Steel games are great - and long. If you want to start getting into the Legend of Heroes series, prepare to spend a few hundred hours on them.


And back to the FF debate... Tidus being annoying is fair, but seriously, what FF games don't have annoying leads? Cecil in IV is solid. Bartz? Bland as butter. VI didn't really have a definitive lead. Cloud is an edgelord, and Squall is nothing more than some suit at Square demanding "like Cloud, but darker and edgier" - to the point that they even had to make the oversized sword even more ridiculous by adding a gun to it that never actually gets used. Zidane is a creeper. Vaan is just pathetic - and a complete waste since it isn't even his story. I liked Lightning, but largely because the rest of the cast sucks. And Noctis is pretty much back in Squall territory.

And as far as what I liked about the story goes, the fact that it is straightforward and coherent is a big start. That's been a problem for much of latter FF history. Much as people love VII, the story is a nonsensical mess. Ditto VIII, XIII and XV. X is a pretty good love story - something FF games have generally been poor at otherwise, and the character motivations make sense. I also like the way Jecht set up his long term plan to ultimately defeat Sin using his son. I can buy Seymour as a bad antagonist though. Especially given the fair amount of copycattery going on with respect to Sephiroth and using Sin/Jenova to wipe out life and make themselves into gods.

If I were to rank the games, VI, X, XII, VII, IV (the preceding three can almost go in any order), IX, XV, XIII, VIII, I, V, III, II.

[White Out 403]

FFX was great, a top tier FF. Big gulf from that to FF 3 and 7 so maybe not a top tier?

[TSXCman]

I just replayed FFX on PS4 a couple months ago, for the first time since it's PS2 release.

Pros:
Battle, world, characters, blitzball for a bit

Cons:
Purposefully time wastes/ drags it out. Almost everything is linear but requires you to go back and forth, back and forth...

I was a bit sensitive because I was fresh off of FFXV, which was the biggest time waster in all history. It was comical how they'd disrespect your time for no real pay off.

For FF that I've played: VI by far (tied with Chrono trigger for me), V, FF tactics games, VII, X, VIII, XV.

I've replayed VI on emulators a ton. Best story and characters.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

I just replayed FFX on PS4 a couple months ago, for the first time since it's PS2 release.

Pros:
Battle, world, characters, blitzball for a bit

Cons:
Purposefully time wastes/ drags it out. Almost everything is linear but requires you to go back and forth, back and forth...

I was a bit sensitive because I was fresh off of FFXV, which was the biggest time waster in all history. It was comical how they'd disrespect your time for no real pay off.

For FF that I've played: VI by far (tied with Chrono trigger for me), V, FF tactics games, VII, X, VIII, XV.

I've replayed VI on emulators a ton. Best story and characters.

Omg chrono trigger was such a good game

[Superflyer]

Picked up Jurassic World Evolution since it was on sale on the PS store and it has been great. Sim City but with dinos. I know it has been out for a while and it has been on my radar since it was released but at $25 I had to pull the trigger.

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

I just replayed FFX on PS4 a couple months ago, for the first time since it's PS2 release.

Pros:
Battle, world, characters, blitzball for a bit

Cons:
Purposefully time wastes/ drags it out. Almost everything is linear but requires you to go back and forth, back and forth...

I was a bit sensitive because I was fresh off of FFXV, which was the biggest time waster in all history. It was comical how they'd disrespect your time for no real pay off.

For FF that I've played: VI by far (tied with Chrono trigger for me), V, FF tactics games, VII, X, VIII, XV.

I've replayed VI on emulators a ton. Best story and characters.

Near Perfect ranking but.. No luv for ff4?

I'd also add FF 9 was pretty dope.

[DownhillGoat]

Ugh FF9 was where I stopped playing the series.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

If I were to rank the games, VI, X, XII, VII, IV (the preceding three can almost go in any order), IX, XV, XIII, VIII, I, V, III, II.

My rankings of the FF games that I've played:
VI, IX, XIV, X, IV, VII, XII, VIII, I

Yeah, XIV is an MMO but the story it has going can easily compete with the mainline games.

[Resolute 14]

Other than the placement of IX, I think we pretty much agree, actually. I liked IX, but as more of an homage to the old games than anything else, I just never found it quite as good as the old game themselves. Also, the characters - outside of Zidane and Garnet - were largely very weak. There just wasn't the same quality character background or development as in other games.