The Final Fantasy Series Thread

[thaddeus6th]

Ever played FFIV? I thought that had a damn good storyline.

Favourite summons....Ifrit from VII. Ah, 'twas my first every FF, in days of yore when I still spent 40 hours a week surrounded by schoolgirls in uniforms that tended to be too tight.

[Talysia]

Favourite summon monster? That's an easy one (and it's too early to remember whether I've answered that one or not): Bahamut (any incarnation, except FFX) and Odin. I liked Knights of the Round, despite the ridiculous time it took to finish.

[Mithridelle]

I have always loved Shiva and I liked Diablos of the magic teapot in FFVIII.

[Cayal]

Diablos was very cool looking.


I haven't read the entire thread but has there been a vote on best to worst list of Final Fantasy games?

[Lenny]

I don't think there's been one in this thread, but it's pretty much given that there'll be an old thread somewhere harping on about best and worst.

EDIT: I'm actually mildly surprised - I've only found two! ! I was predicting to find at least two million.

Final Fantasy Favorite - 2004
Final Fantasy- Which one? - 2005

[Talysia]

There were only two Final Fantasy threads before this one? I'm very surprised.

[Lenny]

Well, only two about favourite game. I'm sure I passed a few other Final Fantasy threads whilst I was digging - mostly about FFVII or FFX. Though there might have been a couple about FFXII.

[Overread]

That sounds better.
I was wondering, with final fantasy being such a large topic, and with the certancy that there will always be members wanting to talk about it; would it not be possilbe to convince the mods to open a sub category in games for FF. I say this as this monster of a thread, whilst open to all, is rather a maze.

[Sephiroth]

I like the idea, Overread. But who am I? Just a glorified n00b with a chutnering problem!

With the author subforums, there needs to be at least six active threads discussing someone's work before they get one. I'm not sure whether what we've got here so far would be enough to convince. Of course, in a subforum, we could have threads to discuss each game, etc...so that's more than six to begin with....plus more general threads like this one.

In the meantime, it's inevitable that things will be revisited in this thread that have already been talked about. I, for one, don't have a problem with that. We can't really expect every newcomer to read the entire thread before they post. As you say, it's a maze.



Diablos was very cool, I can't believe I forgot him.

thaddeus, I've never played IV, no. I would like to.



Of the games I have played...best to worst:

FFVII
FFVI
FFX
FFIX
FFVIII
FFXII

[Talysia]

Best to worst, eh?

FFVII
FFVIII
FFVI
FFV
FFIV
FFIX
FFXII
FFX
FFX-2

I won't count Dirge of Cerberus in there, but it would be fairly high up on the list.

[Lenny]

And of the FF games I've played, best to worst:

FFX
FFX-2



I'll be able to add FFXIII and Versus XIII to that list in a year or two.

[Sephiroth]

Well, if that's what you think, Talysia, I'm definitely going to have to get a hold of Dirge soon.



Since we're allowed to repeat things, can I mention for about the eighth time how excited I am about Versus XIII, now?

[Commonmind]

This is a wildly popular thread so rather than reading it in its entirety I'll simply answer a few of the questions Seph posed.

I've been playing Final Fantasy since its inception. I played all of the NES and SNES titles, imports included, the entire PS collection (as well as a few of the Japanese international versions) and, of course, all of the PS2 games. I've played a few of the hand-held remakes, including Dawn of Souls and FFVI for the GBA and the more recent FFIII for the DS.

I'm definitely a big fan. My favorite in the series is still FFVI, as it was the first Final Fantasy title I played that really dragged me into the world. I loved the characters, the twists and turns, and the way the game presented new elements to the player. While I enjoyed the story (despite a few if the idiosyncrasies in the translation) I more enjoyed how epic and ambitious the plot had been at the time. The Opera scene still requires a box of tissue within arms reach and finding out a certain someone is...a certain someone...still makes me giggle like a precocious schoolgirl.

FFVII falls in as a close second, though I don't count it as a favorite for many of the reasons other gamers do. While I thought the story was presented well, and the pace of the game was flawless, I wasn't a big fan of the characters and thought (don't use a limit break on me Seph) that the villains were simply too flat and somewhat cliche. I once asked a few friends why they admired Sephiroth so much, and quite honestly, the only valid answer they could give me was that he walked through fire and had a really, really big sword. I enjoyed VII because of its battle and materia systems; it's still the biggest reason why I continually go back to the game.

FFVIII was a wash. FIX was fantastic, and I loved the ending, despite the disjointed plotting and how easy it was to become ridiculously overpowered well before reaching the end of the game. FFX's battle system is one of my favorites, though I missed the old world map and the feeling of exploration inherent in earlier titles. FFX-2 was a blur that I'd rather forget.

FFXII was fantastic, in so much that it reinvented the franchise and presented a totally new way of playing that was still strangely familiar. I loved feeling like I could just walk around and explore (albeit somewhat constricting and linear) and I enjoyed the addictive and time consuming grind sessions I had with the game; getting rare items, building combos and the like.

Spirits Within was a gorgeous farce, and Advent Children, while definitely entertaining, felt a little too much like an attempt at quelling fans that have wanted a true sequel since the original's release.

I'm anticipating FFXIII and all its iterations and I'm looking forward to seeing what the PS3 will allow the developers to bring to the series. One of the reasons I love Square-Enix is attention to detail and their high production values. I don't think any of us would've been as wowed as we had been had we not dropped our jaws during the series' more awe-inspiring visual moments.

[Sephiroth]

Great post, Commonmind! Welcome to the discussion.


So...I'm not to use the Super Nova? You're not about to sit through five minutes of planet-smashing video sequence?

That's no fun!!!

But if everyone saw everything the same way, the world would be pretty boring.


I know a lot of people like Sephiroth because he's 'cool'. The flashback when you get to Kalm, when you see him fight a dragon and take off over 4000, reinforces the idea of him as the ultimate SOLDIER. But the reason I like him is because of his tragic story. He is a fallen hero, and a victim, both of the Shin-Ra researchers and the Jenova entity, and his subsequent rage and nihilism is a result of this. I find him a more three-dimensional and rounded character than Kefka, for example. Where Scarlet, Heidegger and Hojo are concerned (but not so much Rufus), you certainly have a point. Don't tell me you didn't like the Turks, though?


What was your opinion of the plot in FFXII?

[Commonmind]

If anyone says a word against the turks I'll bring my Louisville out of retirement. I liked FFXII's plot quite a bit, though I think SE found it difficult to try and tell a larger story while still keeping to their normal "static" cast format. I couldn't help but feel like I wanted to change points of view throughout the game, and there were times I felt a sense of urgency, as if the plot was going on without me because the characters were seemingly unimportant in the scheme of things (which might have been intentional, we'll never know).