I have beaten it a few times with the different races you can be. Personally I do enjoy playing it because you can replay all of the areas (except for the last one) for extra items and power ups. Makes for much easier gameplay later. Yes it is very tedious and long to play by yourself but the story is not that bad. The graphics are very nice (not XII nice but nice given the console) and it gets very repetitious very quickly. The fun only comes when you can make items from what you find. The music is also one of the only redeeming qualities of the game. I rarely found myself not liking the music for the levels. I bought the soundtrack for it. Nintendo really sold themselves short with this title though (which is why almost noone plays it). There are only about a dozen playable levels (that thankfully get progressively harder as you progress through the story), other than armor and shields there is NO character development (No levels, no stats, no nothing), there are only three moves that each character can do (as long as you can time it right). The nail in the coffin, so to speak, is that in order to play with your friends you all MUST purchase 4 GBAs and 4 link cables for the GC. If anyone doesn't have BOTH then they can't play. All in all I recommend RENT FIRST because this game is very much not for everyone. I like it while I have seen many hate boards for it. See for yourself but do give it a try.
I have always found it pretty fun watching the kinds of things people have figured out given enough time and exposure to the game. Yiazmat in FFXII, that video, the Tonberry trick in FFX, etc. It's just cool to see what we can accomplish to make eachother's lives easier.
I agree that they will somehow adapt the current battle system and it does look an awful lot like a good strategy game. I remember reading the press release for Revenant Wings when it was first introduced as an idea and the designers said it was going to be a very minimalist "back-to-basics" game with tutorials for beginners to the genre and series (conflicting elements, strength/vitality/agility and weapon/armor attributes - that sort of stuff). Why people would start with number like 12 is beyond me but hey I'm glad they're expanding the franschise even more.
I have downloaded most of the soundtracks for all of them from Blue Lagua and I have more FF 9 songs than the rest. I didn't like the game as much as others but the soundtrack was great for alot of the cutscenes.
I'm in the same boat as Ora... It took me a VERY long 8+ hours to take him down. For the first few as long as the gambits are set well I started fighting and then went to watch some movies and just let it run but most of the way into the fight he changes his tactics and makes you have to start trying to beat him. I had Lv 75+ on all 6 people plus the best armor that money could buy with all great weapons (I opted for one-handed Golden Axes and shields over 2-handed swords). Reverse, Decoy and Bubble were lifesavers. So all in all I agree it is worth the time and fighting to take him down. Montblanc has a NICE reward for you when you finish. Prepare and be ready for a long and satisfying encounter. Good luck!
Though it isn't an "Ultimate" sword, it is always one of the strongest. Most swords called Ragnarok (including the cool grappler ship in VIII) are great (I found it in FF III, V, VI, VII, IX and XII). I like it because it stands for the Norse Mythology of "The Fate Of The Gods" which is the battle that brings about "The End Of The World" started by the trickster god Loki. Any sword that stands for the destruction of the known universe is pretty cool to me. Thanks Wikipedia for such great support for a really cool sounding name.
For pure looks XII did an amwsome job creating all new bad-ass looking buddies to control (though woefully useless) with some great names (Shemhazai, Mateus, etc). I still have to stick with VII as a classic summon game (at least they came in handy in fights, looked great and were easy to attain). VIII was very fun when you could get them...but the attaining of alot of the summons was alot of needless sidework (Doom Train and Tonberry King pop up right away). IX was great because the summons were all part of some of the most memorable cutscenes from that whole game. X was just sort of use the aeons as a shield for the last part of the game from huge devestating attacks. Tactics Advance made some memorable names for the summons and the looks were great too (there were too few IMPO). So my answer to the question would be VII for "best" and XII for "coolest".
I find it very enjoyable to play as both single and multi. It takes ALOT of patience and repetitive item gathering (to get the good stuff anyway). I did spend alot of time in the same levels doing the same things over and over but I'm patient so I didn't mind. I have beaten it once with each of the four races. Making the best out of it came down to hooking up a GBA to slot 2 as you play single player so you can see what the bonus is for each level you do and get a nice map. I love the multiplyers options the best but friends are hard to come by thesedays (I have just moved all the way across the country and alot of my friends are back home). So I don't think you should give up on such a good GC game. The ending is worth it.
Right now I'm playing Dragon Quest VIII for the 3rd time through (I just can't get enough of the amazing gameplay that it has), and I am also tracking (working title) Dragon Quest IX for the PS2. I am also playing Xenosaga III for the second time through and I am awaiting Valkyrie Profile 2 in the mail, should be here tomorrow.
It would have to have been listening to my friends while playing FF7. They thought it would be great to tell the gullible new guy that the little red guy in the desert (Ruby) was a new side quest that I was perfectly ready for and the big green guy under water (Emerald) wanted to talk to me and give me a new item. I was at level 45 or so and heftily got smeared into a little puddle...advice...if you're friends have played it before and you have not...don't listen to them :D
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