General Final Fantasy Thread

[henrymidfields]

Given my resurgence of interest in the Final Fantasy series, I've made a general thread to kick off some discussion. As for me, I only played 10, 10-2, and 8 over a decade ago, but I am thinking about getting 9, as I heard many fond stories from other players. I've also recently went to a concert by the Consouls - a Sydney-based 4-piece jazz ensemble - who played the songs of FF7, in chronological order, on the day that happened to be the 20th Anniversary of FF7, all in jazz arrangements, so that's something I'll have to look into.

Okay, to kick-start some discussion:

I've also had some looks on Let's Play footages on World of Final Fantasy, and all it's chibi-cuteness...which also got me interested. Nevertheless, I started to wonder about the backstory of Besaid from FFX. (some spoilers)

Spoiler

WoFF!Besaid looks quite different from the town in the original game, particularly how the village is on the coast, and the buildings looking more permanent in WoFF. I'm wondering whether this is an Spira on an alternate timeline where Sin does not exist (or only a minor threat at worst). I know FFX!Kilika have wooden huts that gets destroyed not long after Yuna's pilgrimage starts - perhaps because it was easier to reconstruct after Sin's destruction, as Sin generally prefers the ocean. The temple of Yevon and its more permanent structure, on the other hand, is built higher above.

At first I thought that WoFF's story took place sometime after X-2 but considering Yuna is wearing her Summoner's clothes, it couldn't be that. The Church of Yevon lost a lot of credibility by the start of X-2's story, and all the aeons are unsummonable too. In addition, Tidus seemed to have apparently not met Yuna before when Lann and Rayne see them together later in the arc (from one of the Japanese LPs I saw), which would look strange if X-2's true ending actually happened.

Perhaps a timeline where Yu Yevon didn't create Sin and Dream Zanarkand (or did not even exist)? Perhaps one which Zanarkand wasn't completely levelled, and in turn continuing being an actual city where WoFF!Tidus is born in? Perhaps one where people didn't rely on the Church of Yevon on the level of X's Spira, and where the Church actually had to reform? Or maybe Summoners and their jobs are more or less separated from the Church in WoFF!Spira?

Pointless? Maybe. But it's still gets me intrigued about the world-building.

 

[Stratelier]

I played the series from its original, FF1 on the NES. Brutal and grueling, and it turns out not always for good reasons. The remakes are generally easier, not the least reason being added item descriptions that tell you what the damn weapons/armor actually DO (and the much-improved equipment inventory handling -- dear God, was the original a nightmare).

Haven't played anything in the series since FF12, partly because of getting a PS3 late to the generation party. (Still not quite ready to get a PS4.)

Bravely Default is best recent FF.

FF6 is still best FF.

FF7 is overrated.

Spoiler: Why I say that about FF7

First, the technical design. I tried playing a demo of the PC port of the day, but maybe the installation messed up because when I actually played it, all the pre-rendered backgrounds were a scrambled mess of nonsensical noise. 3D rendering and FMVs were fine, though. But it completely and utterly broke any suspension of disbelief I could invest in the setting, and as first impressions go, I never got it back.

Second, the stylistic design. The peculiar semi-chibi style used in the overworld with its blocky shoulders and wiry limbs is just plain ugly -- I get that it's basically trying to adapt the 16-bit sprite look to a 3D space, but ... seriously, it was bad even compared to other titles of the day. The 3D battle sequences used much better 3D models that actually matched their official designs.

Third, I didn't like the Materia system. It was ... just okay, I guess? But it felt very Western and D&D-ish, even more so than the Magicite system from FF6. Every character was functionally identical (beyond minor differences in weaponry, and their personal Limit Breaks). I prefer each character in the cast to be distinct from the outset. Yes I often put certain Materia on certain characters only for thematic reasons (including an odd but functionally sound idea to give Aeris in the back row the Cover materia), but I also tended to spread some Materia (e.g. Cure) around the team as a whole solely for practical reasons, and this makes a lot of characters feel "samey".

Fourth, the setting. It's THE game that marked the series shifting from that traditional 'medieval high fantasy' to the 'futuristic sci-fantasy'. The inclusion of actual (if fictional) firearms and improved attack animations really drove this home, even if most of your fighting was by traditional close-range weapons. Sure, the Vector Empire from FF6 could be assumed to have firearm-toting soldiers (not to mention the Magitek armors) but that was the 16-bit era where enemies consisted solely of illustrated character art, firearms (even just ranged weaponry in general) wasn't something you actually saw in overworld sprites and cutscenes.

Oh, and by the time I was able to play the game on its proper platform, I was already totally spoiled to Aeris's death.

So FF7 isn't my "nostalgia train" - FF1 and 6 already claimed that role in my life. FF7 did a lot of experiments on hardware the devteam really didn't know how to get the most out of yet and a few key parts of it just didn't work, and it marked a significant shift in overall tone and feel of the franchise as a whole, as Bethesda decided that The Elder Scrolls 6 should be set in a region laid waste by post-cataclysmic fallout.

 

[henrymidfields]

@Stratelier Yeah, the original FF7 does kind of look ugly with chibi polygons gone wrong. I don't know much about the Materia in FF7; was FF8's junction system an improvement? Hopefully at least the gameplay will be revamped in the PS4 remake.

 

[Username19]

Well I started the series with X and loved it so much I worked my way backwards from there and of course played the new ones as they came.

FF X is still my all time favorite. Loved the characters, story, sphere grid, and the music. I've mentioned many times across the forums that I believe it to be the best in the series so I wont say anymore on it. xD

After much heckling from "real" FF fans I finally got 7 downloaded on PS3 and played it even though I knew like the whole story already. It wasn't bad it was just alright. I'm sure at the time of its release the story might have seemed exciting but to me going back to it years later it seemed kind of dull. Also I had a few people swear up and down to me that 7 was the funniest game in the series and that it had the best humor. Yeah it had a few chuckle worthy moments but the humor seemed really .. juvenile to me. I'm sure I didn't enjoy it as much because I'm biased towards some other games in the series but it for sure isn't as good as all the hype it gets. Still excited for the remake though.

I enjoyed both FF 8 and 9. Both seem to get a hard time from older players which I don't understand why.

FF 12 is the game I disliked the most. I couldn't get into the combat or the characters. The story itself was pretty cool but the characters were the worst. My friends tell me Id like the remaster more because of all the extra content but I haven't started it up yet.

13 and 13-2 were both fun and had cool story lines. Lightning Returns sucked. It fixed a lot of the things people had problems with but the story they went with seemed to undo all the awesomeness of the previous two games. It was a cluster F*** and the ending was trash.

FF14 is surprisingly really fun. The customization is way more in depth then I anticipated. I thought all the cool cosmetics would have to be purchased but you can get most of them in game. Story was really fun and music is beautiful. Best part is it works really well on PS4 so I don't have to try making the PC version work!

15 is great. Even better then I had ever imagined it being. Its different and in a good way. Really need to go through and finish it.

 

[Stratelier]

I don't know much about the Materia in FF7; was FF8's junction system an improvement?

lol NOPE

FF7 Materia:

Spoiler

- Materia is the foundation of FF7's magic/skill system.
- Most weapons/armors in FF7 have slots that you equip materia into. Only materia equipped in slots can actually be used.
- Anyone can equip any materia.
- Some materia (e.g. summons) have limited uses per battle.
- Blue materia are "support" materia and only take effect when placed in a 'paired' slot next to another materia.
- All equipped materia collect their own AP from battles and level up individually to unlock new skills or extra uses.
- E.g. want to use a Fira spell on multiple enemies? First you need to level up the "Fire" materia to unlock Fira. Then you need to pair it with a blue "All" materia. Oh, and the All materia has limited uses per battle.

FF8 Junction:

Spoiler

- All magic is consumable items. You acquire them constantly, but also have to occasionally conserve them to be sure you don't run out at the wrong time.
- Every character has a "Draw" command that basically steals X quantity of magic from the target and can be used without limit. Different enemies drop different magics.
- Every character can be equipped with a "Guardian Force" (esper/eidolon/etc.) which provides them some elemental and stat buffs and levels up separately from them. So if Squall is talking in-game about his "GF" he's actually not referring to Rinoa.
- In addition to (or instead of?) using spells directly, every character can also "Junction" magic to their stats. This can do things like add status/elemental damage to a weapon, add status/elemental resistance, or just plain buff a stat. However, which stats you can buff depend on your equipped GF, and the strength of the buff is directly related to how much quantity of the Junctioned spell you have stocked in your inventory.
- E.g. if you junction Ultima to your HP stat then your max HP shoots way up, but gets reduced any time you actually cast Ultima.
- Oh, and the game always scales enemies to match your level; they learn new skills automatically at certain levels. Enemies do not scale with GF or junctions (which is exploitable for fun and profit as there's a skill which can kill enemies for only AP, not XP).

Both systems are better at certain things and worse at others; they are simply "different". Neither one is like the equippable Job system (FF3, FF5, FFX2, FF12HD, BD) or innate character classes (FF1, FF4, FF6, FF9).

 

[henrymidfields]

lol NOPE

FF7 Materia:

Spoiler

- Materia is the foundation of FF7's magic/skill system.
- Most weapons/armors in FF7 have slots that you equip materia into. Only materia equipped in slots can actually be used.
- Anyone can equip any materia.
- Some materia (e.g. summons) have limited uses per battle.
- Blue materia are "support" materia and only take effect when placed in a 'paired' slot next to another materia.
- All equipped materia collect their own AP from battles and level up individually to unlock new skills or extra uses.
- E.g. want to use a Fira spell on multiple enemies? First you need to level up the "Fire" materia to unlock Fira. Then you need to pair it with a blue "All" materia. Oh, and the All materia has limited uses per battle.

Both systems are better at certain things and worse at others; they are simply "different". Neither one is like the equippable Job system (FF3, FF5, FFX2, FF12HD, BD) or innate character classes (FF1, FF4, FF6, FF9).

Oh, right. I know you have to draw magic from enemies in FF8. I thought it was essentially a similar thing with FF7. As for the enemy levels in FF8, I remember, during the Dollet Raid at the start of the game, levelling up Seifer up to Lv 60+ to get high-levelled enemies. Squall and Zell were KOed the entire time as the enemies' levels are dependent on the average level of non-KOed characters. And I drew tons of Firagas and other higher-levelled magic from the enemies and transferred them over to Selphie (who I think came in Level 8) to cheese Disc 1.

 

[FinalArcadia]

First got into the franchise with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which then led me to Final Fantasy I and II on the GBA (the Dawn of Souls versions) and then from there I pretty much played all the main series minus the MMOs, though I'd love to try XIV someday.

I-III: All decent games in their own right, especially for how old they are. I appreciate the simplicity of I and the fact that II started having more of a story (though I hate the stat progression in II so much). III introduced the job system, so I am thankful to it for that. The DS version is a bit annoying though. On a side note, I wish they'd just replace the Onion Knight representative for III in Dissidia with Luneth. I hate the Dissidia Onion Knight SO MUCH because he's incredibly annoying and he's just a fill-in since III NES didn't have a defined protag. Warrior of Light I'm okay with for FFI (helps that he's not a kid character), but Onion? No.

IV: I really like this one. I like the world of IV and it has a lot of memorable moments. Incredible soundtrack, I adore every battle theme from this game. Honestly, if it were up to me, I'd have replaced Edge as the "final, permanent" party member with Edward, but whatever. Edge redeemed himself in the final dungeon for me, where he miraculously pulled his own weight over Kain, who suddenly kept dying on me for some reason. Also, Golbez is cool.

V: Excellent gameplay. The job system here made it a blast, and I loved grinding for points to level up the jobs. Story-wise, it's just okay and the characters aren't really as deep as in some others, but they do their job and are at least memorable. The song "Home, Sweet Home" is really nice too

VI: Good game, but I personally don't think it's the masterpiece that a lot of fans make it out to be. Locke is the best character in this one, he had a really good backstory and character arc. I... don't have much to say for this one; I enjoy it, but it's not one that I have strong feelings for to talk about.

VII: The game with the best main theme. The "Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII" is beautiful and feels both optimistic while tinged with some melancholy in a way that fits the game very well. I really like the materia system in VII too, though I'm not a fan of missable materia like this game does at times. I really like Cloud as a protag and feel connected to him as a character, and other favorites from this game are Cid (who I've gotten on FF personality tests a lot, and I totally get why lmao), Tifa, and Rufus. The party doesn't really feel like a "team" though since a lot of them barely interact with each other. Sephiroth is lame to me, but the Shinra characters were compelling antagonists.

VIII: I wish I could like this one more. There are individual things it does very well, but others it does very poorly. I think it's poorly paced for one, some sections are real slogs. But it also has some very memorable scenes that are very powerful (Squall's outburst when everyone is talking about Seifer in past-tense is a great scene in particular). Characters are a mixed bag; Squall is a good protagonist, but a lot of the other party members get like a few moments in the limelight and then they might as well not even be there in the "Squall and Rinoa + Laguna" show. Oh, and the junction/GF/draw setup. Ugh, I wish this game could be remade with a more traditional setup.

IX: One of my favorites. Love IX in pretty much every way other than the battle system being a bit slow. Even then, it doesn't detract from the overall experience though. Zidane is one of my favorite protagonists, he's just so smart and feels like a leader. Garnet is a good main female character, though I'm more of an Eiko fan myself. Actually, I like the entire playable cast, even Amarant, who I used to hate but grew to appreciate over time. Kuja is one of the best villains of the series. IX also has an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack. God, it's so cohesive and wonderful.

X & X-2: My favorite main series game is X. To me, it tells the most complete, concise story and has a wonderful cast of characters. Tidus grows so much, Yuna does too, her guardians are all interesting and actually feel like a team who truly cares for one another. I also LOVE Seymour, he's my favorite villain in the series. Wonderful soundtrack, and very memorable in remembering where each song plays. Sphere Grid was a nice stat progression system, and the battles were quick and nice with being able to swap in party members. X-2 also has a fantastic battle system, and I ADORE the dresspheres. I would kill for that battle system to come back. I actually really appreciate the story in X-2, though it seems very divisive in the fanbase. It's nice to see Yuna's growth and how Spira has changed.

XII: Honestly? I enjoy XII, but I think the recent trend of people hyping it after the remaster is a bit unfounded. Some characters are really good (Ashe, Larsa, Balthier), but a lot are bland (I actually don't mind Vaan though), and the story doesn't grab me. The soundtrack is probably my least favorite in the entire main series barring maybe FFIII. It is so generic and blah. Gameplay is fun though, and the Gambit system was genius. I really do find it a bit baffling though how some people think of XII as the last good Final Fantasy. I like both XIII and XV that followed more myself.

XIII, XIII-2, & LR: I'm a big fan of the XIII trilogy. XIII has the strongest playable cast aside from maybe X, in my opinion. Every character (well, except maybe Fang, she was a bit stagnant, but not in a bad way) grew and had development, and they felt like a true team by the end. Lightning and Hope's interactions, Sazh and Vanille... good stuff. I love the Paradigm system and the Crystarium, though they were absolutely improved in XIII-2. XIII-2, meanwhile, is one of my top faves in the entire series. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Serah and Noel's relationship and how natural they are with each other while also helping each other grow. I was afraid of only having only two main party members being dull, but I was pleasantly surprised by how focusing on Noel and Serah gave both plenty of time to shine (Noel is my favorite FF character period), and the monster 3rd party slot was fun to customize (though I think Hope could've worked as a 3rd party member for a lot of the game). XIII-2's soundtrack is killer as well, it's one of the few I actually own a copy of and I love the vocal tracks especially. Lightning Returns is a good game too, though my least favorite of the three. I wish it had the Paradigm setup, but I liked all the different garbs and their abilities. Kinda sucked to have the final game of the set have only Lightning as a playable character though.

XV: People are WAY too harsh on this one. Could it have been more polished and finished? Yes, absolutely. But what we got ended up being one of my favorite games in the series. I adore Noctis with every fiber of my being, and damn did Ray Chase do a fantastic job voicing him. The rest of the party is very likable too, with Ignis being my fave. But you can just feel the camaraderie between the four, and I feel for all of them when they go through hard times. Some of the rest of the cast could've used more (Ravus, Luna...), but the journey of XV was stellar and I love it and the world of Eos. Music was great too (that Cleigne battle theme, hoo boy), and I enjoy the gameplay a lot. Would've liked Ignis and the rest to be playable in the main story, but I understand why we just have Noctis, and Noctis has plenty of fun tools at his disposal.

As for other games, I am an unabashed FFTA fan. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is my favorite game of the series and I adore Marche as a protag. Gameplay is A+. FFTA2 has Luso, who is super lame and I hate him quite frankly lol. But it also has Adelle, who I really like, so eh. Tactics (the PSone game) is okay, super overrated imo.

Type-0 was great. It took a while for me to get into it, but once I did, I became very attached to Class Zero... and of course, their super hot wonderful instructor, Kurasame. Gameplay was super fun. Ace was my favorite to play as, along with Sice and Seven. The story could've been told better (less Rubicon info, more in-game info), but after thoroughly understanding what all happened I like it a lot.

Crystal Chronicles deserves a remake. And I mean the Gamecube one, not the blah ones that followed. The Gamecube one has an amazing soundtrack (another one I actually own), fun gameplay, and is an absolute blast to play multiplayer. My sisters and I had enough GBAs and link cables to play together, and it was so much fun.

Dissidia is wondeful. 012 was obviously better than the original, but the gameplay is very solid with plenty of variety between all the characters and their movesets. The story mode was great too; the story itself is very cliche, but it's fun seeing all the characters interact and having some actual meaty singleplayer content in a fighting game. I hope Dissidia NT is as good. I enjoyed the beta test, but I'm a bit nervous that it won't be as good for singleplayer as the previous ones were.

Theatrhythm is my most played 3DS game ever (Curtain Call, I mean; I have well over 400 hours logged in that haha). I mean, what's not to love? FF music + rhythm gameplay, perfect. I like my team of Noel, Serah, Yuna + whoever I feel like as a 4th slot. I hope we get a Theatrhythm on the Switch, even just a port of the recent arcade game that Japan has.

Super long post lol, sorry. But I am a huge FF fan and I could talk about Final Fantasy on and on and on...

EDIT: Crap, I forgot World of Final Fantasy! I'm ashamed I forgot since I love that game. I platinum'd it and enjoyed every second of it. And I think Lann and Reynn are underrated as characters. Lann especially, he's adorable and funny.

 

[henrymidfields]

@FinalArcadia I totally agree with yoir appreciation for X-2's story and worldbuilding. There seems to be a dearth of stories that has a happier sequel, and X-2 constantly reminds us that it was due to Yuna and Co's tireless efforts and sacrifices that Spira changed for the better. It's more lighthearted, and for a really good reason, and that's what makes this sequel's story actually awesome.

 

[Stratelier]

FFX-2's more lighthearted, and for a really good reason, and that's what makes this sequel's story actually awesome.

On the other hand, I definitely didn't care for how jarring the contrast in tone was between it and FFX. I don't mind lighthearted stories with goofy moments, but for me a lot of it seemed a little too goofy and lighthearted. Oh, and the opening musical number didn't help it much (what is this, Kingdom Hearts?).

Also, I just generally don't like the ATB system (FF4 thru FFX-2, save FFX).

FF5, sadly the only one, did something really cool with its ATB system: Lv.1 Time spell "Speed" pauses the ATB timer for about 10 seconds whenever a party member's turn comes up.

A key reason FF9's battle system was so slow is due to background loading the assets for special attacks (this also happens in FF12 but it is not as obvious).

ATB is also just generally exploitable with the default 'wait mode' setting (e.g. character casting lengthy summon animation? Pop up a menu to stop the clock while animation plays, this will delay when monsters get their next turn).

FF12 did one thing absolutely right with its system, allowing you to select your menu commands in advance of the character's actual turn (even without Gambits), also having the Fight command spam itself automatically.

FF4DS also did another thing absolutely right by pausing the ATB clock every time any character started executing their action, which basically fixed all the ATB exploits in one fell swoop.


Not having played FF13 or later, I can't say anything about them firsthand. Heck, the most recent FF game I've played is Bravely Default, and its modern twist on the old-school turn based system is so awesome you wonder why nobody thought of it sooner.

 

[ReturnofMCH]

FF7 may be overrated, but it's influence on the industry CANNOT be denied
if you asked someone "hey did you play dragon warrior 4" back in the nes days, they'd call you a nerd
now if you ask someone "hey did you play persona 5" they look at you with a "well duh" face.
my personal favorite FF is 8, followed by 11, but I like all 15 mainline games for different reasons.

 

[henrymidfields]

Who's thinking about getting the FFVII remake?

 

[FinalArcadia]

Who's thinking about getting the FFVII remake?

Definitely me! Though I'd love to know how far in development all the installments of the remake truly are. I get the sinking feeling it won't release until a PS5 is out, but if that means it's polished and well-made, then that's fine.

Anyone have any particular hopes/wishes for the remake?

I think it'd be cool to have unlockable outfits for the cast based on their other appearances (Advent Children outfits, DoC Yuffie, Crisis Core Aerith, etc), but have them be kinda "secret" so they feel like an accomplishment.

Spoiler: FFVII spoilers

though I dunno where they could do that for Aerith given what happens to her, since you'd barely have any time to use an alt costume

Have they confirmed that the other party members will still be playable? I can't remember if we've seen Barrett playable in the few trailers/teasers we've had, but I really hope we can still play as everyone and they're not just AI party members. XV is adding in the option to actually play as Prompto/Ignis/Gladio in the main game soon (WOOO! I didn't think they'd do it, but thank you Square-Enix!!), so I think that bodes well for VII Remake doing similarly.

 

[henrymidfields]

For the time being, I might start with 4, do 5 & 6, then 9, and then 12. For 7, I'll wait for the remake; for 8 & 10, I've already played them.

I'm quite split on my decision to get the later games. Does anyone know how much time I need to go through 13 and 15? I'm asking this as I've now got actual commitments and the like.

 

[FinalArcadia]

I'm quite split on my decision to get the later games. Does anyone know how much time I need to go through 13 and 15? I'm asking this as I've now got actual commitments and the like.

XIII is fairly linear and limits how much you can even grind to an extent for most of the game, so it's not too bad length-wise. It does have some long cutscenes though that add to the time, and some boss fights felt like they took quite a while, to me anyway. Going for 100% completion for the platinum trophy would take a while though. XIII-2 is I'd say shorter than XIII, and Lightning Returns even shorter than that.

XV seems shorter than XIII to me. Especially if you don't do every single sidequest as it's available and just save some for post-game. You'd probably be plenty leveled up anyway even without a ton of sidequests, though they enhanced the experience of going on a journey for me. But definitely not a necessity if you just want to see the main story through.

 

[henrymidfields]

XIII is fairly linear and limits how much you can even grind to an extent for most of the game, so it's not too bad length-wise. It does have some long cutscenes though that add to the time, and some boss fights felt like they took quite a while, to me anyway. Going for 100% completion for the platinum trophy would take a while though. XIII-2 is I'd say shorter than XIII, and Lightning Returns even shorter than that.

Long cutscenes shouldn't be a problem as long as the story is good - which is my next question. Is the triology actually good? I've been getting a lot of conflicting opinions elsewhere...

Does anyone know how difficult is FF4? I heard that the DS is just as difficult as the original SNES version, and that people dis-recommend the DS version for that reason. Is that correct? Should I get the Steam version instead?

 

[Water Max]

Does anyone know how difficult is FF4? I heard that the DS is just as difficult as the original SNES version, and that people dis-recommend the DS version for that reason. Is that correct? Should I get the Steam version instead?

The Steam version of FFIV is the same as the DS version. I have been playing the iOS version of FFIV on my iPad and iPhone recently which I know it is the same as the Steam and DS versions and I don't think it is too hard although there have been several bosses which I have had to find out how to defeat and I think I am about halfway through its story. I have finished 5 Final Fantasy games beforehand so maybe FFIV on iOS is easier for me than other people.

The other 5 Final Fantasy games that I have completed were finished in this order: 1st FFVI on iOS, 2nd FFXIII on Steam, 3rd FFIX on Steam, 4th FFX on PS4/PSVita and 5th FFVII on iOS. My favourite Final Fantasy games are VI and IX. My first Final Fantasy game was actually FFVII on PS1 but it was FFVI on iOS that made me like the Final Fantasy series a lot and I also think FFVII is overrated because there are better Final Fantasy games. In October I was speed running though FFVI on my SNES Classic Mini at the same time as other Final Fantasy fans in the UK and I was the fastest one in the group but unfortunately due to my university studies I had to stop the speed run before completion so I want to eventually finish that speed run later on in December or January when I am less busy. As well as trying to complete FFIV on iOS for the first time, I am also trying to complete FFVIII on Steam for the first time when I'm not using my iPhone or iPad.

 

[FinalArcadia]

Long cutscenes shouldn't be a problem as long as the story is good - which is my next question. Is the triology actually good? I've been getting a lot of conflicting opinions elsewhere...

There are people who really love the XIII trilogy, people who hate them, and everyone in-between haha. I'm one of the people who loves the games personally, and I really enjoyed the plot. XIII itself is the strongest plot-wise in my opinion and has a conclusion that isn't a cliffhanger, so I'd recommend playing XIII and then deciding from there if you liked the universe and characters enough to keep going. XIII-2 is my favorite of the three games and picks up after XIII, but it ends on a cliffhanger and leads heavily into Lightning Returns.

A major complaint I see is that the XIII games have a lot of terminology and mythology that is tucked away in the Datalog rather than explained in-game and can be confusing, though the key points are explained well enough in my opinion that it's not confusing (stuff like the nature of being a l'Cie, what's a Cieth, etc). The Datalog definitely helps and provides more lore, but it's not totally necessary unless you want to get deeper in the lore.

Some people also find some of the cast annoying (most complaints seem to be about Hope, with some of Snow and Vanille), but that comes down to character preferences so I can't give an answer there. I loved the playable cast of XIII, but I can see where some characters aren't everyone's cup of tea. Most get some good character development though I'd say.

Does anyone know how difficult is FF4? I heard that the DS is just as difficult as the original SNES version, and that people dis-recommend the DS version for that reason. Is that correct? Should I get the Steam version instead?

DS IV seemed more difficult than other versions for me. One boss fight in particular was made a lot harder, compared to the original where it was a joke. Water Max is right though about the Steam/mobile ports being the same as the DS version just with slightly touched up graphics, so if you want a different version, the other options are probably the GBA port of IV (though the ATB gauge is a little weird in that one at times), the SNES version off of the Wii VC, and the PSP Complete Collection version of IV (my favorite version, might be playable for Vita too? I dunno).

But honestly the DS version is by no means bad and it added some cool new things, so getting it/Steam version is a perfectly fine way to play IV.

 

[Stratelier]

Does anyone know how difficult is FF4? I heard that the DS is just as difficult as the original SNES version, and that people dis-recommend the DS version for that reason. Is that correct? Should I get the Steam version instead?

The "SNES" (read: American) version of FF4 was toned down in difficulty, while FF4 DS is more on par with the difficulty of the Super Famicom (Japanese) original. You'll definitely want to at least cast Slow on every boss you fight.

 

[fate]

As for other games, I am an unabashed FFTA fan. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is my favorite game of the series and I adore Marche as a protag. Gameplay is A+. FFTA2 has Luso, who is super lame and I hate him quite frankly lol. But it also has Adelle, who I really like, so eh.

Heck yeah, FFTA, especially 2, were great. Had a lot of fun with FFTA2 in hard mode. Didn't care for Luso either, and was surprised they threw him in on the PSP version of FFT.

Anyway, its one of my favorite franchises. I like all of the games I played from it (I skipped the MMOs), except maybe FF2. There were moments I liked FF2, but then there were moments that made me want to chuck the game out a window (Tower of Mysidia...)

 

[King Robert]

Bet you don't know why the game was called "Final Fantasy" to begin with.