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    Final Fantasy IX

    Game » consists of 14 releases. Released Jul 07, 2000

    Zidane Tribal and his troupe attempt to abduct Princess Garnet of Alexandria in this throwback to the classics of the series.

    Deep Look: Final Fantasy 9- World Map Secrets

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    thatpinguino

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    Edited By thatpinguino  Staff

    Hey Duders,

    Here is the latest Deep Look! Deep Looks are largely gameplay and commentary like a Giantbomb quicklook; however, I try to cover games that have been out for a while and I intend to use the videos to highlight moments and mechanics that I found particularly worthy of highlighting and exploring. Also I aim to keep the videos under 20 minutes.

    In this Deep Look I show off the world map of FF9 and the many secrets therein. I show off some of the cool treasures that you can find with a Chocobo in FF9 as well as some of the secret areas in the game. I show where to find the game's hardest boss and best grinding spot. If you want to find out why the world of Gaia is worth exploring, look no further!

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    Hyuzen

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    I played, or at least watched my older brother play this when I was a kid, it always seemed pretty awesome but I remember very little about it, so seeing you show off some stuff in an enthusiastic way is pretty cool.

    Great work duder!

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    Sinusoidal

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    The death of the world map was the death of the JRPG.

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    Jesus_Phish

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    The death of the world map was the death of the JRPG.

    I really miss the world maps.

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    TruthTellah

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    @sinusoidal said:

    The death of the world map was the death of the JRPG.

    I really miss the world maps.

    Yall enjoy the Bravely Default world map?

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    Jesus_Phish

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    @truthtellah: I don't have a 3DS. I've been thinking of picking one up but now I'm going to hang on until that new one gets a western release.

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    TruthTellah

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    #6  Edited By TruthTellah

    @truthtellah: I don't have a 3DS. I've been thinking of picking one up but now I'm going to hang on until that new one gets a western release.

    I suppose you could get a 3DS and then trade it in when the new one comes out. I'm guessing it's still gonna be like 6 months.

    I really dig the Bravely Default world map. Ni no Kuni had a fantastic one, as well.

    Bravely Default
    Bravely Default
    Ni no Kuni
    Ni no Kuni

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    thatpinguino

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    #7 thatpinguino  Staff

    @truthtellah: From what I've seen of Ni no Kuni it looked like the world map was largely full of monsters and dungeons. Are their any secrets to find on the map in that game or is the world map just a way to get you from point A to point B?

    @jesus_phish: @sinusoidal: I think JRPG developersforgot that one of their key elements was exploration in addition to story and combat. The more linear JRPGs just miss out on the sense of exploration and discovery that world maps provide in spades.

    @hyuzen: Thanks! FF9 is on PSN and it holds up remarkably well if you want to check it out (as long as you don't count the graphics).

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    Hailinel

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    @jesus_phish: @sinusoidal: I think JRPG developersforgot that one of their key elements was exploration in addition to story and combat. The more linear JRPGs just miss out on the sense of exploration and discovery that world maps provide in spades.

    JRPGs don't really need a world map to be quality games, though. FFX and XIII didn't have them. Persona 3 and 4 don't really have world maps, either. They're just menu screens with map backgrounds. World maps are a great feature to have, but they aren't an obligatory element for making a quality game in the genre.

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    thatpinguino

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    #9 thatpinguino  Staff

    @hailinel: You certainly don't need a world map to have a sense of exploration. I would say that FFX managed to add some mystery to the world by creating a second language and hiding additional dungeons on the 2D map. Also the areas in FFX had plenty of stuff off the beaten path. I mean the game is largely a march down a preordained pilgrimage road. I would say P3 and P4 manage a sense of exploration through their use of large, randomly-generated dungeons. I never got the sense of wonder or mystery from the world of FFXIII, but I bailed on that game 20 hours in. I never got to Pulse and I hear that that is the point when the world of XIII opens up so I can't really speak to that game.

    I think a world map is a useful tool that should always be an option for developers, but it is far from essential. In fact I would say the maps of games like Dissidia and Lost Odyssey are largely superfluous since they don't have much in the way of hidden locations.

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    PimblyCharles

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    This was really fun to watch. I really like Final Fantasy IX. Not a huge fan of the franchise here, and have played most of the games up to FFXI. FFIX however is probably my favorite.

    I find it funny that the Dead Pepper is basically a Scooby-Snack for Chocobos.

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    thatpinguino

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    #12  Edited By thatpinguino  Staff

    @pimblycharles: Yeah I wish I made the Scooby-Snack connection. FF9 also has Kupo Nuts which are like crack for Moogles. The FF mascot characters are just wrecked on drugs in FF9.

    @dudeglove: I can't agree with you there. I think 9 has the best story of any of the FF games and I really love the turn the game takes in disc 3 and 4. I love that the primary antagonist in 9 is basically a super powerful egomaniac that has been told that he will die young. Kuja has a pathos for his actions beyond destruction for destruction's sake and I really appreciate that. Not to mention all of the turns that Vivi's story takes.

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    bertoiaz

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    #13  Edited By bertoiaz

    FF9 is one of my favourite games too! It was my first jrpg experience and the combination of story/gameplay/graphics/music just blew my mind away when I was a kid. Too bad I didn't dig too much into the sidequests back then.

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    thatpinguino

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    #14  Edited By thatpinguino  Staff

    @bertoiaz: FF9 totally holds up for replays and it has a 2 player mode that makes it a great couch co-op game. The game has a whole bunch of great side-quests to check out that really flesh out the world. For example, you can find Garnet's original name from before she was adopted.

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    MiniPato

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    @hailinel: You certainly don't need a world map to have a sense of exploration. I would say that FFX managed to add some mystery to the world by creating a second language and hiding additional dungeons on the 2D map. Also the areas in FFX had plenty of stuff off the beaten path. I mean the game is largely a march down a preordained pilgrimage road. I would say P3 and P4 manage a sense of exploration through their use of large, randomly-generated dungeons. I never got the sense of wonder or mystery from the world of FFXIII, but I bailed on that game 20 hours in. I never got to Pulse and I hear that that is the point when the world of XIII opens up so I can't really speak to that game.

    I think a world map is a useful tool that should always be an option for developers, but it is far from essential. In fact I would say the maps of games like Dissidia and Lost Odyssey are largely superfluous since they don't have much in the way of hidden locations.

    I dunno, P3 and P4's procedurally generated dungeons were incredibly boring and it's not like you'd ever discover a new town or anything by going off the beaten path. Maybe you'd find a chest with a Goho-M in it or a golden chest at best. Sure you're "exploring" going by the dictionary definition of the word, but there is not sense of adventure or wonder to really call it "exploring."

    FFXIII opens up when you're 85% of the way through the game. There are other areas you can go to, but it's mainly just to do bounty hunting quests. It's an open area with not much to do but fight, and by the time you get to Pulse, you're already sick of fighting.

    I think the last JRPG I played that had a really good world map was Dragon Quest 8. You can find really unique and useful items hidden all over the world, unique monsters to hunt and capture, and even hidden side quests and towns and dunegons. It also gave you different modes of transportation to traverse the world.

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    Gildermershina

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    #16  Edited By Gildermershina

    Man, I remember spending a lost weekend playing that Chocobo Hot and Cold to completion. One of my favourite things in my favourite Final Fantasy.

    I never did beat Ozma in the Air Garden though, that thing was ludicrous.

    I also recall the Mognet thing being kind of awesome. Also, those moogles had great names. Momatose? SO GOOD.

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    bertoiaz

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    #17  Edited By bertoiaz

    @thatpinguino: I watched some FF9 speedruns a few months ago and it sure holds up well. I played bravely default and I honestly feel that FF9 is a better jrpg in so many ways despite being made almost a decade ago. FF9 had the amount of detail that modern jrpg lacks imo. Problem is I'm in college now so time's tight :/ I will have to find the time for a replay during the semester break. Thanks for reminding me of this game :)

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    Mr_Ole_Blue629

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    This was a nice video. I haven't played many Final Fantasies, my first one was 11 even though that was a MMO, but I always enjoyed exploring and seeing everything there is in the game. Some of my favorite moments were from randomly checking things out and accidentally run into a powerful boss. I'll check this one out on PSN.

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    Gildermershina

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    @gildermershina said:

    I never did beat Ozma in the Air Garden though, that thing was ludicrous.

    I disagree with the OP's point in the vid that Ozma can't be cheesed like other bosses from the FF series. There absolutely is a fairly easy way to beat Ozma with a specific loadout tailored to countering most of his attacks.

    Also the secret boss' design looks like complete trash. It's basically a giant floating marble. At least 7's Emerald & Ruby, 8's optional GFs, or 10's Dark Aeons all had some sort of presence and build up. Ozma is just kinda there and easy to ignore.

    I don't think it's a very interesting design, but I actually kind of liked the look of it. It was like "shit, I'm fighting a miniature gas planet made out of magic." And I'm kind of a sucker for the hardest encounter in the game just being tucked in a corner somewhere not participating in the end-of-the-world story. If you didn't like Ozma's lack of story impact, I'm guessing you really didn't like the final boss Necron. "Oh hey, I saw you guys fighting over there, thought I'd stop by and try to DESTROY ALL EXISTENCE FOR NO REASON."

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    thatpinguino

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    #21 thatpinguino  Staff

    @dudeglove: Yes you can cheese Ozma, but the combat system in FF9 is just way less broken on the whole. I mean there are no multi-hit attacks in 9, much less one that can deal max damage. In FF7 and 8 the hardest bosses are beaten by running wild on mulit-hit spells and abilities (or using The End in 8). I'm sure that you can cheese Ozma, but the way you cheese Ozma is pretty different from the way you approach Emerald Weapon and Omega Weapon. I always found Ozma's grave to be very frightening because it is in such a cheery area. I found it to be a nice juxtaposition.

    @gildermershina: Yeah you have to comb the world to talk to all of the Moogles and basically complete a letter chain. It turns out that the mognet machinery broke because a Moogle used some essential grease to fix his hair.

    @minipato: I would say that Persona 3/4 are so strong in their story, combat, and social link stuff that they get away with a weaker sense of exploration. The towns in each game do hold some secrets though, as do many of the dungeons in P4. P3's dungeon is a real weak point.

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    thatpinguino

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    #23 thatpinguino  Staff

    @jesna: Playing as much Hot and Cold as you can right after Lindblum is the best way to walk through the rest of the game, since that will get you a blue chocobo and a bunch of good items. I haven't played Wild Arms since they seemed pretty generic. Are they worth checking out?

    @gildermershina: I mean Hades is a lot harder to find as far as optional bosses in FF9 go and he is a lot more essential since he makes the best items in the game. I'm a Necron defender. I don't see him as that problematic since the final confrontation with Kuja comes right before him and since he is essentially the grim reaper. Necron comes as a result of Kuja's actions, so its not like he is completely random.

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    Slag

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    @hailinel said:

    @thatpinguino said:

    @jesus_phish: @sinusoidal: I think JRPG developersforgot that one of their key elements was exploration in addition to story and combat. The more linear JRPGs just miss out on the sense of exploration and discovery that world maps provide in spades.

    JRPGs don't really need a world map to be quality games, though. FFX and XIII didn't have them. Persona 3 and 4 don't really have world maps, either. They're just menu screens with map backgrounds. World maps are a great feature to have, but they aren't an obligatory element for making a quality game in the genre.

    They don't absolutely have to it, true, but Overworlds did used to be a core part of what those experiences great. At least for me the Overworlds were a significant of my enjoyment of JRPGs. If you enjoyed exploration JRPGs were the best genre to get that experience for nealry a decade

    When Overworlds started disappearing en masse in the PS2 era JRPGs and other genres started upping their game on the exploration side (notably EverQuest and other MMORPGs and the rise of Open World Games), I felt JPRGs started to lose a lot of cultural prominence. I think it definitely was a factor in the relative diminishment compared to other genres.

    btw is it a World Map or Overworld? I Always thought it was an Overworld because it's playable (random ecnounters, treasures), where a world map is just a map you can view (darn it what happened to the old convention of world maps being mapped to the "seclect" button?)

    @thatpinguino this Fat Chocobo quest is part of the padding I mentioned to you previously. Since FF IX has a point of no return if memory serves, it puts a lot of pressure on the player to finish this quest and Ozma etc before moving onto the end.

    Of course you can just make a couple saves to go back to and move on, but for the compulsive completionist backloaded treasure hunts like this when massive like that one was (sans Guide) can get overwhelming. Not saying that's a entirely fair complaint, but I definitely think that's a real burnout issue for a lot of folks (myself included). One thing I like most modern Open World games is they usually let you do these things post game now if you so choose. Which removes the psychological barrier so to speak from the end boss run and makes it a more optional task to be completed at the player's whims instead of a job to complete by a perceived deadline.

    It sounds totally dumb but it sure takes a lot of the stress out of the treasure hunt experience to let players have at it in post game.

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    thatpinguino

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    #25 thatpinguino  Staff

    @slag: FFIX does not have a true point of no return. In fact the save I used was at the final save point before the final boss. You can always finish the chocobo side quest. Disc 4 is a point of no return for some side quests and it does lock out certain areas, but none of that impacts the chocobo stuff. I agree that point of no returns are not the most player friendly, but if you want your story to have weight it has to trample on player freedom sometimes.

    I feel like GTA style open world games came and ate JRPGs lunch a little bit when it came to exploration. JRPGs used to include large worlds as a feature, but open world games made the world the entirety of the game. What's more, those games often did the huge expansive world thing better than their JRPG contemporaries.

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    Slag

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    @thatpinguino: oh my bad.

    I haven't played IX since release, some of this is becoming frighteningly fuzzy to me.

    At the final save point how far do you have to backtrack to go back to the overworld? Just curious.

    re: player freedom- I dunno man I think Red Dead Redemption for instance had plenty of weight. That was a fantastic narrative way to do accomplish both goals. I think there's plenty ways around it, maybe final Teleportation gate at the final save point for instance. People can suspend their disbelief a bit for convenience I think. I mean there's a quite a lot people do already (player characters that don't require food, sleep or bowel movements e.g.).

    Definitely agree with you about Open World Games. They definitely broke the virtual JRPG monopoly on world exploration. I think that's why people love Skyrim so much despite that game having a lot of shortcomings from my perspective. That's one thing I'm really excited to see in the upcoming Zelda for WiiU, Zelda to me was the original overworld I loved. I'd love to see the masters remake that concept one more time.

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    Jesna

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    #27  Edited By Jesna
    @thatpinguino said:

    @jesna: Playing as much Hot and Cold as you can right after Lindblum is the best way to walk through the rest of the game, since that will get you a blue chocobo and a bunch of good items. I haven't played Wild Arms since they seemed pretty generic. Are they worth checking out?

    As I said, its been quite a while since I've played through one, but I have very fond memories of Wild Arms 3. They all have a lot of Zelda-esque puzzle solving in between the random battles, which was a welcome change from most JRPG fare, and I remember 3's Old West setting feeling very fresh when I played it. That said, as I write this I am having flashbacks of flying a robotic(?) dragon around the world map looking for secrets, so perhaps the Western thematic isn't as thorough as I first thought.

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    Hailinel

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    @hailinel: You certainly don't need a world map to have a sense of exploration. I would say that FFX managed to add some mystery to the world by creating a second language and hiding additional dungeons on the 2D map. Also the areas in FFX had plenty of stuff off the beaten path. I mean the game is largely a march down a preordained pilgrimage road. I would say P3 and P4 manage a sense of exploration through their use of large, randomly-generated dungeons. I never got the sense of wonder or mystery from the world of FFXIII, but I bailed on that game 20 hours in. I never got to Pulse and I hear that that is the point when the world of XIII opens up so I can't really speak to that game.

    I think a world map is a useful tool that should always be an option for developers, but it is far from essential. In fact I would say the maps of games like Dissidia and Lost Odyssey are largely superfluous since they don't have much in the way of hidden locations.

    Final Fantasy XIII is less about getting a sense of wonder out of the world as much as it is just the need to continue pressing forward. However, the Pulse section later in the game, where the map opens up and allows for some element of exploration and sidequesting, does provide some context to the world through the Cie'th Stones, which tell the sad tales of people that were once in similar predicaments to the party and unable to fulfill what was required of them.

    As far as Persona 3 and 4 go, I disagree, in that the exploration of the randomly-generated dungesons isn't really the same sense of exploration as one gets out of a world map. The dungeons are largely same-y, with Persona 3's Tartarus segmented into different blocks that are little more than changes in the color palette, while Persona 4's individual dungeons have more personality to them, but share the same construction templates for their randomized nature.

    It's not like, say, Metal Saga, where you can wander the world map and end up in some harrowing (and bizarre) situations because of the open-ended nature of the game and the way that enemies are tougher the further you are from the game's starting point. Or how in Dragon Quest IX, exploring the world leads to a vast number of side-stories that together make up the central narrative. And in the modern era, the idea of a classic world map has more or less given way to open world exploration, as is the case in Xenoblade Chronicles and its sequel, as well as Lightning Returns. Xenoblade Chronicles in particular has vast, gigantic environments with plenty of hidden nooks and odd things to find, and the game rewards you for putting in the effort to explore those out of the way locations. There isn't a cohesive world map like would be found in older JRPGs, but that game in particular just has an enormous amount of territory to explore.

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    thatpinguino

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    #29 thatpinguino  Staff

    @hailinel: Yeah, I agree about P3 and 4. The only times I felt wonder about the dungeons in either game were the optional bosses in P4, the grim reaper in P4, and Void Quest in P4. Void Quest actually had a little more going on in its dungeon design that most of the dungeons in the Persona series. I would love to check out the Mistwalker games on the Wii, but I don't own a Wii and have no real urge to get one. Maybe Mistwalker will put out a game on a system I own sometime in the future.

    @jesna: I might have to check out Wild Arms then!

    @slag: All of the save points in FFIX's final dungeon act as teleporters back to the dungeons start. So there is no backtracking required to leave Memoria, and I believe you can teleport forward as well. I haven't finished Red Dead Redemption so I don't really know how they handle big story changes. Red Dead was the game that reminded me that I don't really like GTA style open worlds (with Saints Row being the exception). I agree with your Skyrim point, and I think it applies to a lot of Bathesda's games. They are well written and generally enjoyable games, but the remarkable things about them are the hidden stories and secrets.

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    Hailinel

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    #30  Edited By Hailinel

    @thatpinguino: Mistwalker only put out The Last Story on the Wii, which is actually very constrained in terms of its exploration. (Hub city with various dungeon areas to explore). It's also not very long for a game of its genre, as it could be beaten in about twenty hours or so (it took me twenty-five as I did a couple of optional chapters and other content). Its core gameplay strength is its unique combat mechanic, and I also enjoy its characters, but it is otherwise a flawed game that could have easily been twice its length to offer better pacing and more opportunities to explore. I still like it quite a lot, but Monolith Soft's Xenoblade is still the best RPG on the Wii (and one of the best games in general of the past generation).

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    thatpinguino

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    #31 thatpinguino  Staff

    @hailinel: Woops, I thought Xenoblade was a Mistwalker joint. I've only seen a bit of Xenoblade, but the part I saw was a lot of Riki without a lot of context so that wasn't great. I have heard a lot of good things about that game though. I might check it out some day if I get a Wii for some reason.

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    Slag

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    @slag: All of the save points in FFIX's final dungeon act as teleporters back to the dungeons start. So there is no backtracking required to leave Memoria, and I believe you can teleport forward as well. I haven't finished Red Dead Redemption so I don't really know how they handle big story changes. Red Dead was the game that reminded me that I don't really like GTA style open worlds (with Saints Row being the exception). I agree with your Skyrim point, and I think it applies to a lot of Bathesda's games. They are well written and generally enjoyable games, but the remarkable things about them are the hidden stories and secrets.

    Oh wow, ok I didn't remember that teleporting at all. I don't know what people were complaining about then.

    That's too bad you didn't RDR, it's a game worth finishing and if you can I think you'd be glad you did. It wouldn't take long to power through it. What part got you? Mexico? That seems to be where most people bog down. That part's actually not bad if you skip sidequests etc.

    I love open world games but oddly enough I usually don't like Rockstar's other than RDR.

    Another open-ish world I'm just starting to mess with is the Assassin Creed's series for the first time (I'm catching up on a lot of this past gen after a couple year hiatus from games) and while I really really like the look of their worlds, it just feels very mechanically boring. I dunno I was hoping the parkour was going to feel better than it has so far. I'm hoping that will get better as I progress through the series as the game I'm playing is admittedly old (and boy does it look fantastic for a 2007 title!).

    The best open world games I think are ones that feel Dynamic, that's what I think so many people (myself included) loved about Sleeping Dogs. The addition of the Arkham melee system just makes the world so much more interactable (granted in violent ways but still). Too many open worlds feel like pretty scenery you have spend time to traverse to mission to mission. Imo they should be more of a puzzle (Legend of Zelds) or a playbox (Minecraft, Sleeping Dogs). LA Noire was a game that really fell prey to what a lot of these games do wrong, I felt that realized their open world better than any I had ever seen, but also gave you about zilch interesting things to do in it.

    p.s. and yes as another commentator said if you like these kinds of quests like FFIX chocobo one, Wild Arms is definitely going to be up your alley. I really liked WA3

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    thatpinguino

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    #33  Edited By thatpinguino  Staff

    @slag: I think I beat the first bandit in RDR and then I just didn't like the controls. I got lost in the dessert during a quest and kind of lost interest. If I remember correctly I also bought Dead Space 2 and Enslaved around the same time and got swept up in those games. I really didn't like Assassin's Creed 1 and quit that game early as well. The only open world game I've ever really played a lot was Saint's Row 3 and that was for the insane story. I just find most of the depth in open world games to be inconsequential or repetitive, while the items you get from exploring in RPGs can be hugely impactful on your experience. In the FF games this is especially true since there are only a handful of items in the game in the first place, so the rewards from quests are usually pretty cool (instead of a +2 version of a starting dagger). I haven't played Sleeping Dogs, but based on my experience with open world games I likely won't play it.

    I guess I need to check out Wild Arms 3 though!

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    @thatpinguino:

    Ah ok, so large part of World Map appeal for you of open worlds is tied to loot that impacts stats? I think that explains our differences here. That's cool. Did you ever get into Diablo or loot driven games like that?

    For me the appeal of exploration is usually three fold (none of which is loot driven)

    1. Navigation Puzzles - This is what made me fall in love with Zelda. Something the 3d Zelda titles don't quite do as well as their Top down counterparts. games that have an element of Traversal beyond that of it just being a chore are things I enjoy. I like that kind of rock climbing mentality of trying to figure of where you next handhold is going to be.
    2. Scenery, Lore & Sense of Place- I like seeing sights, discovering places, figuring it out how it fits in the game world.
    3. Expedition Elements- This is somewhat similar to number 1 , but I like figuring out to manage supplies to survive a trip. Making decisions with the knowledge it may affect your ability to get to safe place.

    And I do like treasure hunts but generally only if they are done a certain way.

    The thing I don't like about many treasure hunts is many of them just feel lazy or a waste of my time. I enjoy finding things, but I don't like ones that give you no clues whatsoever. Especially given the size of game worlds today, I don't have a lot of interest in just systematically sweeping every latitude and longitude until I find something. It also annoys me if the game doesn't help you keep track of what you've already found.

    I really liked how Red Dead handled it, They basically gave you treasure maps each time you found one. That became a puzzle to solve not a sweep the map chore. I think Suikoden IV did this as well. I can't remember which games have done this, but I think some give you a radar that pings if you get close. That's not too terrible although it does mean you still have to be systematic when searching.

    conversely LA Noire e.g. just had film reels stashed all over the LA with zero clues on how to find them and zero indication of which ones you found. I found that incredibly tedious, I wouldn't have bothered with it if I hadn't liked the game world so much. The search for the cars I didn't mind so much, because those were relatively larger objects to spot and had fewer places where they could be.

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    #35 thatpinguino  Staff

    @slag: I think your second point is my main driver. Like I loved the open world of Brutal Legend even though most of the quests and stuff sucked. Just seeing that world was worth it.

    I like treasure hunts because they give you a meaningful reason to explore and they give you a reason to connect with a game's environment. Like I really remember ever nook and cranny of FF9's world because I had to comb the world so much. I love certain parts of FF8's world map because of the things I found, like Mr.Monkey, the Obel Lake monster, and the talking stones. Heck, even the world in Chrono Trigger and Cross had cool hidden stuff to find.

    I should clarify, I don't need exploration to be tied to stat stuff. Like I dislike the rewards that Bethesda games provide because they feel very unnecessary to me. I dislike loot driven games because I feel they are driven largely by addiction the compulsive human need to make stats bigger. Diablo and other loot driven games don't seem to be much more than a treadmill where the game stays largely the same while the numbers go up. The reason I like the loot in FF games is that every piece of equipment is hand-made instead of algorithmicly generated. I know every piece of equipment has a use and a purpose since it exists at all. In games like Diablo it seems like the only reason you would use an item is because the numbers are higher, and the random number generator gave you a good roll. You can spend forever searching for better loot, and thqat seems really trivial to me. I would rather play a game that has something to say or has a nice aesthetic than a game whose primary appeal is addiction and repetition. And I tend to play JRPGs in a manner to avoid repetitive combat, so it doesn't appeal to me in those games either.

    The "exploration" in LA Noir is the epitome of what I dislike about open world quest design. Scouring the streets for film reels for no real reason is not engaging or enlightening. It is just boring padding.

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    #36  Edited By Mistzero

    Dude the way you pronounced Zidane, no just no.

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    #38 thatpinguino  Staff

    @mistzero: I KNOW alright. I know that's not the right way to pronounce Zidane. I have pronounced it that way since I was like 9 years old and I have to make a conscious effort to not pronounce it that way. It is my no-longer-secret shame.

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