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yes the Pal versions of FF VII - X have greatly reduced gaming speed (its especially awful in FF X - if you use haste in the Pal version thats the only time where the characters move as fast as in the US version lol) and of course the PAL bars which compress the image (in FF X the Pal bars were so bad that they actually squeezed the image together resulting in slightly "fat" character models - ugh).
Thats why I downloaded FF VII, VIII and IX from the US Store instead of the UK store. This will be my very first run of FF IX on my current PS3, by the way.
Thats why I downloaded FF VII, VIII and IX from the US Store instead of the UK store. This will be my very first run of FF IX on my current PS3, by the way.
I had a poor 70 in the sword fight, then tried again and got 99. Couldn't be bothered doing it again so left it at that. Got my Silk Shirt from Brahne instead of the Moonstone, but no biggie. I'm not at all going for a perfect run this time around. This is much more of a casual and fun run.
Rope-skipping, I think I just got over 50. Doing that in NTSC is more difficult, too!
Just went back on and had a look around the map surrounding the Ice Cavern entrance, and there's nothing there except for North Gate. So just gained a couple of levels and I'll leave it at that till I can continue again : )
Rope-skipping, I think I just got over 50. Doing that in NTSC is more difficult, too!
Just went back on and had a look around the map surrounding the Ice Cavern entrance, and there's nothing there except for North Gate. So just gained a couple of levels and I'll leave it at that till I can continue again : )
@Phoenix: Nice one , Phoenix 
Though your level seems a bit low. But damn I really need to catch up haha.
@Leon Aether : Dont worry. The games of the PS3 era dont have the Pal slowdown anymore. Today Pal games are bar-free and have no more reduced gaming speed. Only FF VII - XII had that problem, though they greatly reduced it already with XII. But XIII was the first game with no compressing pal bars and slowdown. Its the most bad with the PSOne games and FF X.
Though your level seems a bit low. But damn I really need to catch up haha.@Leon Aether : Dont worry. The games of the PS3 era dont have the Pal slowdown anymore. Today Pal games are bar-free and have no more reduced gaming speed. Only FF VII - XII had that problem, though they greatly reduced it already with XII. But XIII was the first game with no compressing pal bars and slowdown. Its the most bad with the PSOne games and FF X.
@Phoenix: Nice one , Phoenix Though your level seems a bit low.
Though your level seems a bit low.
the german translation for Sea Lion was so bad haha, they just called him "Cillion" instead of "Seelöwe" (which would be the correct translation for Sea Lion). They also actually named the Desert Boots "Dessert Stiefel" (which would translate to dessert boots as in "whats for dessert". the correct translation of Desert Boots would be Wüstenstiefel. oh Square....
About to start casting live on Twitch in just a few. If you'd like to watch, will be on www.twitch.tv/rpgsite soon.
Likes:
buddhafied
Ah yes! It's not a trick actually. When crossing swords with Blank during the act, at the beginning, to impress the nobles and the Queen, if you manage to do it flawlessly one or two times and you manage to impress all 100 nobles, they give you 10000 gil, and a bit later when first controlling Steiner, if you return to Brahne she will give you a Moonstone, which is actually a nice Add-on for the early stages of the game.
Alright, my turn to check-in. Don't mind me that it shows 3 hours+ for me to get to this point, I started playing in bed last night and was falling asleep in and out at some point.
Here are a few of my thoughts so far:
Console:
I'm playing the game on PS Vita this time round. Overall the experience is very nice. The sound system on the the handheld is amazing. When I was going through Evil Forest and at the camp site, I can really hear all the subtle sounds that was going on in the background. It's awesome as the sound in this game, and any other FF games as a matter of fact, is always amazing. Sort of suck that I can't take screenshots directly from the system because it's a PS One Classic though...
Control:
The last time I played a PS one Final Fantasy was toward last year when I replayed FFVII, and if I remember correctly, the control was fine but since FFVII was released at the beginning of PS One's cycle, I found the control wasn't that smooth and I get "stuck" a lot at invisible wall. IX brushed off a lot of the problems I remember from VII and that's welcoming.
Plot:
I've only played very little bit when the game was originally released, so this time round I really pay attention to the story. It's almost refreshing to see the pace of this game. Right off the start, there were no long intro of "getting into the mood". The story was fast pace and moving along quickly but at the same time still show through a lot of charms and doesn't feel rushed. A lot of details had put into the game with the EAT system which made me felt like reading a book while playing. The pace and story was particularly nice as I feel that this has one of the better opening 2 hours compare to some of the other FF games I've played.
Characters:
I think so far, the casts have to be the strongest point of the game. Even from the introduction of the characters at the first couple of dialogue, their personality already shined through. The Quirky Zadine, the shy and cowardly Vivi (whom I just want to give a big hug when he was disappointed with his ticket to the show), the stubborn yet loyal Steiner, and the sad Garnet just so desperately needed to make a life of her own (I will try not to give out too much from here on when I talk about the game, but since it's so beginning I thought this should be fine). Whether you care about the characters or not, you know who they are already. Compare to some very controversial characters like Hope and Squall (for me the most boring FF character, let alone the actual main character) and even Cloud (who took a very long time to be interesting), these characters were defined right away. The characters, so far, are very comparable and memorable to FFVI, which in my opinion has the strongest casts.
Music:
After all these years of listening to the sound track of Final Fantasies and been to many of Distant Worlds concerts, it was so nice to finally know where the songs fit into the this game. Melody of Life and its varied arrangements fit very well so far with the game, I mean... what can I say, I'm a huge fan of Nobou Uematsu. Not to mention the background music and the little subtle sounds I mentioned earlier, like the camp fire cracking woods, really add a lot of charm into the game. Loved the part when the played a bit of FFVII music and I love that the battle theme is a blend of VI and VII.
Overall:
So the first 2-3 hours is very enjoyable and I can't wait to play more. Read many interviews before and I know the producer really want to bring IX back to the series core, and I think so far it really did. It has the feel of a classic Final Fantasy game from the NES and SNES era but at the same time really optimized what the PS One had to offer back then, at the end of its cycle. I will probably grind a little to prevent following behind too far because of fights.
PS: now now, let's not go into the extend of seeing who has been online but not posting. On one hand, I want to make sure I'm not that far behind from everyone (and check regularly like Omega strongly suggested), and at the same time I try to keep some notes in the posting box while I play. I don't want to be pressured to post as I rather post quality than quantity. It's also a bit creepy when it's being pointed out like I'm being stalked.
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@buddhafied Ah yes, the actual character control is much smoother than VII and VIII. The only unfortunate thing is that I cannot use analog control for PS1 games on PSP because the L2 and R2 buttons are assigned to it. There might be a way to change it actually, but I'd have to look into it. The movement is much easier on the thumb with analog, but I have to use the d-pad this time around. But yeah, the movement is very smooth and not glitchy like in VII, where you would indeed get trapped often.
So this is your first proper playthrough in a way? I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum, but it's great that you're experiencing this fully for the first time. I'd do anything to relive that.
If you've got some great headphones, definitely try to use them, too!
So this is your first proper playthrough in a way? I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum, but it's great that you're experiencing this fully for the first time. I'd do anything to relive that.
If you've got some great headphones, definitely try to use them, too!
Likes:
buddhafied
Wow guys! Awesome stuff you are all doing and posting!
@Leon Aether : I love you, man i didnt know that you could get 10.000 Gil at the start of the game, that bloody awesome!! See after 12 years I still learn new things about this game. I swear this wasnt even noted in the official guide. Thanks a BUNCH for this tip.
@Zack good luck with your low level challenge I wish I could watch it on twitch but my PC is too old and i dont think PS3 does streams very well. But the PS4 will have twitch.
@buddhafied : that was hands down the greatest post yet in this thread *hands you a medal* ...well except for the part where you implied I would be stalking people (I simply noticed the names of people that I knew were particpating in the online list, its not like I checked for them and I remembered the names when I wrote down who had yet to check in so relax, buddy. Aint nobody stalking anybody here)
I really love it that you experience FF IX for the first time in full and how detailed you described your thoughts and emotions about it. Fantastic stuff, I loved reading it even though I disagreed with what you said about Squall and Cloud (Cloud is my favorite male FF character and Squall is probably the most complex main FF character there is with an incredible arc and character development. Without him i would not be a FF fan today).
Oh and I am BEYOND jealous that you got to see the Distant World Concerts!! I am a MASSIVE fan of the FF music myself (especially Uematsu). I have all the soundtrack albums of FF VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X-2 Last Mission, XI, XII, XIII, XIII-2, Advent Children and XIV plus the piano albums , the re-arranged albums, the Black Mages albums and the live concert albums (including the Distant Worlds albums and the newest which was released early this year). I especially love the live concert stuff, many songs are so much more powerful in their orchestra versions (particularly my all time favorite To Zanarkand and Aeriths Theme). Distant Worlds is finally coming to germany soon too so I will hopefully get to go.
Btw my favorite songs in FF IX are:
Melodies of Life
Loss of me
Terra
You´re not alone
Battle Theme
Hunters Chance
Dark Messenger
Uematsu is the god of FF music and FF IX is one of his best works. Its also the last offline FF where he composed all of the music.
Generally I especially love the piano albums. Rose of May (piano version of Loss of me) is so unbelievable. man I could talk FF music all day
and yeah Final Fantasy IX is a massive tribute to the Nintendo-era FF games. Later in the auction house in Treno many of the objects there are actually objects from FF I - VI, there is a character named Garland who appears later in the game (named after the villain Garland from the first FF) and Garnets birth name is actually Sarah which is a tribute to Princess Sarah from the NES FFs. Vivis design of course is taken directly from the black mage class in FF V and so on. There are countless nods like these to the Nintendo FFs in FF IX, it really was a loveletter to the sprites-classics. But there are at least two references to FF VII as well such as the prima Vista band playing "Rufus welcoming Ceremony" and later in Lindblum if you check out the big sword in the weapon shop , Zidane makes a reference to Cloud
I also love the EAT system where you can check out what other characters are doing. Tip: Always watch the EATs because sometimes you will get special items. Later in treno you can get a Black belt which you will only get if you watch certain EATs. But we´ll note that once we get there, I am sure.
Anyway, great post by you buddhafied. Thats what I call quality indeed.
as for me, I finally have the time and am starting now! Thank god I waited or I would have missed the 10.000 gil thing Thanks again, Leon.
@Leon Aether : I love you, man
i didnt know that you could get 10.000 Gil at the start of the game, that bloody awesome!! See after 12 years I still learn new things about this game. I swear this wasnt even noted in the official guide. Thanks a BUNCH for this tip.@Zack good luck with your low level challenge
I wish I could watch it on twitch but my PC is too old and i dont think PS3 does streams very well. But the PS4 will have twitch.@buddhafied : that was hands down the greatest post yet in this thread *hands you a medal* ...well except for the part where you implied I would be stalking people (I simply noticed the names of people that I knew were particpating in the online list, its not like I checked for them and I remembered the names when I wrote down who had yet to check in so relax, buddy. Aint nobody stalking anybody here)
I really love it that you experience FF IX for the first time in full and how detailed you described your thoughts and emotions about it. Fantastic stuff, I loved reading it even though I disagreed with what you said about Squall and Cloud (Cloud is my favorite male FF character and Squall is probably the most complex main FF character there is with an incredible arc and character development. Without him i would not be a FF fan today).
Oh and I am BEYOND jealous that you got to see the Distant World Concerts!! I am a MASSIVE fan of the FF music myself (especially Uematsu). I have all the soundtrack albums of FF VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X-2 Last Mission, XI, XII, XIII, XIII-2, Advent Children and XIV plus the piano albums , the re-arranged albums, the Black Mages albums and the live concert albums (including the Distant Worlds albums and the newest which was released early this year). I especially love the live concert stuff, many songs are so much more powerful in their orchestra versions (particularly my all time favorite To Zanarkand and Aeriths Theme). Distant Worlds is finally coming to germany soon too so I will hopefully get to go.
Btw my favorite songs in FF IX are:
Melodies of Life
Loss of me
Terra
You´re not alone
Battle Theme
Hunters Chance
Dark Messenger
Uematsu is the god of FF music and FF IX is one of his best works. Its also the last offline FF where he composed all of the music.
Generally I especially love the piano albums. Rose of May (piano version of Loss of me) is so unbelievable. man I could talk FF music all day
and yeah Final Fantasy IX is a massive tribute to the Nintendo-era FF games. Later in the auction house in Treno many of the objects there are actually objects from FF I - VI, there is a character named Garland who appears later in the game (named after the villain Garland from the first FF) and Garnets birth name is actually Sarah which is a tribute to Princess Sarah from the NES FFs. Vivis design of course is taken directly from the black mage class in FF V and so on. There are countless nods like these to the Nintendo FFs in FF IX, it really was a loveletter to the sprites-classics. But there are at least two references to FF VII as well such as the prima Vista band playing "Rufus welcoming Ceremony" and later in Lindblum if you check out the big sword in the weapon shop , Zidane makes a reference to Cloud
I also love the EAT system where you can check out what other characters are doing. Tip: Always watch the EATs because sometimes you will get special items. Later in treno you can get a Black belt which you will only get if you watch certain EATs. But we´ll note that once we get there, I am sure.
Anyway, great post by you buddhafied. Thats what I call quality indeed.
as for me, I finally have the time and am starting now! Thank god I waited or I would have missed the 10.000 gil thing
Thanks again, Leon.
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Leon Aether and buddhafied
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