Hi you lot! I haven't been on this in a while, been very busy, but then I came upon a dilemma that only YOU would be able to solve for me. So here it is.
I've decided to introduce my girlfriend to Final Fantasy. Now, the difficult decision comes. Which Fantasy do I introduce her to? Because this could go either really well, or really badly.
I need a game with a brilliant story, emotional attachments aplenty, decent graphics and easy to grasp gameplay to keep her interested. (The likes of FF12 is too complicated, and she would lose interest sharpish.)
So for this reason, I have narrowed my decision to three games, Final Fantasy VIII, IX and X.
Now, VIII is in there because of it's love story between Squall and Rinoa, and also because of the battle mechanics. The battles are easy to play, and there is also the ability to summon GF, which she would like, as it's kind of a funky Pokemon spin. (She loves Pokemon by the way). The disadvantages of this game is the Junctioning system. It can be far too complicated, and personally, I only drew magic to junction, never to use it. But, the game has an awesome musical score. Eyes on Me anyone?
IX has a much more simplistic approach to learning abilites. Equip an item, leave it on for a while, and bam, you learn the ability. The characters are goofy, but serious at the same time, and Zidane and Garnet's love story is one of the more touching of the series' imo. While Garnet and Eiko have eidolons, you really won't be able to summon one till the second disk, so no Pokemon till then. IX is also one of my personal favourites, so that's another reason I'm looking at it. Again, a fantastic musical score.
Now X. One of the best games in the series, easily. Ability learning system is straightforward enough, but with enough versatility to promote free choice. Battle gameplay is straightforward, and also there is no time limit on your choice of move. X also has the best Pokemon system, with the player able to summon Aeons and control their every move. The only drawback is the laughing scene, (cringe), and possibly Tidus/Yuna's voice. But the addition of actual speech could form better emotional bonds. And again, a kick-ass musical score.
So, I'm kinda stuck here. So if you guys could help me out here, that'd great. Final Fantasy VIII, IX or X. I can't decide, so I'm leaving it to you. Thanks for any and all help!
P.S. Sorry about the big long essay guys. I didn't mean to read your eyes off.