Introducing People To Final Fantasy

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So my boyfriend Sam (who took an unsuspecting photo to illuminate this thread for me) is finally playing a Final Fantasy game! As a fan, I take great pride in introducing the series for him.

You can't really make it out so much with the photo, but he's playing Final Fantasy X. Taking the advice of this thread on board, I'm happy to report that he seems to be enjoying it so far. He finds the Sphere Grid unusual and weird to use, which I find odd because he's using the Standard Grid, which is a single path, practically. But anyway, he was pleasantly surprised with the combat. He initially thought the turn based combat would be boring and complicated but it turned out not to be the case!

He's just arrived in Kilika, now. He also said to me that he very briefly played FFXII with a friend, but found it incredibly slow. He only remembered it, because of "that slutty bunny lady". I'm sure you know who she is.

So anyway, how hard is it do you think to introduce someone to the series? Have you, and what sort of success did you have?

So far, he seems to be enjoying it. Have you had similar success at all? What sort of experiences have you all had?

I recently got my friend to try Final Fantasy VII. He's on Cosmo Canyon and had a temporary pause, but he said he'll continue now that we have summer break.

Other than that it's been mostly failures. Most of my friends don't take well to turn-based combat.

Your BF is getting through the game much faster than the Shaunas. :p

I basically explained to my wife that she was going to have to at least try to get into FF if we were to get married : )

I tried to start her with VII, because it's the best, but for someone not familiar with RPGs (and not willing to overlook the clunky graphics), it was a bit of a struggle. So we scrapped that and tried X, which she got really into for a while - I think she made it as far as the Calm Lands. Then Skyrim came out, and we both got totally hooked on that. She's actually played it more than I have...150 hours the first time and currently 100 or so on a second playthrough. Someday I'll get her back on the FF track.

I have forced enough people to do that. That or wrestling with a wild animal.

At gunpoint, yes. I have multiple success. :bigsmile:

Because my network of cousins and friends were on the up and up about FF games, very little introductions needed to be done aside from, "I have this RPG now! Yay! Let's figure it out!"

Good times.

So I kinda hooked my wife on FF? She was a big fan of Baldur's Gate and other WRPGs, so starting VII was a bit hard for her (around that time I started BG - we both had quite the culture shock XD), but then she really loved the game. Then she tried VIII and loved that too. Then tried IX and didn't finish it - at that point she lost faith in FF, claiming they're all the same game. But sometime later she came back to JRPGs with Persona 3 and Chrono Trigger and now she's digging the hell out of Bravely Default, so I guess she's kinda back into FF...?

And I recently got my best friend hooked on the series as well. He's played quite a lot of JRPGs in the past, but somehow missed FF (most of the games he played were Dragonball games. Idk). So I made him start with Tactics Advance. Huge mistake. Turned out he hates grid--based combat. But now he's playing FFIV and loving it, so I guess it's all good :D

I was able to convince my last girlfriend to play FFXII. She wasn't keen at first because she wasn't a fan of turn based combat. I explained to her that XII was a little different, and whilst it is technically turn based, it's quite seamless and fluid - that it felt more like an MMO rather than a traditional JRPG. Then I think she got into her head that it must've been exactly like WoW and became even more against the idea of trying it. I gave up.

Weeks later, she saw me playing.

Turns out I just needed to show her Balthier to get her hooked.

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Originally Posted by Mo-Nercy

Turns out I just needed to show her Balthier to get her hooked.

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I don't understand why this wasn't your first port of call.

Danny (Bubba) introuduced me to FF by "levelling" me up playing Pokemon first! It was part of his plan to then introduce me. I'm now part way through FFVII and I'm loving it!

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Originally Posted by Quin

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Originally Posted by Mo-Nercy

Turns out I just needed to show her Balthier to get her hooked.

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I don't understand why this wasn't your first port of call.

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I thought I was all the man she needed in her life. :p

Balthier is the man everyone needs in their life.

Update on how Sam is doing on Final Fantasy X - He's nearly at Zanarkand already, and it's only been just a week and a half! He isn't even underleveled or such.

He's gone back home now, though. He'll have to wait till the next time he is over!

Dear Eoff,

Please help me. I feel like my SO is straying from the path of Final Fantasy and RPG's. I often see him playing games like XCOM or Metal Gear Solid, but when I offer him a good ol' fashioned Final Fantasy he says he "isn't in the mood". Now, he's even beginning to play Mario Tennis while rejecting games such as Xenoblade Chronicles.

I am worried that soon his bad gaming habits will lead him to worse hobbies, such as heroin and maybe even armed robbery. I don't know what to say to him. I checked his text messages and I often find him referring to "cars" and "engine lights" and I'm worried this is some 30 y/o man slang for drugs.

Please help,
a concerned girlfriend

Xcom has turn based combat, customization of characters, a grid base battle system, stats that grow with character experience, and weapons that are upgradeable!

So ha!!!!! :colbert:

Addicts always justify their habits :colbert:

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Originally Posted by shion

Dear Eoff,

Please help me. I feel like my SO is straying from the path of Final Fantasy and RPG's. I often see him playing games like XCOM or Metal Gear Solid, but when I offer him a good ol' fashioned Final Fantasy he says he "isn't in the mood". Now, he's even beginning to play Mario Tennis while rejecting games such as Xenoblade Chronicles.

I am worried that soon his bad gaming habits will lead him to worse hobbies, such as heroin and maybe even armed robbery. I don't know what to say to him. I checked his text messages and I often find him referring to "cars" and "engine lights" and I'm worried this is some 30 y/o man slang for drugs.

Please help,
a concerned girlfriend

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I can think of two options here.

The first is to wean him back slowly. Introduce him to a game like Fire Emblem Awakening, by comparing it to XCOM, but a fantasy version. Then, once he's adopted to the more RPG-centric nature, give him a game like Final Fantasy Tactics, to bring him further to the RPG side, then back to full RPGs.

The other option would be to thrust him into a world and then take it away. Show him some majorly enticing, cliff-hanger-styled cutscenes from a game such as Bravely Default, then pull it away, go back to playing it yourself, and say that he can maybe play it when you're done. Then, as you play, throw in a few leading comments or even just you going "wow", and let the desire to know eat away at his brain until he breaks down and plays it.

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Originally Posted by Skyblade

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Originally Posted by shion

Dear Eoff,

Please help me. I feel like my SO is straying from the path of Final Fantasy and RPG's. I often see him playing games like XCOM or Metal Gear Solid, but when I offer him a good ol' fashioned Final Fantasy he says he "isn't in the mood". Now, he's even beginning to play Mario Tennis while rejecting games such as Xenoblade Chronicles.

I am worried that soon his bad gaming habits will lead him to worse hobbies, such as heroin and maybe even armed robbery. I don't know what to say to him. I checked his text messages and I often find him referring to "cars" and "engine lights" and I'm worried this is some 30 y/o man slang for drugs.

Please help,
a concerned girlfriend

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I can think of two options here.

The first is to wean him back slowly. Introduce him to a game like Fire Emblem Awakening, by comparing it to XCOM, but a fantasy version. Then, once he's adopted to the more RPG-centric nature, give him a game like Final Fantasy Tactics, to bring him further to the RPG side, then back to full RPGs.

The other option would be to thrust him into a world and then take it away. Show him some majorly enticing, cliff-hanger-styled cutscenes from a game such as Bravely Default, then pull it away, go back to playing it yourself, and say that he can maybe play it when you're done. Then, as you play, throw in a few leading comments or even just you going "wow", and let the desire to know eat away at his brain until he breaks down and plays it.

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Third option: ditch the zero, get with the hero :cool:

I mean, I'm not the hero in this case, but you know