Feeling Like a JRPG Fraud & Talking About the Rest of the Games I Played in 2023
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- Опубліковано 28 лип 2024
- Today I share some casual thoughts & ramblings about seven titles I played in 2023. I'm hoping that this year I'll share these types of videos on a more frequent basis.
Have you played any of these? If so do we share similar or differing opinions? And I would also love to hear your thoughts concerning the controversial topic I get into in this video. Hopefully there'll be a lively but positive discussion down in the comments :)
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One Piece Odyssey (PS5): amzn.to/3SCwZMn
Sword and Fairy Together Forever Premium Edition(PS5): amzn.to/3vXL7ag
Sword and Fairy Together Forever Standard (PS5): store.serenityforge.com/produ...
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir (PS Vita): amzn.to/3HDcetD
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir (PS4): videogamesplus.ca/products/od...
Anno Mutationem (Switch): amzn.to/3Om7Til
Anno Mutationem (PS4): videogamesplus.ca/products/an...
Coffee Talk 1+ 2 Premium (Nintendo Switch): amzn.to/3vPITJM
Coffee Talk Standard (Nintendo Switch): store.serenityforge.com/produ...
The House in Fata Morgana (Nintendo Switch): amzn.to/3ugnLvZ
Final Fantasy VII (Nintendo Switch): amzn.to/3uesT3G
Shelves featured in the background:
8-Tier Shelf With Circular Displays: amzn.to/41Q5lgp
5-Tier Corner Shelf: amzn.to/3BKU8TF
12-Tier Open Shelf: amzn.to/3MroS0X
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Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:30 One Piece Odyssey
06:39 Sword and Fairy Together Forever
12:02 Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
17:44 Anno Mutationem
22:39 Coffee Talk
25:45 The House in Fata Morgana
29:08 Final Fantasy VII
36:16 Outro
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I don't think anyone could doubt your JRPG cred with that collection in your background lol. Totally agree with you and many others in the comments that it's fine to use updated game systems to lessen the time burden some titles can have. There's so many great games and it's only going to keep getting harder to pick and choose what to play let alone "how" to play them. All that matters is whether you enjoy the options you choose
Beat > collect 😂
@fionnmaccuill415 Is this a contest? lol. I think I've finished a lot of JRPGs after getting back into gaming. I never claimed to be an authority of all JRPGs, but I like sharing the ones I've been able to get to.
@@fionnmaccuill415 This shouldn't even matter to you if she's played a lot or very little of her rpg games. She's a collector & collects games & figurines.
Again she doesn't have to play her games on normal or harder, without a guide or in 1 sitting. She doesn't have to prove anything to anybody.
This is gaming. It's a means to escape reality & just enjoy playing games however you, her or anyone on how they want to play them.
@@fionnmaccuill415 So now you are saying that Emily beats 1/100 video games which would be 1% since you brought up this movie buff example.
I'm going to stop you right here until we go on further. I don't believe that for 1 sec. I am not even going to be wasting my time & effort to prove you wrong.
As she said in her comment she's beaten a lot of them. A lot to me is way more than 1%.
@fionnmaccuill415 I can see your point fionnmaccuuill but I'd have to disagree in this case. It's not quite fair to compare video games to movies. The amount of time it would take Emily to finish 1 rpg vs a movie is really not close. We all only have a limited amount of time in a day nor are a lot of us born with the riches to not work; including Emily whose done great to manage to fit in work, youtube and gaming. I've she also the consideration to respond to her fans which is not free and very considerate of her.
I do think she may have missed a few great rpgs and such, but she absolutely has played a lot and quite a strong pace too! As someone who has played more games than anyone I know, she can definitely call herself a gamer or rpg fan if she so chooses in my eyes. I'm grateful she does/is here.
But you are also entitled to your opinion, but at the least I don't think it is as fair a comparison to make.
No one can question your JRPG cred. You’ve keyed me in on some pretty cool games
Aww thanks - which games in particular? :)
13 sentinels, coffee talk 1+ 2 and I’m currently playing persona 5 royal. I really like the narrative based (almost visual novel) JRPG and I absolutely adored 13 sentinels. That sword and fairy game looks pretty spot on for my play preference.
@@GarbagePailKids-yp6wqplay tactics ogre reborn
Sometimes the moment in time when you play the game matters almost as much. FF7 was my first jrpg. I was 12, and that kind of experience blew my mind and introduced me to a whole new world of gaming. It will always be my favorite, partly because of that impact. Also, I remember the pain of having to wait 6 months to finish it because my friend spilled a Coke all over my ps1 and my parents wouldn’t buy me a new one. Great video as always!
The best part of old RPGs like ff7 and games of the era are the pre-rendered backgrounds and life they brought to towns. Something I feel that is REALLY lacking in modern RPGs is the Vibrant towns that tell a story or the backgrounds that took love and care to create. Miss em.
I mainly listen to YT in the background while i work, so i really enjoy the longer, more rambly vids.
saaaaame
Coffee Talk is seriously an underrated gem of a game. I love the setting and mood, it's the perfect game to play while nestled under the blanket on a cosy, rainy day or night!
Especially since 1 was on gamepass and now 2 is. Definitely surprised me as I had never played a visual novel before.
Coffee has some of the best setting/moods! Glad to hear you enjoyed it too.
I played the original final fantasy 7 for the first time last year and thought it was amazing, I think having different expectations and mindset when playing can greatly effect the experience. Some of my favourite games are ones that I didnt have the right mindset when playing and only realised how good they were after putting them down and coming back to them again months later
Well stated.
THIS. I hated the monastery in FE3H the first time I played it, I wasn't really in the mood for strategy turn-based at the time so I had a really hard time playing through it and I couldn't understand a thing in the game - I was reading and hearing without understanding. I found it tedious and lasted 30 hrs max before I finally put it down to go play Ys VIII which I finished in 1 playthrough.
Now, 2.5 years after owning my switch and FE3H (FE3H was one of my first switch games), I went back to FE3H and I absolutely loved the Monastery exploration in between battles pre-time skip.
A different mindset, expectations and mood really helps for sure.
Well I played FF9 before I played FF7, so when I finally got around to playing FF7 in 2003, I felt it was super underwhelming since FF9 set the standard for me and FF7 lacked in pretty much every aspect in comparison. I also thought it had a weird setting for an FF game with all the guns and stuff since the ones I played before it were FF4, FF6 and FF9, though I only played FF4 and FF6 partially. After completing FF4 for the first time though, I kinda understood where the hype was coming from but I still feel it was a step back from FF6.
We all love different styles of JRPGs. What I find is often the ones that get average scores on steam and social media, often end up being very very good. Your list of owned JRPGs is great. Yes, you are a true JRPG fan. Also your channel is fun to watch. Cheers
Great start to the day, new vid! Really enjoyed One Piece Odyssey, which makes sense because a lot of the team from Dragon Quest worked on it :)
Haha, yes! When I found out the same team who worked on DQ11 worked on One Piece it was like an aha moment lol
This is my favorite style of video from you. Doesn't have to be so long but, I just enjoy hearing your thoughts on games you've played. Also I think patreon will be a successful venture for you.
I've only played a few visual novels. The House in Fata Morgana is one of them, glad to see you are showing it some love. Amazing experience, story is fantastic, art is great, and the soundtrack I still listen to from time to time. Really left an impression on me. I have yet to play A Requiem for Innocence for it and really need to. Beacon Pines is the only other visual novel I've played I like as much as that. Fault Milestone, Muv-Luv, and Roadwarden I also hold in fairly high regards.
I'm kicking myself for not getting the Beacon Pines physical through LRG's preorder... so hoping I can snag it from VGP once they get their copies in 🤞
It's ok to value your time when trying to get through a backlog, so no shade for using boosters in FF7, coming from someone who played it when it was new. There's definitely cool stuff to do in that game outside of combat, and some of the Remake/Rebirth-relevant stuff is very missable so using a guide was probably smart. While I wouldn't say every mini-game was great, having a lot of them helped with combat fatigue, and when it was new the cinematic camera angles and guitar-riff boss theme made it THE COOLEST battle system I had ever seen and held that title for a long time.
Great video! Now I’m more interested in to diving into Anno, luckily I have the Ps5 copy from Limited Run. And I’ve had One Piece Odyssey for the longest time but I was addicted to catching up to the anime. I need to play that soon. Love this! See you on the next one.
Hope you love One Piece Odyssey as much as I did!
This is a really good video. You did a wonderful job here. Informative and interesting at the same time. Enjoy your content a lot. Thank you.
I just finished ff1 for the first time and can definitely relate! I used some of the qol additions to reduce the grind and i sort of felt like i didnt get the true experience but then i gave it more thought. Even if you used some features doesnt diminish your experience with it! It just reduces the tedious grind that so many classics leaned into, thats all 😊
Ive been subbed for a bit now and would love to support your patreon!
Great video as always!
Loved hearing your gaming journey! I recently just bought final fantasy 7 on the original ps 1, it’s been great so far. But I agree with you about the encounter rate it’s made the game really easy as my party is over leveled because I roam around trying not to miss a thing!
This is my first video of yours that I've seen, and I really enjoyed it! There's something about listening to other passionate nerds talk about stuff they love that just hits different (cuz of how relatable it is) 😁
Looking forward to checking out the rest of your channel, and for seeing new content of yours!
Thank you so much :)
Excited to see a potential Fata Morgana follow up! playing it on switch now (have the physical too!) - i think it’s my first pure VN experience! Awesome vid as always, I relate to your taste in games so these review style vids are much appreciated!
Oh I hope you're enjoying Fata Morgana as much as I am!
Totally understand valuing your time with JRPGs. Tools that help you enjoy the game, and not the endless onslaught of random battles or unexpected difficulty spikes, are a godsend. Especially with older games, where the expectation was a kid would get this as a gift and play it for months and months on end. The only thing I find I have to watch out for is trivializing the entire experience - Fire Emblem games on Easy become almost pointless - but if my options are "this is too easy" or "this was fine until this maddening boss fight I can't get past" in a game I'm primarily playing for story, I'll take the former every time, especially on the first play. More games should support changing difficulty or stats mid-game, or allowing players to skip boss battles that are simply too challenging for whatever reason.
I really like how the Trails games handle boss encounters by giving the option to lower the difficulty level for a specific fight you lost. It's one of the best features I've seen in JRPGs that values a player's time!
@@orbalology I can't believe I forgot about that when setting difficulty in Zero, which is probably too easy (on easy) even for my own lazy taste. Something to not forget again for the rest of the series.
I’m definitely a play games how you want advocate.
Having played quite a few older RPGs in the last few years, I have come to appreciate the story one creates with the relationship of the game when played vanilla. Like how you figured out a particular strategy, dug through a specific side quest that had a cool reward.
Either way, as long as you are having fun, that’s what matters with games.
Great video! Sword and fairy was hard for me to play because of the tiny text. I couldn’t get through it.
Odin Sphere was the very last game I finished in 2023 as well by juggling my save file between the cloud save function across the PS4 and Vita versions. I absolutely loved it but I totally agree with your point about how setting it to easy is a good way to stave off the repetition of having to repeat a lot of the same stages and bosses across the multiple character routes.
Also, subbed. You have a great collection and immaculate taste in games. Keep it up!
I was also not very good at latte art in Coffee Talk 😬 but I enjoyed the lofi beats and relaxing environment, episode 2 is very rainy day themed. I also have been using a guide as I play through chrono cross for the first time, the switch is great for experiencing older rpgs one has missed, but qol features and guides are nice options to have to budget your time in those experiences
Haha, my latte art ended up looking so unappetizing 😂 Oh Chrono Cross is one I need to get to as well, I found guides so helpful especially for older JRPGs. They really help make going back to these older titles more approachable & saves a lot of time on the less fun parts.
Always love to hear your takes on specific games especially classic jrpgs and with ff7 i felt exactly the same way whenever I played it. I love everything about ff7 (the story, the characters, the music, the world) except actually playing it 😅😅 I think as long as you are able to find value and enjoyment out of a game, it shouldn't matter too much on how you play it.
Absolutely no one will doubt or put into question your JRPG cred Emily, i do feel similar sentiments on 7 (OG) as well, the random encounters get super monotonous after a while and it drags it down, the turn limitations too (the timing, and how short it is), the liberties the remake takes imho make the game a lot more enjoyable for me!
I think you'll have a more enjoyable experience with Remake for sure and Rebirth seems to innovate on what Remake did and add small changes/nuances to further improve it as well!
As always, stellar video Emily :)
Thanks Michael! I'm really looking forward to the Remake. May not be able to get to it before Rebirth comes out but definitely want to experience it within the next few months.
Both Odin Sphere and Dragon's Crown have such good soundtracks. I can listen to it for hours 😄😄😄
Vanillaware is so special. Cannot wait for Unicorn Overlord
Very insightful about One Piece Odyssey! I only watched like 90 episodes many years ago but I really wanted to play the game. I might give it a go after hearing this review of it!
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!! I found the whole game so charming & like comfort food haha
@@orbalology haha I'll report back when I do get to play it. Hopefully sometime this year!
My friends and I used to go into the store after school and break out our notebooks to take notes from the guides cause we couldn’t afford them 😂 We still missed stuff or got stuck, so we would just go back and try to find what we got stuck on and help ourselves out that way. I don’t think the way you played the game is wrong, and while yeah, it’s not necessarily as the devs intended, I don’t think they would try to make the game exactly the same way now as they did back then. I do think it’s good that you played the OG before Remake and Rebirth, so you can see the differences that were made between stories, and also catch the little things there for the fans who played the OG. There will still be compilation stuff you may not get, but it feels like the Remake trilogy is really just to set everything into one universe, and make it all cohesive. We won’t know how successful that will be until the 3rd installment, but I hope you enjoy the games and your time with them!
I also agree with you on the combat from the OG. While I loved it growing up, when I had nothing but time to grind and play mini games and such, now that I’m older it can feel like a slog, which is why the QoL changes were brought in. I still love the game, but I definitely now prefer Remake’s action-ATB system to the old ATB-turn-based style of the older games. I know among FF fans, that can be considered a sin, but still how I feel overall at this point in my life. The mini games I’ll always love, cause it does add some levity to the game imo, and can be a nice break from things, but I understand if they’re not someone’s favorite thing. I really only used to do them back when I was younger to get the prizes that could come along with them, but now that I’m older (depending on the mini game) I just enjoy the break in the story and the chance to do something different, along with the rewards still 😂
Excellent discussion and you have really made me want to start One Piece Odyssey!!! I own it so I can't wait to try it now!!! Also, Sword and Fairy is DEFINITELY one I want to get!!! I hear you on some of the older JRPGs lol, I played FF7 on my Switch with all the QoL improvements to help - no shame in that!
I'm really looking forward to hearing how One Piece Odyssey goes for you! As well as Sword & Fairy 7 :)
I don't think missing out on the gameplay part of VII is as important as seeing some of the story stuff before you play Remake. I was surprised when I played Remake how much more seeing that stuff enhanced the overall experience though. I don't think anyone would question your dedication to JRPG's with that shelf behind you lol. I adore IX, it's probably my favourite FF, but when I last played it on Switch I just used all of the convenience stuff without hesitation, and I still found it to be incredible.
I really loved The House of Fata Morgana. It's the only VN I've played that surpasses the VN medium and enters into some sort of Renaissance art tier. Made me forget that I was still playing a game.
Congrats on completing the OG FF7 too! It's still very much on my my backlog. Also, I definitely like your Patreon idea with first impressions and game recommendations.
Your gaming journey growing up was exactly the same as mine! 😮 CD rom games first (Abe's Odyssey, Age of Empires), GBC (Pokémon Silver), GBA (heaps) and then PS2 as my first home console. My first two PS2 games were Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X ❤
Very good taste!!!
I played a bit of Anno Mutationem but I had to stop at the very beginning at the time, so I decided to pick it back up at another time but first impressions are lovely!
Odin Sphere I also got both the Vita and PS4 version. Such a great game.
FFVII: This game was my favorite game of all time for more than 20 years! Do I need to say more?
And lastly The House in Fate Morgana: Probably among the best stories I have read in my life, that is including many book classics I love.
I can definitely relate with what you said about the original Final Fantasy VII (a game I've only ever made it about 10 hrs into, but loved the Remake 😅). When it comes to difficulty in games, there's a reason things like Dark Souls don't have a difficulty setting. Those games TRULY are meant to be played with a singular difficulty that cannot be toggled. If developers have difficulty settings from Easy - Hard, it's because they want folks to be able to experience the game how THEY want to (Easy for more a story-driven experience, Hard for folks that want more of a challenge). There's no shame in selecting Easy or enabling the quality of life features on an updated version of a game. They're there for a reason, completely agree with you :)
Great video as always, Emily, you encouraged me to play One Piece Odyssey sooner rather than later!
Thanks Rusty, I hope you end up enjoying One Piece Odyssey!
@orbalology id like to get your opinion on eternal radiance for the switch
Haven't played it I'm afraid! I've been eyeing the physical copy from 1 Print Games however.
I am for sure going to pick up Anno Mutationem, thank you :)
Hey Emily! I’m in the punk hazard arc currently, so I’m somewhat close to being able to finally play One Piece Odyssey!
Who is your favorite straw hat?
Robin is my favorite!!
@@orbalologywhat a great choice!
I feel like over time, Chopper has become my favorite 😂
Chopper is a really interesting character! And also adorable most of the time haha
With all the awesome RPGs available nowadays like the Trails series that you like so much or even the FF7 remakes I can understand how going back and playing such an old game can be quite the shock, but you played it and now you can see what is being changed on the remake, I love FF7, for me and a lot of people it was our first RPG and like they say you never forget your first love 🤣 nostalgia googles are powerful, makes you overlook the flaws but I still believe it's an important game that made an impact on the RPG genre specially in America and because of that we have such wonderful games available now
Great video Emily. Regarding Anno: Mutationem, I believe that is also a Chinese-developed game. Looks like it was originally funded by Sony, under their China Hero Project banner. I played the demo, and liked it - probably will pick up the full game sometime. It’s remarkable that you prefer the combat in this game to the combat in Odin sphere.
Regarding the concept of cred - I agree with everyone else here. Really, I see no benefit or need to conform to some purported standard for enjoying entertainment products. I do understand the concept of original intent. But it’s also the case that times certainly have changed, along with expectations and lifestyles.
And in the end it’s about enjoyment. I recall, when playing Xenoblade Chronicles definitive edition - near the very end, I found myself substantially under-leveled. After 80 or whatever hours, I didn’t feel like grinding further, so I just switched the difficulty to easy at that point. I admit, I would’ve preferred a more consistent or manageable level of challenge for that last section. But I was a bit saturated of that game at that point - and as much as I enjoyed it, I was very much ready for it to conclude.
Fata Morgana is incredible! I adore it. Which door did you leave off in it? Best way to ask where you are without spoilers.
Hey Emily! First off, thanks for sharing your game experiences as always! Like to hear on what people think of various games, even if the game in question itself, I'm not really interested in or no interest at all hehe.
Second, gonna give some constructive criticism about on how your played FF7, if you don't mind. Obviously, you had every right to play the way you did, and time is precious, so I understand going through the game like you did, so that you can understand what's going on, and ultimately, be more knowledgeable when you start playing the Remakes. With that said, in my opinion, you definitely didn't play the game on how it was supposed to be played lol. I think, it's definitely, on how modern JRPG's (or RPG's in general) have become, with all the nuances that make it easy to play, like being able to avoid encounters, being able to go 2x speed, etc. which obviously, has it's positives, but also it's negatives, (like dumbing down the game) and I think, that made the experience less than ideal for you. It really makes it seem that older JRPG's are bad by comparison, even though they are not. I hope that when you do play another game like the OG FF7, you can take more time (if you do have it) to enjoy and play it in a more ideal fashion hehe :D
Your Patreon ideas- I think that'd be cool to get your take on a game shortly after playing it. Optionally with spoilers, your call; I'm for them though. Other channels give patrons early access and chat in the Patreon app, which are of value too. I think you would get subscribers without obliging yourself to do separate videos just for patrons, maybe some of both, again your call of course. Looking forward to whatever you decide Emily! 😊
Love the Trails of Cold steel music in the background 😁
Great video! Sometimes I feel like a jrpg fraud myself having never played FF7. I feel like I’d probably enjoy playing the original with the QoL features available though
JRPG fraud is a good way to put it... I'm stealing this & adjusting my title haha
When I played ff7 on the original PlayStation, back in middle school, I was like wow these are like ps2 graphics on a ps1. I loved the game so much my first play-through was 85 hours, also I had no Guid then and my internet then was dial-up.
Later in life when It re-released on the ps4 I replayed it with the cheats on, beat the game under 25 hours but loved every minute of it still!
Best UA-camr ever ! :)
I played the PS1 version of Final Fantasy VII for the first time last year and I can definitely understand your points about the random encounters and the timed actions in battles. By the time I got to the end of the game I was definitely feeling fatigued. I started FFVII Remake today and I’m already loving it!
Your intention was to get the story from the original FFVII so the way you played it I have less of any opinion on. Had you stated you wanted to the original game experience on the whole and then altered it to blow through parts of it I would say something very different, but you did not do that. No cred challenged haha! I have a PS5 physical of Anno Mutationem as I feared it would be hard to find and I imagine its going to get that way, but I really was astonished by the previews for it. This is a must play, thanks for showcasing it and reinforcing that. Great video as always Emily! 😊
Not sure if you've talked much about this elsewhere (sorry, if I just missed it!) But what are your thoughts on the switch lite? I mostly play on the ps3 and 4. At some stage, I'd like to get a ps5, and so don't think I can justify getting the normal or oled switch models.
I made some comparisons to the Lite & OLED in my Tears of the Kingdom OLED unboxing! But I will say that the two devices are kinda like night and day. The Switch Lite I think is a great compact system, but the OLED model does provide a better experience especially not only if you want to use the dock & play on a tv/monitor but the screen is really beautiful. But that said you do notice that things are 720p on an OLED more than the Lite, mostly because the smaller screen on the Lite squishes things down so the resolution looks a tad better.
@orbalology thanks for taking the time to reply! I'm quite conflicted about which to get. But probably if I'm honest, I think I'd regret not having the option to connect to the TV, especially on some of the bigger games.
Thanks for the vid. I say play how you want... it's ultimately your time that is being spent and you should do whatever gives you the experience that you want. I have Odin Sphere that I haven't had a chance to play yet, was curious what your thoughts on it were going to be.
Played FF7 a long time ago and I enjoyed it like most people. The characters and world were the highlight I think, materia system and combat were also good. I can see wanting to speed it up in 2024, esp the long a** summon animations. Go in with the patreon, can't fault anyone for trying to hustle a little bit... esp when you can roll that back into the channel.
The only thing that bug me about One Piece Odyssey was trying to find the collectible nano cube, since there's no way of tracking which areas you got of them in.
Great collection ❤️❤️❤️
Props for even finishing FFVII having never played it before now. It was very much a product of the time it was created. Glad you got to experience it in a way that got you through it. Play stuff however it makes ya happy and for sure it is good to be upfront about what works for you so others can benefit. 😀
if your tapping the screen you could just take the joycons of the oled no? I've never played a visual novel on a switch though
Without the joycons the screen will be a bit awkward to hold tbh. So that's why I find the Lite a bit better for this, mostly because when you grip the sides the distance is closer to tapping the screen and offers a more comfortable hold.
IF I remember right, the PS1 FFVII came in four CDs which was a long game when it came out. You mention the polygon shapes being different. The funniest thing with that was when it came out, it was the most advanced graphics of the time. This is compared to the pixel that most people grew up with and some of the current competitors at the time were still using.
The games weren't the same price as they are now. I want to say FFVII went for $40.00 new and the strategy guide was like $10.00 or so. The great thing with the strategy guide is some of the nice maps with item locations like certain materia. The one mini game I remember the best is the chocobo race which if you put the time and effort into getting a S rank chocobo, you did get some really nice materia and other items so you may want to spend a bit more time on the mini games for the remakes.
My only real complaint with FFVII is how many of the materia I had mastered which spawn new ones. This was good if you wanted to share materia among your people but if you weren't careful, you would have 2-3 copies of the same materia.
As for Paetron, I'm not sure how profitable it is for creators. Sometimes I wonder if it is more work for the creator than it is worth. At same time, there are some channels which I have been strongly considering joining the paetron side of things.
FFVII was actually the first JRPG I ever played (I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time) and I can honestly say on my first playthrough I started running from ever random encounter because they got so tedious. Unfortunately then I would get to the next boss and get completely destroyed. Did not understand the concept of "leveling up" lol.
That said I played through it multiple times since and as much as I enjoy it as it I don't judge anyone for playing it with some QoL adjustments. Encounter rates on some of those PS1 rpgs are just brutal (some games even had items that would reduce the encounter rates so even the devs knew they were over doing it). Getting the story is the most important part especially going into the FFVII Remake. It really expects you to know they events of the original when you go into it.
I played ffvii all through junior high and high school but I didn't use a guide as I had no money. A friend had let me borrow his ps1 and a copy of ffvii. I replayed it multiple times as it was my only game then. and the more I played it the more secrets or encounters I would find would make me play it again and again just so I can find everything. That's how I became a final fantasy fan and a jrpg fan. It is understandable about the combat system and random encounters they are quite excessive at times. So I don't fault you for turn on those features to speed up the game. As there are more games than time to play them nowadays. Ps. Play legend of dragoon next.
Are you picking up the Trails Through Daybreak CE
Yes!! That was an instant preorder for me :)
Just discovered your channel. Seems to be about the games I love as well. And you present the games very well. Regarding FFVII it was the reason I got into video games. I had played Mario and such before but it was FFVII that made me fall in love with being in a virtual world. I didn’t even know much English first time I played it since it’s not my native language but I played it again and again until I finally understood everything. I still think FFVII is the best game of all time. And for me it holds up. Especially with the New Threat mod that makes it more interesting combat wise.
I’m 32 and just beat Final Fantasy VII for the first time as well. I didn’t utilize any QOL improvements aside from 3x speed. I was confused about what you mentioned about the confusing world map? I didn’t get lost after exploring around a bit. You only really need a guide to figure out how to get Yuffie and Vincent. I have my own problems with the game but overall it was a masterpiece imo. Just watched advent children for the first time too and I enjoyed it, although not an amazing movie.
At first the random encounters made exploring the overworld map nearly impossible. But even after turning those off it was difficult for me to navigate on the river paths to different areas across the continent for me.
Hope you make a video on games that are worth collecting or purchasing!
I'm sorry to hear you were doubting your playing methods with VII; you still had your own unique experience which a lets play can't replace fully. All that being said, I'm definitely interested what you think about Remake and Rebirth after playing the original!
I really need to get around to playing Coffee Talk 2. Just waiting for the mood to strike.
This one piece game looks cool. I’ll have to look into it. Never watched the anime or read the manga but it sounds like a good time.
I feel you on House of Fata Morgana. I was playing it a bunch back in September/October and I’m almost done with it. It got heavy so I put it down. Determined to finish it up this year though.
Don’t worry about how you played FFVII. I played it a couple years after it was released but I plan on taking advantage of the different ‘perks’ that make things a little less annoying whenever I get around to playing FFVIII and FFIX.
As always, great vid!
Thanks Steph! Hopefully we can both wrap up House of Fata Morgana soon & see how it ends!! :)
The most important part about playing FFVII is just absorbing the story, because Remake/Rebirth are a sequel.
Remake is a subtitle, not the context of what the game is. If that makes sense.
OG is just like 'required reading.'
I purchased Coffee Talk double pack and hope to get around to it soon : )
Great video. Not huge into anime, but do like some of the art style. I do like the One Piece characters i find them interesting. Oh liked Odin Sphere have it on PS2 and PS4..Love the art style that Vanillaware does, also liked Dragon's Crown and Muramasa Rebirth. That Anno game looks interesting cause I like the style and the cyberpunk theme. I remember playing FFVII on PS1 I enjoyed it, not my favorite though. Thanks for sharing.
I played FF7 as a teenager and for me it was and still is the greatest game of all time. Nostalgia is of course a big factor. However, I think your review is totally fair because of your frame of reference. You mentioned that you started out mostly playing games on PS2. By that time, games and RPGS had already started to change a lot. Up until FF7, I had grown up on the other FF games in the series (FF1, FF6), dragon quest, Phantasy star, games where you had to grind A LOT and in which there was little help given on where you had to go to next. So when FF7 came out, the visual effects were stunning and the grinding was not that bad compared to previous generations games. Also, I didn't buy that many games back then, so I would play through FF7 many times through; exploration and figuring out what to do next did take a lot of time since I didn't use guides that much. On my first playthrough, I missed out on A LOT (Yuffie, Vincent, strongest limit breaks, ultimate weapons, minigames, extra bosses), but that made subsequent playthroughs all the more fun. These days, with so many games coming out at once, and games being so long, people just want to get through them quickly with the help of guides if necessary. It's just a very different way of experiencing gaming than back in the day.
It's so nice to see that you also like One Piece! And yes, One Piece games usually are not that good xD A RPG turn based game was really welcome to the franchise (: One Piece manga and anime are so good but so hard to adapt in a really good game.
I felt like I was the only person to hear of Anno mutation. That is such a great game. Definitely looking forward to Final Fantasy rebirth the end of this month.
I almost bought sword and fairy several times now, I think I will end up buying it eventually. I am also up to date on one piece, I’ve had one piece odyssey in my back log since launch. I can’t wait to play it.
I waited too long to get anno mutationem and might have to settle for a digital copy 😢 still waiting on the fate stay/night release for switch wish it would release on ps as well but I think it will only be on switch and steam.
I saw the announcement for Fate/Stay Night and it looks like it'll be PC & Switch release (for now). Type Moon has the other VNs coming to PS4 so it may be a delayed release for Fate/Stay Night 🤞
Here commenting to boost the algorithm 😁
I played Sword and Fairy last month and you're definitely right, it IS challenging! Bosses have a lot of HP and they hit *extremely* hard no matter how good your equipment is, I had to keep on checking if I was still playing on Normal or if the difficulty setting just rose somehow lol. Still, it's a pretty cool game 💜💜 Looking forward to playing Sword and Fairy 6 some day!
Which Sword and Fairy?
The difficulty spikes were pretty crazy looking back. I'm hoping to play Sword & Fairy 6 too someday, I've heard good things!
As someone who played, and loved FF7, on release I see nothing wrong with how you played it. Back then new games would be months apart so getting lost, and discovery the hard way, was just part of the process. It does not need to be experienced that way to appreciate it. There's a reason things evolved on terms of QoL
Hi, Emily. I haven't played any of games you mentioned 😬 About FF 7, I don't think it's wrong if you play it using qol features since you only want to know the story for reference before playing the remake 🤔 You have your reason, so don't worry (and over thinking) about it ☺ Thank you for sharing with us, Emily 😘
From these games Final Fantasy VII is the most familiar one. I still need to finish it. I know that FF8 is also long one. I had very odd way to play FF8 during summer times and then continue gameplay next summer. It's really long one and one thing what you said about FF7 (There are things, which might stay hidden/unfound unless you know where to go, are also same with FF8).
I have FF8 digitally on the Switch as well, so I'll likely be using the QoL features for that as well lol
man, odin sphere , anno mutationem and ff7 are three of my favorites... you have pretty good taste as far as i can see...
what do you think of bioshock, deus ex, cyberpunk and metroidvanias?
I've played the first bioshock back in the day but want to revisit it on the PS4, the other two you listed I haven't played and I've only really dabbled in metroidvanias but will like to try some more in the future.
right on... they all look so much better on the later systems.... 60 frames, high res all around.... i wanna play all the phantasy star games on the genesis collection, great music,story and graphics.... but the random battles are seriously like every 5 to 6 seconds... anyhoots, good luck.... im plowin through my back log, as well... i know the pain...
@@orbalology
nice video Em's. nah don't worry about it your good. yes ff7 og is revered by a lot of people including myself as one of the greatest Jrpg;s ever made , but that's just it: even i have to admit i used some of the enhancements when i replayed it a few years ago. i honestly don't know how we used to play games back then😄😄its all about what you as a gamer find easier and much more enjoyable. hell that's one of the reasons the remake was made in the first place: to give people who never experienced the original game a chance to experience it in a modern way.
I played FF VII the same way and at 1/4th of the way in too. I would turn on random encounters when exploring a new territory but then off for exploration.
A new video yeah! :)
Great vid! I'm glad you're enjoying One Piece Odyssey I’m definitely going to give the game a go once Im caught up. I just got to the time skip, so I’m close ! (For one piece standards lol )
Also with FF7 there’s no shame experiencing a game the way you want and how you want. I’m a big supporter of that.
You've made some great progress on the anime! It took me years to eventually catch up haha.
Hellooo, the audio at the end of Ys 8 is messed up for a brief moment which bummed us out considering all the time and effort we put into it. PS5 disk, problem. As for cyberpunk content, there's a new genre alert "Brainpunk" game published by Bandai Namco named Scarlett Nexus. Thanks Emily and Co
Oh I didn't know this! That's disappointing... has it at least gotten patched out?
Doesn't seem like it. We finished it not too long ago. Checked for an update and there was none.
Aww, super disappointing :(
@@orbalology First World Problems
I did the same thing you did with Final Fantasy VII, but with Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. I intended to play it normally, but when I found out way too late in the game about how leveling and scaling works, it would've taken forever to rectify my mistake. So I just put on all the features and blazed through the ending. I was kinda bummed because I wanted to experience the game normally, but I was at a point where I didn't want to invest more hours just to fix that issue. Especially as adults, I don't judge anybody with how they decide to play/experience a game that benefits them and their time the most. At the very least, they got to experience the story and gameplay the way they wanted to!
I was a teenager back when ff7 came out and yeah my mind couldn't believe what i was seeing/playing. The graphics at the time were incredible although they haven't aged super well.
It was one of my favorite games of all time, i played it for many years.
I don't think there is any issue with quality of life features being used. All of us at some point in life come to realize just how little time all of us have in life, i believe you're aware of this.
So yeah speed stuff up when possible so you can get more games played through I say.
Good thing you "experienced" the original because the remake isn't a remake at all (the word remake is a marketing ploy). It's a sequel with a similiar story (but much worse) that will probably be different. Be glad because many people can never go back to the original has indended after playing the sequel because it spoils one of the plot twist. You should play VIII also... it's really good.
I have FF8 digitally on the Switch as well! Not sure when I'll get to it but I'm hoping to play most of the FF games.
7 is my favorite game all time. Played it when it came out when I was 14. Ditched Nintendo and begged my parents for a PlayStation just because of its upcoming release and how much I loved 2 and 3 on the Super Nintendo. But it’s one of those things I think is tied to its time period. It’s hard to look past the flaws of the early 3D era jrpg’s if you’re playing them for the first time. I recently played Xenogears for the first time and I…had similar thoughts towards that game as you’ve expressed about 7. Wish I had some of those qol things when I was playing that game. But luckily we got the remake for 7 and it’s great. And now that you’ve played the original, you have a good foundation going into it. Rebirth is gonna have a 2 Blu-ray Disc physical release! Have to get that…
I totally support playing FF7 in this day and age with the QOL improvements, experience the story and skip the grind
are you going to buy stellar blade
The House in Fata Morgana is very high on my list of games I want to play but the rarity of the PS4 version makes it just a wish at the moment. Getting a copy cost an astronomic amount and there is no digital version (at least in the UK). I know its on the Switch and I might get it there but I keep hoping for a re-release for the PS4.
I'm surprised they never released it on the PS4, as it's on the Vita! Hopefully they'll re-release it on there or the PS5 someday!
What an interesting video. I was at the same time puzzled and fascinated by your take on FF 7. I'm from 1983, and FF 7 was of course a big gaming moment in my life. There were two thing you said that left me at a loss.
The first one was your trouble navigating the world map. I can't really figure out what could have been the problem, it's incredibly basic and barren by modern standard. My take, is that the games you've played probably never thought you how to navigate in a 3D world without an indicator that you'd just follow? This is a genuine question with no ill intent, I can't come up with any other reason ^^' (and it's ok, our knowledge of games can only be derived from the games we've played).
The second part is simply a correction: no the games back in the days were not designed around guides, minus I'm sure some exception. You'd buy a guide if you wanted to know all the secrets to the game. Not finishing it. I finished FF7 with a friend as an 14-15 years old with no guide... ... ... It's a linear game, you go from point A to point B. You'd miss on a lot of things, but you'd finish the game nevertheless. I think you simply put to much pressure on yourself, outside of the missable characters there was really no need to play with a guide. I did a replay of FF8 once with a guide, and it felt miserable, I'd strongly advice you to try and play future old RPG just as is, they're usually not nearly as hard as people make them out to be (and yes you'll miss on a lot of secrets but who cares that what a lot of us did back then). : )
But overall even though it might sound negative, absolutely thank you for sharing your perspective, it's fascinating for an older dude like me : ) (and I think actually playing the game even with cheats is still a very different experience from watching it).
I played ff7 in 1998, it was the first massive story driven jrpg we got in the west. The gameplay is outdated compared to today's standard, but the story and music still makes it a masterpiece. If you go into ff7 original thinking it have some supercool combat system then you are wrong. It was supercool in 1997 but not in 2024.
Just now getting into grandblue fantasy versus witch has a little RPGs elements easy for special needs folks like me to understand lost judgment and the yakuza series pretty solid too need to get back into that series sometime soon 😊😊❤
Where did u get your copy of One Piece and how much. The reason I ask bandai had a black Friday sale for the deluxe edition. Its normally $150 I got it for 9.99 I believe it came with the game , steel book and the statue. I was trying to buy 3 for all three consoles but scored 2. So I was happy. 😊
Btw any list of games you planning on playing. I just beat Atelier Ryza. My 1st game of the year. Then I want to play persona reloaded and the GrandBlue Fantasy. What about u
One more question I'm also collecting trails series. Is there a trails of the sky for switch and where can I get it
I bought it at GameStop at launch for the steelbook preorder bonus. But the Bandai Namco store really had an amazing deal on the deluxe edition for Black Friday! I was very tempted to pick it up but couldn't justify how much space it would take up for the large box/statue 😅 I don't think the US version had the steelbook included in the EU editions sadly.
I shared my current backlog list in my last video!
Sadly the Sky games have not been ported to the Switch yet, but there are rumors that Falcom are working on it.
I finally finished my first Trails game (From Zero) and being an older RPG plus the backlog proceeding it, I ended up using a guide to make sure I spoke to everyone etc. I did find out at the end that I'd missed one recipe from Day One (and only day one!) needed to get an ultimate weapon which is pretty cheeky, so no guilt here...
Oh for Trails I always have to have a guide next to me to make sure I didn't miss anything important. Falcom really loved inserting so many timed hidden quests & cool dialogs in the most unlikely of places lol
@@orbalology oh good, i don't feel as bad now ❤
One Piece Odyssey is on my backlog. I tried the demo and didn't like how Luffy had to pause the movement flow every time he needed to perform a certain action, but I love OP and DQ11, plus the game was on sale for $15. I couldn't resist and ended up buying it.
Sword and Fairy: I know very little; perhaps I will try it in the future. I completely agree with your opinion on Odin Sphere. The art style is beautiful but the gameplay itself becomes really monotonous. ANNO: Mutationem looks intriguing , but with a backlog like mine, I don't see myself purchasing or playing it anytime soon.
Now, The House in Fata Morgana I'll definitely play next October; I only heard good things about that VN, and I'm always on the lookout for a fantastic dark story. If you don't mind me asking, what book did you end up reading on your Kindle instead of playing Fata?
What can you say about Final Fantasy VII that hasn't already been said? For me, it's a gem from its time; I enjoyed it many years ago, and there are things I still like today (the materia system and the breeding mechanic, to name a few), but it's the one from the trinity 7-8-9 that I haven't revisited in the previous decade or so.
Finally, when it comes to the easy mode and the toggle on of the quality of life settings, I believe that everyone values different aspects of a game; for some, it could be the music, for others, it could be the combat, for others, it could be the story, etc. So, as long as you find value in your gaming session, are having fun playing it, or are invested for any other reason, there is no problem or judgment on my part. Everyone is entitled to play how they see fit, as long as they don't try to push their style of play on others or how the developers designed the game.
I had a free Kindle Unlimited 3 month subscription with my kindle purchase so I've been mostly going through some books on there. tbh they are not books I would necessarily recommend, but they were light and easy reads that I enjoyed reading during my free trial period. I felt that since I had these books available through this service for a limited time (because I don't plan to go beyond the free months) may as well get good use out of it lol.
LOVE Anno Mutationem, such an underrated gem 😍
It's so good!!
If you like 2D, side-scrolling Action RPG's, I would recommend Phoenotopia. It was one of my favorite games I played in 2023. Great characters, action, art, and soundtrack.
Oh I have the physical copy for this on the Switch! Just need to make time to get to it :)
There were text only guides on gamefaqs in the late 90s. I was always impressed when they would recreate the game's logo with alphanumeric characters. And I owe an apology to the school librarian for printing them out there.
I wouldn't worry about the "integrity" playthrough :-) I'm glad you got to experience it under your own terms, especially since we aren't carefree kids anymore that can spend hours upon hours in those random battles haha. Im also facing a similar predicament with trying to get started with the Trails series 😂