/vr/ - Retro Games

>>5410895
I would go for VI if you want a story based one or V if you want a gameplay focused one. IX if you want something more modern.

VII is legit good but had aged poorly due to the horsehoof hand characters. There;s mods to make the graphics slightly more tolerable. Give it a shot for an hour or two, and if you don't like it you probably won't like the rest.

If you like SNES sprite based graphics, VI is a good start point too.

>>5410941
I couldn’t stand IX as a first one.

>>5410941
IX is not a good starting point.

Don't listen to these faggots >>5410953 >>5410959. Final Fantasy IX is the only good one on the playstation.

I is basic but playable. II is a good for its time. III is archaic as hell in its structure but playable. IV is decent in 2D, better in 3D. V is silly but has a neat class system. VI has a good story but broken systems. VII is a meme. VIII was never good. IX is excellent until the final boss. X is decent but falls short of its potential, X-2 has a fantastic job and battle system but is early 2000s fluff. XII is good, the Zodiac Job system version is great. XIII is better than you'd think but not an RPG, XIII-2 is worse but an RPG. XV is an abortion of a game.

6, 7, or 10. You'll miss some of the charm of 9 by having not played some previous FF games.

>>5410943
>aged poorly
>>>/v/

>>5410989
Don't listen this faggot, IX is a bland boring slog that will be the biggest waste of your time on the playstation

>>5410895
IX was my first and I really enjoyed it. But that was 15 years ago, maybe nowadays I wouldn't find it enjoyable.

VI, VII and X were the starting points into the franchise for different generations in the West.

>>5410953
>>5410959
I think it would be quite a good starting point. Certainly better than VII or VIII if he wanted something PS era to start. I still recommend V and VI over it but I think it's a fine option.

>>5410989
FFIX is a great game and my favorite one, but it's also a love letter to the games that came before it, chock full of references and various amounts of fanservice and nostalgia. Without familiarity with the series there's a certain endearing quality that's lost. Not that it's a bad game without that, a new player would just be missing out on an aspect of the presentation. That's why I wouldn't recommend it to someone who's new, because I'd want anyone to have the full experience.

Thanks /vr/, I will go for V and VI first because it seems to be the best choice for what I am looking right now

I am currently enjoying FF tactics at the moment so I will get around to your suggestions soon.

>>5411071
Fair enough, I get that. I think it's such a wonderful amalgam of the first four/five games that either way you play them you'd get that feeling of "oh, cool!".

>>5411005
You're alone in that boat.

>>5410989
IX didn't do anything special. The same reasons any other ps1 sucks are why the others would too.

Who told you XV was bad? Based on your previous sentences it seems you listen to others then repeat what they said.

>>5410895
ff15

>>5411165

I don't think you could have written a more succinct, quick post to reveal that no one should ever, ever listen to your opinion on anything. Thank you, i really respect that

>>5411045

>not I or IV

God damn millennials.

>>5411165
>Who told you XV was bad?
No one had to tell me, I have the ability to decide for myself what games are and aren't good.

> Based on your previous sentences it seems you listen to others then repeat what they said.
There are 15 games in that list and thousands of people each with their opinions, so it'd a pretty magical thing if mine was wholly unique.

>>5411165
IX not doing anything special is why I think it's a good first entry as opposed to VII or VIII. It provides a classic FF feel and I think is a good intro to the series.

IV is pretty good for being quite basic and easy, but still offers great music, fun characters, and a decent story.

IX is also good for being an amalgam homage to all the games before it. It's everything a Final Fantasy should be, and is the personal favorite of Hironobu Sakaguchi himself.

ff6 or ff4 (3d remake) to start. If you want to get right into it jump headfirst into ff7. Theres a lot of people ragging on that game these days, but ff7 is seriously a very good atmospheric game. Its outdated, but even a friend of mine that doesnt like rpgs gave that game a whirl a few years back and it hooked him instantly.

>>5410943
>graphics more tolerable
what the fuck? FF7 looks fine. This has to be a zoomer thing, they don't seem to put things in the context of when they came out. Also games don't age

>>5411184
Lol i would never recommend 1 for someone today who's never played the series. And 4 is just bad. I thought it was cool when i first played it (ff2 US) but then 6 came out and i never touched it again.

In my honest opinion 6 is the best one for someone new to the series. It's the smoothest, easiest, and fastest paced of the classic series with fun relatable characters and a great story. I've also found people who usually aren't fond of JRPGs tend to like FF6, at least those i've shown it to or have recommended it to.

>>5411563
Not him bit games, as with everything certainly do age. FFVII's non-batyle models always looked goofy to me as well, and I bought it new though I would never list it as a reason not to play it. I still say VI, V or IX though.

>>5410895
VII > 6 > ALL

Start with 4 and play 6 after if you have time

Or else start with 6

Don't listen to the autists who say 8.

>>5410941
V and VI are really good places to start. V if mechanics get you more excited, VI if you want story.

IX is a weird choice for modern, It's pretty mediocre overall in terms of both mechanics and story.

>>5410895
VII is a meme, if you want to play a way better game that came out at the same time, try Wild Arms.

>>5411142
no he isn't.
IX has an OK story and tone but the game itself is very fucking slow and tedious. It's a great game for the type of people who only play RPGs for the story and would just as soon play retarded carnival minigames than anything remotely resembling classic JRPG mechanics.

>>5411108
For God's sake don't start with 5.

5 is a sandbox, not a jrpg.

5 and 8 are the gameplay sandboxes.

Play 4.

>>5411598
5 is a fun game though, 4 is just a linear slog.

>>5411591
So in other words, it's a perfect introduction to the Final Fantasy series.

If you are a novice, start with an A tier.

>>5411607
Agreed. 4 blew my mind as a kid and I loved it for that reason for a long time, though obviously 6 supplanted it when that came out, I still had a fondness for the memories of 4. Replaying it nowadays, it was all nostalgia.

This question has been asked a thousand times, but here you go.
For absolutely no prior experience with the series: 5, 6, or 7
Avoid 2 and 8 like the plague.
Play the newer versions of 1 if you want a more traditional old-school experience. PS1 version if you want spell charges and moderate challenge, GBA/PSP if you want a little more side content, an easier experience, and a bit more modern MP system.
IV has tons of options and is one of the more story heavy games. Namingway edition or PS1 version if you want the most vanilla experience possible. PSP version if you want the most content and streamlined experience. DS if you want to shake it up and add a lot of challenge to the game.
Stick to the NES version of 3.
Try 2 if you're curious about how the SaGa series got its start. The NES one is as always buggy, the PS1 version fixes that but has some translation issues, and the GBA/PSP versions update it to be much more relaxed with absolutely no stat downs.

>>5410895
I recommend starting with the SNES version of IV because after the first 30-45 minutes or so you should have a very solid idea of the basic Final Fantasy gameplay formula. But IV, V, VI, and VII are core Final Fantasy and any of them are a fine choice.

>>5411612
lol
This is all over the place. X and XII being high are good, but then B tier is all super low shit except for XI, which probably that and XIV both should be bumped up at least one tier. II should never be that high if you've actually played it.

VIII and VII are clearly games you have nostalgia for, they aren't nearly as good as you remember.

XI and I are way too low as well

>>5411607
>>5411613
fucking uber plebs
4 is fantastic apart from a few minor/dated UI issues

>>5411598
>5 and 8 are the gameplay sandboxes

This is a pretty misleading way to describe those two. I get what you were trying to say, since they give you more flexibility with developing your characters, but at least with V you need to play a good chunk of the game for most the options to open up to you. Even Tactics would qualify more, since aside from the rigidity of the world and plot progression, you're offered a whole lot more potential options from the start, with minimal gating throughout.

>>5411609
Not in the fucking slightest.
The core gameplay of Final Fantasy is the exploration and combat. The SNES games, especially IV and V, dive right into it. The game introduces you to the mechanics in a quick, efficient manner and then you're off. The game proceeds at a quick pace. You explore, you fight lots of enemies, you gain levels, you get new weapons and abilities, and find new places where the plot advances. You'll repeat this cycle dozens of times after an hour of IV or V.

Final Fantasy IX is the complete fucking opposite of this. FFIX starts you with a long, elaborate plot sequence cutting between multiple different characters gradually escalating to the airship event in the forest, which is the first time you'll be able to even encounter random enemies (and probably won't). After the first 60 minutes of FFIX you'll have fought only a tiny handful of scripted encounters.

>>5411621
The story is really bland. There's some good points to it, but overall if you read a lot you'll find that IV isn't doing anything that interesting. The storytelling via game elements is very good.

But, the other big problem is that as >>5411607 said, it's very linear. You have very little choice in where to go and never affect the story in any way. It's like reading a book with occasional pauses for battles, and for the most part those get to be pretty boring because there's not a lot going on there mechanically.

>>5411636
>story
Is as good as it needs to be. In many ways it's better than VI, where the central narrative falls apart in order to focus on side quests for individual characters, few of whom are particularly well-developed. At least in FFIV, less developed supporting characters are just that: characters that support the main story, not little isolated mini-stories.

It's at least on par with V. Each has their strengths. IV is sincere while V has a light parody tone. IV is shorter, V is longer.

>Linear
>never affect the story in any way.
All the FF games are linear except for FFVI, and even VI is very linear until the WoR. And even then, you can never make any real meaningful decisions about the story anyway, that's the nature of the genre.

IV is not even all that linear. It's just a smaller game than FFVI and FFVII. There are several optional areas available at different points during the game, including Eblan Castle, Silvera, the two underworld dungeons (LOSM and Sylph Cave), and the Bahamut cave on the moon.

But for me, I don't hold "smaller" against the game. It just means I can play through and enjoy it in less time than it takes to play through V, VI, or VII. With the Free Enterprise hack, it's easy to play through in just a few hours.

>>5411621
4 is literally the only game in the series I dislike up to X where I stopped. Mechanics are boring, characters and story are boring.

>>5410895
>Which Final Fantasy would you recommend to someone who have almost zero experience with the franchise?
6 on SNES.
>Is VII legit good or is it just a meme?
It's good but not quite as good as 6.

>>5411670
> It's at least on par with V.
Sure, but V had a shitty story too. I love V, it's the final fantasy I've beaten the most times, but the story is not why that's a good game.

> All the FF games are linear except for FFVI
IV is linear in that you never have to do any exploring, or, like in V, grinding to get your characters to do cool stuff.In IV there's just the story and you follow it. And there's no party customization. Even without the WoR in VI, there's plenty of times you get to customize your party and even that isn't ever present in IV.

I'm not the hugest fan of III either, but at least the job system there gave you some manner of control over how your party worked mechanically.

>>5411621
Lol 4 is terrible dude. The characters are bad, the story is bad, and the battles are boring. The only thing it has going for it is the awesome boss battle music, probably one of the best tunes on the SNES.

>>5410895
IX was my first one so... that one!

>>5411563
based zoomer here, I've played enough retro games at this point to be almost immune to graphics. he's just a pleb.

>>5411563
>zoomer thing
I hated how it looked when it came out and i hate it now. I was never able to take anything seriously because it looked so damn goofy. I had the same feeling going from 7 to 8 than i did from 4 to 6. in six, i loved how the sprites weren't little dwarves anymore and had lots of expressive and fun movements. in 8 i loved that they looked like actual people. (Not that 8 was stellar, but it was at least much more visually appealing, which is half the 3d FF experience.)

>>5411612
Trash list.

>>5411715
The 3D version is better than the original, it's challenging and the skill system adds to the endgame.

The original feels like a NES game wearing a SNES suit, it's really nothing more complicated than the previous titles, in some ways it's simpler.

>>5411802
Eh i DID like the 3d version more, i'll agree with you there, but 4 is still 4 in the other regards. (They had pretty decent voice acting, which i honestly didn't expect.)

>>5411612
Fixed that for you.

>>5411867

FF9 is a terrible place to start because it's designed around nostalgia for the older games. It's also very slow paced.

FF7 is the best starting point because it's the only one with any real cultural impact. It has all the usual jarpig problems, but the story is at least ambitious, and the characters are iconic. There's no real reason to play more than one jarpig, so it might as well be the most important one. It's a bit like how you have to watch Evangelion if you're only going to watch one anime.

>>5411906
>FF7 is the best starting point because it's the only one with any real cultural impact.
This is literally the reason not to play it first. Don't be a nu-FF babby

>>5411802
>The original feels like a NES game wearing a SNES suit
I always get tripped up thinking IV was an NES game when I'm thinking about the series.

>>5411885
VIII is always ranked highest or lowest. I love how divisive it is.

>>5411932
Assuming you are not underage, or clinically retarded, the jarpig "gameplay" will become intolerable as soon as the novelty wears off. You can only fully enjoy one of them.

>>5411956
What's your favorite genre, anon?

>>5411956
Seconding this. >>5411956

>>5410895
VII is grossly overhyped. People who disagree overhype it... or, otherwise, undersell an otherwise competent game.

FF is surrounded by hype but it's not really great. Characters have a habit of being self-indulgent and whiny, plots have a habit of being atrociously predictable and the villains are usually unremarkable or too try-hard.

There are many different RPGs by many companies, including Square, that shit all over FF.


That being said, I'd start on the SNES or PS era games. Before gets archaic, after gets too nu-vidya.

play VI. literally everyone except the most contrarian of contrarians enjoys VI and finds it memorable. every other one will be mixed opinions.

>>5412290
This is actually a very wise post.

Best for first ff would be the nds remake of 4 or the GBA version of 6.

>>5412290
First half of VI is good by jarpig standards. Second half transforms into some shitty open-world exploration game, abandoning the only thing jarpigs are good at (linear storytelling).

>>5412502
And there's our super contrarian you were warned about.

Why is my White Mage so :fire:?

>>5412502
Lol

>>5411612
>X in S tier
/v/ is that way

>>5411612
>novice
do you even need skill tier to play those?

>>5410941
>recommending IX has an entry point to the series
That's a pretty horrible idea.

>>5412675
Aren't you missing an ー at the end of "ウォータ"?

>>5413262
You're welcome to that opinion.

>>5413270
Doesn't fit, 4 character limit.

>>5411598
OP here, upon another review of this thread maybe I will start with 4.

>>5411607
>>5411636
I really don't mind linear games as long as the gameplay is fine and/or the story keeps pushing the character on a road that make sense, open world games that are done bad (which is like 90% of them) often gives you the feeling that you don't have a real direction and diminish the plot's urgency.

>The storytelling via game elements is very good.
Never have a sentence sold a game for me more than this one, the last time I experienced a game like that is Nier: Automata.

>>5411970
>There are many different RPGs by many companies, including Square, that shit all over FF.

I have a lot of classic JRPG in my backlog and I am slowly getting through them, right now Valkyrie Profile and Romancing Saga are on the top of my JRPG backlog now.

I have a copy of Chrono Trigger available but I can't stomach Toriyama's artstyle, which was the biggest reason that turned me off of most of the entire DQ series in the first place.

DQM was pretty fucking good though.

>>5413310
>really don't mind linear games as long as the gameplay is fine and/or the story keeps pushing the character on a road that make sense
You are out of luck with IV then.
>The storytelling via game elements is very good.
If you want a SNES JRPG from Square that actually does it, you would find more luck with Live-a-Live and not any of the FF games.

>>5410895
>Is VII legit good or is it just a meme?
You can ask yourself the same question for the entire series, and the answer is yes, it's just a meme.

>>5413310
I would far rather have an open world game than a linear one but I can understand your perspective. The DS port of 4 was a little better but it's still my least favorite FF.

>>5412675
FF1 is so broken in so many ways, the weirdly lopsided characters are just a start.

>>5412502
Zoomer and/or emubabby detected. The game came with a two-sided map which gave you exactly the order to go for all locations.

>>5412675
>using MP like a pleb instead of the original DnD style spell use system

>>5413310
>can't stand the art style of the most successful and beloved manga artist
Contrarians these days.

>>5414301
Oh no, someone has a different preference from you, they must be a dishonest contrarian hipster! Get over yourself.

If you liked Final Fantasy 3, then I recommend going with 5 next. It's got an even more robust job system that's less restrictive than the DS version of 3. Also, there's dual job abilities. So for example, you can be a black mage with white magic, or a knight with black magic, a black mage who with summon, knight with monk abilities, etc. etc. It's really fun.

>>5411591
The beginning is annoying, but the combat is amazing. It's worth dealing with in order to get into the meat and potatoes of the game. I'd say IX is good for anyone, provided they're willing to withstand the boring beginning.

>>5413310
Story in V is not bad, neither are the characters. Actually they're pretty charming, it's just that dialogue is far and few between, and the story is not complex or compelling. It's basically just Exdeath attempting to destroy the world with the void. It's very much a classic Final Fantasy, and its gameplay is a straight upgrade from 3. People trying to steer you away from it are preventing you from experiencing a wonderful job system, intense boss battles, great dungeons. Don't let them scare you off from it.

Best retro ones are 4,6, and 7.

I'm partial to 4, but most of the world thinks 6 and 7 are truly the peak.

10 is good too and some people like 8.

>>5414337
It's a good game. Not 4 or 6 level, but a HUGE improvement over 1,2 and 3. It was a shame it never got a good remake.

>>5410895
7 is honestly an easy starting place. It's "overrated", but that's mostly because people keep saying shit like it's the greatest game of all time. It's not, but it's still pretty damn good.

6 is also a pretty decent starting point.
anyone saying start with 8 is an ass

>>5411759
I constantly wish 8 was a better game, because god damn, it's stylish.

Not Retro (Around here, at least), but you should start with X

>>5414309
What does dishonesty have to do with contrarianism?

>>5414860
Step 1. Get rid of auto-leveling.

I hated that so badly.

>>5414309
>from me
>from over a billion people

>>5410895
Mystic quest.

>>5410895
If you enjoyed ff3 on the ds then youd also love 4 on the ds. It's the only classic game (before 10) with voice acting. You cant change classes so the strategy is a little weaker than 3, but it's quite a bit harder than the original so it's not just visually nice it's also challenging for an ff game.

Tactics is amazing too, and theres a tactics game in the ds, tactics A2 that is a faster game overall but still a lot of depth (not as hard as the ps1 classic tho).

Everyone's recommendations are all over the place, and their not wrong, the whole catalog is quality games, but if you liked the art style of 3 (DS) and CC then 4 (DS) would easily be your next choice.

>>5411590
>VII is a meme, if you want to play a way better game that came out at the same time, try Wild Arms.
This man is a dirty liar. Wild ARMs is the worst RPG I've ever played. It makes Dragon Quest VI look like Chrono Trigger.

Also FFVII is amazing if you can appreciate how it used novel technological innovations, unironic 90's edgy storytelling, and perfectly integrated a jRPG with the then-contemporary pop culture. If you absolutely insist on taking everything it did for granted, go play some zero-ambition, bargain-bin, copy-pasta RPG that you'll play for 5 hours, 5 hours of your life that you'll never get back, before tossing it into the garbage, see: Wild ARMs.

>>5415375
>the worst RPG I've ever played

t. someone who hasn't played a lot of RPGs.

Like, can you even expect people to take you seriously if Wild Arms is the low point in RPGs you've played? Not to mention trying to create some sort of strife between DQIV and Chrono Trigger, also both fantastic games.

Please play more RPGs and learn to apply some critical thinking to the media you consume. You enjoy it = good / You did not enjoy it = bad seems to be the level you're operating at right now.

>>5415384
>IV
>VI
>being literate

>>5410895
Play IV or I. Both have simple but appealing stories and rewarding gameplay.

>>5415451
Oops. Well everything post IV sucked for a long time. 8 was "okay," but still not really a DQ game. XI was going back to III, so it was fine.

>>5415676

>>5415915
Of the 4(four!) NES DQ games, III was clearly the best one. 1 had charm for it's time, but it was just a huge boring grind. (I still love it) DQ2 tried to add a little story, which was nice, also the grind really, really sucked. (remakes fixed this) IV went all-in on characters and story. It did some interesting things, but none of these games stood up to III. Each new town was it's own little self-contained story, you had a party of endless combinations of classes that YOU got to pick. None of this premade bullshit. Leave that to the Final Fantasies. III was peak DQ and was finally doing what the series set out to do, emulate early Ultima / Wizardry games, but with a JP spin. Everything post IV went all-in on trying to tell stories and it just wasn't DQ any more.

>>5415926
You're just wrong, your opinion is wrong and bad. It's my favourite game series and refuse to listen to anyone but myself on this.

DQI; Archaic but a classic
DQII; Well balanced and challenging, save for Rhone
DQIII; Really good with a lot of replayability
DQIV; Charming, simple, and well balanced
DQV; Innovative, challenging and well balanced
DQVI; Not that good
DQVII; A tad too grindy and long but charming
DQVIII; Charming, pretty, balanced, and just an excellent game
DQIX; Better than VI but not great
DQXI; Charming, very balanced, challenging, post-game is fantastic, just an excellent game

>>5415970
>your opinion is wrong and bad.
My opinion and yours match up for I-IV+XI, so I guess congrats on the self-own?

>>5416019
IX, not XI. Some days I just cannot into roman numerals.

> I want to start with 2D
6.

> I want to start with 3D
7.

Everyone has opinions and each one in the series has its strengths and weaknesses, but if we're keeping it /vr/ related, I don't see how this is controversial. They may or not be "the best" (all art is subjective) but if you want to know what Final Fantasy is, then these are the only two starter choices.

>>5416034
>that list
Okay, leaving off Great Greed, Sword of Hope, and the 3 Wizardry Gaiden games is pretty bad. I like that Magic Candle is on the NES list, but it's missing Chaos World, Deep Dungeon IV, and Lagrange Point.


As for starting with 6 and 7, I think I'd definitely add that on the 2d side if story is more important to a person, they should start with 6, but if they're more interested in mechanics, then 5 is a better choice.

For 3d games, the delineator should probably be graphics. If graphics are important to a person, then they probably should start with X, but if they don't care, then 7 isn't a bad choice. Not the one I'd necessary recommend, but it's not like it's a bad game. (Summon length notwithstanding)

>>5415970
You have got to play X, man. Learn some Japanese and start playing the greatest mmo of all time.

>>5416050
This list that I also did not make at least has Lagrange Point.

>>5415676
>V and VII and IX are bad
Yeah... Crackhead detected.

>>5416102
That list is shit as fuck.

>>5416102
Is grandia for the gbc any good?

>>5416336
No. Play Star Ocean instead.

>>5410941
V sucks.

>>5411045
>be a YouTube watching zoomer
>really believe no one played RPGs until FFVII
Plenty of us started this series at I, you underage, syphilitic faggot.

>>5416379
He meant of generations still living.

>>5416391
That was hilarious. You must be over 18 to post on this website.

>>5410895
My first FF was VII and I loved it. After that I played VIII (still my favorite game in the series), IX, X, XII, IV, VI and XIII in that order.
I think FF VII is the perfect starting point.
Don't listen to people who say you should skip VIII. All the 3 PS1 FFs are absolute gems with great production values and soul that deserve to be played.
They are probably the strongest videogame trilogy ever made.

>>5410895
Honestly, even though it's one of my least-favorite Final Fantasies, 4 is a great starting point. It's very linear in regards to party progression, compared to something like 5 which, while being my favorite, gives you a ton more options and might be intimidating to someone new with the genre (I'm assuming you aren't a big RPG veteran who just happens to have not played FF). If you do play 4, don't play the SNES version though; the SNES version, while having a very charming localization (if extremely unconcerned on being accurate with the original script), actually removed a lot of gameplay features, taking out spells and special attacks for almost every character in the game thinking they were too complicated for the west (they are not, and it makes an already simple game even simpler). Play one of the non-DS ports of the game, e.g. the GBA or PSP port.

>>5416034
>if you want to know what Final Fantasy is, then these are the only two starter choices.
I disagree with that. If somebody really, REALLY wants to properly get into a series as their top priority, then the absolute best way is release order. Release order of course often means you'll play some potentially shitty games that people otherwise would have told you to skip, but it gives you the full, uncut experience (or as close to that as you can get without living in Japan as the games were being released).
Personally I wouldn't tell someone they HAVE to play a game in release order no matter what, mainly because the kind of person who would want to do such a thing already probably knows they want to do it, but it's certainly viable.

>>5411005
>>5410989
Dont listen to either of these homos, IX is just okay.

>>5416102
>Crystal without Red/Blue first
Crystal is the better game but half the enjoyment of it comes from it being a direct sequel and seeing how things changed since the first game. I think you're robbing yourself if you play the Gen 2 games before Gen 1.

>>5416425
>didn't play 1 or 3
Your opinion is :poop:.

>>5416465
And not the remakes either.

>>5416260
>IX are bad
>what is reading comprehension >>5416025

>>5410895
Don't recommend FFX. The sphere grid is confusing as fuck even to someone who's played FF games before but the game itself is on rails. Also the first 10 hours is hand holding tutorial shit and "run down this straight corridor to the next save point".
I'd say 8, simple enough mechanics and leveling system means they literally can't fuck up, but the open world will give them a good sense of freedom.

>>5417153
No. FF8 is really boring and a terrible intro to the series, just the drwing mechanic and junctioning discourages use of magic so you get to keep your stats. The best/only strategy is spamming attacks and aura.

>>5417185
Everyone says that about FF8 and magic but with the abundance of it and draw/cast I used magic more in it than most FFs.
I do agree It's a bad entry to the series though and it might have the worst plot of all of them. I love the systems though.

>>5417185
FF8 also has the terrible "monsters level up with you" mechanic so it never feels like mechanically you're making any progress at all.

>>5416034
>>5416102
More people should play Metal Walker

>>5417231
That's one of my favorite things about it. I wish more games did something like that or at least have low level enemies still pose a threat.

>>5416709
Nine was great.

>>5417252
Yes, that's what I was saying.

Square re-released every game so you could start with one and play them in the right order and everything will be coherent item and spell name wise. DQ went even further with this, with items that recur throughout every game of the series.

>>5410895
Final Fantasy VII is a great game. It's only looked down upon because of the fan base that came later and after that horrible Advent Children "movie". That brought in a bunch of idiots. It wasn't an overrated game when I was playing it new, most people never played it that I talked to. It was a niche game. Most people still haven't really played it, it became a meme. I see Final Fantasy IX all the time, and I do not understand the massive fan base for that game. I got that game new as well and I liked it, but playing it now is a chore. I beat it at least 3 times. It's overrated and is like a Disney movie. While Final Fantasy VII remains one of my favorite games ever and I have beaten it many times. It holds a personal nostalgia for me that no game could top, really.

All these people who are stating that people you stay away and not play Final Fantasy VIII has very bad taste. Final Fantasy VIII is honestly in the top 3 in the entire series.

>>5417323
A bad thing about FFVII to me is that Midgar takes forever and is boring as fuck all when you've played that part of the game more than a handful of times.

>>5417323
Lol, but I liked advent children :D

>>5417372
It's a mixed bag for me. On one hand, the confined and kind of ugly first section of the game makes you feel really free once you break out and start exploring the actual world.

On the other hand theres no reason it had to be so long, they could have cut that in half, cause multiple playthroughs for me have stopped after midgar cause they get you used to this one type of gameplay and then throw it out the door. Same problem in 13, the game would have been better if they stuck to super liner the whole way or let you access open world like 10 hours earlier.

>>5416034
The PS1 list excludes Grandia. Am I supposed to take this seriously?

>>5410895
7 or tactics.
1-3 are pure shit. Brainless generic trash with nothing special about them. 4 and 5 were good for their time. 6 is actually good but 7-10 are better. 6-10 plus tactics are the only good final fantasies.

>>5410994
Nah. I played it after 7 and 8. Loved it.

>>5411108
5 sucks ass.

>>5417716
This.

>>5417708
>generic
That's what makes them so good. FF "characters" are gay as fuck.

>>5417434
Yeah that was my first inkling about it too

>>5417727
This is exactly the reason I've gone back to 1 and 3 the most. They have the least writing and minimal story, but that also means the least dumb writing/story in them as well. Some people like some characters or plots in some of the games, but then dislike the ones in others. Cant go wrong when theres no characters to dislike at all xD

>>5417434
Yeah, and that's not even mentioning some of the other solid RPGs (or SRPGs, which is odd because Uncharted Waters is included) on the system:
Legend of Legaia
Legend of Mana
Guardian's Crusade
Final Fantasy Tactics
Tactics Ogre
Jade Cocoon
Vandal Hearts
Kartia
Tales of etc.
Azure Dreams
Just about anyone who enjoys PSX RPGs would like at least one of these.

>>5417716
V is the best game in the series.

>>5415970
I agree with you on the games I've played, so I'll trust you on this. What in particular about V would you say stands out the most and how should I go about playing it?

>>5413248
The idea that there exists 'advanced' JRPGs is a meme perpetuated by core fans of then genre. In reality the most advanced skill even the most complex of them require is knowing where to get the best items to boost your stats the most.

>>5418000

>>5410895
>I have some spare change from a PSN store
I noticed this part of the OP comment I have to add something
Do NOT play ANY of the PSX ports of the SNES Final Fantasy games. They're all borderline unplayable. Long load times, weird glitches not present in the original, FFV ruined with a bizarre and nonsensical translation... if you're restricted to PSN, just get FFVII.

>>5417727
Spot on.

>>5417434
It is a very old version of this list (Too big for 4chan until I make some changes).

https://serving.photos.photobox.com/337815328af07002c8458f592e67e8a3358346f9a7729e5a9c6f375217a91c8c1f10873a.jpg

>>5410895
FFVII > FFIX >>>>> FFVI > FFXII > FFX > the rest.

FFVIII has a VERY, VERY good first disc (it has 4).
After the first disc it becomes fucking horrible. Like, really, really bad. The story becomes nothing halfway through disc 2.

FF11 was based as fuck, but is online so completely different game.

>>5417153
>The sphere grid is confusing as fuck

How?

If you've never touched one ever before might as well go through them all in release order.

>>5418362
ty for your service

>>5410895

Glad I grew out of final fantasy. Tbh it's always been shit. Dragonquest or the Shin Megami Tensei series are way superior.

>>5414337
The fact that the villain's name is Exdeath, and most of his dialogue is a cheesy evil laugh, is by far my favorite thing about this game.
>inb4 "Exodes"

>>5411682
>4 is literally the only game in the series I dislike up to X where I stopped
Still pleb taste. IV has the best battle mechanics in the series up through 10, although V is also decent.

The battle system in VI appears more polished and supports a large ability list, which pleases the plebs. But it's a fucking mess to play. Defense-piercing abilities are unbalanced, magic is too strong, offensive potential is way too high relative to the maximum possible HP of the enemies, the evade stat is broken, "Fight" is rarely the best ability to use thus weapon choice rarely matters. And that's before you get into the broken Esper stat bonuses, overpowered equipment (eg elemental shields), and ease of obtaining the game's ultimate damage spell.

FFVII fixes some of this but also reduces party size and typical number of enemies per encounter, and adds the limit break mechanic to make combat even easier and require less thought than it already does.

FFIX nerfs limit breaks and adds a party member, but misses the mark with the passive abilities, which lead to a far too tedious rock/paper/scissors dynamic. FFIX's combat also has shit pacing.

>>5411714
>IV is linear in that you never have to do any exploring
You don't have to explore in any Final Fantasy game, though. There's not substantially more places to explore in FFVI(pre WoR) than FFIV. VI has a slightly bigger world, that's the only difference. You can go to Tzen and Maranda optionally. You can get Mog Water Rondo. There's the auction house in Jidoor that opens up at one point, you can revisit there. There's triangle island. That's about it. Everything else is just linear going from one place to the next.
>customize your party
Fun, but overrated. It's not the only thing that matters in an RPG.

>>5418383
I can kinda agree with that list, and only cause I can change my viewpoint on your standards, which are clearly story (and characters) above all else in an ff. I didnt like 7 gameplay compared to earlier titles, but its story more than makes up for it, when people say 7 is overrated I think they are thinking of other aspects of the game, the story is great. Only difference is I'd put 12 two spaces higher. I'm a sucker for voice acting, and 12 had the best world I've played in an ff, no other world compared to the detail of 12 (if you like lore the bestiary is amazing). Also for chatacters, Balthier/Fran/Ashe are leagues better than what the rest of the series delivered.

I think I'm also biased to voice acting, I'll go back to 12s story for the voice acting, same reason grandia is so great to me, hearing voices just changes a lot of the emotional investment. But it's not a perfect game, for all the good characters you have to listen to Vaan and Penelo, some of the absolute worst. And the writers changed hands 2/3rds through the story and it kind of shows as the ending isnt as good as beginning and middle. However the judges are 10/10 and the scenes with them are fantastic. I'd love more non villains (again like grandia), just people in an opposing country/force having to face you (except for like 2 actually bad judges).

>>5416435
>actually removed a lot of gameplay features, taking out spells and special attacks for almost every character in the game.
In most cases the abilities are a non-factor. The big one is probably Yang's focus ability and Palom's bluff. The rest are pretty useless. The big changes are the items, some of which make a significant difference (eg Bacchus wines and StarVeils) while others are just tedious (the single-status curative items).
> thinking they were too complicated for the west (they are not, and it makes an already simple game even simpler)
I'm willing to guess it was a desire to simplify the localization either to cut costs or release on time. They also may have gotten feedback from the Japanese release and made decisions based on that.

Also, it should be noted that "too complicated for 'the west'" does mean for "the supposed target audience for this game." In other words, they were aiming at kids who hadn't played FFII and FFIII, and maybe hadn't even played FFI, and therefore weren't familiar with the franchise or genre conventions.

But I will say that the SNES version is great if you can patch the items. Alternately you can play a translated version of the Super Famicom version. If you're at all interested in the authentic experience those are the two to play. Tastes vary but for me, the original graphics, animations, sound effects, combat pacing and general flow of the game are some of the best things about FFIV and none of the remakes quite get it right. I guess the other big thing missing from the SNES/SFC version is that the walk speed is a bit slow. It's balanced for the size of the world so it's not quite as bad as it sounds, but by modern standards it still just feels slow. That can be a big deal for some.

>>5418639
Damn, Anon. Broken English and lousy composition aside, you've managed to put in words something I'd never considered. Can't imagine what it's like to go from FF to DQ instead of vice versa. I had played all of the Dragon Warrior games by the time I played FFII.

>>5418909
Idk the SNES just looks like the weakest entry by far for IV. Games like I and III still have this nostalgic 8 bit appeal to then if you want the original over remakes, but IV should have come out on the NES cause it just looks really bad on the SNES. Just compare it to V or VI, you wouldn't think they came out on the same console. When I played the GBA and psp ports, I felt like I was playing what the game originally wanted to look like: still close to V and VI standards of graphics while still capturing the fell of the characters and world. Even the ds version has the much needed difficulty upscaling, a lot of people say IV is too boring but with ds difficulty and added skills it's really fun. But even if you dont want the added skills or great voice acting of ds, just the gba/psp does a better job looking like a SNES game than original.

>>5410895
VI or VII depending on which looks more interesting to you. Then choose between IV, V, VIII and IX. IV through IX are all great in my opinion.

>>5417229
It's still exceedingly boring to draw and refine cards into magic, it's just not fun.

>>5417231
I think the problem comes in that there is no effective level cap for enemies, so you'll be fighting those same fish from the start just like you did 40 hours ago. If the level range was something like 1~10 , with tough enemies having a higher base level.

>>5417323
FFVII has some really cool story beats, especially the first Midgar portion. it's just that is then falls flat and switches gears to be about Cloud's morose memory madness. As a whole the plot reads like My Chemical Romance fan-fiction.
Then the story picks up again to be about the world dying but at that point you're not fighting against a man and his body-horror tag alongs, you're fighting a one winged angel in a crater that has within it the christian heaven...

The gameplay has some neat ideas with the materia but it's ultimately a wasted system with the various materia being different versions of the same damage and cure magic, double~y so after you get the Limit breaks which deal N*9999 damage, making that the only strategy. There are a number of characters but they're all functionally identical, they're just blobs to attach numbers to, well except for Tifa who's Limit break is the only different one... outside of Vincent's useless transformations.

It's not all bad of course it's just very "I'm 13 and this is cool" with slapdash mechanics and a really poor presentation even for the time. Midgar is fun though, it's a really cool portion, shame the gameplay doesn't pick up until disc 2.

>>5414337
Not that it's a bad thing. If anything, it feels like a fully-realized version of FFI and FFIII that's no longer limited by 8 bits.

If anyone didn't need further proof this game's way easier than the NES version, it would take like ten hours to git gud enough to get the Crown. Also, I CAN SAVE RIGHT THERE.

>>5419140
Lol, while y'all are helping OP decide on which game is the best entry to start with, I've beaten FF I and am a quarter of the way through a replay of the game (in English this time).

FF1.

It's the most straight-forward FF game, and will give an absolute beginner just a taste of what the franchise has to offer, to see if they're interested or not.

>>5419009
>but IV should have come out on the NES cause it just looks really bad on the SNES. Just compare it to V or VI
>a 1991 SNES game looks worse than 1992 and 1994 SNES games

wow what a shocking revelation

>>5419230
Except that's not my point. I'm not arguing series cant look drastically better within a single console lifetime, like oblivion to skyrim on ps3/360 or an even more stark contrast with zone of the enders on ps2. My point is that IV is rough looking in 16 bit, it would have been a better fit in 8 bit for what they were going for at the time. Though idk if the nes could handle the active time battle well, but the abilities and magic were a downgrade from III if anything so at the very least if they stayed turn based it definitely was doable on the nes. My argument is for gba/psp over the original, as the remakes do a really fantastic job with 16 bit, so the appeal for "nostalgic 16 bit graphics" isnt even there with the original when the remakes even do that better. I could see that as an argument against 3d ds/iOS port, but theres just nothing the original has over gba/psp.

>>5419227
>a taste of what the franchise has to offer
Only the mentally defective play JRPGs for the "gameplay". The point of the genre is storytelling, and the first one with a non-trash story is FF6 (at least until the World of Ruin section). FF6 and FF7 are the only reasonable choices.

>>5419659
You're trying too hard.

>>5419659
Wrong.

>>5410895

FF7
FFT
FF10.

>>5419659
If jrpg gameplay never clicks for you, then that's your taste, not the drawbacks of the genre. 1, 3, and 5 all have more enjoyable gameplay than 6. Yeah their story is as minimalistic as you can get, but we play those for the gameplay, the story knows it, and it knows to gets out of the way for focus on gameplay (at least more so in 1 and 3 than 5). 6 is more story focused like 4, and that's not a bad thing, it just depends on what your looking for in an FF.

>>5418958
>Can't imagine what it's like to go from FF to DQ instead of vice versa

My experience concurs with the other anon. DQ as a whole is vastly superior to FF in general gameplay wise. The games really want you to explore and think about what you are doing and are just more satisfying on a moment to moment basis.

>>5419978
Yeah, I prefer the DQ games as well. It's funny to hear zoomers call it generic or derivative when the game essentially created the genre. If you [actually] play the [original] games, you'll notice every game expands and improves on the so-called "generic" JRPG combat system. I think I was pointing out I only played FFII after playing the first four DW games. I was kinda upset we never got the SNES games, but I got into emulation in 9th grade and was able to replay all the shit I'd rented and never completed as a kid, which held me over 'til playable (to a dumb teenburger) translations of those games came out. I did buy Dragon Warrior VII when it came out. Sunk 160 hours into it and never beat it. Didn't even grind all that much. Monsters in that floating tower would wreck my shit. I never found out what happened to that memory card...

>>5420169
>you'll notice every game expands and improves on the so-called "generic" JRPG combat system

That's the thing. DQ is constantly refining the systems it has. FF on the other hand dumps everything it tries and swaps it out for a new set of gimmicks every other game, so it's constantly in experimental mode and never bothers to take what worked before while fixing the problems with it.

>>5418958
>Can't imagine what it's like to go from FF to DQ instead of vice versa
I've played through FF1-6 and then decided to try Dragon Quest before going any further, playing the GBC ports of them. Played 1 and 2, started 3 but then got distracted (I am definitely going to go back and actually play it though because I was impressed with the little I did play). 1 is so barebones it's actually cute; I had fun with it but it was mostly just curiosity. 2 was kind of similar, with some moments of frustration (namely the long fetch quest at the beginning to find the prince), but I was sincerely impressed by the scale of the world, it rivals FF3. This made some later parts of the game tedious though, especially with how large the oceans are.
One thing I took away from all the DQ games I tried, though, was it seems to have a pretty consistent focus on making the worlds believable even if there isn't much in them. There seemed to be quite a few little touches that didn't strictly need to be there for the game to function but which improved the experience by just making things believable. I liked how both of the first two games let you revisit all the towns and all the important NPCs had new dialogue, and the way the third game just lets you blow off the king if you feel like it. I imagine if the games continue in that direction of fleshing out the worlds and acknowledging the player's choices, even if only through dialogue (another example I didn't experience in my playthrough but heard about afterward was being able to ignore the princess or just never take her back to the castle and bring her to Dracolord in DQ1), then I could see myself really getting into later games.

>>5419843
Calculator racing objectively a better game than the JRPG menu selection "game":
Enter "1+" on a calculator. Find a competitor and have them enter "1+" on their own calculator. The most popular event in calculator racing is the 100 meter race. Simply mash the "=" button until you reach 100. First to 100 wins. If you are sufficiently hardcore you could try the 5K or even 10K race.

Calculator racing requires more skill than any traditional JRPG ever made.

>>5419009
>IV should have come out on the NES
Anon, the NES was BARELY able to handle III. I think you're too harsh on it graphically, I think it was still a big step up in certain audiovisual aspects from the NES games, they were just still getting used to the system.

>>5420264
>the first two games let you revisit all the towns and all the important NPCs had new dialogue

Yes, DQ is full of stuff like that and is generally designed to reward you for going back to places you've visited before. This is something FF tends to leave to its endgame at most.

>Playing FF when Dual Orb 2 exists

Shit taste

>>5420267
Lol, who brought up skill? Jrpgs are half about planning and grinding in a game is seeing that plan come to fruition. Like how original dnd your spend a lot of time outside sessions planning your character, but with jrpgs is obv a much smaller and simpler scale. This point doesnt make much sense compared to other video games either, most games dont take much skill, and can be beaten by kids. Platformers, shooters, racing games, a bulk of the games out there dont really require much skill. Even difficult classics, like castlevania gets pretty easy once you get the jump timing down, and ninja gaiden may seem daunting with the fast controls and enemies, but then halfway through the game you start to learn its memorizing enemy spawns more than fast reaction times. Then theres fighting games/shmups/rts games, and those have a much higher skill ceiling and a big crowd of hardcore fans trying to master them, but the vast majority of games don't need much skill, that's just a weak point to talk down to jrpgs to act like 'your games' are superior because their only slightly more difficult to beat.

>>5420264
That actually sounds pretty fun. I missed most jrpgs on the gbc as a kid (aside from pokemon, cause in the late 90s what kid Could avoid those games). But on the 3ds library I keep scrolling by dragon quest in their gbc selection and I'm always tempted to get it. I mostly use my 3ds as a glorified gbc emulator, and I've come across games like lufia through the store, and while I emulate on my phone all the time I dont mind giving nintendo a few bucks to let them know this product still has interest decades later. This thread has convinced me to go back and actually get dq3 now, but would it be a crime skipping 1 and 2?

>>5420432
>would it be a crime skipping 1 and 2
Maybe? I mean they're decent-to-good on their own, but DQ1-3 are a trilogy and 3 is actually a prequel to 1 and 2 (1 and 2 are about the descendants of this specific hero, 3 is you playing the story of said hero). I don't know how important the events of the first two are to the third though since as I said I didn't get far at all into 3.

>>5420271
Yeah your probably right, I'm probably being too harsh on it. I'm a sucker for 8 but graphics, like III looks better than og IV to me cause it was in a format that still looks really good. I guess I'm also harsher on 16 bit than 8, cause I really like the chibi graphics that were so popular at the time, like the whole Lufia series is some of my favorite look on the snes, but I also like V and VI how they took the cute look but added a little more detail. I cant discredit the audio of IV though, every version has that fantastic soundtrack, that's some of the best in gaming, maybe not VI or chrono cross level, but still up there. And I'm not trying to bash the game either, I adore IV, I'm just taking a hard stance towards the later ports over the original.

>>5420439
Oh that's really good to know, I didnt know DQ followed a continual story at all. I just figured it was like FF and every title is a separate story/adventure. Still only heard good things about DQ, but knowing it's a trilogy to start, now I definitely want to play them in order.

>>5420461
Yeah, I will tell you that 2 is absolutely made better if you had already played 1, it has a lot of callbacks to DQ1. To my understanding the games after 3 aren't directly related but supposedly there are still a lot of callbacks and implied links between the games. The main modern examples I know of is Dragon Quest Builders being an alternate timeline spun from the bad end of Dragon Quest 1.

>>5420507
Oh that's sick. See when I first read "callbacks" I assume it's what I'm used to in FF with chocobos and Shiva and a Cid being in all the games, not actually continuing timelines.

>>5420264
You should have played 3, which is the best DQ.

>>5416060
>just learn japanese bro
This guy

>>5418615
Y-you too anon.

>>5420674
Not at all difficult, and I'd recommend it to anyone who says DQ is their favorite series.

>>5420674
If you learn Japanese just for Anime or Video Games then you have some series problems. Japan has more to offer than just shallow pop culture.

>>5421139
>learn jap
>not at all difficult

>>5421171
It's easier to learn Japanese by playing games and reading manga than directly jumping into Genji Monogatari.

>>5418615
Y-you too anon.

>>5419009
>Idk the SNES just looks like the weakest entry by far for IV.
It's not. You might be able to find some static images that look better due to higher resolution/fidelity, but in motion, the GBA ports look like absolute garbage and sound is even worse.

The PSP port is at least competent, unlike the garbage GBA ports. I wouldn't blame someone for preferring it, but I still think the original has more soul. The original feels like it was made by passionate artists pushing the boundaries of the medium to give players new and exciting experiences. The PSP feels like it was made to industry standard from a blueprint.

>I felt like I was playing what the game originally wanted to look like
Not to me. Even little things like the physical attack animations feel off.

>the ds version
The DS version is really a ground-up remake and hard to compare. I always recommend to play the SNES/SFC version first and then the DS version. Both are good in their own way.

>>5421817
I'd defend the psp against being soulless by noting the post game was made with care and actually really satisfying to finish. If it was a totally by the numbers team any post game would have leaned more to being tacked on than made well. But the problem is the psp post game is just ripped from the gba post game, so I cant really make that argument.

Also the gba has a weaker graphics processor and also a weaker sound processor than the SNES. So what your noting of the animation and sound being a little weaker than the original is accurate due to limitations of the hardware, but I guess I care about sprites and design a lot more.

>>5421817
If you're gonna recommend non-/vr/ games at least recommend mobile/PC version, because DS resolution is a shit.

>>5410895

God tier are:
4, 5, 6, 7, 8

The rest are not worth wasting time on. Just played 9 and it was really one of the worst RPGs I've ever played

>>5421989
>I hate a game which is identical to other games which I love.
I think you got brain problems, m8

>>5410895
I played FF8 first and I thought that it was a good entry point. Not everybody will like classic FF. Like FF1-6. 1-5 gets incredibly repetitive. that turns the casual cuck off.

>>5418010
Monster taming and generations system, and last and least a superboss. While not especially innovative for today, it was when the game came out in 1992.
The PS2 version is my personal fave, but all versions are fine, SNES version is most difficult, and DS version has new monsters.

>>5421965
You can emulate the DS at higher resolutions.

>>5411956
imagine wasting your time shitposting about japanese rpg games on a videogame board

9 was the first game i ever bought, it was my introduction to fantasy as a genre and it blew my mind. i was so attached to the characters, setting and aesthetic of the game. The dialogue didnt dump stupid amounts of fudged information/psudoscience/magic, instead it developed the characters, it showed you their motivations, concerns etc.

ff9, like many old games was solid, but going back to it today may be lackluster

ff10 is my second favorite because of all the voice acting and the interesting mix of past and present in the same timeline. it is very polished and paces well, but it doesnt leave as much to the imagination as ff9, its more relatable to normies

>>5414860

>wish 8 was a better game
>one of the best in the series

C'mon man.