Wow, the early FF games are bad.

back in my day, pokemon and dragon quest was what passed for a decent game. i grew up on atari and the nes playin' centipede and the mario game where he got a tail and could fly

we didn't get final fantasy 7 until 1997

but yes, the older games are a lot more different than today's games. There were not limit breaks, some of the content was extremely redundant (like ff5, everything was redundant) and lacked deep character customization.

But in their time, many of these games were revolutionary and the next best thing. You can't really complain about something that's old to be lacking in comparison to something new when these projects are considered complete and abandoned on release.

Like, Final Fantasy VIII. A lot of people complain about the lack of depth in characters and how shitty they are, but at the time, no one had seen anything like it. A moody depressed guy dressed like a biker/hooker wielding a sword with a gun on it, stealing magic from your enemies and using it against them, and the GF abilities etc...

It was one of the first games with 3D graphics to come out with character customization that was deeper than "oh hey i just equipped this item now fireballs are a very nutritious part of my well balanced breakfast".

Even if the game developers didn't learn or implement what people wanted them to, they have taken a lot from their past experiences and attempted to improve upon them.

also, I would suggest playing the original FF1, FF4 and FF6.
 
FF6 had moody characters and the most sinister villain :P FF7 seemed like a 3D remake of FF6 with a slightly different magic system and instead of Desperation Attacks, you got limit breaks.

As for FF3j, I don't like the DS remake. I have a reproduction cartridge of FF3j for the NES, and I have to say, it's an amazing game. If you take a look at the system it was on (NES/Famicom), the game is epic. Sure, the characters lack depth, but that's only if you lack imagination.

FF1, 2j, and 3j were all basically the same with the heroes (well, except 2j, I believe. I barely played that one). FF1 and 3 you name them, they become the warriors of light, and go on this epic quest. FF4 has an epic story, great music, and if you play the correct version, a good challenge (I beat the SNES version in less than 12 hours a few months back. Not the fastest by any standard, but still pretty quick), and FF6 has an amazing story, amazing graphics, amazing soundtrack, and such memorable characters and subplots.

I think it's an unfair assumption to say all early FF games are bad, especially since without them, you wouldn't have your FF7, and on top of that, you're on the "omg FF7 is the greatest" because it was the first one you played. Most people attach a special nostalgic moment to their first game of a series they play and find it hard to go backwards to see how the series started, and the same with going forward with "man, these new games in the series are killing the series".

Just my $0.02
 
and in 5, the big twist is that everyone is an alien.

Erm, no. Dunno what FF5 you played but it certainly isn't the one we all know.

n 4 you go from earth, to the moon, to hell, back to the moon, back to earth and so on

When do you go to Hell in FF4? It doesn't sound like you even paid enough attention to the storylines to make a judgement.

I"m not trying to say that the early FFs were masterpieces in terms of story. They certainly were complex and deep for their time - remember that they were made during an era when video games were mainly just mindless entertainment aimed at children and teenagers. Gaming has developed enormously since the 90s with storylines and characters as complex and emotionally driven as any dramatic movie. Comparing the modern story-intensive RPGs to those made in the late 80s and 90s is hardly a fair comparison. FF storylines developed from these humble beginnings into the epic stories we enjoy today. However there are many people (mainly those who grew up in the 80s and 90s with these older games) who still adore the nostalgic feel of the older titles and actually enjoy the previous systems which many newer and younger gamers find tedious, boring and ridiculous. It's all a matter of taste, really. But don't judge an entire generation of games simply because you can't get past a boss on one title. Salamander is a bitch to defeat, but you don't even know what a difficult game is until you've played FF2J...
 
They certainly have a different appeal than FFVII and later.

I would say that I appreciate the gameplay and overall challenge of the early FF titles. There's definitely more strategy involved and a difficult dungeon is all the more satisfying when you complete it. I would definitely say that it's less captivating, mostly due to the lack of an intriguing plot, but I enjoy playing them. There isn't really a single FF game I dislike up through X.
 
If they were that bad I don't think we'd have had the opportunity to play games like FF7. Sure, by todays standards they might be bad but what you have to consider is that by the standards of the day they were really setting the bar for technical innovation within the gaming world and RPG genre. I've not got very far in FF1,2,5 or 6 but I can appreciate what they have contributed to the later games that I love like 7,8,9 10 and 12 (which was ok..)
 
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