Final Fantasy Thoughts

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2004-02-25 05:44am

Guess I might as well...

Here's a few mini-reviews for you guys. Don't worry, no major spoilers.

Final Fantasy Games

FFI: Great game, especially with the Final Fantasy: Origins redesign. Some of the conventions seem a little antiquated (no MP, purchasing spells) and there isn't much plot, but it is hard and a ton of fun to play.

Rating: 8

FFII: I never made it very far in this game, mostly due to the terrible level up system (which ran counter to the way I play RPG's).

Rating: N/A (Really haven't played it enough, but I hated the leveling system so take that for what it's worth)

FFIII: Never played it.

Rating: N/A

FFIV: Ahhh, here is where the fun really began. Great graphics (for the time anyways), great plot about redemption and loyalty, good characters and lots of very cool spells (including the almighty METEO!). This is where Final Fantasy really came into its own and I still pick up this game for a quick play through every now and then.

The story revolved around a Dark Knight named Cecil as he struggles with his loyalty to his king versus his own morality about what he is being ordered into doing. The story eventually grew to encompass a world-threatening situation, but there was always a mix of the epic and the personal which would define the genre for years to come.

Please note that the original SNES version had a terrible translation (damn Nintendo censorship) combined with being based on a much easier version of the game. Play the Final Fantasy Chronicles version instead.

Rating: 9

FFV: Introduced the job system, but the graphics were pretty much carried over directly from FFIV (I'm not kidding). The story was fairly weak, but you could do worse.

Rating: 6

FFVI: Wow, this game was where Square finally solidified themselves as masters of the RPG. FFVI had everything, an amazing, epic plot, a maniacal villain that you just had to both love and hate, a dynamite cast of characters, incredible graphics...I could go on and on.

The story revolved around a young soldier fleeing from the Empire that enslaved her while she attempts to come to grips with her heritage. Please note that although the story starts out centered on a single or small group of characters, this game has the largest character list of any Final Fantasy game. Fear not though, every single one of them is fleshed out in exquisite detail. Particularly memorable are the "Opera Scene" and the villain Kefka's insane laugh.

Rating: 10

FFVII: This was the game that truly took Square RPG's from their 16-bit roots into the 32-bit future. And what a glorious future it was.

FFVII was Square's attempt to make a cinematic game and they succeeded admirably. Full of high quality CG (for the time), a fully 3D world map, 3D characters on pre-rendered backdrops and a suitably epic score, FFVII was the most technologically brilliant game Square had ever produced.

The storyline was suitably epic to fit the new techno-punk style and it was quite a ride from beginning to end. By the end you would be shaking your head at all the preconceptions you had about the plot from the beginning. Without giving too much away, FFVII was the story about an ex-elite soldier named Cloud who is working as a mercenary with a group called AVALANCHE. They are a terrorist organization fighting to try to save the planet from an evil corporation whose explotation of the planetary resource "Mako" is destroying the world from within.

All in all a brilliant, epic game that has been bashed in later years for being a departure from Final Fantasy norms, but has lost none of its splendor from my perspective.

Rating: 10

FFVIII: This is the most controversial Final Fantasy game (well, besides Mystic Quest, but I'm not going there right now), perhaps unfairly so. Square wanted to follow up on the tremendous success of FFVII with another epic game, but instead of being mostly a story driven affair, they decided to go with a more serious character driven game with a love story at its core.

The characters were totally unconventional, each one of the small cast having their own laundry list of personal problems (almost as if they were real teenagers *shock*) and weren't nearly as heroic or pure as past Final Fantasy characters which is probably why they were bashed so unfairly by fans.

The battle system was also unconventional with its unique draw/junction system. Drawing could get repetitive sometimes, but no more so than level building, so it didn't interfere with gameplay too much, although it could have been more involved.

The graphics are absolutely amazing, even today. They may be low res, but the designs are fantastic, and the seamless mating of CG with realtime really brought FFVIII into a league of its own.

FFVIII has been bashed from every direction by critics, but it remains the most successful, and in my mind, the greatest of all the Final Fantasy games.

Rating: 10

FFIX: Hailed as a return to Final Fantasy roots, FFIX had everything that we loved about the classic SNES Final Fantasies. Super-deformed characters, airships, castles, Chocobos, Moogles, Black Mages, etc. It was a successful entry, but certain problems held it back from true greatness.

The storyline revolves around a thief named Zidane who is tasked with kidnapping the Princess of Alexandria while his company puts on a play in the capital. This turns out to be more complicated then it seems, and it soon spans the entire globe turning into a world saving affair (sound familiar?) involving Black Mages, Summon monsters and a strange airship...

The graphics are fantastic, though not as serious or polished as FFVIII's. Still, the main problem wasn't the graphics, story or heroes but the villain. While certainly unique, Kuja comes off more like David Bowie's Goblin King from Labyrinth then a serious villain. Also, the game didn't have quite as much originality as its two predecessors. Still, this was a great entry and worthy of carrying the Final Fantasy name.

Rating: 8

FFX: A leap forward for the Final Fantasy series in graphics, but little else. FFX followed many of the same conventions as its predecessors (not that this is a bad thing) although it introduced a few new quirks (such as the Sphere Grid and Blitzball).

The story revolves around a boy named Tidus who wakes up one day after an attack on his town to an unfamiliar world and a Summoner named Yuna. Together they travel the world trying to defeat a being named “Sin”.

The biggest problem here was that the world Square had created just wasn't as alive or as original as in past games. To make the issue worse, there is no world map, which makes the game world feel small and confined. The characters and storyline are good, but certain things are lacking and some of the final revelations are borderline nonsensical.

Still, it's fun, good looking and definitely Final Fantasy.

Rating: 8

FFX-2: A return to Spira with still no overworld map, but one of the best battle systems ever designed, a new job system and a quirky dose of girl power, FFX-2 was a remarkably effective sequel. It's not much different from Final Fantasy X in the graphics or character department, but its non-linear structure, cool mini-games and fun gameplay made it superior to FFX and a nice experiment with the Final Fantasy formula.

Rating: 9

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2004-02-25 11:26am

Has anyone here played Kingdom Hearts? I hear its a FF game with Disney characters

The reviews I've seen are generally very positive and since my daughter expressed interest in watching me play FFX and liked it because of the pretty graphics and female characters I thought that a game with Disney characters would be cool for her and not tedious for me to play.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-02-25 12:26pm

Stravo wrote:Has anyone here played Kingdom Hearts? I hear its a FF game with Disney characters The reviews I've seen are generally very positive and since my daughter expressed interest in watching me play FFX and liked it because of the pretty graphics and female characters I thought that a game with Disney characters would be cool for her and not tedious for me to play.

other way around. it's a disney game with FF characters making guest spots.

as far as final fantasy 8 goes, i'd suggest avoiding it strongly. the story line is choppy at best, the GF system is buggy, and the draw system is very unbalancing. in addition the summoning sequences are so freaking long. . . . .

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2004-02-25 01:18pm

Stravo wrote:Has anyone here played Kingdom Hearts? I hear its a FF game with Disney characters The reviews I've seen are generally very positive and since my daughter expressed interest in watching me play FFX and liked it because of the pretty graphics and female characters I thought that a game with Disney characters would be cool for her and not tedious for me to play.

Kingdom Hearts is absolutely fantastic. It's literally fun for everyone. Don't let the premise fool you; it's not just for little kids. You and your daughter would have tons of fun playing it.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-02-25 02:35pm

Stravo wrote:Has anyone here played Kingdom Hearts? I hear its a FF game with Disney characters The reviews I've seen are generally very positive and since my daughter expressed interest in watching me play FFX and liked it because of the pretty graphics and female characters I thought that a game with Disney characters would be cool for her and not tedious for me to play.

Excellent Action adventure.

Sephy is fun to fight in that game.

And no not tedious in the slightest.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-02-25 04:15pm

I don't have a favorite. I prefer to think of Final Fantasy as one giant game that encompases everything. I've liked every one I've ever played. I'm currently and heavily addicted Tactics Advance. If this makes me a rabid Square fanboy than so be it.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2004-02-25 05:50pm

Lazy Raptor wrote:If this makes me a rabid Square fanboy than so be it.

Welcome to the club

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2004-02-25 06:50pm

Kingdom Hearts is excellent, but it has more in common with Zelda or Dark Cloud than Final Fantasy, at least from a gameplay perspective. It's a flawed game, but still lots of fun and the Disney atmosphere will have you smiling with nostalgia.

Caution though that it can be a little rough for younger gamers. This is a hard game in places, and I wouldn't really recommend for anyone under the age of 10 unless they have previous experience in these kinds of games.

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2004-02-25 07:26pm

FF2/4: a great game, with a very solid story. It had two worlds and the story focused around crystals, two things which have always screamed final fantasy for me. No way to customize your character's abilities, though, and Golbez wasn't the final boss, which annoyed me. Did anyone else the numerous similarities between this game and 9?

FF3/6: another excellent game, and easily my favorite among the 2-D ffs. There was not a single playable character that I disliked (unlike in 2, with that wussy bard). Kefka is the only ff villian who can rival Sephiroth in my opinion. Manical, godhood seeking psychos both.

FF5: Earns points for first intro of the job system, but I just didn't like it as much as the others.

FF7: One of the best of the bunch (only 3 rivals it in my humble opinion). I loved the characters, as well as the complex story which is still a topic of debate for many up to this date. The materia system was great, too. In depth, but not absurdly complicated like the junction system in 8. Sephiroth was also the final boss, just as he should be. I hate it when Square turned the main villian good and pulled in some random demon to be the final boss.

FF8: (warning, long bitch ahead, skip this if you liked

I hated this game and everything about it. I hated Squall and his indifference to seemingly everything. I hated the world they were in. I HATED the junction system. I hated the fact that the monsters leveled up as you did, especially since I discovered this after spending about two hours leveling up in the training area. The GFs were spectacular, but it got boring watching them after a few times, and they seemed to be the only powerful thing you had at your disposal. Even the desperation attacks were pretty poor. I remember fighting Edea and getting my ass handed to me four times, then owning her the 5th time because she didn't use her powerful attacks. All the big battles just felt really random.

FF9: I liked this one and will never forget the fantastic cutscene where Vivi blasted the third black waltz. The trance system is second only to the limit breaks of 7 as far as I'm concerned. The only real thing that annoyed me about this game was Beatrix being considered to defeat you by lower your party's HP to 1. It was always Dagger's turn when this happened to me, and I could've worked with 1 HP each.

BTW, Kingdom Hearts was a great game, Stravo. Most of the worlds were great, especially Agrabah and Halloween town. There were some problems: a few moments of insane cheesiness and Wonderland feeling very much like a bad LSD trip or something, but these are pretty minor. Fighting the guys from the final fantasy games were great. Duking it out with Sephiroth (despite the rather poor job Lance Bass did of voice acting) is awsome, and fighting Cloud is great. I love pounding on Squall and Yuffie. I finally got my revenge on the materia stealing bitch and the crapiest FF hero ever.

Symmetry · Post by **Symmetry** » 2004-02-25 08:32pm

The Prime Necromancer wrote:I enjoyed FF7 a great deal. Although I don't understand why everyone loves Sephiroph so much. I guess with all the hype, I was expecting more. Aeris's death was very poignant, and would have been moreso if I hadn't known about it beforehand.

Yeah, Aeris's death was so sad, and I (luckily) never saw it coming. I liked Sephiroth too, not because he was a bishonen, but because I thought the whole "you don't really exist" thing was an interesting.

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2004-02-25 11:02pm

Trogdor wrote: FF3/6: another excellent game, and easily my favorite among the 2-D ffs. There was not a single playable character that I disliked (unlike in 2, with that wussy bard). Kefka is the only ff villian who can rival Sephiroth in my opinion. Manical, godhood seeking psychos both.

Personally, I think Kefka was a much worse villian that Sephiroth, because

**SPOILER ALERT**Kefka actually acheived godhood, unlike Sephiroth, who got his freaky wings and then is defeated. No, he has a cult complete with fanatical worshippers a year AFTER essentially destroying the world. The other villians, excepting Kuja in Terra in FF9, try to destroy the world but are always stopped at the last minute and Kuja's doesn't really count since it's not your OWN world he's destroying. Kefka succeeded and sat in his tower toying with the survivors, even to the point of preventing seeds from sprouting. Not to mention, Kefka has the highest body count of all the villians. Who did Sephiroth kill? Some soldiers and the people of Cloud's small hometown. Kefka kills millions of people, both from his continent-splitting destruction and by direct slaughter, as in the town of Mobliz and probably the captial city of the Empire (notice how Kefka's tower is placed directly on top of where it used to be...he wiped out the Empire AND the Returners at the same time). Sephiroth looked cool, but Kefka was pure evil. **SPOLIER ALERT**

But hey, that's just my opinion, and FF7 was still a good game, even if it didn't have an opera and Ultros.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-02-26 10:18am

Kefka was pretty scary. His clowniness and that awful laugh had a lot to do with it, and the fact that he was insane and being evil just for the hell of it. But Ultimecia was scarier, IMO. *ahem*

Mostly because she was so fucking HARD! Every other FF boss is a pushover because by the end of the game I'm maxed out in experience and skills. VIII really cramps my normal style of RPG playing. The draw/junction system makes it so that I always feel lucky to have made it out of the battle alive. I was in a cold sweat and shedding hair. I was thinking: When is this bitch going to die!? Aha! Suck it down... GF!? Holy hell! Whew, I... Sweet mother of fuck she's, she's... "Sephirothing!" Where did my magic go!? AAAH! AAAH! And then by a combination of luck and... well, luck I somehow beat her and I'm rewarded with the most ludicrously surreal ending in the entire franchise! I STILL don't get it!

As for Sephiroth and Kuja, they're not scary. I like them. They're so infinately badass and extremely cool I can't harbor any ill towards either of them. *spoilies again*

A quick way to earn points in my book is to take a Mega Flare to the face and make it look like a scratch. And I developed a healthy respect for Sephiroth during the flashback scene where he goes with you to Nibelheim.

[Edit] Added my Sephiroth and Kuja wanking.

Sporkzen · Post by **Sporkzen** » 2004-02-27 11:50pm

ff1: meh.. good for a nintendo game

ff2: hated it.. the lvling up system irritated me

ff3: dont know japanese never got to play it

ff4: aah great game, what made final fantasy what it was. my favorite characters were Kain, edge and cid. I remember spending hours at a time playing that game.

ff5: jobs, good system. just didnt work for me though.

ff6: Best Game Ever. (cept xenogears) I remember the opera scene most, but i do also like cyans scenes with his family and the ghost train. Setzer was my favorite character though, i liked the scenes in the crypt of daryl. Kefka, best villan in a video game ever, period.

ff7: Good game. Solid imo. didnt get into it as much as 6. 3rd best in the series imo. Sephy wasnt that cool to me. Aeris's death was a suprise but i liked tifa more anyways.

ff8: Not a bad game imo. Though it was WAAAAAY to easy. Load up on aura spells and blow the shit outta the final boss with lionheart and the gun guy's limits (cant remember his name its been so long).

ff9: 2nd best game in the series in my opinion. Just was a great game. The characters were good and it was just solid.

ff10: didnt like it. it played good but the only good parts about the game were lulu and auron.

ffx-2: just not my style, i tried it and just couldnt get into it, but i didnt really like 10 much anyways.

ff 11: i tried it for a week, quit... wont look back.

ff tactics: oh yea awesome, forgot about that. (edited in) beats every game in the ff series except 6. havent tried advance. havent heard enough about it to buy it or not

my new series of choice is the xenosaga series... hopefully they can recapture the whole feeling of xenogears with the next game. Doubtfull but i loved xenosaga anyways.

Post by **Kuja** » 2004-02-28 01:54am

Trogdor wrote:FF2/4 Did anyone else the numerous similarities between this game and 9?

Yeah, especially now that I look back BECAUSE I FINISHED FF4 TODAY!

:mrgreen::mrgreen:

Now, on to 6...

Post by **Zaia** » 2004-02-28 02:01am

The Kernel wrote:FFVIII: This is the most controversial Final Fantasy game (well, besides Mystic Quest, but I'm not going there right now), perhaps unfairly so. Square wanted to follow up on the tremendous success of FFVII with another epic game, but instead of being mostly a story driven affair, they decided to go with a more serious character driven game with a love story at its core.

The characters were totally unconventional, each one of the small cast having their own laundry list of personal problems (almost as if they were real teenagers *shock*) and weren't nearly as heroic or pure as past Final Fantasy characters which is probably why they were bashed so unfairly by fans.

The battle system was also unconventional with its unique draw/junction system. Drawing could get repetitive sometimes, but no more so than level building, so it didn't interfere with gameplay too much, although it could have been more involved.

The graphics are absolutely amazing, even today. They may be low res, but the designs are fantastic, and the seamless mating of CG with realtime really brought FFVIII into a league of its own.

FFVIII has been bashed from every direction by critics, but it remains the most successful, and in my mind, the greatest of all the Final Fantasy games.

Rating: 10

Thank you. I love Final Fantasy games, and this one is by far my favourite.

Oh, and *applauds for Kuj*.

Post by **Kuja** » 2004-02-28 02:02am

Lazy Raptor wrote:As for Sephiroth and Kuja, they're not scary. I like them. They're so infinately badass and extremely cool I can't harbor any ill towards either of them. *spoilies again*

A quick way to earn points in my book is to take a Mega Flare to the face and make it look like a scratch.

And then what does he do? Wipes away the blood and SMILES. Damn, Kuja's a hell of a lot tougher than he looks.

But then, that's one of the reasons I like him.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-02-28 02:04am

Kuja wrote:
Trogdor wrote:FF2/4 Did anyone else the numerous similarities between this game and 9?
Yeah, especially now that I look back BECAUSE I FINISHED FF4 TODAY! :mrgreen::mrgreen:

Now, on to 6...

Faster...you must beat this game.

Post by **Kuja** » 2004-02-28 02:07am

Ghost Rider wrote:Faster...you must beat this game.

Faster?

You know, now I'm gonna take my sweet old time leveling up just to piss you off.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-02-28 02:22am

Kuja wrote:
Ghost Rider wrote:Faster...you must beat this game.
Faster?

You know, now I'm gonna take my sweet old time leveling up just to piss you off.

Not gonna piss me off...you're already playing it

Besides...I've spent literally hundreds of hours on that game finding every dumb Rage skill.

Post by **RogueIce** » 2004-02-28 02:36am

Ghost Rider wrote:Not gonna piss me off...you're already playing it

Besides...I've spent literally hundreds of hours on that game finding every dumb Rage skill.

Y'know, I have one game, where I think because my sister got the Ragnorak sword instead of materia, I'm going to be missing at least one spell.

*sigh*

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-02-28 02:44am

RogueIce wrote:
Ghost Rider wrote:Not gonna piss me off...you're already playing it

Besides...I've spent literally hundreds of hours on that game finding every dumb Rage skill.
Y'know, I have one game, where I think because my sister got the Ragnorak sword instead of materia, I'm going to be missing at least one spell.

*sigh*

Nope you can still get Ultima...what you have to do is

[size=0] Get the Cursed Shield(in World of Ruin Narshe...need Locke) and a Ribbon...and after 255 battles it becomes the Paladin Shield

With this you're able to learn Ultima[/size]

Post by **RogueIce** » 2004-02-28 03:21am

Ghost Rider wrote:
RogueIce wrote:
Ghost Rider wrote:Not gonna piss me off...you're already playing it

Besides...I've spent literally hundreds of hours on that game finding every dumb Rage skill.
Y'know, I have one game, where I think because my sister got the Ragnorak sword instead of materia, I'm going to be missing at least one spell.

*sigh*
Nope you can still get Ultima...what you have to do is

[size=0] Get the Cursed Shield(in World of Ruin Narshe...need Locke) and a Ribbon...and after 255 battles it becomes the Paladin Shield

With this you're able to learn Ultima[/size]

Is it Ultima I'm missing? I think I would've noticed that one...

Let's see... I need whatever Crusader gives you, since I haven't beat the Dragons yet...

What about Odin and what it was before/after? the Queen's statue's tear?

I wish I had the list of current spells handy...but it feels like I have holes. How many spaces should there be in a full spell list in the Skills area?

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-02-28 10:39am

RogueIce wrote:
Ghost Rider wrote:
RogueIce wrote: Y'know, I have one game, where I think because my sister got the Ragnorak sword instead of materia, I'm going to be missing at least one spell.

*sigh*
Nope you can still get Ultima...what you have to do is

[size=0] Get the Cursed Shield(in World of Ruin Narshe...need Locke) and a Ribbon...and after 255 battles it becomes the Paladin Shield

With this you're able to learn Ultima[/size]
Is it Ultima I'm missing? I think I would've noticed that one...

Let's see... I need whatever Crusader gives you, since I haven't beat the Dragons yet...

What about Odin and what it was before/after? the Queen's statue's tear?

I wish I had the list of current spells handy...but it feels like I have holes. How many spaces should there be in a full spell list in the Skills area?

None, but since you haven't beaten the Dragons and not used Odin.

You should be missing Merton, Meteor, and Ultima.

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2004-02-28 10:43am

Final Fantasy IX is the Combo Spawn of Final Fantasy games, I think.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-02-28 10:43am

Kuja wrote:But then, that's one of the reasons I like him.

Yup. And Immoral Melody is the BEST villain's theme song EVER.