Final Fantasy

[Spark Of Spirit]

I know this series has really fallen into the gutter with the sub-X follow up XIII and the abomination known as XIV, but back in the day it seemed like Final Fantasy games were a real event. Each were different in their own way, but carried over themes and ideas from each installment, and back in the SNES and PS1 days, Square was at the top of their game and the Final Fantasy series deserved all the acclaim it got.

Final Fantasy started out as a basic Role Playing Game not unlike Dragon Quest/Warrior in it's first three NES installments. Take four characters, level them up, and beat the bad guys. Pretty simplistic start, but work for what they are.

Final Fantasy IV started something new, however. Square injected a real storyline with twists and turns and personality that added to the already strong RPG elements. This continued with V (though with less focus on story and more on a revolutionary class system) and VI (arguably the greatest RPG of all time) as Square grew, so did their ambitions. But they never lost the original spirit of Final fantasy, the magic of the quest and characters before you.

Unfortunately, while making Final Fantasy VII, Square got a taste of something that would ruin them. CG cutscenes. While used sparingly in the PS1 installments, Square somehow got the idea that this was what players wanted from Final fantasy games. Interactive cutscenes, and the ability to play a movie. This culminated in what is probably the worst best selling game of all time (in my opinion, of course) Final Fantasy X. Shallow characters, a mess of a story, lack of any real exploration, and one of the worst minigames to ever be created.

Final Fantasy and Square would never get away from shallow movie games with a lack of heart or gameplay after X. XI was an online MMORPG that should not have been a main series game, XII was an unfinished mess thanks to Square dumping what remaining talent they had left causing Matsuno (Creator of Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle) to have a breakdown and leave the company midway through development. Then there was X-2, a total fucking embarrassment.

Then we come to today, with a shallow on-rails RPG and a broken MMORPG to represent what Square has fallen into.

But I'll always remember the series at it's peak. Final Fantasy III-IX (excluding VIII for misinterpreting what made VII so good) are still some of my favorite RPGs, and even though the people behind these games will probably never be involved with the franchise again, it's nice to remember a time when RPGs were equal amount story and gameplay with strong character development and some real heart put into it.

In conclusion, here are the battle themes from Final Fantasy I-X!

(The best theme is from IX)

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Oddly enough the only 3D FF game that I've played more than half-way through is IX, which I thought had an entertaining enough story-line and a simple enough to understand combat system.

I tried getting into VII and VII, but for whatever reason they both got really boring really quick for me, and I couldn't force myself to keep playing them. I have to admit, though, that I haven't really given the 2D FF games a fair chance. Perhaps one day I'll give FFVI a try (I think it was initially released as FFIII in the U.S.).

[Spark Of Spirit]

Well, VII does have a really slow start that kind of annoys me. It's the one reason I hesitate when replaying it. The story and characters are much better than all the side story crap released since would have you believe. Though I did like Crisis Core, even if it wasn't very Final Fantasy, it was fun.

I think VI is regarded as the best in the series, though. If you have the chance, that might be the one you want to try.

[Avaitor]

I haven't played VI in so long, but I recall it being a good game.

IV is probably still my favorite though.

[Spark Of Spirit]

VI is a great RPG. It's when Square struck the balance between great story and great gameplay, which they only ever really came close to once more since. (Which was IX)

Honestly, aside from 5, which apparently absolutely no one cares about or likes, the first 10 are pretty good games. I fucking hate Squall and 7 is overrated to hell and back, but they're pretty good games. Crisis Core was also pretty cool.

X-2 is fucking retarded, 11 is a mediocre MMO, 12 is a mindless grindfest, 13 is more (bad) movie than (bad) game, and 14 is by far the worst game of 2010, but the first 10 are all at least decent in my book. 4 and 6 are the only ones I'd ever call exceptional, though.

I like V quite a bit.   I don't like that the story isn't anywhere near as fleshed out as IV (the game they made right before it), but it's a fun game. It needs a remake to flesh it out, though. An Oath In Felghana style remake would do wonders, but it's not like Square is on the level of Falcom these days. It's way better than X, though.

The only thing I like about X is the battle system, everything else from the laughing scene to the main character makes me want to flush my old copy down the toilet. Except for Auron. He is the only redeemable thing about X that's not the battle system.

[Foggle]

VI is a great RPG. It's when Square struck the balance between great story and great gameplay, which they only ever really came close to once more since. (Which was IX)

Honestly, aside from 5, which apparently absolutely no one cares about or likes, the first 10 are pretty good games. I fucking hate Squall and 7 is overrated to hell and back, but they're pretty good games. Crisis Core was also pretty cool.

X-2 is fucking retarded, 11 is a mediocre MMO, 12 is a mindless grindfest, 13 is more (bad) movie than (bad) game, and 14 is by far the worst game of 2010, but the first 10 are all at least decent in my book. 4 and 6 are the only ones I'd ever call exceptional, though.

I like V quite a bit.   I don't like that the story isn't anywhere near as fleshed out as IV (the game they made right before it), but it's a fun game. It needs a remake to flesh it out, though. An Oath In Felghana style remake would do wonders, but it's not like Square is on the level of Falcom these days. It's way better than X, though.

The only thing I like about X is the battle system, everything else from the laughing scene to the main character makes me want to flush my old copy down the toilet. Except for Auron. He is the only redeemable thing about X that's not the battle system.

Eh, 5 didn't really do it for me. I'd rather play it than any of the 3D ones, though.

[talonmalon333]

In all honestly, after you see some of the lesser known RPGS out there, I'd say Final Fantasy no longer seems special. But they weren't always bad. In fact the original was actually decent.

The problem with Final Fantasy VII is that it has aged horribly. In fact I'd say it's no longer playable. The game just looks horrible. Plus the soundtrack is so low quality, even for the original PlayStation, due to them using midi files.

[Foggle]

I wouldn't say it's unplayable, but being forced to use the D-Pad in a 3D game is a fucking travesty.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Of course it's aged badly, it's an early 3D game. But looking past the graphics and clunky control, the game itself is actually pretty good. It's one of those games that really does need a remake, and I don't even think that of Square's other PS1 era games including the other FF games.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a 3DS port done down the line.

Also, of course FF games aren't special anymore. Square milked the brand with spin-offs and lousy sequels made by hacks. Pretty much everyone involved moved on to make RPGs at other companies by now.

[Angus]

First one I played was VII and it was alright. It's also one of the titles where you still got to rename all the characters so I never knew or cared what their original names were. Got to disc 2 before i had to return it.

X had some annoying mini-games and fairly linear play, but kind of fun for completists and that traditional RPG sequencing your combat moves was fun, and I liked that overall fighting your fate storyline that shows like Scrapped Princess or Matrix Reloaded used.

I wanted to like X-2 because it had the girls-centered characters but the repeated map layouts got annoying.

I also played XII which has even more wooden characters but some more automated combat scheme.

Just curious, if you're saying some of those Final Fantasy RPGs aren't so great, what RPGs would you recommend take their place?

Exclude MMORPGs, since those are a completely different beast that sucks away more life than we have these days.

[talonmalon333]

Just curious, if you're saying some of those Final Fantasy RPGs aren't so great, what RPGs would you recommend take their place?

What do you mean?

[Angus]

Like what RPGs would you have rather played instead of the next Final Fantasy title?

I tried one of the Grandias for a bit.
Then there was the Lord of the Rings title that acted like an RPG, but wasn't as rich.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Well, nowadays I turn to the handhelds mostly for RPGs as I prefer the genre way better there. But if you want me to list RPG series I enjoy (and have played), it would be easy:

Suikoden series (except 4)
Vandal Hearts
Mother series
Phantasy Star series (except 3)
Terranigma
Valkyria Chronicles series
Persona series
Grandia 1
Chrono Trigger
Valkyrie Profile 1 and 2
Mana series
Star Ocean 1 and 2
Wild Arms 1-3
Mario RPG series
Brave Fencer Musashi
Ys series
Threads Of Fate
Parasite Eve
Arc The Lad 1-3
Fire Emblem series
Half Minute Hero

I've only played 2 Tales games (Symphonia and Destiny) so I can't give a fair opinion on them, but Destiny was pretty sweet.

I could also argue Yakuza being an action/RPG mixed with a beat em up, but I won't this time. I just love bringing up the series because it is awesome.

[talonmalon333]

Like what RPGs would you have rather played instead of the next Final Fantasy title?

I tried one of the Grandias for a bit.
Then there was the Lord of the Rings title that acted like an RPG, but wasn't as rich.

Well if you just mean RPGs in general, here's a solid list of games I prefer/would rather play.

Suikoden II
Secret of Mana
Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate 2
Fallout 3
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2
Demon's Souls

Sorry if I got carried away.

[Angus]

Nice. Yeah, I forgot about Baldur's Gate II: Dark Alliance. That was a fun dungeon crawler along with Diablo and Dark Cloud.