Final Fantasy Series

[athenian200]

Wow! thanks guys that sounds great! I definitely understand better.
So, do I have to get a playstation to play them? Or can I get them on the virtual portion of the wii?

The Virtual Console on the Wii would allow you to play the original NES Final Fantasy, as well as the original SNES Final Fantasy "2" (which is really 4).

So, you don't necessarily have to get a Playstation to play them, but a Gameboy Advance or Nintendo DS that still has the slot would allow you to play several of them.

Final Fantasy 1 & 2 are available as a package for the GBA.
Final Fantasy 3 and 4 have been remade separately as DS games.
Final Fantasy 5 and 6 were released as GBA games.

Any Final Fantasy made after 6 WILL require a Playstation of some kind, though. I was so mad at Square for going over to Sony that I didn't play Final Fantasy 7 until 10 years after it came out.

I didn't play the Playstation games until Square games started appearing on Nintendo systems again, so I did hold out until Square was no longer "the enemy," even if I didn't keep my original vow never to play Final Fantasy 7 unless it was released on a Nintendo system. I'm still very loyal, but I'm no longer irrationally loyal to the point of refusing to touch a competitor's product or break friendships with people who choose to own them.

The hardest compromise for me to make has been continuing to use Windows despite the existence of the Xbox and Xbox 360. A part of me is still bothered by having to do it. >.<

 

[jugglaj91]

Well usually the characters and plot vary game to game. I was only ever into the Final Fantasy Tactics games, first FF Tactics advance, then Tactics A2 for DS, and War of the Lions for PSP. I have gotten into FFXIII as of recently and I say it is a very good game, mainly the battle system is intense, even if it seems a little linear for about 12 hours into it.

 

[GhostlyVincent]

Well basically the final fantasy series are a series of games which all have different stories but a similar theme. Usually they have a giant monster that you have to defeat like in Final Fantasy X they have Sin which you have to defeat. The story lines are very deep so the games are very long because of it. They usually have a battle system where you have to use skills to gain the upper hand but sometimes they come out with different styles. For example they came out with Dierge of Cerberus for the PS2 which was a shooter. But something I have noticed is that in almost every single game they have a character named Cid my guess is just something they want to try and relate the other stories.

 

[Phantom Zelda]

Final Fantasy?

Alright so I'm just starting to get into the Final fantasy series and I was just wondering which one to get next. I have FF II (or IV in Japan) and I have a Wii, GBA, DS, PS2, and Xbox 360. Also just mentioning this but I have a fairly limited supply of money so I cant get a brand new game. Thanks

 

[fredthehylian]

Depends on which Final Fantasy you want to get into. If you want to get into the newer Final Fantasies, play a bit of Kingdom Hearts first, and once you've got the hang of that, any Final Fantasy that is newer than 7 should be relatively familiar. If we're talking about 3 [japanese 6] or older, I'd recommend you play some Dragon Warrior orPhantasy Star. Get into the habbit of grinding thoroughly (also find out what it is if you don't), exploring, and strategically setting up battles, teams, and grinding sessions.
The first two American Final Fantasies are out on the Wii Virtual Console, on the NES section I believe, 500 points ($5) each.
Also, the Final Fantasies are HARD. You've gotta get used to getting knocked down again and again. So I suggest you have patience, because you will be quite frustrated at a lot of points.

 

[Master Kokiri 9]

Well, firstly, I recommend you get yourself the Advance Version of FFV and find the DS remake of FFIII (the REAL FFIII: not the one with Terra and Celes and Gestahl all those other guys) to start off.

Also, if you want the first two games, get Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls for the GBA (it's a collection of the first two FF games from Japan and currently the only legal way to play the real FFII). I have no advice on them since I haven't played them yet, but if you ever need help just look up HCBailly on YouTube: heck, for any help you'd ever need in a FF game from I-IX, just go to HCBailly.

And if you want to get into FFVI (the one with Locke, Strago, and Kefka) I recommend you pick up the SNES version along with an SNES or wait until the 3DS version is released. SNES version has cruddiest translation and the most bugs, sure, but it's better than the loading time of the Anthology version and the screwed up music of the GBA version (although FFVI is probably coming to the 3DS so you may want to wait for that) and it's actually kind of endearing once you get used to it.

FFV Advance I recommend you get into the habit of grinding regularly or setting up battles strategically (like having Bartz be on Samurai until he learns Iainuki/Slash and then put him on the Ranger in the back rown with the Herme's Sandles and have him slash everything to death).

And don't judge a Job by it's face value either: Jobs like the Chemist and Blue Mage are extremely useful if you know how to use them (ESPECIALLY the Chemist: Maiden's Kiss + Turtle Shell = Massive Damage and some delicious HP recovery). If you ever get stuck or need help with something, look up HCBailly on YouTube (he covered FFV EXTREMELY well [but be warned, there's some mature humor and swearing in some of his videos] and completely annhilated the game more or less).

As for FFIII, all you really have to do is set one physical tank for most of the game (the Knight works extremely well for this and the Warrior earlier on works too), two Mages (preferrably of the White/Black or Devout/Magus variety [Devout is a more powerful version of the White Mage and Magus is the more powerful version of the Black Mage]) and one physical house (the Monk and later the Black Belt work very well for that, but make sure to keep them barefisted for most of the game since they fight better without weapons around the time they reach level 10).

And don't worry about having your Warrior/Knight double wield swords: the boost from Shields is negligable and the nearly doubled (most of the time) attack power more than makes up for it.

Also, make sure to put guys like your Mages in the Back Row (they take less physical damage that way and their Magic isn't affected, and trust me, with how cruddy their Defense can be, they need all the help they can get) but take care to keep your physical attackers in the front row (they take more physical damage that way, but with how good their Defense is they can handle it and they also deal more physical damage that way than in the back row). Again, if you ever need any more help than that, look up HCBailly on YouTube.

Then, you could buy FFVI (III in the US) either for virtual console or GBA. It is a SNES game, and it is also considered to be one of the best FFs.

FFVI isn't available on the VC if I recall correctly. But yeah, he should definately go for FFVI eventually (SNES version is best, but any version is good).

 

[Aultimaespada]

Well, I give the following sugestions if you are new to RPGs, if you're already familiarized with them, see the suggestions in the end.

It might get a while for you to get used to RPGs, and FF can be really challenging. That's why I recomend you to start with the PS1 ones, because in my opinion they are the easiest ones and are still really good! FFVII is a terrific call! Most people consider it the best FF ever.

After that you could play FFX. I don't think its plot is one of the best, but the gameplay is really good, and It will make you be more familiarized with this kind of game.

Then, you could buy FFVI (III in the US) either for virtual console or GBA. It is a SNES game, so it may be harder that the previous ones. It is also considered to be one of the best FFs.

There is FFXIII for the Xbox, but I wouldn't recommend you getting right away, because even though I just LOVED it, it is a kind of polemic game in terms of gameplay, and because of that I think you should play the more tradicional ones first. Besides that, it might be too hard for a beginer.

I don't think you should play any NES FFs. They are too hard for a beginer. Get some experience first.

But if you're familiarized with RPGs, I would recomend: VI, VII, IX (if you like the more tradicional, medieval FFs), X, and after you have played some of that ones, play XIII.
People say VIII and XII are good, but I have never played them, so I don't know.

 

[Phantom Zelda]

Thanks for all the help I done some research and I think next on my list will be V. It seems like an interesnting system so I might go for that. Also all of the 3d ones seem good from what i hear. Does anyone know where I could find VII cheapish?

 

[J Oh]

Well Well lets see.

For all the systems that you have I would say that you can play the best games of the series. Like Aultimaespada said, I would start with the PS1 games. They are very cheap by now and probably some of the best to get you interested in the series. Just don't forget to get a PS1 memory card! One thing you have to remember is that each FF as a certain aspect of game play and battle to it, but the basic core of the gaming almost always remains the same. Say for the more recent ones which I hated but that is another story. (Don't let me down FFvsXIII!) In my opinion FFVII has the most simple combat system of the PS1 games, Materia. Though there are some complex patterns you can make with them, you can still play with little experience and beat the game. After that I would say either FFVI (GBA or VC I think) or FFIX. Both are great games and both have great story. FFX is quite simple as well. Any of those 4 should get you enough into the game. If it turns out that turn based RPG is not for you, I might suggest action RPGs. Now this is nothing like the Final Fantasy series but its made by the Square Enix as well. Kingdom Hearts, great games, great story. All cheap, and they span from PS2, GBA, DS, and PSP.

 

[Kylehorrible]

My personal favorite of the FF games is X. Its well written with a main character thats not the silent tough guy for once. It actually has a love interest that makes sense and is well developed. The only problem with the game is that its a little slow, but its combat is very much perfected and the story is captivating.

 

[Phantom Zelda]

Hi guys, well I've almost beaten FF4 and it is soooo awesome!!!! I'm leveling up before I hit the Lunar Underground and the final boss and once I beat it I'm looking inton FF5 or maybe Golden Sun. What do you guys think? I'm open to suggestions for and FF game too.