Final Fantasy

[A.Logan]

Okay, to be honest, I wasn't a fan of RPGs for a long time. My friends played them and frankly, I was just apathetic to it all. I felt like I wasn't doing anything really, just a bunch of random shit. In the 7th and 8th grade, however, I started trying out different games (Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill became quick favorites), and late 8th grade year, I went to Hollywood Video (the same one that employs me, btw) and got Final Fantasy IX.

I figured it would be cool, seeing as it had 8 other games, it had to be doing something right. I played, and from the beginning, was hooked. The characters had something that drew me in, mostly Tantalus, because I could have sworn that Tantalus was based on our group of friends, down to a tee. The story, I started off kind of meh, but as soon as I got to Evil Forest, I was in it for the long haul, naming characters after friends, family, pets, you know.

But this game was the one that made me go back and play the others on Playstation, and even further back, I've played through all of them (minus V, dammit) and of all of them I only keep playing IX.

X was on it's way to being another game like IX, because until my PS2 went kaput, I was on my 6th run. I'm currently on my 12th run through IX, 2nd through VIII, I don't have VII anymore, and the rest I went through once, and never again.

I need some perspective here, which games do you like the best from the series, and which ones do you hate? Who marks hard for what game? What feature? Characters that stand out? Let's have a discussion.

[Skyre]

VIII has always been my favorite. In my opinion it has the most character development in the series(especially with Squall). The music is also some of the most memorable. The storyline seemed to go slowly at spots, but after I beat Edea(which I managed to do once with 0 junctions) I couldn't stop playing it.

IX would be 2nd on my list, as it's one of the few games I've beaten more than once. I still remember how determined I was to get the hidden ending(although I was disappointed that only about 15 seconds were different). I really like the style of the story in this one.

VII, although a lot of people hate it because it has a futuristic setting, will always be one I'll call a classic. Character development wasn't very deep in this chapter. The graphics looked magnificent for someone who had never seen a 3-D console game before(I hadn't even heard of a PlayStation until I saw the FFVII commercial). This was the first game in the series to have cutscenes, as well as the first one to have animated summons. There was something about the storyline in this game that drew me in, although I'm not sure exactly what. I simply liked it.

I loved playing the original FF when I was 8. It was the very first RPG that I ever played and one I will always remember. I loved the way battles were done in RPGs and that was the main reason I liked FF so much. I also loved the way the music set the mood.

A few years ago I bought the PS1 remake, Origins, and was a bit disappointed. They added a bunch of stuff like auto-target and allowed you to use gold needles in combat. Luckily these things you wee able to turn off, but I still felt that many people who bought this game would never experience it as it once was. They also added an easy mode, which gave you more than 9 spells at each spell level(up to 99 I believe) and allowed your characters to go all the way to level 100(Original limit was 50). What I really hated though was that you could cary as many weapons and pieces of armor as you wanted. In the original you could only cary 4 weapons and 4 armor per character, meaning you might have to go into a dungeon unarmored if you wanted to carry out all the loot. This also meant that you couldn't have your warrior unequip a magical weapon and have another character use its effect. Since in origins all your weapons/armor goes into your inventory, there is much less strategy in the game. It also made me angry that they changed the names of the monsters and changed the orbs into crystals. Why the hell are they trying to incorporate crystals into every game in the series now??!!

II would definitely be my least favorite in the series. The storyline has so much potential, but the skill leveling system is just too annoying. It takes an especially long time to level up your magic skills, even when you're cheating(ex. select/cancel method). If it wasn't for that single downfall, it would be on my favorites list.

[DanMan]

FF3/VI is my favourite game and the first RPG I remember playing. I was ten at the time, and was so used to playing platform games and the like, first time I played it I didn't fully understand what was going on. A few months later I gave it another chance... and I was hooked. I used to rent SNES games pretty much every weekend, and eight times out of ten, I rented FF3. To this day, I never get tired of playing it. It was just so different from every other game I had played up to that point. The first game I played that had any real depth to the characters, with a story that I could get truly involved with. FFVI completely changed my perspective on video games.

I own most of the Final Fantasy games on PS1 and FFX, the big exception being FF Chronicles, and I enjoy them all. FFII from Origins I can take or leave, however. I don't care for the experience system. But for having that and the original Final Fantasy remake on one disc is money I'm glad to have spent.

[Pablo Molinero]

Well, I was raised on RPGs. Never played any other genre regularly intill we got a PS1. Hell, I played Might and Magic III when I was, like, six. Still, they were all for the PC, so I never really warmed up to console RPGs. The first one I ever bought was FFIX. Absolutely brilliant game, played it night and day, and was astounded I was still on only disk one. I got stuck though, after about a month's hard work, on the Air Elemental on disk four, in f--king Memoria! He kept on burning my entire party, and none of my people had Body Temp, so I was fucked.

Just about a month ago, I started over again and am currently conquering Memoria.

I've played through the first disk of FFVIII and found it kind of boring. Never played FFVII... heh.

FFX is one of my favorite games of all time, it's nearly perfect. The linear-ity of it doesn't bother me at all, the airship at the end is good enough. The graphics and voice acting really bringthe characters to life, even moreso than past games. The see and hear their emotion immerses you deeper into the game. Also, the combat of FFX is easily the best (at least of the PlayStation ones). I HATE ATB. Hate it sooooo much. With FFX, between the ability to switch out characters and that list of turns at the top of the screen, you're able to plan out every battle like a chess match. I remember the battle against Jecht played out as an hour-long ordeal of strategy.

Oh, and Blitzball fucking rules, all those who hate on it just suck.

[Skyre]

Blitzball is definitely the most addictive of the FF mini-games. I'm currently at about 74 wins/3 losses/5 ties.

If you like strategy in your RPGs then you should try the game Grandia(if you can find a copy). The combat is in real-time but it pauses when your characters are ready for new commands. Haven't tried Grandia 2 or Grandia Xtreme but I've heard nothing but bad things about Xtreme. 3 should be coming out soon.

I too like long drawn-out battles of strategy which is exactly why I DON'T like X. I find the battles to be too easy. Legend of Dragoon is good for long battles though. You have to plan when and how to use your magic and items, as you don't get very many. Normal attacks are no walk in the park either with the addition system. I remember the first time I got to the valley of corrupted gravity(I was only level 18. I have a knack for beating games at low levels). The battle against the Virage there took near to 1 and a half hours.

[James D.]

FUCK. BLITZBALL.

That said, FFX is my favorite. The Monster Arena owns anything in blitzball by about 10,000,000 miles.

[drqshadow]

The order goes something like this for me...

1) VIII

2) VII

3) VI

4) IV

5) X

6) IX

7) II

8) III

9) I

10) V

999,999,999) Mystic Quest

[Skyre]

999,999,999) Mystic Quest

ROFL!! I would have placed it lower than that.

[A.Logan]

The order goes something like this for me...

1) VIII

2) VII

3) VI

4) IV

5) X

6) IX

7) II

8) III

9) I

10) V

999,999,999) Mystic Quest

Well played.

This morning, I knocked a bunch of shit off my dresser and broke the last disk of FFIX, effectively ruining my morning until I got to class.

Angry am I. But still, this means one has to step up and take its place.

*paging Squall...*

But seriously. Shit.

[Sean D.]

Tactics owns every other FF game around

1) Tactics (ps1)

2) 3/6(jp)

3) 2/4(jp)

4) IX

5) VII

999,999,999,999,998) Tactics Advanced

999,999,999,999,999) Mystic Quest

yes i hate Tactics Advanced THAT much

[Missy]

999,999,999,999,998) Tactics Advanced

999,999,999,999,999) Mystic Quest

yes i hate Tactics Advanced THAT much

I liked it.

[Mr. Keith]

Am I the only person in the world who actually liked Mystic Quest?

[A.Logan]

Am I the only person in the world who actually liked Mystic Quest?

Yes.

[Johnny MC]

I would say i'm more of a casual player when it comes to RPGs, but I think VII was my favorite. However, I did enjoy the upgrading system (with the grids) in X the most, as I thought it was the easiest to use. I ended up getting all the circles for Wakka and Tidus.

The only other one I own is X-2 and that dress business just started to piss me off.

[Skyre]

X-2 is the only one that I haven't bought yet, but I can see how the dress sphere thing would get anoying after a while.

And yes Keith, only you like Mystic Quest. To which I say WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!

[Mr. Keith]

And yes Keith, only you like Mystic Quest. To which I say WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!

I dunno, I just didn't mind the game. It doesn't come close to being the best FF game I've ever played, but I sure don't regret the time I spent with it.

Now Crystal Chronicles... that game sucked.

[Skyre]

And yes Keith, only you like Mystic Quest.  To which I say WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!

I dunno, I just didn't mind the game. It doesn't come close to being the best FF game I've ever played, but I sure don't regret the time I spent with it.

Now Crystal Chronicles... that game sucked.

You have now lost the remaining thread of respect I had for you.

[Mr. Keith]

And yes Keith, only you like Mystic Quest.  To which I say WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!

I dunno, I just didn't mind the game. It doesn't come close to being the best FF game I've ever played, but I sure don't regret the time I spent with it.

Now Crystal Chronicles... that game sucked.

You have now lost the remaining thread of respect I had for you.

Touche.