Final Fantasy VI is a great one, but I think Final Fantasy IV might be more "accessible" to someone new at those types of games. And with FF4 you have a range of platforms to play it on. It's good on all of them but you have your choice of SNES, PS1, GBA, DS, and PSP. I like the PSP version as it's the most modern. I kind of dislike the DS version for its 3D graphics and art style. But it's not like I hate it, it's still great. But I prefer the PSP's improved 2D art or the original SNES/PS1 art over the DS version.
Honestly? VIII is my favourite of them all. From any other Final Fantasy game I've never grew a deeper attachment to the characters nor developed a fonder love for the environments. You should absolutely be looking forward to it for so many reasons I wont spoil for you. The fact that it was the first game to feature realistic looking characters makes it a unique experience that you can connect with on a completely human level, just as a Playstation RPG alone it is one of the most technically brilliant. Despite its criticisms it is a fantastic game, don't be put off by any of the things people might have to say.
This. Great story, good mechanics and gives a good idea of what to expect from the series. FF I: Classic, but slow and lots of grinding. FF 2: Unique take on story progression, but feels clunky and grinding is weird. FF 3: The 3DS remake was excellent, but again, grinding. FF 4: Best in the series for me. Great story. Natural character progression. The After Years expansion is great too, but can't truly be appreciated without playing most of the other FF games (at least 1-6). FF 5: Good story. Job system can be irritating. FF 6: Many prefer this over 4, but I think the story isn't as good (still good though). I found the character progression flawed, as it basically makes everyone equal, aside from a special ability or two. FF 7: First 3D FF and the other one that most people liked. Story is way out there though. Similar character progress flaw as 6. Had a few random offshoot games which were RPG's. FF 8: I think the story is better than 7, but most don't. The leveling system is completely stupid, but it does have a card game built in. I definitely go with the "Squall is dead" theory (spoilers if you look it up). FF 9: Meant to be a throwback to the classic 2D FF games, with lots of references to the previous games. Like The After Years expansion, you need to play the others to really appreciate it. FF 10: Bland story, unlikeable characters and horrendous voice acting. Leveling characters becomes very convoluted. Had an expansion which basically made you play dress-up with the female characters from 10. FF 11: MMORPG, skip. FF 12: The blandest, most boring story in all of them. Combat switched from true turn based to more of an AI focused "run-and-gun". Just did not feel like an FF game. FF 13: Felt like an on-rails shooter, with role playing elements, and not in a good way. Worst characters than any other game and a storyline that was just forgettable. Had a few expansions, but I won't touch them because this was so bad. Before this, I had played through every FF, aside from the MMO's. FF 14: MMORPG, skip. FF 15: Not out yet, doesn't look like it will even resemble a typical RPG. With the way that SE has gone with 12 and 13, I might not even bother with it. Recommended order: 4, 6, 7, 5, 9, 1, 8, 3, 10, TAY, 10-2
People that think FF should always be a turn based RPG irk me as they tend to be so militant in their opinions. Hopefully they can migrate to Bravely Default series and stop badmouthing any experimentation SE does.
^^ hahaha! :witless: i was writing up a torrent description, decided to stagger back to this subject, and my body went numb and my hands mashed about a million keys at once, gonna have to redo it...standards an that! :boxing: ... needed a bloody good laugh. (militant? LOL! i love words) :cocksure:
I'm sorry if I think that 12's combat was crap and ruined the experience. I'm also sorry that 13 was such a poor overall experience that it turned off a lot of people from the franchise. I'm also sorry that people who want FF games to be something other than an RPG can't go out and find their own franchise and feel like everything has to change to suit them.
Play IV through VIII along with Tactics. FFX is where the wheels started to come off the bus. Some others would also recommend IX but I can't since apart from knowing I beat it I can't remember a damn thing about it. That alone tells me how much it meant to me.
How is FFXII not an RPG do you realize than turn based isn't the only type of RPG? Unlike you, I am not demanding any particular changes just for SE to keep it fresh, but if you want to play the same game with a different skin forever ask Activision to start making RPGs.
I actually quite enjoyed FF12, although to me it felt like i was playing a single player MMORPG. The fact it was built with the Final Fantasy 11 engine probably helped give it that feeling. Noticed a lot of harsh criticisms of FF10 in this thread. It was personally my favorite FF game, IMO it had hands down the BEST story out of any FF game (dont even try saying FF7 had a better story, FF7 had an almost identical story to FF6, just with different characters and settings.). The voice acting could be a tad annoying at times, but i felt the characters speaking actually helped with the immersion into their world, made them seem more "human", or something. I do agree with all the stuff said about FF13 though, it felt mostly like an interactive movie. Hell, with the exception of the eidolon fights, you can win damn near every battle in that game by spamming auto-battle. I did kinda dig the characters and story, but really would have liked more actual gameplay. Case in point, 100% completion in FF13 and my file had about 105 hours on it. 100% completion in FF10 and my file was at closer to 250 hours.
Go for release date order. It's not that big of a deal. If you already know something about 8 that interests you, you'll need to play 8 right away. Your mind will not like the "forced wait" to play in the release order. If any kind of fetish makes you want that experience, go for it. You'll see otakus loving X-2 beacause of the girl stuff. You'll see people that only played 7 saying that 7 is the best game of the world, etc. I would try to enforce the release order, just because it's like the path of the developers thoughts...
I didn't say that 12 wasn't an RPG; I said that the combat changed and that it didn't feel like an FF game. I loved the somewhat similar action-oriented combat style in KOTOR 1 & 2, but FF 12 screwed it up and made it a burden (the fact that you don't even start with some of the most basic AI tactics was idiotic). I'll freely admit that I don't like it when companies try to "keep it fresh", especially when it means sacrificing a franchise's identity. I still mourn the loss of the Phantasy Star series and despise what they have started turning Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid into (more action, less stealth).
You are going to have to expand on this because I don't see any similarity between the storylines. Not to mention that FFVI had the greatest villain of all the Final Fantasy games. FFX had a floating ball for its final boss.
Final Fantasy 7 will always be the best in the series in my opinion. I've played nearly all the FF games and 7 stands out as being the deepest story and I always find myself getting sucked into it even playing it in recent times. Me and a few friends who had the game when nearly new back in the ps1 days always still joke about how we have a yearly FF7 playthrough, and we do.
X's voice acting wasnt really bad, The laughing scene was meant to sound fake and sarcastic. Yuna can sound abit stiff at times though As for levelling up, i personally loved the sphere grid. It's the mini games that let it down for me......dodging 200 lightning strikes in a row?, no thanks
:cocksure: ... for some reason, i wasn't able to 'love' the girls in FF 10 as much as i loved lulu! :smile-new: (some 'man part' WILL solve all her problems...as they do!) got an insert with the retail and if i didn't know any better, it looks like lulu is about to 'domineer' yuna...NICE! next, from FF 10 part 2 is PAINE! a bit of a cold bitch, that's sure to THAW! (in the end) (she really did tidy up in the 'lady luck' outfit, in fact, it's as if it was meant for her ALONE!) ^^ i WOOD..BOTH! :witless: ff 8 with rinoa, quistis and edea, what a 'trilogy' that would be?! one game where most of the girls are liked (not the loony selphie) but the other FF's leave liking just the one...or two at best...:concern:
Final Fantasy IX is my favorite and it's was my first Final Fantasy. I would recommend starting with it. It has a nice setting, good battle system and very nice characters (I'm fan of Vivi). Final Fantasy X is also really good. VIII is a bit different from the others and VII is also very good. I just didn't liked XII for it's battle system and gameplay. I prefer turn-based battles. XIII is nice, I remembered me a bit of X because both are more linear than the others.
