Morning Discussion

Oh, hello there Monday. You kinda snuck up on me there. I trust you're doing well?

And with some interesting news already popping up, that bodes pretty well for the rest of the day, and hopefully, the week. Glad to see that A2M managed to get WET with a new publisher, and curious to see what will happen with Six Days in Fallujah now.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
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    April 27, 2009 7:24 AM

    I started playing Final Fantasy IV (II for SNES), for the first time ever, over the weekend. The music has been in my head non-stop for the past 24 hours or so.

    I can't believe how many hours of awesome gaming I missed out on by not having a SNES growing up.

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      April 27, 2009 7:27 AM

      [deleted]

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        April 27, 2009 7:28 AM

        The Dark Elf can kiss my overweight ass. I need to leave the cave and hammerlevel my dudes, I think.

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          April 27, 2009 7:30 AM

          [deleted]

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          April 27, 2009 7:30 AM

          the DS version is definately harder than the SNES or PS1 versions. i made my GF play it through because she never got the chance. then i picked it up so i could play with the new attributes thing to TAKE OFF THE DAMAGE LIMITERS!!! finally doing more than 9999 damage is fucking awesome!

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            April 27, 2009 7:41 AM

            There were two versions of the game ever made: FFIV Hard Type and FFIV Easy Type. The game released as FF II on the SNES in the US was FFIV easy type. I believe the DS version is based on FFIV hard type. Hard Type was a lot more fun, anyways

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          April 27, 2009 7:31 AM

          Do you have the correct item to beat him? Go talk to Edward to get what you need to beat him Even with that he's still an asshole. I haven't beaten him yet either on the DS version. On the SNES version I can walk all over him.

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            April 27, 2009 7:32 AM

            [deleted]

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            April 27, 2009 7:51 AM

            Oh yeah the first time I cleared to him without doing that :[

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            April 27, 2009 7:58 AM

            I'm pretty sure it's just my team sucking. I have Edward's walkie talkie so I can get my dudes equipped with real gear again, it's just the dragon's breath rips through my lines, and although Cecil does awesome damage, he can't do it alone.

            I think part of the problem is that I didn't stock up on "real" gear for Cid and Cecil has slightly outdated stuff, which is not good. I can fix that with a walk back to Troia though.

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              April 27, 2009 8:01 AM

              Also this has me worried if I'm having trouble on this dumb boss, that the Tower of Zot will tear my guys apart. I predict alot of time levelling before I head into that poopstorm.

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                April 27, 2009 9:24 AM

                Just wait til later when you get to a boss that will unexpectedly one-shot your entire party if you try to use the same strategy as in the original game, or simply aren't fast enough. That game made me pretty livid at times.

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                  April 27, 2009 9:28 AM

                  I thought it was cool that all the fights had been tweaked differently.

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                April 27, 2009 9:28 AM

                I barely upgraded any of my armor for that area. While I don't recall my level, if you can make it to the Dark Elf in decent shape, you should be able to take him. If you're playing the remake on the DS, many of the boss fights were tweaked and it is far more important to go in with different tactics than trying to muscle your way through.

                This is especially true for the scientist boss in ToT.

                Dark Elf fight tip:
                Try using tornado / weak if you have it, it will nearly kill the dark elf in one hit.

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          April 27, 2009 7:33 AM

          interesting... I actually beat him the first time with no problems!

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            April 27, 2009 7:42 AM

            thats because you did it the RIGHT WAY. ;)

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            April 27, 2009 7:43 AM

            The changes to the boss fights over FFII (US) are what keep tripping me up. I try to fight them like I used to and get my shit pushed in for some reason.

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      April 27, 2009 7:27 AM

      Hands down best FF ever

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        April 27, 2009 7:58 AM

        I couldn't agree with you more. This is exactly what I was going to say. I love FF IV!

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        April 27, 2009 8:13 AM

        No, VI is better than IV, but not by much.

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          April 27, 2009 8:15 AM

          VI is great but I think IV edges it out in my book. I like the overall story better.

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            April 27, 2009 8:23 AM

            Really? That's the main reason I choose VI over IV, to each his own I guess.

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              April 27, 2009 8:34 AM

              I've never finished VI for some reason I get so far and just lose steam and put it back down. Makes it hard to power through the stuff I already know because I've tried to play it 10+ times.

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                April 27, 2009 8:38 AM

                That may be why then, how far did you get?

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                  April 27, 2009 8:42 AM

                  It's been awhile but I do remember being on the airship with the gambling guy. Well past the Opera scene

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                    April 27, 2009 8:52 AM

                    The Opera bit is only about 1/4 of the way through, you had a long ways to go.

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                    April 27, 2009 5:10 PM

                    It has some boring parts in the beginning, but jesus does it get awesome later on. I mean, REALLY awesome. Mindblowing.

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        April 27, 2009 8:20 AM

        I'm gonna have to go with... FFV. I don't know why but I loved it.

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      April 27, 2009 7:28 AM

      funny you mention this. ive been playing FF IV all weekend on the PSP, the PS1 version. also loaded FF VII on in prep for when i am done.

      FF IV is by far my favorite one out of the series. ive played it roughly 20 times all the way through and it never gets old for me. it is such a well put together game, i do not think i will ever stop playing it, like i have others.

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      April 27, 2009 7:30 AM

      [deleted]

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      April 27, 2009 7:43 AM

      Remember, you can easily cast Silence on the Dark Elf. He won't be able to damage you for the entire first phase of the battle if you do.

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        April 27, 2009 7:45 AM

        I'm passed that part a ways... I just got back Rosa and have Kain in my party now.

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      April 27, 2009 7:46 AM

      Seriously - use weak (think it is tornado) on his ass. Dies in two hits after that.

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      April 27, 2009 7:50 AM

      Is this the one with Cecil? If so Ive been playing it the past few weeks and it really is quite a good JRPG.

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      April 27, 2009 7:51 AM

      Which version are you playing? If it's FFII US then please stop and find yourself a copy of FFIV, either fan translated or the PSX/GBA/DS re-releases. FFII US is bastardized in terms of text, features and especially difficulty.

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        April 27, 2009 7:51 AM

        it's FF4 for GBA (got it for $5 at a local game shop)

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          April 27, 2009 7:55 AM

          The game actually made me think about buying a DSi, since I have the original DS and I hate how xbox huge it is by comparison.

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            April 27, 2009 8:09 AM

            You'd have to play the DS version then, as it doesn't have a GBA slot.

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              April 27, 2009 8:13 AM

              yep, I took that into consideration.

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                April 27, 2009 8:40 AM

                Also if you like the music keep in mind the DS and GBA games don't actually hold a candle to the SNES sound chip. Look up the original SPC soundtrack on youtube sometime to see what I mean (some of DS's stuff is better, though in OST form and not whats in the game)

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      April 27, 2009 7:58 AM

      I feel exactly the opposite as the OP. I'm pleased that I didn't waste time gaming on a SNES based on the games I saw on that system while I was busy enjoying PC gaming at the time - which seemed to me to offer more depth and better graphics at the time. Still don't regret it a bit to this day. :)

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        April 27, 2009 8:00 AM

        Now had there been an equivalent system to the 360 or PS3 back then but at the power and hardware levels of the time (of course), I'd probably have been more interested - it was mostly a matter of the style of games to be found on the SNES back then, all twitch crap with the exception of a few notable RPGs. I just never found it very impressive or intriguing.

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          April 27, 2009 8:05 AM

          my family didn't own a PC until I was about 11 years old in 1994, shortly before the first PlayStation showed up. I had an original NES growing up, as well as as Sega Genesis. I loved the Genesis, but I always wanted a Super NES. My parents wouldn't let me have more than one gaming machine at a time.

          After we got a PC, I started playing MechWarrior 2, SimCity 2000 and Doom. I didn't own another console until I had a PS2 :)

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            April 27, 2009 9:06 AM

            Well it wasn't that I couldn't see the fun in some of the SNES games - especially for other gaming tastes than mine - it's just that the PC seemed to fulfill the promise of digital gaming far better and far more completely than the SNES or the NES, for that matter. Each to his own, of course.

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              April 27, 2009 9:18 AM

              Thanks to the joys of re-releases and emulation you can easily go back and play the best of the lot. So....not sure why you haven't yet. Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario - none of this interests you?

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                April 27, 2009 12:46 PM

                Well the old-school RPGs just seemed really clunky/cludgy back then and the more important aspects of story and plot were just too alien for me, coming from the Japanese school of studies. Platforming back then never really floated my boat either, so unfortunately (to fans of these old-school, famous games) none of these really excite me as emulation-bait. :( Sorry man.

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          April 27, 2009 8:28 AM

          mario kart and sf2t

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        April 27, 2009 9:34 AM

        I had a mac and a genesis...

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        April 27, 2009 12:31 PM

        i had both pc and snes and there are a lot of games that were awesome on snes that werent available on pc, stuff like street fighter, mario world, final fantasy 4/6, mortal kombat,

        sports were better on pc for sure and of course theres doom2 and dune2 and tie fighter etc
        graphics isnt everything!

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          April 27, 2009 12:47 PM

          I definitely agree about the graphics but it was actually the gameplay genres and overall depth that hooked me on the PC at around the same time.

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        April 27, 2009 12:56 PM

        i used to feel that way, but it's shortsighted

        there are dozens of brilliant snes, genesis, playstation titles that i missed out on over the 90's and i was glad to play many of them after the fact

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      April 27, 2009 8:03 AM

      I enjoyed it. good game.

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      April 27, 2009 8:42 AM

      All you guys loving on FFIV (which is totally the best FF game ever made by the hands of man or god) please remember this:

      http://kotaku.com/5161587/the-esrb-rates-wii-final-fantasy-iv-sequel

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        April 27, 2009 8:45 AM

        I can't get onboard with this. It just seems like a bad cash-in to me.

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          April 27, 2009 8:48 AM

          This was originally announced ages ago when the title first came stateside. I recall reading an article talking about the sequel using Cecil's son anyways, which was easily 10-15 years ago.

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            April 27, 2009 9:03 AM

            Yes because it's on a cell phone. This is just a port with fancied up graphics. The shots I saw of the phone version showed several re-used touched up scenes, right down to the battle screens. If that doesn't scream lazy then what does?

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              April 27, 2009 9:23 AM

              Ahh that's what you mean. Ya that would seem like a cash in, but isn't this going in through the wiiware thing where it is only ports?

              If it's like 5$, that wouldn't be to bad.

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                April 27, 2009 9:27 AM

                They are touching it up and throwing on an HQ filter from what I've seen. The story and scenario also seems to be a little out there and pointless. For $5.00? Yeah it's not bad, can't go wrong. I just don't see why I should jump and down or rush to grab it.

                Square of 1991 is very different than when this was originally thought up (few years ago?). If anything TOSE probably created it....

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                  April 27, 2009 9:29 AM

                  Square died when it bought Enix and vice versa. A lot of the practices that made those two companies the leaders in RPG's just isn't true anymore.

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                    April 27, 2009 9:32 AM

                    It pisses me off that TOSE makes 95% of their handheld games and remakes. The rest is shopped out to others. In fact I'd question whether Square even developed Last Remnant or FFXIII

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                      April 27, 2009 9:37 AM

                      Who handled Crystal Chronicles for GC? I know that wasn't SE.

                      Seems to be the way of the company now, let someone else make the game, slap SE and a Final Fantasy logo on it and ship it.

                      Just glad they haven't done this to Dragon Quest yet.

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                        April 27, 2009 9:53 AM

                        That's why I haven't touched CC. Yes it *might* be a good game, but if I want to play it I'll check it out some time. I see no reason to clamour towards it simply because square felt the need to slap "Final Fantasy" on the box when it means nothing.

                        Nintendo is the same way these days though. Every platformer besides Galaxy isn't them. Metroid, StarFox - not them. Hell was Twilight Princess even them? The DS game isn't I believe. One of the top console devs reduced a publisher.

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                          April 27, 2009 11:37 AM

                          Most of their stuff is in-house via subsidiary developers, 2nd party developed if you will.

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        April 27, 2009 8:47 AM

        Been entirely to long for us to get this.

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        April 27, 2009 12:50 PM

        Kain looks so badass there though

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          April 27, 2009 1:06 PM

          Oh, I know. I wasn't trying to bash this game; I am really excited to play it.

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            April 27, 2009 1:13 PM

            Woops just wanted to point that out, I probably won't even play it unless it has some story

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          April 27, 2009 1:08 PM

          Yes he does, although they're missing a couple of characters, one I understand, and the other took his time getting into the story, but I think he should be there.

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      April 27, 2009 9:26 AM

      [deleted]

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      April 27, 2009 12:25 PM

      Obviously, next you have to play the other FF released on SNES(FF3) then you have to go play ChronoTrigger.

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        April 27, 2009 12:29 PM

        *the*? Why does everyone avoid poor Final Fantasy V? It's well worth playing.

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          April 27, 2009 1:06 PM

          Because most of us never played it on the SNES, and it's definitely the weakest of the 3.

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            April 27, 2009 1:09 PM

            It's basically FF III (Japan) rehashed, the story is far weaker as well.

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            April 27, 2009 1:14 PM

            That begs the question then - do you honestly like FFIV and VI or is nostalgia clouding your vision? I mean FFV isn't the best, but it has several features and elements superior to FFIV. Like I said it's well worth playing if you like the style of RPGs, it's just devoid of nostalgia that's all.

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              April 27, 2009 1:17 PM

              it's not just nostalgia. I've replayed FF IV on an emulator at least half a dozen times

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              April 27, 2009 1:20 PM

              V's characters are weak compared to 4 and 6.

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              April 27, 2009 1:25 PM

              I agree and enjoyed the job skills, etc., however the story and coincidentally the characters are far weaker than in 4 or 6.

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              April 27, 2009 1:25 PM

              It's mostly because V has a really bland story and characters. The job system is cool and all, but by the time I played it, I had already played FFT, which took the job system in a much more fun direction.

              I'm not saying IV or VI are flawless, just that V is weaker than either of them.

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            April 27, 2009 5:16 PM

            It may be the weakest of the three, but I'd say it's still pretty damn strong. I enjoyed it through and through.

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        April 27, 2009 12:37 PM

        Then play Earthbound, Robotrek, Secrets of Evermore and the other awesome SNES RPGs.

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          April 27, 2009 12:51 PM

          add Breath of Fire 1 and 2. And Shadowrun and..

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            April 27, 2009 1:05 PM

            secret of mana.

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              April 27, 2009 1:09 PM

              and Mario RPG: LotSS

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                April 27, 2009 1:22 PM

                Illusion of Gaia

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                  April 27, 2009 1:29 PM

                  and terranigma

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                    April 27, 2009 5:18 PM

                    Uhh duh.. Chrono Trigger!

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                    April 27, 2009 5:19 PM

                    ^^ All of the above pls.

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                      April 27, 2009 5:28 PM

                      Very underrated is Bahamut Lagoon. A hybrid Fire Emblem/Shining Force RPG that used the FF VI engine. If you haven't played it, you probably should. Japan only but fully translated rom is out there.

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      April 27, 2009 1:55 PM

      I just started playing Final Fantasy 9, and I can't believe that 7 was the only FF I played in those days (skipped 8 and 9). It's absolutely awesome so far.

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        April 27, 2009 5:18 PM

        9 doesn't get as much love as I think it should. Despite the slowness of the battle system, it's a fantastic game. Definitely one of the best FF worlds so far.

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        April 27, 2009 5:31 PM

        After the how bad 8 got towards the end, I didn't bother with FF again for years. I tried 9 about a year or 2 ago and really enjoyed it, never got round to finishing it though.

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