The answer is easy: do whichever Omicron is not playing, then get into arguments with him about characterization and such without ever specifying you're playing a different version.
the good news is that I am plagued with the exact same question and still haven't settled on an answer
apparently Jason Schreier suggested he has insider knowledge that a FFT remaster is in the works but it hasn't been officially announced yet but making us choose and go through one of the old ones only to release a proper modern remaster just as we finish would definitely be an incredibly funny move on Squeenix's part
Hmmm, he said that in June, too... in that case I change my vote to IX first. As long as you do Tactics before X (and thus, avoid jumping to 3d backgrounds and voice acting and back again) it should be fine - dev teams start splitting here anyway such that you can't really say one game is an evolution of another exactly.
From what I can piece together from wikpedia, Tactics was made at HQ by veterans of Ogre Battle, VIII was made by the main team from VII, IX was made by a separate team working in Hawaii as a compromise so both the Japanese and American devs would be equally jetlagged all the time (and development started while VIII was still in the works), X was AFIK made by the VIII team after they finished that, and XII was made by the Tactics team with a few pieces of the IX team brought on. And then things go from "under the hood" HD to actual HD and development stories get a lot more complicated.
The big thrust is that from what I can tell, it sounds like VIII, Tactics, and IX were all made by separate teams, and so the three can basically be done in any order without interrupting flow of tracking inspirations or series evolution - none of them could really draw on each other, though VIII and IX could both draw on VII in a way Tactics couldn't.
edit: more importantly I'd be a hypocrite to criticize too much here since I got into FF with IX in 2000 because I happened to play the new release at a friend's house, and then after beating it went and played other Playstation FFs afterwards so you definitely wouldn't be breaking the "as it would have been experienced at the time" lol
Yeah I'll also put my vote towards doing Tactics any time before X, much as I'd like doing it next I have no problems waiting until after IX.
And version-wise, I'll once again recommend War of the Lions, but I'm sure you'll have people playing along whichever version you don't play when we get there.
Having played both, I'm more interested in seeing how the original release plays. For the most part the combat is the same, and I presume emulators will be involved.
Looking at the actual source material of FF7 showed a lot of interesting perspectives, and while War of the Lions is mostly unchanged, trying to decipher what was actually the base story vs. what was added in due to fan reaction a decade later would be an extra distortion.
As a potential point to consider, how are the mechanics of either FF Tactics and FFIX in terms of jank?
It would be nice if one or the other could be a sort of palate-cleanser to the mechanical wonkiness of FFVIII. Not just in terms of "character builds and battle tricks", but also stuff like loading screens, character swaps, and menu navigation.
I've never played FF Tactics, so I don't know how it is. I have played FFIX, but I suspect I must have done it in a fugue state of some sort, because I remember almost nothing about it.
The biggest jank for Tactics if you're playing the original is trying to get past the mistranslations in the script (which IIRC get to the point of making it unclear what abilities are/are supposed to do at points) - and the PSP version with a less jank translation apparently had longer load times
I think Omicron hit the nail on the head when he noted that the GFs are used for the huge reveal about the orphanage and then the plotline is completely discarded afterwards with nary a peep about continuing to use the GFs.
apparently Jason Schreier suggested he has insider knowledge that a FFT remaster is in the works but it hasn't been officially announced yet but making us choose and go through one of the old ones only to release a proper modern remaster just as we finish would definitely be an incredibly funny move on Squeenix's part
Not insider knowledge, there was a bigass Nvidia leak a while back, which was a shockingly accurate list of unannounced games, most of which have since been announced or released so it's been proven to be extremely reliable. Of specific note is that the list included both an FFT remaster and an FF9 remake, so you're probably fucked in this regard whichever way you go!
Huh, this just got posted onto my Youtube subs today. Funny coincidence.
Not insider knowledge, there was a bigass Nvidia leak a while back, which was a shockingly accurate list of unannounced games, most of which have since been announced or released so it's been proven to be extremely reliable. Of specific note is that the list included both a FFT remaster and an FF9 remake, so you're probably fucked in this regard whichever way you go!
Not quite. IX has a playable version on Steam that works fine. Tactics is ROM only on PC and then devil's choice between bad load times and bad translation
Not quite. IX has a playable version on Steam that works fine. Tactics is ROM only on PC and then devil's choice between bad load times and bad translation
The good news is if one is emulating anyway, that significantly reduces the hassle of PSP load times (and most emulators can speed up the virtual disc reading a bit in exchange for the occasional hiccup in compatibility). PSX FFT has a really, really terrible translation even below the usual "got an intern to do it" levels - it is a step above Google Translate.
WotL has a more accurate translation but renders everything in Ye Olde English pastiche. Either one is okay.
I admit I'm a little curious how far the "Ye Olde English" thing goes for the FF Tactics retranslation, given it seems to be something everyone comments on when talking about the retranslation.
Especially when taking into account Omicron (and many other commenters in this thread) being players of FFXIV, which has garnered its own share of criticisms about "too much Olde English". Should we be asking about the FF Tactics retranslation on a scale of 1 to Urianger?
Hmm...Seems the thread hive mind can't reach a consensus about whether Omicron
should play either version of FFT or just play FFIX so may I suggest a compromise option?
<clears throat>Why not Zoidberg Vagrant Story?...Please put down the torches & pitchforks and just hear me out first okay?!
Its not a particularly long game and I'm curious about what of kind analyses Omicron
would have of the story & setting of a dark fantasy game like Vagrant Story.
I admit I'm a little curious how far the "Ye Olde English" thing goes for the FF Tactics retranslation, given it seems to be something everyone comments on when talking about the retranslation.
Especially when taking into account Omicron (and many other commenters in this thread) being players of FFXIV, which has garnered its own share of criticisms about "too much Olde English". Should we be asking about the FF Tactics retranslation on a scale of 1 to Urianger?
Whereas the OG translation translated "Mind Flayer" as "mindflare", lich as "rich", breath as "bracelet", and managed to somehow mix up the names of the "blaze gun" and the "glacial gun".
Whereas the OG translation translated "Mind Flayer" as "mindflare", lich as "rich", breath as "bracelet", and managed to somehow mix up the names of the "blaze gun" and the "glacial gun".
'Good' old "This was the darkened items won't appear"/"Items being used are items used in battle"/"Defeat X's Elder Brother" (meaning X) OG Translation.
Like, some banger lines were lost in the new translation, but at least it's, you know, comprehensible?