The Final Fantasy Thread

[BlackCat]

The first Final Fantasy Tactics was awesome, but the ones on the GBA and DS were not nearly as good. I would really like to see another one that was more in the vein of the original.

Totally agreed.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

I doubt you'll find another "serious" FFT while they're being made for Nintendo. The market is different. Though I would like to play one!

This decision has nothing to do with Nintendo and everything to do with Square-Enix. The Advance War series have what I would call "serious" tactics games, and they do fairly well. I would like to see Square-Enix try a more serious tactics game on the DS. I think it would do about as well as an Advance Wars game.

 

[527468]

I like Final Fantasy, but like all popular stories, I hate when it gets taken out of context, the fanboys/girls and such overhype about it. Yeww...

I love Nobuo Uematsu.

 

[InvisibleJim]

[YOUTUBE="a2vpqd9gKXk"]Man with the Machine Gun[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Absent-Minded Alecto]

Final Fantasy VIII. Oh man.

I really, really loved the game. I was totally in love with the storyline.

However, the story got terribly rushed after the defeat of Edea. I think that's what really messed me up and made me kind of lose interest in the game. Adel intrigued me, but it was like a blink in the game. No real elaboration. Ultimecia seemed kind of contrived. I'm never too thrilled when the REAL bad guy is suddenly pulled out of no where halfway through the game.

The time loop though with Rinoa/Squall and Ultimecia/Griever was pretty curious though. I enjoyed the flash back scenes. I really liked the whole potential/chance relationships or the idea of "fate" in the game.

Wasn't too big on the fighting or junction system. I think I didn't like that characters wern't inherently different from each other on the stats bars. It all seemed dependent on which GF was junction to which character rather than one character naturally having crazy luck or magic stats.

I've played other FFs, but this seems enough for right now.

 

[REBEL]

I like Final Fantasy, but like all popular stories, I hate when it gets taken out of context, the fanboys/girls and such overhype about it. Yeww...

This is also what i used to think about the franchise untill that fateful day in the 7th grade when I took the risk and put down the $50 for FFX and instantly fell in love.

From the unreal CG cutscenes, to the outstanding story line / characters (not a huge Wakka fan though lol), to the just overall quality of the game, FFX seemed way ahead of it's time and really got me hooked on Final Fantasy in general.

Now that im currently waiting for FFXIII to come out like the rest of you, and was unfortunately the victim of an Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death attack, i've busted out the ol' ps2 from retirement and am replaying FFX.

It's amazing how well it's aged.

 

[Asterion]

I went on a FF scrounge a week ago because I heard that FFXIII was coming out for Xbox 360 and got all exited and reminiscent . First FF I played was 8, which was so long ago, and I can still remember a bit of it (it confused and intrigued me that such games existed) then I saw FFX and loved that you could summon fucking huge monsters and kick ass. I conquered that game, but I couldn't beat Penance... it was the most addictive game I ever played.

I found FFIV on the DS which I had attempted to play many times but only made it to the first boss and died... I kinda didn't know how to save, lol. I figured it out and then got bored...

 

[NinjaSwan]

FF7 made my childhood. Seriously. I've played all the others too cept for 9. But 7 was just....awesome. My hair even looks like Cloud's (when I wake up in the morning). I look like a Goddamned chocobo.

 

[speculative]

I've been playing Crisis Core: VII on my psp.

Is Crisis Core any good? I heard there is a gambling aspect to the battle system that some people do not enjoy. I enjoyed FF VI and FFVII and recently really enjoyed FFXII.

Although I'm too tired to do a mega-post on FF games, I will say that my sister generally does not play videogames (she does like Super Mario Bros. though ) but she totally rocked FFVI and could not stop playing until she beat it. I am sure it's the only game she's ever beat, and the game she's played the most. (She did play Super Street Fighter II CE a bit too.)

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Is Crisis Core any good? I heard there is a gambling aspect to the battle system that some people do not enjoy. I enjoyed FF VI and FFVII and recently really enjoyed FFXII.

I really liked Crisis Core. I think anyone who is a big fan of FFVII will like it. I thought the story was well done, and I liked how the materia system was done too. Leveling up is somewhat random, but generally the more you fight, the more you'll level up. I normally don't watch my xp gauge too closely when I level in any game, so the random leveling up didn't bother me. For someone who is counting every experience point it may be a frustrating system.

 

[Blank]

I recently bought and hacked a PSP and am currently playing Crisis Core.

If you play it for the story, it's pretty cool-it has a lot of nice references to stuff in FFVII, you get a closer look at the Shin-Ra corporation, etc. Some things don't make sense...(but I haven't completed the game--about to go to Nibleheim...)the missions are really annoying if you're a whore and want to try and complete all of them like I'm trying to, and the random encounters get really annoying.

The graphics are a bit blocky to me. Midgar seems unfinished, and the invisible walls are frustrating. I attribute a lot of non-exactness to the difference of time between Zack and Cloud's stories but...it's still a slice of nostalgia. I can't wait to see the transition of a certain character falling into madness...unfortunately, I'm going to have to wait ten years after I clear all of these damned stupid missions.

As for the levelling up system, it can definitely get annoying at times, especially when you're trying to level up certain materia and not others.

 

[speculative]

Thanks for the feedback on Crisis Core. I have a few PSP games that I don't really play so I think I'm going to trade them in. PSP is great: A-list titles like God of War and Crisis Core are only $19.99. I'm willing to put up with a few gameplay annoyances in order to enjoy a good story...

 

[Blank]

If you get a PSP and are able to hack it, you can play SNES games and stuff as well. Definitely worthwhile then.

Update: 45 hours into the game, and I finally beat Minerva, the hardest boss. >=D Pro tip: Get Costly Punch asap.

 

[Prime]

My rankings in order:

FFIV
FFVI
FFVIII
FFT - Excellent job system, political storyline
FFVII - Good storyline, emotional scenes
FFI
FFX - Beautiful, fun "old-school" battle system
FFIX - Good game, even better if familiar with FF mythology
FFV - Awesome job system, odd storyline
FFII - Nice storyline, but junk leveling system
FFIII - Not bad, just less memorable, decent job system
FFMQ - Why did I buy this in '92 instead of FFIV?

I was raised on Final Fantasy. When the first one came out, it was incredible. I was used to Dragon Warrior's solitary quest, but FF's party of four introduced variety in killing monsters. It hasn't aged well, but for it's time, it was one of the best games on the NES.

The SNES age of RPG's has a special place in my heart. The characters were no longer two-dimensional (even if the graphics were). The developments were memorable: Kain's betrayal(s), Golbez trying to use Holy (or White), everyone having sidequests in VI. For me, IV edges out VI because I like the story better and I like having five specialists on a team instead of four magic-using warriors (though Genji Glove+Offering is disgusting).

FFVIII probably touches me the most because of how Squall grows as a character. His change isn't as explicit as a Dark Knight into a Paladin, but he subtly climbs out of his shell. I actually like exploiting the junction system. If you've played through the game before, you can easily become a powerhouse early and breeze through at level 11. It's better on PSP, though. Play some cards, watch Price Is Right, mod those cards, etc.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

I got Final Fantasy XIII yesterday. I just bought an HD TV set last week, so I'm pretty pumped about seeing a game that can really show off the visuals. My impressions so far:

Visuals and music are mindblowing as always.

Battle system is very fun and pretty different from anything I've seen so far. You only control one character, but you use paradigms to preprogram the behavior of the other characters. Then you can change paradigms mid-battle if you want the character to behave in a different fashion. It's a cool system, because you can feel like you are in a fast paced battle while still planning out strategies for how you want the characters to behave.

The game is less about managing resources compared to previous games. There is no mp, and you heal after every battle. Heh I didn't realize this early on. I had taken a lot of damage one battle and I tried to use a potion afterward and couldn't figure out how to do it. Eventually I gave up, but then I realized I was at full health at the start of every battle.

The spacing of enemies matters for area effect attacks. You are still in a special battle screen, but you characters and the enemies move around as they attack each other.

The story is cool so far, but it takes a while before you can get into the battle system. I wasn't able to start using paradigms until I played the game for a few hours.


So far my initial impression is that it's pretty fun. It will be interesting to see what I think after I've completed the game.

 

[IZthe411]

I'm glad I read this thread.

I seriously thought something was wrong with me over my obsession with FFVII!!

I seriously was going to drop out of school over that game. I think it's the best RPG ever played.

I haven't played the other FF games, (I tried 8 but it never got me like it's predecessor).

So I'm going to look into what the group is overwhelmingly recommending in this thread.

And I thought I was the only one who caught feelings in that game!!

I'll have to replay it; I think enough time has passed where I don't know where anything is. LOL. I hate replaying games the second time knowing where everything is. You build up so much experience and power/money/points by wandering around aimlessly trying to find out where to go next.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

I'm glad I read this thread.

I seriously thought something was wrong with me over my obsession with FFVII!!

I seriously was going to drop out of school over that game. I think it's the best RPG ever played.

I haven't played the other FF games, (I tried 8 but it never got me like it's predecessor).

So I'm going to look into what the group is overwhelmingly recommending in this thread.

And I thought I was the only one who caught feelings in that game!!

I'll have to replay it; I think enough time has passed where I don't know where anything is. LOL. I hate replaying games the second time knowing where everything is. You build up so much experience and power/money/points by wandering around aimlessly trying to find out where to go next.

Heh, FFVII was a great game. I think FFVIII is near the bottom of my list for ranking the Final Fantasy games. If you like VII I'd recommend these in order:

VI - If you can handle the 16-bit sprites then it's great game. The world is probably the most similar to VII compared to other Final Fantasies, and it has arguably the best storyline of any of them. (It is at least one of the best.)

X - I'd say this one is the next most like VII in the game world, feel of the story, characters, etc....

IX - After you've tried the top two, I'd go for this one next if you are looking for more. At this point this game and the other Final Fantasies start to be pretty different from VII, but I'd try this one first before you try out the others.

 

[IZthe411]

Heh, FFVII was a great game. I think FFVIII is near the bottom of my list for ranking the Final Fantasy games. If you like VII I'd recommend these in order:

VI - If you can handle the 16-bit sprites then it's great game. The world is probably the most similar to VII compared to other Final Fantasies, and it has arguably the best storyline of any of them. (It is at least one of the best.)

X - I'd say this one is the next most like VII in the game world, feel of the story, characters, etc....

IX - After you've tried the top two, I'd go for this one next if you are looking for more. At this point this game and the other Final Fantasies start to be pretty different from VII, but I'd try this one first before you try out the others.

Thanks! I'll check them out

Do you have a good website or store where I could get these games? I'm sure they are real cheap at this point.

 

[Kra]

VI - If you can handle the 16-bit sprites then it's great game. The world is probably the most similar to VII compared to other Final Fantasies, and it has arguably the best storyline of any of them. (It is at least one of the best.)

Ah, now that was my favorite. The characters, the story, espers system, just everything about it. Truly the holy grail of the franchise in my book.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Thanks! I'll check them out

Do you have a good website or store where I could get these games? I'm sure they are real cheap at this point.

I would check Ebay or Amazon for the ones I listed. Final Fantasy VII and VIII are also available for digital download onto a PS3 or PSP at the Playstation Network.