BrotherRool said:
Lord_Jaroh said:
Snip You
With trusting my friends, I wasn't meaning that I was inferring their judgement = everyone's judgement, more that I don't care what the popular consensus is on any subject, I will trust my friends and my own judgement as to what we like/dislike rather than being "told" what is good/bad (thus not a false consensus). If for some reason we found Big Rigs to be a great game...it would only of course be a great game for us. It doesn't really matter what other publications viewed it as; it means we enjoyed the game (of course that isn't true. Big Rigs is terrible, any way you look at it, but could be interesting in a morbid "hopefully this will never happen again" kind of way...)
And I will reiterate, just because something is seen as popular and good by major publications doesn't make it so, nor does it appeal to everyone. Some may be swayed by advertising/pressure/poor judgement in order to make a list more appealing to the mass market. Others may indeed find it a good game. I just don't like FFX myself. I'm not trying to "prove" that it is a poorer game, just poorer according to my own likes and opinions. I can present evidence of why
I didn't like it (from the unlikable characters, to the Blitzball mini-game to the linearity of the story, to the number and frequency of cutscenes to the terrible ending vs Daddy-dearest, etc). But that is all it is: evidence of why
I didn't like the game, compared with games of a previous generation. Walmart makes a crap-ton of money and employs more people than a small country. It doesn't mean that it is the best or even a good place to work...
As far as FFIX, I can't say too much. I really didn't like the character designs, nor the characters themselves at all to like the game. The gameplay seemed well done, but I couldn't get into the story because of the characters. There was nothing redeeming about any of them beyond the main hero character.
Here's a quick rundown of the series:
FFI - Loved the game, since it was the first RPG I ever played. I've played it to death in many forms, and I still have my original NES cartridge. This one is rose colored through my lenses, but it is still a game I play to this day.
FFII - Haven't played it yet. Have it for PSP, just haven't gotten around to it yet.
FFIII - Haven't played. I have for the DS. I'll give it a try eventually. I was wishing that it was redone on the PSP in the sprite form of the other 2 games, rather than the 3D of the DS.
FFIV - Loved the game, ever since first playing it as FFII on the SNES, I've loved the story of this game, and the amazing graphics/music over top of the original.
FFV - Haven't really played. I have it for PS1, but haven't played it yet beyond a couple of hours.
FFVI - Great game. I loved the graphics, but I didn't find the story as good as IV. I do love the characters though.
FFVII - Hated it. From the story to the characters to the design. The only redeeming value I found was some of the music. Hated the mini-games that they added in. Hated the "feel" of the game, set in the "futuristic-fantasy" that it was. I have no desire to replay this one.
FFVIII - A resounding Meh. The graphics were all pretty, yes, but the story was lacking, and the cutscenes (including the unskippable summons...ugh) were really starting to take the forefront over the gameplay itself here.
FFIX - As I said, I couldn't get into it over the characters. The style was a nice step up from the previous couple, but the characters would not let me get drawn into the story, they were that unlikable.
FFX - As I said, it took the cutscenes in VIII and made them longer. As well, the linearity of the game scared me, especially with the mini-map in the corner pointing out where to go...and reinforcing the simple aspects of most of the maps. I was "playing" a book, and I didn't like the lack of choice and exploration that they presented. There are many other things I dislike, but I won't expand on them here.
FFXII - Loved it. Was a great step above the last few. From the open world, to the more well-designed characters. It had some faults, like some of the gambit system and the license board to name a couple, but overall, it was a well designed game.
FFXIII - Hated it. Far to linear, and the characters again looked and acted terrible. The battle system was a change for the worse, and the story was very poorly presented. And the custcenes were taken to a whole new level.
As a side thing FF Tactics - one of the greatest of the series. Great story, great characters, and a very fun game to play. I wish we got a true sequel to this game (and not the poorly done Gameboy ones).
Square should stick with sprites. They would concentrate more on the gameplay and less on the flashy show. But again, that's just my thoughts on the series as a whole. Maybe they could remake all of VII to XIII in sprite form and improve them all, taking out the lavish cutscenes and putting in likable characters and great story and a world that makes you want to care about it.
