Topic: Final Fantasy VII, IX, X, X-2 and XII - Now with 80% more FF VIII

@ReaderRagfish I guess. But the journey in FF1 was amazing for me.
I played the Dawn of Souls GBA version.
The elemental lords were the pinnacle of the game as well as the search. The caves, the desert etc.

Not strictly on topic, but this seems as good a thread as any to highly recommend FF fans get Theatrhythm Final Fantasy CURTAIN CALL. Really fun music/rhythm game set in the final fantasy universes.

I just need Final Fantasy V and VI and I'll have all the Final Fantasy games worth playing. IV is good but extremely aged with a nonsensical plot and basic gameplay compared to what comes after.

Then again though, I'm not terribly big on Final Fantasy personally. Even my favorite, VI, isn't exactly the best RPG on the SNES for me. I much prefer EarthBound, Chrono Trigger, and even Mario RPG (although Mario RPG is technically worse than VI on paper and even more simple than IV, I still enjoyed Mario RPG more than VI).

Hell, even despite Xenogears aging even worse than any PS1 Final Fantasy game with extreme balancing problems compared to even FFVIII, I still enjoyed that game more than the other Final Fantasy games due to the really good story and its unique spin on ATB. It has a bunch of problems, but I'd personally take Xenogears over Final Fantasy.

That's just me though. And plus, I never played X, X-2, and XII, so I'll be playing those games for the first time ever and even if I'm not a super-fan of the series, I still enjoyed almost every game I've played (except II). Just removed them from my Steam wishlist since playing RPGs on Switch beats out pretty much everything else.

@Anti-Matter hey there thanks for all the info!! It sounds like a great game and that you really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to this a lot. Same goes for X and X 2 which I have never played before.

I’m a big JRPG fan and yet I have only ever finished 1 Final Fantasy game; the FFIII remake on the DS. Have started FFIV DS remake (got as far as the “magnetic cave), FFVI (I don’t know what made me stop, the character portrait designs maybe?, FFIX (loved characters but didn’t like the realtime elements of the battles but heard this can be changed), FFX (quit 10+ years ago when was told I had to learn how to play a sport), FFXII (started twice and honestly found battles slow, dull, overly complex and characters kinda meh bar one), FFXIII (less said the better).

I so hope these releases will invigorate me to try the series again. Been told FFIX is my best bet as I loved Bravely Default and this one is closer to the FF’s of old.

Setting wise, FF1/FF2/FF3/FF4/FF5/FF9 are all classic medieval fantasy. Then FF6/FF7 are steampunk/cyberpunk. FF8/FF15 are modern realistic. FF10/FF13/FF12 are unique SquareEnix imagination and hard to define.

Gameplay wise, FF1 to FF9 are all very similar. FF10 and FF13 are a bit different. FF12 and FF15 are a lot different.

Story wise, FF1 to FF5 are quite similar, though they became more complex as time passed. FF6 to FF10 are much deeper with huge casts of characters and relationships, with much more complex plots. FF12 is very different from the rest and tries to be more mature, focusing on political power games rather than character relationships. FF13 has a plot created by a random word generator. FF15 hasn't even finished being told yet.

To sum up, FF9 is the closest to FF3 out of all these new ones.
Hope that helps.

Are there any main series FF games that haven't aged that well at all or just aren't that great in general? You have to realize that fifteen mainline titles (ignoring all the spinoffs) is a bit daunting for some like me who have never touched the series (and only properly got into JRPGs within the last few years....)

@Tyranexx

Just play 7,9 and 10 given that those are coming to Switch. Those are also 3 of the best.
9 has aged brilliantly. 10 and 7 a bit less so but nothing that will ruin a playthrough. Just minor things.

You most definitely don’t need to play all the games in the series, they have little to no ties to each other, each game is its own thing.

At least play:

FFI: to see how it all started
FFIV: to see how Final Fantasy evolved into what would become the next few games, although it's very aged
FFV: for the job system and gameplay, although this can be a pretty challenging game
FFVI/VII/IX: widely considered among the best

I have not played FFX, FFX-2, or FFXII though. So I can't tell you one way or another.

@Tyranexx
Each game is a self contained entry, with the exception of Final Fantasy X and it's sequel- Final Fantasy X-2, and the Trilogy of Final Fantasy XIII games. There are some spin off sequels like Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core, but if we are talking mainline entries, they are basically all self-contained stories with different characters in a different universe. Similar to Xenoblade games (although there was a connection at the end of XC2 to the original game).

I would say try to play one of the more modern entries first, to get into the series because once you're into it and you see what makes the game so great you'll be a lot more willing to tolerate PS1 graphics and game design via FF7 and FF9. Unless you're one of those people that plays NES and SNES games all the time. Then you probably won't mind anyways.

My recommendation is to start with Final Fantasy X, if possible. That's the one that got me into the series. It's a remake of a PS2 game (as opposed to a port of a PS1 game with 7 and 9) so it looks really modern, and it's the last game in the series from Sakaguchi, the legend who created the series and then left Square Enix (he then went on to make The Last Story on Wii, and Lost Odyssey on 360, which incoincidentally stand as two of the best RPG's ever made).

I'd skip FFX-2 though. It's pretty much agreed upon that it's not that good. Although I will say, I loved FFX so much, that when I beat the game I didn't care what people told me about the sequel. I started playing it because I just wanted more of the characters I grew to love.

Final Fantasy XII is equally recommended though, and if it comes out before FFX, I'd say go with that one.

Tbh, just grab Final Fantasy XV Pocket HD, which you can play right now. FFXV was an incredible game, and I remember at the time when I was playing it I had this feeling of oh my gosh, this is one of the best games I've ever played. It was incredible. It had its flaws, such as the first half of the game having a semi open world and then the second half of the game being very linear and story driven without the semi open world (that's what happens when you're in development for 10 years and re-focus what the game should be). And while the pocket edition loses the gorgeous graphics and the big world to explore and a lot of the side quests, it retains the core storyline and combat, which is the essence of the game. I've been playing it all day today, so I speak as someone who has played both the original and this pocket version, and I can say it's definitely worth picking up, especially for just 18 bucks.

I personally started with Dawn of Souls (the gba remake of the first two games).

Played them both to death, over and over.

I already have Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on Gamecube but I could never beat it for the same reason many people could never really get into it, so the online multiplayer makes me want to give it another shot. The soundtrack in this game is one of the best in the entire FF series.

I also have Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon on Wii that comes to Switch as Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: Everybuddy!

I also have Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers and FFCC: Echoes of Time and FFCC: My Life as a King and FFCC: My Life as a Darklord on Wii. I basically got everything that was FF on Nintendo's home consoles.

But I never had a Playstation so I wanna play all of them, and I will start with the cancelled N64 game Final Fantasy VII and then check out World of FF Maxima and FFXV Pocket Edition HD.
If they hit retail. And after finishing Xenoblade Torna.

Wait, crystal chronicles required you to use GBAs to play multiplayer? That’s crazy.

Yes, there is one: Final Fantasy II, the black sheep of the main series family. Such a weird game. In lots of ways, it makes a huge leap from the very simple (but still excellent) first one, but just can't stick the landing. Broken bones, dislocated limbs - it's not pretty!

If you're picking from the Switch releases, though, you can't really miss. I'd vote for FFIX for someone new to the series but familiar with RPGs, as it's the most quintessentially Final Fantasy. For those who don't play a lot of RPGs, FFVII is probably best (as long as you've somehow kept away from spoilers for that past couple of decades). Otherwise, still FFIX.

I love FFII fite me (the versions since dawn of souls, not the older ones).

People over hate that one.

I can give some recommendation for you :

FF 7 : Very deep & emotional story, simple gameplay but challenging. Materia system are easy to understand but to get all Materias it could be very Challenging. If you can paired some specific Materia with other Materis, you can get UNBEATABLE characters Ever, even you don't NEED to touch any button to attack enemies (By Sneak Attack command paired with Summon Knights of the round, add more Summon materia paired with W-Magic = 2 x Summon in a row). Once you understand to paired the Materias, you will LOVE this game.

FF 9 : Great storyline, Pure Final Fantasy, Simple gameplay yet challenging. Also there are some humours during the story. The gameplay back to Classic Final Fantasy IV / V / VI, which there are 4 characters with their ATB bars. Unlike FF 7 / 8 that know about Multiple hits, FF 9 know One Hit ONLY. FF 9 has VERY Different class for each character, no one same so you have to think which you should choose for your main / secondary team. To learn abilities in FF 9, you need to ewuip the characters with specific ewuipment that the character can LEARN the abilities inside their equipments. They need to gain some AP to Mastering the abilities so they can still use those abilities even they changed their equipments, just like you installed PC discs to your computer. FF 9 has Card Battle minigames called Quad Mist. You can play Quad Mist by talking to specific peoples who accepting your challenge. Overall, FF 9 is Perfect for someone who have Never played JRPG before.

FF 10 : Good storyline, Very Tactical gameplay, The First Harajuku Final Fantasy ever. (I said FF 10 = Harajuku due to their Unique / Unusual fashion design of each person. In Japan, Harajuku fashion is completely Unique, sometimes doesn't make a sense like Lady Gaga style). FF 10 back to Turn Based lbut with some enhancement. You can see the turns on the Right that tells whose turn. Since the game using Turn based style you can take your time to think the best strategy to drfeat the enemies. FF 10 didn't have character level growth, instead you can upgrade their parameter attributes (HP, MP, Attack, Defense, Magic Attack, Magic Defense, Speed, Evasion, Accuracy, Luck, Magics, Skills, etc) from Sphere grid. By maximize the Sphere grid, you can have Very Strong character ever, even wimpy Yuna with her staffs can do 99,999 damage from single attack if you can maximize her Attack attribute until 255 points. FF 10 kinda Challenging, so you need some guidance from internet how to beat some specific bosses. But once you understand the strategies, you can get addicted with FF 10.

FF 10-2 : Charlie's Angel version of FF 10. You play Yuna, Rikku & Paine as Gullwings team to hunt the spheres for looking Tidus. The storyline in my opinion was a MESS but FUNNY. The gameplay was simple, back to Classic ATB again like FF 5 with some Fanservices (Costumes for each jobs). There is NO Upgrading weapons / armor on FF 10-2, just only Two Accesories like FF 6. You can still able do Break Damage limit like FF 10, but oftenly you saw very Little damage points since SquareEnix stripped down the enemies HP became smaller. I believe you will like FF 10-2 than FF 10 if you care with fast Battle, easy gameplay and some fanservices.

FF 12 : The different one. Great gameplay despite the storyline was kinda boring due to Heavily political issues themed. The gameplay was similar with FF 11, where your teams walk in Full 3D world, saw enemies instead of Random Battles and you can attack them straightly by ATB bar. FF 12 using Gambit system, kinda like LABO configuration (paired the subjects with specific commands) so your Uncontrolled members will do specific commands by Automatically with configurated commands that you have set up. The gameplay was quite hard at the beginning so you need to be careful for some tough enemies around of you. You can simply run from them if you don't want engaged in Battle with them. The Summons creatures are really cool looking, despite there are some ugly looking Summons. You MUST beat them first in order to summon them, like FF 4. FF 12 still have Break Damage Limit, but it still rare to see damages more than 9,999 points. The musics are really Great, especially Esper Battle theme & Summoning time theme (Orchestra with choirs). Overall, FF 12 is very recommended if you like Medieval Kingdom looking, Segmented Open World style and Zodiac Espers.

Well, find your Favorite Final Fantasy.

That one part?

You mean when.... Cloud and Barrett have a date!?

@Yosheel
Cloud & Barrett have a Date ?!
How about Cloud in disguise as a Drag Queen in oder to rescue Tifa from Don Corneo ?

TBF, I didn't say I hated it! I just said it was the black sheep. It is a weird-ass RPG. The levelling up system is a car crash, but I like how Squaresoft started to take risks with the story and characters. There is a definite through line to Chrono Trigger. At the same time, it's a hard game to recommend!