Never played a single Final Fantasy Game. In 2016 I'm going to try to play through and finish all the mainline games and their sequels minus the online ones in American release order. How far into it before I kill myself?
Also I wouldn't call RPG's my favorite genre so I thought about maybe throwing in spin offs to keep it fresh, if anyone can help me point out the good ones.
>>321864914
IF you make it through reward yourself with Dissidia
You could save yourself some pain and just play the odd numbered games. 6 and 10 are the only even numbered games I'd recommend outside of that sequence. If you really want, you could start at 5 just to skip the more archaic ones, though FF1 is still a pretty solid game.
>>321865149
I should also add that you can ignore the FF13 games, and the FF fanbase is divided on 12 due to it playing differently than the rest of the games, but it's not necessarily a bad game.
Why American release order? You'd be playing skipping over 2, 3 and 5, then going back to them, it'd be slightly awkward. Better to just play them in numbered order so you can see how the gameplay changed and evolved with each title.
>>321865280
Thanks. Is Tactics and Crystal Chronicles any good?
>>321865458
Don't skip 13 OP, play it and make up your own mind. You might end up enjoying it as others have, and may opt to play the sequels which improve upon it in many areas.
Play Tactics and Tactics Advance, Crystal Chronicles seems best suited for multiplayer but it's actually one I haven't played so can't comment on.
>>321865446
But he'll kill himself at II if he does that.
>>321864914
IV, VI, VII and IX are the most beloved games by the most fans, and the ones I could easily recommend to anyone. I guess FF7 would be the place to start, since it's fairly simple yet still enjoyable. Has tons of historical importance too.
After that, choose your poison. Since the stories and worlds are (usually) not connected in any way, you can pretty much shoot blind. Different things appeal to different people, and that's also why there's so much arguments about various titles in the series.
I for example really liked the FF XIII trilogy as a whole, but I know that many bash it as the worst blunder of the millennium and death of the series.
The ones I would personally recommend skipping are the NES originals (1-3) and the MMOs (11 & 14). I also wasn't too fond of VIII and XII.
>>321865149
>Skipping 4
>The game that developed most of the franchises roots in story and character development
>One of the best soundtracks that's still being heavily referenced
>The game that's been remade the most times in the franchise because it was so well loved
>Playing 10 instead
Yeah, you're a riot. Anon, START at 4 and keep going. The first 3 games are basically just directionless grinding until the final boss. 4 is the first game that provides a character-driven story that's actually good.
>not playing the MMO's
But FFXI's storyline is actually fantastic. If you're playing through the first 3 grinding simulators anyway, why not spend 2 months to get through XI's story expansions? The game's shutting down in a year soon anyway, so you'll never get your chance after that. Plus, they've casualized the experience so much that you can recruit NPC followers and plow your way through the story without any player help. (Even though that defeats the purpose of the game.) Just grit and bare through the original main story because it's admittedly mediocre (Ends at around level 50, which you can get to within a few days no problem these days) but once you get the expansions, things start really picking up.14 you can go ahead and skip.
>>321864914
>American release order
What? Why? Also I'm betting on IX. VIII will drain you and you will persevere through it, but won't have enough enthusiasm left to survive IX.
>>321864914
Since you're skipping II and III you should still retain your will to live until you hit X-XIII.
Unless you're some kinda JRPG hatin' queer.
>>321865149
>>321865280
Honestly I would do V last of the SNES games, if only because the best translation for it is the GBA one which makes a lot of fun of itself. Not the best story to grab onto you. But if OP ends up enjoying IV and VI he should play it for the job system.
>>321868298
I'm 40 hours into FFX, it actually gave me my will to live back.
>>321866758
>After that, choose your poison. Since the stories and worlds are (usually) not connected in any way, you can pretty much shoot blind. Different things appeal to different people, and that's also why there's so much arguments about various titles in the series.
Could you or someone else explain the differences? I always assumed the gameplay would be the biggest difference such as the job classes or whatever.
>>321869016
It's easier to say the lore is mostly similar: elements like Chocobos, Cid, certain vehicles, crystals in some way or form (or things like Magicites, Mako/the Lifestream, spheres). Otherwise the differences are indeed gameplay and the story. It is worth mentioning that the first games have an overworld.
>>321869016
There's tons of things that differ and thus appeal to different people.
Some of the games have that freely customizable / selectable "job system", meaning the cast are pretty much blank slates for you to tweak as you please. Meanwhile some have more strictly written cast with notable differences in behavior and skills.
The worlds of FF games can range from the typical medieval world + dragons & airships, to some quite futuristic stuff. Sometimes a mix and match of both of them, and even something totally different.
While majority of FF games are infact fairly linear, the fairly common "overworld" map, that connects the towns and dungeons in a form of a single planet, has been often enough to mask this linearity for many people. However, some latest games in the series, namely X and XIII, pretty much ditched this element and focused on more story-driven, clearly linear approach.
Some games also have more side-content than others.
certain titles have actual minigames you can spend time on, if that's your thing.
>>321869016
The games aren't connected to each other in any way, except for shared elements that exist throughout the franchise like Moogles and Chocobos. They don't even take place within the same planet.
Could anyone elaborate on why 8 isn't very loved?
From what I've seen, the visuals look great. But I wanna know why people seem to dislike the game
>>321871753
>Why don't people like 8?
Because it's clunky as fuck, convoluted as hell, and poorly written
>visuals look great
you should stop judging games by their graphics.
I'm actually planning to do the same, only difference is, I've already played all the main FFs, but I'm 30 now and I'm looking forward to playing them again, starting 4th of January when I get back home. I have played almost only WoW for the last 7 years, so I'm looking forward to getting back into some Final Fantasy, especially the good Final Fantasies
I'm thinking about buying XIII on Steam. Does the game have a lot of grinding? Can I finish it by just moving forward and never skipping any battles?
>>321868954
>gave me my will to live back
Great, yet another undead guy that needs a Sending.
>>321871951
Lel
>>321871951
>Great, yet another undead guy that needs a Sending.
lol
Play it in this order, with these versions:
FF1: GBA
FF2: PSP
FF3: DS
FF4: PSP
FF5: GBA with patch
FF6: GBA with patch
FF7: PS1
FFTactics: PSP with patch
FF8: PS1
FF9: PS1
FF10: PS4 HD Collection with original music option, PS2 version if no PS4
FF11: Try what >>321867950 said, I might give that a shot myself
FF12: IZJS version on PC if you can emulate it, possibly wait for the HD version
FF13: PS3
FF14: PS4/PC, if you can make it through FFXI you can certainly make it through the game and its 1 expansion. It's friendly for solo players.
You can try playing the spinoffs based on how much you enjoy the world or characters of certain series. Enjoyed 7? Try Crisis Core. Liked Tactics? Try the Tactics Advance games. X-2 is nothing much like X but it has a fantastic job system and gameplay. I don't think the XIII sequels should be overlooked if you had any enjoyment at all from that one.
>>321871949
XIII probably has the least grinding of any main title.
>>321868954
desu senpai I love X, but it's the point where people's mileage starts to vary more imo. Being followed by an MMO and a divisive XII, then Lightning.
>>321872124
Oh, let me add, I tend to forget that some of these have been released on steam. There's been controversy over sprites or w/e with the older games, but as far as I can tell you can play the Steam versions of FF7, FF8 and the FF13 trilogy and be fine if you prefer.
>>321872124
why wouldn't you just play the PSP version of FF1
>>321872313
Yeah, other than VII using the original PC script touch up it and VIII are no different than playing original. Not sure if VIII has had music patched, tho VII has. VII also had cheat buttons for speeding up time, health/limits etc if you just want to breeze through.
>>321872353
Good point, I dunno what I was thinking besides seeing someone else mention Dawn of Souls and remembering how that was how I played it originally. PSP version is fine.
You'll have a brief lapse once you reach the disk 3 of Final Fantasy VIII
And then you'll actually kill yourself once you reach X-2
It's a little known fact that a sizeable share of the franchise's fanbase is actually already dead.
How's the Vita version of X?
>>321872234
>corridor simulator 2001
>then an MMO
>then an offline MMO
>then Toriyama burns the franchise to the ground
I almost feel bad for the series.
>>321872505
X-2 is one of the best games and it has the best ATB system. Fight me.
Not related to OP cause I don't want to make a new thread, but is FF8 on Steam close to the original music-wise? Or should I play the PS1 version?
>>321867950
They're only ending console support. PC will still be online, just without any more new content.
>>321872531
They did it to themselves, sadly. XV looks interesting, tho, and I've heard good about XIV.
Only play 6,7,8, X, XII, XIII.
Rest are trash and not worth your time
>>321864914
>in American release order
And miss out on V? That's silly and a great disservice to yourself.
>>321871753
Because they couldn't figure out the junction system when they were ten and the Squall is emo meme has become so pervasive that everyone believes it's true.
>>321872592
Google friendo. VII had the OG music patched. Can't remember if VIII did.
Easy as fuck to emulate otherwise, or use whatever fan patches have fixed it since the 90s.
>>321865280
Except you shouldn't ignore Lightning Returns because it actually had some of the best combat in the series.
>>321872579
Gameplay-wise, you might be correct.
But its merits are drowned out by the story's mediocrity.
>>321872592
I believe so, only the original PC version of VII had the terrible midi music
>>321872729
There is this to consider too
>>321871949
>Does the game have a lot of grinding?
No. Probably the least of any game.
>Can I finish it by just moving forward and never skipping any battles?
Pretty much yeah. You may end up having some problems in the optional bossfights in the game's only open-ended area, that's assuming you even bother with them, but the plot alone is easily beatable just by not being a sissy.
I do recommend learning out of spamming the "Auto Battle" as soon as possible. Manually selected move combinations + using the Repeat -function (and occasionally Cancel) is both much more effective and fun!
>>321864914
Fuck off, underage scum
>>321872124
Is the DS version of FF3 better than the psp port?
>>321872729
I never liked V. One of the worst games in the series, IMO.
>>321872713
>4, 5, and 9 are trash
>13 is worth playing
You're just the fucking worst type of person.
>>321872894
Its true tho and 13 wasnt even that bad m8
>>321872514
It's fine, but it still has that rearranged music only.
>>321872886
Why? It's still got one of the best job systems in the series and the cast is great. Music is what you'd expect from Uematsu and the story is silly but knows it.
>>321872713
>half numbers and half roman numerals
What's wrong with you?
>>321873113
I hate the job system games.
>>321873180
7 and 8 are to hard to type
>>321871753
The character growth system is ass-backwards, almost completely detached from the concept of fighting and winning battles.
And the story freefalls so hard at the start of Disc III that you would swear it was made by a completely different studio.
It has some worth, but people get awfully defensive of it and act like it's an absolute masterpiece in all aspects whose critics simply don't "get" it.
See >>321872756
>>321872793
Idk, it's a fun little ride if you don't take it seriously. It establishes a clear character arc better than most FF games, tho if the story isn't a person's bag that may be useless. Fanservice is a fun thing sometimes, too.
I've just never seen a reason to find the game as offensively bad as some people, or the story and characters anyway. Spira becoming ridiculous when finally free of Sin works for me. It was pretty ridic already.
>>321873238
But you typed out XII and XIII which both have the same amount of letters as VII and VIII.
>>321872880
To be honest I wasn't even aware of that PSP version. Looking into it a bit, seems to be a somewhat smoothed over port of the DS version. Seems fine to me.
>>321873396
nobody calls them 12 and 13 tho man they are known as theyre roman numeral names
>>321873379
Well to each his own right, who am I to judge?
Mechanically speaking I can't find many faults with the game, I just find the story impossible to swallow and, hey, that's a subjective thing
>in b4 some nigger comes and says who cares about the story
Like I said, to each his own
>want to play XIII so I can properly judge its worth
>50 GIGABYTES
Man, Square doesn't make it easy, does she.
>this thread
How weird, just saw the FF collection on Steam and told myself the same thing OP.
Good thread.
>>321872313
I've been playing the PC port of VI, and fugly though the graphics may be, the bigger fuck up is the interface.
The default battle UI is a nice idea in theory (vertical menus for each character which rise up until their turn comes up) but bad in execution since you can't tell where the 'limit' of the ATB gauge is. The space is small so you need to scroll down, though it's not that big of an issue. The other UI has a piss yellow color rising in the HP/MP section, which is an improvement over the default one, but still.
Then there's the interface.
-When buying things, the quantity raises slowly, and it's actually faster to just mash the A/Accept/OK button. Extra dumb because you can't just press down to instantly go to x99 or increase the quantity by larger values, which is pretty annoying when you want to buy Potions or Shurikens or whatever in bulk. Also, when you sell all you have of a particular item, the cursor resets to the top.
-You can't jump 'pages' in the inventory and the Esper menu, which I can tell will be very annoying at the later stages of the game.
-Some quirks like a delay when you finish inputting Blitz commands, Whelk/Ymir being a single target, the cursor disappearing in battle, name entry ALWAYS detecting your key presses no matter where the cursor is.
The only good improvement is the Auto Battle function, which doubles ATB speed and repeats the characters' last actions. Good because WoB is basically an Auto-Crossbow/Rising Phoenix party.
>>321873932
I feel your pain, I'm downloading this right now, and I've only done 7.4 percent
for reference I started torrenting it 2 days ago
>>321872713
Replaying 8 at the moment. No leveling run is surprisingly challenging at the late stage of the game.
Also, I think this entry would benefit the most with a remake toning down hard the goofy scenes and making it a serious adult theme. Don't care about main story, but that damn Laguna subplot being fleshed out in serious tones, damn that would be something.
You really should just play the three SNES games in any order. After that you can try going for the NES games if you're hooked or play the PlayStation games if you're still not sure or just prefer something more recent.
>>321864914
Play Crystal Chronicles and ignore the multiplayer gimmick. GOAT music and levels.
>>321874383
How does not leveling in a game with scaling enemies change the difficulty at all? Wouldn't the difficulty depend on how much you abuse the junction system?
>>321864914
Do yourself a favor and Skip the following
2 - it's literally SaGa
3 - five did it better
9 - doing anything in that game is really really slow, play it later instead of throwing it into the marathon
10-2 - it's pretty gay
You could watch 13 instead of playing it, I would tell you to skip 8 but it's probably worth playing to compare it to XV.
>>321864914
Play all of them, II, VIII and XIII are the only really shit ones.
XII and III were divisive in the fanbase, I loved XII personally.
>>321874610
One thing, you would not have the conventional means of cheesing the game with Squall's overpowered limit break, Lionheart.
But you're right. Although I remember my first playthrough just breezing through Ultimecia's castle bosses, unlike now that I have to plan each of my moves. Dat Omega Weapon tho being always at Lv100, seems near impossible to beat.
>>321872124
Thank you anon that was helpful as fuck.
>>321872124
Actually play FF1 PSP and 6 SNES with Ted Woolsey Uncensored + Bugfixes
Just wait for XV.
>>321876012
Does Woolsey uncensored replace the son of a submariner lineor just the leap of faith, pearl and other minor things?
>>321874224
>RAW PIXEL ENVIRONMENTS WITH FILTERED CHARACTERS
AAAAAAAAAAUGH FUCK I'M STILL FUCKING MAAAD
>>321876087
>how the gangbang started
>>321876132
No. It keeps all the fun of Woolsey's script while uncensoring references to things that were cut out of the American SNES release. It also changes the names of some things (Items for sure, maybe enemies too but I'm not sure about that) for consistency with other Final Fantasy games. (GP to Gil, Tonic to Potion, Fenix Down to Phoenix Down, etc)
PLAY THE RETRANSLATION FOR FF7. You can google it and easily find it, but make sure to do it or else the story will become a clusterfuck 1/3 into the game.
I'm going to add onto this
As someone who has never played a Final Fantasy game and just bought a PS4, should I get FFX/X-2?
