Best Final Fantasy game and why?

[Textbook Bobcat]

It's nice to see a topic of FF begin with VIII (my favourite) as opposed to blind VII worship.

I appreciate VIII on so many levels; personable and deep characters (Zell and Seifer to only name two), most rewarding battle system (abusable when you've mastered it, but only adds to the greatness), Triple Triad, GFs and Junction system I could worship it all day.

However, pride of place is the story. Rarely is a Chaos Theory/Time Paradox type story executed so well,and being fascinated with time it had me imprisoned with it since first launch.

 

[secretsantaone]

I appreciate VIII on so many levels; personable and deep characters (Zell and Seifer to only name two)

Bullshit.
Zell was a hungry overexcitable retard whilst Seifer was an angsty git.

most rewarding battle system (abusable when you've mastered it, but only adds to the greatness),

1st half of the game - spam GFs
2nd half of the game - spam Attack/Limit Breaks
so rewarding

Triple Triad, GFs and Junction system I could worship it all day.

Triple Triad is the best FF minigame so far, GFs were mostly long drawn out animations that got boring real fast but the junction system was interesting and allowed creativity, even if it did punish you for using magic.

However, pride of place is the story. Rarely is a Chaos Theory/Time Paradox type story executed so well,and being fascinated with time it had me imprisoned with it since first launch.

Oh please. The story was the worst part of 8.

LOL WE ALL HAD AMNESIA.
Irvine why didn't you tell us?
I DUNNO LOL.

I've created a machine that will be abused in the future!
Well destroy it then?
NO! Instead, I'll send you forwards through time using the power of friendship!

Also: monsters from the moon.

FF8 isn't the worst FF but it's far from the best.

That title is reserved for FFV.

 

[JDviewer]

Of the ones I've played (from VI to X-2) I have to say that I really enjoyed FFIX. I really liked all the characters with an good back story for the protagonist. X was an decent game as well, which I prefer to X-2.

 

[Textbook Bobcat]

Bullshit.
Zell was a hungry overexcitable retard whilst Seifer was an angsty git.

Hmm, someone attacking something so quickly and with no base (I did say deep, so someone "unable to look past the glass will see nothing but their own reflection"). Something tells me the rest of your post will be equally as "overexcitable".

1st half of the game - spam GFs

If you were spamming GFs you were playing it wrong

2nd half of the game - spam Attack/Limit Breaks so rewarding

With more command options available via Junctions than previous (and future iterations) it is as repetitive as you want to make it. If you want to spam attack, then do so. I've actually explored the mechanics.

Oh please. The story was the worst part of 8.

LOL WE ALL HAD AMNESIA.
Irvine why didn't you tell us?
I DUNNO LOL.

Not a bad choice for story, but delivery was quite poor I will grant you.

Still nothing is perfect.

I've created a machine that will be abused in the future!
Well destroy it then?
NO! Instead, I'll send you forwards through time using the power of friendship!

You seem to have misunderstood the concept of a Time Paradox. If it was destroyed then Ultimecia would not go back in time, Edea would not be a sorceress, SeeD would not exist.... can't be arsed: Use your brain in short.

Also: monsters from the moon.

FF8 isn't the worst FF but it's far from the best.

That title is reserved for FFV.

In your opinion yes, but I could go all day assassinating FFV for its MANY flaws. But I can accept people have different views, and feel no need to attack it.

 

[darkhawk918]

X was an decent game as well, which I prefer to X-2.

Nobody likes X-2. It was the black sheep of FF games.

Nobody wanted X to end, it was incredible and fantastic and the idea of that story carrying on was exciting. However, the creators should have realised that it had to come to an end and resurrecting it wouldn't have worked as the whole magic of FF is that eventually, it has to end and there must be closure yet just enough so that people still want more because they should be left yearning for that story years afterwards.

If all the Final Fantasy games were set in the same world with the same characters it wouldn't have worked and wouldn't be as much of a sucess as it has been.

 

[The Great JT]

Y'know what, here's something for you FF8 fans, here's an online review of FF8 courtesey of TheSpoonyOne. I just cannot stand FF8, its very existance plagues my sanity, so I have to post this to tear down that which the FF8 fans love. Why? FOR SCIENCE, OF COURSE!

Note, these are in chronological order, so the older it is, the closer to the bottom of the page it's gonna be.

Parts 1&2: Start Of The Game and Drawing Magic [http://www.spoonyexperiment.com/category/final-fantasy-viii/page/3/]

Parts 3-7: Triple Triad, The SeeD Exam, Graduation Ball, What's In The Goddamn Lamp, Flashback Review of FF7, The First Laguna Flashback That Eventually Turns Out To Be Completly Pointless By The Story's Weak Standards, The Introduction To The Worst Kidnapping Plan Ever [http://www.spoonyexperiment.com/category/final-fantasy-viii/page/2/]

Parts 8-11: The Sorceress' Inaguration, The Second Asinine Laguna Flashback and Walla-Walla, April Fool's Day FF1 Review (You Don't Have To Watch That), Time-Compression-Based 'The Rest' Montage [http://www.spoonyexperiment.com/category/final-fantasy-viii/]

 

[TheNumber1Zero]

The ones of the Bit generation because I said what I said when I said it
3:57 Pm

 

[secretsantaone]

Hmm, someone attacking something so quickly and with no base (I deep say deep, so someone "unable to look past the glass will see nothing but their own reflection"). Something tells me the rest of your post will be equally as "overexcitable".

Please tell me where Zell came off as deep? Or Seifer for that matter? And no, looking angry doesn;t make you 'deep'.

If you were spamming GFs you were playing it wrong

GFs were the most powerful tools at your disposal at the start of the game, with no penalty for using them unlike magic which decreased your junctioned stats, or attack which had to be buffed with spells that you had to draw for hours on end to get.

2nd half of the game - spam Attack/Limit Breaks so rewarding

With more command options available via Junctions than previous (and future iterations) it is as repetitive as you want to make it. If you want to spam attack, then do so. I've actually explored the mechanics.

And what other options are there? Card? Kamikaze? Doom? In the end, these are just gimicks, you can't honestly argue you would choose them over straight attacking.

Oh please. The story was the worst part of 8.

LOL WE ALL HAD AMNESIA.
Irvine why didn't you tell us?
I DUNNO LOL.

Not a bad choice for story, but delivery was quite poor I will grant you.

Still nothing is perfect.

Amnesia is the ultimate copout. It's like the 'it was all a dream' of drama. It convieniantly ties up most plot holes and allows the writer to get away with whatever bullshit they want.

I've created a machine that will be abused in the future!
Well destroy it then?
NO! Instead, I'll send you forwards through time using the power of friendship!

You seem to have misunderstood the concept of a Time Paradox. If it was destroyed then Ultimecia would not go back in time, Edea would not be a sorceress, SeeD would not exist.... can't be arsed: Use your brain in short.

Ok then, ignore the first two lines.

Also: monsters from the moon.

FF8 isn't the worst FF but it's far from the best.

That title is reserved for FFV.

In your opinion yes, but I could go all day assassinating FFV for its MANY flaws. But I can accept people have different views, and feel no need to attack it.

At least 5 had a good story, a brilliant job system, didn't punish you for using magic (unless you count their obscenely low hitpoints) and characters whose primary reaction wasn't

...whatever.

By the way, I enjoyed FF8. I was merely critiquing it. But even games I like can contain absolute crap at times.

 

[Textbook Bobcat]

Please tell me where Zell came off as deep? Or Seifer for that matter? And no, looking angry doesn;t make you 'deep'.

Zell; overshadowed by his family's past, constantly aspiring to previous milestones set by them. Boisterous personality hiding insecurities. Maybe I appreciated this due to the fact I've come into contact with people who present fronts but hide something completely different.

Seifer; Misguided, goal for greatness blocked by his inability to accept aid of others. Taken advantage of, wants to prove his worth and takes the quickest way to do so (Knight). Not evil as many believe, a quote Squall says en route to Disc 1 end "There is no evil, only point of view separates us"

GFs were the most powerful tools at your disposal at the start of the game, with no penalty for using them unlike magic which decreased your junctioned stats, or attack which had to be buffed with spells that you had to draw for hours on end to get.

They are the most powerful, but not in summoning. You mentioning time as a bone of contention, GFs are the most inefficient ways of dealing with enemies. The Junctioning system and the possibilities it bestowed if used properly provide a more than reasonable amount of competition to the likes of materia/armour/sphere.

If it took you hours to draw magic you were doing that wrong too.

And what other options are there? Card? Kamikaze? Doom? In the end, these are just gimicks, you can't honestly argue you would choose them over straight attacking.

Recover, Revive, Card, Lev Down, Lev Up are the first things I recall that were far from gimmicks. Especially the LV/Card commands. Those alone provide more possibilities than any other FF.

Amnesia is the ultimate copout. It's like the 'it was all a dream' of drama. It convieniantly ties up most plot holes and allows the writer to get away with whatever bullshit they want.

I did agree, however amnesia isn't a copout. If done well it is as good as a story tool as any other. However, I do believe something was lost in translation, with a central theme as complex as VIII had it's hard to believe the writers let it slip.

Whatever the reason, it was weak.

Ok then, ignore the first two lines.

Wasn't quite "friendship" that sent them through time either. It was the focus on a mutual point to cause them to rejoin. A concept that many attack because its "easy"

At least 5 had a good story, a brilliant job system, didn't punish you for using magic (unless you count their obscenely low hitpoints) and characters whose primary reaction wasn't

...whatever.

By the way, I enjoyed FF8. I was merely critiquing it. But even games I like can contain absolute crap at times.

I do not doubt you did, and I'm one of the first to acknowledge VIII's faults. I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the Space Walk, the journey to get the Ragnarok back, the ridiculous at times monster levelling (if GF Junctioning isn't utilised peoperly), the shift in Squall's personality at the smallest smell of pussy.

It's also probably one of the more unfriendly to newcomers games in the series, but I personally feel it is the best overall regardless of all its weak points.

 

[Chancie]

If you had asked me this a year ago, I would've said XII. I loved the characters and gameplay but the game itself went stale for me.

So...I'd have to say Final Fantasy X. Loved the characters, story, gameplay, and atmospheres. It was just great in general.

 

[BBLIZZARD]

Final Fantasy X- the story was deep and always changing and the characters were (for the most part) likeable. The only real drawback was a dumbed-down combat and leveling system.

 

[The Great JT]

...the journey to get the Ragnarok back...

Yeah, about that, what is up with that?! I mean there's plot convenience, then there's a miracle, followed by deus ex machina, and then there's pulling stuff right outta your ass!

 

[aww yea]

its gotta be IX.

 

[Snotnarok]

Tactics is my favorite Final Fantasy, it's big has lots of characters, endless replay there's a billion ways to play it and lots of challenges.

There's even a group dedicated to ripping it apart to make the game filled with more challenges and even classes. The other Final Fantasies seem to be getting weighed down with, how do I explain it, the same things over and over, Tactics was the first game they really tried to be different and there's very little carried over from other games.

 

[secretsantaone]

I do not doubt you did, and I'm one of the first to acknowledge VIII's faults. I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the Space Walk, the journey to get the Ragnarok back, the ridiculous at times monster levelling (if GF Junctioning isn't utilised peoperly), the shift in Squall's personality at the smallest smell of pussy.

To the people that are saying GF are the be all end all. I get more damage at the very start and continuing all the way through via proper use of the junction system to boost strength on Squall and then increasing HP with cure/cura/curaga depending on level, junctioned to HP. Then I look at what I have and decide what to place in the other Junction slots. Towards the end of the game I usually spend quite a while fine tuning the junctions on my characters.

I think you missed how broken the junction system was to those savvy enough to use it properly.

For instance, at the start of the game I could play cards to get some tonberry cards. I refine these cards into tonberry knives, then into 100 death magic. I junction said magic to status attack as soon as I get Siren. Bam. 100% chance to inflict instant death on 90% of the enemies in the game. Combined with initiative, the game poses little threat to me now (excluding the odd boss of course, but that can just be GF'd into the ground.

 

[Erana]

The first one.... it revolutionized so many things:

1. The first to open up a non-linear path.
2. The first to reward the player with additional abilities for exploring said non-linear path.
3. The first to have little easter eggs, like having the ninja do more damage weaponless than with a weapon.

Most of the game's trademarks were built in the first one, with a party system, healing, status spells, potions, fire, ice, bolt spells....

What they were able to pull off on a simple Nintendo cartridge was phenomenal.

I dunno, FF2, though the black sheep of the family, added the meat to the bones of the original game.
More spells, mysidia, Cid, chocobos, character development, the mood of the future games...
the list goes on and on.
Without both FF1 and 2, really, the series wouldn't have been what it is now.

Well, obviously several games have added different elements, but the basic themes that hold true through pretty much every game in the series were laid out in part one. Like Airships, elementals, status effects, weapons/armor being specific to classes, turn-based combat, 3-4 people in a party, etc.

So... you reiterated your initial post?
Do you realise that I wasn't saying you were wrong? I was only adding to your original sentiment.