Messages

26

General Discussion / Re: FF7 Remake Gameplay Reveal

« on: 2015-12-06 17:52:24 »

The reason I'm not too bitter of the remake is because it's easy to understand that this is all we are ever going to get. We still have the original, we have all of the spinoffs (be they good or not), and now we have a remake in the style of the spinoffs (which may or may not be good). I'll play around with the remake for a while and judge it based on its own merits, and if it isn't that great I'll still fondly keep memories of the original and continue to replay it every year or so.

If there is anything to be worried about, its that "Cannon" Cloud will now be Advent Children Cloud, while the original will be repeatedly shat on by people who only know him from the new stuff. But at the end of the day, convincing people that FF7 is great and that Cloud is awesome isn't something I pictured myself doing either way, so I guess it's not that important. For those who are genuinely fans of AC, CC, and the rest, I am happy for them, because all of the content of the original in a style that they seem to like would probably be pretty amazing.

It's just very annoying it's come to this and that after FFX I personally haven't been able enjoy a FF game (and I stopped buying them after XII).

The funny thing is that means you only missed one main entry non-MMO FF, even though FFXII came out 9 years ago (nearly 10).

27

General Discussion / Re: FF7 Remake Gameplay Reveal

« on: 2015-12-06 03:45:52 »

Sooooo... turn based?

I noticed the defend, hence why I edited my first post to say something more along the lines of that it might still be turn based because when I watched it again technically nothing was shown that explicitly showed it being in real time. Nice find with the ATB bar though, I missed it and could give more hope that it might still be turn based.

Edit: On another note - I'm still pissed that he looks nothing like either the new Dissidia Cloud or the Smash Bros Cloud, both of which look much better from a design perspective. The Cloud in this trailer is the worst looking one I've seen yet IMO.

Edit 2: Kitase says that he cannot say that the FF7 remake is completely action-oriented (or something along those lines) here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JYdkLp5XaQ

28

General Discussion / Re: FF7 Remake Gameplay Reveal

« on: 2015-12-05 22:37:00 »

This looks like it might be fun. I'm actually a big fan of the KH gameplay, so it doesn't bother me at all to see them reusing that. I'm less a fan of some of the visual choices they've made, and I never liked this voice cast. Seems like this can probably only be enjoyable taken as an entirely new thing and pretending it's not a remake.

This is probably what I'll end up doing in the end. I'm actually into real time gameplay most of the time. I too am mostly upset with some of the visual choices (mostly Cloud). Too bad they haven't shown Tifa yet, the one thing that they could have distracted me with...

In my opinion, the only misstep made in the compilation was Dirge of Cerberus.  Before Crisis, Crisis Core, the novellas, and even Advent Children were decent/respectable additions to the FF7 universe.  It's probably fair to say that if you liked the compilation, you'll like the remake.  If you hated it and thought everything was blasphemous, you'll hate the remake.

I actually had fun with Dirge of Cerberus when I was younger. I don't think any of them are horrible in their own right, but the original was truly something special that the spinoffs felt like dilutions of. Being mediocre or just a bit better than that is not good enough to be worthy of the original in my opinion, and even though I am going to get this remake and have fun with it, if it isn't pretty spectacular I will be a little disappointed.

It kinda makes sense that cloud is sickly pale. He has been in a tank for five years, and catatonic afterwards. Or am i remembering things wrong?  It has been a while since i even though about the game

If I have to rationalize why something looks dumb it probably could have looked better regardless...

29

General Discussion / Re: FF7 Remake Gameplay Reveal

« on: 2015-12-05 19:20:25 »

Definitely disappointed with Cloud's muscle mass.  Hopefully he'll be more along the lines of his smash bros counterpart, otherwise he looks kind of sickly.

Don't forget the way Cloud runs away from the guards after he has one of his trademark mental twitches.

30

General Discussion / Re: FF7 Remake Gameplay Reveal

« on: 2015-12-05 18:08:01 »

Also, that Cloud seems (Advent Children springs to mind) like a whiny ass weed.  "I don't care about your politicssss"  lmao.  Also, since when did Barrett wear sunglasses?  Is he Morpheus now?

Cloud's horrible design and demeanor is probably my biggest complaint with the entire trailer. I actually don't mind Barrett's design aside from the unnecessary sunglasses.

Does anyone think this pile of doo doo is really going to have the soul of the original after seeing that wank?

Not really. It looks like a remake that fits exactly in with the compilation, which is nothing like the original.

I'm probably going to get it at some point, just because I'm a moron with way too much nostalgia and desire for more FF7, but I'm not going to lie that I'm more than a little disappointed.

31

General Discussion / FF7 Remake general thread

« on: 2015-12-05 17:38:27 »

The gameplay for the FF7 remake has been revealed and it looks a lot like FFXV, Kingdom Hearts, and the original FFVS13 trailers...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPoOWVhSgys

Edit: Actually, after watching it again, some of the things I've noticed are:

The English voice actors are the same as from Advent Children.

Unfortunately, the design Cloud has is very much like Advent Children, in the worst way.

The movement, especially navigating narrow spaces, seems very similar to FFXV.

Even though they have not shown a lot of gameplay, it at first appeared to be real time, but I suppose there is a sliver of hope that it still could be something reminiscent of FF12, FF13, or Resonance of Fate, where it was very stylish but still turn-based. There was not enough gameplay in my opinion to really tell one way or the other. But this is Nomura, and the notable games he's worked on are KH and FFVS13, so the chance that this game will not be like them is very slim.

32

Completely Unrelated / Re: Random Links

« on: 2015-11-16 00:02:30 »

No prob dude, I take no offense, and I don't mean it neither. I usually have this kind of debates with friends, but you know, they're way easier when you have them in your native language. I tend to sound really rough in english hahaha.
Anyway I doesn't blame only US, our Spanish (fascist) government (and our fascist president Aznar) followed GW Bush to Iraq like a filthy pug, for example. France and UK are accomplices of US war crimes too. And not to mention Germany... But you cannot deny that US is the head on all this crap.

I'm not going to deny that George Bush and the Iraq War was all bullstrawberries, because it was. I'm not an apologist for my government and hold it to the high standards its founders set when the nation was established. The USA has been corrupt in nearly every war since WW2, but I haven't seen any other bastion of innocence in any other nation anyways.

To be honest, you probably should not take my word for any value, because I am one of "those" people that believe, while the USA might not have been the direct culprit (I think they might have been), someone in our government most likely stood to gain from the attacks on 9-11. I don't believe a bunch of terrorists suddenly had an idea to hijack passenger planes and fly them into the trade centers of their own accord, nor do I fully believe the physics (based off my knowledge from admittedly general physics series for Bachelore's Degree) behind the collapse of the towers (especially trade center 7). I don't really want to get into that debate though, but I am far from someone who claims the US government is great.

On the other hand, the Islamic religion is notoriously barbaric and intolerant. It has been hundreds of years since any major attacks have been carried out by any other religion, mostly because those religions had teachings that easily fit within our modern, civilized society. The Islamic religion is definitely a product of the ancient and medieval past, and nothing short of a complete rewriting of the scripture contained within it is going to allow them to ever fully integrate into western society. As DLPB pointed out, you cannot find such intolerant language used by any other modern religions.

Deflecting these facts under the basis of government greed is not valid, since most of the attacks by the extremists have been against innocent civilians. The Muslims are not yelling "Down with corruption! Free our people from the tyranny of the west!". They are saying "Death to Jews!", "Death to Christians!", "Death to America!", and "Death to nonbelievers!" etc. If they only fought wars with our governments I would sympathize with their plight against the "war for oil", but while the western governments supposedly plunder them for oil they make random attacks against innocent people shouting off racial and religious hate-filled language.

33

Completely Unrelated / Re: Random Links

« on: 2015-11-15 23:18:19 »

If you think this happened because of religion you know nothing. I'd better say "Paris: What happens when you allow USA to intervene anywhere, anytime, for the sake of capitalism." And it's ironic the fact that they're killing us with the weapons we sold them.

Anyway, back to the topic, funny cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5xSxGhlHfc

It's easy to blame the USA for everything nowadays since it's become the "cool" thing to do, but it's not like any of the other countries aren't corrupt anyways. Yes, the USA government is corrupt and does shady things, but point me out a government believed to be trustworthy and I'll point out an ignorant person.

On the other hand, it is completely moronic to blame capitalism for the corruption of governments. Governments will always be corrupt, no matter if they are capitalist, socialist, communist, fascist, or a traditional monarchy. It is only the viewpoint of those easily influenced to join the anti-capitalist bandwagon.

Crony capitalism, sure, because by definition it is the corruption of both the government and the free market by the underhanded combination of the two. Relatively pure capitalism (one where government only interferes when it strictly needs to) is what allowed the USA to become the strongest and wealthiest country in world (not saying it still is, mostly because of the corrupt abomination it is today) faster than any other nation is the history of mankind. Ignoring that would just show blind hate toward something that is not understood.

Not to mention the fact that recent news indicates that at least one of the terrorists was a French citizen. Go ahead and blame America, blame free markets, and wait for the sweet, pure, incorruptible government to come in for the rescue.

(BTW, I'm not directing any of this personally at you JeMaCheHi, and I mean no offense. I am just generalizing because this is how I speak and am too lazy to reword it in a way that it is clearly not directed at anyone in particular.)

Edit: Wow, I was late on that reply lol.

Edit after reading posts: DLPB is pretty spot-on. The only thing I'd like to point to him is that if there were gun stores in the UK and muslims got hold of them, at least you would have yours as well. Mutually assured destruction would have a little better outcome than if the other side manages to get hold of something while you refused to get yours out of obligation to a societal belief. It'd be like if the US decided to give up all their nuclear weapons and waited until eventually North Korea, Russia, or Iran decided they felt like attacking the US with one that *gasp* they managed to get even though it was "outlawed".

34

General Discussion / Re: [FF7PC-98/Steam] Multiple mods - The Reunion (R03d)

« on: 2015-11-15 22:58:23 »

Just out of curiosity, is there any good reason not to convert the steam version to the old game with the 7th Heaven converter? I just recently bought the steam version and converted it, and have been using Reunion's field models, battle models, translation, and menu mod while also adding the Waifu background upscales and Anxious Heart. I haven't had enough time to really play much of it yet, but since I just saved the video files from my Steam Version before the conversion to the old PC version I don't really see any benefit to keeping it as the Steam version.

I have been wanting to get the game to basically an "HD remaster" status so I could hook my laptop up to a tv, connect a console controller, and have my fiance play it so she might see why it is my personal favorite of the series.

35

General Discussion / Re: CLOUD IN SMASH BROTHERS

« on: 2015-11-15 22:46:41 »

@hian: My problem with the Cloud-Zack connection in Crisis Core is that Cloud was indeed pragmatic, arrogant, and quite the sarcastic anti-hero from the start of the game, and that persona really only broke down after Cloud's recovery from Mako poisoning and he realized who he was again. After that, Cloud, while still being a little snarky was way more similar to how Zack is portrayed in Crisis Core. When Cloud finally regained himself, he was a little more goofy, a little more kind, and a lot more optimistic (which completely through me off when I watched AC for the first time).

If Cloud really took on Zack's persona at the end of Crisis Core he would have acted like Zack to begin with, and then changed into his own personality at the end. Instead, it seems Cloud's personality at the end is more similar to Zack in Crisis Core.

I think Cloud did not know Zack or Sephiroth very well, and that's the reason why when he was pretending to be an Ex-Soldier he was so serious and professional. Then the real Cloud was revealed to be a lot more light-hearted and optimistic, while in the flashbacks it hinted at Zack being a tough, yet reasonably caring guy. He wasn't really taking on Zack's legacy, but instead felt ashamed, repressed his own memories, and took on the persona of an Ex-Solider he knew of from the limited perspective he observed while being a Shinra grunt.

The relationship between Cloud, Zack, Tifa, and Cloud's memories was so well told and complex in the original it was one of the main reasons I fell in love and stayed in love with the game. Another major reason was how nuanced Sephiroth's story was, and how it weaved in and out of the mystery of who Cloud was.
'
Unfortunately, people who aren't fans of the original game like to claim that Cloud is just an "emo anime character" and Sephiroth is a girly "momma's boy". If anyone actually took the time to play and understand the original without just lazily absorbing all of the retcons from the later entries in the "compilation" they might actually see the characters for the charm they have.

I always felt that Kingdom Hearts is the original culprit for this, because somehow Cloud ended up being mopey (because Nomura thought he'd be cooler that way I guess) and Squall had the personality Cloud did from the original. When I played that game for the first time I joked that Squall and Cloud had switched bodies apparently, since what I distinctly remember from Squall in FF8 are all of his "I don't care", "Whatever...", and "..." lines. Squall got renamed Leon and generally got a bad@$$ makeover, while Cloud stole Vincent's clothes and went emo for some reason.

I'm going to have to stop ranting at some point but I have to get something else off my chest as well. Cloud's obsession with Aerith is waaaaayyyyyy overblown in the compilation. Cloud was sad that he let Aerith die, yes, but he was way more confused and upset with not knowing who he truly was or how Sephiroth could control him. He went crazy because he was trying to figure out who he was, not being depressed Aerith died. In the game he came to terms with Aerith's death and had the resolve to finish what Aerith started, which was to stop Sephiroth and save the planet. AC's entire plot was that Cloud was still sad he saw both Zack (his supposed best friend) and Aerith die in front of him and was powerless to save them, and now he and Denzel (where the F did they decide to pull that character out of? And why was Barrett not taking care of Marlene? I swear AC sometimes....) have FF7 cancer (stigma?) and he is afraid he is powerless to stop it once again. Cloud already came to terms with Aerith's death, did not even know Zack THAT well, Denzel came out of nowhere, and stigma was just a plot device set up to get Cloud to relapse again and rehash the same character development arc from the game. I don't even know what else to say about it rather than point out the absurdity of it all. /end rant

36

Completely Unrelated / Re: Random Links

« on: 2015-11-14 17:19:41 »

Paris: What happens when you allow a crazy religion to thrive and have no border controls.

Don't forget gun control. Because as we all know, it eliminates gun-related violence.

37

General Discussion / Re: CLOUD IN SMASH BROTHERS

« on: 2015-11-14 17:09:16 »

@hian: Nomura said in an interview that the graphics are going to be very "realistic" so the "cartoony" look of Cloud will unfortunately probably not be in the remake. That being said, the exact design of Cloud in the remake trailer is almost certainly not representative of how he is going to look in the actual game. Supposedly that trailer was made by Visual Works in a very limited time frame that Nomura didn't have a lot of involvement in. He did say that the game is not going to have AC's visual style, which is good news IMO, but just how much different it will be from AC in style remains to be seen.

I am just hoping that with whatever graphical style they choose, they opt to make Cloud into the bad@$$ he originally was and not the mopey, chronic depressive he has been in everything since. I think at this point my odds are at best 50/50, but are more likely to be much worse. I still hope though.

As for the new Dissidia, you can see Cloud's final design either by these recent screenshots or by the launch trailer (found here: http://gematsu.com/gallery/albums/dissidia-final-fantasy-arcade/october-26-2015/Dissidia-Final-Fantasy-Arcade_2015_10-26-15_028.jpg and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0oTJiy6j8g respectively). I am hoping that these designs, plus Smash Bros design of Cloud and Nomura's birthday Cloud that they are moving away from AC cloud design (here: http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=16297.0).

As for Nintendo, I wouldn't be surprised if NX gets a port down the road, especially now with Cloud in Smash. I agree with you that it is unrealistic to think that the remake is going to be on NX when FF7 launches, especially since it seems that the FF7 remake is going to be made specifically for the PS4 first with the possibility of ports down the road. Square Enix doesn't have any real reason to believe the NX isn't going to be another flop like the Wii U, so they are most certainly not going to be putting time and money into it right away, but will probably be open to porting down the road.

38

General Discussion / Re: CLOUD IN SMASH BROTHERS

« on: 2015-11-13 03:13:52 »

That is actually the good 'ol Cloud, not the emo Cloud I was expecting. All gud! 

Never played any  of those games though...

One of the biggest reasons I have not completely written off the FF7 remake is that he recent iterations of Cloud (specifically the new Dissidia and Nomura's drawing for Cloud's birthday) have been a lot less "emo" than the KH 1 & 2, Dissidia, Dissidia 012, Advent Children, and Crisis Core appearances. It gives me a little hope that he won't be moping around the entire game.

Back on topic: Apparently I have to abandon my usual go-to character of Roy/Ike because you know I can't resist anything FF7 related. I'm still waiting to see if NX has backwards compatibility (or is gonna go down the road of "remastering" Wii U games that I might as well just get on NX for the better performance, resolution, and probably controller) before I pick a Wii U up though, so I still have unfortunately not grabbed one.

It has been pretty tempting though, with Super Mario 3D World (Coop with family), Bayonetta 1 & 2, Hyrule Warriors, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Wind Waker HD, Mario Maker, Twilight Princess HD (my least favorite Zelda but that's like saying my least favorite flavor of ice cream), New Zelda Wii U, Mario Kart 8, and of course Super Smash Bros Wii U. I guess I'm still stuck playing the waiting game...

39

General Discussion / Re: People telling me FFVII Remake will definitely be better than the OG FFVII lol

« on: 2015-11-01 04:38:55 »

@hian: (I apologize that this post is kind of a mess)

I find God of War's combat pretty sub par as well as KH; I wasn't saying that KH was very exceptional. God of War might be a little better in my opinion, but not much.

I didn't make what I was saying about FFXV very clear. I meant that taking into account the fine tuning and extras they are going to add onto FFXV, I expect it's combat to be comparable in quality or personal enjoyment for me to KH, and not that it would be extremely similar. In other words, I don't think it will be great, but I don't think it will be crap compared to KH.

I was not praising those games myself (the acclaimed action rpgs), only noting that they were highly regarded. I have not played all of them and am admittedly going off of the analyses I've watched/read on the games, and the gameplay I've watched myself for the ones I hadn't. I do agree that having multiple party members is pointless if you can neither control them nor switch between them. I know that, as you said, combining multiple good ideas does not guarantee a new, good idea, but I think there is always a possibility. (Note: the rest of this paragraph is random babbling about a fleeting idea I once had for naively combining systems) I think that character switching a la Tales series combined with a fleshed out paradigm system from FF13 and Gambit system from FF12 might lead to a decent trade off between real time action and party management. Switching between characters that have unique abilities for different situations, setting up Gambit-like priorities inside of paradigm roles that you could switch between on the fly with the d-pad while you fight in real time sounds appealing to me. Obviously a lot of work balancing the system and making it actually function would mean it is very unlikely anything like that would happen, but I like to keep an open mind that it could be done.

I actually have a hypothesis that FFXV's character switching was scrapped not only to save time, and not only because Noctis is OP, but also because they may be saving that for FF7, to differentiate the two titles in terms of gameplay.

The point I was making about the Souls series is that it was an Action RPG that had a very good and highly acclaimed combat system that was not as mechanically complex, so essentially we agree. I was just pointing out that there are Action RPGs that have good combat, but now that you mention it the RPG aspect of it is weak instead. I think that games have to make compromises in all aspects of their development (for example, you can't have an open world game that also has the most complex level design, the best graphics, the best framerate and resolution, the best combat mechanics, first person and third person options, etc.) so people have to decide what matters to them. Although having a game that is very high quality in one area, such as the combat in DMC, might be enough to attract some people, others won't like it because of it being lacking in other areas. My point is that people have different tastes as to which levels of quality are acceptable for different aspects of games (some might prefer open worlds, some may prefer excellent level design, some may like "cinematic" linear experiences, etc.) and for action RPGs people generally accept that in order to have a game that is both real time and also a huge, sprawling RPG world that both the RPG elements and action elements might be lower in quality than games that inhabit a single genre. I know people who love GTAV because it is a huge world that has dozens of different gameplay mechanics within one game, and I know others who can't stand GTAV because nothing it does has not been done better by other games individually. I think both preferences are valid though, because I happen to enjoy both the games that do a lot but do nothing particularly well, and also the games that do somethings extraordinarily well.

For me personally, my perfect game would be an action game with the quality of DMC, but with the huge world, lore, characters, plot, character development, art design, etc. that usually comes with an RPG. Basically the level design, lore, and world-building of the souls series, the characters and plot of FF7, and the combat of DMC (because action games are what I personally have the most fun playing) is my dream (leveling up and other RPG tropes I couldn't care less for). Until that perfect-for-me game comes along, I often settle for action RPGs because, even though they are flawed, they are the closest to my dream game.

EDIT: I want to make it clear that my dream game is not necessarily what I'd like to see from FF7. The party-based combat and RPG elements are integral to the game, so making it an action game wouldn't be in the spirit of the original. Usually, my argument is that a game could potentially be both a great action game and a great RPG, but obviously that is highly unlikely and has yet to be done before (that I know of) because a game cannot be everything all at once. The more things it does, the lower quality those things tend to be. Even for companies as rich as Rockstar, who spent a ridiculous amount of money on GTAV so that it's mechanics are actually pretty damn good for being such a big game, it is impossible to be the best at multiple different genres at the same time.

I do enjoy the Tales series  (even though I seem to be the only person I know who dislikes Xillia and think that the game, aside from gameplay, is very bland and unremarkable), do not like Star Ocean even though I've only played IV, and haven't played Rogue Galaxy, just to show where I'm coming from.

40

General Discussion / Re: People telling me FFVII Remake will definitely be better than the OG FFVII lol

« on: 2015-10-31 20:32:06 »

SE has a dreadful track-record with action RPGs in my book (people praise Kingdom Hearts, but seriously, how really does that compare to actual action games like Devil May Cry or God of War?), so I doubt they can pull that off - especially if you consider their work on FF Type-0 and FF15 which can both only be considered abysmal to anyone who knows what they're talking about.

A couple counter arguments to make:

1. Kingdom Hearts is very comparable in quality in terms of action to God of War. God of War's combat is very overrated in my opinion (even though I still enjoy the games) and I'd rate the newest KH games to be about on par. Devil May Cry (Not the shitty Ninja Theory reboot), on the other hand, is the epitome of the action genre (even though every game in the series has had series flaws). The games themselves have issues, but the combat is no doubt on another level than God of War and KH. The only games that come close to DMC are those made by Platinum Games (which some argue are even better).

2. Realizing that FFXV episode duscae is not very representative of the entirety of FFXV, I am expecting FFXV's combat to be similar in quality to KH in the final build.

3. Action RPGs are not generally expected to have combat mechanics on the level of a pure action game. The Witcher series, Dragon Age series (the ones that are action rpgs), the Elder Scrolls series (FFXV looks to have much better combat than this series at least), and pretty much any other highly acclaimed action RPG has vastly inferior combat compared to DMC. (Supposedly Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning had combat that was comparable to God of War).

4. The entire souls series has combat that is mechanically less complex than DMC, but many find the combat in the souls series more enjoyable (I like both but give a slight edge to DMC).

The rest of your post I agree completely with though.

They are specifically targeting the remake to a wider demograph, so at the very least they want full 3D graphics in all fields.  This then completely changes the difficulty of remaking the game in full - so content is dropped and rearranged.  In other words, in a grab for an audience obsessed with visuals, the soul of the game is lost.

Their biggest problem, IMHO, is targeting a wider demograph. They should tailor the game to the hardcore fans, and then expand. If they made a game to please the hard core, but updated the shoddy parts, and made any extras optional I believe they would attract way more fans new and old to the game. If they change too much they will alienate the hard core and without the hard core they might as well just made another entirely new game.

You guys are too stuck in the past and on the hatred for change when it might just be be a good experience.
I personally think that there is ALOT of potential for the remake to be great even if it drifts away from the original. But hey, the original still exists and people who love it can always replay it. I'm excited to see what they can do with things like: minigames, Gold Saucer (can you imagine if they manage to pull some enemies like Gilgamesh and such from other FF games? Like at the Coliseum on FF13-2? It opens up alot of possibilities for extra superbosses), CGI FMV's which if done right will be beautiful, a better explanation of Cloud, Tifa and Sephiroth's past using the Crisis Core stuff... The possibilities are endless. Now it's obvious that it has to be done properly for it to work out well but my point is, different doesn't necessarily mean bad. We'll have to wait and see what they pull out.

I don't have any hatred and am very excited for the remake, because it is something that I always wanted. My reservations stem from the fact that the compilation of FF7 outside of the original game is complete and utter trash. Imagining cut-scenes that bring in the garbage from Crisis Core makes me a bit nauseous to say the least.

Minigames might be cool, and they may even expand on the originals or make entirely new awesome ones. My concern is that the game will go down the Advent Children route and make everything too serious, so optional wacky stuff like mini games at the Gold Saucer may be an after thought, if even there at all to begin with. Cross-dressing Cloud, Cloud in a hot tub with like 30 dudes, pretty much the entire Wallmarket sequence, and many other bizarre moments in the game are in danger of being cut, and I tend to be more worried about that than optimistic that it will keep everything and add more.

I am very optimistic about the game coming out, but my expectations are very low, if that makes sense. At best we are going to see something of similar quality to the original that ignores of the compilation BS, but at worst we'll be getting the final entry in the terrible series of compilation games.

41

General Discussion / Re: People telling me FFVII Remake will definitely be better than the OG FFVII lol

« on: 2015-10-30 05:37:33 »

I don't understand what is so hard for a company to remake a game. Honestly, it would be very easy to make the game better than the original. All Square would need to do is recreate all the assets so that the game looks modern, re-localize the game since the original sucked (they could just use DLPB's localization), and make sure that any "controversial" changes (voice acting, live instruments for OST, etc.) have menus that allow players to opt out of them. That would be easy money and sure to please the fan-base. It might not be as big of a release as the original was, but it would certainly gain new fans as well as they are finally able to try the game without suffering through typos, errors, and lego-esque character models.

Since they are most certainly going to try to "modernize" most aspects of the game, going off of Nomura's statements, it can almost be assured that the gameplay and likely the story are going to be altered to some extent. The real question will be how much, because if they don't stray too far the game might not be a disaster, and if they only change things for the better the game could still turn out better than the original. We simply don't have enough information at this point to say whether it will or won't be better than the original. I wouldn't hold my breath though.

42

Releases / Re: [FF7PC-98] Waifu release fulls packs

« on: 2015-10-23 16:52:13 »

Excellent! This was basically the last mod I was waiting for outside of DLBP's finalized translation to buy FF7 again!

I might have missed something though, but do you need to be a premium member of uplea to download your game fields since it is over 2.5gb?

43

Completely Unrelated / Re: Your favourite JRPG's outside of the FF series?

« on: 2015-09-09 20:27:59 »

Demon's Souls
Dark Souls
Persona 3 & 4
Chrono Trigger
Ni No Kuni
Nier
Tales of Graces f
Dark Cloud 1&2
Basically all Shin Megami Tensei games

JRPG's that I have/am seeking (most are highly revered/ critically acclaimed) but haven't played:

Breath of fire 3 & 4 (I started one but haven't had time yet)
Bloodborne (Don't have)
Suikoden 1 and 2 (haven't started)
Grandia series
Persona 1&2
Chronocross
Legend of dragoon
Mana series
Wild arms
Disgaea
Lunar
Phantasy Star
Dragon Quest
Skies of Arcadia
Star Ocean (other than 4)
Bravely Default
Ys
Xenogears/xenosaga/xenoblade

JRPGS I have tried but didn't like:

Star ocean 4
Tales of Xillia
Tales of Symphonia
Ar Tonelico Qoga

44

Releases / Re: [FF7PC-98]Waifu High Resolution Pre-Rendered Combat scenes (v1.0)

« on: 2015-09-02 10:17:17 »

I like it. Are you planning on filtering all in game textures (like World Map and special effects)?

45

General Discussion / Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake is HAPPENING!

« on: 2015-08-28 06:16:59 »

This is exactly the reason why I hate the way the characters look in FF XV. I mean look at this:

Gay Emo smoothly seamless skin Cloud

Saying stuff like that is inflammatory and does not help get your point across, and only makes people not respect your opinions.

Besides, it can easily be applied to the depiction of Cloud you seem to like. Anime is considered "gay" (in the stupid/weird/lame sense) to a lot of people in America who are not into it, and his skin is "smoothly seamless" in that depiction as well. If his head was tilted down and his stance was a little more relaxed, you could easily label it as "emo" as well.

@hian: I read through your agruments on the lifestream and found the lack of acknowledgement of the differences in artistic styles to be frustrating. Two artists can definitely depict the same object in two totally different styles, while the object remains recognizable in both.

I also appreciated your acknowledgment of Catherine's art style (which is being used in Persona 5, even though the engine is not the same). I love that 3d anime look. It's clean, colorful, and emphasizes everything it needs to in order to set the mood or tone.

On top of that, I wish more developers would find ways to implement different art styles if for no other reason but to reduce costs. Games could have a lot more resources going into the story and gameplay if there wasn't so much resources invested into trying to make everything extremely detailed and "realistic". Ni No Kuni, Catherine, and the upcoming Dragon Quest 11 are all gorgeous games, even if they are not trying to be realistic. Not only that but if everyone strives for "realism" there won't be any variety in modern games.

Nier (a game I love btw) is horribly ugly because it tries to be "realistic" and obviously did not have the budget for it. Star Ocean is probably the worst offender in my opinion (SO4 and seems to be the same with SO5). Star Ocean's characters look more like dolls because of their weirdly high detailed textures, lighting, and environments, while retaining the physical anatomy of anime characters. It actually creeps me out to some extent when I view screenshots of the games.

FFXV, in my opinion, does not look bad or out of place with its art style. I don't think its bad, and since it was conceived to look that way from the opening trailer, it is faithful to creator's intentions, which I think is important.

With FF7 Advent Children on the other hand, I can understand hian's points about the art style not being true to the original. If I was to have my way, I would like the game to have an art style similar to P5 or Catherine, and with Cloud looking similar to his KH1 appearance (minus his theft of Vincent's cape, gauntlet, and wing). I honestly think an art-style similar to Devil May Cry 4 might actually work even better, as it strikes a great balance between anime and gritty detail.

I don't like that all of SE's games are shaping to have the same art style. 6 looked vastly different than 7 which looked different than 8 which looked different than 9 which looked different than 10, which looked different than 12, which looked different than 13. Now, FF7AC, 13, 15, and 7's remake all have similar artstyles, and it is logical to assume future games will as well (if Agni's Philosophy demos are anything to go by). I loved that each game felt like a different world, and having a similar art style that is becoming more and more "realistic" is taking away from that.

An interesting thing to note also is that, while each of those games listed above had different art styles, FF8-FF13 (with possibly the exclusion of 9) had a similar art style in their FMV sequences. It's almost as if SE is obsessed with making the game and CG indistinguishable, and they probably view the new art styles as superior simply because of the greater technology needed to render it. FFXV's Dawn trailer was showing off that cutscenes rendered in game are very comparable to that of SE's FMVs, especially ones from older games. I remember my friends and I would dream and wonder "what if the entire game looked as good as that cutscene" and that seems to be SE's goal they are trying to achieve.

However, despite all of that, I think that the story and tone of the game is more important than the art style, which I think can be preserved regardless of the art style. Metal Gear Solid 4 is a very realistic looking game, and yet was also very strange and charming. From playing that game I know I wouldn't hold too much of a grudge against SE for having the art style they seem to be striving for with the remake of 7, as long as the story elements (even the really weird and charming ones) remain the same. I don't care if its absurd with the art style, I don't care if its not realistic, those are the things I NEED to have or I simply won't enjoy the game.

46

General Discussion / Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake is HAPPENING!

« on: 2015-08-20 09:41:31 »

Play Dragon Age Origin and Dragon Age 2 and see how terrible this idea is.

I own both but haven't gotten around to playing either. I'm assuming you're saying DAO's combat is essentially FF12 (which I have played), and DA2's combat is the most likely implementation of real time elements.

From reading metacritic reviews (both critics and users), it seems that the most common and severe complaints about DA2 is that it is linear, repetitive (both in terms of activities and in assets and locales that are being constantly recycled), and otherwise "streamlined". The first two complaints have nothing to do with combat, and the "streamlined" (or what seems to be removal of features) is also a direct cause of what appears to be at attempt to cut down on the budget of the game. My suggestion does not necessitate any of those complaints.

Changing positioning to actually matter, that is, that attacks could generally be avoided depending on your position, I would argue would make the gameplay more strategic, as there is another aspect of the combat to consider. Removing the timer for physical attacks on the other hand, might seem like "dumbing down" if the game was not balanced accordingly so that one may not simply whack away on enemies with physical attacks until their health depleted. Neither suggestion requires removing any features.

What I do know is that FF12's combat feels like a shallow attempt at MMO-combat, where there is constant grinding and an emphasis on enemies with overly-large health bars IMO. FF12's combat had only one saving-grace for me, which was the gambit system, which does not necessitate either of the features I suggested changing. The gambit system itself was not balanced well with the rest of the game either, because the simplistic combat and overly-long battles encouraged Gambit setups that basically auto-played the game until the battle was over (if you did it properly you could literally go make a sandwich or watch tv for an hour until the battle was over).

Anything to make FF12's gameplay not so monotous would be a godsend for my opinion on the game, and at the very least an elimination of the wait time on physical attacks would give you something to do while your characters prepared for another summon or spell cast.

If I was to use a similar retort I would say: Play The Witcher and The Witcher 3 and see how great of an idea this is.

47

Completely Unrelated / Re: I need a host... I'm geting out!

« on: 2015-08-20 08:05:57 »

Congratulations! I'm happy to see things seem to have worked out for you in the end!

48

General Discussion / Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake is HAPPENING!

« on: 2015-08-20 08:01:34 »

Not saying you are wrong here, but the storytelling and characters can be stale, boring, absurd, out of place, etc, at times too. As I've said before gameplay vs story ratio in the game is not well balanced at times (true for all games with story lol, so, shrug).

True... I see your point and really have no way of countering it lol. At the end of the day, the parts of the game cannot be objectively viewed as more integral to the game and make up the "core" of the experience, so debating what aspects are more suited for change is really subjective. The major point I see in favor of the old school fans that are upset about losing ATB is that this is supposed to be a "remake", which should be improving what is already there and not changing any of the fundamental components. So if Square was to do a "remake", they should be balancing the ATB already present in the game, working to make it more engaging, and simultaneously correcting any mistakes made on the storytelling side (such as detracting plot holes). When changing a part of the game such as ATB, instead of improving it, the process should be called a "reboot" or "re-imagining". What I hope is that, if ATB is removed, the reason why Square went with "Remake" is that they are being a faithful to the rest of the game as possible. From the looks of it though, the game (from the trailer) is looking like it might possibly round out the compilation, and tailor the story, gameplay, and the rest of the game to fit more in that universe rather than being faithful to the original (which would be very disappointing for me).

I just personally feel like (possibly irrationally), out of all the ATB/Turn based Final Fantasies, FF7 is probably the one that could most easily be converted to another "battle system" (I hate that term but I'm too dumb to think of something else). Games like FF4, FF5, FF6, FF9, and FF10 (the other games in the series I like and am most familiar with) just would not seem right if they were not turn based or ATB. I don't know quite how to articulate why I do not feel the same for FF7 other than the reasons I previously mentioned. I guess I really feel like the Materia system, it's uniqueness, and how it is central to the plot of the story really drives home the feeling that it stole the show and make the ATB aspect of combat irrelevant to my enjoyment. I don't get the same feeling from say FF9's accessories or FF10's sphere grid, for example. If any of those games were to be remade and not be turn based, I'd definitely be scratching my head.

Another game I am not quite as fond of but could easily be an action RPG is FF12, because the only difference would be making the free running you can already do actually meaningful, and eliminate wait periods for physical attacks.

49

General Discussion / Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake is HAPPENING!

« on: 2015-08-19 03:28:34 »

To be honest I can't see how the gameplay is NOT included when defining a game. When Tetris is remade people would scratch their heads if the developers said it's hard to know what kind of gameplay tetris fans wants, and are unsure if the gameplay is important when defining tetris. "Maybe people today like action more so let make TetrisR a RTS type of game."

Yes, RPGs like FFs have more to them then the combat system, but the combat system is always in the front rows when they are judged or "defined". An RPG with a great story, music, etc, will not receive great reviews if the gameplay/battle sytem sucks hard. In cases like this, changing the battle system would actually be a good idea. But if the formula is not broken, they don't need to fix it. To say that FF7R needs a new battle system is just an excuse to appeal to a broader audience. If I didn't know better, I could interpret it as SE admitting that the gameplay in FF7 sucks.

The main draw to the FF7 battle system for me was the deep customization of the materia system, because it was easy to get into but had enough there for people to really dig into if they felt like it. The materia system is not something that could only be used in a ATB or turn based combat system, though it might be utilized to its fullest with classic turn based combat, and for me it is the defining feature of FF7's gameplay. If they can find an alternative way to make it deep, rewarding, and allow me to customize my party and coordinate our attacks in a way that uses the materia system well, it won't seem foreign to me at all.

Besides the materia system, IMHO, the gameplay was boring at times, broken at other times, and rarely was engaging. As far as turned based combat goes, there are far better choices (and many of them as well) than FF7. If I had to guess other reasons why FF7's combat is rarely looked down upon is because it is easy and does not get in the way of the narrative. Other deeper, and more complex turn based combat systems can really bring the game to a halt if you're not clever enough to play through it smoothly. (I suck at the SMT series, but I still love those games nevertheless. FF7 and Persona would probably be considered shallow and casual by comparison to SMT in the minds of some.)

In my opinion, being someone who does not really like any entries in the compilation and was introduced to FF7 in 1999, the defining features were:

+Characters
+Storytelling
+Plot
+Materia System
EDIT: +I almost forgot Exploration and feeling like a captain (with a badass crew) when you fly the ship all over the world.

I was indifferent about the combat system

-I thought the lego-styled placeholder field models looked like trash (obviously graphics don't really matter to me).
-I could spot grammar mistakes and errors in translation that made some conversations unintelligible.

I'm not arguing that anyone should not care about the gameplay, I'm just explaining why I don't, despite the fact that I am a fan of the original and not of the compilation, in order for others to see where the segment of fans with a similar disinterest in wishing to keep the gameplay turn based. That being said, I would be totally fine if at PSX Square Enix showed off gameplay that was Turn Based or ATB, as the combat itself really is not that important to me (I hope that it wouldn't be bad enough to get in the way though).

50

General Discussion / Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake is HAPPENING!

« on: 2015-08-17 06:56:02 »

Seriously?
I don't think this post requires much commentary on my part.

I don't know, it seems like a rational and well reasoned response which furthers the discussion.

The best part is that your response was certainly not the most offensive seen here.