What Final Fantasy have you beaten? Disliked and overview

[Mobius]

Topic title is self explanatory. I'll go down my list:

• Final Fantasy 4
  
• Final Fantasy 5
  
• Final Fantasy 6
  
• Final Fantasy 7
  
• Final Fantasy 9
  

Ones I didn't complete

Final Fantasy 8
Final Fantasy 10

First FF:

Final Fantasy 4

Final Fantasy I can't stomach the most:
Final Fantasy 13

I suppose out of all of those I believe Final Fantasy 5 took me by surprise the most. The beginning of 5 is akin to 8 where the music is nausating, especially in the first few towns with the obnoxious pseudo Scottish music drove me up the wall. The game also started with the generic crystal hunt which I found to already be tiring after playing 4 right before (and knowing the story of FF1 doesn't help either). Then after a few hours the very saving grace showed itself.. or himself, in the form of Exdeath. From there the music got better with Musica Machina and the whole atmosphere of the techno/magic theme. Then it went to an all time high when Exdeath threw his fight with you or the time you had to destroy the tree and the demons from the dimension of clift just sold it to me. You get a diverse lore of the game's canon even events that aren't in the game (the Necromancer and Void being explained as prior events) or a portfolio of enemy boss characters with their own individual abilities akin to some shonen anime was pretty cool (the dimension of cleft again). I just wish the music and feel wasn't so painstaking during the beginning though. I am glad I beat it though.

[Estrella Divina]

As far as playing Final Fantasy games, I've only played FF8 and FF7 because those are the ones that interested me the most when I first got into Final Fantasy. However, I did watch entire walkthroughs of 4, 9, 10, 12, and 13 (all 3) so I do know the stories. I plan on doing the same for previous games because I don't think I could play them now.

Final Fantasy Games I like:

I prefer more modern looking Final Fantasies than traditional-looking ones. When I mean traditional, I mean like 4, 9, and 12.

Final Fantasy 4 is an exception to my modern-like taste. The story is very romantic, the music is serene, story is in depth, and the characters are rich appearance-wise. It's one of those Final Fantasies that I've grown to like.

Final Fantasy 7 had great character depth and a story one could follow. There are people who say this game is overrated, but I honestly don't see how. At its time, it was a stretch beyond the rest. I would like to see a remake of this.

Final Fantasy 8 was my favorite because of the story, the characters, and the game play. I felt like as far as the story, it had one the best. Personally, I felt like it was a setting that modern students could relate too, yet it kept the elements of Final Fantasy. I feel like it didn't get as much appreciation because of how popular and famous Final Fantasy 7 was which was a tough act to follow.

Final Fantasy 8 used to get a lot of hate, and I am unsure why. It used to get a lot of hate in the past, but now as newer games comes out, I see the opinion towards it change. I would also like to see a remake of this.

Final Fantasy 10 is probably the last one I liked of the series.

Also, the opening in Final Fantasy 8 is still the best in my opinion haha.


The Final Fantasies I don't like:

Final Fantasy 9 I did not like because the characters were too cartoonie for me. The story was good, but I couldn't stomach how the characters looked especially after ff7 and ff8 had characters with such a cool-like appearance.

Final Fantasy 12 is forgettable. I hate to say that, but the characters to me didn't stand out. I guess it is a personal taste.

Final Fantasy 13, 13-2, 13-3- I don't know if I am dumb, but I cannot for the life of me understand the story in this game. After finishing 13-3, I was still like "wtf just happened?" The story had no consistency. Apparently, Lightning's world was "before" that of the "older" Final Fantasy games. Not just that, but they basically made her into a "god" so her character was overpowered and made into something it shouldn't have been. In other words, they tried too hard to make her into a legend.

The one thing I could say for certain about FF13 is that Lightning has to be the absolute, most boring character ever created. I was happy about there being a female lead for once, but they made her like a Squall/Cloud clone with no personality. They took out the one thing that makes being a woman great and strong. She had no emotions! She literally was like a talking robot. I don't understand why they did this. Her sister Serah was more interesting than her, but see the story made no sense so Serah is an after thought, therefore, the series still fails.

There was one scene that stuck out to me the most in Final Fantasy 13-3 that was a waste for the entire series in general. At the end, after all this time that Lightning and Snow searched for Serah, there was no emotion when they found her. It was like "Oh, great she is here. K..cool." This was basically the reaction from Snow and Lightning, who for 3 games, were trying to reunite with Serah. There were no kisses, no hugs, and no tears which to me makes reuniting with Serah useless.

I can barely remember the other characters names in FF13 because they were after thoughts. They had no substance, no personalities, and were shadows to Lightning's cause.

[Mobius]

Huh. I would have assumed you played/beaten more Final Fantasies than myself. As far as Final Fantasy 7 is concerned I think the hype is a little undeserved and takes attention away from how good the game actually is. I'd say Final Fantasy 7 was a very good game in terms of atmosphere is concerned (by far the best when it came to setting in a dark and foreboding theme to it) but everything Final Fantasy 7 has done was done by Final Fantasy 6 (the story is a retelling if you subtract Sephiroth's subplot in it). The game is great though, but I think the fanbase has besmirched it for a lot of other Final Fantasy fans during earlier days of the internet.

I didn't think 8 was a decent game once you get passed the first 2 CDs, but I believe that is the huge problem Final Fantasy 8 has and that is its pacing. Squall being the leader of Garden only having been enrolled for like almost 2 weeks was a huge blow to the suspension of disbelief, and the speech he gave after was.. uncharacteristic. I do like the GF junction system and how they went about it, especially once you pick up on the HP/MP/Stat bonuses instead of using the percentage abilities for additional and permanent stat parameters focuses the player to acquire AP before EXP was very critical. I like it. The music was daunting especially Nobou's horrible attempt at using the drawbar organ for its battle themes and the song "Maybe I'm a Lion" made the whole game sound like it was in a baseball stadium. After seeing my brother play it through I have acquired a new appreciation for Seifer as a character of great weakness and irrelevance, and I think that was very intentional and pivotal for how he was portrayed since he is a very insecure rebel (claiming to be a knight rofl).

As far as 13? No one understands 13's plot(c'mon, you know you don't). I believe Final Fantasy 13 is a retelling of Final Fantasy 8 with Snow = Zell, Lightning = Squall, Vanille = Selphie, and Fang = Dyke mode Rhinoa, Sash = Irvine, and Hope = ? cause I doubt Quistis is that HOPELESS. The music is forgettable and so is everything else about it. A friend of mine called it Dungeons and Dragons because you walk a linear path to fight enemies which I believed fit the game entirely. As far as female lead is concerned? I thought she actually had a very strong personality type at least the first game, but was being strung along a series of bad writing and was the only person that reasonably disliked Snow. In fact, I think Lightning is the best character in that game because of her intense dislike of Snow and her bitterness towards the weakness of other characters like Hope. Sarah was just a generic girl in comparison considering she was relatively useless throughout the original game, and became a bit.. too feminine in the later installment. I think my favorite is that Sarah is probably quicker to jump to the next guy in the second game when she was flirting with him in that one place that was like a Ruins and they showed a close up of her face when she spoke to him about a quote he had from his beliefs. I recall having the ability to make choices throughout the game and a few seemed rather suspect that kind of painted a feel that Snow was just expendable. In short: Sarah is the slutty little sister. Lightning was pushed far too strong though as being Legendary is concerned, but as a female lead she is the total package unlike Terra from Final Fantasy 6. Terra was a bit like Sarah but didn't really have a love interest since she was more interested in finding herself (which she did later in the game), whereas Lightning already has a grasp of who she is and went for it. I don't want to think about anything past FF13 original though because, let's be real, much like the FF canon sequels it's shallow and money grabbing (FF7's sequels, all of them. FFX2, terrible).

Fuck Snow, btw.

[Estrella Divina]

Maybe I am a Lion is such a bad ass song though. I am not a fan of Squall's character, but that song is the type to get someone pumped up for whatever is coming next. There are plenty of Squall fans out there that would disagree haha.

You didn't like "The Man with the Machine Gun" theme either ?

As far as 13? No one understands 13's plot(c'mon, you know you don't). I believe Final Fantasy 13 is a retelling of Final Fantasy 8 with Snow = Zell, Lightning = Squall, Vanille = Selphie, and Fang = Dyke mode Rhinoa, Sash = Irvine, and Hope = ? cause I doubt Quistis is that HOPELESS. The music is forgettable and so is everything else about it. A friend of mine called it Dungeons and Dragons because you walk a linear path to fight enemies which I believed fit the game entirely. As far as female lead is concerned? I thought she actually had a very strong personality type at least the first game, but was being strung along a series of bad writing and was the only person that reasonably disliked Snow. In fact, I think Lightning is the best character in that game because of her intense dislike of Snow and her bitterness towards the weakness of other characters like Hope. Sarah was just a generic girl in comparison considering she was relatively useless throughout the original game, and became a bit.. too feminine in the later installment. I think my favorite is that Sarah is probably quicker to jump to the next guy in the second game when she was flirting with him in that one place that was like a Ruins and they showed a close up of her face when she spoke to him about a quote he had from his beliefs. I recall having the ability to make choices throughout the game and a few seemed rather suspect that kind of painted a feel that Snow was just expendable. In short: Sarah is the slutty little sister. Lightning was pushed far too strong though as being Legendary is concerned, but as a female lead she is the total package unlike Terra from Final Fantasy 6. Terra was a bit like Sarah but didn't really have a love interest since she was more interested in finding herself (which she did later in the game), whereas Lightning already has a grasp of who she is and went for it. I don't want to think about anything past FF13 original though because, let's be real, much like the FF canon sequels it's shallow and money grabbing (FF7's sequels, all of them. FFX2, terrible).

My jaw dropped when I read your first sentence because there is no way ff13 and ff8 are alike. Not to be rude, but please don't ever compare Final Fantasy 8 to Final Fantasy 13 because Final Fantasy 8 is by far better in every sense. For one, the Final Fantasy 8 story at least made sense. Secondly, it is a memorable game. You have every right to dislike the game, but.....comparing it to FF13 hmm.......moving on.

As for Lightning, what personality? She didn't have one. I don't consider her "lack of emotions" or "lack of internal struggles" a trait. They were trying too hard to make her cool. Being a female, I believe that a woman can be both strong and have emotions. If you ever played Metal Gear, there are a number of characters in that series that at least had a personality. There was nothing about Lightning's persona that makes me remember her. Lightning was a drone and that's another major reason as to why Final Fantasy 13 fails in comparison to previous Final Fantasies.

Sarah was just a generic girl in comparison considering she was relatively useless throughout the original game, and became a bit.. too feminine in the later installment. I think my favorite is that Sarah is probably quicker to jump to the next guy in the second game when she was flirting with him in that one place that was like a Ruins and they showed a close up of her face when she spoke to him about a quote he had from his beliefs

From what I gathered with the lack of story making sense of FF13, Noel was more concerned about reuniting with Yoel because he was in love with her. It is normal that two, young people would flirt with one another throughout a journey where they are both searching for their lost ones. They are in great pain and seeking comfort. It's not like either of them stepped over the line anyway. As for Serah, the entire reason for FF13-2's existence was for her to help her boring sister Lightning. I am not defending the 13 series at all, but Lightning is a terrible character. Her sister isn't that much better, but she at least has a personality.

As far as Final Fantasy 7 is concerned I think the hype is a little undeserved and takes attention away from how good the game actually is. I'd say Final Fantasy 7 was a very good game in terms of atmosphere is concerned (by far the best when it came to setting in a dark and foreboding theme to it) but everything Final Fantasy 7 has done was done by Final Fantasy 6 (the story is a retelling if you subtract Sephiroth's subplot in it). The game is great though, but I think the fanbase has besmirched it for a lot of other Final Fantasy fans during earlier days of the internet.

As for your comment about Final Fantasy 7, I don't understand your reasoning as to why its hype is undeserved. What about the game makes the hype undeserved? Final Fantasy 6 came before it that much is understood. You're an original gamer who has played earlier Final Fantasy games, and I understand that too. However, that doesn't make FF7 undeserving of its hype. When something is original like you are saying about Final Fantasy 6, it does not always make it better or more deserving of the hype.

I've never played Final Fantasy 6, but I've heard great things about the game. I am sure it is an amazing game that perhaps one day I will play, but I think it is unfair to use Final Fantasy 6 as a reason as to why Final Fantasy 7 is over hyped.

[Deleted]

Beaten

• 7-10
• Tactics and Tactics advanced

Not Completed

• 1, 4-6
• 10-2
•  12

First FF: VI (VII was my first actual play through, VI was coop as 2p as a kid)

Could not stand X-2 for obvious reasons.

Favorites by theme
Story:    6 and 7 are close for me, although I never completed any of my play-throughs of 6. I would be more inclined to play if they would remake it. 9 is also really good, and gets a bad rep because of its art style.
Gameplay: Tactics is superior here imo. 
Graphics: Despite what others think, I found nine to be the best package for its time. It was a PS1 game that made some PS2 games look just bad. I think hyperstylization is fun, and having played a lot of the classics without beating them this was a nice little capstone.

[Alias Malvarr]

Series I've finished:

FF VIII
FF IX (Unfortunately, I never got to see the ending since my disc was scratched at that time)
FF X
FF XIII-2
FF LR-XIII

Final Fantasies I disliked most:
FF I and FF II.
They were literally... dragging. You have no idea where to go next, especially FF2. I was on hype to play these babies, but their gameplay really ruined my motivation to play them.

As for FF13, Mobius was right... The plot and story is too confusing. Especially FF13-2 since you get to reach different parts of the game. They like making loops and holes in games for people to theorize and shit, but that game just made me blow my mind like: "WTF just happened..." Though, the thing I liked about the FF13 series were the sense of tragedy. I like tragic stuff, so I appreciate the game a little. xD LR:FF13 had a really nice battle system though.