What is the oldest FF deserved to be played today?

[Cat Rage Room]

Also FFV is straight dope and if anyone doesn't like it then fuck you

 

[Makoeyes987]

It is, but its best if someone who has knowledge or understanding of the series plays it so they get all of its references and allusions. Going into FFV cold kinda leaves the player missing half the fun of it all.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Eh, the references and the allusions are cherry on the top, I'd say. It's definitely a blast on its own. Why? The gameplay. Easily the most fun and balanced FF of its era from a pure gameplay perspective. The plot is simple and whimsical enough for anyone to get into as well, as long as you're not expecting DEEP AND TEAR INDUCING NARRATIVE

 

[Madame Mayor]

Why? The gameplay. Easily the most fun and balanced FF of its era from a pure gameplay perspective.

This.

 

[Ⓐaron]

i don't care if i get warned for this

number 7, because i never played any of the others before that be it my age an all that shit. so i myself can only really say number 7, so it is ff7, no less or more, just the number 7.

You're an idiot. Your age isn't a valid reason for not having earlier series entries either.

 

[Ⓐaron]

EDIT: Why did my Thanks disappear when I corrected my typo? Godroy, thank me again!

The thanks hack doesn't load thanks again when you edit your post, because it's not loaded in the AJAX or something. idgi. But they're still there.

Anyway. FFIV is the first one I was able to stomach playing for more than a few minutes, but then again I haven't tried the DS remake of FFIII. I just know I tried the NES versions of each of the first three games and found them all painfully boring. FFIV has an awesome storyline and has the first soundtrack where Nobuo really got to take full advantage of a decent sound processor so for those reasons alone it gets points way above the preceding entries in the series. It also has one of the best casts the series has to offer and the graphics aren't terrible for its age.

That said, for someone who doesn't like old-school RPG graphics I'd probably recommend starting with FFVI and working their way back to FFIV. FFVI is a much better game anyway; in fact it's one of the best in the series.

For someone who had to have pretty 3D graphics I'd recommend starting with FFIX, in part because I think it has the best graphics the series has ever had to offer, and in part because I think it's the best game after FFVI. However I'm well aware that this is a rather peculiar position to take amongst Final Fantasy fans so I'd probably recommend someone check out FFVII eventually, even though I found its story to be comparatively incoherent. However, even so, FFVII's graphics haven't aged well, except (arguably) the FMVs.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

FFIV better than FFVI?

Ehh...Both are great, though!

 

[Ⓐaron]

To clarify, FFVI is probably the best in the series in my opinion. Occasionally I'll rank FFIX above it, but those occasions are rare.

Also I completely agree on FFV's awesomeness; in fact I probably rank it just behind FFVI and FFIX. However, I'm not sure I'd recommend it for a newcomer to the series, unless they were prepared to play for the gameplay rather than the story. The story doesn't really make much sense the first time you play it and seems arbitrarily whimsical, because there's so much information held back from the player. The second time you play it so much clicks into place; all the foreshadowing and previously unexplainable events make perfect sense. So in that respect I'd recommend it more for someone who's played a few games in the series and understands why it's worth taking seriously. As far as gameplay goes though, it's the best numbered entry in the series by far.

 

[Max Payne]

FFIV better than FFVI?

Ehh...Both are great, though!

That's why it's an opinion chief.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Opinions are meant to be debated/discussed!

 

[Max Payne]

Opinions are meant to be debated/discussed!

Not always for debate. A lot of the time it's just a difference in personal taste as opposed to the actual quality of something.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Not always for debate. A lot of the time it's just a difference in personal taste as opposed to the actual quality of something.

Sure, but it's always fun to debate! I'll respect if the other person isn't up to it, though.

 

[Makoeyes987]

It really is such a toss up between FFIV and FFVI to me, in terms of which of the classic FFs to expose a friend to. Both are arguably some of the most epic old school RPGs of the series and have great characterization, gameplay, plot and music. They both really exemplify what FF had to offer. The only reason I chose FFIV over FFVI is because the gameplay of the former was straightforward, easy to catch onto, and would be good for a new comer to get the hang of and master.

FFVI is extremely good, and would be the next one I'd recommend now that they'd understand how FF gameplay works and all. FFVI can be pretty damn difficult in terms boss battles and side quests. The three games I chose are purposefully straightforward in terms of how the gameplay operates and stuff.

 

[Ⓐaron]

FFVI was the first RPG I ever played through on my own and the only fight I ever had trouble with was the first Ultros fight. Once I realised I could put characters in the back row and halve the amount of damage they received I was fine for the rest of the game. If I couldn't beat a boss at first (MagiMaster) I just came back after I had completed more of the game and had levelled up more.

 

[Makoeyes987]

I fucking hated the MagiMaster. Oh my God.

FFVI really socked it to you with some boss fights. The fight with Ultros when you have to protect ole' Banon was hard as hell.

Another fight I remember wanting to just scream over was Air Force. And then that goddamn Chupon.

FFVI just really had some epic boss fights. FFIV is pretty straightforward and wouldn't make a n00b kill themself. Except the boss fight against Demon Wall.

I literally thought I would never move past beyond that point in the game ever again. Christ.

 

[Ⓐaron]

I didn't have any major problems with Air Force. It was just damn long. I actually had more trouble with the Floating Continent than I had with Air Force, although part of that might have been because I was in somewhat weak shape from the Air Force fight to begin with.

(Air Force is the fight before the Floating Continent, right? I can't entirely remember the names of all the bosses anymore).

And yeah Demon Wall was a killer. I'd actually say FFIV was a much harder game than FFVI, although the SNES release was probably about on par with it.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

FFVI can be pretty damn difficult in terms boss battles and side quests.

FFVI is one of those games that is either absolutely the easiest in the series next to FFVII (FFVI can literally be beaten with Celes, Setzer, and Edgar at their base levels), or pretty hard. It depends on whether the person is a newbie or has an understanding of the game.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

But FFIV can be like, ludicrously hard. Wasn't that the one where they had to split it into a Hard Mode/Easy Mode for us stupid Americans?

 

[Ghost X]

Though I'll probably never do so, I want to play number 1. I can't comment on any game earlier than FF7. Despite their misgivings, I think they all got interesting stories, except FFXIII, which I refuse to play.

 

[Ⓐaron]

But FFIV can be like, ludicrously hard. Wasn't that the one where they had to split it into a Hard Mode/Easy Mode for us stupid Americans?

Yes. Although apparently the version we got wasn't as easy as the Japanese "Easy Mode", but it was still way, way easier than the Japanese version (I've played the Japanese "Hard Mode" by way of J2e's translation and the American SNES release, and the American SNES release is way, way easier).

 

[Makoeyes987]

FFIV was hard because of the borked battle mechanics of the SNES version. I honestly don't see how its seen as so difficult. The only boss fights I remember being horribly difficult to the point of cheese was the fight against Demon Wall, and then the final boss fight against Zeromus.

FFIV Advance fixes most of the glitches with the ATB so the enemy isn't taking 12 turns to your 6.

FFVI can be easy if you know how to exploit it, but I was of course thinking of just playing the game strait, without things like the Vanish-Doom trick and all.

 

[Ⓐaron]

I'm pretty sure I didn't know about Vanish-Doom until I had completed the game already; I definitely didn't use it in my first playthrough. Even since then I've almost never used it.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Yeah, even without the Vanish Doom trick, FFVI is/can be easy by playing by simple rules of its design, notably stuff like

-Certain characters have no reason to use their physical attacks, ever. Notable example is Edgar, because all of his Tools, the way their damage is calculated, makes them always more viable than physical attacks.

-Because of the above, any character who has a skill that renders their physical attack useless has no reason to be in the front row. Putting everyone in the back row ensures your damage intake is halved by most attacks. The rule of note for most characters in advanced walkthroughs is "Put them in the back row and leave them there"

-FFVI is all about equipment; which is why the game can be beaten at a low level. With the right equipment, you can get your MDef so high that almost nothing hits you.

-Magic is god.

-Sabin isn't really all that great. Cyan sucks dick.

-Gau is God.

Even following just one or two of those 'rules' makes FFVI cake. But to a beginner there are some rough spots for sure!

 

[Ⓐaron]

I found Sabin really useful at first because his Blitzes can deal tons of damage compared to the attacks you get at those levels. However by the time your characters regularly start dealing 7,000 damage on attacks he's a lot less useful. But yeah, a lot of the stuff you mentioned made the game a cakewalk. (I should mention that I had a lot of advice when I was playing it the first time from someone who'd played it several dozen times and knew it inside and out, so my experience may not be particularly typical for newcomers to the game).

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Sabin is genuinely useful when you first get him. But his usefulness, or rather, his potential, drops sharply in proportion to the player getting more characters (who are better than him) and equipment (most of which he can't use; his equipment pool is very small, a deathblow in an equipment oriented game).

Sabin isn't a bad character. He's legit powerful for casual players. But as far as his potential in the hands of a player who knows how to actually utilize the other characters, especially Gau? Lordy no.

Also Setzer is king. Not only is it possible to completely manipulate the Slots to get whatever you want (done by clever use of items and Echo Screens and shit), once you get the Fixed Dice (and some other shit), it's a wrap.