Actually, my big pet-peeve is not the criticism itself (I think Ayjona makes some good points) but the sloppy use of language. I can't help it: it's all the years I spent doing close readings and writing theoretical essays on Mark Twain's use of paper currency in his minor novels, or the religious politics of Romeo and Juliet. The words "generic" and "horrible" in particular tend to set me off. I know it's kind of annoying...
That, if anything, gives them a symbolic and stylistic value that makes them perfect for my purpose Wittiness aside, to most receivers, they communicate their inherent meaning splendidly. Overuse and popularity aside, they remain some of the most useful adjective tools in any journalist's or critic's repertoire for reasons of ubiquity. Your personal perception (one which I wholeheartedly agree with, had it not been for the counterpoints in this paragraph) of their usefulness does not make them any less powerful in general mass communication In the context of RPGs, they have a special meaning by association which alerts readers to the possibilities of elves and orcs up around the bend, or possibly a high fantasy-medieval kingdoms-with-peculiar-and-vaguely-japanese-sounding-names-and-confusingly-detailed-political-intrigues blend and mesh which is all too fitting in this case If we are to debate the etymology of "bland" and "generic" (something that will do little good for other readers looking for impressions of FFT, and served little purpose in your reply other than to make me write up all this rambling nonsense above ), the fact that you understood the intended meaning of the message is enough to redeem both expressions, and the fact that you used them yourself for recursive description prove their immense usefulness Complexity and depth and width of perspective is, unfortunately, not enough to make story neither good, immersive nor enjoyable for me. The metaplot is indeed enriched by all the aspects you mention, and the Dumas analogy is both very astute and entertaining. But without an appealing literary presentation, without good storytelling, without most of the factors that create great works of literature (to which some very few computer games belong), all the above-mentioned interesting aspects of FFT's story never rise above the state of being just that: interesting aspects, but disconnected and without context when not tied together by great narrative. (I've probably experienced 50-70% percent of the tale, judging from play time and an estimation from a FFT veteran friend of mine (asked him for the purpose of this post). And I will admit that it's entirely possible there are twists and turns up ahead which will grab me by any protruding appendage and pull along for the dramaturgic ride of my life. If so, I promise to revise my statement ) What an interesting coincidence. Calling my conclusion "silly" strikes me as kind of "bad" No, silly banter aside, I used bad in a relatively absolute sense (how is that for internal coherence, eh?). If the other ports you refer to are of the kind I have in mind, I would, for purposes of comparison, call them "abysmal", or possibly "horrendous", if I was in a forgiving mood. Thus "bad" really communicates my sentiments regarding the port quality of FFT. And, luckily, sentiments can never be universally "silly" given their subjective nature While I agree with you right back at ya (especially on that Squeenix can and have designed excellently for this platform), the fact that you have indeed spent so much time on this game/previous iterations of it, while sharing my sentiments, makes me think it might be worth additional invested time (grinding, replaying, etc). If FFT does exceptionally well, perhaps that original game might even be FFT 3, something I'd prefer by far over an FF rpg!
Addition to my wall-o-text above: No. Certainly not annoying. Constructive, in general. But the assumption that I use the words sloppily (instead of as a result of a different perception of their meaning, use and etymology) indicates that your years of text work might (might, mind you) have left you with a rigid (or possibly too narrow) perception of the use of language that is often not conductive to general communication I NEVER use words in writing without having carefully chosen expressions that mirror my meaning. Call it a work habit similar to yours, but born out of years of writing with the purpose of effective mass communication in mind
We could keep this going for a while, but in my new role as moderator it would simply not be good form . Let me just say this: your description of what you think generic and bland means communicates much, much more than the terms "generic" and "bland.". Personally I don't find subject matter to be "bland" in and of itself -- and very often fantasy fiction tends to confuse novelty in subject matter with narrative depth. I much rather read a novel with orcs and dragons that brings some interesting ideas and characters than one that invents some cool new creatures but tells essentially the same "archetypal" tale (which is why I prefer LoR over SW). You'll have a tough time convincing me that the words generic and bland are not sloppy writing, but I'll grant you that they are common in game criticism. I'll also grant you than in a scale that includes "horrendous" and "abysmal," "bad" is sort of middling. But that only tells me that the scale is faulty (reminds me of drink sized in Starbucks). In any event, I'm supposedly in love with most RPGs, so you should take what I write with a grain of salt .
Actually, I think there is little more to say on any side of the subject that would not be cleverly disguised reiteration, but that even that small amount might infringe on your moderator responsibilities In clarification, however: In this, yer absolutely right. I should have been more colorful from the outset, as my second description is far more descriptive than those two polarizing initial adjectives I choose my words with care, always, but that does not mean I could not have chosen better. I agree, to the greatest extent of the word But I feel I also should add that I made no comment on the novelty of FFT's story and writing, and neither did I decry the possible lack of it. And I would never confuse innovativeness for literary quality. What I miss in FFT's has nothing to do with an either traditional or groundbreaking subject matter, but, as I mentioned above, an appealing literary presentation, good storytelling, many of the factors that create great works of literature, characteristic and individual tone and register, and the kind of immersive narrative that groundpounds your senses and leaves your mouth dry and open as a semi-permanent habitat for all kinds of insects. I will admit that looking for that in a game is expecting a lot. But it does exists, and FFT, with such a rich and varied world, and with so many lines of dialogue, could have been a great vessel for that kind of storytelling. As a non-gamer when I'm not on the move and with an iDevice in hand, I'll take yer word for it. They are also exceedingly common in literary criticism, art appreciation and dramaturgic analysis, and in spite of overuse and the possibilities of dilution, remain some of the most useful adjective tools in any journalist's or critic's repertoire, for reasons of ubiquity. Sometimes, as a journalist (or almost any kind of writer short of a world-renowned author), you have to chew down on the bitter dog poo-covered pill of publicly accepted definitions, as your purpose is to communicate effectively, not to create public opinion. So in this case, I'll settle for the fact that most intended readers of my FFT impressions will interpret "generic" and "bland" just as I intended (I wrote an additional comment on the concept of sloppiness just below my wall o' textual ramblings that you might have missed. In short: "Sloppiness" indicates lack of precision, elegance or care. (Or possibly various bodily fluids plastered all over one's shirt.) My use of these durned and damned words is a result of a different perception of their meaning, use and etymology, not of lack of attention to detail, insight into their meaning, or being the target of any kind of fluidal ejaculations.) Yes, off would the scale surely had been, had I intended "bad" as middling Instead, I used it as one of the less severe forms of expression of dissatisfaction. On the less horrendous end of the spectrum of horrendousness, certainly, but still far, far below the middling and average iOS ports. Not on a scale that goes all the way up to proper antonyms of "horrendous" and "abysmal". Oh, the "square" in your name was enough to alert me to someone with a fatal case of jrpg bias. Ever since I first noticed it, I haven't cared a whit for what you have to say. That is why I have filled these last two pages with more text in half an hour, most of it directed at you, than I have written to other TA members in weeks Irony aside, I do believe that had you agreed wholeheartedly with my review, you might not have bothered to display any annoyance with what you perceived as sloppy language. Might it not be possible that your great passion for this game/the Final Fantasy franchise crept up and whispered additional incentive into the ears of your perception of good language, and prompted it to act where it might otherwise have lain dormant in the manners of all great dragons?
Game Impressions On a slightly more game-related note than my last post above , an addition to my initial impressions a page back, for those intimidated by the alleged depth and complexity of this game: don't let that be the reason you keep those 16 dollars for a happier time. FFT features a surprisingly in-depth and pedagogic help system, with both a tutorial that goes through just about every feature and mechanic in the game, and an ever-present "help" button that provides information on everything from menu alternatives to spell effects. In a game so reputed for it's complexity and initial learning curve, it bears mentioning that the help system actually makes learning both basics and understanding advanced mechanics a thing of ease. Just be sure to give the tutorial a go after trying your shaking newbie hands in a few battles, and there will be little left to ever ponder again. Or keep all the excitement and wonder alive by ignoring this advise, and spend most of your time in Ivalice in a constant state of KO'd
Actually, the only reason I stuck with the thread for the first 16 pages was to find out what Dubstep thought of the game.
Words can hurt like a fist. Yours are more like the verbal equivalent of a Facebook poke. Backontrackyall: One thing I have not explored at all in FFT is that blonde-haired emo, Cloud. Is he worth all the complicated steps I didn't even have the energy to read through when I walkthrough'd how to find him on Google?
Cloud's not really worth it. It took a LOT of steps just to get him and then you still need to get his Materia Blade before he is able to use his Limit Break ability, which is not that awesome anyway. He can use Ribbons by default though. However, if you really aren't up for the long and complicated steps to unlock him, get his blade & level him up, you're better off without him.. really..
I didn't criticize your grammar -- that's against the forum rules. As is unnecessary hostility, so cool it with the Nazi references.
such abilities like Martial Arts and Steal can give you an easy win sometimes, and of course opps can get it too, a bit unbalanced in my opinion. more interesting if someone steals a weapon from one of the chars, after the battle is won you dont get the equipment back, sucks. tried to level up some chars to monk to get the first strike ability, but it seems like it is not that good for that price, most enemies in the game use abilities and soldiers usually try to go for art of wars or have special abilities too.
Yes sir - please accept my humble apology, Does anyone know if iPhone Chaos Rings save files were compatible with the iPad version? Just wondering for FFT impending iPad release
For the ones interested, if you use iPhone Explorer or a similar program and navigate to the FFT App, you can find inside all the movies (which I mounted in 1 little movie...awesome on Apple TV and among dozens of sound effects, the music of the game (which I didn't found anywhere else).
