FFTA ought to win an award for being impossible to understand.

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Jamie Kahn Genet - 05 Aug 2007 09:39 GMT

How the hell do I tell which item is better? Which character can wear
what item (can any character wear any armor, for example?)? How the hell
do I know what the TLA's for the classes are and how they relate to
skills on items and the class of the character wielding them? WTF were
they thinking designing this game? Fine - make an obscure game. Don't
provide any in game information beyond the basics. But at least put this
information in the manual. No, on second thoughts - that is far to
annoying. Who wants to consult the manual or go through trial and error
for every damn thing?

Arrgh - I'm ready to give up. Am I missing something? How did this game
get such excellent reviews? Are only FF fans playing it? How else do
they know HOW?

Regards,
Jamie Kahn Genet

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is that it has never tried to contact us." - Calvin and Hobbes (Bill
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Ross Ridge - 08 Aug 2007 20:41 GMT

>How the hell do I tell which item is better?

You can see the stats of an item by selecting it on the item list.
When equiping an item you can press Start to see what difference it
makes to the character's stats.

> Which character can wear what item (can any character wear any armor,
>for example?)?

From the item list, press the A button to see what jobs can use the item.
When equiping, items that character cannot equip will be greyed out.

>How the hell do I know what the TLA's for the classes are ...

It should be pretty obvious. When equiping items you shouldn't have
any trouble matching up the abbrevation with the character's full job
name displayed on the screen. The little icon beside the TLA should
also help you figure things out.

>... and how they relate to skills on items and the class of the character
>wielding them?

A character can't use the ability unless he or she equips the item and
has the same job as displayed beside the ability. (Once the ability
is mastered however, it can be used without equiping the item or having
the required job.)

>WTF were they thinking designing this game? Fine - make an obscure game.

Its targetted at a novice players, and is very easy.

> Don't provide any in game information beyond the basics. But at least
>put this information in the manual. No, on second thoughts - that is
>far to annoying. Who wants to consult the manual or go through trial
>and error for every damn thing?

Most of what I've mentioned is given in the manual, but if you're not
willing to read it, no, it's not going to be of much help.

Ross Ridge

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l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~rridge/
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Jamie Kahn Genet - 09 Aug 2007 05:33 GMT

> >How the hell do I tell which item is better?
>
> You can see the stats of an item by selecting it on the item list.
> When equipping an item you can press Start to see what difference it
> makes to the character's stats.

Not that I can see. Select in the store only lists the items name again
and it's abilities. Fat lot of good that does me if I want to know
whether one item is better than another, who can use this item, and of
course the list of abilities is meaningless because the game and manual
never say you have to be that class the ability belongs too. I guessed
this was the case, but the whole learning abilities outside of your
class bit confused me and made me wonder.

> > Which character can wear what item (can any character wear any armor,
> >for example?)?
>
> From the item list, press the A button to see what jobs can use the item.
> When equipping, items that character cannot equip will be greyed out.

That I did not know. I'll give it ago.

> >How the hell do I know what the TLA's for the classes are ...
>
> It should be pretty obvious. When equipping items you shouldn't have
> any trouble matching up the abbreviation with the character's full job
> name displayed on the screen. The little icon beside the TLA should
> also help you figure things out.

The icons are pretty meaningless to me. What about the ones that blink
between two different ones? What does that mean?

> >... and how they relate to skills on items and the class of the character
> >wielding them?
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> is mastered however, it can be used without equipping the item or having
> the required job.)

So why don't they TELL you this? Arrrgh! Thank you!

> >WTF were they thinking designing this game? Fine - make an obscure game.
>
> Its targetted at a novice players, and is very easy.

I suppose it is if you don't care to know WTF you're doing.

> > Don't provide any in game information beyond the basics. But at least
> >put this information in the manual. No, on second thoughts - that is
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> Ross Ridge

I read it first thing as I always do before even running the game. Then
I got to the shop. I re-read the manual. I realise there's no way to
tell if an item is useful for me (based on no useful info in the manual
and just a repeat of the item's name and a list of abilities I have zero
clue about, if I hit select for help). I consult FAQs. Zero help there
either. Apparently you just either somehow magically KNOW how to play
this game, or you bumble through with trial and error. And that is no
fun at all. Such bad game design that I can hardly believe it. It's
SCARILY bad.

Meh, I take back anything I said about trying again. I'm too disgusted.
Back to Chrono Trigger for now...

Regards,
Jamie Kahn Genet

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If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

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Ross Ridge - 09 Aug 2007 18:22 GMT

Ross Ridge <rridge@caffeine.csclub.uwaterloo.ca> wrote:

> You can see the stats of an item by selecting it on the item list.
> When equipping an item you can press Start to see what difference it
> makes to the character's stats.

>Not that I can see. Select in the store only lists the items name again
>and it's abilities.

On the party item list and in stores you don't need to push any button
to see the currently selected item's stats, they're displayed on the
lower half of the screen. You can press the R button to see the item's
abilities.

>The icons are pretty meaningless to me. What about the ones that blink
>between two different ones? What does that mean?

Each job/race combination gets it's own icon, and the flashing between
two or more icons means that all those races with that job can use
the ability.

>> A character can't use the ability unless he or she equips the item and
>> has the same job as displayed beside the ability. (Once the ability
>> is mastered however, it can be used without equipping the item or having
>> the required job.)
>
>So why don't they TELL you this? Arrrgh! Thank you!

It's mentioned in a number of places in the manual, pages 28, 29, 34
and 35 in my USA version. It's also documented in game under the
"! Abilities" rumor topic in pubs.

Ross Ridge

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l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~rridge/
db //

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