Final Fantasy

[Daedalus1942]

I am an obsessive Final Fantasy nut and while I like to say that is the best game ever I accept that it has flaws. I also accept that I am by no means an "original fan" of Final Fantasy series as the first one I played was Final Fantasy VIII.

I wanted to start this thread for three reasons:

1. I wanted to hear what people like and dislike about the line of games. This means all of them, not just the numbered games. If you are busting your pants to rage on about how good Crisis Core is knock your socks off.

2. Final Fantasy is one of the main reasons that I am the obsessive Japanese-loving, Gaming and Manga freak you see before you and I need a place to hang out while I search the rest of the forums.

3.I didn't see another tread of it.


As said, want to know what you think of the games. Anything, anything at all.

Just before the PS2 was released my Auntie gave my brother an I the old Playstation and with it Final Fantasy VIII and IX. I grew up with Final Fantasy nurturing me in my darkest hours and as I hated Primary School I played the game all the time. I wasn't too keen on FFVIII but I loved and still adore FFIX and lucky me the game doesn't seem to get as much attention as the others and the games aspects haven't been re-used as much.

I love the game-play but mind you I like having to grind levels a little. I think the stories are good but are becoming more farfetched the longer the series drags on FFVI being the simplest and easiest to enjoy without ripping you head off. I am slowly distancing myself from the games as FFXII was a big plie of shit for me as I have played for more than 50 hours and am still only a little way through the story. I like the grind but FFXII was ridiculous! I don't even know if I should bother with FFXIII.


I love Final Fantasy but I do think it is going downhill. At what point this happened? Who knows

First of all, let me say FFXIII is nothing like FFXII. It's extremely difficult and fast paced, and if you can put up with it til chapter 9 then it gets alot better and more of the plot makes more sense.
Conceptually and plot-wise it's very similar to final fantasy VII.
The battles can be very challenging and I think by no means that the final fantasy series is getting worse.

It's more linear sure, but they had to cut alot of stuff out to fit in on the 360 and in term gutted the ps3 version also.
Every game reinvents the battle system. Sometimes they work sometimes they don't.

I really don't understand all the hate for XII though.
Sure the main character was a whiney annoying scene kid, but the rest of the party members I thought were quite well rounded.
Fran and Balthier are easily some of my favourite characters in any FF game to date.
I also loved the battle system. It was original, intuitive and if you set it up right you were practically invincible unless you ran out of mp. It let you formulate just simply awesome strategies, and the sidequests were alot of fun as was hunting the marks.

My main complaint about XII would have to be that the plot just wasn't that interesting enough to draw me and have me absorb it as well as all the other previous games (and XIII).
Squenix are changing clearly. They're branching out into war games an rts's and all sorts of other stuff now. Is all of it going to work? No, but at least they're remaining relevant to the industry and not getting left behind.

I guess what I'm saying is don't base your opinion of XIII on your opinion of XII. No two final fantasy's have ever been the same.

 

[Havra]

Huh? What is this "X-2" you speak of? I'm sorry, I don't think that game exists.

Hahaha very funny. Don't deniy the existance of that game, while it is by far not the best game it did have some good aspects to it.

First of all, let me say FFXIII is nothing like FFXII. It's extremely difficult and fast paced, and if you can put up with it til chapter 9 then it gets alot better and more of the plot makes more sense.
Conceptually and plot-wise it's very similar to final fantasy VII.
The battles can be very challenging and I think by no means that the final fantasy series is getting worse.

It's more linear sure, but they had to cut alot of stuff out to fit in on the 360 and in term gutted the ps3 version also.
Every game reinvents the battle system. Sometimes they work sometimes they don't.

I really don't understand all the hate for XII though.
Sure the main character was a whiney annoying scene kid, but the rest of the party members I thought were quite well rounded.
Fran and Balthier are easily some of my favourite characters in any FF game to date.
I also loved the battle system. It was original, intuitive and if you set it up right you were practically invincible unless you ran out of mp. It let you formulate just simply awesome strategies, and the sidequests were alot of fun as was hunting the marks.

My main complaint about XII would have to be that the plot just wasn't that interesting enough to draw me and have me absorb it as well as all the other previous games (and XIII).
Squenix are changing clearly. They're branching out into war games an rts's and all sorts of other stuff now. Is all of it going to work? No, but at least they're remaining relevant to the industry and not getting left behind.

I guess what I'm saying is don't base your opinion of XIII on your opinion of XII. No two final fantasy's have ever been the same.

Your right, maybe I was relating my thoughts for XIII by the dissapointment I had with XII.

Also, I don't hate XII but I can understand why people hate it so much. There are a lot of things wrong with it and like you said, the story doesn't seem to grab people in. I feel it take a lot of will power to get through all the grinding behind it all and once you did you could fight one mabye two boss fights before you need to do it again. I found it was hard to get Gil and using the gambits is shit. I hear that you can get USEFUL gambits later but with the fuck is the point of that? You still have to go through a lot of the battles without them!I also liked the idea of the licences but I don't think it worked really well. I didn't understand much about it and ended up unlocking all the armour before the rest of the board.

I played FFXII for 50 hours and only just got to Archades. I just finnished the fight with Cid and I out the controller down. Keep in mind I have had this game for a few years and I could only go back to it when I was brave enough.

I will still play FFXIII. I can't wait to actually play it but I do think that Final Fantasy has changed for the worse.

 

[PopeJewish]

I started playing with FF1 yet I haven't honestly enjoyed anything since FF7. 9 was good, as it was a return to form, but I couldn't be bothered to beat it. X was overall pretty meh and I hated x-2. XII was just... I don't even know about that one, it was garbage all around imho. The best in the series by far was VI, followed by IV (I loved Cecil, and fighting his dark knight self to become the paladin was one of the most memorable moments of my childhood. That sounds pathetic). I'd rank VII above V, but it still comes in as a distant 3rd.

After that the characters went from cool and stylized to WAYYY too Japanese and pop-y. I'm tired of the trite storylines and the emo-ness of it all, and I hate the jpop look all the characters have these days. And this is coming from someone who lives in Japan, so yea

 

[Daedalus1942]

I started playing with FF1 yet I haven't honestly enjoyed anything since FF7. 9 was good, as it was a return to form, but I couldn't be bothered to beat it. X was overall pretty meh and I hated x-2. XII was just... I don't even know about that one, it was garbage all around imho. The best in the series by far was VI, followed by IV (I loved Cecil, and fighting his dark knight self to become the paladin was one of the most memorable moments of my childhood. That sounds pathetic). I'd rank VII above V, but it still comes in as a distant 3rd.

After that the characters went from cool and stylized to WAYYY too Japanese and pop-y. I'm tired of the trite storylines and the emo-ness of it all, and I hate the jpop look all the characters have these days. And this is coming from someone who lives in Japan, so yea

My guess is you haven't played a game since X-2, as they're far from emo (okay Hope I'd happily strangle) but the rest are quite okay. My suggestion is you give XII and XIII a chance before you say all the newer games are too japanese-y.
The last two have been far less Japanese like.

 

[PopeJewish]

I started playing with FF1 yet I haven't honestly enjoyed anything since FF7. 9 was good, as it was a return to form, but I couldn't be bothered to beat it. X was overall pretty meh and I hated x-2. XII was just... I don't even know about that one, it was garbage all around imho. The best in the series by far was VI, followed by IV (I loved Cecil, and fighting his dark knight self to become the paladin was one of the most memorable moments of my childhood. That sounds pathetic). I'd rank VII above V, but it still comes in as a distant 3rd.

After that the characters went from cool and stylized to WAYYY too Japanese and pop-y. I'm tired of the trite storylines and the emo-ness of it all, and I hate the jpop look all the characters have these days. And this is coming from someone who lives in Japan, so yea

My guess is you haven't played a game since X-2, as they're far from emo (okay Hope I'd happily strangle) but the rest are quite okay. My suggestion is you give XII and XIII a chance before you say all the newer games are too japanese-y.
The last two have been far less Japanese like.

played XII and hated it. The setting was good, but everything else was just poorly executed. I'll give that it wasn't overly japanese-y but I still didn't like it. FFXIII was directed by Motomu Toriyama (he did X-2) so I have basically no hope in it being a good game. I might pick it up used if I see it around, but that won't be for another few years yet (after I move back to America) as I'd want an English version cause even my Japanese friends don't understand the plot and they have no difficulty with the language barrier

 

[DividedUnity]

13 was the first FF I played. I quite liked it up until the point were bosses could cast a timed death spell on me (not the eilodons either). The amount of it I played I enjoyed quite a bit but I wouldnt buy it unless it was on sale or pre owned

 

[Thelonesun]

I think 1-6 are the best.

-flame shield on-

 

[Ishadus]

I'm definitely a FF fan, but like anything else, there are both flaws and virtues. Even the best final fantasies make stupid mistakes, and even the worst ones have at least a couple of merits in there.

If only we could harness all the best parts of all the final fantasies to date and compress them into an omnipotent god-game...

I enjoyed IV and VI like most seem to, but even for their time there were no shortage of stupidities (Oh look...Kain betrayed us again. We COULD fight him, or we could sit here and cry for him to not steal our crystal as he walks out the door. Or, even better, sweet we just defeated Golbez's army and stopped him from getting a crystal! Hey.....is that his hand v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y crawling towards the crystal we just saved? Let's just stand around and watch what happens. I've got a good feeling about this!).

VII was my favourite video game for its time.

VIII was the very first FF I was ever disappointed by (a gun with a blade instead of a barrel...are you fucking kidding me?). Stupid storyline, crappy magic systems, and characters I want to punch in the throat.

IX renewed my love for the series. A wonderful game despite the typical problem of the main villain being a girl-boy who's throwing a hissy fit because his daddy didn't hug him enough. The 57th "supposed to lose fight" against Beatrix got annoying too as every kingdom I was supposedly "protecting" was burned to the ground.

I absolutely loved X, and I can't understand why many people have a distaste for it. It had good gameplay, characters I actually gave a toss about, an emotional (in a positive way) story, etc. It's one of my favourite FFs.

Then...it goes downhill. XII wasn't "bad" but it didn't fly for me because I did like 6 hours worth of side quest stuff for every half hour I spent advancing the plot. The result was that I only ended up having the vaguest idea of wtf was going on by the end. There was this misty being giving people superpowers to...do....bad things? What? You mean the main story ISN'T to hunt marks?

X-2.....raised bile in my throat. To take X, a game I enjoyed, and turn it into Barbie's dress-up adventures....ugh.

XIII was the polar opposite of XII. From freedom to a fault to choking linearity. And stop making stories so outlandishly bizaar. There was SO much potential here, but man oh man the ball could not have been dropped any harder. The fact that you catch a shining glimmer of what "could" have been before getting shackled back to a game you're not having fun with made it sting all the more.


Oh, and as an afterthought, I still think FF tactics has one of the best storylines I've ever seen in a game. Multi-faceted political intrigue intermingling perfectly with characters' agendas and desires.


I haven't given up hope though. I just think the FF team needs a slap from a reality check. Return to freedom. More grounded storylines. Less bullshitty, gimicky combat/gameplay. If you're going to force me to rely on AI controlled allies, don't make the AI a steaming pile of horse shit.

But even if they can't recover....meh. At least we've got Bioware now

 

[PopeJewish]

I absolutely loved X, and I can't understand why many people have a distaste for it. It had good gameplay, characters I actually gave a toss about, an emotional (in a positive way) story, etc. It's one of my favourite FFs.

snip

Oh, and as an afterthought, I still think FF tactics has one of the best storylines I've ever seen in a game. Multi-faceted political intrigue intermingling perfectly with characters' agendas and desires.


I haven't given up hope though. I just think the FF team needs a slap from a reality check. Return to freedom. More grounded storylines. Less bullshitty, gimicky combat/gameplay. If you're going to force me to rely on AI controlled allies, don't make the AI a steaming pile of horse shit.

But even if they can't recover....meh. At least we've got Bioware now

couple things. One just difference of opinion, but I thought most of the characters in 10 were crap, and were super annoying. And blitzball... oh gods blitzball... atrocious stuff.

Two, FFtactics was amazing, one of the best FF games by far, though not a real FF game as it follows nearly none fo the conventions. Still, absolutely fantastic. Yet it was followed up with the amazingly disappointing FFTactics A series. What was Matsuno thinking?! Going from a story about political intrigue and class warfare, with a friendship being torn apart by the difference in personal agendas, to a game about a bunch of children getting sucked into a book and trying to find their way out. By the gods did that upset me.

The problem with FF is the leadership. Basically, it has none. All the top level people from the old games are no longer at Square Enix. The creator of the whole series left (formed Mistwalker Studios), Tetsuya Takahashi (Xenogears) is gone, the last main guy to leave was Yasumi Matsuno (creator of Ivalice) who designed part of FFXII but left in 2005. They all took their teams with them. Then Nomura took over and, well, we can pretty much write Squeenix off from now on, imho.

Lastly, we've had BioWare for ages (like 15 years or so)

 

[MasterMongoose0]

I've only played FFVII: Crisis Core, FFTAdvance, and am currently playing FFX. I'm really close to the end and a bit annoyed at Yunalesca. I'll get back to it tomorrow.

Crisis Core had me hooked (I had no prior knowledge of FFVII), but the battle system just completely destroyed all the appeal for me by about 2/3's of the way through. It was just "Press X, Press X, Press X." And if you're feeling spicy, "Press Square."

I've played FFTAdvance for over 150 hours, and I loved the battle system (stuff like that and Fire Emblem were always great for me, since they're portable).

Final Fantasy X is great so far, but its ridiculously easy. I've lost twice in the entire game (one of those times being five minutes ago to a one-hit instant death move that I had no warning of) and the other for almost the same reason. I'll admit that I've grinded a little bit because I love the battle system and I'm trying to max out Auron and Tidus, but jeez. We're only talking 2-4 hours of grinding max (out of 27). And most of that was spent treasure hunting...

 

[wolfy098]

(see: Yuffie, who joins you because... you're a fucking moron who lets random ninjas who attack you and steal your money join up with you, i guess). Now i know the story is supposed to be light-headed, but if it wants me to take it seriously (and it definitely does), then it needs to make up its mind over whether it's serious or not.
That's all i can think of at the moment, i guess.

Yuffie joins you because she wants to steal all your materia when she has the chance.

She wants the materia to kick shinra's asses out of Wutai.

 

[Vampire cat]

I played III... It sucked... Never played an FF game ever again =3

Sorry for asking, but by 'III' did you mean 'VI?'

No? Well my friends always called it 3 so I asumed thats what it was. To my knowledge it was renamed VI for the american market or something? Idk, it was still rubbish =3

 

[Buffoon]

The thing about gaming culture is that most gaming enthusiasts are quite cynical. Final Fantasy games are very, very Japanese, and the Japanese don't do cynicism in the same way the Western world does. But I 'get' Japanese culture. I understand that while the characters in FFVIII might seem like whiny emo turds to some, to me they are archetypes of a certain style of storytelling. Final Fantasy games are like opera. It makes no sense that characters in opera are singing about their various woes, but you don't go to an opera expecting gritty realism (if indeed you go to an opera at all). And so it is with Final Fantasy; you need to suspend your cynicism along with your disbelief.

For what it's worth, I love everything Final Fantasy, with the exception of XI, and even that I could have loved if I hadn't played WoW first.

 

[Little Duck]

The only one I really liked was advance on the GBA. That was incredible fun and epic, whilst not being whiny or angsty. Much.

I was also interested in 12. But I probably will never play it cos I don't wish to own a playstation.

 

[Kurokami]

I've heard good things about the Final Fantasy series from 7 and before, but 8...

The writing, oh my god the writing was terrible.

Quistis (was it her, I don't remember): "Hey guys, we've got this magic collar here that could maybe possibly take away that sorceress' powers if she wears it."

Rinoa: "That sounds awesome! I'm going to take it, run over to her lair real quick, and meekly ask her to put it on. Delivering our secret weapon directly into the hands of the enemy."

Sorceress: "***** please."

That was painful.

What collar?

I remember it being some sort of round piece of clothing, but not a belt. It's been a while.

I played it not too long ago and I don't remember anything like that, I remember some bits were a bit... 'silly' but as far as Final Fantasy games go, 8 made the best impression on me. (though it hurts my eyes to play)

 

[ArsenalMark]

Lol, I'm sorry but criticizing XII for being a grind is stupid. That was the least grindiest of all the Final Fantasies, because you just set up your gambits and leave your characters to fight.

And you've played it for 50 hours? You must be really shit.

Other than that, the earlier Final Fantasies are the better ones, as it is with most games with a large amount of games under it's belt. Once they set the bar so high (In particular for me, V & VI) they had no way to get over it, but still I applaud Squeenixs efforts to keep the gameplay fresh each time, rather than slapping the same battle system on every game.

 

[Havra]

I don't get why you like Final Fantasy, I read your post and it seems like you only like the grinding. Many games have grind besides Final Fantasy, why do you like FF more than any other rpg? You said later you liked how Cloud could be made to look the fool at times in the story, what else do you like so much about the series??

I Love the plot and hardcore feel Tactics has. It has been a harsh mistress to me, I have only started it a week ago (Thank you PSN!!!). The plot for it is serious and compelling to me, since it doesn't try to wow or dazzle me w/ graphics and cut scenes, but uses text dialog to tell a tale of harsh reality, and human behaviors depending on ones birth status in the world.

I enjoyed the characters in VII enough to play the game 100+ hours, but I was much younger then, and I wonder if I would have the same feelings if I played it for the first time now. It was my first step into a jrpg, and I think I will forever hold a place in my heart for it.

VIII I didn't like because of the characters, it just didn't appeal to me. The story failed to wrap me up quick enough for me to keep playing. Same with what seems everyone's fav FFIII or VI depending on who you ask when. I got to the part early on when some of the characters are on a raft, (that is ffIII/VI right??) and I didn't want to play more. I'm sure if I kept going, I may have found love for this game, but up to that point, at the time I was playing it, I just didn't care enough to continue.

My tastes in games change as often as months pass, and I might enjoy another attempt at more FF games, but up till now..... VII and Tactics are the only ones that truly have my heart.

Actually, I forced myself 5 hours (1st hour of that game is the worst I have ever played in a game, they try to get you to not like it!) into XIII and have enjoyed it since (only at hour 25 now).
Maybe I need to force my way into playing more of the other titles to fully 'get' them as well.

I didn't go into much detail as to why I liked it so much but just to clarify: I don't like to grind too much. I pretty much love all aspects of the game. I love the characters, they're relatable and I found them easy to understand. I do love the actual game play, and as the game play does have a grinding aspect to it this might explain why I always think "Just one more battle". I also loved the stories and always tried to realte myself to them while not imagining myself IN them.

As to why I like Final Fantasy so much... well...I am an emotional person and when my Grandma died I wasn't taking it too well. A few months after her death my auntie gave us her old Playstation and with it FFVIII and FFIX. I guess you could say I escaped into the world of Final Fantasy in order to get away from the trouble I was having in the real world. I love the Final Fantasy's games, not only was it fun for me to play, but its stories lifted me up a little and kept me going. I remember coming home from school one day after being bullied and saying: "It'll be ok; when you get home you can play some Chocobo Hot & Cold". I grew up with this game and in a way, it nursed me back to health.

I haven't really played many other RPG titles either and while it is a little off topic any suggestions of some good ones? I have a PS2, Laptop and DS currently. The only other RPG titles I have is The World Ends With You and Disgaea Hour of Darkness.

But Back to Final Fantasy. I have played Tactics Advance and I found that to be really fun although some of the plot parts did confuse me a little. However, as it was so fun to play I let them slide.

I find it sad that only two of the games have hit you but it is all about personal opinions. I did like FFVII, a lot, even though I knew the story. I did get a surprise when Aerith died not because I knew she was going to, but because it was so early! I played with her saying "I'll make to most of her before she dies" then, before I knew it, she died.

VIII had its flaws. I really liked the story up until the point of "TIME TWIST!!". Nowadays I tend to play it up to the 4th disc, this is also because the disc is scratched and the game sometimes stops in an FMV. I've been playing FVI recently and while it is very good and I did cry when Celes jumped off the cliff (Haha "to make themselves feel better") I just haven?t had time to play it.

Good to hear the XIII has some up sides but I don't know if I could be bothered with the first 5 hours though... maybe someday.

Just a question for the people: What Final Fantasy class would you be? Mage, Warrior, Red Mage etc...

Lol, I'm sorry but criticizing XII for being a grind is stupid. That was the least grindiest of all the Final Fantasies, because you just set up your gambits and leave your characters to fight.

And you've played it for 50 hours? You must be really shit.

Other than that, the earlier Final Fantasies are the better ones, as it is with most games with a large amount of games under it's belt. Once they set the bar so high (In particular for me, V & VI) they had no way to get over it, but still I applaud Squeenixs efforts to keep the gameplay fresh each time, rather than slapping the same battle system on every game.

It was a grind though. Maybe that is just my tactics in the gameplay showing but unlike other Final Fantasy's the game didn't force you into battles. In a way this was good but it meant you had to go looking for the enemies rather then running into them on your way to somewhere. And the Gambits? Useless. You can't find any decent ones and I'm sure that when I do my characters even won't need them. Also what the fuck is the point of letting the Gambits do all the work? Isn't that just taking the GAMEPLAY out of THE GAME?

Just because I played it for 50 hours does not mean I am shit. It actually means I put some fucking effort into making the stupid game work. I'd like to see you have that kind of determination towards such a game.

I agree, earlier ones where better but as is with most games. (Most, not all)

 

[Latinidiot]

I like them because they age very well

 

[Manji187]

I love Final Fantasy but I do think it is going downhill. At what point this happened? Who knows

My love for the Final Fantasy franchise (the core of it) has slowly but gradually turned into hatred after IX. FF XII was the final drop for me (no pun intended)..I'm not gonna bother with XIII. As I grew up and started reading, watching and playing other stuff...it hit me just how mediocre FF actually is.

It is supposed to be the pinnacle of imagination...but it is really just a rehash of tried and tested concepts and archetypes presented with that distinct Japanese anime/ manga sauce while trying to be epic at the same time.

Summarized: "I see a poser." (Kefka from Dissidia).

 

[Ishadus]

Lastly, we've had BioWare for ages (like 15 years or so)

Yeah I know, but while I was happily playing Baldur's Gate in high school, it's only their recent projects (Dragon Age, Mass Effect) that have drawn me in like the older final fantasies used to.