[General Discussion] FFVII Compilation Thread

I'm not trying to needlessly defend the game, but EGM is the one magazine where I have to question its current credibility. They've been slamming the game since before the NA improvements every chance they got. If anyone's capable of giving FFXII anything less than a 10, it'll be them.

Other mags like Play have been more favorable, but I am prepared if the game doesn't hold up play-wise. I'm willing to forgive that so long as the cutscenes are plentiful and enjoyable.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Pay no attention to SOLDIER -- he prefers watching games to playing them.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Not necessarily. I agree with Soldier, as lately EGM's been unusually harsh on other games as well. Don't ask me for specifics, I just remember reading one at work and seeing several good games get very awkward scores; awkward or just plain low.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by SouthJag

Not necessarily. I agree with Soldier, as lately EGM's been unusually harsh on other games as well. Don't ask me for specifics, I just remember reading one at work and seeing several good games get very awkward scores; awkward or just plain low.

Maybe they're trying to be like Faimatsu now?

How ya doing, buddy?

I downloaded the Japanese release back when it came out and even with the original "problems" I had a lot of fun.

I stopped playing after a few hours because I was missing out on the storyline, but the gameplay was perfectly fine by me. I wouldn't give it more than 8.5 at the highest, but it definately wasn't crap.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Dark Nation

Maybe they're trying to be like Faimatsu now?

Buh? Famitsu over-inflates its scores.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Motsy

Buh? Famitsu over-inflates its scores.

You sure about that? It was the other-way around I noticed in the past.

Also, from Wikipedia:

Quote:

"Famitsu is known worldwide for its extremely harsh grading of current videogames. Video games are graded in Famitsu by a panel of four video game reviewers. Each reviewer gives a score from one to ten (ten being best). The scores of the four reviewers are then added up with a possible score of forty. Famitsu reviewers have long been considered unmercifully tough, though in recent years their average review scores have generally taken an upswing. Several recent Famitsu scores have been subject to controversy, and the magazine has been accused of "selling out" to appease advertisers and the larger entities in the industry, such as with their score for Dirge of Cerberus. However, it is still extremely difficult for a game to receive a perfect score of forty from Famitsu's reviewers. Famitsu Wave DVD does not grade video games."

You might have been referring to the bribes companies have given them, but generally they still have a reputation for harsh scores. I do agree that they may have caved into pressure from the larger companies, but then again they did change thier scoring system to decide based on the Genre that the game is placed in, instead of going against every game ever. That may explain the two recent 10 scores (FFXII and Nintendogs), because they were exceptional in the RPG and a uh... Virtual Pet Simulator genres.

I think they were a bit unfair in the wikipedia entry, because Dirge of Cerberus is in a sort-of unique position: Take the fact that all the previous media entries in the series have been RPGs or Film/Animated, whereas DoC is a Third Person Shooter. Its hard to do a Storyline series and change the genre (So it would be like having Xenosaga 1 being a RTS, where Xenosaga 2 was a FPS, but with all the story still there) without making everything shit. In that regards Squarenix did an geat job because it largely stays an interesting game, despite the genre shift. That may have influenced the score of the game, as they might have considered the story, and GAMEPLAY elements that transitioned to a Third Person FPS (Like the Use of Materia in battle), and how well they did in regards to that. Taking that and comparing the game itself against other Third Person FPSs (Max Payne for example) you would then being evaluating the game.

The most important part, and one that often goes unnoticed it seems these days, is that while Reviews/Scores and all of that are a good way to get a general impression of the overall funfactor of a game, its all about what you think once you play it. You don't need to rely on a Gamespot score to know that Super Mario 3 is a well honed example of the Side Scroller Genre, but a lot of games out there are not so simple in seeing if they are great to play or not, and in this respect I can see the use of Game Scores.

Anyway... Does anyone know the release dates for Crisis Core, and the PS2 Port as well?

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

I played the Japanese version of FF7: DoC a couple months back.

Gameplay was alright. I enjoyed trying to beat the game. But wouldn't want to play it again. There wasn't a wide range of enemies. Just generic versions of Soldiers and doggie things. And I didn't like how in FMV's, Vincent would hop around on rooftop to rooftop, but actual gameplay he's always stuck the the ground with one lame jump. Controls were a bit weird for me at first, but I got used to it. If you have USB ports on your PS2... you can plug in your mouse and keyboard to play...
I probably try out the US version sometime in the future to see the difference in gameplay, but it looks like you guys will have nicer controls for Vincent

Music.. I don't remember it much (been a long time since I've played.) But it's not as memorable has Uematsu's scores of course.

I think the game had some interesting character designs for Azul and Shelke, as well as Yuffie's new look. The story started out alright, but towards the end of the game, it gets lame. I wanted to kill myself of how horrible of a plot the game has. It ties up nothing about the FF7 world, basically just "Vincent's storyline." They need better story writers that don't follow some lame typical anime approach. Looks like they threw the story together at the last minute.

I would say, rent the game to watch the cutscenes. And if you really want to, buy it.

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OFF-TOPIC: For those who wanted to know.... the FFX Play Arts Tidus and Yuna came out yesterday!

They're pretty cool, but Yuna's leg movement is really limited. Damn dress, there's something funky going on with the joint at her hip, kinda out of place, but because of the dress I can't seem to pop it back in. Also the swivel/twist joint on her foot seem really delicate, one wrong bend and it might break. Oh well, I don't plan on posing her too much, leg wise anyway. Hopefully, Play Arts future lines have less problems.

Overall, Tidus is probably the best of the FFX figures for posability, but as far as coolness Auron takes it.




I was speaking idiomatically.

If anyone's interested in some more info and a pre-release review of Dirge of Cerberus, here it is -- http://ps2.ign.com/articles/724/724990p2.html

Do we have a DoC-exclusive thread? I thought we did...

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

It was decided to keep all FFVII-based information and discussion under one thread. And IGN's review helped quell my earlier misconceptions a bit. The game is flawed, no question, but the story at least delivers. The fact that IGN criticized the game for having too many cutscenes felt like a plus in my book.

So in the end it will boil down to how much you like FFVII, or Vincent in particular. So I at least have nothing to worry about.

How ya doing, buddy?

I admit that my expectations were never high regarding Dirge of Cerberus, but it's helpful to read a little about the game again. That weapon customization feature seems interesting.

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

I'm glad that the story doesn't take over throughout the whole game. I like story and all, but unless you're a 40+ hour RPG a la Xenosaga, cutscenes and dialogue should be kept to what's necessary, especially in an action game such as Dirge.

But nonetheless, since I don't mind a good bit of story, the game should be fine for me, and I imagine fine for anyone who enjoyed FF7. Any naysayers won't find anything impressive here though beyond the production values.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Despite the fact I still wont' get DoC, the fact that Square at least admits they didn't do a good job for the Japanese version and fixed things in the NA version shows improvement in the way they run things. They have talent in their company, but certain decisions or games they decided to develop along with their rather xenphobic attitude at times gets me. Now that the NA version has vastly improved it means they finally realise there are fans outside of Japan.(Now please also have some focus on Asia as well.) Now if only they make American releases more closer to the Japan one... I mean look at Capcom!

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I don't think Square fixing the game for NA isn't an indication that they respect the fans; they're just trying to make a broken game playable and hope the profits will justify the means.

Anyway, the game is out now, but as surprising as it sounds, I don't have it. This is due to two reasons.

1. I had a Focus Group meeting from 6am to 5pm.

2. I was waiting to see if it worked with HD Loader. I'm saving all my money for the PS3, so it would really work in my favor if I didn't have to pay for a game that's admiteddly flawed yet still full of merit. Even if it is an FFVII-themed game.

Spoiler:

Well good news, it seems to work with Mode 3 enabled. Blackcats has the torrent up now. Download I go.

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

Nice I'm getting as well, 2 hours left. Good news to see it works with HDL, thanks for the tip about mode 3. SO far all reviews say the story is really good and interesting but the gameplay is meh. Although the gameplay videos I saw look fun so that plus the story being good means I should enjoy this great quite a bit. Plus I'm not that critical so little things like camera won't bother me.

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

2 hours left! ;_; I have about 31 hours left, going at 60kbps

I was speaking idiomatically.

I was willing to buy it despite the complaints, because the game is certain to at least deliver with cutscenes. But downloading the game guarantees I'll get more enjoyment than disappointment from it, since I didn't pay anything for it. While I feel a little guilty for backstabbing my favorite series, current financial circumstances forced me to take this route.

That and the fact that FFXII has gotten my full RPG attention this year. Anything else before it is merely filler.

Also, I just started downloading now, so I'll probably leave my PC on while I sleep. Hopefully it'll finish by the time I wake up.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I know of a great site that always gurantees top speeds on torrents, it just has a ratio system which isnt bad I mean ya gotta share hehe. Gets all the new movies and games and cds so if you want the link just pm me.

FELIPE NO

Of course, with you people torrenting the game (i.e. not buying it), I'm sure this'll encourage SE to remake FF7. >_>;

Anyway, I'll be getting my copy of Dirge tomorrow, as I've got it preordered. Just to have swing by the store to get it.

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

Actually I like to d/l then first especially when I don't have the money at the time. I'll buy it later when I do get the money, for series like MGS and FF I usually buy it after awhile.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by SouthJag

Of course, with you people torrenting the game (i.e. not buying it), I'm sure this'll encourage SE to remake FF7. >_>;

Exactly.

"WHERE IS MY FF7 REMAKE, SQUARE?! TRUE FF7 FANS DEMAND IT!....What? BUY a major FF7 cash-in title and not download it? I think NOT."

Although my personal opinion is that anyone who buys DoC supports terrorism. That or poorly made SE action titles that may or may not involve FF characters.

The roundout the review duo between IGN and GameSpot comes GameSpot's review...
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/d...s&subj=6155471

Quote:

The Good: Dozens of extra missions to play after you beat the game; the story provides an interesting look at the origins of one of the secret characters from the original game; great prerendered cutscenes.

The Bad: The camera can be extremely awkward and frustrating in close quarters; frequent cutscenes and load times drag down the pace of the game; bland, rigidly linear level design; paltry weapon selection and unexciting gunplay.

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII presents a difficult choice to Final Fantasy fans. On one hand, it's a generic shooter that simply doesn't measure up to the high standards for action games on the PlayStation 2. On the other hand, it's a new entry in the beloved Final Fantasy VII universe, so if you're a fan of that game you might feel almost obligated to play this one, even though the story contains very little of what made the original game so great. The end result is a game that does have a few interesting and even entertaining moments, but will ultimately leave action game fans and Final Fantasy fans feeling unfulfilled.

So I guess DoC went from complete shit to improved shit that's still broken. I mean if you really want to watch the slick CG Events then I could just post them and spare the wasted time and pain of playing the game?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm surprised that it's still getting word-associated with "broken," to be honest. I figured with the fixed camera, double jump inclusion, and changes to melee combat, it would begin to take on roles closer to Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry 3 (not that particularly enjoyed either of those games, but many seem to).

However, for the sake of fanboyism/wanting an FF7 remake and believing that purchasing this game will get me one step closer to that end, I'll still buy it.

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

Quote:

"WHERE IS MY FF7 REMAKE, SQUARE?! TRUE FF7 FANS DEMAND IT!....What? BUY a major FF7 cash-in title and not download it? I think NOT."

Thousands more people downloaded Advent Children; did that hurt sales much?

There's still Crisis Core, Before Crisis, and whatever entry they're working on now.

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

Point taken. However, it's the difference between a $25 movie and a $50 game. If sales of DoC suck ass (due in part to downloaders), you think SE will really even bother releasing Crisis Core?

And come on, you know that Before Crisis will never make it here. Ever.

We've seen the same thing happen with Xenosaga. Namco Bandai's likely not going to release Xenosaga I&II for the DS in the states, and the other Xenosaga stuff will stay in Japan as well. And I don't think Namco Bandai's got near the same funds as Square-Enix, so yeah. SE doesn't have to do anything unless it's profitable. And unless people buy their stuff, it won't be profitable. :/

I was speaking idiomatically.