I'm sure you're an excellent person with many fine ideas, mister Mopbucket, and this is not one of them. Do not play this game. Never play this game. It does not exist. You are surely hallucinating. SURELY.
Hmm, well I qualified that suggestion by saying it wasn't up to par with the rest of the series. But it didn't have random encounters, and like I said it's easy and short.
Maybe you are being facetious, but I don't think it was bad enough to warrant pretending that it doesn't exist. I will concede that I only played through the game once, and that was more than a few years ago, so maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. I remember enjoying it.
What determines Final Fantasy as the game that decides the love of the series? It always seemed like one of the less Final Fantasy-esque Final Fantasy games in the series. The story is simple, character personalities don't exist, and there aren't really any over-the-top moments or melodrama like other Final Fantasy games. It seems like FFIV would fit the criteria more than anything.
The story is simple but it doesn't need anything past that. The character personalities don't exist because you create them. They can have whatever personality you want! As for over-the-top moments? Ummm... Did you even play through Final Fantasy?
Going back in time 2000 years to find that everything is just one giant time loop perpetuated by the power of Chaos, who is actually Garland, and that one of the reasonings you could call it the Final Fantasy is because you effectively stop the time loop by fufilling your destiny in killing Chaos isn't dramatic enough!?
If anything, I'd say Final Fantasy has been slowly drifting away from its roots as time passes, which isn't a good thing. Simple stories are often the best. Why do you think The Legend of Zelda serise does so well? It's the same premis retold a thousand different ways. Final Fantasy could be considered the same, really. It's when they started to try and give the characters more Japanese tropes, more complicated plots, twisting relationships and such that FF really started to decline. Thirteen is just abbysmal from what I've seen and I'm glad I stopped playing them for the most part after I finished VI. Aside from a few hit and misses, VI seems to have been the peak of the serise (though many a fnaboy and girl would argue that) and VII was just the start of the decline (not pronounced enough to see the future of the serise).
In my opinion, FF was at its best when they kept things fairly straight forward with a few plot twists and turns to keep the player envigorated instead of trying to make a web so tangled and bogged down with complication that most people can't bother with the idiocy of the characters' terribly Japanese personalities.
Hmm, well I qualified that suggestion by saying it wasn't up to par with the rest of the series. But it didn't have random encounters, and like I said it's easy and short.
Maybe you are being facetious, but I don't think it was bad enough to warrant pretending that it doesn't exist. I will concede that I only played through the game once, and that was more than a few years ago, so maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. I remember enjoying it.
I was, in fact, being dramatic. I tend to take that liberty sometimes.
Mystic Quest is one of those things that appears fondly in memory, but ages extremely poorly. It is not designed for the adult gamer, intended as a simpler sort of RPG for younger children. If it catches you at the right age, it can do all right. It did not catch me at the right age.
Hmm, well I qualified that suggestion by saying it wasn't up to par with the rest of the series. But it didn't have random encounters, and like I said it's easy and short.
Maybe you are being facetious, but I don't think it was bad enough to warrant pretending that it doesn't exist. I will concede that I only played through the game once, and that was more than a few years ago, so maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. I remember enjoying it.
I was, in fact, being dramatic. I tend to take that liberty sometimes.
Mystic Quest is one of those things that appears fondly in memory, but ages extremely poorly. It is not designed for the adult gamer, intended as a simpler sort of RPG for younger children. If it catches you at the right age, it can do all right. It did not catch me at the right age.
Ah, I suppose you're right. I played it when I was ~10 years old. So I'll retract that suggestion and just stick with recommending the original. Can't go wrong there
FF 1 - I've yet to finish it. Challenging and nostalgic but not quite as refined as later titles.
FF 2 - Interesting leveling system. Expect a lot of trial and error, maybe even a restart before you truly get the hang of the leveling mechanic. Interesting for a test run, not for a first time player.
ff 3 - I've never found a copy of it. You can get it for DS I think.
FF 4 - in my opinion was just a gem to play. While there was some grinding, I found myself constantly wanting to see what's next. The retro feel made me right at home and I played the game till the disk couldn't take it anymore. Sure there are random encounters, but buying items is expensive and steady cash flow is needed to advance. Highly recommended.
FF 5 - Great customization of characters. If you are interested in Final Fantasy Tactics, this is also a good game for a strategist.
FF 6 - Some of the best game-play found in a FF title. The majority do love this game, and I would agree. Though it isn't my favourite.
FF 7 - The first "3D" game. With a vivid story and interesting characters it is worth a view. Some like it, some don't. It's certainly not for everyone. But if you are interested in playing it. Play until you leave Midgar. Then make your decision. And if you want challenge, FF 7 has two of the hardest bosses you will have to face.
FF 8 - had my favorite soundtrack. The junction system will require a lot of micro-managing and trial and error to get the full effects, or it can be done automatically by the game.
FF 9 - Looks, feels and BREATHS like a fantasy world. Plenty to explore, plenty to do. Alot of fun and the graphics are vibrant and refreshing. You can get lost in the world. I'm recommending this game.
FF 10 - First ps2 era game. Very linear for a long time, but with wonderful graphics for the time and EASILLY my most hated boss ever. The game requires grinding up the ying yang to take on some of the optional sidequest bosses that pose a true challenge, but the final boss is embarrassingly easy to beat. two stars.
FF X2 - Seriously, I stopped playing it shortly after picking it up. If I buy a game I force myself to play it even if it is terrible. So that says worlds.
FF 11 - I'm pretty sure the servers would have shut down by now. It's all online.
FF 12 - This is micro-managing CITY. You have to buy licenses to get items, you have to PROGRAM your allies before you fight. You have to hoof it to a shop to sell HEAPS of useless junk. Sure the game is a step away from turn based combat but this is just bad.
FF 13 - yeah, another one I didn't finish. Look up the Zero Punctuation of this title when you have a chance. Yahzee sums it up nicely. I hate this game.
FF tactics - My Favorite. had my favorite leveling system. Plus most random encounters could be avoided and plot missions could be focused on. Though it makes for some difficult fights later on. The plot is vast and not too bananas to follow like some FF titles. The characters are interesting, the battles are somewhat slowly paced but wonderfully deep. Not a game you can hammer through in a weekend. Set aside an hour or so a week for this game and play through till the end. You will love it.
This is my summary of some of the Final fantasy games you might have seen. FF Crystal Chronicles is a Gamecube title that sucks. There have been sequals but I didn't bother playing them. Ask around if you want. FF Tactics Advanced is a GBA title that misses a lot of the elements FF Tactics did right. Dissidia FF is a fighting game that is fun for a while. Not really a Final fantasy series game but overall a good game to try.
To some of the people in this thread, have you even played a final fantasy? I mean seriously some people saying "VII is where it took a downturn" that's ridiculous VII was an amazing game, especially for the time. Look I realise Yahtzee said VI was the best and you can say it's your own opinion but honestly to say that VII took a downturn just makes you look like a jackass
Right ontopic, if you want a less turn based final fantasy, you want XII, I didn't particularly like it but it had an amazing orchestra soundtrack and some beautiful settings. However if you want a good final fantasy try VII, IX or X. All of them are solid games and you get the recommendation from a serious JRPG player. Hope you enjoy OP
They are all vastly different it really doesn't matter. I wish I could go through one thread about Final Fantasy where VII is not bad mouthed. The guy is asking what you recommend not what you you thought the series went shit on(this goes for several titles) and not what you one thought was overrated. If you didn't recommend it I think s/he can figure out you don't think highly of it on their own initiative.
To some of the people in this thread, have you even played a final fantasy? I mean seriously some people saying "VII is where it took a downturn" that's ridiculous VII was an amazing game, especially for the time. Look I realise Yahtzee said VI was the best and you can say it's your own opinion but honestly to say that VII took a downturn just makes you look like a jackass
You're right, clearly anyone who comes to a different conclusion than you do about something is a "jackass".
But for your (and everyone else's) convenience I will now explain why every FF past VI sucks.
FF VII
FMV's. Used to be dialogue/etc were done through standard sprites. FF7 was when they started putting goddamn MOVIES in the middle of the game. I mean I'm sure you want to be all pretentious and everything, Square, but I'm tryin' to play a game here /b/ro...
It also has a rather laughable plot, with laughable characters. FF7 in particular I seem to remember as being a sea of angst. You'll just have to take my word on the fact that I know a LOT about proper story structure. The previous six games have infinitely better narrative. Oh, and the ending sucks too. Conclusion: Not the worst, but nowhere near playable. It's at least better than...
FF VIII
For starters, am I the ONLY one extremely annoyed by that stupid gunblade? Most retarded idea ever except for...
Squall.
Why would anyone hire him for anything? He's a whiny little ***** who clearly attempts to "look goth". Despite having an awesome voice actor, he's still annoying. And he's not even the worst of the bunch! FF8 has a roster of annoying characters, for your playing displeasure.
Rinoa: I hate her. You know how sometimes a friend gets a girlfriend who always wants to be around him? And is very controlling and manipulative and belittles him constantly? That's Rinoa. All she does is talk about Squall and nobody really cares. Then we are forced to endure (yet another) unbearable love story.
Selphie: I could go on in depth about Selphie, but it would involve far more profanities than I actually feel comfortable using. Might even make me slip into creative swearing. Moving on...
Irvine: Is a sniper AND a cowboy. Both of which SHOULD make him awesome and likable. But no, he chickens out at the beginning causing a lot of problems. It goes downhill from there. He goes the rest of the game hitting on everything that has the slightest possibility of having a vagina, and this actually ends up making him severely dislikable.
I'd say more about the rest of the characters but they're really not very memorable. The greatest complement I can give a FF8 character is to say that they were noticable.
Gameplay? I would've been happier playing Dragon's Lair. Awful controls included.
The developers thought that getting rid of the MP system (which I wasn't THAT fond of in the first place) would make things better. Turns out, it didn't. The draw system has no redeeming traits. It's unnecessary torture, having to go through this shit while the monster is ripping my hit points down. That's what this game does. Keeps dragging on with awful characters, awful gameplay mechanics and...
Awful plot.
Final Fantasy 9
I was smart and didn't subject myself to this one after the previous two disappointment, but by all accounts almost (if not just as) bad as Final Fantasy 8.
Final Fantasy 10
This, my lovely chick-a-dees is where the series goes from bad... To mexican. For starters, it had one of the most horrible to put up with characters OF ALL TIME (Tidus) who...
Turns out to be some kind of stupid group delusion, or something. It's stupid and is never quite explained to my liking. But this DOES make him the most disappointing imaginary friend possible.
Again, we're back to terrible characters, terrible plot and the characters never doing anything that remotely makes sense at any point in the game. You know that idiot who keeps trying to kill you? How about you do that stupid little rite to make it so he stays dead? You had SEVERAL chances to do this, do you just not... feel like it? DO IT NOW, ASSHOLE. Sigh...
The "big bad" AKA "God" is utterly helpless. You have auto-life on (Which means no death even if it somehow manages to hit you). If it gets hit in a round, it'll just heal itself. So either zombie it (to make its heal spells kill it) or reflect to make them heal YOU instead. Just keep hitting the thing, and it'll die. Oh. It looks like a giant tick. 'cause that's what I think of when I think "Mind blowingly powerful evil god". A fucking TICK.
FF X-2 I didn't subject myself to a terrible game's terrible sequel.
FF 11 MMO. Pass.
FF 12 This is where the series has litereally no redeeming traits. Plus, you know, Vahn.
FF 13 I didn't even bother this time, or ever again. Square Enix has spat in my face how many times now? I count... four/five. This time when they try to pull the same shit, I just dodged out of the way. No thank you, Square Enix. You get no more of my money.
If you have a counter-argument explaining why any of these games are good, please deposit it in the nearest trash bin. I won?t be able to read it since I will be too busy playing Fallout, Dungeons & Dragons and Knights of the Old Republic.
Glademaster said:
They are all vastly different it really doesn't matter. I wish I could go through one thread about Final Fantasy where VII is not bad mouthed. The guy is asking what you recommend not what you you thought the series went shit on(this goes for several titles) and not what you one thought was overrated. If you didn't recommend it I think s/he can figure out you don't think highly of it on their own initiative.
All I'm doing is recommending he not waste his time with the far inferior FF games. You know, the ones that people seem to recommend for some reason...
I was smart and didn't subject myself to this one after the previous two disappointment, but by all accounts almost (if not just as) bad as Final Fantasy 8.
If I'm reading this right, you've never played FF9. How would you know if it's as bad as FF8 than? You can't say a game is bad if you've never played it. I just can't see the logic in that.
If I'm reading this right, you've never played FF9. How would you know if it's as bad as FF8 than? You can't say a game is bad if you've never played it. I just can't see the logic in that.
But by the same token, if someone has effectively screwed you twice in a row, you won't be quite so keen for a third go are you? It by all accounts was just more of the same stupidity I had put up with before.
You'll also notice that my list of comments got shorter and shorter. That's because I started to realize that the games would never be good again, and that sinking more and more time into it was a radical waste of time and my brain cells. My FF12 comment should be more like "fuck Vahn" repeatedly.
Actually, now that I think about it FF10 actually had ONE redeeming trait. Tidus' day effectively calling him a PUSSY at the end. He's dying and his dying words are "Son, you were always a little pussy, you know that? Die in a fire, kthx..." It was almost worth putting up with Tidus until then.
The population as a whole doesn't want to admit it, but most people started with VII and survived as a whole to play other games from the series. It helped jump-start the PS1's popularity. And it was huge in its day, even if some people find the out-dated graphics and dark plot no longer the 'in' thing. The combat and materia mechanics are stable and it's just a load of fun to play. I pull it out every few years to replay, though I'm always having a ***** of a time getting all the optional bosses.
From there you can play the others. 6 is also very popular, as is 4, 9, and Tactics. 8 is fine, but should stay at second best. 12 is okay and fun to play, but is pretty bland and cut&paste compared to the others mentioned. I think the only thing saving 12 is Balthier.
Avoid 2, X-2, and only play 13 if you have nothing better to do.
And everyone takes 10 differently.
>> think that should about cover the regular ones.
Each one of the series is different, even those that are sequel titles like X-2 and IV The After Years (coming soon on psp with FFIV). They follow somewhat of the same mechanic of select attack and wait for it to happen and such, common RPG. Story wise they're all different games, I, II, II, IV, V, IX, XII are all in a medieval like setting. VII, VIII, X, VI, X-2, XIII are on a futuristic world, so that calls for your liking. In terms of gameplay they're all the same until X which adds the option of changing characters in the middle of battle. X-2 has the dresspheres, XIII is more action based and fast as well. Don't really need to play the other ones to get the story, each has its own, except for X-2 and VI AY. The refferences to old games are just in for giggles so go for any you might want. Dissidia is awesome, and Crisis Core as well.
But by the same token, if someone has effectively screwed you twice in a row, you won't be quite so keen for a third go are you? It by all accounts was just more of the same stupidity I had put up with before.
You'll also notice that my list of comments got shorter and shorter. That's because I started to realize that the games would never be good again, and that sinking more and more time into it was a radical waste of time and my brain cells. My FF12 comment should be more like "fuck Vahn" repeatedly.
If you hated VII and VIII and didn't want to play the games after them that's fine. Bu don't go around saying that certain games that you've never played suck. That just pisses off people who've actually played the games and know what they're talking about. (I.E. me, someone who has played and thoroughly enjoyed IX, and currently playing through XIII which, despite general consensus, really isn't that bad to me.)
I'm not sure how I did it, but I've made it through 16 years of life without playing a Final Fantasy game. I can't even remember ever playing part of it at a friend's house. So I'm curious as to what the best game to start with would be. It would be work but in theory I can get pretty much any console (NES and stuff might be hard) and with the magic of the internet I can probably get my hands on most of the games.
So in you guys' opinion what's the best game to start on? I know the stories don't continue from one to another so I guess I could start where ever I want. While I'm not a huge fan of turn based combat I can deal with it, it's just the random encounters that bug me so if there's a game without those I'd like to play that one.
Thanks for any help you guys can give.
Start with VIII and then try VII, that's all I can say. FFVIII had a lot of people who enjoyed it whereas FFVII was very love it or hate it. I was one of the ones who loved it though.
This should be a poll... but since it isn't, and despite the fact that I KNOW I've been ninja'd several times already, I vote FFVI- it was my first (although it was FFIII for SNES back when I played it) and it set up pretty well for... well... up to FFVIII at least... after that it's all samey-samey IMO.
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