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Mr. Moon
2007-01-28, 07:38 PM
You can imagine my delight when I discoverd that mom had orderd me a copy of FF9 from Amazon that will arrive in a few weeks. I can't wait to get it, I've been wanting this ever since I got my PS2. Heck, I've be wanting it ever since my cousins copy got busted and unplayable.

I've been told that FF7 and FF10 are much better, but I've never played them so I wouldn't know. I've also been told that Durge of Cerbures sucks, but I still won't know, because, again, I've never played it.

But I've been wondering if anyone else has any suggestions about what I should get when I've beat FF9, because, frankly, I love the FF world, and would love to revisit it after (supposedly) saving it.

Rama_Lei
2007-01-28, 07:45 PM
I've heard it's very funny, and it returns to the very fantasy FF, as opposed to the hyper-tech worlds of ff7 and ff8.

Mr. Moon
2007-01-28, 07:49 PM
From what I've played, yes, but most of what I remember is the plot-twists, the dramatic storey line, and the characters I could identify with and loved. I still love ol' Vivi. He's such a cutie.

DeathQuaker
2007-01-28, 07:54 PM
FF9 was the first FF game I played, and I enjoyed it. The characters were fun and the fantasy world was innovative. I got hooked into it pretty early and found the story addictive. My only complaints about it are the complaints I have about every JPRG I've played... the existence of invisible random encounters and too many of them; a ridiculous amount and emphasis on character leveling; and the fact that healer-types suck horribly until they're very high level.

It's funny because FF9 I got of my own will and got drawn very much into the story and loved it. I got FF7 on recommendation of others--it does seem to be the most popular FF--and got bored silly halfway through the first disk. Most of the characters (with I think the possible exception of Tifa) seemed horribly cliched, and I especially had no interest in the hero. Someday I might try to finish it--I'm sure there's a reason why it's so popular--but I got very frustrated early on and felt little motivation to try to push through to get to "the good part."

I've heard good things about X, which is on my "to-play" pile. And FFVI is generally viewed as the "classic" FF. Opinions on FF12 vary, though I've heard from many that X-2 is frustrating. I've got a bunch of the old FFs to play in an emulator--haven't done a lot with them but they're fun in an "oldskool" way.

The Orange Zergling
2007-01-28, 07:59 PM
I have only played FF7 (still really early in it - can't catch a chocobo to get past the Midgar worm thingy in the marshes), and I can say I have enjoyed it. A lot. The characters are... meh (Barret's my favorite so far... I dunno why), but the variety of things you can do in the game is astounding - especially when you consider it's nearly ten years old.

I want to play Dirge of Cerebus, despite what people say about it. I can stand long cut scenes. I also want FF10, since people keep saying it's "Teh pwnag3".

The Dirge
2007-01-28, 08:04 PM
Dont get final fantasy x-2. It sucks big time.

Soniku
2007-01-28, 08:07 PM
Any FF from 6 to 9 is good, in my opinion. 5 and below are (for me) a bit lacking in dramatic storyline, and the ones past 9 are just... bad.

I know loads of people will probly disagree with me but meh!

tgva8889
2007-01-28, 08:29 PM
I liked FF X. Only one I've ever played, and not to it's end, but I liked it.

Anyone have anything to say about FF III for the DS? I was planning on getting it for my lack of having played FF games.

JadedDM
2007-01-28, 08:32 PM
You can imagine my delight when I discoverd that mom had orderd me a copy of FF9 from Amazon that will arrive in a few weeks. I can't wait to get it, I've been wanting this ever since I got my PS2. Heck, I've be wanting it ever since my cousins copy got busted and unplayable.

I've been told that FF7 and FF10 are much better, but I've never played them so I wouldn't know. I've also been told that Durge of Cerbures sucks, but I still won't know, because, again, I've never played it.

But I've been wondering if anyone else has any suggestions about what I should get when I've beat FF9, because, frankly, I love the FF world, and would love to revisit it after (supposedly) saving it.

Well, which FF games have you played?

I agree, I very much like FF9. It's in my top five. I particularly liked the way they used the Eidolons (summons). I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say it creates some very cool FMV scenes.

Mr. Moon
2007-01-28, 08:40 PM
I've only played FF9. I think I got a little into the second disc before it got busted. The last thing I remember about it is
[spoiler]Garnet and that knight guy with those really smelly pickel-things. And something about Garnet getting changed.[/spolier]

My friend has FF3 for his DS. He doesn't let me play it, no mater how I beg, but he's always playing it, so there you go. Of course, it could be just another fad. He just got out of his "I only play Sonic games now" fad, and a little while ago he was in a "I only play Monster Rancher Games now" fad.

Daracaex
2007-01-28, 08:43 PM
FFX is good. I didn't get past the Calmlands though. I need to try again...

FFVII is good too, but I had to start that over near the end of the first disc due to poor party and materia management. By the way, don't just ride past Midgar Zolom. Equip a character with as much damage resistance you can find and an enemy skill materia. You can get a really awesome skill from him very early in the game.

But my favorite two FF's by far are Kindom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. For something as cheesy as a FF-Disney fusion, they are awesome games with great gameplay and storylines.

I havn't played FFIX, but it's on my to-do list!

Rama_Lei
2007-01-28, 09:16 PM
FFx is wonderful, with incredibly wonderful art, brought to life with new tech. X-2 is mostly fluffy fan-service.

AaronH
2007-01-28, 09:22 PM
Are kingdom hearts 1 & 2 really FF games? Wildly fun none the less.

Anyways, haven't played FFIX, so I can't say anything about it.

FFVII: Pretty good. Decent story, Fun, if limited gameplay. plenty of interesting things.
FFVIII: Really good. Wierd story (a bit too wierd for me), fun gameplay with tons of customizability and options.
FFX: Best of the series IMHO. Great story, though not an open world, still a decent sized game. Really easy to learn, and I never felt the end game slow down of the other two.
FFXII: Long.... unecessarily long..... So far (after 80 hours) I find the story a little weak too.

JadedDM
2007-01-28, 09:34 PM
FFX is good. I didn't get past the Calmlands though.Many summoners give up there. *nods gravely*


FFx is wonderful, with incredibly wonderful art, brought to life with new tech. X-2 is mostly fluffy fan-service.Meh. FF10's voice acting kind of ruined it for me. Yuna's Shatner-like speech and Tidus constantly whining or narrating his life, a la The Wonder Years. Plus, it's terribly linear. Not that it's a bad game, but it doesn't make my top five. I mean, I'd rather play it than FF8.


Are kingdom hearts 1 & 2 really FF games? Wildly fun none the less.No, they're not FF games (they are fun, though). They're kind of a series of their own. They have some FF elements and cameos, but they're really more Disney games than FF games.

----------

Anyway, Moon_Called, in terms of what FF to try out next, it really is a matter of taste. Anyone who claims that any given FF is the 'best' or the 'worst' is going to find someone to argue it with them very quickly. It really matters what you liked best about FF9. If it was the high-fantasy aspect, then I might recommend FF6 or FF4. These are older, sprite-based games, but classics and considered very good. If it was the world and the various races that drew you in, I'd recommend FF10. Despite my complaints, it has a very interesting and rich world.

Nerd-o-rama
2007-01-28, 10:28 PM
It's funny because FF9 I got of my own will and got drawn very much into the story and loved it. I got FF7 on recommendation of others--it does seem to be the most popular FF--and got bored silly halfway through the first disk. Most of the characters (with I think the possible exception of Tifa) seemed horribly cliched, and I especially had no interest in the hero. Someday I might try to finish it--I'm sure there's a reason why it's so popular--but I got very frustrated early on and felt little motivation to try to push through to get to "the good part."
Well, there's a reason VII has so many cliché characters, since it invented a couple. Cloud was the original angsty, brooding swordsman of console RPGs, to my knowledge. Unless you count Cyan, but he's a lot better explained, and broods less. Aeris...not so much a trendsetter.

And I don't know why people disliked the Midgar parts. I love eco-terrorism and intrigue.

Anyway, Final Fantasy VI remains my favorite of the series, particularly for storytelling and characters. I'm going to give a shout out to V for gameplay, but it kinda...lacked in the plot department. I recently replayed FFVIII, and got over much of my previous dislike of it. Mostly since I payed attention after Disc 1 this time, and realized the story wasn't quite as disjointed as I remembered. Seifer still needed a bigger part, though.

Inigo_Carmine
2007-01-28, 11:03 PM
Most of the characters (with I think the possible exception of Tifa) seemed horribly cliched, and I especially had no interest in the hero.

Final Fantasy Games (indeed, about 99% of Japanese CRPGs / RPG-related things) tend to feature an utterly unlikeable main character. It's like they try to make the character more dynamic by making him annoying, whiney and immature in the beginning, and slowly progress to mildly tolerable by the end of the game. The supporting cast is almost always where its at, and why I'm still a big fan of the genre.

I recomend against Final Fantasy 2 and 5. The rest of the games, it depends on what you're going for (Note I have not played 3, X-2, 11 or 12). Some the story is better, some the gameplay is better, and some the eye candy is better.

====

I - is interesting to see where the roots of the game came from, and to realize that this was a last desperate attempt from a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy (Yes, squaresoft was on the verge of going out of busines before Final Fantasy).

II - Already said, it's not very good. It's almost worse than I in every way.

III - Haven't played yet, but I look forward to it. From what i hear the plot is relatively non-existant, but its fun to play and has great mechanics.

IV - One of the best. This one had great characters and great moments. (You Spoony Bard!) It's also quite difficult, which prevents me from wanting to play it more than the 2 times I already have.

V - Vaccuous plot, characters I didn't really care for. The job system is kind of neat, but not enough to want to keep playing the game. I played through for completetion's sake (I'm anal like that) and didn't enjoy one second of it.

VI - The crowd favorite. This one has a whole host of characters (too many imho). I enjoyed it the one time I played it, but in my opinion, the game is about 2x too long.

VII - The Fanboy favorite (and mine too, though I am not a fanboy). I could write pages and pages about how this is probably both the best and worst thing that happened to RPGs (not just CRPGs either). Still, I think everyone should play this one. This is the first game that ever effected me emotionally, and the game that brought me into the fold as a "Gamer" instead of just someone who occasional plays videogames. Yes, Cloud is annoying. Yes his sword isn't just big, it's rediculous. If you can look past this though, everything else is great.

VIII - Hmm. This isn't a bad game. I like the story, even if I don't like most of the playable characters. It's the game mechanics though: Drawing spells constantly. Ach. This is another one I played twice, but will never touch again.

IX - You're playing this one already, so you'll find out soon enough. I liked the mechanics, and the characters. It also pushed the PS1 graphics pretty much to their limit.

X - I only really liked 1 character in this one (and god do I HATE Wakka) and the plot was ok. But this game is just so damn playable. It's gorgeous, and the leveling system was great. I like the changes they made for the combat system: being able to substitute party members on the fly in a battle, the thing that showed you the order of turns, the limit breaks for the characters. Plot/characters aside this was the best designed RPG I've ever played.

You might also look into the Final Fantasy Tactics games. The one for the playstation actually has a decent plot. The one for the gameboy advance is a better balanced game though (and the plot is changed drastically and is very simplistic).

Daracaex
2007-01-29, 02:12 AM
Why aren't the Kingdom Hearts games Final Fantasy? Not all FFs had numerical numbers. Take Tactics and Crystal Chronicles, for instance. And you can't say it's not FF because it's in a different world(s), because almost every single FF has been in a different world. Many of the FF characters in it had a larger role than just a cameo too.

I like Final Fantasy Tactics. The only problem with it was that if you get to this one place in the first half of the game and your characters aren't strong enough, you can't win. At one point, the game closes the route behind you and doesn't have any random monster encounter fields where you're sealed in, so you can't level if you can't beat the next story mission.

Deepblue706
2007-01-29, 02:12 AM
1- Didn't play

2- Didn't play

3- Kinda boring

4- Was good for its time. An interesting cast of characters, and was well developed where other games of this era kinda sucked.

5- The main character's name is "Butz"...yeah...what do you expect from a game like that? Don't play it.

6- Absolutely amazing. Not a moment in that game I can truly say I disliked. Great characters, great VILLAINS (rare in FF games to even have a single good one), and an interesting world.

7- Pretty good. Enjoyed the play, but it was missing a lot of elements that make a truly good game.

8- Enjoyable. Some aspects were a little lame, but it had unique elements, which is always a plus.

9- I kinda lost interest after Steiner joins your party (yes, after the first 30 seconds). I played through, and...well...I can't say I liked it, to put it lightly. But, I hear plenty of other people did, so don't let me dissuade you.

10- While 99% of it sucked, I think there were a few really good moments. Unfortunately, that 1% doesn't make up for all the weak points. And BLITZBALL! Turn-based SPORTS?! No thanks. Anyway, if some of those good aspects were actually put into a different game...hmm...

12- I really really really enjoyed the beginning. I really really really didn't like the fact that 50% of the game was an accumulation of side-quests, and that the story doesn't really go anywhere with what little it presents early on.

FFT- First half great, second half not-so-great. Most likely because the story slows down...anywho, still a game I recommend.

Square also released this really neato game "Vagrant Story". It's...pretty awesome. Same cats that did FFT. Very different gameplay, but same world as FFT. Actually, it's similar to FF12, except it's got a targetting system (Go for the Head!), and you can time your shots to do combos and shiz.

Thexare Blademoon
2007-01-29, 02:12 AM
You might also look into the Final Fantasy Tactics games. The one for the playstation actually has a decent plot. The one for the gameboy advance is a better balanced game though (and the plot is changed drastically and is very simplistic).
Yeah, in FFTA instead of two abilities instantly winning every battle, you have every skillset able to instantly win every battle, with one possible exception.

Seriously, I halfassed a few characters that still soloed battles that should not have been easy by any stretch.

Now, personally I liked FFV. But, I've always been a fan of the job systems used in some of the FFs, compared to the rigidity of FFIV/IX and the feeling of "everyone's the same" in VI-VIII. Its plot was poor, but I stopped playing FF games for their plot when I realized that most of their villains had very poor motivations at best. A lot of them seem to be evil for no reason at all.

As for emotional impact... FFVII, even with the scene at the end of disc 1, never really affected me. Probably had something to do with annoying cliches and average writing combined with below average translation... Front Mission 3 actually did more to me than Final Fantasy 7. Near the end of Emma's storyline, you may be able to guess what part it was. Maybe I'm just getting less apathetic as I get older.

Cybren
2007-01-29, 02:43 AM
FF6 is my favorite one. Also, FF1 is worth playing on an emulator (or an NES/Famicom if you can find one.) It's primitive, infuriating, and overly difficult in the original version. FF2 is worth playing also, as it has some interesting mechanics that square (for good reason judging by how abusable it was) never visited again. FF5 is the best main-series implementation of the job system IMO, and in terms of gameplay is worth playing. The story regressed compared to 4, which wasn't that great itself (though pretty good and really fun).

As I said earlier, 6 was my favorite, and in my opinion, the best.
7 was roughly on par with 5 in terms of how much I enjoyed it. Worth playing but not worth replaying. 8 was good. 9 I didn't even bother to play past the first disc. 10 was meh. Don't count 11. And 12... well... watch the intro movie on youtube. that should be enough.


If we're discussing FFTactics as well...
PLAY IT OR I KEEL YOU

JadedDM
2007-01-29, 02:52 AM
Why aren't the Kingdom Hearts games Final Fantasy? Not all FFs had numerical numbers. Take Tactics and Crystal Chronicles, for instance. And you can't say it's not FF because it's in a different world(s), because almost every single FF has been in a different world. Many of the FF characters in it had a larger role than just a cameo too.

Kingdom Hearts is not part of the FF series because:

A) Nowhere in the title does it say "Final Fantasy" (i.e., Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles...)
B) It has a very different format than FF in terms of gameplay (it's not turn-based, there are no random battles or battle transitions, it has button-mashing and so on).

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying they're bad games, nor am I saying there is no connection at all. I'm just saying that, officially, like the Chrono games, they are not part of the Final Fantasy series.


I like Final Fantasy Tactics. The only problem with it was that if you get to this one place in the first half of the game and your characters aren't strong enough, you can't win. At one point, the game closes the route behind you and doesn't have any random monster encounter fields where you're sealed in, so you can't level if you can't beat the next story mission.

Ahh, Velius. I love Final Fantasy Tactics, it's in my top five. You know, they're making a remake of it.

Deepblue706
2007-01-29, 03:35 AM
Velius was a fun fight. I didn't do that "Yell" tactic though...

I had more fun summoning Bahamut. What a killer...

JadedDM
2007-01-29, 03:44 AM
Ah, the "Yell/Auto-Potion" tactic? I don't think I really ever used it. But it's been so long since I played, I can't really remember what tactic I did use...

Could you break/steal Wiegraf's sword, or did he have Maintenance equipped? I don't recall.

Tengu
2007-01-29, 06:33 AM
Let's see...

FF1-3 (the NES ones): were probably good when they came out, but they did not age gracefully. Play them only if you are a maniac who wants to finish all FFs. 2 is probably the worst FF ever created, though I have not played FF10-2.

FF4: I don't see what so many people see in this game. Maybe it's because it's the first FF they ever played, and since it was long ago when they were still kids they remember it a lot better than it actually was. Well, it was probably great at that time, but didn't age well. Still worth to play and finish at least once though.

FF5: I don't see why so many people dislike this game. The story is a bit cliched, predictable and naive, but if, only for a moment, you abandon the cynical part of yourself, you will have a lot of fun time. Also, as mentioned, very good job system.

FF6: The best one. Great characters, plot, music and everything. Very moving. I'm sure there are people who will tell you a lot more why is this game so good.

FF7: Only slightly worse than 6. Probably the deepest plot of all FF games. The materia system allows great character customization and makes no character useless - and good, because, unlike some people, I like them all (though Yuffie and Vincent are my favorite). As it was already mentioned, some of the characters are cliched because the game invented those cliches.

FF8: Hmm. This game has some good moments, but overall is not so good (for a FF game). Squall and Rinoa are the most annoying characters in the game, and being the main hero and his love interest they get the most screentime. The junction system is just horrid, and lack of equipment apart from upgradable weapons does not help. Battles can be, and often are, very annoying. The story lacks this something that makes you wait in anticipation for what will happen next - maybe it's the complete lack of the "mystic" feeling other FFs have? Well, at least it has nice summon animations and the best mini-boss battle of all FFs. Worth playing once though.

FF9: It's like FF4+ - you have characters with pigeon-holed roles and a classic, "back to the roots" story. It's quite fun to play - unlike FF8 which is usually so-so with good moments, 9 is usually good with so-so moments. If only Garnet was less annoying (she combines the worst elements of Aeris and Rinoa), non-melee characters were more useful, and the card game had a point...

FFT: Great gameplay, though some very hard battles can be frustrating, and some classes are clearly superior to others. About the story, I must disagree with the people who like it very much - you have a feel that what you're doing does not matter really that much, and the general feel is as if Square tried to mimic one of those grittier fantasy books - and it didn't turn out that well.

Haven't played the rest, so my ranking is:

1. FF6
2. FF7
3. FFT (mostly for the gameplay)
4. FF9
5. FF5
6. FF8
7. FF4
8. FF3
9. FF1
10. FF2

Logic
2007-01-29, 07:12 AM
I have *tried* all of the Final Fantasy Games, save FF3, which until recently, was not released in the United States.

I also *tried* to like most of them, but the only ones I actually enjoyed playing were:

Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2 (I know, let the chastising begin)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Final Fantasy XII

Corlindale
2007-01-29, 07:17 AM
I'm a great fan of the Final Fantasy series, and I love most of the FF games I've played, which are VII, VIII, IX, X and X-2.(Eagerly awaiting XII to reach Europe).

VII: Haven't got that far in this game, because it doesn't really run well on my system.(I had it for PS1, then the first disc got scratched, then I found a copy of the PC version). I just got past the Midgar Zolom, but the game keeps freezing up at this point. Still, what I've tried of this game has been good. The story was surprisingly dark for a Final Fantasy game(this was the last FF game I tried, so I'm judging it compared to the later ones), but I found that to be a good thing. The mood is fantastic. The materia system is interesting, though I haven't been able to try some of the more advanced combos just yet. Perhaps it will turn out to be the most flexible and enjoyable of all FF-character systems.
On the negative side I don't identify that much with the player characters just yet, though I already think Sephiroth is great.

VIII: First FF game I played, and so my opinion on this might be influenced a bit. I love this game, I played through it twice and have recently been comtemplating starting over again.
I didn't really mind the Junction system, I thought it provided a good way to really customize your characters to your hearts content. Drawing magic from monsters might be a bit tedious, but there are easier ways to aquire it, notably item refinement.
I was quite fascinated by the story, though I didn't like the characters that much.
The various secrets were also fun to discover, and the GF's had very nice animations. FFVIII also has my favourite FF minigame, Triple Triad.

IX: IX I have mixed feelings about. It is most certainly the game where I identified most well with the characters(gotta love Vivi), perhaps in part because of the ATE system, and the storyline was among the most fascinating. It also had great humor, something I've missed a bit in the other games. The scene with the love letter mixup actually made me laugh at loud, one of the few times a game has made me do that.
However, I thought the skill-system was a bit boring, and the combat system I found very frustrating, mainly because the actions of characters were delayed quite a bit, which meant that you could ask someone to use a potion on someone near-death, only to have him actualy do it quite a bit later, when it was already too late. Combat was in general challenging, because you didn't have the option of going all-out nova that the other games provide through limit breaks, overdrives or GFs.


X: Also among my favourites. The storyline was great, in my opinion. Voice-acting enforced the personalities of the characters and presented them well, though the characters themselves were not quite as intriguing as those from IX. I didn't really find the voice of Tidus as annoying as many people seem to have. I found Maester Seymour to be a very interesting villain, though I suspect Sephiroth will surpass him when I get further into VII.
Liked the Sphere Grid, liked the new take on summons(though it would have been nice to have had more to choose from), liked the completely turn-based system which was all tactics and no reflexes(aside from Overdrive-inputs).
Was a bit disappointed with the lack of a world-map and the possibility of free exploration, but even so there were plenty of secrets to discover, and it didn't really ruin the game.
Blitzball was fun at first, but became tedious when my team became too superior and each match was basically 10+ minutes of waiting.
My main complaint about X is that it is a bit too easy. The end-boss, for example, was a complete joke.

X-2: I do not believe this game deserves the name Final Fantasy. The storyline and the characters were extremely and utterly annoying. They destroyed Yuna and Rikku here, both of which I quite liked in FFX. In general large parts of the story is just...silly.
That aside, X-2 has some good qualities. There are some nice minigames, notably Sphere Break which kept me occupied for quite a while. The dresssphere/garment grid system was also quite fun and made for some very flexible characters. Trouble with it was that once you had mastered a Dresssphere, you didn't really have any incentive to use it anymore. Also, a lot of abilities on the different dresspheres were a bit too similar.
This is probably the only FF game I didn't really enjoy. The storyline and the characters just ruined it for me.

Jester42
2007-01-29, 07:28 AM
I am a big fan and recomend all of the final fantasy gams except for III, 8, and mystic quest.

The final fantasy games for the origonal game boy were barly passable but they didn't have much to work with. I believe there were 5 of thoes (legends 1 - 3 and something else 1 - 2)

And my favorites? Well, I named my cats Kefka and Sepheroth.

Logic
2007-01-29, 07:40 AM
Blitzball was fun at first, but became tedious when my team became too superior and each match was basically 10+ minutes of waiting.
HOW?!

I still have yet to win a game of Blitzball. I didn't think it was possible.
It seems that the math that applies to my team being able to score a goal is quite different from that of the AI.

Sneak
2007-01-29, 07:42 AM
In my opinion:

I: Never played
II: Never played
III (in Japan): never played

IV: Pretty good. Of course, the graphics and all are dated, but the game is still good. Plus, Cid with a beard is funny, and Kain is just badass.

V: In my opinion, not that good. I think they made a fundamental mistake when they named the main character Butz (of course, I renamed him Crono).

VI: Probably one the best Final Fantasy games EVER. This game is simply amazing—great storyline, great characters (except for Umaro and Gogo, and maybe Gau, I mean, WTF?), great gameplay. It's not 3D, but it very well might be the best FF game.

VII: Good. The first FF game in 3d, although the graphics still aren't great. It has a good storyline...when I can figure it out. I like this game, but the storyline is a little complicated for Dumb Ole Sneak.

VIII: I really liked this game (despite Squall's godawful personality). The card game also was a nice touch. I didn't really like the characters so much, but I still liked the game, I don't know why. One of the only bad things about it is that the battle system (drawing) is so freaking annoying! I HATE DRAWING! GRAAGH!

IX: In my opinion, this might be the best FF. I personally like it more than VI, although they're both amazing. IX is just so much funnier in places—the part with the love letter, Quina...I just love it. Yes, Zidane and Garnet can be annoying, but then Rusty/Steiner comes in and makes up for it.

X: This game was pretty good. It had amazing graphics and an ok storyline, plus watching Kimahri try to smile was hilarious, but Tidus and Yuna got a little annoying sometimes. It seems like the female leads from VIII — X are all the same annoying character. EDIT: And yes, blitzball was fun.

XI: Not a real FF, never played.

X-2: GODAWFUL. That is all I have to say about it. Playing dress up games with armed girls is not exactly my idea of fun.

XII: Good, but the main character is annoying in this one too, and Penelo and Ashe are also annoying to me. I also dislike Fran. However, Baltheir makes up for it with his predictable one liners. That game desperately needed a comic relief character, really.

And as for all the offshoots, like Final Fantasy Mystic Quest...yeah, um, let's just not even mention those.

Pirata
2007-01-29, 08:39 AM
I'm a ex-jrpg addicted (still recovering :smallbiggrin:) and a long time fan of the Final Fantasy series. I have played all the games on the series except XI. What I can say is that it's a great video game franchise, packing 20 years of (mostly) great games. So what about them? Let's see....

I and II... Dragon Quest clones, unless you want to feel nostalgic and/or frustrated (the original FFI and FFII for the NES are incredibly hard) avoid them. The remakes suck.

III. After the DS remake it's worthwile. It's weak on story as it's other two NES companions, but is the first game with a more complex job system.

IV. The true beginning of the series. The first game to really tell a story (a great one to boot) with great characters. FFIV was the game that made the series avantgarde in comparison to Dragon Quest, Phantasy Star and other old jrpg franchises. Try to play the original japanese translated, it's better than any remake or the US SNES localization. Failing that, play FFIV Advance.

Mystic Quest. Ignore this.

V. Return of the job system. Weak story. Poor characters. It's a upgraded FFIII and a step back from FFIV. Avoid it.

VI. Great, great game. The start of the "high-tech" Final Fantasy. FFVI is cyberpunkesque, has a great story that starts cliched (evil empire against good resistance, yay) but builds up and becomes really impressive. Also, Kefka owns. It was my first FF. Also, the last game of the series actively directed by the series mastermind Hinorobu Sakaguchi. Play it.

VII. Terribly overrated, but great game even so. VII is the game that not only changed the series, but changed video gaming by having a major role on giving dominance to Sony. VII has a good system and a good story, play it when you have time.

Tactics. Best game in the series. Play it. Enjoy it.

V III. Love or hate case. FFVIII takes what VI and VII accomplished and takes it to the next level. It's very hi-tech, has a great, but very complex, story, great characters and a GREAT system. Try it. If you end up hating it, you are not alone.

IX. Well, my 2 CP on it. To me FFIX is a good game, but has lot's of wasted potential. The only character that really develops and is rich is Vivi.
Good system, but a little too simple and shallow compared to the junction system. It's very nostalgic though as it recapture the old (pre-VI) FF feel.

X. Good. FFX has a good story, good characters and a system that rivals the junction on depth. It's very big, full of frustrating side quests, however terribly linear up until the very end. Still have the dreaded random battles... sigh. Play it if you have a PS2.

XI. Not played. Seems that it's old age makes it suffer against World of Warcraft. Well, I don't like MMORPGs anyway.

Tactics Advance. Very good. Has a system better than the legendary Final Fantasy Tactics, but weaker story.

X-2. Stay away from this.

XII. GREAT. Really great game. From Matsuno and the team behind Tactics. It's actually the only FF to feel high-fantasy, even with some amazing technology mixed up in the middle. However, the protagonist is useless to the story, and the story is actually much greater than the characters, making them feel small and shallow for the most part. The system is not what junction or sphere grid were, but it's fairly good anyway. Finally the end of random battles on the main franchise after 11 years since Chrono Trigger taught the lesson. Play it. It's worth buying the PS2 for it.

VII Spin Offs. They suck, don't play them.

WampaX
2007-01-29, 09:33 AM
Sigh . . . seeing as I've played every game on these lists, here's my take.

I - I've played it on the NES, the PS, and the GBA. All good times, all multiple play-throughs. Its just a slice of nostalgia for me and I love to try out different party configurations for a challenge.

II - People seem to hate this version, but I can't. I played it on the PS and the GBA. And although I didn't finish the PS one (it was on the same disc as I which got considerably more playtime) but when I picked it back up again on the GBA, I had a blast.

III - Just started this one on the DS, so its hard to tell. I remember trying to play it on an emulator with a translation patch but gave up after the patch stopped updating.

IV - Played on SNES, PS, and GBA. One of my favorites with its rotating cast of characters. Final dungeon is a beast of thing and probably the hardest of any FF I've played.

V - Played on SNES emulator with Rom patch and GBA. I didn't finish it on the emulator as the patch ran out again, but it was still pretty far into the game. When I picked it back up on the GBA, it had been long enough that I got to play the game again, as it were. The Job system is what saves this game. Its tough when you follow IV and precede VI. Played it once, probably won't again.

VI - Played it on SNES. The meat and potatoes of CRPGs. Great characters, great storyline, best villain. The esper system was pretty good, too.

VII - Played on PS. Its VII, what else can I say. I didn't finish it the first time I played it. Took about a year break and then polished it off. I didn't take the time to do any of the final sidequests and the final dungeon just kicked my butt (plus, I had Tactics eyeing me). Pretty good, all in all. Some people hated the ending, but after a year off from it, I found the ending very nice.

VIII - Played on PS. I enjoyed this one. Not as good as VI, but its still a favorite. That's probably because of the Card Game, which was the greatest part of VIII for me. In an era when almost every CRPG had a card game programmed in, this one was my favorite.

IX - Played on PS. Fun, pretty easy. It was nice break from what had come before.

X - Played on PS2. I played this game like some people played VII. Probably because I had nothing else to do but look for jobs at that point, but it was still a good way to wile away the non-job hunting daytime hours. I never did get the hang of blitzball.

X2 - Never played.

XI - Never played.

XII - Played on PS2 with component cables and flatscreen LCD TV. Kind of a letdown, really. Too easy, maybe? Despite having not played an MMO, I feel like I have with this game. Balthier was the best part of the game . . . and the HD widescreen, too.

Tactics - Played on PS. My personal favorite. In my top 5 games of all time for any system/PC, if not #1. The sheer versatility of it all and the storyline (up to the last chapter) was very solid all around.

Tactics Advanced - Played on the GBA. The biggest letdown of any FF for me. I was expecting something akin to my beloved Tactics and got something much . . . less so.

So, all in all, I have enjoyed the FF series. There have been other, better CRPGs, but I've enjoyed the Square/Squaresoft/SquareEnix product line. Not bad for a company that released a game titled "Final Fantasy" as it was to be the final game they were planning on releasing.

Corlindale
2007-01-29, 09:56 AM
HOW?!

I still have yet to win a game of Blitzball. I didn't think it was possible.

Many people become discouraged with Blitzball because the very first match you get to play is extremely hard, and has the odds stacked heavily against you. Luca Goers is the second-hardest team to play against, and when your team doesn't reallly have any nice techniques or stats to work with, it can be hard. In addition you lose Tidus halfway into the second part of the match.
Basically the secret is to get as close as humanly possible to the opponents goal with your best shooter, and preferably without any defenders coming along. You probably won't be able to score before the second part, as Tidus will have access to the Jecht Shot there, an incredible technique which adds +5 to shoot and removes 2 defenders. Try to get one or two goals before Tidus leaves, and the match should be won. Wakka might be able to score as well.
Blitzball becomes much easier once your team starts to level up, and once you get to play pushovers like Kilika Beasts and to a lesser extent Ronso Fangs. But don't expect to beat The Al Bhed Psyches right away:smallsmile:

Still, blitzball is not much fun compared to Triple Triad or some of the other FF-minigames, and is not really worth spending that much time on unless you absolutely want to get Wakka's ultimate weapon.

Tengu
2007-01-29, 10:01 AM
I do not understand all the people who liked FF4, but didn't like 5. What does the first have that the second does not? Well, apart from Kain and maybe Edge.

Though I understand all the people who liked Triple Triad. It's probably more entertaining than FF8's normal gameplay, and much, much better than FF9's card game, whatever the name of it was:
-TT has clear rules, which base heavily on tactics. FF9's card game has blurry rules which base heavily on luck.
-In TT, all the cards of the same type have the same stats, so collecting rare cards makes sense. In the other card game, they have random stats, which makes no sense (it's as if in M:TG one Swamp would give black mana when tapped, the other Swamp red mana, and the third Swamp would be a 2/1 creature) and makes collecting rare cards pretty pointless.
-TT has effects on the game world, since there is a side-quest including the game and you can change cards into useful items. In FF9, apart from one part where you can (but don't have to) win at the card arena, playing the card game has no impact on the actual gameplay.
-You can play TT with many different NPCs, in FF9 you can play only at the card arena and with a very small number of NPCs.
-And last but not least, TT has a better background music.

Which also reminds me of a slightly amusing thing: FF8 has probably the best boss battle music and the worst normal battle music of all FFs (not counting the NES ones), while FF9 is the opposite - the best normal battle music, the worst boss battle music.

Does Bahamut Lagoon counts as a FF game? It's this game which was supposed to initially be FF Tactics, but they released it under a different name for some reason. I find it to be as good, or even better, than FFT.

Logic
2007-01-29, 10:12 AM
Many people become discouraged with Blitzball because the very first match you get to play is extremely hard, and has the odds stacked heavily against you. Luca Goers is the second-hardest team to play against, and when your team doesn't reallly have any nice techniques or stats to work with, it can be hard. In addition you lose Tidus halfway into the second part of the match.
Basically the secret is to get as close as humanly possible to the opponents goal with your best shooter, and preferably without any defenders coming along. You probably won't be able to score before the second part, as Tidus will have access to the Jecht Shot there, an incredible technique which adds +5 to shoot and removes 2 defenders. Try to get one or two goals before Tidus leaves, and the match should be won. Wakka might be able to score as well.
Blitzball becomes much easier once your team starts to level up, and once you get to play pushovers like Kilika Beasts and to a lesser extent Ronso Fangs. But don't expect to beat The Al Bhed Psyches right away:smallsmile:

Still, blitzball is not much fun compared to Triple Triad or some of the other FF-minigames, and is not really worth spending that much time on unless you absolutely want to get Wakka's ultimate weapon.
I was not reffering to just the first match. I have tried afterwards and never scored a goal, not even against the "pushover" teams. As I said in my first post, it seems that the math which governs the game is different from my team to the next.
I am always as close as humanly possible to the goal, and there are usually no defenders. I use my best shooter, and the goalie ALWAYS catches the shot, no matter the difference in my shoot VS his catch.
Blitzball is an excersize in frustration, which if I wanted that, I would try to divide by zero.

JadedDM
2007-01-29, 11:06 AM
much, much better than FF9's card game, whatever the name of it was

Tetra-Master.

Pirata
2007-01-29, 11:18 AM
Does Bahamut Lagoon counts as a FF game? It's this game which was supposed to initially be FF Tactics, but they released it under a different name for some reason. I find it to be as good, or even better, than FFT.

It does not for the same exact reason that the Final Fantasy was scrapped from it's name. Bahamut Lagoon does not play or feel like a Final Fantasy at all. Not that's bad, Bahamut Lagoon is an excellent game. One of the best SNES games ever, and surely on a top 100 of all time.


And about FF4 and 5. It's that FF5 story is regarded as very poor and hummm... "cheesy" by most. Power of friendship and all that. The characters also are very weak in charisma and personality compared to the FF4 cast IMO. FF5 has one the best final dungeons in the series though, up there with Ultimecia Castle. Insanely big, full of dangerous monsters and with some "nice" surprises on treasure chests.

Reinforcements
2007-01-29, 12:21 PM
Ah, what the hell.

FF1-2: Never played

FF3: Working on the DS remake. It's pretty good. As someone once said, it's kinda like 5, but sometimes you have to be a frog. And the job system isn't as deep.

FF4: The first Final Fantasy with a decent story. I mean "decent for a video game" of course, but as all the previous games were starred by faceless nobodies, this was actually quite the breakthrough. Also you fly to the moon in a spaceship.

FF5: Never played much.

FF6: The best Final Fantasy and one of my favorite all-time games, not to be rivaled in quality until years later with FF12. Solid gameplay, a dumb but interesting story, and no characters that I wanted to punch. Not to mention the best villian in a video game, bar none (the only other villian that comes close is Ganon, who makes up for lack of style with sheer persistence).

FF7: An okay game that shaped RPGs for years to come in a very bad way. Very basic RPG gameplay plus a few largely pointless and often inappropriate minigames. A god-awful story that thinks "deep" means "confusing", which is especially bad as FF7 tends to forget that it's supposed to be a game and not a book with moving pictures. Characters that were either unimportant or incoherent and my least favorite video game villian outside of Tobias Bruckner. A skill system (Materia) that resulted in every character being exactly the same. Almost certainly the most overrated game of all time.

FF8: Never played.

FF9: Played a little. It was okay but seemed like it was trying to hard to go, "Look! Final Fantasy!" as often as possible. Also the battles took forever to load. And start.

FF10: And Final Fantasy moves into the 128-bit era with actually good graphics! And voice acting (which was a huge boon to the story-telling)! And a new, different levelling system that's actually good! And a story that... okay, the story was crap. Stupid and alternately utterly predictable (the summoners die at the end of the journey? Never saw that coming!) and utterly random (Tidus is a dream and Auron is dead? Sure, whatever). Ahem. And characters that... were really annoying! Okay, only Tidus, Wakka and Yuna were annoying, but they were SO annoying that it eclipsed the good qualities of the rest of the party. Still a good game.

FF11: The MMORPG. And it's really, really bad. I should probably just stop there before I fill with rage at the very thought of how bad this game is. (Seriously. SO BAD.)

FF12: Easily the best straight-up Final Fantasy since 6. Finally breaks away from the tedious combat of traditional RPGs. Has a good story with good characters with reasonable motivations. I haven't finished it, but it's been nothing but good so far.

FFT: Never played.

FFTA: A great game unfortunately marred by the stupid law system and the fact that every single character makes me want to punch them. SO HARD.

Thexare Blademoon
2007-01-29, 02:10 PM
Tactics Advance. Very good. Has a system better than the legendary Final Fantasy Tactics,

I'mma have to disagree with you here for quite a few reasons.

One, if you start someone as a fighter in FFTA, you've pretty much killed any chance of them being a passable mage; there's no stat change from just changing jobs.

Two, randomization. With the exception of certain skills and weapon types, damage was more or less fixed in FFT, you could easily compute most of it in your head and plan in advance with that knowledge in mind. Even against two enemies wiht the same defense in FFTA, your damage will vary from one hit to the next.

Three, laws. Specifically, Dmg2 Animal. But really, the whole system would've benefitted from having the laws pop up at the beginning of the fight, since some of us tend to forget to check them...

Four, getting new characters. In FFT, it was a simple matter of going to the nearest town and hiring one. Male or female, your choice, and since stats were affected by your current job and they started at level 1, they wouldn't be too far off from the stats they should have, once they catch up. However, in FFTA, you have to hope someone you can use offers to join at the end of a mission, or have less than five characters, wait for the right month, and try to hire someone - chosen completely at random from their race, so you're more likely to not get what you want. And since jobs don't affect stats, if you get a Soldier, he's pretty much stuck in a physical class. Or maybe Blue Mage would be workable.

Saint George
2007-01-29, 02:18 PM
I may as well throw in my 2 cents.

Final Fantasy 2 (4): This one is fun mainly for its old school power. It has a couple of really memorable characters and a couple of really stupid plot twists. I love the ol' girl anyways.

Final Fantasy 3 (6): Excellent game. I can understand a few people saying it is a bit long, but it is enjoyable the whole way through. Good music, touching characters, moogles, clowns... what more do you need?

Final Fantasy 7: Most people cannot say much bad about this game. It is either "OMG TEH GREAT" or "It is pretty good, but overhyped.". So either way, you win. Give it a shot, you will most likely enjoy it. (PS: You can date barret)

Final Fantasy 8: I really hate most of this game. The plot, the characters, the magic system, and the main characters attitude. The very least that can be said about this game is that is purty. Also, while he may be a jerk Squall pulls off badass fairly well. I can commend him for that. (Unlike some, your card is coming up soon TIDUS)

Final Fantasy 9: In retrospect I have very little bad to say about this game and I am feeling a replay of it rising in my bones. Pretty good story, a couple really beautiful characters, fun magic and ability system, and a villian in a thong. Hell, I even enjoyed the card game in this.

Final Fantasy 10: I can honestly understand how all the people that abhore FF7 view it now. I cannot believe how many people are in love with this game. Tidus is by far the worst hero ever. Ever. Ever..... EVER. The voice acting comes through in a couple places, but can also be downright painful. The plot is really... uh... well they tried. It comes close to good and then crashes and burns. All I can really say is that the graphics are pretty and the summons look cool. (Yojimbo is my favorite character and you barely get to use him. Sigh)

Final Fantasy 12: I honestly have no idea. I own it and have played it, but I cannot figure out if it is good or not.

Wizard_Tom
2007-01-29, 04:02 PM
Mmmm Final Fantasy goodness... I've played most of the games for at least a little bit, but will refrain on commenting unless I have beat them.

FF5- Yes the story is lame. The Job system was fun though and I enjoyed maxing out my characters. I only played through it once though, which is less then most of them. Play it if you enjoy grinding and twinking your characters.

FF6- My favorite of the series. Excellent story. Good character development. Amazing music. Decent advancement system. The game may have been a bit easy though. First there was the econimizer... which made the game a joke, but not needed to break it. I had an unmorphed Terra hitting Kefka for 7k with Fire 1. Oh and nothing beats the Opera. I've beaten this game start to finish no less then 5 times.

FF7- The best part of the game is the first half of the first disk. After that it's meh story, meh characters, and way too much field travelling. The customization system was awesome, as were limit breaks. Good gameplay made up for bad story.

FF8- Kinda the opposite of 7. Story was good, characters weren't bad, but the game was damn near unplayable. Drawing and junctioning were good ideas, implemented poorly.

FF9- To me, very much a lesser FF6. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed it a lot, and it strongly reminded me of 6, but 6 was just better.

FF11- Okay, I suppose I can't really beat 11, but I played it long enough, and finished the first story arc (before expansions were added). BAD GAME! I was in denial for the longest time. It has a very rich setting and story line, but the utter lack of content for solo play. Don't even think about levelling solo, you need no less then 5 other people to get any appreciable xp. To make matters worse, the standard xp group had a very dedicated formula, and my class never truly fit in (I was a summoner for the record, and was frequently a secondary choice as main healer (meaning I wasn't supposed to use my summons) simply because I had a huge MP pool comparatively). A day of gameplay usually resulted in me looking for group for about 4 hours to get about 2 hours of leveling. Again... don't play unless you like torture.

Non-FF games by Square:
Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross- two games in the same series. CT is so close to FF6 for favorite CRPG that I can never really decide. CC wasn't as good as CT, but still a good game with the best music I've heard in a game to-date.

Secret of Mana/Secret of Mana 2- Good games, both, but very different then the FF series. Both have the "grind-factor" i enjoy in CRPGS.

There are more... but I'm running out of time.

Pirata
2007-01-29, 05:19 PM
I'mma have to disagree with you here for quite a few reasons.

One, if you start someone as a fighter in FFTA, you've pretty much killed any chance of them being a passable mage; there's no stat change from just changing jobs.

Two, randomization. With the exception of certain skills and weapon types, damage was more or less fixed in FFT, you could easily compute most of it in your head and plan in advance with that knowledge in mind. Even against two enemies wiht the same defense in FFTA, your damage will vary from one hit to the next.

Three, laws. Specifically, Dmg2 Animal. But really, the whole system would've benefitted from having the laws pop up at the beginning of the fight, since some of us tend to forget to check them...

Four, getting new characters. In FFT, it was a simple matter of going to the nearest town and hiring one. Male or female, your choice, and since stats were affected by your current job and they started at level 1, they wouldn't be too far off from the stats they should have, once they catch up. However, in FFTA, you have to hope someone you can use offers to join at the end of a mission, or have less than five characters, wait for the right month, and try to hire someone - chosen completely at random from their race, so you're more likely to not get what you want. And since jobs don't affect stats, if you get a Soldier, he's pretty much stuck in a physical class. Or maybe Blue Mage would be workable.

I think we will end up agreeing on disagreeing, but, whatever.

Some of your points actually is exactly WHY I regard the system of FFTA being better than the FFT.

One. To me the career enforcement is really nice. It makes you invest your characters on their best style of jobs, but you have freedom to choose the path, since the Lvup bonus by class far outweights anything innate from the character or his low level jobs if any. It also rewards early job entry. Like, being a Sage since Lv10 for a Nu-mou will result in an ultimate spellcaster. Or getting a Vieira into the overpowered Assassin class at a very early level resulting into Batman (with bunny ears!).

Two. Randomization pissed me off too. Since I was used for the "take it for granted" style from FFT. However, halfway through the game I realized that randomization was a very good way of enhancing the game overall difficulty. Something that lacked on the entirely second half of FFT.

Three. Laws. Yep, laws were a pain. BUT, you could make them you ally. And after some 3 or so hours into the game I already had the costume of checking what kind of law would be up on an upcoming battle, and preparing for it or simply avoiding it if possible. Law cards also were useful on some battles, which could be won by simply enforcing the right law.

Four. Point taken. Recruiting in FFTA is boring. Blatantly boring and based on luck.


The things that makes FFTA better though, is the ability by equipament system, that avoided abusive things that were possible in FFT (like lancers only getting the last jump abilities, since they overlap anyway). The nice world building system similar to Legend of Mana (with nice bonus rewards depending on how you shape ivalice). Combo classes, like Beastmaster and Blue Mage, Hunter and Morph, etc. The races, more intresting classes, etc.

Oh, and obviously the fact that 2 moogles can walk the entire battlefield throwing balls at each other without anybody else getting a chance to move...

What?

Seriously though, FFTA is not inherently superior to FFT. The system is only a little better in my opinion, more polished, and more balanced, even with Assassins running loose. FFTA's problem lies on the characters... it was a BIG letdown to me. The story is fine, not gritty and deep like FFT, but interesting enough, unfortunately the weak characters spoil it.

Mr. Moon
2007-01-29, 10:13 PM
I just got FF9 today! ^_^ Only proplem is, it won't seem to accept my memory card. I'm playing on a PS2. Do I have to get a PS memory card, or is there a way around it.

((Note: I'm about to get kicked off, and I haven't really read most of the posts. Will in a bit, just wanted to post before my time ran out.))

Cybren
2007-01-29, 10:22 PM
]

VI. Great, great game. The start of the "high-tech" Final Fantasy. FFVI is cyberpunkesque, has a great story that starts cliched (evil empire against good resistance, yay) but builds up and becomes really impressive. Also, Kefka owns. It was my first FF. Also, the last game of the series actively directed by the series mastermind Hinorobu Sakaguchi. Play it.
]
Steampunk. It's called steampunk

JadedDM
2007-01-29, 10:29 PM
You can only save PS1 games on a PS1 memory card, I'm afraid.

Mr. Moon
2007-01-30, 01:25 AM
Ah, I feared so. Would anyone know if they're still sold in retail, and if so, how much they go for?

Edit: Actualy, now that I think about it, I have played Crystal Cronicals(sp). On my friend's DS. I never really got all that far, and missed the free roaming aspect of FF9, not to mention the Random Events. Yes, I am a Random Encounter fan. Their easy ways to get your character levels up. It saves tons of time when it comes to getting Skills from weapons, like you do in FF9. Besides that, I also found the plot and characters lacking. I don't care if they bug the heck out of me, I love characters with actual story lines. Getting transported to a video game world? Sure, I'll admit, it's something I've dreamed about a few times, but it's a rather basic story. My rating? Half a star out of five. It sucks, don't get it.

The Orange Zergling
2007-01-30, 03:32 AM
I'd look online for them, we got 6 for something like $15, the e-store was trying to get rid of them. (We only ordered a pack of 3, got two of them)

Tengu
2007-01-30, 04:52 AM
Argh, I just remember one of the things that make FFT a much worse game than what it should be. At some points in the game, you must save the game in a secondary save slot - otherwise, you might have to start the game from the beginning because your characters are too weak, and you cannot return to the main map to improve them a bit (I'm looking at you, duel with Wiegraf!). And that's also another part of this game I despise - I do not like when a game forces me to grind to finish it (I'm not counting optional hidden bosses harder than the final one) - I didn't have to grind in CT, FF5, FF7 or Tales of Phantasia, and only a bit in FF6 (mostly for spells like Ultima or Life 3) and FF9.


And about FF4 and 5. It's that FF5 story is regarded as very poor and hummm... "cheesy" by most. Power of friendship and all that. The characters also are very weak in charisma and personality compared to the FF4 cast IMO.

It indeed is cheesy and naive. But I prefer it to the constant deus ex machina of FF4. Which is also very cheesy.

I don't know if FF4 really has so much better characters. Most of them don't seem to have much of a personality apart from a stereotype based on their class. Which gets pretty annoying sometimes, Cecil and Rosa are probably the first incarnations of the annoying "brooding intentionally-but-not-so-cool hero and his warm-hearted and soft-spokened but completely incompetent love interest" duo.

Pirata
2007-01-30, 08:25 AM
I just got FF9 today! ^_^ Only proplem is, it won't seem to accept my memory card. I'm playing on a PS2. Do I have to get a PS memory card, or is there a way around it.

((Note: I'm about to get kicked off, and I haven't really read most of the posts. Will in a bit, just wanted to post before my time ran out.))

You will need a PSX memory card to play on the PS2. Luckily, it's a dirty cheap accessory these days anyway. However instead of the PS2 you should consider playing on the epsxe depending the power of your computer. With optimal adjustments and settings, FFIX running on epsxe looks and plays much better than on a console, you can greatly reduce the annoying loading times by playing on a higher frame rate (70-80ish) and you will not need the memory card at all. Since you have a PS2 and FFIX, I don't see any harm on using an emulator.

And for my comment for FFVI, it's indeed steampunk... don't know why cyberpunk slipped there.

And, yes Tengu, one of the greatest problems of FFT was this annoying changing difficulty. The game starts hard, becomes VERY hard on some without-warning-against-all-odds battles, like the cited duel and the ensuing battle against Velius, and suddenly becomes a cakewalk when you recruit Obi Wan... err... I mean, Orlandu (with some bumps, like the Elmdor battle). Other problem from FFT was the poor translation to english. FFT has one of the worse translations ever, up there with Zero Wing, which makes me very pissed.

And again I'm writing a wall of text... sigh.

Tengu
2007-01-30, 12:59 PM
Indeed, FFT has the worst translation of all FF games.

As for FF7 and the characters being the same (mentioned more than once): I think it's actually a good thing. Instead of thinking "I need to have either Dagger or Eiko in my team, or else I won't have any decent healers", you can choose the characters depending on whom you'd like to see at this point of the game: "I didn't have Red in my team for a while, so I'll take him. And since we're going to Corel, it'd be stupid if Barret was not there to see his hometown". Besides, the characters have stats that vary a lot oftenly, and equipment and limit breaks also make a huge difference - for example, since most of Vincent's weapons have a very high hit rating and two of them even always hit (as well as one of Tifa's weapons), he is a born Deathblow user.

Penguinizer
2007-01-30, 02:12 PM
Many people become discouraged with Blitzball because the very first match you get to play is extremely hard, and has the odds stacked heavily against you. Luca Goers is the second-hardest team to play against, and when your team doesn't reallly have any nice techniques or stats to work with, it can be hard. In addition you lose Tidus halfway into the second part of the match.
Basically the secret is to get as close as humanly possible to the opponents goal with your best shooter, and preferably without any defenders coming along. You probably won't be able to score before the second part, as Tidus will have access to the Jecht Shot there, an incredible technique which adds +5 to shoot and removes 2 defenders. Try to get one or two goals before Tidus leaves, and the match should be won. Wakka might be able to score as well.
Blitzball becomes much easier once your team starts to level up, and once you get to play pushovers like Kilika Beasts and to a lesser extent Ronso Fangs. But don't expect to beat The Al Bhed Psyches right away:smallsmile:

Still, blitzball is not much fun compared to Triple Triad or some of the other FF-minigames, and is not really worth spending that much time on unless you absolutely want to get Wakka's ultimate weapon.
Go point blank with Tidus's Jetch Shot.

Jibar
2007-01-30, 02:34 PM
Okay, my recoomendations...
FF1; Pure RPG heaven. Nostalgic, classic, helped invent the series.
FF2; I love this one. Making an entire party of duel wielding, magic casting super freaks is plain funny.
FF4; Kain is awesome. Done.
FF6+7; I've noticed the Final Fantasy fanbase is split in two. Those who think FF6 is best, and those who think FF7 is best. It's...odd. While I have yet to play FF6, it has a better storyline, better villains (I'm looking at you non-Kingdom Hearts Sephie) and Locke. FF7 has some nice customisation for your characters, Red XIII and Cid Highwind, and of course my Aeris. Also, only game that's brought me close to tears without resorting to pure frustration.
FF10; Ugh. I...didn't like this. The gameplay is fine, that's okay. Summons is a neat feature. But the total lack of an overworld map, the pure hatred I bear for Teedus/Tiedus, and the annoying Yuna made it flop for me. Not even Rikku, Auron and Kimahri could help.

Timberwolf
2007-01-30, 03:52 PM
7 - played and loved and will always have a place in my heart for
8 - played and never completed
X - Was ok, quite liked it
X2 - was ok but wasn't that great.

ff7 was just the greatest.

Enlong
2007-01-30, 04:33 PM
1: Good, nice story, admirable time-loop, sadly, no characterization for the main party
2: Okay, just HARD! The new way to level up is pretty cool
3: The hardest ever! Buy the DS one, the caracters are distinct and cool.
4: Nice story, good characters (love palom + porom) nice "class system" thing.
5: REALLY good. Class system customization wins, especially for possible twinkiness, and the characters are cool (yay for Galuf!)
6: Likely the best. 14 playable characters, some bit-characters that can be played, nice magic system, built-in classes on the characters, a mime who is a throwback to 5, and the best villian of the bunch, Kefka. The only villian to ACTUALLY make it to godhood and hold it for any amount of time.

Exachix
2007-01-30, 04:33 PM
I haven't played many of them, but here are the ones I have:
FFI: Nice game, didn't get to far on it though =)
FFII: see above
FF VII: VERY Good game! I loved it so much... until I scratched my disk.
Annoying point: In that zombie boss in Cosmo Canyon. I used to try for ages and ages, until... ages and ages AFTER I gave up someone said 'use phoenix downs on it'. ARG!
FF X: Cool game, quite good and very customizable for characters.

kid-playsolddnd
2007-01-30, 04:55 PM
what! use phonix downs on it , dude that is the same place im stuck!!!

Burnsy
2007-01-30, 05:14 PM
I - Never played, plan to.

II - Ditto.

III - Yet again, ditto.

IV - Played through it quite a long time ago, 5 years or something. Can't really remember it, though.

V - Not played.

VI - My favourite of all of the ones I have played, as people have said before, great characters. I even dressed up as Locke at a Halloween party! Very long though.

VII - My first FF. Also my second favourite. I loved all the characters (yes, even Cloud) and loved the plot. Also, leveling up materia was always a good reason to keep playing.

VIII - First time through, hated it. Second time, I loved it. I guess the first time I was too impatient for the complexity of the Junction System. Unfortunately, there were no really likable characters.

IX - Never finished it, but got to the last disc. Zidane really made me want to play the game more. Him and Vivi. They were always my best :D.

X - The system and Auron was what kept me going in this, despite Tidus and Yuna being persistently annoying.

X2- Hated this to death. The only reason I played this was for the sake of seeing the end of the story. Worst FF ever.

The others...I haven't played! (not enough money - university first, games later)

Daedrous Avari
2007-01-30, 06:23 PM
Heh. X-2.

"Yuna! An ancient behemoth is planning to destroy the world! What should we do?"

"girls looks at each other"

"Let's have a slumber party!"

Wish I could find that comic. It's hilarious. But yeah, get FFXII and get Crono Trigger. If you can't get it, go ahead and get an emulator somewhere. Search SNES ROM.

I also suggest getting Tactics Advance.

Mr. Moon
2007-01-30, 09:15 PM
You will need a PSX memory card to play on the PS2. Luckily, it's a dirty cheap accessory these days anyway. However instead of the PS2 you should consider playing on the epsxe depending the power of your computer. With optimal adjustments and settings, FFIX running on epsxe looks and plays much better than on a console, you can greatly reduce the annoying loading times by playing on a higher frame rate (70-80ish) and you will not need the memory card at all. Since you have a PS2 and FFIX, I don't see any harm on using an emulator.

(Please excuse me while I slip into uniformed noob mode.) PSX? Emulator? What the heck are those? I doubt slipping it into my computer would help: I have a slower computer, and I also have a "limited" account, which apparently won't accept anything from the CD slot. Not even when I try through My Computer. *kicks computer* Ever since you went to Stapels to get your hard drive fixed, you've hated me! Whats wrong with you?[/shoutatcomputer]

Anyway, wouldn't a PS1 memory card work just as fine as a PSX Memory Card?

JadedDM
2007-01-30, 09:31 PM
PSX = PS1

It was the acronymn used for before there was a PS2. What does the 'X' stand for? I never really knew.

An emulator is a program that allows you to play console games on your computer. It's generally considered illegal to use them unless you have a real copy of the game (but like many internet laws, it's very rarely ever enforced).


Anyway, wouldn't a PS1 memory card work just as fine as a PSX Memory Card?

Yes, same thing. It would probably be just a lot easier to find an old PS1 memory card than to download an emulator or anything like that.

Mr. Moon
2007-01-30, 09:35 PM
Huh. That works. I found a used one on Amazon for 23.49 (with shipping included in that number). I don't quite have that much, but I'll save my cash and check around town. Once I have raised the funds, convinced my mom to let me use her credit card, and placed my order, it'll probably be a few weeks before it gets deliverd.

Anyone... care to donate? :P

JadedDM
2007-01-30, 09:40 PM
Heh, sorry. I only have two PS1 memory cards and one PS2 one. Oddly, that's all I ever needed. But even if I sent you my spare PS1 card, it would still probably take a long while to get there.

Mr. Moon
2007-01-30, 09:43 PM
I accept cash as well. :P

Sneak
2007-01-30, 09:51 PM
As others have said...if you really want to get a great game...just skip all the FFs and buy...CHRONO TRIGGER!

The FFs amazing games (well, most of them), but in my opinion, Chrono Trigger is really the best RPG of all time. The Zelda of RPGs, if you will (plus the main characters don't ever speak in either game).

Nerd-o-rama
2007-01-30, 11:30 PM
That's what would have made FFVIII better. Squall never talking! Or better yet, Squall never thinking.

...Whatever.

Cybren
2007-01-31, 03:22 AM
ChronoTrigger was pretty bad imo

Tengu
2007-01-31, 05:33 AM
ChronoTrigger was pretty bad imo

Blasphemy.

Jibar
2007-01-31, 11:19 AM
That's what would have made FFVIII better. Squall never talking! Or better yet, Squall never thinking.

...Whatever.

Isn't there a bit where Squall says "I dreamt I was a moron?"
I found that funny.

Pirata
2007-01-31, 02:36 PM
As others have said...if you really want to get a great game...just skip all the FFs and buy...CHRONO TRIGGER!

The FFs amazing games (well, most of them), but in my opinion, Chrono Trigger is really the best RPG of all time. The Zelda of RPGs, if you will (plus the main characters don't ever speak in either game).

Actually Crono speaks in one of the endings. The most silly and hard to get at that. The Slideshow.

And Squall actually speaks "I dreamt I was a moron" when he wakes up from his first 'dream' as Laguna. Quite fitting though, given the events of that particular dream. Squall was a character that I loved to hate over time, like Miko. I can't imagine FFVIII better without his ridiculous internal monologues of doom justifying his idiotic attitude. Without that Squall would look like a reverse version of Zidane, which would be as bad as Zidane himself if not worse.

pestilenceawaits
2007-01-31, 02:45 PM
*Snip*
QFT

I have played a lot of FF games the old FF legend games on game boy were great also. I really enjoyed 9. But as has been said 7 is the best out there it revolutionized RPGs I loved rpgs before and was in a minority but that game made them popular. I have recently gone back and replayed 7-9 and they still hold up to the newer stuff.

Nerd-o-rama
2007-01-31, 04:17 PM
Isn't there a bit where Squall says "I dreamt I was a moron?"
I found that funny.
Oh yeah. That and "Go talk to a wall" were great.

And yes, Squall's internal monologues of doom served to develop his character, in an extremely ham-fisted way that no prose or traditional script author could possibly get away with. He just...I mean, would it have killed him to talk to people for the first disc and a half?

Well, except during the Dollet mission, obviously, because that decreases your score.

Reinforcements
2007-01-31, 04:32 PM
QFT

I have played a lot of FF games the old FF legend games on game boy were great also. I really enjoyed 9. But as has been said 7 is the best out there it revolutionized RPGs I loved rpgs before and was in a minority but that game made them popular. I have recently gone back and replayed 7-9 and they still hold up to the newer stuff.
I'm sure there are a lot of adjectives that could be used to describe the Final Fantasy Legends series, and I'm fairly sure that "great" is not one of them. I don't think I'll ever understand what everyone sees in 7, either. It was a solidly "meh" game, I thought.

pestilenceawaits
2007-01-31, 04:37 PM
I'm sure there are a lot of adjectives that could be used to describe the Final Fantasy Legends series, and I'm fairly sure that "great" is not one of them. I don't think I'll ever understand what everyone sees in 7, either. It was a solidly "meh" game, I thought.

maybe I was bored??:smallsmile: I really like that you could attach gear to become more robotic and finally a full robot or use meat to become more monstrous and finally a monster in one of them (can't remember which one it has been a long time) .

Mr. Moon
2007-01-31, 08:53 PM
....which would be as bad as Zidane himself if not worse.

Oy! I like Zidane!

JadedDM
2007-01-31, 09:16 PM
I liked Zidane, too. He reminded me of Locke. And I'm a little tired of the whole "angsty hero" syndrome FF has been using with Cloud, Squall, and Tidus. Zidane was carefree, a big flirt, and a jokester.

Setra
2007-02-01, 02:24 AM
I'm tired, so I'm going to skip most of the thread.

FFI: Played NES, and GBA versions. It's fun, nuff said.
FFII: Played NES, and GBA versions, I didn't like this one so much
FFIII: Played NES, and DS versions, one of my personal favorites.
FFIV: Played Hardtype, and GBA version. One of the more difficult ones I'd say, fun, and a nice little story.
FFV: Played SNES, PSX, and GBA versions. I love the Job System in this game, fun to play around with.
FFVI: Played SNES, and PSX versions, I wanna play the GBA version too. My personal favorite Final Fantasy.
FFVII: Played it, it's alright, I find it a bit overrated though. It's good, not the best.
FFVIII: I like it, it's fun, nuff said.
FFIX: The original point of the thread I think, this is a very fun game, it's my third favorite.
FFX: Fun, decent story, still dislike Tidus.
FFXI: Well it's really hard to judge this one.. I like it.
FFXII: Great fun, but in the end didn't live up to expectations.

FFT: Awesome story, fun gameplay, need I say more?
FFTA: Not so great story, still good gameplay.
FFMQ: ... Well.. it's.. easy... and.. the music is good?

I am a FF fan through and through, all fear me.. somethin.. okay I think I'm rambling, a bit too sleepy...

Pirata
2007-02-01, 01:08 PM
I liked Zidane, too. He reminded me of Locke. And I'm a little tired of the whole "angsty hero" syndrome FF has been using with Cloud, Squall, and Tidus. Zidane was carefree, a big flirt, and a jokester.

I didn't liked Zidane because of the non existent development of his character (and didn't liked Locke for the exact same reason). It seems that the chaotic good treasure hunters have the fate of being flat characters. The storyline of FFIX gives lot's of opportunity to develop him, but the writers just wasted all the potential by making him all the same the entire game, and not justifying anything with backstory or anything for that matter. The only time Zidane changes a little (those who played know when) and has chances for development, he becomes all emo and turns back to his old self as if NOTHING had happened one cutscene later. At least Kuja became nuts to compensate. And yeah, I like Kuja, and Vivi for the exactly opposite reason.

PS. The angsty hero syndrome sure is boring. Only Squall from those cited I acknowledge as a good, developed character. Cloud is meh, and Tidus is outright annoying.

Jibar
2007-02-01, 01:25 PM
Wake up; you are a moron, man! (http://www.ffcompendium.com/misc/moron8.jpg)
Actual caption they use.

As for FF9...no caption does this justice. (http://www.ffcompendium.com/misc/friendlywarning9.jpg)
It's just plain kupo! (http://www.ffcompendium.com/misc/kuponut9.jpg)

Thervold
2007-02-01, 05:27 PM
Ok, here are my opinions:
FF 1-3: while classics if the 8-bit realm, I've noticed most newcomers have a hard time with accepting them.
FF 4: locked me into the FF world (being the second one I played when it came out for SNES). Too bad my memory fails me as to more then a few select scenes.
FF 5: I played it not too long ago on an emulator. It revives the job system from 3 for those who never got to play with it before.
FF 6: A classic that probably is the most popular choice for a favorite among the community. I plan on replaying it soon, as I only have a few memories of it from SNES.
FF 7: It has some cool moments and characters, but it tends to be overhyped. I liked it but not nearly as much as some others.
FF 8: While many hate it, I enjoyed most of it with the exception of having to endlessly draw magic from foes.
FF 9: Some people love it, but I thought it was only mediocre. I didn't hate any of the characters, but I didn't take to them very much either, and there weren't many memorable moments in my opinion.
FF 10: Again, some hate it, but I enjoyed it. The sphere grid was my favorite leveling system so far, and the graphics were beautiful. Also, of the three girl gamers I know that played it, they fell in love with the story.
FF 10-2: It tried to bring back the job system again, but there was not nearly as much story or character development as its predecessor.
FF 11: Sadly, being a pay-per-month MMO, I've never played it.
FF 12: It feels like I'm playing Guild Wars again. AI controlled henchmen fighting in real time while having to crowd control aggro. The license board wasn't a bad idea, but I had it completed on all my characters by half way through the game. The story is okay, but not all that entwining.

Elias Siannodel
2007-02-02, 03:10 AM
I hope you enjoy FFIX. It was the first Final Fantasy I played, and still my favorite. ^^; I would be friends with Vivi anyday; I felt sorry for him on the ship when his 'clones' plummetted to their doom. I don't have any Final Fantasy's to suggest...perhaps the knew "Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo-" something or other. lol. Have fun!

~SPI

Calamity
2007-02-04, 11:10 AM
I've only played FF8, and think it's a great game, the junction system is complicated at first but once you figure it out it's great! But my disc 4 doesn't work so I have only played it up to the end of disc 3 :(A lot of the characters lack likability but Quistis and Selphie don't have bad pesonalities, (but Quistis seems to lose this in the later parts, or least it doesn't show as often). And Selphie and Irvine are rarely even mentioned unless you have them in your party

Some of the boss fights are very difficult so it's a good idea to train (like i didn't do first time round and struggled through to the middle of disc 3, at which point I couldn't beat the bosses)

DM Kiirnodel
2007-02-04, 11:31 AM
I've been called a Square fanboy, which is not true, I'm a Bethesda fanboy, but I make allowances for Square and Bethesda. I've played a few of the games and will offer my opinions.

1 - Like many have said, it is a classic. Not an amazing game by any stretch of the imagination, and I strongly dislike the vancian casting system, but I still really love this game. I think it may be that the poor graphics enhance the quality of it... and maybe that I actually spent all the time to find 'where' to go next. However, I think spending that extra time, instead of being railroaded, via FFX, makes it more worth it.

2, 3, 4 - I am a blasphemer, probably. Never played.

5 - Couldn't keep my attention for too long, I liked the fact you could customize characters, which is pretty damn cool, but the cliche friendship/love stuff is just... to cheesy. Cheesiness on par with Manowar lyrics. I just couldn't get into it. What the hell is with the name X-Death anyways?

6 - One of my favorites. Pretty universal, I think. The characters had different personalities, backgrounds, and each one seemed so in-depth. A female lead? Kickass! (Don't bring up X-2, that doesn't count)

7 - My favorite. Why? I'm not too sure. I felt a closeness with the characters, first off. I could get involved with them, for some reason. Second - When I played this game for the first time, I thought the graphics were absolutely amazing, but ... I actually didn't end up getting a PS and FF7 until 2004, and then I still loved this game. As I said earlier, I like customization. Materia allows for that.

... plus, if FF7 wasn't made. Gamers would never have learned to cry.

8 - Easy. The plot was pretty fun, but I knew how to break the combat system, which wasn't hard, and ....it just... became so easy.

9 - I'm not sure. I try to enjoy every game I get, but sometimes I just have trouble. I couldn't beat this one. I learn stuff from hats and swords, maybe they require different techniques to wear and use? Not sure, but it just seemed too... cartoony, silly... not sure. I liked 6 and 7 much better.

10 - Hey! I liked it! I liked some of the characters that others found to be annoying! (I like Wakka, dammit... then again I like Miko, so maybe it's just me) I truly enjoyed this and I don't care that it was that linear, I honestly didn't need all benefits of a truly explorable world, because it was so engaging... save the first 20-30 minutes, it had a pretty rough start.

10-2 We shall not speak of blasphemy.

;)

Mr. Moon
2007-02-04, 03:28 PM
So, what systems are all these games played on? I have a PS2, and I can't afford to spring for another system.

spacecowgoesmoo
2007-02-04, 03:37 PM
FF1 - Battle system's pretty dated, storyline is 95% at the very end, but very good. Go read it somewhere if you don't have time to play this.

FF2 - Average at best I guess. Same battle system, better pacing but worse storyline. I'd suggest it only for FF completists like me :)

FF3 - Almost as good as 1, DS version is a big plus though. Fun game, average story again, but much better than 2.

FF4 - First one to have good, continues plotline and ATB battles. Not my favorite as many ppl like it best, but it has been a while for me.

FF5 - Better job system than 3, but story's kind of odd..not as interesting as 4. Still very good though.

FF6 - FAVORITE. Best storyline, very original as well, even with all the cliches that FF had already created. Best villian in all gaming as well.

FF7 - Maybe...3rd best. Overrated of course, but still one of the best games ever. The 'sequels' arent so great from what Ive seen though.

FF8 - First FF I played, so im a bit biased toward it. Very unusual for a FF, character management, magic, equips, $$$, etc. Story is very good, though VERY confusing if you try to actually understand it all.

FF9 - 2nd best. Main character is finally not sad and depressing. Good storyline again, but I seem to like all of them..

FF10 - Not as good IMO. I don't like the sphere grid especially, and not being able to 'fly' the airship bugged me as well. The new battle system was good though, except that lots of the monsters were too similar.Also, first FF last boss to be impossible to lose to, which i HATE. Good story again.

FF 10-2 - Worst FF. Fan service and music aside, the entire story felt like 95% side quest, which it was, since i was going for 100%. Also ANOTHER intentionally pathetic final boss.

FF11 - Never played, MMO's take too much time..

FF12 - Gameplay was the most enjoyable of all FFs for me here. One of the hardest FFs as well. Story wasnt so great though, compared to the FF standard. The main character that you control is not the main character in terms of plot. It'd be like Barret being the main in FF7. Penelo was completley useless to the plot as well, at least maybe until Revenant Wings. Also far too many monsters were palette swaps.

And KH's are awesome as well! KH2 has the best last boss fight in any game ive played.

FF1 - NES, GBA, PS1
FF2 - NES, GBA, PS1
FF3 - NES, DS
FF4 - SNES, GBA, PS1
FF5 - SNES, GBA, PS1
FF6 - SNES, GBA, PS1
FF7 - PS1, PC
FF8 - PS1, PC
FF9 - PS1
FF10 - PS2
FF10-2 - PS2
FF11 - PS2, PC, 360
FF12 - PS2

Reinforcements
2007-02-04, 05:34 PM
FF7 - Maybe...3rd best. Overrated of course, but still one of the best games ever. The 'sequels' arent so great from what Ive seen though.
Oh man, I could talk about the movies if we wanted to get into that. Briefly - Spirits Within is an exercise in mediocrity and unrealized potential, while Advent Children is a 90-minute advertisement and perhaps best exemplifies the phrase "visual excess at the expense of story" (or anything else for that matter) better than anything I've ever seen. It actually made me dislike FF7 more than I already did, just by association.

Tengu
2007-02-04, 06:13 PM
Most of you probably know this already, but...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzl51pUqqac

Very soon, they will be releasing a remake of FFT on the PSP - with some new classes and other features, and, what's much more important in my book, cinematics in the style of the game's artwork! I'm not planning to buy it, but I really like the way it looks. And hope that the translation will be better this time.

Pirata
2007-02-04, 08:40 PM
Most of you probably know this already, but...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzl51pUqqac

Very soon, they will be releasing a remake of FFT on the PSP - with some new classes and other features, and, what's much more important in my book, cinematics in the style of the game's artwork! I'm not planning to buy it, but I really like the way it looks. And hope that the translation will be better this time.

Saw it. Looks good. Though, I will not play it for some time to come, until a PSP emulator pops up. I can't afford a PSP, or rather, don't think it's worth the price for a system mostly dedicated to run emulators and remakes. Only MGS Portable Ops. is a original game for PSP worth a damn IMO.

I also hope for a retranslation. FFT needs it, badly. Rebalancing the game wouldn't hurt too, but given the way Square Enix rebalanced all their recent remakes (toning WAY down the challenge, see FFIVA) it's best keep it as it was.

Nerd-o-rama
2007-02-04, 08:43 PM
Oh man, I could talk about the movies if we wanted to get into that. Briefly - Spirits Within is an exercise in mediocrity and unrealized potential, while Advent Children is a 90-minute advertisement and perhaps best exemplifies the phrase "visual excess at the expense of story" (or anything else for that matter) better than anything I've ever seen. It actually made me dislike FF7 more than I already did, just by association.
Meh. I liked AC, just appreciating it as an exercise in fanservice, and getting all the flash of Wuxia-style fighting without any of the, y'know, art. It was the right mix of flashbacks to my youth and mockability to be enjoyable.

It was also damn pretty, which is more important than a movie than a video game (I say to the FFX designers). Except Bahamut, who looked like a guy in a dodgy rubber suit.

DArKandEViL
2007-02-05, 05:43 PM
I'm gonna get FFIII real soon for the DS, I wanted to play this game for a long time, basically, I like the job system.

Setra
2007-02-06, 12:06 AM
I'm gonna get FFIII real soon for the DS, I wanted to play this game for a long time, basically, I like the job system.

It's worth it, though it still ticks me off they nerfed Ninja and Sage (admittedly they're not optional classes anymore)

Reinforcements
2007-02-06, 12:55 AM
It's worth it, though it still ticks me off they nerfed Ninja and Sage (admittedly they're not optional classes anymore)
Well, you know. I sort of feel the same way, but you have to admit that two classes that were objectively better than every other class in the game didn't make a whole lot of sense.

Setra
2007-02-06, 12:59 AM
Well, you know. I sort of feel the same way, but you have to admit that two classes that were objectively better than every other class in the game didn't make a whole lot of sense.

Actually Onionkid was technically the best class, I actually bothered to equip every character with the onion equipment in my spare time, in the nes version anyways.

FFIII SPOILER
I haven't killed Doga and Unei in the DS version (though I already killed the Titan *whistles innocently*)

WampaX
2007-02-09, 02:48 PM
Just FYI,
Final Fantasy VI has been released for the GBA.

The Orange Zergling
2007-02-09, 03:13 PM
Just FYI,
Final Fantasy VI has been released for the GBA.

Sweet, looks like I dont have to buy an SNES (near impossible these days, I'm told) to play it now.

J_Muller
2007-02-10, 02:17 AM
A, FF. Usually delivers solid entertainment. I loved IX most of all.

Mr. Moon
2007-02-10, 09:17 PM
I'm sad. Do you know why I'm sad? I just checked the URL on amazon, and it turned out that the link that led to a PS1 Memory Card was for Amazon.com. As a Canadian resedint, I need Amazon.ca. So I tried Amazon.ca for the same thing, and it turns out...

THEY'RE OUT OF STOCK! *sobs*

Aidan305
2007-02-11, 03:21 PM
I've never played Final Fantasy I through III so I can't judge them.


FF IV: Haven't completed. Went on Hiatus while levelling in the place where all the summons live. I thought it was pretty fun though, if very difficult.

FF V: Also haven't completed due to realising that I'd probably have to start the game over again due to having not bought an ice brad before getting lost in the maze on the way to beat the fire boss, using most of my healing item son the way and consequently not being able to kill him. I thought it was pretty lackluster, though I did like Boco.

FFVI: Sadly never played, though I'd like to. Alot. I hear nothing but good things about this game.

FF VII: I'm in the "overhyped" group on this one. Aerith is dead people. Get over it. It's not the first time a playable character has died in the series and I doubt it'll be the last. Plot was alright but lack of any real character development shifts it down a notch on my scale, as does the materia system.

FF VIII: I liked the story in this one, but I felt the game itself was too easy to complete. The junctioning system made it too easy to boost your characters stats to obscene levels by the time you're in Esther watching it getting invaded. Lionheart was fun to watch though. And the Ragnarok was cool.

FF IX: My favourite of all of them. Plot kept getting better, the scenes evoked a tonne of emotion in me. I liked the linearness of the character classes, liked the skill levelling system, and loved the characters (except maybe Freya who never seemed to get much development).

FF X: Less fond of this one. Character development? What's that? A good story but fairly random. The uber-powerful characters I didn't like at all, I prefer to actually work in my battles, not just summon Anima and have him kill everything in sight. I also felt it was far to difficult to get all of the celestial weapons powered up. Blitzball? Uugh. They should have made it shorter. I don't want to spend several hours playing just to get a single, not always that good, item.

FF X-2: *Feels guilty for actually liking this one moderately* I liked the story, but again it was too easy to kill things and level up. Sphere break was fun. You actually had to think about the game to be able to play it.

BrokenButterfly
2007-02-12, 06:03 AM
FFVII: Classic in my books, but not that big a fan of Aeris or Sephiroth. Currently replaying it though, and it's still enjoyable. First FF I played, was at a friend's house when he was in Midgar near the start and Barret's Theme is blaring out. Shinra Building was one of my first real experiences of the game, and I was just hooked.

FFVIII: Not a fan of this. I didn't really like any of the characters, especially the way that Squall spent more time standing and thinking than actually saying anything at all! Hated the junction system and the way that it was perfectly viable to go through the entire game GFing everything. Until you get to Adel, and it becomes literally impossible for me to continue the game or retreat from the Lunatic Pandora....still annoyed about that...But I was a lot younger when I played it, so it might be better if I got replayed it. Lost my Disc 1 though.

FFIX: Loved this, and this is my favourite FF yet. Liked all of the characters, and the world was much more inventive than the previous ones. Didn't really know about the medieval roots of the series at this point though, so everything seemed all new to me. Still love it though.

FFX: Too easy, and I hated Tidus and most of the cast. Liked Yuna and Auron and that was about it. Some nice places meant that I still preferred it to VIII and I play it regularly even now.

JadedDM
2007-02-12, 10:09 AM
I'm sad. Do you know why I'm sad? I just checked the URL on amazon, and it turned out that the link that led to a PS1 Memory Card was for Amazon.com. As a Canadian resedint, I need Amazon.ca. So I tried Amazon.ca for the same thing, and it turns out...

THEY'RE OUT OF STOCK! *sobs*

I'm sorry. Who would have thought they'd actually run out? Maybe they'll get more in stock soon. Or maybe there's somewhere else you could find them? eBay, maybe?

Jothki
2007-02-12, 10:26 PM
I'm sad. Do you know why I'm sad? I just checked the URL on amazon, and it turned out that the link that led to a PS1 Memory Card was for Amazon.com. As a Canadian resedint, I need Amazon.ca. So I tried Amazon.ca for the same thing, and it turns out...

THEY'RE OUT OF STOCK! *sobs*

Can't you just buy it from Amazon.com and pay more for shipping?

sethdarkwater
2007-02-12, 10:58 PM
FF9 was the first FF game I played, and I enjoyed it. The characters were fun and the fantasy world was innovative. I got hooked into it pretty early and found the story addictive. My only complaints about it are the complaints I have about every JPRG I've played... the existence of invisible random encounters and too many of them.

You have to try FInal Fantasy 12 then because the encounters are no longer random and you can see the monsters.

War
2007-02-13, 01:29 AM
I played FF6A this week, and I'm still on a trip. That's my favorite FF with a number on it, and the remake does it complete justice. The old translation was not bad at all, especially for its time, but the new one is better 90% of the time while still being similar. Everything just makes so much sense now! Definitely recommended.

As for the series...

I-III: We were Dragon Warrior people back in the NES days, so the only one of these I've played to completion is I on the GBA. NES RPGs just don't age well, I'm sad to say.

IV: The first one I played, but not the first I owned -- I didn't even beat it till years later. I can't help but feel affection for it, but later RPGs refined the formula much more; this one feels a bit flat now.

V: I haven't played all of this one either. Job systems are always fun, but the plot takes a damnably long time moving past fluff, and I lose interest.

Mystic Quest: Heheheh, I feel like a jerk just bringing it up. In all honesty, it wasn't horrible; I mean, I enjoyed it back when I was twelve. It was just stupid, and its very existence is sort of an insult. Nice music, though!

VI: As mentioned, my favorite numbered game. I'm still head over heels for this group of characters, especially with 6A and all. The gameplay had a perfect blend of customizability with allowing the characters to handle differently. The music was sublime, the graphics miles ahead of the previous SNES installments. All that and a romance handled subtly and tastefully!

VII: The overhype has really hurt this one, and it's a shame. It's just so hard to think of it as an actual game anymore. It was a pretty good game, but there too they were still getting a handle on new technology and new ideas. A good story that wasn't told very well.

VIII: I hated this one when it came out. Couldn't stand any of the characters and thought the gameplay was boring as heck. I came back to try it again years later, and did a little better: I can appreciate things like how well the world is built, now, and I even kinda enjoyed Squall's snarkiness. But the cast is still pretty flat, and the gameplay is still pretty dull. It's a really nice general premise with some really boring specifics tacked onto it. Never did finish it.

IX: Well, nothing really shined about it to me. But nothing was terribly bad either. It was solid all the way through, and that's worth more than it really should be these days. It came close to recapturing some of the best elements of earlier games, didn't quite make it and ended up a bit too close to average. Still a fun trip, though. Nobody doesn't love Vivi! (Oh, and the Trance system sucked it.)

X: Okay. It definitely had some things going for it, but both Tidus and Yuna annoyed me (yes, Wakka too). And when the entire point of the game is their relationship, that's a problem. Also, seriously went overboard with the annoying sidequests.

X2: It was fun for a while, more than X even, but after a while the fluffiness, combined with the constant fear of not doing enough obscure things right to get bonus stuff, combined with the fact that I was borrowing it from someone, wore me down and I stopped playing. Oh well.

XI: Doesn't count. :smalltongue:

XII: Don't have it yet... though with the way everyone I know has been raving about it, I will soon.

Tactics: My favorite in general! I would not call it objectively the best, but for whatever reason I'm utterly charmed by every part of it, even the translation and the crazy fluctuating difficulty. And it's got replay value up the wazoo!

Tactics Advanced: It's not as good as FFT. But then, what is? The story and characters are not even worth mentioning, but if nothing more, it's a strategy RPG I can play on the bus. And it has moogles with guns. Still, not a worthy successor by any stretch.

...For the sake of sanity I'm not delving into those old gameboy things; none of them were actually Final Fantasies anyway, just marketed as such in America.

Reinforcements
2007-02-13, 02:10 AM
I played FF6A this week, and I'm still on a trip. That's my favorite FF with a number on it, and the remake does it complete justice. The old translation was not bad at all, especially for its time, but the new one is better 90% of the time while still being similar. Everything just makes so much sense now! Definitely recommended.
I hope they didn't change it TOO much. I'm going to be deeply upset if I miss my "Son of a submariner!", "My life is a chip in your pile.", or "I'm a receptionist! Gwa, ha, ha!"

War
2007-02-13, 02:52 AM
I hope they didn't change it TOO much. I'm going to be deeply upset if I miss my "Son of a submariner!", "My life is a chip in your pile.", or "I'm a receptionist! Gwa, ha, ha!""Son of a submariner," I'm sad to say, is now "Son of a sandworm," which is bizarre as most of Kefka's other kookycrazy lines are intact. The second is still there, although the phrasing around there changed, and I can't remember whether that line is slightly different or not. Ultros has upgraded to overt complaining about being a receptionist, I think he's even crying openly, but if you're disappointed by that, I promise some of his other scenes are absolutely worth it. :smallwink:

Heck, let's see... There's no lung-ripping-out, but the price is still right. Celes is still not a love-starved twit or an opera floozy, although I think those lines were changed slightly otherwise. Sabin is not a body builder, but possibly is a bear. Mr. Thou lives on. Shadow would not slit his momma's throat, but some speculate that he would kill his best friend, which is just awesome. The dog eats people. Royalty is still comparable to seafood. Our introduction to magic is depressingly lacking in special text effects. The Relic Ring (now Lich Ring) has a description that makes actual sense, and no disembodied voice ever advises you to be frozen. If something were to happen to Edgar, all the world's ladies would grieve!

Oh, and attempted suicide is given its full uncensored glory. Yet alcohol still doesn't quite exist, sigh.

Am I missing anything? :smallbiggrin:

Setra
2007-02-13, 03:31 AM
Yes, the Self-Help Booklet line. Has it changed?

Also, from what I can tell the overall script of the game has improved, even if it's not what we're used to. (I'm only just outside South Figaro for the first time)

Reinforcements
2007-02-13, 03:57 AM
"Son of a submariner," I'm sad to say, is now "Son of a sandworm," which is bizarre as most of Kefka's other kookycrazy lines are intact. The second is still there, although the phrasing around there changed, and I can't remember whether that line is slightly different or not. Ultros has upgraded to overt complaining about being a receptionist, I think he's even crying openly, but if you're disappointed by that, I promise some of his other scenes are absolutely worth it. :smallwink:

Heck, let's see... There's no lung-ripping-out, but the price is still right. Celes is still not a love-starved twit or an opera floozy, although I think those lines were changed slightly otherwise. Sabin is not a body builder, but possibly is a bear. Mr. Thou lives on. Shadow would not slit his momma's throat, but some speculate that he would kill his best friend, which is just awesome. The dog eats people. Royalty is still comparable to seafood. Our introduction to magic is depressingly lacking in special text effects. The Relic Ring (now Lich Ring) has a description that makes actual sense, and no disembodied voice ever advises you to be frozen. If something were to happen to Edgar, all the world's ladies would grieve!

Oh, and attempted suicide is given its full uncensored glory. Yet alcohol still doesn't quite exist, sigh.

Am I missing anything? :smallbiggrin:
*laughs* Bravo, and well said! I really do need to get my hands on that game. Although I do have one more question, arguably more important if less in emotional investment - what about the bugs? Do the evade stat and the "dark" debuff function? Do the Goggles, in fact, do something?

War
2007-02-13, 09:59 AM
Yes, the Self-Help Booklet line. Has it changed?Nope, still there. Honestly, so much of Kefka's goofier stuff is the same, I don't know why they targeted the poor submariner. It's mostly his plot-based dialogue that's clearer.

Reinforcements, a lot of those bugs are fixed. Evasion does work, and there are some enemies it's really annoying on too. I think Blind works, although at low levels it still doesn't make much difference, and it doesn't show up much later. Vanish/Doom is right out, too. I think there are still a couple of the more arcane ones, but with those changes it's almost a different game sometimes.

afternoon
2007-02-14, 03:44 PM
The thing with these games it at the beginning, they're *all* fairly stupid and uninteresting. However, by virtue of them being 30/40+ hour long games, you become attached to the characters and story.

Tengu
2007-02-14, 04:37 PM
Except that they're not? Most FF games and other console RPGs start, quoting Hitchcock, with an earthquake.

RandomNPC
2007-02-14, 05:19 PM
ok, heres my rundown.

1: good, great story, glad it saved square, still play from time to time.
2: great system, never had the time to beat it, it always got silly repettitive to me
3: dun think i played it, but if it was the one marked as 6, lets say they were both good.
4: dun remember playing it
5: to many character deaths
6: see 3
7: solid game, was worth the hype when it came out, its a good landmark in console RPG, but still, it had its time, let it go.
8: decent story, to much tech
9: if my sister hadn't knifed the third disk id be able to say more, but it kept me entertained that long.
10: whiner boy made me want to stab him with a fork. 'cause forks make more holes per-stab
10-2: its a dress up game centered on bringing back a whiner, makes my head hurt.
11: doesn't count, theres no end boss, its mmorpg
12: a whiner clone and his girl that have nothing to add to the story that could have been told with the other 4 characters just fine.
tactics: balanced ENOUGH to be good, still needs work
tactics advance: can't get into it

over all, they should go back and learn from the past, and quit trying to make new level systems. but to answer the OP, go for it, its a good game.

Thexare Blademoon
2007-02-14, 05:26 PM
3: dun think i played it, but if it was the one marked as 6, lets say they were both good.

No, this is the NES one that was remade for the DS. Unless you're into emulation (which, as much as I like it, is still illegal even for old NES games) or have a Japanese NES (or Famicom or whatever the hell it was), you probably haven't played the original.

Fun game, though, one of my favorites in the series. But I hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE those dungeons that you have to be Mini in...

JadedDM
2007-02-14, 06:22 PM
11: doesn't count, theres no end boss, its mmorpg

Yes, it does. FF11 does have a final boss. Of course, you can keep playing after you defeat him, and even defeat him multiple times. But he is there.

Woot Spitum
2007-02-14, 10:42 PM
FF VII: I'm in the "overhyped" group on this one. Aerith is dead people. Get over it. It's not the first time a playable character has died in the series and I doubt it'll be the last. Plot was alright but lack of any real character development shifts it down a notch on my scale, as does the materia system.


Not even the first time in the Final Fantasy series, FFII killed off playable characters right and left.

My favorite is VI, hands down.

rabish12
2007-02-15, 02:07 AM
FF VII: I'm in the "overhyped" group on this one. Aerith is dead people. Get over it. It's not the first time a playable character has died in the series and I doubt it'll be the last. Plot was alright but lack of any real character development shifts it down a notch on my scale, as does the materia system.
I didn't even like the plot in this one. The first part completely lacked subtlety of any sort in its themes (rather than having a semi-ambiguous or simply expansive corporation polluting the environment, which would be at least a little subtle, they had a blatantly evil corporation literally sucking the life out of the planet), and then they completely dropped that for no real reason in order to focus on what is quite possible one of the nonsensical and one-dimensional villains in any video game. He was almost like Kefka, except that he lacked absolutely everything that made Kefka interesting and didn't have the sense to try and deal with his biggest threat himself early on. Oh, and he had a fairly long sword that supposedly only he can wield, which is supposed to be impressive despite the fact that both Cloud and Zack wield massive zweihanders (and Cloud spins his by the hilt with one hand and without any effort in the victory scenes, which is MUCH more impressive than being able to swing around a long but skinny katana).

And then there's the characters. Most of the ones you meet early on serve no purpose, and most of the rest are based on massive stereotypes. Aeris (or Aerith, or whatever they've decided to start calling her now) is just your typical nice girl who spends her time in a church and happens to be mainly best at healing, all while being a really nice and compassionate person all-around, something that's almost excessively common in RPGs (and was long before FFVII came along). Then there's Tifa, who goes the other route and is the strong, kick-boxy girl who's a good fighter, kicking the old feminine stereotypes to the curb... thus becoming one of the more recent clichés. And then, of course, there's Barret. I'm surprised people didn't write Squaresoft in protest of Barret, because he plays so strongly off the "gangsta" black stereotype that even I'm offended, and I'm white. That leaves character like Cait Sith, who didn't have a role that was nearly big enough despite the fact that he was easily the most interesting and original character, and both Vincent and Yuffie, whose roles were even smaller (being secret characters and all).

And then there's Cloud. I had to leave him his own paragraph here, because there's so much wrong with him that I couldn't just lump him in with the rest. For me, Cloud is just a symbol of total failure for the series, because from there on in (with the exception of Final Fantasy IX, whose characters weren't designed by Tetsuya Nomura, the character designer who came on at FFVII) the protagonists in each game were designed specifically around trying to appeal to the adolescent crowd rather than around trying to make good, original characters (Squall was the same because his design was based around European fashions and styles, which were "all the rage" when that game came out, and Tidus... don't even get me started on Tidus). Cloud's still the worst for this, though, mainly because every single aspect of his character is focused around that attempt at appeal. His entire attitude of total needless angst is ridiculous, his way of basically avoiding any real interaction with the other characters is stupid, and the fact that he basically remains a stupid, angsty idiot with spiky hair (which the kids liked then), sleek clothing (which the kids liked then), and a massive sword (which the kids still seem to like today) throughout the entire game kills any point that his character may have had. That's not a good thing either, as making him the protagonist means that he needs to advance the most, even though he still barely advances at all.

Sorry for the long rant, but I really hate FFVII. It killed my love for JRPGs, something I'm still having a hard time getting back, and for that I have nothing but hatred for it, for Tetsuya Nomura for designing such terrible characters, and even for Hironobu Sakaguchi, who allowed that travesty to be made and who barely even bothered improving the core gameplay in the series right up until he left Square-Enix (and, as it turns out, his games still play like the older Final Fantasy titles did even after he's left the company).

Really don't want to start getting into another rant here though, so I'll just end this by saying that Final Fantasy Tactics is my favorite game in the series, and one of my favorites overall.

Nerd-o-rama
2007-02-16, 05:01 AM
I don't disagree on any particular point (I just got over most of them), but I would like to say in defense of Tifa, and to a lesser extent, Cloud, that they weren't clichés when they originated. People just ripped their archetypes off left and right (including Square itself in games like FFVIII and X) due to FFVII's popularity. Now admittedly, Angsty Brooding Antisocial Jerk Swordsman isn't a good cliché to have popularized, but it used to be original.

I also fail to see how Barret is "gangsta". I figured him more for the Angry Black Man stereotype, only directed toward environmentalism rather than racism.

BrokenButterfly
2007-02-16, 10:54 AM
I concur, Barret never really seemed to be that much of a stereotype, certainly more developed than all the American films that stuff some rapper in there in a supporting role as token black guy!

I've always liked JRPGs more than the open-ended RPGs like Elder Scrolls. If I play a good RPG then I want a decent story, world and cast. I'm willing to sacrifice some of the choice in favour of these factors in abundance. Sometimes this fails, but the trade pays off for me in some unique cases.

Reinforcements
2007-02-16, 12:39 PM
The thing that really gets me about Cloud is that the story's supposed to be all about him, but he's such a non-character. He's simultaneously angsty and stoic - meaning that he hardly ever speaks and when he does it's annoying. And of course he has, pause, AMNESIA! Which means no one knows who he is, and he spends most of the game feeding the player incorrect information. This also goes into why the story is bad - instead of being genuinely complex and interesting it gets cheap shocks by throwing in twist after twist... which ALSO gets into the fact that there's just TOO MUCH story anyway. Every time I feel like maybe playing FF7 again I remember the sold 40 minutes of not playing that is the Kalm flashback, and I don't think I could bear to sit through that again.

I'm buying FF6 today. I need me some o' that.

Nerd-o-rama
2007-02-16, 04:06 PM
Heh. You think Cloud's amnesia is bad? Try Final Fantasy VIII.

"Let me get this straight: Does anyone here not have amnesia?"
"Umm..."
"Uh..."
"Not sure."

And Squall, man does he get on my nerves. Take Cloud's standoffishness and angstiness and dial it to 11. Hell, the man hardly speaks except for thought bubbles for the first half of the game. Externalize, man. Fortunately, one of the game's themes is him getting better at this. He's still pretty angsty at the end, but at least he's also being angsty about other people's well-being.

rabish12
2007-02-16, 05:36 PM
I don't disagree on any particular point (I just got over most of them), but I would like to say in defense of Tifa, and to a lesser extent, Cloud, that they weren't clichés when they originated. People just ripped their archetypes off left and right (including Square itself in games like FFVIII and X) due to FFVII's popularity. Now admittedly, Angsty Brooding Antisocial Jerk Swordsman isn't a good cliché to have popularized, but it used to be original.
Actually, I don't think it really was, not when FFVII came out. Well, maybe for an RPG, but the whole "angsty loser who thinks that no one understands him" cliché was certainly on the rise well before FFVII came out. Of course, "angsty loser who thinks that no one understands him and has a big sword" may not have been, but then, the huge sword was (as I explained) really just a play off of the fact that people are always impressed by huge weapons, especially huge non-projectile weapons.

As for Tifa, she's not quite as bad as some of the others, but hers also existed well before FFVII. Heck, hers has existed almost as long as feminism has been popular, and feminism certainly got popular long before 1997.


I also fail to see how Barret is "gangsta". I figured him more for the Angry Black Man stereotype, only directed toward environmentalism rather than racism.
I think he's a bit of both. I mean, yeah, he's got the whole "Angry Black Man" thing going, but the excessive cursing and massive gun kind of play more towards the other one.

Oh, and I've got to give you guys kudos. This is the first forum I've been able to post that kind of rant without someone trying to flame me right off the boards. :smallsmile:

Nerd-o-rama
2007-02-16, 05:43 PM
Eh. Honestly, most of us on this board seem to dislike Final Fantasy VII based on replies in this thread and earlier ones. I think it's mostly a social reaction to the presence of its fanboys elsewhere on the internet.

And yeah, what I should have said was that Cloud and Sephiroth popularized their archetypes in American video game, television, and internet culture. They were around before, but limited to other media, mostly novels with a limited presence in movies, or to Japanese pop culture. Tifa...honestly, she never struck me as a simple stereotype. She was one of the more believable characters (emotionally, not physically) in the game. Still not very well-developed (emotionally, not physically), but believable.

BrokenButterfly
2007-02-16, 06:09 PM
Tifa...honestly, she never struck me as a simple stereotype. She was one of the more believable characters (emotionally, not physically) in the game. Still not very well-developed (emotionally, not physically), but believable.

I was always a Tifa fan when I'd first been playing the game years ago. She'd been more interesting than Aeris anyway, and there was that whole sense that Aeris was just built up to be killed off, rather than built up as a character in her own right. Barret and Tifa were always better than Cloud. The supporting cast in Final Fantasy always seems to be better than the main character, but that may just be me. But when you do play FF7 again, the proportions certainly make you raise your eyebrow in disbelief, especially in the FMVs!

Mr. Moon
2007-02-16, 08:20 PM
I'm sorry. Who would have thought they'd actually run out? Maybe they'll get more in stock soon. Or maybe there's somewhere else you could find them? eBay, maybe?

I don't really trust eBay. To easy to get scammed on that site.


Can't you just buy it from Amazon.com and pay more for shipping?

Nah. I wanna play FFIX, but not enough to do all that math. It makes my head go "boom". ( ;) )

I just expanded the search, and it showed that I could get a PS one memory card for $52.11 (http://www.amazon.ca/gp/offer-listing/B00004YB5U/sr=1-1/qid=1171675542/ref=sr_1_olp_1/701-0026467-6804328?ie=UTF8&s=videogames). What I want to know is, is that a fair price, or should I check around town first? I have about that much saved up, but I can think of many other things I'd like to spend it on.

JadedDM
2007-02-16, 11:48 PM
Wow. I don't know if that's a resonable price nowadays...but back when PS1s were still selling like hotcakes, memory cards only cost around $15, as I recall.

The Orange Zergling
2007-02-17, 01:56 AM
Yea....no, that's far from a fair price, although if theres no alternative...

Rhothaerill
2007-02-17, 01:56 AM
Wow, uh...try Target if there is one near you. I bought a pack of three PS1 memory cards for about $10.

Setra
2007-02-17, 05:14 AM
I bought FFVIII and FFIX for 20$ on Ebay... And they work! *gasp and shock*

I now own every FF except 7 and 10... and 10-2. I need to get those again, though 7 has a bad habit of breaking.

Also, to clarify: Yes, I'm including 10-2 in the list of the games I need to get again, I actually like it.

BrokenButterfly
2007-02-17, 09:45 AM
I have two copies of FF10 and 9, since the third disc of FF9 got scratched when I lent it out to a friend ages ago.

Still need to get hold of another copy of FF8 too, since I don't have a Disc One...same person I think. Know a few places where I can get a copy for twenty pounds so it's not that bad, might get a copy this Tuesday actually.

J_Muller
2007-02-17, 10:49 PM
My disc 1 of FF9 actually broke because I played it too much. I think that it drops off in fun as the game goes on, so I must have played the first disk to about the village (Dali?) dozens of times.

BrokenButterfly
2007-02-18, 09:12 AM
I've always thought that the opening of FF9, up until you get to the Evil Forest was the best start in the series.

FF8 and 10 had pretty slow starts for me. 10 only got good when you reached Besaid in my opinion, although foreshadowing is always cool!

Nerd-o-rama
2007-02-18, 04:34 PM
Modern FF games tend to open well, or at least VII through IX do. In VII, going around Midgar and messing with Shinra at the start was always my favorite part of the game (and the Don Corneo sequence? Hi-larious.) I guess I just enjoy poorly-thought-out ecoterrorism. In VIII, once I'd actually learned the game (and in later playthroughs, resisted the urge to farm 300 Waters from the starting area), I found the various SeeD missions quite enjoyable, especially the Dollet Landing. And IX, as mentioned, had one of the best opening scenes around, especially the stage-fight minigame.

Missing Shoe
2007-02-19, 12:24 PM
I would watch out when playing the older ones. If you start off late like FF9 you might not like the previous games as much. Obviously you are going to experience a graphics decrease, but before FF6 you also experience a story decrease. Since technology was limited back then they didnt have the storage to make super complicated and well thought plots. FF6 was the first to achieve a truly good story line in my opinion.

However, I have friends who started on FF7 and said they cant play FF6 because it just cant compare. The first FF you play always holds a special place in your heart, I just hope you can see past that to enjoy all the other ones out there.

My suggestion (as if you didnt have enough already:smalltongue:):
Play in this order: FF9 (since thats your first), FF6, FF7, FF8, FFX. I also suggest playing both Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 afterwards. They contain a lot of FF references and they are truly great games, especially KH2.

Happy Gaming!
Shoe

rabish12
2007-02-19, 05:56 PM
I would watch out when playing the older ones. If you start off late like FF9 you might not like the previous games as much. Obviously you are going to experience a graphics decrease, but before FF6 you also experience a story decrease. Since technology was limited back then they didnt have the storage to make super complicated and well thought plots. FF6 was the first to achieve a truly good story line in my opinion.
They definitely had the storage pre-FFVI, and maybe even back on the NES. They just didn't bother with the really complex plotlines until after FFV, and I don't think they did the translations quite as well before FFVI.


However, I have friends who started on FF7 and said they cant play FF6 because it just cant compare. The first FF you play always holds a special place in your heart, I just hope you can see past that to enjoy all the other ones out there.
I don't know about that. I played FFIV first, but I still can't stand it. I think I also played one or two of the Legend games before FFVI, and I enjoyed both of those back then, but FFVI is still my favorite excluding Tactics (which I hadn't played until after I'd played all of the main series up until VII, all of the Legend games, Adventure, and Mystic Quest).

Reinforcements
2007-02-19, 09:07 PM
My suggestion (as if you didnt have enough already:smalltongue:):
Play in this order: FF9 (since thats your first), FF6, FF7, FF8, FFX. I also suggest playing both Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 afterwards. They contain a lot of FF references and they are truly great games, especially KH2.
This is vitriolic, I know, but the gratuitous and utterly pointless FF7 stuff in KH2 really, really annoyed me. Partially because it arrived around the same time as the wave of other FF7-related stuff, but that was really what it was. Even in a game with its own complex and totally separate storyline we're re-hashing the Cloud-Sephiroth thing for NO REASON. That was probably when my hatred for the FF7 hype reached its peak (and I still hate Advent Children). It actually made me stop playing KH2 - I still haven't finished it.

Mr_Teatime
2007-02-20, 10:50 PM
Out of the FF games I've played (FFVII, FFVIII, FFX, FFTA, FFX, FFXI, FFXII), I'd say the one I've enjoyed the most is FFXII. The game is lovely, the storyline is, IMO, the best yet, and I've grown to really appreciate the gambit system.

I can recommend all of the other ones too, except for maybe FFXI. If you can get a group to play with, the game's a blast, but otherwise it gets dull fast. Plus, y'know, monthly fees are a downer.

BrokenButterfly
2007-02-21, 03:02 PM
I'm heading out to Game when it opens on Friday morning to pick up my copy of FFXII. Without giving anything away, how does it compare to the others?

rabish12
2007-02-21, 07:40 PM
I'm heading out to Game when it opens on Friday morning to pick up my copy of FFXII. Without giving anything away, how does it compare to the others?
Either terribly or exceedingly well, depending on how much you like the gameplay and story styles of the other games and how much you enjoy the gameplay and story style of FFXII.

The battle system's very different from the rest of the series. No more random encounters, no more big swooshing to move to a different screen when you fight, and no more standing around waiting to be attacked. It still uses the little bars that fill up to decide when you can do actions, but now you can actually move around, and things like ambushing enemies are decided by whether or not you do ambush them rather than random chance (if you sit within range of them without them noticing and let your bar fill up, then attack them from behind, you'll be able to get in an attack before they can do anything about it).

Character advancement's very different as well. No more "endlessly kill monsters and then let your characters advance on their own". No, now you actually get to control what equipment/magic/etc the character get to use. Basically, you have this sort of chess board, and every character starts with several positions in the board filled out. When you beat enemies you get "License Points", which you can use to sort of purchase positions on the board adjacent to the ones you've already got. So basically, if you want to make a character who uses a lot of heavy melee weapons then you might buy the squares going off in one direction, while if you wanted to make a character that uses ranged weapons you might buy the squares moving in another direction. You can also buy "Quickenings", which are special attacks that you can do in battle and can combo together between different characters in order to do ridiculous amounts of damage (just having two characters with Quickenings let me kill monsters that I could otherwise barely even dent with my entire party, and do it in a single chained attack).

Finally, there's the story. I won't get into details, but suffice it to say that from what I managed to play through it's very different from what you see in the rest of the series. The focus is mainly on conflicts on a larger scale, things like political and military conquest, so the characters involved aren't nearly as important as they usually are and the protagonist is basically just there to give the player a perspective through which to experience the plot.

Overall, I liked it much more than the rest of the series, but I hate most of the Final Fantasy games so I'm probably not the person to listen to if you like them. However, if you liked Tactics then you should certainly give it a try, because this is made by much of the same team and shares a lot with that game.

Mr. Moon
2007-02-21, 10:07 PM
All right, so the Amazon one is out of the question. If I can find another for a better price, then I will. I tried at my local games store (both of them, actualy), and neither of them have any, although a clerk recomended I try one of the cities many pawn shops.

...

To teh Yellow Pages! Sooner or later!

BrokenButterfly
2007-02-23, 10:57 AM
XII came out a day early here, so I picked it up Thursay afternoon instead.

I'm enjoying it so far, Vaan seems to have a bit of the Tidus/Zidane about him though. Prefer Balthier and Fran, but it's still early days. It certainly doesn't feel like a Final Fantasy game that's for sure. Liking the battle and gambit systems, but I don't feel like I'm using the License Board right...

Setra
2007-03-07, 03:45 PM
I just reinstalled FFXI.

I don't really know why.


Someone help me :smallfrown:

zeratul
2007-03-07, 03:58 PM
I have played final fantasies 7, 10, and 12. In my opinion FF7 has the best storyline/characters of any game ever made. I also love the gameplay.

BrokenButterfly
2007-03-07, 07:07 PM
Becuase zeratul, we can't tell that you like FF7. No not one bit... :smallwink:

I felt that IX had the best world and characters, but possibly that's because when I played through it first I was totally ignorant of the older medieval FFs. Still haven't played them though, but I'll get VI when it comes out on GBA, if that is the right console there...

Setra
2007-03-07, 07:57 PM
My personal observation is people tend to like the first FF they have played, or maybe the second one. Usually one of those two.

Also, people who don't find FFVII overrated, have usually played at least two FF games that are VII and up, before playing any old school ones.

I think FFVII is a great game, but it's not as great as people say it is. Overrated? Yes. Bad game? Not a chance.

Reinforcements
2007-03-08, 12:07 AM
I just reinstalled FFXI.

I don't really know why.


Someone help me :smallfrown:
*hits Setra with a rolled-up newspaper*

No. NO. Bad!

Setra
2007-03-08, 02:20 AM
*hits Setra with a rolled-up newspaper*

No. NO. Bad!
*whimpers* But.. but I wanna beat it. It's the only FF I haven't beaten yet.

Mr. Moon
2007-03-13, 03:14 PM
If anyone cares, my freind is going to sell me her PS1 memory card.

And I feal like a total babby for complaining like that. Thank you for being patient.

Dr._Weird
2007-03-13, 04:20 PM
*hits Setra with a rolled-up newspaper*

No. NO. Bad!

*Joins in the beating*

MMORPGs are BAD!

Glaivemaster
2007-03-21, 02:31 PM
I'm loving Final Fantasy XII at the moment, for various reasons that have been mentioned in more detail before: the plot, the battle system, licensing.

I think Quickenings are a bit overpowered though. I don't have to fight bosses any more, and it kind of makes them feel pointless, when they can't get an attack in before dying. Maybe I'm just using it all in a more effective way than I am supposed to, but they still feel a little over the top

elliott20
2007-03-21, 03:12 PM
I stopped really playing FF after 7. I actually played 1-6 back when they were on their original system too.

1-3 was during a time where MOST JRPGs were incredibly lacking in story. Ever played the early dragon quests? you'd be surprised how little dialogue the characters engage in for a game that claims to be a roleplaying game. but at the same time, this was during the era of "wizardry" and the likes, where the PCs are usually silent protagonists and merely a reacting to the surroundings.

So, I wouldn't call it the greatest game ever, but for what it was at the time, it was definitely different.

IV was... not too bad. It was the first that made the storyline the center piece of the game. It's no longer about just the adventuring, monster killing, dungeon crawling aspect of the game. It's now about a man's personal quest at redemption and ultimately saving the world. Granted, it's not exactly as epic and as glorious as I make it sound. But for it's time, that's what it was. (It was shortly after this that Dragon Quest started following suit, giving the main character more of a voice in the game)

V was not bad, per se. But I felt that the narrative lost a lot of momentum halfway through. The gameplay was not bad though. The job system was definitely a lot of fun.

VI is no doubt going to be the crowd favorite. It was a good mix of story and gameplay. there was enough bells and whistles to keep you interested but not so much that it feels overwhelming. And the story was epic enough that you really could empathize with the heroic characters, but they didn't take themselves so seriously that it came across like a practice in mental masturbation that some of the later games felt like.

VII was the start of this kind of behavior. VII wasn't bad, but it sets a lot of bad precedents that people try to emulate. Andby the time we got to VIII, IX, and X, we now have the most infuriating characters to walk the planet.

Seriously, I'm so tired of Cloud / Sephiroth clones that I wish there was an in game ability for me to inject a tumor at the base of their spines.

Another thing that really annoyed me is the character designs. Past 7, the character designs just became more and more ridiculous.

Tengu
2007-03-21, 04:29 PM
My personal observation is people tend to like the first FF they have played, or maybe the second one. Usually one of those two.

Also, people who don't find FFVII overrated, have usually played at least two FF games that are VII and up, before playing any old school ones.


Let's see... I played them in this order...

1
6
4
5
2
3
7
8
T
9

So I think your first observation is more or less correct, but the second one not so much.

Cybren
2007-03-22, 12:22 AM
Let's see... I played them in this order...

1
6
4
5
2
3
7
8
T
9

So I think your first observation is more or less correct, but the second one not so much.
I played them in american release order and uhm
well
FF1 sucked.

Tengu
2007-03-22, 04:13 AM
FF1 sucked.
I agree. However, 6 is my favorite, and it's my second FF game. Another however, 7 is on 6's toes, and there have been many other FFs between those two games in my gaming experience with the series.

BrokenButterfly
2007-03-22, 05:18 AM
I'm loving Final Fantasy XII at the moment, for various reasons that have been mentioned in more detail before: the plot, the battle system, licensing.

I think Quickenings are a bit overpowered though. I don't have to fight bosses any more, and it kind of makes them feel pointless, when they can't get an attack in before dying. Maybe I'm just using it all in a more effective way than I am supposed to, but they still feel a little over the top

I haven't played FFXII for about a week actually, it's become some sort of weekend thing for me now. But I never got Quickenings in the slightest, I have two, and they just seem to suck. Less damage than a normal attack, why waste a Mist Charge when you can just Esper?

Alex Kidd
2007-03-22, 05:45 AM
Let's fave would be either 6, 8 or 12. 7 I got long after 8 and 9, and it just didn't age well. 6 which I got even later was still fantastic oddly.

Order of getting

1 (got a cart when I was a little kid, long since lost it)
8 (First one I have clear memories of playing)
9
7
6,5,4,3,2 (Totally legal, and nothing to do with getting the internet:haley: )
10
12

Order of preference (Best to worst)
8 (Yeah, yeah sue me)
6
12
9
7
1,3,5
10
2
10-2
KHs (Erk)

Glaivemaster
2007-03-22, 07:30 AM
I haven't played FFXII for about a week actually, it's become some sort of weekend thing for me now. But I never got Quickenings in the slightest, I have two, and they just seem to suck. Less damage than a normal attack, why waste a Mist Charge when you can just Esper?

Hmm, explaining them is quite hard, but I'll give it a go:

When you mist, you go to the mist screen, with a time limit. Above the time bar is a list of the people in your current party (the three battling) that have the ability to mist. Sometimes (quite often) next to their names, is a button. If you press that button, then that person will use the mist straight after the first person has used theirs, without the enemy getting a chance to respond. It goes straight into the next sequence. Obviously, from there, you can select someone's name again, creating a 'chain'. The bigger the chain, the more damage is dealt (I can get over 5000 damage just from a 3-chain. Quite powerful)

If the names are greyed out, you can't start a chain, but you can press R2 to 'shuffle' the list, which might bring up a name which you can use, and then start the cahin from there. If your time went down before selecting a name, it will start at that level at the beginning of the next mist. However, it will stop counting after you have selected a name

That's basically what it is. I'm not sure if you needed that explanation, but it comes down to: Get chains, which cause major damage (often way over 5000, I've seen 12000 or more). If you can't start a chain, shuffle, in the hope that you can. The best way of figuring it out is to use it. Also, the more people in your party with mist, the more likely you will be able to get a massive chain, obviously, so they are well worth going for.

Like I said, you may not have needed that explanation, but I certainly did when I started, and I've found them extremely useful for destroying bosses before they can even hit me

turtleant120
2007-03-23, 05:05 PM
Also if you get enough chained together you get an extremly powerful area atack, called a quickening. The biggest one can do somewhere in the range of 20,000 plus the damage of the individual hits needed to trigger it. ( three of each level I think.)

Cybren
2007-03-23, 05:16 PM
I agree. However, 6 is my favorite, and it's my second FF game. Another however, 7 is on 6's toes, and there have been many other FFs between those two games in my gaming experience with the series.

yeah, FF6 is my favorite as well. However I was trying to discount the idea that your first one is your favorite that the guy you were quoting said.
We were agreeing! in a sort of way.

blackout
2007-03-23, 06:01 PM
FF10+: Never played em.
FF9: Played it. Beat it. Good.
FF8: Played it. Beat it. Also good.
FF7: Not so good, stopped halfway through.
FF6: Very good!
FF5: Never played it.
FF4: ALMOST beat it. :( Was good while it lasted.
FF3-: Never played em.

Daze
2007-03-23, 06:11 PM
If anyone cares...

FF1: never played
FF2: Held dear to me.. the first FF I played way back when... one of the games that got me started on my love of all things RPG!
FF3: never played
FF4: decent
FF5: Never played
FF6: Awesome!
FF7: Good... but I dont love it as much as some people do.. nor hate like others
FF8&9: missed those unfortunately, 8 looked good though.
FFX: Loved it.. dont care what people think. Loved the story, loved the sphere grid, and Auron is one of my favorite characters ever... blowing Sake on his sword to do a multi-break? SWEET.. I still pick this one every once in a while... go beat up monster arena guys for no reason...
FFX-2: Ok, I guess I'm a complete tool... but rikku looked so cute in this one ;)
FFXI: doesnt count
FFXII: dissapointed... I beat it and all.. enjoyed it to some degree... but it has zero replayability... and random treasures suck very hard.. If I earned a treasure by getting to a certain area, then give it to me! I now loathe knots of rust with a passion... License board was lame too.. all chars looked the same by the end .. sphere grid was MUCH better...

jlousivy
2007-03-24, 02:20 AM
granted i've only played 7-9 (only completed 8, but im working on the others)

FFVII's saving grace was the awesome materia system.
FFVIII's saving grace was the storyline, that and i actually liked squall/rinoa
FFIX's saving grace was Vivi... i despised the ending. Steiner was funny too.

Glaivemaster
2007-03-24, 04:52 PM
Also if you get enough chained together you get an extremly powerful area atack, called a quickening. The biggest one can do somewhere in the range of 20,000 plus the damage of the individual hits needed to trigger it. ( three of each level I think.)

Of course, how could I forget. However, for basic Mist that's not really important, just a neat side effect

Apparently, I said something wrong about mist, however. I was talking to my friend, who is much more skilled at Mist than me (he pays attention to what he is doing and maximises his effects, where I tend to hit buttons as I see them). He said that to be able to Mist again in a chain, you need to 'Mist Charge', which requires pressing a button while in the screen, when it is lit up, and it says Mist Charge next to someone's name. This re-shuffles the order, and allows that person (and apparently makes them more likely to) get more mists off later on in the chain

Corlindale
2007-03-24, 05:59 PM
This re-shuffles the order, and allows that person (and apparently makes them more likely to) get more mists off later on in the chain

Just to further clarify some stuff about Mist:
Let us for example say that you have 3 characters out, and each of them knows 3 Quickenings, and thus has a triple MP bar. Everyone has full MP as you initiate the quickening.
Character A uses a Rank 1 quickening to start the chain. Now the situation is thus: Character A has 2 Mist Charges left(he expended one on the Rank 1 quickening), Character B has 3 Mist Charges left, and Character C has 3 Mist Charges left.
The options you have now will be determined randomly, with an equal chance of either a Rank 1, 2 or 3 Quickening appearing for each of your characters - however, if a Rank 3 Quickening appears next to the name of Person A, it will be greyed out, as it requires 3 Mist Charges, and he has only 2 left. No matter what, Person B and Person C will be able to perform a Quickening, as they with full charge are able to perform any of the Quickenings that might pop up.
This means that, starting with 3 characters with full MP, the most quickenings you will be able to perform will be 9 level 1s - that is, without the usage of Mist Charges. Mist Charges appear randomly next to the names of persons who has less than full Charge - people with full charge will never receive the Mist Charge option. Mist Charge is great, as it recharges your Mist completely, and lets the character do 1-3 attacks more before burnout again.

There is of course a great random element when it comes to effective Mist chaining, but it is also a matter of skill, and of knowing which options to take. A general piece of advice to get long chains is to always pick low rank quickenings before higher ones(3 level 1s do more damage than 1 level 3), and always pick Mist Charges when they are available - if more than one appears choose it for the person with the least charges left. Never shuffle unless absolutely necessary.
EDIT: My personal record is 24 hits, for 50.000+ damage.

Glaivemaster
2007-03-25, 03:44 AM
There is of course a great random element when it comes to effective Mist chaining, but it is also a matter of skill, and of knowing which options to take. A general piece of advice to get long chains is to always pick low rank quickenings before higher ones(3 level 1s do more damage than 1 level 3), and always pick Mist Charges when they are available - if more than one appears choose it for the person with the least charges left. Never shuffle unless absolutely necessary.
EDIT: My personal record is 24 hits, for 50.000+ damage.

Bah! Skill! That would probably be good for me to do really, and I'm gonna try acting sensibly now. Before, I never needed to worry, since I would finish a chain, then pull out somebody from reserve, and start another chain, pressing buttons at random. However, 4 mist chains didn't kill a boss I was fighting the other day, so I'm gonna have to sort out the way I do it

Fishies
2007-03-25, 11:07 AM
I've been told that FF7 and FF10 are much better, but I've never played them so I wouldn't know. I've also been told that Durge of Cerbures sucks, but I still won't know, because, again, I've never played it.

Ten is kind of weird.

Shadow of the Sun
2007-03-25, 04:56 PM
Final Fantasy Six is godly. By far the best.

Nathander
2007-03-27, 12:07 AM
The first FF game I ever played was the PC port of Final Fantasy VII, back in 1998. And I can tell you right now, I loved the hell out of that game, and still do. But really, it was, in a way, the proverbial chocolate covering of the Final Fantasy games, and I would bite through it to get to the rich, creamy filling of the FF series: Final Fantasy VI, or III when it was originally released on SNES (though, I'm certain you all knew that already).

Anyhow, I remember going into a FuncoLand before that group was consumed by the giant known as Game Stop, and purchasing a copy of the SNES version of FF VI for about $30. It was a bit much, I had thought, but the quality of the item I had just purchased was far beyond the price I paid for it. The setting, the characters, and the story were incredible, and if you consider the graphics for the system it was run on, they were top notch for their time. Not only do I think it has some of the most enduring characters in the franchise, I believe it has the single most bad ass villain ever conceived: Kefka. Now, I think Sephiroth from FF VII is a cool villain, but lacking somewhat about being evil and, more importantly, being successful at it. Not Kefka. While I'm sure most people know of his deeds already, I won't post them here just out of courtesy for any of those who may be playing FF VI for the first time, thanks to its new Advanced version on GBA (highly recommended purchase).

As far as the others, FF IX and X compete with for my affection along with VII and VI the most. I've only gotten to start playing XII, and I love it, but I just don't have enough time to really devote to it. While I liked Tactics, I have to say, I'm in the minority that actually preferred Tactics Advanced to the original, though that may change with the remake of Tactics for the PSP (please, God, let them do a better job translating this time....). The only FF game I can really think of staying away from is Mystic Quest, and I'm uncertain we can even count that as a FF game, in all fairness.

EricDerKonig
2007-04-04, 07:37 PM
Of the FF's I've played:

IV: This was enjoyable. Not quite up to VI, but it had a decent story, interesting characters, and, best of all, you got to go to the moon!

V: I played this once long ago, and gave up on it. I found it difficult and repetitive. I'll have to give it another shot, though.

VI: I really can't say anything about it that no one else already has. The first FF game I played (and probably my first CRPG). Its my favorite. My only complaint is that its just too easy now that i've played it several times. I wish I knew enough to be able to hack a ROM of it and make it tougher.

VII: Not bad, but I've only played the whole thing through once. Every other attempt gets abandoned eventually - I just don't find it as engrossing as VI. Plus, the Midgar part at the beginning is my favorite.
It also suffers from the "too easy" syndrome.

VIII: When I first played it, I was frustrated by the junction system and confused by the plot. I recently replayed it, though, and, now that I'm used to it, I quite love it. I'm more into the steampunk and sci-fi environment, and I don't find the characters annoying enough to dislike the game.
But, again, it got too easy. I really used the hell out of the juntion system, and by the end of the game, my characters had maxxed out their important stats, and could take down the last boss quite easily. Omega Weapon, though, was a thrilling challenge. more games need bosses like him! :smallbiggrin:

X: Played it once long ago, didn't care too much for it. The voice acting and Tidus were too annoying. plus, I prefer the technological environments of VI, VII, and VIII.

Other square games:
Chrono Trigger: Awesome. I love the plot, the characters, and the time-travel aspect is just brilliant when you start changing aspects of the timeline (I love what happens to the monster village after you beat Ozzie the second time!)

Bahamut Lagoon: I liked its unique battle system, with tactical battles and dragons. I wish it had a little more to it than "battle->brief plot exposition->battle->etc."

Final Fantasy Tactics: Never played, but I want to. I'll someday have to buy a used copy.

Super Mario RPG: Square CRPG + Mario = pure gaming fun.

Setra
2007-04-04, 10:05 PM
Hey does anyone know where I can find the second trailer or whatever of FFXIII? I hear it has a cool guy with a gun.

Also, anyone else know? The chick's (Whom I still say is the Lovechild of Squall and Kasumi, in joke, don't ask) name has been confirmed as Lightning, but that's a codename.

Edit:
I just started to play FFT again, it's harder than I remember (I remember it being rather hard too).

* Raise never works if you need it too
* Anything below 80% will inevitably miss, unless it's the enemy, in which case anything above 30% will hit.
* Magic ALWAYS hits you harder, regardless of Faith, Brave and Job.
* Your mages suck
* You suck, until you get Cid
* I haven't gotten Cid yet
* Ninja is actually useful

Mr. Moon
2007-04-12, 03:56 PM
Quick question for FFIX.

I remmeber reading somewhere that Garnet can equip jems and ores to gain acess to higher-level spells. But when I try to do that, I can't figure out how. Any ideas?

blackout
2007-04-12, 04:10 PM
Playing FF Tactics advance as we speak...Shush, and don't gimme that look. :) It's a good game, really. 'The game of sentient beings' instead of constant button mashing.

Krade
2007-04-12, 06:23 PM
Quick question for FFIX.

I remmeber reading somewhere that Garnet can equip jems and ores to gain acess to higher-level spells. But when I try to do that, I can't figure out how. Any ideas?

How far into the game are you?

Later, (like disc 2, later) she learns most of her summons through gemstones.
Ifrit = Ruby
Ramuh = Peridot
Atomos = Amethyst
Bahamut = Garnet
Leviathan = Aquamarine
Shiva = ?? (can't remember)

Odin = Dark Matter (not a gemstone)
Ark = Pumice (very late game, find two pumice pieces first, fight hard optional boss, pay to combine them. And also, not a gemstone.)

Setra
2007-04-12, 08:04 PM
Playing FF Tactics advance as we speak...Shush, and don't gimme that look. :) It's a good game, really. 'The game of sentient beings' instead of constant button mashing.
You should get the original.

Mr. Moon
2007-04-12, 08:05 PM
I just fought Black Waltz 2 ... Yeah, not very far at all. But I was just currious. It may come in handy later.

Setra
2007-04-12, 08:07 PM
I just fought Black Waltz 2 ... Yeah, not very far at all. But I was just currious. It may come in handy later.
Black Waltz 3 is soon...

Also, two of my favorite scenes in the game.

Shiva is gotten from a Sapphire, by the way, if I remember correctly.

blackout
2007-04-12, 08:37 PM
You should get the original.


Played it, beat it. :) Awesome!

Setra
2007-04-12, 08:46 PM
Played it, beat it. :) Awesome!
I hear they're porting it to the PSP.

On another note, I hope they make another FFT game.

Reinforcements
2007-04-12, 11:10 PM
I hear they're porting it to the PSP.

On another note, I hope they make another FFT game.
You're right, and they are. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 is in development. Not much info yet, though.

Setra
2007-04-13, 12:11 AM
You're right, and they are. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 is in development. Not much info yet, though.
I can only hope it has a story closer to that of the original.

Group of Heroes against the World > Kids inside a Fantasy World

TheOOB
2007-04-13, 01:26 AM
I just got final fantasy IV, V, and VI from amazon.com recently, I'm in retro RPG heaven.

The vast majority of the FF games are great, if anyone cares, here is my list from best to worst.

-Final Fantasy Tactics
-Final Fantasy VI
-Final Fantasy X
-Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced
-Final Fantasy V
-Final Fantasy IV
-Final Fantasy VII
-Final Fantasy
-Final Fantasy III
-Final Fantasy X-2
-Final Fantasy VIII
-Final Fantasy II
-Final Fantasy Legands I, II, and III
-Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

For the record, Final Fantasy Adventure is not a Final Fantasy game :P

I haven't played FF XI or XII yet.

Shadow of the Sun
2007-04-13, 02:02 AM
You left IX off there.

Reinforcements
2007-04-13, 11:30 AM
I can only hope it has a story closer to that of the original.

Group of Heroes against the World > Kids inside a Fantasy World
My wish list for FFTA2:

A story that's worth a damn

Characters I don't want to punch

No stupid law system grablarghatehatehate

... That's pretty much it. If it has those things, it'll be awesome. In any case, Revenant Wings should be good.

blackout
2007-04-13, 03:04 PM
Group of Heroes against the World > Kids inside a Fantasy World

Yeah. But, the game's good. Storyline's crap, but the gameplay is pretty decent. Graphics could be better, I'll admit.

Personally, what I want for the storyline? Hardcore mercs that don't care about actually helping anyone, or saving the world, that end up getting paid again and again to, whatdya know, save the world.

Setra
2007-04-13, 03:12 PM
Yeah. But, the game's good. Storyline's crap, but the gameplay is pretty decent. Graphics could be better, I'll admit.

Personally, what I want for the storyline? Hardcore mercs that don't care about actually helping anyone, or saving the world, that end up getting paid again and again to, whatdya know, save the world.Well of course it's good, but I play RPGs for the Story as much as the gameplay.

Also, my personal story would be... a bunch of rebels who decide to take down an evil tyrant, here's the catch. The prophecised hero is dead, and won't be coming back. These are people who shouldn't matter, but through their own choices, do.

Nerd-o-rama
2007-04-13, 03:18 PM
Yeah. But, the game's good. Storyline's crap, but the gameplay is pretty decent. Graphics could be better, I'll admit.

Personally, what I want for the storyline? Hardcore mercs that don't care about actually helping anyone, or saving the world, that end up getting paid again and again to, whatdya know, save the world.
That's not really unlike Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, which i never played but watched largish parts of. Although they do seem to be disgustingly honorable mercenaries.

blackout
2007-04-13, 11:55 PM
Well, these guys will be regularly underhanded. Ie. too true to their word, and willing to break their word if things go bad.

Krade
2007-04-14, 12:11 AM
Black Waltz 3 is soon...

Also, two of my favorite scenes in the game.

Shiva is gotten from a Sapphire, by the way, if I remember correctly.

No, the Sapphire is Fenrir. And now I guess I'll just have to go and load up my game to find out for sure. I haven't played 9 in over a year. I'll be back with a definite and confirmed list.

Edit: w00t!!! Barbarian post!

zeratul
2007-04-14, 12:11 AM
Seriously, I'm so tired of Cloud / Sephiroth clones that I wish there was an in game ability for me to inject a tumor at the base of their spines.

I agree, characters like tidus are not but badly made cloud clones. Cloud may have been slightly angsty, but characters like tidus are just annoying. Then you have characters like auron, and basch who are just vincent clones.

Anyone else played dirge of cerberous? That was fun. Loved the story.

Setra
2007-04-14, 12:40 AM
No, the Sapphire is Fenrir. And now I guess I'll just have to go and load up my game to find out for sure. I haven't played 9 in over a year. I'll be back with a definite and confirmed list.

Edit: w00t!!! Barbarian post!
Shiva is Opal.

Just checked.

Krade
2007-04-14, 12:45 AM
Ah yes, Opal, the scourge of mankind.

Sure am glad you checked 'cuz I really didn't want to.

Samurai General
2007-04-14, 12:39 PM
FF9: BEST FF EVER:smallbiggrin:

Setra
2007-04-15, 02:03 AM
FF9: BEST FF EVER:smallbiggrin:
FF6
FFT
FF12
FF3

Krade
2007-04-15, 03:35 PM
A little help for Moon_Called:

Steal from EVERY boss. It is a great way to get powerful items long before you are really supposed to. Every boss carries 3 items and at least 1 of them is always worth stealing. For example, you can steal the Mage Masher (Zidane's second weapon) from the VERY FIRST BATTLE IN THE GAME. There are several other prime examples. Just remember. Every boss has something worth stealing, and it's worth all the turns it might take you to get them.

Setra
2007-04-18, 07:27 AM
A little help for Moon_Called:

Steal from EVERY boss. It is a great way to get powerful items long before you are really supposed to. Every boss carries 3 items and at least 1 of them is always worth stealing. For example, you can steal the Mage Masher (Zidane's second weapon) from the VERY FIRST BATTLE IN THE GAME. There are several other prime examples. Just remember. Every boss has something worth stealing, and it's worth all the turns it might take you to get them.
I'm replaying FF9, up to Oielvert(?), or however it's spelled. (( Well technically I'm past there, I'm just outside the Volcano ))

Just stole the Holy Lance from the boss there, and Freya's attack power doubled, plus I got access to one of her stronger skills :smallbiggrin:

Mostly though, I just steal to level up Thievery so I can beat Ozma later. Also, I like to kill Dragons to level up Dragon's Crest. I also use Shock, and bring along Eiko.

Krade
2007-04-18, 12:35 PM
I'm pretty sure I've beaten Ozma before and it wasn't really that hard. I think. GAH I can't remember if I did it or not!

Setra
2007-04-18, 07:29 PM
I'm pretty sure I've beaten Ozma before and it wasn't really that hard. I think. GAH I can't remember if I did it or not!
I've beaten him the last 3 times I played.

I always tend to die whenever he uses Curse though, so it's mostly luck.

If he doesn't use curse, then he's easier than Kuja and Necron.