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gigglefeimer posted:What a lot of words to say very little. It's not a flaw that sidequests/NPCs/Sailor Moon are in the game, you just don't like that kind of stuff. Instead of saying the game is deeply flawed just accept that it's okay to simply not like those parts. And holy poo poo, complaining about the sparkles in the menu? What a stupidly insignificant thing to complain about. The game's got flaws, though. That's not really an opinion, it's a statement of fact. The sidequests suck pretty hard by and large and are a big part of the gameplay and you basically need a guide open in front of you to get the good ending and even then it's extremely tedious. Not liking the aesthetic or whatever, that's an opinion, but discounting pretty significant gameplay issues with "that's just like, your opinion, man" is a little disingenuous. VVV Hey gently caress you, evil trees and psycho clowns blowing up the planet is serious poo poo  VVV
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Jul 13, 2012 05:27
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gigglefeimer posted:It's funny how, with minor game-specific changes, this paragraph could apply to every FF. I'm pretty sure very few of the posters here actually think Final Fantasy 'addresses important issues' in any way that does not make them want to roll their eyeballs out of their head.
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Jul 13, 2012 05:27
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Fungah! posted:The game's got flaws, though. That's not really an opinion, it's a statement of fact. The sidequests suck pretty hard by and large and are a big part of the gameplay and you basically need a guide open in front of you to get the good ending and even then it's extremely tedious. Not liking the aesthetic or whatever, that's an opinion, but discounting pretty significant gameplay issues with "that's just like, your opinion, man" is a little disingenuous. A lazy statement like "the sidequests suck pretty hard" is gonna get a lazy response, dude. Pureauthor posted:I'm pretty sure very few of the posters here actually think Final Fantasy 'addresses important issues' in any way that does not make them want to roll their eyeballs out of their head. Exactly, X-2 is no different from any other FF in that regard. That's my point.
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Jul 13, 2012 05:33
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If you hate X-2 you hate fun. Seriously though, X-2 is a bit goofier/campy than any previous FF but that really isn't a bad thing in of itself. You can turn off the dress-sphere swap animations which leaves the battle-system really solid.
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Jul 13, 2012 05:43
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Schwartzcough posted:Really, all X-2 has going for it is the battle system. Pretty much everything else is crap. People say how it addresses the important issues of how people handle suddenly being freed of the constant fear of death from Sin, with political strife and infighting. And then they resolve all these problems with... a J-Pop concert. Well, clearly they gave this a lot of thought and handled it maturely. At least it's a good song that resolves everything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwp2X21Ztb0 (mid-late-game cutscene spoilers, it's not the "what can I do for you" intro J-Pop). It was an interesting game. I really liked switching jobs on the fly, but that was mostly useful stumbling into areas you weren't supposed to be in (I killed my first Tonberry cycling the party's jobs because whoever was the healer would run out of MP) or for planned "hit em with X then cycle into the main job" things. Wasn't much "oh poo poo" reactionary cycling unless the healer went down. Also, having Uber mobs mixed in to encourage running is nice, but they need some sort of "I'm gonna gently caress you up" signal before AoE stoning the party, let you know you SHOULD run and go save. It had a tonal shift after act 1, 1.5 or so, and I think that worked well but ran up against the problem of being sold on the tone of Act 1. As a result you lose the folks turned off by Act 1 and the folks who picked it up for that get caught in the lurch. I'd be more tolerant of the minigames if they didn't factor so much into the guide-dang-it-ness of the game. "Do this now or you never get a chance again". Sometimes they were good about marking points of no return, sometimes they weren't. I prefer it when such "do these optional things for the 100% ending or a dressphere" situations hang around for the endgame, though dressphere endgame rewards have the same issue as the extra jobs in FFVAdvance; once you get them where do you use them? But most of the minigames themselves were fun enough, and I don't think any of the more annoying ones actively blocked the way forward (aside from fear that you couldn't come back to them later).
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Jul 13, 2012 06:03
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I always thought the 100% ending was dumb anyway and like to pretend it ends with the standard good one.
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Jul 13, 2012 06:38
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X-2's gaming flaws are all bearable to me compared to motherfucking matchmaking, I hated that entire mission. I mean honestly, how dumb a person does the main protagonist have to be to say "Yes, I will search every corner of the plane to find a woman your son can marry, EVERY LAST CORNER." I don't remember if it was needed for 100%, if do then it's worse than it already was. I also didn't care for talking to the Ronso about their problems EVERY CHAPTER, but that's significantly less annoying.
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Jul 13, 2012 07:03
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I'd have to say X-2's worst bits is its a very "Strategy Guide" type game mostly because of the 100% Completion gimmick hanging over the game (once I heard only the ending changes, I personally ignore worrying about that but I know others do care). There's a shitload of sidequests, some of which are *time-sensitive* or unintuitive so you're never sure what exactly "counts" for completion. I get the New Game + feature is supposed to address this, but at some point its pretty transparently "buy the associated strategy guide"/"everyone will look up a walkthrough"/"Just an ending is something you can youtube" deal. More positively, also I just realized via a German-speaking friend "Nibelhelm", aside from having a nice symmetry with Midgar, can literally mean Cloud Home. 
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Jul 13, 2012 07:31
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X-2 is a top-tier FF and I won't listen to anything anyone else says about it.
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Jul 13, 2012 07:48
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penguinmambo posted:I'd have to say X-2's worst bits is its a very "Strategy Guide" type game mostly because of the 100% Completion gimmick hanging over the game (once I heard only the ending changes, I personally ignore worrying about that but I know others do care). There's a shitload of sidequests, some of which are *time-sensitive* or unintuitive so you're never sure what exactly "counts" for completion. I get the New Game + feature is supposed to address this, but at some point its pretty transparently "buy the associated strategy guide"/"everyone will look up a walkthrough"/"Just an ending is something you can youtube" deal. Which ones are unintuitive?
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Jul 13, 2012 07:50
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When I found out that the 100% ending is Tidus coming back I really felt sorry for anyone who put themselves through the frustration and tedium of getting it. That's not a reward, it's a punishment.
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Jul 13, 2012 10:50
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It sure as hell is hilarious if you're not the one doing it, though.
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Jul 13, 2012 11:11
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Just yesterday I put FF, II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and IX on my PSP and now I find out III is coming to the PSP in Japan. Looked over the last couple of pages and couldn't see if there's been any indication of a non-Japan release. Has there? I'm obsessed with symmetry, you see.
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Jul 13, 2012 11:38
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No X-2 sidequest is as annoying and crappy as lightning dodging or chocobo racing in X. I mean don't get me wrong, X-2 is a flawed game and the sidequests can be annoying. But none of the sidequests really pissed me off quite as much as lightning dodging or chocobo racing in X did.
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Jul 13, 2012 11:55
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Suaimhneas posted:When I found out that the 100% ending is Tidus coming back I really felt sorry for anyone who put themselves through the frustration and tedium of getting it. That's not a reward, it's a punishment. It makes them 2/2 for invalidating one of the Spira game's main themes through the ending, though.  (edited for clarity) Looper fucked around with this message at 12:29 on Jul 13, 2012 |
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Jul 13, 2012 12:24
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I've always felt the best ending for X-2 was where his sparkly ghost thing hugs her from behind and vanishes, while she acknowledges that he'll always have a place in her heart. Which feels way more touching than the "I'm a REAL boy!" ending.
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Jul 13, 2012 13:08
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Maybe it's meta-commentary about how you need to let go and accept loss by not going crazy with sidequests, as the type of person who would do every single annoying thing in the game will end up with a derpy sports star and oh god maybe this was a mistake. I'd love to give X-2 a shot one of these days, considering how much praise its battle system gets. I just need some spare cash first.
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Jul 13, 2012 13:43
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Mr. Fortitude posted:No X-2 sidequest is as annoying and crappy as lightning dodging or chocobo racing in X. Via Infinito. Honestly, I can't imagine getting through that place with the Cat Nip nerf they implemented in the re-release.
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Jul 13, 2012 13:46
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Mr. Fortitude posted:No X-2 sidequest is as annoying and crappy as lightning dodging or chocobo racing in X. I mean don't get me wrong, X-2 is a flawed game and the sidequests can be annoying. But none of the sidequests really pissed me off quite as much as lightning dodging or chocobo racing in X did. Chocobo racing in the plains is rough and didn't take me too long, the other one I haven't really bothered with because it doesn't matter after I got the main reward. Lightning dodging was also rough with no indication of how well you might be doing. But the one i'm actively avoiding is the butterfly catching, It just annoys me every time I try to do it.
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Jul 13, 2012 14:01
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Suaimhneas posted:When I found out that the 100% ending is Tidus coming back I really felt sorry for anyone who put themselves through the frustration and tedium of getting it. That's not a reward, it's a punishment. That is not the 100% ending. You can get that ending by really doing very little. The actual 100% ending just adds an extra scene after it.
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Jul 13, 2012 16:08
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Pesky Splinter posted:I've always felt the best ending for X-2 was where his sparkly ghost thing hugs her from behind and vanishes, while she acknowledges that he'll always have a place in her heart. Which feels way more touching than the "I'm a REAL boy!" ending. Agreed. Granted, it goes against my OCD completionist tendencies (since to get it you have to skip something earlier and not even have the option of the other one), but it's a much more thematically appropriate and meaningful ending in my book.
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Jul 13, 2012 16:37
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I followed the X-2 strategy guide and lost the 100% for skipping a cutscene. It's in the same pile as IX for me - great FF games that I never want to see or play again as long as I live.
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Jul 13, 2012 16:44
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Fungah! posted:you basically need a guide open in front of you to get the good ending That's kind of a flaw with almost every Final Fantasy game. A lot of them have "gently caress you, buy the guide" moments. The worst offenders are those chests you can't open in FFXII or else you miss out on the best weapon, and all those summons you had to draw out of bosses in FFVIII or else you miss out on them forever. How are you supposed to know they had a summon you had to draw?
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Jul 13, 2012 16:59
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Gammatron 64 posted:How are you supposed to know they had a summon you had to draw? This one at least was pretty much "draw from every boss" which was a good strategy anyway since they tended to have tons of powerful magic. Plus its not like you could fail drawing either and you got to see exactly what they had so you would just pop open the draw list, see if you wanted anything, then move on.
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Jul 13, 2012 17:01
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The summons in FF8 are no more hidden than unique equipment that you can steal in other games. The chests in FF12 are kind of lovely but the Zodiac Spear is just like the Excalibur II in FF9, sure it's the best weapon in the game but it's far from a necessity.
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Jul 13, 2012 17:03
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Tempo 119 posted:I followed the X-2 strategy guide and lost the 100% for skipping a cutscene. It's in the same pile as IX for me - great FF games that I never want to see or play again as long as I live. Yeah, that 100% is bloody insane. It was such a stupid move even for Square-Enix. I haven't played FFX-2 in years but one thing cool about the game was how the whole world was open to you from the start with enemies growing stronger as the plot progresses. Not a lot of games do that but it's a refreshing idea.
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Jul 13, 2012 17:13
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Gammatron 64 posted:That's kind of a flaw with almost every Final Fantasy game. A lot of them have "gently caress you, buy the guide" moments. The worst offenders are those chests you can't open in FFXII or else you miss out on the best weapon, and all those summons you had to draw out of bosses in FFVIII or else you miss out on them forever. How are you supposed to know they had a summon you had to draw? The punchline to both of these is that you get 2nd chances, but they're exactly as obscure as before. You didn't know to draw from this one specific boss at the start of the game, hopefully you'll know about this other specific boss at the end instead! 
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Jul 13, 2012 17:50
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Suaimhneas posted:When I found out that the 100% ending is Tidus coming back I really felt sorry for anyone who put themselves through the frustration and tedium of getting it. That's not a reward, it's a punishment. While I do like Tidus as a character I have to agree that the 100% ending to FFX2 just isn't right. It really doesn't fit with the theme of the game.
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Jul 13, 2012 18:42
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Saigyouji posted:Via Infinito. The thing about Via Infinito is that it's actually bonus % and not part of the base 100 (as is the alternate group's percentage). I really like it in that regard because you can duck in for the Catnip and like ~2.5% extra and you don't even have to deal with whoever it is at the bottom; I got the perfect ending before, but you bet your rear end I'd never go all the way to the bottom of that boring dungeon. I mean talk poo poo about SO2 all you want 'cause it is a bad game, but if it does one absolutely thing right, it's its bonus dungeon. Well, except the translations for the puzzles in the dungeon but you get my drift.
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Jul 13, 2012 18:47
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Mr. Fortitude posted:No X-2 sidequest is as annoying and crappy as lightning dodging or chocobo racing in X. I mean don't get me wrong, X-2 is a flawed game and the sidequests can be annoying. But none of the sidequests really pissed me off quite as much as lightning dodging or chocobo racing in X did. It really helps the game is self-aware when you realize Paine repeatedly gives Yuna poo poo for saying yes to every inane subquest task some dingus gives her. Pretty much every true facepalm moment is commented on by someone, though it doesn't stop them from doing it. It makes the dramatic moments a little iffy (anything that isn't a quiet moment tends to be eyerolly) but frankly I have no problem with a lighthearted Square RPG until Square learns to write ~epic~ properly again.I kind of liked the ...continuity of personality?... where Yuna still has a lot of her overpolite doormat-ness but shifted into "hero eagerness", but that the game is still willing to comment that she needs to work on that. One thing that bugs me in a lot of sequels, especially games, is when characters do a 180 and no one really comments on it meaningfully. keet fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Jul 13, 2012 |
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Jul 13, 2012 21:26
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So, more FF5 stuff. Is there any good way around Almagest? I know about the Aegis Shield working on it, but allowing a Berserker to survive alone isn't all that helpful since he can't bring back the other guys. It's currently one-shotting my whole party, and I don't really have much to work with on my team of 2 Dancers/2 Berserkers. The only solution I can come up with right now is just grinding to nearly level 50 so my Dancers can survive the hit, but I'd like to avoid that if possible. I did come up with another neat Berserker underflow trick similar to the Earth Hammer one. Of course, it doesn't help with the above and it's of limited usefulness because you can only put it together so late in the game, but it's nice for the few bosses left at that point. The Rune Axe uses a Magic Power component to its damage, but it also adds +3 to MPwr so you can't get below 0 with just the Thornlet like you can with the Earth Hammer. There is another item with -5 MPwr though, the Giant's Glove, which is a rare steal off of Apocalypse. That together with the Thornlet will underflow your Mpwr, letting you hit for 5k with the Rune Axe. You do miss out on Running Shoes since it eats your accessory slot, but even when getting half as many turns it's still more damage than any other option Berserkers have. Edit: vvv Happy Blue Cow posted:Use a Magic Lamp to summon Catoblepas to cast Break, instantly killing the bottom-right part of NeoExDeath, which is the part that casts Almagest. I haven't had much luck with that thus far, as it has to both choose the right target and then get past his MEvade, but I guess fishing for that might be faster than level grinding. Sometimes it even plays the animation like it killed something just to get my hopes up, but all the parts are still alive afterward. Schwartzcough posted:you can get Delta Attack to reflect off you and kill the Almagest part This I didn't know about and may be worth a try. That way I could save Odin to instant kill the back part last, as well. Modoh fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Jul 13, 2012 |
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Jul 13, 2012 21:47
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Fister Roboto posted:The summons in FF8 are no more hidden than unique equipment that you can steal in other games. The chests in FF12 are kind of lovely but the Zodiac Spear is just like the Excalibur II in FF9, sure it's the best weapon in the game but it's far from a necessity. The Zodiac Spear isn't even the best weapon in FF12, either. The Tournesol (greatsword) has 140 instead of 150 attack power but higher parry value and a higher combo rate making its damage over time better, and the Masamune (despite having an attack power of like 80) has a ridiculous combo rate of 40% or something. If you have at least one dedicated mage (who would use the Faith Rod) or gun/bow user in your main party, the Zodiac Spear isn't even one of the three weapons you'd want. The way that chest works is legit bullshit, but the importance of getting it is way overstated, and getting it as early as you can (mostly by using online guides and running for dear life for the chest) ruins the difficulty curve of the game.
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Jul 13, 2012 21:52
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Modoh posted:So, more FF5 stuff. Use a Magic Lamp to summon Catoblepas to cast Break, instantly killing the bottom-right part of NeoExDeath, which is the part that casts Almagest.
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Jul 13, 2012 21:56
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Modoh posted:So, more FF5 stuff. Yeah, that's a nasty setup, since Dancers are so fragile. Well, Shoat from the magic lamp has a CHANCE of targeting the Almagest portion, which can be petrified. However, I don't know how likely it is to work even if it targets that portion (like, I couldn't get petrify to stick using my Black Mage with a level jacked through the roof by a Chemist, but it may be guaranteed to work through the summon or lamp). This also leaves you with the problem of having to use Odin first, which will kill the back portion, and will leave you with the two front parts. Since all your damage is REALLY random, you may end up with one section left caving your face in with Meteor. It may be nice to have Odin as a backup and hope the back portion survives last. The Back portion also uses Delta Attack, which I think petrifies and can be reflected. I read on the FF Wiki that this attack can kill portions of NeoExDeath, so you could also try going in with reflect rings and hoping you can get Delta Attack to reflect off you and kill the Almagest part. Both of these methods require a lot of luck, though. It might be faster to level up than keep retrying until it all works out.
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Jul 13, 2012 22:03
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Happy Blue Cow posted:Use a Magic Lamp to summon Catoblepas to cast Break, instantly killing the bottom-right part of NeoExDeath, which is the part that casts Almagest. Yeah, this. Catoblepas is the sixth summon, the third (Odin) will instakill I think the rear section. Bahamut, Leviathan, and Syldra all do tons of multi target damage along the way, and Golem and Carbuncle give useful buffs.
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Jul 13, 2012 22:06
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Safari Disco Lion posted:Yeah, this. Catoblepas is the sixth summon, the third (Odin) will instakill I think the rear section. Bahamut, Leviathan, and Syldra all do tons of multi target damage along the way, and Golem and Carbuncle give useful buffs. I just used this plan to beat my second Fiesta run! Even though Catoblepas didn't actually work on the bottom right part (maybe it targeted the wrong thing? I dunno how Catoblepas works). Second run thoughts (Knight/Thief/Knight/Monk): Monk is terrible ugh gross I never want to use a Monk again. They're really good until like halfway through the second world but from then on they just feel like a waste of space. Also I'm tired of Thieves because they are kind of hard to make good unless you get the chicken knife, which I didn't because I had knights again. This was my first time using the Brave Blade, and while not running from any fights ever is a bit of a pain, it's really strong. I like it. No regrets.
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Jul 13, 2012 23:01
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I put 30 hours into ff5 gba. I'm at the third world. Now when I try to save... I get save failed. My drat game won't save. Fuuuccckkkkk. 
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Jul 14, 2012 05:44
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Well, reflecting Delta Attack did it, so thanks for the suggestion Schwartzcough. Magic Lamp Catoblepas might work as well but the Delta Attack route took way less attempts for it to stick. It was simple once Almagest was out of the picture, as while the Berserkers are mostly useless for damage output on this fight Sword Dance + Chicken Knife is plenty of damage.  Awful quality Youtube video of the fight here. Anyway, this class layout was fun for a different approach to things considering how few options I had for skills (look at the total skill count in the victory shot). It wasn't even that hard minus NeoExdeath and a few early bosses like Byblos. Next time I do a run I hope I get a party that isn't so dependent on chance to win. A lot of fights, especially early on, came down to hoping for Sword Dance procs and Berserkers hitting the right target, while I just held down the A button.
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Jul 14, 2012 07:24
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Gammatron 64 posted:I put 30 hours into ff5 gba. I'm at the third world. Now when I try to save... I get save failed. My drat game won't save. Fuuuccckkkkk. You wouldn't happen to have one of those weird Chinese knockoff carts, would you? 'Cause lemme tell you, I bought FF6A from Amazon and they sent me a Final Fantasy VI Advance from their warehouse and it had a sticker that read, "FINAL FANTASY 6" with a picture of the superdeformed Rosa, Rydia, and Edward. They gave me a refund, but I have no loving clue how that could've happened. It was from Amazon itself. Fur20 fucked around with this message at 08:10 on Jul 14, 2012 |
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Jul 14, 2012 08:07
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The White Dragon posted:You wouldn't happen to have one of those weird Chinese knockoff carts, would you? 'Cause lemme tell you, I bought FF6A from Amazon and they sent me a Final Fantasy VI Advance from their warehouse and it had a sticker that read, "FINAL FANTASY 6" with a picture of the superdeformed Rosa, Rydia, and Edward. Nah, I'm pretty sure I got it from a store, and it looks official. It was a long time ago, though. Maybe it's because I've been saving a lot.
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Jul 14, 2012 13:43
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