Side Post!

Side Fantasy - The Good and Bad of Off-Numbered FF Titles

Woo! Another rendition of everybody's favorite...SIDE POST!
For this Side Post, I'll be covering some of the side Final Fantasy games. This is basically any title that isn't a single and direct number in the lineup. Along the way, I'll talk about each one briefly while highlighting my likes and dislikes of each. Before it is said and done, I'll have a "Good" or "Bad" rating for them. I realize that's an incredibly crappy rating system of "yes or no", but I don't plan on playing any of these fully as per my goal. For ease on my part (and keeping this short), I will only be covering three titles of my choosing. Let's begin with one of my favorites...Final Fantasy Tactics.

Final Fantasy Tactics - Nothing Says Fantasy Like Throwing In Some Tactics!

Final Fantasy Tactics was released on the PlayStation in 1998 (technically '97 for Japan). It showed off a unique yet recognizable Final Fantasy experience. Taking a page from Tactics Ogre (and being created by one of the bigger people behind THAT), it gave you a chance to take the battles into your own hands with a higher focus on strategy. To put it simply...it's a Tactical RPG. Think of it like an RTS but turn-based instead of live action. I realize that doesn't sound as cool, but there are many Tactical RPGs out there that have made a name for themselves. Disgaea is one big name in this area, but lucky for me, Final Fantasy Tactics is the least complicated one in the Tactical RPG lineup. The biggest things I'll focus on for me "review" of sorts are the Gameplay and Story. Let's start with Gameplay!

The Gameplay of Final Fantasy Tactic has many layers. The easiest way to describe it is basically how I said it above "turn-based RTS." You place your people on a giant grid, move around said grid, and try to defeat the other people. The game makes use of the Job System from Final Fantasy 5 (almost an exact clone from my current experience). It's not exactly the same, but it is quite similar. You gain levels in jobs and are able to transfer that job's abilities to other jobs by "equipping" them. The difference here is that you gain "Job Points" in Tactics as apposed to ABP (Ability Points). You use the Job Points to purchase skills and gain Job Levels. Once you buy all the skills, the Job is considered "Mastered." You unlock new jobs on a per-character basis by gaining levels in certain jobs. Another nice different is the larger variety of skill selection as well as the ability to equip multiple skills based on what they do.  Each character equips two job commands (the current job and one alternate), a Reaction ability, a Movement ability, and a Support ability. Basically, it's a pretty big upgrade from how FF5 does it. A large variety of spells and powers keep all of the jobs useful throughout the game. Outside of your jobs (20 jobs available to everybody plus specialty jobs available to a some), you can also capture and train monsters. Combine this with a variety of jobs, and you can basically create your Final Fantasy dream team. It contains a large variety of the staple Final Fantasy monsters like Chocobos and Bombs.

With the Job System being my favorite part, the icing on all of this is the actual battle system. The beginning of the game is a bit limited on Job Selection. You are hampered by both level and weapon/armor selection. Battles consist of your 4 people (plus occasional guests) versus a whole squad of enemies. Generally, this goes pretty easy, and you decimate their squad. However, one of the bigger flaws in the game is the overall difficulty curve. From the very beginning, you are already at a large disadvantage. I generally spend 3 or 4 hours at the very beginning getting into random battles to gain some extra levels. Even then, the random battles available near the beginning can be pretty tough if you aren't careful. (Chocobos are horribly overpowered.) However, after some good leveling, the game becomes much easier. You can always hire new people to join your army (or catch monsters), so your supply of people is endless. However, new people have to start from the beginning. I'd say the only true bummer is that you will probably end up making 4 really awesome people while the rest are lackluster at best. Even the Guests generally lose any real flash compared to your all-star team. This happens because you always choose 4 people to send into battle. Therefore, I always send the same 4. Overall, I'd say the gameplay is a "love it or hate it" thing. If you don't love it, you probably won't enjoy the game. Next up is my weak point on the game...the story.

Maybe it's just me, but the story is overly plot-y. Not necessarily bad, but it certainly feels confusing as hell at times. Before you get anywhere, you're already learning at least a dozen different names. Important people are already dying and getting kidnapped. The game is composed of 5 chapters, and each chapter has a small time jump between them. The general idea of the story is "despite being the good guy, everybody thinks you are the bad guy." I won't say anything else as to not ruin the rest of it. I still like the story overall, but I'm not sure if I ever fully grasped it. Although to be fair...I played it when I was a lot younger. I was mostly playing it for the character building. I loved make characters with great job combos. Anyways, the story seems to take a step away from your general Final Fantasy stuff. It's not a bad thing, but it is definitely not for people who want a simple and straightforward story.

Overall, I'd say Final Fantasy Tactics rises out of the side-Fantasy titles as a Good game. The story might be all over the place at times, but I'd say the game play and replay value easily overshadow any shortcomings. Next up is Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.

Final Fantasy - Mystic Quest  - Get Ready for a Mystical Quest...with Fantasy!


Final Fantasy Mystic Quest came out on the Super Nintendo as an alternative Final Fantasy title. The main goal of the game was to be a simple and easy for entry-level RPG players. It featured a fairly simple battle system and fairly straightforward story. Despite the simplicity, Mystic Quest actually shows off in that it is still a really fun and great game. The battle system is overly simple, but it's also really fun at the same time. The game goes for more of an adventure-ish style than full-on RPG style. Each weapon has its own alternative use outside of being a weapon. Sword can poke switch holes, axes cut down trees, claws can climb and grapple hook, and explosives...blow stuff up. It was a pretty interesting mechanic that each weapon had a secondary use. There was magic and items as well, but everything was pretty straightforward. Only a couple item types existed, and the magic was found instead of gained through levels. To state it how it is...simple but fun. That's basically the entirety of this paragraph in one sentence. Onward to the story!

The story was nothing really new for Final Fantasy. A hero must save the world by rescuing crystals from monsters. Along the way, you meet and make friends with multiple different people. The game only has a party of two, and each partner starts off as being AI controlled, but you can switch them to your control. In this case, the story isn't anything new, but it isn't bad either. Nothing special, it is still worth playing through.

Overall, I'd say that Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is Good. It's easy to pick up and play, fairly short, and still a great title by itself. I realize the review for this one isn't nearly as long as the first one, but why drag it out?
Let's continue to the next and final review for this post over the title Dissidia Final Fantasy.

Dissidia Final Fantasy - Fast & Furious Final Fantasy Fighting...Yeah!


For my last review, I'll be talking about a more recent entry in the Final Fantasy family. Well, not SUPER recent, but I haven't ever played the second Dissida. MOVING ALONG. Dissidia is a PlayStation Portable entry in the Final Fantasy side series. It's a highly unusual side step away from the Final Fantasy norm, but it's also a fairly well done and fun step. Basically, it's a fighting game stylized in an RPG way. The only real comparison is a random PlayStation 1 fighting game called Ehrgeiz. It featured Final Fantasy 7 characters for some reason. Let's begin with a quick glimpse of game play.

The game play is a combination of 3D fighting with RPG stats, items, and equipment. The fighting is done in an open range arena with platforms. Some arenas are stylized like a room while others are simple and fairly plain. Fighting takes place either on the ground or in the air. You have two meters and two basic attack types. Both revolve around the two basic aspects....HP and Bravery. HP attacks damage HP of course, and Bravery attacks work a little different. Each BRV attack drains the enemies attack power and gives it to you. So if you fight with BRV attacks, you can easily take down the enemies attack while boosting your own. It's a fun twist. Anyways, there's also an EX guage that slowly builds in multiple fashions. Once full, you can transform into EX Mode and basically just kick ass. The point is to knock out the opponent by depleting their HP. I made it sound somewhat boring, but it's actually quite fun.

There's 12 characters (10 at first plus 2 unlockables), and each character is from one of the original ten Final Fantasy titles. They picked 2 from each game...the main hero and the main villain. Each character has their own set of attacks and abilities. Everybody tends to specialize in one form of fighting over another. Once you introduce the items and equipment, things can start getting complicated. Add on top of all of this that they kept the RPG factor of levels means you got yourself a strange yet appealing fighter. Overall, it's a clever title that requires some use of both strategy and fighting game prowess. Fights go all over the place and are both epic and awesome looking. Another cool thing about Dissidia is the ability to create fights between random protagonists and antagonists of the series. Have Sephiroth fight Golbez. Make Zidane fight Terra. Many fun and interesting combinations are possible. The only problem I'd have with any fighting is that levels really, really matter. If I remember correctly, even a few levels above you can easily give the enemy a huge advantage over you. Many times, I found myself being incapable of defeating the enemy based on level alone. Also, I might have just plain sucked...the CPU in fighting games are always hard. That's about what I have to say on the game play itself, and now I move on to the story.

This would probably be the weaker side of this game, or it is at least as far as I am concerned. The story involves the god of dischord, Chaos, and the goddess of harmony, Cosmos. They've been in eternal battle against one another through the use of their selected champions (the main protagonists and antagonists from the first 10 Final Fantasy titles). However, as the story is beginning, their current "cycle" has tipped in Chaos's favor, and the good guys are losing. The cycle thing suggest that they fight until one side loses and then restarts. The first thing you get to do...collect crystals. WHAT A SURPRISE!

As you can tell, I'm really super excited about the game's story /end sarcasm. I don't horribly love it, but the game does have one cool bit. The game features a large amount of interaction between all the different heroes and villains throughout. It's fairly cool to see them all interact with one another. Another delightful (but not really story-related) surprise is the appearance of all sorts of characters in-game. As you proceed through the game, you are introduced to multiple and random characters at the story and help screens. Black Mage, Yuffie, Vivi, and many many more are featured throughout in small tidbits.

As for the story overall....I didn't really love it. It was okay, but I didn't want to play as half the characters. And it is REQUIRED to play as all of them in order to beat it. I know that isn't really a complaint about the story..soooo. Basically, it's not a bad story, but it wasn't for me. I enjoyed the character interactions more than the overall story.

So basically, I'd still say this is another great spinoff for the Final Fantasy series. Their first (real) entrance into the fighting game world. I wouldn't recommend it for fighting game fans, but I would suggest Final Fantasy fans give it a shot...if just for the versus potential! I'll give it a "Good" just to put it simple.


And that's all I have for this post...so to quickly review it.
Final Fantasy Tactics is a really fun game, but I would advise against it if you don't want the strategy or story.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is incredibly fun and simple. However, it might be too old and simple for some people. Just...download and emulate it real quick.
Dissidia Final Fantasy is a great spinoff Final Fantasy fighting game...for PSP. I'd recommend it if you want something fun and interesting for your PSP, but I wouldn't suggest going out of your way to obtain a PSP to play it.

And to think, this is only a few of the many side titles in the entire Final Fantasy Side Series!
I figure I'll do another one of these "Side Fantasy" posts after I get a few more games done.
That...and I don't think I've played many of the other ones. >_<

~May the Crystals Guide Me~