The Supposedly Final Game! (Final Fantasy Thread)

[Altima of the Gates]

I'd say Rebirth is actually going to end when Cloud is lost in the Lifestream at the Northern Crater.
There is assloads to go through, but if its 3 parts, that would be the place thematically to end it. Everything is going to hell at that point, and we can open part 3 with Tifa captured, setting up the gathering party members part.
What is good for Remake is the opportunity to make things less vague about the world, its politics, and its cosmology.
Vincent and Yuffie will be neatly integrated into the plot this time, we'll likely learn more of a cohesive way Gaia works in Cosmo Canyon that fits into how in the original, humanity seems kinda screwed looking into the future at the end.
They're putting out all this stuff so things are just crystal clear without any ambiguity about Gaia, Jenova, Seph, Aerith, and just lots of stuff. While also milking things for all they're worth on the road to that.

[Mattias]

So since Crisis Core now fits in with the 'Re' titles, what are the odds they have Zack survive at the end? Maybe flesh out the mechanics of those weird second timelines they have going.

[Reign]

I don't think that Zack will survive in Crisis Core since Remake's ending was them changing history or whatever. So CC will still be what originally happened, then Remake will be the "holy shit he's alive" twist.

Maybe as a post-credits scene they'll show the cutscene from Remake where he survives though.

[Reign]

Some FF16 stuff from various interviews today:

-the combat director worked on Devil May Cry. The Kingdom Hearts team have been a great help in designing the combat and bosses.
-You can control the summons in giant kaiju boss battles. Each one will be a different style, one summon battle is a shooter, another is wrestling, etc.
-Not open world. "Area-based" but will take inspiration from open world games (doesn't specify in what way). I guess something like FF12?
-Party members are AI, you only control the main character.

[OnesFleetingGlory]

Some FF16 stuff from various interviews today:

-the combat director worked on Devil May Cry. The Kingdom Hearts team have been a great help in designing the combat and bosses.
-You can control the summons in giant kaiju boss battles. Each one will be a different style, one summon battle is a shooter, another is wrestling, etc.
-Not open world. "Area-based" but will take inspiration from open world games (doesn't specify in what way). I guess something like FF12?
-Party members are AI, you only control the main character.

Help from KH team, multiple minigame-like gameplays for summons, world map divided by areas, AI party members... Doesn't sound like usual classic mainline FF. Though I'm not complaining from the news so far.

I'm in for superbosses like Absent Silhouettes, Lingering Will and Yozora.

[Daiki]

-Party members are AI, you only control the main character.

Hopefully gambit system.

[Skull]

Some FF16 stuff from various interviews today:

-the combat director worked on Devil May Cry. The Kingdom Hearts team have been a great help in designing the combat and bosses.
-You can control the summons in giant kaiju boss battles. Each one will be a different style, one summon battle is a shooter, another is wrestling, etc.
-Not open world. "Area-based" but will take inspiration from open world games (doesn't specify in what way). I guess something like FF12?
-Party members are AI, you only control the main character.

So I was half right in that Party members do exist. I wonder if it'll be like FF15 pre-DLC where you could only control Noctis. Although if the KH team have been such a great help it could be just like Donald and Goofy.

I'm okay with it not being full Open World, a bunch of sandboxes with plenty of stuff to do is more than enough for me.

[Altima of the Gates]

I'd say Yoshida is making good use of all the assets avaliable to him and taking any good ideas where he can get them. He learned from Tabata's Luminous people that trying to completely open locales not only is time consuming but hard to fill with decent stuff.
I'm think his relationship with Yoko Taro both enabled him to really just say, "fuck it, we're making this story our way and fuck the ESRB", as well as alternative gameplay elements with Nier.
Its actually pretty sweet that Square has poached just the talent they'll need to push action rpgs into new territory with FF.
They have Platinum, they have an ex Capcom DMC dev, and they have a slew of action games under their belt including KH.

[Mattias]

So I'm leveling up Ninja in 14, and wow is this a jump. Not only is there actual camera work in the story quests, the kind of stuff that only really started around the Hildebrand quests, but the Ninjitsu is such a fun mechanic. Now if only I could hide in battle/raids for that sweet, sweet backstab damage.

[Reign]

I don't remember when but eventually Ninja gets a jutsu that gives you a buff to use Hide-only abilities in combat.

The rogue and ninja storyline is one of my favorites. Characters from it even cameo in other questlines (granted just as minor appearances) so Square clearly likes them too.

[Deathhappens]

So I'm leveling up Ninja in 14, and wow is this a jump. Not only is there actual camera work in the story quests, the kind of stuff that only really started around the Hildebrand quests, but the Ninjitsu is such a fun mechanic. Now if only I could hide in battle/raids for that sweet, sweet backstab damage.

You can, or will be able to soon. Applying... uh, that-backstab-skill-that-boosts-everyone's-damage is the no1 reason every raid brings a Ninja.

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And yeah, you can easily tell Rogue/NIN came later then all the other starter jobs just by the quality of the story quests alone. Later levels fall off a bit (imo) but still, just having Shunpo as a skill is enough for me.

[Mattias]

Mug probably. I always have trouble knowing when to use that one, since it last 15s and has a 2min cooldown. So do I pop it at the start of a fight to burst down and hope it comes back by the end, or hold for the third/fourth phase to kill it as fast as I can before it tries a party wipe?

[Deathhappens]

Mug probably. I always have trouble knowing when to use that one, since it last 15s and has a 2min cooldown. So do I pop it at the start of a fight to burst down and hope it comes back by the end, or hold for the third/fourth phase to kill it as fast as I can before it tries a party wipe?

You pop it ASAP every time to maximize its uptime on the boss. It's important enough that every other DPS plans their burst windows around it. In theory you adjust timings depending on the fight since there's a bunch of bosses that become invulnerable or leave the arena for long periods of time, but for Alliance Raids just dump it out with Suiton every time.

[Reign]

Stranger of Paradise DLC

[Mattias]

So I've hit credits on Heavensward. On one hand, I'm glad the final Dungeon and Trial are nowhere near as time consuming as Realm Reborn. On the other hand, neither boss really felt that weighty either. The sun and dark orbs in the Ascian fight were fun, as was the ice floor. The flooding would be cool if I could figure out how to use the dark blobs of safety. God King Pope was a cakewalk comparatively. Maybe I just got lucky and he focused all his attention on the other healer, but I only needed to rez one person (said other healer) and barely needed to break out the big heals.

Storywise, you've got to respect Popes optimism on hearing, and then seeing, you kill so many gods, and still thinking, "nah, there's no way they can do it an eighth time. I'm special. I've...got this sword." Kind of like New Gaius, although at least he didn't personally witness you wrecking you way through Prae before you fought. Although what was with Pope gloating in front of the Ascians? He's all "I guess even mortals have limits, check out god power" and then uses the exact same power source you just did. Seems like there's a big rock-paper-scissors thing going on here. Humans beat Gods, Gods beat Ascians, Ascians beat humans.

So by the end of the base expansion I've got White Mage, Astro, and Warrior at cap, with Ninja only a few levels off. I'll probably start trying to max Black Mage and Scholar while grinding out tomestones too.

I've got to say, I'm working my way through Dark Knight right now and can't see why so many people seem to like it. Am I just missing something, or is it a thing that comes up later in the levels?

[Mashina]

Gameplay-wise DRK is considered pretty much the same as the other tanks. The praise is mostly for the story in the job quests, which is considered a cut above most other jobs. The 30-50 storyline in particular has a much stronger finish than pretty much all other jobs. Can't speak for the later quests since I never levelled it past 50 myself.

[Reign]

It's so hard to believe that under all this glow-up it's still running on the original game's coding, it's not a from the ground up remake.

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Cissnei got a new VA too, she's Kayli Mills now. I'm hopeful that she'll appear in future volumes of Remake.

[Skull]

Cissnei got a new VA too, she's Kayli Mills now. I'm hopeful that she'll appear in future volumes of Remake.

Wait, so does anyone have their original voices?

[Reign]

I think Angeal and Genesis are still the same actors, but they re-recorded their lines. Either that or they're great soundalikes.

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Ah, scratch that, no. They've been recast too according to the wiki. Really good impressions then.

Yuffie's VA is also different from the person who voiced her in Remake, I guess because she's a kid in this one.

[Mattias]

They recast Gackt?

Maybe they got someone so it'll be easier to have him appear in other Re- titles?