Final Fantasy

[Jelly]

I've been wondering a while now; what is it? I've seen it mentioned a few times, and I think I found a website but there were so many it just confused me.  :-\

[SinisterDeath]

Final Fantasy, is kinda like Star Ocean, Breath of Fire, or even Mario, In that each and every game, Is completely unrelated to the other, Basically each in a DIFFERENT Universe, with very similar 'rules' shared between them. The only other common denominator are, recoccuring Character Names. (Cid, in FF Has been in EVERY final fantasy game ever. ;) )

Each game, has a very linear, straight story line. Most americans (regretably) only care about open ended rpgs (like Oblivions, or knights of the republic) but what makes these games awesome, is the fact that they can, and do have a linear story line, and pull it off (more times then not) in the most awesome of ways. They may lack 'openess/choice' but what they gain, is escnetially being able to tell a story, to its fullest extent, much like you'd see in a movie. They are telling the Story of Their world, Not your story in there world. ;)

 

That said, if you get into FF games, I'd recommened playing them in this order.

 

FFVI,

FFVII,

FFVIII,

FFX,

FFXII,

FFX-2,

FFIX,

FFV,

FFI,

FFII.

 

You can play FFIII, and FFIV, however these have not been officially released in the US, and you can only really play the ROM on an EMULATOR on your pc, and you have to 'trust' the 'fan sub' is accurate...

I'm waiting for the official american release... DO NOT PLAY FFIII on the SNES, it sux. ;)

 

[Whitestar]

What also made Final Fanasty great was their level of graphics.  It may not look like much now, but when VII and VIII first came out, gamers were drooling over the cutscenes.  They became so good at it, that they made two feature length movies completely in CG.  Final Fantasy:  The Spirit Within and Final Fantasy VII:  Advent Children.  The first was incredible in terms of CG especially considering it came out in 2001.  Unfortunately the story wasn't very good.  The second was a continuation of FFVII, which is considered by many (including myself) to be the best of all the games.  It had everything.  Great characters, storylines, gameplay, and graphics (for its time). 

 

On a side note, both III and IV have been released in the US.  IV was originally released on the SNES as FFII and remains as one of my favorites.  More recently it was re-released with Chrono Trigger on the Playstation and again on the GBA.  III was released in the US as well but only for the GB DS.

[Segurant]

Black Mage RULES!

[SinisterDeath]

What also made Final Fanasty great was their level of graphics.  It may not look like much now, but when VII and VIII first came out, gamers were drooling over the cutscenes.  They became so good at it, that they made two feature length movies completely in CG.  Final Fantasy:  The Spirit Within and Final Fantasy VII:  Advent Children.  The first was incredible in terms of CG especially considering it came out in 2001.  Unfortunately the story wasn't very good.  The second was a continuation of FFVII, which is considered by many (including myself) to be the best of all the games.  It had everything.  Great characters, storylines, gameplay, and graphics (for its time). 

 

On a side note, both III and IV have been released in the US.  IV was originally released on the SNES as FFII and remains as one of my favorites.  More recently it was re-released with Chrono Trigger on the Playstation and again on the GBA.  III was released in the US as well but only for the GB DS.

 

Hmm I thought FFII on the SNES was FFII not IV ;)

And as for the DS version, I haven't owned a nintendo product since the GBA, so I can't really attest to how accurate the DS version of the III is to the original SNES (or NES) version of III in japan.

I thought it was VI that was released with Chrono Trigger, not IV. But good luck finding that PS disk, I know, I've tried... unless you want to dish out $300 on EBAY... :P

 

Btw, Spirits within Story, DID NOT SUCK. Most of the hatred of that movie, comes from the stupid fans, of the FF series, who thought, that the movie = the game. Which is purely retarded, given the very concept of the Final Fantasy Games. If each game can be completely unrelated to each other, and share a few key elements, (like Mana, Gaia, and character names "Cid". So can the movie!) And that is, 99.9% the biggest arguement against the movie. It had a solid plot, It may not be something most westerners can relate to, but if you look at least the underlying themes in final fantasy, you can understand it, and at least get the refrences. ;)

 

[SinisterDeath]

I just found out, that the DS version of FFIV is a remake, so in some ways, thats going 'against' the orginal FFIV... :P

 

Anyways, if your lost Jelly,

FFI in Japan was FFI in America (NES)

 

FFII in japan was never released during the NES/SNES era in america. It was however, released with FFI with the FF origins bundle.

 

Instead, Americas FFII was FFIV. (I completely forgot about this :P)

 

FFIII in japan, was only recently released in america, on the DS, we've never got it until then.

 

FFIII in america on the SNES, is actually FFVI in japan.

This was re-released in america, with FFV, in Final Fantasy Anthologies.

 

FFVI was orginally released in the united states as FFIII on the SNES.

That is, the japanese felt, that FFIII-IV were to tough for americans, so they gave us VI instead, and to not confuse fans, called it III.

 

 

FFVII to FFXIII have been released ontime, within a 6 month to 1 year gap between the Jap, and US versions. ;)

 

So to recap, north america, orginally recieved,

FFI  (FFI NES)

FFIV (FFII SNES)

FFVI (FFIII SNES)

 

We then recieved

FFVII on the PSX

FFVIII on the PSX

FF: Origins (which was the orignal FF 1 & 2, containing the 2 we never got until then.)

FF: Anthologies (which was FFV, and FFVI, which contained 5, which we never got untill then.)

 

since we include the DS, we have all the FF games todate, however the PSX/PS2, still has no FFIII, or FFIV. ;)

[Whitestar]

Again, FFIV was released on the PS w/ Chrono Trigger as Final Fantasy Chronicles however you are right that III never made to any playstation platform as of yet.

 

[Guest Far Dareis Mai]

So, boiling it down to its barest thought (since you are just trying to understand what it is)...

 

Final Fantasy series is a series of roleplaying games that are available for many different gaming consoles. Each has a different story, and they came out with a couple movies as well. I've played all of them that have been readily available, I totally disagree with SD's order in which to play :P, and if you are into video games, then check them out. You are going to get a new flavor with each one--though you may not like the flavor of 8...it was pitiful(imo). :)

 

All that other stuff (release dates and such) is just going to confuse you. ;)

 

 

[Silver]

Chrono Trigger kicks FF's ass. I HATE random encounters. :p

[reyler]

8 sucked. A lot of people have difficulty separating the story and graphics from the actual GAME aspect. And FF8, as a game, sucked. 9 is easily my favorite of the ones I've played. For some reason the games started getting way more complicated than they needed to be with FF7 (see: materia system, chocobo breeding, etc), and the junction system in FF8 made it even worse.

 

Actually, 9 is the only one in the series that I've really enjoyed all that much on a gameplay level. Curious. The others have all felt a little like a chore. On the flip side, I love Legend of Dragoon, which has a transparent plot full of cliches and horrible dialogue, but a fun game engine. Go figure.

 

*is interrupted by Silver's post* Chrono Trigger kicks FF's ass, but Chrono Cross blows.  ;)

[SinisterDeath]

FFVI, is THE best FF ever made. Period.

You have to play FFVII, followed by FFVIII.

FFIX, BLEW Hard. True FF Fans will rank there favorite FF games as follows

 

FFVI,

FFVII

FFVIII (7 & 8 are interchangable)

FFX

FFXII

FFIX

-------------

FFI

FFII

FFIII

FFIV

FFXI. (Yes, FFXI the mmo is at the bottom of the list)

 

 

I can't really place I - V on the list anywhere, Seeing how FFIV is impossible to find in the US. (Even if it IS on the disk with chrono trigger, finding said disk IS impossible. ;) )

III is on the DS with I & II. *I & II are also on the PSP*

But those are really just minor titles compared to FFVI. Anything after FFVI are awesome and rich in contrast to the blandness of the orignal FFI - FFV. (Though, I can't really say much of III, & IV. But I do know V was kinda 'meh'.) ;)

 

Btw, Kefka > Sepiroth.

[SBoydW]

Don't forget Final Fantasy Tactics.

[SinisterDeath]

I was only including all the main Final Fantasy games, not all the offshoot ones. ;)

IF you were to include tactics, you'd have to toss in the mana games in there two, since they are 'very' related. ;)

[Shendare]

Don't forget the GameBoy and its Final Fantasy Legends and Final Fantasy Adventures series.

[Ozhammer]

My Final Fantasy involves a pool of honey, a jar of olives, feather, Caddy and.... ummm.  did I say that out loud???  :-[  ;)

[Cadsuane]

Yes.  ;D

 

Just be sure they aren't Kalamata olives. I don't like those. *nods*  8)  :-*

[Samuraiflip05]

I have all three of the PS rereleases (Anthol, Chroni, and the..other one) as weel as VII.  I have not played VIII, IX, X, XI, XII.

I have however played X-2. 

 

I have always enjoyed the series, but my favorite nintendo RPG was Dragon Warrior. 

[SinisterDeath]

I have all three of the PS rereleases (Anthol, Chroni, and the..other one) as weel as VII.  I have not played VIII, IX, X, XI, XII.

I have however played X-2. 

 

I have always enjoyed the series, but my favorite nintendo RPG was Dragon Warrior. 

 

You need to play FFVI before you say dragon warrior is your favorite. ;)

[Shendare]

I have played Final Fantasy 1, 4, and 6-8. Basically the ones widely released in the U.S. on the NES, SNES, or PC. Eventually I will be picking up a PS3, and seeing which Final Fantasy remixes and games will play on it (I understand there are some backwards compatibility issues with PS1 and especially PS2).

 

I was surprised a little by Sam's post, though. I thought I was the only one who found the Dragon Quest/Warrior series slightly closer to his heart!

 

Dragon Warrior 1-4 were released on the NES (and I -still- fire them up from time to time!), and 1&2 were remixed on the SNES. Unfortunately, Japan seemed to get the impression that Dragon Quest was mainly for the Japanese audience only, and we didn't get much beyond that, although Japan continued the series on from Dragon Quest 5-6 on the SNES and beyond from there. Not to mention the merchandising and anime series that sprang up from the wild popularity of the series in Japan.

 

I have heard that some Dragon Quest/Warrior games have been released for the Nintendo DS in recent years, but I don't have a DS, and haven't seen them.

 

It's something else I'll be looking into once I get the PS3, since Dragon Quest was created by Enix, who was acquired by Square, who is rather closely tied to Sony these days.

[Guest Far Dareis Mai]

FFVI, is THE best FF ever made. Period.

You have to play FFVII, followed by FFVIII.

FFIX, BLEW Hard. True FF Fans will rank there favorite FF games as follows

 

FFVI,

FFVII

FFVIII (7 & 8 are interchangable)

FFX

FFXII

FFIX

-------------

FFI

FFII

FFIII

FFIV

FFXI. (Yes, FFXI the mmo is at the bottom of the list)

 

Again, I completely disagree.

 

I've played 1,4, and 6-12 (including X-2). I've been playing 11 (their MMO) for over three years, much fun. I've played Tactics, and some of their offshoots--though I did not enjoy the rest of them as much as Tactics.

 

FFIX, BLEW Hard.

I rather enjoyed this one, though it is not my favorite. The soundtrack was also fantastic, imo. Can you actually justify why you didn't like it?

 

FFXI. (Yes, FFXI the mmo is at the bottom of the list)

Have you actually even played it? I find most people don't enjoy it (aside from not wanting to pay the monthly fee), because it was too difficult for them. :P

 

On the flip side, I love Legend of Dragoon, which has a transparent plot full of cliches and horrible dialogue, but a fun game engine.

I totally agree, and I LOVED this game as well. :)

 

 

[Jelly]

Thanks for the explanations...is there a PC version? Or are they all for playstation, DS etc?

[SinisterDeath]

FFVI, is THE best FF ever made. Period.

You have to play FFVII, followed by FFVIII.

FFIX, BLEW Hard. True FF Fans will rank there favorite FF games as follows

 

FFVI,

FFVII

FFVIII (7 & 8 are interchangable)

FFX

FFXII

FFIX

-------------

FFI

FFII

FFIII

FFIV

FFXI. (Yes, FFXI the mmo is at the bottom of the list)

 

Again, I completely disagree.

 

I've played 1,4, and 6-12 (including X-2). I've been playing 11 (their MMO) for over three years, much fun. I've played Tactics, and some of their offshoots--though I did not enjoy the rest of them as much as Tactics.

 

FFIX, BLEW Hard.

I rather enjoyed this one, though it is not my favorite. The soundtrack was also fantastic, imo. Can you actually justify why you didn't like it?

 

FFXI. (Yes, FFXI the mmo is at the bottom of the list)

Have you actually even played it? I find most people don't enjoy it (aside from not wanting to pay the monthly fee), because it was too difficult for them. :P

 

On the flip side, I love Legend of Dragoon, which has a transparent plot full of cliches and horrible dialogue, but a fun game engine.

I totally agree, and I LOVED this game as well. :)

 

 

 

I've played EQ, so I know what a 'hard' mmo really is. FF was never meant to be an mmo, period. IT should have been an off-shoot like, tactics was, NOT in the main branch of the series, it sullied the FF name forever.

 

And yes, I did play ffxi, and the gameplay mechanics stunk.

 

As for FFIX, The 'kiddy' graphics are the main detraction from the game, I plan to re-visit it, after I re-beat FFVIII.

 

If you buy a ps3, you must not buy the 40GB, as that does not currently have ANY PS2 backwards compatability. Only the 20GB, 60GB, and 80GB have ps2 BC. (they all have ps1 BC).

So keep this in mind. (if you can find a 60GB, get it, as its better then the 80GB (BC wise) for the same price as the 40GB (or a few more.)

[Guest Far Dareis Mai]

I've played EQ, so I know what a 'hard' mmo really is. FF was never meant to be an mmo, period. IT should have been an off-shoot like, tactics was, NOT in the main branch of the series, it sullied the FF name forever.

 

Okay, so you are basing your opinion off of a game that was created years before FF11, and has nothing to do with the game itself? Come on, that is just bad. FF was meant to be whatever the creators say, so the fact that YOU don't think so doesn't make it wrong. It's actually a very challenging, rewarding game to play. Please reserve your judgement until you've played it, otherwise you're just spouting hot air. ;) I think it was extremely ambitious and innovative of the creator's to want to try something so new out, when EQ was one of the few large scale MMO's out at the time. Final Fantasy brought a lot to that genre, and I think that they didn't fail in it. Play it first, knock it later. It doesn't sully the name, instead it really shows you how strong FF is as a namesake in video games, and they have the clout to really offer something new and unique every time they release something. It's a good thing, I assure you.

 

As far as the 'kiddy' graphics go in FF9, I think that the fact that no Final Fantasy game is the same, is to the creator's credit. I think that they try to be innovative each time, and in trying a newer art type, while maintaing a similar gaming system as some of the others did them credit. FF9 has tons to offer a player.

 

[SinisterDeath]

I've played EQ, so I know what a 'hard' mmo really is. FF was never meant to be an mmo, period. IT should have been an off-shoot like, tactics was, NOT in the main branch of the series, it sullied the FF name forever.

 

Okay, so you are basing your opinion off of a game that was created years before FF11, and has nothing to do with the game itself? Come on, that is just bad. FF was meant to be whatever the creators say, so the fact that YOU don't think so doesn't make it wrong. It's actually a very challenging, rewarding game to play. Please reserve your judgement until you've played it, otherwise you're just spouting hot air. ;) I think it was extremely ambitious and innovative of the creator's to want to try something so new out, when EQ was one of the few large scale MMO's out at the time. Final Fantasy brought a lot to that genre, and I think that they didn't fail in it. Play it first, knock it later. It doesn't sully the name, instead it really shows you how strong FF is as a namesake in video games, and they have the clout to really offer something new and unique every time they release something. It's a good thing, I assure you.

 

As far as the 'kiddy' graphics go in FF9, I think that the fact that no Final Fantasy game is the same, is to the creator's credit. I think that they try to be innovative each time, and in trying a newer art type, while maintaing a similar gaming system as some of the others did them credit. FF9 has tons to offer a player.

 

 

You missed the fact where I said, I Played FF11, and hated it. I've played EQ, and EQ is an MMORPG. All mmorpgs are compared to each other, Wow < EQ, FF11 < WoW, L2 < FF11. Ect.

FF isn't supposed to be an MMORPG, it is an RPG (or as some would call it, an JRPG.) FF11 SHOULD have been an offshoot, to the FF Name, like FF:Tactics is an 'offshoot' to the FF name. Their are thousands of aspects about FF11, I really don't care for. but not limited to,

A) PC Gameplay that was designed for the PS2,

B) Killing bunnies for 3 months

C) Gold Selling bots (plagued in almost all mmorpgs now)

D) Common problems found in all mmorpgs that FF11 is no exception to, if not, just as many problems...

 

(Btw, I could bring up an entire RANT about the suckiness of most MMORPGS out there, but that could be saved for PM's or other things, and seriously, I have FFX-2 taken the place on my shelf of FF11. And since I have them 'in order'  FF11 is 'not in the same shelf' as the rest of them. If that makes any sense.

I would have rather seen, a 'true' FFXI, RPG, that wasn't an MMORPG, and the RPG being a copmletely new offshoot mmorpg brand, like 'Final Fantasy Online'. At least, then I wouldn't hate it as much for taking the name of the series, that it doesn't belong to.)

 

As for 9, I know each has there own style, (though, not nearly as drastically changed as others were).

Meaning, 1-6 look about the same.

7-8 look similar.(Many, many grahpical parrallels)

10-12 look similar.

The only one, that does NOT fit into any of these, is 9. Its almost like what they did with the FFIII on the SNES, vs the real FFVI. (aka, kiddied down, dumbed down, censored version of hte game)

only, they converted FF into some kinda anime.

I'm sure the story was good in its own right, but the character cast was just... It felt WAY to kiddy. Like Pokemon.

[Jelly]

???

What do all these abbreviations mean?