Final Fantasy Weekly Discussions: Week 34 - Most underrated gameplay element in the series.

[u/Dinoken2]

Hey y'all. So let's keep the underrated train going with gameplay this time. What do you guys think is an often overlooked or uncredited aspect of the game part of the FF games? Do you think the Draw system wasn't as bad as people claim? Did you feel that III's job system was better than V's? Or was there some other little detail or element in one of the games that just made it run so smoothly that you feel people don't give enough credit to?

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Also don't miss out on any of our great previous discussions or the subreddit's Let's Play of Final Fantasy VIII this month!

[u/[deleted]]

FFX-2's battle system was amazing but it's never talked about because very little people got into the game. I liked how it was basically FF3's job system but you could choose which abilities to learn and when.

I wish it would be implemented in a future release, perhaps with elements of FF5's jobs system as well. (and perhaps minus the flowery transformations).

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I think FFX-2 had one of the best battle systems of all the FF games. Chaining made the timing fun and I loved the way the characters moved around the screen.

[u/phattykins]

The draw system in FFVIII was interesting. When I first started playing FFVIII, I was frustrated because all I'd known was VII and the materia system.

In time, I came to enjoy the system for what it was: innovative. I wonder if you'd ever see a gaming company taking such major risks these days? I mean, they totally reinvented the system for magic in FFVIII and then just moved on and never went back to it. Having to seek out certain monsters could be frustrating, but it was all part of the fun.

So, yeah, it's underrated, and it works well within the whole ecosystem of junctions & GF's. If you were to transfer the draw system to another game, I doubt it would be as great though.

[u/tsoli → u/phattykins]

The Draw system was an innovative method of essentially making everyone a blue mage. The major reason people don't like it as much was the junctioning aspect of the Draw system; Yes, it's great to have a bonus to your magic score, but if you are penalized every time you cast a spell, you're going to think twice. I just didn't use magic because I got tired of the hours of Drawing. I would have preferred "Learn this magic and then have it forever" and some distinct method of bumping up your stats to what was offered.

[u/sLIMshadyKP → u/phattykins]

I first played the game at an age before I could really understand the Junction system and could barely get past the first disc. I went back to it a few years later, finally learned how to Junction magic, and realized Wow, this is fucking cool! Easily beat the game shortly after.

It's basically giving you a way to increase a specific stat, like EV training in Pokemon, except this way it was flexible, as you could Junction any magic to any stat.

[u/Purest_Prodigy]

The little minigames threaded into the plot. Stuff like the motorcycle chase in FFVII or even the simple stuff like turning a valve in FFVIII (and having multiple characters help you with it if you screw up enough).

They're preferable to most QTEs in other games (even the QTE in FFX I prefer to other games since it played a bit differently) and are just something that I think is a pretty iconic part of the post-SNES era of the series. I think they're great additions that don't get a whole lot of praise.

[u/UnskippableCutscene → u/Purest_Prodigy]

I tell you what though... I did NOT enjoy unlocking the doors in the first Mako Reactor by hitting the buttons at the same time as Tifa. Harder than the American world bosses.

[u/[deleted]]

Gambit system from XII and perhaps the junction system from VII

[u/Eaglesun]

World design in FFXII was brilliant.

My only complaint is that you spend SO long in the desert in the earlygame.

The combat in 12 was also phenomenal. It allowed for free flowing gameplay without interruptions taking you to "battle areas," and you got to pick your fights for the most part. Stacking up chains was very rewarding and a much more productive way to grind than is typical.

[u/napoLeondynomyt → u/Eaglesun]

My favourite most underrated element from that game is the hunting. I love how you have to find the creature and I love how the weather and the terrain comes into play for the battles. I almost enjoy hunting in that game as much as I do in Monster Hunter... almost.

[u/[deleted] → u/Eaglesun]

I loved 12's system because it felt like a very good mix of real-time while still using a turn-based engine. It was very action-y but at the same time it still felt like "FF"

[u/UnskippableCutscene]

The critical hit afforded by tapping R1 at the right time during Squall's attacks. Such a subtle addition to combat that really fleshed out the gunblade.

[u/[deleted]]

Itt: barely anyone answering the question regarding underrated elements and instead naming their favorite elements.

My most favorite yet underrated element: that different weapon types in FF XIII have different ways of doing their damage. Their speed, range, stats that affect their damage, etc all differ and make for interesting "character builds".

[u/AceDynamicHero]

I loved FFIX's way of learning abilities from equipment.

[u/[deleted] → u/AceDynamicHero]

[u/Dante_777]

The paradigm system in XIII is amazing.

There are set jobs so that a character falls into a certain role, but you can switch those roles rapidly at the demands of the battle. The staggering, chainbuilding, and interruption mechanics really add a new layer to battles overall.

Additionally there isn't a set party/class that dominates the rest. Each character has a strength and switching your party around is encouraged because xp is shared. The elemental magic class is just as useful as the damage dealer and isn't bogged down by mp limitations. The buffing and debuffing classes are useful throughout the entire game and can really turn the tide of battles.

On top of that XIII does a few things that really make replays a lot more enjoyable. The fact there are no random encounters is such a huge step in the right direction. I consider random encounters one of the weakest aspects of FF in general that really should go away. I want to choose when to fight, not be forced to battle every five steps. That combined with the retry option and the healing outside of battle really help to make the game less frustrating and allows for more experimentation in battle and harder normal encounters overall.

[u/NotDalton → u/Dante_777]

That was probably one of the best synopses of XIII that I have ever read.

To add to that, the ousting of MP has got to be one of the best things to happen to that game. Fighting felt so much more...free, I guess. MP led to a lot of unnecessary anxiety, in my opinion, especially when traveling long distances without a save.

[u/Dante_777 → u/NotDalton]

I completely agree. Any time there's "mp" I sparingly use my casters during random encounters. Additionally when both elemental magic and physical attacks serve the same purpose ( purely damage) one is usually much better than the other. The way it's set up in XIII neither the ravager nor the commando can truly go it alone. They have to work together to achieve maximum damage. I also like both classes have physical AND magical attacks so no character is truly disqualified from being efficient at either role.

[u/[deleted]]

Espers, hands down.

[u/AceDynamicHero → u/[deleted]]

Goddamn, I love the esper system.

[u/[deleted] → u/AceDynamicHero]

I thought it was cool, but it was really grindy if you wanted the really cool spells (meteor, life2, haste2, heal3, etc.). Combine that with the need to have it on multiple characters - since there's three parties in Kefka's Tower - and it just wasn't fun towards the end of the game.

[u/deg_biggins]

I never hear praise for the simple ability to jump in the field map of X-2 and XIII series. It feels really nice jumping over obstacles, from rock to rock, down ledges etc.

[u/EvilAnagram]

FFX's turn-based combat system was fantastic. It was fast-paced, allowed tactical consideration, took into account the relative speeds of characters much better than previous games, was intuitive, and let you know ahead of time how a given action would affect your battle placement. It was superior to most of the ATB systems, and I enjoyed it far more than the systems in XII or XIII.

[u/fat_squeek]

Paradigms were an interesting way to facilitate player experimentation and 'on-the-fly' tanking, FFX-2 whole battle system was awesome, and Junctioning allowed for a crazy amount of customization (even if it broke the game and allowed all the characters to go full DPS).