DDFF Meme: Day 14: Worst Character Alteration.

[railenthe]

 

…actually, I had to stop and think about this one for a while. Because I am largely “OH HAI LETS BRAWL NOW!” my first couple of playthroughs resulted in me paying very little attention to character development. Add that to the fact that there are Final Fantasy titles that I haven’t played to completion, and I had to scour my brain for the answer to this one.

For those looking to troll/bribe me into GETTING ON WITH IT, those titles are III, IV, V, VIII, IX, and XIII. Most of this is due to me not having the respective system (everything past VIII for a very long time, as well as III) or the patience for terribad translations (I’m looking at you, original translation of IV). I have played IV and V to near-completion (Only thing stalling me on V is the fact that I currently do not have custody of the PS2.)

Now, onto the answer to my question, Please note my small inventory of games to choose from in which characters have suffered severe derailment when you read my answer, and please, don’t kill me.

I would have to say that the prize for this particular award goes to…

Terra!

“Now hold up, wait a minute,” you might be saying. “She was massively derailed last game!”

Yes. Last game.

…got déjà vu yet? I wouldn’t be surprised. After all, the lead-in to this entry is a clone of the last one.

And it would still be absolutely true if it weren’t for the fact that her character hadn’t been effectively rerailed thanks to the events of 012 and how its events alter the course of several text-based cutscenes in 013.

BUT!

There’s still a small issue that, no matter how much I logic it away, bothers me about her setup to this day: her gear list.

I know in the translation of her playstyle, it make perfect sense—she’s a black mage for all practical intents and purposes, and so her gear should revolve around this accordingly.

Except that in FFVI it doesn’t.

In FFVI, Terra’s gear is swords, some greatswords, some daggers, heavy armor, female!gear (dresses much?), helms, hairpins/other caster headgear, light armor, and shields. If you showed her a robe or a rod, she’d probably pull the RAGEFACE and ask “Um, excuse me?” and point her greatsword at you and offer a demonstration about how she can cut dreamhares into little sashimi-sized bites with it. Then she’d roast those little sashimi-sized bites with Firaga and offer you a snack.

As far as physical and magical balance went in FFVI, Terra’s stats begin sliding into Disc 1 Nuke/Gamebreaker range pretty early on. Once you get certain Espers, you can slide her firmly into total-gamebreaker stat range—

Plus, she’s got Trance…which if you hold it enough fights can last for a very long time…and it doubles ALL of her stats except for base speed…You build her right, with the right sword, armor, accessories and stat slanting, and she can solo KEFKA. KEFKA!  With melee strikes!  KEFKA!!!

…then DDFF starts and she uses rods. Staves. Robes.  Gone is her armor proficiency, and she has one solitary physical attack—her sword in chase sequences.

WHAT?

I understand it’s for the sake of her gameplay style, but. What. The. Hell.

Now, her style has since grown on me—I do love the black mages of the world—but the fact that the game has taken her from being a Mystic Knight to a straight-up Black Mage really ground my gears for a long time.  What can I say?  I don't like it when they mess too much with the classics.  It BUGGED ME *rage*

 

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