Final fantasy advice ?

[skrump]

So I was a big fan of FF1 FFVI and FFIX Noticed steam now has FFX and X2 bundled but Ive never played them.

Was just wondering if X and X2 played more like the classic games or is it more in the style of FF8 which in my opinion was the biggest abomination to any franchise ever.

[Katchii]

No other game in the series plays like 8, which I somewhat agree with you about. I enjoyed X and X-2 has one of the best battle systems in an RPG ever. That said...X-2 takes a bit to get used to. It's centered around three girls as the main characters, and the battle system allows them to change jobs mid fight, which is fantastic, the problem is the way it's implemented makes it look and feel somewhat like a digital dress-up game where changing outfits changes the girls abilities.

It's still a decent game with a decent story, but as I said...it takes getting used to.

X and X-2 were the beginning of the relatively linear game play, there is no giant over world like in previous games but it's not on rails like XIII. If it's a good deal I'd get it because they're worth experiencing IMO.

[dope_danny]

They are basically just an easier version of games like IX and V gameplay wise. You can swap out your roles at any time and every enemy has a rock-papaer-scissors style weakness. Is it a flying enemy? wakka one shots it, is it a tanky enemy/ auron one shots it and so on. X-2's a little better in this regard where you only have 3 characters but a job grid you can change in battle and you set up the grid yourself and different grids make certain buffs or changes occur when changing to other jobs based on what 'route' you pass through the grid on.

Both are really just 'okay' final fantasies. Dont reach the creative or story heights of games like 6 o 9 but also dont have huge glaring issues like 8 or 13 -though i do love 8 myself its conflicting systems are a mess i can admit- They have memorable openings and endings but most of whats inbetween is completely forgettable. Far from the worst jrpgs out there but also far from the best, worht a play for the music and art style at least but dont expect a challenge or anything.

[unfilteredJW]

So I was a big fan of FF1 FFVI and FFIX Noticed steam now has FFX and X2 bundled but Ive never played them.

Was just wondering if X and X2 played more like the classic games or is it more in the style of FF8 which in my opinion was the biggest abomination to any franchise ever.

X is overrated as all hell. Looking at the ones you like is very similar in my taste, which means you've played the best.

[dextersmith]

I thought x was bearable but couldn't take X2 past the first cut scene encounter.

- - - Updated - - -

X is overrated as all hell. Looking at the ones you like is very similar in my taste, which means you've played the best.

X's summoning system was the worst of the series - but I haven't played 13 and didn't get far enough in 12 though.

[Gallahadd]

X is great, it's in my top three, if not number 1 FF game. X-2 is a steaming pile of dog poop that has amazing potential and a solid job system, but ruins it with a "charlies angels" style.

[unfilteredJW]

My real problem was the transition from IX -> X. IX was a FF game to it's core after the pretty good VII (in retrospect not a great game but for me it was a fairly defining moment in my gaming history) and the abominiation that was VIII (only one I haven't bothered to finish with XIII). X felt like a completely different beast, and boring at that.

And for me, personally, ushered in the era of Final Fantasys that seem to completely miss what I loved about IV, VI, and IX: characters I actually gave a damn about.

[dope_danny]

My real problem was the transition from IX -> X. IX was a FF game to it's core after the pretty good VII (in retrospect not a great game but for me it was a fairly defining moment in my gaming history) and the abominiation that was VIII (only one I haven't bothered to finish with XIII). X felt like a completely different beast, and boring at that.

And for me, personally, ushered in the era of Final Fantasys that seem to completely miss what I loved about IV, VI, and IX: characters I actually gave a damn about.

IX is an interesting one because if you played it back when it feels like a throwback to the NES games, but when you replay it knowing better about the story hooks before they happen and game development in general its nowhere near as traditional as it seems. The plot about earth dying and artificial people with monkey tails left behind to turn a planet called gaia into the new earth through millennia of machinations to push people to war is worlds away from "4 heroes save the crystals". The game is full of options that are really poorly hidden like how Quina was added so late in development he has no interactions in 90% of cutscenes and just stands there looking at the others act out a scene where he was never existing in when it was written. Its a sci-fi story pretending to be a fantasy one because like Nier its a jrpg where the worlds so far into the future its now low tech again which has its own charm but its not actually too far from X's story of Spira where Zanarkands age is nothing but ruins. Its just got a Thailand and south pacific art style rather than western middle ages. X just just shows its hand at the start but IX saves it till after the forgotten continent on Disc 2.

[unfilteredJW]

IX is an interesting one because if you played it back when it feels like a throwback to the NES games, but when you replay it knowing better about the story hooks before they happen and game development in general its nowhere near as traditional as it seems. The plot about earth dying and artificial people with monkey tails left behind to turn a planet called gaia into the new earth through millennia of machinations to push people to war is worlds away from "4 heroes save the crystals". The game is full of options that are really poorly hidden like how Quina was added so late in development he has no interactions in 90% of cutscenes and just stands there looking at the others act out a scene where he was never existing in when it was written. Its a sci-fi story pretending to be a fantasy one because like Nier its a jrpg where the worlds so far into the future its now low tech again which has its own charm but its not actually too far from X's story of Spira where Zanarkands age is nothing but ruins. Its just got a Thailand and south pacific art style rather than western middle ages. X just just shows its hand at the start but IX saves it till after the forgotten continent on Disc 2.

I'll have to come back and explain better. While all what you said was true, that's not what I was talking about when I speak of "feeling like a Final Fantasy at it's core". I judge all FFs around VI and IV, and IX was the only one to come close to those in feel and systems. Honestly, I think it had a lot to do with the fact the characters in the later games could really all be interchangeable with the combat systems given. There was no trying teams out with different abilities (VI was awesome about this, not to mention hidden characters you could miss) as any character seemed like it could do everything the other characters could. They lacked personality in the systems presented, even though they may have had a personality in the narrative.

This is all incredibly subjective. I just feel as we got further into the next gen from the SNES era, they went a different way than I liked. That has all the trappings of rose colored yaddas, but it's just how I feel. That does not keep me from buying the new one, or looking forward to trying it out when they are released. But I keep getting suckered by M. Knight films as well, so there's that.

[dope_danny]

Well the homogenisation of choice in X is strong with the 'swap out at any time for the rock paper scissor one shot' but 7 is really the worst. There isn't even a semblance of classes and everyone is a characterless blank slate with limit breaks attached.

[Pyromelter]

Funny how everyone has very different tastes in final fantasies... I loved 7 and 8 (both the gameplay and the story), I liked the gameplay of 9 but the story kind of made me cringe.

FFX and X-2 have pretty decent combat mechanics. The story is okay, but the main character of X is the worst in my opinion in the history of all of FF. I think people who like 9 also like 10, since Zidane and Tidus are pretty similar (with Tidus being just an even more whinier, bitchier version). The side games in FFX are not worth playing (bliztball, blach), but the combat is fine, and the overall story is fine if you don't mind total whiny idiot brats for your main protagonist.

I've found that people who hate 8 and love 9, tend to like X and X-2. I'm the opposite, I loved 8 and didn't really like 9, so FFX didn't do it for me...

my overall opinion would be if you want to throw a 100 hours into a couple of RPGs, you could do worse.

Incidentally there's always people on twitch playing every FF game, and there's tons of FF vids on youtube if you want to just check out the gameplay and basic story.

[Faldric]

X-2 is probably my favourite game as far as combat mechanics go. X is my overall favourite. It isn't the best in any area, but I think it takes a top 3 spot in everything making it overall the best one.

[TheCount]

The problem I had with FF8 was the draw system and the GF lvling system, both are central to getting the most out of characters. They did have a great crafting system and I really enjoyed Triple Triad(card game)
I can't say anything negative about X

[MrPaladinGuy]

I loved 7-10. For the historical record I was introduced to the series about 1 year after 9 came out by a high school friend that basically had an erection for Square, but I started with 7 then worked my way up.

This next part may be considered off topic.

I also consider Lost Odyssey the best JRPG since FF10, I only mention this due to the fact that the people that comprise Mistwalker Studios are ex Square employees, Nobuo created the soundtrack as well. They had an enormous budget, and went full-throttle into making a serious-looking traditional FF 7-10 type JRPG that even had a world map. I've never even played it in HD, played it on a CRT during WoTLK. The audio fidelity of the dream sequences was impressive and incredibly immersive, and also quite sad. If you have a properly setup 5.1 digital audio system you'll enjoy them. Keep in mind it came out in 2007 and had one of the worst commercials I've ever see.

To me it seems as if every game since has either been non traditional, or relied on something like how Ni no Kuni relied on it's animation to entice, but awful combat just ruins it.

Compared to the garbage that is FF 15 and similar trash, I'd go back to 7-10/LO or the PS1/2 JRPG era at the drop of a hat.

[skrump]

I never could pinpoint my problem with #8 I just seemed to despise everything about it, the storyline/characters/combat system just felt worlds apart from the classic Nes/Snes games. Of course the game might of improved after disc1 (I stopped playing at the train" it just felt like a completely different franchise and it was disheartening. That said I will admit I've never ever played Vii either as from what I've seen of the youtube video's it doesnt seem like it has what made the classic games nore IX great but I could be wrong.

[Wrecktangle]

FF7 was a great game. There's going to be the haters, and there's going to be the fanboys, but if you look at it objectively its incredibly fun to play through and the characterization of both your crew and all the villains is extremely solid. Sure the story is your basic overarching save the world story, but the pacing of the game is very rewarding, and the Midgar-World Map transition was arguably one of the finer points in JRPG mechanic design. The battle system in FF7 is mediocre, but it's not bad at all. I wouldn't say its a strength, but its certainly not a weakness. The quality of side content and choices you could make throughout the game were impressive.

FF8 I have only ever played through once (RIP disc1 where are you?) because somehow my disc 1 is missing, no idea how. I remember liking Squall and Rinoa, but that was it. I did not enjoy the whole magic system nor the whole allowance thing. Characterization in this game felt very sub-par compared to 7 before it. That said I haven't played it in over 15 years, so who knows I may be a bit foggy on it.

FF9 was arguably one of the best told and presented FFs. It has an amazing cast on both fences and one of the best endings I've seen in a long time. Chocobo Hot and Cold while a complete and utter pain in the ass was an awesome mini-game. They did however criminally under-utilize several cast members (looking at you Quina & Amarant). I could posit that Vivi and Garnet carried the game pretty hard.

FFX was terrible. Summons were terrible, linearity was terrible, story was mediocre, but not bad, characters were terrible. No matter how hard they tried I literally didn't care about a single villian or cast member. The combat wasn't terrible (in fact the switch in mechanic was great, would have LOVED that in 7/9). I also enjoyed being able to make my BLM/WHM's both useful by learning each others moves quite easily. However, it did have one of the sickest intros in a game. So there's that.

Never made it far in X2. Couldn't stand it.

[Wrecktangle]

Wow, I'm not sure if I've ever seen a write up of FF games that I agreed with so much.

Ha given our frequent debates in the FF14 forum you'd never suspect that!

[KrazyK923]

...10 is terrible?

Sheesh. 10 is miles ahead of 7.

9 and 10 are the best modern(ish) FFs. Include 6 in that list for the older ones. 8 is even quite solid. 7 honestly is lowest on the list of modern FF games imo.

12 has a really interesting story but the combat is like playing a MMO by yourself.

- - - Updated - - -

X-2 is probably my favourite game as far as combat mechanics go. X is my overall favourite. It isn't the best in any area, but I think it takes a top 3 spot in everything making it overall the best one.

X-2's leveling system is just fantastic. It might be the most enjoyable one out of pretty much any of the FF games I've played.

I think people who like 9 also like 10, since Zidane and Tidus are pretty similar (with Tidus being just an even more whinier, bitchier version

I always see this complaint about Tidus (and sometimes Zidane) and it seems to usually stem from people just...not understand what was actually going on when they played. I have no idea how Tidus is seen as a whiny character. Even when he still thinks Yuna has to kill herself to stop Sin, he's trying to figure out a way to do so. Hell, Cloud's entire ridiculous arc where he's being emo about not being Zack is far more whinier than anything Zidane, Tidus, or even Squall, go through.

[Aeriel]

I will start with saying FFVI is my favorite in the series, so you can put things into persective.

FFX is kind of in the middle to me, and definitely where the series jumped the shark. At least it isn't the crazy leveling system of FFII or non-existent story MMO-lite of XII, or linearity of XIII-n.

FFX-2 is actually fun if you like the playstyle of the garment grids, but that is the only real redeeming quality

A lot of people do not like FF8, and I understand why. The ability to cheese every aspect of the game plus the characters were a turn-off. However, it has the best side quest ever in Triple Triad, which goes back to how easy it is to cheese the game.

FF7 will always be the fanboy game (I admit it is in my top 3), since it is most people's introduction to FF.

FF9 is just a classic game. Style, characters, etc. It is meant to be nostalgic. That is its design. And Vivi is my favorite character in all the games.

[Dezerte]

I think X-2 was game-mechanically superb (costumes and the grid system), but the story and theme left much to desire. X less so on mechanics (but not bad), but it was better story-wise.