But then I got to the final dungeon and was like, no. Just no. I can’t do this again, especially since there’s no better ending in store for me since I didn’t fulfill all the obscure requirements necessary to get a different end.
It was a good second run, though. Square-Enix did a New Game+ right and added several new missions as an alternative to the old ones I did on the first playthrough. These are also scaled up level-wise so they still pose a proper challenge. This might piss off those people who prefer everything to be available on a single run, though.
Thanks to my higher level, I was also able to tackle most of the Combat Exercises in chapters 3-6, though I got tired and dropped out after that. This also gave me access to a few more dungeons and quests, including Silent Yard, where I killed an Iron Giant and got a Grow Egg (x2 exp) as a reward. As a bonus, this allowed me to appreciate just how stingy this game is with the EXP. Even with double experience, it still took many, many battles for my characters to level up even once. What a gyp!
The second playthrough of Final Fantasy Type-0 was fun and all, but it didn’t really yield much by way of answers. The few answers I got came from the in-game glossary, meaning I could have just read the glossary instead of bothering to replay the game. What is Mother (Alicia)? She’s a ‘diva’, an outsider observing the world and the choices it makes. There are two such observers, Mother and a mysterious man in a mask. It is this man who turns Cid into an Arbiter of the world against his will, so now we know how that came about. I also learned what Cid’s problem was, though not exactly what he was trying to achieve, and why Qator chose to save Aria’s life. That’s what I learned, but the game also added even more questions in the form of Tiz and Rin, the latter of whom addresses Machina as “the other me.” Say what? I’m not going to pursue this nonsense any more. Enough is enough.
Well, at least I got the Type-0 bug out of my system. I might be a bigger ARPG fan than I’d thought. Left to my own devices I’d be playing Tales of Legendia right now, but my PS2 is acting up again. The power button is all fussy. It only turns on when it feels like coming on, which is less and less often these days. So the PS2 is out, and my PSP needs a break, which leaves the Wii, the DS or the PC as my next gaming platform. I’ll pick something and start in a day or two, once Christmas is over.
Ever played Wild Arms XF on PSP? I just recently picked up during travel and found it a lot better than I expected even though I was never a big WA fan to begin with. It’s more or less a class based SRPG akin to FFT with a more emphasis on pre-battle planning; kind of like a puzzle where you need to pick the right class for the right level. While the game tend to hold your hand a bit with very obvious hints before battle it doesn’t really get in the way so to speak. Might be worth a look sometime, oh, and merry christmas.
She did, she even wrote about it here.
https://www.tehvidya.com/2013/03/wild-arms-xf-too-much-strategy-for-me/
Ah guess I missed it. Oh well, I can see why she didn’t like the level designs; there were definitely levels that can’t be beaten without finding the right combination of classes.
It was all a bit much for me. The system was confusing enough to begin with, and the restrictions just dealt the deathblow. Use this particular class in this particular way to clear this particular stage or you’re dead? Ugh. It’s one of those games I feel I didn’t give enough of a chance, but at the same time I can’t bring myself to try it again.
Merry Christmas!
Funny but not only did this game get a fan-translation, apparently it’s going to be rereleased as a HD version and that will be coming to English. I always wonder how fan-translators feel about their effort being wasted by announcements made in just a few weeks time after they’re complete.
Don’t know whether I’ll play it though… not a fan of Action RPGs.
I heard! I was surprised, but not too surprised. Squeenix not bringing FF Type-0 over was tantamount to leaving good money on the table, so it was only a matter of time.
I do feel slightly bad for the fan translators though. IIRC they started and quit at least once because they were sure Square would bring the game over. They should have had a little more faith, I guess.
Btw, don’t play it if you don’t like ARPGs. The story is whack and the characters are weak, so the action and the soundtrack/graphics are the only things worth playing for.