Final Fantasy: Which One is the Best for a Newcomer to the Series to Start With?

[Zenox]

I've always been a big fan of the RPG genre, though I've never really found many to please me. Final Fantasy is one of those. I'd love to get into the series, but the linear and grinding fashion of Final Fantasy games have never really seemed interesting to me.

However, after being urged by fellow forum members, I bought Final Fantasy III awhile back. I played the game and liked it. Not a lot, just enough to not regret purchasing it with my mom's money.

Then I saw that Final Fantasy I was out on the iPod. I was never a fan of gimmicky games like Doodlejump and Tinywings, etc. so I decided to go with it. For an iPod game, it's amazing. I liked it quite a bit, a lot more than Final Fantasy III. It wasn't a great game, but something to burn time when all I have on me is my iPod.

I also bought Final Fantasy II for the iPod, and have regretted it ever since. It's just not fun. The story is not inviting, and constantly being forced to level grind just isn't for me.

That being said, more recent additions to the series look very interesting to me, though I don't want to make any more mistakes. I was considering getting Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox, but I've heard it wasn't good. I saw Final Fantasy V on sale at a gamestop-like place and considered getting it, but didn't for some reason.

I do still consider myself a newcomer to the series, as I have yet to really discover what the series has to offer. I've heard time and time again that Final Fantasy is the best RPG series on the planet, though I've yet to see it. What games would you recommend I try out to get me into the series?

 

[Reignbow]

My two favorite games from the series are Final Fantasy IV (Originally Final Fantasy II on the SNES) and Final Fantasy VI (Originally Final Fantasy III on the SNES). When you talk about Final Fantasy II and III, I don't know if you're referring to their US SNES versions or their actual Japanese numbering. I've never played the actual Final Fantasy III and haven't beaten the actual Final Fantasy II, so I can't really comment on them.

I like IV and VI because of their memorable characters and their gameplay mechanics (especially in VI). In both games I really connected with the characters and felt their struggles (pathetic as that sounds). In Final Fantasy VI, I enjoyed the variety of not just battle styles, but also the variety segments sprinkled in the game, such as the first person minecart scene. In battles, I enjoyed how with many of the characters, attacks weren't done simply by selecting an attack and an enemy to use it on, but rather by selecting an attack and waiting for a meter to fill before unleashing it or inputting a button sequence to use a specific move.

These two games exist as Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III on the SNES, were remade for the PS1 as IV and VI, as well as for the Gameboy Advance, and there is a DS remake of IV. Those are the only ports I know of, though, being Final Fantasy, I'm sure they can be played elsewhere as well.

Both of these games (again, especially VI) have great stories, and, in my opinion, represent the best of what the series has to offer. If, in fact, you were talking about the Japanese numbering of the games and you didn't like II (IV) and were only okay with III (VI), the series might honestly not be for you.

 

[SinkingBadges]

XIII and V are actually pretty good. They're just neglected by the "fans" because: In XIII's case, it has a lack of exploration, but the story and gameplay are pretty fun after a while of getting into it, its battle system is a bit unusual, though. V also has some of the strongest gameplay in the series, as it has a lot of customization for each character because you're able to carrie the skills of one class to the other. It's often criticized for having a weak story, though. But that's just opinions, you'd have to try it yourself to be sure.

If you want a good introduction, I'd say IV, which you can get for pretty much any console (Wii VC, PSP, DS, that's your choice). It has a memorable and easy to follow story, it's not really heavy on grinding until about half into the game and has a good number of sidequests. Also, its battle system is a tad more exciting than the ones you mentioned and is the one that many of the latter ones will follow.

I'd say the PSP version is the best because it has the complete story in one package. The DS version has 3D graphics and full voice acting. Its also out for Game Boy Advance but I doubt you'll find that one now. There's also the VC version which is the original. You choose which one fits you better.

You could also start with VII, which is available on PSN.

Hope that helps.

 

[Zorato]

I'm justing gonna say this Zenox, do NOT start with 13. Please. Do NOT! It will turn you off the whole series. It's not a bad game, but it is complicated beyond belief. I'd say start with Final Fantasy X. It's very fun, linear, which, trust me, is a good thing in this game. Has easy to understand battle system, and is a good fair challenge. Seven is also pretty awesome. Start with ten, take it from a final fantasy veteran.

 

[Seth]

The first one I played was IX, blew me away and is still my favorite. IV is a good one to start with as well I enjoy that one a lot. To be honest I haven't played many of them, my friend and me played VII a lot back in the day and it seems to be one of if not the most popular ones and I liked it a lot to. Either way it's a great series!

 

[Chicken Tuxedo]

Don't get FF XIII, it's a terrible TERRIBLE game, it's really linear. If you don't like linear gameplay, I would consider FF XII. IMO though, VI is the best in the series when it comes to story, characters, and music.

 

[zack125]

What threw me off with Final Fantasy XIII is the fact that, if your party's leader dies, then it's instant game over regardless of whether your other characters were alive at the time. You're constantly viewing if your party leader is running low in HP. I probably would have completed the game if it weren't for that.

To answer your question, I would suggest you start with Final Fantasy X. The battle system has a conditional turn-based battle, which means you had all the time in the world to make a move. When you fight an enemy, there's some sort of scroller at the top that indicates an enemy's information. You can use that information for strategies.

Other games I'd recommend is VI, VIII and IX.

 

[Ventus]

Well, I started out with FFVII (7), that game while now is terribly slow and of poor graphical quality, back then was the best turn based RPG out there. We had FFVIII and FFX, we skipped FFXI because that didn't seem too Final Fantasy to me. I've played FF4 but stopped by the time I got to some town because I was fighting some monsters that just wouldn't let me win (my fault, lol). I never touched 3, 5, 6, 9, or the PC games.

Like the others said, don't start with FFXIII. The story is mostly weaksauce in my opinion, the gameplay really isn't that great (it's basically a game where you just click your options, that's it), and the customization is like...the most confusing in the entire series thus far to me (excluding 11 and 14 because I haven't played those). I would recommend you start with FFX or FFVII, but I don't have too much experience with FF10 to completely recommend it. All I know is that the story is medium to good, the graphics are phenomenal for it's time, and the sound is pretty good too. Oh, the exploration is really great from what I've seen. FF7 is the most overrated game in FF history, but to me it is still really good for any newcomer to the series granted they don't fanboy over it.

Once you get comfortable with the series, I would completely recommend FFXII (PS2). The game had mostly mixed to positive reviews, and I for one loved the game. I managed to get 500+ hours into the game across three or four save files, that game is just chock-full of secrets, exploration, boss fights, and suspense! But, it'll take some time to get used to because it's battle system isn't exactly turnbased like the older titles. It DOES have an ATB bar, but it isn't used in the sense that the other games use it.

 

[Kirino]

I think you should get FFVII. Or probably it's prequel on the PSP, FFVII Crisis Core. It's main character is alot better and more likeable, IMO. The characters are great, and the story is amazing. The ending especially is really amazing. It has a good difficulty level, and is really fun. That was the first FF game I played, and it was easy to get into. Though the battle system is sorta different.

 

[Hein3k3n]

Final fantasy IX. That's the game i started with. It has great graphics and a very good story. Another suggestion is ffiii or ffvi. I think they're the same but i think one of them was only in japanese. It's been so long since i've played it i'll have to get back at u on that. Got it stored around my room somewhere.

 

[Phantom Zelda]

My first game in the Final Fantasy Series was FFIV (II in America) for the Virtual Console. It was a great game and I really enjoyed it. After that I bought Final Fanasy V and VI for the PS. Those 2 games are equal or better than FFIV. So any of those are good. Final Fantasy X is good if you want 3d. So any of the games in the series are good and I've heard FFVII is really good (like the BEST game of all time) but I've never played it But anyway good luck on this awesome series