Final Fantasy general

I didn't understand shit about NGE's plot until I read the manga. Manga SEELE actually explains things. Anime SEELE talks in vaguest, most cryptic way possible.

I never knew shit about what SEELE was actually after from the anime, or about what that lance did or that the Angels were aliens here because some other alien landed here by mistake and made humans.

Really need o finish reading those last two volumes....

edited 5th May '15 11:42:58 AM by Nikkolas

Old rich men being afraid of dying, so they force a new way of existance onto all of humanity because it's the closest those guys will come to immortality. It's the same plot as Guilty Crown.

That all of mankind is just a failed terraforming of some aliens is still hilarious though.

To give XIII credit where it's due, unlike NGE the main characters problems actually stay connected with the whole end of the world deal all the way through.

edited 5th May '15 12:16:12 PM by Serox

Lightning also didn't masturbate over the crystalized body of Serah.

God I hate EOE. The whole thing ended with everyone clapping and saying CONGRATULATIONS! That's it, nothing else.

edited 5th May '15 12:31:27 PM by Nikkolas

I always saw Eva as being a very character-driven show, though. The aliens, apocalypse and shadowy plans were a solid chunk of the series, but everyone's interpersonal relationships and mental states were about as important. Third Impact is affected by Shinji's trauma, which was affected by the people around him and how they treated him, which hinged on their own hang-ups and such.

Regardless, a lot of details (such as the failed terraforming aliens thing or Rei being made with Yui's DNA) are from outside sources or are fan theories that are put together with strong evidence from the series itself. And over the last 20 years, there has been a lot of piecing together. Having taken part in the madness on and off for 5 years at least, it seems a bit silly to see people complaining about a similar thing here - sure, vital details might be kept out of the games, but coming down to brass tacks, XIII's lore and story details being spread out so much just sounds like Evangelion all over again.

That's the TV series. The movie ends on a much bleaker note.

edited 5th May '15 12:32:45 PM by MrMallard

I know. That's why I said I hated EOE and preferred the TV series' ending.

Of course, I hear Sadamoto's manga's ending is way different from EOE so maybe once i finish Volumes 13 and 14 I can just say that is my new "personal Eva." I've loved that whole thing with the sole exception of his characterization of Kaworu.

that scene makes sense in context and also doubles as a scathing critique of otaku culture/fan perception of the show. i'm not sure why everyone has such a problem with it.

eh. Eo E gives an actual satisfying conclusion instead of a bad therapy session for the main characters comprised mostly of re-used footage, telling us a bunch of shit we already know, which was tedious to sit through.

edited 5th May '15 12:39:18 PM by wehrmacht

The last arc of FFXI has started. Who here has actually played the game?

It helps that I saw End when I was a kid, but I honestly regard the movie as a masterpiece, flaws and all.

EOE had an actually satisfying ending that properly completed Shinji's character arc instead of the "whoops we ran out of money" ending of the TV series, even if I love them both.

Take it to the Eva thread(s)

There aren't any wars going on at the time of FFVIII. There are a few rebellions but nothing resembling an actual war. I think what was getting at though was TOWNS. Just going to places, chilling out, that kinda thing. It was something FFXIII sorely lacked. You do not make a...what, 40 hour game where there is almost no breathing time. IMMERSION. You cannot be immersed with the breakneck speed of XIII's storytelling. I said it way back when I played it for the first time but it's like the XIII writers took all the criticisms of XII and then just did the opposite but to the absolute worst extreme. Too much exploration breaking up the pacing of the game's story? YOU CAN'T EXPLORE ANYTHING NOW. Too much focus on side characters and antagonists? NOW ONLY THE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS WILL RECEIVE ANY FOCUS.

The breakneck speed of XIII's story and lack of openness on Cocoon is the immersion. Or did you miss all the Holocaust parallels?

In fact, I say that XIII's root-flaw is that it is nothing but immersion

edited 6th May '15 6:50:12 AM by TheAirman

FF music interview.

In two days it's the 9 year anniversary of Versus XIII being revealed.

Got Celes! :D

Now I have to train her. D:

Each new character is more of a pain to get on par with levels. :/ For now I'm using her as an always-defend fifth-wheel on my hard-daily farming party. At least I'm catching two birds with one stone.

now that you bring up lack of openness, I can see how it works from both a gameplay and a narrative standpoint. In gameplay, you don't get much breathing room until you get to pulse, which is not only a larger planet, but does not have a regimented government controlling the citizens. In the narrative, the characters have finally broken away from the government trying to give chase, and they can afford to go at their own pace now.

I'd recommend feeding her the eggs you get from the event. They help boost her stats high enough not to instantly die, and the five flan fillet is another easy way to train her.

I went back to finish FF 8, loaded up my old save file right in front of Ultimecia's Castle, got through there no problem, I'd killed most of Ultimecia's henchmen, with Squall as my chief attacker.

Then came Griever.

With my junction set-up, Ultimecia's magic wasn't a problem. But Griever's Shockwave Pulsar doesn't care about that. 4,000-5,000 HP, BAM! ZOW! RIGHT IN THE KISSER!

Fortunately, I had Hero.

Then Ultimecia decided to fight fire with with fire and junction herself to Griever, and summon Helixes that had more HP than I could take out in one sitting.

I'm not even sure how I got through that. Emergency Renzokuken, IIRC.

But then Ultimecia came out to fight me herself. Well, now I had Squall at yellow HP. Rinse, wash, repeat. Cleaved through her half, summoned my GF's to cancel out Apocalypse but NO-

GOD. DAMN IT.

We were wiped out.

Until my Phoenix Pinion, that beautiful motherf'cking thing, hatched and revived us all. Oh my god was I euphoric. I managed to heal the party, and kept swinging at Ultimecia.

But she got a lucky shot in. Good news, Rinoa, my healer, was still alive.

The bad news: I revived Irvine, instead of Squall, who was absorbed into time.

FUCK.

But as it turned out, even with the remainder of my party being as fragile and squishy as they were, Ultimecia had maybe 400-1,000 HP left, and she wasn't attacking, just talking to us. Huh.

So Quistis smacked her upside the head, killing her.

And now I'm watching the trippy ending video.

Quistis baby, I love you.

EDIT: Eyes On Me. I used to see it listed on Youtube. I remember the business with Laguna and Ellone, and the whole 'romance' was kind of cute. I think my expectations for the song were a bit too high though-

EDIT: HA. Seifer's fishing!? What!?

EDIT: What is going on? Everybody lives, Squall and Rinoa reunite, images flicker, happy ending for all but... I think Matron/Raine/Ellone/whatsherface and Squall just started a time loop.

EDIT: Ohhhkay. Flashbacks.

I just can't remember who Ellone was supposed to be. Squall's sister that he forgot about?

Laguna and Raine were married, Edea happened to be Squall's nanny when his parents left him at the orphanage, and Ellone... got separated from Squall somehow.

edited 6th May '15 4:42:18 PM by Soble

IIRC Ellone and Squall were given to Edea's Orphanage when Raine died. They were separated when Ellone was adopted, I think.

Ellone was actually taken by the White See D under sane!Edea's orders for her protection.

I'm writing down a handbook for X-2 so I can play the game without resorting to my laptop every 2 minutes.

I have titled the book " Official Handbook to the most elaborate, ridiculous bullshit of the PS 2 era".

It's going to have all the relevant info I need, like the Crimson Spheres and the different quests I need to do for 100% completion, along with character profiles and mission summaries. I'm pretty much going to rant my way through 64 sheets of A4 paper, with relevant info sandwiched between stupid commentary.

I still need to do the Mi'hen Highroad Scooby Doo sidequest, get really into Clasko's Chocobo Ranch and collect 13 Squatter monkeys in Kilika, among other missions. I'm aiming for a mascot dressphere, so this run has to be perfect.

edited 6th May '15 9:38:41 PM by MrMallard

Just don't forget about that long winded speech. Don't press anything, otherwise you fail. One of the few parts that tripped me up, but I reloaded after the talk. Thank you tvtropes, your guide dangit page saved me again <3

XII could get pretty silly, too, though it wasn't as bad, since it didn't taunt you with a file completion percentage and multiple endings and mostly avoided cutoffs.

The thing is, in X-2, you need 100% to get the final dressphere, and when you lack a dressphere it sticks like a sore thumb every time you check your skills. In XII, most legendary items do not require to kill a Bonus Boss, getting the 100% completion mostly comes down to having all trophies. Plus, getting all skills and max level on your party is actually rather quick. And if you still need one or two aeons, they don't appear on your skills, so it doesn't look...unfinished.

The only exception being, of course, the Zodiac Spear. The way you get it is pure BS.

edited 7th May '15 2:43:18 AM by Julep

Me: oh hey a chest how did I miss this?

Game: YOU FOOL NOW YOU HAVE TO FARM EVERY DIFFICULT MONSTER IN THE GAME AND PRAY TO THE RANDOM NUMBER GODS THAT I MAY SMILE UPON YOU WITH THE GIFT OF THE ZODIAC SPEAR!!!

Me: 4get the spear gonna get a swanky sword instead. *proceeds to kill demon walls*

Seriously that spear is more trouble than its worth. It may be amazing, but I'm not going to jump through stupid hoops in order to get it.

edited 7th May '15 7:31:03 AM by mosses76

...which quest was this?

Oh right, X-2 has a bestiary.

edited 7th May '15 7:31:22 AM by Soble

XII's Zodiac Spear. It was in a specific treasure chest in an optional area of the game only if you did not open certain treasure chests that all apeared way earlier.

If you missed it, there was really low chance to get it from a chest with a really low chance to spawn in one of the most difficult areas of the game. And that chest might have been one-time only too.

XII combined the grindtasticness of a MMO with the Guide Dang It! and Lost Forever of Final Fantasy.