Board 8 > Nook's FF Topic [FF16 hype] [Series Ranking]

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TomNook7
04/20/23 7:55:24 AM
#1:


Hi

Probably like you, I grew up in the 90s and have a lot of nostalgia for this series. I first got my Ps1 in 1997 when I was seven years old in second grade (I'm 33 now), with Crash Bandicoot and Twisted Metal 2 as my first two games for it.

Then I went to my cousin's house... and there it was. He was playing Final Fantasy VII. I remember we were both so obsessed with everything about it to the tiniest detail. I had just learned to read, and it was my first time playing a game with an actual story. It introduced my young impressionable mind to such things as... eco-terrorism, corporate overlords, human experimentation, homoerotic undertones, and so much more. And it was awesome.

Fast forward to today, and I've played every mainline game in there series. And I'm kind of sad to say there was a long stretch of time where I just became super jaded about the series. Like... I was never really a fan of any of the FF7 spinoff stuff, and 13 was terrible, and 15 was underwhelming, and... we'll talk about FF7 Remake at some point in this topic.

But then my wife forced me to play FF14, and I gotta say... Heavensward really reignited that spark. I'll talk about my FF14 experience later on too.

But yeah, I'm trying everything in my power to no longer be jaded about something I used to love, and instead trying to make myself hype for FF16. In the last couple months I've given FFX-2 a second chance, I played through the NES version of FF1 on original hardware on a CRT television, and now I'm playing Dirge of Cerberus for the first time.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/8/6/AAK53VAAEZnO.jpg

So yeah, stay posted, and thanks for reading all this junk. All this has been at the back of my mind for a while now, and it's nice to let it all out somewhere.


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TomNook7
04/20/23 8:07:23 AM
#2:


Oh yeah, series ranking. I'll be ranking like... 17 of these games. Basically if it has "Final Fantasy" in the name and I feel like talking about it. And these are just my personal opinions, and it's all in good fun.

#17. Final Fantasy XIII

You know it had to be either this or FF2 lol. And it was actually hard to choose between these two. They both have the lamest characters, lamest combat, lamest progression systems, lamest music, etc. But at least in FF2 you can actually like... explore the world. And at least FF2's combat isn't on auto battle the entire time. And at least FF2 tried something different. FF13 plays it completely safe, and can't even get that right.

3/10 for FF13. It's just bad.

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pjbasis
04/20/23 8:13:20 AM
#3:


Already off to a bad start. (Big ff2 fan)

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TomNook7
04/20/23 8:19:08 AM
#4:


pjbasis posted...
Already off to a bad start. (Big ff2 fan)

Oh dude, please sell me on it. This is exactly why I came back to board 8, in hopes of finding the one FF2 fan in the world. I might even give it a second chance when I get the Pixel Remaster.

I mean I'm even going out of my way to give Dirge of Cerberus a fair shot:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/9/8/AAK53VAAEZna.jpg

For some reason people like this game. I might as well try to stay open minded and see for myself.


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MZero
04/20/23 9:09:11 AM
#5:


Already off to a bad start. (Big ff13 fan)

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colliding
04/20/23 9:25:16 AM
#6:


Stand in your truth Nook

If you haven't played XV then XIII is a valid choice

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UshiromiyaEva
04/20/23 10:03:23 AM
#7:


XIII has a shit story but I will stand by it having the best gameplay in the main entries.

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Isquen
04/20/23 10:41:46 AM
#8:


Tagging!

Ff13 has a lot of bad things going for it. The gigantic corridor run until Archylte Steppe is inexcusable, half or more of the main cast is unlikable, and the story isn't told through the world interacting with you, it's told through stilted flashbacks and reading.

Still, the battle system is pretty fun to tinker with when you figure it out. I wish characters were a bit more customizable because I would drop Hope, Lightning, and Snow in a heartbeat instead of Snow and Sazh by the end.

Vanille should've been the "main character." I get they were trying to market female Cloud, but still.

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colliding
04/20/23 1:29:25 PM
#9:


I still stan the "open world" part of FFXIII. Had an absolute blast in that area.

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scarletspeed7
04/20/23 1:31:33 PM
#10:


Stand strong in your dislike of FF13. You have an ally in me.

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KanzarisKelshen
04/20/23 1:42:51 PM
#11:


13 is a bad game with probably the worst character in the series (Fang). 13-2 and LR are genuinely good games though. Not great games, but if someone already suffered through FF13 I would happily point them their way.

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KamikazePotato
04/20/23 1:47:51 PM
#12:


FF13 was not a good game.

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scarletspeed7
04/20/23 1:50:03 PM
#13:


One of my major issues with 13 is the sheer awfulness of the writing. I know I shouldn't be comparing video game scripts to books or movies, maybe, but it's just so elementarily bad. Insanely poor writing. So often, a three-minute scene won't have any lines longer than five words - like, how can you hope to make your world feel anything more than flimsy when no character possesses the ability to even spit out, like, a compound sentence? Everyone seems confused half the game, and when they aren't, we don't get insight into what they know.

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UshiromiyaEva
04/20/23 2:03:03 PM
#14:


Can't speak for LR but 13 was Citizen Kane compared to 13-2.

What an awful waste of time finishing that was.

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FFDragon
04/20/23 2:07:34 PM
#15:


KanzarisKelshen posted...
13 is a bad game with probably the worst character in the series


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pjbasis
04/20/23 2:09:05 PM
#16:


TomNook7 posted...
Oh dude, please sell me on it.

Idk I mean the negative points are very valid. I like hard old school rpg stuff so most of it doesn't bother me. And I found a "fun" way to play that doesn't involve grinding by hitting yourself over and over again and is still pretty game breaking.

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MacArrowny
04/20/23 2:13:33 PM
#17:


I think the Pixel Remaster is considered the definitive version for FF2, and reduces some of its flaws, so there's that.

13-2 is much better than original 13, IMO. It has lots of flaws true, but I adore time travel.

TomNook7 posted...
Basically if it has "Final Fantasy" in the name and I feel like talking about it.
Hope this includes Theatrhythm! Curtain Call was great on the 3DS, and Final Bar Line is even better, to the point that I'd be shocked if 16 surpassed it for best Final Fantasy of the year.

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KanzarisKelshen
04/20/23 2:15:00 PM
#18:


scarletspeed7 posted...
One of my major issues with 13 is the sheer awfulness of the writing. I know I shouldn't be comparing video game scripts to books or movies, maybe, but it's just so elementarily bad. Insanely poor writing. So often, a three-minute scene won't have any lines longer than five words - like, how can you hope to make your world feel anything more than flimsy when no character possesses the ability to even spit out, like, a compound sentence? Everyone seems confused half the game, and when they aren't, we don't get insight into what they know.

You don't need long sentences to convey profound feelings. The writing is bad for other reasons (pacing, never giving you a reason to care about any characters besides Sazh, horrendous first impressions, not having an actual main character worthy of the name...).

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scarletspeed7
04/20/23 2:24:57 PM
#19:


I'm not really talking about feelings at all. I'm talking about the world, and why nothing felt like it was concrete in the slightest. Everything was so terse and simplistic, and the world felt like setpieces rather than lived-in, like so many other Final Fantasy titles.

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TomNook7
04/20/23 2:30:08 PM
#20:


MacArrowny posted...
Hope this includes Theatrhythm! Curtain Call was great on the 3DS, and Final Bar Line is even better, to the point that I'd be shocked if 16 surpassed it for best Final Fantasy of the year.

Theyre actually not on my ranking because i havent played them enough to form an opinion. I own the 3ds one but never really sank my teeth in. I played the most recent one at a friends house and it does seem pretty great. I might dive deeper into these games for this topic tho, so thanks for the idea


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NBIceman
04/20/23 2:35:05 PM
#21:


I haven't played enough FF to discuss a lot of the games in the series intelligently, but Dirge of Cerberus is a good game.

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#22
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#23
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KanzarisKelshen
04/20/23 2:39:48 PM
#24:


Hard disagree on that. Gran Pulse is actually probably the weakest part of 13. It's just a big wide open basin with side areas that barely interconnect and that offers no joy of navigation. Like, you know what it reminds me of? Bad MMO zone design, because that is 100% what it is. It doesn't even have the grace of being just one bit of the sidequesting like the Calm Plains in FFX, it's where like 95% of the content that isn't story in the game is. It also has the two worst superbosses in a mainline nonsequel FF, too, easily (the super Adamantoises barely even count as superbosses and Vercingetorix is an exercise in boredom and noninteractivity).

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KanzarisKelshen
04/20/23 2:42:07 PM
#25:


UltimaterializerX posted...
Fang is not a bad character and 13 is good. Its also not the worst game in the series either, like wtf.

2 and the MMOs are inexcusably bad and 3 isnt far behind.

Also Fang is a horrendous character, what are you on Ulti

How can you call a character that fails their plot beat good, when everyone acts like nothing happened? Her entire journey as a character is a phenomenal waste of time because she learns nothing and changes in no way and on top of that she would've invalidated the growth of the actually developed character (Vanille) she is attached to if she hadn't been stopped by a deus ex machina return of the other protagonists. The only good part of her is she's hot, but I don't play RPGs for hot characters, I play them for compelling ones.

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KanzarisKelshen
04/20/23 2:43:53 PM
#26:


scarletspeed7 posted...
I'm not really talking about feelings at all. I'm talking about the world, and why nothing felt like it was concrete in the slightest. Everything was so terse and simplistic, and the world felt like setpieces rather than lived-in, like so many other Final Fantasy titles.

I agree with this. The world concept is interesting but it's used absolutely awfully. There really isn't much of...anything to talk about as far as it goes, save 'wow, this is a SHITTY place to live in!'.

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scarletspeed7
04/20/23 2:46:30 PM
#27:


I try not to be the guy who asks "How does the economy work here? How does anything work here?" But nothing made sense. It was just, I don't know, apocalyptic, and yet most of the man-on-the-street types didn't seem to care one iota.

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colliding
04/20/23 3:25:38 PM
#28:


KanzarisKelshen posted...
Hard disagree on that. Gran Pulse is actually probably the weakest part of 13. It's just a big wide open basin with side areas that barely interconnect and that offers no joy of navigation. Like, you know what it reminds me of? Bad MMO zone design, because that is 100% what it is. It doesn't even have the grace of being just one bit of the sidequesting like the Calm Plains in FFX, it's where like 95% of the content that isn't story in the game is. It also has the two worst superbosses in a mainline nonsequel FF, too, easily (the super Adamantoises barely even count as superbosses and Vercingetorix is an exercise in boredom and noninteractivity).

agree to disagree, I guess. In all honesty one reason I think it was good is because I disliked the intense linearity of the stuff that came before it. So perhaps its only good in comparison.

Also FFXIII is still the only mainline FF I've only played once, and this was when it came out, so it is extremely hazy in my mind.

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Mobilezoid
04/20/23 3:29:28 PM
#29:


I'm obligated to post that XIII is the best FF. Lightning also is the best FF character. The story in XIII is great, the world is endlessly interesting, and, while the linearity is a definite mark against it the amazing combat system more than made up for any flaws.

XIII-2 is also the worst FF by a surprisingly large margin.

Thank you.

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pjbasis
04/20/23 4:05:14 PM
#30:


Can't wait to join in ff13 discussions someday!

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KanzarisKelshen
04/20/23 4:15:28 PM
#31:


colliding posted...
agree to disagree, I guess. In all honesty one reason I think it was good is because I disliked the intense linearity of the stuff that came before it. So perhaps its only good in comparison.

Also FFXIII is still the only mainline FF I've only played once, and this was when it came out, so it is extremely hazy in my mind.

It's definitely better than the linear hallways from before, is what I'll say. But it's not actually good and other games have done the 'one big sidequest and exploration hub' thing a lot better. Final Fantasy 7 Remake was actually very good about this, for example, just to name one from the same series

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LightningStrikes
04/20/23 5:16:46 PM
#32:


XIII is weak for sure. Not sure if it belongs below 2 but yeah, its certainly the worst in the (numbered) series since the NES days. The only things it really had going for it are its soundtrack (no notes), the core battle system (wasted on poor encounter design), and the visuals at the time (now badly aged).

The story is terrible, the storytelling is even worse, the characters are unlikeable, almost all the battles are boring, the level design for the first 70% of it is some of the worst ever for a major game and even the more open parts arent that good. It is really carried by its aesthetics alone.

Also, as it was a story-focused game released in 2010 its probably fair to compare the writing to at least movies, and man. That is not a kind comparison for this game.

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UshiromiyaEva
04/20/23 5:20:00 PM
#33:


I'll at bare minimum take 13 over 2, 3, and 15 without a doubt.

Bottom four would be 15 < 2 < 3 < 13

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KanzarisKelshen
04/20/23 6:19:49 PM
#34:


UshiromiyaEva posted...
I'll at bare minimum take 13 over 2, 3, and 15 without a doubt.

Bottom four would be 15 < 2 < 3 < 13

2 and 3 (NES version, this is important) are very legit games, I would never rank them below FF: Death Magnetic and FF: Lulu Edition. Have you ever played a SaGa game? FF2 in particular makes a ton more sense when you realize it isn't just the second Final Fantasy -- it's also the first ever SaGa game in disguise, predating Final Fantasy Legend, and it's exactly the right kind of game in that context.

EDIT: Also, it's unironically the most important of the NES final fantasies, historically. FF2 is where the story focus of FF really originated in, where dragoons were born, IIRC it was the first to have chocobos...like a lot of what we consider fundamental FF thing came from it. Truly a game ahead of its time in a lot of ways.

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Zylothewolf
04/20/23 6:26:09 PM
#35:




Yeah 13 is by far the worst. The first thing I think of when someone mentions that game is this scenario.

*The leader gets poisoned*

The stupid AI character who is supposed to heal: Oh let me spam Cure 1000 times instead of removing the status effect.

*Enemy kills the leader while the other two are at max HP*

The Game: GAME OVER.

I dont think its possible to screw up a battlesystem more!

Edit: Oh and FF13-2 was just fine, but a masterpiece compared to 13.

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trdl23
04/20/23 6:30:55 PM
#36:


Obligatory reminder that the only reason LR is a remotely good game is because it cannibalized what was supposed to be a Valkyrie Profile game and thus almost murdered THAT franchise.

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Mobilezoid
04/20/23 6:33:03 PM
#37:


Zylothewolf posted...
The stupid AI character who is supposed to heal: Oh let me spam Cure 1000 times instead of removing the status effect.
Sounds like you were relying too much on auto-battle. You need to set up the roles and paradigms. I was an active participant in every fight and I never struggled to get them to do what I wanted them to.

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trdl23
04/20/23 6:35:09 PM
#38:


UltimaterializerX posted...
2 and the MMOs are inexcusably bad
I know this is more of a stand by you that MMO design is inherently predatory, but I'm curious if you'd enjoy FF14 as a single-player experience

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BetrayedTangy
04/20/23 7:07:49 PM
#39:


The problem with XIII's combat is the lack of freedom. You're limited by the Crystarium for like 80% of the game and even after that, every battle still revolves around you just switching between filling the Break Gauge, healing and doing damage, which gets boring fast in a 40+ hour game.

They try to mix it up by forcing you to play as other characters, but that just makes you relearn the same thing, just with different characters.

I get different tastes and whatnot, but this is such a far cry from what most people want out of a Final Fantasy game, which is the ability to customize your party and try different tactics in a variety of different situations.

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KanzarisKelshen
04/20/23 7:20:20 PM
#40:


BetrayedTangy posted...
The problem with XIII's combat is the lack of freedom. You're limited by the Crystarium for like 80% of the game and even after that, every battle still revolves around you just switching between filling the Break Gauge, healing and doing damage, which gets boring fast in a 40+ hour game.

They try to mix it up by forcing you to play as other characters, but that just makes you relearn the same thing, just with different characters.

I get different tastes and whatnot, but this is such a far cry from what most people want out of a Final Fantasy game, which is the ability to customize your party and try different tactics in a variety of different situations.

And even when you have full freedom you never really have a good enemy to test it out on. Like...at endgame your tools are the following:

-Daze doubles damage, so you pick if you want to do some wacky shit with caster Snow or if you want to ignore it. This decision instantly locks him into a given role (and given he's the third best party member you probably are gonna use him -- it's between him and Vanille for the third slot).
-You have to use Lightning and Fang, they are super overpowered compared to the rest of the cast. Anything else is gimping yourself big time.
-You have to have a permanent triple sent paradigm and probably a double or triple medic one (usually double medic). So out of six paradigms, two are instantly locked up.

This already restricts your options a ton and then the Adamantortoises and Vercingetorix just invalidate a lot of the rest. It's just...kinda dumb. It's crazy how 13-2 takes the exact same system and tweaks it just enough that it actually works consistently. There's a loooooot broken about 13's system, honestly.

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colliding
04/20/23 7:46:13 PM
#41:


trdl23 posted...
I know this is more of a stand by you that MMO design is inherently predatory, but I'm curious if you'd enjoy FF14 as a single-player experience

FF14 - from a pure gameplay experience as a single player game - would need a lot of work for me to enjoy it. First, at least a hundred hours of fetch quests/go talk to an NPC quests would need to be removed.

Story-wise, I'm willing to believe the expansions are really good. But I will never know, because the game is simply not fun to me, since I'm not into the MMO aspect. With the Trust system I got to avoid the anxiety that I feel when I play with others, but that anxiety was replaced with a battle system that's simple to a fault. (I played Paladin though so maybe that was a bad choice).

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MacArrowny
04/20/23 8:17:24 PM
#42:


Playing Trust dungeons is intensely boring, IMO. They take twice as long and they're just plain less interesting than going with human allies. I wish the system had been implemented better, because I see it as a very bad option.

Though yeah tanks are more advanced classes, so that probably hurt you a bit too. Definitely more anxiety inducing with other players as well.

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wallmasterz
04/20/23 8:51:57 PM
#43:


My experience with the Final Fantasy series is super limited. I played 15 minutes of the original game on NES, owned FF3 for DS but never got very far (maybe cleared one dungeon? Or just got stuck there lol), played about an hour of FF7 on PS4 a few years ago and thats it. I own FF13 for Xbox 360 and its still in the shrink wrap.

Last week I created a Steam account and downloaded the FF1 pixel remaster, just havent had a chance to play yet. But so long as Im enjoying it Im considering at least playing the pixel remasters of FF1-6, and I may move on from there if the piece of crap laptop Im using can handle it.

thoughts to maybe follow

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colliding
04/20/23 8:57:01 PM
#44:


The original was my first experience too (I remember playing for about an hour at a friend's house).

But the first actual game in the series I owned, enjoyed, and beat was IV (2 NA). Immediately hooked. So if you aren't feeling the original I recommend just skipping to IV

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#45
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trdl23
04/20/23 11:25:00 PM
#46:


colliding posted...
But I will never know, because the game is simply not fun to me, since I'm not into the MMO aspect.

UltimaterializerX posted...
The problem is it has MMO gameplay so it's automatically trash to me.
Perfectly valid! I grew up enjoying WoW so I was inoculated, but I completely understand one's distaste.

God would I love FF14 as a single-player game using an engine like 7R

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NeatoAnAccount
04/21/23 6:02:08 AM
#47:


Are we contending that FF1 is better than FF13? When's the last time y'all played FF1? Because that game's rough.

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LightningStrikes
04/21/23 6:07:15 AM
#48:


If we treat FFXIV as a single player game the mechanics are the best in the series but it takes a while to reach that point. Trusts get good after a while but it is faster and more fun to do dungeons with a group.

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pjbasis
04/21/23 8:09:38 AM
#49:


NeatoAnAccount posted...
Are we contending that FF1 is better than FF13? When's the last time y'all played FF1? Because that game's rough.

2 and 3 as well! To your point I am always curious why 1 isn't thrown in with them unless they actually have nostalgia for it.

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colliding
04/21/23 9:43:52 AM
#50:


My ranking topic philosophy is to partly evaluate based on their release date competition.

So yeah, FF1 sucks now but also it was pretty cool when it came out so that should factor into it somewhat

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