PSP Comics launch today/FFVIII Coming soon to PSN

[Balfree]

Re: PSP Comics launch today/FFVIII Coming soon to PSN

It's not the draw system itself, its the fact that magic plays a role in your stats and using magic reduces those stats.

Did it prevent me from enjoying the game? absolutely not and i love it very much.

Just wish magic played more of a role in the game other than stats. I ended up only using magic in emergencies to throw a cure here and there IIRC.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: PSP Comics launch today/FFVIII Coming soon to PSN

The only spells the system really scared you off from using where the highest tier ones, anything else could easily be replaced by converting items through RF abilities. Ice, Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning, Earth, Time Magic and more could just be plugged back in with ease. Using spells too much would reduce stats, Curagas and such were easy to replace and sometimes very inconsequential to lose.

The whole system deals in trade-offs, but when you do it right, at least the items in your inventory end up doing more than just sitting there as they do in most Final Fantasy titles.

[hexx]

Re: PSP Comics launch today/FFVIII Coming soon to PSN

I loved Vagrant Story, I just couldnt get the hang of it. of course, I was younger at the time, maybe i'll revisit the game now.

[Balfree]

Re: PSP Comics launch today/FFVIII Coming soon to PSN

Thats true BBQ, i did end up using a lot of items in FFVIII. In the end its not such a big deal but I can see why so many people might put the game on a lower shelf because of the draw/junction system, sucks to be SE when they try to do different things and not everyone knows how to enjoy those innovations. I suppose the whole system makes you strategize a bit, but the truth is if you're in trouble, getting low HP to dish out the limit breaks will almost always work... :\

[Lmnop]

Re: PSP Comics launch today/FFVIII Coming soon to PSN

Not saying the game didn't have flaws (my favorite games always have the most I'd fix about them...)! As is the case for just about every FF title, magic wasn't useful enough.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: PSP Comics launch today/FFVIII Coming soon to PSN

Well, the thing about RPGs is if you don't let players build characters as they please and force all boss or enemy encounters to go against how players would like to approach them, then you run the risk of alienating the player entirely. Customization is key, even with the most traditional RPGs.

The real trick is to encourage players to change up their approach, take risks and maintain the pressure so they never become too complacent or too pleased with what they have.

I talk about SMT a bit, but its mostly because this is exactly what those games do. You cannot have one single strategy and hope it will win every encounter. It does not matter how much you leveled up, if you don't learn the importance of buffs or learning the weaknesses of your enemy, that boss is going to cause you trouble.

Matador will stop every newcomer to SMT Nocturne cold, even seasoned RPG veterans, in your first encounter with him, and he's just the second boss of the game. If you don't learn to fight defensively, he will beat your ass every time. And every boss that follows him will beat your ass if you didn't learn anything from it.

The game lets you build the protagonist and the demons he summons as you like (withing certain bounds, some abilities/traits don't mesh with other demon orders), but you'll learn to incorporate or sacrifice things you like it means you'll win.

And I think a lot more of the RPGs out there could use that sort of approach. Just hitting things should not always be a solution. Things should be a little more systematic.