Final Fantasy - recommendation?

[Vivi22]

The ones I'd most recommend, in my order of preference, are:

FFVI
FFIX
FFXII
FFIV
FFV

You can also throw FF Tactics in there somewhere though it's an SRPG outside the main series, but still one of the best entries out there. The PSP release in particular had a much better translation than the original though the original isn't unplayable by any stretch.'

Outside of those entries I consider the rest of the series to be of varying quality. Anywhere from average (FFVII. Yeah, I said it) to terrible (FFVIII). The original 3 games aren't terrible either in the context of when they were made, but they've certainly aged far worse than most of the others.

 

[scorptatious]

I'd start out with Final Fantasy VII. After that, I'd highly recommend playing Final Fantasy IX. Fantastic game IMO. I haven't played Final Fantasy VIII, but don't be afraid to try that game out too.

 

[DazZ.]

IX is my favourite, and likely always will be.

Really would love a remake of it, however it's the last one that wasn't voice acted if that's an issue.

 

[crono738]

You can easily start with the first one and work your way up, seeing as how 1-6 have all been remade for the GBA/DS/PSP, and you can get seven, eight, and nine off of the PSN store.

1,2,5 and 6 are also on PSN. 4 might be too but I'm not entirely sure.

 

[rekabdarb]

My suggestions:

Try 7. I might give it shit on this site, but it's a good game. Just REALLY overhyped.
Try 8, IF YOU DON'T MIND GRINDING.
Try 9, if you don't mind stealing from every single enemy.
Try 10. Just ignore the scene after Luca. honestly put your television on mute.

don't know past 10 because X-2 was terrible and i hate square enix. The only good games they've made are the remakes to the original FF's.

6 was apparently a god send but it's not bad. Thought it went on a little long, but kefka(sp?) is a good villain

 

[Girl With One Eye]

FFX is great to start off with in my opinion. It's farily easy to get to grips with and has an interesting story. FFVIII is the best of the series in my opinion but it might be a bit much for someone new to the genre.

 

[Epona]

Is FF1 the best game in the franchise though? I don't really mind screwing up the chronology or anything, I just want to see what the series has to offer. If I like the first one I play, then it'll probably entice me to go back to the first one and work my way through.

There is no chronology with the Final Fantasy games. No, 1 is not the best, not even close. Start with XIII, it more modern and has a fast paced battle system. It's not the best either but it's better than FF1. If you don't like that, try 7,8,9 or 10. The latter is the most linear but has a decent story and classic turn based battle.

 

[Epona]

I enjoyed 6 and 9. 10 was okish too.Tactics line is great tho.

4 and 5 were average. The rest I didn't really care much for.

Never really see why people give the series such a great deal. I found a lot of JRPGs to be far superior to it.

Such as?

 

[cswurt]

Look at all these people and their pointless opinions.
What's the OP gonna do now?

How about Ctrl+F and search for all the 1's and I's.
Then the 2's and II's.
3's and III's. Etc..

Tally 'em all up and go with whichever title has the most recommendations.

 

[greyghost81]

Final Fantasy Tactics or Final Fantasy IV. They are the main ones worth playing in my opinion. All others are optional.

This sounds like the best way to go. You could probably add 6 and 12, but their appeal is different than Tactics (which is a fantastic and well-written game) and 4 (which is pretty much the genesis of most Final Fantsy "mythology" such as it is). Final Fantasy 6 (along with Chrono Trigger) are possibly the best games Square produced for Super Nintendo and are well worth the time to play, and 12 is about 3/4 of a solid game that you may enjoy since you don't have the knee-jerk prejudice that a lot of Final Fantasy fans seem to have regarding it.

 

[ConstantErasing]

I recommend 6. It is, in my opinion, by far the best and is honestly rather easy (I have it on GBA by the way. I think there is a version on the PlayStation but I have never played it myself). If not that then I would say 4 or 5. 4 is fairly similar in that you have characters with set classes and abilities where as 5 is one where you change your class using a crystal.

 

[Epona]

It would help to know what JRPG's you have played and liked.

If you like a constantly changing party, Final Fantasy IV does that. I personally hate that, give me a party and let me train them. If you like being able to customize every party member to become identical, 6,7,8 will let you do that. If you like each person having their own roles, X and XIII does that. In XIII (maybe X), you can teach everyone every role but the game discourages it by charging twice as much CP (exp) for non starting roles.

Note that I recently went back and tried to play IX, it's a slow moving game. I loved it back in the day but after you play enough modern games, that game (and X) can be too slow.

 

[VoidWanderer]

I'll add my two cents here...

I have played 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 (finished) 12, and 13.

Out of all those Final Fantasy games, I loved 6 the most for a couple of reasons.

1) The main protagonist is a female AND a caster.

2) She is understandably vulnerable without requiring anti-depressants.

3) The main villain is so cartoon-ey, you may as well call him 'The Joker'.

 

[TilMorrow]

So please don't burn me at the stake or anythiny...

What why would we do that? I mean...

Spoiler: I'm only kidding

OT: Well I haven't played all the games but the few I have played were good.
I recommend:
FF VII
FF VIII
FF XXVII er I mean Deus Ex:HR <-ignore this
And FF XIII. Many people didn't like it but I found it entertaining.

I've also heard that's number FF 4 is good.

 

[McMarbles]

Can't go wrong with 4-9.

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

If you want my real opinion, I'd say go play something that isn't FF. They're overdone and hackneyed and I never thought they were amazing.

If you want my FF opinion, 9 was reasonable.

 

[attackshark]

FFX has the only actual character in the entire series. and it has blitzball.

FFXII has the best game play and story.

FFXIII has a neat concept on combat which i really liked, but it falls short everywhere else. and it has some exceptionally annoying characters. i would pass on that one.

 

[NorthernStar]

The FF games I really liked were usually the games most people seemed to hate, keep that in mind

I loved FFX. Great combat system, some cool characters and a nice story that tied it all together.

Most people gawk over 7, but I never found the appeal in that one. Perhaps because I only tried it a couple of years ago.

I also liked FFXIII a lot for practically the same reasons I liked 10. If you don't mind linearity in your games, these two are your pick. If you prefer a huge open world with loads of grinding, I think some of the other installments would be more up your alley.