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Are you going to join the world of Vana'diel?
Many questions have been answered about Final Fantasy XI. More information on the gameplay, the characters, the towns, the monsters, have been revealed over the past few months. Is Final Fantasy XI looking more tantalizing or are you going to skip the online adventure and just wait for the next single player title in the series? Let us know for our next mailbag update.

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> 04.28.02: What do you think of the new Square-Nintendo partnership?

> 03.09.02: What do you think of Final Fantasy X?

> 01.09.02: What does the Final Fantasy series mean to you?

> 10.14.01: Final Fantasy XI: Console Blockbuster or Big Time Bomb?

> 09.20.01: The Mailbag



03.09.02 - What do you think of Final Fantasy X?
There have been the rumors, the hype, the questions, and now it's finally out. What do you think of Final Fantasy X? Does it break through and conquer the entire saga or is it yet another mediocre title among some of your more favorite and older PS and SNES ones?

Send your all your mailbag stuff to locke@ffonline.com or dh@ffonline.com.

 H O T   T O P I C

Dear Locke,

Hey, love the site.

I think that FFX has breathed fresh air into Final Fantasy. When everyone I knew was losing faith in the franchise, I stood by Square and said, "Nay! They may have had a couple of mistakes, but they'll come back!" I mean, it's understandable. FF8 was a joke with its incredibly unbelievable hero and annoying "draw" system. And although I did enjoy FF9 quite a bit, it was really unoriginal, offering very little to the table that we hadn't seen in other Final Fantasies. So, I've waited... waited to see what Square would churn out next, confident that the next installment would be the new revolution in gaming.

Final Fantasy has reinvented itself so many times. The plot for FF4 was unlike anything we'd seen before. Then, there was the job system in FF5 which inspired one of the greatest strategy games ever, Final Fantasy Tactics. Then, we were given fourteen playable characters to choose from in FF6, along with one of the most fun to explore Final Fantasy worlds ever. After that, Final Fantasy 7 revolutionized everything from the graphics to the setting to the way an RPG character is supposed to be. Lately, Square has lost that edge for reinventing itself. But I stuck by my franchise in the good times AND the bad... and as my reward, I was granted Final Fantasy X.

Final Fantasy X is everything that FF9 should have been. Just like FF8, it takes a chance by using more human- looking character, except this time, it actually works. The characters are brilliant and deep. And the voice acting, although far from perfect in Yuna and Tidus's case, was overall more than refreshing, and it works! Not only that, but the battle system is totally different and more strategic than ever. And who would have thought they would've totally done away with leveling up? Not me. In fact, Square took a lot of risks with FFX. They decided to go nuts and totally redo everything. That's gutsy, and I love them for it. I could list all the reasons more vividly why I absolutely adore this game, but I want to keep it somewhat short. Thank you Square... and praise be to Yevon.

- The Incredible Dancing Quatre
Final Fantasy VIII’s story and characters unbelievable?

Quistis: “Take me Squall you emotionally bankrupt, indifferent hunk of man! I’m throwing myself at you!”

Squall: “Whatever.”

Point taken.

I’m not feeling the “more strategic than ever” battle system, though. In the old Final Fantasy games I had to click the X button twice to kill a monster. Now I have to click L1 once and the X button three times to kill a monster. As far as I can tell, the depth of the switch- in strategy translates to “Wakka hits birds, Lulu kills elementals, and Tidus is worthless.”

You’re right, though. I never thought they would do away with leveling up. I also didn’t think that they would frustrate me beyond comprehension by taking 30 seconds of my life every time I wanted to increase my agility by one point.

- Locke

In 1997, I believe, SquareSoft released the greatest game of all time (DUH). Final Fantasy 7. The epic story in the setting in the world of Mako and the reactors with the power- hungry scientific madmen of Shin'ra. The story is about Cloud Strife and his struggle within himself and his journey to chase 'the man in the black cape'.

Now, final fantasy is no longer about this sort of archetype. No more philosophical story that you can relate to. I have witnessed FF10 and I realize what has become of Square. Why must Square be so square? Now all Final Fantasy is about is FMV and graphics. Their main focus now is to base the story on a corny love story with poor voice- acting that doesn’t match the character's appearance. All of the characters are shallow teenagers who only care about blitzball and making a big- scene. When I play FF10, the only reason I play is to see what Auron will say/do next.

Auron is a masterpiece.

But I will never forget in Final Fantasy 7 as Sephiroth stabbed Aeris in her prayer. Or when the President of Shin- ra destroyed a part of his own city to have his own men come to the rescue in an attempt to gain further trust of Midgar citizens. Let’s face it. More exciting stuff happened in FF7. FF10 thrives upon FMV to keep it semi- interesting. The plot blows. Now, my question, what happened and when is Square going to release Final Fantasy 11 to help cover up for such a terrible flaw?

- Bewth
I’d hug you if it weren’t for that terrible Square pun in the second paragraph. Beginning with Final Fantasy VIII, Square started placing a noticeable emphasis on FMV over gameplay. Cut scenes occurred more frequently and for less important events. The amount of cinema remained pretty static between Final Fantasy VIII and IX, but the ratio of cinema to gameplay in Final Fantasy X is unacceptable. It took me 50 hours of playing time to finish Final Fantasy X. More than 20 of those hours were devoted to cinema, forced dialogue, and tedious pointing and clicking on the sphere grid.

Square’s online outing in Final Fantasy XI will be a welcome relief, but let’s hope Final Fantasy XII will be more like a game and less like a movie. I buy games to play, not to watch.

- Locke

Locke,

I think that Final Fantasy X is way better then you and Dh wrote in your review. I give the voice acting far more recognition because the voices fit perfect with every single character in the game. You can't expect the lips to match up at all, if you expect that you are a fool. In my opinion, the gameplay graphics are much better than Metal Gear Solid 2. This is by far the most impressive game ever to grace the face of the Ps2. It's original with the story, characters, Sphere grid, and as for Blitzball, it's cool but I think they could have had something better, like another Golden Saucer. This game is far better then Final Fantasy IX as far as everything, better then Final Fantasy VIII as far as battles, and far better then Final Fantasy VII as far as graphics and story. I don't expect it to be as recognized as Final fantasy VI or V or IV because those are classics and nothing can beat them, but all in all Final Fantasy X outranks all Final Fantasies, including Final Fantasy Tactics, that were ever made for the Ps0ne because this is the only Final Fantasy game I've ever been able to play non- stop until the end unlike VIII, which eventually got boring. Plain and simple (in MY opinion) Final Fantasy X exceeds all others before it, and I for one am very surprised, because I never thought any FF would be better then VII (again just in MY opinion).

- Matthew

ps. you guys at FFonline kick ass!!!
Metal Gear Solid 2 had gameplay? I must have missed it during the 12 hours of boring codec, beautiful- yet- pointless cinemas, and worthless flashbacks to previous beautiful- yet- pointless cinemas. Good eye.

Was the voice acting great? No. Not by a long shot. But it certainly wasn’t terrible, either. Considering the amount of speech in the game, we’re all very lucky they did as good a job as they did. It wasn’t movie quality, but it certainly wasn’t as bad as Resident Evil’s infamous voice acting.

I think we’re on the same page concerning the minigame. Blitzball, an eclectic mix of water polo, rugby and high- level calculus, is one of the least entertaining minigames in any Square game, ever. If they were going to emulate a sport, they could have at least gone through the trouble of emulating a sports game. Instead, we get a boring waste of time with poor controls and a ludicrous action system. They carried the card game over from Final Fantasy VIII to Final Fantasy IX; let’s cross our fingers that this one doesn’t show up in XII.

- Locke

Overall I'd have to agree with the FFonline review on that question. The voice acting is quite poor. Especially Tidus and Yuna, and *especially* when they start laughing back and forth (my god..).

However I do enjoy the voice acting of Lulu and especially Auron. The lack of a world map really didn't upset me as much as I thought it would. While I do find the lack of exploring ability to be disappointing, I find the ability to *not get lost* a little better. Plus, it becomes a lot more wide open after you gain control of the traditional airship.

The graphics are stunning. The FMVs are beautifully made and seamlessly integrated. I love the Sphere Grid. I love the new battle system. I love the story. However, because the new story is so long and so detailed (not a bad thing) there are a few overly long sequences of interaction between characters where the person playing can't do anything but watch. (i.e. - I took the game to a friend's house to show him how awesome it was, and we sat there and watched about an hour of storyline with very little playing time, leaving him somewhat unimpressed). Overall, I believe FFX to be among the best in the series. FFVII is my favorite to this point, but I have yet to complete X. The thing that gets me is the voices on Tidus and Yuna. Mainly Tidus. Seriously, his voice is really really annoying. (And the laughing.. it was an embarrassment to Square to put in those laughter scenes). But everything becomes better with time and practice.

FFX is still superb, and I look forward to XI, XII and hopefully XX a little later on. (Note: FFVIII had the best music, BY FAR... let's improve on the music a little in FFXI, guys.. (still quite impressive, though)).

- joe
The laughing sequences are among the most awkward and painful to watch cut scenes in the game. Before playing FFX, I thought something funny had to happen before someone laughed. Now I know that people can giggle inanely like idiots on a moment’s notice.

I’m actually going to stick up for Tidus’ voice acting, something not many people are willing to do. Sure his voice was annoying and stupid, but then again, so was Tidus. When you look at it that way, the voice fits the character. We should all pat James Arnold Taylor on the back for getting Tidus down perfectly.

- Locke

Final Fantasy X was not the best Final Fantasy game IMO, but I cannot take away from it the fact that it is great.

The voice acting has been bashed for no reason. It was not bad. If you think the FFX voice acting was horrible, do not play House of the Dead. The only problem the Voice Acting had was Yuna's monotone voice. That was it. The story went very well, too. The characters were very well developed.

The game had its bad points, too. Point One: OUCH! Too difficult! One of the final bosses is STILL giving me problems... My HP, Strength, Magic, etc. is high, but this guy is annoying and difficult. Square went too far on that one. Point Two: They ruined chocobo racing. The birds not only slow you down, but they add 3 seconds to your time? Plus, many of those birds are unavoidable. How annoying! Point Three: I WANT MY WORLD MAP BACK! AHHHHHH!

But I'm not here to complain. The battle system was awesome. I think this has the best battle system in the series. Plus, alot of the weapons were unique... I love how Lulu's weapons allude to past FFs... FF3's Onion Kid, FF5- 9's Moogles, FF7's Cait Sith, and FF8's Moombas...

The summon system was great... if only they had more summons.

In conclusion, FFX was a great game. Hopefully we see the strong points in future FFs and not the weak ones.

- JohnLennon1985
The nice programmers did give you a world map. It costs 50 gil a pop to look at and is two- dimensional, but they still gave it to you. They even went to all the trouble of fixing a cheat that allowed you to ride right through the birds in the Chocobo- racing minigame, a flaw that made getting the Sun Crest incredibly easy. You should thank them.

Here’s a cheap tip for dealing with difficult bosses, though. FFX, like FFVIII, has incredibly powerful summoned monsters that are more than willing to do all the work for you. Just power up their Overdrive meters before entering a battle, bring the otherwise- useless Yuna into the party, and have her show you why the battles in FFX really haven’t evolved that far at all.

- Locke

There is just so much to like about this game I just don't know where to begin. I guess I'll start with the best stuff. The battle system is easily one of the best ever created and after 10 installments in the series it's quite a feat that the 10th would the most fun. I simply never get bored of fighting in this game! The game being fun would have been good enough but even better is that FFX is actually difficult, unlike the last 3 which were fun but painfully easy. I would even go as far as saying it's one of the toughest RPGs I've played since my first RPG being PSIV. It also doesn't hurt that this game features some of my favorite characters in an RPG. Auron has quickly become one of my favorite characters of all time second only to Cloud.

Aside from it's great gameplay and cool, likeable characters FFX features one of the most enjoyable and interesting stories ever told. I've never been more pulled into an RPG than with FFX. Sure you could argue that FF7 or FF6 might have a better overall plot but FFX did something a FF game has never done to me. I became addicted to FFX. Badly. My conversations dwindled to only talking about FFX no matter who it was. I found myself constantly thinking of some way I could fit FFX into just about every conversation I got into. While playing the game I began to lose sleep just thinking about the Sphere Board system and the game's story. Sure I loved the FF games of the past but with those I could actually go 3 hours of not playing them and not begin to have withdrawals. Now that my friends is a mark of a great game. Well in my opinion anyway. So in the end I would say I enjoyed FFX considerably. I can't quite say yet if it's my favorite of all time but it's definitely up there on my list.

- Bahamut 9999
If you eat, sleep, and breathe Final Fantasy X and it isn’t your favorite in the series, I’m not sure if I want to know what is.

Auron has emerged as the resident badass of the game and an obvious fan favorite, joining the ranks of Kain, Shadow, Vincent, and Quina (don’t ask) before him. Tidus may be a useless little nuisance and Wakka may desperately need to wash his hair, but Auron can do no wrong. He’s got the looks, he’s got the strength, he’s got the voice, and more importantly, he’s got the ridiculously gigantic sword. Give the man some wrinkle cream and he’d be perfect.

- Locke

 M E A N S   T O   M E

Locke,

Thank you for putting up this topic, it is a great way to see how we, the players, feel about the game.

For one, FF was the greatest way for me to escape, and it still is. Whenever i get mad, or sad, or about to explode from stress, I go straight to the playstation and turn on the FF. The optimism, humor and touching moments calm me down, and make me feel tranquil. What captures me is the Music. Uematsu is one of the greatest composers, in my eyes. The opening theme to Final Fantasy 10 could only be described in one word. 'Beautiful'. I was displeased with the FFX soundtrack, because it was missing my favorite theme....Auron’s. But the games are awesome. I'm not trying to sound like a wussy here; I'm just saying what i feel. I wish FFXI were on PS2 so i could play it to myself, but that won’t happen. Anyways, I forgot to mention the characters. Sometimes, each of them can be a reflection of how i feel and how i am. And the villains are an incarnation of what i feel like doing sometimes. Back to the Music. I am learning the opening to FFX on my guitar. As soon as i get a recording device, I'll record my playing, then send it off. well, thank you for your time, and i hope you enjoy reading my letter.

- Richard
That sounds great, Richard. Drop by our forums sometime and let us hear that recording. Just, uh, don’t play Overworld. For everyone’s sake.

- Locke

First of all, let me say that Final Fantasy Online is the greatest site I've ever seen. I've been on the web several times but (believe it or not) I just got online myself a few days ago. With the world at my fingertips I checked out my favorite video games. Each place I went had minimal info and almost nothing new. Then I checked Final Fantasy. As expected, many sites appeared on the search engine, but they weren't very exciting, and even square's own was pretty pathetic. Then I found this one... AMAZING! Just the media content alone blows my mind (oh how I wish the movies were available). After downloading some incredible hi- res wallpapers etc., I took a look around elsewhere. I checked out the Top 10 Characters, and although I didn't agree with what I found, the text that went with each character told me that a lot of people think the same as I do on the subject of Final Fantasy. The Mail Bag confirmed this. I'm not the type to usually send letters to sites like this, but in this case I'm making an exception. What does FF means to me?

On September 1, 1999, I walked through the store and found Final Fantasy VII for just $17.99. Do I get it? I knew nothing at all about the Final Fantasy series, except that it was supposed to be pretty good. Why did I even consider it? It was the cover. Just something about a guy standing there with that awesome sword, facing what looked like a giant robot of some kind. I decided, "what have I got to lose?" And so it began.

Final Fantasy VII was my door into a higher level of video games. I never knew games like it existed. I don't even know where to begin, the whole experience was just so amazingly and unbelievably incredible. The movie sequences were unreal, the graphics great, the music astounding, the characters came to life, the places had atmosphere, and the story was better than any I had ever read or seen in a movie before. Soon this game that I had taken a chance on had me hooked, and I COULD NOT BREAK AWAY. And in this regard, having a three disc game was incredible, because the magic wasn't over before it began like in most games. Indeed, after leaving Midgar I expected to see a sign telling me to switch to disc 2, but no, Midgar was only the beginning of the disc and the adventure. Across the world I went in pursuit of Sephiroth, a mysterious man who would eventually become so much more in my life. Each memory I have of my first FF VII file is so clear, I'll never forget any of them. And some of them are so powerful they continue to affect me to this day. Aeris quickly became my favorite character, far beyond any of the others. I had never felt such shock as I experienced when Sephiroth's blade took her life. She falls forward, her eyes open and then close, and the White Materia falls from her hair. The music begins, the music that stands for Aeris and everything about her. Tears come to my eyes every time I hear it... I'll never forget that period after finding Cloud in Mideel, suffering from Mako poisoning and totally oblivious to the world around him. That became me, I was forced to continue playing without myself. I could not stop, I played more furiously than even before, because I had to get my life back. Then, after the unforgettable trip through Cloud's subconsciousness (and the amazing things it revealed as far as the story went), I was back, and cruising around the world in the Highwind with its music playing loud never felt so good... I could go on and on and on, but I think most people who visit this site already know what a Final Fantasy game can be, even though they may not have played VII... Final Fantasy VII changed my life in many ways, even spiritually to a certain extent. I thank each and every person who worked on the game for giving me so much.

Final Fantasy VIII? After VII, why would they even bother making another, did they really think they could top it? When it too dropped to around $20 I decided to go ahead and give it a try as well. It wasn't as good a VII, not by a long shot, but if you compare it to other games instead of against FFVII, I think it was definitely worth making. Then Final Fantasy IX? I got it too, figuring even if the game stunk, just the gameplay hours of four discs would be worth the money... Well, I think it does stink. What a disappointment in my opinion. There are a few good points which keep my playing, but above all, the characters really aren't that appealing. I like Vivi, and Eiko looks like she could be interesting (I haven't reached her in the game yet), but other than that I don't even know who I would want on my party in the end.

Still, it doesn't matter. Just because VIII is great and IX is lousy in comparison with VII (which is cosmic), doesn't mean I regret any of it. Since those days, Final Fantasy VII has become my all time favorite game, and believe me that is not something I choose without years of consideration. FFVII also inspired me to write my own science fiction novel which I have dedicated to the creators of FFVII. That novel could not have been without that inspiration, and since then I've written two sequels to it, and am currently working on three more novels, one of which was inspired by Final Fantasy VIII.

Forgive me for saying so much, but this is something of great meaning to me, and this incredible site, the music, and the pictures have got me psyched on the subject. By the way, my Top 10 FF character list would be 1- Aeris 2- Tifa 3- Cloud 4- Selphie 5- Sephiroth (even though he killed Aeris) 6- Squall 7- Nanaki (RedXIII) 8- Yuffie 9- Rinoa 10- Vivi

If you do post this on the site, I appreciate it.

- fab
Final Fantasy certainly does inspire some interesting things. I’ve seen people who have done class projects, written fanfiction, and even arranged marching band routines based on Final Fantasy. The ideas they come up with are great and the art they create is stunning.

As I do with everyone else who started the series with Final Fantasy VII, I’m going to encourage you to pick up Final Fantasy Anthology and Final Fantasy Chronicles. The series may have gone downhill after VII, but Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy VI are too good to pass up.

Also, I bought Final Fantasy V like the sucker that I am, and you should have to suffer too.

- Locke

 G E N E R A L   E - M A I L S

I've been hangin around FFONLINE for about a year now, and I have been thinking about something ever since I got my playstation.

Why do gamers want to know about the game before it even comes out? Like my friend uh...Mot... (yes that'll do...) was finding all sorts of information back in the summer of 2001 about FFX. And I have not learned anything new. If any of you, my fellow gamers, could enlighten me, it would help me a great deal.

- Collon
We’re nosy animals. It’s no different than wanting to find out the plot of a new movie or even read its entire script online well before theaters play it. Any information, be it Christina Aguilera’s love- life or the plasticity of metalloporphyrin dyes, is available to us instantly on the internet. Instant access has given us the desire for instant gratification, even if a game’s release date is months or years away.

What I find to be a mystery is how people clamoring for FFX information a full year before it came out are now crying like babies whenever they see a spoiler for the game.

- Locke

hello

hi, i was wondering if you might know if final fantasy 10 was either coming out for the computer or the x- box. If you could tell me ASAP that would be great.

- Kevin
Square has an Xbox development kit, but they seem loathe to use it. Currently, they haven’t announced any plans to port FFX to the Xbox or PC. Given the poor performance of previous PC ports, don’t hold your breath for a PC release. Xbox has been snapping up most of the PS2’s successful licenses, though, so a future FFX Xbox release could be a possibility.

- Locke

Hi,

I'm not sure whether you've heard about this yet, but FFVI is to get a European release in March 2002! I was idly browsing last night and I checked into the Square Europe site and it had the awesome news. The game will be released for Playstation and will come with a two level FFX demo. Finally, something to quench the drought of information and news getting through to Europe! I personally can't quite believe it yet. If you want to confirm it, the site is www.square- europe.com You could put it up on your site to let all the British people know what's going on, but give me some credit. My name is Falcon.

Hope this info hasn't already reached you

P.S :- Great site!

- Falcon
It’s pretty hard to get the jump on our forum members, Falcon, but I admire you for trying. Online retailers in Europe made the game available for pre- orders in mid- January and Square- Europe confirmed it on their website soon after.

- Locke

Locke,

As much as I loved FFVII, I never thought I would see a better game in its place. Untill I played FFX. I am near the end of FFX right now, and I can't put it down, ever since I got it just after Christmas I have been obsessed with it ever since, and the music is just incredible, I love the piano version of the Zanarkand theme at the beginning of the game. Anyway I wanted to ask you, you said that FFXI will be on the PS2 and PC, right? Well if it is on the PC will it be compatible with a cable modem? I ask this because I won't be able to play it if it isn't. Thanks for taking the time to read this letter.

- Steve
Back in 2000, Hironobu Sakaguchi discussed planned connection methods with Famitsu magazine. Broadband is definitely in. The PS2 doesn’t come with a modem, though, so expect to shell out some extra cash for an adaptor. Most PCs capable of running the game are already Ethernet compatible.

- Locke

Hi I was just wondering if Squaresoft was planning on releasing the original Final Fantasy on a playstation format. This would be a big help if you could clarify this for me.

Thanks

- goku1113
Squaresoft has not announced a PSX remake of the original Final Fantasy. They recently ported the title to the Wonderswan, a handheld gaming system with little chance of release outside Japan.

- Locke

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