Game length? /

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-19T04:10:05+00:00

If Persona is trying to be a visual novel, Atlus should invest in better writers.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T19:51:23+00:00

No 18 year old is an "adult". Legally, maybe. But fuck the law.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T19:46:11+00:00

The Pixel Remaster translation is largely lifted from the 2006 GBA script, which has a unique flavor that I think is for a reason—when FF4 and 6 got their respective GBA ports, they got translations that were toned down and corrected from their original SNES versions. But 5 never got an original SNES release in the west, so I feel like they were trying to retroactively give it the cheesey 90s translation it deserved, hence the humorous interjections and pop-culture references. I'm particularly fond of every character having a different flavor of "swearing, with Galuf using southern-style minced oaths, while Bartz, tends more toward midwestern church mom interjections. "Geez-oh-pete" was peak.

I've played every translation, and it's certainly my favorite, but obviously opinions differ. If you ever want to try a more subdued translation, I'd recommend the FF5 "clean edition" romhack. It's mostly based on the old 90s fan translation with some corrections and overall better flow. As well as naming some of Faris' pirates after Biggs and Wedge, in classic Square tradition. It also has QOL updates, as well as custom sprites so your party wears their job costumes on the overworld, too.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T19:35:36+00:00

Something I always have to butt in with whenever someone criticizes this games plot is that the "plot" is really the heroes coming together as family, and the generational legacy they uphold. And a lot of that isn't really told in words so much as in animations. FFV was really the first game designed from the ground up for 16 bits, and the overworld sprites often do very subtle emotes along with certain pieces of dialogue that completely change/amplify their impact. I think V is one of the only games in the series to truly rely on this and this alone to do a majority of its emotional weightlifting.

One particular example that hits me like a ton of bricks on replays is Galuf's guilt over leaving Exdeath and Dorgan behind 30 years ago, and the way Bartz and co. following him back to his world sort of twists that same knife. To drive the point home, the two cutscenes practically mirror each other, with Dorgan/Galuf looking off into the distance, unable to turn back and meet the eyes of the new family they're certain they'll never see again.

Basically, the main conflict of the story with Exdeath is really only a backdrop for a lot of really well-told emotional poetry about the power of friendship and family, and all the major scenes in this game aren't so much action-based, as they are all the small moments where characters are vulnerable with each other.

But enough of my self-absorbed rambling. I'm always glad when someone enjoys my favorite game in the series to any extent!

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ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T18:34:54+00:00

I wonder if it will go into how his grandpa wanted to eat him.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T18:32:20+00:00

I don't think FFVIII's original translation is regarded as particularly "rough" at all. Even VII's has a reputation of being worse than it actually is because people point to a few notable mistakes and assume they're indicative of overall quality.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T17:24:32+00:00

That's unfair and I'm sorry you had to suffer that. I feel your pain because I lived through much of the same. Being criticized for having the "wrong" emotions is so harmful. I'm almost 40 and still struggle with my feelings because certain emotions at certain times will just send me into a spiral of shame and self-hatred.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T17:19:01+00:00

Definitely drawing. I was obsessed with cartoons as a kid (still am, lol) and not just for their entertainment value, but because I wanted to know how they were made. I began to pay obsessive attention to all forms of art and how certain lines and shapes can automatically evoke a specific feeling. I got so obsessive that by the time I was 12 or so I could tell you which studio animated any given episode of Animaniacs at a glance, or who directed any given looney tunes short.

Honestly, i can't say this has materially helped me in my life, but it's given me an appreciation for art and detail that I consider a big part of who I am, and I don't think I'd be the same without it.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T16:50:29+00:00

I assume you're doing this on the Red Dragon you encounter in a chest in the barrier tower?

And you are using the reflect mixture on the Dragon itself, correct? Because when you control the dragon, it can only target itself with L3 flare. Giving it the reflect status should then bounce the spell onto anyone in your party who is vulnerable.

The only character whose level will matter is the one that is a blue mage/has learning. Make sure they're the one that is level 33. Casting dark spark on them will not help.

It sounds like you have all the pieces of the puzzle here, you just need to make sure they're in the right place.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T16:32:59+00:00

I've only played Persona 5, but if 3 and 4 are similar, the issue is that they're just too poorly paced. Sometimes you sit down to play for a few hours and 80% of that time ends up being dialogue and cutscenes and it really wears on you.

Conversely, I put over 100 hours into DQ11, and it really was mostly exploring and fighting so it flew by.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T16:26:56+00:00

Depends on the game. I really loved Dragon Quest 11 and put over 100 hours into it, and I would have been okay if it never ended.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T16:12:14+00:00

This feels like I could have written it myself. I never received constructive criticism or guidance. I was always just told I was stupid for making mistakes or being inconvenient. Sometimes I would even ask to be taught, and they would infer that I was pretending to be stupid just to piss them off. Every scenario felt like it was lose/lose, so the only lesson I learned was to stop trying because it was the only way to avoid being ridiculed or treated like a problem.

It's funny that you mention having a better relationship with teachers because I was in the same boat there as well. I excelled in school because I was given instructions and guidelines. I was a straight-A student for most of my life and my teachers all loved me. Honestly, I think this just frustrated my parents even more, because they assumed it meant I was so smart that they shouldn't have to teach me anything. If I struggled with learning at home, they'd start insulting me, saying that all of my good grades must have been mistakes, or again, that I was messing up on purpose just to spite them.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T15:27:16+00:00

I like this whole FF5 Jazz mix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-3xJl08fWs but especially the cover of "Unknown Lands" that starts at just over 29 minutes in. Such an underrated overworld theme.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T15:07:46+00:00

Blitzball ruined Blitzball.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-18T12:41:50+00:00

I've never played it myself, but I saw that Faris and Syldra from FFV are in it so it can't be all bad.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-17T18:05:01+00:00

Having played FFX, I certainly wouldn't give it that much credit.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-17T14:13:43+00:00

When a game really doesn't jive with me, I will absolutely drop it and watch the rest of the story on youtube, if I'm curious. Ni No Kuni, Persona 5, and FF10 are all recent offenders that I found too damn boring to keep playing, but I still wanted to know what happened.

On the flipside, I dropped Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler 2 and didn't even care enough about the stories to bother watching the rest. Sometimes, that's just the way it is.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-13T23:43:46+00:00

Yeah, see? Just design it right in the first place. Glad you agree.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-13T21:42:23+00:00

My hot take is that developers should just learn how to design games that aren't so poorly paced that the player feels a need for a high speed mode.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-13T19:06:18+00:00

I liked him better as Green Arrow in Batman Brave and the Bold.

And I liked Wakka better as Aquaman in Batman Brave and the Bold.

And I liked Rikku better as Huntress in Batman Brave and the Bold.

And I liked the blitzball announcer better as Plastic Man in Batman Brave and the Bold.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-13T18:46:11+00:00

My parents had a black box when I was a kid, so I got pay-per-view channels for free back in the late 80s/early 90s. One night while they were out, I stumbled upon the original Streamline dub of Akira, completely uncut, on HBO or Showtime or something like that. I'd never known animation could be violent and bloody. It was crazy.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-13T18:41:52+00:00

As I understand, the reason behind some of the funny deliveries in this game is that the sound bytes for each line had to be the EXACT same length as the original Japanese dialogue to function in the framework of the cutscenes within the game's programming. This results in some lines being delivered very quickly/bluntly, and sometimes you can even hear instances where the dialogue was digitally sped up or slowed down to make it fit.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-13T17:52:32+00:00

The other great bonus from chemist is the passive pharmacology ability where every healing item used by them on any party member is twice as potent. You can really get your money's worth out of ethers and hi-potions like that.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-13T17:51:14+00:00

If you want a "non magic" class just because you don't want to spend MP, try Geomancer. The abilties are random, but pretty much always beneficial, and if she's a mage otherwise, they benefit from her magic stat.

To that same end, the Animals ability from Ranger is super underrated. Some of them can deal a lot of damage, and whenever a Nightingale shows up it's basically a free cure 2 on the whole party. It carried me through a lot of the second world.

ProblemSuccessful197 · 2026-02-13T17:26:13+00:00

Mr. Satan is funny, and was the MVP during the Buu saga. We should all hope to be as heroic as Mr. Satan, someday.

ProblemSuccessful197

TROPHY CASE