Started Final Fantasy... finally :)

Well, after the immense amount of praise this series has received and the fact that I really haven't been enjoying the games that I have at the moment, I decided to give this series a try, starting with Final Fantasy II (IV) for SNES.  I played FFXI for a little while, and I played one of the FF games on the SNES for a few mins before my dad and I both agreed that the random battle system sucks and promptly removed the cartridge - lol.  I couldn't really get into it at the time.

So far the game rocks!  I'm loving the story.  I know they changed a few things to make it more US-friendly as well as censoring a few other things, but being easier is probably better off for me to get into.  I was going to start off with FF 1, but it's for NES and I never had a Nintendo, so that magic is lost on me.  But I can settle right in to SNES games no problem.

Now I know FF III was released for DS, but what I don't know is what version of FF III? :P  I gotta find out if it's the same FF III that was on US SNES or if it is the Japanese version of FF III.  If it's the US version, I'll probably just play it on SNES.

Anyway, totally looking forward to spending hundreds of hours going through the entire series.

I loved the older final fantasy's, they seem so much better than the one's they are making right now. Personally I'm playing through final fantasy 7 right now. And the story is unbelievably good. Though, I'm a little puzzled with where I have to go now ATM. I'll probably have to look up a guide :P

Oh, and the DS version of FFIII for DS is a re-make of the JP version that was released on the NES. It never found it's way to the U.S.A until now.

You realize it'll probably take you well over a hundred hours to go through the series. I swear, even the original game was this massive collage of locales. They literally get bigger and bigger as you go along. Have fun.

:lol: 

The DS version of FF III is not the American version of III.  The one that was released in America is actually FF VI, and was just rereleased on the GBA over the winter. 

Anyway, the one you're playing now is a great game.  After you finish try and get FFV for the GBA. The recent remake was excellent, and it's a lot of fun.  I wouldn't bother playing the series in order though.  Depending on what you like most, I'd say just skip around.  If you're enjoying the exploring and the character building go play FF VI and FF VII.  They combined story, good characters and the sense of exploration the best, and were the best in the series if you want my worthless opinion.

If you're more drawn to the story than anything else, check out FFX.  The game is extremely linear, and allows very little exploring, but some people love it, so take that for what it's worth.  FFXII offers up a very epic feeling to so don't miss that, though some people don't like the battle system.

I wouldn't be in a big hurry to play FF III for the DS, or FFVIII for the PS1.  Both games have a very awkward pace to them, and just have a really slow feeling.  Lot of the time it just seems to drag.  FVIII really broke a lot of the molds that existed from FFIV to FFVII, and it wasn't all good.  I will give it that the game does have the best ending of the series.

And as far as FFIX goes, it was originally sort of a tribute to the first 8 games.  People either love it or hate it. To fully appreciate it though, you really need to play those first 8 games.

Play FF 7, its the best in the series.

:lol: Thanks guys.  I know this series will be pretty hardcore in terms of time, but I don't mind it taking a while.  Also good to know the clarification on FF III!  The style looked completely different than FF III on SNES but I wasn't sure.

GodModeEnabled: I actually started that one first, but at the very beginning story they talk about the rise of technology and how magic was destroyed, and I wanted to get into the series with a more traditional setting, so I started II.  I'll wean my way in, but III is so far the game I'm looking most forward to.

Robio_basic: So I shouldn't worry too much about playing them in order?  I figured that there'd be decades' worth of backstory in the new games.  I didn't know there was a recent FF V remake for GBA, I'll be sure to check that out.  But I'm confused.  FF II US is actually FF IV, and FF III is actually FF VI.  So did FF V never make it to the US?

Robio_basic: So I shouldn't worry too much about playing them in order?  I figured that there'd be decades' worth of backstory in the new games.  I didn't know there was a recent FF V remake for GBA, I'll be sure to check that out.  But I'm confused.  FF II US is actually FF IV, and FF III is actually FF VI.  So did FF V never make it to the US?

MyopicCanadian

The stories are all independent of one another, so there's no backstory to miss out on.  The only things they have in common are monsters, spells, weapons, and things like that. They all take place in different worlds with different casts. The only exception is FFXI which makes reference to a lot of the other games in small ways.

And yes, FFV never made it to North America when it was originally on Super Nintendo. Lots of reasons why, but they're all long and not terribly interesting. The first time it actually made it over here was when it was ported on the PS1 as a part of the Final Fantasy Anthology.  The GBA version is much better than that one though.  They've added a lot more extra features.  And if you're not aware, there are also GBA remakes for Final Fantasy IV (the one you're playing now) and Final Fantasy VI.  You may want to get VI on GBA instead of trying to track down a SNES version.  It will be cheaper and much easier to find.

Thanks for all your responses guys!  It's good to get some impressions from people who have played a good portion of the games.  I think I may end up switching between the older games and the newer ones and go back and forth, just so I can get a feel for them all.

FF IV's story keeps getting better.  I was kind of on the brink of my eyes getting watery, and that's pretty rare for a game to do that to me.

Don't play FFX-2, it's a horrible "girl power" sequel to the awesome FFX.:Dweltall1028

 I agree.  I think that this is what happens when game developers say, "Hmm, our games are a hit.  Let's make a version of our games just for girls.  It will be great."  Yeah...I like the characters in FFX-2, but the utter "girliness" of it was super annoying.  

[QUOTE="weltall1028"]Don't play FFX-2, it's a horrible "girl power" sequel to the awesome FFX.:Dscagnell

 I agree.  I think that this is what happens when game developers say, "Hmm, our games are a hit.  Let's make a version of our games just for girls.  It will be great."  Yeah...I like the characters in FFX-2, but the utter "girliness" of it was super annoying.  

sequel which was somehow coaxed into a 'SUPER FANGIRL POWER!!!' episode? Just going by the FMVs (especially the dream/flashback sequences) and title screen, the game seems to pose itself as something that is 'darkly beautiful', something more haunting then its predecessor. Dispite complaints about the sondtrack (which could be pretty cheesy at times mind you) the game actually contained some compelling and beautiful compositions...

But that is what I detest about the game more then anything else, the fact that there were actually great moments in it which drove you to play it dispite how god aweful the rest of the game was, that it could have so easily been so much more if it actually bothered to take itself half seriously.

Thanks for all your responses guys! It's good to get some impressions from people who have played a good portion of the games. I think I may end up switching between the older games and the newer ones and go back and forth, just so I can get a feel for them all.

FF IV's story keeps getting better. I was kind of on the brink of my eyes getting watery, and that's pretty rare for a game to do that to me.

MyopicCanadian

I would whole-heartedly recommend playing FFVI next (FFIII on the US SNES version, VI on the GBA), which many consider to be the best in the series - or the best of the 2D ones, anyway. 

You realize it'll probably take you well over a hundred hours to go through the series. I swear, even the original game was this massive collage of locales. They literally get bigger and bigger as you go along. Have fun.

:lol: 

Greatgone12

Over 100 hours for the series? XII alone took me 104.

[QUOTE="MyopicCanadian"]

Thanks for all your responses guys! It's good to get some impressions from people who have played a good portion of the games. I think I may end up switching between the older games and the newer ones and go back and forth, just so I can get a feel for them all.

FF IV's story keeps getting better. I was kind of on the brink of my eyes getting watery, and that's pretty rare for a game to do that to me.

Planeforger

I would whole-heartedly recommend playing FFVI next (FFIII on the US SNES version, VI on the GBA), which many consider to be the best in the series - or the best of the 2D ones, anyway. 

Cool, that's actually the one I was planning to play next :)  I started it up and went through the intro, and thought I should play one of the earlier games before magic was "destroyed" to get a feel for the series.

VI is definately the best of the series.

Also, I'm one of the guys that enjoyed X2. Although, it was more of a fan-service (like Dirge of Cerberus and Advent Children) than a real Final Fantasy.