Summer of Final Fantasy: FFTA2 (6/26), FFIVDS (7/22) - NSF56k

Shadowfire

Can someone explain the FFT-A2 magic system to me? I was just reading that you start every battle at 0 MP. How does this work out? Is magic powerful once you get your mana built up, or is it just one more reason not to touch magic classes in FFT games?

Vincent Grayson

Shadowfire wrote: »

Can someone explain the FFT-A2 magic system to me? I was just reading that you start every battle at 0 MP. How does this work out? Is magic powerful once you get your mana built up, or is it just one more reason not to touch magic classes in FFT games?

You start with 0 MP, and gain 10 each turn. Basic level spells (your Fires, Cures, etc) are under that amount, you so can spam those without a problem. Most of the non-mage classes with MP-consuming abilities have abilities that use less than 10 mp as well, so it's not a big problem.

It keeps illusionists from opening battle with a fuckton of damage though, so that works out well.

One of the clan abilities doubles your MP gain each turn, and another one halves MP usage, although I have yet to figure out why both of those abilities exist since they seem redundant. (Although I suppose double MP is good for characters with MP-damage equipped)

Ohtsam

Vincent Grayson wrote: »

Shadowfire wrote: »

Can someone explain the FFT-A2 magic system to me? I was just reading that you start every battle at 0 MP. How does this work out? Is magic powerful once you get your mana built up, or is it just one more reason not to touch magic classes in FFT games?

You start with 0 MP, and gain 10 each turn. Basic level spells (your Fires, Cures, etc) are under that amount, you so can spam those without a problem. Most of the non-mage classes with MP-consuming abilities have abilities that use less than 10 mp as well, so it's not a big problem.

It keeps illusionists from opening battle with a fuckton of damage though, so that works out well.

One of the clan abilities doubles your MP gain each turn, and another one halves MP usage, although I have yet to figure out why both of those abilities exist since they seem redundant. (Although I suppose double MP is good for characters with MP-damage equipped)

don't forget that it also keeps assassins from aauto-killing a team before they even have a chance to move

Glenn565

That's exactly like Tactics Ogre.

Shadowfire

Ohtsam wrote: »

Vincent Grayson wrote: »

Shadowfire wrote: »

Can someone explain the FFT-A2 magic system to me? I was just reading that you start every battle at 0 MP. How does this work out? Is magic powerful once you get your mana built up, or is it just one more reason not to touch magic classes in FFT games?

You start with 0 MP, and gain 10 each turn. Basic level spells (your Fires, Cures, etc) are under that amount, you so can spam those without a problem. Most of the non-mage classes with MP-consuming abilities have abilities that use less than 10 mp as well, so it's not a big problem.

It keeps illusionists from opening battle with a fuckton of damage though, so that works out well.

One of the clan abilities doubles your MP gain each turn, and another one halves MP usage, although I have yet to figure out why both of those abilities exist since they seem redundant. (Although I suppose double MP is good for characters with MP-damage equipped)

don't forget that it also keeps assassins from aauto-killing a team before they even have a chance to move

Ok, I didn't realize there was an innate mana regen. Good times.

captaink

Reading through the FFTA2 class listings is reminding me of my FFTA favorites:

Illusionist: To fuck absolutely everyone over all at once with nasty magic.
Archer: For cheap and easy ranged disables and charms.
Ninja: For dual wield and their damage+status attacks.
Gunner: For ridiculously long range status effect shots.
Juggler: For the same reason, though less range.
Summoner: For big effects of damage and some healing on the side.
Assassin: Because who doesn't love instant KO skills? Not to mention a good deal of status effect skills.

The Chocobo Knight sounds weird. It may be good if you can keep the chocobo from fight to fight, pretty crappy if not.
The Ranger has some potential if Reverse is as cool as it sounds. Apparently Reverse turns the effects of items around. A potion will do damage, for example. Depending on how many items this is good for, they could be awesome. I'm thinking of using status-clearing items to afflict those statuses, Phoenix Downs for instant KOs, etc.

Blackjack

captaink wrote: »

The Ranger has some potential if Reverse is as cool as it sounds. Apparently Reverse turns the effects of items around. A potion will do damage, for example. Depending on how many items this is good for, they could be awesome. I'm thinking of using status-clearing items to afflict those statuses, Phoenix Downs for instant KOs, etc.

That was how it worked in FFXII. It should even last long enough to matter now that it's in a purely turn based system.

captaink

I'm thinking about picking up this, a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game, and the DS Zelda game at TRU's Buy 2 Get 1 sale. Eh?

Vincent Grayson

captaink wrote: »

Reading through the FFTA2 class listings is reminding me of my FFTA favorites:

Illusionist: To fuck absolutely everyone over all at once with nasty magic.
Archer: For cheap and easy ranged disables and charms.
Ninja: For dual wield and their damage+status attacks.
Gunner: For ridiculously long range status effect shots.
Juggler: For the same reason, though less range.
Summoner: For big effects of damage and some healing on the side.
Assassin: Because who doesn't love instant KO skills? Not to mention a good deal of status effect skills.

The Chocobo Knight sounds weird. It may be good if you can keep the chocobo from fight to fight, pretty crappy if not.
The Ranger has some potential if Reverse is as cool as it sounds. Apparently Reverse turns the effects of items around. A potion will do damage, for example. Depending on how many items this is good for, they could be awesome. I'm thinking of using status-clearing items to afflict those statuses, Phoenix Downs for instant KOs, etc.

I still haven't tried the Chocobo Knight. I finished the game (the import, that is), but never ran across any weapons that gave Chocobo Knight skills, so I never tried it out.

captaink

According to the wiki, they learn skills from variously colored chocobos.

Venkman90

I always loved the idea of these games (FFT, FFTA, Disgaea) but have never really been into Final Fantasy as a series (for shame)

Should I just wait for Disgaea on the DS as I am getting it anyway or should I also grab FFTA2, it is worth noting I don't give 2 shits about the story.

Vincent Grayson

Venkman90 wrote: »

I always loved the idea of these games (FFT, FFTA, Disgaea) but have never really been into Final Fantasy as a series (for shame)

Should I just wait for Disgaea on the DS as I am getting it anyway or should I also grab FFTA2, it is worth noting I don't give 2 shits about the story.

I stand by my statement that FFTA2 is the best game on the system...and if you couldn't care less about the story, that's fine as there's very little story to be had.

Venkman90

Vincent Grayson wrote: »

Venkman90 wrote: »

I always loved the idea of these games (FFT, FFTA, Disgaea) but have never really been into Final Fantasy as a series (for shame)

Should I just wait for Disgaea on the DS as I am getting it anyway or should I also grab FFTA2, it is worth noting I don't give 2 shits about the story.

I stand by my statement that FFTA2 is the best game on the system...and if you couldn't care less about the story, that's fine as there's very little story to be had.

Sold, thanks

Jam Warrior

So pumped.

I played through Tactics Advance 1 twice due to the stupid "Haha you threw away the wrong thing and can't complete every mission now" thing, and I loved it to death both ways.

So many hours sunk into it. From all I'm hearing about 2 being better in every way, I'm glad I've got Friday booked off work

Saban

Call me back when they do FFT2.

Conan-san

Ok, I'm planing to go all out and part-exchange -in the UK it's a fairly sweet deal, I got Mario Kart Wii for some £14 by thowing the DS Web browser and FF X-2 at them, and lets be honest, after the MGS refrence (Rikku says something to the effect of "Snakes...Snakes?! SNAKES!" when you encounter the Gun Snakes for the first time) in X-2 you're done with that game- for the two games, but I need reasurances that the Judges arn't going to suck all the fun out of playing the game for me by arbatraily making my party useless.

Xenogears of Bore

Saban wrote: »

Call me back when they do FFT2.

No one wants that shit when they already have something better, something more "advance" you know.

jeddy lee

Hmmm... I don't want to break into my savings to buy this game, but I got it on reserve @ gamestop. My budget is broke for the pay period, and I don't get paid until thursday. C'mon stimulous, I need to start to stimulate! (it was supposed to be here by 06/20/08).

Vincent Grayson

Xenogears of Bore wrote: »

Saban wrote: »

Call me back when they do FFT2.

No one wants that shit when they already have something better, something more "advance" you know.

I'd kill a man for another game along the lines of FFT (as in, gameplay on par with FFTA2, but along with a dark, involving story like FFT)...but seeing as Matsuno is no longer part of Square, I don't think that's going to happen.

Conan-san

Well, I meen The World Ends With You had a fairly dark story in parts but that's streching it. Also, we don't know how much of that was Jupiter inc.

Shadowfire

So I guess it's coming in tomorrow... just got my call. I thought it was Wednesday, so pleasant surprise ++.

No Great Name

Gunna get my blue mage on tomorrow shit yeah

captaink

I have never been able to get the hang of blue magery in any FF. I understand it has some brokenly powerful stuff, I just hate having to mess with Learning. And in FFTA you have to get a Beastmaster too, to get all the goodies.

Shadowfire

captaink wrote: »

I have never been able to get the hang of blue magery in any FF. I understand it has some brokenly powerful stuff, I just hate having to mess with Learning. And in FFTA you have to get a Beastmaster too, to get all the goodies.

Terrendos

The Blue Mage is my favorite class in all of Final Fantasy. It even beats out FF4's Paladin (though narrowly, I admit) due to the awesome combination of them having good stat growth, amazing potential, and the fact that they dress like pirates. I really can't overstate how much that alone helped.

Shujaa

My first experience with a Tactics game was War of the Lions. Can someone explain how the FFTA versions fit in with that? Are they unrelated stories? Do they have the same excellence of dialogue? I loved how the characters spoke like adults and not 12 year old kids. And how it wasn't afraid to show death and suffering.

MechMantis

Shujaa wrote: »

My first experience with a Tactics game was War of the Lions. Can someone explain how the FFTA versions fit in with that? Are they unrelated stories? Do they have the same excellence of dialogue? I loved how the characters spoke like adults and not 12 year old kids. And how it wasn't afraid to show death and suffering.

Entirely unrelated.


Entirely.

captaink

MechMantis wrote: »

Shujaa wrote: »

My first experience with a Tactics game was War of the Lions. Can someone explain how the FFTA versions fit in with that? Are they unrelated stories? Do they have the same excellence of dialogue? I loved how the characters spoke like adults and not 12 year old kids. And how it wasn't afraid to show death and suffering.

Entirely unrelated.


Entirely.

They are loosely tied into FF12's world of Ivalice. Apparently Vaan and Penelo show up in this one.

DVG

Shujaa wrote: »

My first experience with a Tactics game was War of the Lions. Can someone explain how the FFTA versions fit in with that? Are they unrelated stories? Do they have the same excellence of dialogue? I loved how the characters spoke like adults and not 12 year old kids. And how it wasn't afraid to show death and suffering.

FFTA centers around a magic book that transports a bunch of kids (and adults, but you don't play as them) to a version of Ivalice described in said book. The characters don't talk like the FFXII and FFT:WotL characters do, which is unfortunate.

Venkman90

Oooh it's out this Friday (the 27th) in the UK I hear...colour me exited

Chen

The famous judge rules' system makes it way back to this game, and by respecting their statements you will gain further bonuses, although their judgement hardly ever gets you an instant loss in the heat of battle. Instead, failure to follow what you're told to do simply deprives you of some added bonus, which generally come in the form of rare items awarded at the end of battles. Unfortunately, this system is misused, and even if some classical rules make their return in this title, there are also plenty new ones that are just plain awful. Some disallow you to use fire magic, which may sound easy to accomplish, but when you're asked not to perform any critical hits, it all becomes harder to manage, and just because such a random event happened you may be losing a well-deserved item. Rules such as “No long-range attacks” make perfect sense, but the same can't be said about not using the attack command or, as odd as it may sound, not hurting a particular species. If you're not allowed to damage particular foes, and you really want that extra reward, how are you supposed to defeat your enemies? If this wasn't bad enough, when enemies fail to comply to these rules your reward isn't awarded either, making it even harder to achieve your goal with all the possible rewards.

Man, what? The rest I can stomach, but that is just a big FUCK YOU.

ScrabbleDude

I think it's a lot easier to take the rules and judges this time around, since it only affects a bonus and breaking rules doesn't send your characters to jail.

TwistedFate

But it also lets you lose characters because you can't revive them after the battle or something to that effect (it may be during, but I read it as if you break rules and a character falls, they're gone).

Jam Warrior

Chen wrote: »

The famous judge rules' system makes it way back to this game, and by respecting their statements you will gain further bonuses, although their judgement hardly ever gets you an instant loss in the heat of battle. Instead, failure to follow what you're told to do simply deprives you of some added bonus, which generally come in the form of rare items awarded at the end of battles. Unfortunately, this system is misused, and even if some classical rules make their return in this title, there are also plenty new ones that are just plain awful. Some disallow you to use fire magic, which may sound easy to accomplish, but when you're asked not to perform any critical hits, it all becomes harder to manage, and just because such a random event happened you may be losing a well-deserved item. Rules such as “No long-range attacks” make perfect sense, but the same can't be said about not using the attack command or, as odd as it may sound, not hurting a particular species. If you're not allowed to damage particular foes, and you really want that extra reward, how are you supposed to defeat your enemies? If this wasn't bad enough, when enemies fail to comply to these rules your reward isn't awarded either, making it even harder to achieve your goal with all the possible rewards.

Man, what? The rest I can stomach, but that is just a big FUCK YOU.

Highlighted is where the author of the above misses the point. You aren't meant to get the bonus item every time. It's a challenge! Sometimes the challenge may feel impossible, this creates a greater feeling of reward upon success. Luck is a perfectly legit element of the challenge given the number of battles I imagine you will partake in.

Chen

That's all well and good, but it's pretty dumb to get punished for something the A.I. did wrong. It certainly doesn't break the game, but man, I love me some items.

Mumblyfish

First impressions:

Battles move far too slowly. I have no hope of this issue being solved in any Final Fantasy Tactics; it's practically become a series staple.

The game looks gorgeous, by any standards - handheld or home console. The music is great, too.

Battles move far too slowly.

The refined interface is fantastic. Turn orders and statistics are always on hand. My only gripe with the interface is, yes, the speed. There's no way to turn off menu animations.

Battles move far too slowly. Fucking hell. Italics!

Mandolore

ASimPerson wrote: »

I'd love to get into FFT, so I bought it new off Amazon.

Problem is, it's a bitch to find working PSone memory cards anywhere. Anyone know a decent place?

Just get FFT:the war of the lions on the psp. Its basicly the same game except, theirs cutscenes and the translation doesn't suck

EDIT: are there any more Ivalicce alliance games in the works, or is this it for now

Conan-san

TwistedFate wrote: »

But it also lets you lose characters because you can't revive them after the battle or something to that effect (it may be during, but I read it as if you break rules and a character falls, they're gone).

Isn't perma death a problem with all the FFTs though? But if it's not Permadeath (there seems to be no concrete evidence one way or another) I think I can live with the laws system if they're just for bonuses.

wunderbar

FFTA2 is listed as available from Futureshop/Best Buy on the 26th in Canada. I have just lost the next 6 months of my life. Especially if the battles to move that slowly.

This is probably my most anticipated DS game of the year.

Ruins

Just so everyone knows Toys R Us is having a buy 2 get 1 free sale on DS games. Just in time for FFTA2. Don't know when it ends.