Bahaha, I am delighted to read your thoughts, I've been curious if you would/wouldn't vibe with this game! It's such a divisive one! I've obviously come away very charmed by it, so it's interesting to me seeing where it has fallen short for others.
There is a lot of information to take in in this game, but it's actually organized very nicely through three different handy modules: Harpocrates' the Thousand Tomes, Vivian's State of the Realm (which covers plot lines, time lines, and most important, land placement), and the Active Time Lore. Of course I've been obsessed with this game for nearly a year now, so all of this story feels familiar and known to me, so I can't comment in terms of any uncertainty of place you're feeling. Not sure if you checked these out or would like to, but I think they would lend some clarity!
I think the innate simplicity of a lot of these functions in game (like the "alliant reports," which is really just a place to check for sidequests and get rewards -- or you have Blackthorone's blacksmith, wherein there's really no incentive to dungeon/battle grind for materials to bolster weapons except for crafting the occasional Nicer sword--) is a detriment and it should have allowed itself to be niche with them, as it was with the single player, action driven formula it so lauded. Like, I did all these things, but they were bland! This game needs variety for sure, whether its in minigames (though what kind of minigame would suit this grim story I cannot think of lol) or party members to switch between or better sidequest staging or or or whateverrrr -- I think pouring all the attention into the battle system was a weak point and *does* get tedious.
Where I think this game shines the most however is with its cast of characters and story, which I was very charmed by! Every single character interested me, I loved all the members in the Hideaway, and likewise I loved all the characters that Clive met while journeying around the Twins. The voice acting really lent itself well here too in this aspect, as I can listen to these NPCs chatter all day long and eagerly seek them out! The world state is constantly in flux as well, so as Clive journeys around Valisthea, the NPCs always have new information to share and felt like active participants. In lieu of that:
while most Final Fantasy games lean heavily into interparty dynamics, maybe this game simply didn't want that,
I agree! Even though I longed for party banter, I started to enjoy a lot that it's not about a given party, but the community of people Clive surrounds himself with. This story is about scale and class and escaping the system they're slotted into, and it takes the same amount of people to break even with the old. Though I would still throw hands for Joshua and Jill to have banter with Clive.
You learn Clive is a bearer (a type of magic user), and his younger brother Joshua is a Dominant
Not sure how much this will recontextualize Clive's character for you, but he's not a bearer actually! :'D He was gifted magic by his brother, but had no innate magic of his own. His being marked as a bearer and made to serve as one was simply a sardonic punishment from his mother who held him in contempt. During the events of Phoenix Gate, that's where it's first revealed that Clive is a dominant (though he is unaware of this -- as is everyone else -- until obviously meeting Cid and all that).
I would be so curious if you did decide to finish this game how you feel about it in its finality (though it sounds like you're ready to move on haha <3). The end is also very divisive it seems, but imo it really takes the story full circle and clarifies the journey and Clive's intentions, which felt really nicely done. Glad to have read your thoughts!!
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Date: 2024-05-24 01:08 am (UTC)There is a lot of information to take in in this game, but it's actually organized very nicely through three different handy modules: Harpocrates' the Thousand Tomes, Vivian's State of the Realm (which covers plot lines, time lines, and most important, land placement), and the Active Time Lore. Of course I've been obsessed with this game for nearly a year now, so all of this story feels familiar and known to me, so I can't comment in terms of any uncertainty of place you're feeling. Not sure if you checked these out or would like to, but I think they would lend some clarity!
I think the innate simplicity of a lot of these functions in game (like the "alliant reports," which is really just a place to check for sidequests and get rewards -- or you have Blackthorone's blacksmith, wherein there's really no incentive to dungeon/battle grind for materials to bolster weapons except for crafting the occasional Nicer sword--) is a detriment and it should have allowed itself to be niche with them, as it was with the single player, action driven formula it so lauded. Like, I did all these things, but they were bland! This game needs variety for sure, whether its in minigames (though what kind of minigame would suit this grim story I cannot think of lol) or party members to switch between or better sidequest staging or or or whateverrrr -- I think pouring all the attention into the battle system was a weak point and *does* get tedious.
Where I think this game shines the most however is with its cast of characters and story, which I was very charmed by! Every single character interested me, I loved all the members in the Hideaway, and likewise I loved all the characters that Clive met while journeying around the Twins. The voice acting really lent itself well here too in this aspect, as I can listen to these NPCs chatter all day long and eagerly seek them out! The world state is constantly in flux as well, so as Clive journeys around Valisthea, the NPCs always have new information to share and felt like active participants. In lieu of that:
while most Final Fantasy games lean heavily into interparty dynamics, maybe this game simply didn't want that,
I agree! Even though I longed for party banter, I started to enjoy a lot that it's not about a given party, but the community of people Clive surrounds himself with. This story is about scale and class and escaping the system they're slotted into, and it takes the same amount of people to break even with the old. Though I would still throw hands for Joshua and Jill to have banter with Clive.
You learn Clive is a bearer (a type of magic user), and his younger brother Joshua is a Dominant
Not sure how much this will recontextualize Clive's character for you, but he's not a bearer actually! :'D He was gifted magic by his brother, but had no innate magic of his own. His being marked as a bearer and made to serve as one was simply a sardonic punishment from his mother who held him in contempt. During the events of Phoenix Gate, that's where it's first revealed that Clive is a dominant (though he is unaware of this -- as is everyone else -- until obviously meeting Cid and all that).
I would be so curious if you did decide to finish this game how you feel about it in its finality (though it sounds like you're ready to move on haha <3). The end is also very divisive it seems, but imo it really takes the story full circle and clarifies the journey and Clive's intentions, which felt really nicely done. Glad to have read your thoughts!!