Topic: The Switch Recommendations Thread

@sunny63 Are you perhaps thinking of Potion Permit?

https://www.nintendolife.com/games/nintendo-switch/potion_permit

Although that isn't point and click so maybe not... but it was on this site a lot in 2022 and has potion selling and poisons and such.

My other guess is Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator which is point and click and hand-drawn-looking art, although it came to Switch very recently.

https://www.nintendolife.com/games/switch-eshop/potion_craft_...

.....
glances at that fake mobile game ads minigame compilation thing

I'll be honest, that game always interested me, lol
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/yeah-you-want-thos...

@Joeynator3000 I've played too many of those on mobile. They're all fun for like 10 minutes and then you're like 'what even is this'.

@FishyS I heard that this was a decent game, though...also I thought those mobile game ads were all fake. Like you download the game and it ends up being completely different from the ad. lol

@Joeynator3000 The ads are over-exagerated but there really are games where you save babies and do make-overs and break up with your boyfriends by playing matching games or removing golden pins or filling vials or whatever. Mobile games are weird...

The Switch game is a parody so it might be funny but I don't know. Maybe on a better sale. 😆

@FishyS Yeah I knew it was a parody, plus, stick figures and stuff. I also still have about $7 in coins on the eshop, so...yeah, I dunno. x_x

Hey folks! I'm currently on the verge of picking up the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters during the current sale for them as I've never played the series before and it's had me thinking: what would be the best Final Fantasy game to start with? I've heard plenty of suggestions thrown about like I, IV, VI, VII, X, XII, etc. and it's had me pretty curious as to which one you would recommend to someone like me who, up until now, has been completely foreign to the series. Thanks in advance!

@Fizza

Despite being someone who’s either played or watched someone else play every numbered title except X-2, XI, XIV, and XVI, I don’t even know what to recommend. Lol It entirely depends on what sort of experience you’re looking for, imo.

I, II, III are all turn-based and don’t have much of a focus on story. I’s gameplay is pretty simple, and III introduces good party customization in the job system. II has more story, but its gameplay is somewhat divisive. But all have interesting lore, imo.

IV, V, VI uses a system similar to turn-based but everything moves in real-time. Although this is when the series starts focusing more on the story and characters, V dials it back a little compared to the other two and is a bit of an outlier with its whimsical tone. But V has the best gameplay of all three because of its expansion of III’s system. (imo)

VII, VIII, IX lean even more into story and characters, but your mileage may vary with their very-PS1-era graphics and weirdness. Lol VIII has the biggest departure gameplay-wise, which could be divisive, but it might look the best because of its remaster.

X, XII, and XIII are when it gets more modern. X’s the closest to the previous games and returns to a turn-based system, but the fields are a bit linear, whereas XII* goes back to real-time battles, adds a customizable gambit system and places emphasis on exploration. XIII is very modern with a slow beginning, long cutscenes, very linear exploration, and fast (and challenging) real-time gameplay.

*I want to specify that I’ve only played the original XII, not the Zodiac Age version which seems to have improved the gameplay, according to everyone.

XV is pretty divisive, since it had troubled development, but there’s still plenty to enjoy. The combat is closer to Kingdom Hearts than previous numbered FF’s, imo, with real-time action and an open world setting.

My brief descriptions don’t do them justice, but it really comes down to what you’re interested in. I want to clarify that I really do like all the FF’s I’ve seen/played; there’s not a single one I think is bad or not worth playing. If you’re interested in starting with the Pixel Remasters, then I say go for it! If you plan on playing through the series, starting from the beginning might be the best bet so you can see how things changed and evolved, rather than starting with a later one and then feeling like the older games are lacking.

My sister, who watched me play the PSP remake of I a long time ago, recently played its Pixel Remaster and was surprised at how it didn’t feel outdated at all. All the QoL features helped, and there wasn’t much story, but she thought the lore and setting were very charming.

I hope my ramble gave you some ideas. lol

And if you’re wondering, the order I played/watched the mainline Final Fantasy games in was something like X > XIII > VII > IV > II / I / VIII > IX > VI > V / III > XII > XV. Sooo, yeah, whichever order you’re interested in. XD

EDIT: Also, if you get into the series, I highly recommend checking out Theatrhythm and its demo! Although you'll have to be wary about avoiding spoilers, so maybe that should wait until after you've played several of the games. lol

@Fizza Hi there!

FF is a great series, and I myself also have the pixel remasters. However, as a jumping-in point... I'd maybe recommend instead you go for a couple from the 'classic' PS1 era as a starter - so either 7, 8 or 9

7 tends to be most applauded from that group, although personally 9 is my favorite. 8 was divisive, and had a hard time due to following 7 (Which was a smash hit) but IMO 8 is also pretty solid.

Then maybe move on to 10 (ps2 era). It is kind of downhill from there... 15 and 16 are "OK" but the entries in between are odd. 14 is an online MM0, but pretty great.

To summarise - these are not short games, I'd suggest you start with 7 - an all time classic. Let us know what elements of 7 you're enjoying and then we can probably steer you into the next game!

(Pixel remasters are great, but they are still v old games. 5 and 6 are awesome, but I'd still push you to start with 7)

@Fizza I'm in the exact same position here. In the end I figured I'd just start at the beginning and see where it takes me, so I bought the first one. Part of my reasoning was that it seems to be considered a mid tier game - I rarely see it rated as either best or worst when people talk about it.

If I like it, there's a good chance I like others in the series, and if I don't then I might like one of the 'better' ones...unless I absolutely hate it and it puts me off the series for life, but there haven't been may games like that so far 😅

I’m also thinking jumping into the FF series this year. I haven’t decided yet but FF VII and FF X seem to get recommended a lot.

Also, this is probably a dumb question but are we not getting FF VII remake on Switch, when we have Crisis Core? Should I play FF VII before Crisis Core?

They are very different games. FF VII remake is graphically fancy (e.g. would not run on Switch) and has no turn-based combat.

There are two possibilities:

1. We get it on the Switch successor.
3. It's possible PlayStation has console exclusivity (it hasn't been allowed on xbox so far) but that is unclear.

As for order, crisis core has spoilers so it's usually suggested to play the original FF7 first (which is on Switch currently on sale for like $6).

@FishyS For some reason I thought the remake was like a modern replacement for the original but after looking into, it seems both games are worth playing - hopefully the remake does come to the Switch successor though. Tempted to go for FF7 then since I’d like to learn more about Sephiroth and that is good sale price!

Thanks for the information!

Random question - I just noticed your username — are you a fan of the musician whose name includes 'leaf' and who wrote a song about Sephiroth?

@FishyS Nope never heard of them! (mine is just a low effort username I keep meaning to change.) Who is the musician out of interest?

Hah, ok, it seemed unlikely but the name and mentioning Sephiroth made me wonder. The musician is Pealeaf - she primarily streams music on Twitch although has lots of good covers and a few originals on YouTube as well, including plenty of Final Fantasy covers.

@Plusle_and_Minun @CJD87 Sorry for the late response but thanks a ton for your advice! I think what I'm going to do is pick up all the Pixel Remasters (plus Collection of Mana for good measure XD) but not play them immediately. Instead, I'm going to try and pick up the physical Twin-Pack of FFVII and FVIII: Remastered that's available on sites like Amazon as it's only slightly more expensive than getting both games individually on the eShop, even during the current sale, and have FFVII be my first FF game before going back to the beginning with FFI and making my way through the series in chronological release order. I've got plenty of RPGs that I need to make my way through as is like Baten Kaitos, Paper Mario and Octopath Traveler so I don't mind waiting a while before I tackle the behemoth that is Final Fantasy XD

@Fizza That it a good shout IMO.

I always appreciate anyone wanting to play through a series of games, and have their roadmap governed by chronology, but I'd agree that VII is a great starting point.

For many people, myself included, OG VII was the 'gateway drug' into the FF series - and really put JRPGs on the map in terms of genre prevalence in the mainstream discoure.

I hope, and believe you will(!), love your time with it

I loved Xenoblade chronicles 3 and just beat it, can I play future redeemed before one?