Whas it escapism?

Yes

I had this when I was 12 years old and got filtered. However I recently finished FFT by abusing ninjas and TG Cid. What is the FFTA equivalent?

I don't think escapism is really the right word for it if it staying permanent is an option. Unless you're just dreaming or some shit anything

>>3755136
Power leveling Marche for 15mins in the Ice Wizard mission for infinite EXP.

Yeah, but Marsh is the escapist one who doesn't want to face the reality that things are different and that they are in fantasy ivalice now

>>3754723 (OP)
Doesn't exist. A fiction by boomers

>>3754723 (OP)
Worse, it was some fucking occuria crackdemon getting him high and making him think it was escapism.

Anyone else remember the part when Babus - an entity created by the book specifically to be a loyal retainer for his prince - calls Mewt out for using Ivalice to avoid dealing with his problems?
Imagine being so fucked up that even the demonic book eating your soul is concerned.

Is it pronounced Marsh, or Mar-chay?

It wasn't. The world was real. The responsibilities and danger were real and the Doned's case, he was free to walk again.

Marche wants to remove the good health of his closest compatriots, because he's already beautiful and healthy in his "true" reality.

>>3754723 (OP)
is FFTA any good? tried the first 30 minutes and fell asleep. should i give it another try?

>>3755659
Marsh.

>>3755683
>The world was real.
The world wasn't real, even one of the fucking main antagonist calls it a illusion

Why hasn't Square capitalized on isekai anime popularity and make rpg based on it?
>inb4 Forsaken.

>>3756822
*Forspoken

>>3756822
They made an Isekai manga of all things. Final Fantasy Lost Stranger.

>>3756146
the first 30 minutes is all tutorial, I hope you saved or else you'll have to do it all again
if you have class building autism and enjoy the combat, it's awesome

>>3756845
Unfortunately it was canceled for being too based.

>>3756822
In Japan the modern term for this character situation
is "Stranger".

>Stranger of Sword City
>Stranger of Paradise
>Lost Stranger

>>3757351
>offmodel fanservice
Kinda cringe and OoC of Square desu senpai.

>>3757352
SoP while technically an isekai doesn't capture that vibe at all IMO

>>3757391
samefag here, I spoke impulsively, SoP is def not an isekai

>>3757390
>offmodel
I don't think you know what that word means

>>3757393
It's debatable. Because there's time-travel and parallel world shenanigans. Most people don't think of time travel plots as isekai.

In the case of Jack and the "Stranger Program". It's hard to say where they're actually from. If it's a future or not. And since the Lufenians are modifying and resetting the world while grafting on parts of other worlds, does it count as the same world after that?

>>3755461
kek

>>3756025
>he's already beautiful
Anon?

>>3754723 (OP)
Okay maybe that ahoge is a little too big.

>>3755659
>>3756181
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L65VrvcVNM

Mar-shay.

>>3755216
dangerously based

>>3754723 (OP)
>You should just let Mewt rule a fantasy world in a tyrannical and capricious fashion under the influence of a demon skinwalking as his dead mother because Crackers cried about her hair.

>>3755136
There is lots of absurdly broken shit.

>Human Hunter with Concentrate support skill and Bonebreaker reaction skill
Ranged counterattacks that take off more than half of the enemy HP with perfect accuracy. Those counterattacks can even instant kill weaker classes. Then you can also oneshot enemies on your phase with Ultima Shot.
>Nu Mou Morpher
With feeded Flans in the mosnter bank their spells can oneshot everything. If you don't want to bother with feededing than the Lamia morph is also OP as shit. Charm+Doom at once with accuracy boostable by MP haste despite it not costing MP in the first place.
>Human Illusionist with Concentrate support skill
A full group of them can end every battle in their first turn.
>Human/Moogle Thieves
Steal Weapon. It's just as OP as it sounds.

>>3758687
I feel like
>Viera Assassin
goes without saying, but I've also seen people using them exclusively with default attacks when things like the Nightmare/Last Breath combo exists.

>>3754723 (OP)
Mewt literally was consciously aware that it was a dream world and lied to himself to keep it alive. It was absolutely escapism.

>>3755136
Theres lots of broken shit but nothing broken out of the box from the moment you receive it like cid.

>>3758687
This anon summarizes it properly but I would also like to add assassins with instant death ohkos and summoners with double cast.
Smile and Quick are also absurdly broken and your montblanc should immediately go that route.

>>3758687
>Steal Weapon.
I abused this with save state in FFT.

>>3758793
>montblanc should immediately go that route.
Montblanc has dogshit stats and should be killed off in the 1st jagd and replaced with a generic.

>>3758837
Ok tranny

>>3758687
>>3758793
Every race has their busted setups. If you have one unit dedicated as a killing machine and one unit for healing/upkeep, then assuming you don't play like a retard, pretty much anything in the game is beatable with just those two.
I remember that even back then, part of the stuff I did to get more bang for my buck in the game is to make self-imposed solo unit challenge runs. Any unit can become a murderhobo demigod with the right setup, but it was fun tweaking their loadout a bit so that they can have enough self-sustain to manage completely solo runs.

What are the requirements for unlocking story missions? I finished mission 19, but mission 20 isn't available.

OK MEWT HERE WE GO, BACK TO YOUR SHITTY LIFE

>>3754723 (OP)
Yes, because Marche finally got to be surrounded by friends/be the center of attention as MC and he got to live out his fantasy whilst shitting on everyone else's during his holier-than-thou crusade.

>>3759729
Sometimes you have to visit the right map location.

>>3754723 (OP)
an aspect of life

>>3755136
>Concentrate + Instant Death/Stop
>W Atk+ for damage skill abusers
>Turbo MP for mages
>Taking as many levels as possible in the class with the highest combination of W.Atk/M.Atk and Spd for their respective races
>Steal Weapon/Ability
>Counter/Reflex/Return Fire are generally the best R Abilities
Doubleswd/Dual Wield isnt half bad but its slow to walk up to everything one by one.

>>3758820
I remember getting the Genji gear after fighting Weigraf. So happy I stole it.

>>3759750
Yeah that was it, I was used to initiating missions from the pub so it took a minute to notice.

>Disgusting minmaxers in a lore thread

I played through the entirety of FFTA without ever using laws because for some reason my emulator didn't allow me to

Is escapism really that bad though

>>3761227
It can be. Look at druggies.

>>3761227
It can be. Look at trannies.

>>3754723 (OP)
If I found the Gran Grimoire, I'd be balls deep in viera gash.

>>3763490
Noooooo, you have live in le "real" world! Because... You just do, ok??

>>3763559
Too bad no one ever reverse engineered the event scripting system for FFTA. A mod that changes the story would be excellent.

>>3758124
TIGHT

>>3763559
Imagine being forced into losing all your memories and being some random fantasy creature, all because of some shit kid. All your luxuries striped away for you to possible get slaughtered or imprisoned.
Your short sighted perception is built on the idea you specifically will be the one either in charge or with memories.
Might think differently when you want to see your family but can't.
Marche has the right to see his mom again. He has the right to want for everyone else to be normal again

>>3763970
Sounds gay, I'd rape Shera

>>3763970
>Marche has the right to see his mom again. Mewt doesn't have the right to use his legs.

>>3756203
Would you go on a quest to destroy the world if a buddhist monk told you this world is an illusion?

>>3764735
If also I had extremely vivid memories of a previous life, multiple other people acknowledging these memories as fact, uncertainty for the motives of being placed in such an illusion, a wish to return to said life, and the means to attempt such a task: yes.

>>3763871
FFTA where you play as Mewt instead of Marche

>>3755136
Same guy here. Thanks for the replies. Now that I've finished FFTA I want to try Tactics Ogre: Knights of the Lodus. What are the OP classes/abilities in that one?

>>3764735
A better analogy would be would you fight to destroy the matrix if you knew it was an illusion or would you betray your friends and stick around for to eat steaks and fuck the woman in the red dress? Then imagine the matrix is not actually an illusion, but a magically transformed, but real world?

>>3764962
> FFTA where you play as Mewt instead of Marche
Battlefield builder game, or a Tactical Turn-Based RPG?

>>3765021
>I want to try Tactics Ogre: Knights of the Lodus. What are the OP classes/abilities in that one?
Changing classes factors in your current stats, not your base stats. So you can equip items that boost stats to access jobs early.


Knight is by far the most OP melee class. You want to get in it as early as possible and stay until level 50 solely for the stat gains. Afterwards keep your tanks as Knights or Dragoons, and make your other melee people into Swordmasters or Angel Knights.

The progression for melee is usually:
Archer -> Ninja -> Beast/Dragon Tamer -> Knight.

Also get Fist Fight for all of your melee fighters. That will free up some weight for better armor until Snapdragons come into play in late game.

For mages Cleric is the best job for stat gains. Stay there until you can access Siren or Witch for the new recruit you intend to make into Deneb (name her Deneb, fire element and chaotic alignment). Otherwise you want Siren and then Lich.

Valkyrie is surprisingly good, Warlock isn't bad either.

Each job has hidden elemental resistance stats for incoming damage (damage others deal to you), that act like multipliers for each element. The lower the multiplier, the less damage you take.

They also have a hidden physical and magical damage multipliers, for outgoing damage (damage you deal to others). The higher these values, the more damage you deal.

Jobs have perks that are one-off effects. Knight is immune to fear, Valkyrie boosts nearby allied men, and so on.

Mermaids and Octopi suck, as do Nagas. Vrtra is the only dragon worth a damn.

Cerberus are good. Giant suck. The various birds suck.

Hawkman are great. Fairy heals boost damage dealt a bit, and it stacks.

The various boost element spells increase the power of elemental weapons. A witch with an elemental bow and an influence spell is very dangerous over several turns.

>>3765449
>For mages Cleric is the best starter job for stat gains.
Fixed.
Cleric -> Siren -> Lich

You get 2 or 3 casters later on in the game, so you don't have to worry much about casters. Items heal just as well, and knights can all cast basic heal. A lich is nice though.

Read up on the emblems too, they're important.

Try the mods for this game.

>>3765449
The game is short enough that you're not realistically hitting 50. You're usually hitting ~25-30 by the end. So if all you want to do is just beat the game right away, its essentially just pick up Fist Fight/Sniper right away, beeline Knight and Swordmaster and cheese most encounters with melee until you get to Fluid Magic/Summon hax.

>>3765562
you ain't realistically hitting 50 either

>>3754723 (OP)
I used to be firmly in the "Marche is an asshole" camp when I was a teenager. Then I realized that having their insecurities magically cured turned Mewt, Ritz, and Doned into selfish dickwads even before they found out Marche wanted to turn things back, and grew to appreciate the nuance

>>3765562
Sniper unlocks Archer, 1 more level to Ninja if you're lucky (or if you get War God by spamming element influence spells then 1hko a fairy - fun fact, the intelligence penalty is capped at 0), 2 more levels to knight.

If you start with an archer or ninja it's faster.

Better to start with a cleric than a wizard.

Also you can gain 19 levels in training before you get bullpen ace emblem, so get no training levels and then at 31 autotrain everyone to 50.

Recruit a giant or fairy at level 50, immediately snapdragon them, massive stat boost.

I usually run Alphonse knight, Eleanor Knight, generic knight, hawkman, deneb witch+, siren/lich, summoner girl, summoner dad, sorceress.

>>3765743
The modern example of this is Maellefags

>>3765743
>having their insecurities magically cured turned Mewt, Ritz, and Doned into selfish dickwads
Right, like giving superpowers to little children (great powers, no responsibilities). They would make the world a living hell and use their powers to fulfill their selfish desires instead of helping others (which is what superheroes are supposed to do), thus becoming villains. I can see it. But one could argue, that is a different issue from escapism. It's an issue of powers/responsibilities, which, had they made it the focus of the game's problematic instead of the escapism aspect, that would have been a stronger point in favor of Marche.

>>3755136
infinite turn juggglers
concentration-enhanced OHKO skills
8-panel ultima

>>3755461
the text exceeds its authors intentions. even if the entire demiurgic world created out of the grimoire and personified in li grim is a soul eater, specific parts of it have genuine spark-of-life as feelings, personality, and longing.

>>3756025
Yes, Marche is Isekai Ramza

>>3765743
> turned Mewt, Ritz, and Doned into selfish dickwads
A lot of people like to omit the fact that in a world where death is just a slap on the wrist, Doned literally led Marche to a gank hit job in one of the few places in the world where death is actually final.

Mind you, back in the real Ivalice, Marche was only ever a dutiful and loving brother to Doned. And this is how Doned treats the brother that only ever treated him well. Marche is a goddamn saint for not wanting to smash his brother's knees with a club after that. I mean shit, for all the varying flavors of douchebaggery Ritz and Mewt engaged in, none of them ever plotted to get Marche shanked in a Jagd.

>>3766085
The concept of laws as arbitrary rulings banning or endorsing various things, which change daily, is evidence that the grimoire interpreted Mewt's wishes literally. Mewt even banned death, which by a child's logic would return his mother.

>>3766085
Marche had it coming.

Marche, Doned, and Mewt all had their reasons but Ritz's motivation about people making fun of her hair was so stupid

>>3766795
Anon, they're like what, 11? 12?
Kids on the verge of puberty are insecure fucks. I've seen kids their age get way upset over even more stupid things.

You also forgot the angle of where like half the reason Ritz feels upset over her hair is how her mother seems so guilty and apologetic for making her born as an albino fuck. She hated how her albinism always made her mother seem so sad.

>>3766830
>You also forgot the angle of where like half the reason Ritz feels upset over her hair is how her mother seems so guilty and apologetic for making her born as an albino fuck. She hated how her albinism always made her mother seem so sad.
except she forgot about her mother when they were in ivalice.

Why is escapism getting popular?

>>3764735
Montblanc appears in FFT-A2 calls the events of FFTA a weird dream that he had, if Marche actually destroyed a real world Montblanc should be dead, you know why Montblanc isn't dead in FFTA2 despite Marche destroying the world? Because the Ivalice of FFTA was a Dream World an illusion world that exist in Final Fantasy Lore and are oniric experiences not real worlds

>>3768679
Because everything fucking sucks.
I mean everything sucked before too, but now there's so many goddamn options to not engage with reality that it's actually harder to remain in the moment and focus enough to tackle problems head on when you're constantly bombarded with a wide array of options for distractions and sticking your head in the sand.
Could make a comment about strength or will or whatever, but most people are creatures of comfort and would much rather not engage with pain even if it's the correct choice and leads to less suffering later.

>>3765343
You know, I always wondered why the freed humans in the Matrix movies couldn't just use their VR simulations for recreation all the time. The kid offers to hook Neo up with the woman in red. So why couldn't Cypher load up a program for a steak or whatever else he wanted? It seems to me that their lives didn't have to be so miserable.

>>3771114
>dinner time
>every body jacks into the matrix with proteinslop on IV
>shoes up decked out at a swanky restaurant and eats delicious matrix steak while their irl bodies get nutrient

>>3771114
>>3771124
They basically have a holodeck and they never use it. Doesn't make sense.

>>3754723 (OP)
Yes. Plain and simple. This was isekai against one's will - even if the world they warped into was 'beneficial' for majority of the characters. The subject person - Mewt was in a sorry state in the real world (mom dead, father a bum, picked on at school), and with the power of Li-Grim - gave Mewt a world-bending power fantasy for him to live. We don't know if Li-Grim is consuming Mewt's soul while in Ivalice, but the demon was actively serving Mewt an 'escape' from his reality. Marche never asked for this, nor did his friends, it was a simple chant that got them all to Ivalice and, he has the right to tear the facade down because this was all a wild ride Mewt is creating - out of his weakness and his reality, grew selfishness and detachment to leave his reality and embrace a world catered to his fantasy alone, the wishes of the others made to entice them to stay as well (Doned's legs, Ritz' hair). Marche was based from the start. Mewt needed to grow a pair of balls because reality sucks, and one has to deal with it, like every body else.

Tl;dr Mewt is a spineless bitch who refused to accept reality, and inadvertently took his friends along with him to a fantasy of his liking and making - against their will.

>>3755136
Get Ultima Charge for Mog Knights, get Concentrate for Moogle Gunner, get Outsider (9 Range), or Blindsnipe (most powerful, 8 range) weapon = guaranteed 95% hit chance of 300+ damage within an 8 or 9 range. Also works with Hunters (Ultima Shot) and Assassins (Ultima Mash + bow). Basically fuck everything in any direction within range.

>>3768679
The rise of NEETdom is the one that seems the most obvious rn

>>3772956
>Mewt needed to grow a pair of balls because reality sucks, and one has to deal with it, like every body else.
Nah.
I mean, I agree with the entire rest of your post, but I see no fault in fucking off into la-la land all by yourself rather than dealing with bullshit. Good luck and good riddance alike. His unforgivable sin was dragging everyone who WASN'T a helplessly miserable fuck into the fantasy with him. He had no more right to do so than anyone else does in telling him how to deal with his life sucking.

The game was always meant to take you back to the "real" world after the adventure was over -- that is built into the isekai subgenre --, so whatever arguments are advanced in favor of Marche's position sound like an afterthought, a rationalization, almost an excuse to justify to story ending where it was always meant to end, instead of it ending there naturally.

>>3764135
He can blame that on the misfortune of his birth

Damn Mewt was the first incel FF character

Mewt grew up to look like the kind of guy that sits in a corner chair while watching Marche plow some Albino Girl.

He was absolutely right about everything. It's not about escapism, it's about being forced to raise a piece of shit disabled retard, you're only parent being a drunk useless retard, and growing up with such responsibilities. You can't have too much fun with that life. The other kids needed to be forced to accept responsibility, and it's also fun to crush their fun if you're literally incapable of fun.

>>3774256
You might be speaking facts but that definitely was not what Marche had in mind. He had no reasoning other than "escapism is wrong ".

>>3774374

What's notable is that the game subtly and not-so-subtly calls attention to the un-reality of Ivalice.
>The laws apply to battles and nothing else
>The judges in general
>The way you build the world map (blank terrain is replaced with a landmark that now has always there)
>The "Fire! Fire!" mission where the bombs will patiently wait 10 days before burning the city down
>The judge stops trying to arrest Marche because an engagement started and he has to be the referee
>None of Ritz or Marche's NPC companions seem to care that Marche's actions will destroy the world

Doned is the only character with a valid reason for wanting Ivalice to keep existing. The problem isn't the escapism itself; it's that they're holding the entire town ransom for the sake of their escapism.

>>3771114
>>3771124
There's a segment in The AniMatrix where they use their loading program to play tag or something. Morpheus is almost certainly ideologically opposed to using VR for entertainment. Speaking of...

The Matrix still holds up as a cross between The Hero's Journey and The Allegory of The Cave. But there's a whole alternate interpretation to The Matrix:

Morpheus is basically a cult leader. He's a red-pill/real-world supremacist who views anyone still plugged into The Matrix as disposable. He lures in vulnerable and isolated people, then presents them with a choice they can't fully understand, and that they can't back out of. There's no scenario where humanity is actually freed from The Matrix; the outside world can't support the population, and Morpheus himself said that, as a rule, they never free a mind once it's reached a certain age.

This is supported by The Matrix Reloaded, which is all about deconstructing all the assumptions from the first movie. It asks "We're free, but are we really free?". Then it's revealed that the whole prophecy of The One was just a ploy to keep the system running.

>>3777368
I will disagree with this observation
>None of Ritz or Marche's NPC companions seem to care that Marche's actions will destroy the world

The story event that arguably gives Marche the biggest pause comes from talking with Montblanc, who openly wonders if he's merely part of the dream, and if so, what will happen to him and the rest of their new friends if they succeed. Marche realizes he doesn't have an answer. That said, because Montblanc and everyone else continues to help, the implication is that they ultimately agree with Marche.
It's less that they don't care, and more that they have their own unexplored reasons.

>>3758998
I never really made a bangaa that I was happy with. Plenty of solid viera jobs. I actually love moogle's gadgeteer. Nu mous are kind of boring (just more magic power on a vastly slower race and a large selection of damage spells or debuffs, which I never really found to be useful. But beastmasters are a unique niche. But bangaa? Templars, dragoons? I don't know.

>>3777368
They flew too close to the sun with the first movie (supposedly they didn’t write the script and it was mailed to them anonymously) and that’s why the usual suspects pushed the second and third movies, to defuse the impact. Then they sissified the bros with a ketamine dominatrix, pour encourager les autres.

>>3755108
/thread

>>3777368
The law system is supposed to be an expression of Mewts power fantasy of being a king and wielding authority. It doesnt matter how little sense they make or how arbitrary they are, the fact that people must obey them in the name of the palace alone is the point. FFTA has you take the role of Marche who is an antagonist in someone elses power fantasy.
>None of Ritz or Marche's NPC companions seem to care that Marche's actions will destroy the world
I agree with >>3777859 here. Montblanc and Shara are more concerned with the wellbeing of their friends than anything else. Montblanc only thinks of helping Marche as helping his friend get home and Shara is more concerned with helping Ritz get over her insecurities rather than protect Ivalice. The implication at the end is that the fantasy world of Ivalice and its inhabitants continue to live in some way or form, maybe as a dream or a story. Personally I like to believe that Montblanc and Shara were real people turned into the inhabitants of Ivalice like depicted in the opening, and with the end of the fantasy they return to being real people who might meet Marche and Ritz again someday.

>>3780353
>I like to believe that Montblanc and Shara were real people turned into the inhabitants of Ivalice
Yes, Montblanc is a homeless, disabled war vet and Shara a human-trafficked Filipino escort. Marche sent them back to the real world to cure them of their "escapism".

>>3754723 (OP)
He did nothing wrong.
>>3755136
The fight against the Nu Mou who can just fuck your ass because you didn't expect this tactical squad based game to involve single combat.

>>3778709
>Then they sissified the bros with a ketamine dominatrix, pour encourager les autres.
Run that by me again

>>3780635
After the release of the original Matrix, the Wachowski brothers became deeply involved with a dominatrix who would inject them with ketamine, and who convinced them to start crossdressing, and then they both trooned out.

>>3780824
See I knew that they trooned out, but uh
Huh
That sure is something

>>3754723 (OP)
Marche was probably wrong, it seemed like a cool place to live and was just as real as the other place

Level with me, anons. Is this game actually any good? I've starred it a few times and every time I play through that opening snowball figh, then never come back.

>>3782128
The snowball fight and then the long introduction is such a miserable start. I quite enjoy the game, and this thread has made me pick it up again. Compared to FFT, it sucks that abilities are learned via gear, but a character doesn't have to act to earn AP at the end of the fight. The wander clan fights or turf wars can be a bit tedious, but I do enjoy the basic combat. Some races/jobs/abilities are way overpowered, but there are quite a few fun mechanics and interactions to play around with. The law system can be a pain, but now I'm starting to see what they were trying to get the player to do. Instead of 5 dark knights/arithmatheticians, it's better to have a wide variety of clan members and races with different weapon types, ability categories, etc. There's plenty dispatch missions to send these clan members out, so they won't be deadweight learning their first few abilities. It can be tediuous menu-hell if you keep switching jobs for a specific character (trying to min-max stats or seeking specific abilities from other jobs). It's a GBA game, which mean that it's easy to pick up and there is a lot of content pack into it.

>>3758542
The fact that’s it’s “EVIL-Ease” not “EYE-vale-aice” like Chalice.. I would have never known.