[Classic] Final Fantasy VI Advanced

Lovely. Just lovely.

I was going to make this thread first thing yesterday, but the site goes down. Soon as it comes back up, I had to do some personal stuff. The second I finish it, I'm beaten to the punch.

Bitter much.

Anyway, despite being only halfway done with FFXII, barely 2 hours thru FFIII DS, the extra dungeons in FFIVA, and not even close to done with FFI+II, I will absolutely make time for Final Fantasy VI Advance. SE Japan is dubbing this the "Finest Fantasy", and while I still personally debate that, I won't argue that Final Fantasy VI is, overall, the best entry in the series.

This'll be the third time I buy this game, and I have no problems with that. It'll be worth the money for the new translation alone; based on the few snippets I've seen, the new translation does a better job of phrasing certain lines into a more correct context. For example:

Spoiler:

Original: Banon: "This is the girl who can talk to Espers?"

GBA: Banon: "So this is the girl whom the Esper responded to."

And while most fans will be upset that some of Kefka's wackier lines have been nixed, I'm personally looking forward to seeing his madness in full force, no longer restrained to keeping the game semi family friendly.

There are, however, two of Kefka's lines that I adore and hope remain in the GBA version.

Spoiler:

"Run, Run! Or you'll be well done!"

"Nothing beats the sound of hundreds of people screaming in unison."

That said, I've learned of one unfortunate censorship.

Spoiler:

Celes' beating by the Imprerial soldiers has been skipped completely. In this version, Locke enters her cell and finds her unconscious on the floor. She isn't even chained up anymore.

Now there's a chance the NA version will put this scene back, as recent events in Japan was the likely cause for this removal (the same reason FFXII's far tamer scene of imprisonment was taken out), but I'll be quite upset if it isn't; this was one of my favorite scenes in the game, as it shows a level of brutality that's rarely shown in the FF series (most times the characters are imprisoned, their confinement appears almost comfortable).

Another cool addition not mentioned is that the characters now have Job Titles under their names in the menu. Terra is a "Magitek Elite." Badass.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Aside from that and Siren's bare bottom, what else was censored? From what I heard, the only thing cut was some additional text here and there.

I remember way back reading some bullshit about how the Japanese version implied that Celes was raped, but I had doubts then, and I certainly have doubts now.

Also, even though the game is older than "AERIS DIES VII", we should mark spoilers for the newbies.

Quote:

I still can't figure out why they'd change Moogle Charm to Molulu's Charm.

Maybe Molulu is his girlfriend.

Bonus Dungeon Final Boss:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbkwQHANbeA

EDIT: I guess you can't hide youtube thumbnails.

How ya doing, buddy?

That song there is, in my opinion, the best Boss Theme ever. It never gets old, and I really wish they would arrange it just once.

Despite the bonus dungeon, new translation and new summons, I still wish there was more content added to the game's story. I feel there were too many things that weren't fully resolved, especially

Spoiler:

the period between Terra being taken in by Gestahl as a child up to her enslavement with the Slave Crown. What happened during those 17 years? Did she ever meet or know Celes at that time? For that matter, do the many similarities, physical or otherwise, between Terra and Celes just a coincidence?

Sure, there's always the chance that FFVI could get the luxury of a Compilation like FFVII, but some of these questions could've been addressed in this port.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

It's after Terra, Edgar and Locke escape from Figaro.

"Son of a submariner! They'll pay for this!"

Quote:

Spoiler:

They're nearly indistinguishable in the FMVs from the PS version.

Well the reason for that was because they wanted to stick to Amano's designs (Terra with blonde hair), but there's more similarities then that.

Spoiler:

They're the same age.

They were both in the empire.

Terra uses Fire, Celes uses Ice.

They have similar outfits (minus the cape on Celes).

Terra: the Earth; Celes: The Stars

I think they even weigh the same.

It was said a bit back that they were originally supposed to be one character, but then split into two before the game was finished. That would clarify quite a few things.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Alright, boys and girls. FFVI Advance will be hitting Best Buy this Tuesday at 2pm, for $29.99. Allow me to do you all a solid and attach a printable coupon from Gamepro that will save you $5.

That's right, FFVIA for $25. Enjoy.

Edit: Sorry for the goof up, but I'll leave the $10 coupons up for anyone who wants to use them.

coupon taken from CAG. hopefully they don't mind the distribution from them to me to you.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Well damn, I could've sworn I read one of the coupons was for $29.99. Let me fix it up and attach the $5 off $29.99 one then.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I didn't notice any hit in the music quality from that youtube link I posted; the music could be differently mixed, but that doesn't mean the actual quality should suffer.

What I'm more concerned about is the sound effects. The sound effect when navigating the menu cursor was extremely jarring and annoying, and it was pretty annoying originally to begin with. I hope that was just the result of the compressed video.

Of course all of these issues would be nonexistant if they simply ported it to the DS, but then the fans would whine about the lack of any touchscreen additions. Even worse, it'll probably make its way to the PSP if the recent FFI and FFII ports do well. I dread the thought of buying this game a fourth time just for enhanced sprites and extra CG.

FELIPE NO

I don't want to knock Amano; quite the opposite, he makes an excellent cover/promotional artist, but I've never considered his interpretations of any FF character to be their "official" look. Terra, to me, has green hair, not blonde. Kefka does not wear pink ruffles, Strago is not a creepy old man in bondage, and Locke....well I've been trying to find this one closeup on his face that was shown in the original SNES Strategy Guide, but I haven't been successful in that venture.

To be honest though, I've always viewed the characters are sort of half-SD; I just have trouble picturing them otherwise.

Here

are the rest of the official drawings for FFVIA, each done by different manga artists.

Also, for those of you wondering, Kefka's "Son of a submariner" line has been changed to...

Spoiler:

"Son of a Sandworm!"

I like. It makes much more sense in many ways.

Also, here's a look back at other famous Kefka-isms

http://www.sonofasubmariner.com/more.html

, preserved before their rewriting for the GBA version. They're missing some of my favorites, though.

Spoiler:

"Wait? Wait is for waiters!"

"Say, you should take a look at my Magicite collection someday! You might see a few familiar faces!!"

"Nothing beats the sound of hundreds of people screaming in unison!"

Game's out in less than an hour, though I won't be picking it up until around 5:30pm, on my way to college. Don't forget the coupon I linked.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

The way I've always read it (and do correct me if I'm wrong), is that for the past FFs, SE would have the character's concept in mind, so they ask Amano to expand on it ("Okay, I want a little girl who can talk to animals. Green hair would be nice"). Amano creates the character in his style, Square approves it for official artwork. But then they take that character and "downgrade" him/her based on the graphical limitations, and also due to personal preference (I don't know who approved it, but someone wanted Terra to have green hair in the end, not blonde).

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that Amano's renderings aren't really the "official" look for the character; it's however they look in-game. Take a look at Nintendo's FFVIA page to see what I mean.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, I've just purchased the game, $5 coupon and all. I'm in class until late night, though, so any impressions will have to wait until then.

EDIT: Hurrrrrgh.

Spoiler:

Quote:

Confirmed that the Celes prison scene IS edited, was not put back in from the JP release. It's the same except she's not chained to the wall, and it doesn't show them punching her at all. The text is still all there IIRC.

-GAF.

Even worse, they've also changed the line about Shadow killing his own mother for a nickel, to his brother. Okay, what. This has to be Nintendo's doing.

Still quite unhappy the above scene was changed.

Also, there's some reports that this game could be tough to find due to limited shipments. There were only about 3 copies in my local Best Buy, so this rumor might be warranted.

How ya doing, buddy?

Think of the new generation. This is one of the very few non-comical moments from anyone in the Empire who isn't Kefka. It shows you exactly the kind of suffering Celes goes through.

This isn't going to encourage people to lock up girls and punch them, goddamit. It's for DRAMA.

And now Gamefaqs is going to start with some "ZOMG WHO IS SHADOW'S BROTHER I KNOW IT'S GOGO" shit.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

$29.99. Use the coupon.

Also, it's Japan's fault for leaving it out, and it's NA's fault for being too lazy to code it back in. Or to keep the E10 rating.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Now that you mention it, the context could fit in Edgar's case. I'll have to read the line myself.

What I've yet to see mentioned was if any of the characters get a change in their dialect. Does Cyan still use thou-speak? What about Gau's pre-Ayla dialogue? And what about Relm's pottymouth, supposedly much more colorful in the original japanese version?

I was speaking idiomatically.

The main reason I'm leary of changing "Momma" to "Brother" is that it could give newbies the impression that Shadow has a brother, which to my knowledge he does not. There's a possibility his friend in the flashback could be related, but since they never state otherwise, we merely assume it's his partner and nothing more.

Also, wasn't Mog's official age something like 13? A bit too young to have a lover or wife, right (or are Moogle years different from human years)?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Hmm, I read on GAF that it was "brother", but it looks like the poster goofed and admitted it was "best friend".

So there goes my previous rant. Still, the lack of sprite on female-sprite violence upsets me.

FELIPE NO

No, there's something even worse than all those put together.

Spoiler:

Celes' attempted suicide.

I'm not exactly sure if that scene was kept here, but I haven't read anyone saying it was removed, so I assume it's still there.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I can't wait for the FFVII remake when they edit out Sephiroth's sword going through Aerith's chest. Maybe he'll just scare her to death.

This edit bothers me a great deal, because I always felt they put a substantial effort in the whole scene. Celes even has an exclusive sprite animation just for that part alone. I just don't get it.

Spoiler:

are they even going to show Cyan's dead son, lying on his bed?

Most amazing jew boots

Not sure, but I prefer if it was altered. A bit out of character to have him rage out on some poor bastard.

I played up to the escape from Figaro, so here's some various impressions, both technical and literary.

1. I was disappointed that a new intro wasn't created like with FFIVA.

2. Music overall is done quite well (keep in mind I was using headphones). The opening theme in the snow is handled pretty much flawlessly, and I actually like this version of the standard battle theme over the original (sounds a little more lively). Where the music does suffer though is any song that uses a piano, like the Title Screen music. Pretty bad snythwork, there. Also, the Narche theme sounds much more like an FFVII tune (or maybe it always has, it's been a while).

I just hope Relm's theme ends up less annoying, not more.

3. Sound effects is a mixed bag. The worst offenders are the blowing wind in the beginning, and the lightning crack whenever a boss died. The latter was always one of my favorite oldschool sound effects, so I'm sad to hear it downgraded.

4. Slowdown isn't nearly as bad as people mentioned, although I've yet to do any major moves with a full party. Seems to be the most slowdown whenever I'm casting magic. Also, there may have been slowdown during cutscenes, or the text moves slower than it did originally (doesn't seem I can adjust it, either).

The most slowdown occured when I was riding the Chocobo. Moving straight was fine, but left or right turns were super slow.

5. You can sprint with the B button, and there's a quicksave feature, just like the last GBA games.

Now about the translation.

The new translation is an absolute plus so far. It does a lot more than just rephrase things, you also learn some extra bits of information that may interest longtime fans. Some of the more classic lines have been kept, too, despite the change of submariner to sandworm.

1. I particularly liked Biggs and Wedge's line about the Slave Crown.

Spoiler:

"She won't even breathe unless we tell her to."

2. They still say that the first boss absorbs lightning, even though lightning attacks still hurt it.

3. They corrected the line about the Narche soldiers wanting "the girl and her magitek armor".

4. Many of Locke's lines are intact.

5. Thankfully, his over the top and rather assholish line about Terra being a "magitek riding, fire burning witch" has been nixed.

6. Molulu is indeed in the game, and is in the same party as Mog.

7. The Empire is reffered to as "The Gestahlian Empire"

8. Kefka's rank is "Court Mage". There goes the theory that he was the third general.

9. Many of Kefka's lines are kept intact, including his "Uwee hee hee hee" laugh. Although I smiled a bit at his new exclaimed line of "GO! KILL THEM!!!"

10. His laugh sound effect is also faithfully reproduced.

11. Edgar truly does hit on anything that moves, young or old alike.

12. The Beavis and Butthead reference is still intact.

13. The scene where Locke and Edgar react to Terra's magic is even funnier, although the final line makes even less sense.

14. "Eh, who-might-you-be" is gone, thankfully.

15. Trap chests are still called "Monster-in-a-box"

16. Potions "taste funny", finally answering an old question of mine on whether FF potions are taken orally or applied on the injured skin. Also, they taste funny. :/

17. Jump is now "Dragoon Boost". Nice.

18. Cyan's skill is "Bushido". Forgot what it was called previously (Knight?).

EDIT: Oh shit, that's hilarious.

Spoiler:

"If we allow the emperor to continue amassing weapons of Magitek destruction...

Also, equipping sprint shoes and using the B button to dash while wearing them will have you run 4x as fast, but your sprite suppsodely glitches up something fierce if you do this.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Quote:

SOLDIER, your memory of the old translation appears to be more vivid than mine, what's your impression so far - does the GBA port really contain all the dialog Woolsey had to leave out back in the day, due to capacity issues?

It pretty much uses Woolsey's translation as a base, then builds around it, rephrasing some words for a more accurate translation, or outright replacing some of the more bizzare/incorrect/lame dialogue. I'm not sure exactly how much text was left out of the original, but there's definetely some additional lines of text that weren't present in the SNES version, such as when you battle Vargas for instance.

Damn Blitz; it took me two attempts to remember the timing for them, along with adjusting to using the DS pad for input. I've never really figured out if moves like Raging Fist have to be done quickly.

Banon's class is "Oracle", and his heal ability is "Pray". I'll assume this isn't a magical spell in the context of the story, even though it's a White Mage move. I never really could figure out how they could tell the difference between artificial magic (magitek) like what Celes uses or the real stuff like what Terra has.

Ultros:

"Ooh, what a delicious morsel! I'd love to get my tentacles around her! *SLUUUURP*"

How ya doing, buddy?

I've tried to do Left, Right, Left A as slow and precise as possible, but I fail every time. It works a lot better for me if I do the commands quickly, though that seems to only be the case for Raging Fist; I can take my time with his other moves, and they register fine.

How ya doing, buddy?

No, I blame my gorilla-sized digits. :/

I was speaking idiomatically.

Instant classic line coming like what.

Spoiler:

This new translation rules.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Any idea what they changed this to?

Spoiler:

FELIPE NO

Phew, I finally got back into this game where I last left off.

Spoiler:

Choose your scenario, kupo!

Naturally a good deal of you are far ahead, but there's no need for me to catch up.

I've had fond memories of the whole Sabin scenario, and I was happy to see that it still holds up. I remember reading way, way back (I think it was EGM) how the Phantom Forest alone was praised for having "incredible graphics." Funny how I still agree with that, even now. There's just a certain majestic beauty in how all the trees and such are placed around. I was simply floored then, and I still smile with nostalgia now.

I noticed a minor change, though. When the Phantom Train first starts up, they begin to play the music; in the SNES game, the music didn't play until after the first cutscene.

There's another instance where the music plays during an originally silent moment, and personally I'm a bit letdown by its inclusion.

Spoiler:

it plays when the train is leaving with Cyan's wife and son. Originally, there was just silence, which I felt add to the drama. It only goes silent when the train is gone and you get that brief period where Cyan stares onward, silently

Also, there was some noticable (and annoying) slowdown in the cutscene where you're surrounded by ghosts. Nearly got my eyes crossed watching the slow moving trees.

How ya doing, buddy?