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

[TOGSolid]

It's awful funny that you guys are calling me racist though.

On topic: If you're gonna play a FF game, play one of the old ones. I had a decent time in Final Fantasy 5, but mostly because being a total whore and abusing the job system is kinda amusing.

If you don't want to be called racist, avoid use racist remarks such as "Slanty eyes". My wife is Japanese and terms such as those are derogatory and EXTREMELY offensive.

As for FF, I began playing Final Fantasy with FFI on the NES so I really don't need any advice on which to play.

In the case of Western RPGs, I've yet to find a difficult one. I'm currently playing Dragon Age, and have also played Sacred 2 this year alone (my Sera is Level 101, Platinum difficulty, with only 2 deaths since she was created). On the flipside, I've been playing Demon's Souls (made in the East) and that one is a challenge.

Demon's Souls can't be difficult, you can see the enemies!

Ribbing aside, I'm loving the shit out of Demon's Souls. It's difficulty is a wonderful throwback to the good ole days of gaming where if you didn't have steely resolve and an OCD complex, you had no chance for survival.

But anyway, I don't consider myself racist soley because I make fun of every race, colour, and creed. White people, black people, asian people, christans, atheist, muslims I really don't care. I'm half Puerto Rican and half Scotch/Irish. I have no issues with making fun of either culture/ethnicity. Call me a drunk bean fucker that masturbates with mash potatoes, doesn't phase me one bit. Issues of race and religion will only stop being a big deal once people stop being anal about them and learn to laugh at it all.

 

[DracoSuave]

What's with the "-word-" thing? Stick to bold, italics or caps if you want emphasis.

When bracket-b-endbracket and bracket-forward slash-b-endbracket becomes as easy to type as - or - then perhaps that might become more of a habit.

Now that said, I can understand why someone might not like Baldur's Gate series. No offense, but D&D second edition is a terrible system. The game suffers from having to use it.

 

[UkibyTheMaid]

OK, so, I'm back from (aolmost) finishing FFI just to check the answers and all.

Aside from the 'arguments' about which is better and which ir worst, I believe that now I have a better 'base' abou what to expect from thsi series. After all, reviews abotu games in sites are good, but nothing beats the taste of the fans' opinions! I almost always prefer to hear those instead of a 'back-of-the-box' description for a game.

 

[Chancie]

Like everyone else has said, order doesn't matter for most of them.
I'd personally recommend you started at X as well. That one is absolutely brilliant in all aspects.

VIII and IX are also good but I personally think they're easy to lose interest in.
XII is my personal favorite (next to X), but if you're just starting out, it isn't the best example for the series.
As for the ones pre-VII, I couldn't tell you. Never played them.

Also, if you have a PS3 or Xbox 360, FFXIII comes out in March. However, if you played it first, it might be hard to go back to the old ones. I don't know if you're one of those kinds of people or not.

 

[UkibyTheMaid]

Also, if you have a PS3 or Xbox 360, FFXIII comes out in March. However, if you played it first, it might be hard to go back to the old ones. I don't know if you're one of those kinds of people or not.

I don't really mind playing something more 'advanced' and then going back to the previous games. It's always nice to see all the steps the game had, before getting to the latest one, since I have a si8milar experience with Metal Gear.

 

[secretshadow90]

It doesn't matter what order you play them in. FFI-FFIII don't really have that much of a plot other than "There is evil, kill it and save the world." FFIV has an actual plot but it's a little harder as it's from the era where Nintendo Hard was a known and feared difficulty (brownie points to those who know what I'm talking about). FFX is really an easy one to get into and has one of my favorite battle systems.

And for those saying they're not related at all: My friend has figured out they are in the same world and using the maps from all the games, has figured out the tectonic shifts and natural events that make all the worlds. X is just a blow up of one part of the map. Yes he is a nerd (and the way they were released is pretty much chronological if I remember correctly).

 

[Enigmers]

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.

Really? I thought Final Fantasy X was the toughest. I liked the fact that the battles were actually turn-based and not in real-time, but the enemies were tougher than what I'd experiences in other Final Fantasy games.

 

[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.

Really? I thought Final Fantasy X was the toughest. I liked the fact that the battles were actually turn-based and not in real-time, but the enemies were tougher than what I'd experiences in other Final Fantasy games.

Really? I found that each enemy had a direct counter that usually killed them in one or two hits. And since you can switch out characters for little to no penalty, it was like a kinda of dance, with allies wading in and out of combat.

Ex- Auron against armored enemies, Lulu against Flan/elementals, Tidus against the agile wolf types, etc.

 

[RatRace123]

Apparently VII is the best thing since god, so you might as well see if you snag a copy of that.

Interestingly enough, I also think 7 is the last where the male protagonist wears full clothing instead of half shirts

 

[Patricius]

Eight also had Jumbo Cactuar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RscvJC_gM2k
Yes.

 

[Amnestic]

Apparently VII is the best thing since god, so you might as well see if you snag a copy of that.

Interestingly enough, I also think 7 is the last where the male protagonist wears full clothing instead of half shirts

Eight had Squall wearing a full costume, but yes, since then we've had Zidane, [http://ff.munkyisland.com/images/ff9/zidane5.jpg] Tidus, [http://moesucks.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/tidus.jpg] and Vaan [http://fflabible.ifrance.com/image%20ff12/perso/vaan1.jpg].

Although to Vaan's credit he did eventually put a shirt on. [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/thumb/7/70/FFTA2Vaan.jpg/312px-FFTA2Vaan.jpg]

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

10,7,4,6 is the order I would go in.

Now, 4...4 was kinda hard, imo. Depending on which of the versions you have of it.

 

[stone0042]

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.

I agree with this, and 10's also just a hell of a game

 

[ThatJoelGuy]

I really don't know why 7 and 8 fans are constantly mauling each other. both games had strong and weak points, sure overall i preferred 7 to 8 but that doesn't make 8 bad. why cant 7 and 8 fans round the world join arm in arm and say both games were good and take the piss out of truly horrible FF titles. like X-2.

Personally though i Would look at beginning somewhere in the 6,7,8,9,10 range if you want to start somewhere, then when you're used to how FF games work you can go back to play the earlier less forgiving ones.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

The plots are all self-contained, so there's no "order" (except maybe the odd direct sequel/continuation story here and there). If you want an accessible first go, then maybe start with FFX. Personally, it has my favorite battle system (clever use of turn-based tactics) and probably my favorite story. The leveling up system has had its detractors, but I didn't find it all that hard to use. Almost every character is basically on a single "track" until a decent way through the game, so each character embodies one or two "classes" until you get to break out of the track. The tell-you-your-enemy's-weaknesses-and-behaviors spell has evolved to the point that you don't really even have to cast it unless you want really in depth info. Lastly, it's really not that hard to figure out where you have to go next. It's quite a bit more linear than the other games, but hopefully that doesn't take too much away from the game.

 

[Cryo84R]

Best way to place FF is to be high as a kite, that way the plots seem like epic stories instead of confusing messes that got lost in translation.