Favorite Final Fantasy?

[Kkun]

[quote="Slytherine (post: 1213331)"]I have heard that FFTA is better then FFT. I really should try FFTA, even if FFT wasn't really my thing. Unfortunately, lack of funds tends to be a big problem...*sigh* OH WELL! ^_^]

That's a lie out of the pit of hell. FFT will ALWAYS be better than FFTA.

[yukoxholic]

I know I'm mostly alone in this, but Final Fantasy VIII. XD Not only was it the first FF I played, but it's also got a pretty good storyline with characters that I liked at the time.

You're most certainly not alone! I love Final Fantasy VIII and it was also my first Final Fantasy game I ever played. I also liked IX, X, and X-2. I had to warm up to X-2 at first though but I replay FF X and X-2 the most out of the Final Fantasies I own. Though the earlier FF's 1-3 were good and Final Fantasy Anthology was enjoyable. Tactics and Crystal Chronicles was tedious but I did not like Final Fantasy XII. I know every magazine gave it a 10 out of 10 but there's something about it that lost it's charm with me.

VII was O.K. I played it and than gave it to someone else. Though I love Advent Children can't really explain why I do not like VII and Dirge was the product of Square Enix trying to milk every dollar they could out of Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children franchise. Dirge of Cerberus should've been something memorable but ended up to be completely forgetable, for me that is.

[Radical Dreamer]

You're most certainly not alone! I love Final Fantasy VIII and it was also my first Final Fantasy game I ever played. I also liked IX, X, and X-2. I had to warm up to X-2 at first though but I replay FF X and X-2 the most out of the Final Fantasies I own. Though the earlier FF's 1-3 were good and Final Fantasy Anthology was enjoyable. Tactics and Crystal Chronicles was tedious but I did not like Final Fantasy XII. I know every magazine gave it a 10 out of 10 but there's something about it that lost it's charm with me.

Oh good! XDD Actually, I had forgotten that there were a few others on this site that liked VIII, so it's good to know. xD

Also, there is one reason why FFXII is awesome. Besides being fun and intriguing.

Balthier is awesome.

That is all.

[Slytherine]

That's a lie out of the pit of hell. FFT will ALWAYS be better than FFTA.

LOL. Sorry, FFT wasn't really my thing. But I did give it an honest try. Of course, that was 2 years ago. Maybe I should try again?


Slytherine

[Rocketshipper]

Large casts are usually my forte, but for RPGs, I'm geared a bit differently, as I prefer a more conveniently travel sized group of heroes

I totally agree. I preffer it when the storyline dictates who is in your party through the game (like in the Lunar and Grandia series) because then you don't have to even worry about balancing characters. If not that, then they should at least let you switch in characters whenever you want, like 10 and 12 or Xenosaga, instead of making you go to a save point to do it. And it really annoys me when the number of characters doesn't divide up evenly, like if you can only have a party of 3, and you have 7 characters (Xenosaga 2 and 3), because then rotating them evenly gets rather complicated.

[yukoxholic]

Oh good! XDD Actually, I had forgotten that there were a few others on this site that liked VIII, so it's good to know. xD

Also, there is one reason why FFXII is awesome. Besides being fun and intriguing.

Balthier is awesome.

That is all.

Yes, I do agree with you that Balthier is a pretty epic character. ^__^ Fran and Larsa were awesome characters too and Penelo was all right as well. Ashe got on my nerves, Basch was blah, and Vaan was just...."duh?" Vayne was the typical diabolical Final Fantasy villain but that long, flowing, hair just made him lose major evil points in my opinion!

The one thing I hated about Final Fantasy XII was the new junction-ing system for attacks. The little umbilical cord connecting you to where you have to go and who's about to attack you or who you are attacking drove me nuts. I don't want people in my wireless fighting network I just want Square Enix to drop this "provider" I hope in FF 13 they will not have this attacking system.

Also, I loved the gambits but I did not like how if they were equipped they'd drain most of my characters MP and they wouldn't attack even though I have an attacking gambit as well as a healing gambit in place. That or they'd only heal themselves, so than I switch gambits and the same stuff continues to happen. I don't know if maybe this was a glitch in my game but gambits completely did not rock my world at all.

The story was o.k. if not predictable but it's Final Fantasy I'm playing and I am used to the typical storyline that is the main reason why I've bought these games all the way up to FF 12 so...!

[uc pseudonym]

Since I'm posting, let me add a general note: FFX may be my favorite, but I wouldn't say that it is necessarily the best. Playing through the first time, basically beating it as fast as possible through casual means, the linear nature doesn't get in the way. I imagine that if I replayed it this might bother me more. Also, I agree with everyone who isn't fond of Blitzball. Other than winning the tournament, I barely touched it. Needless to say, Wakka wasn't heavily used in my endgame.

I don't see what the big deal is about the enemies levelling up with you, though. I never had a problem with that.

I don't think that anyone is saying it made the game difficult for them, it's the principle of the thing. Every time you level up the enemies get stronger as well and your fixed bonuses (junctioning, equipment, etc) become less important, so they gain a slight advantage. Playing while attempting to avoid gaining any levels is counter-intuitive to me and not as fun.

[Slytherine]

Needless to say, Wakka wasn't heavily used in my endgame.

While I like blitzball [a lot actually, LOL], I never really found Wakka to be a good character in general. Like...you have to spend A LOT of time on him to get his strength to anything decent, plus his overdrives were stupid, and he didn't really have any really great abilities that made me want to work harder with him. And he's kind of annoying in general, especially in the beginning of the game. I like him more later on, but I just could never really develop him much as a character.

To any Wakka fans: Sorry! Just saying!:sweat:

~Slytherine

[Radical Dreamer]

While I like blitzball [a lot actually, LOL], I never really found Wakka to be a good character in general. Like...you have to spend A LOT of time on him to get his strength to anything decent, plus his overdrives were stupid, and he didn't really have any really great abilities that made me want to work harder with him. And he's kind of annoying in general, especially in the beginning of the game. I like him more later on, but I just could never really develop him much as a character.

To any Wakka fans: Sorry! Just saying!:sweat:

~Slytherine

Yeah, I was never a fan of Wakka, either. XD My main party in X usually consisted of Auron, Lulu, Rikku if there were robots to be dismantled, and Yuna if there was something big where I could benefit from a summon. Kimahri and Wakka were the two least-used, and I only used Tidus because he was a story character, and sometimes had some pretty good overdrives. Also, Auron is always better than a Blitzball. XD

[Nate]

Actually Wakka was crazy strong. After you take him through his part of the Sphere Grid move him over to Auron's. After getting Wakka's ultimate weapon and unlocking all it's abilities he was my strongest physical attacker, doing roughly 20,000 HP of damage with his regular attacks, which was even more than AURON was doing, with HIS ultimate weapon.

Anyone who says Wakka sucks just wasn't using him right.

[KeybladeWarrior]

Quoted from truth. Wakka rocks!

[uc pseudonym]

Right, Wakka is potentially the most powerful character. He can hit more times than any other character (barring summons) and in the end when you're doing 99,999 damage per hit that's all that matters. But since I never got his best Reels or ultimate weapon, I had to go with other characters.

But that having been said, I think we should avoid too large of a tangent on any individual game apart from how they relate to favorites.

[TriezGamer]

Which is why I hate damage caps.

Final Fantasy XII in particular irritated me because the highest level spells were rendered absolutely useless by the casting time and the damage cap. If the damage were uncapped, it might still appeal, but when you can pull of 4-10 5000-6000 damage melee attacks in the time it takes to cast Ardor ... it's just not worth it anymore, even if Ardor deals 9999 every time I cast it.

[Slytherine]

[FFX]
I normally get laughed at a lot for this, but Yuna is normally my MVP. And not because of her aeons, just on her own. Like, I used Lulu til she learns Doublecast, then I use 5 Black Magic spheres and teach the Aga's and Doublecast to Yuna, and more then half-way through the game, she normally knows Holy. Once I get her legendary weapon [which, IMO, is the easiest Legendary weapon to get] she is pretty much indestructable. Plus, I love Anima, and the Magus Sisters are really amazing, so I use them before I go into a bigger battle. But yeah. IMO, Yuna's pretty amazing.

And Titus has the capabilities to be an essential player. Like, my BEST FFX run threw consisted of Yuna, Titus, and Auron as my three primary players. I might switch Rikku in place of Auron [I know, I know. Please don't throw things at me!] if I felt it could be helpful. I pretty much ignore Kimari and Wakka throughout the entire game, and I have no real need for Lulu after I teach Yuna the Aga's. It's worked pretty well for me.

Ok, I'm done now. *ducks and hides*

~Slytherine

[uc pseudonym]

Which is why I hate damage caps.

Final Fantasy XII in particular irritated me because the highest level spells were rendered absolutely useless by the casting time and the damage cap. If the damage were uncapped, it might still appeal, but when you can pull of 4-10 5000-6000 damage melee attacks in the time it takes to cast Ardor ... it's just not worth it anymore, even if Ardor deals 9999 every time I cast it.

I agree, though I tend to favor physical attacks anyway. This was especially irritating for Yiazmat... I'm doing maximum damage with every hit, with close to the highest rate of hits per minute, and it still takes a ridiculously long time. Omega XII was a better boss, in my opinion.

In an effort to stay on the general topic, how do you think different games have worked with damage limits? They don't come into play much for I-V, VI does a decent job (though Offerings + Attackers outweigh Ultima in the end), VII forces you to watch the Knights of the Round animation too many times, and IX does a good job.

[TriezGamer]

Let me think ...

I don't recall damage caps really coming into play until FFVI, and there it really wasn't too bad since there was nothing in the game that required massively overpowering your characters. Final Fantasy VII's damage cap never really irked me too much, as I managed to off both Ruby and Emerald while I was relatively low level. I don't recall FFVIII having any issues either.

FFIX was pretty well balanced, but IIRC the most HP any enemy had was 65535, so maybe that's for the better.

FFX ... I don't remember any more. All I really remember of it was Blitzball. FFXI doesn't have a known damage cap, but that's irrelevant really. FFXII easily is the most annoying damage cap for me -- and mostly BECAUSE of the real-time nature of the combat engine (ironically, one of the reasons I really like the game).

I just hate damage caps on principle. As you might imagine, Nippon Ichi games are some of my favorites =p

[Fish and Chips]

I've always wanted to try my hand at some solid Nippon Ichi titles, but I can never find any. Oh, and I don't actively own a PlayStation of any variety.

[TriezGamer]

That would make it hard, I suppose. La Pucelle Tactics remains my favorite story, but Disgaea 2 owns for gameplay.

[MasterDias]

LOL. Sorry, FFT wasn't really my thing. But I did give it an honest try. Of course, that was 2 years ago. Maybe I should try again?

If you disliked FFT, I doubt you would care for FFTA. FFTA wasn't a bad game particularly, but was inferior in both gameplay and story to Tactics.

I've always wanted to try my hand at some solid Nippon Ichi titles, but I can never find any. Oh, and I don't actively own a PlayStation of any variety.

Nippon Ichi games have a unique style to them but the games tend to require extensive power-leveling and some of the in-game systems can be headache-inducingly complex. I did finish Disgaea, but only made it about halfway through Phantom Brave before sort of losing interest.

But anyway, back to Final Fantasy. My comments:

I-III: Haven't played extensively.
IV: Solid game, and still generally good for it's age.
V: Not spectacular, but generally solid. Job system was first used here.
VI:I enjoyed it, but can be basically critical of it for the same reasons as
Fish and Chips. Has a killer soundtrack though.
VII:It's a fine game, but I wish S-E would get past the FFVII obsession that they have had in recent years.
VIII:I have a soft spot for this one, as it's one of the first in the series I played. Junction system didn't bother me, maybe because I played through half of it with only a vague understanding of how it worked way back when.
IX:I agree that this one is generally underrated and overlooked. Had a slightly dry middle portion, but otherwise I really enjoyed it.
X: This is probably my favorite overall. I felt it was balanced quite well in both story and gameplay. I didn't really dislike Blitzball that much actually. In fact, I probably liked it better than some of the other minigames.
X-2: It wasn't bad, but I was left with a 'Meh' feeling when it was all said and done.
XI: No comments... Haven't played.
XII: I enjoyed it once I got into it, but it took awhile. Game can be either difficult or easy depending on how you set up the gambits. The overall story was generally fine, but character development was nearly nonexistent...
Tactics: I liked it quite a bit despite an incoherent translation. It was sort of what got me interested in strategy RPGs.
Crystal Chronicles: Haven't played, don't really plan to.


EDIT: That's what I get for a making a post at 1:00 AM...

[TriezGamer]

If you disliked FFTA, I doubt you would care for FFTA.

Now there's a revelation if I've ever seen one.

[Rocketshipper]

Something I forgot to mention.

One thing that I really liked about Final Fantasy 10 was the way most of the story was told in flashback. It was one fairly unique element to the narrative, and hearing Tidus's narrator commentary on a lot of the stuff was cool.

[GrubbTheFragger]

FFX still holds me to say its my fav. The games theme still makes me emotional to this day. And then very very closely is FF8 such a great game IMO.

[Sparrowhawk]

You would have done better to ask me which ones I don't like lol - much shorter list. I LOVE all that I have played except for 8 and X-2

I have not played 1 or 2 (the real 2 - what was 2 in American on the SNES was really four and it ROCKS!)

I have not played IX

I have not played XI (but that's about to change - going to get a free trial soon! but i dont know if i will pay a monthly fee for it)

[Slytherine]

One thing that I really liked about Final Fantasy 10 was the way most of the story was told in flashback. It was one fairly unique element to the narrative, and hearing Tidus's narrator commentary on a lot of the stuff was cool.

Yes it was! That's one of the primary reasons FFX is my favorite Final Fantasy!

~Slytherine

[WrestlingOtaku]

Well here's my list:

IX: My favorite game out of the whole series. The story is great, the characters are awesome (am I the only one who really likes Steiner?) and I liked the fact that the summons had a part in the story.

VI: I only got to play this after it came out for GBA, but I love it. One of the best stories in the series and Kefka is the greatest villain in Final Fantasy.

X: Blitzball was the only major downside that I could think of, even it is a pretty major one. Being able to switch my party members in and out on the fly was great, allowing you to adjust to almost any situation, and should be put in all turn-based RPG's. Tidus sucked as a character though, man he was whiny. :/

XII: Balthier is my second favorite character in the series, behind only Auron. I could never really get used to the Gambits and designating all your characters action in real time was far to frustrating, but that might be just me.

VII: This was my first Final Fantasy. Unfortunately it isn't the greatest game of all time, nor is it the greatest RPG of all time (which many people on the interwebs seem insistent on proclaiming), but it was still fun. Cloud is extremely overrated as a character though, as is Sephiroth.

IV: If I remember correctly, this was the first Final Fantasy to designate jobs to certain characters for you.

I: The one that started it all. While the story isn't amazing by today's standards, it was completely revolutionary in it's day. This sort of in depth story telling had never been seen before, especially on the NES.

VIII: I didn't play this game to much, but I fairly enjoyed it. The story was fairly entertaining, but I didn't really enjoy having to get spells from the monsters. The reason I didn't get to far in this one: disc two was completely scratched up and wouldn't work at all.

TA: The story was cute and it is one of the better tactical RPG's out there, though it can't touch the Disgaea series IMO.

III: Can't say to much about this game. I haven't gotten that far in it.

Crystal Chronicles: This game was a blast with other people, though the most we ever got together was three. If you played by yourself though, it was a complete bore.

V: The story was lackluster and the job system was a bit easy to manipulate. The story of how my friend beat the final boss with all mimes and coin throw makes me laugh.

II: My least favorite game of the series and the only one that I hate. The leveling system just outright stank and the characters bored me to death. Ugh, I hate this game.

[Fish and Chips]

IX: My favorite game out of the whole series. The story is great, the characters are awesome (am I the only one who really likes Steiner?)

One of my few complaints with Final Fantasy IX is that Steiner doesn't get nearly enough screen time, as a cast or party member.

IX is perhaps my favorite game of all space and time, not just of Final Fantasy or (Japanese) RPGs. It's world has a rich sense of history, and the cast and the plot are suitably compelling. And it's fun without being overly difficult. Not sure when difficulty became the jewel of game critics, but I prefer to enjoy my games, and IX let me do that. Most of all, IX fits my bill for perfect replay value, which isn't cheesy-to-impossible minigames, hidden treasure, or extensive side quests (though IX has a fair number); after initially beating the game a couple years back, I was satisfied for a period of maybe a month. Then I returned to it, erased my saves, and played it all over again from level 1. That's my definition of replay, enjoying the game the second time around purely for the sake of the game itself, not the bells and whistles.

Under similar reasoning, my second favorite RPG is Chrono Trigger.

I can't say much for the rest of the Final Fantasy franchise, not being as familiar with all the other titles, but IX I will adamantly defend. I have nothing against Final Fantasy VII, I only wish Square remembered they made another excellent game just three years later.

[uc pseudonym]

XII: Balthier is my second favorite character in the series, behind only Auron. I could never really get used to the Gambits and designating all your characters action in real time was far to frustrating, but that might be just me.

What kind of Gambits were you assigning? I actually thought this system removed a lot of tedium (for example, in late game areas where you want all buffs all the time).

(am I the only one who really likes Steiner?)

Not by any means. Shock. Also, personality and character, but Shock.

[TriezGamer]

What kind of Gambits were you assigning? I actually thought this system removed a lot of tedium (for example, in late game areas where you want all buffs all the time).

My gambit set up removed the gameplay entirely. Toward the late game, short of a few boss battles I never even had to push anything other than the analog stick for movement.

And I LIKED it that way.

[Bobtheduck]

VI is my favorite. VIII is pretty good, and X is the one I've played the most. I liked XII at first, but the more time I spend with it, the more I want it to be over... I just hate the battle system, and it plain doesn't feel like a Final Fantasy game... Essentially, what happened is all those Star Wars fans among FF creators got together and determined to make a Star Wars JRPG... It's certainly not Final Fantasy... (no, I haven't beaten it yet... I don't have time right now for RPGs, so I've been going through it VEEERY slowly)

[Nate]

My gambit set up removed the gameplay entirely. Toward the late game, short of a few boss battles I never even had to push anything other than the analog stick for movement.

And I LIKED it that way.

Me too. I mean who buys games to play them? Seriously I just want to put in the game and watch it play itself. It saves me a bunch of time let me tell you.