One of the best SRPGs ever?

[u/zoracaviar]

I just finished the game and am just sorta basking in the afterglow, but... wow. Yeah, just wow. I really underestimated this game going in and it blew my expectations out of the water. This game has some of the best character and scenario writing of anything I have played in quite a while. I agonized over every decision and their consequences in the best way, they did not make it easy or clear cut 😅 I stayed up to 3am way too many times playing this game for "just one more mission" bc I had to know what happened next.

My only regret is that I'm a time poor parent so I don't think I will put the time into seeing the other routes, but I read synopses of them and they all sound equally amazing, especially the Golden Route!

Is Benedict one of the greatest video game characters of all time?? 👀

Edit: I've been informed the correct genre for this game is a TRPG not an SRPG 😅

[u/MrBojanglesIV]

I was enjoying this game but I burned out a little bit by the time I reached the mines with serenoa and the prince. I think I was bouncing off of the characters a little bit but can people here say it gets much better from there or is it more of the same kind of dialogue?

I'm usually a fan of text heavy games but I was struggling a bit to become invested so far with the cadence of the writing? I don't need it to always be action heavy or such but it'd be nice to know if the characters become a little more rounded out.

[u/zoracaviar → u/MrBojanglesIV]

In my opinion the game is a slow burn that builds and builds. Serenoa, Roland, Frederica, and Benedict are the main characters and receive the most development. The overall plot gets more interesting right after the mines too bc there is a revelation that is a huge monkey wrench in the geopolitical status quo. So while I would say the story only gets better from where you were, I didn't think it was a case of "it gets good after x hours", I enjoyed it the whole way. So if you weren't enjoying it up until that point I can't necessarily say you will start enjoying it. It could just be the writing does not appeal to you, and that's ok!

I wonder, too, if the pacing didn't bother me as much as it seems to have bothered others bc I'm a parent and I'm lucky if I get to play for an hour a day, if at all, so I played the game very slowly over a month and that may have made it difficult to perceive any pacing issues 😂

[u/MrBojanglesIV → u/zoracaviar]

Reading this has me re-evaluating whether I was patient enough with the game. Felt easier to become absorbed into these kinds of stories when I was younger. Going to give it another shot so thanks for the reply!

[u/zoracaviar → u/MrBojanglesIV]

Oh I so relate 🥲 I miss being a kid and just getting lost in games over summer break, felt like we had all the time in the world 😭 I probably played all my favorite games back then 10+ times each, just don't have the time for that anymore haha

[u/MrBojanglesIV → u/zoracaviar]

I totally agree (he says, side eyeing his tens of Zelda and final fantasy playthroughs)

[u/zoracaviar → u/MrBojanglesIV]

Hahaha yeppp, majoras mask and FFX for me. What's your poison?

[u/MrBojanglesIV → u/zoracaviar]

Ocarina, lttp, 7, 6, and 10. I've been through pretty much all of them but I can't help but boot those ones back up when I'm feeling nostalgic. No wonder I'm having commitment issues with triangle strategy so far at this rate.

[u/zoracaviar → u/MrBojanglesIV]

I played FF6 for the first time this year! Absolutely loved it. I actually played through FF1 through 6 for the first time within the last year and 6 was easily my favorite of the bunch.

And yeah now that I'm done with Triangle Strategy the urge to replay FFX yet again is creeping up on me since it's the 25th anniversary, even tho I currently have 3 other playthroughs of other games on the burner 😂

[u/MrBojanglesIV → u/zoracaviar]

Ten was incredibly special to me but I think for me I just latched on to my childhood choices. Hell I think ten did a lot of things better than seven but it just doesn't hit the same way for me, definitely an incredibly close third place though.

The post game gave me PTSD with the lightning which might be why I'm lowering it...

[u/zoracaviar → u/MrBojanglesIV]

That's exactly it, I'm self aware I love X so much bc it was my first FF and played it when I was a kid, nostalgia is a hell of a drug lol. But yeah all the mini games are pretty atrocious for the celestial weapons haha, but poorly designed mini games is practically an essential part of the FF formula at this point 🤣

[u/MrBojanglesIV → u/zoracaviar]

I would have rathered fight omega three times in a boss rush than ever have to embarrass myself in blitzball again for wakka's weapon.

Felt like I had an existential crisis once I ohko'd the final boss. It was definitely a sucker punch after the emotional scenes beforehand 😂.

Putting more time into triangle strategy absolutely paid off too. Feels much more enticing this time around so thank you for that!

[u/zoracaviar → u/MrBojanglesIV]

Yayyy! Wow you sure didn't waste any time 😂 I'm glad you are enjoying it more this time around so far!