Best version of Final Fantasy Tactics?

[aweigh]

Vandal Hearts is fucking fantastic. I played the first two years ago and fucking loved them. Gory, brutal, "gritty" in a JRPG way, i.e. grim-dark but in an anime fashion.

I remember a few of the missions really challenging me due to specific conditions that needed to be met, but most of all I remember really enjoying the characters and the story. They're short games though. Out of nostalgia I googled VH series a while ago and found out that there is actually a Vandal Hearts 3 (!!!) but I haven't played it because the bits I read about it weren't positive.

EDIT:

Ruh-oh... VH3 images incoming, get ready meng:

Yikes. I mean, could be good, I guess...

 

[aweigh]

BTW, I'm surprised no one has mentioned the fucking Shining Force series! At least the SRPG entries in it. Shining Force 1 and 2 are quite simple games but very enjoyable. I have not played the 3rd entry in the series though, which came out for Sega Saturn.

I actually even have the ISO for all three chapters of the 3rd SF game downloaded (the game was released in seperate chapters, each one with a different mini-campaign), but I just haven't had the energy/motivation to google FAQs on Saturn emulation. I assume that by now, in 2018, there must be Saturn emulators that "just fucking work", but it's hard to work up the energy to play games nowadays unless it's something I've been looking foward to already.

Thought I would mention this anyhow as probably someone in this thread will be interested in Shining Force, and hell I didn't even know the 3rd game's second and final play chapters were fan-translated.

(Only the 1st mini-campaign was localized back in the Saturn days, chapters 2 and 3 were fan-translated somewhat recently).

Shining Force 3 images (running on emulator):

 

[Humanity has risen!]

VH3 is a bit bland and the art is bad but it's ok. It's basically a carbon copy of VH1.

VH2 is a really underrated game and there are a lot of things it does right. Just make sure to read a faq, as you need to find a lot of hidden items on maps for the best ending.

I think they're all worth playing.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

BTW, I'm surprised no one has mentioned the fucking Shining Force series! At least the SRPG entries in it. Shining Force 1 and 2 are quite simple games but very enjoyable. I have not played the 3rd entry in the series though, which came out for Sega Saturn.

I actually even have the ISO for all three chapters of the 3rd SF game downloaded (the game was released in seperate chapters, each one with a different mini-campaign), but I just haven't had the energy/motivation to google FAQs on Saturn emulation. I assume that by now, in 2018, there must be Saturn emulators that "just fucking work", but it's hard to work up the energy to play games nowadays unless it's something I've been looking foward to already.

Thought I would mention this anyhow as probably someone in this thread will be interested in Shining Force, and hell I didn't even know the 3rd game's second and final play chapters were fan-translated.

(Only the 1st mini-campaign was localized back in the Saturn days, chapters 2 and 3 were fan-translated somewhat recently).

Shining Force 3 images (running on emulator):

They've been working on translating SF3 parts 2 and 3 for literally ten years by now, and they're STILL not done. I'm losing hope at this point.

 

[rashiakas]

If you like The Langrisser, check out Death or Glory.

 

[Rahdulan]

BTW, I'm surprised no one has mentioned the fucking Shining Force series! At least the SRPG entries in it. Shining Force 1 and 2 are quite simple games but very enjoyable. I have not played the 3rd entry in the series though, which came out for Sega Saturn.

That may be because Shining Force is kinda before most people's time when you considering modern audiences. Not to mention getting only one part of the last real game and very few spin-offs did the series no justice.

 

[aweigh]

I always just assume posters are 25-30 because I simply can't imagine modern RPGs making younger people into fans of the genre.

:sickburnoncurrentstateofindustry:

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

It's potato quality since I can't find a better video of it, but VH2 has a pretty cool opening that sets the tone. A full-on massacre complete with executions and implied rape.



It's a lot less "in your face anime" than VH3. I actually like the portraits quite a bit.

 

[TigerKnee]

Did aweigh even play Final Fantasy Tactics? His stereotype about video game localizations are the exact opposite in FFT's case where the original was an overly literal and poorly edited script which reads awkwardly while the more recent version is actually localized to the point that some people don't like how "flowery" it became.

I don't even know if the stereotype is true as a general rule - it seems to only apply to Chrono Trigger. FFIV DS - flowery. FF5 GBA - localized to be more goofy than the original SNES fantranslation and so on.

 

[Beastro]

FF fans (and anime fans in general) are notorious for preferring any translation that is worse than the original simply because it's more recent.

Never, EVER, believe JRPG fans who tell you to play the more recent translation of an JRPG because that means it is more literal and less complex of a translation ordered by a publisher from a low-end translation team, because whatever game they're re-translating is just a cheap cash-grab for nostalgia dollars or for mobile.

The original translations are always superior because they were done by a more professional, more proficient translation team because it was ordered for a game launching for the first time and with expectations of global sales. It usually features more localization in its translation because of this, and because of this it also means it is usually better than the more literal, less-localized re-translation.

I found that out replaying FFII (IV) and how pretentious the translation is. If it wasn't for the new side dungeons and shit I wouldn't stick with it given how bad the GBS music is too. Both of those combined really cause for a drop in quality and the game really lacks the old SNES spirit of the original.

FFIII(VI) translation and music for GBA were much better and almost indistinguishable from the original.

The main problems with older translations of JRPGs almost entirely stem from editorial directives mandating avoidance of certain topics, censorship and more importantly a lack of memory space for the actual language in the cartridge or disc. A more literal or more "accurate" translation is only as good as the overall interpretation of the script.

Thing for me was I often like the translations to work names into the lack of memory or text space, like the Four Fiends names in the SNES FFII(IV), Rebicant, Vavaldis, Kainazzo and Milon. In the cases like that with character names it adds some unique touch to them rather than the typical direct ripping off of names that JRPGs often do.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I just haven't had the energy/motivation to google FAQs on Saturn emulation. I assume that by now, in 2018, there must be Saturn emulators that "just fucking work"

The Beetle Saturn core for Retroarch runs everything pretty flawlessly, but unfortunately there's a lot of input delay (I measured it at 7 frames playing Shining Force 3 last time I tried). Not a big deal for menu-driven, turn-based games of course. I'd definitely recommend trying it out.

What puts me off about SF3 is the terrible pre-rendered aesthetic that Camelot insisted on using during this period in time. IMO it ruins all of their games, including Shining the Holy Ark, which would otherwise have been a decent blobber with neat Motoi Sakuraba music. SF3 itself is very good, but a bit on the slow side. There are more minor RPG elements than usual for strategy games of this type (i.e. you get to free wander in towns quite a bit).

 

[spekkio]

About that FFT translation patch. Can i combine it with 1.3?

I don't think so. Tried to do such thing myself, but some files are modified by both mods, which ends in FAIL (corrupted .bin).