I found it strange how the save points in FFX were sometimes used for story purposes. For instance, when FFX shows the flashback of Braska, Jecht, and Auron in the Zanarkand Dome, it shows them actually USING the save sphere in the dome.
I tend to favor FFIV’s save points mostly because of how realistic the concept was. I also like FFIX’s, especially for the added bonus of the Moogle letters.
Originally posted by Wilfredo Martinez
Now, the SPs that HEAL you- now that’s a story problem. How to explain that you just waded thru the Boss’ entire army, then are suddenly refreshed to take on HIM?
(If someone or something shows up to heal you before a battle, that’s different.)
I really prefer recovering at inns (or by camping.) This represents SEVERAL hours of recovery. It might mean you’ll need several trips to level up so you can take down a particularly hard dungeon, but that’s realistic.
Yes.
There are certain elements of realism that must exist even in a fantasy game. They remind you that the characters are human, and make the world one you can identify with. For me, one of those elements is that the heroes can get injured (not just hurt or scratched or scraped, the kind of injured that matters, and takes time to heal). Another is that they occasionally have to take time out to rest for a while. Sure they’re just small details that don’t affect the plot much, but those little things matter.
On that note, how many times do they stop at inns in 10? It seems like they only sleep a few times in the whole game, which means the whole story must take place in the span of a few days. There’s something very unsatisfying about that, especially in an RPG.
I don’t think the save spheres in FFX made the game any easier, although it did make it better for levelling up. There were some parts of the game where you wouldn’t see a save sphere in ages, like Mt Gagazet. In addition to this, I think X had some of the hardest bosses in the series, and save spheres couldn’t help you with those.
I would say about a 2 week span. The trip on the boat to Kilika took about 2 days. If you keep moving, you can travel a LONG ways in a days time. You stayed in Kilika for another day, thats about half of a week there. Then another day in the boatride. I am gonna have to re-place this game and specifically keep track of the days…
Granted I don’t play much of the FF games, but I like the save method in Zelda: OoT the best. Simple, and can be done anywhere.
The characters stopped at the Al Bhed Travel Agencies twice, but that’s pretty much it.
Very unsatisfying. RPGs should make you sleep in an inn to restore health, even if it is free, and the stupid world-ending meteor can just sit up there for months while I take the time to level up.
Cid: Umm, no, I meant “resemble”. It’s an old joke (notice the Laughing Smilie beneath it?) TOO old, I guess. 8P
Resh: You know, I wonder about the length of the trip in FFX too. They effectively walked the length of a continent! Even if a small one, that would take months!
(or maybe it was just a particularly long island, ala New Zeland?)
Demigod: It’s to avoid logic holes like the Meteor in FF7 that I feel staying on Inns should advance the time. (But only for events that the party can manage without leveling up much, of course!)
Why don’t we all just be glad we can save in 20-40+ hour long games and be done with it?
Wil, more like the Philipines… or Japan. But yeah, Spira isn’t big at all.
Tee hee, I loved talking to the people on that beach about Meteor.
“That thing’s blocking my sun”
ahh…if my world was about to blow, I’d wanna spend my last days with the people on that beach.
Pookie, who wouldn’t.
Come on it’s your last few days on the planet (as far as you know), why not live it up. Especially since there is nothing you can do.
this may sound stupid, but what is this “the fourth wall”, mentioned earlier? and any other walls implied by such.
(from Dictionary.com)
“fourth wall
n.
The space separating the audience from the action of a theatrical performance, traditionally conceived of as an imaginary wall completing the enclosure of the stage.”
Basically it’s the separation between the “game world” and the player.
I LOVE games where there is virtually no fourth wall. Thats why i like MMORPG’s. Why i am getting soo pissed at this whole FFXI problem i have. If you are going to escape reality for an hour or so, why not escape as fully as you can? short of drug use… I don’t condone the consumption of controlled subtanced… but drinking can be cool… I’ll take a few shots of jaeggermeister then jump into a fantasy world of Beastmen and goblins… cries because he cant
Speaking of games with explanations for save points, Legacy of Kain s good at that. In Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, when you see the first save point the main character says, “Within the walls of these chambers I could find respite and, if I so
chose, resume my journey when my weariness abated.”
And in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 the main character sees a save point for the first time and says, “These ancient obelisks were mysteriously attuned to my spiritual essence. By
simply touching the symbol, I could safely preserve an imprint of my soul,
and thus create a milestone to which I could return when weary, and from
which I could resume my journey.”
God I love Legacy of Kain. I know every spoken word by heart.
Also, how do you save in Final Fantasy XI?