Younger audience? I believe all the FFs are catered to the same age group.
Younger audience? I believe all the FFs are catered to the same age group.
I disagree. Final Fantasy XIII was the last great Final Fantasy.
I'm 26 and have played I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, Dirge of Cerberus, IX, X, X-2, XI, XII, XIII, Tactics, Tactics Advance and Mystic Quest, btw.
Actually, IX is one of my least favorites.
I like Kung-Fu.
The themes throughout FF9 were a lot more 'grown up' than FF7 and FF8.
"... and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been written."
I disagree. FFIX and some others before it were pretty cool and all, but I think the ones after were great as well. I also feel the author failed in explaining why its successors don't live up to that greatness, just, "this and this and this were different than what was in FFIX" and a couple of those "this"s only apply to games before FFIX if you think about it. There are just so many contradictions all over the place, such as "Forget futuristic worlds - simplistic medieval charm is what Final Fantasy is about" when several games before FFIX had future worlds, FFX did not for the majority of the game, and FFXII was a medieval world.
So yeah, FFIX is pretty fun (and I kind of want to play it again now) but this article isn't so great. One thing I do agree with is that the graphics aged better than FFVIII before it and FFX after. In a few more years FFX is going to be omg so ugly.
-Lacks a ps3-Originally Posted by Depression Moon
You can get it off the PSN store.Now if X's protagonists (being Tidus and Yuna) weren't terrible then the game (at least for me) would've been far better. All the other characters (excluding Kimahri) were great.
I still need to get my hands on IX because it seems fantastic.
Sadly the store I would go to for my psX games doesn't have one in stock.
unless I can get it on my psp.
Eyyyyyyyyyyyyy
You can get all PS1 games on PSN on your PSP!
I never took the time to set up psn on my psp so I wouldn't know you could get ps1 games on it.
My bad.
Eyyyyyyyyyyyyy
For me, FFIX just felt like the last great entry. FFX always felt unfinished to me, and pretty damn formulaic, and lacking in charm. Course, what do you expect when two of the oldest members of the staff were both busy making preparations to leave the company. Most of all, I don't feel like FFX brought anything new to the table. Its game mechanics are mostly minor revisions of old mechanics and the advent of voice work had been in the genre for years before its release. When a games biggest contribution to the series is doing something Brave Fencer Musashi, a title released around FFVIIs time, I don't feel this is really a major contribution but rather just the series catching up to other games.
XI is a good game, but like some, I never felt like FF = Online worked for me, and while it has a wonderful world, it still feels like a spin-off project for me. Its like if TheaterRythm was announced as FFXV. While it may be a great game, I don't feel the genre fits with what FF is about.
FFXII is a great game and probably the last FF game to have a number in its title that I felt really held up for the series, but this game is far more aligned with Matsuno's other works. The game feels awkward when standing next to FFV or VII, but feels at home next to Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics A2, so even though it has a great pedigree, it doesn't quite feel like an "FF experience". Despite this, I felt like XII at least tried to push the series in a more groundbreaking direction and when modern RPGs still have issues holding up to stuff this game did, it makes me appreciate what it did bring. While XII is also flawed and unfinished, its still a far cry better than some other modern JRPGs I won't mention.
XIII is a combination of both my issues with FFX and XII. It not only doesn't feel like an FF cause its mainly a vision by one guy whose track record is mostly in the post-FFIX entries, but the game feels completely unfinished and barren. Just a couple of ideas that were never fleshed out, and ultimately done better in previous installments. I remember one fan made critique stating that XIII felt more like the evolutionary leap between FFX and XII, as opposed to feeling like a jump off from what XII did. Yet, I feel XIII's bigger issues stem from many of its ideas not being that good to begin with. Its a game that is hindered by so many lost opportunities, and one that feels very... corporate and soulless. Something that was mostly phoned in, the idea being created in a few meetings and then the concept shipped off to several departments that weren't at the meeting.
XIV is pretty much in the same boat as XI for me. It will always feel like a "spinoff" to me, course the game has its own fare share of issues as even XI fans used to find it unplayable.
IX on its own right is a throwback entry, but its charming and actually filled with some creative ideas that I feel everyone in the genre missed. It may lack some originality and god knows combat was more of a step back from its predecessors, but it had some great ideas it employed and even its "shout out" to older FFs feel much more refined and are given such a unique spin, that its really hard to treat these as faults. IX, just feels like a game that was developed with love. Every time you turn around in the game, you're given a new surprise. Everytime you think its going to just be a copy/paste of an old idea, it introduces a twist that makes the idea feel much fresher. Is it a perfect game? No, but I agree with the series creator when he said IX was the "ideal FF", the later FFs don't hold up as well because they don't strike the right balance that IX does. That's why I feel IX is the last great entry.
True beauty exists in things that last only for a moment.
Current Mood: And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe. Maybe this year will be better than the last. I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself. To hold on to these moments as they pass...
FFIX is the perfect game.
FFX-2 is the last great Final Fantasy game.
X is better than IX or VII, I think that Yuna and co. are much more interesting than the cast of either of the other games. I have to say that I always felt that FFIX was a bit cliche, with the typical setting and typical scenery. FFX felt much more different with it's setting.
That said I actually like X-2 and it's battle system. I even like the cheesy story mixed with the sadder aspects. But then comes XI which I've never played, I don't play online games, and then XII which I dislike. XII and XIII just aren't the same series to me. I can handle XII but I still haven't gotten past the start of XIII.
As much as I enjoyed FFIX and consider it to be one of the best FF games in the series, I have to disagree with the article itself. FFX and FFXII had their own appeal - though FFXII is very underrated simply because so few FF fans seem to appreciate a rather deep and meaningful storyline that goes beyond the playable characters. The political situation in Ivalice was simply breathtaking for me - especially since I'd enjoyed a similar style of storytelling in FF Tactics and Vagrant Story. Though given how they're created largely by the same team, it makes sense.
I think the series simply began to grow stale due to the focus on sequels and side stories. FFX-2 leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, for example. It felt very...uncalled for. Though on that note, the FF franchise has always been pretty diverse. It's just trying to appeal to the masses now, rather than the niche it once catered for.
Whether the sentiment of the article is correct or not, it isn't really delivering it's point well.
I never connected with IX. Only played it this year and haven't gone through the rigmarole of the final dungeon yet (but I YouTubed the ending video). I don't know if it's because I played it for the first time when it was 'old' or whether I would never have liked it, but it just frustrates me. It might have something to do with Zidane's face, which drives me tizzy with irritation, but think it's deeper than that.
I don't really agree that all the characters were all that well developed. Quina is static throughout, Freya is neglected after Burmecia, Eiko doesn't really change and Zidane, despite the revelations that surround his past, always retains his optimistic, happy-go-lucky nature. Garnet truly matures, from semi-spoilt princess to woman, Amarant learns to be more open with others and Vivi is just awesome. And XII's plot was more mature (although I agree that it did feel a bit soulless).
Gameplay was good, but not particularly revolutionary. Having characters fixed into certain classes is a nice touch, as it forces the trial of combinations, but even if characters are fully customisable, they do tend to fit certain specialised roles. Battle system better than X or X-2? Doubt it.
I like IX, I think it is very cute in many places and it can be good fun. But I would rather play X, X-2, XII or XIII over it. So, in my opinion, IX isn't the last great entry.
I've always wished that XI could be remade as a single-player RPG. After playing through all the story campaigns, it has probably the most interesting lore and narrative within the entire series. The idea of it being party-play based is the epitome of what a Final Fantasy game should be, however not so many fans of the series want to dedicate themselves to an MMO, and XI was true dedication even within the MMO community.
"... and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been written."
FF9 was like a clip show episode of a TV show, but for FFs. I don't see what about it was superior to any FF game. There was always something another game did better, and nothing original about it that was actually good. It's not even like its story was really good. If it were voice acted, the people who hated 10, etc would likely have hated 9 just as much. You just ignore how bad it is since you don't actually hear the dialog out loud. I think the only reason people like FF9 so much is because the game should essentially be called Final Fantasy Fanservice. No, I don't mean "sexy" fanservice, but the literal definition. The game is like a bad fanfiction, but not as good. I personally think the game is grossly overrated due to people easily being played by nostalgia and easter eggs.
This guy must be smoking crack. I mean that super crack!
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