How to Play Final Fantasy? (aka HELP ME!)

[xqxm]

Put it down.
Pick up a better game from your local electronics retailer.

If that doesn't suit you, i suppose you could always go with following the Roman numerals on the packaging.

 

[jboking]

If you're starting now, I'd say the best advice is to start with FFX, it's the most simplistic and easy to grasp. It's story isn't bad either and it has Auron, one of the most badass characters of all time. After that, go to just about any game other than X-2 or Dirge of Cerberus. Avoid those two games like the plague, they are terrible.

(It might be good to play FFVII early on. Personally, I don't like it. However, it's so popular and gets talked about and referenced so much that it is just a good idea to play it to better understand the references.)

 

[Thaius]

They're not directly related to each other at all, so it really doesn't matter. I'd recommend starting with VI, VII, or X, since they're the best ones I've played so far. But the first one is actually surprisingly entertaining: just don't judge the entire series off it. It's evolved a lot since then.

VI is a prime example of good storytelling with the limited technology of the SNES. Amazing story, great game.

VII was the first to use 3D, so it suffers graphically, but it is still an incredible game. Probably the best storytelling experience I have yet had.

X has my personal favorite battle system so far. The story is incredibly personal, all about the relationships and interactions of the main characters, which makes it a great story.

Also, do NOT look up the games before finishing them completely. Final Fantasy games have some of the greatest stories video gaming has to offer, and looking them up will spoil things that are better left unspoiled.

 

[Daniel Cygnus]

You should skip ahead to IX and X. They're by far the best of the series.

 

[OriginalError]

"You should skip ahead to IX and X"

Eight and nine were (in my opinion) the worst of the whole franchise. I'll agree that ten was fantastic though.

Final Fantasy Tactics (the War of the Lions, not the drivel available on the gameboy) is my personal favorite, and it was recently remade (quite well) on the PSP. It's an epic story about a kingdom divided by war and a bastard son who attempts to reunite the warring factions, in the process becoming involved with the intrigue of a caricature of the Catholic Church (a-slightly-less-evil-than-the-real-life-version). The game was a masterpiece on the PSOne, and is even better on the PSP (the dialogue problems were fixed and some prerendered cutscenes were added).

Thats my two copper, anyway.
//J.

 

[darthcendiarygrenade]

I'd play 1 first for tradition's sake, the MUST PLAYS after that are 7, 6, 4, and 10. 11 and 12 are arguably not Final Fantasies at all...rawr.

EDIT: Also, tactics is awesome, though not part of the main series.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

The number doesn't matter except for X and X-2. The only case of a direct, non-spinoff sequel.

But honestly, start with 10.

It's streamlined, fast-paced, and simple to grasp.

^^this^^

The only thing I would change is that the combat is NOT fast paced. Where as a lot of them are ATB (Active turn based), X is not meaning you can take as long as you want selecting attacks. It is fast-paced in the sense that the narrative seems to move along quicker than some. Excellent one to start with though. Just be sure you pay attention to the sphere grid tutorial. If you just skip through it, you will hate yourself and end up hating the game.

idk, i felt that it was fast paced, even without the ATB, more so because of the LACK of it, you could input commands quickly, and nearly all attack animations were quick, with only Lulu taking a long time to attack/cast.

 

[UkibyTheMaid]

As everyone has said it doesnt matter what order but you should try to find one with a battle system and a story you like otherwise you will be turned right off the series.

I guess that's what happened in my first contact with Final Fantasy. I don't even remember which one I played (all I know is that, it was on the PSOne) because that has been YEARS ago, but I remember I kinda hated it at the time D=


To everyone:

Guys, thankx for the HUGE help, really. You have no idea! *is a total noob when it comes to FF*

And, yes. I saw some friends o' mine commenting about different battle systems and, oh dear, when you consider I'm used to 'turn-based' RPGs, it might take a while for me to get used to bnew and different systems (but, I'll try my best, trust me.).

Oh, and don't worry about me going over the stories before finishing the games. the only time I look for things in guides (when playing games) is when I'm definetely and positively STUCK (like that time I spent one month trying to figure out what the hell I had to do in tales of Eternia, and it turned out to be something extremelly simple .__.")

 

[Spiner909]

The number doesn't matter except for X and X-2. The only case of a direct, non-spinoff sequel.

But honestly, start with 10.

It's streamlined, fast-paced, and simple to grasp.

And the best.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

The number doesn't matter except for X and X-2. The only case of a direct, non-spinoff sequel.

But honestly, start with 10.

It's streamlined, fast-paced, and simple to grasp.

And the best.

I still think that was 8.

 

[Amnestic]

The number doesn't matter except for X and X-2. The only case of a direct, non-spinoff sequel.

But honestly, start with 10.

It's streamlined, fast-paced, and simple to grasp.

And the best.

I still think that was 8.

8 had huge glaring plotholes (Oh wow, all of us knew each other as kids and then suddenly forgot because of our Summons which we're going to continue to use anyway!) not to mention the whole time-compression mindfuckery, or how that one city was so much further super advanced than everyone else with a massive chameleon cloaking device.

And the magic system was shite as well, encouraging you to not actually cast magic you'd Junctioned so your stats didn't go down.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

The number doesn't matter except for X and X-2. The only case of a direct, non-spinoff sequel.

But honestly, start with 10.

It's streamlined, fast-paced, and simple to grasp.

And the best.

I still think that was 8.

8 had huge glaring plotholes (Oh wow, all of us knew each other as kids and then suddenly forgot because of our Summons which we're going to continue to use anyway!) not to mention the whole time-compression mindfuckery, or how that one city was so much further super advanced than everyone else with a massive chameleon cloaking device.

And the magic system was shite as well, encouraging you to not actually cast magic you'd Junctioned so your stats didn't go down.

I agree with the top, disagree with the bottom.
I still used magic, and then I just drew more after a few castings. You can usually draw about 5 of a spell, iirc. And casting one or two wouldn't cost a bunch to your stats, either.

Or you could just not junction that spell to a stat.

 

[Amnestic]

The number doesn't matter except for X and X-2. The only case of a direct, non-spinoff sequel.

But honestly, start with 10.

It's streamlined, fast-paced, and simple to grasp.

And the best.

I still think that was 8.

8 had huge glaring plotholes (Oh wow, all of us knew each other as kids and then suddenly forgot because of our Summons which we're going to continue to use anyway!) not to mention the whole time-compression mindfuckery, or how that one city was so much further super advanced than everyone else with a massive chameleon cloaking device.

And the magic system was shite as well, encouraging you to not actually cast magic you'd Junctioned so your stats didn't go down.

I agree with the top, disagree with the bottom.
I still used magic, and then I just drew more after a few castings. You can usually draw about 5 of a spell, iirc. And casting one or two wouldn't cost a bunch to your stats, either.

Or you could just not junction that spell to a stat.

But when you want to junction spells like Ultima and Flare to your stats so you're badass and strong and stuff, it encourages you not to cast them. Even Materia was a preferable system to junctioning and that was dozens of times more confusing to min/max. FF8's Junction system was simple, you could see the results plainly to maximise performance, but it made you less likely to cast certain spells (Ultima, Flare, Aura, Meltdown) if the enemy you were fighting couldn't have them be drawn.

Oh, and I forgot how if you decide to get Odin pre-Disc 3 ending you lose him to the far inferior Gilgamesh, but if you get him post-Disc 4 starting you lose nothing and continue to benefit from his Zantetsuken ability.

And don't even get me started on Ultimecia's Castle, one of my top candidate's for Worst Designed Dungeon. I mean, seriously? Shoving you in a castle full of boss monsters with all of your abilities locked up, only unlocking one per boss?

It's crazy. Especially since if you don't do them in the right order some of the bosses are nigh-impossible and there's no hint as to what the 'right order' is. And when I said "ability locked" I also included the save function. Yep, you either have to traipse all the way back outside the castle to save or gamble that you won't need to unlock a certain ability for the next battle and spend one of your precious unlocks on it.

I enjoyed 8. It was a pretty game with nice ideas, a pleasant storyline with a likeable female lead, a good bit of humour and a different take on the technological style that VII brought, but my god was it flawed.

Although at least Triple Triad made more sense than Quadra Master or whatever FFIX's card game was called. That shit was retarded

 

[gigastrike]

The earlier ones are simpler.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Although at least Triple Triad made more sense than Quadra Master or whatever FFIX's card game was called. That shit was retarded

I believe I spent at least 10 hours playing cards. and enjoyed it, too!

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

8 or 10. Avoid 7 like the plague it is.