Topic: Final Fantasy is sh*t hot.

[Kashinoda]

Alright let's gets some things straight, just because a game is so non-linear that if I so much as fart on an NPC it will have an huge impact on the story; so much so that the final boss takes up an interest in modern philosophy and meditates himself into the infinite abyss of all existence DOESN'T MAKE IT A GOOD RPG.

You know what I like? To be chucked in the deep end of a story without having to click around and do a million side quests before hand, I like odd ball characters and borderline melodramatic storyline which somehow remains as immersive and epic as being sucked into JRR Tolkien's nipple and being slowly sprinkled over middle earth via a salt shaker made out of mythril. I like turn based combat, coming from some who hates strategy I get a sick thrill setting up my group to completely dick one of the Ultima weapons, much like an overweight 15 year old WOW addict coming on to score the winning free kick in the Champions League final. I like world maps, airships, stupid cactus things, side quests, cut scenes, amazing soundtracks, linear story lines, towns, more towns and Oh, and I FUCKING LOVE CHOCOBOS.

This of course assumes that all Final Fantasy games ended with 10 and nothing has happened since 

[Uhoh AureliOs]

Most memorable Final Fantasy moment: when Sephiroth kills Aeris.

[Kashinoda]

Most memorable Final Fantasy moment: when Sephiroth kills Aeris.

My friend told me that would happen when I was 2 hours into the game, I systematically blocked her out of my head so she didn't matter as a character... what a complete arsehole he was

[bobadicious]

I was 17 when i played FFVII and I was really shook up when Aeris died. Never had such an attachment to a computer game character since completing Megaman when i was 10 and he turned into a real boy at the end. Sad bastard i know. lol.

[kirzer]

Yup, Final Fantasy 6. 7. 8. 9 and 10 are some of the best games of all time.

[Kashinoda]

8

[kirzer]

8 is my favourite out the lot, the draw system was kinda crappy but otherwise loved it.

[Frank.]

It's crap.

[Uhoh AureliOs]

My friend told me that would happen when I was 2 hours into the game, I systematically blocked her out of my head so she didn't matter as a character... what a complete arsehole he was

Aw that sucks. I think I was around 14 or so and had an N64 myself when the game first came out so had to play it on my mates PSX (good old greystation, 3 cds you say?). The graphics and music were brilliant at the time, I used to think the cut scenes were like super-futuristic graphics, looking back now they appear so crude. When she got killed I was shocked after thinking for so long that she'd get it on with Cloud but it made Sephiroth one of the best baddies.

But the story was addictive and that's the reason I play Final Fantasy games. I could care less about the turn based combat and the RPG side of the game, or if it's on rails/free roam, I enjoy the rich vibrant FF universe and the narrative that goes along with it.

Based on enjoyment of the ones I've played I'd rate 7 as my favourite, followed by 10 , then 8 and 9 last. 

Some brilliant musical scores in the games too by Nobuo Uematsu.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/rLnZ5jcsRpc?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/rLnZ5jcsRpc?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_GB</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/jzz5cVt70j8?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/jzz5cVt70j8?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_GB</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/evS1w7PmpJU?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/evS1w7PmpJU?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_GB</a>

Maybe one day I'll get round to trying out X-2, 12, and 13.

I was 17 when i played FFVII and I was really shook up when Aeris died. Never had such an attachment to a computer game character since completing Megaman when i was 10 and he turned into a real boy at the end. Sad bastard i know. lol.

I'm right with you bob, a few years younger but I had the hots for Aeris. (Probably the same reason I played Tomb Raider )

[OsirisMVZ]

9 is my absolute favourite. Best bit is Garland telling Kuja that he is not immortal as he thought, and Kuja's response is 'Why should the world exist without me? That wouldn't be fair. If I die, we all die!'

He then goes Full Trance and literally destroys a planet 

Fuck Sephiroth, worst thing he did was burn down some hick town. Kuja blew up a planet.

Also the Eidolon sequences were amazing. Despite having the worst design Atomos swalling Lindblum really hit home, same impact as when you see Sin destroy those little villages but obviously it's on a much grander scale. Alexander vs Bahamut was incredible too.

As for actual character development, find me a character who emotionally touched you more than Vivi. Poor bastard.

[SMD]

10 is the fucking worst game ever, shit story, shit characters and voice acting, absolutely mind boggling stupid difficulty spikes.

Okay, might be exaggerating but Tidus and Yuna going HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA has to be one of the most cringe worthy moments in gaming.

Oh and 12 is great.

[Kashinoda]

Aw that sucks. I think I was around 14 or so and had an N64 myself when the game first came out so had to play it on my mates PSX (good old greystation, 3 cds you say?). The graphics and music were brilliant at the time, I used to think the cut scenes were like super-futuristic graphics, looking back now they appear so crude. When she got killed I was shocked after thinking for so long that she'd get it on with Cloud but it made Sephiroth one of the best baddies.

But the story was addictive and that's the reason I play Final Fantasy games. I could care less about the turn based combat and the RPG side of the game, or if it's on rails/free roam, I enjoy the rich vibrant FF universe and the narrative that goes along with it.

Based on enjoyment of the ones I've played I'd rate 7 as my favourite, followed by 10 , then 8 and 9 last. 

Some brilliant musical scores in the games too by Nobuo Uematsu.

Maybe one day I'll get round to trying out X-2, 12, and 13.

Great vids those! Nobuo Uematsu is a genius and I actually bought some of the Final Fantasy piano albums when I was in Hong Kong, they're great. Spot on about the universe as well, it really is fantastic... although completely lost after 10, I only got through an hour of both 12 and 13.

I think the cutscenes from FF7 are now crude to look at, but form 8 onwards they're timeless in my opinion.

They're now exploring the idea of remaking FF7 which given Square's fall from grace they'll probably do just to cash in. Although they seem to think it could take 5 years to develop it to current standard!

9 is my absolute favourite. Best bit is Garland telling Kuja that he is not immortal as he thought, and Kuja's response is 'Why should the world exist without me? That wouldn't be fair. If I die, we all die!'

He then goes Full Trance and literally destroys a planet 

Fuck Sephiroth, worst thing he did was burn down some hick town. Kuja blew up a planet.

Also the Eidolon sequences were amazing. Despite having the worst design Atomos swalling Lindblum really hit home, same impact as when you see Sin destroy those little villages but obviously it's on a much grander scale. Alexander vs Bahamut was incredible too.

As for actual character development, find me a character who emotionally touched you more than Vivi. Poor bastard.

BAM we have a winner, 9 is easily the best for me also. Kuja was a sinister nutcase, Zidane wasn't a little emo like Squall, Cloud and Tidus; and Vivi was the fucking shit! Storyline had parallels with 7, but because I played 9 first I wasn't to notice. Also felt the artwork in 9 was unmatched, even better then 10.

One of the best moments (other then what you mentioned) was when they're flying into Memoria above the Lifa tree and this happens:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/1eSYOMrTIxk?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/1eSYOMrTIxk?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_GB</a>

It's good everyone has a completely different favourite, shows the power of the series as a whole!

[Kashinoda]

10 is the fucking worst game ever, shit story, shit characters and voice acting, absolutely mind boggling stupid difficulty spikes.

Okay, might be exaggerating but Tidus and Yuna going HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA has to be one of the most cringe worthy moments in gaming.

Oh and 12 is great.

It's more annoying when you play Ratchet and Clank and you realise Ratchet is voiced by the same guy

But seriously if there wasn't such an internet meme over the laughing incident would you still care so much?

Oh and 12's shit My opinion trumps yours due to the fact I made thread.

[-Sad Fuck-]

12 is seriously shite.

I like 10, BLITZBALL!

[OsirisMVZ]

Ah, the assault of the white dragons. When the Red Rose emerged from under the clouds I jizzed in my pants.

[SMD]

It's more annoying when you play Ratchet and Clank and you realise Ratchet is voiced by the same guy

But seriously if there wasn't such an internet meme over the laughing incident would you still care so much?

Oh and 12's shit My opinion trumps yours due to the fact I made thread.

I didn't know there was a meme, I mean when I played it through and already had to suffer the hilariously bad voice acting and turd characters, they decided to embellish it all with that scene.

And how is 12 shit? It was a breath of fresh air.

[Kashinoda]

I didn't know there was a meme, I mean when I played it through and already had to suffer the hilariously bad voice acting and turd characters, they decided to embellish it all with that scene.

And how is 12 shit? It was a breath of fresh air.

I do need to revisit 12 in all honesty, the voice acting and localisation was top notch compared to 10. The art direction was fantastic as well, more akin to FF9 and European influences.

I just felt the game didn't focus too much on character development and due to that I wasn't as sucked in as others... might have been a bit fickle of me but like I said I'll probably give it another shot as I've only played a few hours.

[SMD]

And 10 did Ahahaha, you're funny.

[Kashinoda]

And 10 did Ahahaha, you're funny.

Pfttt in 10 at least you're playing the role of some one, is there even a lead character in 12? Therein lies it's problem!!   

[SMD]

Lack of lead character =/= lack of character development.

Look, let me put it this way. Tidus was so fucking wet they had to put in Auron just to try and make sure the balance doesn't tip.

[Kashinoda]

Lack of lead character =/= lack of character development.

Look, let me put it this way. Tidus was so fucking wet they had to put in Auron just to try and make sure the balance doesn't tip.

Didn't state one meant the other, but having an RPG without a protagonist means you lose a level of immersion, for me any way.

And yes Tidus was wet, but if they voiced the older incarnations the same way then you could say the same about Squall and Cloud. The localisation, translation and dub were dire for FF10, I didn't notice it so much at the time because I was a lot younger, but I've tried to go back since and I simply can't. Playing the older ones is no problem though.

They got so much right with 12, it's an abomination that we now have 13.

[Uhoh AureliOs]

It's a good point about playing them whilst being younger which made me wonder if I'm just judging them purely on nostalgia, so I just checked PSN and they've got 7,8 and 9 all on there. Tempting...

[Bob Loblaw]

They need to remake VII. Even if they just gave it a lick of paint, cel-shad the shite out of it, because the graphics are just too jarring to go back to imo.

[SMD]

They got so much right with 12, it's an abomination that we now have 13.

Yes.

They need to remake VI.

[Kashinoda]

Is FF6 worth playing now? I've always wanted to try the SNES classics.

It's a good point about playing them whilst being younger which made me wonder if I'm just judging them purely on nostalgia, so I just checked PSN and they've got 7,8 and 9 all on there. Tempting...

7,8 and 9 are timeless... I whacked FF9 onto my PSP last year and was glued to it for 50 good hours.

[Okkervil]

Ive played through 7, 8 and 9 recently after getting them all on PSN. 7 is still the best. I liked 10 too. 13 is the shitter. Got FFII on te PSP too, and about half way through.

[SMD]

Is FF6 worth playing now? I've always wanted to try the SNES classics.

7,8 and 9 are timeless... I whacked FF9 onto my PSP last year and was glued to it for 50 good hours.

All of them are, I just started a Final Fantasy I game on my PSP but then realised I fucked up at the beginning so I'm going to start again. Amazing how much harder the originals were.

[Kashinoda]

All of them are, I just started a Final Fantasy I game on my PSP but then realised I fucked up at the beginning so I'm going to start again. Amazing how much harder the originals were.

Will grab the PS re-releases then! Not sure I could handle FF1, wasn't that a NES game?

Oh in regard to an FF6 remake:

Later, however, Square discussed remaking VI as well as V for the newly announced 3DS.

Sounds like a shit idea to be honest.

[SMD]

Will grab the PS re-releases then! Not sure I could handle FF1, wasn't that a NES game?

Oh in regard to an FF6 remake:
Sounds like a shit idea to be honest.

It was but a word of warning, make sure the PSOne version is the PSP remake.

And they remade III and IV on the DS and by and large they were very popular.

[Kashinoda]

It was but a word of warning, make sure the PSOne version is the PSP remake.

And they remade III and IV on the DS and by and large they were very popular.

Aye I know, I played through a bit of 4 myself and it was good.

But from what I've read FF6 is the best Final Fantasy ever released, it's also rated the highest amongst critics... just seems it would be more worthy of say the PS3.

Ive played through 7, 8 and 9 recently after getting them all on PSN. 7 is still the best. I liked 10 too. 13 is the shitter. Got FFII on te PSP too, and about half way through.

Do the games upscale to 720/1080P if you get them on PSN?

[SMD]

Aye I know, I played through a bit of 4 myself and it was good.

But from what I've read FF6 is the best Final Fantasy ever released, it's also rated the highest amongst critics... just seems it would be more worthy of say the PS3.

Do the games upscale to 720/1080P if you get them on PSN?

I disagree, it's easier to play on a smaller screen otherwise the costs of making an HD remake would rule it out.

And no, they're blown up and you can turn smoothing on but don't expect miracles.

[Okkervil]

Do the games upscale to 720/1080P if you get them on PSN?

Dont think so. Might be wrong? Ive mostly played them on my PSP, so havent taken too much notice.

[N-Red]

6,7,8,9 were all outstanding- pure gaming awesomeness, 10 was okay but i hated 12.

I thought 13 was okay as well but the games structure was joke (very long narrow path)- although the battle system was ace. Haven't played the online ones but FF14 is a car crash i've been told.

I think the series has taken the turn for the worse since Squaresoft and Enix joined forces but Versus 13 looks awesome, has airships, and open world and vehicles which is a welcome throwback to older FF's http://www.gametrailers.com/video/japanese-gameplay-final-fantasy/709810

[S]

12 is up there with my favourites. I've come to accept being in the minority with that one.

[rowan_d]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5FTJxfV3pc

Got stuck on the last boss of this fucking game,and they put like 5 minutes of boring gameplay and an incredibly boring and unskippable cutscene just before it. Awful, awful game design right there.

'Oh, by the way, in the second stage of the boss, he'll countdown for 5 moves until he uses an attack that kills everyone in your party instantly, unless you put an insane amount of spheres into one of their HPs. Don't worry though, you can do it if you've got the upgraded Delay move. What? You never bought that one? Unlucky bro, you've just wasted 40 hours of your life.'

[SMD]

Yeah, FFX was fucking ridiculous for grinding. I never bothered completing it, I just watched my friend do it.

[Marty 85]

Most memorable Final Fantasy moment: when Sephiroth kills Aeris.

Most embaressing thing my mate ever said: admitting to crying over that! lol priceless!

[Kashinoda]

Most embaressing thing my mate ever said: admitting to crying over that! lol priceless!

Did he also cry when watching The Geen Mile and Schindler's List? The stupid embarrassing c*nt!

Seriously, you spend more time with these characters than you would do watching a movie, and having the main love interest get slaughtered in front of you in such a way is tear jerking stuff.

[Red_Isle_Chap]

Interesting debate. I was literally having a massive rant about how utterly shite 13 is, just a few hours ago.

For those that want re-made older classics (well 3 and 6 for sure, i think they've done 4 as well) go and get a DS, they've been re-made on there and they're still amazing (although I still play the gameboy advance versions because i'm a retro lover)

Vii is still the best, then 9, then 8, then 12 and then 10. I don't get the love for 10, i hated the characters in that almost as much as I hated the emo twat in 13. Almost. But Square enix have lost me i'm afraid, unless vs 13 is going back to just turn based and a proper party system, i'm not bothering.

FF13 had the single worst battle mechanic that i've ever played. It was uber toss and nothing anyone will say will ever make me change my mind on that.

Oh and Kash, I'm feeling the Vivi love, best FF character ever, by miles!

[DanFromMars]

My fave were in order 8, 7, 10, 9 and the DS 4 remake.  Tempted to DL and play 13 to see how bad the series has turned.  Though I still have my fond memories at this point...