Your first encounter with Final Fantasy

[Zeromus_X]

I first played Final Fantasy IV when I was a child. I don't know why exactly I seemed to like it so much, it was the very first 'game with numbers' I had ever played. It must've been the story, or the boss theme, or maybe even that good fellow Zeromus, but ever since then I was hooked. I played Final Fantasy VI as well, and it also held a place to my heart, which is currently aching with unbearable nostalgia.

Anyway, I continued on to play more and more RPGs as I grew up, and that's how we've gotten here today. I unfortunately didn't have a chance to play the PlayStation Final Fantasies until much later, and although I have no nostalgia factor with them, they are still enjoyable.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

Final Fantasy killed my parents.

[dodhungry]

ah...The first time I ran into Final Fantasy

I went over to my friends house and when he opened the door the first thing he said was "Hurry up, my chocobo is getting beat up by a goblin."
So we went up to his room and I watched Final Fantasy Tactics. I was hooked instantly just by watching.

but at that time FFT was hard to find the only place you could get it was the rental store. So my first Final Fantasy that I bought was 8. Then came 7,9,10,10-2, and now all the new releases of the previous games.

[Lynx]

mine was watching my cousin play final fantasy mystic quest. but then later that day watching him play final fantasy III for SNES (FFVI). i watched for awhile then wanted to play so i started my own file spent hours pointlessly leveling up when i didnt need to got to the world of ruin with nearly 3000 hp which is quite high just arriveing to the world of ruin. then shortly after the game erased

[Martyr]

Final Fantasy killed my parents.

Then I guess next time you'll level up more.

[Yuffie514]

Final Fantasy VII. to paraphrase the story, this is how it goes:

the year would most likely be 1997, and it was probably the last days of glory for the Super Nintendo, but upon my brother/cousin's completion of Zelda: A Link To The Past, my brother had soon borrowed something from a friend. and along came the PlayStation, Final Fantasy VII, and a new era of gaming.

[Wolf Kanno]

I was in seventh grade and happy to be playing my Street Fighter II Turbo for my SNES. I had a friend who always raved about Fianl Fantasy but I never felt like RPG's were my thing. So he introduced my to Seiken Denetsu II (Secret of Mana) and I got hooked. The story was amazing and what ultimately won me over.

So I decided to give FF a try. My friend gave me FFIII (FFVI) cause it seemes the most interesting to me from his description. I didn't like it at first and gave up in frustration after the first battle... But I came back to it cause the premise was so intriguing. I figured it out and began to have a wonderful time until I got to the opera scene. I don't know what it was, but that scene is so magical to me. I realized then that I was no longer just playing a "game". I continued until I got to the Phoenix Cave and I ran into the infamous glitch in the game. My friends files were erased and I panicked. I returned it to him and he wasn't too happy.

Forlorn, cause I was seperated from my love. I wondered into a used game store and before me laid FFII (FFIV). I purchased it and gleefully brought it home. I experienced many more magical moments with that game, and finished it with a grand sense of accomplishment. I could honestly say I was hooked on the series. A few months later, I found a copy of FFIII (FFVI) and started a new game. At long last I finally finished the game that brought me to the series.

I've played every game in the series except for FFIII (I need a DS) and FFXI (Never liked MMO's but I'm starting to reconsider...).

[NeoCracker]

My mom played the oldskool Super Nintendo Final Fantasies and got me into it. :] :]

That is singly one of the coolest things I've heard a parent do.

FFIV Got me hooked, I couldn't get enough of that Rydia.

I still can't get enough of her, but for different reasons, *Cough*Shadssig*Cough*

[opiumcloud]

I played and beat FF1 back in 1990 when it came out in the US. My elementary school was a virtual NES society; everybody in the school had an NES, and traded games back and forth on a daily basis, so everybody got to play everything. When Super Mario Bros. 3 came out, there was one girl in school who managed to get a copy on release day, and then all of the stores in town were sold out for months. There were all sorts of contests and competitions held to get on her waiting list of people who could borrow it for 1 night.

Getting back to FF, well, I played every FF game in the order they were released in the US. FF1 first, then 4, 6, 7, Tactics, 8, 5, 9, 2, 10, X-2, and 12 (a little bit of 11, but not much). The first three games I played merely because I would play everything that came out, but after playing FF6 through several times on the SNES, I was hooked.

[Heero Yuy NWZC]

it all started at my friend's house when I wa sin third grade. We were playing video games for a while and then he takes out this game that I've never heard of. It was final fantasy VIII. I watched him play and it was so awesome. It was the first RPG I've ever seen. He also had FFVII, but I never really played them. I was more into watching. Then for one christmas, I had gotten FInal Fantasy IX. I was really excited and began playing it. After that, I was able to play the rest and I was hooked. Final Fantasy is the best agme series ever.

[Elpizo]

Strangely enough, my experience with FF only really started one year and a few months ago with the ROM of FF II US and last year with FF DoS

I heard from FF first when I was 12 and a friend of me said he bought FF X and rambled all over it saying how cool it was and stuff.

I was pretty interested, it sounded so 'magical' which has always be my type of thing. But unfortunatly, I wasn't allowed a playstation (Heck, I only got a GBA when I was 12 <_< ) so I only saw FF a few times when I went to that friend, I foudn it pretty. 3D that day amazed me and I was SO jealosu of him.

Before even my friend and my jealousy (don't worry, we're still best friends!), I had downloaded a few SNES and NES ROMs, A few which happened to be FF II (NES), III (NES) V (translated) and FF VI (SNES USA). I didn't know they were FF then. I liked them but I just played them once the day I downloaded them and forgot about them.

Then I came acros a faceportrait of Child Ryia (US FF II). It was weird, but I got the overwhelming sudden urge to go and play that game. The Mist Dragon sprite looekd cool to me, too. So I downloaded the US FF II ROM and started playing and yes, I was hooked yet again. When I finished the game Zeromus was my god, I loved that Final Boss so much! And I really found myself wishing IV woudl coem to the GBA, I loved it so much. Weird, but a few months later (I had bought DoS by then) I heard FF IV was coming to the GBA! Talk about luck.

Last year I bought a DS and with it I bought FF I and II DoS (Yay! FINALLY I had FF too!). Go ahead and laugh, but it had since I played Golden Sun that a game got me so hooked as FF I. I loved it. I really had fun with it. The Final Boss amazed me. Really.

FF II was a bit less cool for me, but I still enjoyed it. I found the story very good. But the gameplay was quiet boring for me. Luckily, Pandaemonium came in and saved the day. But I loathed the Final Boss. I hated that he was so 'impossible' without bloodswords. But SoR kricked my love of the game back up.

After that I really wished to finish the VI ROM I had, got hooked and loved Kefka. Then V came along and I found it even better. Now I was stuck, no Playstation, no way to continue playing! Until ePSXe 1.5.2 came along and emulation opened a way to IX, VII and VIII (played them like that). And all tehse FF games I played and finished in about 1 year!

Now I'm waiting for PS3 so I can get started on X, X-2, XII and later XIII and vsXIII.

Off-Topic: Ohw! I told my entire FF story and not my beginnings. XD Sorry.

[Larahl]

I rented FFVI for the PlayStation, and got hooked.

[Cezanzo]

My Grandparents and my aunt played the FF games and got my brother hooked. When I was really young, I would sometimes see my brother play VII in the basement (the Playstation 2 was hooked up down there) and I would watch him. He played the ending for me and my sister and we were just like . Then he gave VIII (pc version) to us and we were hooked (even though he played the ending for us again berfore we started the game because we were cheaters! ). My sister bought IV, and I bought IX. Now I'm absolutly hooked on FF!

This is so off topic but, now my grandpa wants a Playstaition3 for christmas so he can play more Zelda and Final Fantasy!

[ShivaBlizzard8]

I wasn't even allowed to have a game system growing up, but my brother suckered my parents into getting him a PSX for Christmas in 1997, and the guy at the store said FF7 was the hot game, so he got that too.

I'd heard about it and it looked cool, but I struggled to play it -- I had never played an RPG before, let alone an FF, and had no idea what was going on. I remember throwing Phoenix Downs at random alive characters and wondering why they didn't do anything! We ended up quitting somewhere around Cosmo Canyon because our characters were so weak and miserable that we couldn't survive random encounters.

We didn't give up on FF though. We got FF8 when it came out, and the second time around proved much easier, now that we were familiar with the basics (potions = heal! fighting on purpose to level up = good!) and took the time to understand the junction system, and so we managed to finish the game, and enjoy the gameplay. We've been hooked ever since, and gone back and played many of the older FFs.

And yes, I went back and did 7 over. Much more fun the 2nd time. And pretty easy, actually.

[Nerevarine]

I had owned ff1 when i was young and i had seen my uncle play 4 (at that time 2). i Had played these both but never got into it.

Then i got a playstation and had 7. I beat it and then 8 came out and i loved bith these games. I had to go back and play them all and here i am with a beaten file of 1,4,6,7,8,9 & 10 and workin on files for 5.
this series kicks ass