Final Fantasy Megathread

[Nickakyoin]

I just renewed my FF XIV subscription.
Uh oh.

Gotta commit at least for beating Stormblood (I started the game on PS4 and then moved on PC otherwise I wouldn't have never kept with it...so, unfortunately, had to activate the subscription).

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

Planning on playing ff7 again. IDK what partymembers I should use.


View attachment 129590

Man that menu is so simple but behind it lied a world , a game a story that shook gaming to its very core and it all started here with a screen featuring a sword and that's it.....

 

[Gilgameshff5]

Man that menu is so simple but behind it lied a world , a game a story that shook gaming to its very core and it all started here with a screen featuring a sword and that's it.....

And then its followed by probably the best intro in gaming, its perfect

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

And then its followed by probably the best intro in gaming, its perfect

The most refined Final Fantasy , the fact that all playable characters level up when you level up is such a blessing and a quality of life improvement that should have been included in FF8/FF9

Btw you asked about what characters you should use and i suggest the characters you use the least it's a sort of going out of comfort zone type thing you know?

 

[MasterEn]

The most refined Final Fantasy , the fact that all playable characters level up when you level up is such a blessing and a quality of life improvement that should have been included in FF8/FF9

i will disagree with this to an extent. it is something that is more helpful on a second or later playthrough.
on a first playthrough, you should level up your characters manually; mostly so that you know what the character is capable of. otherwise, you'll just pick the characters that you like and use them solely. and at some point, you might or will lose access to that character for story reasons, and then suddenly, you have to use characters that you've never interacted with. you might lose interest in playing the game if that happens. it's a low chance, but it exists.
also, if you don't use a character, you might forget to upgrade their weapons and armor. sure, the character is high level, but that doesn't mean much with starter gear. my aunt beat rune factory 1 on her own and she had a very tough time with the final boss of the game. she was in the 50's for her level. the reason for her tough time?
she had the starting gear equipped. she never changed it because she didn't know how to. she unintentionally did a hardcore challenge that i would never do.
and i know for a fact that pokemon fans would disagree with the auto exp sharing amongst your party members.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

i will disagree with this to an extent. it is something that is more helpful on a second or later playthrough.
on a first playthrough, you should level up your characters manually; mostly so that you know what the character is capable of. otherwise, you'll just pick the characters that you like and use them solely. and at some point, you might or will lose access to that character for story reasons, and then suddenly, you have to use characters that you've never interacted with. you might lose interest in playing the game if that happens. it's a low chance, but it exists.
also, if you don't use a character, you might forget to upgrade their weapons and armor. sure, the character is high level, but that doesn't mean much with starter gear. my aunt beat rune factory 1 on her own and she had a very tough time with the final boss of the game. she was in the 50's for her level. the reason for her tough time?
she had the starting gear equipped. she never changed it because she didn't know how to. she unintentionally did a hardcore challenge that i would never do.
and i know for a fact that pokemon fans would disagree with the auto exp sharing amongst your party members.

Fair assessment , i personally didn't run into such issue as i updated all the characters gear when unlocking new armor and weapons it can happen but it also keeps all characters more or less on bar with each other thus you can switch comfortably

 

[Gilgameshff5]

The most refined Final Fantasy , the fact that all playable characters level up when you level up is such a blessing and a quality of life improvement that should have been included in FF8/FF9

Btw you asked about what characters you should use and i suggest the characters you use the least it's a sort of going out of comfort zone type thing you know?

Oh definitely. Its not my favorite ff but its easily second.

As for my party members I've never actually used the optional characters outside of maybe 1 or 2 battles so I think I'll use them.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

Oh definitely. Its not my favorite ff but its easily second.

As for my party members I've never actually used the optional characters outside of maybe 1 or 2 battles so I think I'll use them.

Agreed doesn't have to be a favorite to think it's where the stars aligned type situation.

Kek quite the opposite i used barret less than vincent , i actually made the fight in the mountains after cloud village harder by having vincent activate his ultimate he kept healing the boss XD , the least used character for me was cait sith i just don't like him and i was proven right later by the story after he did what he did i stripped him of all materia.

Another one worth mentioning is Cid pretty underrated for me i didn't use him much despite him using a spear which is like my favorite medieval weapon it's mainly about coming up with new strategies and playstyles other than the proven formula you use in your playthroughs

 

[hardcoretyphoon hardcoretyphoon]

So I just played... Final Fantasy VII

I've been pretty adverse to most RPGs for a good portion of my life, but about a year and a half ago, I got really into Dragon Quest and It started a bit of an obsession for me.
I've been aware of the final fantasy series for a while, giving a few of them a shot but never got super far in any of them. Enclosed is a little mini-review of Final Fantasy VII for the Playstation, an open letter to talk about all things FF7, and a strong recommendation as to why you should play it today!

A note: I have only played the original psx version of FF7 so I would appreciate any mention of Advent Children, Crisis Core, FF7 Remake, or other FF games to be properly spoilered. Thank You!

I absolutely have no time to go over every last thing I love about this game so I'll be brief. I absolutely adore the presentation of this game. The pairing of low-poly chibi models and prerendered backgrounds is very cool, and I love how well utilized the backgrounds are. To this day there is nothing cooler than animated FMV backgrounds (hyperbole). The FMVs in general are super cool. I also really like the game's use of vertex coloring. And as for the music, it's very nice, some of it perfectly tense, and some of it perfectly nice and relaxing (After coming home from a hard day of work I find it really easy to fall asleep to Disc 1's world map music ^^;)

As for the gameplay, it took quite a bit to grow on me. I prefer RPGs where the numbers are small. It was weird having so much money around and always having plenty of magic and items was definitely something to adjust to. The game really shines with its real time battles. I loved the boss fights, though the game overall was a bit too easy.

Spoiler: DISC 1

My favorite part of the game by far was the narrative, which is interesting because story is not usually the reason I play games! I love the cyberpunk setting. The Midgar portion of the game really does feel like a hopeless hellscape. I tend to play games as an escape from this awful world we live in, but this one is less of an "escape" and more of a nice way to cope and fantacize about taking control in a hopeless world. A moment that really stuck out to me is when
Bugenhagen was talking to Red XIII about the unsurmountable odds stacked against the planet, and he says:

Regardless of what happens, shouldn't we at least try?

It really is such a hopeless world everyone lives in. Such an aversion to apathy througout such intense stakes is very commendable.
Of course, I like practically everyone who's played a video game before knew that Aeris(th) was going to die. I saw it coming the whole way through. But it still hit me so hard. Seeing cloud being manipulated, struggling against my controls, about to kill her himself was rough to see. And then that scene I saw for the first time years ago. It really got me. It felt like losing a friend. She was one of my favorite party members, so It affected the gameplay as well.

Spoiler: Disc 2

Cloud is a character I relate to heavily. A traumatized hero struggling with his place in the world, not even sure who he is. The rivalry between him and sepiroth genuinely terrified me. During disc 2 i didnt quite know what to think of Cloud. I was unsure of who he really was, but deep down I knew he was the hero I wanted him to be. Seeing him in the hospital was heartbreaking, and with the game killing off a main character earlier, I had real anxiety that this would be his permanent fate. Anyway, back to Sepiroth. I don't usually get scared by games, the only other game I can think of that scares me is Silent Hill. But every time Sepiroth was onscreen it felt like a nightmare. He was way too powerful, often just appearing out of nowhere, with that song playing every time. Sometimes he literally jumpscares you. He feels like an entropic force that I can't run away from. Which is why Disc 3 hit as hard as it did.

Spoiler: DISC 3

The final boss completely blew me away. Holy shit. I've never been so awestruck at a video game, my heart was beating in my chest, my hands were shaking and sweating. I was trembling in more fear than any game has ever made me feel. But I remembered what I was fighting for, and how strong I had become. This game is truly an experience like no other. It really felt like I overcame my doubts and faced something bigger than I could ever imagine. That fucking supernova animation scared the shit out of me the first time I saw it lol

I could go on.. and on. But im bad as shit at writing and I don't wanna be spammy. This is just my convoluted way to say THIS GAME IS COOL and I wanna talk about it :P
Any blind playthroughs in 2025? Veteran tips for a replay? And who are y'alls favorite characters. By the end my party consisted of Cloud, Barret and Yuffie.

 

[Guinea]

FF7 is deserving of the hype. I played it back in the day and adored it, thought about it constantly, probably beat it 4 or 5 times in my life. It was such a special game back then, I loved playing it all the way through, then playing 8, then 9, Tactics and back to 7.

My favorite party was always Cloud, Cait Sith and Yuffie. Idk why. As a FF oldhead my only tip for new players is to equip that Enemy Skill materia. Maybe look up a missable guide too.

Oh and check out the other media. FF7 Before Crisis, Last Order, Crisis Core, Advent Children, Episode Denzel, Dirge of Cerberus, Remake, Intergrade and Rebirth... can never have too much FF7. (Before Crisis is basically lost media but you can check it out on Youtube and play a fan version on EasyRPG Player)

 

[hardcoretyphoon hardcoretyphoon]

FF7 is deserving of the hype. I played it back in the day and adored it, thought about it constantly, probably beat it 4 or 5 times in my life. It was such a special game back then, I loved playing it all the way through, then playing 8, then 9, Tactics and back to 7.

My favorite party was always Cloud, Cait Sith and Yuffie. Idk why. As a FF oldhead my only tip for new players is to equip that Enemy Skill materia. Maybe look up a missable guide too.

Oh and check out the other media. FF7 Before Crisis, Last Order, Crisis Core, Advent Children, Episode Denzel, Dirge of Cerberus, Remake and Intergrade... can never have too much FF7. (Before Crisis is basically lost media but you can check it out on Youtube and play a fan version on EasyRPG Player)

The enemy skill materia is so OP. Spells like Trine and Magic Breath are very good. I accidentally discovered I could use magic breath on my own party to heal everyone because of the equipments each member had. I definitely plan on going down the FF7 rabbit hole, I wanna watch Advent Children whenever I get the chance. I wasnt sure if before crisis was worth it or not but ill check out the itch remake!

 

[NotReallyHere]

Congrats on the first playthrough! There is something legitimately special about experiencing a classic for the first time. I feel a similar way when I hear people's enthusiasm for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien, etc.

It's a good game. Though I don't like it nearly as much as most others - and prefer several other, prior FF games over it - I can't pick it apart too much. I feel the same way about Ocarina of Time. Also a good game, but nowhere near my favorite Zelda. But I believe that puts me firmly in the minority - in both fandoms

As much as I will always adore the original Final Fantasy for its custom party creation and D&D style "spells per day," Final Fantasy 4 (or 2, as it was called when I first played it) was an experience that truly knocked me on my butt. I couldn't put it down. Picked it up in the Summer of 1992, and didn't do much else until September or so...

When I hear people gush about Final Fantasy 7, I think of my own warm, fuzzy feelings for Final Fantasy 4. And looking at it from that angle, I think we're all on the same page. You only really get feelings like that a few times in a lifetime, and it's important to recognize and cherish them when they come along. Sounds like you're doing just that, right here

 

[Aziamuth]

I'm of the minority that thinks that the game is not that good, especially in comparison to the rest of the franchise. It ranks amongst my least favorite FF, JRPGs and games overall.

At least it's not Final Fantasy VIII... on the other hand, VIII has vastly superior music and graphics.

 

[Bonkers225]

The soundtrack is everything to that game.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

Your situation was similar to mine , i didn't play much RPGS and only installed Final Fantasy 7 out of desperation and the bad taste WarCraft 2 left in my mouth that game was torture to go through.

In fact i thought Final Fantasy was this weeb stupid crap i remember hearing of FF14 when it got big and as a WarCraft fan i was like "THIS ANIME CRINGE CAN'T MATCH WARCRAFT" i got some fatigue from JRPGs back then even though i didn't play any at that time like i had this idea of needing to grind a ton and some Time sponge BS i went into FF7 not expecting anything and the game seriously grew on me in Cosmo canyon the music , the red 13 story there (i called him kargath) it was when i went "this game is actually cool!" i went into disc 3 with barely any supplies i beaten sephiroth on my own as cloud i had tifa and Barret with me (i named cloud as cloud JAY , and tifa as tifa mane AND Barret as barretmos) yeah the names were such a disaster lol , tifa and Barret got turned into frogs midway through and i had to slam sephiroth with everything i had i was the only party member dealing damage i didn't even have the item to remove sadness!

That was in August to mid September last year and it was my only playthrough of the game and I'm so hyped to play FF7 remake i don't care what anyone thinks as i never listen to anyone if game is good or bad regarding a game I'm gonna play , one thing that always makes me glow up is thinking about the fact that FF7 got a remake! , i ranked Final Fantasy 7 among my top 5 favorite games of all time still i took a promise upon myself to never replay the original game UNTIL after i play the remake Not even Google up it's soundtrack or anything regarding it EVER.

 

[Graw]

I enjoyed FF7 when I played it back in the day but it's not my favourite final fantasy game. The materia system is cool and all but I felt like it made the characters all to samey and generic. I always felt like it didn't actually matter which characters I used in my party because materia could make them anything I wanted. I also didn't really enjoy the story or setting as much as the more fantasy oriented FF games.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I could never finish it, not even way back in the day with my then-crush getting as red as her hair just talking about it.

Something just doesn't click with me.

Great thread, though!

 

[Mopeybloke]

I loved it when I played it first during secondary school. It's been my favourite RPG ever since. I'm glad you enjoyed your playthrough.
My biggest recommendation for the game is playing a re-translation, especially "Beacause", but that's a first time play recommendation and you've finished the game already.

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

Final Fantasy VII is my entry to the series. It’s not that I don’t like the previous ones it’s because I’m a SEGA fanboy during the 16bit era and Phantasy Star 3 is my entry to the rpg genre.

 

[SpcDaicon SpcDaicon]

Since you enjoyed VII and Cloud so much, I highly advise you to watch Advent Children.

If you want to expand on the lore and a more "modern" action RPG, Crisis Core is the way to go.

FFVII is a very special game and is deserving of all the praise it gets

 

[KamakoKamako's icon]

Congrats for beating such a landmark game. I didn't play it until I was around 20, but I remember thinking that if I had played it earlier in my life it'd have easily been one of my favourite games ever.

I can imagine you probably want to play something other than a JRPG after such a big undertaking, but whenever you next decide to play another, please may I recommend Final Fantasy X, Persona 4, or SMT: Digital Devil Saga!

 

[hardcoretyphoon hardcoretyphoon]

Congrats on the first playthrough! There is something legitimately special about experiencing a classic for the first time. I feel a similar way when I hear people's enthusiasm for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien, etc.

It's a good game. Though I don't like it nearly as much as most others - and prefer several other, prior FF games over it - I can't pick it apart too much. I feel the same way about Ocarina of Time. Also a good game, but nowhere near my favorite Zelda. But I believe that puts me firmly in the minority - in both fandoms

As much as I will always adore the original Final Fantasy for its custom party creation and D&D style "spells per day," Final Fantasy 4 (or 2, as it was called when I first played it) was an experience that truly knocked me on my butt. I couldn't put it down. Picked it up in the Summer of 1992, and didn't do much else until September or so...

When I hear people gush about Final Fantasy 7, I think of my own warm, fuzzy feelings for Final Fantasy 4. And looking at it from that angle, I think we're all on the same page. You only really get feelings like that a few times in a lifetime, and it's important to recognize and cherish them when they come along. Sounds like you're doing just that, right here

Im always happy to experience a true classic! I dont get the oppurtunity so much as i get older and have already experienced so many for the first time. I totally get what you mean about Ocarina of Time, I absolutely loved it on the first few playthroughs, but as i've gotten more familiar with it it kinda just feels eh to me. FF7 is definitely not my favorite RPG gameplay-wise, that would probably go to Dragon Quest 2 or MOTHER 1. I hope with it being such a story driven game it holds up on replays

Post automatically merged: Nov 27, 2025

I'm of the minority that thinks that the game is not that good, especially in comparison to the rest of the franchise. It ranks amongst my least favorite FF, JRPGs and games overall.

At least it's not Final Fantasy VIII... on the other hand, VIII has vastly superior music and graphics.

I've gotten an hour into it and it is not really grasping me to much. I'm giving it a chance but it does not feel as cool as 7. The battle system seems deeper though, if only I could figure the damn thing out!

Post automatically merged: Nov 27, 2025

Congrats for beating such a landmark game. I didn't play it until I was around 20, but I remember thinking that if I had played it earlier in my life it'd have easily been one of my favourite games ever.

I can imagine you probably want to play something other than a JRPG after such a big undertaking, but whenever you next decide to play another, please may I recommend Final Fantasy X, Persona 4, or SMT: Digital Devil Saga!

SMT... oh boy SMT. One day I will take the plunge and get through that series but its so daunting. Not even just SMT but also just MT and Persona.

 

[semyaza]

the best game ofc

 

[Mago]

This was actually the last FF I played after having played the majority of the others. I'm not the Jrpg guy I once was though. I think its a cool game. I just don't care much for the combat tbh. Love those pre-rendered backgrounds though.

Also definitely play the Suikoden games at some point! Also Panzer Dragoon Saga if you can.

 

[χKai]

Welcome to the club