I'm really trying to fit what you're saying with my memories of FFVI and FFVII to see what you mean. But all I'm really getting is that you like technology that is explicitly powered by magic, rather than technology that is merely indistinguishable from magic in a world where magic exists.
That's...not quite what I'm getting it. unfortunately, I don't really know how else to explain it other than prior to VII, technology was a part of the story but not something that had the camera pointed on it just for the sake of showing off technology.::shrug:: not really sure how else to say it.
Meh. I haven't played any past VII, since my access to non-Nintendo consoles was based entirely on an old college roommate. So I'm just looking at VII. I can obviously see that there's more technology present in VII, but I don't get what you mean by "focus".
VII and the games that followed seemed to wallow in the technology present, as if the game was using the player's eyes to take them for a swim through electronics and advancement. Prior to VII, technology was something that was present, but didn't seem to be as in your face as it was in later games.
Second, nobody would have liked a 2D FF7 considering that that generation of system was the first generation of affordable consoles to be 3D capable at all
I would just like to point out that there is at least one person who I can 100% guarantee you would have enjoyed a 2D FF7...me:-)
I always thought Cecil was a pretty whiny bastard, and that's not to mention the spoony bard.:)
True, but that was the whole point of their characters. When the entire cast is like that though...
Technology (and angst) played a big role in VI too.
They certainly did, but the tone of the story focused on the fantasy elements. An example: technology was used on the Espers to exploit their abilities for Magitek, also a technology. The focus, however, was placed on the fact that the Espers were used, rather than why they were used and the results from it. An entire segment of the game takes place in a giant Magitek factory, yet we learn very little about the actual process or the potential technology that can be built from it. However, considerable time was spent on establishing an emotional connection to the atrocities committed against these creatures, and why what was happening was such a horrible thing.
Even the MagitekArmor was like this...we knew, based on the name, that they had to be created using the life force of the espers...but that's it. Were it not for the name, they could just be any other mech. The focus wasn't on the fact that they were mechs, but the fact that they were powered by the essence of an Esper.
This is the sort of focus on fantasy that I mean, rather than focusing on technology.
But yeah, there were definitely thematic changes in VII and I can understand being put off by them.
It's not just VII...I have tried and really wanted to enjoy all of the numbered entries in the series from VII on, but with the exception of X, I just couldn't. Even with X, I was only marginally kept interested. It's kind of frustrating, since the first 6 entries are some of my favorite games of all time. It's frustrating and a little disappointing seeing all these people so enamoured with the latter half of the series, while I can't stand it. i really want to...I just can't:-/
Oh I completely agree (no game did this better than Arcanum, in my opinion)...I just didn't like that the focus of the series shifted from fantasy with technology sprinkled in to technology with fantasy sprinkled in...it's not that it's bad, I just think the idea of fantasy with technology sprinkled in is much more interesting than vice versa.
I have no problem with the game taking place further in the future, it's just that the focus seems to be on the fact that the game takes place in the future, rather than the fantasy aspect of the story. Or, to put it in my own words after the first few hours with Final Fantasy VII: "Yes, I know this story takes place in the future. Stop shoving it down my throat."
Ok, I don't know where the rest of you guys are coming in, but everyone I know was in awe with how good the graphics for FFVII were at the time. I mean come on, this was 1997, 13 years ago.
Feh...maybe console-only gamers were in awe. It didn't really do that much for me or other pc & console gamers. Yes, it was 1997, but also remember the visual difference between console gaming and PC gaming was WAAAAAY bigger than it is now. (For reference, I'm 26 and started playing games on a Commodore 64 when i was four years old.)
but that was the first game I remember that had FMV and multiple camera angles during summons.
If you mean FMV in a Final Fantasy game, then ignore this last part of my post....
Final Fantasy VII was the first game you noticed that had FMV?
The reason I pinpoint the series jumping the shark with VII is because that was when the games went from having complicated, mature, fully believable characters to whining brats. Placing the emphasis on technology while fantasy was placed in the backseat didn't help either.
I suppose I should clarify...for me, the series jumped the shark and has just never been the same since it went 3D. The series going 3D isn't necessarily the cause of it (although it is a contributing factor), they both just happened to occur at the same time.
Thanks to everyone who answered...I already have a Game Gear, GBA, DS, and a PSP, was just curious if the Touch was worth adding to the portable gaming collection. Sounds like it isn't.
I point you in the direction of Muramasa: The Demon Blade, which was released just a few months ago, uses sprites for all in-game characters/enemies, and is quite a beautiful game. Here are a couple screenshots:
It looks even better in motion, I highly recommend you look up some videos of the game in action. Using sprites doesn't necessarily mean it will look pixelated, it just means it isn't a fully rendered character. Considering the quality of 3D back in the PS1 days, it was a mistake to move the series to 3D then. I know that it would have eventually happened, I'm just questioning the timing of the move.
Just took a quick peek at your website. Dude! SO awesome! I don't have time to go in-depth at the moment, but I am definitely going to spend some time on there this evening. Kudos for keeping the late-90's style layout, I tried doing it on my site for a while but it just wasn't working for my requirements.
each game has nothing to do with the last except being a role-playing video game made by Square.
This is one of the big draws to the series...no prior experience with any of the games is necssary. In my own personal opinion, you are wasting your time if you play anything past VI (although X was decent...certainly the only post-VI Final Fantasy game I would recommend).
For me, the series really jumped the shark when it went 3D. Not using sprites anymore really took some of the magic away.
These seems like as good a time as any to ask...is the iPod Touch worth buying just for games available on the platform? It seems like there are a ton of cool games out there for it, but I don't really want to plunk down the cash if it isn't worth it from a gaming point of view...
My passwords tend to be words that I make up on the spot, with a couple of numbers thrown into the mix. They don't seem too difficult on the surface...but then again it is a word that I make up, some of which don't even have vowels lol. I have a series of seven different ones that I use.
...making a game is hard work. I can't imagine what it would feel like to see your hard work (even if the result of that work is suckage) result in the ending of a developer.
You are far from the first person to say that, and I doubt the last:-) If I'm not at work, I can generally be found in flannel pajama pants and a late-90's death metal shirt, lol
Slashdot Mirror
I'm really trying to fit what you're saying with my memories of FFVI and FFVII to see what you mean. But all I'm really getting is that you like technology that is explicitly powered by magic, rather than technology that is merely indistinguishable from magic in a world where magic exists.
That's...not quite what I'm getting it. unfortunately, I don't really know how else to explain it other than prior to VII, technology was a part of the story but not something that had the camera pointed on it just for the sake of showing off technology. ::shrug:: not really sure how else to say it.
Meh. I haven't played any past VII, since my access to non-Nintendo consoles was based entirely on an old college roommate. So I'm just looking at VII. I can obviously see that there's more technology present in VII, but I don't get what you mean by "focus".
VII and the games that followed seemed to wallow in the technology present, as if the game was using the player's eyes to take them for a swim through electronics and advancement. Prior to VII, technology was something that was present, but didn't seem to be as in your face as it was in later games.
Second, nobody would have liked a 2D FF7 considering that that generation of system was the first generation of affordable consoles to be 3D capable at all
I would just like to point out that there is at least one person who I can 100% guarantee you would have enjoyed a 2D FF7...me :-)
So, based on everything you said, you must be an ardent Windows user...right?
I was always partial to three black mages and one white mage.
It's tough at first, but holy crap...later on in the game? Whoa.
I always thought Cecil was a pretty whiny bastard, and that's not to mention the spoony bard. :)
True, but that was the whole point of their characters. When the entire cast is like that though...
Technology (and angst) played a big role in VI too.
They certainly did, but the tone of the story focused on the fantasy elements. An example: technology was used on the Espers to exploit their abilities for Magitek, also a technology. The focus, however, was placed on the fact that the Espers were used, rather than why they were used and the results from it. An entire segment of the game takes place in a giant Magitek factory, yet we learn very little about the actual process or the potential technology that can be built from it. However, considerable time was spent on establishing an emotional connection to the atrocities committed against these creatures, and why what was happening was such a horrible thing.
Even the MagitekArmor was like this...we knew, based on the name, that they had to be created using the life force of the espers...but that's it. Were it not for the name, they could just be any other mech. The focus wasn't on the fact that they were mechs, but the fact that they were powered by the essence of an Esper.
This is the sort of focus on fantasy that I mean, rather than focusing on technology.
But yeah, there were definitely thematic changes in VII and I can understand being put off by them.
It's not just VII...I have tried and really wanted to enjoy all of the numbered entries in the series from VII on, but with the exception of X, I just couldn't. Even with X, I was only marginally kept interested. It's kind of frustrating, since the first 6 entries are some of my favorite games of all time. It's frustrating and a little disappointing seeing all these people so enamoured with the latter half of the series, while I can't stand it. i really want to...I just can't :-/
Oh I completely agree (no game did this better than Arcanum, in my opinion)...I just didn't like that the focus of the series shifted from fantasy with technology sprinkled in to technology with fantasy sprinkled in...it's not that it's bad, I just think the idea of fantasy with technology sprinkled in is much more interesting than vice versa.
I have no problem with the game taking place further in the future, it's just that the focus seems to be on the fact that the game takes place in the future, rather than the fantasy aspect of the story. Or, to put it in my own words after the first few hours with Final Fantasy VII: "Yes, I know this story takes place in the future. Stop shoving it down my throat."
Ok, I don't know where the rest of you guys are coming in, but everyone I know was in awe with how good the graphics for FFVII were at the time. I mean come on, this was 1997, 13 years ago.
Feh...maybe console-only gamers were in awe. It didn't really do that much for me or other pc & console gamers. Yes, it was 1997, but also remember the visual difference between console gaming and PC gaming was WAAAAAY bigger than it is now. (For reference, I'm 26 and started playing games on a Commodore 64 when i was four years old.)
but that was the first game I remember that had FMV and multiple camera angles during summons.
If you mean FMV in a Final Fantasy game, then ignore this last part of my post....
Final Fantasy VII was the first game you noticed that had FMV?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Jedi_Knight:_Dark_Forces_II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasmagoria_(video_game)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Commander_(video_game)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_and_conquer
Just to name a few. There is also the HUGE number of Sega CD games that had FMV.
The reason I pinpoint the series jumping the shark with VII is because that was when the games went from having complicated, mature, fully believable characters to whining brats. Placing the emphasis on technology while fantasy was placed in the backseat didn't help either.
I suppose I should clarify...for me, the series jumped the shark and has just never been the same since it went 3D. The series going 3D isn't necessarily the cause of it (although it is a contributing factor), they both just happened to occur at the same time.
I'm going to chaulk this up to either your age or your preference for a greater emphasis on technology over fantasy.
I don't think I've ever heard the earlier Final Fantasies (ESPECIALLY Final Fantasy VI) described as "boring and annoying".
Simpsons did it!
::begin shameless self promotion::
no, but I tell you what I can do: here are four tracks off the ambient album I'm currently producing, DRM-free and at no cost to you!
http://www.livingwithanerd.com/music/
Enjoy :-) ::end shameless self promotion::
nope, but I AM a fluent in mumble ;-)
The name of the site is a reference to us both...myself and my lady friend, aka the future Mrs. Lady Friend :-)
Thanks to everyone who answered...I already have a Game Gear, GBA, DS, and a PSP, was just curious if the Touch was worth adding to the portable gaming collection. Sounds like it isn't.
Thanks again, all!
I point you in the direction of Muramasa: The Demon Blade, which was released just a few months ago, uses sprites for all in-game characters/enemies, and is quite a beautiful game. Here are a couple screenshots:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NXLKQR2FNpY/SwitorQly1I/AAAAAAAAAGs/unJ2YjKwJ3M/s1600/muramasathedemonblade-3.jpg
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/2009/06/custom_1244093929468_Muramasa2.jpg
It looks even better in motion, I highly recommend you look up some videos of the game in action. Using sprites doesn't necessarily mean it will look pixelated, it just means it isn't a fully rendered character. Considering the quality of 3D back in the PS1 days, it was a mistake to move the series to 3D then. I know that it would have eventually happened, I'm just questioning the timing of the move.
Just wanted to say I love the concept of your site. Good stuff.
Just took a quick peek at your website. Dude! SO awesome! I don't have time to go in-depth at the moment, but I am definitely going to spend some time on there this evening. Kudos for keeping the late-90's style layout, I tried doing it on my site for a while but it just wasn't working for my requirements.
each game has nothing to do with the last except being a role-playing video game made by Square.
This is one of the big draws to the series...no prior experience with any of the games is necssary. In my own personal opinion, you are wasting your time if you play anything past VI (although X was decent...certainly the only post-VI Final Fantasy game I would recommend).
For me, the series really jumped the shark when it went 3D. Not using sprites anymore really took some of the magic away.
These seems like as good a time as any to ask...is the iPod Touch worth buying just for games available on the platform? It seems like there are a ton of cool games out there for it, but I don't really want to plunk down the cash if it isn't worth it from a gaming point of view...
Opinions?
My passwords tend to be words that I make up on the spot, with a couple of numbers thrown into the mix. They don't seem too difficult on the surface...but then again it is a word that I make up, some of which don't even have vowels lol. I have a series of seven different ones that I use.
It's worked quite well for me over the years :-)
Yowza. Apparently, it isn't the MSM that is screwed up, but rather its viewers...
It quickly became my favorite Supreme Court argument PDF. Instant classic :-)
...making a game is hard work. I can't imagine what it would feel like to see your hard work (even if the result of that work is suckage) result in the ending of a developer.
I don't think that would work as their only price model, but I think that would be a great addition to any other models they choose to go with.
For myself, I find it nigh impossible to justify paying for news when there are limitless sources of it nowadays.
You are far from the first person to say that, and I doubt the last :-) If I'm not at work, I can generally be found in flannel pajama pants and a late-90's death metal shirt, lol