>>16307759
Hard to say, many of the areas look very nice, are fun to explore and the fact that the different monster types behave in different ways can lead to some surprises. Probably I would say I really like Rabanastre and its surroundings, they left a very good first impression on me and I find them very comfy to explore. Also really liked the trip through the Sandsea to the Tomb of Kings, the maps themselves aren't super amazing but it did instill me a feeling of "journey" despite the fact that they are relatively small.
Doing hunts and some of the side quest have been pretty fun so far is. Love the magic classes, so far all spells have been pretty useful and Green Magic in particular seems great. I only have Oil and Decoy but those two are game changing spells for me at this point. The Melee classes are a bit disappointing for me only because I usually like them with a decent amount of skills to use, but the way different weapons work and some of the technikes are pretty interesting. Perhaps is because I'm playing in weak mode, but exploiting elemental weaknesses, using items and so on has made the combat enjoyable and feel quite rewarding. Also it feels like the game is brimming with content, or at least it gives that impression, I stumble with weird enemies when re-exploring certain areas and some sidequest that are not register anywhere, like the bug men in the Sandsea (forgot their names, it takes me awhile to remember them).
>Fuck you Vaan
Gotta agree. I don't hate the guy or anything, but him and Penelo feel so out of place so far and have very little to do with anything. Its even more egregious as Basch, Balthier and Ashe feel like any of them could be main characters. Also I still think if they had to have a male teenage as a protagonist, Reks would have worked so much better. He was actually there when "Basch" betrayed the king, he was a soldier and therefore knows how to defend himself, but was still young and have space to grow, his desire to protect his little brother is more "tangible" than just wanting to become a Sky Pirate and gives him a better excuse to go along with the others,seeing as he also seemed to be a loyal and dutiful soldier, the drama between him and Basch would have been stronger and it wouldn't be as awkward when they start working together (Vaan sorts of just believes and forgives Basch, Reks could have realized the truth after seeing Gabranth take out his mask, seeing that they are identical and recognizing the voice). Although perhaps it is just my personal opinion. Also Penello is cute, but she is even worst that Vaan in the sense that she has even less to do with anything. The only other character which motivations are kind of weak is Fran, but I assume she is either interested in money, as Balthier, o has her own reason but haven't been told yet. If it was in my power, I would have taken out Vaan and putted a Bangaa on his place, and changed Penelo to a Moggle or Nu Mou and make some else the main protagonist. The only feasible reason for not having playable Nu Mou or Moggles I can think of is because the more "realistic" aesthetics of the game compared to Tactics Advanced may had made those two races seem awkward in combat as anything else but mages or using daggers, and the story is more serious in tone than so maybe it would have looked out of place, but man, it is still such a shame. Bangaa at least would have worked great, they have no excuse for that one.
>Never understood the hate I always see it get.
To me, it seems it was hated by a lot of "casual" FF players who only played the mainline games, and only the popular entries at that (particularly VII, maybe VIII, probably X, and unlikely VI). The difficulty and the combat system was harder that the average FF, even if it wasn't too hard, and the story wasn't your typical FF story, being more similar to Tactics, Vagrant Story and Tactics Ogre, with strong political elements, world building and thicker lore. Also when it comes to aesthetics, it was pretty far from the typical European Fantasy and Star Wars/Star Trek sci-fi look, which may look like it would have the opposite effect but actually seems like if the game doesn't fit in any of those two archetypes, masses will be less inclined to accept it. Add to this the problems the game has because of its trouble development and the game got fucked hard, which is a shame as so far I'm enjoying it greatly. I must confess though, I didn't quite liked it when it was released in PS2, but I'm fucking retarded and have been playing lots of game I overlooked in the past.
Now I'm fucking sad SE has become garbage. There is so many fucking good games they could release: Tactics and Tactics Ogre, perfect the experimental Vagrant Story, Crystal Chronicle and so much more. Hell, I like XIV, but I would change it in a heartbeat for a Ivalice themed MMO with gameplay closer to XII or even XI.