/vr/ - Retro Games

VI and VII are unironically the best that can be discussed here but contrarians will argue for others (although you can definitely make a good case for V because of the job system)

the one that's best for you
my personal favourites are IV, VII, IX and X, but none of them are really bad, not even II which I find rather underrated

>>4464337
>the one that's best for you
This.

Personally I enjoy 1,2,3,5,7&8

I highly recommend Final Fantasy 1 if you've only played later Final Fantasy games (like 6+) and want a taste of the oldschool.

I know Final Fantasy 1 gets a lot of hate on /vr/ (annoying insta-kill enemies, glitches out the wazoo, etc.) but I just finished it earlier this afternoon, and honestly it was pretty fun. People on 4chan just like to exaggerate.

Pic unrelated, but cute.

I like them all, and the one I like the best often depends on the mood. I think ultimately I'd have to rank IX a touch above others, though: it had among the better mechanics, looked really nice (as in, style and design rather than raw graphical power), featured some of my favorite characters in the series, probably the best love story, and undeniably the best music.

That's just me, though. Honestly all the games are pretty great, and it's hard to put them in any order.

>>4465402
Personally my only real problem with I is that its combat is just too damn slow, what with how every attack result is shown separately and sometimes the damage window stays for many seconds before moving on. Its music was also pretty unremarkable, and the single lone battle theme got old real fast.

I'd recommend III over I, oldschool-wise. It's got almost the same appeal intact but has also refined out the worst mechanical hiccups, sped up the combat, and boasts one of the best soundtracks on NES.

>>4464337
>none of them are really bad
Holy shit, I never thought I'd find someone else with this opinion here.

>>4465414
>my only real problem with I is that its combat is just too damn slow
I always thought this too, until I realized that you can adjust the speed of combat (see pic). 1 is the default, and it's teeth-grindingly slow. I would never, ever have had the patience for this game if you couldn't change the combat speed.

And like, knowing when to run from battles is a skill you have to learn. Regardless of speed, there are some monsters that just aren't fun to fight (those freakin' squid-heads in the Floating Castle AAARGH) and aren't worth the trouble.

And yeah, it sucks that there aren't separate tracks for boss fights. The Wonderswan and subsequent remakes all remedy this, thankfully. I played the NES one though because it's easier to emulate on my 3DS. When fighting the Fiends, I think a good idea would be to mute the sound and play the Fiend battle theme from FF4.

>>4464328
5 is the height of 1-9, with tactics being close

all the playstation games are really special though

Top Tier:
FFT
FFV

High Tier:
FFIV
FFIX

Mid Tier:
FFIII
FFI

Low Tier:
FFVII
FFVI

Shit Tier:
FFVIII
FFII

V is my favorite.

VI is also really good.

>>4465441
>(those freakin' squid-heads in the Floating Castle AAARGH)
Honestly the floating castle is probably the most bullshit part of the game. Everyone hates on FF1 because they hear about that one dungeon and think the whole game is like that.

>be me, like ~5 years ago playing FF1 on an emulator when /vr/ first launched
>get to 4th floor of floating castle
>get attacked by a golem/sorceror group
>"Monsters attack first!"
>Trance
>have to watch my whole party get paralyzed and then picked apart one by one
>TPK
>reset
>get to floating palace again
>get attacked by Eye
>XXXX, dead white mage, reset
>get to top floor of floating palace
>take like two steps and Warmech appears
>"Monsters fight first!"
>Nuclear
>two characters dead, other two at critical health
>"Couldn't run!"
>"Couldn't run!"
>dead warrior
>"Couldn't run!"
>dead whitemage

Not even exaggerating, all three of these things happened back to back to back.

>>4466407
To be honest, I kind of like how in FF1 random encounters actually mean something, rather than being just there to slow you down, annoy you, and help you gain experience. No, these fuckers can actually kill you, or at least wear you down and drain your resources. Just like a proper old-school D&D session.

Later games should've stuck with that.

>>4466419
Honestly, this. Random battles should actually be threatening, they shouldn't just be something you mash A to get through.

>>4466419
random encounters mean something also because of
>vancian spellcasting
>no way to recover spellcharges in dungeons
>no auto re-target
>no save points in dungeons
>can't revive during battles
>can't save on the overworld

the franchise probably never would've achieved the popularity it did if they stuck with that though

>>4466445
True enough. It's the same reason D&D moved away from that shit. Modern-day babies just can't handle challenge.

>>4466445
>can't save on the overworld
I agree with the rest of your post, but this one is actually untrue, you can save anywhere in the overworld if you use Tent/Cabin/House.

IV, V, VI, VII: A
I, III, IX : B
VIII: C
II: D

>>4466493
2, 3: A
6, 5, 7, 9: B
8, 1: C
4: D

>>4466491
>if you use Tent/Cabin/House
yeah forgot about those
you could say that at least saving on the overworld has a cost compared to later titles

What defines a classic FF game?

Is it the fantasy setting?

Is it the crystals?

Is it the 2D graphics?

What?

>>4466509
Take one look at Bravely Default.

>>4466509
According to /vr/ guidelines, if it was published before the turn of the millennium.

>>4466509
ATB system, menu based gameplay. IX is the last classic FF game.

>>4466509
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-eqcbnitNE

>>4466509
>ATB System
>Jobs like in FFV
>Great music
>Great story and characters
>>4466512
Bravely Default is good but it falls apart right in the middle.

>>4466509
The words Final Fantasy. Other than that, Square was pretty experimental.

>>4466734
>>4466514
>atb
So 1, 2, and 3 aren't classic? Hmm...

>>4466509
The battle menus and music (Uematsu) were probably the most consistent elements of FF

I’d say Yoshitaka Amano’s art but it’s definitely a ymmv

Let's ask something different.

Which classic Final Fantasy has the best logo?

>>4464328
IX is the best.

>>4464335
Depends on the metric you use. Final Fantasy really made the cRPG a linear, narrative genre that focused a lot more on production values (music, writing, graphics) as a means to carry the game.

FF5 still had that, but its gameplay was deeper than FF6. I kind of see it as closer to the DQ series than any other of the two games in the SNES FF lineup.

>>4466865
>4 through 9 aren't classic because they aren't turn based as the first two.

>>4466509
I group them into 2 types: the static class FF (1, 3, 4, 9) and the classless FF (2, 6, 7, 8). 5 is sort of a mix of both styles since you can be classes as well as a "do-everything" class.

>>4465402
FF1 is actually my favorite NES Final Fantasy. FF2 tried to do something different and failed spectacularly and FF3 was just too bloated with kind of pointless mechanics (and eventual party homogenization).

>>4464335
VII is babys first RPG/Final Fantasy
VI is hipsters choice
V is the real deal

>>4466937
Do you think that the designers of the later classless FF games weren't worried about party homogenization because they didn't think most people would grind their characters to that point?

>>4466926
III, IV, VII, VIII

Not really a fan of the ones with illustrations that overlap the lettering

>>4466525
Loved this series. Was what originally got me into final fantasy. My friends always managed to make Final Fantasy look like standard weeb jrpg fodder like the Tales series

>>4465441
This post kind of frustrates me because it shows that you're perfectly capable of making an informative, relevant, non-attentionwhoreish post, you just choose not to 99& of the time.

>>4464328
Judging each game in terms of graphics, characters, music, gameplay and story, I'd say FFIX, next to FFVI and FFV:

Graphics - great (5)
Characters - likable (4)
Music - great (5)
Gameplay - decent (3)
Story - great (5)
Total: 22/25

FFVI:

Graphics - great (5)
Characters - decent (3)
Music - great (5)
Gameplay - what? (1)
Story - decent (3)
Total: 17/25

FFV

Graphics - decent (3)
Characters - likable (4)
Music - decent (3)
Gameplay - great (5)
Story - decent (3)
Total: 18

The others all hover around 15 for me. I've never played one mainline FF and thought "this game is shit" except for 12 which I hadn't realized was just ahead of its time

>>4466926
Final Fantasy VII because muh nostalgia.

The Meteor is a cool image, I knew a boy in middle/high school who had a scar on his shoulderblade that looked just like it.

FF2 is really where it's at. If you hate the level system, try out FF3. It's a shame America never experienced those games.

5 and 9 will always be my favorite. I don't really care if people shit on them or think others are the best, because at the end of the day 5 and 9 are the two that I love and can replay any time.

That said all the mainline games up through 9 are pretty great. IV and II are my least favorite if I'm being honest, but I also played those much later so I tend to unfairly compare them to games that came out after the fact.

That said I really could never get into X. I hated most of the characters, the world, and the story. 13 was horrendous. XI and XIV I enjoyed for what they were. I haven't played 12. And I actually liked 15 for some bizarre reason I can't explain

Pretty good series though.

If we go by their original iterations, VI.
If we go by their best iterations, either III, V, or VI.
Never 2 for obvious reasons (it's got it's charm but you can't with a straight face tell me it's the best)
Never IV because the balancing is so atrocious regardless of which version you play, and the story is more fleshed out which is a bad thing because it's retarded drivel and only gets in the way of enjoyment

The only bad classic FF game is IV. My favorite is V but good cases can be made for VI, VII and IX too.

>>4464328
For me, V. II is hella rough around the edges, but I like it too.

I've played VII, VIII and IX, but I just can't stick with them. I've been forcing my way through VII and I'm now at Wheelchair Cloud. The farthest I've gotten in VIII is when you have to fight those Oilboyles in Balamb Garden. I had a really bad setup for those, and they just wiped the floor with me.

I dig VII for Materia and VIII for Junctions, but IX does nothing for me. To me, it's a PSX-era imitation of older FFs that has all the minuses of PSX era (lousy 3D, load times) but without the mechanical depth of the games it intends to mimic. I think the farthest I got was getting Eiko in the party.

>>4471585
I find 4 much more enjoyable than 2 and 3 and even 6 but thats mostly because I really dislike 6's setting and aesthetics even if it is mechanically superior

>>4471845
I wouldnt say it has less depth anon it just doesnt require you to go that far indepth unless you are doing challenge runs because the default game is a bit of a stroll

>>4466509
Made by Squaresoft

>>4464335
I literally just beat 6.

I think it's genuinely awful.

Let me get into why before you babies get into a tissy.

>Extremely linear first half
>No cost abilities like tools and blitz crush everything and trivialize the game (why wouldn't I use them?)
>virtually zero options for customization (learning magic on everyone is obvious, and not customization)
>Relics are either useless or disgustingly overpowered
>Too much Overpowered Gear
>EXP curve is completely fucked up. Early game you spend so much time fighting the same low level garbage because of the 3 party split that you don't actually make any significant progress for the first like 4 hours of the game
>game continues to be linear after return to Narshe, with very little optional content to explore
>Esper system is shit, it just means you're going to rotate espers on everyone until everyone learns everything worth a damn. The level up bonuses are paltry until 25+ anyways
>World of Ruin basically resets everything, and it's like starting the game from Square 1 again. You're shit, enemies get a massive power spike, and you have to spend the next 4+ hours recruiting party members, and getting overpowered gear to stand a chance in the final dungeon
>Either that or grind dinosaurs with vanish/doom glitch
>EXP curve is so terrible that you have extremely pitiful gains right up until like 35, then post 35 you suddenly start gaining insane amounts of stats, and HP/MP
>This means if you level past 40 you're going to shit all over the game
>Everything becomes trivial, if you go as far as 50 or 60 you're looking at being able to solo entire wings of Kefka's Tower.

>Story Now
>The only good part is the reveal that Edgar used a 2 headed coin to let Sabin choose his freedom

>Most of the characters are completely pointless to anything, and just leads to a bloated roster.
>Can't even use all 14, since you can only bring 12 into the final dungeon. What's the point of that?

>>4472243
>Only important characters are Terra, Edgar/Sabin, and Celes.
>Everyone else is super minor
>Game designers had a massive boner for Shadow, who is not even close to important.
>Set peices are awful
>Things like the battle minigames are stupid, and too easily exploited bypassing the entire gimmick by just stacking your party and bumrushing the boss
>opera house is a fucking joke, and people say it's one of the best parts of the game.
>Way too much style over substance
>way too much Mode 7
>Masturbatory final sequence that goes on forever.

FF5 shits all over FF6 except in terms of Art, and MAYBE some characterization. Everything else is worse.

>>4466926
VII

The minimalist style meshes well with the meteor

Why does no one like viii. It had the best visuals and story.
>>4472243
>forgot about Locke and his obsession with eternal life
>forgot about celes killing herself
>forgot about how relm is actually shadows kid
>who doesn't like masterbaiter scenes in games.
>prove to me there is a better scene then the opera house in any other ff game.
>Locke is the best character not edgar.
>shadow was important because of relm.
>what's wrong with grinding you sound like a entitled platformer instead of a rpg guy. Mabye try out cool boarders instead.

>>4464328

I have to give it to V for really nailing that jaunty adventure feel without so much of the melodrama that plagued IV. It's a romp that feels like a D&D campaign you and your bros would make that's lighthearted but still knows when to turn the screws. The job system is just icing on the cake.

>>4472429
>whats wrong with grinding
It's a shit mechanic. If your EXP curve is good, you don't have to grind.

>relm is actually shadows kid
never explicitly stated, only heavily implied
>locke and his obsession with eternal life
looking too deep into it, he just wants to bring back his girlfriend, while macking on any vulnerable women he comes across
>the opera house
Ultros is a shit villian. The Opera House is a fucking embaressment and completely tone deaf when you get there. You just got told that the Empire are turning espers into magicite, whcih effectively kills them.

BETTER GO SING AN OPERA LOL

>>4464328
My favourite is 2, but by popularity 7/6. 'Best' is a very loose term

>>4472243
>>EXP curve is so terrible that you have extremely pitiful gains right up until like 35, then post 35 you suddenly start gaining insane amounts of stats, and HP/MP
>>This means if you level past 40 you're going to shit all over the game
m8. You clearly have no idea what you're talking about, I see. Your stats NEVER go up just from levelling in this game. You only get stat increases from having espers equipped. Without espers a level 99 has identical stats to a level 1 outside of HP/MP.

I always preferred IV to VI. It just feels like so much more of a timeless, classic fantasy story. Even though it's got the high tech stuff at the end, the characters just feel like meaningful, well-thought out archetypes in a real world they're connected to and their actions and hopes for protecting their world matter. VI is fine, I mean it's still one of the greatest jrpgs ever made, but it just never quite synced with me. The characters are all a little too "teen-cool", and more concerned with their own personal storylines than feeling like they're really a part of the world they're trying to defend.

>>4474173
>Your stats never go up from just leveling
Yes they do. Of course they fucking do. Espers are just bonus stats.

Your characters will gain stats in all categories (HP, MP, Vigor, Magic, Etc) regardless of Espers. Espers just provide a BONUS to the level up.

IE: If you were going to gain 100 HP from Level 20 to 21, and you had Bahamut equipped which gives +50% HP, you gain 100 from your level up +50% of that from bahamut for a net gain of 150 HP on the level up.

So, you're the one who needs to learn how the game works.

>>4466926
None of those. The classic ones didn't look like that, those logos were added on ports and remakes. V was the first one with that bullshit.

I don't think this series is particularly good at all outside of VII, and I don't think the others would be thought of so highly if VII didn't become so popular

>>4466926
From that picture, IV and VIII

>>4464328
Guys, I fucking love FF4 and I think it's heavily underrated in the SNES trifecta. FF6 has the story, world and villain and FF5 has the job system and replayability. FF4 is often kinda dismissed in comparison, it seems, even though it's supposedly hyper-popular in Japan and got so many remakes there.

What FF4 has is the absolutely most perfect difficulty curve in any RPG. It clicks just right. I've replayed it twice already and even though it's a fairly rigid game, it still never fails to be just the right kind of difficult to make every single dungeon really tense to go through, but it also gives you a ton of cool options to solve your issues without grinding. FF4 DS makes it even more of a fun challenge. It's just a really solid damn game. FF6 in comparison felt kinda easy, and although I love the customization in FF5, it can also be quite gamebreaking. I'd argue FF5 is the kinda game where you make your own challenge, and FF4 is the kinda game where the challenge is masterfully handcrafted to leave you either grinding your character or your teeth. So satisfying in the latter case.

It also had Rydia, but my favourite waifu of this game was Cecil. He got me my shiny, ironclad knight fetish.

>>4474686
>cool options to solve your issues without grinding
Name 3

>>4474706
This desu.

Good luck getting Ashura, Leviathan, and Bahamut without grinding.

>>4474717
ashura and bahamut aren't that hard with reflect

>>4474729
What part of "good luck getting Ashura Leviathan and Bahamut without grinding" did you miss?

Reflect is high level White Magic from Rosa. You won't get it until you grind.

>>4474737
she gets it at level 36, that's not that high of a level, especially when you reach bahamut

>>4474706
>>4474717
Walk through the game normally and use your fucking consumables and gauge your resources. Classic Final Fantasy is about proper usage of your resources so that you don't wake up in the middle of a dungeon with a dick in your ass. I have no fucking clue what you mean about acquiring summons because I can't possibly fathom it being an issue to a player who simply explores stuff and gains XP from random battles happening to him, not seeking them out specifically to boost his level.

In particular Bahamut is an "endgame" enemy and yet he just falls apart to Reflect, which you should have on F-S-Y.

>>4474754
What makes you think I don't do this? I never grind in Final Fantasy. The Gold and EXP curves are not good. You -always- start to fall behind.

Stuff is too expensive. Enemies don't give you reasonable EXP. It's never enough to just traverse the dungeon, you'll have to intentionally fight extra battles to stay in shape for the rest of the game.

>proper use of resources.
You only need to do this in the NES ones. All the SNES ones onwards you have enough MP to heal through the entire dungeon without issues and still have enough MP to trash the boss.

>>4474615
>Of course they fucking do.
Yeah, nah. Start a new game then check your stat screen, grind a few levels and check it again. There will be no difference apart from HP/MP. Bahamut was a stupid example because I specifically excluded HP. Espers tied to normal stats provide flat stat ups on a level and are the only way to permanently increase those stats. Your strength, magic, evasion, defence stats will never go up natrually. Bit daft of you to accuse me of not knowing how the game works when the truth can easily be proven with a Google search.

>>4474615
You're mistaken. Espers and gear are the only ways to raise non-HP/MP stats on level. Vigor, Magic Power, Speed, and Stamina are all fixed. I think the system is shit because Magic Power is the only stat that manages to beat raw level in its respective damage formula, but what you're saying is objectively untrue.

>>4474717
I had no problem with any of those without grinding.

>>4466926
VII of course

II, VI, and IX are the worst.

>>4476294
>>4475908
HP/MP are the only stat that matters on level up. There is so much gear that increases your magic power, and vigor and whatever else that theres no need to do the esper level up bullshit. I didn't level a single person with Magic Attack+ and everyone's hitting Ultima's in the 4000-7000+ range.

The system is terrible, but FF6 is so piss easy that it wouldn't matter what the system was.

>>4464328
This boxart makes no sense to me, why is there a FF1 fighter, black mage and white mage?

Everything after the first was crap.

>>4474186
>Even though it's got the high tech stuff at the end,
Why is this always seen as a bad thing in later FF games?

Even FF1 had this. The floating castle is literally a space station.

>>4476354
>There is so much gear that increases your magic power, and vigor and whatever else that theres no need to do the esper level up bullshit. I didn't level a single person with Magic Attack+ and everyone's hitting Ultima's in the 4000-7000+ range.

COUNTERPOINT: One time I abused Esper bonuses so badly that I broke the damage algorithm and Relm's Ultima ended up doing 500-600 damage. This brought me more enjoyment than anything else in that playthrough, so I would say that Esper bonuses are pretty fucking important.

>>4464328
Mystic Quest

>>4476770
Why?

>>4476591
That can sometimes happen in normal play. I think the damage "cap" is around 32k

>>4476354
If you bothered to throw Zoneseek on Relm as soon as you got her she'd throw out 9k Ultimas at level 25.