An introduction?

[TheShogun]

Hello, my name is TheShogun!

I live in Australia and I am relatively new to Final Fantasy, having mainly played XIV. Final Fantasy is a renowned series and I think now is as good of a time as ever to start playing them. So while this is an introduction, it's also a question.

Which Final Fantasy should I start with?

At this point in time I can play pretty much any of them from the original FF through to X. Should I play the games on their original console or on ports (PC, PSVita, etc). Any reccomendations or tips would be appreciated. I intend to write articles about Final Fantasy from a new perspective, having never properly played a "traditional" Final Fantasy game, as well as view the games from a design standpoint, and research into how the games were made, and how they were developed over time.

I guess my favourite videogame of all time would have to be MGS 3, I enjoy games from pretty much any genre (I am incredibly bad at any RTS though its ridiculous).

Thanks for having me here :D

[Leigh]

Hi 'TheShogun'! =) Welcome to our humble internet dwelling. I noticed you've already posted an article in the affiliated news. Good luck with the penmanship. =D

My general advice would be based around how you currently appreciate the qualities contained in Final Fantasy XIV? If we are starting you at the base level and you would like to appreciate the development and construction of Final Fantasy chronologically, perhaps focusing on how its development has evolved (into irrelevancy? :p) over time, I would suggest starting from the very first games. The first games are, in my opinion, not very accessible today from the aspect of physical enjoyment. I found that I needed to paint the context within which the original games were designed to at least appreciate their worth.

Starting from the beginning may allow you to write cohesively by focusing on the defining characteristics of each game. Since you probably don't have in-depth knowledge (yet!) on the later entries in the franchise, you won't have the same corrupted bias that I would have for example.

If you are after an experience that is more transitionary of XIV then I would have recommended Final Fantasy XII, but alas, it doesn't appear in your pretty much can play right now list. ^^;

Final Fantasy I - VI
Best played on emulators today. Emulation of early Nintendo systems are near flawless today and run on the lowest spec of PC.

Final Fantasy VII-IX
Toss up between ePSXe emulation or Playstation 3. You can play VII & VIII on Steam (PC), but you will need to apply a few fan mods in order to get the best experience from them. The more you mod, the more you deviate from the original design intentions of Square. However there are a number of mods that just try to replicate the experience of PS1.

Final Fantasy X
Wait for the Playstation 4 version (if you have one).

I'm not sure if you are planning on going down the Final Fantasy XI route. It might be worth checking out if you want to create a more authoritative history of Final Fantasy but don't go mad by paying a lot. =)

I hope I helped. Enjoy this! I wish I had the chance to wipe the slate clean and appreciate the original games for the first time again. Knowing me...I'd probably not like them! Aha! =P

Again I welcome to the community!

[NeoCracker]

Skip FF and go straing to Persona 3/4 (PS2 for both, PSP for 3 and Vita for 4) Shin Megami Tensai IV and Devil Survivor 1 and 2 (All for DS/3DS).

But yeah, what you like about XIV may determine the best FF to start with. :p (The answer is the SNES era.)

And welcome!

[TheShogun]

Thanks for the quick reply, I think I'll start with I and work my way up from that, in order to see how the games change over time (rather than jumping from X to V for instance). I'll probably emulate them, as I don't have a NES. I've played Persona 4 (10/10 game so good).

Im pretty excited to get started, so thanks for the recommendations! :D

[Psychotic]

What a thriiiiiiiill...

With darkness and silence through the niiiiiiiight...

[TheShogun]

I GIVE MY LIFEEEEE

NOT FOR HONOR

BUT FOR YOUUUUUUU

snake eaterrrrr

[NeoCracker]

You... I like you.

[Leigh]

You... I like you.

63037

[Pike]

Welcome to EoFF! :jess: My favorite MGS is actually the first MGS. It's quite the classic!

[TheShogun]

I'm liking all the mgs love here

youre pretty good

[Aulayna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecbjqk5COY0 - best moment in gaming of the past 30 years.

[Dat Matt]

Howdy~

http://c3e308.medialib.glogster.com/pianogirl26/media/34/344b24cbd2d62e6fb1bae7c2f839cacb5547473e/waving-anime-girl.gif

Good to see a new face around these parts~ You say you've mostly played XIV, What class do you main?

[TheShogun]

I play warrior, but was thinking of picking up ninja

[Bubba]

TheShogun for Best Newbie Summer 2015

Welcome! :D

[TheShogun]

Ok to get started with the first Final Fantasy, I've gone with the android port, is this a good idea or is the port a bit wacky?

[Dat Matt]

I think the ports are more accessible than the nes version so yeah should be fine. Don't be worried about consulting a walkthrough if you get lost because it is hard to lose your way. The later games are good for being able to let you explore but also giving you a fairly clear objective.

Never got into tanks in FFxIV. Prefer range, so I mostly heal, Black mage or Bard.

[fat_moogle]

Welcome to the forums!

I was going to recommend IX first, but I see you've already set yourself up for playing in chronological order ^^ Have you started it yet?

[qwertysaur]

FFII has the best way to tell you that you went the wrong way. It just murders you with random encounters. :jess:

[Loony BoB]

Welcome to the gang! Always good to have another FFXIV player around! If you ever find yourself interested in changing servers, Sargatanas is the way to go for us here at EoFF. :)

FFI is perhaps not my preferred solo-FF to start with, but if you're into some old school fun then it's good for it. And yeah, ports are fine.

Which consoles do you have? If you have a PSP, I find VII plays really well on that (the PSN download version can be played on PSP, same for most PSN FFs) compared to the larger screens we see today (mostly because the huge screens make the graphics look weird).

[TheShogun]

Welcome to the gang! Always good to have another FFXIV player around! If you ever find yourself interested in changing servers, Sargatanas is the way to go for us here at EoFF. :)

FFI is perhaps not my preferred solo-FF to start with, but if you're into some old school fun then it's good for it. And yeah, ports are fine.

Which consoles do you have? If you have a PSP, I find VII plays really well on that (the PSN download version can be played on PSP, same for most PSN FFs) compared to the larger screens we see today (mostly because the huge screens make the graphics look weird).

I have VII on PSN, and a Vita to play it on, never got around to it, so I might play some soon, thanks!

[Shauna]

Welcome to EoFF! Glad to have you around. Your article was pretty interesting - looking forward to seeing more of your work!

What else do you do with your time, aside from playing through FF games chronologically? x}

[Freya]

Welcome! You're already jumping right in with the articleness, we appreciate that. Thanks :D We're a decently active forum so stick around! (pssssst play IX, it's the best despite what our recent poll of users said)

[Ceiladora]

Welcome to EoFF, fellow newcomer! I'm Ceiladora! Nice to meet ya! :handshake: