Ok...I'm going to seem like a total doof thats lived under a rock for ten years...But can anyone tell me about Final Fantasy? I've heard about how good it is, but have never played ANY of the games ever. So, could someone fill me in a bit on the games please?
I've never played them, but judging from the number of games in the series, I can confidently tell you that the title is a misnomer.
Considering its history, I find the name quite fitting(the company almost went out of business at the time of its release). A bit ironic, but fitting.
As for the games themselves, I think they are quite good, but overated(it is a good series, but not good enough to warrant its popularity/success). The battle-system is turn-based in most of them, but that is about all that stays the same(it can involve anything from being based on jobs/classes, to being based on shiny rocks that you attach to your weapons). Battles are also random(you cannot see enemies until they attack you), and the party usually consists of 1-4 characters.
The games were created by Squaresoft(now Square-Enix, after the merger of it and Enix), and most music for them was composed by Nobuo Uematsu(an ex-employee, who's music is very popular).
When you get right down to it, most of the early FF games(and FFIX) just had you running around the game world looking for crystals(this is not to say there isn't a plot, just that the early games had the same basic goal). Other plot elements are shared between the games as well. They are sometimes not considered sequels(except for FF X2), due to not continuing the storyline from past games. It is possible to claim they are true sequels(in the storyline sense), but it is usually agreed upon that they are not.
FFVII is by far the most popular(it is usually credited with sending FF games into the mainstream), and a movie/sequel of it is coming out soon(Advent Children). It and FFVIII are just about the only sci-fi themed games in the series(the rest are more Fantasy-based). There has also been another Final Fantasy movie released in the US, but was not well recieved(and for good reason, though the graphics are very good). There have been other, minor, movies released in the US, but I know little about them.
I, II, III=released for the NES(some ported to the PSX and GB)
IV, V, VI=released for the Super NES(some ported to the PSX)
VII, VIII, IX=Playstation(VII and VIII were later released for the PC)
X, X-2, XI=PS2(XI is an MMORPG, and was also released for the PC)
Due to 3(I think it was) not being originally released in the US(I believe it was I, IV, and VI which were sent over to the US, and are sometimes called I, II, and III), they are sometimes named in incorrect order.
and then there were a lot of spinoffs(half involving chocobos: ostrich-sized chickens)... the best known being Kingdom Hearts. It can be argued KH is not a spinoff, but I consider it one(main characters from FF mixed in with Disney movie characters).
The forum user Squall also took his name from Final Fantasy VIII.
and that's a bit more information than you wanted, I'm sure. ;)
Nice summary Dan :D
If I were you I'd start with final fantasy 3/6 (depending on which number its been given finally!) as plot wise thats my favourite. Its currently being remade for the DS so that should be a nice thing to pick up when its ready. Finaly fantasy 12 is due later this year and should be pretty good after Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu gave it a perfect score of 40 in its review.
when it comes out and if youve beaten FFVII and seen advent children, get dirge of cerebrus. it'll be awesome. :P
Personally, I only like FF7 because you can breed Chocobos. ;)
The graphics are a bit too blocky in that game though.
I think the only reason Final Fantasy became as popular as it did is because people thought "well, there's that many in the series, it *has* to be good...". ;P Because, while I respect the work they put into the games, and some of them are quite beautiful, the gameplay and story can be lacking at times. In one of them there are so many characters I can't keep them straight, and they seem interchangeable... then in FFX there's no story flexibility I've seen, no major exploring opportunities (though I could be wrong, I got tired of the overly straightforward plot after 30 minutes).
In other words, none of the Final Fantasy games are nearly as good as King's Quest. ;)
Quote from: Drunken Chinchilla on April 11, 2006, 07:56:55 AM
Nice summary Dan :D
If I were you I'd start with final fantasy 3/6 (depending on which number its been given finally!) as plot wise thats my favourite. Its currently being remade for the DS so that should be a nice thing to pick up when its ready.
If you mean the SNES one, it's actually being ported to GBA, not remade for DS. The NES\Famicom FF3 is the one being remade for DS.
Those zany Square people... :P
Quote from: Pacman928 on April 18, 2006, 03:48:17 AM
when it comes out and if youve beaten FFVII and seen advent children, get dirge of cerebrus. it'll be awesome. :P
I heard Dirge of Cerberus was rather annoying because it's basically a shooter yet the character turns around too slowly. Might have been fixed now though. :-\
Anyway I say Chrono Trigger is better than most of the Final Fantasy series. :P
Quote from: racx_00 on April 19, 2006, 09:46:37 AM
Anyway I say Chrono Trigger is better than most of the Final Fantasy series. :P
;D ;D ;D YAY!!! Someone else who agrees with me! ;D ;D ;D
Don't get me wrong, I love most of the FF games I've played, and am counting down the days till Advent Children,
(I'm such a geek) but Chrono Trigger is the best game ever!!!! I just wish I could find a copy of the PS version. And I wish Chrono Cross had been able to live up to it's predecessor. :-\
Yeah I grabbed a copy of the PS version. It takes a while to load battles though, but it's such a great game that I really don't care about it. XD
I also found the soundtrack of Chrono Trigger alot better than Final Fantasy soundtracks. Anyway I'll stop rambling. :P
I still want to know why the battles in Final Fantasy are still random... I would have thought the Chrono games would have taught them something. :-\
Seems asthough they may have finally learnt by the looks of Final Fantasy XII. But yeah took their sweet time.
Anyway that's why I prefer action RPGs, you can choose to avoid the enemies and for some reason I find leveling up easier. XD
Ahh...I remember the first time I tried to take on Lavos...
Bad Ending = SCARY. :P
Final Fantasy 12 you can see the monsters on the map and attack/flee them if you wish ;)
Quote from: Pacman928 on April 18, 2006, 03:48:17 AM
when it comes out and if youve beaten FFVII and seen advent children, get dirge of cerebrus. it'll be awesome. :P
Mainly a third person shooter. Didn't play it much, being the japonese version in a friends house ;P, but the story is quite interresting and the animated movies VERY similier to Final Fantasy - Advent Children movie. Actually it happens 1 year after the movie and 3 years after Final Fantasy 7.
If your not a fan of shooter games, its not for you.
Quote from: Raforever on April 26, 2006, 12:55:14 PM
If your not a fan of shooter games, its not for you.
A shooter game as a sequel to RPG series?
That would make Dirge of Cerberus a sort of MoE in the Final Fantasy series... :P
LOL Your right. I'll probably never play it. I like FF7 too much to taint it by playing a shooter spinoff. But Advent Children Rocks I just watched it. BTW Dude if you want to play the first two games in the series play them on GBA or DS. They brought them out under the title Final Fantasy: Dawn Of Souls.
I think i have those stuffed somewhere XD
Reminds me of my youth XB