/vr/ - Retro Games

Just play the original version of each. Squaresoft don't know how to port anything without fucking something or another up. And don't listen to any idiot who claims you should play GBA ports with butchered audio and 1/10th of the screen cut off.

FF Dawn of Souls is good enough for the first two.

>>6009737
I wish somebody would make a hack putting Dragon's Den and the GBA extras into the SNES FFVI. The patches for making the audio and sound more like the SNES version make up for it partially, but it's not quite the same.

PSX version of FF1

>>6009732
Is it true that FF1 version for NES had many spells broken? If so, how do I play it the way it was intended / people enjoy the most?

https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1631/
Play the NES version of FF1 with this patch. It fixes the all the broken shit

>>6009732
Psp version of final fantasy 1, 2 and 4 have the best graphics and music and contain bugfixes and aditional content. I would play these. PPSSPP is the emulator to use.

Any of the mobile-ports worth it?

>>6009851
And alters other shit, for better and for worse.

I just want a NES FFI patch with the bug fixes and nothing else. No altered graphics, no changed text, no nothing.

>>6009865
PPSSPP has android port.

>>6009865
Square enix games force you to be connected to internet which is shit move. Dont bother with the mobile ports. Aso the graphics looklike shit compared to psp version.

>>6009869
>I just want a NES FFI patch with the bug fixes and nothing else
ps1?

>>6009869
>swaps the graphics back to the Japanese release
>makes the story slightly more coherent
god forbid

I played the ff4 psp version and it was kinda shit and much easier than the SNES version

>>6009884
I liked it.

>>6009876
To be fair, the US Beholder was better than the Japan design.

>>6009732
>FF1
GBA or PS1, PSP is fine but locked on easy modo

>FF2
don't bother, FF2 is shit

>FF3
less shit than 2 but eh, it is ok on PSP

>FF 4
Yeah, PSP again, that one is actually THE definetive version of FF4.

>FF5
GBA or SNES, your pick. The first one extra content but worse music than the original.

>FF6
see above

>>6009876
I'll accept de-censoring (though with keeping the US Beholder which I find better than Japan's), but nothing else.

>>6009876
If I wanted the Japanese graphics I'd play the Japanese version. There should be a patch to fix the bugs and leave everything else exactly like I remember.

>>6009732
I&II: PSX on your PSP for the lulz
III: Doesn't matter, just pick one, probably PSP
IV: PSP
V: Fan translation of SNES, GBA looks and sounds shit
VI: SNES with translation patches if you so prefer, GBA looks and sounds shit

>>6009823
PSX version works for that, and yes, a large amount of spells and stats simply did not function in FF1. The game was a mess.

>>6009915
The IV DS is that bad ?

>>6010040
It looks like shit

>>6009792
the extras are pretty crappy anyway. I played the GBA version and felt cheated. I'll never touch it again if I ever replay FFVI.

>>6010040
It's a great game that plays nothing like FFIV.

>>6009732
FF3 is the only one whose remake actually improves on the original game. It shifts the difficulty towards bosses though, which is something you might not like if you prefer classical RPGs.

>>6009732

1/2
>Original game balance / GFX update
WSC
PS1
>Better translation, but dumbed down
PSP

3
>Original
NES + DS revised script port
>3D Remake that's its own thing
PSP (avoid PC, omits content)

4
>Original version w/ better localization & gfx
PSP or GBA + uncensor patch
>3D Remake that's its own thing (really challenging game, but low poly)
DS (avoid PC/mobile, omits content)

5
GBA

6
SNES is the original (better sound), GBA additions are minor and worthless but has better, complete localization
You can port each version's pros to the other with fan patches (GBA audio fix, localization ports both ways, bugfix ports)
Chrono Trigger is a similar story between its SNES and DS versions.

7
PC+Beacause retranslation mod+waifux2 retexture mod
Remake will reimagine the game and is its own thing
8
PC
Latest ports add hi-res models if you want them, but don't add much otherwise.
9
PC+waifux2 retexture mod

10, 10-2, 12:
Latest PC versions (include International version content + updated models + QoL changes)

13, 13-2, 13-3, 15:
PC

Other games:
> Final Fantasy USA / Mystic Quest : NA original
> Final Fantasy Four Heroes of Light (aka Bravely Default 0) : NA DS version
> Bravely Default : For The Sequel 3DS JP + uncensor patch
> Bravely Second : NA version (new content) + uncensor patch + cheats for JPN preorder items
> Octopath Traveler : PC (jpn mobile version is its own, untranslated, spinoff)
> Final Fantasy Legends 2 (aka Chrono Breaker) : later international revision (missing some content, but finished)
> Final Fantasy 4 The After Years: PSP (2D version), PC (3D mobile remake)
> FF Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time: DS over Wii (uprezzed DS port with shit touch emulation)

>>6009732
>best way to play final fantasy game
With two friends, all of you at the age of 8-12, on a warm summer evening, on a saturday, on a PS1 with the old controls that didnt have analog sticks, on a big noisy CRT screen, with 1.5L of ice cold Coca Cola, water, some chocolate and chips and candy, plenty of pillows and taking turns grinding and reading about materia or whatever on printed out text files from gamefaqs or whatever, and listening to whatever music the dad of your friend listens to and then him coming in asking us if we want pizza and oh god hold me /vr/ i cant take it anymore i want my childhood back fuck my life

>>6010087
Wow that's a really complete answer Anon tyvm

>>6010087
How come developers are so incompetent we need fan patches to fix shit?

>>6010165
You don't, it's just autists screaming 99% of the time. The only patches that really matter are the GFX and sound patches for the GBA ports of FF4-6, and those are only necessary because they brightened the shit out of the colors to compensate for the OG GBA's dim, shitty screen.

>>6010087
Wow, better answer than mine, gj anon

>>6009823

Yes, but it's barely relevant. The basic damage and healing spells function acceptably well, and those are 98% of what you need in a simple JRPG like this. If you go out of your way to play a non-broken version, you'll still skip most of the fixed things because they're crappy even if they work right; the effort that went into fixing them will have been wasted.

I mean a patched version is better, if it's patched well and doesn't make other stupid changes, but it's not as important as people pretend it is. If you really wanted all the spells to not only work but be useful and fun, then you'd be playing some other game to begin with. Final Fantasy isn't about mechanical balance.

>>6009869

Just play the original, it's good enough.

>>6010089

This is basically the most correct answer that will ever be given in this thread.

>>6009895
How do you feel about the ds versions of FF4 and FF3. I have FF4 for the ds and I've been enjoying it for the most part

>>6010165
GBA is inferior hardware to the SNES, and patches don't actually fix it, because no matter what you do, they are in lower resolution.

>>6010089

Don't cry because it's over

Smile because it happened

FF2 is objectively the best in the series and anybody who disagrees is a brainlet faggot who can't think for themselves

>>6009895
i second this

>>6010243
FF4 on DS is fine for people who want a bigger challenge, that version is the hardest, I prefer the PSP simply for being the most complete one, all the content from prior versions in one place, even TAY.
FF3 is a game that I don't like much on DS, it lack the QoL changes from PSP and Onion os locked behind a online feature.
Besides, both of these games on PSP possess a option to play the game with the classic OST instead of arrangements

>>6010573
Don't cry because it's over.
Cry because you'll never get it back no matter how hard you try.

>>6011170
>>6010573
>>6010219
i want to go back

>>6010573
>Smile because it happened
Anon, I...

>>6010207
Even if they're not used, they still should fucking WORK! Square fucked up and it shouldn't be on the fans to fix it.

If I recall, most of the weapons in FFI that have added strength on certain monster types don't get any effect either because of bugs.

>>6010067
Not as bad as the Chrono Trigger extras they added. FUCK that mountain you have to climb up and down like 20 FUCKING times for shit that doesn't even matter and a shallow ass Chrono Cross tie-in that no one ever asked

>>6011779

Obviously everything should work, but so what? It's still mainly just bait for people's autism that distracts them from the real problems of the game, which are that it provides little challenge and is neither mechanically nor fictionally deep. The little bugs are a barely relevant side issue. I'm not saying that they shouldn't have been fixed before release or that they shouldn't be fixed now. I'm saying we shouldn't even mention them in these conversations about which FF game or which FF game version a person ought to play. If the game is so simplistic and easy that broken abilities don't even matter in it, then complain that it's too simplistic and easy, not that it provides broken abilities. Why would you talk about something that didn't matter like it was important, while ignoring the thing that did matter?

>>6010087
>12
>on PC
best way is to emulate it on PC, sure

>>6009851
>Removes peninsula of power
Some "fix"!

>>6009732
I will say it now and I will say it again the next time this thread is posted. The post game dungeon is worth it in FFV Advance and it's the only game where the GBA port is the superior version.

>>6010089
I do this with my friend now. Every couple of months we pick a game, usually an RPG, and he sleeps over for a weekend and we just work our way through it, taking turns. Best time we had so far was Chrono Trigger, especially because we also did new game+ and got all the endings. We usually order pizza one night, and my wife will make dinner on the other night, and once it gets to be around midnight, we'll call it quits and watch a movie. It's still not quite as exhilerating as it was when I was a kid, but it's a damn good time. Pic related was the aftermath of our CT weekend, over a year ago, already, goddamn.

>>6010931
I fucking love Yoshitaka Amano's art. It's a shame it's not more widely associated with the franchise. I really hate the whole photorealistic aesthetic that the series has adopted since 12 and beyond. They should make a modern FF game with a graphical engine that makes it look like Amano's art in motion. Now that would get my shekels.

>>6012025
At least you don't have to do them, though. What was the Chrono Cross tie-in, though? I honestly don't remember. I can't believe Chrono Trigger DS is over a decade old, now, christ.

>>6009732
NES
Famicom
Famicom
Super Nintendo
Super Famicom
Super Nintendo
PSX
PSX
PSX
Play2
Play2
Play2

>>6013463
>What was the Chrono Cross tie-in, though? I honestly don't remember. I can't believe Chrono Trigger DS is over a decade old, now, christ.
You get an extra boss fight against the Dream Devourer, which is just Lavos and Schala combined. Magus has a little speech with Schala, and then he ends up in present time losing his memories setting him up as Magil in Chrono Cross.

But it's funny because when they released Chrono Cross before this NDS Chrono Trigger extra content, they didn't want to officially make Magil be Magus because they thought people would favor him more than the other 40 characters that are stupid and useless so they never actually bring it up in Chrono Cross.

Here is the fight and ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVeXLEvXydQ

>>6013473
Wow, fuck, I completely forgot about that. Probably didn't mean much to me because I hadn't yet played Chrono Cross back then.

I was under the impression that they didn't specifically make Guile into Magus because they didn't have enough time to include in the story, and unlike every other dropped plot element, they decided to not even keep it in the Opassa beach exposition dump because there would be little point. I mean, there are plenty of other characters with less-than-tenuous ties to Chrono Trigger characters, like Luccia, Leah, and Glenn, if in name and concept, only.

Thanks for the link. I might have to dig it out and give that boss a try. I hardly remember it, so clearly it wasn't that hard.

>>6013489
I was pretty sure I read in an interview that they had purposefully left out the connection to avoid fan favor, but I honestly can't find it right now. So take it with a grain of salt.

>>6009869
>>6013243
http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4675/

>>6013525
>Apply this patch over Restored patched version

The Psx version of FF1 is just the NES but better.

>>6009732
Had a friend who claimed to have beaten the NES Final Fantasy when he was 12 or so. I believe him because I've always known him to do things like that. That had to test his patience.

>>6009732
OBJECTIVE OPINION TIER:

> FF1
Dawn of Souls

> FF2
Dawn of Souls

> FF3
Rom hack with translation and removal of Change Points

> FF4
PSP

> FF5
GBA

> FF6
SNES

> FF7/8/9
PS1/Emulator for authenticity
PC for convenience

> FFX
PS4 release

> FFXI
PC (lol like you could play it elsewhere)

> FFXII
Zodiac Age on PS4/PC

> FFXIII
Skip it or play it on PS3

> FFXIV
PC

> FFXV
PC

>>6014156
There's also romhacks for FF3 that fix the job balancing.

Do not play the Steam version its buggy and your save will glitch.

>>6014156
What is the difference between Dawn of Souls and the PSP release? I thought they were almost the same.

>>6014176
There isn't really much difference other than the addition of another bonus dungeon called the Labyrinth of Time. I said Dawn of Souls because in general GBA emulation runs smoother than PSP emulation and FF1/2 are contained in one file.

>>6014156
>OBJECTIVE OPINION
Holy oxymoron!

>>6013467
What's wrong with the Famicom version for 1 or the SFC for 4 and 6?

>>6009895
>GBA
ew

>>6009737
>And don't listen to any idiot who claims you should play GBA ports with 1/10th of the screen cut off.
To be fair, GBA resolution is pretty close to Wonderswan resolution, which it was originally remade it - and PlayStation actually stretched the image from the Wonderswan version, so you're not seeming that much more from the screen as you'd think. Not that any version after Origins isn't completely terrible, just not for that reason.

>>6009778
This, FF was not a good game. FFDoS makes it one.

>>6009732
most of these games need romhacks

1: psp version with hack
2: skip it
3: ds version ( you can skip this one desu, i used to love it but its unplayable as a ff5 fanboy these days)
4: ds version
5: GBA version for no hack, snes version for hack
6: only play this with the romhack
7: playstation
8: playstation
9: playstation
10: HD remake
11: private server
12: don't play TZA, play IZJS
13: underrated
14: skip

>>6014156
objectively bad postt

TZA is for shitters

>>6014673
SFC version of 4 is pretty dry, though its the game i reccomend people start with. If its not your first final fantasy play the DS version

all FFs after 6 are unfinished. brave new world patch finishes the incomplete parts of ff6

>>6014923
Why is zodiac age bad?

>>6015041
both IZJS and TZA lower the difficulty of the original

IZJS introduced the speed up feature, which works even on ps2

TZA lets every character be two classes so you can run all the classes in a single run. This makes the game much less like FF1, which its simple job system is more reminiscent of. The jobs aren't deep like most other final fantasies with job systems and it removes replayability and the agonizing but fun party building segment

>>6009884
>>6009889
>it was kinda shit and much easier than the SNES version

Any proof to this?

>>6015059
Well I could kill mist dragon without it even turning into mist, while on the SNES version it turned into mist at least 2 or 3 times

>>6015062
I just did this fight last night on the jp version. It only turned to mist once. Cecil and Kain had default equipment and Cecil had 1 level up.

FF 1 and 2: Origins
FF3: PSP
FF4: PSP
FF5: GBA
FF6: GBA
FF7: Steam or PSX
FF8: Steam or PSX
FF9: Steam or PSX

>>6009732
FF1: NES
FF2: NES
FF3: NES
FF4: SNES
FF5: SNES
FF6: SNES
FF7: PSX
FF8: PSX
FF9: PSX

All other suggestions are heresy.

FFIX should be played on PC for the speed up feature. It defaults to x5 speed, which I feel is too fast. So set it to x2 in the .ini file, and the game becomes playable. Without it youre looking at the slowest and most painful Final Fantasy since the NES.

>>6009732
Play 1 on PS1, and 2 on GBA

>>6015384
What fan translations should I play for each of these?

>>6009732
FF4 Advance has the most content (has post-game) and fixes all the glitches of the previous versions. It definitely surpasses the DS/mobile version and possibly the PSP version as well, so play FFIV Advance.

>>6016147
Completely false statement. FFIV Advance is a glitch-ridden mess due to a shitty porting job. Everything it has, the PSP version also has.

>>6016004
>translations

>>6016160
Even all the same post-game content (+ more)? If so, I admit defeat.

>>6016160
>>6016147
the psp version is what you want to play if you want to play the afteryears

but you should want to have a better battle system than to want to play the after years

>>6016170
Yes.

>>6016270
That's awesome, thanks bro. Wish I had a PSP/Vita...

>>6014176
DoS fucks the balance on both games completely

>>6009823
look up ff1 randomizer it has a preset that fixes all bugs but keeps game same

>>6016273
PSP emulation works really well

>>6016256
Which one has a better battle system?

>>6016004
FF: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/4868/ (I recommend Default, Chaos Edition uses a bit too much speculation on the D&D terminology for my taste and uses a stilted translation for the Four Fiends)
FFII: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/2656/
FFIII: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/4760/
FFIV: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/2623/
FFV: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/353/ + http://www.romhacking.net/translations/2600/ + http://www.romhacking.net/translations/3397/ (over Legend of the Crystals) + http://www.romhacking.net/translations/3499/ (in that order)
FFVI: https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4619/
FFVII has a retranslation patch but it's honestly not that much better than the one we got, wake me up when they actually translate the original version instead of International so we have a new(ish) experience rather than the same game we've already played a thousand times.

>>6016984
Shit, I didn't know about that FFVI project. Sounds huge.

>>6009814
This. Despite the load times its great.

>>6010089

>>6016628
>playing Final Fantasy trannymizer
No thank you.

>>6009732
Final Fantasy Restored is ideal for playing the NES version of Final Fantasy 1. It fixes text, dialogue, typos to be more accurate to the Japanese original, fixed glitches which makes the game substantially better since the original was marred with glitches that made a lot of factors in battles broken or pointless, and it doesn't make unnecessary changes like some other improvement hacks for Final Fantasy 1 do.

I posted about it a while go here and someone instantly denounced it because in addition to the other bugs it removes the Peninsula of Power. Put simply, which sets of enemies you fight on the over-world map are determined by an invisible grid, but accidentally there is one space on the far side of a continent that lets you fight enemies that you are only supposed to fight on a far away island/land-mass much later on in the game. This makes raising levels much easier, obviously. So, it's restored in add-on patch and the shops are more faithful to the original also.

Final Fantasy Restored:

https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1631/

Read the readme for a full idea of the goals of this hack. (Note: the .zip has optional patches to customize your experience.)

https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/nes/patches/1631readme.txt

Final Fantasy Restored Debalance:

https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4675/

The description:

his patch reverts the changes to shops and the removal of Peninsula of Power on a Final Fantasy Restored patched ROM. Obvious bug fixes and enhancements are one thing, but taking liberties with the game design and shop placement is a bit presumptuous. While the Peninsula of Power, likewise, was an oversight, it has since been embraced as part of the franchise with it returning in all remakes, other entries in the series, and to remove it is to remove part of the franchise legacy.

Apply this patch over Restored patched version of Final Fantasy to restore the Peninsula of Power and revert shops to their inventory as listed in online resources.

>>6009732
>What's the best version of each final fantasy to play?

Dragon Warrior 1.

>>6009732
Ff1 the psx verison (normal type) is my favorite but the nes verison is fine. Anything after that is shit and super casual

>>6017882
Final Warrior 1

>>6017753
>Peninsula of Power
I've never heard of this (never ever looked up anything for FF1, just played and enjoyed the game). Where is it at?

>>6017996
$FE

>>6017996
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOPBv1DcGQs

>>6018081
>TYRO
Why would they not call it TREX?

>>6018204
Don't they have a palette swap already called TREX?

>>6018208
Oh, sure enough. It's even the harder hitting one, which is based.

>>6009732
Unironically, you can't go wrong with the originals, but since you asked nicely:
FF: WonderSwan. This is basically the PS1 port but in the proper aspect ratio it was remade in (PS1 stretches the resolution so the sprites are taller), no load times and sick chiptunes. Just avoid releases after Origins since they casualize several gameplay mechanics.
FFII: WonderSwan. Similar reasons as above, albeit admittedly not as strong a recommend because later versions actually fix a couple more things that earlier versions do not. Dawn of Souls dungeon is literally a retread of the endgame with different characters though, which is skippable.
FFIII: Famicom. Every rerelease afterwards is based on the DS version, which simplified the amount of monsters that appear in each encounter due to hardware limitations at the time and compensates by increasing their stats and abilities, which leads to a lot of cheap deaths with (one-on-one) bosses since they rely on multi-target multi-hits. Somehow they've never bothered to change this.
FFIV: PSP. In the Complete Collection, you're getting the original game based on the GBA version (without glitches) as well as The After Years (mobile/WiiWare sequel) and Interlude (an exclusive interquel). Arguably, it's also the best-looking modernized remake.
FFV: SNES. A lot of people will tell you GBA, but I noticed a few flaws with the battle system in that version. Mobile/Steam version is a flat no.
FFVI: SNES. Again, some people will actually say GBA, but it downgrades a lot of the quality (and hacks can only do so much), and mobile is once again a no go. If you read moon, T-Edition is by far the absolute best version of the game (https://poematocx.com/ff6t/).).
FFVII: PlayStation. Recent versions may look crisper but they mess up a lot of textures, especially some mouths. Of course, there are PC mods, if you delve into such things.
Beyond this point, I believe any recent release should be fine, though I don't know their specifics as much.

>>6016958
FFIV and TAY have the same system, but TAY adds Chrono Trigger-styled combo attacks and an in-game timer that periodically affects your stats (i.e. Magic gets stronger and Weapons get weaker) and enemy spawn rates.

>>6017753
>and to remove it is to remove part of the franchise legacy.
Removing the bugs is also removing part of the game's legacy, if you ask me. Intentional or no, they became a part of the game and by removing them you're not playing the same game anymore.

>>6018621
that's true to an extent. if I had to preserve one english ROM of ff1, I would choose the original.
however, I think there's also room for conservative fixes and enhancements, as long as they don't take excessive liberties (eg removing peninsula of power). if I made a patch for ff1, I'd fix INT stat, the broken spells, invert mdef gains of black belt/master, and add the ability to buy items by the dozen, just to name a few off the top of my head. changes should be limited to stuff that improves the game while staying mostly consistent to the original vision and vanilla design.
btw, INT was supposed to factor into effectiveness of spells. black mage has the highest intelligence, so in theory, he would've been the best for using heal staff, and his spells would've hit harder than the equivalent from red mage.

no one names FFV for ps1 is it really such a poor version?

Also what's the best emulator for Android? Retroarch is a buggy mess

>>6018868
Maybe if you're using a phone from 2005. Or maybe you just don't want to admit you can't figure out how to use it?

>>6009732
unironically the originals, theres good fan translation patches of the ones that didnt get a us release at first, and if youre really bothered by bugs or shit theres usually patches for that as well (though 1 is the only one imo that even comes close to needing patching)

>>6018875
I configured it correctly but sometimes the controls just disappear and I have to close and open it again

>>6018875
It's shit for phone, fuck off with the Retroarch defense force shit. Sometimes updates wipe all your Cores, saves can get fucked up, control sucks especially the DPad, too many buttons on the screen, ugly as fuck in general, savestate organization is a mess, and many versions autoclick wherever your finger is when you open the menu out of a game which can automatically save or load state by accident and fuck your shit up. So give it a rest.

Just get a PSP you jiggaboo

>>6018908
Hoooooooooooly shit.
Wow, I've used Retroarch for my phone (Galaxy S9, poorcuck) and I haven't had a single problem with it! It turns out when you know what you're doing, change the UI to something you're comfortable navigating, and don't use TOUCH CONTROLS (You kidding me right now? lmfao) like a dumb fucking faggot it works perfectly!

You literally were too dumb to use it and you just admit to everyone you got filtered because you have no idea what you're doing. Moron! Ahahaha!

>>6018890
You can save your configuration at any time as well through the configuration options. Exit Retroarch through the in-menu option, NOT by swiping the window away. This will save your configuration upon exit.

>>6018727
Easily the worst, both technically and translation-wise, because of load times and because it's lifted from an unfinished script of a previous canceled localization.

>>6018879
Fan translations aren't the original.

>>6019162
cope

>>6018706
>I'd fix INT stat,
It's not broken though. FF1 is a D&D clone in so many ways, but INT does fuck all in the AD&D it's based upon. Making INT affect spells in any way is a presumptuous change, not a 'as originally intended' fix.

>>6020205
>presumptuous change
>as originally intended
I think there's a difficult grey area between these two. it's safe to say that Peninsula of Power should stay, LOK2 should not make enemies harder to hit, and crit% should use intended values rather than the index number of the weapon. however, there are many bugs, and it's debatable which ones should be changed, and which should be considered features instead.
I'd have to pore over this some more.

>>6016367
how?

>>6009732
If you are going specifically for English release only, not emulated at all on original hardware, then it depends if extras and things are what you want. If not, I always recommend the retail release of the first time the game was released in English officially with some exceptions.

FF1 - NES
FF2 - Playstation (Origins)
FF3 - PC (Only English release that's clear enough to play.)
FFIV - Playstation
FFV - On the fence between Playstation and GBA.
FFVI - SNES
FFVII - IX - PC
FFX - PS2

After that is not retro, so no go on this board. Now if you are emulating and playing with ROM hacks, here are my recommendations for the best vanilla experience of each.

FF1 - Restored Hack - http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1631/
Add on the Debalance - http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4675/
With a BETTER FONT - http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/2269/

FFII - Chaos Rush's Translation - http://www.romhacking.net/translations/2656/

FFIII - Chaos Rush's Translation - http://www.romhacking.net/translations/4760/

FFIV - Namingway Edition - http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/2337/

FFV - GBA Script Port to SNES - http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3687/
Add in the automatic sprint if you desire- http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3746/

FFVI - Ted Woolsey Uncensored Edition - http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1386/

FFVII- IX - Stick with PC for these.

>>6020603
>Recommending any SNES-to-PSX port when the load and save times are insufferable.
>Recommending Rodimus Primal's hacks that embarrassingly fellate the original localization.
>Recommending FFV GBA script port when it's just a hack of the base RPGe translation and thus incompatible with the restoration patches.

What are some other games like FF1? short, low-story, squad-based games with a good amount of build variation. I really like being able to jump into a game and mess around with different builds, and be able to name all the party members after my friends and not have any sort of story to really get in the way of that and shit like that. The closest I know of is FTL.

>>6020762
Dragon Quest 3

>>6020654
The PS1 port of FFIV is the only tolerable port of the SNES Final Fantasy games. Unlike the SNES FFII, its not missing features.The load times are nowhere NEAR as bad as V and VI.

Primal's hacks seem to bridge the gap between the original releases much better than the straight literal translations and the fanwank stuff like what I've seen from Spooniest, RPG One, or J2E.

FFV's GBA script is considered the best version by far. Porting it to the superior SNES original is a no brainer. All of the fix patches seem to work with it since the RPGe was used as a base.

>>6021615
>The PS1 port of FFIV load times are nowhere NEAR as bad as V and VI.
Startup times and saving is still annoying. Also, the translation is almost as bad as the initial J2e version, if not worse in several ways.
>fanwank stuff like what I've seen from Spooniest
Yeah you're gonna have to elaborate on that. Spooniest's versions actually clean up a lot of bullshit from the old translation patches and destroy major complaints against them.
>FFV's GBA script is considered the best version by far. All of the fix patches seem to work with it since the RPGe was used as a base.
First off, that asterisk is hella subjective. Pic related, and yes, it's distracting. At least the other port translations kept the memetalk to NPC dialog. Secondly, that's a lie: Leet Sketcher's Count Monsters patch does not have a version for the GBA port, and noisecross's Captured Monster Name patch flat-out breaks the script. Try it yourself.

>>6020762
FF3 and, to a lesser extent, FF5.

FF= PSP or GBA.
FF2 = PSP but it's the least bad version of a bad game.
FF3 = PSP or NDS.
FF4 = PSP or NDS. PC too but you have to mod it.
FF5 = GBA
FF6 = I'd say SNES but objectively GBA is best version but you have to apply a bunch of patches on it.
FF7= every version is the same.

>>6009737
Still better than the NES version, gramps.

>>6021665
I'd say the PS1 translation is much better than the SNES but by far the worst has always been the J2E. I only recommended it as the most vanilla version of the game if one didn't want to apply a hack.

As far as Spooniest. Stand Guard. That was a mess last time I played it and the dialogue was atrocious compared to either official translation.

Didn't he make an update to FFV for RPGe? I think I was turned off by the fact that it used the older spell naming system, which is different from other releases. Matter of personal preference. It also had a weird compatibility with save files and Krile still being named Cara.

It seems ROM hacks will always be finicky with each other. One's not compatible with the other and so on. I think that is why the OP wanted the best retail release versions of each game.

>>6021803
>I'd say the PS1 translation is much better than the SNES
SNES is IMO worse that both for being so condensed and censored, but it's also pretty easy to make fun of and enjoy for what it is (pic related). Legend of Localization spotted a lot of mistranslations in the PlayStation version, and they're actually worse than the base J2e translation because at least those errors were self-contained - the PS version was used as a base for the GBA/PSP version, so despite being a script edit a lot of mistakes linger on even in more modern versions.
>Stand Guard.
Maybe. I don't delve into hacks that aren't translation/restoration patches, because you tend to be swimming in sewage looking for fool's gold.
>Didn't he make an update to FFV for RPGe?
Legend of the Crystals. The terminology's still a bit borked but then again so are a lot of localizations, and admittedly it wasn't as intensive as J2Evisceration. I still think it's preferable at least due to compatibility with existing patches that make the game perform closer to the original, and IIRC the GBA Script Port is still being worked on with infrequent updates.

>>6021727
>FF7= every version is the same.

Objectively false. Every "HD" version is based on the PC port and is graphically different and missing some effects.

>FF5 = GBA
Jesus Christ

>>6009778
>easytype
>>6009814
This

>>6022154
>Jesus Christ
Please explain instead of just complain.

>>6022191
Ruining the best looking Final Fantasy game by playing it with washed out graphics with a tenth of the screen missing is just disgusting.

>>6022238
But anon, FF12 looks just fine on Switch and PS4.

>>6020762
Wizardry

(all of your friends will die)

>>6020603
I wanna second Woolsey Uncensored Edition. All of the great lines I grew up with, graphics are uncensored, and the pot was fixed in places it needed fixes. It's what I've been playing for quite some time.

>>6024607
*plot

>>6024607
So what's the appeal for people without Stockholm complex?