Board 8 > Which Final Fantasy should I get next?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've been a fan of the series since playing 7+8 as a kid but I've missed out on so many of the entries and really want to become more of an FF aficionado, figured I might as well just ask what I should get and which versions are good (Since a bunch of you said FFIV DS was not the ideal way to play that, though I still enjoyed it a great deal).

I'd rather not get a PC or Mobile version if possible as I have a terrible computer+phone. Mobile is doable if there's no other option. Consoles I have are Switch, Xbone, pretty much all past gen home consoles and all Nintendo handhelds. No PSP so that might remove some options.

Included all the mainlines I haven't played and the spinoffs I'm aware of. No MMOs despite everyone raving about XIV, I just can't commit to that. Crystal Bearers gets its own slot because of GMUN's Laylevids in SMFFFC.

My fav is X and I am very fond of VIII if that helps to show my taste. I haven't disliked any of the ones I played but XII is my least fav.

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VI has to be played, even if it's not altogether your taste

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4 then 6 then 16

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andylt posted...

My fav is X and I am very fond of VIII if that helps to show my taste.

My man

FFVI or FFIX should be next.

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VI, but if you only have access to the Mobile/PC ports play IX instead.

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VI most definitely. PlayStation helped bring fans to Final Fantasy, but many are ignorant that the best game came before the PlayStation.

VI, IV, Tactics, IX, and V are all legendary entries, and arguably better than VII and VIII.

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VI is the best game ever (in my eyes)

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I would start with VI and then move on to the rest of the SNES games. The GBA ports are all pretty good if you have access to them.

edit: Oh I missed your IV was just The After Years which I have zero opinion on so in that case I say VI -> V -> IX

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I've played IV on DS, just not The After Years. If I can get V/VI Advance is that the best version? I assume any of the current gen IX ports are fine.

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I mean, it's basically been said, 6 is overwhelmingly considered the best of what you've listed.

I'm not sure what the consensus on best version is though. I've actually heard good things about the mobile version, surprisingly.

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V Advance is the best version. VI Advance is good except the music is worse; if you're emulating that can be fixed with a patch, otherwise I guess its a matter of opinion if you want more content or original music

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SomeKindOfJoke posted...

V Advance is the best version. VI Advance is good except the music is worse; if you're emulating that can be fixed with a patch, otherwise I guess its a matter of opinion if you want more content or original music

100% agreed. I'd play the original SNES Final Fantasy III version if possible.

Would really love for a Switch release of these (especially V advance)

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I've been sayin, why on earth have they not just ported 1-6 onto Switch yet?

Honestly I expected this to be a two-horse VI v IX race given their reputations, IX's fans go on so much about how godly it is and it's the only PSX era game here so surprised it's getting handily beaten by VI.

Also surprised V is doing so well, I never hear anyone talk about that one good or bad. I don't think I know a single thing about it other than it introducing Gilgamesh and his kickass theme. Can't even name another character. Well that's why I made this topic, puts it on my radar for sure! It'd probably be either the Advance or Mobile versions if I get V/VI. Though I do have an old SNES somewhere, not sure if it still works... Or how easy it would be to get a cartridge these days.

Guess there's not many XV fans around here!

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Frankly I'm surprised Tactics isn't doing much better than it is. This board has a bit of a boner for that one.

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3 SNES is on Nintendo Switch Online if you have it

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Underleveled posted...

Frankly I'm surprised Tactics isn't doing much better than it is. This board has a bit of a boner for that one.

Because it's shackled to Tactics Advance

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SomeKindOfJoke posted...

3 SNES is on Nintendo Switch Online if you have it

what? I'm not aware of any old FF games on switch. Maybe you meant the SNES Classic

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V is fine, I think most of its fans like it for the Job System. Which is admittedly awesome, but requires a lot of grinding. Storywise Gilgamesh is in fact the best part. Faris is a fun character too, but the story is pretty bare bones and there's not many great character moments past the first act.

VI is probably my favorite overall. The story's pacing is essentially perfect, I think there's only one point in the game where you 'have to grind' but it's tied to the story incredibly well and you get rewards for it on top of the exp. I think the best thing VI has going for it tho is the sidequests easily. Probably the best in the franchise.

IX is also great, but I think the fans jerk it off a little too hard. It has one of the better stories in the franchise, but the pacing is garbage. It also probably has the best cast in the franchise. I think there's only 3 playable characters that don't get universal praise, but two of them have their fans and are useful in battle and the other is Amarant. Random battles also take forever and are generally a pain in the ass, but I think the PS4 port allows you to increase the game speed, which kinda makes up for that.

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FFVI on mobile or steam are crimes against humanity, I'd stay away from those... The original version is the best, although if you're willing I'd recommend getting a ROM and using the "Ted Woolsey Uncensored Edition" romhack to get the very best experience of the game.

Leonhart4 posted...

Because it's shackled to Tactics Advance

I mean that was meant as an 'or' so I didn't have to shove TA into the other section, I know it has some fans? I think? (Marche won that one contest) But yeah I assume those votes will be mainly for Tactics, and I am surprised it's as low down as it is.

SomeKindOfJoke posted...

3 SNES is on Nintendo Switch Online if you have it

?? This is the first I'm hearing of this. I can't find anything online about it either, did you indeed mean the SNES classic? (Also Japan got Fire Emblem on Switch Online but nobody else did? Boo!)

Djungelurban posted...

FFVI on mobile or steam are crimes against humanity, I'd stay away from those... The original version is the best, although if you're willing I'd recommend getting a ROM and using the "Ted Woolsey Uncensored Edition" romhack to get the very best experience of the game.

*Sigh* Like eleven different ports and the original is still the best? Why does this kinda stuff happen so often. And I'll probably stay away from romhacks, I'd rather play an official version. Thanks though!

I'm reading everyone's posts, these insights are all very helpful. VI seems like it should be a clear priority for me here.

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V doesn't get talked about because for the OG american final fantasy audience they had to wait awhile before they played it, unless they were good at downloading and emulating back in the relative stone ages of the internet.

Like I'm the biggest FF fan I personally know and I didn't play V until it came out for the PS1 as part of an anthology with FFVI. But this was a pretty bad port, with horrible load times, and that negatively affected the experience. The first time I played through V and enjoyed it was the GBA port.

Not to mention that V just isn't as good as VI or VII, so by the time we played it we had already played games far better than it. It's big claim to fame, the job system, had also already been kinda used in Tactics, so it wasn't a huge novelty.

All that being said, V is still a great game and on some days I like it better than IV.

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andylt posted...

My fav is X

Good man

XV is the best of these choices but you can't be a FF aficionado without playing VI, which is also a great game so that's probably the right choice. GBA is the best version imo

Stay far away from IX

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The first three are probably the only ones that have significant differences between the versions.

For 1 and 2 it depends on how authentic to the original you want to go (which may be a good or bad thing, since a lot of people dislike 2 since it's basically a SaGa game). Playstation Origins version is closest to the originals of the remakes with mostly just some bug fixes (and an easy mode for ff1). Dawn of Souls for the GBA changes the game balance a lot for the easier, including having MP instead of spells per day for FF1 and reduces some of the grindiness of raising stats in 2. DoS also adds a bonus dungeon with boss fights from other ff games to FF1, and adds a new epilogue story for FF2. PSP versions has most of the DoS changes, but are even easier still and adds a new bonus dungeon to each one (although they're apparently worse than the ones added to the GBA version). So basically for FF2 it's probably better for most people to play the GBA version, but for FF1 it depends on whether you prefer spells per day vs. MP (honestly, spells per day doesn't really work out very well in most japanese games outside of wizardry clones due to magic being weaker than a lot of western games with spells per day) and how much other "authenticity" you want.

For FF3, the remake is basically like the FF4 DS remake since it's the same engine and all. Though, the FF3 remake sticks closer to the original's NES content and game mechanics and balance and such than the FF4 remake does. Main difference is that the NES version has some dumb capacity point system when changing jobs (and you have to change jobs often since certain dungeons/boss fights are designed around certain job gimmicks) that doesn't actually limit anything while the remake has a cooldown penalty when you change jobs so you don't gain any job experience until you fight X battles in your new job. Also I guess since the remake can't display as many enemies in a single encounter as in the NES version, a lot of enemies got buffed to make up for it. The remake does have some minor plot changes and new plot elements, though it's basically giving the onion kids unique identities and some unique lines instead of being a team of four pallette swapped generics. Nothing really important if you choose to skip it though. I'd personally say that it's a toss up with both versions having annoyances just in different spots, though many others prefer the NES version since it's not like the remake has as much in the way of concessions for modern players anyway. (p.s. you can't get the "best" job in the DS version anymore since it was a wifi communication exclusive. It's not difficult to beat the game without it, but it's worth mentioning since it bothers some people. I think you can get it normally in the PSP and steam ports of the remake though, but I never played those).

For 5 and 6, I don't think the differences are terribly important other than some minor new optional content in the advance versions, and the terrible new graphics in the mobile/steam versions (though someone may have come up with a mod for the original graphics with the steam version, IDK I just ignored them).
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The GBA versions of everything are the best ones

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Honestly you have an XBONE so game pass could just get you IX and XV, so theres that.

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Thanks for the in-depth analyses Mr Crispy! Based on your summaries I think the GBA versions would make the most sense for 1+2, for one they're combined and I don't have any affection for whatever 'spells per day' is, it doesn't sound enticing and I know good old MP works just fine. For FF3 the DS version seems fair enough, it's probably the easiest for me to get and if the deviations are that minor it won't be an issue for me. I know you advised against me going IV DS back whenever that was partially due to the major changes but I'd already bought the game that time (and had fun with it anyway!). GBA for V and VI is probably gonna make the most sense too if I can get ahold of them OK.

MZero posted...

Stay far away from IX

A rare FFXV fan AND an IX detractor! You seem to be in the minority but you also share my love of X and Tidus so I'm not gonna write this off as just nothing! Most interesting...

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Ive been playing the mobile version of FFVI lately, and honestly its fine for someone replaying it whos already got play throughs of this game in the double digits. But it would be a real shame for someone to experience it that way for the first time!

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No PSP so I can't vote for Spinoff (Crisis Core)

FF6 is looking clearly in the lead and is probably the right call to be made here.

.... I'm voting Lightning Returns, lol

pjbasis posted...

what? I'm not aware of any old FF games on switch. Maybe you meant the SNES Classic

Oh, got them confused I guess. Bummer

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five

five

five

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I don't really understand the IX hate.

Like there's nothing that game does that's outrageously bad compared to literally every other Final Fantasy. It's def understandable to not care for it, but it does what it does so inoffensively that it's such a bizarre choice to single out.

Plus I llke Chocobo Hot and Cold

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BetrayedTangy posted...

It also probably has the best cast in the franchise. I think there's only 3 playable characters that don't get universal praise

I'm assuming you mean Eiko, Amarant, and Quina, but Freya, Steiner, and Dagger aren't exactly universally beloved!

FFIX's playable cast is 50/50. I only ever want to use the big four. The other four may as well not exist. FFIX's cast has nothing on a game like X, much less VII.

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Voted for IX, but I agree that VI is more important part of the series and a must play

MawiIe posted...

I don't really understand the IX hate.

Like there's nothing that game does that's outrageously bad compared to literally every other Final Fantasy

As a huge fan of IX, I must say that the gameplay of it is pretty meh sadly
Battle system too slow (didn't bother me much as I played on emulator with turbo, but it would suck otherwise) and Trance is useless
If you care about stuff like exclusive items then stealing with Zidane is also a pain in the ass
It doesn't even come close to VII in terms of gameplay. So if you value gameplay above story, cast and atmosphere, I can understand why someone wouldn't like IX

LeonhartFour posted...

FFIX's playable cast is 50/50. I only ever want to use the big four.

Freya is such a wasted opportunity
She was very promising in the beginning only to disappear and return unrelevant, it sucked
Zidane+Vivi+Steiner+Garnet forever

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LeonhartFour posted...

I'm assuming you mean Eiko, Amarant, and Quina, but Freya, Steiner, and Dagger aren't exactly universally beloved!

FFIX's playable cast is 50/50. I only ever want to use the big four. The other four may as well not exist. FFIX's cast has nothing on a game like X, much less VII.

I mean in terms of being iconic sure, but I've seen X's cast get way more hate than IX. I think Auron and Yuna are the only two that are liked by most people. Don't get me wrong I do really like X, but it's got a pretty controversial cast.

As for VII I don't think any of them sans Cloud are very good characters. Most of them are pretty one note and are largely irrelevant to the plot. Now I think this was fixed in the various spin offs and especially the remake, but base VII is pretty much the Cloud/Aerith show.

Saying IX's cast had mostly universal praise was a bit much, but I do think it's the most well rounded. Everyone except Amarant and Quina are important to the plot and I had fun using all of them in battle. In fact I often had trouble deciding my team of four because I liked them all so much!

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MawiIe posted...

I don't really understand the IX hate.

Like there's nothing that game does that's outrageously bad compared to literally every other Final Fantasy. It's def understandable to not care for it, but it does what it does so inoffensively that it's such a bizarre choice to single out.

Plus I llke Chocobo Hot and Cold

It's painfully slow and Vivi is the only good character. People saying that game has a good cast is one of the truly baffling opinions I've seen in regards to FF. Also the skills being linked to the weapons sucked, and there's more but I can't concentrate

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redrocket posted...

Ive been playing the mobile version of FFVI lately, and honestly its fine for someone replaying it whos already got play throughs of this game in the double digits. But it would be a real shame for someone to experience it that way for the first time!

QFT. I was in Middle School when it came out in 1990. I remember doing a paper route in order to make money to buy it.

I was already a die hard Final Fantasy fan at that point and had played the NA versions of 1 and 2 (OG and IV) multiple times each. I was in love with FF3(6). I actually legally changed my first name to Locke in 2006 because of this game. I probably played it at least 10 times before Mystic Quest was released 2 years later. I did my first blind run, I did a 100% run (closest possible), I did a CES run, all imp party... To this day, the only game that has probably consumed more of my time has been FFXIV.

I played the PS1 version when it came out. I played the GBA version as well. I also own the game on mobile. Never picked it up on any other platform. SNEs version is absolutely the superior version, but barring that, GBA is the only passable version for a first timer.

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MZero posted...

there's more but I can't concentrate

Well played

(I assume it was intended)

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BakusaiTenketsu posted...

I actually legally changed my first name to Locke in 2006 because of this game.

Whoa. Now that's serious. Unless any of you changed your names to Vivi or Gilgamesh this is tough to beat.

So IX is more controversial than I thought. I knew it was at release but I thought it was a Wind Waker situation where the aesthetics threw people off but fans came around to it and everyone now talks about how underrated it is to the point that it's not even underrated anymore. The turbo mode on modern versions should make battles less annoying at least? Idk how they could mess up an ATB system they'd nailed well enough back in IV.

GMUN voting Omnia over Crystal Bearers is a surprise, you're not gonna get Belle into SMFFFC with that attitude @GuessMyUserName !

Did some looking at SNES classics and man screw Nintendo for selling it in such limited supply, it's way more expensive now. I never paid much attention to it at the time and now I see FFVI, Earthbound, Mega Man X, Super Mario RPG and Secret of Mana on there, none of which I've ever touched. And none of them are on Switch Online, three of them you can't even play on Switch at all. Man...

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BakusaiTenketsu posted...

I actually legally changed my first name to Locke in 2006 because of this game.

Wow, I don't know why I knew your name was Locke, but I assumed it was your birth name. Props for picking the best FFVI character

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Imagine arguing FFIX's cast is more consistently relevant to the plot than FFVII's. Freya might as well not exist after Cleyra, and Amarant is only needed for like two scenes. Quina is Quina.

Yuffie and Vincent aren't all that relevant to the plot but that's because they're optional. I certainly wouldn't argue FFVII's cast is flat either. Trying to say only Cloud and Aerith matter in the original game is a legit baffling take.

Those points would be more applicable to VIII than VII.


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Leonhart4 posted...

Freya might as well not exist after Cleyr

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I've always wondered if Ratchel is supposed to be pronounced more like Rachel or Ratchet

You know, because she's a rat

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andylt posted...

So IX is more controversial than I thought.

One person disliking it doesn't really mean that much...
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FFIX is largely beloved here. It's not without some very obvious flaws, but the strengths generally outweigh the weaknesses.

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FFIX is premier final fantasy but I don't really feel like defending it on this board.

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pjbasis posted...

FFIX is premier final fantasy but I don't really feel like defending it on this board.

Oh yeah, FFIX has plenty of people to defend it so I tend to be on the more critical side since it can be overpraised, but I do like it a lot. You can't go wrong with anything Square put out from 1994-2001.

Well, that's not entirely true but they put out more great games than bad games.

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IX isn't bad but it's definitely overrated. Play VI first.

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IXs pretty straightforward plot and battle system wise so its an amazing starter FF. I generally prefer quite a few others but again, if you have game pass its worth a shot

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andylt posted...

GMUN voting Omnia over Crystal Bearers is a surprise, you're not gonna get Belle into SMFFFC with that attitude

actually hadn't even voted yet and I didn't even notice the listing! first thought was centered around 6 tho but went on reading first that the choice is mobile :|

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