Convince me to play a game thread

[Nick Calandra]

Haven't seen this thread anywhere else, but I think a lot of people would probably use it.

One thing I've been doing this year is trying lots of different games that I was interested in, but never gave the time to. Some I still need some further convincing on.

I'm getting pulled by the hype of Final Fantasy VII remake, but I'm gonna wait on that one till it comes to PC at some point.

So I've been eyeing Final Fantasy 15 as a starting point, but not really sure if it's a game I'm going to enjoy or not. Only other Final Fantasy I ever tried was Crystal Chronicles for reference, so yes, I have next to no knowledge of the series aside from a bystanders view of it and having covered past releases.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

I haven't played FF15 but if anything is going to convince or not convince you to play FF15, it'll be SkillUp's super thorough FF15 video covering the entirety that is FF15.

 

[EvilRoy]

If you can get over the art style, you might try FFIX. Its a pretty solid game, the story basically makes sense with only a little bit of anime-style whiny angst, and there are some really good characters. In particular I was impressed by the fact that outside of the big two characters, a lot of the playable characters actually have real depth and development in the story. I had come out of a run of PS1 era JRPGs right before playing this that basically had the main guy and a series of cardboard cutouts, so that was very refreshing to come across. Gameplay wise its one of the transition points in the series - you use an ATB system similar to the older games with a bunch of nice quality of life upgrades that make it feel smooth and engaging (for the time, of course). A lot of people have told me the game is butt ugly, and I don't necessarily disagree. The graphic quality doesn't help, but I honestly put most of the blame on the art style. Monsters are alright and varied, towns are painted-on but well rendered, the world map is fully walkable but not super detailed in terms of prettiness.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you can get over the godawful story you might try FFX. You've probably seen the memes, but believe me, they aren't exaggerations. The characters, bar like three, are pretty awful, and the story swings wildly from reasonably interesting to fascinatingly stupid - all complimented by bargain bin voice acting and occasionally questionable translations. This is compounded by the habit of the game to use a language that you learn one letter at a time. You never NEED to know what they're saying, but its not a point in the games favour. That said, the art style is beautiful. Environments look good, monsters are dynamically animated and interesting - the clone brush was absolutely used here, but its more forgivable in that each enemy is weak to a specific team member and the monster shape is used as a kind of visual shorthand to communicate that. Battle system is turn based and displayed on screen dynamically so using haste or slow causes the visual to adjust, and you're allowed to see the effect of a spell before casting it which is a nice feature. You can actually use the turn visual strategically, and adjust situations on the fly to make sure you win an encounter before an enemy is able to do x/y/z to you. The game overall is FUN, except maybe the brief temple sections, its just drug down by a host of story and acting related problems.

 

[Worgen]

While I kinda liked FF15, I don't think its the strongest Final Fantasy game. It's got kinda fun combat and kinda fun characters and really really good graphics but the story is just kinda... badly told and setup. Personally my favorite Final Fantasy is FFIX, its got some fantastic characters, an amazing sound track, one of the better Final Fantasy plots and the graphics are pretty good for it being a psx game.

 

[sXeth]

The series doesn't really have any continuity to it. 12 and Tactics have some correlation, and 9 is technically a sequel to 1 (or an alternate timeline of 1), otherwise its pretty open slate.


6 & 9 are the big story entries, but can feel distinctly constrained from a mechanical perspective. Then you have more freeform mechanics in 5, or 8 (I believe also 2), but they tend to be much weaker storywise

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Slightly tricky without knowing your tastes, otherwise I'd just be recommending my own tastes and that isn't really a preferred method of recommendation when pressed. I need boundaries!

 

[09philj]

I've tried a few different FF games over the years, and I have quite varying feelings on them.
FFVI has a good story and atmosphere, but the combat is not at all intuitive. Every character plays completely differently, in ways that are not well explained. Worth playing, but with a game guide handy.

FFXIV is probably my favourite game of all time. Yeah, it's pretty uneven and the main storyline in the first fifty levels has some really dull spots and a lot of the sidequests are the same simple fetchquests, but overall it's a great MMORPG experience. The main story is properly epic and there's a tonne of interesting side stories around it.

FFXV runs like utter shit on PC, which is a bit of a problem. I like the action combat in general, although using abilities outside of regular attacks is a bit awkward. The world is very immersive, but the story is a bit bland.

Bravely Default is a Final Fantasy game in all but name. It's got a good little throwback RPG plot that has a surprising amount of nuance and depth, and one of the most interesting variations on turn based combat I've ever come across. The job system is almost ludicrously deep, and is a joy to use. The sequel, Bravely Second, is even better in my opinion.

 

[SilentPony]

Its the most wholesome, sweetest, cutest platformer of all time. Its a spiritual adorable daughter to Mario Sunshine.

Noir murder mystery western train heist with penguins. And that's only one level

 

[fOx]

Hmm, that's a hard one. It sort of depends on your interests. The FF series is so diverse, that there's barely any continuity at all in terms of game play, story, level design, art direction, or even genre.

Overall, I would say I'm not a huge fan of the franchise. If I was going to recommend one, I suppose I would recommend either the original FF7, or, if you want something more light hearted and traditional, FF9.

Alternatively, you can try Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, FF Tactics, or Parasite Eve. It's generally agreed that Square had it's golden age in the 90's. After the original creator left, it went down hill.

If you want something more modern, then Persona 5, Bravely Default, or Nier Automata are all excellent.

 

[SupahEwok]

Alternatively, you can try Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, FF Tactics, or Parasite Eve. It's generally agreed that Square had it's golden age in the 90's.

That's just cuz you think the 90's were the peak of human civilization.

Although looking back at the last 20 years, you aren't necessarily wrong...