Final Fantasy Topic

[FrozenBacon]

After playing FFVI and being reminded how awesome this series is, I decided to purchase all the final fantasy games I missed out on after VI. This includes:

FFVII (I have the game but I lost the disks before I ever finished it)
FFIX
FFX-2 (I really liked FFX and thought about getting this game when it first came out but the whole girl power pop singer crap drove me away)
FFXII (really looking forward to the combat system)
FFXIII

I plan on getting FFXIII-2 as well, but I'm going to wait till I finish my list of FF games here. At the rate I play games today, I'm sure that FFXIII-2 will be a platinum hit game by then.

Anyway, for you guys who have played these games, which are your favorites? What should I expect from these games? What are some good secrets to discover? Discuss, discuss!

EDIT: Almost forgot, I have a question about the PS3 and Xbox 360 version of FFXIII. I can understand some textures needed to be compressed for the 360 version to fit it on DVD, but does this really affect the quality? This is what IGN says about the matter:

If you happen to own both a PS3 and a 360, make sure to snag the PS3 version. Both run well and the content is identical, but the 360 version has a noticeably lower resolution and it's also spread out across three discs. With such a beautiful game that contains some truly remarkable environments (including a crystal forest and some awe-inspiring cities), you'll definitely want the best visual fidelity possible.

I am a bit skeptical and believe that the change would be that great. Is there anyone here who played both versions that can spit the truth on this?

EDIT2: Ok, a quick search on google just gave me clarity on the resolution bit. According to this article The entire game appears to run at a resolution of 1024x576, while the PS3 version runs at full 1080p (1920í—1080). But based on the evidence in that article, I think the cutscenes were just scaled down (which makes sense as the 360 uses DVDs). I don't understand why the entire game would be at such a weird resolution.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

Yeah, the PS3 version of XIII is the better one. From what I've heard, it's one of the weakest FF games either way.

And I recommend playing 4 and 5 as well, if you haven't gotten a chance to play either.

 

[used44]

IX is absolutely the best. Have fun.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

FFT & 12 are my personal favorites.

 

[C_nate]

Ah, a subject after my own heart.

I started way back with the original on the NES and have been playing ever since. Always had a soft spot for them.

Anyway, FF 7 more or less is the one considered to blow up and make the game main stream and is thought by many to be the best one of the entire series.

It was a great game at the time and it certainly had one of the most memorable stories out of any of them. The whole thing with Aris I think will stick with me forever. It was pretty powerful stuff seeing it for the first time. Add in the materia system, limit breaks, raising chocobo's, mini games, to just name a few things and you had a full, well rounded game.

FF 8 wasn't as well loved by everyone as number 7, but it is one of my favorites. I still remember being blown away by the intro to that game. The musical score with the cinematic opening was just really amazing.

They tried to tweak the gameplay a little to make you more involved. You had your gunblade and if you timed it right and hit the shoulder button at the exact moment you were hitting the enemy on screen, you would get a little damage boost. I got a kick out of it.

I also got hooked on the card mini game they had in there. The characters were more subdued than number 7 and a little more tolerable and the limit breaks and summons were as cool as ever, but the story was a bit convoluted to say the least. Great final boss battle though.

FF 9 is one I actually skipped. I tried to get into it, but the weird mutant mouse guy and the grindy feel of leveling up armor turned me off to the game very early in and I barely scratched the surface of the game before I gave up on it.

FF 10 was a classic and I would have to say most likely my favorite. Great supporting cast. Auron is my favorite FF character to this day.

They did some cool things in this one like letting you switch characters in and out in the middle of a battle and they introduced that skill...wheel?chart?board? thing that offered you a small, slight amount of customization when building up your characters.

I was annoyed with some of the game though. I gave up trying to get everyone their ultimate weapons for example because doing boring, tedious things like dodging 250 lighting bolts in a row made me feel like hurling the controller through a window and lighting the disc on fire like Jimi Hendrix used to do to his guitars.

FF 10-2 I also skipped because when I was reading about the combat system revolving around outfits or whatever, it just sounded like a complete gimmick so it was a pass for me.

FF 11 was the MMO, which I never played, but by all accounts I heard, was a complete grind fest.

FF 12, Despite being the best looking FF up until that point, was largely forgettable. It was set in the same universe as the FF tactics game, which should have been great, but I don't remember much about the story at all. I remember the hot ass bunny chicks and the slick dude with the vest, but the main character was as generic as ever. I remember Cloud, Squall, Tidus, but this guy my mind is drawing a blank. (I'm writing all of this based off memory and some of these games I have not played in years.)

This game they changed up the combat from turn based to live so it took a little getting used to but once you were used to it, it really livened up the pace of the game and was pretty fun. Some of the judge fights were ok, but the final boss was pretty lackluster.

FF 13 is pretty controversial because it is considered by many FF fans to be the worst of the entire series. While I myself did not hate the game, I can see were they are coming from with a lot of their complaints.

How linear it was for one. It really was just running down a bunch of hallways for about 90% of the game. Every FF game needs that part where you get that airship for the first time and you start flying all over looking for out of the way places to explore. This game did not have that.

The absurd story. I have to admit... The first 10 to 15 hours of the game I kind of forced myself through. I almost quit the game entirely more than once. Fal-cie, La-cie, I-cee (cherry&coke ftw) Pu-cie (had to be done) WTF? I sitll don't know what the fuck they were talking about and I was long past the point of caring anymore.

The one saving grace the game had (for me anyway) was the combat system. I didn't like it at first, but by the end of the game I was really enjoying it. I just like the flow, the setup, the way you could have people fill certain roles and mix and match characters and roles. It was one thing the game did well. That and it looks pretty amazing too.

I really hope with this sequel they did that they opened things up a bit and let the players roam. I hope the story isn't so dense and idiotic and filled with meaningless terms: Hi-cie (fruit punch is my favorite)

I also hope they fix FF 14 because the screens I have seen from that mmo look beautiful and I have a machine that could run it and wouldn't mind giving it a try.

 

[TheJx4]

Which Final Fantasy was included with Brave Fencer Musashi?

 

[cyberjim2000]

<--- Don't forget it's spinoffs: FF Tactics. *cough*

 

[MattAY]

FFVII - Good story, simple battle system, and nostalgia city.
FFIX - I've never finished this because Disc 2 broke. But this one was my favourite.
FFX-2 - You're right, just run. Run far. It's too easy as well. And the whole story is just stupid.
FFXII - Look forward to sitting and watching with controller in hand. Boss battles especially.
FFXIII - Persevere. It gets going about halfway through.

 

[FrozenBacon]

<--- Don't forget it's spinoffs: FF Tactics. *cough*

I'm not a big fan of the strategic RPG. Battles (especially random encounters) have the potential to annoy me the mos tin RPGs and with tactics the fights can get long and tedious for me.

FF 11 was the MMO, which I never played, but by all accounts I heard, was a complete grind fest.

Yeah, I played FFXI and It was cool for five minutes, before I went into the big open world. That is when I found out that all I could really do was kill bunnies. I wandered off a little bit and totally got omgwtfbbqpwned by some floating creature, so I went back to killing my bunnies. After a few hours of this happening over and over I decided to try to socalize and help people in the area. Well, that is what I would've been doing if anyone was there. So I decided to camp the entrance, waiting for any fellow noobs to appear. When one finally did appear, I bombarded them with messages asking if they need help, blah, blah. He promptly left the area, scared off by my excessive friendliness.

I got tired of that and after doing a bunch of other random stupid stuff, I decided to quit the game to never return again. I cannot understand how the hell that game got such a rabid fanbase.

 

[TheJx4]

<--- Don't forget it's spinoffs: FF Tactics. *cough*

I'm not a big fan of the strategic RPG. Battles (especially random encounters) have the potential to annoy me the mos tin RPGs and with tactics the fights can get long and tedious for me.

FF 11 was the MMO, which I never played, but by all accounts I heard, was a complete grind fest.

Yeah, I played FFXI and It was cool for five minutes, before I went into the big open world. That is when I found out that all I could really do was kill bunnies. I wandered off a little bit and totally got omgwtfbbqpwned by some floating creature, so I went back to killing my bunnies. After a few hours of this happening over and over I decided to try to socalize and help people in the area. Well, that is what I would've been doing if anyone was there. So I decided to camp the entrance, waiting for any fellow noobs to appear. When one finally did appear, I bombarded them with messages asking if they need help, blah, blah. He promptly left the area, scared off by my excessive friendliness.

I got tired of that and after doing a bunch of other random stupid stuff, I decided to quit the game to never return again. I cannot understand how the hell that game got such a rabid fanbase.

The same way pretty much any other MMO does. By being a grindfest. People love that shit and I will never understand why.

 

[cyberjim2000]

Who you play with is what makes a MMO. If it weren't for my guild and real life friends, I'd would've quit WoW before I hit level 60.

I'm not a big fan of the strategic RPG. Battles (especially random encounters) have the potential to annoy me the mos tin RPGs and with tactics the fights can get long and tedious for me.

That's how I felt when I first played Tactics but I got used to it.

 

[UrbanMasque]

Tactics is a staple. Its gets seriously hard, but makes beatings it rewarding.

FF7 deserved all the hype it got.. try not to cry when the storyline PULLS you in.

If anything I'd skip X-2... unless your a 15 yr old asian chick.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

X-2 had the best combat in the series, bar none. All of them were really good in some regard. 7 had some moments of "what the hell am I supposed to be doing now?" that none of the others had. Like I honestly stumbled across more plot points than I found. And it had far too many silly minigames. Jump the dolphin! Grab the pendulum! Rub your body for warmth! Dodge the sword! Oh wait...

 

[Rakon]

FF7 is one of my favourite games ever
Never finished FF8, and only got a chance to start FF9
FF10 had the best battle system of any RPG I've ever played, but got way too easy once you have Quick Hit
FF12 was too hard for its own good. The battle system was neat, but it required WAY too much grinding, and after hours of grinding you usually grew just one or if your lucky two levels. Also, the story was very confusing.
FF1 was fun
FF2 stopped working a couple of hours in

 

[Gunner37]

My favorite is probably FF9 i just loved that game
Second is probably FFX i loved the battle system and story
Third is FF7 it was my first FF game so it will always have that nostalgia factor
Fourth FF8 it forever to beat and was kind of tough but was fun nonetheless
Finally FF12 and 13 were about the same to me they weren't too great but they were enjoyable

 

[LinksOcarina]

Oh man...

VI and VIII are still the best of the FF games if you ask me. Probably the best stories and characters in both of these games...

VII is so overrated though. I am sorry but as much as I like some of the characters in VII,, the storyline is trash and I hate Cloud so much...

 

[UrbanMasque]

X-2 had the best combat in the series, bar none..

They ran out of ideas with some of the dress spheres...

They should've let the series die and use the combat system on a new story line, bc I agree is was kind of cool.

 

[cyberjim2000]

Yeah, I thought FF7 was overrated too but then again its the RPG that brought FF to the mainstream.

FF6 is my favorite even though I haven't finished the game. I've never finished it because I had to restart from the beginning multiple times right when I get to Kefka's Tower. I hope one day I could finish the game before I die. One day...

FF9 is another one that shouldn't have been panned by fans but I liked it. It's a more traditional Final Fantasy than 7, 8, and 10.

FF10-2 is... eh. It does conclude the story if you don't like FF10's ending.

FF12 probably doesn't deserve the flak it got from FF purists out there but the story is off a bit since the main character was originally a side character. I mean I don't even remember Princess Ashe talking to Vaan... like... at all. The combat system is great if you know how to configure it to your play style. Normally, I'd just set my party member to automatic and control whomever manually.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

Is it me, or does somebody need to learn the definition of "final"? amirite?

 

[TheJx4]

How was Dirge of Cerberus? I always see it in Gamestop....

I have a Final Fantasy game somewhere in my PS2 collection, it sucks ass. Had a weird combat system too.