Final Fantasy X-2 North American Preview 239
Majestic Mog writes "FiringSquad somehow managed to score an advance copy of the English version of Final Fantasy X-2, the first REAL sequel in the long-running RPG series. They cover changes in the game over the first FFX, the English voice actors, and something about girls wearing short shorts." It looks like they took the best of FFX and combined it with the best of DoA Volleyball. In other words, this might be the perfect video game. I just wish it would come out before december since I just finished KotoR and need a new game.
Dont like this trend (Score:4, Insightful)
You start doing sequels in Final Fantasy, you blow the whole thing. Now you have to worry about continuity and whether it fits in character and whatnot. Blah.
I liked new, completely independant stories. I like that they could completely revamp the game engine, completely change the concept of "magic spells" and whatnot... Truly produce a brand new game that could be enjoyed on its own.
I could play FF8 without playing FF7, it didnt make a difference.
Oh well, as long as the carcass hasnt completely rotted, that horse is going to get beaten.
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:5, Funny)
Well, here's Square's offering to do just that with arguably some of the most popular characters in the franchise. Maybe they'll do this again, maybe they won't, but at least they're giving people the opportunity.
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:2, Interesting)
I have a feeling that this is all they'll ever do, just like everyone else. New ideas can fail, its safer to milk your last success.
Crystal Chronicles is more intriguing to me than this game, having not been so overwhelmingly impressed with FFX as everyone else. I didn't find it to be so much a game as a choose-your-own-adventure movie.
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:2)
Don't forget Wedge, or Wedge!
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:2)
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:3, Interesting)
I mean, PS2's dominance of the game market isn't necessarily a bad thing, but earlier FF games were interesting because they didn't railroad you along a story with the same sort of annoying intensity that FFX did. In FF7 you could spend hours (and usually did spend hours) at the Golden Sau
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:2, Interesting)
I didn't really care for the characters in FFX. They were too cliche, standard, etc. I ended up not finishing the game because of them. IMO, Wakka was the closest thing to an original character, but still lacking.
Anyway, I guess I was saying that I wouldn't mind seeing sequels of FF installments that rocked.
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:3, Funny)
More annoying for me is the "Final" in "Final Fantasy". If a sequel is made to "Final Fantasy", surely that means the first one was "Penultimate Fantasy" ?
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:2)
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:2)
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:2)
Re:Dont like this trend (Score:2)
I won't hold my breath waiting for good to come out of Enix, the last Dragon Warrior was bad - as in in not fun, ugly graphics, boring combat, and a poor menu system.
I did get Final Fantasy Tactics Advance the other day and it is actually pretty fun - but Tactics is not an RPG, it is basically Square and Enix using all the old fantasy RPG elements for a t
X2 SCHMOO (Score:2, Flamebait)
Re:X2 SCHMOO (Score:2)
Re:X2 SCHMOO (Score:2)
Re:X2 SCHMOO (Score:2)
Re:X2 SCHMOO (Score:2)
Re:X2 SCHMOO (Score:2)
especially when you gain that stone stare skill.
Re:X2 SCHMOO (Score:2)
Re:X2 SCHMOO (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:X2 SCHMOO (Score:2)
(or buying Homeworld 2 maybe)
Three words: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Three words: (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Three words: (Score:3, Insightful)
And if you hunt around online it's not that difficult to find a rip of the new ending movie. I saw it shortly after International was released.
Considering how ludicrously short the original ending was, compared to the time invested in the game, it desperately needs to be reinserted. (but then the ending did have one of the single best tracks Uematsu has c
Re:Three words: (Score:5, Informative)
An excerpt from the GameSpy review [gamespy.com]: "Although I was greatly looking forward to Final Fantasy X-2, I held a certain amount of apprehension because of all the changes Square was making to the game. After playing it for a spell, I needn't have worried..."
Don't like them? How about an IGN review [ign.com]: "Caveats aside, if Final Fantasy X-2 can manage to provide the same action, drama, and depth in its final four chapters that it did in the first, RPG nuts shouldn't have much to worry about come December..."
Still not good enough? Maybe the Gamespot review [gamespot.com]: "While we thought Final Fantasy X-2 would end up being viewed as an aberration in the Final Fantasy franchise, we're not so sure anymore."
Really, calm down. After all, you haven't actually played the game. Are ALL the reviewers wrong?
Re:Three words: (Score:2)
Re:Three words: (Score:3, Funny)
PS> The IGN reviewer didn't sound like he played the game...
Re:Three words: (Score:2, Flamebait)
Re:Three words: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Three words: (Score:2, Flamebait)
When they say a game sucks you know that, one, it's from an independant who doesn't advertise with them, and two, it really, really sucks.
When they say things like "We expected to be disappointed, but we were pleasantly surprised" it means it's pretty mediocre, they know you know it's pretty mediocre, at best, but need to pump up the volume somehow. It's their job.
I'll wait to see what Old Man Murray has
Unnecessary & contrived to the point of annoya (Score:3, Insightful)
Bou
desktop background goodness (Score:2)
1024x768 [nowjets.com]
Re:desktop background goodness (Score:2)
Why Not FFVII? (Score:3, Insightful)
My favorite was English III/Japanese VI, but most people loved VII.
Re:Why Not FFVII? (Score:3, Interesting)
There'd just be no way of making a sequel that would come close to living up to the original.
More likely (Score:2)
Whether (or how much, at least...even I won't say it was BAD, just disappointing) people like newer Final Fantasy games, or FF7 in particular tends to depend pretty heavily upon whether they had ever played a Final Fantasy game before 7.
Re:More likely (Score:2)
It's funny, though how much the genre has changed. Have you tried playing Dragon Warrior recently? That game was EVIL. Random encounters every step, and monsters guaranteed to kick your ass a hundred times over. Looking back, I can't believe I actually struggled through it. And FF was in some ways worse, considering some of the absolutely random subquests you had to go on -
Re:More likely (Score:2)
I'll see your Dragon Warrior woes and raise you Phantasy Star II. You had to level for more than an hour before you could leave the area of the first city and there were a couple dungeons where you had a fight every third step.
And as far as geezerism goes I bought the first Zelda game the day it came out with my paper route money :)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Why Not FFVII? (Score:2)
The only thing I remember missing when I played it was the awkward phrasing sometimes used by the translators. C'mon kids how many of you had any idea what "spoony bard" meant? They did keep the "..." and *blink* *blink* from the previous games though.
Re:Why Not FFVII? (Score:2, Interesting)
Simple (Score:3, Insightful)
Incidently I'm still not sure why everyone raves about FFVII. Nostalgia seems the best explanation to me -- when it came out I could see it seeming really cool as one of the first 3d RPGs. But, I played it for the first time a few months ago and got maybe 2/3 through before deciding I was wasting my time. It doesn't have anything going for it that would make it a classic, like just for instance the RP in RPG.
The original Baldur's Gate dates from about the same t
Money/Upsetting the Fans (Score:2, Insightful)
The other is that FFVII uses what is now very old game data. It is not possible for Square-Enix to create a sequel to FFVII with the old game data; they'd have to start development from scratch. Which is expensive.
One of the deciding factors in the
Re:Why Not FFVII? (Score:2)
Re:Why Not FFVII? (Score:2)
BTW, I agree with your analysis. The only thing that made it tolerable was the ability to get rid of random battles completely after about the first 1/4 of the game. I would have quit long before the end if I actually had to fight anything more than the bosses.
Re:Why Not FFVII? (Score:4, Interesting)
The battle system, while eventually degenerate at points, was refreshing in its own way. The limit breaks were lots of fun to play with and added some additional feedback and actual play into the battles. The difficulty of many of the bosses throughout the game were excellently balanced such that most of them were close and enjoyable. The game could be beaten WITHOUT having to spend a lot of time levelling or working through the sidequests (most annoying aspect of FF7, really... the world's on the verge of being destroyed and you're spending your time breeding chocobos!!!). The plot was interesting and had some nice facets... and had some good twists (granted, some of them were expected, but others were a little unexpected).
Yes, it wasn't perfect, but I would contend as a full game package, it was more enjoyable than either VII or IX. FFIX is still a minor disappointment to me. It's not bad, per se, but just a little underwhelming. VII's late game was ludicrous and annoying... I love VII's early and mid-game... but after the mid-point of Disc 2, it started bothering me just how much extra I had to do to keep up with everything. VIII, even though it's battle system was flawed because it "forced" you to lengthen battles and have more encounters, was just a more enjoyable package than the other two.
Granted, I'll gladly pick up games in either three at any time... and ChronoCross, too... but I also liked VIII the most of the PS era. (FFVI, though, is still the overall favorite... but that's almost universally true.)
-Jellisky
VII was cliche!?! (Score:2)
I'm sorry, I missed all the other games where the hero was actually a delusional second-rater who was blocking the memory of how big a loser he actually was, and who was secretly being baby sat by the woman who loved him (and knew the truth) while he wandered around mooning over another chick...
Re:VII was cliche!?! (Score:2)
The characters, though, were interesting in FFVII. That's why VII isn't that far behind VIII
Re:Why Not FFVII? (Score:2)
Perfection... (Score:3, Insightful)
There's NEVER going to be a game that is even near perfect in everybody's eyes. Someone is always going to gripe about it, and I, for one, am not a big FF nut myself... oh dear, a
The Perfect Game is already out... (Score:2)
Re:The Perfect Game is already out... (Score:2)
Re:The Perfect Game is already out... (Score:2)
Re:The Perfect Game is already out... (Score:2)
Re:Perfection... (Score:2)
My favortive game ever was Final Fantasy III on SNES (in the U.S. It seems to have been something like IV in Japan.) I have only played some of the subsequent FF games (well, really only watch a friend play one or two...), but none of them kept my interest. I would love to see FFIII redone (with a GNU/Linux release, since I don't have Windows or MacOS) with modern graphics, an extended story (that is very well thought out) and (even) more variables.
I still play the or
Re:Perfection... (Score:2)
Such a game would really show us how an RPG could stand the test of time. It would be much easier to compare it to a newer games, like FFX. Which one would come out on top if FFIV had the graphics of FFX?
Re:Perfection... (Score:2)
the whole seris
USFF1 = JapanFF1
USFF2 = JapanFF4
USFF3 = JapanFF6
JapanFF5 came out as something over there on a Final Fantasy anthology for psx I thought?
you think you're in the minority? (Score:2)
If you think that's bad, I don't play any first-person shooter games. Never have.
Re:Perfection... (Score:3, Funny)
Actually, it's more like a vi vs. emacs discussion:
"VII is the best!"
"No! IV is!"
"The girl in VIII is pretty hot, though!"
"Only the first one really got it right!"
"VIII sucks!"
"VII sucks!"
"VII rocks!"
Sequels can be a good thing (Score:2)
I really don't think think X-2 is going to be much of a sequel though. More like a completely different game with some characters that look the same as in X. Certainly Yuna seems to have had a personality transplant along with her costume change. (GUNS???)
I'll probably get a used XBox to play SW:KOTOR [and Fable, if it ever comes out] rather than waste time on X-2.
This reminds me of the MegaMan naming (Score:2, Interesting)
I still remember playing Final Fantasy (version 1)... but alas, I haven't played any of the other versions. I think I'll wait for FFX2.1.X3_40.
RockMan (MegaMan) titles (Score:2)
Actually, the first RockMan X title was released before RockMan 6 was out. The X series and the original RockMan series have a completely different "RockMan" as the main character. Also, there was never a "RockMan 9" game released. There was Rockman 1-8, then "RockMan & Forte".
Man, I am such a dork.
[/geek hat on]
Re: (Score:2)
Old news (Score:4, Informative)
Disappointed (Score:3, Insightful)
I hope that this isn't the direction that the next FF installment is going in.
Not the first Square sequel period though... (Score:5, Interesting)
I personally have mixed feelings about the latest, FFX. It certainly has fantastic graphics, and I have really found myself getting into it at times. I have had a bunch of fun in many pieces, which I guess is the ultimate test for any game. But, I personally find some of the voices somewhat gag inducing or just jarring to the experience at points. I know people complain about too much angst or whatever, but personally I kind of like having my main character be a bit of a bad-ass, someone who at least at first isn't super interested in running out and saving the world, who has emotional conflicts and doesn't have an easy time dealing with it. In FF7, for instance, I liked Cloud's opening attitude, though I may be one of the few if FFX fans are to be believed. And I really _liked_ the first opening city, which is where the game starts right off (not really a spoiler to talk about it, but stop reading if you don't want some suspense taken out of your first 5 minutes of the game). It is really cool looking and well designed, and, well, if I lived in a place like that and it, and all my friends, was blown up, I would be really f@&^!ng pissed. Instead, we get a quick "oh well, it's all good." *Shrug*. Harder to get into the a character (ie, to role-play, to feel and empathize with) who sounds just like a California surfer stereotype, and I certainly found myself rolling my eyes or thinking 'stop being such a whiny loser and get fighting already,' during some of the drawn out dialog. Given these things are on DVDs, would it kill them to include the original japanese sound track as well?
Re:Not the first Square sequel period though... (Score:2)
Secret of Mana: Imagine playing a realtime fighting RPG (like Zelda), but with 8 weapons to share
Re:Not the first Square sequel period though... (Score:2)
No it doesn't. comes out as "Legend of the Holy Sword", which makes quite a bit of sense considering the significance of the Mana Sword in each.
I'm getting too old... or something. (Score:2, Insightful)
But it seems that the last few FF titles that have been released are just long movies, with little spots in between where you kill shit. You don't really play these games as much as watch them.
Like I said, maybe I'm getting old, but FF games these days are all glitz and no guts. And why do we need to dress the girl characters up like whoors? Meh.
Re:I'm getting too old... or something. (Score:3, Insightful)
The rest of the time I sat and watched. Very boring.
I kept thinking, ok now I'll get more freedom.
Why was this such a highly rated game??? To me it was just a FMV game, you're stuck on one track the whole time.
but? (Score:2, Funny)
Great, if you was not 100% sure the site would get
Re:but? (Score:2)
she wears short shorts [anna-neko.nu]
Combined it with the best of DOA Volleyball? (Score:4, Insightful)
So this is a Final Fantasy where the characters actually respond to you radically differently depending on how you treat them, instead of doing the same linear dialogue they do every time you play (relationship sim)? It is an easy-going 'chill game', where there is no danger and no real ending? Westerns get the original Japanese dub, complete with very famous voice talent? It will include a kickass trailer for Ninja Gaiden?
DOAXBV didn't invent sex appeal in gaming, and it does have some very good game qualities besides the obvious.
I played 70+ hours to get the special item! (Score:3, Funny)
Will there be much killing? (Score:2)
Video games... the witch hunt for the new century! 8P
The CD ROM Killed the RPG (Score:2)
Then cheaply duplicated mass storage hit the scene, and all of a sudden every RPG became a movie that requires the wa
Re:The CD ROM Killed the RPG (Score:2)
Re:The CD ROM Killed the RPG (Score:2)
You're not playing the right games, or at least not any very good ones. Try
Re:The CD ROM Killed the RPG (Score:2)
More than one Final Fantasy??? (Score:2, Insightful)
Tell me how, please.
If the first Final Fantasy was the last and final then there couldnt have been a second, much less a 12th Final Fantasy.
If the second Final Fantasy is the final one, then the first one would not have been final...
DOA XBV + FFX = ? (Score:2)
And any relation to XBV automatically lowers my interest in the game by half because I detest crap-games that are mispromoted. If they called it DOA:Date Fantasy that would be another ball of wax.
Why this sequel is not a bad thing (Score:2)
(not like they'll hurt any more than the ending will)
FFX was a pretty good game, with decent story and voice acting. The gameplay was far less annoying than FFIX(30 seconds to start a battle? Come on!), and even the puzzles were interesting. I thought it was the best FF game since VII.
The ending, however, was a horrible horrible mistake that never should have been allowed to happen. Rather than stick with the workable format of previous games(produce an enemy character that eventually becomes the
Re:Madden? (Score:2)
Re:Madden? (Score:2)
The is a big difference between the gameplay in Madden 2004 and Six guys with a football at the park and no pads.
Re:Will it run on pc (Score:2)
FFXI on PC (Score:2)
On the bright side though, the FFXI (FF11) beta is out on PC, as will be the actual game, so if you want to see how Final Fantasy does in the land of MMORPG then perhaps you'd like to check that one out.
Re:FFXI on PC (Score:2)
Re:Will it run on pc (Score:2)
Or buy a Gamecube and get FF: Crystal Chronicles in February.
Was totally impressed with KotOR (Score:2)
But I started playing KotOR and thought, eh...not bad...but then the story got more and more involved...and there were so many side quests that were just as interesting as the main one. Pretty soon I was hooked.
Re:If a game needs T&A to sell... (Score:3, Funny)
Wait...
Re:If a game needs T&A to sell... (Score:2)
(Not that I am personally interested in this game.)
Re:wow (Score:2)
On a related note, Hit & Run was good? Really?! I
Re:my take (Score:2)