Fruit Brute Goes Olde School RPG
Ok, I have a confession to make. I have never really played a Final Fantasy game. Now, before you go getting your panties all in a bunch, I will say that I have played Kingdom Hearts and KH II and loved them both. Hell, I played and beat Kingdom Hearts twice! But, there was something about endless battling of the same monsters over and over and the turn based battle system that always eluded me about the older games. I did manage to beat Chrono Cross and loved every minute of it, but that turn based system really got to me after a while. I'm really more of a "Go in there with fists flying and swords slashing" kind of guy.
Yesterday, I was perusing my local EB while the boyfriend was doing some important Target shopping and I saw a copy of Final Fantasy III for the DS sitting on the shelf. The game is normally $40 (the highest priced DS game to date) but, this was a used copy and was a little cheaper, plus my 10% discount card brought it down to a reasonable $30. So, I figured, why not see what all the hub-bub was about with this Final Fantasy thing. And if you're going to start with something like that, why not start as far back as you can. This coupled with the fact that my pretty pink DS, lovingly nicknamed "Pinky" by my co-workers, is practically attached to my hand at this point it, seemed like a logical choice.
Well, my friends, I have started my long journey down the road to Final Fantasy nirvana with FF III and I must say I'm already enjoying myself. The turn based battle isn't bothering me as much and I am much enamored of the cute graphic style. Perhaps this will open up a whole new world of games for me, adding to the already lengthy list of titles I need to complete. I obviously won't have time to play them all, but I would love to hit the hilights, so I am officially asking for suggestions for my foray into Final Fantasy land. What, in your opinion, were the best titles in the series for a FF noob to enjoy? I am open to any and all suggestions not only in the FF series, but general old school RPG's as well.
I am waiting with baited breath for your responses, dear readers, so please advise me as you would an old friend.
Fruit Brute
Posted to Video Games on 8 February 2007
· Comments (28)
Other stuff like this: final fantasy, olde school, rpg
I'll bait your breath right here: I've completed only 2 out of all titles out there, but have played or started to play almost every one. And I must say that 4-6 (you know, counting in japanese, these were released as 1-3 everywhere else) are by far my favorites. They have great graphic style, just before the switch to 3D ruined everything.
Granted, the older (NES) titles also have stuff like the job system, but only in the 16-Bit generation did this generate a depth that was very enjoyable, along with a really involving story. 5 and 6 are must-haves, that can keep you busy for months, while 4 is probably the easiest to get into. Seeing as how you're already playing #3, this would be the logical next step. Don't get suckered in by the twinks in the 3D games, aside from pretty FMVs, there is little of substance to those...
Welcome, Sister...you have seen the light!
Yes, The Tek Guy, I agree with you. If you wanted to get a grasp for the series, you should have started off with 5 and/or 6, which just came out 3 days ago. Six, in my opinion, is the best that series has to offer.
Six is pretty genius. It was the first time I realized that games were moving towards a means of storytelling different from any other media.
Other than that one, IX was my favorite so far. Breathtaking art design and visuals that still hold up on the PS1. Great characters and story propel this game to the top of the list.
I am much like you when it comes to our opinions on turn-based rpgs. It usually takes quite a storyline to get me to sit down and play through one. Final Fantasy VI is definitely the Grandiose Opus of the FF series, as is Chrono Trigger for SquareSoft games in general. However, if you seek a bit more action in your rpgs you may want to check out the Star Ocean or Grandia series. The Grandia's stories are always a bit Pulp, but the series has the best turn based system of any RPG IMHO (closest thing there is to a modern day Chrono Trigger system).
ditto to pretty much everything that's been said, actually... ff6 is, hands down, my favourite game of all time, barely edging out chrono trigger (which has a battle system that, while turn-based, is slightly more interesting than the one they pulled out for chrono cross). i'm actually not a huge fan of 5, though - don't really know why.
going to have to disagree with our friend from deutschland the tek guy, however, and say that the 3d generation are absolutely worth it. the fanboys all go nuts over 7, and that's all well and good, but i still think it's one of the less compelling games in the series. 8, 9, and especially 10 are terrific. toots is right - just like 12 is a sort of last gasp for the ps2 that pushes the technology to new and beautiful places, 9 was the same way for the psone.
welcome to the dark side - prepare to while away many hours!
Personaly, I found that the transition to the PS opened up a huge market for Final Fantasy, number VII and VIII both had amazing stories and gave Nobuo Uematsu the chance to show off his musical talent moreso than the previous games, how many of you can hum the tune when Aeris(th) dies??? I do love 5 and 6 solely because they were the first one's i played, but 7 did something that no other game has ever done. In my opinion the best coalition of different aspects of a game (graphics, plot, story, music, Materia!!) FFVII + VIII FTW!!!
Now's a great time to be getting into the series. Within the least two years, Square has re-released the first six games in the series for the DS/GBA. If you complete III and still like it, I'd recommend picking up Final Fantasy IV Advance. The game will show you the flip side of Final Fantasy, as it places a much bigger emphasis on story.
FFIII for the DS is my first Final Fantasy game as well. I like it a lot and may have to try the others that are being suggested.
I loved Kingdom Hearts, but I had no idea who the non-Disney characters were or which part of the series they were from.
Welcome! You are now ONE OF US!! Hmm as for suggestions, I agree with others Go with FF 5 or 6 for more old school flavor. People go nuts for 7 even though I was pretty board to tear when trying to even start the game. FF8 is also pretty good.
FF10 one of the best in the series. Beautiful graphics, wonderful characters and voice acting!!! No more long monologues you have to read. You might like FF12 the lastest installments cause its less emphasis on the turn base aspect though lots of micro management with members of your party
Also look into Chrono Trigger for SNES along with the Secret of Mana series.
If you're iffy about turn based battle go for X-2 and 12. They're both dang fun.
FFVII is a great one to try and pick up, if you can find it for cheap. Good story, good music; classic game.
Only downside are the graphics, which weren't even top tier for its time. :D
It really depends on how you're wanting to adjust to the play style. 12 is a wonderful transition step from the pure action style of Kingdom Hearts to the traditional turn-based style of 1-10.
7 and 10 would be my reccomendations after 12 as both provide a great FF feel without being as overwhelming as some of the older games can be. You could substitute 9 for 7 if you want something more light-hearted and fantasy-themed and less techno/Shadowrun-themed.
8 is for when you're more comfortable with the Final Fantasy world in general, as it really gets into some nitty-gritty with charater customization via Guardian Force junctioning.
The older games, I'm afraid I can't comment too much on due to my lack of experience with them. All I can say is that 6 does look very promising, and 1 is a bitch with copious amounts of level grinding.
For something completely different, try out either of the Tactics games. They add a deal of strategy that make every battle comparable to a game of chess as opposed to the "Attack-Attack-Heal-Magic-Attack-Win" battles of the numbered series.
I personally am a fan of FFs because of the stories they tell and the characters they use to tell them. Gameplay, graphics, controls, music... they're all secondary to me, even though in comparison those aspect put many other Japanese RPGs to shame as well.
But storywise, and character-wise, FF 7 is the most original and most complete in my opinion.
1 & 2 are great to see where the series started, but other than that they don't have much in them.
3 I haven't played, but the DS version certainly looks interesting. Still, there's no real story in it, just adventuring.
4 would be deemed nothing but a big bag of clichés if it were released in modern days. The characters are two-dimensional and the events are either totally predictable or totally unlogical.
5 I haven't played either, but based on what I've read about it, it doesn't improve much from 4, storywise.
6 is where the real superiority of the series begins. It's the first to have 3-dimensional (meaning their personality, not the graphics) characters, most with interesting backgrounds and real reasons why they are part of the adventure (unlike in the previous parts where characters just stumble into the flow of events). The world of the game is very detailed, but in my opinion the story lacked proper focus.
7, as said, is the best storywise in my opinion, with much originality, an extremely rich and vibrant science-fantasy world, and memorable protagonists as well as antagonists. The many spin-offs and sequels it has garnered lately are a proof that the success of the game is more than just "fanboys creaming over it" (although the quality of the sequels is debatable).
8 tries to modernize things, and the world and the story truly feel as if they could really take place in our world if only a little bit of magic existed here too. The cast of characters is not that diverse, though, most of them have the same backgrounds and same clichéd teenager behaviour.
9 is the most "fairy-tale"-like of the series, starting as a traditional fable but gradually evolving more towards the direction that 7 went. It's also filled with nods to earlier games.
10 & 10-2 share the same world and mostly the same characters (and graphics). The world featured in them is detailed, but also very constricted and linear. The game/plot is big, but the world isn't. Also, the implementation of voice-acting brought a whole new level of admiration/irritation towards the characters - it would really affect on how the characters appealed to the player.
11 is an online-game, so the story of it is what you make of it, and 12 I haven't played yet because it's still two weeks to go until it's released where I live.
...Okay, I think I've ranted enough. Shows what a fanboy of the series I am, this comment... XP
I both second and third everything that Tek Guy said.
Those of us who started with 2d see only a shift in focus from good to shiny in the transition to 3d.
FF7 if far overrated. FF6 and FF9 were my personal favorites. I never finished 6 (blasphemy, I know) but what I did play I enjoyed a lot. 9 was great through and through. It had great character development, with little character side-stories similar to what is found in Tales of ___ games. Plus it has Vivi (the black mage) who is still one of my favorite videogame characters.
Luckily FF6 is being re-released very soon as a GBA game, so that one will be easy to pick up. FF9 might be a little harder to pick up seeing as most stores don't carry PSone games anymore, but it's worth picking up if you find a copy.
Wow you sure are getting good advice :)
Yes you might like to try FF Tactics for a twist on the turned combat.
Final Fantasy is the one true love of my life. Where ever the series goes, I go. I have every game, with box and maps down to FF1 for NES.
I will say without a doubt that FFVI is the best so far in the series. However I have been playing the GBA version and have been appalled as to how much of the text they have changed. I liked the original translation much better. Maybe I'm just too attached to the first release and the thought of it being changed tears at my heart. The main reason why I am still willing to play it on the GBA with all the changes is because they have added some new content that I am interested in seeing, plus I can play FFVI anywhere.
The story line in this game by far surpasses the others. The multitude of characters and background you get into each character really pulls you in. I still get emotional and cry on a few back story parts. If you ever try another FF, please, please, pick this one up.
FF Tactics is definitely my favorite branch off game as well. The original on PS1 not the GBA one. This was the first time a FF game had been released where you were able to change jobs on a single character. (Mind you Tactics was released before FFV in the US) Style of play is much different but the game play is awesome. The Music in FF Tactics is also extremely good. I have the sound tracks to most of the FF games as well. That is one of my favorite sound tracks.
Hope this helps your decision into buying a new FF game.
Abram
AKA SirenCub
AKA UrbanCerberus
www.urbancerberus.com
OK, you all ready have a ton of info on Final Fantasy games, but since you said you're more of a "go, go, kill, kill" guy, you might want to try the "Tales of" series. Just incase you haven't tried them, it's a traditional Japanese RPG, but the fighting is real-time. It's good ol button mashing, with computer-controlled teammates. But, you can also tell your teammates what to do whenever you want as well. It's a really fun series, and I fell in love with it when I played "Tales of Destiny" for the PS1.
If you really like the cute graphic style of FF3, then I suggest "Tales of Symphonia" for the Gamecube. It has great character art AND you get to earn special alternative outfits to fight in. The outfits rang from swimwear, evening wear, all the way to cat suits! Seriously, if you haven't played the game you're totally missing out.
ha! i'm playing ffIII as well!
you should definitely play VI and IX, especially if you like cutesy graphics. VII is hard to get into nowadays, because it seems so dated, but i actually thought VIII had a better story. i really didn't like V. X is ok.
although i know it's blasphemy, i think XII is the best final fantasy, ever. it's intricate and complex, but a PERFECT game, imo.
so in this order:
VI, IX, XII, X, VII, VIII, IV
seems like everyone has their own favorite ff!
like SirenClub, for me, ff was the reason to BUY systems. after playing ff1 on the famicom (yes i had a famicom), i got an snes for ff4, a ps1 for ff7, a ps2 for ff10, a ds for ff3, and i will probably get a ps3 when ff13 comes out...
in terms of music and story and great characters, i have the fondest memories for ff4 (and am currently nostalgizing it on gba), tho it might be said that ff6's gameplay is fuller and more fun. ff5 was good, but not great.
ff1 is a barebones console rpg that isn't very hard nor does it take very long to beat, but is a definitely seminal experience (20 years ago). ff2 is terrible. for me, it was barely fun.
i maintain that ff7 is the most fun ps1 ff, despite its now dated graphics (which is why a ps3 remake is so necessary!). an argument could be made that ff9 was the best, but ultimately, years and years after completing both games, i still remember much of ff7, but i couldn't tell you the names of all the characters in ff9 (let alone the storyline). i didn't enjoy ff8 quite as much as some other people (i thot the card game within the game was more fun than the actual game), but it was nothing if not pretty to look at (the first time perhaps the main characters were all really hot, if a little animated).
ff10 and ff12 are both incredibly beautiful and intricately done (the detail work in ff12 blows my mind, really), and well worth the time. ff10-2 was fun, but not essential, tho it did feature the series-first lesbian character (i kid).
the other flagship rpg that sells huge in japan is dragon quest, but if random turn-based battles aren't really your thing, then i'd forgo that series (tho it is a fantastic series).
and as it's been said before, chrono trigger is one of the best games ever created for the snes.
outside of square and enix, capcom had breath of fire, and konami had suikoden, but i don't think either series really compare to ff and dq.
FF7 and FF8 would probably be my favorites. FF8 more so than FF7. Both have great unfolding stories, great characters (I don't know what game the guy who said all FF8 characters were alike was playing, but it wasn't FF8) and beautifull settings. They both also have a great atmosphere about them.
The others are good too, but to me they've never come quite up to par with 7 and 8. I've only recently started FF12 and it looks like this one will become a favorite as well. A bit too early to tell, but I'm very optimistic.
Well, fruitster, you *had* to ask, so there you have it. And as if it weren't enough, I'd like to clarify my point about the transition to 3D, and blunt it a little in the process.
I absolutely don't mind the technological advances, though aside from the FMV part 7 and 8 were arguably ugly graphically, muddy textures, if any at all... But what really made me crazy in FF8 and 10 (the ones I still played the most) is that you're thrown from story event to story event. Free-roaming, exploring and all the stuff that was so much fun in earlier FF incarnation was almost taken away. Maybe that's your thing though.
The best title for an FF noob is Chrono Trigger.
Heck, the one of the best titles for anyone ever is Chrono Trigger.
It's a beautiful game. It singlehandedly turned me into the gamer that I am today.
Okay, the clear choice is FF IV. It really is brilliant all around. For the newer ones FF X is fun beyond belief and awesome and adorable and fantastic, and all the silly words.
HOWEVER: I must mention the greatest (imho) Final Fantasy of all time. FF IX.
Now everyone is screaming at me...
Honestly though, it is so much fun. The only reason it's so hated, is because it was "too cartoony", which we've learned from WindWaker is a load of BS. So, especially because you haven't played the other games, I highly recommend FF IX. It's loaded with cute plot, addictive play, brilliantly conceived characters, insanely fun mini games, and some of the best FMVs you'll ever see. Plus it has a great sense of humour.
Please try this game, I promise you won't regret it.
Side note: the "Chocobo Hot & Cold" mini-game is more addictive than crack.
Uh, there was just as much free-roaming in FF8 as there was in FF7 or FF9. You were never forced to go a specific way like you are in FFX.
Between this and the similair character comment I'm beginning to think people are just making up criticism about FF8 as they go along.
If one of the big things you dig about FFIII is the style, you'll definitely want to give FFIX a look. Supposedly a lot of people hate it, but it's one of the most well-rounded games I've had the opportunity to play.
Cannot believe I just found this after a whopping 27 comments!!
For you, the next "Final Fantasy" should be Final Fantasy V Advance. It has the same cuteness factor...but the job system is OVERHAULED!! You can mix and match the abilities in the jobs you choose. It's really fun to play dress up with the character classes.
My favorite one and the one that pretty much was the cherry popping daddy on Final Fantasy in general for me was Final Fantasy IV--the most linear to be sure (until Advance remake!) but very satisfying.