Whats ur Fave FF game? Which one is the worst?

[Zifnab]

Most - VII - Everything about this game keeps me glued to it. It's easy enough that I can just start the game and head straight for the ending with minimal levelling, but not so difficult that you have to return to an inn every three battles. The story is just great and performs key events really well.
Least - VI - It's all right, it has it's moments and a few good plot twists and characters. I just hate how they put 14 playable characters in this game. We rarely saw relationships form between characters, or even expanded personalities. Also there's no lead roll - there's a reason why most books, games, movies or stories in general have a lead roll, yet FFVI lacked one. No one seemed to have the leadership qualities all groups should have. It just seemed like a band of random heroes crammed together to me. The characters were pretty decent; they just didn't flesh them out enough. Heck most of the time they just made dialogue boxes without names attached, so anyone could say the lines that needed to be said. This just shows that in the end all their personalities are the same, despite how well done they were at the beginning of their quest.

[NM]

Why FFVI isn't the best. In my opinion.

Just so you know I played it on the PSX and not the SNES version as it was never released in Europe.

First thing I didn't like was the fact I had been to every town on the world map and had an Airship after about 10hrs. Which makes the world seem a very small place with very few places to explore.

As mentioned before the lack of a main/lead character was annoying as the group seem like it was just thrown together. Terra is supposed to be the main character of FFVI yet for the most part of the game you don't even have to use her if you don't want to. There was no real interaction between the characters in the group apart from Celes & Locke, Sabin & Edgar and even then there wasn't that much there.

I also think theres to many playable characters alot of them which arn't really needed. Gau, Umaro, Relm, Stargo, Mog and Gogo. Others weren't even worth using as there was already someone else who could do similar things. Locke was usless for me. He can steel, bothered. Cyan had the sword techs which were good but you had to stand there like a muppet waiting for the bar to go up to use the higher ones. I'll just use Sabin and this Blitz thanks. Shadow was ok but then he turns up when he feels like it for the most part and disappears when he wants to. Usually when you could do with him. Like when you goto the Phantom Forest. He left before I got there so had to fight that train thing with only two characters. Which was nice.

The battle system was ok but not as good as in other FF games. You just use the same few moves over and over again and cure when needed. Most of the Espers are usless as the magic they give you isn't worth even equiping them.

Don't get me wrong, I like FFVI. I just don't think it's as good as everyone says. Maybe if Nintendo had released VI in Europe for the SNES back in the mid ninetys then I may have a different opinion. But they didn't ('Cos we don't like RPG's in Europe. Oh thanks for deciding that for me Nintendo/Square) so FFVII was the first one in the series I ever played and I still play it now after all these years. Theres just nothing wrong with it imo.

[TheAbominatrix]

You usually fall in love with the first FF you play. If it's VII, that's usually your favorite. Of all the things... lack of series character group save for a few people, shallow characters, etc, can also be said about VII. Or IV. Or X. VI will always be my favorite, and it was my first, and the greatest in my opinion. I think there's a lot of character growth, even in the WoR, and you can usually learn how characters feel about eachother by talking to them on the airship. (Oh, and by the way NM, Shadow will leave as late as Barren falls, it all depends. I usually get to keep him throughout the entire Phantom Forest deal)

I like the simple battle system, I dont need tons of limit breaks and flashy summons (which are pretty, but the length is terrible after a while). Though as for the magic... most of it is the standard in all FF games. There were a few useless spells, but those have been in many many games.

[Rand Al'Tor]

Aobonomatrix may be correct. VIII was my first.

Now, onto the dethroning of VI.

First of all, when I say 'best' I mean 'most fun for ME' I consider this all to be entirely subjective. But I'll just add what I thought FFVI lacked.

The idea is good at the basis, and so are the characters. Problem is that I feel like little or nothing is done with them. Take Gau. The concepyt is great, I LOVE the concept. When I started with him I was pretty happy. Problem? Gau has..what 20 lines in the wole game? And compared to the likes of Mog and Umaro he never even shuts his yap. And don't get me started on Gogo. Even the'core characters' (Terra, Locke, Edgar, Celes, Sabin, Setzer) get some kind of subquest (one in WOB, one in WOR) and a cutscene or two and that's it. Most of the reactions to the story are 'general' When I hardly ever hear the characters speak, it doesn't help my entrancement in the game. Squall and company.... they give their oppinion on everything they come across. And that is NOT a technical issue. Chrono Trigger magnificently has the characters drawn out (so it's not just an old-school VS new-school thing. If you would have asked what the best Square RPG was, I'd be pretty unsure)

[Outsider]

... Yeah, Squall and his fellas just couldn't shut their hole for a while, so I couldn't enjoy that horrible storyline...

Anyway, I strongly disagree with that "My first FF is the best"... That's why I try to analyse the games I play in a more technical way... BTW, my first FF was FF4, and my favourite is FF6.

The lack of a main character is what made the game so great in my opinion... it totally changes the concept of the game, so we have a storyline that gets the main spot, not the characters. And it's great, cuz the storyline is too damn good. Anyway, if I wanted to see only some character interaction, I would go watch a soap opera, not play a RPG. And that's another reason why I hate FF8, it's like I'm playing a soap opera. ARGH!

And it's incredible how the "main" characters (Terra, Celes, Locke, Sabin, Edgar, Cyan and Setzer) are well developed even though they never bored me to death talking about every single thing they came across... And those few lines that any character could say are well placed, and only happen in a few dialogues, mostly in the middle of quests. Anyway, you can still get enough character interaction in the sidequests and in the cutscenes.

[Rand Al'Tor]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Outsider
... Yeah, Squall and his fellas just couldn't shut their hole for a while, so I couldn't enjoy that horrible storyline...

At least when they talked, it was SOMEONE who talked instead of 'the mistery voice' that said general things and told us NOTHING of the characters.

Anyway, I strongly disagree with that "My first FF is the best"... That's why I try to analyse the games I play in a more technical way... BTW, my first FF was FF4, and my favourite is FF6.

Eh...analasys. You take joy where you can get it. No need to justify enjoying a game.

The lack of a main character is what made the game so great in my opinion... it totally changes the concept of the game, so we have a storyline that gets the main spot, not the characters.

Probvlem is that TO ME, a story without good characters can be as well hought out as you like. It's uninteresting. If I don't care about the peoplke of that world, I don't care about what happens to them.

And it's great, cuz the storyline is too damn good.

With all due respect. FFVI has a decent storyline, but i don't see what's the big hullaballoo. [spoiler] Evil empire wants to conquer world and abuse magical powers by exploiting magical race. Subordinate of evil empire grabs power for himself and instals himself of ruler of the world despite heroes resistance. One year later the heroes go and defeat him

Anyway, if I wanted to see only some character interaction, I would go watch a soap opera, not play a RPG. And that's another reason why I hate FF8, it's like I'm playing a soap opera. ARGH!

But soap operas are not NEARLY as human as the FFVIII (or VII or CT for that matter) characters. Nor do they have interesting worlds and stories.

And it's incredible how the "main" characters (Terra, Celes, Locke, Sabin, Edgar, Cyan and Setzer) are well developed even though they never bored me to death talking about every single thing they came across...

They didn't 'bore' me. They did strike me as completely superficial. A (good) background, some quirks, and that's it. True, FFVIII characters have a pretty shallow background, but at least they're USED. Nothing frustrates me as having an admittedly cool character as Setzer just go through most of the game without saying a single word. If you're gonna raise my interest in a character, DO something with it. As it is, they left me with a rather frustrated feeling.

And those few lines that any character could say are well placed, and only happen in a few dialogues, mostly in the middle of quests. Anyway, you can still get enough character interaction in the sidequests and in the cutscenes.

Enough for you, but not for me. And I did go through walkthroughs (so I did Gau's scene with his dad for example) And part of the problem is perhaps the dialogue that weren't always translated as good as later FF's (and the translations are part of the game WE play, so that counts against quality)

[Storm]

Favorite: FF6 was by far my favorite. There were a lot of unique things in the game(like the 3 person scenario after the Lete River) that I was a big fan of. All of the world locations were interesting. It has also had the right amount of comedy, especially with Ultros.

Least Favorite: FF9. I found this game to be really boring. A lot of the places you visit are so dull, and for a long time FF player it seemed like they re-used old FF ideas way too much. I also thought the introduction of Necron was totally lame. At least the other Final Fantasies make you slowly build a hatred towards the end boss throughout the game. Necron just comes out of nowhere, and he is just not fun to fight as he has hardly any story behind him.

[i90east]

Since there are 14 characters, yes each character gets less individual attention. What you get is a multitude of stories coming from almost every character, bringing together a colorful experience. Out of the said characters, they all hold some anguish inside of them which is brought of closure later in the game. That's not enough developement? Most of their stories give you a glimpse of their past too. The rest is left to the imagination. I don't see where there's a lack of developement like some of you are claiming. As far as dialogue goes, have you ever seen the entire dialogue of the game in one document? It's huge. Most players would rather be playing than reading. That's what books are for. So your favorite character didn't talk much... oh well. There's plenty of dialogue coming from all characters as a whole, which contributes to that colorful blend I was talking about earlier.

Why should the player be forced to use a "lead" character, and over-endulge in his/her story? What if you don't really like the main character? Now you have a game with an overly-complicated story about a character you don't even like. Take Cloud for example. Sure he looked cool, but I thought his personality was rather boring for a supposed leader. Barret had a more colorful personality than Cloud, and most FF6 characters did too.

Without having a main character that you're forced to use al the time, it gives you the freedom to use anyone you want. There are a total of 56 different party combinations for you to choose from. Combine that with the multitude of available relics and equipment, and the possibilities are exponentially high.

Throughout the WoB there were characters who stepped up and led the group. Edgar, Bannon and Locke are 3 such characters. In the WoR it was clear what they needed to do, and most characters were battling with personal problems at the time. Sure the dialogue doesn't show much leadership in the WoR, but it wasn't really neccessary either.

Heck most of the time they just made dialogue boxes without names attached, so anyone could say the lines that needed to be said.

MOST of the time? Excuse me? What game are you playing?

First thing I didn't like was the fact I had been to every town on the world map and had an Airship after about 10hrs. Which makes the world seem a very small place with very few places to explore.

Well that seems to indicate that you haven't played through the entire game. Whether you have or not, the above statement is false.

I also think theres to many playable characters alot of them which arn't really needed... ...Others weren't even worth using as there was already someone else who could do similar things.

Since when was variety a bad thing? If there are characters that you don't like, don't use them. How does that hurt the game? All characters are worth using if you're willing to utilize their positive attributes. All of the special abilities are unique, and all characters have different stats. Some are geared more towards physical combat while others are best with magic. You can put together any combination you like. Again, how does this hurt the game?

Cyan had the sword techs which were good but you had to stand there like a muppet waiting for the bar to go up to use the higher ones.

Poor micromanagement. If you have Cyan attack last, no one waits. Also have a character with you who attacks automatically, and have that person attack first (also equip RunningShoes). That provides the best battle flow, and allows Cyan to charge up his powerful attacks without disruption.

You just use the same few moves over and over again and cure when needed.

Gee, I didn't know that in other FF games the characters use hundreds of different routine attacks. Their battle commands must scroll several screens in length!

You usually fall in love with the first FF you play.

I played FFMQ and FF4 before playing FF6, and yet I'm able to recognize that FF6 is far superior. It's fine to fall in love with the first FF you play, but to call it the best just because it was your first FF, that's just wrong.

Squall and company.... they give their oppinion on everything they come across. And that is NOT a technical issue.

So that automatically makes FFVIII a superior game? That's questionable reasoning. Before you say "I never said that", you're using that as your argument for "the dethroning of VI".

I don't care about what happens to them.

I felt that the characters in FFVI were well established, and I cared what happened to them. Perhaps you never really got into the game in any emotional capacity.

Evil empire wants to conquer world and abuse magical powers by exploiting magical race. Subordinate of evil empire grabs power for himself and instals himself of ruler of the world despite heroes resistance. One year later the heroes go and defeat him .

It's just as complex as any other FF story, if not more so. All good vs. evil stories highlight things such as love, justice and other aspects of positive morality vs. greed, a desire for power and the status of godliness, a disregard for innocence, and other aspects of absolute negative morality. I don't see how FFVI's story is lacking in any way. At the end of the game it becomes clear why Kefka did what he did. The things he said couldn't have been further from the truth. He was living by a false set of values. It's not like there was a lack of reasoning for the actions of the characters (with the only exception being Gogo). I actually found the abuse of magic to be quite an interesting aspect of the story.

If you're gonna raise my interest in a character, DO something with it. As it is, they left me with a rather frustrated feeling.

The game has enough side quests of which boost the characters' stories. Do you want the characters to spew out their life stories after every battle or something? Excessive dialogue is best left to the imagination.

[NM]

i90east.

You have your opinion and others have theres. Your just gonna have to accept that fact that people don't agree on everything.

One person like one thing another like's something else, thats just the way it is. You can type a 1,000 word post on why you like FFVI best of all but it isn't going to make every FF fan out there change there mind and accept your point of view.

[Rand Al'Tor]

Originally posted by i90east
Since there are 14 characters, yes each character gets less individual attention. What you get is a multitude of stories coming from almost every character, bringing together a colorful experience.

Maybe for you. For me it was all beginnings, with nothing but a rushed conclusion. And little in between.

Out of the said characters, they all hold some anguish inside of them which is brought of closure later in the game. That's not enough developement? Most of their stories give you a glimpse of their past too. The rest is left to the imagination.

My magination needs SOMETHING to work with.

I don't see where there's a lack of developement like some of you are claiming. As far as dialogue goes, have you ever seen the entire dialogue of the game in one document? It's huge. Most players would rather be playing than reading. That's what books are for. So your favorite character didn't talk much... oh well. There's plenty of dialogue coming from all characters as a whole, which contributes to that colorful blend I was talking about earlier.

If you mix all colours together you get BLAND. That's what the 'general dialogue' is. Bland stuff like 'The gate is opening' which every character can say. Totally uninteresting.

Why should the player be forced to use a "lead" character, and over-endulge in his/her story? What if you don't really like the main character? Now you have a game with an overly-complicated story about a character you don't even like. Take Cloud for example. Sure he looked cool, but I thought his personality was rather boring for a supposed leader. Barret had a more colorful personality than Cloud, and most FF6 characters did too.

Disagree absolutely. I have no great love for CLoud either, but he did come to life for me more then all the bland FFVI 'statistics with a name and backstory'

Without having a main character that you're forced to use al the time, it gives you the freedom to use anyone you want. There are a total of 56 different party combinations for you to choose from. Combine that with the multitude of available relics and equipment, and the possibilities are exponentially high.

What does that MATTER when the only difference is that there's other pictures moving? Yes, I KNOW they couldn't have added dialogue for every single character. Which is why they should have cut OUT about half of them. I could have done WITHOUT Mog, Umaro, gogo, Relm and Strago. They didn't add anything to the game.

Throughout the WoB there were characters who stepped up and led the group. Edgar, Bannon and Locke are 3 such characters. In the WoR it was clear what they needed to do, and most characters were battling with personal problems at the time. Sure the dialogue doesn't show much leadership in the WoR, but it wasn't really neccessary either.

The dialogue didn't show much AT ALL.I mean...have you checked Gau? He just hasn't seen his friends for a year and all he says is the same stuff he ALWAYS says in the Veldt. And even when something IS done, it's all rushed.

MOST of the time? Excuse me? What game are you playing?



Well that seems to indicate that you haven't played through the entire game. Whether you have or not, the above statement is false.

I ahve actually. I may remmeber it false, but most talking was either general talk or just the other character talking to you and you giving a response from a list now and then. Compared to the later FF's, it was pretty bad.

So that automatically makes FFVIII a superior game? That's questionable reasoning. Before you say "I never said that", you're using that as your argument for "the dethroning of VI".

It does dethrone it as the 'game better in all regards then the others' If such issues mean next to nohing to YOU and others, fine. But don't be amazed when the rest of us are less enthusiast over FFVI and consider it 'so-so' compared to the later FF's. As I said in my first post 'to each their own'.

I felt that the characters in FFVI were well established, and I cared what happened to them. Perhaps you never really got into the game in any emotional capacity.

Right, while VII, VIII, X and even friggen' IX managed to do that. (okay, VI DID have some good scenes, but it lags behind to all the later ones in term of emotional attachedness) And if you ask me, that's enough to make a game lose MANY, MANY points in MY book. The characters don't feel 'real' enough to captivate my emotions.

[uote] It's just as complex as any other FF story, if not more so. All good vs. evil stories highlight things such as love, justice and other aspects of positive morality vs. greed, a desire for power and the status of godliness, a disregard for innocence, and other aspects of absolute negative morality. I don't see how FFVI's story is lacking in any way. At the end of the game it becomes clear why Kefka did what he did. The things he said couldn't have been further from the truth. He was living by a false set of values. It's not like there was a lack of reasoning for the actions of the characters (with the only exception being Gogo). I actually found the abuse of magic to be quite an interesting aspect of the story. [/quote]

It's not bad, not bad a all. But literature it ain't. Point is that some act like the plot of FFVI is miles above the plots of the other ones, and I just don't feel that way. VI is in the same boat with IV, V and to a point, VIII in terms of plot. If you would say VII had the superior plot I'd concede that.

The game has enough side quests of which boost the characters' stories. Do you want the characters to spew out their life stories after every battle or something? Excessive dialogue is best left to the imagination.

If I have to imagine the dialogue for a character I need to know how the character speaks and acts (towards specific members as well) first. I need SOMETHING to work with. And the cutscenes and side quests are pretty barren ground.


Look. You like FFVI and that's good for you. I am no saying that on an objective scale VIII is better then VI. There IS no objective scale on 'good game'. There's only 'like and dislike' It's just that many people act like VI IS undeniably better then VIII. And anyone who disagrees is just a shallow person that si easily distracted by eye candy. That is why I said it was overrated.

[Flying Mullet]

Okay, okay, we get it. i90east loves FFVI and Rand Al'Tor doesn't. Both of you are just reiterating your points over and over again. Neither of you is going to change the other's mind about FFVI so please stop trying to. The thread asks which Final Fantasy is your favorite and which is your least favorite. I think we've figured that out.

Sorry if I'm over stepping my bounds or mod-whoring but this thread is giving me a headache.

[i90east]

:laugh: Yes Dude, stop us now before this turns into a 5 month debate. I've already done that once this year.

I'm not trying to say that FFVI is perfect. No FF is. Rand Al'Tor has pointed out some of the game's downfalls. Overall I believe that FFVI provides the best experience both from a rational and subjective perspective. I finally got some people to say what they don't like about FFVI. Past attempts have been unsuccessful. Thanks guys.

[Rand Al'Tor]

What's wrong with 5 months debates? (<- can yap over the smallest things for eternity)

Still, this definately is the wrong thread for it I guess. Note BTW that I DO think FFVI is a GOOD game. The best SNES FF at the very least.

[the blitzer]

FF10 is the best it is really cool with the graphics and the fact that there are actors this time. As well as the summoning system that rules.

FF2 is the worst. It is just to hard.

[SomethingBig]

Best: I'm stuck between 6 and 7. They're both quite compelling, both have amazing stories, and the battle systems are great, also.

Worst: FFX. I honestly do not see how people could like this even a tiny bit. Sure when you first pick it up it is amazing, but after the first 10 hours of the game, it is just so ridiculously repetitive. I don't know how or why, but I somehow got to the last dungeon. I also heard online that the last dungeon has (SPOILER)more of those ridiculous orb puzzles. Graphics? Like everyone else, they blew me away. Every cut-scene blew my mind away. But, because of the amazing graphics games today produce, we sometimes forget that what makes games great aren't graphics, but the gameplay and the story. The sphere grid thing was a decent idea, I suppose, but once everything's been done, there's no difference between the characters except for their overdrives.

As for the characters.... I'd have to say that they were borderline decent and horrible. Tidus was probably the worst FF main character I've ever had the misfortune of coming across. He's basically any ordinary hero. He's a hero that was, in the beginning, a normal guy that only cares about his life then suddenly becomes Mr. I-R-TEH-SEERIUS-HEERO-GOYS! I'm too lazy to go in depth about the other characters, but if anyone wants me to, I will.

Story? Out of all of the garbage, this is the only un-adulterated thing in FFX. Overall, the plot was pretty decent. Though, not as good as I had originally hoped it would be, it kept me going, I suppose.