Whats your favorite Level Up System in Final Fantasy?

[Metalmurphy]

Well i just started playing FF8 and got bored after a while couse of the BOOORING draw system and started wandering wich one was better! I think FF9 was the better one with that "learning" system! But i wanna know ur opinion :) :thumb:

[MaZa]

Absolutely best would be FF6: permanently learning from Espers (summon creatures), but since it isnt in your list, ill say FF7: Materia system.

[Metalmurphy]

Well i havent played 6! Well only 10 min anyway! But please do tell me how it works and ill add it to the list!

*edit* or maybe i wont 0_o i cant find out how to edit a poll!

[Valeron]

Haven played FF9. Kinda prefer the learning abilities system of the FFX-2 but since it isnt in the poll , ill go for FF7's materia system :) ...Oh yea , i dislike the FF8's draw and junction system too :(

[Strider]

Added ff6 and fftactics to the poll ;)

i prefer ff6 though

[l3illyl3ob]

a complete poll would have 1 as a buy system, where you buy your abilities, 3 and 5 should fall under tactics's job system, and 4, being the generic learn as you go system. i dont know what 2 is, i only played that for 15 minutes before quitting :p.

anyways, i pick tactics, i'm a sucker for the complex systems with bajillions of character possabilities.

[total_hatred]

FF6 system is the best
it a sort of hybrid of ff7 and ff8 system

[hushypushy]

i like FF7 the best and FF9 second. i like mastering a thing, moving it around....ahh thats good stuff.

[total_hatred]

the only problem is the times you can cast magic
per battle not including the mp cost

[Katsuya]

This poll is too incomplete for a proper vote.

The FF2 system takes a little getting used to but it works well once you know how to manipulate it....

Play Final Fantasy 2 if you have the Following...
(NES or PSone)

1. A brain! (Can?t play without one of these) :agree:

2. Time (takes more time to finish then FF1) :zzz:

3. The ability to try (and finish) new things! (If you don't have this forget it!) :idea:

4. Don't mind strategy (if you can think strategically give it a try) :hdbash:

5. Your own music! (You have to listen to the battle theme a lot, so bring some other tunes and don't get bored!) :dance:

6. Snacks! (optional) :xomunch:

[total_hatred]

hey Katsuya
you forgot something
your game copy
how can you play without it

[Kaiser Sigma]

FFVI all the way... even though some were a pain to learn (Drain 1%)...

[total_hatred]

come on it will only take 100 battles

[Katsuya]

hey Katsuya
you forgot something
your game copy
how can you play without it

That's part of the brain category :)

[Metalmurphy]

Added ff6 and fftactics to the poll ;)

i prefer ff6 though

Thks strider! Why arent we able to edit the pools now?

[Strider]

cause i have administrative controls of the threads ;) the creator of the thread has the ability to delete the first post, hence deleting the thread, but they cant really alter it

[Kidd]

The equipment learning is the best imho. Materia is nice, but the way it was implemented in the game made the characters seem too much alike in battle, imho.

[l3illyl3ob]

i really cant stand the equipment learning system. It forces you to sit with weapons you dont want to sit around with, a real hinder. FF6 was much better in that you learn from non-equipment items, offering more freedom. Despite liking FFT's battle system more, i have to hand it to square with the espers, that's my second favorite system, and causes FF6 to be my favorite FF game.

[Clements]

I prefer the Esper system of Final Fantasy III/6 [Snes] because it was decent, like equiping a certain esper gave you a certain stat increase (as well as learning the spells - of which there are many). You could swap espers around with certain characters to make them a bit stronger and stuff.

[Badaro]

This poll is too incomplete for a proper vote.

The FF2 system takes a little getting used to but it works well once you know how to manipulate it....

Play Final Fantasy 2 if you have the Following...
(NES or PSone)

1. A brain! (Can?t play without one of these) :agree:

2. Time (takes more time to finish then FF1) :zzz:

3. The ability to try (and finish) new things! (If you don't have this forget it!) :idea:

4. Don't mind strategy (if you can think strategically give it a try) :hdbash:

5. Your own music! (You have to listen to the battle theme a lot, so bring some other tunes and don't get bored!) :dance:

6. Snacks! (optional) :xomunch:

I don't like FF2j, however I agree that the power-up system used in it is very interesting, it's similar to the one used in the SaGa series.

And, from the ones listed on the poll, I'd choose with the job system from FF5/FFT.

[]s Badaro

[Kaiser Sigma]

i really cant stand the equipment learning system. It forces you to sit with weapons you dont want to sit around with, a real hinder.

I agree, having to level up for half an hour with a weak weapon is a pain in the rear... equipment learning is of all the systems, IMO, the most boring one...

[Kidd]

having to level up for half an hour with a weak weapon is a pain in the rear... equipment learning is of all the systems, IMO, the most boring one...Sure, if you just want to level up to learn the abilities I guess it ain't interesting at all... but this might just be why people say ff9 is so easy when I found it harder than the other latest ff games. I never stay in one place to level up, I just go on. If I wanted a specific ability learned I'd be sticking with that leather hat for an entire disc if I had to.. this meant that the person is weaker for all this time, just because you want to end up with a specific ability learned and being able to use said ability in the meantime. imho this is a great system as it gives a lot of freedom. You could also just equip equipment for whatever abilities you need in that specific area, not learning a single ability throughout the game but just optimizing your abilities for each area.. that's pretty fun when replaying.

I didn't try to to "win you over" or anything, I just stated why I thought the system was so nice and interesting.

[TastEPlasma]

Greetings,

I had a tough time choosing. I really like the job system of FF5/Tactics, but one thing about it I didnt like was the way it had the potential to make your characters generic in battle, ala FF7. I think FF6 probably had overall the most versatile system which allowed the characters to retain some personality even in battle. That being said (and voted for), I am personally partial to the FF4 system. Reasoning? Well, I think that it is important for each character (in an RPG) to be unique in thier abilities. Although perhaps the buy spells/level up system doesn't leave much to the gamer in terms of customization, it is exactly this restriction which forces you to adapt your tactics depending on which characters you are engaging the enemy forces with. It also emphasizes the characters personality, in that if you want to use "Holy" or call on "Titan", only certain members of the party had those very special abilities. It causes you to think of Rosa as THE white mage, or of Cecil as THE paladin. As I said earlier though, FF6 had a wonderful way of making you think of Sabin as THE martial artist, and still being able to give him Ultima. Thus I am contented with my vote.

(Two side rants:
1. What happened to the Ultima spell? In FF6 it was SO awesome, like this big blue sphere of energy thats all thrombing with the "waaaaAAAAA" and then BOOM (well, more like click, but hey). It had a sense of power. I miss that...
2. You know what else I miss? RPGs with MORE THAN 3 PEOPLE in battle. FF4 had 5, count 'em 5 people in battle, and it made for a much more dynamic and fast paced battle. A bit more difficult at times too. Four is acceptable, so-so, average, etc. But this three people in a battle stuff sucks. I want an ARMY of heroes, damnit. I can remember back in the day when I could walk to school in the snow with no shoes and back in the time it took for my C64 to load Ultima4 so I could fight with EIGHT COMRADES. And every battle we had to take out HORDES of evil minions, without shoes on. Those were the good old days... *begins to drool on himself in nostalgia*) :hdbash:

Sincerely,
TastEPlasma

Currently Playing: Freelancer, KotOR, iRO, Guardian Legend, Call of Duty, PhantasyIII: The Wrath of Nikademus, FF5, BoF4, UT2K3, (mada mada...) :guitar:

[Kidd]

1. What happened to the Ultima spell? In FF6 it was SO awesome, like this big blue sphere of energy thats all thrombing with the "waaaaAAAAA" and then BOOM (well, more like click, but hey). It had a sense of power. I miss that...I'd say it's more of a Ka-CHING, oh well :P imho it's a good thing that they kept it out of the game in ff9, because I think it's pretty bad that you have the Ultimate magic on your side. I mean... if you've got the Ultimate magic, then what could possibly be stronger? How could the last boss cast anything that frightened you as this was THE ultimate spell and you'd be used to it's destructive power from seeing it in 100 random battles? But hey, that's what I think... but I don't think that was your point, your point was that it's looking dull nowadays, and I can't help but agree. They're going worse and worse imho... 6 was great, 7 was pretty cool, 8 was ok and 10.. no, just no.

[Chinoz]

My favourite has got to be Tactics. Sure it takes some time, but it gives you control to do what you want

[Esturk]

I'd have to say FFT's & FF5's Job system are my favorite.

[total_hatred]

to bad square abandoned the job sytem in FF

[hushypushy]

well who knows, they might bring it back....

[Chinoz]

Well, X2 implements something like FFT's job system IMO

[Ipswitch]

i think the materia system was the most fun to use. it wasnt overly complicated (cough juctioning) and had some neat combos. i despised the FFX sphere system. that is all.

[Omegainf]

1. What happened to the Ultima spell? In FF6 it was SO awesome, like this big blue sphere of energy thats all thrombing with the "waaaaAAAAA" and then BOOM (well, more like click, but hey). It had a sense of power. I miss that...

Yeap, "Ultima" was sooooo cool on FF6 but they really ruined it on FF7! It looked like Shrek's fart or something like that. :fart:
It looked ok on FF9 but not as apocalyptic as FF6's :/ I still hope to see a 3D version of that!

[DarkAurora]

Even though I don't like FFT too much(I'm not exactly a big strategy fan), I believe the job level system is the best. I believe it gives you the most control over your characters and allows you to create any types of characters you want.

[Kaiser Sigma]

Well, X2 implements something like FFT's job system IMO

FFTA implements something like that as well, though it's way boring due to the fact that it's an hybrid between the job system and the equipment learning...

[total_hatred]

Equipment learning is totally boring
sphere grid is good if the whole grid is not shared
job system is great if level up give distinctive level up bonuses

[total_hatred]

my wish list is they implement system like this
a class based system
each class has it own skills,class and level up bonuses
and you can change class
scrap the mp system
implement a proficiency sytem
for example a mage has a fire spell and can use it once per battle
the more he uses it he will gain more times he can use it in battle
and a combination of other skills will unlock more powerful skills
there be advanced classes based on your mastered class
you can bind with a specific guardian spirit
each gives a specfic skills and level up bonuses
you can summon it and the times you can summon it is
similar to the skill system
this is almost a virtual perfect system
This is my first extremely long post

[hushypushy]

isnt your profiency thing like FF1? or is it FF2? i remember hearing about how in one of those games, the more you attack, for example boosts strength

[MaZa]

Yeah it was in FF2, but it was bit messed up. For example, you get more max hp depending how much punishment your character get. So blackmage tend to have much more hp than ultimate killermachine fighter or monk. Not very realistic?

total_hatred, you mean something like this with class changing and all:
Your character is a mage with both offensive and defensive magics. You level enough and then you can change your class to Black Mage which gains offensive magics faster and defensive ones slower. Or you can turn to some other mage with bonuses otherway around. Ot fighter can turn either knight or barbarian with different bonuses in different weapons and skills and so on... This sounds bit like Seiken Densetsu 3/Secret Of Mana 2 style. Its really kickass system.
But yeah, they should remove MP system. Its too way overused.

[Kidd]

that's ff2; to get your speed up you would spend hours running away from battles :P but as I despise level up I just went on with a slow party..

[n0estoy]

wait, i dont get how the esper system (ff6) differs from the materia system (ff7)?

[hushypushy]

But yeah, they should remove MP system. Its too way overused.

they tried that with FF8, it didnt work so well...

wait, i dont get how the esper system (ff6) differs from the materia system (ff7)?

they are nearly the same, actually, EXCEPT you can equip multiple materias at once, and you must equip a materia "on" something (weapon, armor). i cant even remember if the espers boosts your stats while they are on you...i wasnt a big fan of it. but materia can boost your stats, that i know.

a big difference: with espers you learn stuff permanently and can pick it anytime. with materia, even if you master it, you can only learn it if it's equipped. but you can equip a bunch of materia so its all good :D

[JanusX]

You forgot my favorite of all -> FF5's job system is the best IMHO

[Kane]

In FF6, IIRC you equip espers as an item, so you can only have up to 2 equipped. The espers also help you to gain (permanent) stat upgrades when you level up and you learn magic spells (again permanently) when they are equipped, much like the equipment system in FF9, but simpler

[Yeloazndevil]

added Final Fantasy X-2 and Ginal Fantasy V to the poll

[destructicator]

no one gives FFVIII's draw system enough credit. i mean, think about it. i love FFVIII and have probably played through it more times than i can count. the draw system, coupled with the refine abilities learned through the GFs can make Squall or any other character a powerhouse right out of Balamb Garden. but still, mad props to all other levelling systems but for FFIX's. that was so wack.

[Yeloazndevil]

FF8 junction system is good, but the drawing of magic was boring as hell

[Strider]

added Final Fantasy X-2 and Ginal Fantasy V to the poll

well, ffv uses a job system, but there was already a job system from fft so i thought job systems in general would go under that ;)


In FF6, IIRC you equip espers as an item, so you can only have up to 2 equipped. The espers also help you to gain (permanent) stat upgrades when you level up and you learn magic spells (again permanently) when they are equipped, much like the equipment system in FF9, but simpler

um, nope, espers are equipped 1 per time, in a separate screen i think you get to from the magic screen... i think youre thinking of relics like the genji glove or black belt. The espers do give permanent stat bonuses on level up though and do permanently teach spells to characters... you can also use the equipped esper in battle though i found it pretty useless

[deathbringer]

come on it will only take 100 battles
Only 10 if you like to fight Intangir ;)

[Proto]

Personally I found the system in FF5 to be the more enjoyable and entertaining. FF6 was good at sçthe begginning but after a while i found myself just mindlessly making random battles to level up instead of enjoying every sinlge one :)

[Katsuya]

FF8 junction system is good, but the drawing of magic was boring as hell

Just speed up the frame rate :)

[Yeloazndevil]

Just speed up the frame rate :)
thats if u play the game on a emu :p

[GSDragoon]

I'm really liking FFXI's level system. All passive and active abilities are gained based on job level. Combine it with a sub job, and you can get their abilities too. Such as a dragoon that can steal subbing thief. Magic is learned from scroll. As long as you meet the level requirement, you can use it and learn the spell for good. Then there are weapon skills. Weapon skills are learned like in Secret of Mana. Keep using that weapon and it will gradually go up. So, a weapon you use a lot will have many weapon skills to own the enemies with. Combat skills such as parry, evation and shield are gained up the same way. Keep getting hit and they will go up. Mixing different leveling up systems has made FFXI very interesting. Personally, I like the classic style of gaining skills from level. I love playing through FFIV gainning tons of levels and making super gods.

[cloudvii]

ffv was the best (but the game wasn't as good)

ff9 was very good too but the leveling up took ages (even when u fight grand dragons u'll take ages to reach level 90+)

ff7 was good too but the fun part was in combining different materia together to give several effects

ff8 was boring , but the good part is that it can give u one of the strongest characters in all ff history (u can beat up any enemy when u r level 20+)

ff10 (i haven't played it much but the sphere grid system was so good)

ff6 wasn't good as u have to choose what esper do u want what item u equip etc . (even the level up system begins after u make a long trip in the game)

ff4 the easiest one , just level up to learn magic and abilities

[Titus03]

I prefer FFVII's. It's not too easy to grow any materia and it's fun to link them. I was disappointed in FFVIII's draw system, because you can have 100 magic, so it's too easy to use them and they will not run out even in one big battle, and junction can be set as "automatic", so you don't need to be creative when using it. FFIX's was too simple, but it's good. Job system in FFIII or in FFV is my second favourite.

[Radix865]

I liked the level up system in FF8 (meaning that you need always 1000exp to get level) but the magic system was best in FF7(materia)...

[Dark Watcher]

We selected FF7's materia system because it was fun stragetically making powerhouse characters that can do it all alone. However sometimes we prefer the strategy of the FF Job systems. Nothing like making a Tank Monk (Monk with armor) or a Ninja Mage (you get the idea)

[GSDragoon]

However sometimes we prefer the strategy of the FF Job systems. Nothing like making a Tank Monk (Monk with armor) or a Ninja Mage (you get the idea)

You would love FFXI then. Right now I have a Thief/Dragoon. It's sooo much fun stacking Sneak and Trick attack (Thief abilities that have to be used in a special way that boots damage a ton) with Dragoon's Jump abilities. It's soooo much fun.

[The Unknown One]

I really enjoyed FFX's Sphere Grid system. The Sphere Grid put limits on your characters in the beginning of the game so that you'll have to decide who is best to combat with in boss battles. Later on, this can be abolished allowing all your characters to learn all abilities and have maximum stats of 255 in almost all categories along with a possibility of 99,999 HP at any one time through a process of sphere grid engineering.

I like having a level up system in which all your characters can be godly and I feel that FFX was the closest FF game that satisfied that. Can someone prove me wrong?

[DeathsaiyanX]

I voted FFVI cause I'm just a dirty old man set in his old school ways.

"Kids and their 3D games...<Dozes off>...<Wakes up>...I remember Pong damn it!!"

[Cid Highwind]

Hmm, familiar thread :)

I love FF5's system, combining stuff. :D
But a system has to fit into a story, FF5's system wouldn't fit in FF7 or 9 for example. And the materia system shouldn't be used as 'materia' in other games, since it's part of FF7's story being condensed MAKO.
FF8's system was too boring because of the infinite drawing.
FF9's system was a great one too, so every weapon wasn't just a power increasement, but it had different abilities, making the weapons more 'special'. Also one of the greatest.
FF6's I didn't like, since it took away the special skills, and would turn everyone into the same character since Ultima was the best spell/skill. But since it fit into the story, I can live with it.
FF3 was nice too, but FF5 of course was a big improvement.
FF4 has some similarities with FF9, and I also like having pre-defined classes, since the characters could have a bigger background, so it add's a lot to the story. (Kain being a great dragoon, like his father, Zidane being part of a thief clan)