Thread: Final Fantasy V2.0 - Discussion Thread

tldr: I really don't get the part where people say "WoW Clone". They're both MMORPGs. It's not bad thing to have a similar user-friendly interface, set of communication features, or incorporate a vanity PS3 trophy system. Those aren't the mechanics or the content of the game.

Extended: It's like a JRPG, would you scream "FF clone" if:

*You had to save at designated save points unless you're in the world map.
*In combat, player party information is located in the bottom right corner of combat.
*In combat, menu of actions show up to the left of party's HP.
*Combat messages or dialogue appears at the top of the screen.
*Party is located on the right side of the screen, enemies on the left.
*Out of combat, get a comparison of stats when equipping items.
*Level up shows what stats are increasing and abilities learned.
*Can buy and sell items at a shop.
*Can pause or skip cutscenes, usually via the Start button.
*Damage is indicated in white pop-up text.
*Healing is indicated in green pop-up text.
*Any kind of victory fanfare music plays.
*Title screen with a start, load, and options.
*Change the background color and opacity of the dialogue and menu boxes.
*Adjust master volume, ambient, music, sound, voice, and event separately.
*Sound effects for moving through the menu, selecting a choice, or canceling a choice.
*The confirm and cancel buttons are usually the same, sometimes swapped between Japanese and non-Japanese layouts.

These are interface elements. To me, they don't make a game Final Fantasy, a Valkyrie Profile, a Breath of Fire, a Wild Arms, a Legend of Dragoon, or any other game that had similar interfaces. It's a familiar interface to access the content of the game. And the less time spent navigating and learning a new interface, the more time you spend getting into the game.

Tangent: Another comparison I can give is Word 95 through Word 2003, you have a similar interface for nearly ten years. Then BAM Word 2007 comes out and people are spending 10 minutes to find the Print option, the Spell Check, or no longer know how to save documents. An attempt to re-invent the interface I suppose, but that's a re-learning curve not just to find the new features of 2007~2010, but to find all the things you already used before in a new layout.

Player Add-ons: Depending on the level of UI customization SE will allow, you *may* even be able to recreate some interface layouts you know and love now or something you loved before.

Just like every patch, I am very pleased with the vast majority of the changes. I seriously can't wait for next year! (I am glad they will allow us to re-customize our characters when the new character creation is done)

Still, I will miss the seamless regions. I wish the technology of having seamless AND variety at the same time existed. But I guess it is just not possible because of the limitations of the PS3 and older computers? Anyway, my hope with the new areas is: I hope they are big anyway!