I wanted to start a thread regarding one of the all-time most beloved video game franchises. In my opinion, only the Mario series eclipses this in terms of popularity all over the world. What were your favorite Final Fantasy games, and why? Right now, I am playing through Final Fantasy Tactics on my PSP, and although it can be tedious at times, it is still hella fun, all things considered. I am about halfway through, so no spoilers please. Besides that, I liked Final Fantasy 8 and 12. Final Fantasy has been available for the Playstation, Nintendo, and the PC..
Final Fantasy 4. The whale ship. Love the whale ship. Has everything on board, hp/mp rechargers, beds, party swapping, a Namingway, can go to the moon. It's the FF Enterprise. Whale ship, and Megaman 2's metal blade are the best items ever.
It's a very consistent series, that's for sure. The ones I spent the most time with were Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy VI. I still remember the damn Marsh Cave from FF1. That dungeon was hard as hell. Especially since your party is still pretty weak at that point. I hated running into those wizards. I remember being shocked when I got to the halfway point of VI. Because I'd already been playing for a long time and I figured I was near the end of the game. I used to watch my roommate play VIII, IX, and X but I never got a chance to get into those myself. Even though it's a good series I am more of a fan of the Ultima series. Old school CRPGing at its finest.
God, I don't remember which ones were which. Tactics, cool mindless fun for vegging out (the story was pure linear) VII- favorite (Advent Children was a treat) Playing XII- good thick story, nice scenery, and a whole tribe of Warrior Playboy bunnies!! IX- weird with the stick-like characters, but decent. X-nope, no sir, Didn't like it. Don't know really why. Same with X 1/2. Just the chicks as a pop group? silly. XI- never played it. I had the anthologies too, but I don't remember which was which.
VI will always be my favorite. The story, and especially the music, skyrocket the game to not only my favorite Final Fantasy, but favorite game ever. After that, it's a close call with X and IV, with VIII coming very close at the fourth spot. And after wasting so much time on 12, while I liked the battle system, the two biggest draws for me, music and story, were so horrifically bad compared to my preferences, I felt cheated by the end. No really melodious tunes in that one save the Prelude present in every game and the story reeked so much of Star Wars it was kinda sad.
FFIV, FFVII and FFVIII were my favorites. I really, really, really wish I had more time to devote to my FFIII (Nintendo DS) and FFXII playing.
The guy who did the music for XII is fairly new to composing, from what I remember reading, and his main job was sound effects. All in all, he's no Noubu Uematsu, but he doesn't do a bad job either. Some of the music is DEAD ON, like the Dalmasca Westersand, Euryt Village, and the Esper Battles, while most of it is only OK or misses completely.
Googling... http://www.nobuouematsu.com/ It's Nobuo Uematsu On the site you can download the piano sheet music for all the FFs he's done. Cool! Time to break out the keyboard!
The guy is freakin' amazing, IMO. A modern day Mozart. I'd put him on a plateau higher than John Williams, but he works in a medium so few "mainstream" people recognize or acknowledge.
Forgot about this... 4-7 are the best. FF8 was a disaster. I haven't played 9 but it looks quite solid. With the number of references to past games Square definitely tried some damage control with it.
For all the people who detest 8, it still is, by all definitions, a HUGE commercial success. It got put into Playstation's Greatest Hits, and even last year, toys were still coming out for it. Then again, a commercially successful thing doesn't necessarily mean it's any good, or we would classify Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears as having produced some great music.
I've played almost all of them by now (my missing PS2 keeps me from playing my long-held copy of XII, and I don't own a DS or Gamecube) and my ranking is as follows: From Best to Least: FFVI- Portable, classic, and fantastic. The Golden Age of the RPG. FFVII- Probably the most influencial on me as far as gameplay, and what an RPG should aspire to. FFIX- My first FF game, and will always have a special place in my heart. FFTA- Before FFVI, this was the best GBA game out there, hands down. FFV- A combination of two great games- All the customization of FFT, with a storyline that's still close to my heart. FFX-2- I liked this game, especially because the villains are so much fun! FFX- I loved this game visually, being the PS2's first FF. Gameplay was alright, but the Blitzball game lost it for me. FFT- I probably played this game the most, but I mostly built teams based on other games' characters. FF- A classic, but almost too short in my opinion. FFVIII- THe last of the PSX I played. I felt it didn't compare to FFVII. Irvine was sweet thought. FFIV- Did not like it. I don't know why, but I just disliked this game. FFII- Only played it because it was on the same cartridge as FF.
FFVII is to the series what Ocarina of time is to Zelda. I think the rapid flurry of FF sequels (since VIII) have been repetitive, unnecessary and have generally devalued the series. I'd put both Zelda and Mario (at least) as better series.
I like FF because of the artwork. I haven't played all that many of them, mostly the early ones on the NES and tried out the abysmal FFXI on the 360/PC. But I did enjoy the movie and the in-game artwork of the PS2 version(s) on up.
