Sandy

Hey, good review, G/S/B! I was beginning to wonder if anybody had bought the game, since nobody has talked a word about it here since it came into markets in America. But this proves me wrong. By the way, FF X-2 is heading to Europe next February (was it 18th?), so YAY for us European fans! :D

The main enemy of FFX-2 is indeed [spoiler]Shuyin[/spoiler], not LeBlanc, who infact [spoiler]work with the girls to defeat Vegna Gun[/spoiler]. Actually you get to fight against [spoiler]pretty much all of the main characters at one point (meaning Rikku, Paine, Nooj, Baralai and Gippal) though I'm not sure if they are just illusions...[/spoiler] Well, this post went a bit spoilery... :rolleyes:

But I thought the Viera were SUPPOSED to be bunny-girls? I personally think that Fran will bring a nice change to the row of characters (though she seems to fall into the same category as Kimahri and Red XIII).

THANKIES, SEM!!! NOW I CAN STOP TYPING IN CAPS!!! I went to the official site today, and saw the screenshots already, but you actually had the magazine-scan I've been waiting with drool dripping from my mouth. Thanks a lot, again! :D *from this point on Semjaza is Sage's personal hero :toothy: * Then the comments: *Fran looks AWESOME - in a dark and cruel way. And Balfrea (which I now fancy over Vaan ;) ) isn't a swordsman, but a gunner. Well, I think I can live with it... *hangs the picture of Balfrea to the wall* *The Bangaa (if I'm not badly mistaken) apparently turned out to be more like pigs than lizards. Apparently they are supposed to be the baddies, so they deserve to be ugly as butts. :toothy: *I'll make a wild assumption and assume that the grey-headed, sword-lifting man (which I named Greylock when I saved the shots) is the antagonist of this game. It's a shame it is apparently that obvious... I haven't yet managed to download the video, thanks to my sucky connections, but even these movieshots make the game look like a reason to invest on PS2. Well, I'm off to admire my new god (Balfrea, the God of Hunkiness). :toothy:

GUESS WHAT?!?! There's going to be a new update NEXT WEEK!!! I'M SO EXCITED I'M TYPING IN CAPS!!! :excited: According to Rpgfan.com (who got it's info from Quiter), two more characters will be introduced in next weeks JUMP-magazine: the Viera called Fran (you can see her from the back in one of the already published screenshots, and in another screenshot she gets torched by the dragon :devil: ), and a swordsman called Balfrea, who is from the "Sky Race" (?). The only problem now is how I can manage to wait until next week to actually SEE THEM?! (...BTW, I have a bad feeling I'm going to spoil this game too from myself, like I have done with FFX and FFX-2... Well, too bad! :P )

Actually, I think you WILL adapt to the rules sooner or later, Anime Otaku - that's what happened to me too. ;) I'm from Finland, so I don't have the most perfect English (especially the grammar gives me a head-ache). I, too, started here by using the "u r":s and such, but once I started REALLY writing, I soon found out that I was better of typing porperly, because then people will actually GET MY POINT - not to mention that the text sounds more intelligent that way, no matter what you're saying. :p But trust me, writing language other than English isn't much of a problem if you KNOW how English is spoken. And life is learning and other lame stuff... And now I'd like to credit all my FANTASTIC (and less fantastic) English-teachers: because of you I would NEVER have... *gets dragged from the stage by a hook*

It's really not in custom - at least not in Scandinavia - to dub or even text out other games than kiddy games. All FF-games here have even come with English manual - which makes me wonder why does it take so long for them to get here... All games come at least a year after their Japanese release... Bweh...

Well, whenever this game arrives to Europe, I'm sure I'll have PS2 by then, since it will take YEARS! ;) About FFTA-relation: I wonder if this game involves a job-system as well? Probably not, as they just released a game with one (FFX-2). But if you zoom to the small screenshots, you can make some interesting notes about the battle-system, such as both weapon and shield are visible, there can apparently be 3 party members on the field at a time, and that Van's sword is BURNING!!! Whoo... You should also notice the tall, black-suited character with long white hair standing with Van&Ashe - maybe a Viera? I wonder who the dude in the logo is... Maybe the villain? Okay, I'm not going to spoil this game too from myself... not too much, at least. ;)

I was just doing my normal web-surfing on few gaming sites, when I bumped into [url=http://www.rpgfan.com/news/2003/2146.html]THIS[/url]!!! Yes, six days before the official presentation, we have the logo & the main protagonists & first screenshots & art from FFXII!!! And I'm the first here to tell you this! Whee!!! :toothy: ...Okay, totally irrelevant...:rolleyes: But few personal thoughts I had when devouring these pics with my eyes: *I read somewhere that this game was linked to FFTactics & FFTA - and what do you know: there's a banga right behind Van (the male character)! *I was a tad disappointed to see YET another blonde male lead and yet another brunette female lead... Is it really somekind of must to do that in every modern FF-game? :therock: (Locke, Cloud, Zidane, Tidus, Tifa, Yuna...) *But nevertheless Van and Ash look amazing! A bit nude-ish, but hey, that's the way of today's world! :naughty: *The chocobo on the left-hand corner looks very terrifying! No more chibi-kawaii-cuteness-stuff in this game, I reckon... Alright, I'll take a breath and let you others say something now! ;)

I just finished the game yesterday, and I must say I LOVED the ending. [spoiler]Especially Selphie's homevideo was amusing, and it gave a good glimpse at all of the main characters - I was surprised to see even Cid and Edea there! I must admit the scene where Squall is trying to remember Rinoa's face is highly disturbing, and it almost gave me a headache, but it was very original anyhow. The ending didn't leave anything important open, and that was only positive - except I didn't get a confirmation to wether Squall was Laguna's and Raine's son or not...[/spoiler] Anyhow, the game's worth has majorly risen in my eyes, though it still has few major flaws.

My theory is that Cloud is fighting Sephiroth's apprentice or something, and the guy in white robes is what is left of Sephiroth. After such an ***-whupping he got at the end of the game you can't really expect him returning young and strong out of nowhere, can you? But I sincerely hope the DVD will come in sale also in western countries (as that has not been confirmed yet).

Well, I can only say - as a person who has spoiled himself totally by reading every dialogue-translations and walkthroughs available from this game - that [i]don't judge a book by it's covers[/i]! FFX-2 may not be as deep as some other FF-games, but it is total eye-candy and a treat for those who are dying to know what happened to the people in FFX. I think pretty much everybody who were still alive at the end of FFX are included in the game in some level. And the costumes - yes, I've seen them all - are just fantastic! I think you'll find yourself buying the game when you get reviews from people who have played the game when it comes out... ;) I certainly would, if only I had money and PS2 - and I'd live in USA. But you can't have anything in life, can you? :toothy:

Wow... How unsuspected... I honestly didn't know anything about a coming FF7 [i]movie[/i], so I can't help of being a bit sceptical in this matter. But if this indeed coming - and this isn't just one of those bad jokes I've seen online - I must say I'm totally excited. Just wondering how original this good vs. evil position will be...? These first few shots are awestrucking, especially Cloud. With a touch of Tidus in him he really is gorgeous sight! And what villain could be as astonishing as Sephy? Let's just see where this is going...

To me the show is somewhat special: it started here in Finland in 1993, when I was at the third grade. Just few weeks ago, they started the season filmed 1999 (where Cory & co go to college). It's like the show has grown up with me. :) As a TV-show it's pretty common, and if it hadn't been going on such a long time, I couldn't even separate it from all the American sit-coms that flood to the Finnish channels. But there just has to be something in the show to make it last this long. To me it seems that in USA they start a new comedy-series every month, and only small part of them make it all the way here. What the secret of "Boy Meets World" is, I can't really say... To me it appeals with its familiar characters, who have grown up from little brats to young adults with me - although I haven't watched the show but every once in a while. To conclude, the show isn't crap, but it really has nothing special in it. Go figure...

Yami Asura was more right on my question, but Des hasn't confirmed the answer to his question yet, so hold your horses peeps! ;)

No, the answer to Des's question must be more. I know it was a very high prize so that you couldn't just grab yourself all the GP you needed. My guess is A: 1 GP cost 10.000 Gil Q (in case I'm right): What's the story of Marlene in FF7?

Wasn't it FF12 they meant to introduce at the Tokyo Game Show this fall? You must've got games mixed up, Sem, as I've read from various sources that the head designer of FF-games (forgot the man's name...) says that they AREN'T developing FF7-2 at SquareEnix. Rumours, dangerous things they are...

Actually, Valen, you got my question about Laguna's outfits wrong. He has FOUR different outfits: 1) The Galbadian Soldier outfit in the first dream episodes 2) His "regular" outfit seen in the dream episodes in the middle 3) The kingth's armor in the dream episode where he acted in the movie 4) His clothes as the [spoiler]president of Esthar[/spoiler] But I guess I have to let it slip this time... :huh:

A: FF2, right? I read it introduced many of the FF-features still visible today, including the ATB-system. Q: During FF8, how many outifts/clothing did Laguna Loire have? (mention the different outfits as well, not just the amount!)

To clear things up at first I have to tell that I once had FFVIII, then I quit nearly at the end because my characters, weapons and GFs weren't upgraded enough, and it was impossible for me to continue. Then I sold the game, thinking I'll never EVER try to play it again. Well, guess what happened not so long ago. After replaying FF6 I really started to miss another FF game. Since I don't have PS2, I had to settle with the games I'd already played. I could have gone with Anthology or Origins, but after FF6 I was frankly quite fed up with sprites and flat graphics - I wanted something more flashy! FF7 and FF9 weren't much of an options, because I had played them through already. Then my thoughts returned to FF8. I hadn't even managed to spoil myself on the ending, so it really began to intrigue me, although my previous bad experience with it. So now I'm a happy owner of the game AGAIN, and I'm at the end of the third disc, doing my best to upgrade everything, get all the cards and do all the sidequests. The main problem with the game to my experience is that it hides too many secrets that are nearly impossible to discover by your own, without a walkthrough of somekind. With the secrets I mean the secret GFs, rare cards, the items you receive from monsters and the sidequests like Obel Lake and UFO-sightings. Now I've been playing the game, once in a while glancing at the net for instructions - and surprisingly, I'm really liking it! I now have the patience I didn't have before to upgrade, fight and hunt - and to junction on and on again. My characters are doing well, and I have all monster- and boss-cards, plus the majority of GF and character-cards, good weapons (though not the best), all but three GFs and so on. A little more work and I'll be ready to whup some serious Sorceress-butt. :toothy: There's really nothing wrong with the storyline or the characters. Sure Squall (I named him Dante) and Rinoa (I named her Beatrix) can be annoying with their cuddling sometimes, but it's not often you see these things in games. I love all the characters, their looks as well as their personalities, and if you concentrate on the storyline, you'll see how well-written it really is. Sure, I still can't say FFVIII is the best game I've played, but it has really risen near the other FF-games in my eyes. Just have to cross fingers I can make it to the ending video this time!

The air everywhere was filling with excitement. In Spira, at Luca Stadium, people continued to cheer as they watched the Survivors sitting inside the Ragnarok from the big screen. In Gaia, aboard of Prima Vista, a huge screen was also set on the stage, and the ship was full of people holding signs. Queen Garnet, Hilde, Eiko and Vivi were sitting at the frontmost part of the audience. Garnet?s sign said: ?I love you Zidane!?, while Eiko?s said: I love you [strike]Zidane[/strike] Aurie!!!?. Three other screens were set at Timber TV-station, Gold Saucer and the Opera House. In each world all the people had their eyes turned on the screens that all feeded live transmission directly from the Ragnarok. Finally Cid appeared to the screen. He had finally settled with his original shape as Cid Highwind. [u]Cid:[/u] ?It seems that we have no more questions. Alright, people it is time to reveal the results of the voting. After a few moments, either Auron or Cecil will become the Final Fantastic Survivor! But first ? ? [u]People from all over the worlds:[/u] ?JUST GET ON WITH IT!!!? [u]Cid:[/u] ?Alright, [i]alright[/i]! Geez, I?m the host here, I should be able to speak... Well, anyway, the votes are visible on the screen... [i]NOW[/i]!? The noise rose to the skies as the name of the winner was revealed. [u]Cid:[/u] ?With 71,4% of the votes, the winner is [b][color=crimson]AURON[/color][/b]! Congratulations, old warhorse, you?re the Final Fantastic Survivor!? Auron rose from his seat, and walked to Cid, glancing behind at Cecil, and shrugging. [u]Cid:[/u] ?Now, as an award you will receive the TITLE of [b]Final Fantastic Survivor[/b] ? bear it with honor ?, ONE BILLION GIL, and an OWN ISLAND from the world of your choise! Congratulations!!! But now, please tell me ? and all thousands of your fans ?, [b]what are your feelings and thoughts right now?[/b]? * * * [u][b]Offgame:[/b] Thoughts of the host/maker of the game:[/u] Well, firstly, of course, CONGRATS Ginneh! You really deserved to win this thing, and I think each person who participated in this feels the same way. You were the one who had the strenght to carry this through no matter how threatening the situation was. With your amazing website, pictures and enthusiasm in general I got the motivation I needed to pull this through. Thank you!!! And sorry I don?t have anything more concrete to award you, but you know my scannerless way of life... ;) And of course I want to thank each and everyone of the other contestants, all the way from KittyLy, unfortunately the first to leave, to Des, who came to the well-earned second place! You all knew what this game was about ? that only one could be the winner ? but nevertheless you showed remarkable sense of co-operation, which we will never see in the real tv-show. Though some of you were more visible than the others, I have to say that all of you played your character greatly! So this is finally it: after I don?t know [i]how[/i] many months, the Final Fantastic Survivor is now over and done. Thanks to anybody who lived this experience with us ? it was long but well worth it. And now, what would be a better way to end this thing than to the words of the winner: go ahead, Ginny, the last post is all yours! Sage thanks and says goodbye! :toothy:

Hey, I've got a suggestion for you, MillionKnives, and Tical: why don't you go to any of the other cazillion boards scattered around internet? In almost all of the smaller boards they let you express yourself freely. :toothy: If you have that bad an urge to spam, take my advice and change your boards. ;) *walks of wondering how they all find their way just here* [b]Lesson Of This Post: OtakuBoards isn't the only board on the net.[/b]

[size=1]offgame: Ginny, I edited my first post, so you can find all the answers from there. ;) (Ponders is he should PM the other Survivor-contestants to get their behinds over here...) [/size] * * * Cid turned to the finalists. Cid: "Now, if you excuse me..." Cecil: "Hey, what's wrong with you? You look... flickery." Indeed, little things in Cid changed constantly. First he had a bald head, suddenly it was covered with brown hair. One moment he was wearing a formal suit of a headmaster, the other he was in a pilot-jacket. At one glance he held nothing, then a spear, and suddenly a hammer. Cid: "Oh, [i]this[/i]! It's just a mild symptom of moving between dimensions. Since we aren't really in either of the world, my presence has hard time making up its mind about my shape." Auron: "But how...?" Cid: "Don't ask... But [i]anyway[/i], I have a question of my own for you two. I have to ask this because is a tradition: [b]Why should just [i]you[/i] be the sole Final Fantastic Survivor?[/b]" Both Auron and Cecil rolled their eyes.

I just have to inform everybody that I have rebought FF8, and since I'm now playing it properly, I'm beginning to like it! :D (at least more than the first time, when I didn't even make it to the end...) This leads conveniently to my favorite villain, sorceress Edea! [spoiler]Althought she wasn't really evil at all, but just possessed by Ultimecia[/spoiler], her appereance was just so... ominous! Everytime she "entered the stage", I gasped of admiration (or something). Especially the parade at Galbadia was one of the high points of the game. Plus, she is among the very few female FF-villains, which makes her extra special. She is certainly something else than the male villains, such as Sephy. I also have to admit that Kefka's (FF6) madness appealed to me, in a very similar way as it did to Des. Seifer was just a big jerk, and I didn't really understand Sephiroth or Kuja (so what if you're different - why do you have to go all crazy and bloodlusty from it?!), and that just about covers all the FF-games I've played.

[i]Continuation to Final Fantastic Survivor...[/i] The Luca Stadium in Spira was filling with celebrators. Auron and Cecil, the two Survivors left, were pushed and pulled around the crowd, until Cid, the host of the game, returned on the stand. Cid: "People, attention, please... [i]please[/i]... I said ATTENTION PLEASE!!!" Gradually the crowd settled down, and the contestants slowly moved towards the stand. Cid: "May I remind you that this contest is [i]not[/i] over yet. Would Auron and Cecil, our two finalists, please step to this stand with me?" When all three of them were standing on the platform, it started to rise. Cid: "During the final voting we will accomodate on the Ragnarok, with the other eight Survivors. The audience will be able to see us from the huge screens located in every world. The voting will be open to everybody, and people have an option to send a question to the finalists, if they feel unsure of who to vote. But now, we will move into the airship! Take care, everybody!" The platform rose to meet the red airship hovering in midair. The stairs appeared from the rear, and Cid lead Auron and Cecil to the lounge. There they met the eight other Survivors, who welcomed them warmly; Rikku, Freya, Cloud, Zack, Sephiroth, Zidane, Rinoa and Zell. Cid: "Please, let us all be seated. Now, the eight of you can also cast your votes, but before you do that, I wish you'd ask something from either Auron, Cecil or both of them, and they will give their answer. Or, if you feel you've made up your mind already, you can give them a comment or a word of encouragement. We also have a visual contact to all five worlds we have visited during this game, and people from there can also ask you something, as the voting progresses. Now, let's begin, shall we?" [size=1]offgame: Alright, let's review the rules of the voting: 1) [i]Anybody[/i] (including the finalists) can vote using the poll above. 2) [i]Anybody[/i] (except the finalists) can ask questions from the two finalists, but I especially encourage the other contestants to do so. 3) The questions can be anything that relates to the game and the character (not the player personally). 4) Everything will happen within this thread, so if you have any comments, you can post them right here. 5) The poll will be on until we have a clear winner, OR by the beginning of September, when I have to drastically cut my online-time. If you still have any questions relating to the rules, my PM-box is always open![/size]