First try at a Final Fantasy game

[skyknight]

It's good to go back to the originals of any gaming franchise, to see how much has changed and evolved.

I've played FFI & II on the GBA and III on DS, and boy, compared to IV or VI, these three are definitely the baby steps needed for future series.

I'm glad that you enjoyed FFI, and I do encourage you to give II and III a try before moving to IV and VI, the cream of 16-bit RPG. Dragon Quest is the other king of RPG, but unfortunately the battle interface always remain the same, but the storylines do differ from one another.

[Limewater]

I'll second the suggestions for trying other versions if the grinding gets to you. I've played through Final Fantasy 1 and 2 in both the original format and the GBA remakes. The GBA remakes are a lot more forgiving, and you can find the FF1&2: Dawn of Souls cart pretty cheap.

Some people (on this thread and elsewhere) consider FF2 to be completely broken. It does have issues, and even the GBA version requires a little bit of grinding, but it has a much more in-depth story than FF1.

I'm personally not a huge fan of Dragon Warrior 1. I mean, it laid a lot of ground, but it has even less story than Final Fantasy 1 and is a total grind-fest. I did feel a great sense of accomplishment when I finally finished it, though.

Dragon Warrior 3 is amazing, though. I enjoyed that one through and through. The story line kept you moving, there are a huge number of towns to visit, and all around there's just a lot to do. The first three Dragon Warrior games are all related to each other, too, which is pretty neat.

[goatlll]

You know it's funny, I am actually doing a send up of all the FF games right now. Here is part 1 and here is the second. I am going to do them all when it is all said and done, but these are not full blown reviews, just a little walk through of the ups and downs of the series.

[noiseredux]

You know it's funny, I am actually doing a send up of all the FF games right now. Here is part 1 and here is the second. I am going to do them all when it is all said and done, but these are not full blown reviews, just a little walk through of the ups and downs of the series.

I was really excited to start reading this. But then I got to this part: But the second FF was such a bad game I have nothing to say about it. It's not even worth a shit laced rant. Maybe the updates are better, but I never cared to find out. So then I stopped reading. Even if you don't like the game, that's sort of a lazy cop-out. No?

[goatlll]

You know it's funny, I am actually doing a send up of all the FF games right now. Here is part 1 and here is the second. I am going to do them all when it is all said and done, but these are not full blown reviews, just a little walk through of the ups and downs of the series.

I was really excited to start reading this. But then I got to this part: But the second FF was such a bad game I have nothing to say about it. It's not even worth a shit laced rant. Maybe the updates are better, but I never cared to find out. So then I stopped reading. Even if you don't like the game, that's sort of a lazy cop-out. No?

Fair enough. I can see your point. I just really don't have a lot to say about the game, but your point is valid enough. I could not sit there and right what I right if I did not expect a little bit of criticism, and at least yours is honest.

[Shabba]

I've said a lot about FF1 on this forum and I suppose there is nothing wrong with another post about it... I'm very fond of FF1 in it's pure, NES form. Maybe I'm just a geezer that's still impressed with flushing toilets, but I feel as though in this case, the original is the best.

[Dylan]

Fair enough. I can see your point. I just really don't have a lot to say about the game, but your point is valid enough. I could not sit there and right what I right if I did not expect a little bit of criticism, and at least yours is honest.

Trust me, suffer through the game and you'll have some awesome stories to tell about it.

http://socksmakepeoplesexy.net/index.php?a=ff02

I love all of the FF reviews on this site, but this one had me in tears (especially as someone who has played through the game).

[AmishSamurai]

To quote Hardcore Gaming 101 on FFII-

"Final Fantasy II will do everything in its power to beat you down. And when I write "you," I am not referring to Frioniel's party. I am referring to you, the player. Final Fantasy II is a pair of simultaneous battles on two separate planes. The first is the fictional struggle of Frioniel and the rebel forces against the might of the Paramekian Empire. The second is the very real battle between you, the player, and Final Fantasy II, in which the game attempts to foil your efforts and demoralize you from ever playing again. As you try to beat Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy II tries to beat you."

The system is ass-backwards, the starting enemies are impossibly strong, and it makes the grinding in Phantasy Star look like a pleasant stroll. Any game where you have to hit your own allies to make them stronger I'll pass on.

[Dylan]

To quote Hardcore Gaming 101 on FFII-

"Final Fantasy II will do everything in its power to beat you down. And when I write "you," I am not referring to Frioniel's party. I am referring to you, the player. Final Fantasy II is a pair of simultaneous battles on two separate planes. The first is the fictional struggle of Frioniel and the rebel forces against the might of the Paramekian Empire. The second is the very real battle between you, the player, and Final Fantasy II, in which the game attempts to foil your efforts and demoralize you from ever playing again. As you try to beat Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy II tries to beat you."

The system is ass-backwards, the starting enemies are impossibly strong, and it makes the grinding in Phantasy Star look like a pleasant stroll. Any game where you have to hit your own allies to make them stronger I'll pass on.

Actually, that's also from the article I posted. HG101 features it, which is how I found out about it.

[LBJeff]

If you want to play Final Fantasy and be true to it I would say don't use save states and don't use any FAQ's. Only use the save points provided in game to save. I'm talking going really hard core like was done back when the game first came out.

If you really want to torture yourself, randomly reset your emulator while you are at some point deep in a difficult dungeon. This will replicate a NES randomly shitting out on you back in the day. I did the Earth Dungeon a good solid 3 times before I was able to complete it because the system would crap out on me. Sometimes it would do the thing where you knew it was about to lock or go all crazy screen but I could still play. I would try and race to a save point to save my progress. Didn't work that often.

Actually, to hell with all that torture. Use save states. Lots of them. And FAQ's. Don't bother trying to run this game old school. It's not worth it.