In my understanding 1-6 are very different from the latter games, and a few of the games are actually MMOs. Look into that before making a final decision.
Final Fantasy - recommendation?
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That's VI, but in America, it's original release title was III. This is because the Japanese II, III, and V were never released over here, so IV and VI became II and III to compensate and try to ease confusion about missing numbers. Here's a chart that makes it easy to understand visually.Mcoffey said:
Japan America
-----------------------
FF I FF I
FF II unreleased
FF III unreleased
FF IV FF II
FF V unreleased
FF VI FF III
This numbering has been corrected ever since the PlayStation compilation re-releases.
Final Fantasy 7 and 9 are my personal favorites. I never got a chance to play 6 but I hear its excellent as well.
Edit: After giving it some more thought I would start with 9. It really is an excellent story that has a far more mature tone than most of the games. It still has plenty of funny moments as well but it finds the perfect balance. I would highly suggest you try 9 first.
Edit: After giving it some more thought I would start with 9. It really is an excellent story that has a far more mature tone than most of the games. It still has plenty of funny moments as well but it finds the perfect balance. I would highly suggest you try 9 first.
Another take on Final Fantasy...
The Final Fantasy series consist roughly of 3 eras:
The (S)NES era: Final Fantasy 1-6
The PS(2) era: Final Fantasy 7-12 (excluding 11 = online)
The PS3 era: Final Fantasy 13++
Each era had a different feel to it. The SNES era was dominated by 16bit graphics and lacking an overall cohesion and story, until Final Fantasy 4 came along. With Final Fantasy 6 being the best Final Fantasy game of that era.
Then came the 3D graphics and it started good with Final Fantasy 7, hailed as overall the best Final Fantasy game. The last Final Fantasy games of this era (FF 10-12) slowly became something less "Final Fantasy-ish".
With the new generation (FF 13+) the FF feeling is completely absent and replaced by a generic RPG feeling.
If you don't care about graphics, try FF7 first and then FF6. If you want shiny graphics, try anything above FF9.
The Final Fantasy series consist roughly of 3 eras:
The (S)NES era: Final Fantasy 1-6
The PS(2) era: Final Fantasy 7-12 (excluding 11 = online)
The PS3 era: Final Fantasy 13++
Each era had a different feel to it. The SNES era was dominated by 16bit graphics and lacking an overall cohesion and story, until Final Fantasy 4 came along. With Final Fantasy 6 being the best Final Fantasy game of that era.
Then came the 3D graphics and it started good with Final Fantasy 7, hailed as overall the best Final Fantasy game. The last Final Fantasy games of this era (FF 10-12) slowly became something less "Final Fantasy-ish".
With the new generation (FF 13+) the FF feeling is completely absent and replaced by a generic RPG feeling.
If you don't care about graphics, try FF7 first and then FF6. If you want shiny graphics, try anything above FF9.
Well, first things first - the fanbase is kind of...divisive on certain titles, and like most fanbases, they can get REALLY loud about it. So if you end up trying and liking one that's not popular or vice versa, just ignore them.Ninjafire72 said:
As for recommendations, it depends on what kind of RPG games you like, but here's my list of recommendations:
-4 and 5 are both pretty good, but for different reasons. They're both part of the old-school RPG era, but 4's plot was above and beyond the standard story fare, featuring elements of retribution, jealousy, self-sacrifice and redemption that actually had an impact - a rarity for those times. 5's plot is more by-the-numbers, but the job change system in that game made for a lot of fun gameplay options. It's one of the few features in the series that appears in multiple games, and it's especially good for a newcomer who's not familiar with the lingo, so to speak. In short, if you prefer story over gameplay, go with 4. Else, go with 5.
-6 is often considered to be the epitome of pre-Playstation RPGs. It's huge for an SNES game with a large cast of main characters (most of whom actually are interesting
), a wonderfully crazy villain and solid gameplay.-7 is my personal favorite, though that may be the nostalgia goggles talking. Still, it departs from the traditional fantasy setting to go with a more modern-day feel, features highly-customizeable gameplay elements with the Materia system, and despite a wonky-as-hell translation has what I consider one of the strongest stories this series has ever produced. Be warned, though, the graphics are utterly laughable by today's standards - it was made back in the beginning of the PS1's life cycle, when 3D models were a brand new thing. They have cubes for hands. You have been warned.
-9 is probably the best place to start for a newcomer if you want to get a feel for the series in general. It's a throwback to the pre-PS days of the series but does it well, if not better than before. Best graphics you'll get on a Playstation, fun characters, lots of fun to play, and it has a surprisingly adult feel to the story.
-10 is the first entry with voice acting, and it...tends to show (just look up the laughing scene for FFX and prepare to cringe) and the main character we follow is a bit grating to listen to in the beginning, but the combat system is arguably the best in the entire series and the story is so delightful dark and tragic without completely killing any sense of joy or humor.
These are good places to start, IMO. I skipped the really old ones because I didn't grow up with them. 8 is...okay, but the gameplay system kind get on your nerves after awhile and the story pretty much wets itself after the halfway mark. 10-2 is actually better than people give it credit for, but it's the rare direct sequel to 10, so obviously don't start there. 12 is pretty good IMO, but it's the first entry from Square-Enix and it's a lot different than the older Squaresoft titles.
As for 13, I actually haven't played it yet, but I will say the opening, save for one moment, does not impress me. Probably not wise to start there either.
I hope that gives you some food for thought because WOW this got long. ^_^
1) You know, I played Final Fantasy III (SNES) when it came out and I never got the impression that TERRA was the protagonist. It wasn't until the internet told me that I even considered it. She sits a good portion of the game out and is not the leader at any point in the game (that I recall).VoidWanderer said:
2) LOL
3) Yeah, no doubt.
As a starter, I suggest 4 or 6. The're pretty basic. The others throw a bit too much at you or have difficulty issues if you're not familiar with the series/genre right off the bat and could create some frustration.
13 is alright too if you have no expectations.. or morals.. or standards.. or brain cells, but it is not a good representation of the rest of the series. And yes, I am calling your moral character into question if you like FF13.
13 is alright too if you have no expectations.. or morals.. or standards.. or brain cells, but it is not a good representation of the rest of the series. And yes, I am calling your moral character into question if you like FF13.
Well, FF6 is regarded as one of the best of the series (if not the best. It usually has to fight 7 for that title), so start off with that one I say. I personally love the game to bits. From there... I dunno. Haven't played all the games in the series yet. 8 and 10 are pretty good, so go for those, but avoid 4 (has not aged well at all) or 12 (great combat, crap story). Those are my recommendations, take them as you will.
IX is fairly good, but it is forever ruined to me due to a decently sized sociopathic and mentally disturbed section of its fanbase. This has only happened twice and unfortunately IX is one of them. A shame, really.TLS14 said:
You could start with any of the following:
VI, VII, X and I suppose IX.
Mentally disturbed? I don't think I've ever run across any of them, as IX's fanbase tends to be pretty tame from where I sit. Care to elaborate?SpaceBat said:
Sure, dude.Ninjafire72 said:
Start off with Final Fantasy 7, which was my introduction into the series. Then, dependent on how you swing about old school, either pick up Final Fantasy Anthology (as in the combo-release of #5 and #6.) or go for FF9 and FFX.
Your mileage may vary on where to go from there. I didn't like FF8 at all, and FF4 seemed bland to me. FF2 is really hard, as well, but if you're going after the FIRST game, you'll probably get it anyway in the Final Fantasy Origins release...assuming you buy.
After that, uhhh...I trust your judgement.
It is difficult to put into words. I imagine the following hypothetical situation though: If Final Fantasy 13 got released as [insert random generic RPG title], then no one would have said: "Gee, this feels like a Final Fantasy game".Mcoffey said:
Final Fantasy 10 made a few changes (like: voice over, different story flow, no world map) everything together made it feel different. It was still easily recognizable as a Final Fantasy game. With Final Fantasy 12 the combat system got changed into something completely different. Also the story, setting, side quests... everything felt even less like Final Fantasy. But still it had some Final Fantasy feeling. With Final Fantasy 13 that feeling is gone almost entirely. Everything is changed.