It was hilarious, though, that you could become godlike with a few hours of grinding at the very beginning of the game. Just hit yourself a couple times, finish the battle, and soon, you'll have HP in the thousands and enough VIT that everything does 0 damage to you for half of the game, yaaay.
@@Dhalin you can do that but you don't have to, if you play the game pretty straight forward you will do fine. I never had to level grind and got through the game just fine
@@Andrew-Gomez904 I always found that in FF2, you just didn't get enough statups to get through it without grinding, though. Sometimes, party members would rarely get hit and be way behind and then 2 dungeons later, they're getting one-shotted because they never got any HP increases.
It had much better music too! But nowadays since everyone is playing enhanced editions rather than the originals FFII has much better gameplay since FFI is so brain-dead easy, that the freedom of FFII is way better even if it isn't obvious what is good. Pro-tip: Teleport is one of the strongest spells in all of video games, and evasion rate determines not just how often you dodge things but also determines turn order. Evasion is the best stat so wear at least one shield for a while, and don't bother wearing any armor, as the better you're evasion the more you'll gain agility, further increasing your evasion in a viscous cycle of success!
Why not mix things up? Better for developers to take risks and potentially fail than to churn out the same thing over and over again. Thats actually why the Final Fantasy series outshined other JRPG franchises, they werent afraid to do something different with each game.
@@jainee4507 No reason to fix what is not broken. Change a few things but keep it loyal to the originals. As much as I dislike FromSoft's games, they know how to please their fanbase by just releasing what they want.
@@boitahaki Trying something different with each new game doesn't mean that the one beforehand needed fixing. It's good to try news things to keep things fresh. Would you have wanted Square to keep making classic turn-based RPG's because FFIV was such a success?
The only things i hate from FFII is how hard you to level you battle magic like Flare and yet it's the best magic so battle magic isn't worth to train. Just main on heal and buff
Hot Take: BoF3 was better than BoF4. The battle system was more fun, the art style was far more pleasant on the eyes, the music was better, and I liked the plot a bit more. While both games had a sudden jump in difficulty at the last dungeon, BoF3 at least gave you a powerlevelling spot so you could actually get up to the level you needed to be without too much trouble, unlike 4 which expected you to grind and do fishing for hours so you could survive that stupid castle at the end. Oh, and you had variety in transformations in 3, instead of every transformation looking the same.
@@MrQ12elve I will admit that 3 stars off a little slow, you got a group of kids, enemies don't give very much money or xp at first, and there's a couple annoying parts (trying to sneak into that mansion at night, that one guy with the lantern has such a small margin of error, but now you can use save states to get around that). But if you give the game half a chance and if you're willing to do a little grinding it's actually rather good.
@@Dhalin yeah that's what turned me off to be honest... it took me over 3 hours just to get to the first main boss fight.... and I think $hit this game is slow and the path isn't as obvious where to go etc and gave up where as 4 was soooo friggin kool...at the start anything Fu Luu touches he obliterates kinda like Alucard in 'symphony of the nigh't hahaha I'll have to give 3 another go and be more patient with it this time round and I have to make room for 'dragon quarters' as well I hear the mass saying it's bad while few people now say it's only bad because it's not like the traditional BoF games kinda like 'wind waker' which is what I only started playing haha
@@MrQ12elve Yeah, you really gotta give 3 time. It is really rewarding once you get into mid-game and you get more group members and more abilities and once the plot starts opening up.
@@Mr3DLC ??? no as in number? you double negatived 5 so you lost me. I think you meant "we could of had the 5th game on PS3 by now"... was I confused or did I understand that right. I preferred 3 because of the branching storyline and the extra bits with Thomas and Cecil and gang that broke up the more serious story lines with some comedy. After playing Suikoden 2 its not my fav storyline, but the fights and difficulty matched my skills better in 3 than 2.
@@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716 no, it doesn't. Thousands is a good game, but I really prefer 64. I think it's where they really created the foundation for other Nintendo RPGs. Also, I find that the 64 is more 'Nintendo world centered' than any of the other games that just create discardable lore and characters.
David's Parents: What did you get with your Christmas money, son? David: Alundra. David's Parents: Didn't we buy you that? David: Yes, but actually no.
Oh my god I forgot your intro about how the last entry would be a reverse and almost died when Lufia came up. I was like WHAT LUFIA 2 IS AMAZING ILL FIGHT YOU lol
Man. Alundra was the very first PS1 game I've played. It was the game that sparked my love for RPG gaming. Thus, made me a RPG gamer. It's sad that this franchise didn't do well cause of that sequel.
I'm with you on the fact that Dragon Quarter is a solid game, but is so divorced from everything about the main series, I'm baffled why they didn't pull a Devil May Cry and make it it's own franchise. Also, if what I've heard is correct, apparently the change in direction and difficulty spike in ActRaiser 2 was actually at the behest of Enix USA at the time
Sounds like lot of these would have been better received if they'd been their own titles instead of a sequel with a franchise's expectations. Paper Mario: Sticker Star would be another good example. Unfortunately, you either die a great series, or you live long enough to get ruined by a badly-planned sequel.
@@ShadowWolfRising There is. It was a royal piece of crap that didn't last. It was a phone game that flopped extremely hard and only came out in Japan.
This is the 2nd new video I've seen this week that mentions the difference between ActRaiser and ActRaiser 2. Kinda neat to see 2 of my favorite but unrelated RUclipsrs mention the same thing.
Gamesack and AVGN both doing Simpsons themed episodes with custom Simpsons-esque animation 1 day apart is the weirdest gaming thing I've seen on YT in a while.
Final Fantasy II is a mixed bag. I feel like it was more of an open and changing world than the first. Learning and trying different key words felt more like "true role playing" than the standard item fetch quests. The story felt more like an odyssey, and character deaths upped the stakes (particularly for a game in that era). While I prefer a traditional Job and Level system, FFII gets points for trying at "realism" and customization through practicing individual weapon and magic skills. (Secret of Mana improved on that, while Final Fantasy Legend II made much better use of the overall progression system.) But, yeah...grinding (on yourselves!) for Stats, and the tedious multiple dead-ends in dungeon after dungeon, really drag the game down.
ActRaiser 2 is my biggest desapointment on SNES. That game had the opportunity to improve the series to the next level in all mechanics and story development but never lived to its promises.
My biggest disappointment was Chrono Cross. Hated that game, and it had nothing to do with Chrono Trigger. I played it again, 20 years later, with an insane difficulty mod and found it ok, when I view it as unrelated to Chrono Trigger... but when I was a kid, the disappointment was palpable.
Agreed. I kind of like what they tried to do with the battle system, but I didn't even like it that much. Not to mention the protagonist being forgotten by everyone at the beginning reminded me of Breath of Fire II (the first RPG I ever finished) and that kinda insulted me (because BoFII is a game full of bad dungeons with the same 9 second loop for music)
What I really disliked about Chrono Cross was that it outright destroys the victories of Chrono Trigger, with fan-favorites like Lucca and Robo being killed before your eyes. Add in other issues like a splurge of party members, and it definitely ruined the bright promise Chrono Trigger offered.
I played it before I played chrono trigger and I loved it. Tons of shit to do. Had to beat it 3 times to get every character. I’ve never heard anyone complain about it till now. To each his own I guess.
Hadn’t the slightest clue there was an Alundra 2... you did an excellent job building up suspense to the GAHH I let out once you started showing footage :0
Back in the NES days devs for some reason lost their minds with the second game. Castlevania,Mario,Zelda etc. While not a groundbreaking improvement going from Hyperdimension Neptunia to Hyperdimension Neptunia MK 2 is shocking. MK 2 is average but the first game is easily down there with Secret of the Stars and Quest 64.
PE2 is garbage if you play any other survival horror game on PS1. If you look at Avalanche Reviews or The Sphere Hunter you'll see that the more experience a person has with survival horror the less they like it. At least The Third Birthday has a plot,has an OST that isn't mostly two chords on a banjo, has more than 3 areas and if you remap the control on Vita and PS TV is actually enjoyable to play.
Ff1 had the best set up for a jrpg for playing with pals. Yes it was single player but you and your buddies could each pick a class and name your dude. Made it immersive and so fun to take turns
I mean, in theory, its fair to say "this game lost us money, let's revamp or kill it". The problem is when a studio treats "not making as much profit as Hit Game X" as 'losing' money. Presumably the idea is that you could have spent the time and money making another X instead, thus loss... except the market for creative works doesn't work that way. There is no magic formula, and a clone is seldom as successful as its inspiration, while a new game may sell less but also draw in a new audience.
2:22 - It should be noted that while the SaGa series has the growth system used here, they refined it and improved it significantly, so it fixed alot of the tedium that was in this game.
Not to mention they went full Jpop idol and it ruined the tone set on FFX. It's a fun game and technically better (I hated the Sphere grid in X) but man what a tonal shift.
@@martinde-serres8724 I’d rather have had a sequel set a couple generations/decades later tbh. Make it star Lulu and Wakkas kid or something, idk. Tbh, FFX2’s story felt like it could have been told as an audio drama, not as the first proper sequel in the FF franchise. Plus, bringing Tidus back in the good ending totally undermines the sacrifice/theme of the first game. Just my opinion tho
@@OseiTheWarriors Lol, well at the time it came out I was in my (retrospectively) cringe-worthy weeb phase... so I unironically loved the Jpop opening, and the magical girl transformation bit. 😂🙈😵 Despite that tho! Even then I was like- “wait, why did LeBlanc steal Yuna’s grid, promote, produce, and preform a concert as Yuna....??? What did she gain from that???”
@@martinde-serres8724 I never felt that the first game was drab. Depressing sure but drab nope. X-2 send like it's capitalizing on a trend "here's Yuna but she's hot", "sexy Rikku" etc. I don't really care devs vision either the game feels like an absolute joke. That being said I'm halfway through the game and I am enjoying the Quality of life changes made to the game and the Dressphere swapping is very fun. So while the story did suffer the gameplay is fun. Still don't think FFX needed a sequel tho
@@z.i.r.3120 that's true that oppening in FFX2 is kinda nostalgic for a ton of ppl now. I played it last year and busted out laughing it's a corny scene especially since I had just finished FFX and jumped right into FFX2 lol
Yeah, Breath of Fire 5 is the sequel that Capcom "ruined" by actually making a great game in the series for the first (and only) time ever (I do think that Breath of Fire 4 is very good, though). But fans just want games that are exactly the same as the one before it; Chrono Cross gets a lot of overblown hate for a similar reason.
When you take a franchise that you enjoy and change the whole style and gameplay on its head, you *WILL* anger a lot of players who liked the franchise for what it was. That's why games like this need to be spinoffs or new IPs. People *liked* the traditional battle system and leveling system of BoF 1/2/3. They liked turn-based RPG. But you take that and suddenly turn it into a tactics game with rogue-like saving elements and..... yeah, it's going to turn everybody off who liked the fact the previous games were turn-based RPGs. It's like if I were to take Metroid and turn it into a cover shooter, I'd be angering most of the fanbase, and rightly so.
@@Dhalin Breath of Fire 5 is still a turn-based RPG (not much of a tactics or a strategy RPG, but it is true that it's less mindless than its predecessors and expects a lot more skill out of the player). Capcom even marketed it like a spinoff in North America by dropping the 5 from its title. And, hey, I liked some of the previous Breath of Fire games, and then I played 5 and liked it a lot more. I'm more of the mind that gamers should be a lot more open to new games being different and their own things, instead of only wanting simple rehashes of what they played for (if you want to play a game just like Breath of Fire 3, I know a great game to play: Breath of Fire 3).
@@ultraness But yet they changed too much of the game. They removed dragon transformations (something that was a staple theme that set BoF apart from everything else), they introduced this stupid rogue-like saving thing where you could only make temporary saves (which is always, ALWAYS a terrible mechanic that needs to die because of things like power outages erasing an entire playthrough), limited ability to save otherwise with ultra rare tokens, and that whole d-ratio thing just seemed kinda stupid. There's room for innovation, but you don't suddenly turn a beloved line of cars into pickup trucks and expect people to be OK with that. People bought cars because they were cars, I doubt anybody who bought a Camry wishing it had a pickup bed on the back of it. No, they bought a Camry because they wanted an economy car. Same with BoF. I liked BoF because it was a turn-based RPG that had a nice colorful aesthetic, and the Hero could turn into a dragon. That was neat and something nobody else did before. Then BoF2 came out, heavily nerfed the dragon transformations which was kinda bleh, but it was close enough to the original, so it was okay. And then BoF3 came out, and did everything the previous two games did, but better. Then 4 came out and they decided to go back on the dragon transformations, change the battle system all up, take the dragons out of the game (none of the dragons actually look like dragons), scrap the entire storyline the first 3 games had, etc etc etc. Then 5 comes out and.... it doesn't even look like it's related to the rest of the franchise whatsoever.
There's no reason for the town building on Actraiser 2 because the towns are already built. You were helping to rebuild civilization in the first game, and to finish off the threat. But in part 2, civilization hasn't been destroyed. You're there to prevent it from happening again on the second game so that you don't have to rebuild civilization yet again.
I didn't even know what an RPG was when I played Lufia. My brother actually made me return the game (rented) for something else. We did rent it again and before we knew it we were grinding for hours to get Might Blades for both the Hero and Aguro.
@@rabbyd542 I learned to know it as a "Quest" game from older friends, because of the similar nature in these games of going into a grand quest with big overworlds to traverse. The first one I came across was FF6, and then Chrono Trigger at a friend's house, the first one I personally played was a hand-me-down FF1 and Nintendo console. The complexity of the battle system and character growth, the exploration, visiting town from town, checking out the town design and interacting with its inhabitants, shopping for stuff, the lots of reading required and playing out a grand story, this all is what gripped me, from then on my interest has been focused on RPG wherever I could find one. Those were the times.
I wish 2 had kept 1's battle system instead of going full party turn based, it really slows battles down and being able to hold the L button to clear most battles is a huge step down in difficulty. At least 1 made you think during battles and you didn't just machinegun the confirm button for half of your battles. The battle music is also a huge downgrade, 1's was way better.
@@Dhalin I agree with you. If you could combine the first game's battle system with the sequel's great dungeons it'd be perfect. I also kinda like the battle sprites more in the first game. Then again, the Ancient Cave was such a great addition. It's a toss up for me.
I almost feel dirty for loving Dragon Quarter the most followed by BOF3... I was not in love with BOF 4, the world map was point and click, way too many mini games and the dragon system felt like a downgrade compared to BOF3, but it was still worth finishing.
BoF4 has the better story and deeper characters, but BoF3 just has that certain "feel" to it. BoF3 is a game I regularly replay and each time it makes me feel like I had a big adventure with friends. That to me is also the difference between BoF and FF; BoF games are adventures and FF games are epic drama stories. Dragon Quarter is a good game, it just isn't a BoF game.
@@Eener1000 well I’d definitely agree how Dragon Quarter doesn’t feel like a traditional breath of fire game..( does have the bare basics though of Ryu, Nina, and dragons) but I can’t see BOF4 having better story or characters than bof3. I feel like seeing your characters grow and mature in bof3 really added depth to them and the world with the time skip. Maybe fou lu was a better villain than Maria though
I only played breath of fire on the gba. Final fantasy 2 I always hear is terrible but I am starting to see why. I don't really know a ton of these rugs. I mainly play nintendo so curious what you think of ogre battle 64.
I remember playing Final Fantasy II on the PSX and thinking it was alright, then being confused years later when it got bad reviews. Then I played it on the GBA and thought "You know, now I see it!"
I was going to throw a shitfit if ActRaiser 1/2 wasn't on the list. At the time the sim/action hybrid was so novel and original, the first ActRaiser was one of my favorite games for the SNES, and I was so excited to play ActRaiser 2...imagine my confusion and disappointment when I found out there was no sim aspect in the game. What a huge letdown for 11 year old me. Edit: I'm absolutely thrilled that you showcased Lufia 1/2 as a sequel done right. Only gripe I have with that is no mention of Lufia 2's epic soundtrack. When you fought a Sinistrel, the battle theme alone lets you know that the fate of the world rides on your shoulders.
1:00 I enjoyed Final Fantasy II for GBA and Pixel, but to each their own. Quest 64 for Nintendo 64 is kind of like that, but to a very less extent with only a staff to use for attacking. So yeah, I enjoyed Final Fantasy II and Quest 64. I would like to play games similar to the two. 4:12 Hey! That's HCBailly's line! 😀 6:36 OH! I've seen this before from HCBailly!!! Been a long time. 8:00 That game felt kind of backwards. Cannot believe Lufia II is just way better than Lufia I. But it should be in reverse: Lufia I: Rise of the Sinistrals and Lufia II: The Fortress of Doom. Great video, by the way! 🙂
Actraiser and its total game construction is why I wanted to play Actraiser 2. I couldn't believe they deleted the sim portion and your thought of why they did it is EXACTLY what crossed my mind when I played the second game. I was pissed. I played the original translated FF2 on NES via an emulator and I had heard it was bad. Guess what? It totally was, like everyone said. I found the only way to level my characters effectively was to ATTACK MYSELF IN BATTLE! Like what? I own all Breath of Fire games (except 2 and that is unfortunate) but Dragon Quarter is an insult to my Breath of Fire fandom. This dead series needs to be brought back. Breath of Fire 7 has a nice ring to it! Alundra is a beautiful, respectable, tough combination of great concepts and ideas. I never made it through this one but really respected it. Alundra 2 was such a radical departure visually it was immediate death for me. The first game was so well built I thought and the second was a burial of its future. I would love to see a real comeback. Alundra 3 also has a nice ring to it. Lufia 1 was good I thought. I have zero problems with it as it was a decent early JRPG. Lufia 2 was hard for me because I kept getting stuck on the puzzles but it made you want to play it. The game was much more fleshed out I thought. The Boss Battle music is an incredible feat in gaming audio from this period. A great and beautiful composition I believe still to this day. Thank you David, please make another one of these!
Yay, always love when alundra gets mentioned! Probably my favourite game of all time :). Alundra 2 was...OK. not awful but that last dungeon was shockingly bad.
Currently playing Alundra 2 on my channel and I couldn't agree more. I feel like Alundra 2 was supposed to be a completely different game entirely and naming it Alundra was only supposed to boost sales. I have my complaint but it's not a bad game, just a poor sequel.
Probably because the game is a snoozefest when it comes to challenge. Lufia 2 has no challenge whatsoever except for the Cave and one optional objective ("killing" Gades the first time you fight him).
I agree that Dragon Quarter was very different and wasn’t well received. When I recently went back and played through it, I loved it and it might be my top BoF game. Agree it killed the series though. I just don’t think the world was ready for that much change for their beloved JRPG series.
I'm so not agreeing with the Breath of fire serie... the 5th installement took some risk as one of the jrpg pioneer they did something different and this game was incredible. It will never be worst than the 6th on mobile and even if it was darker the main plot around Nina and Ryu still exist in the game.
This has to be my vote for the most misunderstood game ever released. I was a huge fan of the series until 5. I even preordered at a time I didn't have a lot of money. I got the game and absolutely hated it. But that's because I didn't quite understand it... It was just a game far ahead of it's time and pretty bad translation and tutorials around it's systems. I don't think anyone really "got" what the game was trying to do or how to play it right. I think if this game was released now (with better translations and tutorials), I think it'd actually do quite well. I think it'd fit in with a lot of the Rogue-lite and Souls fans. I picked it back up again months later when I didn't have anything else to play and finally figured out how to play it. Once things clicked I absolutely loved it and was an absolute blast to play. One of my favorite JRPG experiences ever. I think it was better then 3. (For those wondering, there was essentially a percentage meter on screen and if it ever reached 100%, you died and game over. Moving would increase the percentage, using your Dragon Powers would increase the countdown. Damn near everything increased it. You also only got 1 permanent save file with limited saves. So it was entirely possible to get 3/4ths of the way through the game, screw yourself over and be forced to play the game from the start. However there was also incentives to do so like extra story scenes here and there. You could also revert your current progress to the permanent save file and keep certain items and XP. You were incentivized to explore and use your power as much as you wanted, then revert to an earlier save, and power up with what you brought back, then avoid it all in your "main save". Although the tutorials never really said as much and you kinda had to figure it out and restart a lot.) Also I think it carried over the base core narrative and themes from previous BoF games in a great way, just in a much darker tone. I remember it as having a great story and world, great combat, and being something pretty damn unique at the time (even though it might not be seen as much these days). I'd love a remaster of it.
In what world is Actraiser an RPG in any way, shape or form? I guess you get a little stronger once enough people populate the world? And they do call it "levels". Honestly, you might as well include Ratchet & Clank if you go that way.
Would you ever do another 10 hottest JRPG characters list? Because I have two candidates in mind. Dogi in Ys VIII: Lacrimosa Of Dana, he’s strong and walks around with a small vest showing off his abs 😋❤️. Lent in Atelier Ryza, a hot ginger who lives with an abusive father. Built like a truck and sensitive too. You just want to hold him and tell him everything will be ok.
I love Lufia II, don't get me wrong, but Lufia and the Fortress of Doom, basic as it is, was one of my FAVORITE games as a kid. The story and characters really sell it for me...Lufia and the Hero's childhood together and their story specifically resonated with me very deeply. I had never seen a game before this open with THAT much plot. The way the intro ends and the title screen flashes on was the most cinematic opening I'd seen in a game to that point. I found it gripping. Lufia II is better, sure, but the first one will always hold a special place in my heart.
I subscribed because you made me laugh during the worst JRPGs when you said, “Bitch, I’m gonna gag you with a potato.” It’s rare for me to laugh out loud for real. You did it. I’m a sub. 😂
the original Alundra was SUCH a good hidden gem. I rented it from Blockbuster when i was a kid and couldnt find it for years after that. I have a copy now though =)
One game I would includ is Legend of Legaia. A cult classic on the PS One that died on the transition to PS2 due to it's poor sequel. Alundra 2 and Dragon Quarter suffer from the same problem: they aren't bad games if you look at them isolated, but they are too much out of the idea of their predecessors that the only reason they can be called a "sequel" is because their titles. Dragon Quarter would do great as a spin off for the BoF series, and Alundra 2 should just not carry the name "Alundra" and it could've worked better.
Legaia 2 isn't that bad, It just throws away everything that made the first game cool and unique and replaces it with generic 90s anime fantasy. No more dark post apocalypse story, no more Giger looking nightmare monsters, no more Best Girl Noa....
Hear me out, Suikoden 3 to Suikoden 4. It's like a master class in what you shouldn't do with a sequel, aside from that Lunar: Dragon Song abomination.
?? Alundra’s dreams are ‘whimsical’? It’s a straight up horror game where the villagers are being murdered and corrupted by an ancient demonic god in their nightmares. But you’re right the graphics and music are fucking incredible.
Lufia is kind of a meta example. Yes, the second game is MUCH better, but it's also a prequel, making it the "first game". The only way I was ever able to beat Lufia was to download someone's finished save file so that I can play it in New Game+ mode, which gives you 4X experience and money drops. It's really the only way to play.
David, is the Lufia II remake on the DS better or just as good than the original SNES title? I still have to play the game but am not sure which to buy.
Omg no. Play the original SNES Lufia 2, the original game is a proper turn based JRPG, while the DS remake is completely bastardized and is an action RPG. I actually have 2 video reviews you may want to watch on the subject, located here: ruclips.net/video/wvvm3-x0fws/видео.html and here: ruclips.net/video/qMD2_aGD66Y/видео.html
On the opposite example. Skies of Arcadia only had 1 game, but it was ported onto the Nintendo GameCube after originally being released on the SEGA Dreamcast. Sadly no sequel and no remake for modern consoles but I would rather have the game remade for modern consoles so gamers can rediscover this classic JRPG from SEGA's final years of Console Development. If a sequel were to be made, it may not be able to live up to the original unless if it was made by the original Developers or if the Developers for the Sequel were huge fans of the original and understood why it was so good in the first place.
I have to say that FFII had the idea of a good game, but I remember fighting outside the weakest area to grind, but not the mobs, I would just attack my own party members because you could gain HP and other stats from literally beating yourself up. A game that took that growth from actions rather than levels from XP formula could actually be really cool if it was done well. Romancing Saga 3 I guess did have a version of that, but my memories of that game are focused on all the different starting characters and ways the narrative would play out. I think it was a good system but it’s not the most memorable thing about it for me
For as much pain ff2 brought to us, you've gotta admit Romancing SaGa 3 is amazing. Also, Alundra was such a difficult game, the last dungeon is so confusing
Going from Actraiser 1to AR 2, I can understand the disappointment. I loved 2, because I never played the 1st one. 2 was like a sidescrolling proto-Demon Souls. The game lore was so engaging to me. (I'm an Angel?! Is this even allowed?) The oppressive difficulty just made the demon bosses seem that much more menacing. Never beat it. Even with the cheat codes lol.
FF13-2 is an amazing game. Its an actual *FUN* FF game. Too bad almost everyone let’s the sour taste 13 left in their mouths prevent them from giving 13-2 a fair shot. Just whatever you do, don’t play Lightning Returns. Trust me.
I don't know, I think I've seen footage of that game, and all you see is 999999 all over the screen everywhere every one or two seconds, and big phrases popping up on the screen every few seconds and it all comes across as the "ADHD child stimulation" thing where they gotta have bright flashy things appearing on the screen rapidly to keep them entertained. I'm not sure if 13-2 is the game I'm thinking of, but I remember watching footage of that and I couldn't tell wtf was actually going on in the battle. There's something to be said that if you watch footage of a JRPG battle and you can't figure out what's happening or why, then that means it's just too darn convoluted and confusing.
@@Dhalin I’m not sure that what you’re thinking about is FF13-2. FF13-2’s battle system is exactly like FF13-1, except you can start random battles with haste so its faster, making it way more fun. And you don’t need to stagger every single little enemy to kill it. But the battling isn’t where FF13-2 shines. First, Serah is a likable character. And second, the world is opened up through portals so you never know where you’re going to go next. The graphics are better than most PS4 games. The best word I can come up with to describe FF13-2 is fun. Edit: The first area at night, with the beach and the glowing Cocoon is the most visually beautiful setting I’ve seen in a video game, from NES to PS4.
@@smokeldogg I'll look up some footage of 13-2, maybe that was 13-3 that I saw footage of, not sure. Though, that being said, I didn't like the battle system of 13-1 either, I felt it was very watered down from older FF games IMO.
@@Dhalin Thanks for replying. First things first: do not play FF13-3. Its down right awful, from it’s PS2 (super small) playable world graphics to Lightning’s holier than thou shitiness. Anyway, 13-2’s battle system is more enjoyable because of haste. And more importantly, battles don’t feel like a chore, like in 13-1, because you’re not just being fed down a corridor into your next battle in 13-2. There is a 13-2 demo on the PS3’s PSN to give the game a try. The only problem with the demo is that it doesn’t cover unlocking new, unknown, areas to be excited about like the game does. But it will give you a good idea of the battle system. It won’t hurt to try it.
Tales of Symphonia 2 is the biggest downgrade sequel for me. Only a few main party members, no open world, a tedious monster raising system and wasting most of the old cast it was a letdown in every way for me.
I grew up loving Alundra 2. But playing it now...there are a lot of things that I dislike and wondered why would they do that. First is the camera. The angle is just....horrible. I know it tries to follow the first game's style, but executed it bad. Next is the hit. Like, you can slash your weapon on enemies in other games. But not in Alundra 2. You can slash one time, wait till they stand up, and do it again. You can upgrade your attack to give a second slash. You have to collect puzzle pieces to upgrade that. Imagine that. A game where you have to collect things for simple mechanic..
I highly suggest you approach it with an open mind. Lufia 1 is rather difficult when it comes to battles and especially boss battles and it will test your memory as far as dungeons go. However, the Battle system is far more fun, the music is better and more upbeat, it's a kind of dungeon crawler. If you ever get stuck in Lufia 1, I know a ton of tips to help a player get through it that most people don't really mention much.
Final Fantasy 2 : SaGa Edition , i weirdly like this game. But wished they ReMake this with a Level system or a Level up system and Stat up by actions. (Where the level ups effects mostly HP and MP and slightly on stats, while leave in the Stat ups but lower chance to increase HP/MP but other stats normally or something, just random thought).
I remember Alundra 2. What was the deal with developers completely changing the course of the first game that basically made a blueprint for a potential series? Alundra was a kick-ass Legend of Zelda knock-off with a jump arc and some dark elements to the story. And the game still holds up to this day for its 2D sprites. Alundra 2, even when it came out, looks extremely dated with its low poly look with the lack of visual fidelity and the narrative direction going full tongue and cheek comedy.
Wow, Breath of Fire IV looks lovely. That art style never aged. And effing Lufia II. God I love that game, but I remember one of the final puzzles drained my brain. I think it was even optional. No internet back in the day (maybe you were lucky to find a guide or a magazine) so you had to think and try and think again. Pen and paper. Resting a bit to clear your head and try one more time. Even today, puzzles are my weakness. I blame Lufia II. It took away my brain cells, but it was a damn good game.
I don’t really care for auto targeting when monsters die. In Final Fantasy, it made me get a good sense of the monsters’ HP, so I know whether to only send one or two people off to fight that one. That said, I haven’t played Lufia, so I don’t know if the combat holds up as well.
You were quite generous to BoF5:Dragon Quarter. I was expecting another hate rant like everyone else. It's a great game, but it's barely a Breath of Fire game.
My Hate rants are reserved for Nina alone; the exception of BoF4 I don't like her at all and wished they had given us some one else to shadow Ryu on his many adventures. To keep it simple if I lose a party member in battle its her... I hate Glass cannons in video games, give me tanks with character any day; also not a fan of bird people in general. But BoF5=Halloween 3; if they are the first experience of their franchise then its easier to enjoy them; in both cases the only thing I did not like was that they were radically different from what I expected. There as wrong as a family friendly Romance movie with a name like "Elm Street"... what part of the name prepares you for its content.
Its a game that is a real slog to play at first, but which slowly grows on you. I ended up enjoying it mildly, but I wouldn't say it was amazing or anything.
Man I remember the first time I played Actraiser.. I was hooked immediately, and the next thing I knew, I had been playing for 6 hours straight. But then I tried the second one..
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Lufia 1!!! Sure, it may be generic by today's standards, but when it was released, JRPGs were barely even a thing, and certainly didn't have many fans in the west. I rented Lufia 1 from my local video store every weekend for like 2 or 3 months (if I had saved up, I probably could have just bought the damn thing). Luckily, my save file never got overwritten, so I was always able to continue from where I'd left off. Eventually, I got to a boss that I couldn't beat (and didn't know about grinding back then), so I stopped renting it. Years later, I finally bought the game, and came to find out that I was really close to the end of the game. So that's all to say that Lufia 1 holds a special place in my heart, and I will always love it!!
FFII being bad is massively subjective. Lot of people had no problem adapting to the leveling, dialogue and guest characters - hell, part of the fun was evolving your characters into whatever suited your playstyle. It's like the difference between VII and VIII - some people hate junctions, GFs, drawing magic and enemy scaling but some people had no problem adapting. I agree that what happened to BoF was objectively bad though and I will die on that hill.
Use Sweet Waters. But the encounter rate is a blessing in disguise as it helps you get through the hard boss fights, as your levels will be higher if you fight the stuff.
I'd say Vandal Hearts 2 kind of ruined that series. The first game was a solid tactical strategy RPG. Decent cast of characters and a fairly interesting story. Then with the sequel, they changed up the battle system to where you moved at the exact same time as your enemy, potentially leading to you accidentally negating your own action by moving onto the same space as they did. I get what they were going for, but it just made it way too difficult to figure out how to strategize around it. Essentially you were forced to try and predict where your enemy was going to move and then find a way to take advantage. It required way too much foresight that most people aren't capable of. This one change is what basically killed the entire series for years after.
My opinion might be biased here since I havent played the original Alundra, But I really like Alundra 2. When I first saw the CD cover I thought it was going to be a long fun adventure and action. The 3D graphics were also good at that time. But instead it was full of puzzle solving. Which kinda allowed me and my father to bond together. We took turns solving the difficult puzzles. So much nostalgic when I saw that Alundra 2 menu screen.
Alundra 2 gets so much hate for no reason in my opinion. It's an amazing game. I've played it again last year and laughed my ass of with some of the jokes
Am I the only person who liked Alundra 2? I do really wish they didn't call it Alundra, but instead made their own IP out of it. I just remember so many of those boss fights, even though I haven't played it in like 15 years.
Xenosaga 2 was a step down from 1. The battle system had a learning curve that took me nearly half the game to totally figure out. The story kept me going to the end though.
XB2 ruined the tone set in XB1 and instead went for a gacha waifu game. The character designs look generic as Hell, the graphics look like a step down from X, and the party isn't charming compared to Xenoblade 1. The game is overall just worse in presentation they went full anime and ruined a good thing...
2:30 - Breath of Fire V Dragon Quarter was so bad that it basically destroyed the franchise. Whenever someone defends this godawful game, I always counter by asking a simple question. If it's so good, then where's Breath of Fire VI? And the mobile game doesn't count, because it isn't even a real Breath of Fire game.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
To be fair, despite a much worse leveling system, FFII had a better plot than its predecessor.
It was hilarious, though, that you could become godlike with a few hours of grinding at the very beginning of the game. Just hit yourself a couple times, finish the battle, and soon, you'll have HP in the thousands and enough VIT that everything does 0 damage to you for half of the game, yaaay.
@@Dhalin you can do that but you don't have to, if you play the game pretty straight forward you will do fine. I never had to level grind and got through the game just fine
@@Andrew-Gomez904 I always found that in FF2, you just didn't get enough statups to get through it without grinding, though. Sometimes, party members would rarely get hit and be way behind and then 2 dungeons later, they're getting one-shotted because they never got any HP increases.
It had much better music too!
But nowadays since everyone is playing enhanced editions rather than the originals FFII has much better gameplay since FFI is so brain-dead easy, that the freedom of FFII is way better even if it isn't obvious what is good. Pro-tip: Teleport is one of the strongest spells in all of video games, and evasion rate determines not just how often you dodge things but also determines turn order. Evasion is the best stat so wear at least one shield for a while, and don't bother wearing any armor, as the better you're evasion the more you'll gain agility, further increasing your evasion in a viscous cycle of success!
@@Andrew-Gomez904 Not in the Famicom version. You have to grind a little in that version.
Dev: "Wow this game we made is really loved by the fans, isn't it? Time to change EVERYTHING about it in the sequel."
It really does feel like that sometimes
Shadow Hearts FTNW in a nutshell lmao
Why not mix things up? Better for developers to take risks and potentially fail than to churn out the same thing over and over again. Thats actually why the Final Fantasy series outshined other JRPG franchises, they werent afraid to do something different with each game.
@@jainee4507 No reason to fix what is not broken. Change a few things but keep it loyal to the originals. As much as I dislike FromSoft's games, they know how to please their fanbase by just releasing what they want.
@@boitahaki Trying something different with each new game doesn't mean that the one beforehand needed fixing. It's good to try news things to keep things fresh. Would you have wanted Square to keep making classic turn-based RPG's because FFIV was such a success?
LUNAR: DRAGON SONG. Probably the biggest RPG-related dissapointment of my life.
That game can burn for killing that series
That game is so destructive it surpasses the concept of numbered lists. It is in a class all its own.
Hold Run to lose HP.
@@doodlebugfour7070 ugh....
EXP or money!? What in the actual snu snu were these crabshacks for brains thinking?
Acrtraiser 2 is heart-breaking. A true to the original sequel with those beautiful late-gen SNES visuals would have been amazing.
completely agreed. Alundra is a fucking masterpiece and Alundra 2 is one of the biggest piles of hot garbage anyone has ever made.
the graphics from Alundra 2 are just atrocious. The hand drawn look of the first game is so classic
I know FFII is a black-sheep but I love that game.
It's a game that gets better the more you play it and master every single mechanics
If nothing else it's definitely when they started a lot of the unique parts of FF, though in a very imperfect way
The only things i hate from FFII is how hard you to level you battle magic like Flare and yet it's the best magic so battle magic isn't worth to train. Just main on heal and buff
Me: "he better not dis B.O.F 4"
David: "breath of fire 4-"
Me: "you son of a-"
David: "to breath of fire 5"
Me: "...forgive me sir"
Hot Take: BoF3 was better than BoF4. The battle system was more fun, the art style was far more pleasant on the eyes, the music was better, and I liked the plot a bit more. While both games had a sudden jump in difficulty at the last dungeon, BoF3 at least gave you a powerlevelling spot so you could actually get up to the level you needed to be without too much trouble, unlike 4 which expected you to grind and do fishing for hours so you could survive that stupid castle at the end. Oh, and you had variety in transformations in 3, instead of every transformation looking the same.
I like BoF 4 couldn't get into 3 but a fair few say 3 is really good... ok I'll have to give 3 another go
@@MrQ12elve I will admit that 3 stars off a little slow, you got a group of kids, enemies don't give very much money or xp at first, and there's a couple annoying parts (trying to sneak into that mansion at night, that one guy with the lantern has such a small margin of error, but now you can use save states to get around that). But if you give the game half a chance and if you're willing to do a little grinding it's actually rather good.
@@Dhalin yeah that's what turned me off to be honest... it took me over 3 hours just to get to the first main boss fight.... and I think $hit this game is slow and the path isn't as obvious where to go etc and gave up
where as 4 was soooo friggin kool...at the start anything Fu Luu touches he obliterates kinda like Alucard in 'symphony of the nigh't hahaha I'll have to give 3 another go and be more patient with it this time round and I have to make room for 'dragon quarters' as well I hear the mass saying it's bad while few people now say it's only bad because it's not like the traditional BoF games kinda like 'wind waker' which is what I only started playing haha
@@MrQ12elve Yeah, you really gotta give 3 time. It is really rewarding once you get into mid-game and you get more group members and more abilities and once the plot starts opening up.
Suikoden 3 to Suikoden 4 was also another sequel that went in the wrong direction.
I played 3 first in the franchise and after like 5 minutes of 4 I gave up on it.
I liked Suikoden 4, but I agree it was a huge step down from the perfect first 3 games.
No 3 was actually kind crap
I wish we just got no 5
If that happened we could have had no 5 on the ps3 by now:)
@@Mr3DLC I was underwhelmed by 5.
@@Mr3DLC ??? no as in number? you double negatived 5 so you lost me.
I think you meant "we could of had the 5th game on PS3 by now"... was I confused or did I understand that right.
I preferred 3 because of the branching storyline and the extra bits with Thomas and Cecil and gang that broke up the more serious story lines with some comedy.
After playing Suikoden 2 its not my fav storyline, but the fights and difficulty matched my skills better in 3 than 2.
If you make a part 2 I’d bring mention to the Paper Mario series. Great video as always!
Paper Mario 1 sucked to begin with, can ruin something that was already trash
Cover Mario RPG into Paper Mario...
@@R3DM4G3 I dunno, thousand year door is the best of the series imo.
@@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716 no, it doesn't. Thousands is a good game, but I really prefer 64. I think it's where they really created the foundation for other Nintendo RPGs. Also, I find that the 64 is more 'Nintendo world centered' than any of the other games that just create discardable lore and characters.
David's Parents: What did you get with your Christmas money, son?
David: Alundra.
David's Parents: Didn't we buy you that?
David: Yes, but actually no.
Pretty much!
Oh my god I forgot your intro about how the last entry would be a reverse and almost died when Lufia came up. I was like WHAT LUFIA 2 IS AMAZING ILL FIGHT YOU lol
Man. Alundra was the very first PS1 game I've played. It was the game that sparked my love for RPG gaming. Thus, made me a RPG gamer. It's sad that this franchise didn't do well cause of that sequel.
Lunar: Dragon Song is at the top of my list
as well it should be. What a trash game that was.
I'm with you on the fact that Dragon Quarter is a solid game, but is so divorced from everything about the main series, I'm baffled why they didn't pull a Devil May Cry and make it it's own franchise.
Also, if what I've heard is correct, apparently the change in direction and difficulty spike in ActRaiser 2 was actually at the behest of Enix USA at the time
You really should make this a running series cuz there are definitely a lot more games to talk about.
Sounds like lot of these would have been better received if they'd been their own titles instead of a sequel with a franchise's expectations. Paper Mario: Sticker Star would be another good example. Unfortunately, you either die a great series, or you live long enough to get ruined by a badly-planned sequel.
Hi David! Rock on! Always happy to see a new video from you. I'm digging this topic. Please keep up the amazing work, my fellow RPG tragic.
The biggest problem of BoF:DQ is that its not breath of fire
The same goes with the "sixth game "
No one should talk about "that" game haha. YYYYYikes!
@@MiamiSunrise yeah... It breaks my heart
Specially because BoF is my favorite rpg series
There is no 6th game, what are you talking about?
@@ShadowWolfRising There is. It was a royal piece of crap that didn't last. It was a phone game that flopped extremely hard and only came out in Japan.
@@MiamiSunrise Woosh
This is the 2nd new video I've seen this week that mentions the difference between ActRaiser and ActRaiser 2. Kinda neat to see 2 of my favorite but unrelated RUclipsrs mention the same thing.
Gamesack and AVGN both doing Simpsons themed episodes with custom Simpsons-esque animation 1 day apart is the weirdest gaming thing I've seen on YT in a while.
Snes drunk?
@@Rayzorbladez Yeah. And when SNESDrunk name dropped John Riggs.... while talking about ActRaiser 2, I geeked out a bit.
This is a pretty good video concept. Id be interested to see more installments if you've got them.
Yup, yup... BoF5 can burn in hell. As far as I'm concerned the series ended with BoF4.
Bof4 plays beautifully on Ps Vita i just love it
Final Fantasy II is a mixed bag. I feel like it was more of an open and changing world than the first. Learning and trying different key words felt more like "true role playing" than the standard item fetch quests. The story felt more like an odyssey, and character deaths upped the stakes (particularly for a game in that era). While I prefer a traditional Job and Level system, FFII gets points for trying at "realism" and customization through practicing individual weapon and magic skills. (Secret of Mana improved on that, while Final Fantasy Legend II made much better use of the overall progression system.) But, yeah...grinding (on yourselves!) for Stats, and the tedious multiple dead-ends in dungeon after dungeon, really drag the game down.
I've been watching your videos on and off for a little bit, David, but I think it's finally time for me to press that subscribe button.
Awww thanks!
ActRaiser 2 is my biggest desapointment on SNES. That game had the opportunity to improve the series to the next level in all mechanics and story development but never lived to its promises.
How about the first two Grandia games in comparison to the last two? Yikes.
My biggest disappointment was Chrono Cross. Hated that game, and it had nothing to do with Chrono Trigger. I played it again, 20 years later, with an insane difficulty mod and found it ok, when I view it as unrelated to Chrono Trigger... but when I was a kid, the disappointment was palpable.
Since it came out, I've referred to it as a great game, but shit sequel.
Agreed. I kind of like what they tried to do with the battle system, but I didn't even like it that much.
Not to mention the protagonist being forgotten by everyone at the beginning reminded me of Breath of Fire II (the first RPG I ever finished) and that kinda insulted me (because BoFII is a game full of bad dungeons with the same 9 second loop for music)
Not NOTHING. You do run into Crono and crew at one point... to yell at you for messing up their hard work...
What I really disliked about Chrono Cross was that it outright destroys the victories of Chrono Trigger, with fan-favorites like Lucca and Robo being killed before your eyes. Add in other issues like a splurge of party members, and it definitely ruined the bright promise Chrono Trigger offered.
I played it before I played chrono trigger and I loved it. Tons of shit to do. Had to beat it 3 times to get every character. I’ve never heard anyone complain about it till now. To each his own I guess.
I hate that I never finished Alundra 2. I had most puzzle pieces and got that “in love with a pirate” song stuck in my head
To this day I only beat ActRaiser 1.
ActRaiser 2 I quit after 3 levels when i seen they killed the sim part.
Hadn’t the slightest clue there was an Alundra 2... you did an excellent job building up suspense to the GAHH I let out once you started showing footage :0
Back in the NES days devs for some reason lost their minds with the second game. Castlevania,Mario,Zelda etc.
While not a groundbreaking improvement going from Hyperdimension Neptunia to Hyperdimension Neptunia MK 2 is shocking. MK 2 is average but the first game is easily down there with Secret of the Stars and Quest 64.
What about Parasite Eve? PE2 is somewhat enjoyable to play but definitely not as good as the first one (the third game on the other hand is carbage).
PE2 is garbage if you play any other survival horror game on PS1. If you look at Avalanche Reviews or The Sphere Hunter you'll see that the more experience a person has with survival horror the less they like it. At least The Third Birthday has a plot,has an OST that isn't mostly two chords on a banjo, has more than 3 areas and if you remap the control on Vita and PS TV is actually enjoyable to play.
Ff1 had the best set up for a jrpg for playing with pals. Yes it was single player but you and your buddies could each pick a class and name your dude. Made it immersive and so fun to take turns
"This game couldn't outsell Final Fantasy 7. Let's make the sequel different so it will appeal more to the masses!"
I assume you mean SaGa Frontier. Yeah, SF1 was fantastic, SF2 threw out everything that made SF1 good. Looking forward to the SF1 remaster.
@@charlesajones77 it was either that or "couldn't beat FF7, let's bury it forever" like with Legend of Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon Saga.
I mean, in theory, its fair to say "this game lost us money, let's revamp or kill it". The problem is when a studio treats "not making as much profit as Hit Game X" as 'losing' money. Presumably the idea is that you could have spent the time and money making another X instead, thus loss... except the market for creative works doesn't work that way. There is no magic formula, and a clone is seldom as successful as its inspiration, while a new game may sell less but also draw in a new audience.
2:22 - It should be noted that while the SaGa series has the growth system used here, they refined it and improved it significantly, so it fixed alot of the tedium that was in this game.
I’m gonna be that B and say it: Final Fantasy X-2 🤷🏻♀️
It’s a fun game, yeah, and I *DID* have fun with it.
But as a SEQUEL to FFX? Ehhh.....
Not to mention they went full Jpop idol and it ruined the tone set on FFX. It's a fun game and technically better (I hated the Sphere grid in X) but man what a tonal shift.
@@martinde-serres8724
I’d rather have had a sequel set a couple generations/decades later tbh. Make it star Lulu and Wakkas kid or something, idk.
Tbh, FFX2’s story felt like it could have been told as an audio drama, not as the first proper sequel in the FF franchise. Plus, bringing Tidus back in the good ending totally undermines the sacrifice/theme of the first game.
Just my opinion tho
@@OseiTheWarriors Lol, well at the time it came out I was in my (retrospectively) cringe-worthy weeb phase... so I unironically loved the Jpop opening, and the magical girl transformation bit. 😂🙈😵
Despite that tho! Even then I was like- “wait, why did LeBlanc steal Yuna’s grid, promote, produce, and preform a concert as Yuna....??? What did she gain from that???”
@@martinde-serres8724 I never felt that the first game was drab. Depressing sure but drab nope. X-2 send like it's capitalizing on a trend "here's Yuna but she's hot", "sexy Rikku" etc. I don't really care devs vision either the game feels like an absolute joke.
That being said I'm halfway through the game and I am enjoying the Quality of life changes made to the game and the Dressphere swapping is very fun. So while the story did suffer the gameplay is fun. Still don't think FFX needed a sequel tho
@@z.i.r.3120 that's true that oppening in FFX2 is kinda nostalgic for a ton of ppl now. I played it last year and busted out laughing it's a corny scene especially since I had just finished FFX and jumped right into FFX2 lol
I love alundra 2. The opening makes me think of Fortress Whale from yugioh.
First thing to come to my mind is Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness honestly.
I get the impression that every one after 2 is this for somebody
Yeah, Breath of Fire 5 is the sequel that Capcom "ruined" by actually making a great game in the series for the first (and only) time ever (I do think that Breath of Fire 4 is very good, though). But fans just want games that are exactly the same as the one before it; Chrono Cross gets a lot of overblown hate for a similar reason.
When you take a franchise that you enjoy and change the whole style and gameplay on its head, you *WILL* anger a lot of players who liked the franchise for what it was. That's why games like this need to be spinoffs or new IPs. People *liked* the traditional battle system and leveling system of BoF 1/2/3. They liked turn-based RPG. But you take that and suddenly turn it into a tactics game with rogue-like saving elements and..... yeah, it's going to turn everybody off who liked the fact the previous games were turn-based RPGs.
It's like if I were to take Metroid and turn it into a cover shooter, I'd be angering most of the fanbase, and rightly so.
@@Dhalin Breath of Fire 5 is still a turn-based RPG (not much of a tactics or a strategy RPG, but it is true that it's less mindless than its predecessors and expects a lot more skill out of the player). Capcom even marketed it like a spinoff in North America by dropping the 5 from its title.
And, hey, I liked some of the previous Breath of Fire games, and then I played 5 and liked it a lot more. I'm more of the mind that gamers should be a lot more open to new games being different and their own things, instead of only wanting simple rehashes of what they played for (if you want to play a game just like Breath of Fire 3, I know a great game to play: Breath of Fire 3).
@@ultraness But yet they changed too much of the game. They removed dragon transformations (something that was a staple theme that set BoF apart from everything else), they introduced this stupid rogue-like saving thing where you could only make temporary saves (which is always, ALWAYS a terrible mechanic that needs to die because of things like power outages erasing an entire playthrough), limited ability to save otherwise with ultra rare tokens, and that whole d-ratio thing just seemed kinda stupid.
There's room for innovation, but you don't suddenly turn a beloved line of cars into pickup trucks and expect people to be OK with that. People bought cars because they were cars, I doubt anybody who bought a Camry wishing it had a pickup bed on the back of it. No, they bought a Camry because they wanted an economy car.
Same with BoF. I liked BoF because it was a turn-based RPG that had a nice colorful aesthetic, and the Hero could turn into a dragon. That was neat and something nobody else did before. Then BoF2 came out, heavily nerfed the dragon transformations which was kinda bleh, but it was close enough to the original, so it was okay. And then BoF3 came out, and did everything the previous two games did, but better. Then 4 came out and they decided to go back on the dragon transformations, change the battle system all up, take the dragons out of the game (none of the dragons actually look like dragons), scrap the entire storyline the first 3 games had, etc etc etc.
Then 5 comes out and.... it doesn't even look like it's related to the rest of the franchise whatsoever.
There's no reason for the town building on Actraiser 2 because the towns are already built. You were helping to rebuild civilization in the first game, and to finish off the threat. But in part 2, civilization hasn't been destroyed. You're there to prevent it from happening again on the second game so that you don't have to rebuild civilization yet again.
Lufia is actually the game that got me into jrpgs. But yeah, it doesn't hold a candle to the sequel.
I didn't even know what an RPG was when I played Lufia. My brother actually made me return the game (rented) for something else. We did rent it again and before we knew it we were grinding for hours to get Might Blades for both the Hero and Aguro.
@@rabbyd542 I learned to know it as a "Quest" game from older friends, because of the similar nature in these games of going into a grand quest with big overworlds to traverse. The first one I came across was FF6, and then Chrono Trigger at a friend's house, the first one I personally played was a hand-me-down FF1 and Nintendo console. The complexity of the battle system and character growth, the exploration, visiting town from town, checking out the town design and interacting with its inhabitants, shopping for stuff, the lots of reading required and playing out a grand story, this all is what gripped me, from then on my interest has been focused on RPG wherever I could find one. Those were the times.
I wish 2 had kept 1's battle system instead of going full party turn based, it really slows battles down and being able to hold the L button to clear most battles is a huge step down in difficulty. At least 1 made you think during battles and you didn't just machinegun the confirm button for half of your battles. The battle music is also a huge downgrade, 1's was way better.
@@Dhalin I agree with you. If you could combine the first game's battle system with the sequel's great dungeons it'd be perfect. I also kinda like the battle sprites more in the first game. Then again, the Ancient Cave was such a great addition. It's a toss up for me.
I almost feel dirty for loving Dragon Quarter the most followed by BOF3... I was not in love with BOF 4, the world map was point and click, way too many mini games and the dragon system felt like a downgrade compared to BOF3, but it was still worth finishing.
BoF4 has the better story and deeper characters, but BoF3 just has that certain "feel" to it. BoF3 is a game I regularly replay and each time it makes me feel like I had a big adventure with friends. That to me is also the difference between BoF and FF; BoF games are adventures and FF games are epic drama stories. Dragon Quarter is a good game, it just isn't a BoF game.
@@Eener1000 well I’d definitely agree how Dragon Quarter doesn’t feel like a traditional breath of fire game..( does have the bare basics though of Ryu, Nina, and dragons) but I can’t see BOF4 having better story or characters than bof3. I feel like seeing your characters grow and mature in bof3 really added depth to them and the world with the time skip. Maybe fou lu was a better villain than Maria though
I only played breath of fire on the gba. Final fantasy 2 I always hear is terrible but I am starting to see why. I don't really know a ton of these rugs. I mainly play nintendo so curious what you think of ogre battle 64.
I remember playing Final Fantasy II on the PSX and thinking it was alright, then being confused years later when it got bad reviews. Then I played it on the GBA and thought "You know, now I see it!"
I was going to throw a shitfit if ActRaiser 1/2 wasn't on the list. At the time the sim/action hybrid was so novel and original, the first ActRaiser was one of my favorite games for the SNES, and I was so excited to play ActRaiser 2...imagine my confusion and disappointment when I found out there was no sim aspect in the game. What a huge letdown for 11 year old me.
Edit: I'm absolutely thrilled that you showcased Lufia 1/2 as a sequel done right. Only gripe I have with that is no mention of Lufia 2's epic soundtrack. When you fought a Sinistrel, the battle theme alone lets you know that the fate of the world rides on your shoulders.
How about the Shining Force series turning into that Shining Wisdom monstrosity ?
Shining Wisdom was Suikoden 2 compared to Shining Tears and Shining Force EXA.
You could also make an argument for Shining in the Darkness to Shining Force
Shining force should go back to their roots. Being a crazier ripoff of Fire Emblem!
@@benjamincuevas9627 With the old Artstyle and less focus on Humans and Elves.
@@ShadowWolfRising along with the real heroes. The floating tentacle monsters and mech suits!
1:00 I enjoyed Final Fantasy II for GBA and Pixel, but to each their own. Quest 64 for Nintendo 64 is kind of like that, but to a very less extent with only a staff to use for attacking. So yeah, I enjoyed Final Fantasy II and Quest 64. I would like to play games similar to the two.
4:12 Hey! That's HCBailly's line! 😀
6:36 OH! I've seen this before from HCBailly!!! Been a long time.
8:00 That game felt kind of backwards. Cannot believe Lufia II is just way better than Lufia I. But it should be in reverse: Lufia I: Rise of the Sinistrals and Lufia II: The Fortress of Doom.
Great video, by the way! 🙂
Actraiser and its total game construction is why I wanted to play Actraiser 2. I couldn't believe they deleted the sim portion and your thought of why they did it is EXACTLY what crossed my mind when I played the second game. I was pissed.
I played the original translated FF2 on NES via an emulator and I had heard it was bad. Guess what? It totally was, like everyone said. I found the only way to level my characters effectively was to ATTACK MYSELF IN BATTLE! Like what?
I own all Breath of Fire games (except 2 and that is unfortunate) but Dragon Quarter is an insult to my Breath of Fire fandom. This dead series needs to be brought back. Breath of Fire 7 has a nice ring to it!
Alundra is a beautiful, respectable, tough combination of great concepts and ideas. I never made it through this one but really respected it. Alundra 2 was such a radical departure visually it was immediate death for me. The first game was so well built I thought and the second was a burial of its future. I would love to see a real comeback. Alundra 3 also has a nice ring to it.
Lufia 1 was good I thought. I have zero problems with it as it was a decent early JRPG. Lufia 2 was hard for me because I kept getting stuck on the puzzles but it made you want to play it. The game was much more fleshed out I thought. The Boss Battle music is an incredible feat in gaming audio from this period. A great and beautiful composition I believe still to this day.
Thank you David, please make another one of these!
Act raiser..... it's why I like 2 over 1......😑🤷🏻♂️
Yay, always love when alundra gets mentioned! Probably my favourite game of all time :). Alundra 2 was...OK. not awful but that last dungeon was shockingly bad.
Oh god, Act Raiser. Yeah, played that one with a friend a few months ago, and enjoyed it a fair bit. He also had the second and... hoo boy.
Currently playing Alundra 2 on my channel and I couldn't agree more. I feel like Alundra 2 was supposed to be a completely different game entirely and naming it Alundra was only supposed to boost sales. I have my complaint but it's not a bad game, just a poor sequel.
I loved Dragon Quarter, but I admit most people didn't, and it killed one of my favorite franchises.
Have you done a lets play of Lufia 2 David? If not why? ;P
Probably because the game is a snoozefest when it comes to challenge. Lufia 2 has no challenge whatsoever except for the Cave and one optional objective ("killing" Gades the first time you fight him).
The only thing that looks good about Act Raiser 2 is the hot guy.
Right???
I agree that Dragon Quarter was very different and wasn’t well received. When I recently went back and played through it, I loved it and it might be my top BoF game. Agree it killed the series though. I just don’t think the world was ready for that much change for their beloved JRPG series.
I'm so not agreeing with the Breath of fire serie... the 5th installement took some risk as one of the jrpg pioneer they did something different and this game was incredible. It will never be worst than the 6th on mobile and even if it was darker the main plot around Nina and Ryu still exist in the game.
This has to be my vote for the most misunderstood game ever released. I was a huge fan of the series until 5. I even preordered at a time I didn't have a lot of money. I got the game and absolutely hated it. But that's because I didn't quite understand it... It was just a game far ahead of it's time and pretty bad translation and tutorials around it's systems. I don't think anyone really "got" what the game was trying to do or how to play it right. I think if this game was released now (with better translations and tutorials), I think it'd actually do quite well. I think it'd fit in with a lot of the Rogue-lite and Souls fans.
I picked it back up again months later when I didn't have anything else to play and finally figured out how to play it. Once things clicked I absolutely loved it and was an absolute blast to play. One of my favorite JRPG experiences ever. I think it was better then 3. (For those wondering, there was essentially a percentage meter on screen and if it ever reached 100%, you died and game over. Moving would increase the percentage, using your Dragon Powers would increase the countdown. Damn near everything increased it. You also only got 1 permanent save file with limited saves. So it was entirely possible to get 3/4ths of the way through the game, screw yourself over and be forced to play the game from the start. However there was also incentives to do so like extra story scenes here and there. You could also revert your current progress to the permanent save file and keep certain items and XP. You were incentivized to explore and use your power as much as you wanted, then revert to an earlier save, and power up with what you brought back, then avoid it all in your "main save". Although the tutorials never really said as much and you kinda had to figure it out and restart a lot.)
Also I think it carried over the base core narrative and themes from previous BoF games in a great way, just in a much darker tone. I remember it as having a great story and world, great combat, and being something pretty damn unique at the time (even though it might not be seen as much these days). I'd love a remaster of it.
In what world is Actraiser an RPG in any way, shape or form? I guess you get a little stronger once enough people populate the world? And they do call it "levels". Honestly, you might as well include Ratchet & Clank if you go that way.
Would you ever do another 10 hottest JRPG characters list? Because I have two candidates in mind. Dogi in Ys VIII: Lacrimosa Of Dana, he’s strong and walks around with a small vest showing off his abs 😋❤️. Lent in Atelier Ryza, a hot ginger who lives with an abusive father. Built like a truck and sensitive too. You just want to hold him and tell him everything will be ok.
OMG, well I released the first one on April 1st last year, so I may release another one this April fools day! Those are 2 great candidates too!
@@davidvinc I'm hoping to see Remake Barret on that list on April.
I love Lufia II, don't get me wrong, but Lufia and the Fortress of Doom, basic as it is, was one of my FAVORITE games as a kid. The story and characters really sell it for me...Lufia and the Hero's childhood together and their story specifically resonated with me very deeply. I had never seen a game before this open with THAT much plot. The way the intro ends and the title screen flashes on was the most cinematic opening I'd seen in a game to that point. I found it gripping. Lufia II is better, sure, but the first one will always hold a special place in my heart.
I subscribed because you made me laugh during the worst JRPGs when you said, “Bitch, I’m gonna gag you with a potato.” It’s rare for me to laugh out loud for real. You did it. I’m a sub. 😂
For me it was Legend of Legaia that I felt changed too much (going into PS2)
the original Alundra was SUCH a good hidden gem.
I rented it from Blockbuster when i was a kid and couldnt find it for years after that. I have a copy now though =)
One game I would includ is Legend of Legaia. A cult classic on the PS One that died on the transition to PS2 due to it's poor sequel.
Alundra 2 and Dragon Quarter suffer from the same problem: they aren't bad games if you look at them isolated, but they are too much out of the idea of their predecessors that the only reason they can be called a "sequel" is because their titles. Dragon Quarter would do great as a spin off for the BoF series, and Alundra 2 should just not carry the name "Alundra" and it could've worked better.
Legaia 2 isn't that bad, It just throws away everything that made the first game cool and unique and replaces it with generic 90s anime fantasy. No more dark post apocalypse story, no more Giger looking nightmare monsters, no more Best Girl Noa....
@@seb24789 Basically, the same as Alundra 2 and Dragon Quarter.
still misses what i consider the biggest kick in the ball and franchise murder of all time
Suikoden Tierkreis
I got a progression blocker bug half way into Alundra 2 and quit never to return!
Hear me out, Suikoden 3 to Suikoden 4. It's like a master class in what you shouldn't do with a sequel, aside from that Lunar: Dragon Song abomination.
?? Alundra’s dreams are ‘whimsical’? It’s a straight up horror game where the villagers are being murdered and corrupted by an ancient demonic god in their nightmares. But you’re right the graphics and music are fucking incredible.
Since Breath of Fire 5 is still a good game I don't resent it. BoF6 existing is far less forgivable.
Lufia is kind of a meta example. Yes, the second game is MUCH better, but it's also a prequel, making it the "first game".
The only way I was ever able to beat Lufia was to download someone's finished save file so that I can play it in New Game+ mode, which gives you 4X experience and money drops. It's really the only way to play.
David, is the Lufia II remake on the DS better or just as good than the original SNES title? I still have to play the game but am not sure which to buy.
Omg no. Play the original SNES Lufia 2, the original game is a proper turn based JRPG, while the DS remake is completely bastardized and is an action RPG. I actually have 2 video reviews you may want to watch on the subject, located here: ruclips.net/video/wvvm3-x0fws/видео.html and here: ruclips.net/video/qMD2_aGD66Y/видео.html
On the opposite example.
Skies of Arcadia only had 1 game, but it was ported onto the Nintendo GameCube after originally being released on the SEGA Dreamcast.
Sadly no sequel and no remake for modern consoles but I would rather have the game remade for modern consoles so gamers can rediscover this classic JRPG from SEGA's final years of Console Development.
If a sequel were to be made, it may not be able to live up to the original unless if it was made by the original Developers or if the Developers for the Sequel were huge fans of the original and understood why it was so good in the first place.
I have to say that FFII had the idea of a good game, but I remember fighting outside the weakest area to grind, but not the mobs, I would just attack my own party members because you could gain HP and other stats from literally beating yourself up. A game that took that growth from actions rather than levels from XP formula could actually be really cool if it was done well. Romancing Saga 3 I guess did have a version of that, but my memories of that game are focused on all the different starting characters and ways the narrative would play out. I think it was a good system but it’s not the most memorable thing about it for me
For as much pain ff2 brought to us, you've gotta admit Romancing SaGa 3 is amazing. Also, Alundra was such a difficult game, the last dungeon is so confusing
Going from Actraiser 1to AR 2, I can understand the disappointment.
I loved 2, because I never played the 1st one. 2 was like a sidescrolling proto-Demon Souls. The game lore was so engaging to me. (I'm an Angel?! Is this even allowed?) The oppressive difficulty just made the demon bosses seem that much more menacing.
Never beat it. Even with the cheat codes lol.
FF13-2 is an amazing game. Its an actual *FUN* FF game.
Too bad almost everyone let’s the sour taste 13 left in their mouths prevent them from giving 13-2 a fair shot.
Just whatever you do, don’t play Lightning Returns. Trust me.
I loved FF13-2 as well!
I don't know, I think I've seen footage of that game, and all you see is 999999 all over the screen everywhere every one or two seconds, and big phrases popping up on the screen every few seconds and it all comes across as the "ADHD child stimulation" thing where they gotta have bright flashy things appearing on the screen rapidly to keep them entertained. I'm not sure if 13-2 is the game I'm thinking of, but I remember watching footage of that and I couldn't tell wtf was actually going on in the battle. There's something to be said that if you watch footage of a JRPG battle and you can't figure out what's happening or why, then that means it's just too darn convoluted and confusing.
@@Dhalin
I’m not sure that what you’re thinking about is FF13-2.
FF13-2’s battle system is exactly like FF13-1, except you can start random battles with haste so its faster, making it way more fun. And you don’t need to stagger every single little enemy to kill it.
But the battling isn’t where FF13-2 shines. First, Serah is a likable character. And second, the world is opened up through portals so you never know where you’re going to go next. The graphics are better than most PS4 games.
The best word I can come up with to describe FF13-2 is fun.
Edit: The first area at night, with the beach and the glowing Cocoon is the most visually beautiful setting I’ve seen in a video game, from NES to PS4.
@@smokeldogg I'll look up some footage of 13-2, maybe that was 13-3 that I saw footage of, not sure. Though, that being said, I didn't like the battle system of 13-1 either, I felt it was very watered down from older FF games IMO.
@@Dhalin
Thanks for replying.
First things first: do not play FF13-3. Its down right awful, from it’s PS2 (super small) playable world graphics to Lightning’s holier than thou shitiness.
Anyway, 13-2’s battle system is more enjoyable because of haste. And more importantly, battles don’t feel like a chore, like in 13-1, because you’re not just being fed down a corridor into your next battle in 13-2.
There is a 13-2 demo on the PS3’s PSN to give the game a try. The only problem with the demo is that it doesn’t cover unlocking new, unknown, areas to be excited about like the game does. But it will give you a good idea of the battle system. It won’t hurt to try it.
Started video and noticed Xenogears song in backround. You sir have amazing taste!
Tales of Symphonia 2 is the biggest downgrade sequel for me. Only a few main party members, no open world, a tedious monster raising system and wasting most of the old cast it was a letdown in every way for me.
I grew up loving Alundra 2. But playing it now...there are a lot of things that I dislike and wondered why would they do that. First is the camera. The angle is just....horrible. I know it tries to follow the first game's style, but executed it bad. Next is the hit. Like, you can slash your weapon on enemies in other games. But not in Alundra 2. You can slash one time, wait till they stand up, and do it again. You can upgrade your attack to give a second slash. You have to collect puzzle pieces to upgrade that. Imagine that. A game where you have to collect things for simple mechanic..
Never played the Lufia series but will give it a try after this, thanks
I highly suggest you approach it with an open mind. Lufia 1 is rather difficult when it comes to battles and especially boss battles and it will test your memory as far as dungeons go. However, the Battle system is far more fun, the music is better and more upbeat, it's a kind of dungeon crawler. If you ever get stuck in Lufia 1, I know a ton of tips to help a player get through it that most people don't really mention much.
omg i miss lufia so much! I wish they made a port or something Q.Q
a buddy is making a fan made sequel. called lufia V for the savior. its on fb. should be finished sometime this year. been in development for years
Final Fantasy 2 : SaGa Edition , i weirdly like this game. But wished they ReMake this with a Level system or
a Level up system and Stat up by actions. (Where the level ups effects mostly HP and MP and slightly on stats, while leave in the Stat ups but lower chance to increase HP/MP but other stats normally or something, just random thought).
I remember Alundra 2. What was the deal with developers completely changing the course of the first game that basically made a blueprint for a potential series? Alundra was a kick-ass Legend of Zelda knock-off with a jump arc and some dark elements to the story. And the game still holds up to this day for its 2D sprites. Alundra 2, even when it came out, looks extremely dated with its low poly look with the lack of visual fidelity and the narrative direction going full tongue and cheek comedy.
Wow, Breath of Fire IV looks lovely. That art style never aged. And effing Lufia II. God I love that game, but I remember one of the final puzzles drained my brain. I think it was even optional. No internet back in the day (maybe you were lucky to find a guide or a magazine) so you had to think and try and think again. Pen and paper. Resting a bit to clear your head and try one more time. Even today, puzzles are my weakness. I blame Lufia II. It took away my brain cells, but it was a damn good game.
I got unreasonably angry when you said Lufia 2 before you explained it
I don’t really care for auto targeting when monsters die. In Final Fantasy, it made me get a good sense of the monsters’ HP, so I know whether to only send one or two people off to fight that one. That said, I haven’t played Lufia, so I don’t know if the combat holds up as well.
You were quite generous to BoF5:Dragon Quarter. I was expecting another hate rant like everyone else. It's a great game, but it's barely a Breath of Fire game.
My Hate rants are reserved for Nina alone; the exception of BoF4 I don't like her at all and wished they had given us some one else to shadow Ryu on his many adventures.
To keep it simple if I lose a party member in battle its her... I hate Glass cannons in video games, give me tanks with character any day; also not a fan of bird people in general.
But BoF5=Halloween 3; if they are the first experience of their franchise then its easier to enjoy them; in both cases the only thing I did not like was that they were radically different from what I expected. There as wrong as a family friendly Romance movie with a name like "Elm Street"... what part of the name prepares you for its content.
Its a game that is a real slog to play at first, but which slowly grows on you. I ended up enjoying it mildly, but I wouldn't say it was amazing or anything.
I absolutely ADORE Lufia 1 but I agree that the 2nd one is one of the best jrpg of all time!
Man I remember the first time I played Actraiser.. I was hooked immediately, and the next thing I knew, I had been playing for 6 hours straight. But then I tried the second one..
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Lufia 1!!! Sure, it may be generic by today's standards, but when it was released, JRPGs were barely even a thing, and certainly didn't have many fans in the west.
I rented Lufia 1 from my local video store every weekend for like 2 or 3 months (if I had saved up, I probably could have just bought the damn thing). Luckily, my save file never got overwritten, so I was always able to continue from where I'd left off. Eventually, I got to a boss that I couldn't beat (and didn't know about grinding back then), so I stopped renting it. Years later, I finally bought the game, and came to find out that I was really close to the end of the game.
So that's all to say that Lufia 1 holds a special place in my heart, and I will always love it!!
Same here! Finally, someone who likes the game and doesn't rag on it.
Can't agree with you more about Lufia 2 over 1. Lufia 1 was so monotonous. I remember being so frustrated in almost every dungeon
FFII being bad is massively subjective. Lot of people had no problem adapting to the leveling, dialogue and guest characters - hell, part of the fun was evolving your characters into whatever suited your playstyle. It's like the difference between VII and VIII - some people hate junctions, GFs, drawing magic and enemy scaling but some people had no problem adapting.
I agree that what happened to BoF was objectively bad though and I will die on that hill.
The encounter rate for Lufia 1 was nightmarish. I wanted to play them in order but Lufia 1 was such a chore I never came around to playing the sequel.
Use Sweet Waters. But the encounter rate is a blessing in disguise as it helps you get through the hard boss fights, as your levels will be higher if you fight the stuff.
I'd say Vandal Hearts 2 kind of ruined that series. The first game was a solid tactical strategy RPG. Decent cast of characters and a fairly interesting story. Then with the sequel, they changed up the battle system to where you moved at the exact same time as your enemy, potentially leading to you accidentally negating your own action by moving onto the same space as they did. I get what they were going for, but it just made it way too difficult to figure out how to strategize around it. Essentially you were forced to try and predict where your enemy was going to move and then find a way to take advantage. It required way too much foresight that most people aren't capable of. This one change is what basically killed the entire series for years after.
My opinion might be biased here since I havent played the original Alundra, But I really like Alundra 2.
When I first saw the CD cover I thought it was going to be a long fun adventure and action. The 3D graphics were also good at that time. But instead it was full of puzzle solving. Which kinda allowed me and my father to bond together. We took turns solving the difficult puzzles. So much nostalgic when I saw that Alundra 2 menu screen.
Alundra 2 gets so much hate for no reason in my opinion. It's an amazing game. I've played it again last year and laughed my ass of with some of the jokes
I actually played Alundra 2 before Alundra, and i loved both, but i can totally see the differences in tone.
This is just me, but I'd say Xenoblade 1 to 2.
I read the title of the video....and seen Alundra 2....I knew it was going to be bad news😂
"I went the other way." Yes you did David. And that's okay :)
Am I the only person who liked Alundra 2? I do really wish they didn't call it Alundra, but instead made their own IP out of it. I just remember so many of those boss fights, even though I haven't played it in like 15 years.
Xenosaga 2 was a step down from 1. The battle system had a learning curve that took me nearly half the game to totally figure out. The story kept me going to the end though.
Definitely Xenoblade 2. Gods, I hate that game...
XB2 ruined the tone set in XB1 and instead went for a gacha waifu game. The character designs look generic as Hell, the graphics look like a step down from X, and the party isn't charming compared to Xenoblade 1. The game is overall just worse in presentation they went full anime and ruined a good thing...
@@OseiTheWarriors yeah i like morag and i kinda like zeke but the xc2 party DOES plae in comparison to the original game
2:30 - Breath of Fire V Dragon Quarter was so bad that it basically destroyed the franchise. Whenever someone defends this godawful game, I always counter by asking a simple question. If it's so good, then where's Breath of Fire VI? And the mobile game doesn't count, because it isn't even a real Breath of Fire game.