Planing to play through the final fantasy series, how should i go about it?

jab1235

jab1235

CAGiversary!
been really getting into RPG's so i decided i'd play through the final fantasy series.

I don't want to buy the old systems so would remakes be just as good or should i play the originals?

i know some or all ps1 final fantasy's are on the PSN or i could play them on the ps2. But what about the ones befor that? And watching GT's retrospective it made it seem like america's series is different or something?

Honestly i don't know, which order should i play the series in and which systems should i play them on. thanks!
 
Well, to the best of my knowledge:

Final Fantasy - You can get it on the NES, but it would probably be easier/cheaper to get the "Dawn of Souls" GBA game that includes it and FFII. You can also get it on PSP for about ten bucks, or cheap on the iPod app store.

Final Fantasy II - Same as the first.

Final Fantasy III - Wasn't released in the US on the NES, so you'd want to go with the remake for the DS.

FFIV - Besides the original, there's a GBA remake (which has technical problems), the DS remake (the best currently available choice), and an upcoming Complete Collection on the PSP, which will include FFIV plus the "After Years" episodic sequel released on WiiWare.

FFV - It's on the SNES I believe, with a GBA remake.

FFVI - Same as FFV.

FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX - On Playstation, but it'd probably be easier/cheaper to download it from PSN for about ten bucks and play it on your PS3/PSP.

FFX, FFXII - Only on PS2

FFXIII - On Xbox 360 and PS3. The 360 version has multiple discs, the PS3 version only uses one.

FFXI is an MMO on PC/PS2, but it's not a normal RPG like the others so you'd probably best just skip it. Some of the older ones were ported to the PS1 in collections but I'm not sure which, and some of the PS1 era games were also on PC, but you'd probably best stick with the non-PC versions.

As far as the "Different in the US/Japan" thing, the early games were released out of order in the US. They skipped right from the first game to IV, and called it "Final Fantasy II", for example. Only the original versions are misnumbered, all the remakes use the correct numbers and when FFVII came out in the US, they just called it FFVII and went from there.
 
1 and 2 are on final fantasy origins on ps1, 4 was part of chronicles with chrono trigger, 5 and 6 are on anthology



order doesnt matter since they all tell their own story and arent connected, start with the one you think is most interesting looking then move on like that
 
Almost there....a few small adjustments.

[quote name='Jesus_S_Preston']Well, to the best of my knowledge:

Final Fantasy - You can get it on the NES, but it would probably be easier/cheaper to get the "Dawn of Souls" GBA game that includes it and FFII. You can also get it on PSP for about ten bucks, or cheap on the iPod app store.

Final Fantasy II - Same as the first. (Never released in the U.S. so GBA/PSP/etc.)

Final Fantasy III - Wasn't released in the US on the NES, so you'd want to go with the remake for the DS. (This is the only version outside of a fan dub on PC emulator)

FFIV - Besides the original, there's a GBA remake (which has technical problems), the DS remake (the best currently available choice), and an upcoming Complete Collection on the PSP, which will include FFIV plus the "After Years" episodic sequel released on WiiWare. (Also available on PS1 Final Fantasy Chronicles)

FFV - It's on the SNES I believe, with a GBA remake. (Never released in the U.S., but is on the PS1 Final Fantasy Anthology)

FFVI - Same as FFV. (SNES release is superior to GBA, there is some censorship and the GBA cannot play the audio at a high level. The PS1 Final Fantasy Anthology also has this.)

FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX - On Playstation, but it'd probably be easier/cheaper to download it from PSN for about ten bucks and play it on your PS3/PSP. (Some technical issues are known to crop up on PSP. Outside of FF7 which wildly varies in price, the other original PS1 sets are inexpensive to obtain)

FFX, FFXII - Only on PS2 (and let's not forget FFX-2....no wait, let's forget)

FFXIII - On Xbox 360 and PS3. The 360 version has multiple discs, the PS3 version only uses one.

FFXI is an MMO on PC/PS2 (and 360), but it's not a normal RPG like the others so you'd probably best just skip it. (totally agree). Some of the older ones were ported to the PS1 in collections but I'm not sure which (FFIV through VI), and some of the PS1 era games were also on PC (7 and 8), but you'd probably best stick with the non-PC versions. (PS1 originals work best)

As far as the "Different in the US/Japan" thing, the early games were released out of order in the US. They skipped right from the first game to IV, and called it "Final Fantasy II", for example. (Followed by FF VI being called part three). Only the original versions are misnumbered, all the remakes use the correct numbers and when FFVII came out in the US, they just called it FFVII and went from there.[/QUOTE]
 
Actually, since the magic of the internet, all numbered Final Fantasy games are their own seperate games. No more of this "1 and 2 are the same, so are 5 and 6" business.

1 and 2 can be played on either PSP, GBA, certain PS1 games, or even iPhone.

3 was remade on the DS, this is the only time it was ever released in the US. Same with 4.

5 and 6 were both re-released as a collection on PS1, also on GBA.

7,8, and 9 are all downloadable on PSN if you have a PS3, otherwise they're all PS1 games.

10 and 12 were PS2 games only.

13 you should know by now.

Don't even bother with 11 or 14.

Only other game I recommend outside of the main series is FF Tactics, which was on the PS1, also available for download on the PSN, as well as remade for PSP.
 
final fantasy 11 is on sale on steam, everything for 4.99 plus a free month. Doesn't look that good but is the $5 worth it?
 
[quote name='jab1235']final fantasy 11 is on sale on steam, everything for 4.99 plus a free month. Doesn't look that good but is the $5 worth it?[/QUOTE]

It is a MMORPG so it is a bit different from the other FF games. If you want my advice I would start with Final Fantasy IV remake on PSP.
 
[quote name='62t']It is a MMORPG so it is a bit different from the other FF games. If you want my advice I would start with Final Fantasy IV remake on PSP.[/QUOTE]
yea, i like mmorpg's, it's just old is what concerns me. I guess i'll start with IV then, thanks.
 
Everyone overlooked FF Mystic Quest on the SNES, which to my knowledge hasn't been remade. It was a fun game but certainly on the easy side. I have them all and played/beat the majority. Basically all the US versions up through 10. Didn't go back to 2, 3, or 5 when they were finally translated. Have X2, 12, and 13, never started. Hated 11, MMO's suck. The reason I didn't play the ones I missed is because my backlog got too large to keep playing RPG's.
 
I'm going to kind of break the series into "tiers" based on how essential the games are.

I would start with VI, VII, and XII. VI and XII are the two best games in the series, and VII is historically significant in addition to being a damn great game also.

If you like those three, move on to IV, V, VIII, X, and XIII.

If you still want more, play the PSP/DS remakes of I, II, and III.

Lastly, play IX. Final Fantasy is my favorite series but personally I kind of hated this game.

Final Fantasy Tactics and Crisis Core are the best games outside of the number series. Mystic Quest is fun and underrated.
 
Remakes are perfectly fine, although I heard that some of the PS1 compilations have horrendous load times. Probably wanna stick to the GBA or PSN versions if possible.
 
My recommendation would be to play about an hour of VI, then an hour of VII. If you like VI better, start there and work backwards. If you like VII better, start there and work your way forward.
 
Final Fantasy 2 and 3 (SNES), and 7 for Playstation are essential.
The 8th and 10th installments can sleep with the fishes.
 
Final Fantasy XI was fine when it came out, if you really wanted to play it. But now everybody is at cap and doing endgame. So it'll just be one big grindfest for you to catch up, not that it wasn't a grindfest before but more so now.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']I'm going to kind of break the series into "tiers" based on how essential the games are.

I would start with VI, VII, and XII. VI and XII are the two best games in the series, and VII is historically significant in addition to being a damn great game also.

If you like those three, move on to IV, V, VIII, X, and XIII.

If you still want more, play the PSP/DS remakes of I, II, and III.

Lastly, play IX. Final Fantasy is my favorite series but personally I kind of hated this game.

Final Fantasy Tactics and Crisis Core are the best games outside of the number series. Mystic Quest is fun and underrated.[/QUOTE]

6 and 7 are the best in my book too. 12 I haven't gotten to yet. 4 would be next in line. However I gotta say 9 wasn't bad at all, I found myself hating 8 more because that was too far a departure for the series. Storywise it was ok, I'm talking gameplay.

I'm not usually into strategy games but Tactics was good. I spent a winter vacation on the PS version and part of a summer on the GBA one. Haven't started the DS title yet, it's on my backlog along with everything else. The weird thing is they fit in better with the numbered series than that MMO crap.
 
Interesting to see the wide variety of opinions for FF9. For me, I'd rank the PS1 trilogy as 9 > 7 > 8. 9 was just a really, really fun game, and exactly what I wanted to see after 8.
 
IX's gameplay is fine (since it's basically just a redux of VII). It's the story and characters that I found uniquely awful. And above all the game just has a stale, by-the-numbers quality that no other game in the series has. You can fault entries like VIII, X-2, or XIII for being too out there or for experimenting with new ideas that aren't entirely successful, but I'd much rather have that than a Final Fantasy game that tries nothing new or different and also doesn't offer anything appealing in terms of the characters, world, or plot.
 
IX is polarizing to a lot of people mainly due to how its more like the NES / SNES ones than the PSOne ones. The story, characters, and gameplay are a complete through back. If your going to play the series, IX and XII should be left until the end because those 2 games are love letters to fans of the series. They are both heavily "Final Fantasy" games and you will see some random remarks to the other games (ex - IX with the band playing the parade song from VIII, Gilgamesh mentioning random crap in XII).

Also, not mentioned yet is that if you like VII and X, then you have to play X-2. There is a bit of a payoff to both of those games.

Personally, I'd start with I, skip II and III, and go straight to IV and on onward. Make sure that you also invest in Dissidia at the end for a nice finale and one of my favorite endings in the series (you gotta finish FFI to understand it though).
 
[quote name='Otherguy676']IX is polarizing to a lot of people mainly due to how its more like the NES / SNES ones than the PSOne ones. The story, characters, and gameplay are a complete through back.[/QUOTE]
See, I just don't see that. The whole brooding "what is my identity? am I just a clone or am I my own person" thing (which both Vivi and Zidane have going on btw) is quintessential PSX Final Fantasy.
 
[quote name='jab1235']how long should it take me to play through them all?[/QUOTE]
Rough estimates, I'd say give yourself 12-15 hours per NES game, 30-40 hours per SNES game, and 50-60 hours per PSX/PS2 game.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']IX's gameplay is fine (since it's basically just a redux of VII). It's the story and characters that I found uniquely awful. And above all the game just has a stale, by-the-numbers quality that no other game in the series has. You can fault entries like VIII, X-2, or XIII for being too out there or for experimenting with new ideas that aren't entirely successful, but I'd much rather have that than a Final Fantasy game that tries nothing new or different and also doesn't offer anything appealing in terms of the characters, world, or plot.[/QUOTE]

I think that's what makes FF9 cool, though. Every time a Final Fantasy game is released, you hear the following two things:

1. Every Final Fantasy game is the same.
2. This new Final Fantasy game is way too different.

FF9 tried, for the first time in series history really, to just make a very traditional RPG. They took the best of every FF before it and made a new, "greatest hits" game, if you will. Different? No. Fun? Yes.
 
[quote name='LottaGames']Everyone overlooked FF Mystic Quest on the SNES, which to my knowledge hasn't been remade. It was a fun game but certainly on the easy side.[/QUOTE]

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was easy because it was made as a beginner's RPG. It was much cheaper also as it retailed for 39.99 when it came out vs (IIRC) Final Fantasy II & III being 69.99.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Rough estimates, I'd say give yourself 12-15 hours per NES game, 30-40 hours per SNES game, and 50-60 hours per PSX/PS2 game.[/QUOTE]

Are you serious? I believe that's an underestimate. Unless the remakes can be rushed through somehow.

[quote name='FOnewearl']Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was easy because it was made as a beginner's RPG. It was much cheaper also as it retailed for 39.99 when it came out vs (IIRC) Final Fantasy II & III being 69.99.[/QUOTE]

I found it in a bargain bin and kinda preferred seeing the enemies instead of random encounters. Not sure what its price was, I do recall paying $80 each for FF6 and Chrono Trigger though. Don't regret it either.
 
[quote name='LottaGames']Are you serious? I believe that's an underestimate. Unless the remakes can be rushed through somehow.[/QUOTE]
The difficulty is tuned way down in the remakes.
 
I would say start from the beginning. You will have the greatest appreciation for the series if you play them in order. Get 1/2/4 on PSP. 3 on DS. 5 & 6 are best on GBA but are also playable on PS1. 7-9 could go PS1 or PSN and play them on a PSP that way. 10/10-2/12 are PS2 only and 13 looks far better on PS3. That's the logistics of it all. Obviously some are better than others, but playing them in order will allow you to see and enjoy all of them. It will also give you a chance to see how the series evolved. Starting later and then going back is very difficult unless you're a die hard.
 
my friend let me borrow FFIII for the ds, and i don't know if i'm doing something wrong, but i just made it to the mountain to the north, im about an hour in and i keep dieing, my main girl can 1 hit almost everything, but everyone else is barely doing damage. Everyone allso gets killed in two hits? is it just sapposed to be tough?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top