ZADOK83'S PROFILE

Me likey!

What are the costs involve? Do you get to pick something at level up or is there a skill point system of some sort?

Mission accepted. I love the sound of challenging boss battles that require me to think and strategize, instead of simply spamming my strongest moves.

Back in the Stone Age when I first fought Wrexsoul on FF3 (as it was called then), I lost this battle several times before figuring things out. Of course, I didn't have the luxury of strategy guides or even the internet back in those days, so it was refreshing to finally overcome this boss.

I'm definitely looking forward to all the new twists that you've added to the Wrexsoul battle. It'll be fun trying to figure out how to beat him all over again!

author=Sphere

author=Zadok83
@Sphere

You're welcome. Regarding FF Tactics, I would've loved to have seen a strategy RPG based on the Fifty Years War, when Balbanes Beoulve and Cidolfas Orlandu were in their prime. It would've been interesting to see how the events of that war lead directly into the War of the Lions. It would also be an excellent opportunity to flesh out other characters such as Gaffgarion, Wiegraf, and Elmdor when they were rookies. However, I don't trust the current Square-Enix to do it justice.

I wouldn't trust them either. That's an interesting idea, but I think I'm going to try to go with recreating the original story except with an alternate take on some of the events. I'm just debating whether or not to use Gubid's tactical RPG scripts for VX Ace, or to try my hand at MV and make the game as if it were a classic FF-styled game. Either way, I'll have to remake all of the original sprites and environments somehow for 2D. I've got plenty of tilesets and a manual character generator I can use that's for MV that came out on RPGMakerWeb (that I can also convert to VX Ace), but I'm not sure yet which way I want to go for engines. I'm definitely leaning towards MV and the game re-imagined as a side-view classic FF game, if only because I can render the game in HD resolutions and also the plugins for the battle system out there are great.

Go with the idea you are more passionate about. That usually results in a great game, because it provides plenty of motivation to work hard on it. I'm looking forward to seeing how you would deal with an alternate universe FF Tactics. A couple of different choices made by several characters (particularly Ramza and Delita) could've changed the entire course of the game.

@Sphere

I finally defeated the bonus dungeon on Ultra difficulty:



All in all, playing this game was a wonderful experience. The story and gameplay were solid. The story had a more mature twist to it (which was very welcome IMO). Battles (especially boss battles) were amazingly balanced and required quite a bit of strategy on Ultra difficulty. I enjoyed the ending and everything about the game kept true to the spirit of FFIV.

My only gripes are:

1. No Exit spell. I got tired of having to backtrack through dungeons. This spell was present in the original game and was inexplicably absent in this game. I don't know if Ace was able to handle something of the sort, but that spell was sorely missed.

2. Bugs. I know there is no way to avoid bugs entirely, but there were too many gamebreaking ones present. There were several teleporter issues that wouldn't have been a problem if I had an Exit spell ;P. Luckily, I keep plenty of backup saves in tow so I didn't have too much of a problem with it. This game could've definitely benefited from some good ole fashioned beta testing. Early on, it literally felt like I was beta testing instead of playing and enjoying the game. If it weren't for my hectic work schedule, I'd have gladly been a tester for this game.

Again, thanks for spending the time to make this game and sharing it with the community. I would definitely be interested in playing any of your future projects. I really do hope you go through with an alternate version of FF Tactics, as that is one of my favorite games in the series, especially storywise. Great job Sphere!

author=demonlord5000
Done. It took awhile to get that flan armor and you were right about it being nice. One thing I did notice in the bonus dungeon is that the armor didn't block petrification despite the claim that it protects against all ailments. Was a tad annoying since I had it on my mage which was my primary damage dealer.

I got most of the references myself (airy is from bravely default, great game to try if you get the chance). I didn't find it particular difficult though as long as I hasted my healer and kept using holy with the occasionally curajas when they let out a big attack. Out of all the enemies I fought in the final dungeon I think I knew all but two or three of the monsters (emperor, cloud of darkness, tanzra, high seraph ultima). It's possible I know some of those and have just forgotten them over time though. Emperor in particular is a rather generic name which may be why it's not hitting me, while high seraph ultima sounds like a ff boss so I feel like I should know it.

The Emperor was the final boss from Final Fantasy 2 (the REAL one) and the Cloud of Darkness was the final boss from 3 (the REAL 3), which were both released in Japan for the NES and never made it to the US (at that time). High Seraph Ultima (or Altima as she was called in the original) was the first form of the final boss from Final Fantasy Tactics. I had to do a search on Airy and found out she's from Bravely Default (I'd never heard of it) for the DS.