When do FF games start needing walkthroughs? (Specifically, IV and V need them?)

To get say... 80% of the fun out of them.

I've been playing from the start on their original platforms.
In my opinion the first 3 didn't need one at all - I followed one each time because I expected to for these old "in at the deep end" games, but you're guided around quite easily by NPCs and the basic limitation of "this is the only place I can actually go". With certain ones like FF2+Paul, you just learned who to return to when you weren't sure where to go next.
FF3 started to need one as it introduced proper side quests and there were a few moments of "okay I have a HUGE world here what now?", but there were only a few and you could easily figure them out yourself with enough exploring.
I've just started FF4.

The problem is walkthroughs can be very time consuming and wordy (read.. read... read... play..) and full of spoilers. I was so annoyed with an FF3 walkthrough as it was like "ok do this, collect this, do that, and now there will be a scene where soandso dies" and you're thinking "well thanks for that". I really don't see the point in telling us everything that's going to happen like some kind of narration - just tell us where the hidden chests are and stuff??

I already know they stop needing them at X (unless you're looking to do insane sidequests that drive you nuts and take several months of grinding.) - with the exception of X-2 where it's REALLY important for a thing... but also a massive spoiler if you don't know what that thing is...

My first was VII which in my opinion required one as otherwise you missed out on really fun things like it'd be almost impossible to figure out chocobo breeding, the Weapons, master materia etc.
Wasn't that important with VIII - final dungeon and boss were tricky without, though
IX was a matter of pure replayability with it, no issues playing without it.

The bit in the middle is VI. I seem to recall a walkthrough was important to make some crucial decisions that actually affected the storyline.

So maybe my question is more whether IV and V need them or if I can just plough on through them unassisted.
I like to play a positive game so... it's important if I need it to know how to save the world or a good character.

For the actual game part I don't think any of them necessitate walkthroughts. As for side content stuff, I would probably say FF7 was the start of the steadily increasing trend. Prior to that the end game side quests more or less consisted of going to the places you hadn't gone yet and killing things and clearing dungeons.

FF12 you probably need one so you don't mess up getting the Zodiac Spear.

I never needed a walkthrough for any of the Final Fantasy games, but I was never interested in any of the side stuff. The main quest has always been easy for me to follow.

Granted, I haven't played III yet.

I always approach FF games the same way. Play it through first without any help and then replay it with a guide so I don't miss out on all the good stuff!

The only one I played through first time with help was FFVI and that was only general tips (without spoilers) from EOFFers.

Walkthroughs/guides can be pretty helpful for things like maps or in the case of the Tactics games seeing what you need to do to get certain classes. My FFTA guide was battered from how much I used it for party planning.

After the first playthrough, I would say, or if you want to get 100% (Platinum trophy etc) on the first play through, then you need a guide to alert you to certain things that are missable. I love using "missable" guides that only explain when you are stumbling across items/scenes/etc that are missable.

FFIV has small things you can miss but nothing too important.
FFV a guide would be very useful for some optional stuff but not important to have.
FFVI has a lot of stuff in the World of Ruin you could miss without a guide.

I agree that the optional endgame stuff really seemed to get more involved starting with VII. For example, encountering the Tonberry King in VIII required defeating 20 tonberries in the Centra Ruins, and the chances of that happening by accident were pretty slim. I will say, however, there is a certain magic to discovering side stuff on your own. I fondly remember my first time on VI just flying around randomly and discovering new sidequests after I thought I had done everything. Or, the first time I was flying around and encountered Death/Doom Gaze and it scared the crap out of me!

X-2 is well nigh impossible to get a sense of satisfaction from, unless you've got the walkthrough handy. I harbour Mr T-like levels of sympathy for any fool who tries to get 100% completion and the 'perfect ending' without being a dirty walkthrough cheater.

4-6 definitely does not need a walkthrough to get 80% out of them. If you just pay attention to most things NPCs say, you'd almost never need one in any of the games.

When I can't figure out what to do next, if I am searching for an item or if I get stuck.

Final Fantasy I - No Walkthrough needed. All areas (except one underwater I believe) can be visited again. You can check walkthrough after you are done to see if you missed anything.

Final Fantasy II - Same as 1 except there is a couple places you can't go back to. The emperors ship is one to mention on the top of my mind.

Final Fantasy III - As far as I remember I used one just to make sure I got everything. Never played it enough as I didn't actually own it until recent.

Final Fantasy IV - Everything can be re-explored for the most part. Some areas are. maybe just look online for missables and your good to play.

Final Fantasy V - I have never used a walkthrough for this game. I looked some stuff up but never had problems finding things.

Final Fantasy VI - Totally use a walkthrough. Some chests shouldn't be opened right away some should. Some espers can be missed, as well as important decisions on how to recruit characters.

Final Fantasy VII - If you have enough sense to examine something that shines you are good to go! However a lot of people have trouble finding things and a lot of materia can totally be missed.

Final Fantasy VIII - The game is easier if you don't level up? Ok. Some cards can be missed. Ok. Rare items are difficult to find or make. Sure looked like I needed a walkthrough here.

Final Fantasy IX - Not really needed but you will find it fun to collect everything. I didn't use one and managed to get everything.

Final Fantasy X - I owned the walkthrough but the only important stuff was by completing crazy quests.

Final Fantasy XI - One month free trial. If you are not a good mmorpg'er look some stuff up. This can be hard to do but not much is missable.

Final Fantasy XII - buy the walkthrough. You will find that you can get everything in the game within 100 hours. Everything in this game besides basic story is a secret.

Final Fantasy XIII - A lot of areas can't be visited again. Miss 1 thing and you can't get it again. I'm looking at accessories. I did it without a walkthrough but for completion sakes I used one on another playthrough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sora_lion_heart

Final Fantasy IV - Everything can be re-explored for the most part. Some areas are. maybe just look online for missables and your good to play.

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There's no way to reenter either of the towers nor the Giant of Babil. And there's a lot of good stuff you may not want to miss out on.

There is one, possibly two sidequests in IV that are easy to miss if you are not really exploring the game but otherwise; beyond knowing enemy drops to get rare gear/enemy summons/and a token sidequest item, IV is relatively straightforward and doesn't need a guide.

V does, without a guide it is really easy to miss some of the summons, one of the Jobs, and getting some of the best gear. Not to mention the game introduces the Blue Mage class which is pretty smurfing broken if you know when and where to use them. You can beat V without a guide, but for one of the last game-centric entries until FFXII, I feel players owe it to themselves to run through with at least a Missable Guide once.

VI can also be beaten fairly easy without a guide, and if you're playing the GBA version, several of the game's tough choices are made moot. The only real reason to use a guide for this one, other than rare gear and a few of the espers, is that it does have a fair share of story sections that are easy to walk past or miss because you didn't realize it was there, or didn't bring the right party member along. Getting Gogo can also be tricky...