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I have never played a Final Fantasy game in my life, and considering their cult status amongst gamers, this leaves me a little ashamed.

I have a PS3 and an original Xbox (although I'm not sure where it actually is). What games from the series would Dakka recommend? I know some of the classics have been given a HD overhaul and are available on Playstation Store, and out of the titles available on the PS3, XIII-2 looks decent.

So, what says DakkaDakka?

Of the ones I played...

FF7 is the classic. I think they ported it for PS3.
FF9 was good but I don't believe it is available for PS3.
FFX and X-2 aren't bad but may not be available.
13 was bad. I am a 100% completionist kind of guy and I didn't even finish the main story. I imagine 13-2 is just as bad.

Thanks!

Just a quick question, what was it about 13 that was so bad? I know it was more linear than the rest (although that isn't a problem with me) and it was a bit buggy...

Not debating your wisdom, just genuinely interested.

It was very linear and shallow. In most final fantasy games (and indeed RPGs), you have the story and then a certain amount of freedom (depending on what point in the story you are in) to bugger off and go do something else.

In 13, there was no freedom to do anything but follow the little glowing dot. At least to the point I got to it was, follow the dot, follow the dot, cut scene, follow the dot, battle, follow the dot, cut scene. I understand that the game opens up a bit more later, but I couldn't take it.

XIII's combat consists of little more than selecting the appropriate paradigm combination for what the situation requires; you could input commands but it's seldom needed. I liken it to a racing game where you don't really steer the car, but simply change gear when necessary.

Combined with the general linearity I'd make it to be the weakest title of the post-SNES era.

I'd recommend getting an emulator or something to play SNES games on and play Final Fantasy 3 (6) and don't ever look at anything beyond that.

Final Fantasy 3, and VII were great for their times.
I enjoyed 8 and 9 a bit, didn't care for the gradual growth of the cinematics and crap. But I can't go back and play any of them now, Western RPGs where you actually have meaningful choices blow them out of the water, for me at least. I can't imagine just getting into the franchise now will be all that rewarding unless you are crazy into retro games.

FF4, FF6, and FF7 are all excellent. Although many disliked FF13, I enjoyed every moment of my (incomplete) playthrough and Lightning is my favorite character in video games bar-none.

Manchu wrote:FF4, FF6, and FF7 are all excellent. Although many disliked FF13, I enjoyed every moment of my (incomplete) playthrough and Lightning is my favorite character in video games bar-none.

How far did you get and what did you like about it?

I thought the story was pretty alright, but it wasn't enough to pull me in past the gameplay.

Thanks guys.

I probably should have said this earlier, but I don't want to have to buy a new console or emulator thingy. I don't know if it's out on the old Xbox, but I heard 12 is quite good.

I will check to see if 7 is on PS3, as people seem to agree it's pretty good.

Also, what is 14 like? I know it got bad reviews, but I very rarely trust game journalism, and like to hear personal experience.

pretre wrote:How far did you get and what did you like about it?

I thought the story was pretty alright, but it wasn't enough to pull me in past the gameplay.

I didn't get very far -- my first PS3 permanently crashed during game play and (after hearing about a class action lawsuit against Sony and SquareEnix over this) I just haven't gotten back to it. I played to the end of Chapter Four, I think -- IIRC, that is right when the game "opens up."

I liked the story elements -- the idea of the fal'Cie giving tasks, the image of crystallization, the bonds of sisterhood. I did everything that I needed a JRPG to do. And I liked the paradigm system, which was to me the type of real innovation that Square Enix is usually terrified of bringing to their games. I liked the feeling of being part of a team instead of being the puppetmaster. And I think too much is made of "open world" gaming these days. It's not that important to me.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Squigsquasher wrote:Also, what is 14 like?

It was a MMO. Just forget you ever heard about it.

I think he might mean 13-2. I've avoided it since I already have guilt over not finishing 13.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Yeah, I did find the paradigm system pretty interesting and thought the story was pretty good. It all started to wear though.

I'm pretty patient when it comes to the 20 hour intros for FF games, where you have to put in your time to get to the real game, but I was pretty far in with no end of intro in sight...

Did you play Xenoblade? You may like that more. Same for you, OP. Also -- think about getting Last Story.

http://www.gamestop.com/wii/games/xenoblade-chronicles-gamestop-exclusive/98535

http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Story-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B007CSF3GO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343849608&sr=8-1&keywords=last+story

I've played practically every Final Fantasy even made except the Crystal Chronically series

Pre-FF 7: These are fantasy and ultimate classics, however playing hte game in this day and age you'll lose alot of it's original awesomeness. Most can be found here...
http://www.vizzed.com/playonlinegames/index.php?search=final+fantasy&system=&searchBy=name#searchjump

FF7 was the jump to 3D polygons and was a major shift in the series. If you focus on the story and don't worry about the graphics so much you'll find out why it was so fantastic.

FF8 meh, very breakable level up system

FF9 I loved this one since it delved back into the game's roots along with the 3D style. Very underrated.

FF10 was basically a "this is the 10th game, lets go epic" and that's what it was, an epic story with a fantastic twist at the end.

FF11 was an online MMO and still hold a very very dear place in my heart.

FF12 was alright, but they the plot go a tad deep at points. This is also the point where they stopped doing random encounters. A change which I dislike.

FF13 I try to forget this existed.

FF14 another MMO though this one tanked, HARD. The game is BEAUTIFUL and so is the music, however the gameplay mechanics were TERRIBLE at launch. They have since done a major overhaul, but too little too late.

FF15+ I haven't heard anything, but with the last two games being described by the company as "a disgraceful mark on the franchise" I'd expect a better game.

FF Tactics series - Fantastic fantastic game, a must play.

FF Legend and Adventures for gameboys were a great time as well. Some very fond memories of these games.


Must plays: FF Tactics, FF 2, 3, 7, and 10. (us sequence)

I'd also recommend FF Tactics. And if you have a Gameboy Advanced and/or a Nintendo DS, I'd also STRONGLY recommend FF Tactics Advanced and Tactics Advanced 2 (the second is for the DS)

FF14 will be relaunched either later this year or early next year as FF14 2.0.

Ahtman wrote:FF14 will be relaunched either later this year or early next year as FF14 2.0.

I played and reported issues/suggestions all through late alpha and beta only to watch them barely touch the game and launch it... I don't know if I can bring myself to look at it again.

FF5 was a classic fantasy RPG that established many of the Final Fantasy tropes. It's bland by today's standards and gets outshined by FF6.

FF6 had the best story of all. You had a ton of rag-tag characters trying to save the world for their own reasons. Each character is well fleshed out (except for the bonus characters). There is a mid-game twist that makes everything spine-tinglingly epic.

FF7 was, for many people, "my-first-JRPG" and thus people tend to herald it as the best RPG ever. It looked great for its time, but the story was bland and many mechanics were a step back from others prior.

FF8 took everything good about FF7 and made it better. Story is still somewhat bland and the setting is essentially a military academy. However, the central theme is a love story that put people off and the gameplay mechanics were a bit complex and became abusable if you were willing to grind.

FF9 was a retro-step. It's pure fantasy with no scifi elements. It had a decent storyline that worked nicely, but eventually ended up taking the more 'popular' plot elements from prior games (not necessarily better) and plugging them into a medieval setting. It called upon the nice FFTactics system of gaining skills which was amazing.

FF10 was the newer generation's "My-first-JRPG". The story was interesting at times and just nonsensical other times. The central theme was again, a love story. Other than that, the turn-based-combat was one of the best in the series and if you ignore the superfluous summonings, the combat was deep and satisfying. The ending was one of the biggest let-downs ever.

FF10-2 was rather sexually exploitative and just an odd move. They took the great combat of FF10 and dumbed it down a bit. They took the somber-yet-hopeful mood of FF10 and replaced it with Sailor Moon.

FF11 was an MMO. I hear it's still popular-ish to this day.

FF12 was an interesting twist in the formula. You control only one party member and it plays much like an MMO. Your other party members are "programmed" via triggers/conditions that they act upon. Awesome system. Satisfying combat. Very action-based. I personally loved the politically-influenced story and the awesome technology. Others disliked it because they found the story too convoluted and there was no love story. It's a great story once you realize the kid in the beginning, Vaan, is not the main character; ignore him. The actually interesting characters are the ensemble cast of adults.

FF13 was divisive. Final Fantasy had always been linear, but FF13 was just unashamed about it. There are no "towns" you are a party of nomadic outcasts. Combat looked excellent and was satisfying if you ignored how simplistic it was. The game opens up eventually to become more open, but it was too-little-too-late for people with short attention spans. Story, on the other hand, was one of the best in the series; unlike other FF games, the characters actually matter throughout the entire game. Only FF12 came close with the relevance of characters not dropping halfway through the game.

FF13-2 took all the complaints of FF13 and yielded to popular influences. The combat is even more simplistic and they added quicktime events. The story has more freedom only because its more simplistic and adds useless conversation options. In FF13, your party was a group of adults that made rational decisions. In FF13-2, your party consists of two kids with anime personalities and a pokemon-like pet. The game also had tons of DLC that ranged from overpowered party members to sexually-exploitative attire, to Ubisoft-induced immersion-breaks.

Oh, so now I have a short attentio...

What's going on?

Let me relate my FF14 experience

Got the collector edition pre-order so I could play sooner.

Spent an hour setting up an account (because S-E doesn't like normal payment methods or anything approaching a normal playment system)

Play for 30 minutes

Uninstall and cancel account

Out of the ones I played my favourites were

FF1

FF2

FF7

Played most in between 2-7 but found I couldn't get into them.

(Also, which FF game had Wakka in it? Silliest character ever. "I have a great idea, I'll throw sports equipment at dragons!" Hilarious but silly.)

FF7 - 1st one i played, amazing game if your willing to put up with blocky graphics.

FF8 - Same as number 7 but better graphics.

FF10 - Loved it, one of the best FF games ive played.
Good story, amazing graphics, good battle system.

FF13 - Hated it, no freedom and really boring drawn out sections.

FF13-2 - Somehow they changed this one around to make it 1000x better than 13.
Story line lacks a bit, but graphics and overall structure make it a great game.



Also, if your looking for FF like games, Star ocean, infinate undiscovery and the last remnant are all also decent RPG's

BlueDagger wrote:I played and reported issues/suggestions all through late alpha and beta only to watch them barely touch the game and launch it... I don't know if I can bring myself to look at it again.

That sort of service is probably why the launch went so badly and the entire team was fired and replaced.

curran12 wrote:Let me relate my FF14 experience

I tried it in the beta as well and it was bad. S/E has gotten better with their payment options, such as using Paypal now, but it was bizarrely obtuse for some time. I posted this a bit ago but it still applies so I'll say it again:

I got a dirt cheap copy of Final Fantasy XIV off of ebay and have been messing around with it for the last few weeks since I have had some time off (thanks surgery!). I was in the beta and the game was terrible, and since firing the team responsible and bringing a whole new group on and spending the last year revamping the game I have to say they have done a decent job of it. If this had been the game at launch it would have done much better. The in-game* cutscenes are very nice and put SWTOR's to shame, as far as the cinematic nature of them is concerned. Of course FFXI's cs's, especially the later expansions, were well staged and quite engaging as well.

The character models and armor have a real feeling of dimension and weight. Different types of cloth and leather have a sense of thickness and pattern, heavy armors look like they are resting on the model. It is actually a very low key aesthetic that works very well for the game. The classes are interesting as is the ability to choose abilities from other jobs to create a hodgepodge of skills to play how you like to some degree, and the crafting, which is a big part of the game isn't to bad, though like anything if you level it solely through grinding can get a little dull. I like that you don't have to buy spells but that they grow with the mage. For example a Conjurer gets Stone at level 1. Instead of having to later get Stone II, Stone III, ect the power of the spell just grows with the player, as does it's mp cost. You don't spend time and money upgrading spells or having to camp scrolls. The main problem I have had so far is that the community, not surprisingly, is quite small. OTOH it is a tight nit group that is generally very helpful.

I'll probably keep messing around with it becuase I would like to see the cs's and story before they release Final Fantasy XIV 2.0 later this year in which the game story will be completely changed. There will be events that the players will be involved with that herald the coming 'destruction' of the world which could be interesting. Some items will only be available pre-2.0, like a gobbue mount that 'legacy' players will get to carry over. I don't know if the new classes (Paladin, Monk, ect) will be implemented before or after 2.0, but everyone is looking forward to that. There apparently is also Magitech Armor from FFIII/VI on the way.



It is also full of puns and word play. One of the the Blacksmith quests that has you making saws or axe heads was called "Get to the Chopper", and the new Ifrit fight is called "Ifrit bleeds, we Can Kill It".

There is still a good amount of work to do before 2.0 as there is still a bit of UI lag, and a glitch here and there, but overall it is very playable, and if one is so inclined can be fun. It is also nice to play a FF game that is more grounded in the Fantasy side and less of the Sci-fi elements.

*The CGI videos are done as well as any of the CGI that SE has done over the last few years and is very good, though I think the SWTOR CGI nudges it a bit.

[url=http://www.ffworld.com/?rub=news&page=voir&id=2285]Here is a French site with some art and screenshots of FFXIV 2.0.
[/url]



I'm going to approach it with cautious optimism.

My favorite one is VIII. X and X-2 I liked also. Part II was kind of fun. Part III was pretty cool too... they did a remake on the Nintendo DS that's worth a shot. I'm in the middle of the DS version of part IV but I'm thinking of scrapping that and playing an older version. The first Final Fantasy was the first RPG I ever played. I totally didn't know what I was doing when I started. I made a team with 3 fighters and one red mage... somehow I beat the game.

Thanks dudes!

I'm going to look on Playstation Store to see if FF7 is available, and I'll take a peek at my local game store to see if they have any preowned copies of 13-I want to see for myself what it's like, but don't fancy paying full price for a game that might be terrible.

Anyway, thank you!

Squigsquasher wrote:Thanks dudes!

I'm going to look on Playstation Store to see if FF7 is available, and I'll take a peek at my local game store to see if they have any preowned copies of 13-I want to see for myself what it's like, but don't fancy paying full price for a game that might be terrible.

Anyway, thank you!

I know for a fact FF7 used to be in the Playstation Store...I watched a friends buy and install it. I don't see why they would remove it

Excellent.

Is 7 the one with Cloud, the depressed dude with the overly spiky hair and the enormous sword?

Yes.

Squigsquasher wrote:Excellent.

Is 7 the one with Cloud, the depressed dude with the overly spiky hair and the enormous sword?

Yessir!

EDIT - ninja'd!

Thanks.

Maybe he's so depressed 'cause that sword is giving him back pain.