| Mr.GameCrazy said: Which Final Fantasy games do you recommend? Never really played one before. |
Final Fantasy 6 is the best beginners game. BUT, the original SNES version is the way to go - that can be found on Virtual Console on Wii (it that’s still around, it may be gone by now) - the mobile game tries some fancy UI stuff that does more to harm the experience. I have also heard issues with the PC version, the GBA version has a lot of bugs and imperfections in quality.
Final Fantasy 7 is probably your next best bet. Some people complain about the old graphics - IMO, shallow, I think it is still fine. It’s a little more difficult than FF6, and there is a lull point about 2/3rds through the game, but overall it will probably be a magical experience for anyone sucked into it.
Final Fantasy 4 is also a good beginners RPG. But opposite to FF6, the remakes on GBA and DS are better than the original. The original version has some bad design flaws that got fixed in later updates (notably the item system).
On the other games releasing:
I wouldn’t say X or 12 are good beginners games in the franchise because they are very different in style from the first 9 games, and they are also not very much like the each other either. There’s nothing else like 12 in the series (maybe 15, haven’t played it), and X is closest to FF13.
FF9 is very similar in style, but very unique in spirit - it takes elements from older FF games and kind of geneticises them. While every FF game before it (and X after it) had this really cutting edge feel to them, this game is shockingly conservative. In spirit, it is kind of like a Crystal Chronicles game - except on steroids. FF9 feels like some small to the main character, and FF-art style, it could better fit as a Breath of Fire game.
12 fits the least in the FF series, though. It is completely alien. BUT it does fit well into the Ivalice universe... For the most part - these games include Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story. The game is excellent in its opening stages and then falls apart. The reason is that the systems and style were mostly designed by Yasumi Matsuno. But after the opening segments the scenario is largely directed by the far less talented Hiroyuki Ito; Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy franchise, also agreed this was a disappointing move - and he himself even said the game is not worth playing after the opening segments - and, as someone who played the whole game, you can REALLY tell where Matsuno ends and Ito begins. To be fair to Ito, he’s a “get it done” guy, and he’s good at that, but he’s not a visionary.
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