Topic: Final Fantasy VII, IX, X, X-2 and XII - Now with 80% more FF VIII

I must say, props need to be given to the developer for these games, Virtuos. They did a fantastic job with this port. First L.A. Noire, then Dark Souls, then Starlink, now FFX/X-2 and FFXII. Their work is equally as impressive as Panic Button. I'm half tempted to buy a copy of Assassin's Creed III Remastered out of respect for their work, even though I have zero interest in playing through that game a third time.

Man, I just got slaughtered lol. Broke out of the dungeon, and beat this fire horse, then these dudes just mauled us, before I know it, my whole enterage is wiped out, and I’m over here with 17 HP and blind status.

Dear goodness

@Magician
I’m buying Assassins Creed 3, and I’m not even really a big AC fan.

1 As you said, it’s going to be a quality port
2 It includes the first proper, mainline numbered entry on a handheld gaming device
3 It also includes Assassins Creed 3 Liberation, so I can finally play the old Vita exclusive properly
4 I want to play through an AC all the way, which I’ve never done
5 I want to support this series to vote with my wallet and convey to Ubisoft (and others) that we want more of those types of games on Switch

And yes, they’re just as good if not better than Panic Button. And Iron Galaxy (Skyrim), the team that ported Diablo 3 (perfection) and the team that brought us Darksiders: Warmastered (now that’s how you do a port)

FFX honestly never did it for me. I had it when it first came out and got all the way to the end, and then just kind of stopped caring lol

Tried to beat it again when it came back out on the PS4 last year or the year before or whenever that was. Same kinda thing happened. I think I just need to give up on it haha

The PS1 FFs and the SNES-era FFs will always be my favorite.

There's worse bosses later, @CrazyZelda79 ....

10 hours into FFXII (not sure how that measures into real-time hours since I mostly battle at 2x speed) and I finally have the complete party.

I have to say, visually the docked version is looking great. I am playing on a calibrated Signature OLED G8. The 30fps are very smooth to my eyes, which I can't say for many other games. For this type of game it really doesn't matter. However, there seems to be a bug or design choice that pulls the shadows into blacks when being docked. It sucks out some detail but creates more contrast. Weirdly this is not the case in handheld. The resolution in handheld is quite poor, though. The menu and font are crisp so it's not a big deal, IMO.

The audio compression is ok. You can hear some artifacts with the voices and especially the pre-rendered videos on a good audio setup. The redone soundtrack sounds very good, though.

I am so happy that you can reset jobs, because I am stuck experimenting and can't really settle on definitive licenses.
My plan was to have two complete parties with the following roles: A versatile leader (decent damage, techniques, backup magic), a damage dealer/tank and a supportive mage.
I had planned to do it like this: Vaan/Ashe, Basch/Balthier, Penelope/Fraan.

But it's not working for me because of the battle animations. Visually, IMO, it looks best like this:
Vaan: 2H swords (come on, a main FF character with blonde hair and the FF7 victory fan fare).
Balthier: He looks comical most of the time, but I think daggers and ninja swords suit his style best.
Ashe: Those 1H swings look like she doesn't want to break her nails and 2H swords and guns look too heavy for her to carry. So she needs poles despite looking badass in all the cutscenes...
Fraan: Oh god, my eyes! Archer, guns or nothing.
Penelope: The pendant to Selphie from FF8. She should not be fighting at all. 100% magic.

@CrazyZelda79 Glad to see you're enjoying it! FFX is definitely one of the best final fantasies. I love the concepts it explores as well as the unique tune based battle system. No other ff has quite given me that same experience

@JaxonH thanks a lot man, that's exactly the info I'm looking for. I appreciate you taking the time for explaining! I'll definitely look into FFX then first.

@FullbringIchigo cheers to you too!

12 hours into FFXII myself (according to save file), and just got my full party. I need Gil- there’s so many gambits I need to buy ( i’ve just been going down the list buying as many as I can until the entire list is purchased), I need to buy new armor upgrades and weapons... might need to grind a bit.

Does anyone know when you get to pick your second class, and how one goes about doing it?

@JaxonH I believe you can do so after you unlock your first esper.

It is indeed... Just done that myself & chosen 2nd jobs for most of my party

12 hours into FFXII, made to the Tomb of Raithwall and ran into the first honestly tough gearcheck boss. Used my items for the first time on the second attempt, passed...no sweat. I like this combat system more than FFXIII, which was previously my favorite in the series. The voice acting is better than in FFX or FFXIII, although I haven't played FXV yet.

Yes indeed, when it's all said and done FFXII might be my third favorite in the series.

Sadly, the nostalgia I have for FFIV and FFVI will never be surpassed.

@Magician
Btw, what is your Zodiac sign?
FF XII is All about 13 Zodiac signs.
Mine is Scorpio and i got Cucuhlainn, the ugliest looking Esper on FF XII. 😒
But, with new calculation , i am Virgo (16 Sep - 30 Oct) and Virgo is.... Ultima

@Anti-Matter i'm Gemini so mine would be Zalera, the Death Seraph

6 hours into FFX. Just played blitzball. I've heard it's an optional side activity for the rest of game.

I'll pass, thank you very much.

@Ralizah
Ah, thanks.

Yep, although you can get some good stuff for playing.... I only do that obligatory 1 myself

@BruceCM I'm telling ya! That was a long ass ten minutes.

I also feel I'm up against it levelling my team as the enemies seem to go down rather easy.

Or is it just a particularly easy game?

Got FFXII last night. I know the cutscenes for these games have been gorgeous since the PS1 era, but, I gotta say, they really are super clean looking here. ESPECIALLY on the TV. This game is just gorgeous on the dock.

Undocked? Image is kind of soft because of the sub-HD resolution, but it still looks OK. Once upon a time, I didn't want to play anything consistently sub-HD on the system, but seeing as how it's pretty much the norm now, I might as well get used to it. It looks better in handheld mode than other BIG RPGs on the system like Xenoblade 2 and Ys VIII, at least. It also looks quite a bit better than the original PS2 version did on a TV.

Gambits can't open up soon enough. I'm tired of having to manually target everything. Still a welcome relief not being transported to a seperate battle screen, though.

I forgot there wasn't jumping in this game. After bouncing everywhere like a coked up bunny rabbit in the Xenoblade 2 DLC, it's hard to get used to that lack of movement freedom.

The opening for this game... well, the very opening, which acts as a battle tutorial, is just a brilliant way to open the game. Once it transitions to Rabanastre, it's a bit slow-going for a while, but the dialogue, world-building, and tutorializing are integrated well enough that it's still fun.

So far, Vaan isn't irritating me as much as I remember. He's OK. Reminds me of Aladdin. While I'm not a fan of her design, I'm also partial to Penelo. Of course, Fran and Balthier are the real MVPs of this game, so I'm excited to get into the palace so that I can get reintroduced to them.

While I have mixed feelings about the muted colors palette in this game, I do like how... organic everything seems. Although that effect is a bit tainted when I go outside the city and we immediately see an effing T-Rex running around.

The music is as good as it ever was. Maybe not as grandiose as in previous titles, but it really fits well with this game.

Oh, and I love how small the update is for this game. It downloads a tiny bit of data and then just... starts.

Oh, and that reversible cover is simply gorgeous. Glad I opted for the physical version of this game.

I'm really happy all-around.

@bellow I'll be honest: I think my dread about playing, and always failing, because it's a team sport and I hate it with a passion, that one game of Blitzball is why I'm never keen on trying to replay that game. That, and the PS version I own gates trophies behind it, which annoys me deeply.

@Ralizah
Poor Ashe...
She was a widow after her husband killed during war.
And Vayne.... He talked with very Hard to understand English words. English for politician. 🤔

@Anti-Matter I'm excited to be able to finally reformulate my opinions on this cast of characters. Ashe included.

Vayne is great. The man is an absolute snake, but he's a master politician who can use pretty words to sway a hostile crowd.