Final Fantasy general

Balthier is first available before Cid. You get him from a sidequest in chapter 4. Read "Rash of Thefts" in Gollund, then "A Call for Guards" in Dorter. As you try to leave, you're forced into a fight. Win the battle, and Balthier can join your team.

Yeah, I did not mean the Tactics games were balanced.

XII has Balthier being underpowered, while Vaan and Penelo on the other hand are overpowered (Penelo is the best mage, Vaan is the best all-around character, and completing the trio with either Basch or Ashe depending on how much you love magic is the usual most efficient choice).

And Tactics has Vaan and Penelo underpowered. Vaan's growth stats firmly make him a Master of None (with 7/7/7/7 he is either a weaker, slower Ninja or a squishier Soldier/Paladin, neither being really useful options), while Penelo is a weak magician (6/6/8/8 while a Summoner, for example, has 6/6/11/8 - she pretty much has White Mage stats, and WM stats suck) who gets a nifty class but, well, she is a Viera in-game, and you probably already have powerful enough magicians not to need her dances. Apparently, Balthier is overpowered to compensate.

Here is the balance I mentioned. I thought it was clear.

Magician? What? I always make Penelo an Assassin and murder the crap out of enemies with Katana Sword Dance.

Maybe you should have mentioned irony instead of balanced.

Doublecast Sword Dance yo.

Lot of people I talked to were wondering if the FF 7 R trailer's narrator was Sephiroth now.

...I would not be opposed to that being true.

I thought that it was David Lodge, the same person who voiced Jiraiya from Naruto and Kenpachi from Bleach.

I thought it was just some random person Square Eunuchs hired just for that.

The answer could be both of those and yet neither of those. It is a MYSTERY.

David Lodge has a good trailer voice though, so even if he isn't in the game, Square done good.

You know, thinking about the dialogue for the remake trailer, it's not just them agreeing that expectations will be high for this game. It's also a way of saying "We're making this the way we want to, and if you don't like it? Tough."

I really don't want them to give the game the FFXV engine, I've had enough of games that combine fast paced action with methodical RPG ideals, it just doesn't work for me.

The whole reunion rhetoric in the trailer was the best trailer doublespeak since Kid Icarus Uprising's "sorry to keep you waiting!"

I definitely hope they keep the ATB in some shape or form instead of it being an Action RPG. Maybe something similar to how FF 13's battle system has the characters moving around slightly and stuff while commands are being put in and stuff since Squarenix really doesn't want to do that this time around sadly.

I still don't see what's wrong with good old turn-based combat. A lot of people online, and even Square itself it seems like, try to push turn-based battles off as some outdated concept.

"It's ridiculous how they just stand there and then one person attacks another person then runs back to their spot so the other person can attack them back."

It's also ridiculous how your character can get shot in the face for 20 damage or have the solar system blow up on them for 500 damage. Yet you roll with that.

edited 30th Jun '15 6:03:59 AM by Nikkolas

It's ridiculous to them because they spent A LOT of money on making these models so just having them stand still for 75% of each battle is a waste of money that could've gone to making the light better in caves etc. For FF 7 R it's also because this is a remake, if you want to play FF 7 with turn based combat you have the old versions for that. This is a remake and everything is going to be updated.

Remember that SE's models have around 10 times the amount of detail this generation(with the ability to do 100 times if it's just one model) as the most detailed model last gen.

Edit: Also americans apparently hate turn based combat.

edited 30th Jun '15 6:16:17 AM by LordofLore

it's a cultural difference, yeah. it works both ways, the only fps that has ever gained any traction in Japan is splatoon.

Well Americans are stupid.

All the best JRP Gs were turn-based and they sold millions of copies here in America.

edited 30th Jun '15 6:45:35 AM by Nikkolas

times have changed though. a lot of new people have gotten into games since then, many of them who don't really care for japanese gaming conventions to begin with.

Splatoon isn't an FPS though.

Like, apparently a big part of it is that first person perspective gives people in Japan motion sickness.

Something tells me all the graphical horsepower the remake has will lead to a lot fewer unique enemy models. Since X, you might be lucky to get 30 different random enemy models per game. VII-IX had well over a hundred each.

On the one hand I guess all those distinct enemies aren't strictly necessary (ie, awesome as the deadly robo house was, I highly doubt it will return), but on the other it's something that does make each area feel different from the ones that follow. Hopefully they can reach a happy medium.

I don't think Square is trying to say that Turn-Based-Battle systems are dead, just that they don't work with big budget, super HD, mega blockbuster titles on the new generation of consoles. If they want to catch the general gaming public, they have to adapt to modern sensibilities when it comes to RPGs. And while Turn-Based does well on handhelds as was proven with Bravely Default, I don't really think this is the money that Square is gunning for when it comes to their home-console-titles. That is why I am very much expecting FFVIIRe to be revealed as an ARPG.

edited 30th Jun '15 8:52:39 AM by LewisLiddel

they don't work with big budget, super HD, mega blockbuster titles on the new generation of consoles

They could just refrain from putting all their eggs in one basket, but people in the entertainment business can be stupid like that.

Turn-based combat is like linear storytelling in that I have no idea why so many people dislike it, so I'm really saddened to see something superior to action-RPG combat go away.

FFX was the last fully turn-based FF, correct? And it's also one of the most popular titles in the series, rivaled only by FFVII.

Square is kinda dumb. Turn-based is great.

edited 30th Jun '15 9:33:21 AM by Nikkolas

turn-based combat isn't inherently superior to action, it just depends on the particular system. i think both are fine and have a place in RPG's.

edited 30th Jun '15 9:33:55 AM by wehrmacht

I wouldn't call it superior. Or inferior. Just different.

I adore Bravely Default's combat. And Kingdom Hearts's. And Chrono Trigger's , for that matter.

edited 30th Jun '15 9:37:14 AM by Enlong

Sorry, I was talking about my own opinions. I prefer games that actually give me time to think, instead of relying on my (dreadfully poor) twitch reactions.