Does this still hold up?

Did it ever hold up?

Hold up as what? Everyone's least favorite FInal Fantasy?

>>382837215
I love it. I think it's great, I don't understand why is so hated.

>>382837994
As good

>>382838245
It's a piece of shit.

>weak story
>weak cast
>crippled by weird leveling system which seems interesting on paper but shits the bed on execution.

>>382837215
The PSP version is the first time it was ever good.

PSP 2 > 3, 8, 10 and 13 though.

>>382837994
>Least favorite
Not in a world where nobody plays 3 and 8 and 13 are memes.

>>382837215
Fuck no. By far the worst FF mainline game.

>>382838245
The leveling up mechanics were a good idea but terrible in practice. I'm sure there are ways around it, but coupling that with early NES limitations makes it a game that's easily overshadowed by practically every other entry in the series.

>>382838495
>weak story
>weak cast
That's almost every Final Fantasy.

>>382838823
I played 3, but only the DS version.
I like 2 more.

>>382838245
Why do you think it's great? It's easier for me to explain the hate in that context because I can't think of a single thing about the game that I liked and I don't know if anyone else can either.

>>382838948
15 had an awesome cast. That's about all it did well, unfortunately.

>>382838846
That's 13 or 14 1.0, anon.

I could at least suffer 2 (yes, the Famicom version), 13 was fucking unbearable.

>>382838846
How would you rank the first game?

>>382839095
Can't speak for anyone else but I don't count anything after X as mainline and I don't think I'm the only anon to ever have this opinion

>>382839075
I said almost.

6, 7 and 15 are the outliers, and none of them are well written. 8, 9 and 12 nearly manage, but have various faults holding them back (8's execution is horrendous, but it still has some of the nest character writing and the closest thing to a good story in spite of itself).

Oddly, plenty of the spinoffs have good stories, like Tactics and Crystal Chronicles. Go figure.

>>382839229
2nd least favorite, but I got some enjoyment out of it.
I am not considering historical context in ratings. I'm sure 1 was amazing when it first came out.

>>382839273
>Counting X
I know there's nostalgia for it, but come on.

>>382839389
>1
>worse than 3 (aka, 1 but with more grinding and forced cutscenes that suck and filler), 4 (press x to win narrative experience: the early years), 8, 10, 13, etc.
Casuals are the worst.

>>382837215
SaGa exists, as much as I like FFII there's no reason to play a very rough draft of the basic SaGa growth system applied to a FF layout when.
But yeah, I guess it kinda does hold up, it's a pretty significant entry in the series too, most of the conventions, original monsters and character and narrative archetypes were set up by FFII. Just don't play the hypercasualized GBA or PSP remakes, they're trash.

>>382839372
I don't understand 8. The whole game is close to being good in every aspect, but falls short. I think it could have been great with a few more months of development.

>>382839502
X is passable as a mainline game, I didn't like it but I admit some like it and for a few anons it's their favorite one. Everything afterward is trash, though.

>>382837215
I've started with the PSP version, so i guess i've been lucky, but i really enjoyed my experience with it.
Firion is also one of my favourite characters in the Dissidia games for his playstyle and the small journey he goes to get his crystal, wich reflects people sometimes overlooking simple solutions in order to adapt to a system that's more a facade than anything and in the end start being honest with themselves.

To me honestly, Projared when reviewing FFII was so fixated with the NES original that based almost all his arguments of prejudice rather than as a whole. I'm not saying it's a great game, but it has more credit than what people give it for. Definetly way better to me than XIII or VIII.

>>382838245
The only thing I truly hate is the retarded dungeon design.

>>382838948
(You)

>>382839856
I'd easily put everything but 13 above it.
12 and 15 are flawed, but far more competent in both writing and design.

If you're going to cut off "real" FF at some point, cut it off when the Gooch left.

>>382840030
1 is literally plagiarized DnD with a few original assets.
2 barely has a story.
3 even less so.
4 is a lot of words for about as much story as 2.
5 didn't even try.
8 botched it hard.
10 is a fucking meme, as is 13.

>>382839858
>Firion is also one of my favourite characters in the Dissidia games for his playstyle
I liked how he uses all the weapons of FFII's cast for his signature moves.

>>382839858
It's fair to assess the base games on their merits. It's just important to keep remakes in mind.

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Story is literally Star Wars Original Trilogy + Dark Empire comics twist (The Emperor returns) in a very meh way.
Music is okay.
Mechanics are meh but I don't understand the bitching about them, I feel like those come from people that flat out don't understand that you're supposed to specialize and not have everyone be a jack of all trades that requires insane amount of grind.
Dungeon layouts are meh.
It's a mediocre game but honestly mechanics are the least of its problems if you ask me.
Just make each of your party members specialize in TWO important Buffs, TWO important debuffs, ONE important offensive element and ONE weapon that's not going to be used by anyone else. And have Cure, Esuna/Basuna and Warp/Teleport on everyone for utility.

For example, going Weapon/Offense Spell/Buff/Debuff
Firion - Sword , Fire, Protect+Wall, Blind+Curse
Maria - Bow, Thunder, Blink+Haste, Slow+Stop
Guy - Axe, Blizzard, Berserk+Barrier, Stun+Confuse
Leon - Spear, Scourge, Drain+Osmose, Sap+Fog

And then you can put Flare and Life on all of them as well once you get them, and Ultima on Firion.

>>382839856
>12
>Trash
Die.

>>382839767
It was rushed, and Square has always had problems with detecting stupidity in their projects. They took people off other projects just to finish it in time.

It's a great game, depending on how you think an RPG should balance its respective parts. The game is pretty spartan about story development, with much more emphasis placed on dungeon crawling and developing effective strategies to keep your characters alive. So if you like RPGs that primarily emphasize gameplay and character customization, then there you go.

The game's divisiveness is not at all unheard of with FF sequels. The FF fanbase can hardly agree on anything thanks to Square's tendency to leave no stone unturned. Almost every game uses a radically different character development system.

>>382839767
It is a victim of its own excellent world design. The characters and story feel so flat and shallow by comparison.

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>>382840508
what's going on here...

>>382840595
Hello there anon who got into the series at X

>>382840963
12 is thousand times more complex than the trash that is 10, also kill yourself for jumping to conclusions, in fact I wish you die in fire you piece of nigger shit cause I started with FF1 on PSP.

>>382839731
>Just don't play the hypercasualized GBA or PSP remakes, they're trash.

I'd normally agree, but FF2's skill experience system really needed to be tweaked. The original game (as well as "normal" mode in Origins) required 100 weapon / spell uses to advance your skill level by 1 rank. Insane amounts of grinding were needed to make any of your skills usable. The GBA and PSP releases toned these experience requirements down significantly.

But I do think that removing most of the stat-equipment penalties was pointless, and only further broke game balance, which is an almost universal complaint as-is.

>>382840884
its a mystery

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>>382840508
>all this subtlety in this image
2011 era 4chan was great

>>382840508
>Music is okay.
FF2's music is pretty great. Especially in the remakes.

>>382840728
>Almost every game uses a radically different character development system.
What the fuck, no they don't.
It's the same old EXP. system with stat growth tables and ability slots, sometimes you get AP and the ablity to swap around premade class tables instead of having fixed classes, that's it.
>>382841138
>Insane amounts of grinding were needed to make any of your skills usable
Not true at all, especially since the game is piss easy and you can still use tomes for buffs, physical damage is 90% of the time better than elemental one so offensive magic is hardly relevant outside of those rare tanky enemies like Adamantoise who kind of force you to use magic, but by the mid game developing magic is a non issue unless you want a party of three mages, Blood Swords make the last dungeon and final boss a joke too.

>>382840508
>I feel like those come from people that flat out don't understand that you're supposed to specialize and not have everyone be a jack of all trades that requires insane amount of grind.
the idea of being able to be anything anytime is the main point FF2 fags keep trying to hammer down on why its good.

>>382837215

Fuck the weird leveling system. What killed it for me was the shitty uninspired dungeon design. That pick a room and hope it isn't just and ambush shit was ridiculous and made me rush through dungeons instead of actively exploring them for loot.

>>382841439
Oh, got it. Thanks

The worst design in final fantasy was the decision to have every character essentially be a red mage. In X it even makes some characters completely outclassed in the late game, even in the own spheres.

>Start playing game.
>See that anyone can equip anything.
>Load up everyone with dual-wielding weapons and heavy armor.
>Proceed to eat shit because no Evasion.

I assume this was most people's experience with the game.

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>>382841492

>>382839058
I like the story and gameplay.

>>382841705
>What the fuck, no they don't.

Yes they did. Some games had interchangeable classes with different approaches to how abilities from previous classes carried over. FF2 just let you master any skills you wanted, without forcing you to use class roles at all. FF6 gave characters predefined skillsets, but allowed anyone to learn how to utilize magic. FF7 had its wild materia system. FF8 had characters access stat boosts and skills through GF proxies. FF10 had an abominable skill grid. These are all very different concepts.

Grinding for AP / EXP is trivial. That's only one underlying component of a series of incredibly diverse character development mechanics that you're erroneously downplaying.

>physical damage is 90% of the time better than elemental one so offensive magic is hardly relevant
That's true, but status-inflicting spells outrank physical attacks. You can nuke an entire screen of enemies with a single casting of Toad, Mini, Death or some other instant-KO spell. Enemies hardly resist these properties, even those encountered in the final dungeon. But to do this effectively, you'll have to spend hours accumulating enough experience to get those ranks up. 100 successive castings per rank is a lot of work. This is where later ports introduce more sensible requirements.

For comparison, the experience requirements in earlier versions of FF2 would be similar to multiplying the AP costs of FF7's materia by 10. It's artificially stupid.

>>382840332
>2 barely has a story
>Ran out of your hometown because the empire burned it to the ground and cut down everyone else escaping
>Get rescued and try to prove your worth to the rebellion
>Find a dying prince and it seals your role to the rebellion
>Gathering materials for future use against the empire
>Towns getting fire bombed into oblivion
That is just scratching what happens, not even mentioning the first time Dragoons were introduced to Final Fantasy and more.

>>382838823
Playing through 13 now, it deserves the meme hate i think. The battle system is just so boring and easy.

>>382844048
6, 7, and 8 are not different concepts. They're the exact same thing, only making the bad parts about 6 even worse as it went along, making your characters even less unique. 7 and 8 the only differences in the cast is Limit Breaks, there's nothing else unique about them. Shit 8 even took out stats being a difference, so its cast was literally blank slates outside Limits.

Totally right about FF's grind though. Aside the stupid shit 2 does and the MMO's, the series is incredibly easy to level on.