What am I missing in Final Fantasy?

[Cranyx]

To be fair, I've only played X and XII, and have seen people play VIII, but I could never get into it. It's not just a "I don't like RPGs" thing but when it comes to the genre I expect a damn good story, and in general the series fails to deliver. The characters are border-line self parody, un-relatable, and annoying. The stories make very little sense and are generally just ridiculous. Square Enix seems to prefer style over substance when it come to this series; they give big elaborate visuals but there's no substance behind it.

Maybe It's because I've never experienced the old games, but I don't see why this franchise is so popular.

 

[Kanlic]

It's been awhile since I played it, but I thought X had a good story, even if Tidus was a bit annoying. XII is just kind of a dud story wise, and if you aren't even into MMOs, it's a lost cause.

You didn't make it clear, do you like RPGs?

 

[DJDarque]

I suggest playing some of the older ones. Specifically IV and VI. The newest Final Fantasy I've ever actually played myself was a little bit of X and it was unenjoyable. I much prefer the older ones.

 

[Signa]

Well, sounds like you got lucky and played and watched the worst 3 in the series.

It's hard to say what really holds up by today's standards, but FF6 (or 3 in the USA) still holds the top position for a Final Fantasy game for me. The characters are likable, and the universe develops well enough.

FF7 was also great for its time, but the graphics and cutscenes aged SO BADDLY it's hard to say how a newcomer might feel about them. I booted it up recently, and it does still seem to hold some draw, but that could still be nostalgia talking. I do know that I tried more recent versions of FF and other JRPGs, and I found them instantly unplayable. Something with the pacing in FF7 still works for me.

 

[LobsterFeng]

I think it's the anime-ish appeal of it all. If you don't like the style of anime then chances are you won't like the style of Final Fantasy. (Do you like anime?)

 

[sivlin]

While I can't really speak for why you didn't like X (One of my favorite stories), I was unaware that XII had a story . Squenix has dropped the ball for the past while on Final Fantasies IMO. I have enjoyed them all, sure, but I feel as though X was really the last FF game to date.

If you are willing to give it a go I would recommend playing Final Fantasy 8. That has a real story. Great gameplay. FF8 is what Final Fantasy is about IMO.

Final Fantasy 7 is supposed to be the best: I've never been able to get around the graphics (the blocks make me angry) so I've never gotten to experience the awesome.


But anyways,

Final Fantasy is popular because they deliver superior graphics, creative worlds, dramatic story telling, and some damned good game play (if you like turn based).

Personally, I have been waiting for about 6 years for Final Fantasy Versus XIII. You should look up the trailers for that game - If they don't make you want to play Final Fantasy, then you should probably just give it up for a lost cause. I literally bought a PS3 for that game (like 4 years ago).

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I hate hate hate random battles and I've only played X and XII and neither are great games in the least. I tried playing FFVI way back but I just couldn't take the stupid random battles every 3 steps. XII is the better game because the gameplay is actually better and harder when compared to X. Don't get me wrong XII is a really flawed game but I found it enjoyable and like the characters more than I did in X, Balthier and Fran especially; I'd love a prequel game about Balthier and Fran. X is so easy, it's not even funny, there's no point to any of the battles because no enemies even have enough HP to do anything to you. Just from a gameplay perspective, X is a horrible game and a bad RPG. Then, the story is fine but the characters suck, I hated Tidus and Yuna. To my knowledge, every FF game has some broken mechanic to it that makes battling super easy. One of the most important aspects to a good RPG system is having balance.

 

[Cranyx]

While I'm not the biggest fan of turn based combat (Aside from my nostalgic love for Pokemon) But it's just the stories are presented in such a clumsy manner. The characters don't seem like real people, they seem like caricatures of how people should act. They are either whiny, completely over the top, or the dreaded "Let me show you how cool I am". And ignoring the characters, the story itself is often a mess, with plot holes and plot points that are just silly.

It seems 50% of the time it wants to be taken seriously, and the other 50% it wants to be a light-hearted comedy, failing on both accounts.

 

[thiosk]

I tried 9 a little, that was the first FF game I didn't complete. By the time X and beyond were out, the series had fallen well outside my interests.

FF2 and FF3 are still fantastic-- (US numbering scheme) but its old school, to be sure. I still like FF. Cathartic. FF7 was good, FF8 I started losing interest-- fast.

 

[Uzbekistan]

I would suggest playing Dawn of Souls for the GBA (remakes of FFs I and II)

Graphics are good, you can grind your way though everything and their quite fun for 2-6 hours (depending on how fast you can play through them)

They introduce the classic which everything else is based off of, and an interesting leveling system, and by interesting I mean 'completely uneffing necessary.'

 

[faefrost]

To be fair, I've only played X and XII, and have seen people play VIII, but I could never get into it. It's not just a "I don't like RPGs" thing but when it comes to the genre I expect a damn good story, and in general the series fails to deliver. The characters are border-line self parody, un-relatable, and annoying. The stories make very little sense and are generally just ridiculous. Square Enix seems to prefer style over substance when it come to this series; they give big elaborate visuals but there's no substance behind it.

Maybe It's because I've never experienced the old games, but I don't see why this franchise is so popular.

It depends on what you are looking for story wise. X and XII aren't the strongest entries as far as their stories go. For the more modern style of FF games VII and VIII are much better. of the old school ones IV and VI are the true standouts. X and XII were more of the period where the series was seeking to move more to the gorgeous visuals and elaborate cutscenes, and some of the overall story elements suffered as a result. (This ultimately resulted in XIII which is one of the most gorgeous games you have ever seen, yet is purely linear with no choices or options. Thus removing much of the RPG from the RPG.)

as far why it is so popular. It pushed the boundaries on what you could do on a console. FF I, II and III were some of the earliest true PC style RPG's to appear on a console. FF VII was the true "killer app" for the then new SONY Playstation. The first one of these games to do all the spectacular pre-rendered scenes and storytelling. They pushed the boundaries of their platforms.

The later games also owe a lot of their popularity to their shear visual and design style. Love or hate the story or the specific entry in the series, but VII, X and XIII remain as some of the most popular cosplay subjects ever.

 

[faefrost]

I hate hate hate random battles and I've only played X and XII and neither are great games in the least. I tried playing FFVI way back but I just couldn't take the stupid random battles every 3 steps. XII is the better game because the gameplay is actually better and harder when compared to X. Don't get me wrong XII is a really flawed game but I found it enjoyable and like the characters more than I did in X, Balthier and Fran especially; I'd love a prequel game about Balthier and Fran. X is so easy, it's not even funny, there's no point to any of the battles because no enemies even have enough HP to do anything to you. Just from a gameplay perspective, X is a horrible game and a bad RPG. Then, the story is fine but the characters suck, I hated Tidus and Yuna. To my knowledge, every FF game has some broken mechanic to it that makes battling super easy. One of the most important aspects to a good RPG system is having balance.

The one positive thing they did do in XIII was to do away with the random battles. In XIII and hopefully any new ones going forward you can see whatever you have to fight and can even often walk around it. It was a nice development. Now if they had only given you some choices in where to walk around stuff to...

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

So, it's just not your thing. No need to dwell on it. Some people don't like CoD, some people don't like Half-Life, some people don't like Final Fantasy. If you want my advice, move on and spend your time on games (or other things) that you do like.

 

[Signa]

Well, sounds like you got lucky and played and watched the worst 3 in the series.

It's hard to say what really holds up by today's standards, but FF6 (or 3 in the USA) still holds the top position for a Final Fantasy game. The characters are likable, and the universe develops well enough.

X the worst in the series? Everyone is welcome to their opinion but... wow. Worse than the Japanese III? Worse than the universally despised XIII? Wow.

Final Fantasy fans usually like other JRPGs and usually enjoy anime. Not the norm, but those are indicators.

yes, each to their opinions, but FFX was nothing more than a lot of hype and flash with a really shitty story to a lot of people. I'm certain presentation makes up for A LOT of it, but I've heard a brief synopsis of FFX, and it's about the stupidest thing I've heard. To be honest though, there is more more going for it when compared to JRPGs now. I can't stand the genre at all now, and FFX has a lot of the elements I hate.

 

[Epona]

It's the battle/level systems which puts 10, 12 and 13 and the bottom of the list as they have the least exciting battle/level system. My favorites are 6,7,8 and 9.

I have never found the stories to be fantastic but it's about equipping espers or materia and leveling up skills. It's about equipping magic to boost your stats (though drawing the magic sucked) and it's about learning abilities from equipment. It's about character customization and it's about going back at level 99 and destroying those wimpy enemies that used to kick your ass 40 hours ago.

Final Fantasy 10 had a decent story but the battle/level system wasn't very good. After you beat it once, there was nothing to go back for. Final Fantasy 12 and 13 were really about controlling one character and letting the computer control the rest. Not much satisfaction there and I don't even remember the level system from 12. The level system for 13 was a more linear Sphere Grid from 10.

Well, that's how I see it anyway. The stories are written by Japanese writers who live in Japanese culture. I can only imagine much is lost in the translation.

 

[ImperialSunlight]

I played FF1 and really liked it but haven't been able to get into any of the others. Perhaps it's because I prefer a more laid back, passive story a la Demon's Souls rather than a more linear one that holds your hand too much and prevents you from enjoying the gameplay (although sometimes the random encounters do get a bit tedious too, so that's also a problem). Also, I don't think missing earlier games would be a problem since most of their stories are self contained.

 

[Ridonculous_Ninja]

Well, sounds like you got lucky and played and watched the worst 3 in the series.

It's hard to say what really holds up by today's standards, but FF6 (or 3 in the USA) still holds the top position for a Final Fantasy game. The characters are likable, and the universe develops well enough.

X the worst in the series? Everyone is welcome to their opinion but... wow. Worse than the Japanese III? Worse than the universally despised XIII? Wow.

Final Fantasy fans usually like other JRPGs and usually enjoy anime. Not the norm, but those are indicators.

FF3j is awesome and I shall take no arguments against it as valid.

Except maybe that you have to switch jobs at some annoying points and/or toad/mini your whole party to proceed. But those only happen in the first quarter of the game!

JOB SYSTEM~!

No but seriously, FF3j has great music, a cool class system, a decent length, some decently challenging bosses, etc. I have heard complaints about the final dungeon, and I played on emulator and save-stated so I don't get a say on that. I made it from saveable are to saveable area without savestating, just put one up for the real endgame began. Sages have enough charges to just Toad or Exit anything that stands in your way at the level you reach that place, or at least the level I reached it.

 

[Tselis]

The stories are why people play the FF series, as well as them generally being eye candy. If you can't get into the stories then it's just not your thing. Not everyone likes the same things, it's cool.