FF6 GBA

[dusematic]

Has anyone played this?  I've been checking it out and I'm thinking about getting it but I heard the translation is pretty weak.  Also, what's the deal with the new dungeons, items, and Espers?  Is it worth another playthrough on my trusty DS?  I mean, it is my favorite game of all time, but I've beaten it like three times already and I anticipate a solid remake along the lines of FF3 for the DS one of these days.  Has anyone caught wind of something like that from one of the rumormongers?

Bottom line:  I just don't want to invest the time in beating it again if the new additions don't do enough to counteract the shittier music, graphics, and translation (if that indeed be the case).

[schild]

The translation is great. I'm pretty diehard about my Final Fantasies 1-6, and all the people saying it's crap are just freaks. It's a fantastic translation. I'm about 3/5 through the game, have not seen any new dungeons. I would have preferred it be a DS game, the sound does leave me wanting.

I think it looks better on the GBA screen.

[WindupAtheist]

I haven't played a Final Fantasy in ten years, or since FF7 came along and murdered the JRPG genre for me.  Did they ever do one that managed to top FF6?  Because as little use as I have for JRPG now, FF6 was made of god and win.

[Selby]

Why do people like 6 so much?  Every character moped around the whole time!  It was like a damn teen dramedy I'd find on the WB or somesuch half of the time.  I'm more of a 4 fan myself.  Or hell, even the first one without any story is pretty fun for me.

I didn't completely hate 6 (as a matter of fact I did enjoy the hell out of it), but I do honestly wonder why everyone points to that one as being the FF game of all time.

[Tebonas]

I just bought 3 for my DS, was tempted to get 4 as well, but I didn't read up how GBA titles work on the DS lite.

[Yegolev]

FF4 4EVAR

Six was pretty good.  It was shiny, but no Cecil or OH SHIT WHAT DID WE DO.

[dusematic]

The translation is great. I'm pretty diehard about my Final Fantasies 1-6, and all the people saying it's crap are just freaks. It's a fantastic translation. I'm about 3/5 through the game, have not seen any new dungeons. I would have preferred it be a DS game, the sound does leave me wanting.

I think it looks better on the GBA screen.

There's supposedly a new dungeon with a Kaiser dragon or something.  Plus they fixed the Doom exploit I hear. And they added new espers.  Have the new equipment and espers been noticeable?  I think you're probably right on with the translation, reading some of the gripes these people have with it, it's a little intense.  OH MY GOD THEY CHANGED KEFKA'S LINE FROM "SON OF A SUBMARINER" TO "SON OF A SANDWORM."  The sky is falling.

[dusematic]

Why do people like 6 so much?  Every character moped around the whole time!  It was like a damn teen dramedy I'd find on the WB or somesuch half of the time.  I'm more of a 4 fan myself.  Or hell, even the first one without any story is pretty fun for me.

I didn't completely hate 6 (as a matter of fact I did enjoy the hell out of it), but I do honestly wonder why everyone points to that one as being the FF game of all time.

It just came out at the right time for a lot of people who are now in their twenties.  And up until then it was far beyond the scope of anything else, including 4.  The writing isn't up to today's standards, which is maybe why in some ways the earlier FF's hold up better today, but 6 just got so many things right. After the 6th time making the game they pretty much got it perfect.

[trias_e]

Yeah, it definitely had alot to do with playing it at that formative early teen stage.  I find that gamers older than me often had the same experience with FF4, and thus like that one the best.

I'm replaying FF6 right now on DS and having a blast.  The new translation is kinda strange for me, since I haven't played FF6 in years and can just barely remember when something doesn't 'fit'.  That says, from what I can remember, I would say the new translation is better than the first.

I think the thing that I enjoy most of all in the game this time around is the soundtrack, which I think just blows away almost everything in video game land and rivals star wars in the character-theme-driven-soundtrack department.  Second of all, the light hearted cheesy sense of humor that is actually kind of refreshing at this point.  The active combat is still a suprising mix of fun and stress, and dare I say, skillful (as long as you max the speed.)  Well, the only skill is basically how fast you make decisions and then go through menus, but you'd be suprised!

Terra is a stereoptypical weak indecisive useless girl though (but with MAGICK!!!~), at least at first.  The game would be infinitely better if she weren't the main character, or she were just a little less annoying.  Otherwise though...I don't see where you get the teen drama from this game.  The other characters are pretty cool.

[schild]

The juxtaposition of the Celes stuff and Ultros or the transformation from the regular world to the world of ruin are still cooler than anything done in RPGs today. Shame, really.

FF4 had NOTHING like either of those scenes btw. Shit FF4 doesn't even have anything that compares to Zozo or the Phantom Train.

[Tebonas]

You people did it. Just ordered all GBA-Final Fantasies (1+2, 4-6). I think my new DS Lite will get quite the workout!  :-D

Edit: Sorry for the typo. 1+2. 3 is the DS lite version I just play. And yeah, it can be hard as nails. Kinda reminds me of the old Might and Magics.

[schild]

Nice choice. The PSP remakes of FF1 & 2 are pretty nice.

Also, beware, while fun, FF3 is fucking merciless.

[trias_e]

Yeah 3 is a bitch, which I didn't finish.  Not out of difficulty, out of boredom, honestly.  The job system is just...well, let's just say they did it much better later.  FF1 and 5 are certainly better games for those who want more of an old school final fantasy experience.

[Triforcer]

I've almost beaten it.  I have one of those memories when it comes to video games, so I remember all the translational changes- are these closer to the original Japanese, or what?  I don't see why they had to change the name of literally "everything" in the game- I guess its ok, and removing the Vanish/X-Zone cheese was nice.

As to gameplay changes, barely any difference.  To get the new dungeon or the Soul Shrine, you have to beat the game (or be very close to the end) anyway.  Not any completely new items yet that I can see, a couple new spells, a few new espers.  Overall, fun, but more new content would have been good.   

P.S. The best dialogue change is after Kefka does his thing in Thamasa, and Edgar says to to Relm:

"How old are you?"
"Ten- why?"
"I hope you're still around in eight years, kid."

[schild]

The dialogue changes have been happening since the PS1 remakes. They wanted to bring the spell and item names more in line with what they are. Which leads to some amusing in game spoilers (first time evar? - bomb ring). It's not that the new translation is closer to the original japanese, it's just a better translation that's far more adult and makes a lot more sense, if you play the original after you play the GBA one, it really is lolsville of how amateur the SNES translation was. Remember, during the NES and SNES days, localization wasn't really a word to gamers, it was all "translations." And I suppose that's the difference. Localization has heart, if you're wondering what I mean, go play Disgaea 2.

[Simond]

I haven't played a Final Fantasy in ten years, or since FF7 came along and murdered the JRPG genre for me.  Did they ever do one that managed to top FF6?  Because as little use as I have for JRPG now, FF6 was made of god and win.

Not as good as 6 or 4, but I always thought that FF9 was criminally overlooked.

[Rasix]

Too many things bugged me about 9 and the end boss sequence was completely retarded.  I think I've brought this up before, so I'll stop.  Last thing we need is another "which FF is the best!" thread.

I'm afraid FF1 won't hold up very well to my memories of it.  So... I may have to skip an actual decent RPG released for the PSP. 

[Yegolev]

I'll give you world of ruin.  And Kefka.  Not rebuying them, however, since I have them already as PS1 remakes.  The ones I care about, anyway.

We might argue about the best, but I think we can all agree that #8 was the worst.

[schild]

Goddamn was #8 horrible. Also X/X-2.

[bhodi]

They kept "YOU SPOONY BARD" so my life remains complete. I'm replaying FF2/4.

[dusematic]

I'll give you world of ruin.  And Kefka.  Not rebuying them, however, since I have them already as PS1 remakes.  The ones I care about, anyway.

We might argue about the best, but I think we can all agree that #8 was the worst.

I just started playing #8 two hours ago for the first time.  I found a T-Rex in a forest and died.  Contemplating starting over or just killing myself.  I guess I have a lot to ponder.

[Strazos]

I remember hating the ending of 6 with the passion of a thousand suns. Also, the game is too long, and I have too many other things to do now, to bother to play through again Just to remember why. I suppose I could use Youtube, but....meh.

It's only been about 10 years since I played through the game.

[Hayduke]

8 was pretty awful but it was the only FF of the PSX or PS2 era that I played to completion.  I think it was because it was so bad though.  With all the others I played them and then got into an OCD mode to collect, complete, and see everything.  Once I finally get to the end though I'm totally burned out and bored of the game.  Thankfully FF8 was so awful I wasn't distracted by any of the extraneous subplots, mini-games and micromanagement.

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I beat any of the FF games on the SNES either, maybe just FF1.  I didn't find FF6 particularly great, I enjoyed Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana a lot more.  And even for NES, I thought Dragon Warrior 3 was more fun.

[cmlancas]

Goddamn was #8 horrible. Also X/X-2.

Ten was more like a movie where you press the x button many, many times throughout the duration of the film. Granted, I liked the story, but as far as traditional FF-esque gameplay, it sucked royal asshole.

I still maintain that the sphere grid was the most intuitive methodology of multi-classing I've ever seen. I'm not disagreeing with you that 10 wasn't so hot, but I think there were a lot of good ideas in it.

[Selby]

I was 15 or so when 6 came stateside in the form of FF3 for the SNES.  It just felt like the story was decently structured in the beginning with good promises, and then it just kind of fizzled into "I failed her" "I don't know how to love" and "my family died and I can't deal" sidequests in the World of Ruin (which I thought was pretty cool).  Basically I wanted to fast forward the scenes and get back to fighting monsters and discovering new and different places.  Basically it felt to me like they had a good thing going and then just got lazy once they got into the World of Ruin.  Certain aspects were never completely explained or revealed, various motives didn't make a ton of sense to me, etc.  I played the game through like 9-10 times and I was 18-19 the last time I ran through it, so I am somewhat familiar with it and didn't hate it that much ;-)

And I'm STILL pissed that they gave me "The Book of Secrets" and it didn't do a damn thing for me (I wanted to know what it is and what it is for!).  12 years on and I still have no idea what it was for.

The PS1 remake of 6 was ass.  The load times were all fucked up and I got so fed up with waiting 30 seconds for battles to cue, end, and load the menu screen that I quit it 1-2 hours into it.  I don't understand why 6 was so bad and 4, 1 & 2 didn't have that problem.

Remember, during the NES and SNES days, localization wasn't really a word to gamers, it was all "translations." And I suppose that's the difference.

For me it is a big difference.  Nothing makes me crazier than reading a translation that doesn't make sense or skips completely obvious words like "and" and "the" from sentences.  Did they not hire some 18-20 year old video game freak to play\read through these games to verify the translation makes any kinds of sense?

[cmlancas]

I enjoyed Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana a lot more.  And even for NES, I thought Dragon Warrior 3 was more fun.

Chrono Trigger was perhaps the greatest game released for the SNES ever. What an amazing game.

[Selby]

And even for NES, I thought Dragon Warrior 3 was more fun.

DW\DQ and FF had two separate and distinct fanbases I noticed until recently when DQ has moved more towards FF now that Square owns Enix.  I think DW3 is almost perfection as far as a good RPG\adventure game goes, you could virtually do anything you wanted without being constricted too badly by "you must follow the story from B to C" NPCs.  DW4 might actually be winning a bit, but it was released so late in the system's life it was almost impossible to get if you didn't buy it once it came out (and at $65 for a 10 year old?  Yeah right).  I'm playing DW4 for the first time and it's incorporating alot of features I recognize in the later ones and improving on 1-3 quite a bit.

[WindupAtheist]

I loved FF4, and from the moment I finished it I sat around waiting for a sequel.  (If I had known at the time that we skipped the next game here in the US, I would have shit myself in fury.)  When FF6 came out, I made damn sure I was there to get it on release day.  And it delivered.  FF4 was great, but FF6 did all that and more, and did it better.

It may sound weird coming from the "I hate JRPG" guy, but hearing that FF was coming to the PS1 is what made me run out and buy one.  I didn't hate FF7 when I played it, but I found it really... underwhelming.  Sephiroth was a pussy compared to Kefka, Aeris was just kind of weak and annoying, and there weren't any sequences that grabbed me the way the opera house, and the ghost train, and Kefka blowing up the world did.

Speaking of Square games of the SNES era, Secret of Mana was good shit.  Not as good as Chrono Trigger or FF6, but still a nice piece of work.  The realtime pseudo-Zelda combat was cool, and while it was excruciatingly cutesy, that was somewhat mitigated by the downbeat story.  Which I loved.  The girl's fiancee who she's been trying to rescue for the whole game dies, there's no schmaltzy reconciliation with her father who sent the guy off to be cannon-fodder in the first place, and the sprite dies or gets sucked back to it's own dimension or whatever.  The goodguys saved the world, but that was just about the only thing they had to be grateful for in the end.

Hrmph.  Screw the ports, I still have an SNES and all my old cartridges...

[Yegolev]

Ten was more like a movie where you press the x button many, many times throughout the duration of the film. Granted, I liked the story, but as far as traditional FF-esque gameplay, it sucked royal asshole.

I still maintain that the sphere grid was the most intuitive methodology of multi-classing I've ever seen. I'm not disagreeing with you that 10 wasn't so hot, but I think there were a lot of good ideas in it.

You have happy thousand points, because since the first one there are two basic parts to a FF game: the story and the combat mechanics.  I admit that I have always been a fan for the combat mechanics.  Of course, SMT kicks the ball out from under FF these days, and Shadowhearts does a great job there as well.  Back then, however, it was all about dual-wielding kappas or sword-wielding pigs.

[Merusk]

Y'know, I never, ever played a FF until I got 7, and I only got that because so many people were talking it up and I had the PS anyway.   I should pick-up 6 this weekend and check it out, since so many folks seem to have have love affairs with it.

  However, I worry that the interface will suck.  How's it compare to the more recent FF games on that level?  Pixels and sprites I expect, but if it's just submenu after submenu I might just have to pass, good story or no.

[Yegolev]

It works pretty much like FFVII, so if you can deal with that then you are fine.

[Fabricated]

FF6's new translation is pretty faithful to the actual Japanese script ignoring the really boring dry dialog they made more interesting. It's definitely an improvement over the original.

I still haven't gotten all the way through it again yet since I got sucked into the Phoenix Wright series not too long after I picked up FF6.

And Kefka is still the best FF villain.

[dusematic]

Wow.  I just finished playing FF8.  And by finished, I mean I quit on the 4th disc before I finished beating it.  There's no chance of me going back to ever play it again.  I kept waiting for something cool to happen, and it never did.  I basically hated everything about FF8.  Is FF8 universally derided, or am I just broken?  There was no equipment in the game besides weapons, and weapons can't be bought or found.  You find components, and then upgrade weapons at a shop in town. 

There was no point to leveling up either.  After I realized that enemy hp scaled to average party level, I just started escaping every battle.  Since no equipment dropped, and leveling was pointless, there was zero incentive to level up and become more powerful. The entire game was based on summoning.  Attacks and magic were worthless.  Fighting all but the very weakest enemies in the game calls for a summoning.  The summons are cool the first 100 times, but there's no way to shorten them like in a lot of games (even back in Legend of Dragoon you could shorten summons sequences).  I spent 30 hours playing the game and I'd say at least a 1/3 of that times was waiting for summons and slow disc loading between every screen. 

There are no dungeons in this game to speak of.  Which is good really, because without meaningful character progression, it would just be more times I hadd to escape through battles.  Everything is tied to summons and "junctioning" magic to enhance hp, strength, elemental resistance, etc.  Even if magic was worthwhile to use besides the odd haste or shell on tough boss fight (scant few of those) I'd be loathe to use it since the process of getting magic was not tied to "magic points" but a obtuse "drawing" system.  You had to keep selecting the draw command to get 5 or 10 of a certain spell from an enemy.  Repeat this ad nauseaum a couple million times to get all the necessary spells to junction to your party.  You don't know fun until you have drawn a couple hundred fires from some random enemy.  And that's just the beginning.

Also, I'm not exactly a Rhodes Scholar, but the storyline was so wigged I don't even know what to say.  I'm not even sure you could call it a story.  There was this entire dream sequence that had nothing to do with anything.  Basically the storyline and dialogue can be summed up when on disc 3, they go to this Dr. Odine's labratory, and he's about to tell some much needed backstory and plot (or any would have been nice) and one of the characters, Zell, cuts him off and says "I don't care about that!  Just tell us what to do, are there enemies comin'?!"  That's pretty much the storyline in a nutshell.

[Velorath]

The entire game was based on summoning.  Attacks and magic were worthless.  Fighting all but the very weakest enemies in the game calls for a summoning.  The summons are cool the first 100 times, but there's no way to shorten them like in a lot of games (even back in Legend of Dragoon you could shorten summons sequences).  I spent 30 hours playing the game and I'd say at least a 1/3 of that times was waiting for summons and slow disc loading between every screen. 

Wrong, the entire game was based around junctioning.  If you were constantly summoning you just sucked at the game.

[Yegolev]

He's right about the game sucking donkey cock, though.