My thoughts and opinions on Final Fantasy games

[dan290786]

I'm new to these forums and as i'm not sure there are similar threads to this, i am going to state my honest opinions about each final fantasy game that I have played, good and bad points etc. I've completed Final Fantasy IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X and am in the middle of playing XII. FFX-2 completely sucked and doesnt count as part of the FF series for me and FXI was online and never bothered to play it. I've never played FFI, II or III but would love to someday.

Anyhow, i'm going to give my thoughts and opinions on each game and what i think of the newest FF games from SquareEnix.

Final Fantasy IV - I've never judged a game on graphics and quite frankly this was a brilliant game for it's time. I really enjoyed this game at the very start but got a bit boring towards the middle and end for me, the characters were pretty cool but i hated how they changed around so much, leaving your party so others could join rather than being able to switch party members like the newer games. Golbez was a decent enough villain whom i expected would involve a big final showdown at the end of the game only to be disappointed that he turned out to be a good guy in the end. Zeromus? Where did this guy come from to become the almighty final boss?

Gameplay - 7/10
Characters - 6/10
Music - 9/10
Storyline - 7/10

Final Fantasy V - I loved it all the way through, the storyline was simply brilliant and the game always kept me interested in wondering what was going to happen next, it was never predictable. The main character Butz and Galuf had some pretty amusing humour throughout the game. Exdeath (the main villain) was excellent and definitely one of the most evil FF villains of all. I also actually liked how hard this game was, i actually got stuck on the second boss (i think it was the second), it took me several goes to get through it as well as several other bosses in the game. The idea of having different worlds the characters could travel to was cool with interesting overworld themes etc. The boss theme had to be one of the most scariest themes of all!

Gameplay - 9/10
Characters - 10/10
Music - 9/10
Storyline - 10/10

Final Fantasy VI - This game has to be a very close second favourite. The storyline was absolutely amazing with the Empire, the madman Kefka who i never expected to end up madly destroying the world etc. FFVI's music had something distinctive about it that whenever you hear it you know it's from this game. I really liked how this was the first final fantasy game that had the main character as a female (Terra), sadly FFXIII has kinda ruined the specialness of what FFVI had but all the characters were cool especially Locke. I would go on about it but would take forever.

Gameplay - 10/10
Characters - 10/10
Music - 10/10
Storyline - 10/10

Final Fantasy VII - This was by far my favourite FF game as well as being the first FF game i played. It inspired me so much to actually go back and play all the FF games (as i mentioned i was unable to ever play FF1 to 3). In my opinion there will never be a better Final Fantasy game than FFVII, it had the best storyline to a game i have ever played. The Shinra Co., Sephiroth, Meteor crashing down to the world, Avalanche, the story surrounding the ancients etc. It all fitted in so well that i would play the game 24/7 if i was able to lol. Cloud Strife is one of the most enjoyable characters to play in any game. The music was probably the bit liked the most as i feel Nobuo Uematsu put so much effort into the score for this game. It was also very sad at the end of Disk 1 when Aeris died. It was so unexpected and certainly shed a few tears. It made me feel more determined to get revenge on Sephiroth haha.

Gameplay - 10/10
Characters - 10/10
Music - 10/10
Storyline - 10/10

Final Fantasy VIII - Another great game for me although it didn't quite live up to how good FFVII's gameplay and story was, however, what i really liked about this game was how the characters were students at a garden trying to become SeeD's and seeing as this game was released back when i was in school it kind of worked well when playing it lol. Also seeing as this game was the second FF game i ever played, it was interesting to compare this game to the difference of FFVII like the battle system was similar, GF's like the summons on FFVII, learning abilities etc. To this day, the FMV's are still rated as the best movie sequences out of all FF games since FFVII which is really cool and i completely agree. Squall is a character i can relate to a lot as he reminds me of myself, i took a big interest in all the characters in this game and Seifer is one of if not my all time favourite FF character. I felt the game dragged a bit by the end of Disk 3, the story felt rushed towards the end but that's the only negative thing about it.

Gameplay - 9/10
Characters - 9/10
Music - 10/10
Storyline - 8/10

Final Fantasy IX - Took me by surprise to be fair, i was expecting it to be quite bad from what i read about this game before it's release but was pleasantly surprised. I compare this to how good and similar FFVII was in terms of gameplay. It was great to see the game revert back to an old classic style of Final Fantasy with castles, moogles, knights (Steiner) etc. Great music by Nobuo Uematsu as always and i feel as though they did a good job of the characters in this game having a mix of human and non human characters and the relationship between them especially Steiner and Zidane. Overall it felt like a traditional Final Fantasy game.

Gameplay - 9/10
Characters - 9/10
Music - 10/10
Storyline – 7/10

Final Fantasy X – Here began the downfall of the series for me I'm afraid. Don't get me wrong! I still like every FF game but after FFIX I became slowly more and more disappointed. FFX is probably the last game (seeing as it was still good old SquareSoft) where it had the same “feeling” as the previous games. The game play itself wasn't too bad but I felt so let down when I found out there was no Overworld on this game, just a world map that you saw of all the places you went to. Also obtaining the Airship was pretty pointless if you can't fly around to where you want is it? I didn't find it at all entertaining just clicking on a place on the map and then you just turn up there! I don't know how other people felt about there being voice actors in this game, it kind of took away the Final Fantasy feeling. They could have at least given you the option whether to have just text come up on the screen. The battle system was good and traditional like the previous games though and I really liked the music in the game. The characters were somewhat boring to me although I liked it when it was discovered that Tidus was just a dream character.

Gameplay - 6/10
Characters - 5/10
Music - 8/10
Storyline – 5/10

As I mentioned, FFX-2 was a pile of crap (I only played it for 10 minutes and hated it) and FFXI is online and what I read about it isn't promising.

Final Fantasy XII - Still playing half way through FFXII as I mentioned before. I hate sounding negative but it is my opinion and I know people do agree with me. The storyline started off ok but then I felt it went downhill as time went on, characters are average but ok and unique in their own way, battle system I have to be honest I absolutely can't stand as it didn't feel like a Final Fantasy game especially as there was no battle music, boss music was good (at least they had a boss theme) and at least they had the classic victory theme somewhere in this game but only just! The music is no longer composed by Nobuo Uematsu so this is another reason I don't like the music as much, I already know there is no Overworld again to travel around in, just a map of the world. I wish I could like the game but I just can't. However, I've seen the demo version of FFXIII and I actually think this looks good so you never know, I might like it.

Gameplay - 4/10
Characters - 5/10
Music - 5/10
Storyline – 7/10


So there you have it! I will still always play Final Fantasy good or bad because I love all the games but after FFIX I just didn't like FFX and XII as much that's all, things could improve but I think ever since SquareSoft joined with Enix, it just hasn't been as good really. So what are your opinions on what i've said? Do you agree? Disagree? Discuss?


Thanks everyone.


Dan

 

[Ashe B'nargin]

^ Really glad you enjoyed FF5 so much Dan. Usually FF5 is really disliked and it's just a breath of fresh air to see another Final Fantasy fan freely enjoy Final Fantasy V =]

Like yourself not going to review FF 11 or the first three Final Fantasy games. Because haven't played enough of those games to dish out a fair and honest opinion.

Final Fantasy IV-

Really and honestly loved this game from start to finish. The opening of this game, with the Red Wings song playing in the distance as the airship flew into the main castle was brilliant [ had goosebumps up the spine ] and was quickly addicted to the games characters and music. The storyline isn't as deep as later games, but it's -pretty good for it's age. The music was amazing for it's age. Basically the whole entire game is amazing for it's age XD and you can tell how much SquareSoft pushed the SNES to the limits.

Characters 8/10
Music 9/10
Storyline 8/10
Gameplay 7/10

Final Fantasy V

Heh. This game is cute and it has one of the best battle systems in the whole entire history of FF games. [ Yup the classes ! ] adored this games almost ''anime '' sense of humor. However disliked how over-the-top the game can be sometimes, and the level of difficulty can be upmost frustrating in parts. The game has a much better than IV's Golbez. Understand he usually gets laughed at by other fans for being a tree. But he was a very creepy and haunting tree.. XD ( SERIOUS !! )
But love this game, because of how cartoony and cute it can be & the moogles !!

Characters 7/10
Music 8/10
Storyline 8/10
Gameplay 9/10

Final Fantasy VI

Ah my second-favourite Final Fantasy game ! There is so many lovable characters in this game and even the NPC's are pretty lovable, especially General Leo.
The music in this game, is probably the best in the series [ Kefka's theme, Devil's lair and the Opera song ] and the storyline is probably one of the most creative and imaginative of the series. The only thing that can get you down is the really annoying and frustrating puzzles, some of them are more deadly than FFV's like the Floating Island. Which may lead to dislike or putting down the game, because seriously did several times in the past because of the dungeons. They are unforgiving.

Characters 10/10
Music 10/10
Storyline 9/10
Gameplay 9/10

Final Fantasy VII

First Final Fantasy game and future of many spin-offs and movies. Dislike Advent Children but adore FF VII. Advent Children is FF VII done wrong, FF VII is FF VII done right. XD The storyline would be deep and amazing, if it wasn't the major screw up in the English translation which made things confusing. The characters are deep and a mixture of very likable and very not so likable. The graphics have aged horribly in this game, but back in the day they were a amazing paradise ~~ [ Think so >_> ] The fun mini-games like the motorbike chase make the game more fun and entertaining in a Arcade sort of style, and FF VII's mature storyline and many flips and twists should keep you addicted.

Characters 8/10
Music 7/10 ( 9/10 back in the day )
Graphics 5/10 ( 9/10 back in 97 )
Storyline 8/10
Gameplay 10/10

Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII was a change into the series and a good break from the same old. It was a change and a major risk from SE and think it worked. It was nice to see what the main character was thinking and expressing and it was suitable for the time it was made in and the type of age-group it was aimed towards. Think was too young to understand the game, but once in High- School you are able to relate so much to the characters much more and the games storyline. It's a deep love storyline, which split the fans VIII is a Final Fantasy is either enjoyed or loathed. And somewhere in the middle. ''

Characters 8/10
Music 8/10- Eyes on Me !
Graphics - 10/10
Storyline- 7/10
Gameplay- 8/10

Final Fantasy IX

IX has got to be the most unique game in the series, when it first came out not many younger fans understood it's style and think it flopped ?. But believe that IX is a hidden gem waiting to be found in the dust. The music is just as amazing as FF6's and the storyline is one of the most amazing in the series. The characters may of been unique and strangely designed but believe that they are the best in the series ( Persona wise )
But IX is a game that think you have to keep a open-mind for. IX isn't ''cool '' or ''badass''
but some things in the game make ''cooler '' FF's look like a joke...
Just going to say -Go IX !!

Characters- 9/10
Music -10/10
Graphics-9/10
Storyline- 10/10
Gameplay- 9/10

Final Fantasy X

Addicted to this game, just adore how addictive the battle system is in this game. The Aeons are brilliant and how you can control them is even more brilliant. The music is beautifully played but just have to be honest and say it's a major step-down from IX's, but it's not horrible. Oh way no. X's music is amazing and very emotionally played. The characters have a very creative and cool cloth design which is more Asian which is a amazing change and breath of fresh air from the European cloth design in the past.
The characters can be annoying sometimes, but blame that to SE being new and breaking in the new voice-acting system. The Storyline is great and very emotional.
3rd Favorite Final Fantasy game.

Characters 6/10
Music 9/10
Storyline 10/10
Graphics 10/10
Gameplay 10/10

Final Fantasy XII

XII is a step in the wrong direction. The lack of storyline was just terrible. The storyline is dry paint of the wall. The new governmental side of things was a interesting change though. The change in battle system grows on you rather quickly and is a nice change, it can be addictive if you really love the new change. The Party system was excellent how if you die, you can pick other people in your party in replace and love the games long and completed dungeons. The characters are weaker than previous Final Fantasy games, but there is a few that you should learn to love and like. [ Larsa, Basche ]
XII could of been stronger if it had that ''Final Fantasy '' like storyline and not wasting AMV clips on castle and Vaan looking at sand..

Characters 5/10
Music 7/10
Storyline 5/10
Graphics 10/10
Gameplay 6/10

- They were probably really crappy reviews, but it was really fun to express your opinions on the series.

 

[dan290786]

Hey thanks for your reply! What's your name just so i know?

I liked reading your thoughts on the games too, i've never actually had the pleasure of talking to someone else about these games because most of my friends havent played them (are they crazy? How could they not? Lol).

I thought Garnet from FFIX was the hottest Final Fantasy girl from all the games, it was a really fantastic game IX and so much like VII. It's nice to see we have the same opinions on a lot of the games.

I'm not sure why people wouldnt like FFV, it was so challenging and i actually understood the storyline all the way through. So Exdeath was a tree you say? I had no idea lol! Still, every villain from all the games usually turn out to be good, FFX was a bit disappointing as the main villain Sin was not even human (unless you count Seymour as the main sort of villain), but Sepherioth was definitely the most evil of the villains next to Kefka or Exdeath i would say. FFXII i have no clue who the main villain is at the moment but it's disappointing, i will complete the game though as i've completed all the others except 1 to 3 lol.

 

[Misty]

I think it's cute how I'm one of the very few to like FFXII in it's entirety.

Anyway, I'll review the ones I've completed, or near enough completed: FFIII, IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X-2, XII, TA

III: For A DS remake, it was alright. Certainly was a bit challenging, what with having no Phoenix Downs to buy, and gameplay was rather enjoyable. I liked how I travelled around the World Map funnily enough, the only real downside was that I didn't feel much for the main group you play with, thought with this being an early FF, I didn't expect too much in the way of character bio's.


Characters 6/10
Music 6/10
Storyline 8/10
Graphics 7/10
Gameplay 8/10

IV: Yeah, loved the story for this, and out of all the FF's I did play, it had a love story which didn't make me want to rip out my hair in frustration at how lame it was. It was sweet, and not too soppy. Your characters had really good backgrounds, I just wish they had a little bit more to learn when it came to abilities. Loved this a lot actually, just the battle system let it down overall.

Characters 9/10
Music 8/10
Storyline 9/10
Graphics 8/10
Gameplay 5/10

VI: Legendary game, with an amazing storyline - thoroughly enjoyed the different worlds - WoB and WoR. Kefka was a true nut of a villain, and he actually succeeded in messing up the world! Loved how you could make all your characters learn the same abilities if you wanted too, or just set certain Summons aside to a certain character if you wanted them to learn something unique. Lots of different skills to play with amongst your characters - great stuff.

Characters 10/10
Music 10/10
Storyline 10/10
Graphics 10/10
Gameplay 10/10

VII: Yeah, I used to love this game, so I can't rate it as being my worst ever. I don't like the gameplay at all, I found it very dull, and everybody, for the most part, seemed so damn miserable or just plain annoying. I know times were tough in the FFVII world, but for some reason in other games where there was troubled times, I didnt get that impression. Storyline was fab for the most part, did feel as if it dragged on though at certain points. Oh, and I LOVED the Turks <3

Characters 4/10
Music 7/10
Storyline 8/10
Graphics 7/10
Gameplay 5/10

VIII: My very first favourite, then I seemed to hate it for a while. I enjoyed the storyline immensely, although Rinoa scenes I detested - I couldn't stand her character. I loved the Junction system, pretty much my fave system ever for learning stuff. GF's were totally FTW, liked how you could use them as a shield
Sidequests were good, though I didn't like how complex the card game got! Characters, Gawd, the main party had seriously uninteresting backgrounds, and I only liked a few somewhat - Squall, Zell, Selphie. This game also had epic EPIC music, i.e. best battle music ever = Man with a Machine Gun.

Characters 4/10
Music 10/10
Storyline 9/10
Graphics 9/10
Gameplay 10/10

IX: This game just had the best Moogles ever! Decent storyline, very likeable characters, good little sidequests, esp Chocobo Hot and Cold, and a very nice gameplay system. Well rounded game altogether, nothing I disliked too much apart from having Trance wasted at the end of a battle. Beatrix = sexiest FF female evar.

Characters 9/10
Music 9/10
Storyline 9/10
Graphics 8/10
Gameplay 8/10

X: Yeah, this is an epic game - massive storyline, massive world - reasonable characters to play with. All had a history of their own, all well done me thinks. Wasn't too fond of the Sphere Grid system, or customization for Aeons, but I liked battling generally, although I thought the whole waiting for ages so you could choose your attack took the fun out of things. Nice summons, liked how you could control them. Too many FMV's though, thought the game was overflooded with them. Great music, overall it was a brilliant game. Blitzball FTW!

Characters 9/10
Music 10/10
Storyline 10/10
Graphics 9/10
Gameplay 8/10

X-2: No need for this game really, but I liked some of it nonetheless. Liked: Dresspheres, New Yevon vs Youth League drama, "Optional" challenging areas. Didn't like: Easiness of storyline, how everything was % based, having only 3 playable characters, Garment Grids, boring Shuyin and Lenne storyline, didn't like how everything mission selectable, didn't feel like how an FF should feel.
Fighting was cool, liked how characters moved into different positions after doing a move. Disappointed with final bosses, you could easily defeat them under level 50...

Characters 5/10
Music 8/10
Storyline 5/10
Graphics 9/10
Gameplay 6/10

XII: Ahhh, the game I treasure the most at the moment. I loved the characters, villains, total epic exploration, the freedom you had, actually seeing your enemies on screen, having actual trouble running away from enemies, felt so awesome. Music was sweet, liked the License Grid, Hunts and other little sidequests kept my interest growing, everything seemed so perfect for me - loved the storyline a llooooot too <3

Characters 10/10
Music 10/10
Storyline 10/10
Graphics 10/10
Gameplay 10/10

TA: Interesting gameplay, loved recruiting different talents into my clan. Battles seemed to last for an age, but I liked that. Music..nothing too spectacular. Liked the storyline in general, and the whole Law system made things even more challenging. Characters were pretty decent too.

Characters 7/10
Music 6/10
Storyline 8/10
Graphics 9/10
Gameplay 9/10

 

[Pokeslob]

I own and will reveiw the entire main series, and thank you for complimenting V, 'twas the greatest and most under-appreciated of them all! I'm not going to reveiw anyremkes, I'm talking the original games (I-III NES, IV-VI SNES, VII-IX PSX, X-XII PS2)

(FAMICOM ERA)

Final Fantasy- This was suposed to be Squaresoft's final project, finically the company was going to crash. thats were the name comes from, this was pretty much their "Final Fantasy" of making it big in the game industry. and they saw it and it was good.
anyway, this is kind of an unfair review because the following games far surpass it but it was the original and the best of its time...
it was cool that you chose your party before the game started giving you alot of chances to replay the game with diferent styles (hardest attempt for me was all white mages). also in the game you could evolve your characters into stronger jobs (Warrior becomes Knight, Black Mage becomes Black Wizard)
but the story line was pretty generic for an RPG, considering the time and conditions this game was released under I'm not going to rate it for story...
and the PSP remake was BA to

Characters- 6/10
Gameplay- 7/10
Music- 7/10
Storyline- [NOT RATED]

Final Fantasy II- This was the second game in the series, and had some improvements to the first one. The thing that really stuck out to me was the new level up system, instead of having levels your character would gain points in the areas they used (i.e swords, magic, axes) meaning you could make your characters whatever you wanted!
plus the story was pretty cool to, something about taking down the empire, it was pretty cool.

Characters- 9/10
Gameplay- 8/10
Music- 7/10
Storyline- 8/10

Final Fantasy III- This game was pretty sweet, it was the first game to let you pick your job classes and change them through out the game. And you gained new jobs at every crystal, this allowed for easy customization and flexible ways to prepare for boss battles the story line was kind of bland, it felt like FF with orphans... but it was still pretty cool, and probably the best one from the Famicom era.

Characters- 7/10
Gameplay- 8/10
Music- 7/10
Storyline- 7/10

(SUPER FAMICOM ERA)

one thing that applies to all the top three games here is that the music wasn't exactly memorable, and I found myself wondering what to do next alot...
the music thing was just at fault of the famicom not being powerful enough to rune more than like 2 sounds at a time.
anyway NEXT ERA!

Final Fantasy IV- Ah! the first game in probably the best era of FF. I'mma be honest with you here, this game was BAD ASS! You start out as a Dark Knight, and as the game progresses you turn around your ways and become a paladin. this was the first game in the series were characters personalities were 3-d and you actually felt some change in them through the story. the story was sweet to, taking down a corrupt kings and stuff, METAL.
the gameplay was sweet to, each character had there own distinct abilities, and some of there powers got sweeter as the game went by!

Characters 10/10
Gameplay 8.5/10
Music- 8/10
Storyline 9/10

Final Fantasy V- BEST FF GAME EVER! I loved this game because the characters had personality, and they were memorable! The storyline was metal as sh*t!! Exdeath is my favourite villain ever! plus the introduction of Gilgamesh, the coolest side boss ever! but one of my favourite parts about this game is the job system. the job system was essentially Final Fantasy III, done right! not only did you have the abillity to switch jobs but you could also learn abilities from those jobs and use them in other jobs (it works great when you train a monk to get barehanded them switch him to mage so he can cast high level magic and still fight one he's out of mp). plus the game always had a little comic relief here and there, which is always good
also I have no idea why the job class Mystic Knight wasn't used ever again, it was so awesome you could cast amgic on your sword so it could do both physical and elemental damage!

Characters 10/10
Gameplay 11/10
Music 10/10
Storyline 10/10

Final Fantasy VI- this was pretty sweet to, it had alot of characters to use so you never get bored with your party, plus there was a stage with all moogles!! anyway, this was also the first FF game to show the kind of futuristic side of modern FF games. I also liked the graphical improvement this gmae got over the other Super Famicom games...
so yeah it was sweet!

Characters 10/10
Gameplay 8/10
Music 9/10
Storyline 9/10

(PLAYSTATION ERA)

Final Fantasy VII- The first game to break into the 3-D realm of FF! the backgrounds are beautifully rendered!
The story line was friggin awesome!! I liked this games dark feel to it, it was kind of an underground rebellion type game! plus the introduction of spehiroth one of the coolest FF characters ever thought of! the music in this gmae had some of my favourite FF tracks, like "Those Who Fight Further" and "One Winged Angel" and this game was also the first to have limit breaks! I also thought the materia system was pretty cool, and how you could level up your materia to get stronger magic.
plus chocobo racing, need I say more?

Characters 10/10
Gameplay 9/10
Music 10/10
Storyline 10/10

Final Fantasy VIII- This is probably my second favourtie FF game! I really liked the characters in this game (except for selphie!!), and the graphical 1 up to 7 was nice! I also loved the Idea of balamb garden, it always kind of interested me having a school for raising soldiers. and this game had alot of the familiar summons we get in future FF games in their more modern form! plus I loved Squalls gunblade, that is one of the coolest weapon I think they ever came up with. really the only thing I didn't like was the magic system (you know finding the cards or whatever they were)

Characters 10/10
Gameplay 9.5/10
Music 9/10
Storyline 10/10

Final Fantasy IX- This game was good and fun, but it felt kinda childish. I liked how they mixed in the modern FF games with the old-school stuff but man the whole thing seemed a little to, to..., young?
I really liked the amount of Black Mages they had in this game, it was almost like a separate race of people
the music was sweet though.

Characters 8/10
Gameplay 9/10
Music 9/10
Storyline 7/10

god thats alot...
well I'm going to church now I'll finsihs when I get back I spose...

I'm not sure why people wouldnt like FFV, it was so challenging and i actually understood the storyline all the way through. So Exdeath was a tree you say? I had no idea lol!.

and yep hes a black mage tree!

 

[Platinum_Lies]

Interesting read so far. I have played through all the games (and the remakes) as well. I will however, skip the first three games since I none really left that much of an impression (although the remake for 1 was a vast improvement over the original).

Final Fantasy IV (remake and original): Honestly, I feel this game is slightly overrated. It is enjoyable for the most part, but the story was too rushed in my opinion and failed to flesh out completely. It didn't help that every time a character would start to develop and grow they would abruptly dissapear. It was annoying and dissapointing that such promising characters were dismissed so easily. The fact that such moments seemed contrived in an attempt to force emotion didn't help.

Characters: 4/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Music: 7/10
Storyline: 4/10
Overall: 7/10

Final Fantasy V: Surprisingly good. But then I was not expecting much since most of the fan critiques were less than stellar. The characters were interesting and easy to empathise with and the story was deep enough to compliment them. My only issue is the difference in translations between the versions, although I far more like Bartz than Butz... In regards to the gameplay, I liked the class system. It allowed for diversity and difference in player style (I personally prefer speed/agility based characters and this game allowed me to fully implement that preference).


Characters: 8/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Music: 7/10
Storyline: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Final Fantasy VI: The characters were deep, the story complex, emotional, and engaging, and first game in the series to have a truly memorable villain. I was surprised at the immensity and depth of the game, especially the latter portion of them game when much of the character development explodes. The long build-up to the endgame was wonderfully tense and surprisingly foreboding. The power of the characters, especially that of Kefka, shines. It is amazing what a true villain and antagonist does for a game's impact. What really makes the game is the fact that the player can actually effect the characters directly if they do not meet certain requirements. It is interesting to note how such changes effect the emotional impact of the game, especially how much darker the relatively minor changes make the story.

Characters: 9/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Music: 8/10
Storyline: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Final Fantasy VII: what really needs to be said here. Spectacular characters, amazing depth in both story and gameplay, awesome music, and a story that shoke the gaming world. This was the game that truly showed what games were capable of. This is also the game that took the cinematic undertones of FFVI, designed around it, and began the era of more cinematic and epic games.

Characters: 9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Music: 9/10
Storyline: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Final Fantasy VIII: a surprisingly nostalgic game. The characters are good and the story is one of the more intriguing notions in gaming. Although the symmetrical background of most of the characters seemed to convenient and the convoluted endgame (I still do not completely understand everything) did drag the game down slighlty. If not for the endgame alone, this game would probably be more fondly remembered by most fans. As to gameplay... unlike many fans, I personally enjoyed the junction system. It was interesting and added a quirky dynamic of strategy that wasn't present in previous FF games. I did not like the chocobo side-quest/mini-game, however. It felt tacked on and was nowhere near as fun or addictive as the quests in FFVII or FFIX. I was also pleasantly surprised that the soundtrack was even better than FFVII's. Everytime I hear the Balamb Garden theme, The Oath, or any of the orchestral pieces I lose myself in nostalgia.

Characters: 8/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Music: 10/10
Storyline: 8/10
Overall: 9/10

Final Fantasy IX: my second favourite Final Fantasy game. All the characters are wonderful and the story is deep and moving. Considering that this game began as an homage to earlier RPG's, I was amazed when the "cliches" and archetypes joined to form something unique and wondrous. It was the first game to inflict a twinge of melancholy due to my desire to actually travel that world. As to gameplay, while I was partially dismayed at losing junctions, I found the equipment skill system a suitable replacment and loved being able to learn new abilities. But the true gem of this game is the chocobo Hot and Cold mini-game. I absolutely love it and have found myself losing hours searching as each new chocograph is discovered. I also love the fact that the mini-game includes the development of various characters that are normally ignored in most games. It allows for a far deeper and richer world in which to explore. And again, the soundtrack managed to out-do its predecessor. "Roses of May", "Not Alone", and "A Place to Call Home" are still some of my favourite trackes of all music, let alone soundtracks in general.

Characters: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Music: 10/10
Storyline: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Final Fantasy X: The game by which all others are measured... in fact, only one book saga (Kushiel's Legacy) can even compare in all of art. When this first released, I never imagined that it would forever altar my perceptions of gaming. If there were any doubts in my mind, this game erased them. This game proved that a games are art. The characters are among the best in gaming and the story is an emotionally timeless masterpiece. This game does not merely contain that one moment that is engrained in the player's mind, it has many. From beginning to end this game smothered me in emotion. From the first notes of "At Zanarkand" in the opening scene to the Epilogue after the credits, there was not a moment where I wasn't totally immersed in the emotions of this story. But the fact that this game had me dumb-struck several times and with secondary characters for one of those moments... that is what makes this game stand out.

As for gameplay: it is perfect. The sphere grid system allowed for a surprising amount of diversity between the characters, various customising options involiving equipment was a nice amalgam of FFVII's materia and FFIX's ability system, and the optional quests are second to none. Blitzball offered a nice distraction, but the quests involving the celestial weapons were diverse and fun (okay, okay maybe not Lightning Dodger). Then there are the optional Aeons: nice to have in battle, but the history that these quests open up and then the revalations that are discovered make these quests seem as part of the main quest line. Not only do you get more on party members, but the entire world of Spira is given far more depth (especially with Anima and the Magus Sisters).

The music... I thought FFIX would forever be the pinnacle of soundtracks, gaming or otherwise. I was wrong. It took me sometime to realise it, but when I found myself continually humming quite a few of the songs, it finally hit me how special this soundtrack was. "At Zanarkand", "Someday the Dream Will End", "Ending Theme", "Wandering Flame", and "Hymn of the Fayth" (just to name a few) are the epitomy of musical composition. There are few songs that are better anywhere.

Characters: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Music: 10/10... 20/10 in all fairness.
Storyline: 10/10
Overall: 10/10

Final Fantasy XI: an MMORPG. That is all that really needs to be said. The characters and story are mediocore, by virtue of its very nature. The music is forgettable and the gameplay is frustrating. It is possibly the best MMORPG, but then from someone who has only played three that is not saying much. Online gaming just is not for me.

Characters: 4/10
Gameplay: 6/10
Music: 3/10
Storyline: 4/10
Overall: 5/10

Final Fantasy XII: ... I have several detailed reviews and discussions through-out the web, so I will keep it as brief as I can. This is the most dissapointing Final Fantasy. The characters are severely under-developed and rarely, if ever, escape the one-dimensional cliches they begin as. The story is lacking and incomplete with far too many loose ends and interesting possibilities being summarily dropped at various points in the game (the Occurians, Fran's outcast status, anything involivng Vayne). The gameplay is far too much like an MMORPG and is poorly executed. I would have preferred a system like FFX or Crisis Core over the debacle that was FFXII's system. The music was bland and never evoked emotion, which is unforgivable for a Final Fantasy. This was the first and only time that I could not like a FF title.

Characters: 3/10
Gameplay: 5/10
Music: 2/10
Storyline: 2/10
Overall: 4/10

... that is one long post. I'll come back later to discuss the compilation titles (Ivalice Alliance and FFVII and FFX sequels/prequels). Didn't really expect to write that much.

 

[Irihi]

I suppose I'll give it a go and give my reviews on the games that I have played, which really isn't that many. I think i've only played three honestly, because well I'm that lame. But here it goes!

Final Fantasy X - Ok so this was the very first FF I played, I remember being I think 12 or 13 when playing this and at first I didn't get it. I couldn't really grasp the concept of the game and actually gave up before I even left Zanarkand. Lame right? But when I got older, about 16 I found it and bought it and though of giving it another go. All I can say is that I absolutely love this game, the music and the characters are enjoyable and I love the places that you go through. The voice actors did a good job, though I didn't quite enjoy Candi Milo or Hedy Burress at some points, other then that the VA's were very good. The storyline was beautiful and very emotional so I also enjoyed that a lot as well. The battle system did take me a bit to get used to, but once I was able to get a handle on it, I grew to enjoy the battle system.

The side quests in this game also were ok, I liked having to find the Celestial Weapons and finding the Hidden Aeons, but I didn't care for the Monster Arena or Chocobo training. They just became a bit tiresome for me after a while so I didn't bother with them too much. In most games there is always a villain, in FFX I think Seymour did an awesome job being a villain, even though some don't care for him. Like everything else, he grew on me. Sometimes I did however get annoyed with him and most of the Maesters save for Kelk.

The cutscenes and FMV's in this game were pretty awesome, there were a bit too many FMV's even for small things, but I still enjoyed it. Most of the cutscenes while some were funny, majority I believe were emotional which added to the story even more. There was just the right amount of comedy and just the right amount of Emotion to make it worthwhile. As far as characters do, I did enjoy Tidus and Wakka as well as Lulu and Rikku. At the beginning I did enjoy Yuna but after a while she became a bit annoying to me and I'm not sure why.

Characters: 9/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 9/10
Music: 10/10
Storyline: 10/10


Final Fantasy X-2: This was a bit...odd to me at first. Seeing Yuna completely different then how she was in X, though I couldn't expect her to stay the same after a two year time skip. But it was definitely a change, as well as for Rikku. Paine was alright, though she just...didn't really catch my interest. She's ok but not my favorite. The Music in this game, like X was enjoyable and kinda took me back to X a bit at times, the music just sorta flowed with everything. The battle System was just once again something I needed to get used to as I had become used to the Sphere Grid and insted had to use a Garment Grid. I was a bit skeptical about this at first, not really into it but as the game went on and I got used to it I started to like it and that many Dress Spheres that the members could change into.

As the villain this time around, Shuyin was ok. He's not one of my favorite villain's but he's not that bad either. Maybe just a bit over the top at times, and I'll admit that probably like most at the beginning of this game, I thought that possibly Shuyin could have been Tidus, but that quickly changed when realized the difference in personality wise. Shuyin was pretty ok as a villain though I'll say that, he's wasn't bad and he wasn't great, he was just ok.

The FMV's were also pretty good, granted there were not as many as there was in X but I still liked the ones that they did have. And most of the cutscenes for me were pretty funny, and some emotional. For me the best cutscene would have to be Yuna's speech just before the big ending battle. For the characters in this game, Yuna progressed in my liking her, though I still find her annoying in some aspects and Hedy Burress only did a slightly better job this time around. Rikku was a delight, she's upbeat and perky and I like that because she made most of the humor. Paine was well...a little too broody for me. I didn't like her that much, most of the other characters were exceptional except Nooj.

Characters: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Music: 10/10
Storyline: 9/10

and now onto Final Fantasy XII: I have not yet completed this game but I have gotten pretty far into it to know enough. Where to begin. When I first started playing this game, plain and simple I hated it. I didn't like how the battle system was, I didn't like some of the characters in it. But just like I've stated before, after playing it and getting used to it. Everything just eventually grew on me. I think what I liked most about this game was the Music and the Graphics, they both were outstanding to me and just seemed to flow. The battle system however got to me to the most, it wasn't like any of the others and it was just freeform so to say, any enemy near by could join in on the fight instead of a certain amount to it was a bit frustrating at first. Now it's not so bad, I still get a bit aggravated with it at times, but it's not that bad as when I first started playing.

The storyline behind this game is...ok. In the beginning I liked it and enjoyed it but I feel as the game goes on, it just becomes tiresome. I still like it and enjoy it don't get me wrong, but there are some points when it feels a bit dragged out and maybe sometimes a bit meaningless. I don't really feel that emotion in this game like did with the others so it's a bit hard to grasp sometimes, the feeling between Ashe and Rasler just doesn't click with me at all. However I do think that some of the VA's did a good job, I enjoyed Balthier's VA as well as Larsa's. I however didn't like how Kari Wahlgren did Ashe's voice and I didn't enjoy Bobby Edner either, it just didn't do it for me. Keith Ferguson did a pretty good job, so I enjoyed Basch's voice as well as Fran's VA Nicole Fantl. The characters, some are annoying, like Panelo. I don't really like her character too much and I know some say that Vaan is useless, well he is only useless if you don't make him useful. Panelo and Ashe were let down's however.

Cutscenes and FMV's, ok so there are very few funny cutscenes in this game, most of it is more so serious which is a bit annoying since it's nice to have a good mix of both some good humor and Emotion. I think this game in some places lacks both. The FMV's however, the grphics in them, almost makes me think of it as being real, it is very awesome though some of the FMV's are not really worth being put into a full motion video format, they could just simply do as a cutscene. All in all though I did like some of the cut scenes and more or less the FMV's. Edit: I did like most of the places throughout Ivalice save for Balfonheim, Giza, and Osmone.

Characters: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 10/10
Music: 10/10
Storyline: 6/10

 

[Ashe B'nargin]

Hey thanks for your reply! What's your name just so i know?

I liked reading your thoughts on the games too, i've never actually had the pleasure of talking to someone else about these games because most of my friends havent played them (are they crazy? How could they not? Lol).

I thought Garnet from FFIX was the hottest Final Fantasy girl from all the games, it was a really fantastic game IX and so much like VII. It's nice to see we have the same opinions on a lot of the games.

I'm not sure why people wouldnt like FFV, it was so challenging and i actually understood the storyline all the way through. So Exdeath was a tree you say? I had no idea lol! Still, every villain from all the games usually turn out to be good, FFX was a bit disappointing as the main villain Sin was not even human (unless you count Seymour as the main sort of villain), but Sepherioth was definitely the most evil of the villains next to Kefka or Exdeath i would say. FFXII i have no clue who the main villain is at the moment but it's disappointing, i will complete the game though as i've completed all the others except 1 to 3 lol.

Might PM you the name. Thanks, don't worry had heaps of non- Final Fantasy friends in the past and used to always hide the addiction from them.

Garnet had a pretty cool personality. She made the stereotypical become the un-stereotypical. She was a princess, but she was a strong, independent one that wasn't afraid to make choices on her own. Or rely on Zidane like a girl like Rinoa would.

Yeah ! :3

Yeah Ex-Death was a tree. But think that Ex-Death is a great villain right next to Sephiroth and Kefka. But highly underrated because not many fans enjoy FF5.

Yes. Sephiroth was a amazing villain, but always wanted to thrash him whenever he mind-controlled Cloud and played with his emotions. It was like- .. you bastard..
Think the villain of FF X is strangely enough. Yu Yevon ?. Think Yu Yevon was symbolizing God or Satan. Or some weird alien that created some sort of a Cult.
And Seymour was just some man/ child who was caught up in Yu Yevon's Cult and how it twisted him and his mind. Maybe. [ Not sure. Only guesswork ]

Think the main Villian in XII is Vayne. He doesn't really come into the game fully into about maybe 9- 11 hours into the game. Depending on your level of skill.

Think people dislike FF V because they feel like the characters are too plain and don't show enough character or emotion. Or the character are way too stereotypical.

Are you going to avoid the first three Final Fantasies Dan ?. Would say at least try FF3.
Only played 10-15 minutes of FF3 and loved the game's battle system and boss theme.
And you can play songs on a piano !! =]

If could review FF 3 would give it 10/ 10.

 

[Bambi]

Bump

Cheeky

If people want to post they will find the thread, or you could like, add something to the topic yourself to make the bump justifiable

 

[Kitab]

Think the villain of FF X is strangely enough. Yu Yevon ?. Think Yu Yevon was symbolizing God or Satan. Or some weird alien that created some sort of a Cult.
And Seymour was just some man/ child who was caught up in Yu Yevon's Cult and how it twisted him and his mind. Maybe. [ Not sure. Only guesswork ]

There are always multiple villains in every FF: usually one of them stands out as being the 'main' villain but this is less the case in X...

Spoiler

Yu Yevon was the final villain and the ultimate cause of all of Spira's suffering (at least in the sense that by defeating him, Sin died for good). Yu Yevon used to be a man, a Summoner from Zanarkand, but he somehow became twisted and transformed through 1000 years of summoning Dream Zanarkand from inside Sin. Yu Yevon did not create the cult of Yevon; Yunalesca was arguably the one to blame for that. Yevon's 'teachings' (although they had little to do with him really) were propagated by the clergy of Bevelle after Yunalesca did a deal with them to make sure her father would be honoured.

As for Seymour, he was a recurring villain, but in my opinion he was not the main one. Although he was Maester of Yevon, he had his own ideas - namely, that nobody would suffer anymore if they were all dead.

I've never played FFI, II or III but would love to someday.

I played FFI for the first time last year, and I have to say, I found it surprisingly enjoyable. It starts off really hard, with gil being really tight, but then I found that it gets a lot easier and more fun.

Final Fantasy V - I loved it all the way through

I liked FFV too. A lot of people do complain about the characters being flat and whimsical, which I suppose they were; a lot of people also say that the story was not as deep as IV's or VI's. That may be valid, but personally I like V's story a lot and I might even say that it feels better than IV's. It was more mystical, and it introduced the concept of the cyclical rebirthing of the universe - i.e. the worlds split apart, the crystals shatter, the worlds' existence is threatened by the void, and so long as humans possess the virtues, the crystals are reborn and the world is united again, repeat.

I felt so let down when I found out there was no Overworld on this game, just a world map that you saw of all the places you went to. Also obtaining the Airship was pretty pointless if you can't fly around to where you want is it? I didn't find it at all entertaining just clicking on a place on the map and then you just turn up there!

They probably felt that an interactive Overworld wouldn't fit with the new realistic look and feel. In previous games, the characters could walk around on the Overworld and they were, necessarily, oversized relative to the scenery. The airship would land and it would be bigger than the towns! I do hope that they can overcome this problem though and re-introduce the Overworld in XIII.

I don't know how other people felt about there being voice actors in this game, it kind of took away the Final Fantasy feeling. They could have at least given you the option whether to have just text come up on the screen.

The fact that there was voice acting didn't bother me at all. The quality of the voice acting, on the other hand, could have been better. I think they did a much better job in XII. But remember it's only the major cutscenes that are voiced; the vast majority of the dialogue is still silent, and I expect it'll stay that way so long as they have enormous numbers of NPCs.

So there you have it! I will still always play Final Fantasy good or bad because I love all the games but after FFIX I just didn't like FFX and XII as much that's all, things could improve but I think ever since SquareSoft joined with Enix, it just hasn't been as good really. So what are your opinions on what i've said? Do you agree? Disagree? Discuss?

I am pretty sure that Enix has nothing to do with it. FFX and FFX-2 were developed by Square. X-2 just happened to be released in NA and Europe shortly after the Square-Enix merger, so it was published by Square-Enix in those territories, but it was still developed by Square.