What to start with?

[eSTAR]

Hello all!

I'm fairly new here and was thinking of starting to play FF XIII. But is there stuff i should know before? Like stories or the history? I was thinking of reading the wikia but im scared of spoilers hahaha

And also, does each FF have its own story, or each one follows the story of the one before? For example, does FFXIII follow the story of FFXII?

I own a DS and PS3, so is there anything you would consider me to start with?
I was thinking of buying XIII first, then XIII-2 after I have also seen DS games but im not sure if they're worth it xD

Thanks!
-Momo

 

[greenyxi]

Each FF has it's own universe, story, everything, so you can start with any of the numbered games and not miss out by starting with XIII.
There's not much story really in XIII, so don't worry about research or anything like that. It'll all be explained plenty in game

I personally would start with FF7, because it's such a firm fan favourite, but it really depends on if you could bare the outdated graphics or not. If you like your graphics to be modern, then you may be choosing the right FF to start with. 13 has the best graphics by far.

Hope this helped some

 

[Yaoi Master Gavin]

Most of the FF games stand alone. There are a few that are expanded into others liek the most recent 3 console games (X, XII, XIII). If you own an actual DS and not a 3DS, then I suggest FFVI. It's a good meld of the original sort of graphics with the better side of storytelling. If not, I suggest going with VIII or IX. Be warned, VIII's graphics are more realistic while IX's are more anime-ish.

 

[Phoenix Rising]

greenyxi beat me to it, each Final Fantasy game has it's own story, universe, characters, etc.

They're very diverse, with some games set in a medieval fantasy (FFIX for example) setting too others set in futuristic sci-fi universes (FFVII & FFVIII for example). I would recommend starting with FF7, but they're all great for different reasons. Anyway, welcome to FFF and to Final Fantasy in general. Whichever game you choose, I wish you a wonderful time and good luck in your quest.

And another thing, I would avoid the internet as much as possible, everywhere on the internet you're at risk of seeing spoilers, especially on FF-related websites such as this. I made the mistake of going to the Final Fantasy wiki while playing FFVIII and I almost immediately regretted afterwards.

 

[SaShman]

To add to what has already been mentioned. Each numbered game (FFVI, FFXIII) has its own story so you don't need to play any of the older games to understand the newer ones. The new games often feature references to older games but these are mostly trivial and serve little purpose in the actual story.

Also some of the numbered games have direct sequels and prequels. These games generally have a subtitle eg: FFVII: Crisis Core or FFIV: The After Years. Except for cases like FFX-2 and FFXIII-2.

One more thing. FFXII is a bit of a special case because it takes place in the same world as FF-Tactics and Vagrant Story. With that said the games apparently take place at different time periods so their stories don't really affect each other.

And another thing, I would avoid the internet as much as possible, everywhere on the internet you're at risk of seeing spoilers, especially on FF-related websites such as this. I made the mistake of going to the Final Fantasy wiki while playing FFVIII and I almost immediately regretted afterwards.

I'd also avoid places like FFwiki if you want to avoid spoilers. As for this site, when I first joined, I was able to avoid spoilers by just staying away from the forums for the games that I hadn't played yet.

 

[eSTAR]

Each FF has it's own universe, story, everything, so you can start with any of the numbered games and not miss out by starting with XIII.
There's not much story really in XIII, so don't worry about research or anything like that. It'll all be explained plenty in game

I personally would start with FF7, because it's such a firm fan favourite, but it really depends on if you could bare the outdated graphics or not. If you like your graphics to be modern, then you may be choosing the right FF to start with. 13 has the best graphics by far.

Hope this helped some

First of all, thank you for your reply!
My friends also suggested me to start with FFVII! I think its the fan favorite haha. I'll be watching Advent Children first then i'll decide if i'm gonna buy it!

 

[C i d]

First of all, thank you for your reply!
My friends also suggested me to start with FFVII! I think its the fan favorite haha. I'll be watching Advent Children first then i'll decide if i'm gonna buy it!

NO NO
don't watch advent children first because it happens AFTER FFVII.
Well unless you don't mind spoilers

 

[eSTAR]

To add to what has already been mentioned. Each numbered game (FFVI, FFXIII) has its own story so you don't need to play any of the older games to understand the newer ones. The new games often feature references to older games but these are mostly trivial and serve little purpose in the actual story.

Also some of the numbered games have direct sequels and prequels. These games generally have a subtitle eg: FFVII: Crisis Core or FFIV: The After Years. Except for cases like FFX-2 and FFXIII-2.

One more thing. FFXII is a bit of a special case because it takes place in the same world as FF-Tactics and Vagrant Story. With that said the games apparently take place at different time periods so their stories don't really affect each other.



I'd also avoid places like FFwiki if you want to avoid spoilers. As for this site, when I first joined, I was able to avoid spoilers by just staying away from the forums for the games that I hadn't played yet.

Yeah, i agree!
I went to FF Wikia before signing up here, and when i saw the warning saying: "SPOILER ALERT" i immediately closed the window hahaha.

I am considering to buy FFXII on DS since its around 10$ and im saving up for XIII! I will see on buying the rest!

ARRGGHH WHY CANT I JUST BUY ALL OF THEM T___T I SHOULD'NT SPEND ALL MY MONEY ON YUGIOH!!!!

 

[C i d]

eSTAR
The FFXII in the DS is actually the sequel to the real FFXII. FFXII is only available for the PS2.

Oh and also, in case you missed the previous post, advent children occurs after the original FFVII, so it will contain spoilers if you haven't played the game beforehand.

Anyway, whatever you will be playing, enjoy! =)

 

[SaShman]

[FONT=#B18904]NO NO
don't watch advent children first because it happens AFTER FFVII.
Well unless you don't mind spoilers [/FONT]

This. Also when I watched the movie the first time, before I played FFVII, it made little sense to me and wasn't very enjoyable.

 

[eSTAR]

eSTAR
The FFXII in the DS is actually the sequel to the real FFXII. FFXII is only available for the PS2.

Oh and also, in case you missed the previous post, advent children occurs after the original FFVII, so it will contain spoilers if you haven't played the game beforehand.

Anyway, whatever you will be playing, enjoy! =)

OMG seriously? Because i was about to watch it now 0.0

ARGG what would i do without all of your help guys? My FF experience would be ruined hahaha much love to all of you <3

 

[C i d]

Actually, for your information, there is a prequel to FFVII, called crisis core. It's a PSP game. However, most important events in crisis core is actually found in FFVII through flashbacks. Crisis core is released after FFVII. So most fans played FFVII first before the prequel. It won't really ruin the experience at all if you play FFVII first in this case.

 

[Lord_Jaroh]

Hello all!

I'm fairly new here and was thinking of starting to play FF XIII. But is there stuff i should know before? Like stories or the history? I was thinking of reading the wikia but im scared of spoilers hahaha

And also, does each FF have its own story, or each one follows the story of the one before? For example, does FFXIII follow the story of FFXII?

I own a DS and PS3, so is there anything you would consider me to start with?
I was thinking of buying XIII first, then XIII-2 after I have also seen DS games but im not sure if they're worth it xD

Thanks!
-Momo

Heh, I would say to start with XIII as any other Final Fantasy you play after that one will be better.

All of them are individual stories, aside from the direct sequels (X-2, XIII-2, etc), so you won't miss anything there. However going backwards in graphics/music is a turn-off for some, and even though the earlier final fantasies are far less "graphically intense" they are far better games, but most people gloss over them as being worse because of it.

If it were up to me, I'd play IV, VI, IX and XII and skip any of the others. Myself, I'm not a fan of IX, but others find it very "nostalgic" of the earlier ones, even though it's ending and characters are far weaker.

 

[Lirael]

First and foremost, welcome to FF Forums!

Following on from Yeul Kreiss' post, I've found Crisis Core on the PSP to be a good introduction to the FFVII Universe and far more enjoyable. I'm good with old graphics but something about VII just didn't appeal to me before.

Final Fantasy VIII, X and XIII-2 are my personal favourites, so I'd say start with one of those. VIII is available on the PSN I believe and the story is fantastic. There's a strong romance plot, too, whereas the romance in VII is suggested.

When it comes to X, I guess I'd wait until it comes out in HD, but certainly do get it when you can! The game is absolutely beautiful. The story and characters are my favourite in the series, as is the music. The world is probably second to the world in Final Fantasy XII. The battle system follows a sequence which you can manipulate by choosing defensive rather than offensive moves and the Sphere Grid allows you to develop your characters in a way you see fit, more so than I think any FF game has done before or since, although older FF titles do allow you to choose what each character does through the job system.

XIII-2 comes after XIII but it's a VAST improvement, both in terms of gameplay and story. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed XIII, but it wasn't up to true FF standard. Rather than XIII, I'd suggest VII, VIII OR IX as a starter since it would be terrible to have a poor first experience of FF.

P.S.
I felt the D.S. titles weren't as good as the Classics, particularly FFXII: Revenant Wings, but you could check out the remake of FFIV.

 

[Starships]

About playing Crisis Core first before Final Fantasy VII. I disagree.

Some things in FF VII are meant to be seen first, otherwise you get confused or it's less exciting or surprising.

I actually recommend leaving the FF VII series alone for a while and do any other FF's later and wait till your used to older graphics and older FF games, then touch FF7 and it's spin- offs.

FF VII came out first and if you play Crisis Core before it alot of storyline twists and things about the character Cloud are ruined. Plus in Crisis Core alot of the storyline and plot - twists are changed, FF VII is the original and the true story so playing Crisis Core first and then seeing the changes within FF VII will just confuse you, or make you hate the original game, which shouldn't be so.

You seem really interested in FF13 so I recommend playing FF XIII and FF XIII-2 first.

About the DS games most of them are worth it. FF IV for a example is really good.

 

[Shaissa]

Well the big thing to know...

The FFVII series from chronological Order: is Crisis Core, VII, Dirge of Cerberus, then Advent Children.

the other games that have a sequels are IV, X, and XIII, which X and XIII just have the number 2 in it.

What game to start with though is really up to you. VII is the most popular, X is the next. XIII is the most sci-fi one (In my own opinion). I-V, IX and XII are mid-evil periods. I-VI are in 2D graphics. VII-IX+Tactics are on PS1 and have PS1 graphics. X-XII are PS2. So I guess if you wanna know any general about the stories of each one I can tell ya but... I will leave it up to you.

 

[C i d]

Well the big thing to know...

The FFVII series from chronological Order: is Crisis Core, VII, Dirge of Cerberus, then Advent Children.

I believe Dirge of Cerberus occurs after Advent Children, isn't it? If I'm not wrong, the secret ending of DoC hints to a further sequel.

 

[Grimer]

You have a PS3 and a DS you say?


Since thats the case I reccomend getting VI for Gameboy Advance since the DS can play those games, and picking up IX from the PS1 Classics downloads for the PS3. Theres a HD re-release of X coming soon to the PS3, so I reccomend getting that one too. I think between those 3 games you'll see the different sides fo the FF series, as each of those 3 is pretty different from the other. VI and IX have more exploration while X is more linear. VI is in 2D while IX and X are in 3D. VI has no cutscenes, IX has cutscenes that are cartoonish, and X has cutscenes that are semi realistic along with voice acting. The types of settings also differ between the 3 games. (VI and IX are more similar tho compared to X)


Last thing, stay away from VII cuz the graphics are an eye sore and Cloud Strife is the biggest bum to ever grace the series.

 

[Shaissa]

I believe Dirge of Cerberus occurs after Advent Children, isn't it? If I'm not wrong, the secret ending of DoC hints to a further sequel.

Oh your right my bad

DOC is 3 years after the original and AC is 2 years after the original... oops sorry

 

[Starships]

Last thing, stay away from VII cuz the graphics are an eye sore and Cloud Strife is the biggest bum to ever grace the series.

Cloud Strife is not a bum. He has a job, a career. The graphic have aged badly yes, though graphics shouldn't keep you from playing a video game or Final Fantasy game. Otherwise there would be no point in playing anything from 2002 under, which would be extremely shallow.