| Bandorr said: I played 9. I beat 9. I enjoyed 9. It is leaps and bounds over 8 and that god awful draw system. But I'm not going to replay it without new content. |
But it's not leaps and bounds over that encounter rate control and card game item system :)
Love 9 over 8 as well, but 8 has too many good things to be a bad game based on one design choice.
Edit: Now that I think about it, the draw system is an easier way to grind in addition to the battles you win. The major difference is that you can gain stat upgrades from just exploring areas and in many places without worry of getting into battles, or just equip No Enc and explore. It's a different take on FF games of the past where the encounter rate wasn't controllable and had a high rate. Exploring was practically punishing back then.
Magic takes a downturn, yes, but I don't really mind as the essence of being an RPG comes out even more through this route. Stat building and comparing is at the heart of an RPG, even moreso than strategy.
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