[Sean]

Cecil started off at level 10, for me. Kain was 10 when he joined my party.

As I've previously stated, I've only played up to the point where you first meet Tellah, then I got stuck and quit playing it. During the time I played, I remember it being much harder than this...

Didn't Cecil and Rosa get into it, and Cecil was about to be arrested so he and Kain fled Castle Baron to do their mission to get forgiveness from the king, then Rosa ran after him and contracted desert fever?

I distinctly remember having to escape the castle while being attacked, but I remember not making it past the point I'm about to get to.

[relm]

FFII SNES was WAY more harder in the begninning...
In the beginning, tellah and rydia were almost worthless
because their hit % was so low. Man, FFIV advance was
not really a challenge to me, compared to FFII...

I don't really understand why SE wants to
water down the difficulty on these final fantasys.
I think the challenge of playing these games
for the very first time @ their original difficulty
made it more fun!.. :/

[LocoColt04]

Unfortunately, the majority of the playerbase does not share our sentiment.

"These games are too hard, it was a waste of our money!"

Many, MANY people like to play games solely for the story and the pretty graphics, and don't want any difficulty keeping them from viewing such things. Those are the same kinds of people who I personally feel should just pick up a good book or rent a good movie some time, and give the rest of us real players a chance to enjoy our fucking videogames. When there's no challenge, I'm disappointed. Without a challenge, I don't think a story means anything. Nothing can make up for a game that takes no skill or strategy to complete.

[Plastik Assassin]

Loco makes a great point. Challenge is good. Although, the majority of casual gamers probably don't feel that way. Its a shame...

Let us not forget what Square is though. They are a business. They are here to make money. They love their fans and all, but bottom line is, well, the bottom line. The majority of players out there want something fun and engaging, yet fairly easy gaming experience. Dumbing a game down to appeal to a broader market is good business sense. Sure, some players out there will be let down, but once the checks start rolling in, I doubt that anyone up top even cares.

[Dragoon_Nick]

Originally Posted by Plastik Assassin

...The majority of players out there want something fun and engaging, yet fairly easy gaming experience...

I doubt that people who play RPG's will agree with that statement since it is partially controversial. Fairly easy gaming is definitely not what a gamer should search for whilst choosing a game. On the contrary, difficulty is. Not only does difficulty give you more hours of play (due to retry), but it gives the game an essence which consumes the the gamer's interest.

I certainly agree that FFIV advance was too easy and thus provided no challenge. FFIV may even be a mockery of the original SNES version. (BTW was made easier in the transfer from JPN to USA....or i think...).

Also when making a game; logically,you might want to act like you're playing the actual game. That being said, you would want to create interest as well as difficulty in that game. However difficulty only goes a certain degree since interest is lost quickly in a too diffcult game. (Put down the game and go ride a bike?) I think SE tried to tilt the original balance to give FF "noobs" a chance to finish the game. Which is why hardcore, pro veterans were greatly upset by the difficulty downset.

[TomStrife]

The one thing that ticks me off is that 9/10 of difficult RPGs are only hard because of the boss fights.

I found FF4 the same difficulty when you get to the Baron Castle and fight King Baron or whoever was disguised as it.

[supershiva]

I agree, and one thing that really gets me po'd is that they made cecil run about 2000 mph! wtf??? anyway I agree with tom strife that boss battles are way too easy!(you were right the king of baron turned into the second elemental boss, chammiazzo)

[scamrock]

And do you guys notice that its the US versions released for Nintendo systems that are watered down. On FFII for NES, not only do we get easy type, but half of the script is lost in translation(or just flat left out). Then, once again, on the FFIV Advance, difficulty is allegedly toned down (I say allegedly because I haven't played it personally, but I'll take your word for it). And they cover it up by adding all of this extra stuff.

Which they also did with the original FF. Sure, the extra bonus stuff gave a little more to do. It gave some weapons better than Masmune and Excalibur. But it was WAY easy to beat. I thought it was much easier than the original release for NES.

So its not suprising that we didn't see FFII/III/V for all those years. I don't know if it was Square or Nintendo at fault for us having to wait. But I like to say it was Nintendo. The people that gave us a slightly altered version of Doki Doki Panic instead of the real SMB2 that was obviously way to much for us Americans.

[Gary]

I guess they figure if it's more easy, more people will buy the re-release it for sure. Nobody wants to play a game thats too hard. All of you have, and it sucks to quit playing a game simply because it's just too difficult. But, yeah, the GBA ports of the FF Series as a whore are watered down. The only option I've seen is with The PSX version of Final Fantasy I. There is an Easy mode and a Normal mode. I thought that was pretty cool.

[scamrock]

Originally Posted by Gary

Nobody wants to play a game thats too hard. All of you have, and it sucks to quit playing a game simply because it's just too difficult.

The only game I really get mad enough to quit on is Ninja Gaiden when you die on the last boss(es) and have to go back to the start of the level. But I've never really had any problems with the difficulty in a Final Fantasy. I guess maybe cause I tend to over level. That comes from my first RPG being Dragon Warrior. The entire game consists of grinding levels, get an important item, grind levels, save princess, grind levels, get another important item, then grind a little more.

[FF_FrEaK]

Honestly...the newer FF's are too easy like FFX i finished that faster than i thought i would and I dont know why people say that RPGs are hard....thats why you train and grow levels with the people in your party....in my opinion the reason for RPG's is to have fun and customize a character the way you want him not to try and get through the game in a hurry.

[Gary]

Originally Posted by FF_FrEaK

Honestly...the newer FF's are too easy like FFX i finished that faster than i thought i would and I dont know why people say that RPGs are hard....thats why you train and grow levels with the people in your party....in my opinion the reason for RPG's is to have fun and customize a character the way you want him not to try and get through the game in a hurry.

Word.
FFX was WAY to easy. They made it very linear so more people could get into it, and eventually beat it, CONQUER IT. It created a new fanbase, bridging the gap between FF old schoolers and the next generation of gamers.

[Kain FF4]

I like it when my FF games are hard. I makes it more interesting and engaging. But my problem is that I always take like two hours to level up after i get a new character (you know to get them to about the same level as the others) and that seems to make it ALOT easier, which is still fun because you can kill a boss in like 3 hits. That is why i like how in some games new characters come at nearly the same level to begin with.

[SailorCallie]

I love FFIVA to death, but my only complaint is that the strategy guide published by Nintendo did not cover the Trials 100%, therefore leaving me in the dark without any maps and strategies for all characters.