Final Fantasy Megathread

[YuriSukiSan]

I feel like I'm gonna ruffle some jimmys but screw it.

Final Fantasy VII Is not that good, I do believe that it is an influential game that completely changed the gaming landscape and 100% deserves all the praise it receives in the world. Without it we wouldn't have honestly a lot of the games we have nowadays because of the flood gates it opened.
BUT, for me it was not fun, the story was mid at best, and I personally like the remake more. We can have a whole discussion about this if you would like but that is my PERSONAL OPINION on it.

FF9, As much as I like the game, its too slow for me, and I can't even explain why it feels so slow to me.

With both previous statements made, VIII Is absolutely incredible, personal favorite of mine and definitely feature full with how it plays with its systems. The junction system, the story, just the way it looks. OOF.

X, complete masterpiece IMO also, the Sphere system is definitely weird to get used to but once you got it its smooth sailing.

13 isn't AS BAD as people make it out to be. Yes it's hella linear BUT honestly, I Enjoyed my time with it, played it very recently actually. Now I can say, Iunno about the sequels they made when they were on that whole kick, but either way 13 issa good game.

XI and XVI were AMAZING additions to the series, BUT I'm a little bias in the regard cause I love MMOS.

X-2 is good, nuff said.

XII is underrated, nuff said.

Anyways just some opinions of mine.

Hey it's not an imageboard! We're here to have a discussion, no one is going to jump down your throat for having a different opinion. How come you don't like 'classic' FF7 much?

 

[KillerJesusXo]

Hey it's not an imageboard! We're here to have a discussion, no one is going to jump down your throat for having a different opinion. How come you don't like 'classic' FF7 much?

The amount of times I've tried to play it and just couldn't get into it, is more than several. Different points of my life also. I do feel like it partially has something to do with the fact that I didn't grow up with the game if that makes sense. The game released 1997 and I was literally only 2 at the time when it did release. So I wasn't even a conscience human when it released.

Even when I did start gaming my first game system was a N64, so I never even had a chance to play it at that point until I had a PS2. Don't get me wrong, my childhood best friend had a PS1 but we played like Tekken and Crash and stuff like that. I didn't really get into RPGs honestly till I was about 11? so 2006, and my first one that I remember really liking was Kingdom Hearts (honestly prolly not my first one but definitely the first one that had an impact on my life.) Before this though, I've attempted numerous times on trying to play it, specially after watching Advent Children (sick movie, dont @ me).

Apart of me feels like me watching Advent Children then trying to play the game kinda soiled it a bit too. Cause as a kid, I was thinking, "The movie looked great and the action is so cool, the game has to be as cool" Inwhich I was obviously sadly mistaken.

Even after all the times I've tried as a kid, I tried as a teenager and even in my early 20s, and now the game just doesn't hold up in my opinion. Specially by this point I played VII I've played IX, X, XII. I didn't like materia, The combat felt slow af, maybe even sluggish?, the polygons just bother me, and even then the story again is mid at best, IMO. Honestly, its prolly not even that bad of a story but by the time I got to a point that I could understand it, I jsut don't care anymore.


Again completely understand the signficance of the game 1000 percent, but I really feel like I tried to join the clb too late and inturn have experienced better games that it paved the way for, which unfortunately made it feel dated to me.


This is at least the only reasons I could honestly come up with in my mind on why.

 

[MasterEn]

The amount of times I've tried to play it and just couldn't get into it, is more than several. Different points of my life also. I do feel like it partially has something to do with the fact that I didn't grow up with the game if that makes sense. The game released 1997 and I was literally only 2 at the time when it did release. So I wasn't even a conscience human when it released.

Even when I did start gaming my first game system was a N64, so I never even had a chance to play it at that point until I had a PS2. Don't get me wrong, my childhood best friend had a PS1 but we played like Tekken and Crash and stuff like that. I didn't really get into RPGs honestly till I was about 11? so 2006, and my first one that I remember really liking was Kingdom Hearts (honestly prolly not my first one but definitely the first one that had an impact on my life.) Before this though, I've attempted numerous times on trying to play it, specially after watching Advent Children (sick movie, dont @ me).

Apart of me feels like me watching Advent Children then trying to play the game kinda soiled it a bit too. Cause as a kid, I was thinking, "The movie looked great and the action is so cool, the game has to be as cool" Inwhich I was obviously sadly mistaken.

Even after all the times I've tried as a kid, I tried as a teenager and even in my early 20s, and now the game just doesn't hold up in my opinion. Specially by this point I played VII I've played IX, X, XII. I didn't like materia, The combat felt slow af, maybe even sluggish?, the polygons just bother me, and even then the story again is mid at best, IMO. Honestly, its prolly not even that bad of a story but by the time I got to a point that I could understand it, I jsut don't care anymore.


Again completely understand the signficance of the game 1000 percent, but I really feel like I tried to join the clb too late and inturn have experienced better games that it paved the way for, which unfortunately made it feel dated to me.


This is at least the only reasons I could honestly come up with in my mind on why.

going by the fact that you played 9, 10 and 12; i would say that you probably like the more medieval like setting more than the modern or futuristic installments. 7 also had a rough and rushed development. it went from snes ->n64 -> psx over the course of 3 years.

 

[KillerJesusXo]

going by the fact that you played 9, 10 and 12; i would say that you probably like the more medieval like setting more than the modern or futuristic installments. 7 also had a rough and rushed development. it went from snes ->n64 -> psx over the course of 3 years.

See you would think that, but I love 15, I actually am obviously quite fond of 13 and I do like the remake of FFVII.

I like the characters, I like the setting, I like a lot about it just not the game itself as a whole package.

With that also being said, I've played numerous RPGs with modern settings, like the Persona series (which is in my top game series of all time), so I don't necessarily believe it has to do with the setting. With that being said though, My preference IS the medieval setting type games, but There are plenty of games with modern settings that I love.

 

[YuriSukiSan]

The amount of times I've tried to play it and just couldn't get into it, is more than several. Different points of my life also. I do feel like it partially has something to do with the fact that I didn't grow up with the game if that makes sense. The game released 1997 and I was literally only 2 at the time when it did release. So I wasn't even a conscience human when it released.

Even when I did start gaming my first game system was a N64, so I never even had a chance to play it at that point until I had a PS2. Don't get me wrong, my childhood best friend had a PS1 but we played like Tekken and Crash and stuff like that. I didn't really get into RPGs honestly till I was about 11? so 2006, and my first one that I remember really liking was Kingdom Hearts (honestly prolly not my first one but definitely the first one that had an impact on my life.) Before this though, I've attempted numerous times on trying to play it, specially after watching Advent Children (sick movie, dont @ me).

Apart of me feels like me watching Advent Children then trying to play the game kinda soiled it a bit too. Cause as a kid, I was thinking, "The movie looked great and the action is so cool, the game has to be as cool" Inwhich I was obviously sadly mistaken.

Even after all the times I've tried as a kid, I tried as a teenager and even in my early 20s, and now the game just doesn't hold up in my opinion. Specially by this point I played VII I've played IX, X, XII. I didn't like materia, The combat felt slow af, maybe even sluggish?, the polygons just bother me, and even then the story again is mid at best, IMO. Honestly, its prolly not even that bad of a story but by the time I got to a point that I could understand it, I jsut don't care anymore.


Again completely understand the signficance of the game 1000 percent, but I really feel like I tried to join the clb too late and inturn have experienced better games that it paved the way for, which unfortunately made it feel dated to me.


This is at least the only reasons I could honestly come up with in my mind on why.

I like FF7 but I don't think it's the best game in the series! I think it's one of the best and it's a little overrated just because it's most people's first introduction to the series but I don't think it's bad, or that you're wrong for feeling the way you do. 9 is my least favourite but everyone loves 9, it's not that I think it's bad or that I don't particularly like it I just don't personally like as much everyone else does apparently! And I agree, 10 despite the immense amount of hate it gets on imageboards (and Tidus' awful VA) it's still a wonderful game. What really made me love it is not just the characters (which I really like) or the music, it's the aesthetic. It's from a certain period in Japanese game developement when they seemed to be obsessed with summer, vacation and tropical settings. I'm not sure if a term has really been coined for that period!

.. In regards to 8, I have a love hate relationship with it personality. I like the characters, and the story, I just don't enjoy playing it. I can't really say why! Personally, there's no real FF game I actually dislike I just like that one the least when it comes to the mainline classic games. When it comes to XI that's basically one of my favourite games of all time, and I feel pretty confident in saying that up to CoP it has one of the better storylines of the entire franchise with some really great characters.

It's hard to really say what I feel about 12 I have an almost kind of disconcerting nostalgia when I play it, it's that interim period when Square was becoming more 'modern' and less Square. I know it's unfinished, it has problems, but anything vaguely related to Ivalice (or FFT) will always have a special place in my heart! Ashe, Balthier, Fran, Basche.. Even Vaan and Penelo are all enjoyable for me. It's a game that really defines the transition period of that era and it evokes a lot of emotion for me.. Almost as much as XI! .. I'm not sure how I feel about 13, I want to dislike it (and 13-2), especially Lightning but I can't bring myself to hate it. XIV is an amazing game up until about the end of Endwalker I personally think. I loathe what Square did to XI by using the funds it generated to fix their mistakes with XIV but I would lying if I said I didn't enjoy my 15 year journey with that game. It's just a pity that DT, Square and Yoshi have gone weird.

.. 15, I think the boyband are cute and maybe Nomura's game would have been much better but I didn't really enjoy it. It's okay, I guess? And 16 has a great story, with great voice acting but NOT!DMC isn't for me.

 

[MasterEn]

See you would think that, but I love 15, I actually am obviously quite fond of 13 and I do like the remake of FFVII.

I like the characters, I like the setting, I like a lot about it just not the game itself as a whole package.

With that also being said, I've played numerous RPGs with modern settings, like the Persona series (which is in my top game series of all time), so I don't necessarily believe it has to do with the setting. With that being said though, My preference IS the medieval setting type games, but There are plenty of games with modern settings that I love.

yeah, i've heard 15 is quite a bit better than people expected. it could be any number of things. and the small things can add up to ruin the experience. your best bet is to list out some stuff from the different games and see what you like and dislike. you'll find some sort of pattern that'll help explain why you don't care much for 7.

 

[KillerJesusXo]

yeah, i've heard 15 is quite a bit better than people expected. it could be any number of things. and the small things can add up to ruin the experience. your best bet is to list out some stuff from the different games and see what you like and dislike. you'll find some sort of pattern that'll help explain why you don't care much for 7.

I realistically believe it's just because I missed the "peak" popularity period, Late to the party honestly, I have no nostalgia associated with it and trying to play it nowadays, again IMO, is rough. I have considered trying to play it again after I played the remake, which is on the list of games I wanna play this year so who knows, maybe this will finally be when it clicks for me.

I like FF7 but I don't think it's the best game in the series! I think it's one of the best and it's a little overrated just because it's most people's first introduction to the series but I don't think it's bad, or that you're wrong for feeling the way you do. 9 is my least favourite but everyone loves 9, it's not that I think it's bad or that I don't particularly like it I just don't personally like as much everyone else does apparently! And I agree, 10 despite the immense amount of hate it gets on imageboards (and Tidus' awful VA) it's still a wonderful game. What really made me love it is not just the characters (which I really like) or the music, it's the aesthetic. It's from a certain period in Japanese game developement when they seemed to be obsessed with summer, vacation and tropical settings. I'm not sure if a term has really been coined for that period!

.. In regards to 8, I have a love hate relationship with it personality. I like the characters, and the story, I just don't enjoy playing it. I can't really say why! Personally, there's no real FF game I actually dislike I just like that one the least when it comes to the mainline classic games. When it comes to XI that's basically one of my favourite games of all time, and I feel pretty confident in saying that up to CoP it has one of the better storylines of the franchise with some really great characters. And, hm. It's hard to really say what I feel about 12 I have an almost kind of disconcerting nostalgia when I play it, it's like that interim period for me when Square was becoming more 'modern' and less Square. I know it's unfinished, it has problems, but anything vaguely related to Ivalice will always have a special place in my heart! Ashe, Balthier, Fran, Basche.. Even Vaan and Penelo are enjoyable for me. It just feels like a game that really defines that transition period and it evokes a lot of emotion for me.. Almost as much as XI! .. I'm not sure how I feel about 13, I want to dislike it (and 13-2), especially Lightning but I can't bring myself to hate it. XIV is an amazing game up until about the end of Endwalker I personally think. I loathe what Square did to XI by using the funds it generated to fix their mistakes with XIV but I would lying if I said I didn't enjoy my 15 year journey with that game. It's just a pity that DT, Square and Yoshi have gone weird.

.. 15, I think the boyband are cute and maybe Nomura's game would have been much better but I didn't really enjoy it. It's okay, I guess? And 16 has a great story, with great voice acting but NOT!DMC isn't for me.

There really Isn't a FF Game I actually dislike, except 7, even 9, like I've played a decent amount through 9 but its such a slog to play through, and that comes down to just the pacing of combat and stuff. I think my problem with 9 is honestly the active combat system. I like being able to think through what I wanna do and not have to rush through my decision making.


Thinking about it wasn't 7 similiar in that aspect?

 

[YuriSukiSan]

There really Isn't a FF Game I actually dislike, except 7, even 9, like I've played a decent amount through 9 but its such a slog to play through, and that comes down to just the pacing of combat and stuff. I think my problem with 9 is honestly the active combat system. I like being able to think through what I wanna do and not have to rush through my decision making.


Thinking about it wasn't 7 similiar in that aspect?

The animation speed bugged me more than anything! It feels like you do a lot of waiting the further the games goes on, it's just annoying.

 

[Strategist Strategist]

I enjoy FF7 but I do agree it is overrated by many. It is certainly not the best game in the series, in my opinion. I think the Midgar arc is really strong and well paced, but once you leave Midgar the game gets a lot worse. It is hard carried by the themes/ideas and the cinematics, which were revolutionary at the time. I played it close to release time and everyone was raving about the "moment" (you know) but I didn't see the big whoopla about it. It is not that special of a scene if you play other games in the series. Important characters die all the time in Final Fantasy games.

 

[MasterEn]

I realistically believe it's just because I missed the "peak" popularity period, Late to the party honestly, I have no nostalgia associated with it and trying to play it nowadays, again IMO, is rough. I have considered trying to play it again after I played the remake, which is on the list of games I wanna play this year so who knows, maybe this will finally be when it clicks for me.





There really Isn't a FF Game I actually dislike, except 7, even 9, like I've played a decent amount through 9 but its such a slog to play through, and that comes down to just the pacing of combat and stuff. I think my problem with 9 is honestly the active combat system. I like being able to think through what I wanna do and not have to rush through my decision making.


Thinking about it wasn't 7 similiar in that aspect?

4-9 had the active time battle system. 10had a weird hybrid of the full round turn style of 1-3 with the action adjustment of 4-9. you could see how each action would affect your speed in battle before you committed to the action. megaman x: command mission had a similar system as well.

i missed out on the popularity thing with 7 as well. to me, it was just a game in my friend's giant ass collection of games. video games weren't very popular when i was growing up or where i lived. when i got access to the internet, it seemed like a lot of people liked the game. although i suspect that was mainly due to tifa and the one winged angel song.

 

[KillerJesusXo]

4-9 had the active time battle system. 10had a weird hybrid of the full round turn style of 1-3 with the action adjustment of 4-9. you could see how each action would affect your speed in battle before you committed to the action. megaman x: command mission had a similar system as well.

i missed out on the popularity thing with 7 as well. to me, it was just a game in my friend's giant ass collection of games. video games weren't very popular when i was growing up or where i lived. when i got access to the internet, it seemed like a lot of people liked the game. although i suspect that was mainly due to tifa and the one winged angel song.

I feel like other games did the active battle system better than others though, like stated I love VIII, ironically couldn't really explain why I love VIII But have such an issue with VII and IX.

The animation speed bugged me more than anything! It feels like you do a lot of waiting the further the games goes on, it's just annoying.

In 7 or 9?

I enjoy FF7 but I do agree it is overrated by many. It is certainly not the best game in the series, in my opinion. I think the Midgar arc is really strong and well paced, but once you leave Midgar the game gets a lot worse. It is hard carried by the themes/ideas and the cinematics, which were revolutionary at the time. I played it close to release time and everyone was raving about the "moment" (you know) but I didn't see the big whoopla about it. It is not that special of a scene if you play other games in the series. Important characters die all the time in Final Fantasy games.

See and the midgar section is the section I remember actually liking before I stopped being interested in the game

 

[YuriSukiSan]

In 7 or 9?

In both I would say but it's more eregious in 9. I don't mind the ATB but in the later games it just feels like there's problems with the animations, or at least on the original games on original hardware.

 

[Strategist Strategist]

I also think the chibi sprites in 7 are butt ugly and have Popeye arms. I thought they were ugly back when I played the game for the first time in 1998 and I still think the same. Glad they fixed those in FF8 and FF9.

 

[MasterEn]

I feel like other games did the active battle system better than others though, like stated I love VIII, ironically couldn't really explain why I love VIII But have such an issue with VII and IX.



In 7 or 9?



See and the midgar section is the section I remember actually liking before I stopped being interested in the game

pacing is important, which is a point that you brought up earlier. 8 might have better pacing for you than 7 or 9.
midgar is probably the best part of 7. i don't remember much of the game after that, and that is the part that squaresoft would have been able to put the most effort in during development.

 

[KillerJesusXo]

pacing is important, which is a point that you brought up earlier. 8 might have better pacing for you than 7 or 9.
midgar is probably the best part of 7. i don't remember much of the game after that, and that is the part that squaresoft would have been able to put the most effort in during development.

It didn't feel like it took forever to get to one section to the other and the battles went by faster it seemed too.

In both I would say but it's more eregious in 9. I don't mind the ATB but in the later games it just feels like there's problems with the animations, or at least on the original games on original hardware.

Definitely worst in 9, but it was pretty bad in 7.

I also think the chibi sprites in 7 are butt ugly and have Popeye arms. I thought they were ugly back when I played the game for the first time in 1998 and I still think the same. Glad they fixed those in FF8 and FF9.

Those sprites literally look like a kindergarden drew them. Think this actually can go back to what I was saying about watching advent children then going to the game and being disappointed

 

[MasterEn]

It didn't feel like it took forever to get to one section to the other and the battles went by faster it seemed too.

yep. pacing is important. speed too. if it takes too long to do something, the player will get bored and turn the game off. ff4 has what would be considered lightning fast speed with its plot. you would be done with the game in about the same amount of time it takes to get to the end of disc one of ff7.
8 must have better pacing and any tricks that the developers learn on improving performance from 7 would have been implemented with 8.

 

[KillerJesusXo]

yep. pacing is important. speed too. if it takes too long to do something, the player will get bored and turn the game off. ff4 has what would be considered lightning fast speed with its plot. you would be done with the game in about the same amount of time it takes to get to the end of disc one of ff7.
8 must have better pacing and any tricks that the developers learn on improving performance from 7 would have been implemented with 8.

It's ironic you bring up 4 cause i actually really like 4

 

[MasterEn]

It's ironic you bring up 4 cause i actually really like 4

4 is my absolute favorite is and better than all of the rest of the games in the series.

 

[Strategist Strategist]

4 is my absolute favorite is and better than all of the rest of the games in the series.

Dang, that's based. You'll definitively appreciate my article on Final Fantasy IV: https://retrogametalk.com/threads/growing-up-as-a-squaresoft-fanboy-part-4.2182/

 

[KillerJesusXo]

4 is my absolute favorite is and better than all of the rest of the games in the series.

Definitely don't think its the best but 100% better than 7 lmfao

 

[MasterEn]

Dang, that's based. You'll definitively appreciate my article on Final Fantasy IV: https://retrogametalk.com/threads/growing-up-as-a-squaresoft-fanboy-part-4.2182/

4 was the first final fantasy that i ever saw. i still remember pretty much crystal clear the first time i saw it. my friend was playing the psx version and was fighting the mist dragon. he was probably playing the game again. most likely he beat it already. i think i was 6 or 7. i don't remember much else about that day, but i remember that little bit that i saw on the screen. i borrowed the game sometime later after i got my own psx.

 

[Strategist Strategist]

This a dangerous conversation for Final Fantasy fans, lol. I'd throw some fuel into the fire and say Final Fantasy 6/3 US is the best. I do think FFIV is second best, as it is the first game I really loved in the series.

 

[MasterEn]

Definitely don't think its the best but 100% better than 7 lmfao

everyone is allowed to have their opinion, even though mine is perfectly objective in all ways. :P

Post automatically merged: Jan 18, 2025

This a dangerous conversation for Final Fantasy fans, lol. I'd throw some fuel into the fire and say Final Fantasy 6/3 US is the best.

i need to play that one. probably the snes or gba version. i only got up to the phantom train section before i stopped. i was jumping between the psx versions of 5 and 6 on my psp. then i had to focus more on college classes and i never got back to the game.

 

[tigg]

I gotta say though, I really miss when Final Fantasy was a turn-based rpg and not an action rpg. But I guess Square Enix has a different opinion.

I was just coming on to say the exact same thing, the move to action rpg has really depressed me lol

 

[7eve70rd]

Pardon my intrusion.

One of the joys of the Final Fantasy franchise is looking forward to the technology of the next generation Final Fantasy.

Any promotional art felt like I'd have to wait a long time to play a future final fantasy game when it become a retro final fantasy game.

I chose to get a Nintendo 64 to play GoldenEye 007 and knew that decision meant I'd have to wait many years to finally play Final Fantasy 8.

I got that feeling when I spotted a Final Fantasy 27 poster in a game I did play on release day.