the actual storyboarded thematic plot beats of FFX are really good on paper, it’s almost certainly the most coherent linear narrative they ever tried to put together
it just manages to have 0 of what appeals to me about final fantasy in so doing
8 Likes
in retrospect it definitely helped to come in never having played one
2 Likes
i remember thinking the way it turned the final fantasy dungeon structure into a ritualised rites of spring kind of deal was cool, and it’s funny in retrospect that they decided to do that after removing any lingering traces of the amano ballet russe thing in favor of an aesthetic that’s more like “trying to convey the absolute spiritual essence of Baja Blast”
19 Likes
“Tidus was interested in blitzball at a very young age.”
7 Likes
yes! it is absolutely a competent RPG in many respects. some of the creatives working on it are absolutely hitting it out of the park. but… i mean, holistically? it still is both an unfathomable step down from 7/8/9 and a pretty poor presentation of a story on its own merits. i do agree with felix that some bits are kinda good on paper, like there’s some real meat on the bone thematically at times! but in terms of delivering those ideas to the player effectively? it just does such a poor job of it
i also think the characters are very obnoxious and i find it very difficult to care about them. i wasn’t like a “fan” of cloud/squall/zidane, but i was never actively irritated with them, i never needed them to shut the fuck up. the VA doesn’t help here, but that is definitely a full-on subjective thing. i cannot be made to give a shit about anything that happens to tidus because i find him irritating, unlikeable, and most critically, unremarkable.
i truly don’t think i can be convinced that FFX is anything better than a mediocre game with some really strong art
tl;dr yes i am an FFX hater (i point the finger back at the television; “you, alright? i learned it by watching you”)
random aside e.g. i kinda like the voice acting in Days Gone but i also recognize that it probably reads as “utter dogshit” to many, lol. there’s no accounting for taste!!!
(4 years later)
Landstalker is (only slightly) better than LttP, yes i will die on this hill
maybe the LttP soundtrack barely edges out Landstalker but Landstalker is so much more of a range-y, exciting adventure. LttP (outside of the Dark World twist) feels very contained and knowable, whereas Landstalker feels expansive and mysterious
3 Likes
You’re god damned right. Loud and proud, forever. This game suuuuuuuucks
5 Likes
I’m having a hard time seeing how X is dramatically worse than VII (everything to do with Sephiroth and his clones is communicated poorly through the mid-game, a lot of the plot’s nuance had to be clarified through sequels and side-stories), IX (felt like all the world-building was just in service of the action or narrative set-pieces they wanted to portray, which starts feeling very contrived very fast; most of the party is underutilized), or VIII (too many issues to enumerate). X’s presentational problems and monotonous shrines position it on a level with these games, imo
EDIT:
Oh, yeah, no I get that. I guess I just feel comparable antipathy towards most of the cast of FFiX, and VII and VIII have their own share of structural flaws, it’s just a much narrower gap for me.
4 Likes
It is a fair counter. I think much of it ultimately has to do with the characters… I just don’t end up with much fondness for them and the effects of that are deleterious. I don’t get involved in anything these folks care about. Even with the poor translation, I got invested in Sephiroth and Barrett and Vivi and I felt some tension in e.g. the assassination attempt in 8. X for me was just a graceful battle system and excellent assets. I honestly don’t respect the characters! So it limits my ability to invest…
It might be hard to reconcile with words, but there are definitely more qualities that set the PS1 games apart. The specific failings of e.g. FF7’s communication, particularly in its English translation, weren’t really capable of undermining the game as a whole for me
5 Likes
Like, if it comes down to the gut level, I am constantly thinking “this is dumb, these folks are dumb, this whole situation is dumb” in an un-endearing way as I play X. Even when I wasn’t super into some of the cast of the PS1 games, the underlying motivation and curiosity seemed more supported. This gets real subjective of course but I can’t see them on the same plateau of quality… I do think it’s a fun game to think about and argue about tho. Kind of killer 7 ish in that way 
3 Likes
i really like X’s shift away from world maps because it feels like the party actually walked the length of the continent. the scale is totally consistent and they know it – e.g. the size of sin is employed really well! the models and environments still look great with PS2 dithering
i’m realizing i incidentally only played RPGs without world map/town distinctions until FF VI – pokemon, dragon quest monsters, earthbound, FFX
i hated subsequently playing VII with all of its mismatched modes of representation. ugly michelin man 3d models on fantastic painted backgrounds, impressive battle models and plasticky FMVs. VI is so rich with detail and internal consistency within its game-y sprite stage blocking it was incredibly jarring. i think the real drive for VII’s sequels and prequels and movies and re-makes is because it’s ugly in a way no other FF is
i’m glad earthbound 64 never came out
12 Likes
Am I allowed to hate 10 if I also hate 7
5 Likes
more games could stand to be ugly in the ways FF7 is ugly
9 Likes
yeah totally
for one thing the voice direction is shockingly bad in X, easily a decade behind adventure games and anime dubbing at the time
battle theme is also p bad which is like 20% of the rubric for me
2 Likes
i could do with more elaboration though
1 Like
I hate how ugly 7 is and how awful all the character designs are in 10.
I hate the midi soundfont that was worse than my DOS PC in 7 and the inexcusable voice acting in 10.
I hate the busted, barely-there translation in 7 and the mind numbing dialogue in 10.
7 is a good game made poorly. 10 is a bad game made well
13 Likes
ooh that’s a fantastic bottom line
FFX is very prototypically modern square like all art pipeline no brakes
4 Likes
My favorite FF character archetype is genki himbo who basically knows he sucks so imagine my enthusiasm when FFX gave me two! Wakka + Tidus 4ever
12 Likes
whereas 8 and 9 were more or less equally good in both inception and realization, but square was at their peak and decided to take a totally opposite approach to each of them and that tends to be polarizing
I still think that like, with the occasional curious exceptions of 12 and 15, final fantasy was only ever (consistently, very!) interesting on the SNES and the PS1, it’s a massive drop-off from there. totally an artifact of the 90s in the end, inclusive.
5 Likes
oh I guess this is slightly relevant the next ffxiv patch looks like it’s gonna be x themed in the way this one was four themed
so I hope I can throw blitzballs at super far sin spawn
4 Likes
the “good” combat and things like unlocking above-9999 damages come off as the decadent (and dull) results of skilled-up designers who probably played a bunch of shinier combat from less-grand peers like tri-ace et al debating “what kind of ‘battle system’ will the new final fantasy have?” vs their own experimental work that grew from amateurish questioning of “what if in the next game, ___?”
Like the brokenness is intentional, they build in “endgame” content like its by nippon ichi rather than just a whole mess of increasingly powerful swords, things named ultima, cool stuff the best villains used, assorted fanservice, etc. When they start building in the level 1 challenges, the fun character of “jobs” overlaid on your party becomes more clearly “balanced” and mmo-ed, it’s unfortunate! ff12 did that and more, but… it’s ff12
6 Likes