Final Fantasy II ???
Richard D. Piasecki
Hello. I'd like to know why everyone thinks Final Fantasy II is such a great
role playing adventure. I agree that the story-line, graphics and sound
are fantastic and that the fighting sequences are entertaining and
challenging, but can we really call this a role playing adventure game??!!??
It seems to me, playing the game is more like reading a book than anything
else. You seem to have absolutely no control over anything except the way
you fight. Members appear and disappear into/from your party according to
a predetermined script which you have no control over; you are unable to
do anything out a sequence with the story-line (or, at least, it seems that
way); there seem to be no puzzles that need being solved, and when there are
puzzles, you're told what the answers are; you're told where to go to get the
items you need, so there is no "adventure" involved in figuring it out
yourself; the only "adventure" that exists is in fighting the monsters which
constantly hamper your path on the way to the items you are supposed to
find or the bad guys you need to confront. When I think of RPG's, I think
of the Ultima series, games where you're given absolutely no information
at the beginning at all and you need to find out everything and are given
the complete freedom to get the items you need in any order you wish.
FFII could have been made this way, but it wasn't. Instead, what you get
is a book which unfolds as the game progresses.
So, for all those true, hard-core RPG fans out there, why do you like this
game so much?? Am I missing something in the game?? Does it get a lot
better later on??
--- Rich
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Richard Piasecki Founder, Pope, Dalai-Lama, Lord High Priest and
ric...@csd.harris.com Head-Guru of Piaseckism, the most perfect religion
rcs8...@zach.fit.edu in the world.
"It's a tough job being the most perfect being in the universe, but someone's
got to do it."
--- Quote from "The 1001 Rules of Piaseckism"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Arms
>Hello. I'd like to know why everyone thinks Final Fantasy II is such a great
>role playing adventure. I agree that the story-line, graphics and sound
>are fantastic and that the fighting sequences are entertaining and
>challenging, but can we really call this a role playing adventure game??!!??
>
>It seems to me, playing the game is more like reading a book than anything
>else. You seem to have absolutely no control over anything except the way
>you fight. Members appear and disappear into/from your party according to
>a predetermined script which you have no control over; you are unable to
>do anything out a sequence with the story-line (or, at least, it seems that
>way); there seem to be no puzzles that need being solved, and when there are
>puzzles, you're told what the answers are; you're told where to go to get the
>items you need, so there is no "adventure" involved in figuring it out
>yourself; the only "adventure" that exists is in fighting the monsters which
>constantly hamper your path on the way to the items you are supposed to
>find or the bad guys you need to confront. When I think of RPG's, I think
>of the Ultima series, games where you're given absolutely no information
>at the beginning at all and you need to find out everything and are given
>the complete freedom to get the items you need in any order you wish.
>FFII could have been made this way, but it wasn't. Instead, what you get
>is a book which unfolds as the game progresses.
>
>So, for all those true, hard-core RPG fans out there, why do you like this
>game so much?? Am I missing something in the game?? Does it get a lot
>better later on??
Let me preface this note by saying that I am not a hard-core CRPG fan,
but I used to play real RPGs regularly and do enjoy the Ultimas
(especially Underworld).
I have to agree with you, Richard. You have nailed it right on the
head concerning FF2. It really is more of an interactive story rather
than what we normally consider to be an RPG. Yes, the graphics are pretty
good, the music nice, and the story is interesting. But I get the
idea of just participating in a play. Not even acting really as there
is no player-directed interaction with NPCs. From what I have read, this
difference is due to cultural differences in Japanese and American (or
European) RPGs. Japanese RPGs tend to be very scripted. American RPGs
are much less scripted and have a heavier emphasis in puzzles and problem
solving.
I enjoyed FF2, but I wouldn't call it a great RPG at all. It's a story;
an entertaining one. But not a "keeper" IMHO. Zelda III is not an RPG
at all. It is an action/adventure game. But it retains it's enjoyability
even on multiple replayings.
--
Mike Arms
Editor of Encounter magazine
uucp: ...{ucbvax | gatech}!unmvax!sandia!marms
InterNet: unmvax.unm.edu!sandia!marms or sandia!ma...@unmvax.unm.edu
Teh Kao Yang
>
>Hello. I'd like to know why everyone thinks Final Fantasy II is such a great
>role playing adventure. I agree that the story-line, graphics and sound
>are fantastic and that the fighting sequences are entertaining and
>challenging, but can we really call this a role playing adventure game??!!??
I've complained about this characteristic of FF II too. I guess some people
(perhaps most Japanese) like these kinds of RPGs where you are
led by the hand through the whole game with not much puzzle solving or
exploring involved. The emphasis in the game is on combat, and that's where
most of the fun of the game comes from. I really enjoyed fighting all the
various boss creatures. Perhaps this game should be labelled a tactical RPG.
The combat system is pretty well done. I blew through the game in about 20
hours of play, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable 20 hours. However I probably
will never touch the game again, which also applies to almost all other RPGs
I've finished.
>you fight. Members appear and disappear into/from your party according to
>a predetermined script which you have no control over; you are unable to
This is my major complaint about the game. I really liked how you have the
freedom to choose your party members like in Phantasy Star 2 for Genesis.
FF2 doesn't gives you little control over the advancement of your characters;
this I think is the major flaw with the game.
-Teh Kao
Daeshik Kim
>but I used to play real RPGs regularly and do enjoy the Ultimas
>(especially Underworld).
Yes...Great games; as a matter of fact, I've started my RPG
history from the time when Ultima 4 came out.
>I enjoyed FF2, but I wouldn't call it a great RPG at all. It's a story;
>an entertaining one.
It definitely is for kids; its very well written manual was
the killer of the game; and if it were not the easy version
but the hard version of FF4, it might have been good one w/o
its manual.
I still want to see Far East of Eden I & II; and I've heard
Ziria has lots of puzzle; and it would be quite interesting
playing it while studying Japanese for those who think these
games are too easy.
>Zelda III is not an RPG at all.
It was Super Mario with steroid and diff. name tag.
--
Daeshik Kim H: (703) 273-1517 O: (703) 689-5878
DAESH...@sprintintl.sprint.com ds...@eng.umd.edu
/PN=Daeshik.Kim/O=SprintIntl/ADMD=Telemail/C=US/@Sprint.com
339wh...@gw.wmich.edu
I already E-mailed one person about this, it sounds like you want Might & Magic
for the NES. No script whatsoever and tons to do! Tons of variety in the game
as well. BTW, if anyone out there has finished this game...I would like to
hear about it.(I'm talking about M&M)
John
Patrick Jason Soo Hoo
user Teh Kao Ya...@phakt.usc.e writes:
>In article <1jhjq7...@travis.csd.harris.com>
ric...@travis.csd.harris.com (
>Richard D. Piasecki) writes:
>>
>>Hello. I'd like to know why everyone thinks Final Fantasy II is such a great
>>role playing adventure. I agree that the story-line, graphics and sound
>>are fantastic and that the fighting sequences are entertaining and
>>challenging, but can we really call this a role playing adventure game??!!??
>
>I've complained about this characteristic of FF II too. I guess some people
>(perhaps most Japanese) like these kinds of RPGs where you are
>led by the hand through the whole game with not much puzzle solving or
>exploring involved. The emphasis in the game is on combat, and that's where
>most of the fun of the game comes from. I really enjoyed fighting all the
>various boss creatures. Perhaps this game should be labelled a tactical RPG.
This focus on combat seems to plague RPG's in general, both American and
Japanese, and it drives me crazy sometimes. The worst is the "fighting
every three steps" syndrome, most notably apparent in games like FF, DQ,
the SSI games, Wizardry, etc. Bleah. It's strange that Square
graciously let you see the monsters walking around in Romancing Saga
(which was released in between FF IV and V, I think), but got rid of it
in FF V.
>This is my major complaint about the game. I really liked how you have the
>freedom to choose your party members like in Phantasy Star 2 for Genesis.
>FF2 doesn't gives you little control over the advancement of your characters;
>this I think is the major flaw with the game.
Character advancement is much cooler in FF V, where your characters can
change classes (of which there are over two dozen, I think) at any time,
and you keep levels in previous classes you've been. Also, you
characters gain special abilities with each level they gain. Romancing
Saga also has a neat advancement system, with no strict leveling up.
Your abilities and weapons and magic go up a little bit at a time. You
can also choose your party members, although you have to travel around
the locating the ones you want.
pat
Richard D. Piasecki
Hello again.
Well, its been several days since I posted the first message complaining about
Final Fantasy II, and, so far, a lot of people have responded agreeing with me.
So, my next most obvious question is, if so many people agree that the game is
not all that great, why the hell is it always given somewhere between 4 and 5
stars in every review I've seen in this newsgroup?? Who likes this game???
I gonna hold my breath while I wait for one of the Ultimas to come out for
the SNES. Anyone know when that's gonna happen??
In article <8fLf0Eq00...@andrew.cmu.edu> ps...@andrew.cmu.edu (Patrick Jason Soo Hoo) writes:
>
>This focus on combat seems to plague RPG's in general, both American and
>Japanese, and it drives me crazy sometimes. The worst is the "fighting
>every three steps" syndrome, most notably apparent in games like FF, DQ,
>the SSI games, Wizardry, etc. Bleah.
I agree. That's the main reason I could never stand Bard's Tale. Every time
I took two steps, I was attacked my something a lot stronger than me, and so,
I was never able to get far enough into the game to make it interesting.
>It's strange that Square
>graciously let you see the monsters walking around in Romancing Saga
>(which was released in between FF IV and V, I think), but got rid of it
>in FF V.
I always liked that feature about the Ultima series, as well.
>Character advancement is much cooler in FF V, where your characters can
>change classes (of which there are over two dozen, I think) at any time,
>and you keep levels in previous classes you've been. Also, you
>characters gain special abilities with each level they gain. Romancing
>Saga also has a neat advancement system, with no strict leveling up.
>Your abilities and weapons and magic go up a little bit at a time. You
>can also choose your party members, although you have to travel around
>the locating the ones you want.
Are these games available for the SNES?? If so, where?
Richard D. Piasecki
A friend of mine has Might and Magic for the Genesis and he's near the end
of the game, but he can't figure out what to do. It's been a long time since
he's played and his description is kinda vague, so bear with me. He says
that near the end of the game, you go into this room/chamber which has a
control panel. There, you have to decode something and enter it into the
panel (or something like that). He says he's already figured out the codes
for the different colors (red, yellow, blue.... or whatever the colors were),
but he can't figure out what to do with that panel. So, if anyone out there
has solved this game, it would be greatly appreciated if you could send
me email explaining what my friend should do. Spoilers are more than
welcome. Thanks.
Patrick Jason Soo Hoo
>Well, its been several days since I posted the first message complaining about
>Final Fantasy II, and, so far, a lot of people have responded agreeing
with me.
>So, my next most obvious question is, if so many people agree that the game is
>not all that great, why the hell is it always given somewhere between 4 and 5
>stars in every review I've seen in this newsgroup?? Who likes this game???
I liked it, although it got kind of tedious after a while. Given the
selection available for the SNES (english versions only), sad to say
that it's probably the best RPG currently available.
>I gonna hold my breath while I wait for one of the Ultimas to come out for
>the SNES. Anyone know when that's gonna happen??
Ultima VI has been out for the Super Famicom for about a year already;
does anyone know if there are plans to make this available in english?
You have to watch out, though; they're squeezing a game that was what,
eight megabytes (?), into an eight megabit cartridge, so it's bound to
be a more limited game in some sense.
>I agree. That's the main reason I could never stand Bard's Tale. Every time
>I took two steps, I was attacked my something a lot stronger than me, and so,
>I was never able to get far enough into the game to make it interesting.
Yeah, definitely. I wouldn't mind fighting so much, if either: 1)
combat is interesting and fun, or 2) there's an option to have the
computer fight the battle for you. Bard's Tale had neither. :(
>Are these games available for the SNES?? If so, where?
Final Fantasy V is currently being translated, I think, and will
probably be released under a different name here. I hope they do a
better job translating FFV than they did FFII:
Tellah: "You spoony bard!"
still cracks me up. :)
I don't think Romancing Saga is gonna be translated. It's copyrighted
1991, so you'd think they'd have translated it by now if they were going
to do it...
pat