I decided to go ahead and put Ni no Kuni on hold for awhile. I'll probably come back to it, but the lack of the all-out defense command was getting on my nerves. Also, I might need to reconsider my current familiar setup, or just go ahead and evolve the blasted things already - I don't need my stats fully maxed to make the most use of them.
Instead, I've gone back to my playthrough of Final Fantasy V. I must admit, it didn't intially grab me the way I thought it would, but now that I'm close to the end of the game (about to tackle the tower that makes you split your party up), the payoff is starting to get better. I've been playing this run mostly blind - that is, without reading up too much on which classes are supposed to be the best ones - but the game seems to be pretty flexible about how you play it. I'll probably finish it within the week and start on VI right afterwards. I've been playing the FF Anthology version because that's what I have (a friend gave me both discs for free some time back), and aside from some weird graphical glitches on the save menu (disc scratches, or a bug in the game?), it's been fine. I may end up getting the GBA version someday, though, and playing through it.
At some point I'd like to pick up where I left off on Final Fantasy reviews, but I don't have the willpower to start the next one at the moment. Ah well. Maybe someday...
Yeah, on my digital version of FFV there are weird bugs on the save and start menus; it's probably a glitch in the game.
are you playing the PsONE versions on PSP? They do have some weird things, I've noticed myself, and the load times suck as well. I think the GBA versions are the way to go.
Final Fantasy V is a game I've grown to appreciate more and more over the years. At first I was disappointed over the lack of splash and bravado in it compared to its 16-bit siblings, but it really is quite a subtle and elegant package. Also, I think the GBA version of FFV is the best version released in the US.
Hey man, I wouldn't worry reviewing at this point. Just enjoy playing Final Fantsy V and whatever else you want to get to. Sometimes it's just better give your mind a break from analyzing a game for the sake of writing. Enjoy your play through!
I haven't played Final Fantasy V yet (which is shameful, because I've owned the GBA version since it came out), so this will be some simple speculation on my part. You mention that game is flexible and that it allows you to get through the game with the class combinations you like. I wonder if the game's difficulty was purposely kept on the low side to accommodate that. I know FFII was like that, because the developers had no clue how your characters would be developed at any given point. As for FFV, I suppose if the game were harder everyone would stick with the tried-and-true options, which would render many of the other options useless.
FF V is the only game in the main series I haven't finished. I've started it at least 6 times, but it can never hold me. My best time is about 20 hours on the GBA version.
I don't know if it's the characters, the emphasis on the Job system over the story, or the fact that I don't care for the soundtrack, but something keeps me from finishing this one.
I haven't played FFV yet but I have the digital version on my PS3. Got it for free when I joined PS+ so I'll probably play that, though I'd prefer to get the GBA version. But first I wanna play the Dawn of Souls version of FFII. Played FFI...goodness, almost two years ago and meant to go right onto FFII but got distracted away by something.