Hardest Final Fantasy you've played?

[Lazerface]

Personally for me it was Final Fantasy III on psp and I've just started Final Fantasy IV and I've been told it's pretty damn hard. Which one was hardest for you?

[Ayen]

The first one. It's the kind of game where if you don't grind you won't get anywhere. Like most RPGs back then.

[Electroshock Therapy]

These are the hardest of the main FF games I've played:

IV - I had A LOT of difficulty with Final Fantasy IV on Playstation my first time around.

V - I was fine until endgame when it kicked my butt so hard I still feel the pain.

I - The first game is painful. Even after the required hours of grinding, the game still has many cheap enemies (Ice Cave). Also, spells are almost useless so mages slow me down in the game. Luckily they fixed the mage problem afterward and made them useful in future games.

If we're counting spin-offs:

Dirge of Cerberus - I was never good at shooters. Or action games in general. I like them, but I'm terrible.

Tactics - I don't think I've ever beat the first battle... Yeah. If we're counting all the FF games, this is the winner for me.

[Pumpkin]

I

[metagloria]

Tactics by faaaaaaaar. Main series, I would have to say I find the original (non-DS) IV the most difficult.

[Ayen]

Dirge of Cerberus - I was never good at shooters. Or action games in general. I like them, but I'm terrible.

Yeah, I hated the part with the snipers.

[Wolf Kanno]

FFI if it's the original NES version that's buggy as hell.

In terms of just plain hard by design, FFIII (Famicom) and FFIV (Famicom/PS1) are probably the two most difficult due to the games designs and mechanics. FFV really streamlined the whole series more than I feel fans are aware of and later installments have been reducing difficulty to various levels for awhile now.

[VeloZer0]

Yup, going to have to agree with the original FF1 here.

[chionos]

FFXI. Perhaps you think it doesn't count, but it's Final Fantasy and it's Fucking hard, so I say it counts. The game became much easier around the time of Abyssea, but before that, it was soul-crushingly hard. No quest UI, endless grinding (seriously, endless), annoying party requirements, lag (looking at you, dynamis), endgame bosses that don't give a flying fuck about how many hours it took you to farm the items necessary to make them appear or whether you have a real life or not, and insane endgame gear (relics weapons, etc.) collection requirements. And all of that was soooooo worth it.

[Sephex]

Probably the original II or III, but I blame that more on archaic game design rather than the game being actually difficult.

[Ayen]

FFI if it's the original NES version that's buggy as hell.


Yup, going to have to agree with the original FF1 here.

And to think I found the PSX version hard.

[Sephiroth]

IV DS. Way harder than I NES. All those random Death moves and bosses that can kill you in their first turn no matter if you have trained a bit or not with a good ATB bar and a bit of luck to defeat them in one round as your only chance. as Slow is npnsense if the starting attack already ia the one being able to ko you in one move. Yes, I mean you, Right Babil Unit.

[Pike]

Probably the original II or III, but I blame that more on archaic game design rather than the game being actually difficult.

This. If you update the mechanics to be more in line with modern mechanics (aka the remakes and ports) than I don't consider any of the FF games to be particularly difficult.

That's not a slight against FF, by the way. I don't really go into FF games looking for difficulty, I prefer to relax with them.

[NeoCracker]

IV, either on the SNES or DS, is the hardest main numbered. I still had more difficulty with FF IV DS then Tactics however, though not by much.

[Night Fury]

Probably XII because I just couldn't wrap my head around the battle system as it was so different to the others. I didn't get very far at all.

[Formalhaut]

Tough call, but I've not really played any of the earlier ones (which are probably more the correct answer for this). But out of the ones I've played, probably X. Now the game itself is really quite easy, but the post-game content is some of the hardest, most inane sack of crap I have ever experienced. All the irritating mini-games the game forces you to do if you want the celestial weapons, and the superbosses are really tough.

LR:XIII is also pretty tough. I played on easy and some of the bosses were still very technically demanding (Aeronite and Ereshkigal, but still).

[Shiva95]

I think it's FFX. Some bosses are really something (Braska's Final Aeon, some battles with Seymour...).

[VeloZer0]

FFI if it's the original NES version that's buggy as hell.


Yup, going to have to agree with the original FF1 here.

And to think I found the PSX version hard.
To my knowledge the PSX is the only version which is faithful to the mechanics of the original. (Of course I am probably forgetting a title and will be suitability embarrassed when someone points it out.*)


*Japan only Famicon doesn't count.

[metagloria]

FFI if it's the original NES version that's buggy as hell.


Yup, going to have to agree with the original FF1 here.

And to think I found the PSX version hard.
To my knowledge the PSX is the only version which is faithful to the mechanics of the original. (Of course I am probably forgetting a title and will be suitability embarrassed when someone points it out.*)


*Japan only Famicon doesn't count.
PSX version on Normal mode is true to the concept of the mechanics of the original, while removing the bugs that WK alluded to.

[escobert]

Tactics and II

[Ayen]

FFI if it's the original NES version that's buggy as hell.


Yup, going to have to agree with the original FF1 here.

And to think I found the PSX version hard.
To my knowledge the PSX is the only version which is faithful to the mechanics of the original. (Of course I am probably forgetting a title and will be suitability embarrassed when someone points it out.*)


*Japan only Famicon doesn't count.

I played it on easy, though.

Even when it's easy it's hard because Final Fantasy knows no fear! Final Fantasy knows no pain!

[Lazerface]

I have actually found FFIV on DS to be pretty hard. Even the second dungeon on the way to Damcyan is hard with only Rydia. With Tellah it gets a bit easier.

[Motdrafin]

Definitely FFIV DS. It was definitely the most I have struggled in a Final Fantasy... I had to use a lot of strategy.

[Galuf]

FF IV. though to be fair it was my 4th ff game and i was rushing through it.

[Lazerface]

FF IV. though to be fair it was my 4th ff game and i was rushing through it.
True that. It does require some strategy. FFIII was the same especially on the final dungeon. But the way I see it FFIV is ar worse in the difficulty department.