I enjoyed the materia system, but I still prefer FFVI's Esper junctioning system. You could still have any character learn any spell, but have them know all of them at the same time, whereas VII's system limited the number of spells you could have by using materia slots. Unless of course you have the master materia, but by then you've beaten Emerald and there's not much left to do anyway.
I also liked FFV's job system, where you could take an ability from one job and equip it while you're using another job.
I'll admit though, I wasn't too fond of X's sphere grid or XII's liscense board.
Anyway, to look at it from a different perspecitve, customization kind of takes away from the unique characteristics of some characters, they seem less like individuals when it comes to battle. And even outside battle, if a character is designated as one class, they tend to act as though they fit that class. Like Vivi for example, his spells and lack of physical prowess help defind his character warranting a special relationship between Steiner and him and it often portrayed him as a character who holds great power but often needs the help of others.
It also opens up a whole new strategic aspect, if every character can do everything the player just ends up acting on impulse rather than actually deciding what's best to do in a situation.
For example, if the player knows the enemy is weak to magic they think "I should cast a spell". In a overly customizable game then the player simply casts a spell with whoever's turn comes up first and ends the battle right away. If not however, the player goes about defeating the enemy in a more strategic manner, having the games black mage cast a spell while the others do things more suited to the situation according to their classes, like defending the black mage for instance.
You may wonder why I liked FFVI's sytem then since every character could learn every spell. But then casting a spell with Sabin often ended up very different than casting a spell with Strago now didn't it? They still had their unique abilities.
And that's my two-cents.
I also liked FFV's job system, where you could take an ability from one job and equip it while you're using another job.
I'll admit though, I wasn't too fond of X's sphere grid or XII's liscense board.
Anyway, to look at it from a different perspecitve, customization kind of takes away from the unique characteristics of some characters, they seem less like individuals when it comes to battle. And even outside battle, if a character is designated as one class, they tend to act as though they fit that class. Like Vivi for example, his spells and lack of physical prowess help defind his character warranting a special relationship between Steiner and him and it often portrayed him as a character who holds great power but often needs the help of others.
It also opens up a whole new strategic aspect, if every character can do everything the player just ends up acting on impulse rather than actually deciding what's best to do in a situation.
For example, if the player knows the enemy is weak to magic they think "I should cast a spell". In a overly customizable game then the player simply casts a spell with whoever's turn comes up first and ends the battle right away. If not however, the player goes about defeating the enemy in a more strategic manner, having the games black mage cast a spell while the others do things more suited to the situation according to their classes, like defending the black mage for instance.
You may wonder why I liked FFVI's sytem then since every character could learn every spell. But then casting a spell with Sabin often ended up very different than casting a spell with Strago now didn't it? They still had their unique abilities.
And that's my two-cents.
