Board 8 > Best Versions of Final Fantasy Games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've always meant to do a true playthrough of the series and Genny and I have been talking about it a little bit lately. I've played most of the series, though it has been many years for some of those plays but she has largely not played most of the older games. Obviously Google exists and there are dozens of different lists about what's the best port to play for each respective game, but I know a few people on this board have undertaken this project in the past and I was curious on what various people have used or recommend.

I'm fairly unwilling to go out and purchase out of date systems just to play these games for the record, so keep that in mind.

Final Fantasy: I've heard from various sources the Origins version is the best, but that seems a little impossible to legally play these days.

Final Fantasy II: See above

Final Fantasy III: It seems like the Steam version might be the only option.

Final Fantasy IV: This is a rather confusing one to me so I'd like some help on it. I know the 2D games recently received "pixel remaster" treatments, but those seem to be for the worst versions of the respective games. I'm really looking for a good blend of classic style with more modern quality of life improvements, which I know most all of these games have received over the years.

---We do plan to play the After Years stuff. I've never touched it.

Final Fantasy V: Unlike a lot of the other 2D games, some lists deride the most recent editions of this game, but I'm not really willing to buy a GBA just to play either.

Final Fantasy VI: Like V, I don't have a GBA. I know emulation is an option and all, but... any other means to play the best version of this, or at least a good one?

Final Fantasy VII: PS4/Steam versions of the original, considering the Remake is not actually the same game after all. Still planning to play the original in spite of it.

Final Fantasy VIII: Remastered version

Final Fantasy IX: Steam or PS4 version

Final Fantasy X/X-2: Remastered versions

Final Fantasy XI: Have other people doing similar projects bothered with this entry? I know XIV has really hit its stride and certainly we plan to include that, but this game never had the foothold or respect XIV has gained I feel. But... it's a numbered entry, and it feels wrong to deny it. How much of a commitment is this? Obviously MMOs are huge time sinks, but I'm more interested in experiencing the world and NPCs the game has to offer.

Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age

----Revenant Wings doesn't seem playable without a DS or through emulation.

Final Fantasy XIII/2/LR: Likely going to play with Steam

Final Fantasy XIV: See XI

Final Fantasy XV: No real choices here

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions version, probably through tablet

----Much like RW, the other tactics series seem locked into emulation or possessing an old handheld Nintendo device

Final Fantasy Type-0: Steam/PS4

There are other games, mostly spinoffs and the like, and I'm not really sure how complete I really need this to be. This will likely already consume untold amounts of hours as it is. For what it's worth, I own my copy of Dirge of Cerberus still but I don't have a PSP to play Crisis Core anymore. So yeah, just looking for suggestions and input from others who have done this in the past. These are my initial thoughts so far and I'm curious if perhaps there are better alternatives or if there's something I've overlooked.
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For 1-6, you might want to wait for the Steam remasters. 1-3 come out on the 29th and 4-6 are supposed to come out this year at some point

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oh good topic, tag.

I was thinking about doing replays since my playthroughs of FF3 and 4 were original games via emulation, but I have a DS that's been collecting dust and I know they each had DS releases... not sure if I could even pick them up nowadays anyways, but something I was thinking about. I assume those are the versions currently on Steam? I'd be interested in hearing feedback from others who might've played them and if they're worth it or sticking with the originals.

1 and 2 also had a GBA "Dawn of Souls" release which came out after Origins so might be better? That's how I "played" 1 but never got around to 2. Though recognizing you don't have a GBA either, so probably the pixel remaster route there...

Best version of FF6 I believe is on the SNES Classic which I will always regret not buying when it first came out, so that's a no-go for either of us. Curious on others' take for the best version of that.

A lot of people are going to ignore talking about XI, so I'll say what I can. They've made it a lot easier to solo at this point - there are summonable NPCs called Trusts that you can have with you through pretty much anything in the main content. I've only beaten the original storyline that came with the game at launch though so anything expansion-related is outside my wheelhouse. My current playtime comes in a little over 72 hours and that's sometime after finishing that original base story.

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v_charon posted...

Final Fantasy: I've heard from various sources the Origins version is the best, but that seems a little impossible to legally play these days.

Origins is like $20 on eBay

For ease of use, 1-6 is probably best with the pixel remasters. Personally, Id prefer the GBA versions of 1,2,5,6 and the DS version of 4.

Everything else you can basically do the steam versions just fine.

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v_charon posted...

Final Fantasy V: Unlike a lot of the other 2D games, some lists deride the most recent editions of this game, but I'm not really willing to buy a GBA just to play either.

Final Fantasy VI: Like V, I don't have a GBA. I know emulation is an option and all, but... any other means to play the best version of this, or at least a good one?

Do you have a game boy player for the GameCube?

For FF6, you want to play the GBA version with the sound restoration patch. The gba had shit for audio and FF6's music suffered for it. The patch replaces it with the SNES sounds and music. Emulator only, obviously.

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For the rest of these a lot will depend on what hardware you have available

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For 1-6, as others have said, it might be worth waiting on the new remasters.

7: PC with mods (Mods are utterly transformative here, even if you're being a purist and not changing anything major)

8: I've heard mixed things about the Remaster but haven't played it myself, so I'm not sure. Either that or the old Steam release with mods

9: PC with mods (Not quite as transformative as 7, but the Moguri Mod does this game a ton of favors.)

10: Any version of the HD Remaster, doesn't really matter

11: No idea what's going on with this game at this point

12: PC, no mods needed

13: PC with mods - again not quite as wild as with 7, but mods make this game look like it could have come out last week.

14: PC

15: PC, no mods needed

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v_charon posted...

Final Fantasy XV: No real choices here

You could always play the pocket edition!


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I hate to say it but the GBA ports are absolutely the best way to play I, II, IV, V, and VI, assuming you're not going to splurge on an SNES and original cartridges of IV and VI. Emulate if you must, avoid the mobile versions like the plague. I also suggest avoiding the PSX ports of V and VI, as the slowdown/load times are really bothersome.

Hopefully the upcoming Steam pixel remasters are good, but I don't know what the story is with those in terms of release schedule.

I vastly prefer the original Tactics to the War of the Lions version, but a healthy dose of that is nostalgia probably.

With XV, I guess you really want to make sure you get the Royal Edition that has all the DLC episodes, which from what I hear add a lot to the story (though apparently in a cumbersome way).

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colliding posted...

I also suggest avoiding the PSX ports of V and VI, as the slowdown/load times are really bothersome.

I may be the only person alive who doesn't mind these

https://youtube.com/c/AustinSV

This channel has great version difference breakdowns for most of the 3D ones plus lots of other games with different versions

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It might be worth noting that the HD Remaster of Final Fantasy X is the PAL version of the game. It has some differences from the version originally released in North America, largely positive ones, but most notably it makes backtracking much harder for a very specific reason. I say this only because it prevented my wife from completing FFX to the extent she wanted to and that was her first time playing.

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Origins is more authentic to the original experience, later versions are easier/more casual (most notably, the Dawn of Souls version of FF1 changed from having a spells per day system to a MP system) but have more bonus content with the PSP adding another bonus dungeon to each game compared to the GBA version.

I personally don't feel like there's some super huge difference between NES 3 and the 3d remake - actually I think that's kind of the actual problem people have with remake, it doesn't really change as much as it could have. It gives the onion kids unique characters and tries to give them a little more backstory, but that really doesn't matter after the first few hours. Generally speaking the remake has fewer enemies at once, but they have slightly higher stats. They also changed it so that when you change jobs there's a cooldown of X battles before they start gaining job experience again (instead of having a rather toothless system in the nes version where you just have to pay a certain number of points to change jobs, which replenish after fighting a few battles). Some of the jobs are a little more viable in the remake, but it's still pretty lopsided and getting new jobs is still paced pretty badly.

For 4, the US SNES mode is the EASY MODO (which also cuts a lot of the unique commands characteres have). The PSX version is the most authentic to the original release and so is significantly harder. The GBA version is somewhere in between in difficulty, and has some more qol stuff and bonus content (like you can change party members for the final dungeon). However the US version is glitched. PSP version is based on the GBA version, and also includes all of The After Years plus a short interlude episode. The 3d remake I haven't played, but generally get the impression that it was pretty solid for 4 and the difficulty is between the original relase and the GBA/PSP versions (though with some changes, and you lose out on some of the changes like being able to choose the final party). The 3d remake of TAY is bad though, since it cuts out a ton of gameplay content. So the PSP version is probably the best overall (especially if you intend on playing TAY), though the remake for 4 is perfectly serviceable if you don't have access to it.

For 5 and 6, the GBA versions added some new bonus content. The mobile/steam versions also have this content, but it has modernized smoothed out filtered graphics which basically everyone hates.

I haven't really followed the pixel remasters closely, but I get the general impression that they are probably going to stick more closely to the originals and aren't going to have any of the bonus content of later editions. (though, tbh you probably aren't really missing much unless you absolutely have to have more)

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You could try the XV demo just to see how it runs on your PC

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Also tagging.

1 and 2, I prefer the Dawn of Souls GBA.
3, I emulated a translated Famicom. DS variant is known for being a kick in the... difficulty spike.

4 is odd. US 4 is "easytype." JP 4 "hardtype" is the difficulty experience. 4's advance remake is the Wonderswan port, with some odd timing bugs, but plays okay, and adds some decent bonus content (and the ability to shift in party members that "died" earlier in the game, which makes some memetically bad characters surprisingly useful. Edward isnt so spoony when he's oneshotting dragons, after all.

5 and 6, you've got a few options. The PS anthology has a wonderfully bad translation for 5, and the load times are atrocious, so skip that. The GBA suffers from sound quality, which isnt as bad in 5 but notable in 6. 5's bonus dungeons are fun and encourage job experimentation, but the final one is literally useless for how much you have to do to get it. 6 is more bugfixed than original, but unfamiliar with optional content (but hey, they iron out some ugly mechanics like Bushido!)

7 is pretty faithful no matter what port, ditto 8/9.

X/X-2, the HD remake is fine, I feel, though some of the redone tracks are a bit much. Also adds the International version bonus content, which, um, sucks to do legit.

Tactics should count. Play the original PS disc if possible. It's gloriously badly translated but fun gameplay.

XI and on, no opinion.

Also give Final Fantasy Legend 2 a try if you can find a GB cart cheap. My favorite, even though it's actually a SaGa game.


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I'll do you one better about VII, and say that you HAVE to do VII before doing Remake. It definitely enhances the experience significantly.

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ChainLTTP posted...

I may be the only person alive who doesn't mind these

With 5's encounter rate and fast pace of battles, it's REALLY bad.

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I always used this to help me steer my decision.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantasy/wiki/whichversion/

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I actually think Final Fantasy Origins might be available on the PSN store (on PS3).

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We're in the same boat, I am also attempting a (slow) playthrough of eventually all the games! I'm not bothering with XI though. Ha I was about to tag Mr Crispy, he's always helped me out when I've been asking about FF versions, but he's been here already.

Origins is indeed available on PSN store on PS3/Vita/PSP for $10. I distinctly remember someone (Crispy perhaps) telling me one of the two is better in Origins and the other is better in Dawn of Souls. If you don't have a GBA or DS then idk, maybe wait for the pixel remasters for 3-6 as others have suggested. FWIW I didn't really notice a problem with the GBA audio on 5/6. The PSP version of IV is the complete package with TAY and Interlude and everything. I've been particularly warned off of the 3D version of III. If you're thinking about buying the existing steam/mobile versions of the NES/SNES games please at least look at screenshots first to see if you can bear it.

For 7 onwards, just playing the most recent versions should usually be fine. There's not really a downside I think. I was advised by the board to play the original Tactics (available on US PSN) over the PSP version, and really enjoyed it. Basically War of the Lions has a super faux-Shakespearean translation that's very flowery and not how people really speak. Maybe you'd like that, but I really liked the original's blunt dialogue that has some really good lines. There's some notorious typos but who cares.

I will leave it to GMUN to advertise Crystal Bearers, as I have yet to experience it for myself.

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Doesnt Origins II still have the mechanic where stats you dont use get weaker? That would drive me insane

The bonus content added in the GBA versions of I and II (especially I) were quite fun in any case, so Id go with that (not sure whether or not any of the subsequent ports also have those dungeons).

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LordoftheMorons posted...

The bonus content added in the GBA versions of I and II (especially I) were quite fun in any case, so Id go with that (not sure whether or not any of the subsequent ports also have those dungeons).

PSP and current mobile does (and adds more too), upcoming mobile looks like it doesnt.

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The definitive editions are objectively:

FF1, 2, 4, 5, 6 - GBA versions. Hands down. They're the most complete, the only version that has a lot of the bonus content and easiest to find/play. The PSP versions of 1, 2 and 4 are alright. I believe the 4 PSP release also includes the After Years, but doesn't have all of the cool bonus stuff from the GBA release (like the dungeons that let you use the party members that aren't in the endgame party)

FF3 - Right now you just have the shitty 3D DS version, but hopefully the upcoming pixel remaster makes it so you can finally play this game proper. Otherwise you're best off finding a translation patched ROM

FF7 - Probably the Steam version

FF8 - Remastered version on PS4

FF9 - Don't bother playing this trash

FFX/X-2 - HD Remaster

FFXI - You can pick this up pretty cheap on steam sales, and they have all sorts of incentives and campaigns to bring players in for free. If you're interested, I would wait for the next Free login campaign to dip your toes in. Next year is the 20th anniversary, so I suspect they will be doing all sorts of promotions

FFXII - HD Remaster

Tactics - PSP version hands down

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FFIV PSP does have all the dungeons that were added in the GBA release.

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BlAcK TuRtLe posted...

I believe the 4 PSP release also includes the After Years, but doesn't have all of the cool bonus stuff from the GBA release (like the dungeons that let you use the party members that aren't in the endgame party)

Youre right that it has After Years (along with a new Interlude between 4 and TAY), but PSP has all the bonus content from GBA (for all three 2D games that got the treatment).

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Oh I always assumed FFIV PSP was a port of the DS remake... not sure why I assumed that but good to know

MartinFF7 posted...

Oh I always assumed FFIV PSP was a port of the DS remake... not sure why I assumed that but good to know

probably because FFIII PSP is a port of the DS remake

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BlAcK TuRtLe posted...

FF9 - Don't bother playing this trash

best advice in this topic tbh

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BlAcK TuRtLe posted...

FF9 - Don't bother playing this trash

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Cavedweller2000 posted...

I always used this to help me steer my decision.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantasy/wiki/whichversion/

This is super helpful btw, thanks for sharing. I have been thinking about doing a series playthrough too and also wondered which versions to go with.

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i replayed ff9 recently on steam. impossible to get it working with a controller. it wanted left and right to be bound to the left thumbstick, and up and down to be bound to the right thumbstick. i normally use DS4Windows to remap things like that, but ff9 in particular had its own system that interfered and would cause double/multiple presses.

once i resigned myself to using the keyboard it was fine. the only mechanical downside was that i no longer had "360 degrees" of movement, there were now only 8.

apparently, on the switch version, you can't toggle 3x speed in battle, it has to be in the menu. on steam, you are able to toggle 3x speed whenever you want. i don't think i could make it through the game without that ability.

the game and story itself are not remarkable. i think the main purpose was to prove that they could write a main character that wasn't depressed or messed up, after backlash over 8, and overbought their own hype in how emotionally involved people had been in their past few games.

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yellowwolley posted...

This is super helpful btw, thanks for sharing. I have been thinking about doing a series playthrough too and also wondered which versions to go with.

My pleasure. Happy to help!

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banananor posted...

i replayed ff9 recently on steam. impossible to get it working with a controller. it wanted left and right to be bound to the left thumbstick, and up and down to be bound to the right thumbstick. i normally use DS4Windows to remap things like that, but ff9 in particular had its own system that interfered and would cause double/multiple presses.

Steam has native DS4 and Dualsense support at this point - using external drivers really only gets in the way. There shouldn't be any controller issues with FF9 on PC but if you did run into an issue you could create a Steam controller profile for the game to fix them.

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banananor posted...

apparently, on the switch version, you can't toggle 3x speed in battle, it has to be in the menu. on steam, you are able to toggle 3x speed whenever you want. i don't think i could make it through the game without that ability.

This is correct for Switch, you have to go into the menu. It's a little annoying but it's just one extra click, and I honestly didn't use the increased speed very much.

(9 has a great story imo!)

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LordoftheMorons posted...

Doesnt Origins II still have the mechanic where stats you dont use get weaker? That would drive me insane

Yeah, but honestly it rarely happens after the beginning of the game, even in the NES version. It's really not a problem unless you plan to min max everything, and then it's still avoidable by just rotating your stat upgrades.

And yeah for FF1 I highly recommend Origins, though it's possible the steam version is actually restoring some of the original elements of the game. (and the bonus content for ff1 sucks imo)

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Thanks for all the replies so far.

To answer a few questions I saw asked... quite honestly, I dislike mobile/handheld gaming. It's never been very fun for me. I guess it shows my age just a bit but I prefer sitting in my chair playing on the PC or on the edge of the bed in front of the TV. I can't relax or enjoy playing games if I'm holding the entire thing in my hands. So whenever possible I avoid playing games that way. I only want to resort to that if necessary, so yeah, I'm not really willing to buy an old handheld not because I'm necessarily worried about spending the money on it just because I just personally don't enjoy playing games that way. It's been quite a while since I've used an emulator but that seems to be the "best" choice for a few of these games.

On the subject of the Steam remasters... I was really under the impression that most of these were of the subpar experiences in terms of the respective games. Like for example, didn't the original version of IV not allow you to swap characters? I personally don't want to be stuck with FuSoYa in my party and all. I was under the impression this pixel remaster on Steam would basically force that on me, or am I remembering IV wrong?
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Every version of IV forces FuSoYa on you (and all other party changes up to that point). Right after he leaves, before the final dungeon, that's when you can freely swap in GBA and I think PSP. I haven't heard anything about the pixel remaster in that regard.

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The assumption going around is that these will be more closely based on the original versions (screenshots show one of the FF1 bonus dungeons gone from the Cornelia area for example). Which if true would likely indicate your endgame party in 4 being locked like on SNES.

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banananor posted...

i think the main purpose was to prove that they could write a main character that wasn't depressed or messed up

well they weren't successful

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JonThePenguin posted...

The assumption going around is that these will be more closely based on the original versions (screenshots show one of the FF1 bonus dungeons gone from the Cornelia area for example). Which if true would likely indicate your endgame party in 4 being locked like on SNES.

This is kinda why I wasn't really considering the pixel remasters much, because as I understand it typically there are QOL enhancements for all of these games in subsequent releases, and these new versions on Steam aren't going to be giving you that. It's the base game from its original format, and for a lot of the old games that usually means there's certain things less than desirable within.
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Yeah the only one of the pixel remasters Im potentially interested in is III since Ive heard a lot of people say that the NES version was better than the DS version (which I didnt like very much).

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Yeah III is a big deal as we're finally getting a localised 2D version of the game, the others we'll have to wait and see what content they actually have. They do seem to have the good translations at least. VI's bonus content isn't great imo btw, V's is good though.

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Isquen posted...

With 5's encounter rate and fast pace of battles, it's REALLY bad.

FF5 anthology doesn't really have bad load times. FF6 is by FAR worse.

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I thought a lot of the bonus stuff from later versions of the early FF games was neat, but nothing worth going out of the way for, honestly. I think these pixel remasters will be fine.
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FFVII (PS1)
FFVIII (PS1)
FFX (PS4)
FFXII (Xbox One)
World of Final Fantasy Maxima (Xbox One)

KingButz posted...

I thought a lot of the bonus stuff from later versions of the early FF games was neat, but nothing worth going out of the way for, honestly. I think these pixel remasters will be fine.

The bonus stuff in FF4 was really cool because you could use other party members in the end game. It just makes no sense to cut this content in what they're trying to market as the definitive versions of these games, unless they're planning to do another release in a couple of years, or some paid DLC

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MXCM posted...

FFVII (PS1)
FFVIII (PS1)

you must really like changing discs

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