Dec 3rd, 2003, 12:43 AM
I played a demo, and I read a bit on it (though it seemed to have some minor spoilers, so I stopped). Reviews have been good as well.
The consensus from the reviews, is that the tone of the game is so much more lighthearted than past FF, though there still is that deepness of the plot and the emotions that shine through every now and then. This is the only thing I had to take from reviews, because I didn't get to see anything about the story from the demo.
It's not "girly" or "sex appeal-oriented" as many people had feared. I kept an open mind though during this whole thing, so many people who made up their minds when they heard about something like Yuna singing J-Pop will still hold those opinions and use them to make everything in the game reflect on them. Which is very easy, given the light-hearted feel of the game. There's not a lot to bring you back to the heavy tones present in past games, so your perception will affect how you feel about the game.
The gameplay is hectic. It goes back to the ATB meters, but there's no more waiting for one person to finish their turn for the next person to do theirs. Everything's happening at the same time. So there's a bit of strategy involved in when to make your move, setting up combos between your characters, and so on. It doesn't feel as turn-based as the past games have, which might make many people happy. But the frantic pace of the battles and the timing takes some getting used to, which I couldn't do when being thrown into a battle like that. The actual game prepares you better, I'm sure.
The Job Sphere system is interesting. You switch jobs classes on the fly, developing skills for each. Each job is complete with a Summon-Style cinematic, and a unique outfit for each girl. Just because it's called "Dress-Up," doesn't mean it's silly. It's very much like the job systems from FFV and Tactics, except you change jobs during the ongoing battles. According to the reviews, you'll actually WANT to get into random battles, just so you can switch through multiple jobs during the fight, and develop them more. And while I didn't get to spend much time with it, I can see why they'd feel that way.
The jumping and climbing is no big deal. At all. You can hold down Circle to jump and climb automatically when you come to a spot where you can do it, or you can just press it when needed. When not pressing it, you can't fall of ledges or anything. It just adds more depth to the environments.
The mission system is different. Not bad, just different. A lot of people didn't like how linear FFX (and other games in the series) was. If you're one of those people, don't complain about this. I haven't had any experience with it, but it doesn't sound like something to complain about. The system is also one of the things that reflects on which ending you get. Yes, there are multiple endings.
Oh, and the music is horrible, for the most part. It's not done by the guy who has done the music in the past. It's done by the team who did the music for The Bouncer. It's dreadful for the most part.
Not sure what else to say. I think the drastic changes influence a lot of people into being apprehensive, and maybe even to say that it's not as good as other FF games. But from everything I've seen so far, it's a quality game. And if you liked FFX at all, you'll want to at least continue the story by playing this.
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Linear Mode
