Final Fantasy 10 Released in Japan

tenchiken writes "Following up on the release of the Final Fantasy movie (which will at least break even for square), Final Fantasy, the first installment of the game for the PS2 has been released. There are reviews at gamespot,IGN,the gia, etc. All of them seem to agree... Final Fantasy raises the bar on storytelling and graphics for RPGs again, ho-hum. Square also released some details (a movie to wit) for FF11, the long antcipated online game. Square has said that they want to be cross platform, but so far only PS2 and PC platforms have been announced. Korean Site Ruliweb which broke most of these videos is already slashdoted (and the story has not been posted on /. yet ;-) but copies are Here. FFXPosed also has details. Go Square..."

Comments

Re:Naming convention

[jandrese]

Nope it's just you. The original Final Fantasy was made when Square was a failing company (look at their pre-FF stuff) and it was the last game they were going to release before going under. After that, the branding of FF was too strong to ignore, so they kept the name. Besides, each FF is in a different world, so you can consider each FF to be the Final Fantasy for that world (especially since many of them deal with the depletion of magic or destruction of the world).

Plus most people don't get hung up on game names, especially since a lot of them are really stupid. The name doesn't really affect gameplay anyway.

I suppose you won't buy any book with a crappy looking cover either.

Down that path lies madness. On the other hand, the road to hell is paved with melting snowballs.

I Miss The Old-School Final Fantasy Games

[John_Booty]

I don't know, but I sort of miss the SNES roleplaying games of yesteryear. As cheesy as it sounds there was something I really loved about those low-tech graphics. I don't know, maybe it's similar to the nostalgia people feel for the text-adventure games.

I remember one scene in Final Fantasy 3 (6 in Japan). It's been many years, so I may have a detail or two wrong but the gist remains. Anyway, war is sweeping the land. At one point your adventurers come upon a young woman and her daughter. The woman is bedridden, gravely ill. She asks you to take a message to her husband, who's off fighting the war. By the time you can return with her husband, though, she's dead... killed as the fighting swept through her village.

The husband is very stoic. He said something to the effect that since he was a soldier (and therefore part of the war) too, he had no right to be upset or angry. And he walked away.

Later in the adventure, you're traveling through an enchanted forest when you meet up with the soldier again. It turns out there's a train traveling through the forest... a supernatural train that takes departed souls to the afterlife. As the train pulls away, your party and the soldier stand there watching it. And then you see the ghostly image of the soldier's wife and child standing at the back of the train, silently waving goodbye to him. The soldier takes a few fitful steps after the train and then just quiently falls to his knees, sobbing.

I swear that was the most heartwrenching thing I've ever seen in a videogame. Hell, 99% of movies don't have anything that powerful emotionally IMHO. What was my point? Oh yeah, that I miss those "old-skool" RPG's, and that they had some awesome stories too that didn't rely on graphics. Having said that though, FFX does look awesome so if they can combine the wonderful storytelling and drool-worthy graphics I guess it will be cool. I'm just a little skeptical that's all.... yeah yeah I know... memories are often rose-colored... maybe FF3 would seem retarded if I played it today... I'm probably being a cranky 25 year-old bastard.... :)

Re:I Miss The Old-School Final Fantasy Games

[cavemanf16]

I think the reason the old-skool graphics and text-based adventure games appeal to us so much is because they're the MOST like an interactive story. Your imagination kicks in and you involve yourself more than if you were just watching a movie. Ever notice how the book is ALWAYS better than the movie? Same thing applies in video games I think. That's why SquareSoft does have to be given credit for pulling off quality games that are graphically intensive. It gets exponentially harder to really involve the player the better the graphics and 'eye-candy' get.

I remember the part you're talking about, as that was my first FF game I ever played! I spent probably a hundred hours playing that game with friends. Not because we couldn't figure it out, but just because it was fun.

I have 'rediscovered' Civ2 recently and have enjoyed playing it even more than some of the more advanced games like Alpha Centauri. KISS definitely applies to epic games like FF and Civ. The stories are just told better without the graphical fluff to get in the way. Needless to say, I'm in awe of how well SquareSoft manages to tell an involving story, while supplying outstanding graphics. That, is not easy to do.

Re:Naming convention

[The Abominous Salad]

I answer this question at least once a month, it seems.

Every Final Fantasy title is just that; it is the ultimate event in one planet's history. Every FF title takes place on a different planet, and they are not really sequels of each other. The only exception to this is a little cross-villaination between FF1 and FF9, and the occasional joke (such as the ending of FF9, where it is claimed in a theatre performance that the hero will be with his lover, and "no cloud, no squall shall deter me." -- Cloud being the hero of FF7, Squall the hero of FF8.) This, and certain common themes aside (celestial beings, background creatures, and the trademark struggle between citizenry vs. ultimately powerful corruption) are all that link the stories together. So, each of them is a Final Fantasy.

Import/Export, anyone!

[imadork]

After a recent trip to Japan, I've concluded the way to Make Money Fast is to bring a suitcase full of Melons over there and sell them, and bring a suitcase full of Japanese PS2 games back and sell them here. I'd probably make more money on the Melons, I saw some selling for 4000 Yen!

I wonder what Mr. Customs Guy has to say about my scheme...

Voiceovers add to, or detract from experience?

[pgpckt]

You'll also notice the use of voice in the game. While Square first began dabbling in voice work with The Bouncer, FFX is the first FF game to use voice acting.

This strikes me as something I would both like and dislike. First, the dislike. As someone else pointed out, those early final fantasy games had something in them that made them truly fantastic. I personally like FFII the best, but the stories were great, and I remember caring about the character and what happened to them. I remember in FFVII when the woman got killed by the Antagonist: I was pissed. The early games had this same quality.

Having voices attached to the characters may remove some of this appeal. It's sort of like reading a book. You have to imagine the characters' voices in your head. It's sort of like when you are chatting online with someone for a while and then get sent a picture of him or her. Somehow, I never imagined them looking that way. I want to be able to imagine what characters sound like and what the tone is like. Somehow being given that information seems like it could ruin that aspect of the game.

As for the good, well, it is obvious. This game continues the proud tradition of high quality story lines that are non-linear. Side games, and being able to do things out of a strict sequence appeal to me. The graphics look fantastic, and voice-overs are just an extension of the technology, just like high graphics were. In the end, I think this development will add to the overall story line. I guess I am buying a PSII so I can check this out!