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Posted: Nov 23 2008 12:21 am

i have never played any FF game ever.

so, since i consider myself a gamer, i decided to delve into the series, but i have several questions.

first off, what should be my jumpoff? should i start w/the first FF? or should i play one of the sequels first? since none of them are actual sequels of each other (except for X-2) i dont think it should matter which one i start on.

also, which version do i play of FF I? i know there are like 10 different versions of the game, but once i do play FF, which one would give me the best experience?

um, i think thats it. if i think of other questions, i'll obviously post them later.

thanks for any help/suggestions

Posted: Nov 23 2008 12:23 am

The best experience in my book is the classic experience. Pull out your NES and pop in Final Fantasy if you have it. If you don't, what are you waitin for?! Go Buy it.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 12:24 am

Final Fantasy I for the PS or PSP. Fuck the NES version. It's primitive battle system makes the other games cry virgin blood.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 01:09 am

I say Final Fantasy X. In my personal opinion, it perfects the turn-based formula that you find in the earlier FFs.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 01:23 am

I think FF4 is the most straight forward.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 01:34 am

I'm gonna be real here: FF I and II are slow as fuck. And I don't exactly have the strongest of attention spans.

Try 4, 6, 7, (8 or 9 if you want) 10, and 12 (also if you want.)

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Nov 23 2008 02:07 am

I honestly hate to say it, but I might recommend FFVII for a good game that has the "feel" of the series without being overly complicated. Also FFIX, which is one of my favorites.

FFX and FFVI are good choices too.

Stay away from the earlier ones (1-3) and FFVIII. While they're not bad games, they're not really good representatives of the franchise.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 02:25 am

Start with 6 or 7. Only on their original systems.From there, I would branch out to 4 and 5, on to 9 or 1(only on NES, don't listen to Tebor), and go to 8(which people are completely divided on), 10. Skip numeros 2 and 3. They are worthless. I never played the X-2, so I can't tell if people hate it cause of its Britney Spears ascetic, or just because its badly designed.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 05:26 am

This coming from the guy who has played through each one several times. (except 2 & 3 on NES)
If you want to get the "experience" of the games start with 1, then go to 4, skip 5, move on to 6 and play them all up to 11. Then play 12. I remember playing IX and hearing a song from FF 1 and being like "that's awesome." But I was like 17 at the time. If your going to play through 1 though I would go through the newest version. Let's face it. It was good in its day but with all the rehashes of it, it's so hard to go back to square one again. (haha I made a joke...square one...get it?!) Plus it's prettier and there is more to do.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 05:39 am

RobotGumshoe wrote:

From there, I would branch out to ... 1 (only on NES, don't listen to Tebor), and go to 8(which people are completely divided on),

That's bullshit and you know it. The remakes make the game a better part of the FF franchise. Is 1 on the NES nostalgic fun? Yeah, but it is not the best way to play the game. Not by a long shot. Sure, you can play the NES version for free as a rom, but you get what you pay for and that's a better game.

We all know I prefer VIII to VII and that probably completely renders my FF1 argument void for a lot of you.

If you want a story based FF game, FF4 is the first true representation of that.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 08:24 am

FF 4-6 are my favorites, SNES all the way. Well, except FF5 since that never got a SNES release here. For that, go with the GBA... or a translated ROM.

For FF1, NES version all the way. Unless you speak Japanese, then get the MSX version.

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Nov 23 2008 09:05 am

I'm gonna have to go with the "Origins" version for Playstation for my FF1 experience. The NES version is just way too clunky and buggy to be very good anymore. The Dawn of Souls remake, though...well, why even bother?

Origins does a good job of updating the game without changing it too drastically, offers an "easy mode", and if you want, you can turn off every single one of the "updated" features.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 10:04 am

Either the Origins version for the Playstation, or the Dawn of Souls for the GBA, mainly because it's portable. Stay the fuck away from FF2 on Dawn of Souls, though.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 01:15 pm

You could also try Tactics if you don't want to dive into the RPG pool just yet.

Posted: Nov 23 2008 01:34 pm

Or for an easy romp, play Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.

Docinsano's Channel 63 · Posted: Nov 23 2008 03:05 pm

Valdronius wrote:

I think FF4 is the most straight forward.

Final Fantasy 4 was the first final fantasy i've played and the game that got me into the series, so yeah...

Posted: Nov 23 2008 10:04 pm

cool. thanks for the tips guys.

i dont have an NES or SNES, so i would be forced to use emulators or VC if anything. i do have a GBA so i might just get those for the GBA or the DS.

i dont have a PS1 and as far as i know, you cant save PS1 games on a PS2 memory card, and i dont think i have any PS1 memory cards floating around. and i dont think ive seen any for sale at any game shops in a while. granted, i havent been looking for them, but ill see if i can locate any.

Posted: Nov 24 2008 09:19 am

I agree with those saying to avoid FF1-3 if you're new to the series. They are incredibly slow and ugly so it's very difficult to get through them if you're spoiled and used to gaming post-SNES. FF9 is my personal all time favorite and I also liked FFX-2's watered down take on the franchise, but I would start with 4 or 6. Everyone likes them, and they have the strongest stories of the entire series. Plus they're on SNES so they're pretty too.

After you bust your cherry, see what everyone is talking about with FF7 (but beware, the graphics are polygonal and strange to our modern eyes) or check out the very underrated FF9.

Posted: Nov 24 2008 10:43 am

FF7 was the first FF game I played. Though, to really get you started on the series, I would recommend FF9, since SquareSoft made that one as a tribute to all of the previous games, so that's a good one to introduce you to the FF universe. From there, I'd play the PS1 ports. Though I REALLY loved the FF4 DS remake.

As far as memory cards go, you could probably buy one online for about $10.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

How exciting! A Final Fantasy virgin!

The original Final Fantasy for the SNES was a wonderful game that really helped to define how a RPG could be on a gaming platform.

Since then the series has shifted drastically. Although it has maintained its popularity, I would argue that it is a different crowd that flocks to the newer FF games.

An important fact to realize is that each individually numbered Final Fantasy game is a different story and usually the binding element between the games is similarity in music.

Realistically, each game is so unique that there is no reason to play them in any order.

If you are asking which games are the right ones for you to play, I'll offer a little bit of information. I haven't played them all, so I'll only tell you about the ones I have played.

FF - The original - Great plot, fun game, on the NES the battle commands, spells, and items are very restrictive and by today's standards they are almost unplayable. For example, if you are fighting two bad guys at once and you target all of your players against the first one, once it dies all remaining attacks still take place as misses rather than refocusing on the remaining bad guy. I never got to play the remakes, but if it were the same game with better battle management, I would say try that first. Graphically it was sprite based and fine for what it was. The story was great and the adventure was epic. Expect to put in about 10 -15 hours if you charge through it.

FF II (Japanese Version) - Never played it
FF III ( Japanese Version) - Never played it

FFIV (In the US it was FFII) - Much better battle control than the original. Each character you get has their own skills and brings something to the team. The story is linear, but twists and turns many times. The adventure is epic, the graphics are good, the story is really amazing. You feel more like you are playing through a novel with this story. Play the Gameboy Advanced version of this game, do not play the SNES version. The DS version is MUCH harder and is in 3D. This is my personal favorite FF. Expect to put in about 30 hours on your first play through.

FFV (Japanese Version) - Never played it
FFVI (In the use it was FFIII) - The most epic story ever told in a video game. You gather an amazing group of characters (most of which are very well developed). The game isn't as linear as FFIV. Each player can learn all spells, but they also have their own abilities, making the game fun. You often break into smaller teams that must work together to achieve a final goal. Sometimes you choose who makes your teams up, and other times you just accept what is given to you. The bad guy in this game might be the most sinister bad guy ever created. This is my second favorite FF. This game was an amazing graphical and musical advancement on the SNES. It might be tops in those two areas among the entire catalog of SNES games. My game broke the timer because I logged so many hours playing it. It was great.

FFVII - The first 3D FF. The most famous FF. The story is definitely epic. You have well defined characters (though only a handful compared to FFVI). I enjoyed this game about 75% of the time and hated it the other 25%. Graphically it was amazing at the time. It really did blow away anything before it. Story wise it was good, though sometimes it left me wondering who the fuck came up with this shit. The game itself has an odd magic system. Music was great. The real problem with this game is that the hero and the villain are both emo. I felt as though this game was the point where the series began to shift towards a new generation of gamers. I have gotten to the end of this game 3 times. I have never engaged the final battle because I just can't bring myself to care.

FFVIII - I saw the game played a few times right when it came out. I hated it so much that I gave up and walked away.

All of the following FF games may appeal to another audience, but not me. I'm just not into emo heroes. I am also not into the artistic styling where guys look like girls. Oh, don't get me wrong, if someone cross dresses that is fine. I just don't buy into it that the worlds that they create guys are manly when they look like women. Japanese cartoons have taken over the FF series.

Posted: Nov 24 2008 11:29 am

Dawn of Souls sucks. FF1 is easy to the point if boredom in it.

Here's the thing. If you want to play an honest to God genuine RPG, play FF1 on the NES. It will challenge you. If you want to play an interactive story, play one of the remakes. Problem is, the story sucks in FF1, so the remakes are dull.

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Nov 24 2008 11:36 am

Syd Lexia wrote:

Here's the thing. If you want to play an honest to God genuine RPG, play Dragon Warrior on the NES. It will challenge you.

Fixed.

Posted: Nov 24 2008 12:14 pm

FF1 is better on the NES. Auto-targeting after death makes every fight a matter of mashing the attack button. The mana system fucks up the balance of the vancian style casting, weighting it towards casting giant spells over and over. Enemies got wimpier. Autosaving is too much of a temptation and completely saps the last remnants of challenge.

FF1 was all about resource management, both actions, HP, spells, and items. FF1 gets rid of all that and misses the point.

Posted: Nov 24 2008 12:55 pm

I think that, at least for myself, it's hard to go back to NES rpg's, unless you have played them when you were a child, then there's the whole nostalgia factor. FFX has great graphics, good fighting system and lot's of play time. I would go with that, or the ps1 re-releases of 4-6 (any of those were great, I actually enjoyed 5 quite a bit). 7 is my very favorite of the series, but it's graphics didn't age well, and while it doesn't bother me because it takes me back to playing it when i was like 16 or 17, they are tough to look at if your a virgin to the series. Still, it has one of the best, if not the best story of the series, imo. Honestly you'll be fine with anything pre X-2. X-2 and XII blow, and story wise, 9 was pretty weak too, but still admitidly fun to play.

EDIT: oh yeah, and VIII is a controversial release, it's either loved or hated it seems, but IMO easily has one of FF's finest soundtracks.

Posted: Nov 24 2008 08:39 pm

FF1 on the NES is a broken game, it is the equivalent of selling the fog in Superman 64 as a game feature.

In more crude terms, if you a real virgin and were having sex for the first time, you wouldn't say: "Hey, we're going to use anal beads!!" So it makes sense as a FF virgin to play the ~~more sophisticated~~ remake. If you like that, then you can have a go with Ms. Dominatrix, Souls' older sister and also possibly mother.

Edit: "Sophisticated" was a poor choice of words. As my apology of shame: