If there was a 3rd game of the Advanced series, or a successful sequel to War of the Lions, what would you come to expect of it? Honestly, I enjoyed different concepts of all three. By taking those concepts while adding a few nifty functions, it would be a great game indeed. So here is a few things that would make the game a bit more replayable. If you find something that would be a great idea but isn't here, post it.
1. No more Judges:
The judge system severely hindered gameplay by limiting one's actions in lue of certain bonuses that made the game unnecessarily easy. While that only adds to the challenge, there are plenty of other factors that could do the same. In War of the Lions, if a person was knocked out, save for certain guest characters in the story, they each have 3 turns before the character 'dies'. Judges remove the dark cloud of death in certain situations.
If Judges could only play a minor role in the story, create an option to have them at the beginning, like offering the main character a law card as a major decition. Such a decision allows for certain bonuses should you choose one over the other:
-No Judge: Risk of permanently losing a character, but 10% more EXP and AP is awarded.
-Judge Present: Removes the Risk of death, Bonuses to certain attributes given the Privelages chosen.
2. Abilities and Equipment:
In Advanced and A2, one thing that they did right was making it so that one could only gain abilities by arming characters with various weapons or equipment. By earning enough AP (Ability Points), a character can master the equipment's ability and move on to another, retaining the skill learned and learn the next. The JP (Job Points) made the idea of leveling up a character's class tedious at best. Some skills cannot be learned unless a character is at a specified class level (See below).
3. Classes and Races:
The only race I really had a problem with was the Seeq so I'm exluding them from this review. All the others were fine and fitted perfectly in the game. Back on topic, Each race should be able to have equal opportunities to become the same class. Humans can become Assassins and Gunners, and Moogles should become Blue Mages and Archers. This goes on with all the races, although some are more efficient in one class over the other. Say Nu-Mou are selected as Gladiators, their growth would increase less gradually in their stats when they level up as opposed to Bangaa whose stats would increase significantly more. The opposite could be said the same for Bangaa if one decided to make them into a Black Mage, where the Nu-Mou would normally thrive in such a class.
4. Class Levels and Class Points:
Not to be confused with a character's base level, the class levels are determinant by the skills that a character learns, each valued at a specified number of class points (CP). When a skill is learned, that skill has a class point value that is accrued in a single level. When the value climbs to a certain threshold, a character's class level (CP) increases. Some skills require a certain class level in order to learn them. So if a characters class level is too low, some skills will be inaccessible, deeming him/her to be too inexperienced in order to learn it, and thus incapable of wielding that equipment. The same applies when a character wishes to progress in order to use another more useful classes.
Example: A human priest whose class level is at 4 could not wield a staff which could only be wielded by a character with a class level of 7.
5. New Game +:
This is an option that I've been hoping for since the earliest FFT game back in the PSX genre. Remember that first time you beat War of the Lions, and you found yourself unable to go back to the map screen and had to start over from scratch? I certainly do, and with the New Game + option, it could increase the replayability of the game. When a person beats this game, it would be boring just to simply go 'back' to the map screen, so why not simply start over. You can experience the entire story line all over again while retaining the skills and CL you have earned. Your equipment and base levels, however, will be reverted back to square one.
6. Facing:
In FFA and War of the Lions, facing was an important factor when combat was involved. If somebody simply attacked from the front, they had a significantly lower chance of hitting and decreases the damage dealt. In A2, it felt that only the damage was hindered while accuracy remained the same regardless of the facing. The return to the roots of facing will make this right again.
7. Weather and Time:
In all the games thus far, time has always been a factor in Final Fantasy. More often than not in reality, some weather can only be experienced during certain times of the year. In spring, rain would occur the most often, while snow would occur only in the winter. In certain regions in Ivalice, however, there could only be one type of weather. Far nothern regions could only experience snow, Areas along the oceans along the equator would experience alot of rain. Occasionally, one would come along an area during the summer and experience draughts. You get where I'm going with this. Anways, some forms of weather could impact how gameplay could be made :
[align=center]Be aware that some monsters or certain equipment gives immunities to these effects[/align]
Rain- Jumping height decreased by 50%
Snow- Movement is decreased by 25%
Draught- Damage Dealt and Recieved decreases by 10%
Moderate- Status remain unchanged
8. Terrain Hazzards and Traps:
As fans of War of the Lions and A2 are aware, some terrain have certain qualities that are harmful given certain conditions, as well as traps that inflict many different kinds of status ailments. All of which are not always laid by NPCs or characters (Much like the level down or doom traps).
Swamps: If stepped in, the character will instantly become poisoned.
Volcanic: After a certain number of turns, the volcano will erupt, damaging all characters on the map.
Lava: Being in a lava filled environment damages those who are not protected from the intense heat.
Deep Water/Snow: Characters in deep water/snow cannot perform actions.
1. No more Judges:
The judge system severely hindered gameplay by limiting one's actions in lue of certain bonuses that made the game unnecessarily easy. While that only adds to the challenge, there are plenty of other factors that could do the same. In War of the Lions, if a person was knocked out, save for certain guest characters in the story, they each have 3 turns before the character 'dies'. Judges remove the dark cloud of death in certain situations.
If Judges could only play a minor role in the story, create an option to have them at the beginning, like offering the main character a law card as a major decition. Such a decision allows for certain bonuses should you choose one over the other:
-No Judge: Risk of permanently losing a character, but 10% more EXP and AP is awarded.
-Judge Present: Removes the Risk of death, Bonuses to certain attributes given the Privelages chosen.
2. Abilities and Equipment:
In Advanced and A2, one thing that they did right was making it so that one could only gain abilities by arming characters with various weapons or equipment. By earning enough AP (Ability Points), a character can master the equipment's ability and move on to another, retaining the skill learned and learn the next. The JP (Job Points) made the idea of leveling up a character's class tedious at best. Some skills cannot be learned unless a character is at a specified class level (See below).
3. Classes and Races:
The only race I really had a problem with was the Seeq so I'm exluding them from this review. All the others were fine and fitted perfectly in the game. Back on topic, Each race should be able to have equal opportunities to become the same class. Humans can become Assassins and Gunners, and Moogles should become Blue Mages and Archers. This goes on with all the races, although some are more efficient in one class over the other. Say Nu-Mou are selected as Gladiators, their growth would increase less gradually in their stats when they level up as opposed to Bangaa whose stats would increase significantly more. The opposite could be said the same for Bangaa if one decided to make them into a Black Mage, where the Nu-Mou would normally thrive in such a class.
4. Class Levels and Class Points:
Not to be confused with a character's base level, the class levels are determinant by the skills that a character learns, each valued at a specified number of class points (CP). When a skill is learned, that skill has a class point value that is accrued in a single level. When the value climbs to a certain threshold, a character's class level (CP) increases. Some skills require a certain class level in order to learn them. So if a characters class level is too low, some skills will be inaccessible, deeming him/her to be too inexperienced in order to learn it, and thus incapable of wielding that equipment. The same applies when a character wishes to progress in order to use another more useful classes.
Example: A human priest whose class level is at 4 could not wield a staff which could only be wielded by a character with a class level of 7.
5. New Game +:
This is an option that I've been hoping for since the earliest FFT game back in the PSX genre. Remember that first time you beat War of the Lions, and you found yourself unable to go back to the map screen and had to start over from scratch? I certainly do, and with the New Game + option, it could increase the replayability of the game. When a person beats this game, it would be boring just to simply go 'back' to the map screen, so why not simply start over. You can experience the entire story line all over again while retaining the skills and CL you have earned. Your equipment and base levels, however, will be reverted back to square one.
6. Facing:
In FFA and War of the Lions, facing was an important factor when combat was involved. If somebody simply attacked from the front, they had a significantly lower chance of hitting and decreases the damage dealt. In A2, it felt that only the damage was hindered while accuracy remained the same regardless of the facing. The return to the roots of facing will make this right again.
7. Weather and Time:
In all the games thus far, time has always been a factor in Final Fantasy. More often than not in reality, some weather can only be experienced during certain times of the year. In spring, rain would occur the most often, while snow would occur only in the winter. In certain regions in Ivalice, however, there could only be one type of weather. Far nothern regions could only experience snow, Areas along the oceans along the equator would experience alot of rain. Occasionally, one would come along an area during the summer and experience draughts. You get where I'm going with this. Anways, some forms of weather could impact how gameplay could be made :
[align=center]Be aware that some monsters or certain equipment gives immunities to these effects[/align]
Rain- Jumping height decreased by 50%
Snow- Movement is decreased by 25%
Draught- Damage Dealt and Recieved decreases by 10%
Moderate- Status remain unchanged
8. Terrain Hazzards and Traps:
As fans of War of the Lions and A2 are aware, some terrain have certain qualities that are harmful given certain conditions, as well as traps that inflict many different kinds of status ailments. All of which are not always laid by NPCs or characters (Much like the level down or doom traps).
Swamps: If stepped in, the character will instantly become poisoned.
Volcanic: After a certain number of turns, the volcano will erupt, damaging all characters on the map.
Lava: Being in a lava filled environment damages those who are not protected from the intense heat.
Deep Water/Snow: Characters in deep water/snow cannot perform actions.