Come Here Often, Monseur Monster?

[Aztec Triogal]

I realized this when playing Final Fantasy V about a year ago...

One of the things I find interesting about this game, as well as annoying, is how often you get into battles. Sometimes when you're walking through a dungeon, you can barely take a step before you're launched into another battle. Given how low your HP and stats are throughout the game, it really makes it difficult to survive in several parts. So you're thinking "so what?" and "why isn't this is the FFV forum?"...

The answer is because I think that Square does a lot of leveling designing in their games to make them as smooth as they can be. In long games like Final Fantasy X, you can make a slow leveling slope and the battles will stay relatively easy throughout the game. You have more time, so your natural progression can be slower. You don't need to get into as many battles, because you have that lower encounter rate.

My point is that, because games like Final Fantasy V were so short and that leveling platform was so steep, they needed a way to keep the palyer in the game. I think their answer for that was an extremely high encounter rate. In other words, you get drug into a lot of battles just so you can keep up with the progress of the game... which is kinda scrunched because you could not make long games in that time.

Their only other options would have been to start you off really high, meaning that the game was easy in the beginning... but incredibly hard at the end. Or they could have just made the differencial between your first badguys and the final boss very small... but that would have taken away from the epic nature of the game.

Oh man, this is kinda cool. I guess it never dawned on me before. Thoughts?

 

[Daenerys]

I think level grinding is such an integral part to the early FF Games because, like you said, they are rather short games - the excessive training needed is meant to kill time and prolong the game. Because the games are so short, the difficulty of the bosses increases sharply - the excessive training is supposed to ensure you're prepared for all the bosses, at least that's what I think. The bosses in later games like FFX get progressively stronger, there's no stage where each one is suddenly 5 times stronger than the last.

 

[strifehart]

i prefer games that level with you. Like in chrono cross, where you never had to fight random battles if you didn't want to. Or FFVIII where the whole game could be beaten at a ridiculously low level, albeit a hard thing to do. But yeah, i bought FFAnthology years ago and when i first picked it up, i got stuck and it was such a pain to keep leveling for so long, and the encounter rate was just so ridiculously high that i just put the game down and didn't play it for another couple years (i'm talking about FFV). but then, this last summer i got an FF itch that i needed to scratch, so i figured i'd play V and VI. and i'm so GLAD that i did. BOTH games are absolutely FANTASTIC despite the difficulty. In fact, i think it made the game a bit more interesting. granted, at one point, i had been leveling for a week straight and i sorta forgot where i was in the story, which was kinda irritating. but still, fantastic games.

 

[Dirges for Damcyan]

I agree that the encounter rate is much higher in the earlier games. That is a global truth, but I think it has particular relevance to V. V is, in my opinion, a game for gamers: Its story is minuscule compared to both IV and VI. However, it makes up for it with the job system, which allows for nearly endless combination. Conversely, IV did not offer much in the way of party customization, everyone just got skills as they leveled up. I think it was Square's method of satisfying the hardcore grinders out there

D4D

 

[strifehart]

I agree that the encounter rate is much higher in the earlier games. That is a global truth, but I think it has particular relevance to V. V is, in my opinion, a game for gamers: Its story is minuscule compared to both IV and VI. However, it makes up for it with the job system, which allows for nearly endless combination. Conversely, IV did not offer much in the way of party customization, everyone just got skills as they leveled up. I think it was Square's method of satisfying the hardcore grinders out there

D4D

I agree. and i liked the way you put that. "a game for gamers". that job system was unbelievable and made the high encounter rate worth it.

 

[Sora_lion_heart]

Its just what I think.

I'm not sure but I think random battles came just as quick in all the final fantasy games. Just some you had to grind at points cause they do raise the difficulty. And when they do come fast they get marked in our heads and we say something like "Damn I just fought a battle". I remeber saying that in all the final fantasy games. Except for XII.

 

[Fusionist]

You can make an interesting point. Higher encounter rate to level up more to make up for the shortness of the game; I can understand that.

However, I think graphics might also have something to do with it. The earlier SNES game with their 2D graphics, one little step from the sprites you control on screen probably covered more ground compared to, say, FFX. One little step from the Tidus didn't mean much. It's was usually after at least a couple of steps from him did you get into a encounter. So the SNES games were probably trying to make up for the small area on the screen at the time?

...Did that even make sense?

 

[Bambi]

I'm willing to accept that the high encounter rate is to level you up so you ae prepared, but it doesn't half make my blood boi, especially when lost, Id rather have to bck track and train than have enc rates that often, I could feel myself getting angrier and angrier as I went on. I dont car what the intention was it's irritating beyond ALL belief. There's nowt worse than being lost in a dungeon with stupid trap doors or floors that damage you and all the while getting ambushed every step you make

It's torture I tell you TORTURE