Post-PS2 Final Fantasy.

I've been getting into Final Fantasy lately. Are any of the games after the PS2 worth playing?

Yes.

FF12 is okay, I guess.

EDIT: Oh wait, that was on PS2. Can't believe it's been 17 years, lmao.

The only FF game I really enjoyed in that time frame that felt like classic FF to me is World of Final Fantasy. I thought that was a solid game but its not a mainline game. People hated the chibi artstyle and the stacking but I quite enjoyed the gameplay.

But for mainline games I havent truly enjoyed the series since the Squaresoft pre merger days and after XV I just knew the series was no longer for me. Ill stick to Dragon Quest as they still make something I love.

archizzy posted...

The only FF game I really enjoyed in that time frame that felt like classic FF to me is World of Final Fantasy. I thought that was a solid game but its not a mainline game. People hated the chibi artstyle and the stacking but I quite enjoyed the gameplay.

But for mainline games I havent truly enjoyed the series since the Squaresoft pre merger days and after XV I just knew the series was no longer for me. Ill stick to Dragon Quest as they still make something I love.

Dragon Quest is the video game equivalent of comfort food.

CastletonSnob1 posted...

Dragon Quest is the video game equivalent of comfort food.

Indeed, and I love it.

No

No

overall, I liked FFXVI, but I could understand why long time fans of the series wouldn't.

Ehhh most would say the last FF worth really playing would be FFX or FF12

FF13 has good music and meh characters w/ an interesting but convoluted plot
FF14 is an MMO
FF15 has no story after the first hour but decent ARPG gameplay
FF16 starts really good but gets very repetitive w/ combat once you've figured it out and the pacing gets really bad if you are doing the side quests

13 sucks, 15 sucks, haven't played 16

14 is the best mmo ever made

Cokewave posted...

Ehhh most would say the last FF worth really playing would be FFX or FF12

FF13 has good music and meh characters w/ an interesting but convoluted plot
FF14 is an MMO
FF15 has no story after the first hour but decent ARPG gameplay
FF16 starts really good but gets very repetitive w/ combat once you've figured it out and the pacing gets really bad if you are doing the side quests

Is FF12 the one that's just fantasy Star Wars?

For the most part, yes, they're mostly good. They're different, and they vary in quality, but don't let anyone tell you they're ALL bad just because "muh turnbased".

CastletonSnob1 posted...

Are any of the games after the PS2 worth playing?

According to a video chart, there are four main dev teams of regular contributors for the series:

Core (I through X-2, XIII trilogy, VII Remake)
Tactics (Tactics, XII)
MMO (XI, XII, XIV 1.0, XIV 2.0, XVI)
FNC+ (Type-0, XV)

If you enjoyed a release by a specific dev team you might enjoy some of the others by them, too.

The name for each team is one I gave it based on their work. AFAIK, their actual work group names are internal only.
Design-wise, VII Remake is a forward-step in development from XIII[-3]: Lightning Returns, which itself is a forward-step in development from X-2.
XII had input from the Tactics and MMO teams.

FF was at its best from FF6 to FFX-2. Everything outside of that is okay at best IMO.

Most seemed to have liked 16 overall but have a fair bit of criticism. It's not a top tier FF but it's a solid entry.

i enjoyed FFXIV and FFVIIR on hard mode
FFVIIR Rebirth was okay but theres waaaaaaaay too many minigames. i got burnt out and still havent finished it but I plan to someday

sig is from FFXV. too lazy to change it
I personally hated XVI. it was too easy and the story was boring af to me after the first bit (they kinda drop the story between dungeons and make you do side-questy quests often). but people like it alot

I never played Final Fantasy after 12. Nothing looked good to me after. I was hyped for VS13 but then they took ages to release it and by the time it turned to 15 and released, I already quit gaming. FF13 looked awful and I just did not like this sci-fi shit they started moving towards. I like my fantasy RPGs with more swords and magic, less guns and shiva motorcycles.

CastletonSnob1 posted...

Dragon Quest is the video game equivalent of comfort food.

This is so true. Dragon Quest is a series I grew up with and it always held a place in my heart. While I 'quit gaming', I still do tablet stuff and I used to play Dragon Quest Super Light on my tablet and loved it. That closed after 10 years and now I play Dragon Quest Tact.

When I went to Japan too, I even went to Luida's Bar in Akihabara. Next time I go back to Japan, I am 100% going to Dragon Quest Island and trying that Luida's Bar. I even went to a Lawson there that was Dragon Quest themed and got coin-crushing tokens and a heavy-duty slime pen there. Best game series ever.

The MMO is good.

Post PS2 starts with 13 and at that point it comes down to which genres and other types of games you like.

Most people who like 13 hype up the combat. Personally it never clicked for me. But apart from combat it has very little going for it. There's one good exploratory area very late in the game (which you can't even finish until after beating it and coming back), and otherwise there's very little exploration or options in builds. Story is convoluted and the characters are largely unlikable. But at least in terms of overall gameplay it's the most like the older games of this batch.

14 you've seen people talking about here already. Very good for what it is, especially long time FF fans that can revel in the fan service. But it's an MMO with all the baggage that includes. If you like MMOs or feel like testing it, it's got a great free trial offer. But if "MMO" makes you wrinkle your nose, just look past it.

15 is their first real attempt at action combat and it is rough . I have very little to recommend with this one. The game was hamstrung by them trying to chop it up for dlc and other media, not to mention dev hell. The characters are mostly good I guess.

7 Remake and Rebirth are action-ATB hybrids. It's solid but still a departure from older games. You will have to participate in the action side of things and you will have to gauge the fight to use your ATB well. The characters are great though and they use banter very well. I'd put this in the ymmv category. It does have some tweaks from the original 7 story so if you don't have that game on a pedestal it's probably easier to get into.

16 is just a full on character action game. It has RPG elements but they are pretty heavily tacked on. The combat is overall pretty easy, but if you're willing to play through the entire game twice for a challenge, there's some sauce underneath. Story is decent, if a little predictable in places, and has some obvious GoT inspiration. It's fine if you like action games or good if you like to bury yourself in them, but if you're looking for PS2 and older style FF, this ain't it.

If you do like action games, especially Soulslike and especially Nioh, I'd suggest Strangers of Paradise. It's got that same style with FF flair and the late game grind if you're into that.

But if you're looking for more modern games in classic FF style that's from Square Enix, I'd more suggest Octopath games or Bravely games. If you like classic FF, they're not to be overlooked. While Octopath mostly has its own job set, the Bravely games use just straight up FF jobs for its stuff most of the time, with some of its own additions.

13 = Haven't played cuz it's not on PS5.
14 = Really good, but it's an MMO.
15 = Really fuckin rough.
16 = Pretty damn fun.

These are my favorite post PS2 FFs:

Final Fantasy 4: The After Years
Final Fantasy Dimensions
Final Fantasy 14