Final Fantasy Appreciation Thread (1 Viewer)

[Morgan Jolley]

Yeah, I know. A lot of you don't like FF. I understand.

But this thread is about the art, music, storylines, characters, minigames, everything.

FFX has the best visuals of any of the games, hands-down, and not just because its in 3-D. The art of the structures and the temples shows that the world has a history to it, something none of the other FF games have really been able to do, nor have they actually NEEDED to.

Some of the orchestrated versions of the tracks from FF8 (which I consider to be one of the best FF games for reasons many may never understand) are the most relaxing songs I've ever heard. FFX's background music was more fitting in the context of the game than by itself, but it still served its purpose. FF7's music all had a similar sound to it, which created nice continuity in the places you visited, a very nice touch that is rarely found in games.

FF8 had the most complex storyline. People still debate what the hell was really going on. FF9 had another great storyline, mainly in how it made the characters all relate to the theme of the game (life and death).

FF6 had the most characters (I think) but the main ones were very well done. They were likeable, unique, and all fit their purpose on the journey that the game was pretty well. FF9 had a great ending because of its characters and they all had some sort of significance to the overall story, as well.

I liked Blitzball. It was pretty fun when you got into it, and I got to be pretty good. I also liked FF7's Golden Saucer, though I didn't get that into FF9's Tetra Master or the FF8 version of it.

I also think that most of my best videogame memories are from FF games. There is Aeris's death from FF7, the scene in FF6 where Kefka puts poison in the water, a lot of pivotal scenes in FF8 (the CGI actually helped make them memorable), the Bahamut scenes from FF9, the wedding scene stuff from FFX, and of course, the endings to all of the games.

Though one thing that pissed me off was when I realized that FFX's ending and credits DID NOT have the FF/"Crossing the Bridge" theme. Every other game has it, but not FFX.

 

[DonRoeber]

My fiancee and I like Final Fantasy so much, we're going to have the end of battle music playing as we walk down the aisle together after we're married.

 

[felix_suwarno]

everything about final fantasy is really excellent, except the fact that you need to do random battles with the same old, same old gameplay. that is more than enough reason for me not to play any final fantasy game, and off course, that applies to any other japanese turn based rpg.

 

[Craig A]

I have played FF 7-10, and I think 8 was my favourite. I have no problem with random battles, but the linearity of 10 really annoyed me. The FMV has always been incredible.

 

[DonRoeber]

I always forget to talk about Final Fantasy Tactics, by far the best Final Fantasy game ever. It's just not numbered, so people forget about it. If you have a PS1 or PS2, you owe it to yourself to pick this game up. It's now a PS1 Greatest Hits game, so it should be readily available.

 

[Dave Falasco]

FFVII was my "first love", so to speak. I had owned a Genesis, NES, SNES, and even a Sega CD, and I had played many games before FF that I really got into (the first 2 Zeldas come to mind). But FFVII just stole my heart. The characters, the incredible story, the FMV sequences, that beautiful music--it completely captivated me like no game before or since. It was like your first kiss--you may come across a better kisser in your life, but you never forget that first one. I eagerly awaited FFVIII after beating VII, but somehow I just couldn't get as emotional about it.
I have since played other games that I might rank higher on an all-time favorites list (FFTactics would be one, Halo another). But none have been as memorable as that month or two that I spent completely immersed in FFVII. I still remember exactly how I felt when Aeris died. :frowning:

 

[Morgan Jolley]

everything about final fantasy is really excellent, except the fact that you need to do random battles with the same old, same old gameplay. that is more than enough reason for me not to play any final fantasy game, and off course, that applies to any other japanese turn based rpg

Lunar had different gameplay. It was turn based, but the actual way in which you played was more like FFTactics.

Also, each FF game has a slightly different battle system and you are rewarded for your random battles. They have random battles because if they didn't, you wouldn't fight and wouldn't be able to progress in the game. While I would prefer something more like Chrono Trigger/Cross where you see the enemy on the field before fighting, I'm pretty content with how it is.

I would have to say that FF8 had the best ending. Not just because it was long, but because it was more happy than usual for an FF game. The shot where the tear falls from Squall's eye is just amazing...

FF7 was my first REAL RPG (I missed out on everything SNES) and I thoroughly enjoyed it, as I did 8, but of the FF games I've played (5-10 and Tactics) I would say I actually fell in love with 9 first. It was the first one that I continually played until I beat it (the others I played for a while, then switched around and eventually came back, except for 10). FF9's ending was also amazing, though something about 8's makes it my favorite.

 

[jeff lam]

The only FF game I have played to date is FF3 for the SNES and I love that game. Several people have told me that III is the best of the entire series even though its older and the graphics aren't nearly as good. Since I just got a PS2 two weeks ago, I'll have to check out FF7-X. BTW, what happened to 4-6? What console has those? All I hear about is 7-X now days. Since I'm not huge into FF or gaming, I just don't know about these things. But I am excited to play 7-X and Tactics when I can find them for a great price.

 

[John Chow]

Jeff, the numbering system is screwy, but here's how it is:

Japan ----> US
FF1 (NES) FF1
FF2 (NES) Not released
FF3 (NES) Not released
FF4 (SNES) FF2
FF5 (SNES) Not released initially, released on PS1 as part of a compilation
FF6 (SNES) FF3

FF4/Chrono Trigger were released as one anthology on PS1 and FF5/FF6 were released on PS1 as part of another anthology.

Personally, the random battles don't bother me much, especially in FFX, where you can get one of the No Encounter items midway and use it when exploring.

Personally, I think all of the FF games have been pretty linear, but in FFX, since they changed the way the world map works, it feels even more linear.

I've only played FF1, FF4, FF5, FF7, and FF10, and among those I think FF10 is probably my all around favorite. I love the new battle system and how you can switch characters in and out. I always found it annoying in FF7, where some of the guys would just sit around and do nothing :p). I also much prefer the Sphere Grid system to the Materia system. The Materia system destroyed the uniqueness of each character, since they all essentially had the same abilities. The Sphere Grid system is kinda like a more complicated version of the Job system used in FF5, but each character starts off on their own path and later have the ability to be customized to pick up abilities from other areas.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Right now, you can get Final Fantasy 4-9, X, and Tactics for PSX/2 (if you can find all of them, 7 and 8 are harder to find, and 9 to a degree). So far, there have been 3 FF games on each console (NES-->SNES-->PSX) and Square never released FF2 and 3 (some call them FF2j and FF3j) for NES in America.

So we missed out on the original FF2 and 3. There were rumors of Square releasing FF1-3 (maybe even up to 6) on the GBA, so we would FINALLY get them, but I doubt it.

Technically, we have 12 FF games:

Final Fantasy 1 NES
Final Fantasy 2/4j SNES
Final Fantasy 3/6j SNES
Final Fantasy 4 PSX (in FF Chronicles)
Final Fantasy 5 PSX (in FF Anthology)
Final Fantasy 6 PSX (FF Anthology)
Final Fantasy 7 PSX
Final Fantasy 8 PSX
Final Fantasy 9 PSX
Final Fantasy X PS2
Final Fantasy Tactics PSX
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest SNES

But FF2 and 3 in America weren't the originals but were renamed since we never got the original FF game and they thought it would be dumb to release FF1, then FF4, then FF6 so they released 4 and 6 as 2 and 3, respectively.

Also, FF4j had two versions: regular and easy type. We got the easy type since us stoopid americans can't handle tough RPGs. They also didn't release FF5 in America until PSX because of the Job System that FF5 has.

 

[Chris Bardon]

Well, I've been playing FF for a long time-bought FF1 when it first came out on the NES (still one of the hardest games I've finished-if for no other reason than the 3 hour dungeon at the end). FF2 was the first "wow" screenshot for the SNES (since it was such an upgrade from what we were used to), and I even bought the godawful "mystic quest" for a quick fix while I waited for ff3. The series has had its high points (ff IV) and its low points (MQ) but overall it's been a great ride. Some other thoughts:

ff IV-The best of the FF games. The Japanese version is significantly harder than the US one, but this one had the best story and characters of all the FF games so far. Best of all, it forced you to play using different parties, and avioded the "reject room" problem.

ff VIII-A lot of people hated this game, but I thought that the junction system was a lot of fun to play with. Not quite as good as VII, but still a great game.

ff IX-Unique characters finally make a comeback. Best thing that this game had going for it was that the characters all had distinct abilities and personalities, unlike other FF games (VI) where everyone eventually became exactly the same.

FF X-The new battle system is incredible-nuff said.

FF XI-A nightmare come true. Hopefully this won't bankrupt the series, and make way for...

FF XII-Back to the single player roots, and looking to show up ff X

 

[Oscar_R]

How about moving this discussion to something more intelligent... like who's hotter:
Yuna

or LULU!
Link Removed

 

[Oscar_R]

my vote should be obvious

 

[Joseph Young]

my vote should be obvious

Good lord, mine too.
Let me put it this way:
I appreciate people who appreciated FF7-10, and I really like FF Tactics.
Joseph

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I'm playing through Tactics. Thank god your party automatically heals up between battles.

Lulu...duh.

What was the coolest thing about FF7's materia system was the ability to have EVERY ability on each person if you did all the stuff you could. I remember having 3 full columns of abilities...that was the day. FFX allowed you to do that, too, but you REALLY had to work for it.

 

[John Spencer]

Actually, I really enjoyed Final Fantasy Adventure I and II for the Gameboy. They weren't overly simplistic considering the console, and the storylines were very good.

But my most memorable FF moment will always be sitting in a dark living room at 2am with my friends, all of us with tear-filled eyes due to Aeris' death scene. That is, unfortunately, one of the last completely unexpected moments I've had from a video game.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The GameBoy games (FFAdventure and something else) weren't FF games. They were in the SaGa series.

 

[Paul_Fisher]

I actually think that FF 3 for the SNES was the best FF game. FF1 was also really good. I can't tell you how many hours I spent playing that game. I think FF3 had the best story of them all.

FFX was the worst of all of them. I HATED it. I was so sick of HAVING to watch cutscenes. I would play for about 20 seconds, then 15 minute cutscene. Play for 30 seconds, 10 minute cutscene. It was awful!!!

 

[felix_suwarno]

"I was so sick of HAVING to watch cutscenes. I would play for about 20 seconds, then 15 minute cutscene. Play for 30 seconds, 10 minute cutscene. It was awful!!! "

then you would hate metalgear2, and like deus ex.

 

[Paul_Fisher]

then you would hate metalgear2, and like deus ex.

Actually, there is not near as many cutscenes in Metal Gear Solid 2 as in FFX. I actually enjoyed MGS2 for about 2 weeks then I sold it.

I also enjoyed Deus Ex, but that was on the PC.