What it says on the tin. What is your general opinion of each FF entry?
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What it says on the tin. What is your general opinion of each FF entry?
FF I - Saw all of it played, no desire to play it myself.
FF II - Never played it but it seems kinda cool.
FF III - Never played it, maybe should see more of it sometime.
FF IV - Underwhelming but okay. Can see how much it'd have meant to people when it first came out. Could use going easy on the fakeout deaths.
FF V - Amazing gameplay and charm, holds up incredibly well. Probably the SNES entry I'll end up revisiting the most ear
FF VI - Pretty good game, again can see how much it'd have meant to people when it first came out and was the first game to do stuff like the opera or Celes' suicide or the World of Ruin. Kefka holds up damn well though, he's an awesome villain. Lots of characters that don't feel like they have much of a purpose though.
FF VII - Pretty great game, definitely the best protag character the series had up until this point. Again lots of characters that don't feel like they have much of a purpose. I modded this game a bunch so I associate that with it a lot.
FF VIII - Magical game that I've grown to really love. Best OST in the series in my book. Story centered around Squall and Rinoa and having an almost fairy tale like feel to it as compared to the far more 'scientific magic' of the previous (and following) games. I appreciate the shift from backstory-based characters to personality-based characters that this game went with, even if the story is clearly centered around the main duo, the rest of the cast has a lot more recognizable presence (besides just charm) than previous more unimportant characters.
FF IX - Good game with some great moments and characters. Love Steiner, love Vivi. More a focus on charm again but with some real bonds between cast members. Stealing in this game can go to hell, and the game feels overall lacking in engaging combat challenge outside of maybe the final storyline boss. Overall don't feel half as strongly about it as its neighbors though.
FF X - Favorite game in the series and one of my favorite games of all time. While it has its flaws (had a long convo in the Discord about them just yesterday) what it does well it does *really* well and - besides probably Tactics - it's the first and kinda only game in the series that really sucks you into its beautiful world and its very distinct and memorable culture. Tidus is one of the few times a fictional story pulled off a self-sacrificial MC so well. Love the story, love the characers, love the combat, love the side content, love the OST, love the ending.
FF X-2 - Very fun game with a forgettable main story but still some memorable plot threads. Played it to death many years back, now revisit it only rather rarely.
FF XI - Never played it, never going to. But sounds like it was a fun time for the people who played it at the time.
FF XII - Very very fun game with a mostly unremarkable story and cast. Zodiac version is a massive improvement over the original. Find myself coming back just to play more of this game every now and again.
FF XIII - I don't
FF XIII-2 - care enough.
Dirge of Cerberus - It was fun enough to play all those years back, no desire to revisit it though.
Lightning Returns, FF XIV, FF XV, FF Type-0, Crisis Core - Played a couple hours (max) on each of them and never cared enough to continue. Not sure I ever will.
FFI - Classic, still great replay value with the different job combos. The original NES version is brutal with the difficulty.
FFII - Good characters, plot, still hate the level up system.
FFIII - Fun game, suffered for me since I played it long after I played some of the better games.
FFIV - Where the series really started to take off. Music, characters, sidequests, all great. Straightforward and quick, so easy to pick up and play.
FFV - Great job system. Cast fairly small but memorable. Super generic villain.
FFVI - Favorite game of all time. One of the best casts and villains in gaming. Fabulous side content and music. An open world RPG before that was a thing.
FFVII - Worth the hype as it is a great game. Pioneered the genre for years to come. Materia is fun to customize. Also great side content.
FFVIII - The love story is stupid (FFIX's was better) and drawing magic is annoying, but otherwise this game is still pretty good. Junctioning and Triple Triad are my favorite parts.
FFIX - A real love letter to the series. Great characters with very distinct traits not seen since FFIV, though some got lost in the plot. Also fabulous music. Steal rates from bosses was my least favorite part.
FFX - The CTB was a nice change and I wish they used it more. Voice acting not so great, but otherwise I liked the cast. I also liked blitzball.
FFXI - Spent more time in this FF than any other. Great stories and things to keep you busy in an MMO. Also great music. Blue Mage and Red Mage rock.
FFXII - Started off strong but had too much of a lull in the middle. I liked the 'main' character trio of Basch/Ashe/Balthier but not big fans of the other three. The MMO-style combat was hit and miss.
FFXIII - Fun to play once, but not enough variation to really want to play it again. Also the story and characters were on the weaker side, with almost no side characters to speak of. Also no towns!
FFXIV - Never played since my PC is not good enough, and I'm sort of over the subscription based MMO. Nothing beats FFXI for me.
FFXV - Been playing it recently and it is a lot of fun. Very different feel from the other FFs but still has some of those elements. I like the four bros.
FF -. It's good for a NES game. A nice intro to the genre but nothing particularly special.
FF2 - What were they thinking? I like the early foray into a more character driven game, but the gameplay is simply a nonstarter.
FF3 - Decent advancement over the first game, but still nothing terribly special. The start of the job system would be more notable to me of I cared for the job system. I prefer set classes like in FF4 and FF9.
FF4 - My most nostalgic entry in the series. This is where it really all began for me. I had rented and not finished FF before this, but this was the first FF I owned and it made me a fan of the series. It will always hold a special place in my heart for that reason.
FF5 - A step back from FF4 in nearly every way. The characters, villains, story, settings, and yes, even gameplay are all worse. As I've said above, I prefer FFIV's classes over the job system. It's very customizable. That's great for people who care, but I'm just not a huge fan. The graphics are a bit nicer, but that's not a big deal and visuals are still closer to FF4 than FF6.
FF6 - In contrast to FF5, this improves on FFIV in nearly everyway. I'm gonna stop for now because doing this all in one burst is too much. I have more to say in this game.
FFI: a classic that’s still pretty fun to play today, especially considering the various party options
FFII: extremely underrated; FFII has a refreshingly dark story, a very interesting character development system, and an incredibly memorable villain.
FFIII: I played this one too late. I really want to like FFIII more but regardless of the version, I always end up pretty disappointed with the fairy tale-like setting, the still primitive job system, and the overall tediousness of the game. Also, three airships and none of them allows you complete freedom to fly over everything? Super lame
FFIV: this is where FF started growing the beard, as I still consider the SNES FFs the golden era of FF. IV is just an incredibly tight package, with excellent pacing on all accounts. It’s fast to play and you never really need to grind. It’s also the last game with remnants of that NES dungeon and overall game design. The story is classic, though some elements are very dated, yet the themes of redemption and forgiveness are very strong. Zemus is lame and needs at least two more lines. The DS version is the definitive version and I won’t hear anything otherwise.
FFV: I’m gonna have to counter what both Golbez and Del said. I feel FFV is an improvement over IV in every way. While the tone of the story is lighter, it is still incredibly epic with even higher stakes and some incredibly punchy moments that aren’t later made moot by characters thought dead actually surviving. FFIV is goofy on accident while FFV is goofy on purpose, and that’s why I think this story is actually stronger, especially since this game really handles its themes of inheritance incredibly well. The characters stick with you and you really get to feel like a part of the family since you’re with them from the start. The villain is actually pretty great. Like sure, he’s a Saturday morning cartoon villain, but 1) it really fits the tone of this story and 2) he’s as charismatic as the Emperor from II and it really just makes every scene with him very enjoyable. The job system is timeless and very fun to play around with and I really wish the main series came back to it mores thankfully it came back with a vengeance in the Tactics games and Bravely Default. Also, I feel this is the point at which Uematsu really hit his stride, as the OSTs to V, VI and VII are absolutely his best work and none of his other soundtracks really come close.
FFVI: This one is a fan darling, but I won’t be the dissenting voice here. FFVI is absolutely the masterpiece it’s made up to be and it’s one of my favorite games of all time. I love the mood whiplash, the music and it’s role in the story, the robust cast of colorful characters, and the villain who’s equal parts hilarious and terrifying. I also dig how non-linear it becomes in its later half.
FFVII: my relationship with this one is complicated, as it used to be my favorite, but I’m far more cynical towards it, most likely due to the frankly dreadful translation. I’m hoping my future playthrough with the retranslation will help me get a fresh perspective on this. As it stands, I think it’s a game with a phenomenal few opening hours that later only gets weaker as the game progresses.
FFVIII: another criminally underrated title, FFVIII is an incredibly original game that really scratches an itch I never know I had in terms of gameplay. The story is very goofy at times, but in like a good way, and I really love Squall as a protagonist - in terms of main series protagonists, he’s my favorite. The one aspect I think it’s overrated in is music. People are in love with this soundtrack, but imo it’s incredibly mediocre by FF soundtrack and is probably Uematsu’s weakest work, barring maybe his contributions to FFX.
FFIX: absolutely the best of the PSX trilogy. It’s really weird that I play this game so rarely compared to other titles when I really love it. It’s got an incredibly well told story with some stellar character moments and an involving, if slightly simpler character progression system. The music is also outstanding once again, being the last soundtrack Uematsu composed on his own, and it’s also his biggest. I love how varied it is and definitely appreciate the medieval and Renaissance techniques he used to help make the music feel authentically old-times. And while FFIV is where FF truly began, FFIX is where old FF ended, as nothing really remained the same from this point onward - fitting, considering how much of a love letter to everything that came before this entry was.
FFX: though I still think it’s overrated, my opinion on FFX has definitely softened in recent years. I’m still not a fan of the linear design and everything revolving so hard around the plot, but I definitely appreciate the little details you can encounter along the way, as there’s still a ton to explore all things consider. The story is told in an incredibly dramatic, over the top manner, but it still has a lot of good ideas and it certainly has heart. I actually genuinely love Kimahri as a character and really appreciate how subtle his growth is compared to the in-your-face quality of everything else. Uematsu has made a few stand-out tracks for this, but imo it’s Hamauzu that’s really pulling all the weight in this title, as I feel his style is what gave Spira its unique feel, and this is also the game I heard him for the first time, making him an instant favorite.
FFXI: I’ve yet to play it fully, but the little I did I played with my wife and we had a blast. Can’t wait to try it again properly soon!
FFXII: A return to Ivalice and what an adventure this is! I’ll try to keep this shorter, so let me just say there are very few things I have problems with in this game. The story is intriguing, the characters gripping, the world is engrossing and the overall game design was so ahead of its time. Like I didn’t imagine we’d live in a world where this model of gameplay is the standard, but I’m happy this is the timeline we live in, even though it hasn’t been done as well since.
FFXIII: much like with X, my opinion on this has mellowed out. There’s a lot of interesting ideas here, but I feel that what the team working on this title really lacked was time and a sense of direction. Had this game spent two more years or so in development, I actually feel it could have been a completely different experience.
FFXIV: again, haven’t played much yet, though I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as XI. I have heard a lot of good things, however, so here’s hoping I’ll get to take in all its glory soon.
FFXV: I’ve only played it this year for the first time but boy, what a pleasant surprise it was! The open world is very fun but what really gripped me were the absolutely human characters and their very real connection, as well as the intense story with insanely strong themes of sacrifice and duty. Also, Ardyn is an impeccable villain, absolutely up there along with the likes of Kefka imo