Original message (7081 Views )
Shindekudasai 226th Post
Frequent Customer
| "New Dissidia Thread" , posted Sun 29 Jun 16:06
New Trailer, new thread! No new characters announced but that trailer looks BADASS. It's so cool to see classic characters given the respect they deserve (unlike say, Setzer's treatment in Kingdom Hearts or anyone in Castlevania: Judgement). I don't know if this game will have tag or some type of coop-2-player mode, but I really hope so because by watching some of the team-ups/match-ups in that trailer (Tidus and Zidane tagging off, Squall's running duel with Sephiroth, etc) I already know that this game will rock out of this world. I'll be counting the days 'til I see Cecil, Batz, Terra, the Dark Cloud, Golbez?/Zeromus?, Exdeath?/Gilgamesh? and Kefka.
| | Replies: |
Maou 1458th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(5):New Dissidia Thread" , posted Mon 30 Jun 05:18
quote: I owned Tobal 1 and thought it was an okay game - interesting but not great. I never played T2 but I've always heard such high praise. So I'm curious, what additions made T2 such a great game? The only changes I'm aware of from T12 to T2 were the addition of projectiles.
Yeah, I never played 1, but I do hear that you can't judge 2 by one. 2 is just...excellent. Before Soul Calibur did it, Tobal 2 had 8way run, meaning that you jumped with a trigger and not with up, which moved you into the background. Characters can "grapple," making it feel like a real fight. Even more significant is the fact that in most fighting games, when an attack is blocked, the attack animation continues "through" the defender. In Tobal 2, a blocked move is literally stopped by your blocking opponent, which in turn can lead back to grappling. It was also a beautifully fluid 60fps game back in its day, and it's still utterly fun today.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...
|
Maou 1460th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Tobal 2 thread mutiny" , posted Mon 30 Jun 07:46:
Gojira's got it right! I really can't emphasize how interesting and unusual it is that moves that are blocked stop as if they impacted the blocking opponent, rather than just passing through their bodies like every other fighting game. I wouldn't be surprised if the newer Virtua Fighters do this, too, but my friends and I could never stay focused on those.
The fluidity of Tobal 2 is really what makes it special, especially for its time. The fluidity of the blocked attacks is one good example, but so too is the great 3D movement, the solid and realistic feeling of trading blows, the fact that you trip if you sidestep too quickly, and do it in a realistic and fluid way... All the delightful extras Gojira mentions are great, too. It really is the only 3D early fighter besides Soul Calibur that holds up despite its age.
edit: THIS THREAD IS NOW ABOUT TOBAL 2
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...
[this message was edited by Maou on Mon 30 Jun 07:48] |
Baines 232th Post
Frequent Customer
| "Tobal 2 English status" , posted Tue 1 Jul 06:33
Tobal No. 1 was released in English.
Tobal 2 was never officially released in English, but a fan did an English translation patch.
As a fighter, Tobal 2 is playable without Japanese knowledge. Quest Mode is a different issue. At the very least, you need to be able to recognize different kanji and kana words, preferably on sight.
The translation patch does translate Quest Mode, as well as any menus that weren't already in English. It doesn't do anything with the tutorial video, but you don't really need the tutorial video. (Heck, many people probably never noticed that there *was* a tutorial video.)
The patch requires an ISO of the game. The homepage of the patch tells you how to create such an ISO from a legitimate disc. (There are a couple of patches, as there are apparently a couple of versions of the game.) Though it might take a little trial and error going this route, with some software not working with some hardware and some image creation methods doing bad things to PS1 games.
Of course, most people online probably just search for and find an already patched ISO.
Some PS1 emulators can have issues with Tobal 2. You might need to try around a bit to find something that works correctly.
|
Shindekudasai 253th Post
Copper Customer
| "Serious analysis and less-serious rambling" , posted Sat 6 Sep 16:32
Figures, I spend a day offline job-hunting and this comes out. Kefka ... I'm a little shocked, but at least Nomura's really sticking to the Amano desings. And let's face it, it could be worse. In other news, as pointed out in the thread on the snk-capcom.com forums, alternate costumes have been confirmed. I couldn't find a good still of the models themselves in the video, but you can clearly see portraits of Squall in his Seed uniform, and Frionel's other Amano design from an FF2 poster (the one with horned headgear and a red cape). Anyone wanna play the alternate-costume guessing game?
Light Warrior: he's already got a class-change in game, so the fighter/knight thing is out. Garland: Chaos? No idea. Emperor: Hell Emperor? Onion Knight: They've got so many other classes to pick from, this one's up in the air. Perhaps the Luneth design from FF3DS. Cloud of Darkness: I've seen screens of her in old skool green, might be her alt. Cecil: Paladin and Dark Knight. I'm calling it now. Golbez: ...Theodore from FF4DS? ::shrug:: Exdeath: Neo-Exdeath Terra: Morph! Kefka: Angelic-boss looking Cloud: assuming one look will be 7, the other AC. Sephiroth: One-Winged Angel Ultimecia: Edea? Dunno. Zidane: "Black-cloaked man"? Also dunno. Kuja: Don't care. Tidus: Y'know, they said they redesigned him for this game but I really don't see a diff. Original outfit? Or that dude from FFX-2? (also don't care). Jecht: You guessed it, don't care!
...You know the Circle of Sages in FF1? And the Circle of Gurgans in 3? I want to see a Circle of Cids in this game.
Seriously.
|
Maou 1484th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(3):Cecil and Golbez confirmed and looking" , posted Sun 14 Sep 06:25:
quote: The character art for Dissidia gives me a big ol' boner. I think this is the first time I've felt this way about Nomura since... Parasite Eve and the Bouncer, I guess. I don't really know what changed, but I like it!
Strange, isn't it! I think I know why: the baseline Amano designs for most of the characters are so damn good, which helps a lot. I still think that Nomura, when properly supervised, can produce some excellent inking and disctinctive design, so even if FFX (and obviously Kingdom Hearts) started to stray into zipper hell, VIII's designs were far more tight, and the previous template of Amano's sketches for I-VI really keep Nomura's design problems in check while playing up his inking and line, which I think are mostly really excellent.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...
[this message was edited by Maou on Sun 14 Sep 06:27] |
Maou 1485th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(5):Cecil and Golbez confirmed and looking" , posted Wed 17 Sep 11:23
quote: That sounds like a pretty reasonable explanation! I mean, even in zipper-chain hell the guy can do great work, but there's something about this Dissidia stuff that just looks amazing to me. Hell, I feel pretty good about Square in general these days. FF4 DS probably earned at least 5 years of my contended silence. Let the Enix side make a next-gen Actraiser and I'll bump it up to 15!
Ah, Quintet. This won't be the thread for it, but I've always wondered about their games. I think I've heard Actraiser mentioned more in the past year than I have in all of my life, for some reason. I remember people seemed to like Tenchi Souzou/Terranigma a lot, too. Then again, they also made Granstream Saga, which may have been the worst PS RPG besides Beyond the Beyond, so I don't know.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...
|
Maou 1496th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(2):Main cast complete: Cloud & Terra pics" , posted Fri 10 Oct 07:46:
quote: Nomura, I forgive you for everything.
What!? Tina BLONDE!? this better has alternative colors. It's funny how for Butz the sticked to the 2d sprite and not the FVM, while they did the opossite for her.
Tina is...not bad! I'd say Butz stuck with the original Amano sketch rather than the sprite (not that it was much of a sprite, which is to say it was a crappy, lazy, FF IV-level sprite). Er, except for the white hair. Poor Butz (!?) Klauser, least exciting Final Fantasy protagonist of all time*, destined to fail with a (for Amano) dull design and a preposterous name.
*Edit: I forgot Vaan. But he doesn't count, for so many reasons. Even Balflear agrees he's no hero.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...
[this message was edited by Maou on Fri 10 Oct 07:49] |
Sensenic 1654th Post
Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(2):Terra can Morph! And Kefka's EX Mode" , posted Thu 6 Nov 21:16
quote: Yeah! Eat it, Sephiroth, what with your one wing and your opera chant and legions of fangirls! THIS is how real villains play.
Err, sorry.
!
Terra's really really cute/anime-ish, though. Too much, perhaps. Look at her eyes in that picture where she looks sad...
That being said, the EX modes look delightful. Seems Kefka's wings are not for show and will allow him to fly freely.
More interesting info is new summons, such as Leviathan and, for the first time, Bomb and... Barbariccia! Nice fanservice touch there.
Also main page updated, with explanations for guarding, dodging and EX Mode. Seems like Squall's EX Mode is with the Lionheart instead of the Revolver... and Zidane's super is sth about Terra and Gaia combining? Where's Luminaire?
But best of all is just a few minutes into the video, after Squall gets the EX Node whatsoever... Lokk at him, he grinds on the stages' rails! A la Tony Hawk, or Sonic! (or Tidus & co in a FFX cutscene IIRC). I certainly didn't expect that posibility.
おやおやぁ~
"Farpaitement!" -Obelix-
|
Sensenic 1660th Post
Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Full Trailer! v2.0" , posted Fri 14 Nov 22:06:
quote: The demo I played at TGS allowed everyone(?) to grind on the rails, actually.
Yeah, I guessed everybody can do it. It's the movement itself, that I hadn't noticed before, what surprised me.
But I have sth more important to say so Thread, In the name of the TGS trailer being uploaded, I bump thee.
A couple of things to note, other than all the characters appearing, etc. - Chupon/Typhoon as a summon - Who else could have they chosen for Chaos but... Norio Wakamoto. Guess when you're searching for a seiyuu for a big bad guy, he's the first in the contact list. XD
Also Amano's illustration for the good guys, to be in the cover of the Dissidia+PSP limited edition. (Guess it'll be reversible with the bad guys on the other side)
EDIT: Subtitled too!
おやおやぁ~
"Farpaitement!" -Obelix-
[this message was edited by Sensenic on Fri 14 Nov 23:14] |
whitesword 1635th Post
Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(6):First secret character...." , posted Sun 23 Nov 11:14
quote:
Well, I, on the other hand, consider it the best FF out there, gameplay-wise, and overall on par with FFVI and FFIX at the top.
Not counting Tactics, that is.
You made a mistake, you said that it was on par with FFIX at the top, but FFIX sucked
quote: To each his own, I guess.
NO! YOU MUST LEARN TO LIKE FFXII OR ELSE!
|
Iron D 3070th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(7):First secret character...." , posted Sun 23 Nov 11:37
quote:
Well, I, on the other hand, consider it the best FF out there, gameplay-wise, and overall on par with FFVI and FFIX at the top.
Not counting Tactics, that is.
You made a mistake, you said that it was on par with FFIX at the top, but FFIX sucked To each his own, I guess.
NO! YOU MUST LEARN TO LIKE FFXII OR ELSE!
Gods be DAMNED, there are some negative folks on this board.
Damn, Onslaught. First Twilight Princess, now FFXII? What games do you like?
I personally find it shocking that there are people who would consider XII the worst of the FFs when there are pieces of shit like X, VIII and let's face it I and II out there.
I mean, I know not everyone is going to have the same opinions, but I'm getting the impression that all a game needs in order to be considered crap by SOME of the members here is that the game be popular and/or overall well received.
Er.....
|
ONSLAUGHT 3766th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Mmmmhh..." , posted Sun 23 Nov 16:08
quote: Damn, Onslaught. First Twilight Princess, now FFXII? What games do you like?
Well, I love NHL 2K8 and that Ironman game is rad!
...
Nah, just kidding. I don't hate games just because they're popular. TP I didn't like for the reasons I gave in that other thread, and FFXII, well, let's say it bored me to death. I have this friend, who is a huge FF freak, he has every FF to date (except for FFXI, but that's another story), and has played every game like a hundred times. Well, he brought me FFXII (after he was a few hours into it), and was very excited because he knows I love FF. I started playing it, and was bored within minutes. And when I had my first encounter with an enemy, he explained the battle system... my response? "Are you shitting me? are you telling me that this game plays for itself??? an RPG? where we barely have any interaction outside pressing A and the ocassional B??? They removed that?? Thanks buddy, but fuck you and fuck this game" Of course, he said it wasn't so simple, that there was a lot of strategy to it, and you could always heal in battle if things don't go according to plan, or some crap like that. We (he) played for like an hour, but I was super bored, moving from point A to point B (I must admit, the first city was huge, but was a pain in the ass to navigate). Oh, and then the characters; I know FF is not recognized for having the manliest protagonists, but this is ridiculous, I won't even explain this. I started playing RPG's just because he introduced me to the gem that is FF VI, then VII, VIII, IX and X and I liked them all, some more than others, but FFXII feels like a different game, it's not FF to me.
|
Maese Spt 450th Post
Gold Customer
| "rant rant rant" , posted Sun 23 Nov 18:08
Overall negativeness and bashing of popular franchises? That's the Cafe's speciality, my friend!
But our rants do have a basis (more often than not).
quote: I started playing it, and was bored within minutes. And when I had my first encounter with an enemy, he explained the battle system... my response? "Are you shitting me?
Same here, but my dissapointment began on an even earlier stage.
I was curious about the game, mainly because of my love for the original FF Tactics. The intro was really promising story-wise, and scenario quickly grew into me. But soon all those cool characters were gone for good, many of them dead, and I was given control of a girly weirdo as my main character. "Well, let's stick around yet a little bit, it should get interesting again with the first combats", I thought.
How naive of me.
It was the most boring, cheap, stupid, painful and irritating combat system I've ever tried (and this comes from a guy who enjoys playing Gensou Suikoden). I endured about 6 hours and then just surrendered to evidence.
I REALLY wanted to love FFXII, but... I just couldn't bring me to it. Probably I am missing a wonderful story and some great characters here, and maybe some entertaining gameplay as well but, hell, I don't wanna play my Final Fantasies like friggin' MMORPGs.
And let me add that VIII and X, tough of course not the best ones out there, are not bad games nor bad FFs at all, in my opinion. IX was dull and boring as hell, on the contrary.
|
Iggy 8732th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(4):The FF12 bashing thread-jack" , posted Sun 23 Nov 20:13
OK, let's jump on the FF fiesta : I laughed at FF4, liked 5, loved 6, loathed with vibrant passion 7, and despised every game branded with the FF franchise on it afterward. Like many people, I think FF12 should not have been branded "FF". It should have been its own franchise, and people would have seen that despise its problems, the game was and is fresh, healthy, and how every thing in it just breathed new air in a genre whose necrosis is rampant.
On a different tone, Raidou 2 is brilliant. it fixes every problem spotted on the first game, and develops further. I feel like it's the only game that learned anything from FFXII, on its small level of "low-profile spin-off from a niche franchise", and it's a real shame.
|
Time Mage 2724th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):Mmmmhh..." , posted Sun 23 Nov 20:30
Well, even if I'm pretty sure I won't convince anyone (and in fact I don't have that intention), I'd like to explain why I think FFXII is so good.
First, the battle system: Sure, in other FF's you mash X more times... So what? The meaningful interaction is next to none, as most battles are a matter of attack, attack, attack, attack forever.
In FFXII I found that, instead of telling the characters what to do in every situation, I was the "general" and dictated the strategy to my soldiers, thanks to the great gambit system. I made my group so I had a physical attacker whose primary role was stealing, receiving enemy attacks, and doing some moderate damage in the mean time. He had good armor, a good shield, and was generally protected with statuses and if possible with the "lure" status, so enemies would focus on him. I had a damage dealer with a greatsword or a spear or a katana, focused on doing the most damage possible. And finally a magician, in charge of the most important cures and buffs (everyone could cure and buff to some degree), plus using elemental nukes whenever was necessary. Most of those tasks were controlled by gambits, and it wasn't boring at all, because even if the gambits had a general structure, I had to change them from zone to zone, to adapt to the different enemies in each place, and change their actions in many situations.
And of course, there's the boss battles, the most intense and fun in ANY FF to date. Their patterns change through the course of the battle, forcing you to adapt and interact (In a meaningful way!) more than in normal battles.
On top of that, you know... You can just switch gambits off, set the game on "wait" and... voilą! Classic FF gameplay! (almost)
Regarding the story, there are two things to consider: Characters and the overall story. The overall story, instead of being centered in the group, like many other games, is instead more broad. Sure, the group does influence the outcome of the events, and sure, they sometimes dictate the path of the story, but they are not the absolute center of it. The lack of any (stupidly done) romantic main plot throws many people off, as well as the too political tone of the story. Those are good things to me, but I understand that some people don't like them.
Regarding the characters, they don't have the typical RPG treatment of development through shocking revealings of their past, or reunions around a campfire where everyone starts revealing their sentiments. No, it's, in most cases, more subtle. You can tell Vaan evolves in the game a lot, even if there aren't any shocking revelations about him. The transition from being so naive about the world and wanting revenge on the empire to his final, more mature self is gradually done and it's mostly appreciated through how he speaks and what he says in the cutscenes, and not because in a cutscene he suddenly says "I've changed". And that's for Vaan (who, by the way, is NOT the main character, even if you see the game through his eyes), but most other characters get the same treatment. The fact that the facial and body expressions are so natural and well done in the game helps a lot in conveying their personality through this way. Plus, the dialogues are the most natural and well written in the whole series.
And although I've covered the two most controversial aspects, I want to mention the HUGE optional content of the game. And the good thing is not only that it is huge and fun, but also that it is very well distributed throughout the duration of the game. In most games, however good the optional content is, 90% of it is situated at the very end of the game, so you are forced to play the main game straight and then you have suddenly all the optional content at the end. In FFXII, it is carefully distributed (mostly in the form of hunts) throughout the whole adventure, letting you stray from the main path at any moment. I find that really refreshing, and also, if you do hunts as soon as they are available, many are a huge challenge, something that I personally love.
There are bad things about it, of course, but In my opinion, the good things far outweigh the bad ones, making this an outstanding game.
"News flash big guy: You can wax on wax off all you want I'm still... KICKIN' YOUR ASS!"
|
Iron D 3071th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(4):Mmmmhh..." , posted Mon 24 Nov 03:45
quote: Well, even if I'm pretty sure I won't convince anyone (and in fact I don't have that intention), I'd like to explain why I think FFXII is so good.
First, the battle system: Sure, in other FF's you mash X more times... So what? The meaningful interaction is next to none, as most battles are a matter of attack, attack, attack, attack forever.
In FFXII I found that, instead of telling the characters what to do in every situation, I was the "general" and dictated the strategy to my soldiers, thanks to the great gambit system. I made my group so I had a physical attacker whose primary role was stealing, receiving enemy attacks, and doing some moderate damage in the mean time. He had good armor, a good shield, and was generally protected with statuses and if possible with the "lure" status, so enemies would focus on him. I had a damage dealer with a greatsword or a spear or a katana, focused on doing the most damage possible. And finally a magician, in charge of the most important cures and buffs (everyone could cure and buff to some degree), plus using elemental nukes whenever was necessary. Most of those tasks were controlled by gambits, and it wasn't boring at all, because even if the gambits had a general structure, I had to change them from zone to zone, to adapt to the different enemies in each place, and change their actions in many situations.
And of course, there's the boss battles, the most intense and fun in ANY FF to date. Their patterns change through the course of the battle, forcing you to adapt and interact (In a meaningful way!) more than in normal battles.
On top of that, you know... You can just switch gambits off, set the game on "wait" and... voilą! Classic FF gameplay! (almost)
Regarding the story, there are two things to consider: Characters and the overall story. The overall story, instead of being centered in the group, like many other games, is instead more broad. Sure, the group does influence the outcome of the events, and sure, they sometimes dictate the path of the story, but they are not the absolute center of it. The lack of any (stupidly done) romantic main plot throws many people off, as well as the too political tone of the story. Those are good things to me, but I understand that some people don't like them.
Regarding the characters, they don't have the typical RPG treatment of development through shocking revealings of their past, or reunions around a campfire where everyone starts revealing their sentiments. No, it's, in most cases, more subtle. You can tell Vaan evolves in the game a lot, even if there aren't any shocking revelations about him. The transition from being so naive about the world and wanting revenge on the empire to his final, more mature self is gradually done and it's mostly appreciated through how he speaks and what he says in the cutscenes, and not because in a cutscene he suddenly says "I've changed". And that's for Vaan (who, by the way, is NOT the main character, even if you see the game through his eyes), but most other characters get the same treatment. The fact that the facial and body expressions are so natural and well done in the game helps a lot in conveying their personality through this way. Plus, the dialogues are the most natural and well written in the whole series.
And although I've covered the two most controversial aspects, I want to mention the HUGE optional content of the game. And the good thing is not only that it is huge and fun, but also that it is very well distributed throughout the duration of the game. In most games, however good the optional content is, 90% of it is situated at the very end of the game, so you are forced to play the main game straight and then you have suddenly all the optional content at the end. In FFXII, it is carefully distributed (mostly in the form of hunts) throughout the whole adventure, letting you stray from the main path at any moment. I find that really refreshing, and also, if you do hunts as soon as they are available, many are a huge challenge, something that I personally love.
There are bad things about it, of course, but In my opinion, the good things far outweigh the bad ones, making this an outstanding game.
Good points here. I too have no intention of changing anybody's mind, but I really liked that this game felt so different from other FFs in both gameplay and story because 1) the romantic plots of ALL of the previous 3d FFs was really getting on my nerves and 2)the more political story was awesome to me since I love that kind of stuff in stories. Better than all that cliched lovey-dovey stuff.
The battle system felt unique in a good way to me. It gave the game sort of a "strategy-RPG-ish" feel...just a little.
Also, yes Vaan was another stereotypically effeminate male, but he was still not as annoying as Tidus and not as annoyingly angsty and emo as Squall.
The extra/side missions feel less tacked on than past games and the Tactics fanboy in me really enjoyed having more Bangaas, Moogles, Nu Mous and Vieras.
Er.....
|
Time Mage 2727th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):Mmmmhh..." , posted Mon 24 Nov 08:39
quote: To me, the real FF XII is Lost Odyssey.
I said the same thing. Though maybe that's not taking it back far enough. Maybe it's more like the real Final Fantasy 7.
Well, maybe, but that doesn't make FFXII a bad game. Not even a bad FF, if you don't consider it one.
I mean, I try to value games for what they are, not for judging if they follow the invisible set of rules a standard FF has to follow.
You can like FFXII, you can dislike it, or you can be in an intermediate state, but I just don't understand not liking it because it doesn't feel FF-ish.
Of course, it's obvious it has more in common with other Matsuno games than with the classic FF games, but that was to be expected, in my opinion. I really don't know why people was surprised by how different it was: I could see that from a mile away.
"News flash big guy: You can wax on wax off all you want I'm still... KICKIN' YOUR ASS!"
|
ONSLAUGHT 3772th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(9):Mmmmhh..." , posted Mon 24 Nov 08:55
quote: I mean, I try to value games for what they are, not for judging if they follow the invisible set of rules a standard FF has to follow.
You can like FFXII, you can dislike it, or you can be in an intermediate state, but I just don't understand not liking it because it doesn't feel FF-ish.
Of course, it's obvious it has more in common with other Matsuno games than with the classic FF games, but that was to be expected, in my opinion. I really don't know why people was surprised by how different it was: I could see that from a mile away.
It's not because it's different, it's because it is boring. If it wasn't called FF, it would have been just another MMORPG to me, and I tend to ignore those. I loved Tactics, I loved Vagrant Story, and they were very different than your average FF, but they were good, they were fun, they hooked me from the beginning, FF XII failed to do that, it bored me, and I just don't have to play a boring game just because it has the brand of a beloved franchise.
|
|
|