Boy, do people like it Final Ways to Think. They would love it so much to get married, if the wedding of a video game was legal. It's a desert island game for about 70% of the population; has been replaced more often Album White.
This piece was first published on January 7, 2013. We are celebrating it today with the 22nd anniversary of the game.
A few weeks ago, I started playing the 1998 strategy game for the first time. With tips from us FFT expert Jason Schreier, I finally (finally!) managed to survive the Dorter Slums. I already love the game, but the close attachment to the universe is so enjoyable and intense that I wanted to explore it more before playing it myself. So, I've asked a few people who make games why they like it Final Ways to Think.
“Saying Final Ways to Think is your favorite The last thought The game is like Jed Bartlet is your favorite U.S. president, ”said Darius Kazemi, game designer at Bocoup, in an email. "It's obvious now, and obviously it's cheating."
In particular, how Kazemi likes it Tactics does not balance. “What I love most FFT how dare not let a player get tough and actually break everything, ”he said. “While it is important to have a balanced fighting game in a multiplayer game, it is less important for a single-player game. FFT it says “hell on balance!” and gives you a set of enticing plans that you can bend to your will.
He went on to describe the exploits that may be most well known to many blacks Tactics Players: “My sweetest memory was building a high-level calculator (the coldest part of the mage), who would install Holy of all the letters standing at the highest point which is also a prime number. This usually killed all the enemies and allies on the map, including the Calculator itself, the only survivor who was the only group armed with something that received holy damage. ”
Trent Polack, game designer at LightBox Active, he is also a lover of Calculator, also known as Arithmetician: “Final Fantasy Techniques is the largest SRPG ever for one reason: arithmetic.
“Look at this shit,” Polack said. “& # 39; These experts calculate the principles of arithmetic law to identify the terms of their attacks & # 39; That is the true meaning of the category in the video game. You choose the attribute and base of numbers and everyone on board (friend or foe) is involved in whatever you use in the encounter. ”
Polack said that's up to her. “I have no better reason than that; I feel like that class encapsulates everything that is amazing Final Ways to Think. ”
Supergiant Games Creative director Greg Kasavin agrees, telling me via email, "It's a game whose flaws I think contribute to their unique personality. Important aspects of the experience, good looks, fun, make the game feel different." Like Kazemi, Kasavin has a favorite anecdote: one disappointment is about two-thirds of a game where you can get stuck powerless if you use the same slot all the time and save when the game suggests you should. In fact, that's not a good design. First of all when I played the game, I had to start over after 20 hours or But in the end, I really like that fight – it's a great moment in this story, and a worthy challenge given who you are against. ”
Polack made it clear of the game's unusual imbalance: “There are some very bad techniques that make the game very difficult. There are some breakdown strategies that make the game a lot easier. Then there is the multiplayer game: a strategy game that offers a disgusting amount of character customization and descriptive / random combinations to make it deep enough for people (like me) to play the game from start to finish 10 times between fourteen and fifteen. "
That level of custom depth looks like an important part of why people are still playing Tactics fifteen years after it's gone. Kasavin says he recently changed the game after the holidays, using his Vita to mimic the PlayStation genre. (Personally, I play in the PSP port, which I collect has problems of slowing down but also high translation. We'll see.) "The program is so open that every time I play, the Mode is different," Kasavin said. "I get another cool and effective combination of my team of actors You are one of those games where your long-term planning can pay off, and each battle moves you closer to the exciting outcome of the latest game. ”
Everyone I spoke to agreed that this story was another high point. I have to say, six hours in, I can see what they're talking about. Basic, well-integrated fiction. "The good part is that the game has grown well," Polack said, "and the story – although it is aimed primarily at men – is about politics and war and the country and revolt and not how hard it is for someone."
"The story weighs on the complexity and complexity of the Shakespearean problem," Kasavin said, "and I love that this wonderful and clever story is conveyed through these characters in a doll that looks like they can come out in children's play."
Matthew Burns, founder of Shadegrown Games, go into great detail. "It compensates for the perfect balance between the traditional tastes of The last thought chronicle the most important, and ultimately darkest, Included in the historian's perspective on past events, the presentation of his country's game is withheld: it presents the player with a clear look at people, politics, and events without being overwhelmed by any of the characters' feelings and their causes. ”
Burns sent me a long email in which he posted more details about his love for Hitoshi Sakimoto and the sound of Masaharu Iwata, which he said was too controversial. The last thought the sounds of all time. He wrote: “(The school) incorporates a colorful, fun, unique style of play,” he said, “but they do not submit details as many orchestral sounds often do. It's fun without having a blast, singing without excessive leitmotifs, memorable without being overwhelming. ”
Burns produced three tracks in particular: Soundness “P.R. Movie ”, played by the famous Uematsu The last thought hub arpeggios to suggest that this game will be darker and more complex than previous games, too "Lesson," which sounds in his ear and is fun, but “out for being the most dangerous and most likely anime JRPG song in its place. "
I will copy in her entire analysis of her third choice, because the good things are:
The first battle theme from the game, "Trisection," shows all the equations I mentioned earlier. Critical but not self-critical. Great and orchestral but not overly dramatic and wonderful. It's not credible in the context that might be a pop song, but it is mostly driven by song and harmony.
The way the theme from the first few bars is four times more – first one, then synced, then backdrop, style, and then horn – it raises serious conflicts that will soon bring the world together to over-exaggeration or humor. Don't say shit starts, but it doesn't tell you * how * you should feel about that – not now.
People love it Final Ways to Think for all kinds of reasons, from story, to music, in a unique way. They love what is good, and love what is bad. I am looking to dig deeper; you will have heard about the game more this month Kotaku. Hopefully I'll get back to these guys and a few more to talk about the game once I've played a lot.
In the meantime, I want to be able to hear from you. No big news spoilers, if you can help it: Why you love (or hate) Final Ways to Think?