Community MetaSteam | February 2021 - We Don't Do Regional Pricing in This House

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Arsene

On a break
Apr 17, 2019
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For myself, FFXII is a great memory, but I wouldn't replay it. The combat is meh. What I really remember from the game is the awesome Intro, and most of the story. Especially the dubbing was great.

Overall:
8 >> 10 > 12 > 13 > 6 >>> 7 >>>>>>>>>>>> 9

Setting: (as in: I wanted to experience the world first hand)
8 >>>> 10 >> 13 > 6 > 12 > 7 >>>>>>>>>>> 9

Battle system
10 >> 13 >> 6 > 8 > 7 > 12 > 9

overall Music/BGM
10 > 8 > 13 > 12 > 6 >>> 7 >>>>>>>>>>>>> 9

Intro
10 > 12 > 13 > 8 >>> 6 >> 7 >>>>>>>>>>>>> 9

Songs
Eyes on me (8) >> 1000 Words (10-2) > Suteki da ne (10) > Liberi Fatali (8) > Serahs Theme (13-2) > Maria and Draco (6)

Epic CGI
8 >>>>>>>>>>>>>> 10 >> 12 >> 13 >>>>>> 7 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 9

In all of my dozen restarts (and sometimes full playthroughs!) of 8, I was always playing to get to the CGI. This is something that feels it was lost through the advancements of technology. CGI sequences always felt special, until they were not, just indistinguishable from gameplay, nothing really special.
I dont know why but Im getting the impression you don’t like FFIX
 

Kyougar

No reviews, no Buy
Nov 2, 2018
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I just want to say that I'm finally starting to understand Battletech, how you manage positioning and your armor, how you handle aggro and more or less getting a handle on the early campaign. Still, I'd welcome any advice! I feel like a monkey trying to pull levers in a 60t hulk of steel and death.
Then you are ready for the little mod named "Roguetech"
 
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kio

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I just want to say that I'm finally starting to understand Battletech, how you manage positioning and your armor, how you handle aggro and more or less getting a handle on the early campaign. Still, I'd welcome any advice! I feel like a monkey trying to pull levers in a 60t hulk of steel and death.
Here are some things I learned throughout my playthrough on the hardest setting that might help:
  • Always bring a pilot with scanning ability and make sure he's in your highest initiative mech. Being able to scan an enemy before they are able to have line of sight of you gives you an enormous advantage;
  • It's better to equip a big gun than to have a lot of small ones;
  • It's better to have fewer guns and a lot of armor than being a glass cannon, at least until the late game when you'll have the means and instruments to keep your heavy hitters away from harm;
  • Light mecs are useless;
  • Make sure your mechs can jump;
  • Aim for the legs in order to maximize your chances of salvaging good mech parts;
  • Prioritize salvaging mech parts over any other loot;
  • Prioritize salvage over cash in missions untill you have 4 fully equiped medium mechs and a couple medium mechs in reserve. After that start hunting heavies;
  • I don't remember if it's stated but be aware there are height bonus/malus;
  • More often than not it's better to face your enemy sideways than show them your front;
  • Long range rockets are annoying but mostly useless till the end game. The only one worth using are the 20 rocket barrages and sometimes the 10 if you have spare space/tonnage in your mech;
  • Always use the trees;
  • Melee is always a good choice as long as you make sure you won't finnish in the open and your mech is heavier than what it is hitting;
  • Laser are always meh but are the best way to ensure you can always attack;
  • Ballistic weapons are godly if used at the appropriate distance;
  • Don't neglet stability damage, on yourself and on enemies. Knocking a mech down is a sure way to garantee aimed shots at your desired parts (legs if you want to salvage it or torso/arms if you just want ot disable it);
 

Parsnip

Riskbreaker
Sep 11, 2018
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Finland


I find FF12 to be the best FF game by a country mile, and one of my favorite games of all time. Up there with Vagrant Story and Terranigma. :blobmorning2:
I loved it back in the day but I have to admit that these days I wouldn't have played through it without the Zodiac Age speedboost.
But that's more of a genre problem than anything else. Random battles or roaming monsters in the world, doesn't really matter, there's always too much of it and it always takes too long at normal speeds.
 

Ascheroth

Chilling in the Megastructure
Nov 12, 2018
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I bounced off FF12 when I played if first (years ago on an emulator), but Zodiac Age is probably my favorite Final Fantasy right now.
I couldn't play it without the speed boost though.
 

Wok

Wok
Oct 30, 2018
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I am enjoying the Batman games by Telltale. Currently done with:
  • the first game (against Penguin),
  • and with the first chapter (against Riddler) of the second game.
 

Swenhir

Spaceships!
Apr 18, 2019
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Then you are ready for the little mod named "Roguetech"
Heck no, I've heard of that one haha. I'm already struggling at the very beginning of the campaign on Normal mode with Extended. No way I'm going to that place of darkness and despair.
Here are some things I learned throughout my playthrough on the hardest setting that might help:
  • Always bring a pilot with scanning ability and make sure he's in your highest initiative mech. Being able to scan an enemy before they are able to have line of sight of you gives you an enormous advantage;
  • It's better to equip a big gun than to have a lot of small ones;
  • It's better to have fewer guns and a lot of armor than being a glass cannon, at least until the late game when you'll have the means and instruments to keep your heavy hitters away from harm;
  • Light mecs are useless;
  • Make sure your mechs can jump;
  • Aim for the legs in order to maximize your chances of salvaging good mech parts;
  • Prioritize salvaging mech parts over any other loot;
  • Prioritize salvage over cash in missions untill you have 4 fully equiped medium mechs and a couple medium mechs in reserve. After that start hunting heavies;
  • I don't remember if it's stated but be aware there are height bonus/malus;
  • More often than not it's better to face your enemy sideways than show them your front;
  • Long range rockets are annoying but mostly useless till the end game. The only one worth using are the 20 rocket barrages and sometimes the 10 if you have spare space/tonnage in your mech;
  • Always use the trees;
  • Melee is always a good choice as long as you make sure you won't finnish in the open and your mech is heavier than what it is hitting;
  • Laser are always meh but are the best way to ensure you can always attack;
  • Ballistic weapons are godly if used at the appropriate distance;
  • Don't neglet stability damage, on yourself and on enemies. Knocking a mech down is a sure way to garantee aimed shots at your desired parts (legs if you want to salvage it or torso/arms if you just want ot disable it);
Why can I like a post only once? Than you so much for this invaluable advice. That will help a lot :). A few questions if you don't mind, while the expert is in the room :

  • Aiming for the legs means using that inspired ability, or knocking them down, correct?
  • What's the advantage that scanning before they get LoS provides and/or denies them?
  • How do you tell what actually does good damage and all? I get the feeling the damage numbers aren't really telling the whole story, and some things like lasers feel woefully underpowered... But then again the visual feedback may be misleading, and damage effects are only applied at the end of the attacking round, which means the weapon getting that gratifying kaboom isn't the one that necessarily did the most damage. I still get the feeling AC is the most powerful thing so far. Aaand your comment at the end kind of confirms it haha.
  • Facing sideways is actually surprising, I assume you want to alternate, lest you loose all armor on that side and Bad Things start happening?
  • Long range rockets, meaning LRMs?
  • PPCs, how do you feel about those?

Thanks!
 
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fantomena

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Ive only played VI and VII (waiting for VIIR before playing VIII) and out of them, VII is me fave.
 

Ge0force

Excluding exclusives
Jan 12, 2019
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Belgium
I haven't played any FF games since FF13-2. I know lots of people like the combat, but I really hated it. The absolute majority of the battles could be won by spamming the X-button and switching to a heal paradigm in case of low health. It was SO boring and repetitive for me. I prefer the older turn-based FF games.
 
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Tizoc

Retired, but still Enabling
Oct 11, 2018
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Oman
ko-fi.com
Don't mind me just sharing how lovely emulators can be












I am enjoying the Batman games by Telltale. Currently done with:
  • the first game (against Penguin),
  • and with the first chapter (against Riddler) of the second game.
Batman Season 2 is really good.

What I liked most about Season 1 is that you can go through it as Bruce instead of the Batman persona.
 

ZKenir

Setting the Seas Ablaze
May 10, 2019
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I played FIII, IV, IV after years, V, IX, X, X-2, XII, XIII, XV, FFT, FFTA, FFTA2, my favourite are IX and XII, I think after Utaware and P5S I'll replay XIII and then the whole trilogy
 

kio

MetaMember
Apr 19, 2019
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  • Aiming for the legs means using that inspired ability, or knocking them down, correct?
Yes. If the mech is standing up you need to use your inspiration but if it's on its back every attack you take on it will be aimed. To knock them down you can either:
  • Destroy one leg - This will make it fall down and remain down till it's next turn. Can only be done with the inspiration ability;​
  • Do enough stability damage (bottom yellow bar) - After that bar is filled the mech will fall. It's a more laborious job but effective if you use weapons with high stability damage (LRM, SRM, shorter-range ballistics, etc).​
The reason aiming for the legs is so important is that if done corretly you'll get a free mech after the fight (you'll manage to scavange 3 parts). If you kill the mech any other way, besides headshotting the pilot but that's ultra rare, you'll only be able to scavange 1 or 2 parts. So the best and fastest way to increase your team's power is to be meticulous on the battlefield. Bear in mind the inspiration gain per turn is tied to your morale so as the game progresses you'll have an easier time using inspiration abilities.

  • What's the advantage that scanning before they get LoS provides and/or denies them?
Basically you can only attack what you can see. This is true for both you and your enemies. So if you can scan them from far away with a scout you'll be able to attack them with long range weapons and possibly destroy the mech before it comes close and provides LoS for his team to do the same. Earlier in the game these scouts will be light mechs so the tag & kill in a single turn is easy to do.

  • How do you tell what actually does good damage and all? I get the feeling the damage numbers aren't really telling the whole story, and some things like lasers feel woefully underpowered... But then again the visual feedback may be misleading, and damage effects are only applied at the end of the attacking round, which means the weapon getting that gratifying kaboom isn't the one that necessarily did the most damage. I still get the feeling AC is the most powerful thing so far. Aaand your comment at the end kind of confirms it haha.
It's a tough question to answer because there's no real answer. Every weapon has it's uses and can be mix & matched with others depending on what you need your team, and individual mech, to do.
First things first, there's 2 types of damage: Direct damage done to armor and core and stability damage that can make a mech fall down, lose accuracy or lose movement range. Every weapon does direct damage but some also do decent stability damage. For instance a M Laser does 25 direct and 0 stability, meaning it's a decent weapon to kill the core or strip the armor but won't help at all if you're trying to make it fall down. Looking at the rockets, LRM5 for instance, you do 4 direct and 2 stability per rocket (multiply by 5 rockets and you get 20 direct and 10 stability if you hit all).
Then we need to remember that there isn't a single Armor/HP bar on each mech, each part has it's own. So if you fire 5 lasers, each dealing 25 damage, at best you'll deal 125 damage to a single part, at worst you'll deal 25 damage to 5 different parts. The first option might do heavy damage, the second is barely a scratch. This is the reason you'll never want to use rockets to deal damage, just to destabilize.
Ballistics are a well rounded option that I liked to use on all my mechs but beware because they are very heavy and are ammo dependent (makes the even heavier).

  • Facing sideways is actually surprising, I assume you want to alternate, lest you loose all armor on that side and Bad Things start happening?
The idea is alternate between sides yeah. This way you'll double your effective Armour/HP at the risk of losing an arm and all the weapons and mods you might have in it. Still a better option than opening your torso to a direct hit and losing the pilot and the mech for the fight.

  • Long range rockets, meaning LRMs?
Correct. There's also the short range variant (SRM).

  • PPCs, how do you feel about those?
I liked them a lot. One of my late-game mechs had an AC/10 and 2 PPCs (one with +direct damage and another one with +stability damage). High range, high damage killing machines that produce an insane amount of heat. Earlier in the game, if you decide to use them, be sure to not to use them every turn otherwise you'll risk internal damage and a shutdown. Later you'll find better equipment and skills that'll allow you to better deal with heat.


Enjoy the game :)
Here's hoping we'll eventually get a sequel someday...
 

Panda Pedinte

Best Sig Maker on the board!
Sep 20, 2018
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Since we are talking about FF I like XV, when I was young I usually predered V instead of VI and did not enjoy IV.

VII was fun but I never cared about VIII, I liked some character in IX buy I did not olayed much from it.

X and X-2 looked dumb to me, so I never toched them. XII felt massive to my young self but I need to revisite it some day. I never touched XIII and it sequels so I dont have an opinion about it.

Just keep in mind I usually like bad games and can't deny it. :p
 

toxicitizen

MetaMember
Oct 24, 2018
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FF XV is my favorite because it is the only one I've played
Even then it shouldn't be your favorite. The logical reaction should be to assume that Final Fantasy just fucking sucks.

FFXV is kinda baffling in how it's not broken or anything but it still somehow feels like it's being held together by duct tape. It's just such a hollow experience.
 

NarohDethan

There was a fish in the percolator!
Apr 6, 2019
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Why would you choose to do this to yourself. Are you okay?
The game is a fucking mess but I appreciate the honesty behind it. I don't know how to explain it. There are clear signs of love and care behind every aspect of the game but you can tell they just ran out of time. Hajime Tabata takes a lot of flak for it but IMO he took the right decisions.
 

Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
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Downunder.
Just keep in mind I usually like bad games and can't deny it. :p
As expected from someone who likes Korone. :dana_blanket:

Kidding aside, I should finish a few more Final Fantasies. Despite owning a copy of FFIII right up until FFXV, I only ever finish two of them (FF VII and FF X). I should finish XII first though, I loved Ivalice.
 

Kal1m3r0

MetaMember
Jan 9, 2021
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Oh, an old fashioned Best Final Fantasy clash [UWSL]:steam_pigblanket:[/UWSL]

I played IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII, XIV, FFT, FFTA and FFTA2, 6 of which I played in the past 10 months due to various lockdowns and free time
Overall I really like them all for different reasons; VII, XII and FFT are in my top 3

And I also played Crisis Core.
I do not like Crisis Core.
 
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Durante

I <3 Pixels
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Lost interest even faster than the first time: you, the player, are just not needed. Point your bots in the vague direction of the enemy, and they will operate their program, you don't even need to touch the joystick.
Literally the worst gameplay of any RPG I have ever played.
I really don't agree with this. Because the way this part of the critique is written it implies that e.g. JRPGs which make you press "X" a lot during standard battles (a whole lot of them) actually provide meaningful gameplay, and that having to press that "X" 1000 times while only thinking about what you are doing 5 of those times is somehow better than not having to press it.

There are lots of games where the actual execution is not the most interesting part of the gameplay, and many in which it is in fact tedious. Making a game focused more on setup/planning (and perhaps intervening in exceptional circumstances) is not in and of itself a bad thing at all, especially if it serves to reduce or eliminate repetitive tedium which would set in otherwise. In my opinion, the only issue with FF12's system is that it didn't go quite far enough in terms of flexibility with what the Gambit "language" allowed you to describe. But I still enjoyed it a lot.

Part of my the reason I like FF12 has to do with its writing
Alexander O Smith created an outstanding localization of FF12 which is reason for me to replay it again
Same here. The writing in the localized English version of FF12 is far more interesting and enjoyable to read than in any other game in the series, to me at least.
 

Swenhir

Spaceships!
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Thank you for the wonderful reply! I just had one nagging question if you can - what's internal damage, exactly? Damage dealt to internals, the orange part of the HP, or is just lore to say that you are about to be shutdown?

Edit : if I may interject in the conversation above, I think Mivey made the best point in that programmable NPCs aren't exactly new nor a bad thing, and Durante has a great point in mentioning that tedious repetition passing as interactivity isn't the best (coughs boss runs back in souls games). I think there's a great discussion to be had about those, about proper decision-making and creativity in RPG combat systems.

My favorite example would be Supreme Commander : automation leveraged for enabling greater strategical depth. Remove the busy-work and focus on higher-level decisions.
 
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QFNS

Plays too many card games
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Heck no, I've heard of that one haha. I'm already struggling at the very beginning of the campaign on Normal mode with Extended. No way I'm going to that place of darkness and despair.

Why can I like a post only once? Than you so much for this invaluable advice. That will help a lot :). A few questions if you don't mind, while the expert is in the room :

  • Aiming for the legs means using that inspired ability, or knocking them down, correct?
  • What's the advantage that scanning before they get LoS provides and/or denies them?
  • How do you tell what actually does good damage and all? I get the feeling the damage numbers aren't really telling the whole story, and some things like lasers feel woefully underpowered... But then again the visual feedback may be misleading, and damage effects are only applied at the end of the attacking round, which means the weapon getting that gratifying kaboom isn't the one that necessarily did the most damage. I still get the feeling AC is the most powerful thing so far. Aaand your comment at the end kind of confirms it haha.
  • Facing sideways is actually surprising, I assume you want to alternate, lest you loose all armor on that side and Bad Things start happening?
  • Long range rockets, meaning LRMs?
  • PPCs, how do you feel about those?

Thanks!
I also played a shitload of Battletech and have opinions! You've gotten great advice thus far so I won't re-hash the questions but just drop in some more tidbits that I found helpful.

Battletech is based on a wargame from the 70s (I want to say 70s). So as such there were little models, and people played this game on giant tabletops with measuring sticks, rulers, dice, and so forth. Thinking about it as a gigantic diorama with little battlemechs you can move around helped me for some reason. It really ephasizes the slow pace and tactical combat. Eventually you can just outgun and outarmor almost every mission (ALMOST, not all), but early on especially your team is very fragile. Bigger and heavier mechs will make life easier eventually so getting some mediums (and then bigger mediums, and then heavies, and then bigger heavies and so on) should be a top priority.

In the campaign, you shouldn't need to worry too much about running out of funds as the story missions are EXTREMELY profitable compared with the other ones you can undertake. So when you are worried about funds, simply advance the story a bit and you'll find you have a good cash infusion. If you're playing without the story and jut crusing the galaxy, then just make sure some runs you're taking big paydays instead of salvage. Generally salvage is better, because even if you don't want to use the mech you can sell it for a decent bit of cash.
 
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QFNS

Plays too many card games
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Thank you for the wonderful reply! I just had one nagging question if you can - what's internal damage, exactly? Damage dealt to internals, the orange part of the HP, or is just lore to say that you are about to be shutdown?
I know this one! So when your mech is taking damage there are two layers essentially. There's the armor on top and then the actual components underneath. The armor is white and then when you take enough damage the part turns orange/red/whatever color that is (my color vision is not great). Armor is on top so it takes the damage first to any part. If someone shoots your mech's arm the damage they do removes that amount of armor first (if any) and then any left over is applied to the part underneath. Once your armor is out on a part you will want to shield it becuase if it blows off all the equipment and such on it is gone too (yes that means that sweet gun you liked or that really awesome missile launcher). And even worse when parts explode they run the risk of any ammo inside them exploding too. Ammo explosions are REALLLY bad for you they are under the armor so your parts are going to take massive damage and obviously all the ammo is gone too. Its really bad, but you can lessen the risk by keeping your heat down.

Overheating can also trigger internal damage (ie under the armor damage), as your hot internal parts literally catch fire and melt. This is annoying, but if you still have armor on top not the worst thing ever. Though don't do it for more than a turn or two or you will start ammo explosions, or literally killing your pilot (Which you can also do btw).
 
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Pogi

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I found people who do not like FF12 do not also like the "western" flavor of RPGs mechanics-wise, and it's not necessarily a bad thing to have different tastes. FF12 Zodiac is the GOAT FF for me because it allows you to play how you like it, I like scrambling the gambits and have a lot of control over party composition. All other FFs severely limits choice.

For example FF8, the boys are the only ones useful, the girls are waste of time since the only difference they have is their limit break. Which is a shame since the Junction system was incredible why the fuck did they choose to augment the stats by drawn spells? This could have been easily mitigated by allowing the drawn spells to affect the potency of the spells instead of the quantity (of course there would be more adjustment rather than straight up swapping quantity and potency). I want to cast spells, not horde them!

FFX to a certain extent (or part of the game) allows you to play how you want until mid-game where it is pretty clear that Tidus, Wakka, and Rikku are the only characters worth using.

All in all, FFT and FFXII are the only good RPGs, the rest of the FFs are just anime masquerading as a video game with their incredible production values and level of polish. If I ever want a story Suikoden and BoF are where it's at while not being mindnumbing in gameplay.

In fact, the Legend of Dragoon, for me, is the best Final Fantasy JRPG contemporary because of how battles are so involving, in spite of its sluggish pacing and stupid game designs (arbitrary item restrictions). The Legend of Dragoon actually made me better with arcades and fighting games with its terrible input lag lmao
 
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