Square overbanked on their success on the PlayStation, that was a good run, and I don't think we're going to see anything like that wave of quality and quantity ever again.
But around this time, you could tell mainstream-wise that FF-Mania was starting to cool down. 7 had the opportunity of being one of the first big 3rd party PS1 exclusives and launching right as the anime boom in the US kicked off into overdrive.
8 got a little too emo for my tastes, and 9 got tragically overshadowed in the US by the PS2 launch and the mainstream Joe Schmoes who weren't aware the cherubic designs were supposed to be a callback to 8/16-bit era FF games who saw the kid protagonists and assumed it was Final Fantasy for babies, despite what was on those four discs and proceeded to jump on the next-gen hype train.
I never finished X, I got to the part where the typhoon wiped out the sports stadium before I lost control of Tidus and the game locked up, but I liked what I played beforehand.
And about X-2, let's just say that I have an old joke about X-2 being Square's not-so-subtle test for how fast tweenagers could scramble for their PS2 console's power button before their parents came into the room
Which is unfortunate, because X-2 is one of the best games in terms of raw gameplay in the entire series. Skipping all the dialogue and cutscenes makes it pure fun and the peak of the "3 niggas in a line" genre, which is why they made the game require you to watch all cutscenes in full to get the best endings and items.
And X itself is a phenomenal game now that mods have created a "skip cutscene" option.
Yep. Hero, Brute/Lancer, Saint/Healer, Sage/Wizard. You see that shit in garbage tier Isekai to this day.
Once you open the door from 3 to 4, you could argue FF IV's lineup of Redeemed Hero, Lancer/Traitor, Rogue, Healer/Love Interest, Wizard is best. (Five man band tropes go here.)
The reality is that adding a rogue isn't that big an upgrade. (Edge gets no love.)
"5 niggas in a line" is not the upgrade from from "4 niggas in a line" that 4 niggas is from 3 niggas. Plus, "3 niggas in a line" catches more of the pixel art RPG era than either alternative.
Square overbanked on their success on the PlayStation, that was a good run, and I don't think we're going to see anything like that wave of quality and quantity ever again.
But around this time, you could tell mainstream-wise that FF-Mania was starting to cool down. 7 had the opportunity of being one of the first big 3rd party PS1 exclusives and launching right as the anime boom in the US kicked off into overdrive.
8 got a little too emo for my tastes, and 9 got tragically overshadowed in the US by the PS2 launch and the mainstream Joe Schmoes who weren't aware the cherubic designs were supposed to be a callback to 8/16-bit era FF games who saw the kid protagonists and assumed it was Final Fantasy for babies, despite what was on those four discs and proceeded to jump on the next-gen hype train.
I never finished X, I got to the part where the typhoon wiped out the sports stadium before I lost control of Tidus and the game locked up, but I liked what I played beforehand.
And about X-2, let's just say that I have an old joke about X-2 being Square's not-so-subtle test for how fast tweenagers could scramble for their PS2 console's power button before their parents came into the room
Which is unfortunate, because X-2 is one of the best games in terms of raw gameplay in the entire series. Skipping all the dialogue and cutscenes makes it pure fun and the peak of the "3 niggas in a line" genre, which is why they made the game require you to watch all cutscenes in full to get the best endings and items.
And X itself is a phenomenal game now that mods have created a "skip cutscene" option.
That genre is better when you have 4 niggas
Yep. Hero, Brute/Lancer, Saint/Healer, Sage/Wizard. You see that shit in garbage tier Isekai to this day.
Once you open the door from 3 to 4, you could argue FF IV's lineup of Redeemed Hero, Lancer/Traitor, Rogue, Healer/Love Interest, Wizard is best. (Five man band tropes go here.)
The reality is that adding a rogue isn't that big an upgrade. (Edge gets no love.)
"5 niggas in a line" is not the upgrade from from "4 niggas in a line" that 4 niggas is from 3 niggas. Plus, "3 niggas in a line" catches more of the pixel art RPG era than either alternative.