Game Debate #138: Final Fantasy III (VI)

[Reed Rothchild | 9,518]

1 hour ago, doner24 said:

Breath of Fire 2

[TDIRunner | 2,731]

Never got into any of the Final Fantasy games.  

[doner24 | 1,195]

31 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Let me guess, you had BoF2 rated behind Secret of the Stars. 

[wongojack | 214]

1994 was my Sr Year in HS, and I never heard of this game or this series back then (until FF VII).  I've never played it, but I'm interested.

[RH | 4,900]

10 hours ago, doner24 said:

Never played it, but open to it. Probably won’t be as good as Lufia 2 or Breath of Fire 2 though. 

I've only played BoF3. At the time it was by far my favorite, non-Squaresoft RPG.  It felt a bit more quaint than most and I can enjoy that from time to time.  I didn't finish it though, which was typical of 90% of all RPGs I played, so I have no clue if it was good til the end.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

10/10. Not to say it's without its flaws, with such a giant cast, some characters just aren't as flushed out as others, especially the ones who join the story late. I'm not counting the novelty characters like Mog and Gogo. But FF6 is some amazing storytelling with one of my top 5 video game soundtracks of all time. 

[MagusSmurf | 577]

Of the real-ass SNES JRPGs (turn-based/strategy map-based) released in the west that aren't quite good enough at this point for you to be missing much by not playing, I'd say Breath of Fire II is probably the best. (Disclaimer: I haven't played Robotrek or given a real chance to Ogre Battle) Good enough game, worth a try if interested, but with the random encounter rate and grinding in that game it's not the smoothest thing to actually progress in or get through a playthrough of. It's a game that feels like it has about as much core content as FFIV (plus some mini games and customization options that I'm not particularly fond of) except instead it takes about as long as FFVI with all side quests finished. And I don't think either the gameplay or story (its translation certainly doesn't help there) is special enough in 2023 to get it over that hump to warrant a general recommendation. Probably the strongest thing that still stands out is the character design and how good the battles look. I'd give it a 6 on Reed's scale - despite all its warts I still look back on it favorably but 7's "very good" sounds like a step too high.

(Talk about FFVI? Nope, too busy with Breath of Fire II discourse.)

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

Haven't played much of it. I was too busy playing Sonic Spinball and Blaster Master 2.

[WhyNotZoidberg | 585]

16 hours ago, doner24 said:

Never played it, but open to it. Probably won’t be as good as Lufia 2 or Breath of Fire 2 though. 

The quantity of « good » in FF6 and BoF2 is different, that much is true.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

I really want to give this a go. It's another classic that I've never played. 

[PII | 1,884]

5 hours ago, Kguillemette said:

10/10. Not to say it's without its flaws, with such a giant cast, some characters just aren't as flushed out as others, especially the ones who join the story late. I'm not counting the novelty characters like Mog and Gogo. But FF6 is some amazing storytelling with one of my top 5 video game soundtracks of all time. 

Turns out I have a lot of good memories associated with this one.  I remember being really wowed when Gogo showed up and declared himself to be "Master of the Simulacrum."  I told my friend about it one day and how unexpected an inclusion it was since the only other place I'd heard that word was the book, "Simulacra and Simulation."  My friends response:  "I wonder how many 12-year olds got that reference."    Gogo was a cool mystery but could have used an eventual backstory like an off-shoot game where we find out how he attained his ability.  Mog and Umaro were really great nuances, one from a hidden people, the other a hidden loner; neither speaking the same language as the rest of the crew and both fun surprises especially considering how early they show up in the game...

[Gloves | 11,772]

1 minute ago, PII said:

Turns out I have a lot of good memories associated with this one.  I remember being really wowed when Gogo showed up and declared himself to be "Master of the Simulacrum."  I told my friend about it one day and how unexpected an inclusion it was since the only other place I'd heard that word was the book, "Simulacra and Simulation."  My friends response:  "I wonder how many 12-year olds got that reference."    Gogo was a cool mystery but could have used an eventual backstory like an off-shoot game where we find out how he attained his ability.  Mog and Umaro were really great nuances, one from a hidden people, the other a hidden loner; neither speaking the same language as the rest of the crew and both fun surprises especially considering how early they show up in the game...

Gauauauuuuuu...

[PII | 1,884]

1 minute ago, Gloves said:

Gauauauuuuuu...

I presume you're pointing out that Gau had a unique way of speaking (broken english) and got more backstory than the aforementioned characters?  Or....

[Gloves | 11,772]

Just now, PII said:

I presume you're pointing out that Gau had a unique way of speaking (broken english) and got more backstory than the aforementioned characters?  Or....

Yeah that about sums it up. I like Gau lol. Poor little dude.

[PII | 1,884]

2 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Yeah that about sums it up. I like Gau lol. Poor little dude.

His tragic back-story was a nice touch alright.  Resulted in some good comic relief too.

[Tanooki | 4,932]

17 hours ago, doner24 said:

Never played it, but open to it. Probably won’t be as good as Lufia 2 or Breath of Fire 2 though. 

Wow Lufia 2 eh?  I do know those 2 games sequels fixed so much wrong with the firsts and really were like peaks of their franchises, but better?  BoF2 I've yet to attempt, Lufia II I finally own again and have been slowly working on it, just got Guy last night, and I'm liking it a lot, just not the at times obtuse/confusing puzzles in the underground spaces.  No shame I'll try, get fed up and find a picture+text online as I'm over time wasting.

That aside the story is very good so far, environments are nice, everyone has their own skill set but magics like FF6 are muddled where a majority most can seemingly use (at least so far with Maxim and Tia.)  It's a solid game, I'm sorry I got rid of the one I got like a decade back for a steal, so I'm trying my best to stick with this one to wrong that right.

BoF2 I could grab, but the local vendor wants $100(too much) and I kind of wonder if I'd just be better off there using the GBA game for ease of access (and price) prequel too.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

23 minutes ago, PII said:

Turns out I have a lot of good memories associated with this one.  I remember being really wowed when Gogo showed up and declared himself to be "Master of the Simulacrum."  I told my friend about it one day and how unexpected an inclusion it was since the only other place I'd heard that word was the book, "Simulacra and Simulation."  My friends response:  "I wonder how many 12-year olds got that reference."    Gogo was a cool mystery but could have used an eventual backstory like an off-shoot game where we find out how he attained his ability.  Mog and Umaro were really great nuances, one from a hidden people, the other a hidden loner; neither speaking the same language as the rest of the crew and both fun surprises especially considering how early they show up in the game...

Agreed. I love all 3 of them. I only wish I knew more about them...

I disagree that FF6 is a particularly grinding game. Just regular exploration of the world and dungeons is plenty enough to beat the game if you use the right strategies.

Speaking of which, it's one of the last games that will kill you with simple trial and error. An early encounter with a HadesGigas in Zozo for example will kill your entire party with a Magnitude8 as his final attack, leaving no choice but to run from it every time on your first trip there. That is unless you take the OPTION of grinding levels to get enough HP to survive that final attack. (I don't remember off the top of my heads if there are relics you can equip to survive a magnitude8 that early).

 

[PII | 1,884]

18 minutes ago, Kguillemette said:

Agreed. I love all 3 of them. I only wish I knew more about them...

I disagree that FF6 is a particularly grinding game. Just regular exploration of the world and dungeons is plenty enough to beat the game if you use the right strategies.

Speaking of which, it's one of the last games that will kill you with simple trial and error. An early encounter with a HadesGigas in Zozo for example will kill your entire party with a Magnitude8 as his final attack, leaving no choice but to run from it every time on your first trip there. That is unless you take the OPTION of grinding levels to get enough HP to survive that final attack. (I don't remember off the top of my heads if there are relics you can equip to survive a magnitude8 that early).

Part of the fun is the mystery.  Leave your audience wanting more and all that.  

Spoiler

Just what did make Gau's father become a crazy hermit?, for example..

I'm pretty sure I lived in the real life inspiration for Zozo at one time, lol.  But I'll just let everyone use their imagination on that one....

[Nintegageo | 582]

Gogo does have a backstory theory!

Spoiler

She was Setzer's old pal/rival who crashed on some far away island and was never located cause she was in that monster

 

[MagusSmurf | 577]

Gogo’s true identity is 

Spoiler

Adlai Stevenson II

[CMR | 519]

9/10

A lot of the abilities were cool, but some of them like the ones Gau and Strago used were just too cumbersome to get or make use of because it was so hard to get good abilities.  And if you did get them, they were buried under heaps of crap.  It was easier just to turn them both into magicite wizards.  Magicite breaks the game completely later on.  Any strategy you might employ becomes completely unnecessary.  Still a great game.  From the stand point of the graphics and art, nothing else at the time could hold a candle to it.

[PII | 1,884]

6 hours ago, Nintegageo said:

She was Setzer's old pal/rival who crashed on some far away island and was never located cause she was in that monster

Wow!  I did not remember that.  I vaguely recall Setzer having an old pal/rival is about all...  I guess I'm due for a replay!

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

I had Final Fantasy II as a kid and really enjoyed it, but somehow I missed out on this back in the day. I wouldn't mind giving it a try, but it's tough to find time to get into RPGs nowadays.