VIDEODROME: Final Fantasy vs. Dragon Quest

MattLoter wrote:

FF XII is pretty damn good too.

It seems like maybe I'm the only one here, but I'm super stoked for XIII.

I probably would have enjoyed XII more if I hadn't wanted to choke the life out of all the characters with my bootlaces. The combat system was nifty, I didn't really mind the XP system and some of the hunting side missions were worth the effort.

Tell you what. You give it an absolutely glowing review, I'll go get it and provide a counterpoint. Deal?

I really dislike JRPGs now, but Final Fantasy was a huge game for me. (I remember walking into the local video store and asking for it. They thought I was looking for an adult movie.) It got me interested in RPGs in general, both paper and computer, and I played the heck out of it. I liked the followups on the SNES too.

Final Fantasy

XIII might very well suck, but if I get through it in any decent amount of time I will review it (though it will probably take me a while and by then no one will care).

I didn't like X (and ugh, X-2, really?). I also enjoyed IX as a return to swords and actual fantasy, though it could be that it just seemed so much better after the garbage of VII and VIII.

I thought some of the characters were cool in XII, though the main guy was kind of an ass. The whole gambit thing in the real time combat was pretty cool as it let you really control stuff when you needed to, but also allowed you to automate some of the basic stuff. The story, though clearly not breaking any new ground, I thought was pretty well done. The world was interesting.

Also, forgot to mention that I really liked Crystal Chronicles. 4 dudes playing together was a whole lot of fun.

First off I'll apologize for this lousy Trashdome. I thought about pitting Final Fantasy against Phantasy Star but there really haven't been any new Phantasy Star games in the current generations except for remaking Phantasy Star Online over and over. So I put Final Fantasy against Dragon Quest, which is the bigger series in Japan, but smaller here.

I've only played Dragon Warrior on NES when I was a kid and liked it a lot. It was my first real RPG after playing Zelda. I never beat the end boss because I got to the end dungeon but couldn't beat him then lent my cartridge to a friend and somehow he managed to screw up all the saves on the game. I gave up hope because there was no way I was going to put in all those hours and grinding to get to the end again.

I tried renting Final Fantasy several times but never got very far on a single rental. Final Fantasy II and III (IV and VI respectively) on SNES were both incredible. The story telling in both (yes they are more aptly called interactive stories rather than true RPGs) was great and the customization in Final Fantasy VI was overwhelming for me. I never finished it, but I still think it's the best SNES RPG, granted I haven't played all of them (Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, etc). But what it did was incredible. I played the Final Fantasy III (the REAL III) remake on DS and was underwhelmed with its lack of story and its archaic gameplay. I've heard Final Fantasy V is really good, but I've never had the fortune to play it.

I've never played any of the modern Final Fantasies (VII and up) but I saw enough of my friend playing VII to know I didn't need to go through it. Final Fantasy Tactics on the other hand blew me away and it was my first SRPG I'd ever played, which is now one of my favorite genres. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for DS was pretty fun when played multiplayer.

I'll probably get Final Fantasy XIII just because I haven't played any modern console JRPGs in years.

Vote: Final Fantasy.

I'm surprised more people here haven't played Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2. It's got a pretty great reputation. Haven't played it myself but I've only read good things.

Vote: Final Fantasy (series or original game)

Played both when they first came out in North America. Dragon Warrior was good for a couple plays but I played Final Fantasy all the way through at least 20 times. It had unheard of replayability for its time.

Bought DQ7 at one point and put 50+ hours in before I realized I was still on the first disc and I was bored of the plodding story. Final Fantasy games matured over time but DQ games didn't.

I never owned a NES or SNES, but I've played or watched so many hours of FF with my buddy or cousin back in the day, played through all three (and later tried the other titles II, III and V, on PC with emulators). I even completed the first game in a single day with a 4 fighter group after we still had a day left on the rental, that was the easiest party to do it with.

I watched some people play VII, and while beautiful at the time, never played it. Tactics looked really fun though.

Never really played or seen much of DW.

Vote: Final Fantasy

I think the cheesiest party to beat the original was two fighters and two red mages. What you lacked in the biggest potent spells from Black or White, you got enough to get by in terms of healing AND damage dealing, and Chaos was simply no match for Hasted buffed up fighters...it was SICK, yo

Humorosly enough, years later, that's the same way I beat FFX, was with Haste/Waka/Auron. BAMBAMBAMBAMMURDERDEATHKILL

Hmm...next Videodome...HALO vs. MDK?

Vote: Anything that isn't HALO

Ken B. wrote:

I think the cheesiest party to beat the original was two fighters and two red mages. What you lacked in the biggest potent spells from Black or White, you got enough to get by in terms of healing AND damage dealing, and Chaos was simply no match for Hasted buffed up fighters...it was SICK, yo

Humorosly enough, years later, that's the same way I beat FFX, was with Haste/Waka/Auron. BAMBAMBAMBAMMURDERDEATHKILL

Is that like Team Four Fat Guys in ICE HOCKEY on the NES?

That should be the next Trashdome: Team Four Fat Guys vs. Team 2xFat 2xSkinny.

jeb wrote:

Is that like Team Four Fat Guys in ICE HOCKEY on the NES?

That should be the next Trashdome: Team Four Fat Guys vs. Team 2xFat 2xSkinny.

Man, I think Ice Hockey's the one single video game where I've had the most laughs playing.

Next up: Ice Hockey vs. Blades of Steel?

VIDEODOME produces its first "A Touch of Evil," but this time is was mjl1783 providing the dissenting vote rather than Michael Barnes.

Final Fantasy (11)
Michael Barnes
Space Ghost
Ken B.
jeb
MattLoter
Aarontu
mrmarcus
Nick Warcholak
metalface13
generalpf
Columbob

Dragon Quest (1)
mjl1783

metalface13 wrote:

Next up: Ice Hockey vs. Blades of Steel?

Anyone who would vote for Blades of Steel is fucking wrong. I liked that game when I was a kid but few NES games aged as quickly as that one. Ice Hockey is still as much fun today as it was back then.

Ice Hockey (or maybe NHL 94) vs NHL 10... that'd be interesting.