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/vr/ - Retro Games

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949889 No.949889 [Reply] [Original]

Okay let me start this off by admitting I've never played a Final Fantasy game before (unless FFA counts)
Which one should I start with? I'm interested in the series all of a sudden because I watched the intro to FF6 the other day and dat music gave me some chills. I haven't been able to get that song out of my head since then. Should I just start with that one? Or should I play the games in order?
What is /vr/'s favorite Final Fantasy game?

>> No.949895

Idk bro, why not, umm... hmm... uhh...

Final Fantasy VI?

>> No.949914

okay OP. i was you before and i started with FF IV for the ds great fucking game., Then i went to final fantasy 1 on the gba to see its roots. I really has aged well. now im playing FF VI advanced and yea it is THAT good. im only about 8 hours into and its blowing my mind. It looked like a dumbed down chrono trigger to me at first but then it became wonderful.

>> No.949919

Alot of people say start with FF7, and thats a respectable thing to say, but I would say start with FF9.

FF9 has great combat, memorable characters, a story thats filled with the tropes that made final fantasy what it is. It sits pleasantly between the retro final fantasys and the modern ones, and the first 2 discs have some of the best pacing in the series.

It also has incredibly deep sidequests, if your into that kind of thing.


Right now I am playing Final Fantasy 5 on my Psp and FF12 zodiac edition on my PC. I hated my original play through of FF12, but for some reason adding a class system to it made me really grok it. Its gone from being in my eyes one of the hardest games in the series, to one of the easiest. (FF8 feels this way too. Its all burden of knowledge/party set up.)

Personally FF8 is my favorite in the series but its extremely different from the rest of the games. FFX-2 and FFT have the best gameplay of the series, or arguably FF13. They all have their flaws though, FFTA taking too long, FFX-2 loosing the tone that makes so many final fantasys timeless.


But yeah. FF9. Most final fantasy games give you 6+ blank templates and expect you to build them all ( and many end up looking samey) but I love fixed character archetypes and its something I think the series could benefit from embracing more

>> No.949923

Play IV first, it's the quintessential Final Fantasy, you can't go wrong.

>> No.949927

I really think IV is over rated. The combat is so simplistic, even in non easymode versions. FF5 and FF6 (to a lesser extent) feel like the first timeless final fantasys

Though I will say that cecil's change of heart blew my mind as a kid, and FF4's cid is my favorite in the series.

>> No.949939

>>949919

9 only works if you've played earlier entries first, it's far too referential to be properly appreciated as a entry FF.

>> No.949951

FFVI or FFVII, depending on your tolerance for 5th. gen graphics and load times. FFVII has the most memorable characters and story, but it's a PS1 game with all that entails. FFVI has a lot of similarities to FFVII, and has the advantages of 60fps, beautiful pixel art, and quick load times.

FFIX is painfully slow. I can't tolerate it without emulator fastforward. It's easily the best looking of the PS1 FFs, and it's extremely well balanced by FF standards, but balance doesn't matter so much if you don't already know the game breaking tricks for the other FFs. The character design is about FFVI level, with only one really reaching FFVII quality (Freya). It almost feels unfair being so negative about FFIX, but it drags along at a snail's pace and that's too frustrating for me.

>> No.949960
File: 369 KB, 727x445, 1365912927749.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
949960

3 6 and 9 are the best of each of their respective generations

I would recommend FF6 since it's one of the best.

the series kinda drops off past 10

>> No.949974

>>949889
May I suggest that, if you have some tolerance (or even a liking for) melodrama, try FF10 first. I say this because it was the first FF for me that didn't become a chore to finish sometime halfway through. Plus Blitzball is hands down the best minigame I've ever played.

Otherwise, I'd say 4-7 form the core and overall highpoint for the series and are all great starting points.

>> No.949989

>>949889
if you wanna stay retro play any of the PSX FF's just for the sheer fact that you will respect and enjoy the snes FF's. the PSX FF's are pretty easy and you can get into them fast but they are not as solid story wise as the snes FF's. im not talking down on any of the games because i enjoy the series very much but i definitely appreciated the snes FF's a lot more playing them when i was older and already had beaten 7 and 8. i know it sounds weird but trust me youll understand when the time comes.

if you dont want to keep it retro i thoroughly enjoyed the FF 3 remake for the DS.

>> No.949991

>>949989
Every PS1 FF has a better story than the SNES FFs, even FFVIII.

>> No.950035

>>949991
FF8 has the best story in the series.

None of the SNES stories have great plots. FF6 is far too spaced out between the good beats of the plot ( though when it stays on rythem its great, it definitely lead to the better stories in the PSX games.) and FF4 is too generic. FF5's plot is sparse. FF7's characters are fucking awful, though I love the world and I'd say it has the best mini games in the series.

I wouldn't say you need to play older FFs to enjoy FF9. If you don't know the archetypes they are playing with, it also works as the best manifested introduction. What better way to meet a Black Mage than Vivi?

Anyone who says final fantasy falls off after 10 is full of shit, straight up. 10 has great combat and thats about it. The sphere grid is crap, the character design is crap, the world is a little thin and tries too hard to be different.

FF4: Generic/Classic Fantasy.
FF5: Tasty final fantasy, more gameplay focused than the rest of the snes.
FF6: World Building/Plot, thin gameplay that slows down the good parts. Steampunkish.
FF7: Steampunk/Cyberpunk. Great world, shit characters. Bit over rated.
FF8: High tech Psychadelia. Highly recommended, fuck the haters. One of the furthest and best deviations from the formula. If you hate this game your the reason the franchise has gotten arguably worse.
FF9: Perfection. If anything negative is to be said its that its a bit less serious, but thats just a testament to the breadth of the world.
FF10: Seapunk Romance that tries too hard to dickride FF7 tropes.
FF12: single player MMO. Ivalice nearly full manifested. Very under rated. Play the Zodiac Job System version, its near mandatory. Requires the most patience.
FF13: Fast paced cinematic action plot with combat to match. They tried hard to deviate from formula's in this game and I think they nailed it.

>> No.950041

Other games in the franchise of note: The Tactics series is excellent. FFT is arguably the best game in the franchise, though it can be very slow to play if you don't have the nostalgia for it. FFTA and FFTA2 have very fun gameplay, though FFTA's plot is under appreciated and thus the sequal's is nearly non existent. Play FFTA-2 alongside FF12 for maximum immersion.

Final Fantasy: Four Warriors of Light for the DS is an absolutely stellar reimagining of a 2-d final fantasy ( though its 3-d) This game is easily one of my favorites in the franchise. ATB is out dated as fuck.

And a game thats only barely realted: Seiken Densentsu 3, aka Secret of Mana 2, for SNES. Final fantasy got it's aura spell from this game. I love the fixed classes. Its, in my opinion, squares best SNES game.

>> No.950046
File: 1.18 MB, 4944x3192, finalfantasy.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
950046

Mandatory infographic

>> No.950068

>>950035
yeah CTB system is masterpiece and sphere grid is Awesome

>> No.950368

FFV was the only one to get the balance right for me. Most of the FF games focused too much on their convoluted plots for me, but FFV kept it brief and entertaining while hitting the sweet spot on the difficulty curve and the best battle system.

>> No.950372

>>950068
The sphere grid is dookie. The only things I like less are the esper system and the original liscence board in FF12. I really enjoyed Junctioning, the Crystarium, Dress Spheres, and most of the item> AP and job baised systems much more.

>> No.950386

>>950368
You my friend should play 4 warriors of light. It has a wonderful battle system that works turn baised and has the increased level of strategy, but feels like an ATB. It features a wide variety of classes, but they dont lead into super classes like in other games. You can rock black mage the entire time and its often worth it. This is also the only game in the franchise where the generic black mage looks different... a top hat instead of a wizard hat with black face and eyes. A darring move and a metaphor for how the designed the game. But its an excellent, excellent modernization. The plot is thin but the areas are surprisingly memorable.

>>950046
This is one of the better game related infographic but I still don't agree with it. If you want to play EVERY final fantasy game its excellent, very accurate, but I feel people who are new to the franchise are looking for something thats further in the direction of story, or further in the direction of gameplay.

>> No.950393

>>950386
Sounds good to me, I'll give it a look

>> No.950396

>>950046
dat small text

>> No.950408

Curious to ask, what'd you guys think of 10? Personally I felt while it surely wasn't the best, it got a shit load of hate it didn't deserve.

I mean, it had its flaws, yeah, but I enjoyed it.

>> No.950615

>>950408
I think it gets way too much praise. Better characters, better worlds, better stories in all the PSX games. I like 12 better too. Its not a bad game though.

>> No.950641

>>950408
As shallow as it sounds, it would've been one of the best in the series if they had completey different characters as Tidus and Yuna, and left everything else the same.

>> No.950707

Should I play the original for the NES or the remake? pls respond.

>> No.950719

>>950707
>>950707
remakes. Extra content like extra dungeons and beter scripts.

>> No.950825

>>950408
I couldn't enjoy it when it was released because of high expectations. It gets better every time i replay it though. My main problem I had was all of the dialogue scenes made it feel like I was watching a movie, but now I think that's why I replay it so much.

>> No.951000

>>950825
>replaying RPGs
I envy your free time

>> No.953414

>>951000
you'll get there someday.

Even when playing a new game if I can feel replayablility in it first playthru I love it that much more.

Today I found a 'custom jobs' patch for FF5gba.
You can set 3 commands for each job, and each command you equip edits your stats. They also give you 10 jobs at the first crystal, adding Dragoon, Time Mage, Bard and Dancer. Finally, any passive abilities you master apply to all other jobs, instead of just mimic and freelancer. Its funny how a few small tweaks can open up a game's class system so much. I can't wait to devour this.

>> No.953464

>>953414

link me

I've already beaten FFV three times this summer thanks to the fiesta. I could go for another playthrough later this year.