Is this game easier than original?

[Mehujäbä]

I just got myself to Mt Bur-Omisace and I have not died even once. When I was a kid playing this on PS2, remember I had died several times at this point, and especially to the Elder Wyrm in jungle area. In this playthrough I haven't even returned to previous areas to grind levels, I just have been playing the story forward.

Was I really dumb kid back then or is this game really easier? :D

[Kerobe]

Yes, the game is easier with the job system

[Hinnyuu]

It's both. The game is certainly easier for a number of reasons, but people having 10 years less experience playing games is also a factor.

If you find the game too easy for your taste, you might want to try a difficulty mod like Struggle for Freedom.

[Scheneighnay]

Definitely, especially since they added secondary jobs.

[Serafie1999AD]

The game is both easier and harder than the original. In the original game, I could make everyone into physical fighters and tanks, who can also heal, cast offensive spells, use Green and Time Magick, have much more MP since Quickenings give you 3 MP bars, and everyone can use Charge if you ever run out of MP. The only limiting factor is the amount of time it takes you to grind for all this, but ultimately, all of my characters were stronger at the end of the vanilla PS2 version than at the end of the Steam version. Having 1-2 jobs for each character means you can't have everyone become good at everything (which is the main reason why I prefer the Zodiac job system: characters can no longer become all-capable clones of each other).

What IZJS and TZA versions do is that they give you a speed boost, and TZA gives you a quick save feature as well. The speed boost is a quality of life feature that makes grinding take 1/2 or 1/4 of the time (1/3 in the IZJS version) it would take on the normal speed, and it also makes dungeons take 1/2 or 1/4 of the time they took before. This makes the game feel easier, since you no longer spent an exhausting 1 hour in a dungeon, but only 15-30 minutes. Quick save also means you don't have to worry about the game crashing or you having to quit playing before finding the next save point. In the original version, it can be a problem when you haven't been able to save for 30 minutes, but in TZA, this is no longer an issue, since 1) the game autosaves whenever you enter a new area, and 2) with speed boosts, the 30 minutes without saving becomes only 7.5-15 minutes.

[Arkhne]

Автор сообщения: Serafie1999AD

The only limiting factor is the amount of time it takes you to grind for all this, but ultimately, all of my characters were stronger at the end of the vanilla PS2 version than at the end of the Steam version..

The damage cap is removed in this version, you should hit a LOT harder in this one. In the original on PS2, the damage cap killed most end-game weapons, and magic. Only multi-hit rate/chance were all that really mattered at the end of the PS2 version. Here, your weapons have higher base ATK stats, and you don't have the damage cap, so no, you were not stronger at the end of the PS2 version, you were, in fact, a hell of a lot weaker. Maybe you were SLIGHTLY more versatile in practice (and sure, you were a lot more versatile in theory, but in the end, very little of it mattered, or was even used).

[RAWRmonger]

Oh yeah... I definitely am remembering the MANY times I spent getting thrashed and running back to some crystal in the PS2 version.

It might be because I'm in my second replay, but the first time I played the game, it felt like it had sparsed story: partly because I couldn't piece it together so easily, partly because I ignored the political hoping there would be some romance, but also because going through areas felt so long.

This time I'm having a much more fluid experience and am able to tread through advanced areas before getting the basic character growth/progress from the main quest.

[Anticommonsense]

Frankly i find this version to be a bit easier. Not only does equipment have higher stats, but you will find more dmg lores in the licence pages. So far i've done upto the second esper fight and felt underwhelmed by any difficulty. However I find my self loving the zodiac job system more as it gives reason to use all 6 characters for effective play.

[Jonny Friggin Panic]

Oh Grod... buffing... I hate buffing... it used to be, everyone could maintain their own buffs. Now, if you play a varied group, one or two characters are going to be in an almost constant state of buffing, even with Spellbound licenses all 'round, especially if you play at increased speed. And if one of those characters is your main, it's constantly going to interrupt your flow.

They should have made buffs last longer, and maybe spread them among the classes more (like some tanks having access to Protect and/or Bubble). They also should have made group buffs available sooner... they're less about power increases and more about player playtime convenience.

[Scheneighnay]

Автор сообщения: Jonny Friggin Panic

Oh Grod... buffing... I hate buffing... it used to be, everyone could maintain their own buffs. Now, if you play a varied group, one or two characters are going to be in an almost constant state of buffing, even with Spellbound licenses all 'round, especially if you play at increased speed. And if one of those characters is your main, it's constantly going to interrupt your flow.

They should have made buffs last longer, and maybe spread them among the classes more (like some tanks having access to Protect and/or Bubble). They also should have made group buffs available sooner... they're less about power increases and more about player playtime convenience.

Imo it just means you can focus on more important buffs for each character rather than having everyone able to spam protectga, shellga, hastega, and bravery or faith like they could originally.

But characters are inherently so much stronger that you don't need as many buffs.

[Spliff The Ally]

Автор сообщения: Mehujäbä

I just got myself to Mt Bur-Omisace and I have not died even once. When I was a kid playing this on PS2, remember I had died several times at this point, and especially to the Elder Wyrm in jungle area. In this playthrough I haven't even returned to previous areas to grind levels, I just have been playing the story forward.

Was I really dumb kid back then or is this game really easier? :D

I feel like this game is probably less tedious at times, but the original us version is easier id say.

[Arkhne]

Автор сообщения: RicinMuffins

Автор сообщения: Mehujäbä

I just got myself to Mt Bur-Omisace and I have not died even once. When I was a kid playing this on PS2, remember I had died several times at this point, and especially to the Elder Wyrm in jungle area. In this playthrough I haven't even returned to previous areas to grind levels, I just have been playing the story forward.

Was I really dumb kid back then or is this game really easier? :D

I feel like this game is probably less tedious at times, but the original us version is easier id say.

I can't comment on the US version, but I have original PS2 copies bought in both Australia and Europe (though the Australian copies tend to just be the EU versions, with a new serial code). And I've played them both in the last year, in fact, was playing a fresh playthrough (EU disk) when this got released, and I switched over. And whilst the end-game is DEFINITELY in favour of the Zodiac Age, I'd have to say even during the story Zodiac is a little easier. I avoided trial mode and bazaar early on in Zodiac, which meant less game-breaking upgrades than the original, and it still didn't feel any harder. If you DO use Trial Mode or Bazaar, the "difficulty" quickly goes down the drain, and it isn't even a "cinematic experience" anymore, it's just a bunch of guys slaughting things.

[Hinnyuu]

Trial Mode absolutely flushes any semblance of difficulty down the toilet, that's for sure. I'm not sure it was ever really intended to be (ab?)used by farming gear there and re-importing it all to the main game.

But, as always, mods can make up for lack of difficulty. Beauty of PC gaming.

[Serafie1999AD]

Автор сообщения: Hinnyuu

But, as always, mods can make up for lack of difficulty. Beauty of PC gaming.

I prefer things being this way, though: easy games for casual gamers, with NG- mode and optional mods to make the game harder. The other way around would never work, since if the game was frustratingly hard, no modders would make an easy mode, so I'd just end up quitting the game.

[Hinnyuu]

I agree. Which is why developers should be nicer to modders and support modding better. Customers tend to be happier if they have a game tailored to their needs, instead of some hypothetical average user. Not to mention it can add amazing longevity to a game, and sell copies years down the line when someone comes up with some great new mod that people want to try.

[Casurin]

Trial Mode is great - with a bit of luck and time you get a >90att weapon in the first hour of playing, steamrolling the rest of the game.