Final Fantasy Games

[Mr. Moon]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Dont get final fantasy x-2. It sucks big time.

[Soniku]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

FFx is wonderful, with incredibly wonderful art, brought to life with new tech. X-2 is mostly fluffy fan-service.

[AaronH]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Velius was a fun fight. I didn't do that "Yell" tactic though...

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

[JadedDM]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I'm a ex-jrpg addicted (still recovering ) 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.