# Final Fantasy - What's all the hype?



## Parsaw (Aug 2, 2008)

All these years I've never been all into any of the Final Fantasy games(Except for Final Fantasy III).

I just don't get all the hype, and why Final Fantasy is so great? What's so good about it? What draws people in? In fact I rather despise Final fantasy 7, 8, and 10. I just hate them. So can someone explain to me why a large amount of people are so into Final Fantasy?



Note: This isn't intended as a flame, I just wish to be informed


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## distorted.freque (Aug 2, 2008)

I don't know about the others...but I liked the FF series because of the stories. ^^ It must be because when I was younger, I was only allowed to watch my cousins play video games and of course, the only games that actually caught my interest were ones that had a story I could follow. 'Sides, I like the pretty graphics. ^^ So yeah, the FF series can be boring (those long hours put into grinding sucks) but I still like it.

Of course, I also like other RPGs as well.


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## Parsaw (Aug 2, 2008)

distorted.frequency said:
			
		

> I don't know about the others...but I liked the FF series because of the stories. ^^ It must be because when I was younger, I was only allowed to watch my cousins play video games and of course, the only games that actually caught my interest were ones that had a story I could follow. 'Sides, I like the pretty graphics. ^^ So yeah, the FF series can be boring (those long hours put into grinding sucks) but I still like it.
> 
> Of course, I also like other RPGs as well.




Dude, let me tell you, I absolutely hate the stories, and the flamboyant characters. It's so annoying looking. But don't get me wrong, I love other RPGs.(Seiken Densetsu 3, stuff like that)

I think that's what gets me most, is the art, and the stories of Final fantasy.


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## deathfisaro (Aug 2, 2008)

Well liking stories is very subjective. 

Some people hate Japanese RPGs just because the characters appear too young. For example, Blue Dragon's Shu is 16 -or maybe 17-. If you look at the artwork/game model, he appears like 8. While I have no problem with how kiddish a character looks, other people don't like this "kid saves the world" RPGs.

Also turn based RPGs are dying out. They used to be mainstream Japanese RPG back in NES/SNES time but turn based is indeed old school and can be very boring unless there's a twist in battle.



If you look at the history of FF, you can see how it's shifting to more action oriented. The very first FFs were truly turn based. And active turn battle was introduced. (Time flows even when choosing commands) FF12 is shaped quite different from previous turn based RPGs. 

Not only that, every time mainstream FF comes out, there's a new system. Could be an upgraded system from previous FF, could be totally new, Square isn't afraid of experimenting. 

The way story unfolds is changed too. It used to be characters without "character" but customizable. These days FF characters are quite unique.

That's why I like FF. Different every time, and different in a positive way most of the time.



What's with all the hype? Probably buncha old school JRPG fans are wondering what Square will do to their new FF game.
If you like Seiken Densetsu (Sword of Mana series have plunked and no good ones since Legend of Mana IMO), I'd recommend more action oriented games. Star Ocean, Tales of series, Valkyrie Profile, etc. 

As I said, turn based (and its variations) isn't for everyone. Either you can stand it or you can't. Even people who used to love it in early 90's can't take it if they were to play one now. It's a big barrier and Square Enix is aware of it. So something will be done.

As for your comments, FF3 DS looks terrible. So does FF4 DS. Personally I prefer the NES FF3 graphics over this DS engine. Not everybody is tolerant to old graphics and it was Square's experiment to get new people drawn in. (I'd say it didn't work)
And each FF has quite different color to their stories. Some are childish, some are deep, some are light, some are didactic, ... If none of them got you reeled in, I'm not sure what will.

Well it's after midnight so my post is quite disorganized, my apologies. I think I misread your posts too, so some parts might make you go "what the hell? that's not what I meant"


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## Frog (Aug 2, 2008)

I like the snes final fantasy games, interesting story and a pretty decent rpg.
but ff7 etc is so overrated its not funny, crisis core looks pretty good but.


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## JPH (Aug 2, 2008)

I'm on the same boat as you are.
I personally don't think they're just as outstanding as people think and say they are.
I mean, they're usually just long, boring, drawn-out games that take hours and hours to complete (not to mention the long cut scenes and confusing stories)...

I've tried to get into the series, and one day I'll probably force myself into playing through the entire series, no matter the console.

And to turn hypocrite, I've actually been playing Final Fantasy - Crystal Chronicles ~ Ring of Fates quite a lot recently. It doesn't fit in with the other Final Fantasy games (which I guess is why it's called the "Crystal Chronicles" or whatever), as it's sort of a Zelda-type action RPG type of game.
Really enjoyable and I'm glad I didn't throw it down too soon like I do with most RPG's (specifically Final Fantasy games).


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## ShadowXP (Aug 2, 2008)

OG...!!! OGLOP!!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




I love Final Fantasy IX.


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## B-Blue (Aug 2, 2008)

Never liked FF and never will  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




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## AndreXL (Aug 2, 2008)

Well, if your FFIII is actually FFVI, I understand. If not...


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## cerenade (Aug 2, 2008)

there is not explanation as to why it's great, it just is, it's magic


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## Flawsdraw (Aug 2, 2008)

What makes Final Fantasy is the fact it isn't a pick up and play (sorry to the people who are lazy and rather grab something like call of duty to tide them over) the story has more depth than most games and branches into mini stories.. ok the over-doneness of japanesse work is in there but that's what we come to expect.. some characters become icons etc etc to the rather over-loving crowd.. but as far as i go the leveling system to make the character how you want.. to do what you want etc etc is what makes a repeatitive and free-flowing game.. if you the series then you hate anything with turn based battles as by FAR no other game (Blue Dragon and Lost Oddyssey are the only exceptions but even they are made by the head of FF) can compete and all lose me within 10 minutes.. the gripping of Final Fantasy ain't about what other people think but about whether or not you can be assed to read a Fantasy Novel in the mix of playing a game


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## Toni Plutonij (Aug 2, 2008)

I personally enjoy FF very much..I love turn based battles, and that kind of RPGs are my favorite..

FF is really deep, greatly developed game that takes you into the story, and you have to really concentrate on all those little things, not to miss a bit, because you might loose a big part of game..
I loved NES/SNES FFs, I also like NDS remakes, it's always fun to play it..

You either really like/love FF or you hate it, there isn't much more to it!


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## Mei-o (Aug 2, 2008)

The Final Fantasy series had great stories and that's probably what makes them special, oh and you're right about hating 7, 8 and 10, they're horrid and overrated.


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## LFF (Aug 2, 2008)

The final fantasy series is overrated, especially VII, but there's people who buy them just cause they've got the final fantasy name in the title. Square could easily have give X a different name, but would as many people have bought it?

Also, I don't think X is overrated, it's one of the best RPG's I've played, after TWEWY, of course.


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## Flawsdraw (Aug 2, 2008)

i'll agree with 7.. i enjoyed 8 thoroghly and 10 was ok.. 10-2 and 9 probably the worst FF games i played


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## Endogene (Aug 2, 2008)

its the having to think of your own tactics and seeing those tactics works that does it for me


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## Parsaw (Aug 2, 2008)

QUOTE said:
			
		

> *1)*Some people hate Japanese RPGs just because the characters appear too young. For example, Blue Dragon's Shu is 16 -or maybe 17-. If you look at the artwork/game model, he appears like 8. While I have no problem with how kiddish a character looks, other people don't like this "kid saves the world" RPGs.
> 
> Also turn based RPGs are dying out. They used to be mainstream Japanese RPG back in NES/SNES time but turn based is indeed old school and can be very boring unless there's a twist in battle.
> 
> ...



I whole heartedly agree with that statement. I think alot of people are suckered into buying the games just because of the name. It happens with a lot of items people purchase, though. Not just final fantasy/video games.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Sorry to deathfisaro for the broken up quote, I only had key points I really felt I needed to respond to, and the forums only let me have a certain amount of quote tags, so< I had to break up your post in one quote tag to lessen the number of them!

Anyways, thanks for all the responses, people. haha. I'm actually being informed! I was expecting at least one immature response from someone...guess not, thanks for that.


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## Flawsdraw (Aug 2, 2008)

TBH getting older you don't want to sit reading games for hours but I always had time for FF (nothing above 10 though 10-2,11 and 12 show it was a dying series) but the original FF series was the best TB RPGs for me, I will admit I hate long drawn out games but a good RPG (Customization is mainly what I love) i'll play it.. 

Mass Effect will probably go down as one of my Favourites for RPG and that aint TB..

The point I was making was that it's all about the story for FF they usually have a strong backbone with a lot of side stories at same time.

But I do understand nowadays its harder to play a long winded game but I will never stop going back to PSone and SNES for my classics.


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## distorted.freque (Aug 2, 2008)

Parsaw said:
			
		

> distorted.frequency said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hmm? :3 I wasn't asking you to like 'em. We all have our own tastes. I like the stories because they're good fodder for writing. ^^ I doubt you'd understand that unless you read fanfic.

Oh, and it's dudette by the way.


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## Toni Plutonij (Aug 2, 2008)

Well, I see what your talking about Parsaw..Personally, my favorite RPG of all time is Golden Sun..I really love that game, from graphics, story gameplay..everything is freakin' perfect..
Playing FF, I enjoy most of them, but never liked any of them as I do Golden Sun..

However, I do think that first few FFs are great games, I never got into new/er ones..(I'm planning on playing VII, but after that, I don't like non of FFs)......But I-V are great games!


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## jesuschristmonke (Aug 2, 2008)

Basically, FF had three good games:

1. FF3 (Snes) or whatever number it was in Japan, I don't really care.
2. FF7 (PS1)
3. FF Tactics (PS1)

So like any decent franchise, they ran that into the ground with lots of other fluff. Some people get attached to the others, but I think more due to familiarity and the power of suggestion than actual gameplay.


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## ackers (Aug 2, 2008)

I love Final Fantasy. I think what pulls me into the FF games so much is their amazing stories and the brilliant music, which without it, just wouldn't be the same. I bought the FFX soundtrack as it is so damn good. What I like so much about FF games is they make me feel like I'm part of the journey. I know the random battles can be as annoying as hell sometimes but I don't let that ruin the game for me.


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## deathfisaro (Aug 2, 2008)

16 years ago, I was so into turn-based RPGs. Beat FF5 like dozen times over.
Recently? I'm yet to finish Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Persona 3 FES, Dragon Quest 8, etc.

I mean, I still like those games. It's just that I can't sit and fight boring battles for long any more. A couple hours and I'm out.

And the III and VI thing always confuses me hell. (Because I was fortunate enough to play most Japanese games when they came out)


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## Law (Aug 2, 2008)

jesuschristmonkeyballs said:
			
		

> Basically, FF had three good games:
> 
> 1. FF3 (Snes) or whatever number it was in Japan, I don't really care.
> 2. FF7 (PS1)
> ...



II, III and V were never released in America for the NES/SNES. FF IV became II and VI became III. When VII was released Square said "Fuck it, let's stop changing the names". Blame America and it's love for changing the names of videogames and movies.


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## Trolly (Aug 2, 2008)

Good question...
Dunno. I don't like random battles and grinding, but I do it becaussse. I dunno really. I think with FFVII and beyond, the big appeal is the big-budget blockbuster storylines and presentation. FFI - FFVI are more about levelling and jobs. Classic hardcore gameplay that is ever so rewarding when you can do it, the joy of training up your character level by level to get the best possible moveset.
Honestly, it's hard to know why. All the stuff I've said so far makes FF sound boring :\. Meh, Final Fantasy is still awesome though.


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## Parsaw (Aug 2, 2008)

QUOTE said:
			
		

> What can I say? I don't like the series. I find the stories to kind of suck, I find that a lot of games do their styles of gameplay a lot better, and frankly I don't see how any of the games are connected to each other? It is as if they just decided, hey let's call this one FF... how many have we done now? Oh ok, just add another random number to it. And I'm not much of a grinder, don't like levelling too much (if only rare candies exists on every game frown.gif )
> 
> Yeah man, I agree. I hate grinding for hours on end.  And I also agree that none of the Final Fantasy games are really connected, except for X and X-2, I think(What's the point?)
> 
> ...



Yeah, I remember those days for me. It wasn't sixteen years ago, though.(Considering I would be two then. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




) It was more like 8 years ago, more or less. I could sit and play games for hours on end, Sometimes start at like 12 Noon, and keep going until 5 AM the next morning. It was amazing. I miss those days...


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## psycoblaster (Aug 3, 2008)

just a quick note:
Many people that plays Final Fantasy are more Squre Enix fans than a final fantasy fan o.O


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## Law (Aug 3, 2008)

PharaohsVizier said:
			
		

> I have FFXII beside my PS3 right now.
> 
> And I'm not much of a grinder, don't like levelling too much (if only rare candies exists on every game
> 
> ...



FF XII had Auto Grind. I turned it on when I was on the Airship (Leviathan? Something like that) and got a quickening for each character pretty quickly. Killed the boss in one hit with minimal effort, and no manual grinding.


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## Darkshades (Aug 3, 2008)

Certain genres appeal to different people. JRPGs tend to resemble the kind of fantasy feel that a lot of animes have. I personally play many genres of games, and I'm 18 years old if anyone is curious. My favorite FINAL FANTASY games are IV, VI and XI. FINAL FANTASY represents(or at one time, represented) what the martyr for JRPGs was. If you don't like the fantasy feel of linear type or new type RPGs, FINAL FANTASY probably isn't for you.

Hope I helped.
-Shade


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## Trolly (Aug 3, 2008)

QUOTE said:
			
		

> FF XII had Auto Grind. I turned it on when I was on the Airship (Leviathan? Something like that) and got a quickening for each character pretty quickly. Killed the boss in one hit with minimal effort, and no manual grinding.


Whut?

I remember getting stuck on the airship. Quite a few hours in, and I had no way to train up before facing that Judge. I just sold the game in the end, because I couldn't be arsed to start all over again. I'll play it again someday.


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## Private|Par (Aug 4, 2008)

Toni Plutonij said:
			
		

> Well, I see what your talking about Parsaw..Personally, my favorite RPG of all time is Golden Sun..I really love that game, from graphics, story, gameplay..everything is freakin' perfect..



F'ing A, man. Golden Sun is the best RPG series I've ever played, full-stop/period, depending on your country of origin. The story I loved, the graphics were brilliant and the gameplay was top-notch.

:NTOPIC:: I'm in the exact same boat as you, and it reminds me of a quote I heard on a podcast, albeit talking about MGS and not FF. "Final Fantasy is like sushi. It's very cool, everyone likes it, it's very Japanese... But I just can't get into it." This applies 100% to me. I've tried 3 and 4 on the DS, and they didn't appeal to me. I have no way of getting either Final Fantasy 7 or 12, which I've heard are the best in the series, because I'm not willing to pay a friggen ridiculous amount to play a game I'm not that interested in.

The reason I don't like JPRGs in general is the fact that you're not really PLAYING the game. It's like you're the invisible taskmaster, sending about your people, but not actually INTERACTING. For some reason I enjoy RTSes though. I can't really get involved with the story when I'M not in it. That's why I don't like games such as Phoenix Wright or Hotel Dusk. Another factor is you have to pay attention. When I play a game, I want to sit down and play it for a good long amount of time, whilst doing other things. 

I listen to at least 7 podcasts each week, some of which are over 1 and a half hours long. I'm a student and get homework every second night, am getting a (part-time) job soon and have to get through the Count of Monte Christo (1249 pages, I counted. 3 times.) in about a week. I don't have time to devote to storylines, especially ones I dislike. I'd rather read a much more fulfilling and generally longer lasting novel.

I suppose the root of the problem is that I love reading. I've read many fabulous books in my time, and many terrible ones. I feel, and this is just my opinion, that the bottom 20% of novels have better storylines than the top 20% of games. I know with games like Bioshock and so on, gaming is developing, but I feel that it is not yet developed enough to enthrall me.

Sorry to attack you guys with a wall of text.


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## fateastray (Aug 4, 2008)

you can either emulate ff7 on your pc with epsxe, or just play the pc version......

ff8 is on the pc too...

no way of playing it..lolol


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## Giangsta (Aug 4, 2008)

I've always felt that the Final Fantasy series had a certain touch of magic that other RPG's didnt have.

Maybe it was the name? or maybe the music or even the art style.

But whatever it is that they do for that series, i believe it will all rank higher then any other RPG i've played. (i've played and finished golden sun and on 3rd disc of FF9 but quit coz it was pretty shit but still better then other RPG's)

It's like how R* has that touch for their GTA series which i dont think Saints row will ever have.


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## fateastray (Aug 4, 2008)

You can almost smell the high production values in Final Fantasy games. The atmospheric surroundings can sometimes be overwhelming. It's not just the story and development that attracts the game, but also the entire ambience.


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## Frog (Aug 5, 2008)

final fantasy's great, overrated but.
golden sun however... thats a good game.


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## Parsaw (Aug 5, 2008)

Yeah, golden sun, that's what im talkin about. great game.


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## fateastray (Aug 6, 2008)

Why did the discussion divert to Golden Sun?


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## Mei-o (Aug 6, 2008)

fateastray said:
			
		

> Why did the discussion divert to Golden Sun?


Because most people think Golden Sun us much much better than Final Fantasy.


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## Twiffles (Aug 6, 2008)

To divert it a little bit, but doing it style and having it relate to this "Hype of FF?" discussion.


Spoiler



Fanboy




+ 
Tifa's boobs




=






And that is why the Final Fantasy Series (MOSTLY FFVII) is overly hyped.


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## SkankyYankee (Aug 6, 2008)

Twiffles said:
			
		

> To divert it a little bit, but doing it style and having it relate to this "Hype of FF?" discussion.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...








 the fanboy's moobies are almost as big as tifa's 

why do they still call it "final" anyway
the only 2 ff games i beat werent that "final" at all

call it something else like Moogle Fantasy, or Fanboy Fantasy, even better.

P.S. the Fanboy's wearing a carabiner.


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## Retal (Aug 6, 2008)

Twiffles said:
			
		

> And that is why the Final Fantasy Series (MOSTLY FFVII) is overly hyped.


It is also why Twiffles is overly hyped.


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## HBK (Aug 12, 2008)

Toni Plutonij said:
			
		

> Well, I see what your talking about Parsaw..Personally, my favorite RPG of all time is Golden Sun..I really love that game, from graphics, story gameplay..everything is freakin' perfect..
> Playing FF, I enjoy most of them, but never liked any of them as I do Golden Sun..
> 
> However, I do think that first few FFs are great games, I never got into new/er ones..(I'm planning on playing VII, but after that, I don't like non of FFs)......But I-V are great games!



Indeed, I have yet to find an RPG game with the sheer brilliance of Golden Sun (1 and 2). I mean, FFIV is great and I love it, aside from some minor quirks, but it doesn't compare to Golden Sun. I guess I got into FF by looking for a game that took the role of the greatness of GS (because Crystals seemed similar to Elemental Stars, and then in FFIV you get elemental magic and different classes, etc.) 

Tell you the truth, if it weren't for GS, I'd probably never be a fan of FF today. Zelda's a different story, because it's action/adventure, and I always liked the series.


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