Final Fantasy

[hpalmer2903]

Which was the best Final Fantasy game?
I've never played one but my friends tell me that 6 or 7 were the best?
Should i just start at the start?

 

[Able Seacat]

As far as I know the games don't follow each other so there's no continues story to keep track of. It doesn't matter where you start really just be aware that if you go to the earlier ones you'll likely find the games shows it's age in places. I enjoyed the latest ones FF13 and and 13-2 but they are not for everyone.

 

[LooK iTz Jinjo]

With the exception of X-2 and XIII-2 none of the games are actually direct sequels (part of the reason it's been such a popular series for 20 years). As for which is best you'll find that depends from person to person ranging from Final Fantasy to FFXII (anyone who tells you X-2 or XIII is just lying) and from my experience it's generally the first game they played that becomes their favourite. Assuming you have a PS2 X is pretty easy to get a hold of cheap and is probably my favourite, although you really can't go wrong with VII-X or XII (XI is an MMO).

 

[kyogen]

Should i just start at the start?

Unless you like 16-bit era graphics for their own sake, probably not.

I like them all for different reasons. XII is my favorite--great characters and environments, political story instead of "save the world+romance", interesting take on turn-based play, no random encounters, and elaborate stat customization.

VI and VII are classics--each great in their own way but quite different from one another. Be prepared for older graphics if you try them. Unless you're super-sensitive about spoilers, you might have a look at the FF wiki or Wikipedia for story summaries and a taste of the artwork in each entry.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Unless you're OK with games showing their age a little bit, your safest bet would probably be 10, it's a pretty decent game compared to the rest of the series, old enough to be dirt cheap, and still looks fairly good. Each game is a little bit different, so you may like one without liking any of the others. It all depends on your taste.

I wouldn't suggest playing anything between 1-5, If you like 2D games, play 6, I'm sure you've heard enough about 7, 9 is less serious and is pretty much making fun of the series. 10 is pretty solid all around. 12 is take it or leave it, as is 13.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

With the exception of X-2 and XIII-2 none of the games are actually direct sequels (part of the reason it's been such a popular series for 20 years). As for which is best you'll find that depends from person to person ranging from Final Fantasy to FFXII (anyone who tells you X-2 or XIII is just lying) and from my experience it's generally the first game they played that becomes their favourite. Assuming you have a PS2 X is pretty easy to get a hold of cheap and is probably my favourite, although you really can't go wrong with VII-X or XII (XI is an MMO).

I don't know, I can believe the people who liked X-2. Yeah it's girly, but the gameplay itself is a lot of fun, and while I've only ever played a demo, I don't see how the voice acting and story can be any worse than the original X. I /still/ don't get how that one is second only to VII in the number of dedicated fanboys it has.

OT: VI and VII are definite high points of the series, but so are IV and IX. Out of the four I just listed, VI and IX have the best looking graphics today, if bad graphics bug you. Personally I love VII, and it's my favorite in the series, but I don't know how well it holds up if you weren't there for the PS1 era. I'm not saying it's all nostalgia, but the graphics haven't aged well at all. They were impressive at the time[footnote]yes, naysayers, they really were. Nothing quite like it had been done before, what with the dynamic camera angles in battle and cutscenes, and the gorgeous pre-rendered backgrounds[/footnote], but not so much today, even by the standards of the PS1 games that came after it.

Overall recommendation: if graphics are an issue, play VI. It's one of, if not the objective best in the series, and as a late gen SNES game, it's aged absolutely beautifully. If they aren't, you might want to try VII -- or if they aren't a huge issue, but VII is too ugly, maybe IX.

 

[burningdragoon]

There is no correct answer to which is "best" since it's all opinions... but the correct opinion is that FF6 is the best. >.>

The only reason to start at FF1 is if you are interesting in seeing how it's evolved, which you probably wouldn't be interested unless you a) played them as they evolved or b) already really like some of them. So if you want to play one of them, just pick which one looks the most interesting to you and remember that 6 is the best one

 

[teqrevisited]

Unless you have a solid appreciation for the 8bit-16bit experience I wouldn't start anywhere earlier than 6.

Naturally FFI is the most basic and comparatively much more repetitive in terms of what you'll spend your time doing (Level grinding. A lot.) and this will probably put a few people off.

I'd suggest you start at either 6 or 7 and work up the numbered series (not counting XI, being an MMO) if you end up enjoying them. The previous ones will always be there for if you want to go back for them.

Apart from X-2 there aren't any that I've played (I to X-2, XI not included) that I would suggest you enter cautiously. I do like the battle system of X-2 but my god what a train-wreck the "story" is.

 

[Ryotknife]

With the exception of X-2 and XIII-2 none of the games are actually direct sequels (part of the reason it's been such a popular series for 20 years). As for which is best you'll find that depends from person to person ranging from Final Fantasy to FFXII (anyone who tells you X-2 or XIII is just lying) and from my experience it's generally the first game they played that becomes their favourite. Assuming you have a PS2 X is pretty easy to get a hold of cheap and is probably my favourite, although you really can't go wrong with VII-X or XII (XI is an MMO).

wasnt FF13 voted as the favorite FF game among the japanese? if so then there is an entire country of liars.

FF13 is not my favorite, but it did have one of the better storylines in the series. Could have been a favorite if it wasnt for all of the flaws.

X-2 is one of the few FF games that ive played that i would probably never play again due to bad storyline/characters/scenes and the fact that its only saving grace was the final battle (which was pretty good). The other FF game being FF6. Bland characters, second half of the game was liquid crap (first half was very good ill admit). If it wasnt for Kefka FF6 would be one of the worst RPGs ive ever played. thankfully Kefka was so brilliant and just plain awesome that he carried the game on his back, like a modern day Atlas.

 

[Solo-Wing]

Final Fantasy IX was best best Final Fantasy.

I feel VII is over hyped. Yeah it is good but... Eh...

Also XII is really great. the Plot, Music, Art, Scenery, Level and enemy design, and battle system are all amazing. I just hate the characters in that fucking game.

I'M CAPTAIN BASCH VON RONSENBERG OF DALMASCA! DON'T BELIEVE ANDORS LIES!

Seriously all the character can go die.

 

[Thandran]

Word of advice:

do not start with Final Fantasy 2!

The leveling system in that game is one of the most un-fun I've ever experienced. Besides that the plot is really, really generic.

I'd go for Final Fantasy 4 on the DS or the PSP remake.

My favorite?

It's a tie between X (because of Auron) and XII (because of Basch and Balthier). What can I do? I just like men that ooze charm and personality. No homo.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Final Fantasy IX was best best Final Fantasy.

I feel VII is over hyped. Yeah it is good but... Eh...

Also XII is really great. the Plot, Music, Art, Scenery, Level and enemy design, and battle system are all amazing. I just hate the characters in that fucking game.

I'M CAPTAIN BASCH VON RONSENBERG OF DALMASCA! DON'T BELIEVE ANDORS LIES!

Seriously all the character can go die.

Which is why FF XII sucked. It wasn't a bad game, it was a bad Final Fantasy game, because the hallmark of Final Fantasy games is that the characters are compelling and you care deeply about what happens to them and their world - and this before all the recent western RPG games of choice and character romancing and all that we have come to take for granted now.

I would say to the OP that you should play whatever one appeals to you in story - there are plenty of fan pages for each game that you can check out to get an idea of what you'll be looking at. Most of the oldest ones have been re-released on handhelds if graphics is a barrier for you.

I would personally recommend FF III (US) / VI (JP) as one of the most complex and interesting stories of the earlier era graphics games in the FF stable. Final Fantasy Tactics is not to be missed, and has been re-released on pretty much everything with a button scheme that exists these days. FF VII is iconic, but it may not be a place to start, since it is something of an anomaly among the FF titles in the setting of the story and it has some extremely confusing elements that might turn you off the series before you really start appreciating it. FF XI is an excellent game and has a lot of the key elements that most people consider important to the feel of a Final Fantasy game. FF X was also quite good, but is what I would say is the beginning of the departure from the hallmark formula of the FF franchise into a realm where their quality considerably declined thereafter.

 

[God's Clown]

I would suggest playing them in order of my personal favorites, because I am super important and said you should.

Four - Five - Six - Nine - Twelve - Seven - Thirteen-Two - Thirteen - Ten - Eight - Ten-two.

 

[TheGamerElite33]

imo they all suck

 

[Semudara]

You COULD start at the start, which is what I did. There's a great remake of the first two games on one GBA cartridge called "Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls". The first game is quite simple and straightforward, but has an undeniable charm to it. The second one can be frustrating and the plot is a little generic, but it should be commended for really evolving the series, and it has some powerful emotional moments. The unique leveling system didn't bother me, either.

My favorite Final Fantasy, though, is probably Final Fantasy IV. It's just a great RPG with a lot of quality and charm. I recommend you get that for the GBA as well; the DS remake doesn't have all the content of the GBA version, and the game just looks better in 16-bit (I grew up on the N64, so I'm not saying that out of nostalgia either).

Final Fantasy V is also very good, while I found Final Fantasy VI to be highly overrated. I haven't played any of the games past VI yet, but I've heard a lot of great things about Final Fantasy IX. It seems to be an underrated gem of the series.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

My personal favourite is FFIV, including The After Years. VI is also really good. VII is overrated, but worth playing. IX is also great.

There are mixed opinions of XIII and XIII-2. Some people, myself included, like them, but others really don't. If you intend to play them, do some research and try to decide if you'd like them or not.

 

[Furioso]

6 and 9 are my favorite, 7 is really good too. 8 has a ton of problems but I thought it was enjoyable. X is only good if you can get past mind blowingly annoying characters and stupid moments. Didn't like 13 that much, but I liked it better than X, the characters in it were much less annoying, but I thought the plot was worse

 

[Darknacht]

Ether start at 1 and work up to 6 or start at 6 and work back to 1, it really does not matter which.
7 isn't really good it just the first one a lot of kids played, 8 is really bad, 9 has some major flaws but is fairly good, X has some interesting aspects to it but the characters are so annoying its now worth it and after that it mostly keeps going down hill.

 

[GrandmaFunk]

Tactics

runner-up being 5, with honorable mentions to 1, 7 and 12.

 

[LittleBlondeGoth]

What I think is really great about the series is that everyone likes different ones. And us fans could quite happily be locked in a room to debate the best; seriously, give me someone who's interested and I'll talk for my country on these games.

I honestly couldn't pick a favourite. VII was my first, and you know what they say about always rembering your first. I adore that game (in spite, or perhaps now, because of the imperfections) and even though the graphics have not aged well, I still get a kick out of playing it. Also, it as Vincent. But then, IX was by turns both delightful and dark, with an art direction different from the heavier two preceeding installments. The poltics and battle systems and Balthier of XII I found highly enjoyable. The scope, world and characters of VI... You see, ths could take hours.

The upshot is that your personal preferences in gaming will probably influence which FF you enjoy. I'd suggest starting with one from what I think of as the golden age - VI, VII, VIII or IX. Maybe X if graphics are fairly important to you.

As for me, I know I am a lost cause. I'm one of those weirdos that dress up as FF characters and go to conventions. Save yourselves. There is no hope for me.