Games with poor play balance

[Zach Morris]

I was at gamefaqs the other day. I wandered into the Final Fantasy 7 faq listings. I saw faqs for

 

1. Initial Equip walkthru

2. Low level walkthru

3. Initial Equip low level walkthru

4. No materia walkthru

5. Lone player walkthru

 

and my favorite

 

6. Initial equip, low level, no materia lone player walkthru.

 

All of these faqs are examples of a game with very poor game balance. A game should not be designed where players need to create ways to entertain themselves. These faqs are just hints that players are crying out for games you just can't breeze through with ease.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

I was at gamefaqs the other day.  I wandered into the Final Fantasy 7 faq listings.  I saw faqs for

 

1.  Initial Equip walkthru

2.  Low level walkthru

3.  Initial Equip low level walkthru

4.  No materia walkthru

5.  Lone player walkthru

 

and my favorite

 

6.  Initial equip, low level, no materia lone player walkthru.

 

All of these faqs are examples of a game with very poor game balance.  A game should not be designed where players need to create ways to entertain themselves.  These faqs are just hints that players are crying out for games you just can't breeze through with ease.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Actually they are more examples of people with too much time on their hands..

 

Most are totally irrelevent because they say level to 99 (max level in FFVI) where in normal play you wont pass 50 or 60. I've played all the FF's bar 3 and never reached 99.

 

These faqs are also written by people who play games into double figures. Try playing FFVII low level challenge without prior experience and see how far you get :D

[Nick_i_am]

Star Ocean 3 and Valkyrie Profile have nice difficalty settings, but lets face it, with RPGs, 'difficalty' of combat really shouldn't be the lead reason for a replay.

 

Lack of replayability only shows up the main weaknesses of console RPGs.

[Sammael]

Unbalanced? Try the last Might & Magic game (was it IX? I don't remember... I just remember how horrible it is). At about midway through the game, you can acquire a spell called divine intervention, which grants the benefits of resting, including spell regeneration. So, in a tough fight, just make sure you have enough mana (or whatever it was) left, and cast divine intervention. Rinse and repeat.

[2and2is5]

Finding an RPG with good balance made before 2000 is like finding a needle in a haystack. Making a game consistently hard all the way through is an art, one hard to perfect. Even BIS games (ie Fallout = just shoot em in the eye) have balance problems. But that's not why I play RPG's. It's the excellent story (and you can't beat BIS on that). Games with great story, interesting combat, AND balance? I can only think of KOTOR, which I guess is why I'm on this board.

 

But, yeah, those people who write Faq's for beating games without upgrading weapons, or who play Final Fantasy until they're level 99 ... I wish I had their job, where they can sit around playing games all day.

[Zach Morris]

Actually they are more examples of people with too much time on their hands..

 

Most are totally irrelevent because they say level to 99 (max level in FFVI) where in normal play you wont pass 50 or 60. I've played all the FF's bar 3 and never reached 99.

 

These faqs are also written by people who play games into double figures. Try playing FFVII low level challenge without prior experience and see how far you get :D

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That's a good point. I didn't think of that. But yeah I guess my point is you don't really see that for KOTOR. You don't see the "no lightsaber, force power, low level walkthru because the game was not a complete breeze.

[Drakron]

Check the date on FF VII guides ... thats right, 2005 on what is a PS one game.

 

FF VII is a much loved game, KotOR have a very vocal number of fanboys but they would be bitch slapped by FF fanboys.

 

The fact that KotOR lacks the guides for that kind of thing just shows the game is simply too easy, doing a "no grid/no summons" FF X run would be hard as hell and requires a guide for pointers as what is the point of doing so for KotOR?

 

The enemies level at the same time as the party, there are medpacks and a lot of other stuff lying around making a "no level, no force powers, no lightsaber" run very viable without the need for a expecific guide for it.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

That's a good point.  I didn't think of that.  But yeah I guess my point is you don't really see that for KOTOR.  You don't see the "no lightsaber, force power, low level walkthru because the game was not a complete breeze.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thats because KOTOR isnt a fraction as popular as FFVII or a fraction as difficult. Not using a lightsaber in KOTOR not a huge deal, some melee weapons are more powerful. I did my first game with an armoured Jedi with an AC of 50 ish and nothing could touch him. Force powers were just something to add some variation to the combat.Armour cuts off about 80% of force powers anyway. The only stumbling block was Maleks cheesey end battle, but that just meant having to fight him 7 or 8 times and healing up when he ran off.

 

If you read the KOTOR boards most people seem to be into powerbuilds and making the game even easier than it is and KOTOR is a very easy game to begin with.

 

I replayed it over the weekend to get into practice for KOTOR II and basically walked it.

 

I assume you are familiar with holding your levels so you can have a 2/18 whatever? Being able to complete Taris at level 2 is quite doable and yet your actually supposed to leave Taris at level 8 or even level 9...

[roshan]

The only game I have found that is fairly challenging(not too much though) and interesting(combatwise) throughout was Icewind Dale 1. When willwe get an rpgwherecombat is actually difficult!?

[Exitium]

Arcanum. Nuff said.

[Loof]

Arcanum. Nuff said.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Are you saying that Arcanum had poor gamebalance or that it was hard?

 

The first I can agree with... it had one of the crapyest systems i have ever seen, but it definetly wasnt hard...

 

...hmm... I think I just answered my question.... ohh well <_<

[ThriKreen]

I assume you are familiar with holding your levels so you can have a 2/18 whatever? Being able to complete Taris at level 2 is quite doable and yet your actually supposed to leave Taris at level 8 or even level 9...

 

Heh, beat the arena on Taris at level 2 - now THAT was tough. Good thing the last guy was weak against grenades and I had a nice stockpile since I rarely used them.

[Exitium]

Arcanum. Nuff said.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Are you saying that Arcanum had poor gamebalance or that it was hard?

 

The first I can agree with... it had one of the crapyest systems i have ever seen, but it definetly wasnt hard...

 

...hmm... I think I just answered my question.... ohh well <_<

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Poor game balance. It wasn't hard, but BMC was impossible for gunsmiths with no followers. They got really screwed because the enemies resisted all their attacks.

 

The system was just horrible, since you had only 1 point to spend on your stats as well as skills. It wasn't balanced at all.

 

The combat made it all the worse.

[Zach Morris]

Thats because KOTOR isnt a fraction as popular as FFVII or a fraction as difficult. Not using a lightsaber in KOTOR not a huge deal, some melee weapons are more powerful. I did my first game with an armoured Jedi with an AC of 50 ish and nothing could touch him. Force powers were just something to add some variation to the combat.Armour cuts off about 80% of force powers anyway. The only stumbling block was Maleks cheesey end battle, but that just meant having to fight him 7 or 8 times and healing up when he ran off.

 

If you read the KOTOR boards most people seem to be into powerbuilds and making the game even easier than it is and KOTOR is a very easy game to begin with.

 

I replayed it over the weekend to get into practice for KOTOR II and basically walked it.

 

I assume you are familiar with holding your levels so you can have a 2/18 whatever? Being able to complete Taris at level 2 is quite doable and yet your actually supposed to leave Taris at level 8 or even level 9...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I did go through KOTOR and got off of Taris as a level 2 scout. I died a couple of times in KOTOR. In FF7 (I am playing now and am about to hit the second disk so I haven't completed the game yet) is a complete breeze. The battles have no absolute thought to them. I just hold down the fight button and when some one gets low on health just have Aeris heal them. I don't see where you say FF7 is more difficult than KOTOR. Unless FF7 gets super difficult on the second and third disk, FF7 is embarrassingly easy. KOTOR I atleast had to put a little thought into some of the battles.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

I did go through KOTOR and got off of Taris as a level 2 scout.  I died a couple of times in KOTOR.  In FF7 (I am playing now and am about to hit the second disk so I haven't completed the game yet) is a complete breeze.  The battles have no absolute thought to them.  I just hold down the fight button and when some one gets low on health just have Aeris heal them.  I don't see where you say FF7 is more difficult than KOTOR.  Unless FF7 gets super difficult on the second and third disk, FF7 is embarrassingly easy.  KOTOR I atleast had to put a little thought into some of the battles.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

All I'm going to say is enjoy it while you can.

 

KOTOR is a short game, FFVII is rather large so in KOTOR terms on disk one, your not even to the selectable planets yet.

 

Anyway what were you doing looking at FAQs for a game you were playing ?

[Zach Morris]

Well I did play the game when I first bought it. I stopped playing right after I hit disk 2. I stopped playing because I was bored with the battles. I started playing it recently and am actually enjoying it (minus most of the battles) for the story. I was at Gamefaqs to see what that locker combination was in shinra mansion because I was too lazy to search for it the real way.

[Loof]

Come back when you have killed ruby and emerald weapon and tell me FF7 is a walk in the park

[Zach Morris]

O.K. I will. I'm on the second disk now.