Squeenix Which Final Fantasy games are worth playing?

[Rahdulan]

Wasn't a popular theory that he was pretty much edged out because Square-Enix wanted to take the game in a traditional series direction which came to odds with Matsuno's own vision for Ivalice games?

 

[Damned Registrations]

Sounds about right. I doubt you can attribute the problems in FFXII to Matsuno, Vaan doesn't strike me as a character he'd approve of. Square's idea of 'salvaging' FFXII was to make it into a shitty offline MMO with no difficulty and add a bunch of flat cutesy characters.

 

[yes plz]

Yeah, really. As I originally said, the only thing I can find contributed to him for the FF12 that we got was "Story and Original Concept", so maybe the dull 'Empire VS Rebels' plot was his but I doubt he would have added Vaan and Penelo. FFT, Tactics Ogre, and Vagrant Story were bereft of spunky kewl teenagers for idiot Japanese children to relate to.

 

[80Maxwell08]

I would advise you people to go to that website Jick_Magger_101 posted (http://socksmakepeoplesexy.net/index.php?a=patff) and read the FFXII review. He talks a bit about the original plans and how Basch was originally supposed to be the main character.

 

[Coriolanus]

But all FFXII characters were awful and one-dimensional.

Whatever I'm sounding like HHR now.

 

[Morality Games]

But all FFXII characters were awful and one-dimensional.

Whatever I'm sounding like HHR now.

Fran and Balthier were good as a pair.

Vaan sank them and everybody else like a Shonen torpedo.

Anyway, I've played FF4, FF5, FF6, FF7, FF10, FF12, and FF13 and finished FF6, FF10, and FF12.

FF6 masters the three staples that a JRPG must have to have a shot at being good:

Colorful characters with compelling interparty dynamics

Large open world with lots of secrets to discover

Good music and scenery and a coherent plot

Minus 13, the rest have them to some extent. People give FF10 a lot of crap, but it still represented a high point in the series for me. If the Classic Era was Fantasy/Steampunk, then FF6 represented the peak of that genre. With the PlayStation, FF7 tried to create a new vision with more Cyberpunk aesthetics. It did this so successfully that it did not supplement so much as replace its old audience. Therein lie the origins of the persisting divide among fans who argue over whether FF6 or FF7 is the best in the series.

FF10 was a new game for a new system, and once again they tried to keep the series fresh, something utterly fantastical neither Steampunk or Cyberpunk. FF10 was the result. Whether or not you agreed with the vision, it was stunning.

 

[WarpedWun]

I created an account just to chime in on this post. I agree with what a lot of people are saying, but, I see a lot of hate for FF X and I have to disagree with peoples dislike of the game. I can understand why some people don't like the game. The US version of the game had no Dark Aeon's.. and in any version the final boss is extremely easy to beat. I can agree..if you went from start straight to finish, FF X sucked badly. But the beauty of FF X in my eyes was the gathering of ultimate weapons for each toon, the blitz ball, and the variety of mini games inside the ff x world. Sure, the story was a bit overdone and it was easy to dislike most of the charactors (Other than Auron), but for me that was made up for by the sheer amount of things to do in the game. The Arena was were the hard fights were. You could get to the end of the game in 30 hours.. yet people who loved the game and did more than just beat the main storyline found hundreds of hours of playtime out of it. And then if you were playing the international or Japanese version you had the Dark Aeons... The game had overly dramatic and long cutscenes but in my experience that was just a side event to the real game which had an infinitely customizable sphere grid, and tons of gear choices to be farmed and crafted for the sake of killing arena bosses and dark aeons. I have a save file with 150+ hours and there are still things I haven't done that I would've liked to and may still do sometime in the future.

 

[Dr Tomo]

So many people are displeased with the quality of FFX series so rejoice as Square is going to make things right.

Square Enix has formed a Final Fantasy committee to ensure series quality

In an effort to bolster the quality of the Final Fantasy series going forward, Square Enix has deemed it necessary to bring together some of the franchise’s top creators in what they’re calling the “Final Fantasy Committee.”

http://www.novacrystallis.com/2013/...l-fantasy-committee-to-ensure-series-quality/

I am sure that this will bring Square from the brink of their failing franchise.

 

[Outmind]

there isn't a single final fantasy on the whole history of the console devices that didn't have a superior clone somewhen.

Could you give examples, especially for the psx era upward?

As far as FF goes, my absolute favorite (which no one mentioned yet) is Final fantasy tactics a2. It's story is worse than that of fft, but the mechanics, the customization options and the gameplay are an immense improvement on it. A2 is the ultimate srpg, and i have yet to find a better one in spite of having tried quite a few.

As for the main series of games, the ones which i played anyway:

7 - it was ok. Overhyped but decent
8 - didn't like it. The whole hoarding of spells clusterfuck was offputting
9 - the best of the bunch i've played. Memorable characters, great advancement and combat system (which they transferred to A2), long and eventful
10 - good. The story was interesting, the characters were good and the combat mechanics were solid, what more do you want
x2 - almost as bad as 8. I hated the combat system and the "living on past laurels while making a quick buck" mentality it had.
12 - good. About as good as 10, mostly because of it being set in Ivalice. The main character was terrible, but some of the others were interesting. Combat wise it was a gambit (i'l show myself out) and only partially successful.

 

[yes plz]

So many people are displeased with the quality of FFX series so rejoice as Square is going to make things right.

Square Enix has formed a Final Fantasy committee to ensure series quality

In an effort to bolster the quality of the Final Fantasy series going forward, Square Enix has deemed it necessary to bring together some of the franchise’s top creators in what they’re calling the “Final Fantasy Committee.”

http://www.novacrystallis.com/2013/...l-fantasy-committee-to-ensure-series-quality/

I am sure that this will bring Square from the brink of their failing franchise.

Seeing as how that team is made up mostly of the idiots who were in charge of making the shitty Final Fantasies to begin with, this seems more like some sort of circle jerk group than anything else.

 

[LESS T_T]

Eidos-developed Final Fantasy is a possibility, says Lightning Returns director

"Obviously, Square Enix bought out Eidos a number of years ago, and now we have direct access to American development teams," Abe said. "That's certainly been discussed within the company, the possibility of say, Eidos or maybe someone else to look after or maybe take on the Final Fantasy series.

"And we obviously haven't decided anything concrete, but if we find the right team of developers, the right people who really wanted to do it, and we had the right game, then yes, certainly we'd think about it," he added.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/28/5...ntasy-is-a-possibility-says-lightning-returns

Go, Obsidian

 

[Jasede]

Follow your heart, MCA-sama.

 

[eric__s]

 

[Borelli]

At first i was like these are non gamer hooligans then i realized that they are fans of earlier FFs.

 

[deuxhero]

Eidos-developed Final Fantasy is a possibility, says Lightning Returns director

"Obviously, Square Enix bought out Eidos a number of years ago, and now we have direct access to American development teams," Abe said. "That's certainly been discussed within the company, the possibility of say, Eidos or maybe someone else to look after or maybe take on the Final Fantasy series.

"And we obviously haven't decided anything concrete, but if we find the right team of developers, the right people who really wanted to do it, and we had the right game, then yes, certainly we'd think about it," he added.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/28/5...ntasy-is-a-possibility-says-lightning-returns

Go, Obsidian

Because that worked out so well in the past...

 

[Amn Nom]

4,6,7,9, and Tactics. Some people make a good case for 12, but I didn't like it too much.

 

[Whisky]

4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and Tactics are the must-plays I'd say. The pre-4 examples are interesting and fun to play for nostalgia, but a lot of their principles were improved in later games.

6 is, of course, the best. There is very little wrong with it, aside from being glitchy, exploitable, and easy.

Tactics is probably my second favorite (Which switches between 6 for first place often). Great story, classes, gameplay. However it's exploitable and easy (if you know what you're doing.).

So many people are displeased with the quality of FFX series so rejoice as Square is going to make things right.

Square Enix has formed a Final Fantasy committee to ensure series quality

In an effort to bolster the quality of the Final Fantasy series going forward, Square Enix has deemed it necessary to bring together some of the franchise’s top creators in what they’re calling the “Final Fantasy Committee.”

http://www.novacrystallis.com/2013/...l-fantasy-committee-to-ensure-series-quality/

I am sure that this will bring Square from the brink of their failing franchise.

This probably has good intentions, but I doubt it will make any marked improvement. At least, what they view as going forward, is probably not what we want from an FF game.

 

[Dire Roach]

Don't bother playing any FF games. Just listen to the soundtracks and

Well, unless you're a strategyfag then go ahead play the Tactics games.

 

[Xor]

My friend who is obsessed with Tactics says the GBA versions suck and the PSP version has framerate issues.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

One should play at least the first Tactics for the GBA, for the delightfully dysfunctional trainwreck of a plot.

 

[Newfag-er]

My friend who is obsessed with Tactics says the GBA versions suck and the PSP version has framerate issues.

Spell slowdown...

It can be patched with some "hacking"...
http://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=8490.0
(Personally I would recommend the Ipad version, because you don't need to patch it. And the co-op items will be available to you after you beat the game) If you hate Ipad in general however, well...

 

[Whisky]

One should play at least the first Tactics for the GBA, for the delightfully dysfunctional trainwreck of a plot.

Because it was a Matsuno game, I assumed this was completely intentional. That the twisted subtext is meant to make the player uncomfortable.

Spoiler

(If it's a dream, then why would Marche give a shit about his friends in Ivalice? If it's real, then there's no escapism and Marche killed everyone in Ivalice.)

But then Matsuno outright said the game is not meant to be that complicated and just a simple story of escapism. Disappointing.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Shame that the "escapism is wrong" moral doesn't work when the supposedly fake world is, for all intents and purposes, real. The only difference is that some kid is making the rules of physics instead of God, but he was doing a pretty good job until Marche starts breaking shit. It would be understandable if New Ivalice was secretly harming the inhabitants like the thing from "For The Man Who Has Everything", but nope, apart from the monsters it's a pretty chill place to live in. Sure, you'll go to jail if you use a sword on No-Swords Day, so what? It may be ridiculous, but not nearly as diabolically tyrannical as the game makes it look like.

It was really frustrating to see all those characters coming at you with good, reasonable arguments for staying in this new world, only to have Marche shake his head and go NO THIS IS WRONG. Fuck off, cockblocker. Your crippled brother is doing somersaults, your friends aren't losers anymore and you are the leader of an adventurers' guild. What part of this needs to be "fixed"? (funny thing is that, iirc, the court wizard confronts him saying pretty much this...and again Marche just shakes his head and rambles about how things should not be this way)

Of course, at least this made it look like Marche has some sort of hidden depth, someone who knows he doesn't have a good reason to proceed but will do it anyway, making him a somewhat interesting fucked-up hero that you aren't necessarily rooting for. The intended meaning of the story is pretty banal (even for a game aimed at younger players than FFT), yeah.

 

[Ninjerk]

Shame that the "escapism is wrong" moral doesn't work when the supposedly fake world is, for all intents and purposes, real. The only difference is that some kid is making the rules of physics instead of God, but he was doing a pretty good job until Marche starts breaking shit. It would be understandable if New Ivalice was secretly harming the inhabitants like the thing from "For The Man Who Has Everything", but nope, apart from the monsters it's a pretty chill place to live in. Sure, you'll go to jail if you use a sword on No-Swords Day, so what? It may be ridiculous, but not nearly as diabolically tyrannical as the game makes it look like.

It was really frustrating to see all those characters coming at you with good, reasonable arguments for staying in this new world, only to have Marche shake his head and go NO THIS IS WRONG. Fuck off, cockblocker. Your crippled brother is doing somersaults, your friends aren't losers anymore and you are the leader of an adventurers' guild. What part of this needs to be "fixed"? (funny thing is that, iirc, the court wizard confronts him saying pretty much this...and again Marche just shakes his head and rambles about how things should not be this way)

Of course, at least this made it look like Marche has some sort of hidden depth, someone who knows he doesn't have a good reason to proceed but will do it anyway, making him a somewhat interesting fucked-up hero that you aren't necessarily rooting for. The intended meaning of the story is pretty banal (even for a game aimed at younger players than FFT), yeah.

Let me preface this by saying I haven't played the game: what's the difference between this and, say, a person living out a fantasy? As charming as that movie with Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando is, don't we all understand that at the ending of it that this kid is wasting his life waiting on some island for a girl who's never going to show up? It's been awhile since I've seen the movie, but The Fisher King applies here, too, I think.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Because magic.

Well, at the beginning of the game the gang finds a book that accidentally realizes their wishes, changing the dreary city around them to something awesome, with adventure and shit. The only caveat is that the world's king is one of the nerdy kids, but since in this world his dead mother is still alive and his useless father is an important officer, he's pretty happy and isn't interested in tormenting his subjects much, like one would expect of a bullied kid turned king.

So the world was effectively changed into something nicer. Marche's argument is that you shouldn't run away from your problems...but if the problems are washed away by magic, do you really need to run after them? If your crippled brother is now healed, do you really need to drag him back to the wheelchair, because fuck you, you were a cripple before and you shouldn't be jumping around?