Because Kinkajou told me to.
So yeah, anything about Final Fantasy! I guess this would make a good starting point: Which are your favorite games in the series and why?
My two all-time favorites are tied between Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy IX. They're both very fun games that don't take themselves too seriously while still being legitimately emotional. On top of that, Zidane is my favorite Final Fantasy lead in the entire series. He's light-hearted, fun, and a generally nice guy to be around. FFV also has the advantage of having one of, if not the best, Job System in an FF game. Both FFV and FFIX make characters customizable while keeping them all unique in their own way. I'm also very fond of Final Fantasy I; it hasn't aged well, but it's classic, and like FFV, I played it tons as a kid.
I assume we'll drift around to various other FF-related discussions as the topic grows, right?
edited 3rd Nov '09 4:22:18 AM by Stark Maximum
One thing that always bugged me and I finally have to ask, so sorry if that is a recurring thing in this 10000+ posts behemoth. Why is Sephiroth considered such an awesome villain to this day? He barely has any backstory (and the "got infused with stuff, went mad" was directly lifted from Kefka - no I didn't play Crisis Core nor do I care about a game released 11 years after the fact) had no personality whatsoever, even his evil deeds weren't particularly impressive; i.e. burning down a village, stabbing a fat guy in a suit and the resident Staff Chick, then summoning a space rock. Making Cloud go BSOD barely counts.
I'm not trying to piss off anyone here, I'm just trying to understand it. Is it really just the White-Haired Pretty Boy thing, some kind of Nostalgia Filter or is there something I'm not getting?
edited 1st May '11 4:16:56 AM by Ana
Yeah. While some of the things he did had been done by Kefka before him, there were some factors that make those things more interesting when he does them.
First of all, while Kefka killed General Leo, his death was not as much of an impact as Aerith's. Kefka killed a guy who you were allowed to control for one battle. True, that was long enough to convince you that he was about to become a full-time party member, but it wasn't as much of an impact as Sephiroth killing, what, the third playable character you were introduced to? At the time, I don't think anybody saw Aerith's death coming.
Also, while Kefka was certainly a threat, one big thing about his earlier character was that he didn't seem like one. They built up his growing threat, and the surprise of what he does at Thamasa and the Floating Continent, by making him look like a joke, albeit a pyromaniac, poisoning joke, at the beginning. Whereas Sephiroth was made to be an extreme threat right from the beginning. Slaughtering everyone in the Shinra building, impaling a Midgarsormr, he's made out to be this huge threat that the party simply can't engage, and that makes him very interesting from the start. Whereas Kefka only becomes scary if you stop to think about his steady growth of power.
I have a message from another time...A pity.
Well, if you have Control, you can make the Red Dragon murder itself with a couple of LV 3 Flares.
I have a message from another time...Don't have control. My party is boring.
Bartz: Level 25. Level 3 Knight. Level 6 Mystic Knight.
Attack. Spellblade. Two-handed. Item
Lenna: Level 25. Level 2 Dancer. Level 2 Monk. Level 5 White Mage. Level 2 Bard.
Attack. Dance. White Magic. Item
Galuf: Level 25. Level 6 Time Mage. Level 3 Monk.
Attack. Time Magic. Barehanded. Item.
Faris: Level 25. Level 4 Ninja. Level 5 Thief.
Attack. Throw. Find Passages. Item.
—
Maybe I should try Romeo's Ballad to keep the dragon under Stop.
edited 1st May '11 10:32:47 AM by Kerrah
Sephiroth was cool in FFVII, but I also don't see how he's such a revolutionary villain. Sure, he killed Aerith, but Golbez (technically) killed Tellah (or at least drove him to his death), Exdeath killed Galuf, and Kefka killed Leo. The only real difference that I can see between those instances is that Aerith was a young girl while the others were older men.
Besides, I never really saw that as Aerith "dying". She clearly is able to exert her will from the Lifestream, so I just saw that as her ascending to a higher level of consciousness. I figured it was some kind of Cetra thing.
edited 1st May '11 11:10:08 AM by Hobgoblin
I think the thing with Aerith is that she's not exactly easily replaceable, unlike the previous player character deaths in the series. My logic now is to not really use Aerith at all so it's not so much of a loss when she dies. (The only downside to that is no healing/invincibility limit breaks, but I got along just fine without them).
someday we will foresee obstacles

I think I'd make a great Barkeep.
[EDIT: Cat Nip get!
]
edited 30th Apr '11 8:21:16 PM by Serenitas
someday we will foresee obstacles