Future FF installments - More Handicapable?

[Shu]

I think the difference between the age groups in FF gamers, are pretty dramatic due to how much new content is put into the games, and how much tributes are acknowledged as well.

Without showing ageism here, I want to point out that MOST! statistically speaking here, folks that started after FFIX are generally desensitized. Here's why I think this.

Story content from X and on seemed to be more of a broader stroke along the basis of divinities where as FFXI/FFXII/FFXIII were more focused on the state of the government along with "some" super natural elements (fal'cie etc). The purge was a huge factor in XIII, but let me get back to the point quickly here. I believe the desensitization initially started with VII and the FMVs they introduced to the FF genre. The overwhelming amount of materias, summons, ultima weapons, limit breaks, you could use to trump the AI Monsters, were just incredible.

From then on it was a system of trying to one up and work new elements into the combat system, and focusing on trying to astound the audience with crazy over the top graphics and such (with the exception of FFIX because I believe a large part of this game was paying tribute).

Though with making the combat system a bit more complex each time with the Trances, Overdrives, and etc etc, they upped the AI for the players and threw in gambits for XII. While I thought XII implemented it very well, I believe it started a trend in FF, that I perpetually hated. Instead of having the player be able to control each player, you usually are able to maintain one "main" character at a time, and have to balance it out with the AI system. Gambits were new, and they were great.. though I didn't want to feel like I had to lean on them too much..

So what happens? They piggy backed the system and in turn took it further and made it more complex for FFXIII. Now I don't want to assume FF franchise is doomed, though I get the feeling, they will try to focus more and more on this AI, and make the games really played out.

So why complain? Well I like the feeling of knowing I have more room for error. I like the ability of statistically screwing myself over for accidentally clicking the wrong spell, and healing the wrong person or damaging the wrong person. It adds a more intuitive and adapted sense of control than, just creating a bunch of paradigms/gambits, and knowing when to switch them for certain situations. No kidding, in XII I could walk away if I set the correct gambits. Which I thought was clever, but I was not amused when I knew I could kill the last boss with ease by doing this.

I think honestly, they are in love with this feature a bit much. You might say.. but Shu, this is maybe 3 games (xii-2) that have implemented the combat system this way.. Well yea.. but I don't see them straying any time soon. If they set up the algorithms... guess what the coding is a bit easier in the end.

With more control, there is more "random" factors the gamer has to take into account.

So what do you think? Do you think they will keep going down the route of not being in control of all characters? As in if you wanted to you, you could choose which spell, which attack, which limit break, which summon, which whatever is next with each character? Or would you rather just sit back and let the AI handle it for all but one character?

 

[Ohri-Jin]

IMO The future FF title's should have the battlesystem from FF12,Dragon Age etc. or like Rogue Galaxy and Kingdom Hearts.

I dont think its possible anymore to control all the chars one by one like in previous FF titles. However they could easily fix that with one press on the button you could change/swap characters.

Also monsters/fiends/enemies should be on screen at all times. Random battles are a no no in these times imo.

Yes I would like to choose all my moves and not with autobattle! I want to move my char while in battle. The demo of FFXIII-2 felt so automated.
I want to fight and not let the game fight for me.

If you have control of one char ofcourse the rest will be AI, but like Dragon Age that is easily fixed.

Dragon Age is simply the best RPG to compare. Thats how its done.

All the games I mentioned had Random pop up battles, but never WARPED into a other dimension bullcrap.

 

[Linnaete]

I doubt Square will ever seriously consider reverting to the pre-FFXII systems of party control. Current JRPGs are mostly going down the action route of one controllable person at a time. If people are sick of the current system of having only one directly controlled character at a time while the AI handles the other two or three, you should probably go play a Dragon Quest game.

True though, FFXIII's system just doesn't let you screw up - though I'm not too entirely sure why you would want to - it doesn't let you heal an enemy by mistake or slash your buddy. Having Auto-Battle there which even chooses the optimal attacks that are more effective for the situation without you having to scroll through a menu just shows how utterly streamline it is.

While I don't think FFXII has a perfect system, at least you can make things as hard or easy for you as you want. Turn off gambits if you wish, set up only one or two, or set up an entire deck of useful gambits. The player is free to even try and imitate the older games by turning off all gambits and switching between party leaders (providing they're not being targeted) and individually setting commands for them.

For the future, I hope they don't repeat what they did for FFXIII and forbid you from changing your controllable party member mid-battle. As I can see Final Fantasy heading closer and closer towards action territory, I do hope to see something similar to Rogue Galaxy, as Ohri said. In that game, you're free to switch playable party members at will, assign simple battle commands to them and occasionally at the press of a button, unleash special abilities of the other two party members.

They will likely not return to the pre-FFXII system, but at the very least, they can weave in as many opportunities as they can to give the player more input in how each of the individual characters fight. I do admit, an advantage of the current JRPG combat styles we have nowadays is the fact that boss fights do become more intense. You can still monumentally screw up by assigning ineffective commands and/or party tactics.

(I do suppose we should take into account one thing: is the AI any good? If it's shit, then that's hopefully a problem with the game's programming alone, and not a problem that's there in most games like this.)

 

[foevanimeboi]

You have less room for errors and you don't have to multitask as much with an AI, but the enemies in the game are also smarter and more difficult as well. XIII is time orientated, so you have to win battle quickly and get five star ratings.

I understand you wanted more room for mistakes and wanting to be in control, but the battle systems now are fast paced instead of turn-based or so it's necessary to have AIs.

Games are leaning towards more action styled and graphic enhancments because it's just the new trend now with our technology. Who doesn't want their games to look badass?

 

[Sheechiibii]

I'm not very sure what you meant by desensitized? And you spoke about ages at the start but I'm not sure what you were asking about people who started after IX. I did and I do not like the newer games either.

I hope that they go back to turn-based battle systems. I don't understand why it wouldn't be possible. I understand their thinking with the new games - fast battle will make people happy. Well, that may be for some, but the older games weren't slow unless you were weak really.

These new games, I don't even see what's actually happening in the battle, all I see are the stats at the bottom. What's the point of having good graphics if the fight goes so fast and automatically that I don't get the chance to see what the hell is going on? I like to know what's happening when I'm in a fight. You might as well not even have other characters because I never notice they're there.

I always liked Final Fantasy because it wasn't like the other games, it was turn based and it has always been difficult to find good games like that. Why do they feel they need to change that so completely when they were selling so well with it.

I don't want a game to look badass; I don't want to look at a game, I want to play a game myself, I want to have control of my characters and not have it handed to me on a platter. I hated that you got stars for battles, I used to like stealing from enimies, taking my time with them, and other times I liked to kill them quickly, turn based meant you can do this. You can't do anything with the new system apart from mash x. I've tried to be creative and set abilities myself but even then, they make it so you repeat a pattern so you're really just mashing x again. Boring. Not badass at all.

I wouldn't say it's an age issue though. I started with X, went back and played VII, VIII and IX and loved them all. I didn't mind XII's battle system, it was really quite good. You still had control because you could set the gambits, you could give your characters roles like healer or mage or everything and you could swap between them and control them individually. This worked because there was no battle screen so it flowed nicely. It doesn't work for XIII in my opinion. I hated the battle system in XIII.

Why would Final Fantasy try to be like other games when it's always been loved for setting a style of it's own, for being different and being a niche? Seems silly to me. I'm hoping they'll sort themselves out though and soon. I'm hoping for something good from Versus but I won't hold out much hope as far as the battle system goes since it's still a XIII. But for XIV I want something good.

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