Newcomer to the series

January 13, 2008, 4:19 PM

I've seen the "New FF players" topic, so here's a chance for you to test your powers of persuasion. I've never played a Final Fantasy game before, but I feel they have an excellent reputation, so I wondered if I should give it a go. The thing is, I've never played an RPG before either. I'm a fan of adventure games - things like The Longest Journey, Dreamfall, Myst, Riven, Broken Sword, the LucasArts games, etc. These are games noted for their lack of violence and their focus on story, so it's the story bit of FF that attracts me most.

If that isn't a challenge enough, there is the slight complication that I don't have a PS2, let alone a PS3. Does that mean I'm limited to FFVI through IX?

January 13, 2008, 4:22 PM

Not really, as 4 and 5 are in an anthology now for ps1

As for 10 onwards you would need a ps2 and 13 onwards you need a ps3. For 1, 2 and 3 I only know that 3 is for ds. As for 1 and 2, apart from importing and emulating I don't know how to get them.

January 13, 2008, 4:26 PM

u can get FFI and FFII for psp if u have one, if not i dnt no how to get them either. if ur serious about playing x onward but u dnt want to get a ps2, u could go on youtube and watch a walkthrough on them if u dnt mind killing alot of time

January 13, 2008, 4:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FFGuy

As for 1 and 2, apart from importing and emulating I don't know how to get them.

They have also been released on the ps1, as Final Fantasy Origins

January 13, 2008, 4:39 PM

OK, thanks. So there's no super-sneaky way to emulate a PS2 on a PC or something is there?

January 13, 2008, 4:46 PM

I know you can with ps1 games but I have no idea about ps2.

January 13, 2008, 4:59 PM

I did a quick search. There is a PS2 emulator, but you need BIOS files for it, which you can only legally obtain by having a PS2 in the first place. So it doesn't sound like a good idea.

The YouTube walkthrough idea is good though. I can try it.

So the next questions are: which of the PS1 or PC compatible games would be best to start with for someone new to RPG? And how frequently do battles occur in the games? Would they start to seem tedious for someone only interested in the story?

January 13, 2008, 5:13 PM

Well the story is the strong point of pretty much every ff game out there.

As for starter games I would suggest getting 7, at the beginning there is a tutorial which tells you all the battle commands, basic exploration etc.

For something a bit more tricky for a beginner I would go with either 8 or 9. They can get you into the game better but are harder to understand.

Another good game you could try is ff10, this tells you new stuff as you go along.

January 13, 2008, 5:13 PM

Hmm, do you actually have to get the bios from your PS2 though? Is it still illegal to download one even if you own a PS2?
But I think you need a pretty powerful PC for PS2 emulation anyway though...Haven't tried.

I haven't played Final Fantasy 1-6 before, only 7 onwards, but I'd say 7 is probably a good place to start (Although the storylines in the different games have nothing to do with eachother so it doesn't really matter what order you play them in). The games may seem a bit slow to start off with, but they're really good once you get into them.

January 13, 2008, 6:40 PM

I really don't know about the legalities of the BIOS thing; I just did a quick search to see what was possible. It's a shame they don't just make PC versions - they managed it for VII, VIII and XI didn't they? Do they start a new game engine from scratch for every game?

Now, there's this 'RPG' thing. I once read that RPGs and 3rd person adventure games were basically the same except that RPGs tended to have fantasy settings. But there is also this 'levelling up' concept (which I have a limited understanding of, given I've never played an RPG). Is levelling up necessary to advance the game, or is it just something that makes the battles easier?

Oh, and can you 'die' in the FF games? Do you ever get a 'game over' screen?