To recount my personal experiences, 6 and 10 were the first Final Fantasies I played, and whilst I'm by no means a huge fanboy of the series, they helped me get more into the series. Right now I'm playing FF7, but that's not one I can easily recommend to FF-novices. (In terms of 10, though, Blitzball can go fuck itself.) Also, feel free to smack anybody that tries recommending Mystic Quest.
I just want to say I agree with you, if you like old school jRPGs, you can play Dragon Quest or BD. But this is a perception issue. For over ten games, for nearly 25 years, "Final Fantasy" meant old school random battles and turn based combat. In that time, Square has introduced a ton of different IP's with different tweaks on the traditional RPG game play. Tactics, SaGa, Mana and even one offs like Vagrant Story were all expected to be "experimental" compared to Final Fantasy. Then SquareEnix happened, and Dragon Quest became the "traditional" series and FF became the progressive series, partly because SE own the two top IP's, so they had the room to experiment, and partly because there aren't as many different titles getting released as there used to be. Ideas that, in the 16 bit era, would go into another game were now able to go into FF. That's what I think is pissing off people. There's very little, if any link from FF game to game, even style-wise, so I don't know why just can't pop in DQ or BD and pretend it's the new FF game. To put it another way, it's like Guilty Gear 2. No one wanted that game to be called Guilty Gear. It wasn't "Guilty Gear", it was another game with a Guilty Gear skin.
XII didn't bother me in the slightest, in fact it's one of my favourites of them all. I have nothing against random battles, but after so many years of it and such disappointment with X (yes ten is my most hated in the entire series) XII was a refreshing change to the formula. The fact that everything takes place in real time allowed me to enjoy the game without feeling like I was constantly being taken in and out of the scene, and made the action consistent and fast paced. Sure you don't control your characters every action, but you do decide how the battles are played. You're not pressing buttons and not scrolling through menus but you are making strategic decisions and fully responsible for the outcome. The Gambit system took the focus away from all that slowed previous games down and allowed the player to concentrate on other things such as exploring the environments and grinding for loot without having to take breaks every five seconds and scroll through pages of menus just to complete each battle. And when it comes down to it the numbers on screen are just as satisfying as any other Final Fantasy game, trying out new Gambit ideas and slaying crowds of enemies is no less entertaining regardless of how many times I press buttons on the controller. Ivalice was a beautiful world and I was happy to explore it to its fullest, regardless of its system mechanics or its title Final Fantasy XII is by far one of the best console RPGs I've ever played.
I actually started VI last night. I love it. Can't wait to get off work and keep plugging away. As soon as I make some headway into the games, I can list what I liked the most about it. Then I can see if going to VII and VIII will be the best course of action.
I'm guessing your one of those "nostalgic" people that turns a blind eye on a series that's gone far off the charts and that's okay cuz it's your personal opinion but as for everyone else they'll disagree. It's fine if Mario, Zelda & Grand Theft Auto to stay the same just to cater to those old timers or whatever! i'm not forcing you to change your mind or anything but as artillery has already said i'll have to agree with him/her because of that & it's true.
We can agree to disagree with FF. You may want to give FF Four Heroes of Light and Bravely Default a shot. BD is getting a sequel. DQ isn't all that similar to FF and probably couldn't take its place, but BD feels close. Glad you see how rose tinted glasses ruin gaming discussion. I wouldn't say Mario and GTA stayed the same. Not counting the tons of non EAD Mario games Galaxy felt sort of fresh. GTAIV brought online and a ton of modes for it plus Chinatown Wars mixed things up a bit.
yes, indeed. people are fucking dense. anyway, i like them all. yes, even the XIII trilogy. it's not even been a year since 13-3 but i'm already feeling "nostalgic" and will remember it very fondly. i especially liked trying to figure out the best schemata for bhunivelze final form. it reminded of the good old days when "everything" didn't require handholding..
As others did, I'd suggest you start with the SNES or PS1, though I won't suggest a specific order, mainly due to not having played all of them to completion. These are all great in my opinion, though I started with VII and it's still my favorite. Not sure if others agree, but I find the series to be awesome in the following areas (at least up until the PS2 games): -Awesome graphics (I think they always managed to push the consoles to the max) -Amazing music (at least 1 through 9) by amazing Nobuo Uematsu -Great stories -There's always at least one awesome character
How do you possibly get that from my comments? I'm clearly pointing out a case where I think that a series has gone completely off the rails. Difference of opinion aside, it's not a matter of "rose tinted glasses", it's an analysis of the progression of a franchise away from the core tenements which defined it in the first place. FF started as the most basic of turn-based RPG's, defined itself as a progressive, story-driven franchise, and now turned into a flashy, no-substance action-oriented wreck. Sure, people will disagree with me, but a lot of people agree with me as well.
I agree with marsil btw. I dont understand how you can say you want it to progress and you should try out another franchise if you want the old style FF. How about FF stays FF and if you want something different, you go elsewhere? Surely that makes the most sense =/
From my point of view: Tactics - Great story, introduces the job system really well to a beginner, really nice to get accustomed with the FF series 5 - Same as the above, although the story is a bit more cliche (save the world from a bad guy) 6 - Perfect story. My favourite 7 - The materia system is cool, story is so-so. 8 - Story is full of emo, but what i remember from this game is the high-end graphics (this was the first ff i played, just after it had its release in europe). I liked the gf and junction system, checking out which combination of magic is best was addicting. 9 - some people call it the newer 6, i understand that because many people felt a let down after 8 - it stood out from the series, was more modern. 10 - never felt attached to this one. 4 - my wife loved it, probably because during the game there was the romance between cecil and rosa involved 2 - always wanted to try, the job system is a bit unique, where you level up your affinity for a weapon 1 and 3 - pretty much a standard final fantasy, nothing special with it. ffta and ffta2 - ocd people love these games, i know i do.
i'm confused?! :concern: what's 'FFSW'? (final fantasy BLANKETY-BLANK) not finding any reference online... that or my searches are gimped?
Well put but try convincing the "gaming conservatives" that even if they do not enjoy FFXII it still has strong points. its a film
missed this! thanks guys. i see now. :witless: i've got the dvd and char action figures and the copperhead science vessel, don't have 'jane' though. looked on all the action figure packages and i don't see her, just the rest including phantom, which i also have. that film got a really bad rap, UNFAIR even. will say this, the film title was off, but where i'm stood, loved it, the cast voiced their parts great. ... why i NEVER take the word of any review site, you can bet your bottom dollar, whatever 'x place' says is bad, is bound to be the opposite (and experience this side has taught me that, won't speak for others) i despise the fact a board of ten govern and account for the tastes of the masses...even if most are sheep, it's still not right. (boards/forums can differ as each post is individual and more balanced/objective responses...usually.)
