Final Fantasy VII Remake

[Age of Empires ¶ Densetsu]

Cloud is an emo git, just like Squall in VIII.

 

[Vermillion_Hawk]

See, Squall's emo-ness was at least justified in-game in that the whole thing is the logical conclusion of the whole JRPG-trope of children/young adults having to go out and save the world - after having been trained all their lives to do just that, the main cast are understandably screwed up. Thus Squall's ridiculous lack of social skills.

 

[Age of Empires ¶ Densetsu]

I found that rather amusing, they really are ****ed up socially aren't they!

 

[QuailLover]

I think that's part of the reason why I like 8 better then 7.

 

[Rujasu]

7 is definitely the better game though. Less grindy combat, fewer plotholes.

 

[Age of Empires ¶ Densetsu]

But... but... those realistically proportioned grafficks.

I just recently found out my dear old brother cried at that one scene in VIII.

 

[Jhessail]

Plot&story:

Amnesiac stops one guy from saving the world by destroying it. His best friend knows from the start his true identity but for some reason doesn't point it out. Important party member gets stabbed and somehow dies permanently without anymore explanation even though party inventory has 999 Phoenix Downs so that there is a super duper tragic event - funny how the SNES-era FFs managed to avoid this plot hole. There's a lot of hot air about corporate greed and genetic manipulation that kinda gets forgotten along the way - or is so forgettable that I've forgotten all the details. Who could blame me because the story wanders all over the place for hours with a dozen more or less unresolved plot threads with a gigantic amount of dialogue to read that doesn't actually convey much of anything. 10/10 so charming and well written!

Characterization:

The most dislikable protagonist in a JRPG up to that point, only surpassed by Tidus in FFX. His spunky sidekick is only characterized by being a total retard and having big tits. His other spunky sidekick is an angry black man with a gun instead of a hand. Oh there's the mysterious swordman and the talking lion and a god damn cat riding a giant puppet. Oh yeah and the pretty flower girl that gets killed to up the angst-meter because it wasn't high enough yet. For some mystical reason all characters can only use a single type of weaponry - even the sword-wielders cannot equip each others swords. Oh yeah because unique equipment makes a character more special! But hey, you can equip different materia which allows a tiny amount of customization so hooray, it's ****ing awesome. Yet again the SNES-era FFs are superior. Oh yeah and everyone is wielding weapons that are larger than their bodies.

The only reason why you would love FF7 is because it was your first JRPG and you were an impressionable kid with this brand new Playstation and it somehow burned in your brain as some majestic masterpiece.

I think that lack of player choice is always an issue with the Final Fantasy games

That's the big distinction between traditional JRPGs and traditional Western RPGs. A JRPG tells the story of a character, and a cRPG gives your character a story to go through.

Planescape: Torment, Witcher 1-2-3 and Albion beg otherwise. But I'm nitpicking. In general that rule-of-thumb works well enough.

 

[Untitled.]

The most dislikable protagonist in a JRPG up to that point, only surpassed by Cloud in FFX.

The protagonist of FFX was Tidus. Cloud was in FFVII. Which is the one you're talking about, right?

 

[Jhessail]

I don't know what you're talking about, I don't make such mistakes 

 

[Rujasu]

The only reason why you would love FF7 is because it was your first JRPG and you were an impressionable kid with this brand new Playstation and it somehow burned in your brain as some majestic masterpiece.

None of that is right but I'll play along if it helps you sleep at night.

I think that lack of player choice is always an issue with the Final Fantasy games

That's the big distinction between traditional JRPGs and traditional Western RPGs. A JRPG tells the story of a character, and a cRPG gives your character a story to go through.

Planescape: Torment, Witcher 1-2-3 and Albion beg otherwise. But I'm nitpicking. In general that rule-of-thumb works well enough.

The line has blurred in the past ten years, and Torment still offers a lot of room for, you know, roleplaying.

 

[Mad Vader]

FF7 was the first (and probably the last) JRPG I've played. Back in the days, a friend who was anime-fiend gave me the game and I looked forward to see just what this FF and anime craze is about.
Coming from Bioware RPGs, it was a complete disappointment for me. It was too hard to identify with angsty kids pretending to be warriors with badly-written dialog and a nonsensical story.
Still not sure how anyone 16 or older can play and enjoy these things after seeing at least one real RPG. It might be high-school nostalgia or the low expectations from all things anime.

 

[Age of Empires ¶ Densetsu]

The only reason why you would love FF7 is because it was your first JRPG and you were an impressionable kid with this brand new Playstation and it somehow burned in your brain as some majestic masterpiece.

I don't think it's a masterpiece, I also have no nostalgia for it. I first played it about 5 years ago. As far as JRPGS on the PS1 go, FFVII, VIII and IX are all fine. They can be very enjoyable and have nice art/music, don't forget.

I think the various silly plot holes can be ignored, it's a game from 1997. Nobody goes around saying how terrible the story to Ultima I is with a straight face. When compared to it's contemporaries, FFVII has a completely acceptable story.

FF7 was the first (and probably the last) JRPG I've played. Back in the days, a friend who was anime-fiend gave me the game and I looked forward to see just what this FF and anime craze is about.
Coming from Bioware RPGs, it was a complete disappointment for me. It was too hard to identify with angsty kids pretending to be warriors with badly-written dialog and a nonsensical story.
Still not sure how anyone 16 or older can play and enjoy these things after seeing at least one real RPG. It might be high-school nostalgia or the low expectations from all things anime.

It's definitely got a nonsensical story, but I'm used to anime and all that guff so it didn't bother me. I would always recommend a solid Infinity Engine RPG first if talking about plots though. Planescape rules all.

 

[Jhessail]

I don't think it's a masterpiece, I also have no nostalgia for it

I wasn't talking about you specifically, I was talking about gamers in general. Lot of folks got their first taste of JRPG with FF7 since it was the very first Playstation FF and both sold exceptionally well if I remember correctly. It was a step back in pretty much every aspect compared to FF6 -  which didn't have a nonsensical plot, massive plotholes, annoying cast and so on.

None of that is right but I'll play along if it helps you sleep at night.

Let's go buddy, the thread will fizzle out without some proper e-drama.

 

[Age of Empires ¶ Densetsu]

I thought the gameplay was pretty fun in VII, it wasn't really a step back from VI. I mean, they are both polished JRPGs with similar mechanics and have good art and music.

VII was a huge leap forward in visual quality. The more powerful hardware allowed for a more cinematic experience. They had a more effective mise-en-scène!

You can hate it all you like, but it's just as good as every other FF from X and before (and well made games in general) FFI to X are all good, there are no black sheep.

 

[Vermillion_Hawk]

Fun? The ATB system is probably the worst thing to happen to turn-based RPGs since their inception and the fact that it taints not only every subsequent Final Fantasy from IV onwards till maybe XII or so, but most other JRPGs as well is horrifying. It's telling, I think, that most "modern" JRPGs go for either a legitimate real-time combat system (Final Fantasy XV, Crisis Core, this remake apparently), and the "throwback" ones, like Bravely Default (which I cannot recommend enough, for the gameplay if nothing else), go for the classic turn-based system of I-III.

 

[Age of Empires ¶ Densetsu]

I thought it was harmless, the game was not hard at any point so I essentially ignored the combat. The game was relaxing to play and enjoyable.

I do slightly agree with you but my stance on the matter is pretty laid back.

 

[Vermillion_Hawk]

And that's precisely why I disliked it and the combat in most ATB Final Fantasies. There's no strategy or tactics to it whatsoever beyond the gimmicky first boss.

 

[Age of Empires ¶ Densetsu]

As the game currently is I would prefer it to have hardly any combat at all and just be a weird visual novel walking game sorta thing. Sometimes I like a story with nothing else. The combat was boring, but the rest of the game is fun.

Although I loved the combat in FFVI for some reason. Also the combat in Crisis Core was pretty great.

 

[Vermillion_Hawk]

I suppose we have different priorities when looking for JRPGs then. I don't think the story in any of the Final Fantasies was special enough to merit standing on its own.

 

[Age of Empires ¶ Densetsu]

I'm not saying the stories were super amazing, just specifically that FFVII would have been more appealing to me if it had no combat at all and just be a chill dumb story.

Many other JRPGs have superior stories* and better combat that I would happily play, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears etc etc.

I actually get bored of the FF combat quite quickly, it's the only thing I don't love. Give me Suikoden combat over FF any day.


*This is something I am still deciding