Final Fantasy, anyone?

[Mongoose]

I've play FF 1-8, 10, 13, Tactics, Tactics Advance 1 & 2, FF Legend 1-3 (which are actually SaGa games), I think that's it.

 

Favorite would probably be a tie between 6 and 8. I know lots of people hate 8, and I admit I hate Draw-Farming, but all in all I quite liked it, even if I never got around to beating it (though I bought it again off the PSN Store)

 

Least favorite would probably be 2, Tactics and 13. 2 and 13 I didn't like the combat systems at all, even if the stories were really cool. Tactics I've really tried to like, but I liked the Advance games better.

 

Though honestly, I liked Star Ocean 2 and the Suikoden series more than any of them.

 

Edit: Also it was 1, 3 and 5 that had classes, as well as the Tactics games and the online ones.

[A. Pseudonym]

I've played 8, 10 and 12.

 

8 was my first and I ate up the romance story. Those flying Garden/airship/SeeD academy things were pretty cool, but don't compare to the Ragnarok, the best airship ever.

What I appreciated most about it was the fully 3D world map which allowed you to wander the entire world freely, even if most of it was just a grassy plain or ocean.

 

10 had Tidus in it, which as I've said before is a black mark in my opinion. Sin, Yu Yevon and Jecht were good though.

The story, when you can get past the ridiculous costumery, art style, and general behaviour of the main characters is quite an interesting one involving mortals challenging and defeating their malevolent god.

 

12 had Vaan in it, the most effeminate "male" character in any video game ever. Though even Basch, who's supposed to be a manly man looks like a member of a boy band. And the ridiculous costumes continue. At least in 8, the characters were actually wearing clothing you could somewhat believe a sober, sane person would choose, but here you've got random rags stolen from a theatrical company and thrown on people willy nilly.

It's somewhat superficial criticism, I know, but it detracts from the overall effect imo.

But what I do with Vaan, is that I don't level him up... and whenever I go fight a boss I put him as the only active party member and laugh as he gets one-hitted. Then I switch in my level-100 characters and fight properly.

I like the gambit system, though I would agree that it relegates actual gameplay to before-battle strategy planning rather than fighting. Besides the occasional time you'll need to intervene to get rid of a status or something. It gets rid of the mind-numbing and repetitive action-selection, particularily in 8, while you're leveling. This way you could leave the game on overnight and build up your characters without the boredom.

Not sure if that's an improvement though...

[Sakaea]

Now see, I've always enjoyed level grinding, in all the different FFs. Especially in VII and VIII where you have Morph, Manipulate, and then Draw. Not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but it is mine

[A. Pseudonym]

Now see, I've always enjoyed level grinding, in all the different FFs. Especially in VII and VIII where you have Morph, Manipulate, and then Draw. Not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but it is mine

You like grinding?

 

That's the worst part of any RPG. What do you like about it?

[Mooka]

just wiki'd it, ya your right, Though I was thinking more of a class system like in FF11, not the static kind that you 'pretty much' maintain through out the entire game.

 

I think I beat that game with everyone in the best armor. (Genji?) And another guy dual wielding Excalibers at cap level.

Well, kind of a primative class system. But you could chose your classes, which was nice. And you could make the game really challenging (or almost impossible) depending on your group.

 

 

FFIII and FFV both had full class systems where you could switch around and level up your classes. Neither was released in the US either.... I guess they all thought the American market only liked more static RPGs.

[SinisterDeath]

just wiki'd it, ya your right, Though I was thinking more of a class system like in FF11, not the static kind that you 'pretty much' maintain through out the entire game.

 

I think I beat that game with everyone in the best armor. (Genji?) And another guy dual wielding Excalibers at cap level.

Well, kind of a primative class system. But you could chose your classes, which was nice. And you could make the game really challenging (or almost impossible) depending on your group.

 

 

FFIII and FFV both had full class systems where you could switch around and level up your classes. Neither was released in the US either.... I guess they all thought the American market only liked more static RPGs.

 

Actually they believed it was to hard for us.

 

FFV actually was released in the US. just not on the NES/SNES. It first released with Anthologies, which contained FFV & 6.

 

3&4 have only released on the nintendo platforms. (DS/Wii ect)

 

Sony still does not have 3&4... well we may have 4 now actually, on the PsP now.

 

3 Still hasn't hit sony though for sure.. Don't know about nintendo.

I'm beginning to wonder if there realy 'is' a 3. :P

[Locke]

IV: Played awhile into this one but never really got very into it. The battling was OK and equipment, items, and magic got confusing at times.

 

V: Enjoyed this one. Liked the job system, especially early on. Good game.

 

VI: One of the best games ever made. My favorite of the FF franchise. Played this game numerous times, including the + version (FFVI, but harder). Great battle, great storyline, great characters, great sidequests. Just great.

 

VII-IX: Major gap in my FF experience here, partially due to the switchover in consoles.

 

X: Fun game for awhile with a couple enjoyable aspects. Characters, specifically Tidus, were painful at times to watch.

 

XII: Still going with this one, though I've beat it. Love the non-random battle sequences, especially the Quickening attacks. Second favorite after VI of the ones I've played.

[OptimusPrime]

The only ones Ive played are 7, 10 and also Crisis Core for the PSP. FF7 was my favorite for the storyline. Sephiroth and Jenova, the use of the Black Materia and the release of the Weapons in retaliation... epic. And I made sure to take all the Weapons out each time round.

 

FF10 was awesome too though. Auronwas my favorite character, and Bahamut and Anime were my fave summons. I never did manage to kill all the dark summons though... That underwater ball game thingy was good fun as well, Tidus and Wakka all the way.

 

Tidus annoyed the crap out of me! Such a whiny main character!

[Elend]

just wiki'd it, ya your right, Though I was thinking more of a class system like in FF11, not the static kind that you 'pretty much' maintain through out the entire game.

 

I think I beat that game with everyone in the best armor. (Genji?) And another guy dual wielding Excalibers at cap level.

Well, kind of a primative class system. But you could chose your classes, which was nice. And you could make the game really challenging (or almost impossible) depending on your group.

 

 

FFIII and FFV both had full class systems where you could switch around and level up your classes. Neither was released in the US either.... I guess they all thought the American market only liked more static RPGs.

 

Actually they believed it was to hard for us.

 

FFV actually was released in the US. just not on the NES/SNES. It first released with Anthologies, which contained FFV & 6.

 

3&4 have only released on the nintendo platforms. (DS/Wii ect)

 

Sony still does not have 3&4... well we may have 4 now actually, on the PsP now.

 

3 Still hasn't hit sony though for sure.. Don't know about nintendo.

I'm beginning to wonder if there realy 'is' a 3. :P

 

...come to think of it, 3 is the only Final Fantasy I never played. Even though I know how to get it I just never bothered for some reason.

 

Damn it. Now I need to get it and beat it.

 

/goes to man on the corner of street with beard and tophat

[Mongoose]

You like grinding?

 

That's the worst part of any RPG. What do you like about it?

 

I generally don't like excessive grinding, but I somewhat enjoy it where there's a fair amount of character customization. Then all you get from combat is XP which levels you up and gives you a handful of preset or randomly generated stat increases and some gold for buying equipment, I usually don't feel as motivated.

 

Games where you can 'buy' magic or put points into stats yourself I find are better for grinding because I feel more involved and rewarded for putting the work in.

[Rufae]

Being the old fogey that I am, the best gaming system I ever owned was SNES. That means It was just FF I, II, III for me. I think FF I was the best of those three. The one with the airship was pretty lame IMHO. It had very little story and was just an attempt to show off graphics/coding.

 

BTW, you can still play these first three Final Fantasy's in Java format online for free at http://www.1980games.com . Fun way to waste the day.

[Locke]

IV, V, and VI came out for SNES.

[Sakaea]

Now see, I've always enjoyed level grinding, in all the different FFs. Especially in VII and VIII where you have Morph, Manipulate, and then Draw. Not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but it is mine

You like grinding?

 

That's the worst part of any RPG. What do you like about it?

 

 

I have an addictive personality type. And I have OCD. So if my characters aren't all at a certain level, it bugs me. Bad. So I enjoy the level grinding, because it saves me irritation. My favorite ones to level grind were X and XII, because of the sphere grid and the license system. So fun

[Elend]

XII was a really fun game to play. Come to think of it my PS2 crapped out before I could get very far into it... hmmm. Will need to buy a new one after a few years of just using PS3.

[Locke]

Now see, I've always enjoyed level grinding, in all the different FFs. Especially in VII and VIII where you have Morph, Manipulate, and then Draw. Not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but it is mine

You like grinding?

 

That's the worst part of any RPG. What do you like about it?

 

 

I have an addictive personality type. And I have OCD. So if my characters aren't all at a certain level, it bugs me. Bad. So I enjoy the level grinding, because it saves me irritation. My favorite ones to level grind were X and XII, because of the sphere grid and the license system. So fun

 

Except that it doesn't take much training to completely fill up the licenses. I think my guys are like level 70 or something and they all have thousands of LP and nothing to do with them.

 

Sphere system was kinda fun though, especially when Lulu's little doll thing trots up to an enemy behemoth, touches it, and does 9999 damage. (I didn't get her celestial weapon). But again, after awhile you hit the 99,999 damage limit, and breaking the health limit is a tough upgrade. Although, I guess it is true that I couldn't beat all the Arena foes, so there must still be room for improvement somewhere. =D

[Sakaea]

First rule of a gamer: there is always room for improvement.

 

Second rule: saving is your friend.

[Locke]

Well, for me that's only true if I haven't beaten the most difficult possible enemy. (I have to have something I'm working towards or I get bored fast)

 

As for 2, lol, yes indeed. Emulators...9 accessible save slots at any time....>.>

[bad company]

FF3- Yes I have it on DS. I like it and the class system was well done with a character level and class level, gameplay is turn based and is actually quite good.

 

FF4- DS again, I get that the story was good but the DS can't handle active battles, it takes too long to reach the commands in the menus and by that time you ahve been attacked.

 

FF7-The storyline is good, the battles turn based but also not unfair in priority however had the usual problem of RPG's level grinding (which I am guilty of) so that you became really powerful and beat bosses one hit. And the overdrives and summons were awesome, wish they had enemy materia for some of the other games

 

FF10- Loved the storyline and one of the few I would go back to play time and time again just to get their ultimate weapons and beat those optional bosses, some of the characters liked better then other though Auron was awesome, hardly ever used Khimari. The shpere grid also allowed the player to advance and not have to grind and took some time to get around the board. Love blitzball.

 

FFX-2- Played for like an hour and gave up on it, the combat was a horrible confusing pile of excrement and definately not much time thought into it.Only good for finding out what happened to the characters after 10.

 

FF12- Storyline is meh in this, skipped most of the cutscenes anyway and the character design really let them down. The monster hunting is awesome with some truly hard battles (damn you gilgamesh and your dog) and the fighting system was fairly unique in terms of FF games before, loved not having random battles and the quickenings were fantastic though those summons left alot to be desired. The gambit system was used lightly by me and normally only for healing and reviving. Baltheirs on beserk with a strong gun killed most enemies before I even got there.

 

FF12 revenant wings- just bad, create monsters to fight and attack by clicking on the enemy. The controls and camera just didn't work for a DS game.

 

FF7 crisis core- loved it and it is so addicitve and finding out about some ot the backstories. The combat was simplified and played like a action RPG but it worked for the medium. Materia fusion made a really good gameplay feature.

 

FF dissidia- a FF fighting game, simple buttons for PSP but works and has a good mix of RPG customisation though not the best for someone never played an RPG before.

 

My favorite would have to be 10. Though another favorite is actually Phantasy Star 4 played that games so much even with confusing names for moves. And being able to check where you were in the game by talking to your teammates

[Sakaea]

Yeah, the sphere grid in X was awesome. Loved the story, blitzball, the whole thing. If you haven't played VIII or IX tho, you really ought to give them a try. They are so worth it

[Locke]

Oh yes, I forgot about the Gambits system in FFXII. Forgot to mention how much I love it.

[Mongoose]

I always thought it funny that the version of FF IV they released here was the 'easy' mode, yet when I played a translation of the Japanese version, I found most of the added abilities made the game much easier (like Cecil's Dark Wave, which makes the fist quarter of the game almost laughably easy).

 

Though if it's anything like IV-DS that 'hard' part refers to when you get to the moon.

[Elend]

So I've been playing 12 the last couple of days. I had to quit it when it first came out due to my PS2 finally dying (old first generation model, etc) and I've only now gotten around to replacing it.

 

Why is this game better in almost every way than Final Fantasy 13? /sigh

 

Still. 12 is good. I can respect it. Enjoyable battles, fun characters, I like the License Grid. Story, from what I can remember, is pretty decent too.

 

I still can't wait for Versus 13 to come out. That should be a blast.

[SinisterDeath]

I did not care for 12's story or characters at all.

 

To me, the MAIN Character was the princess & that knight guy.

Who you play/start as, the 'main character' is like a side-character, who realy has no place being there at all.

[Elend]

Oh I just ignored the starting character. Exposition dump character is exposition dump.

[SinisterDeath]

Aside from the fact the games story takes place from his 'position' so it'll always remain that he 'was' the main character.