I was so scared when I clicked this because I wanted to yell, "DON'T YOU FUCKING RUIN THIS GAME FOR ME!" Then I forced myself to go through and read what I hoped would be a well-written blog. Thank you for reaffirming why I loved/love/will love this game so much. I think I'm going to go home after work today and play this game for the umpteenth time again.
On November 15 2011 23:36 flowSthead wrote: I think most people that hate on FFX just hate it because of the really awful voice acting. The dialogue and plot isn't actually horrible, it just has the worse voice acting in the history of the video games (I think it's also one of the first voice acted games) so at times the dialogue seems clunky and unnatural, even though it isn't. I replayed the game when I was older and I noticed the bag voice acting, but you can eventually just ignore it and focus on the actual dialogue, which is pretty good. When you compare it to FF12, a weaker game in terms of plot and characterization, FF12 seems like a smoother game because of the better voice acting.
Also, I am surprised the guy above me is the first person to mention FF Tactics, since that is probably the game I consider the best in the JRPG genere, but I guess that is not a popular opinion.
This is a really big hit though. We go from legendary main chars like Celes/Terra/Locke, Cloud, Squall, hell even Zidane, and then the first time our main character speaks he is...the biggest whiner/crybaby seen in the history of video games up to that time. The fact that he and Jecht has one of the most touching scenes doesn't change the fact that you endure his voice acting for 40+ hours to get there.
As for FFT - I'm guessing most people don't classify it as a RPG. The storyline for that thing is insane though...I'd say even comparable to Planescape: Torment (in a different way, but still good).
I'm not saying Tidus is the ideal main character. He kind of sucks in comparison to all the others, you are right. But I think the voice acting just exacerbates it, and without the voice acting he is ok. Anyways, while playing the game I considered Yuna the main character for the majority of the plot. Plus, I think the plot of FFX works even with Tidus as an annoying main character. The game might suffer, but he doesn't negate the good things about the plot.
On November 15 2011 23:36 flowSthead wrote: I think most people that hate on FFX just hate it because of the really awful voice acting. The dialogue and plot isn't actually horrible, it just has the worse voice acting in the history of the video games (I think it's also one of the first voice acted games) so at times the dialogue seems clunky and unnatural, even though it isn't. I replayed the game when I was older and I noticed the bag voice acting, but you can eventually just ignore it and focus on the actual dialogue, which is pretty good. When you compare it to FF12, a weaker game in terms of plot and characterization, FF12 seems like a smoother game because of the better voice acting.
Also, I am surprised the guy above me is the first person to mention FF Tactics, since that is probably the game I consider the best in the JRPG genere, but I guess that is not a popular opinion.
This is a really big hit though. We go from legendary main chars like Celes/Terra/Locke, Cloud, Squall, hell even Zidane, and then the first time our main character speaks he is...the biggest whiner/crybaby seen in the history of video games up to that time. The fact that he and Jecht has one of the most touching scenes doesn't change the fact that you endure his voice acting for 40+ hours to get there.
As for FFT - I'm guessing most people don't classify it as a RPG. The storyline for that thing is insane though...I'd say even comparable to Planescape: Torment (in a different way, but still good).
I'm not saying Tidus is the ideal main character. He kind of sucks in comparison to all the others, you are right. But I think the voice acting just exacerbates it, and without the voice acting he is ok. Anyways, while playing the game I considered Yuna the main character for the majority of the plot. Plus, I think the plot of FFX works even with Tidus as an annoying main character. The game might suffer, but he doesn't negate the good things about the plot.
My point was, it's a GREAT game, but unless you finish 20+ hours of it all you will remember is the most annoying player character and voice acting up to that point in gaming history. Think about relationship that has great moments here and there but is a pain on a daily basis to go through. If Tidus never spoke in game, the game would be ubiquitously loved.
On November 15 2011 23:36 flowSthead wrote: I think most people that hate on FFX just hate it because of the really awful voice acting. The dialogue and plot isn't actually horrible, it just has the worse voice acting in the history of the video games (I think it's also one of the first voice acted games) so at times the dialogue seems clunky and unnatural, even though it isn't. I replayed the game when I was older and I noticed the bag voice acting, but you can eventually just ignore it and focus on the actual dialogue, which is pretty good. When you compare it to FF12, a weaker game in terms of plot and characterization, FF12 seems like a smoother game because of the better voice acting.
Also, I am surprised the guy above me is the first person to mention FF Tactics, since that is probably the game I consider the best in the JRPG genere, but I guess that is not a popular opinion.
This is a really big hit though. We go from legendary main chars like Celes/Terra/Locke, Cloud, Squall, hell even Zidane, and then the first time our main character speaks he is...the biggest whiner/crybaby seen in the history of video games up to that time. The fact that he and Jecht has one of the most touching scenes doesn't change the fact that you endure his voice acting for 40+ hours to get there.
As for FFT - I'm guessing most people don't classify it as a RPG. The storyline for that thing is insane though...I'd say even comparable to Planescape: Torment (in a different way, but still good).
I'm not saying Tidus is the ideal main character. He kind of sucks in comparison to all the others, you are right. But I think the voice acting just exacerbates it, and without the voice acting he is ok. Anyways, while playing the game I considered Yuna the main character for the majority of the plot. Plus, I think the plot of FFX works even with Tidus as an annoying main character. The game might suffer, but he doesn't negate the good things about the plot.
My point was, it's a GREAT game, but unless you finish 20+ hours of it all you will remember is the most annoying player character and voice acting up to that point in gaming history. Think about relationship that has great moments here and there but is a pain on a daily basis to go through. If Tidus never spoke in game, the game would be ubiquitously loved.
I'm with you ^_^. Did you play FF12? Because the voice acting in that was fantastic.
On November 15 2011 23:36 flowSthead wrote: I think most people that hate on FFX just hate it because of the really awful voice acting. The dialogue and plot isn't actually horrible, it just has the worse voice acting in the history of the video games (I think it's also one of the first voice acted games) so at times the dialogue seems clunky and unnatural, even though it isn't. I replayed the game when I was older and I noticed the bag voice acting, but you can eventually just ignore it and focus on the actual dialogue, which is pretty good. When you compare it to FF12, a weaker game in terms of plot and characterization, FF12 seems like a smoother game because of the better voice acting.
Also, I am surprised the guy above me is the first person to mention FF Tactics, since that is probably the game I consider the best in the JRPG genere, but I guess that is not a popular opinion.
This is a really big hit though. We go from legendary main chars like Celes/Terra/Locke, Cloud, Squall, hell even Zidane, and then the first time our main character speaks he is...the biggest whiner/crybaby seen in the history of video games up to that time. The fact that he and Jecht has one of the most touching scenes doesn't change the fact that you endure his voice acting for 40+ hours to get there.
As for FFT - I'm guessing most people don't classify it as a RPG. The storyline for that thing is insane though...I'd say even comparable to Planescape: Torment (in a different way, but still good).
I'm not saying Tidus is the ideal main character. He kind of sucks in comparison to all the others, you are right. But I think the voice acting just exacerbates it, and without the voice acting he is ok. Anyways, while playing the game I considered Yuna the main character for the majority of the plot. Plus, I think the plot of FFX works even with Tidus as an annoying main character. The game might suffer, but he doesn't negate the good things about the plot.
My point was, it's a GREAT game, but unless you finish 20+ hours of it all you will remember is the most annoying player character and voice acting up to that point in gaming history. Think about relationship that has great moments here and there but is a pain on a daily basis to go through. If Tidus never spoke in game, the game would be ubiquitously loved.
I'm with you ^_^. Did you play FF12? Because the voice acting in that was fantastic.
I did...it was the only FF after 4 (other than 5, which I never played) that I didn't finish lol. I got to the last few areas and honestly just go tired of it. Has nothing to do with the voice acting though, which like you said was good.
To this day I don't remember why Vaan and Penelo are in the game, or why they are important. The other characters were pretty cool though.
On November 15 2011 23:36 flowSthead wrote: I think most people that hate on FFX just hate it because of the really awful voice acting. The dialogue and plot isn't actually horrible, it just has the worse voice acting in the history of the video games (I think it's also one of the first voice acted games) so at times the dialogue seems clunky and unnatural, even though it isn't. I replayed the game when I was older and I noticed the bag voice acting, but you can eventually just ignore it and focus on the actual dialogue, which is pretty good. When you compare it to FF12, a weaker game in terms of plot and characterization, FF12 seems like a smoother game because of the better voice acting.
Also, I am surprised the guy above me is the first person to mention FF Tactics, since that is probably the game I consider the best in the JRPG genere, but I guess that is not a popular opinion.
This is a really big hit though. We go from legendary main chars like Celes/Terra/Locke, Cloud, Squall, hell even Zidane, and then the first time our main character speaks he is...the biggest whiner/crybaby seen in the history of video games up to that time. The fact that he and Jecht has one of the most touching scenes doesn't change the fact that you endure his voice acting for 40+ hours to get there.
As for FFT - I'm guessing most people don't classify it as a RPG. The storyline for that thing is insane though...I'd say even comparable to Planescape: Torment (in a different way, but still good).
I'm not saying Tidus is the ideal main character. He kind of sucks in comparison to all the others, you are right. But I think the voice acting just exacerbates it, and without the voice acting he is ok. Anyways, while playing the game I considered Yuna the main character for the majority of the plot. Plus, I think the plot of FFX works even with Tidus as an annoying main character. The game might suffer, but he doesn't negate the good things about the plot.
My point was, it's a GREAT game, but unless you finish 20+ hours of it all you will remember is the most annoying player character and voice acting up to that point in gaming history. Think about relationship that has great moments here and there but is a pain on a daily basis to go through. If Tidus never spoke in game, the game would be ubiquitously loved.
I'm with you ^_^. Did you play FF12? Because the voice acting in that was fantastic.
I did...it was the only FF after 4 (other than 5, which I never played) that I didn't finish lol. I got to the last few areas and honestly just go tired of it. Has nothing to do with the voice acting though, which like you said was good.
To this day I don't remember why Vaan and Penelo are in the game, or why they are important. The other characters were pretty cool though.
They aren't important in the least. I played through a second time and it was actually better the second time when I recognized that they were supporting characters. The game is a turn off if you consider them main characters, though, so I thought it was weaker than it ended up being. It's the weird final villains that are lackluster, but the actual political intrigue is pretty good. It's nowhere near FF Tactics good, but it's not terrible.
Brilliant write up. I started to get mad when you were ragging on final fantasy, because i really enjoyed a lot of games in that series, then i realised that in my playthroughs i almost never use any of the main characters.
Great writeup. I've played through this game about 5 times since it came out. In the last year i bought an original snes cart on ebay. They go for about 60 dollars. Its a somewhat rare game. Ive seen a few unopened copies going for around 2000 bucks.
I have no problem saying this is the greatest game ever. Music is very emotional.
Also, they just released this game as a download on the ps3 network.
Edit: I completely agree with your assessment of the Final Fantasy games. 7 was the last good one. Im old enough to remember when FF1 came out for Nes. I scoured video rental stores to find a copy.
On November 15 2011 23:36 flowSthead wrote: I think most people that hate on FFX just hate it because of the really awful voice acting. The dialogue and plot isn't actually horrible, it just has the worse voice acting in the history of the video games (I think it's also one of the first voice acted games) so at times the dialogue seems clunky and unnatural, even though it isn't. I replayed the game when I was older and I noticed the bag voice acting, but you can eventually just ignore it and focus on the actual dialogue, which is pretty good. When you compare it to FF12, a weaker game in terms of plot and characterization, FF12 seems like a smoother game because of the better voice acting.
Also, I am surprised the guy above me is the first person to mention FF Tactics, since that is probably the game I consider the best in the JRPG genere, but I guess that is not a popular opinion.
This is a really big hit though. We go from legendary main chars like Celes/Terra/Locke, Cloud, Squall, hell even Zidane, and then the first time our main character speaks he is...the biggest whiner/crybaby seen in the history of video games up to that time. The fact that he and Jecht has one of the most touching scenes doesn't change the fact that you endure his voice acting for 40+ hours to get there.
As for FFT - I'm guessing most people don't classify it as a RPG. The storyline for that thing is insane though...I'd say even comparable to Planescape: Torment (in a different way, but still good).
Implying that Cloud and Squall (who is the single worst MC in a video game ever) are better than Zidane? Really? IDK why FF9 gets the hate it does. ...Whatever.
On November 15 2011 23:36 flowSthead wrote: I think most people that hate on FFX just hate it because of the really awful voice acting. The dialogue and plot isn't actually horrible, it just has the worse voice acting in the history of the video games (I think it's also one of the first voice acted games) so at times the dialogue seems clunky and unnatural, even though it isn't. I replayed the game when I was older and I noticed the bag voice acting, but you can eventually just ignore it and focus on the actual dialogue, which is pretty good. When you compare it to FF12, a weaker game in terms of plot and characterization, FF12 seems like a smoother game because of the better voice acting.
Also, I am surprised the guy above me is the first person to mention FF Tactics, since that is probably the game I consider the best in the JRPG genere, but I guess that is not a popular opinion.
This is a really big hit though. We go from legendary main chars like Celes/Terra/Locke, Cloud, Squall, hell even Zidane, and then the first time our main character speaks he is...the biggest whiner/crybaby seen in the history of video games up to that time. The fact that he and Jecht has one of the most touching scenes doesn't change the fact that you endure his voice acting for 40+ hours to get there.
As for FFT - I'm guessing most people don't classify it as a RPG. The storyline for that thing is insane though...I'd say even comparable to Planescape: Torment (in a different way, but still good).
Implying that Cloud and Squall (who is the single worst MC in a video game ever) are better than Zidane? Really? IDK why FF9 gets the hate it does. ...Whatever.
Whoa calm down, FF9 is my favorite FF game, but Cloud and Squall generally gets more fanfare. I personally thought Zidane was awesome. Squall's story was cute albeit cheesy, but it was the other characters that made that group annoying, not Squall. Squall (and Cloud) develops from his lone wolf attitude to be able to work as a group throughout the game, and his progress is noticeable.
With all four of them (Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus) you understand as you play the games why they have the attitudes they do, but only one (Tidus) makes you want to wear earplugs as you do it.
If anything, CHRONO is a really lame main character, but you hardly notice the fact because CT is so freaking good, and you think "Wow Chrono is badass!" despite him not actually doing anything. Everything he says and does is implied, and you supplement with your imagination. In other words - a minimalistic main char is much easier to tolerate than an overly expressive (and poorly voice-acted) one.
TY for writing this, stirred so many memories. I was really touched. Fantastic post. Best game ever.
Chrono Trigger was really epic. How come no mention of the NuUUuuuu? Those were epic, I remember waiting for the rain to come and chasing those at the hunting grounds for 30 TP..
On November 15 2011 23:36 flowSthead wrote: I think most people that hate on FFX just hate it because of the really awful voice acting. The dialogue and plot isn't actually horrible, it just has the worse voice acting in the history of the video games (I think it's also one of the first voice acted games) so at times the dialogue seems clunky and unnatural, even though it isn't. I replayed the game when I was older and I noticed the bag voice acting, but you can eventually just ignore it and focus on the actual dialogue, which is pretty good. When you compare it to FF12, a weaker game in terms of plot and characterization, FF12 seems like a smoother game because of the better voice acting.
Also, I am surprised the guy above me is the first person to mention FF Tactics, since that is probably the game I consider the best in the JRPG genere, but I guess that is not a popular opinion.
This is a really big hit though. We go from legendary main chars like Celes/Terra/Locke, Cloud, Squall, hell even Zidane, and then the first time our main character speaks he is...the biggest whiner/crybaby seen in the history of video games up to that time. The fact that he and Jecht has one of the most touching scenes doesn't change the fact that you endure his voice acting for 40+ hours to get there.
As for FFT - I'm guessing most people don't classify it as a RPG. The storyline for that thing is insane though...I'd say even comparable to Planescape: Torment (in a different way, but still good).
Implying that Cloud and Squall (who is the single worst MC in a video game ever) are better than Zidane? Really? IDK why FF9 gets the hate it does. ...Whatever.
Whoa calm down, FF9 is my favorite FF game, but Cloud and Squall generally gets more fanfare. I personally thought Zidane was awesome. Squall's story was cute albeit cheesy, but it was the other characters that made that group annoying, not Squall. Squall (and Cloud) develops from his lone wolf attitude to be able to work as a group throughout the game, and his progress is noticeable.
With all four of them (Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus) you understand as you play the games why they have the attitudes they do, but only one (Tidus) makes you want to wear earplugs as you do it.
If anything, CHRONO is a really lame main character, but you hardly notice the fact because CT is so freaking good, and you think "Wow Chrono is badass!" despite him not actually doing anything. Everything he says and does is implied, and you supplement with your imagination. In other words - a minimalistic main char is much easier to tolerate than an overly expressive (and poorly voice-acted) one.
Yeah, I agree with this. Having dialogue and voice acting for a character essentially gives him greater potential. That sets him up for being better than he otherwise would be (Delita, Ramza) or worse (Tidus). Having a mute main character essentially means he cannot fail (Link), but cannot really succeed either by himself. I love the Legend of Zelda games, for example, but I cannot say I have any love for Link in particular the way I do for Delita and Ramza.
I'd like to also chime in, that for having written this so beautifully and included the music. i have redl'd snes9x and the rom, and began playing again last night. see you guys in a week. fuuuuuu
EPT
