What it says on the tin, what is your absolute favorite dungeon in each FF you've played and why?
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What it says on the tin, what is your absolute favorite dungeon in each FF you've played and why?
I'm definitely not going to do each entry because many of them I don't remember the dungeons too well and/or have no strong feelings.
FFIV - Tower of Babil. You go here multiple times at different parts of the tower and it's always epic.
FFV - I really don't know/don't remember all the dungeons too well, but maybe just the bridge with Gilgamesh, if that counts.
FFVI - Phoenix Cave. First multi-party dungeon in the game and you get Locke back at the end. Yay!
FFVII - Maybe Shinra HQ. That was definitely a great early dungeon. Long, but constantly shifting what you're doing with different things happening on different floors to mix things up and give some breaks between fights, changing objectives. Yeah, this is definitely one of the all time great FF dungeons. Some close contenders/runners up include Temple of the Ancients and the series of dungeons from Great Glacier to Whirlwind Maze.
FFVIII - Kind of hard, because there isn't that much in the way of pure dungeons, lots of in town fighting and things like that. Probably go with Ultimecia's Castle, because that's one of the most clear cut dungeons in the game. Otherwise, maybe the space station. I also really like the assassination attempt, but I'm reluctant to name a dungeon there, because the sewer dungeon isn't great.
FFIX - I've said in the past that I really love disc 1 of this game especially and I think I might go for that early on favorite dungeon too, with the forest or ice cave being strong possible contenders. Maybe Burmecia though. Great music and atmosphere, and it's where the plot really starts picking up but before it gets to the doldrums stage.
FFX - Zanarkand, probably.
FFI - Flying Fortress: This is just a cool looking dungeon, even back in the NES days since it had a more sci-fi vibe to it than every other location. Not to mention I get to face off against my favorite fiend and this is the location of the infamous WarMech, this is easily one of the most memorable dungeons in FFI that's not frustrating either, unless you run into WarMech...
FFII - Cyclone: I've never been a fan of FFII's dungeon design but for story purposes, the Cyclone and Dreadnought are probable the two most memorable. While the idea of giving this to the Death Star knockoff was tempting, the Cyclone had the climatic battle against the emperor and the game's first real big twist following after.
FFIII - Forbidden Land Eureka: An optional, and surprisingly straightforward dungeon for FFIII. This place has all the best stuff in it. If you're playing the original, this is where the mighty Ninja and Sage classes are located, for every other version, this is where you'll get all of the ultimate weapons and armor for your team. Has some pretty good boss fights in here as well.
FFIV - Mt. Ordeals: Easily my favorite point in the entire game. After getting a slight taste of power trying to reach the place, you suddenlt wind up in a situation where Cecil is the load on your team and you have to rely on your three mages to carry you through. Twin Magic rocks as always and the battle against the first of Golbez's Archfiends is super memorable. The cherry on the top is a class change and the first time we get to hear the awesome Lunarian Theme.
FFV - ExDeath's Castle: There are a lot of cool dungeons in FFV, but ExDeath's Castle in Galuf's world is easily one of the most memorable Not only does it hold a hidden summon with Carbuncle, but you also get a hilarious final battle Gilgamesh and the beginning of the legendary Excalipur, but then you also get the climatic showdown with ExDeath himself and the whole time you're listening to ExDeath's badass villain theme. The fact it looks like a Lovecraft location just makes it better.
FFVI - Kefka's Tower: This game ends with one of the better final dungeons in the series. I love splitting the cast into three teams for the switch puzzles and I love the boss gauntlet of this place as well, with several rematches and finally getting a chance to face off against the Guardian, as well as the Warring Triad themselves. The fact it all accumulates into one of my favorite boss fights in the series with one of the best final boss themes just makes this an easy choice for me.
FFVII - Shin-Ra Tower: One of the most memorable dungeons in FFVII that ends the Midgard arc of the game, no dungeon afterwards really measures up in terms of creativity and just impactful storytelling. Puzzles, breather episodes, some awesome boss fights, multiple ways to enter the building, and the awesome duel against Rufus makes this easily the highlight of the first disc for me on the gameplay front.
FFVIII - Ultimecia's Castle: Another awesome final dungeon and debatably the best overall. While I'm not impressed with the visuals or music, the structure was really interesting and it was quite a surprise to watch as super easy FFVIII suddenly bared some teeth at the 11th hour. Having to hunt down and prioritize your abilities was a cool idea I wish more games would attempt, and they even brought back the two team switch puzzle from FFVI. The boss battles are also pretty amusing.
FFIX: Burmecia: Stylistically, this is one of the coolest parts of the first disc. The rain effects combined with the haunting Kingdom of Burmecia theme sets a great mood to finally see Kuja for the first time and to watch as the whole team gets their asses handed to them by Beatrix for the first time. The ruined nature of the city makes traversing it a little less straightforward than other places as well.
FFX: Zanarkand: After trudging thirty so hours to reach this place, I've got to give credit where credit is due and say Zanarkand doesn't disappoint. Its got some nice atmosphere, the difficulty curve finally jumps up to make battles fun, and for me personally, I get my triple confirmation on my hunches from my first playthrough that Auron was an Unsent, the Pilgrimage was a scam all along, and Tidus would have to trade fates with Yuna in order to save Spira.
FFXII: The Pharos: The real final dungeon of FFXII, the Pharos has all the hallmarks of one, boss rush, lots of puzzles, great loot, a secret dungeon located within the dungeon, and lots of story scenes for each character surprisingly. All ends with the climatic resolution of Ashe's story arc, and minor ones for Basch and Balthier as well. What's not to love about this place?
FFXIII: Orphan's Cradle: Next to FFII and X, this game has pretty awful dungeons, but Orphan's Cradle is an exception, largely because it has something more to do that follow a linear path and watch cutscenes. There are actual puzzle elements to the place, some snazzy visuals that actually work within the structure of the place to not be all show, and some interesting boss battles as well.
FFXV: Balouve Mines: This is how you do a cinematic dungeon. The FF equivalent of Tucker's Kobolds. This dungeon has Noctis and his entourage befallen a mine shaft overrun by Goblins who do their best Alien impressions to constantly ambush and keep the player on their toes. This dungeon plays more like a horror game scenario than a typical FF dungeon and is extremely memorable. Course, the real kicker here is that while you can find this place in Chapter 1, the boss is a Lv. 52 Yojimbo class enemy who will whoop your ass until later in the game. The fact the dungeon name is a reference to FFTactics was a nice bonus as well.
I'll do spin-offs later...
You've got a lot of the same choices as me and I definitely considered Mt. Ordeals too. It's certainly up there for me, but possibly more for the moment at the end than the actual dungeon itself. Although the reliance on magic with both white and black magic working offensively on many of the monsters is a nice touch. And then watching Cecil's levels rocket up on the way down is great as well (I think he usually gains 6 levels in the first battle).
What I love about the dungeon is the fact it really starts to play with forcing the player to use the team effectively. I was originally going to do either the Feymarch/Land of Summoned Monsters, or Lodestone/Dark Elf Cave; but I really feel like this dungeon is the starting point, and the taste of power you're given with Paladin Cecil on the way down is super nice as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Golbez