So I'm definitely a FF fan. I've been playing final fantasy games basically since I started gaming err, what is it now, ~22 years? While I'm not overtly gushy over these games, I have derived a lot of enjoyment from them over the years and their stylization and core dramatization.
Also, for those who haven't played these games and want to...mild spoilers abound, and not just about FFX. There you've been warned.
It took me a while to get there but I finally played FFX for the first time about a year ago, and I have to say that I was a bit torn with it. The story seemed interesting enough, the battle system was different, but very enjoyable, but I could never really get behind it the way I did with 6. Part of that I think is due to an over-romaticism of things past, but there was something else underlying the problem, the dramatization.
So let me be frank, Tidus as a character sucked. He was overly whiny, self absorbed, completely ignorant (and the bad kind), just wholly unlikable. I couldn't get behind his intrapersonal relationships, especially with Yuna, he also kind of suffered what I have sometimes jokingly referred to as the 'Squall Syndrome'.
Anyone who's played FF8 understands the sheer uncomfortable nature that was trying to portray Squall actually warming to Rinoa. Basically, Squall went from being somewhat disengaged about the whole thing to in love, with no developed middle ground. It's not really the fault of the game for not having the ability to portray the drama correctly, but the dialogue (which was supposed to be the main proponent of drama at this time) didn't help much in that regard.
Turn back to FFX again, and Tidus suffered the same problem although admittedly less so. It just seemed that he was friendly, but rarely flirtatious, and when he was doing so it wasn't exactly executed well, partly to do with technical shorcomings (oh god that laughing scene). For example in the Al Bhed's Home, when Tidus learns of the nature of the pilgrimage, that is supposedly the catalyst (at least partly) that changes things for him...but, how exactly did we get here exactly? The progression was more than a little uneven. Overall there were some really neat things as well amidst the rest, but it just seemed that there was something missing...
Fast Forward a year later.
I've had some time so I decided to go back through FFX to see if I couldn't change my opinions about the game just being OK, and not purportedly the best FF in the series (wait isn't that 2? ). The major difference was that I decided that I wanted to play with Japanese Audio this time around. Well I don't speak Japanese, so I had to see if there was an option to get English subtitles, and lo and behold! Having been a strong proponent of watching something in its original language, I probably get that from watching a lot of anime, I decided that this was the time to go back and look at it from a different perspective.
It initially took a while to get a sense of the characters but once I did, I found that not only were their actions, both physically and verbally more natural, but more believable. No longer was there Tidus the whining, snarky moron, but the Tidus that was young and naive, but earnest, thrown into a foreign land trying to make his way. I really cannot state how much different he is portrayed. Yes he still has the same core personality, but I found that I wasn't getting annoyed whenever he opened his mouth or did something.
The same could be said for the relationship between Tidus and Yuna, though it did still have some awkward moments in there still, I now actually believed that these two young people genuinely liked each other, and that there was at least some sort of development in Tidus' realization that he in fact had fallen in love with her.
So in ruminating on why I was reacting in this way, I was brought back to the two thoughts that I had made originally when I first played it;
First, the translation into English completely destroyed the inner core of the dramatization for the story, not just overall, but especially interpersonally (individual character development in the Japanese version had a strong core linear progression whereas the English version were disjunct slices of dialogue that had none of the former core element or development). Second, there were still technical limitations in the physical portrayal of the drama that hindered the connection to these individuals and their situation. This isn't so much a fault as it is a fact of the time. This was the first game in the series that was localized after all, so some technical problems would rightly emerge as their formal ideas and technical expertise with the system was still new.
This is a problem in games and in traversing the language and cultural barrier that I have been noticing in art and drama for a while now, in that when translated, the original intent of the work is muddied, and therefore the dramatic intent and emphasis is lessened to a degree. This is also the case in other areas, whereas operas translated in English, while more accessible, fail to convey the proper dramatism that was originally intended. This isn't to fault the English actors or casting director (thought Tidus' voice actor was awful), it's just that by not understanding (or perhaps not taking the time to understand) the cultural emphasis with regards to certain dramatic choices, these characters become even more like obtuse caricatures the more separated they become from the original kernel.
It has been quite timely that I decided to try to re-evaluate my position on this game to find that I thoroughly enjoyed it this time around, without the odd elements. Also funny enough, I waaaaayyy over-leveled in my first play through, so much so that I lopped off one of Sin's arms in 2 hits...oops! This time around I made a conscious effort not to do that in an effort to make the final progression both harder, and more meaningful in a dramatic way, and it paid off tremendously. Moral? Don't level in the omega ruins very much, that place will make you OP sooo fast, and ruins the emotional impact. Also part of the timeliness is due to the fact that I need to put down games for a while so that I can get back to real life, and this was a really good way to end it.. If you had a similar experience with FFX the way I first did, I would strongly suggest going back to the original Japanese, it has been a fabulous experience.
p.s. Uematsu is a BAD ASS...man I miss him in games.
I really enjoyed FF, but I played it years ago. But I was a mega fanboy back then, less so now. Tidus isn't the best, but I seriously disliked Vaan in XII.
I think I like it more because of the nostalgia, if I started it for the first time recently, would probably have similar feelings as you
I remember how annoying that water-sport game was. Seriously, Graav (opponent team captain, I think) always grabbed the ball and fked me over. I had haunting dreams of "Gravv gravved the ball" god dammit Graav.
I also think Yuna is a great character, liked her better in FFX than FFX-2.
I always play JRPGs with the original audio if possible.
For me FFX was like a long interactive movie, since you can finish the game without grinding at all (and I never played blitzball). FF6 is still the only one I've played more than once though.
I'll keep this in mind actually... you'd think that they would've had better work put into the English translations, but apparently not. I wonder if this is the same for the Tales Series.
I liked FFX. I'd played it with the english voices too. Yeah, the dialogue sucked at times, but I didn't really listen -- I read the German subtitles which seemed to be translated directly from the Japanese script, as they were different from the spoken dialogue quite often.
I liked it. I liked the concept, the spoilers, what's going on in the world. It's a good game.
I actually first experienced FFX back in my sophomore year (2002) when one of my roommates got it. I saw a good portion of the beginning, and even then I had a strong dislike of Tidus' as a character. And yes, Graav was a pain in the ass.
I read the German subtitles which seemed to be translated directly from the Japanese script, as they were different from the spoken dialogue quite often.
I think that's right, the english subtitles were different I think from the NA version's script. I also agree, I really like the story concept and the construction, It's just kinda sad that the execution was getting in the way all the time in the NA version.
For me FFX was like a long interactive movie, since you can finish the game without grinding at all (and I never played blitzball). FF6 is still the only one I've played more than once though.
Have you ever played Awful Fantasy?? That shit is hilarious
A lot of animes suffer from this too. Most of the time either the English actors have bad portrayal of the character, or their voice is just annoying. I'll always watch the English version though because I can't really pay attention to the action when I'm busy reading subtitles >_<.
I have to agree OP; Tidus definitely came off as incredibly whiny and annoying when I played through it... I don't think I can ever reverse that image of him though, just because it's so embedded in my memory. T_T; However, if I can play through on the Japanese version with English subs, I might playthrough again, it wasn't too long of a game(FF12 and FF14... holy shit those games were long. I gave up on FF12 after 50 hours because it was so damn boring and I hated the characters D: I think I beat FF14 in 60ish, but it was fun ^__^)
On August 20 2011 00:31 OpticalShot wrote: I remember how annoying that water-sport game was. Seriously, Graav (opponent team captain, I think) always grabbed the ball and fked me over. I had haunting dreams of "Gravv gravved the ball" god dammit Graav.
omfg I hated Blitzball. The controls for it were just plain bad, and sometimes it just felt like a game of luck. D:<
I never played a Final Fantasy game but I covered To Zanarkand from the Final Fantasy X soundtrack.
If I were to begin playing Final Fantasy, what would be a good first game/order of games? There's just so many parts, to a newcomer that seems incredibly hard to get into.
Tidus is annoying but I can understand him since he had always been living under the shadow of his father and one day just disappeared.
I remember because me and my fd could only ever finish the game within 2 weeks, we had to dash through a lot of the minor things.
My fd got a novel version of the game (it used to be a very popular thing to do for jrpgs) and I couldn't stop myself crying at the ending (yes, it was embarrassing). Then I had to watch the actual game ending when my fd is finishing it, cried even harder.
Honestly, that game is one of the most moving game for me. the opening lines : "this is my story" really engraved itself deep into my heart. There are so much emotion and memories lies in just these few words
I would say the novel helped me to get over those awkward facial motion in the game....so I didn't really sense any problem between the characters much
On August 20 2011 01:01 SageFantasma wrote: A lot of animes suffer from this too. Most of the time either the English actors have bad portrayal of the character, or their voice is just annoying. I'll always watch the English version though because I can't really pay attention to the action when I'm busy reading subtitles >_<.
I would strongly suggest just do it. I forced myself to learn and honestly now, I barely register that I'm reading subtitles anymore. I've even picked up quite a bit of Japanese grammar from watching that way. I mean would you prefer 'Vash the Stampede' or... 'VASHEE ZE STAMPEEDOOO!' So much more awesomeness.
always people hating on FFX- easily my favorite in the series also. i fucking loved tidus and yuna as characters, hell i loved all the characters. the story, the voice acting, the gameplay, everything was just amazing to me.
i've since tried to go back and play ff7,8, and 9 but they just dont do it for me like ffx does.
On August 20 2011 01:02 dkh wrote: If I were to begin playing Final Fantasy, what would be a good first game/order of games? There's just so many parts, to a newcomer that seems incredibly hard to get into.
That's a toughie.. A lot will have to do with your personal tastes. I began with Final Fantasy because I grew up with the NES, though I did try afterwards to have some sort of progression within the numbers, eg. 1 sequentially through 13. I haven't played 2 or 3 yet because I want to play the original famicom versions, more for curiosities sake than anything else.
Also if it helps my progression was (if I'm remembering this correctly): I, VI, V, IV, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII. You can see the beginning was all over the place, just know that with the older FF games there will be a decent amount of grinding involved.
If I were to suggest some, out of these, IV, VI ,VII and X are strong ones to begin with. VIII and IX are good too, but quirky at times. Oh yea, there is also no correllation between worlds, each FF game is an entitiy of it's own, aside from FFX and X-2 and the upcoming XIII-2 (oh and Tactics and XII? is that right? never played Tactics).
Great read OP. I'm watching my roommate play through FFX over the past few weeks (having never played it myself) and it's quite interesting. I really don't care for voiceovers, ever. It's the book vs. movie comparison. A great movie can be made out of a book if they get lucky and land great actors/directors, but chances are it might not be, and the book will always have more to offer. There's something much more charming and immersive about reading the entire game.
That being said overall it wasn't too bad, and could have been much worse. I certainly wouldn't call it the best in the series though, and usually I'm the kind of person that can see one side of a strong argument and understand it even if I disagree. But in this case I just can't agree to the extremity which with most players and critics do. A great game along side many others (non-FF) perhaps, but the best game in the FF series? That's a tall feat. And I disagree.
Playing through FF9 on and off for the first time myself. I have previous playing experience only with 7 and 8, watching 10 and 12 almost in their entirety. I have not been fortunate enough to be able to play 6 or anything previous, but I would really really like to.
EPT
). The major difference was that I decided that I wanted to play with Japanese Audio this time around. Well I don't speak Japanese, so I had to see if there was an option to get English subtitles, and lo and behold! Having been a strong proponent of watching something in its original language, I probably get that from watching a lot of anime, I decided that this was the time to go back and look at it from a different perspective.
