Posted by We’re back with our “Let’s Talk About…” series! Check out the previous chats here.
Let’s Talk About…: Final Fantasy
Sorry, I’m just having flashbacks to when I asked Twitter which Final Fantasy game I should play first.
Okay. Final Fantasy. Here we go.
The original Final Fantasy graced gamers’ screens way back in 1987 on the NES, as Hironobu Sakaguchi’s “final fantasy” before leaving the industry. Needless to say, nothing was final about that game, and here we are, all the way up to Final Fantasy: Deep Sea Fishing.
I jest, of course. Final Fantasy, like The Legend of Zelda, has proved its staying power over the years, being an immensely popular sci-fi/fantasy role playing game, and is often considered the most successful RPG franchise with over 130 million games sold.
And, until very recently, it was a franchise that I had absolutely nothing to do with. I’ve told my story before about how I didn’t really have any good reason to avoid it, I just did. Then, unfortunately, when I first acquired my Playstation 3, I thought to get into the franchise and… hey, is that a… female protagonist?? Well, being me I immediately started looking up reviews and… money was tight, goodwill toward the game was hard to find, and so I passed over poor Lightning with a disappointed sigh.
Luckily, I had some sense knocked into me.
I’m happy to report I finally shouldered my way into the game and, with nothing else to compare it to (other than the annoying first 45 minutes of Final Fantasy X), I’m finding it to be a good game in its own right and I’m enjoying myself a great deal.
I’m still not sure whether I will continue with my Final Fantasy journey after I finish XIII’s trilogy, for time reasons if nothing else, but I can certainly see the merits of the franchise for the people who are true Final Fantasy fans. Interesting characters and complex and deep storylines are always welcome in my book!
What about you? Do you partake in the Final Fantasy universe? Which game was your first one? Did you like it? What’s your favorite thing about the Final Fantasy games? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~ Athena
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AmbiGaming 
I admit I am Final Fantasy fan. I believe the theory that the first Final Fantasy game will be your favourite, which is true for me. My first one was Final Fantasy X and while I love FFXII, XIV and XV, FFX has always stood out. I guess the reason I like the series so much are the individual stories, the worlds and characters that you can relate to. Plus moogles and chocobos.
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I love the Final Fantasy universe. I actually just wrote about my MMORPG experiences today and FFXIV Online was one of them – the universe is so cool to me. I think it may be a healthy dosage of nosalgia goggles as well…
I got FFVII randomly when I was a kid, had no prior interest or even knowledge of its existence, but I loved it then. Finally beat it a few years ago, and then earlier this year I played and finished FFX and .. it was pretty cool at points, and mostly just for the experience it was worth playing it. I think my biggest issue is that I just despise turn-based battle and random encounters, meaning the bulk of the series I have no interest in playing! FFXIV Online was awesome though, because it did away with random encounters/turn-based and made the whole thing into Xenoblade Chronicles-styled battles, similar to most MMORPGs.
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The original game was my first one and I clearly remember splitting the cost of the game with a friend from school and we traded the cart off back and forth. Possibly the worst way to play an RPG but when you are 12 and limited in funds you do what you do to get the games you want. Eventually, I just let him hold on to the cart to finish it and then I started a new playthrough when he finished. Still love the game and even played through it again this year.
Since then I’ve played all the mainline FF games, except XI, and some of the offshoots. What I love about the series is that it is so different from entry to entry and it is always trying something new. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t but it is always trying to change things up a bit.
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I played my first FF when I turned 16 and got FFX and a PS2 for my birthday that year. It was my first brand new console in about 10 years at that point, and the jump forward for me from my NES and Genesis were pretty substantial. FFX captivated me from the moment I fired up my PS2 with its opening theme music, and though the story was a little strange here and there, the graphics, music and gameplay planted seeds of RPG love deep within me that I’ve been lovingly fostering ever since. Since then I’ve played the original Final Fantasy on NES, most of FFII, and all/most of FFIV, FFVIII, FFIX, FFXII. I’d say that if you play another game in the series before calling it quits forever that it should be IX. It was just such a good game with a captivating story and really memorable characters. It’s also a throwback to the original gameplay style after some big changes in later installments, so if you end up loving IX, at least you know you also might like the majority of FFI-FFVI.
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Final Fantasy is a bit hit and miss for me, I struggle with the more anime side of it as I’m not really into that sort of thing and I often lose track of the plot very quickly but I love the visuals, the characters really grow on you (in some of them, like XIII), and I’ve had a lot of fun playing some of them. I tend to like the more recent ones personally, but that is usually an unpopular opinion…
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I adore Final Fantasy! It’s my favourite game series of all time (^___^)
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I haven’t played everygame, but maybe one day I’ll touch the key ones. I’ve played FF7, FF8, FF10, FF12, FF13 and haven’t finished a single one, but i came close to FF7 and FF8. I do plan on playing FF15 soon now that i have a PS4.
For me it all started with FF7. I never had a PS1 but went over to a friends place to play on their new PS1, which was very foreign to me at the time given my love for the N64. I was blown away by this game. We played it every time we went over, and I’ll tell you, not having a memory card made it very interesting. We played the intro sequences time and time again, and it never got old.
It may sound silly, but one of the things that I loved at first, besides the awesome music and graphics was being able to name the characters. I played very few games that let me do this, and I had so much fun with this. I remember us naming everyone bad words and we eventually got in trouble with the grown ups because we kept laughing and saying the names out loud. Good times…
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I think Aether suggested I become a Final Fantasy pariah by purposefully playing all the “bad” Final Fantasy games, so maybe you and I should touch base again after we’ve crossed all those games off our lists haha
I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about FF7. I’ll be interested to see how the remake will be received… you sound like you’re an expert on the beginning! haha Oh, days of memory cards (or not having memory cards haha)
That’s right! You could name all of them, couldn’t you? That’s a pretty neat thing, to be sure!! Haha and also a recipe for some fantastic and scandalous conversations, I’m sure…… 😀
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Just doing my duty, ma’am! *salutes* Ellen – Fang Slapping the internet in the name of Lightning since 2015. ⚡
FFX was my first, and I loved it, but it doesn’t come close to how I feel about the FFXIII trilogy. So.. many… feelz. But yeah, I do want to beat all of them someday. They each have a beautiful standalone story and memorable characters. That was my plan for this year but then BioWare sort of happened so… oops?
And do I ever remember when you asked Twitter which one to play first. 😱 Also, I was the 13th like for this post which is really cool considering I love FFXIII, get it? Yeah… I notice weird things, haha.
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*sees hand move for salute and reflexively blocks*
Oh! I mean, um… Appreciate the wake-up call! *rubs jaw*
Now I feel bad about my harsh judgment of FFX… That’s a noble goal, I think… although I can’t be upset that BioWare came and usurped your plans at all… 😀
Happy Lucky 13, then!
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Sorry about that, but I’m glad you see the Light now, haha.
I think the fact that FFX was my first contributed to me loving it so much. The story was really good, even if the protagonist was a bit, um, annoying. I think it would have been better if Yuna was the lead though. I don’t think it has aged well either, and you’re already playing the best one, in my opinion, so judge away on FFX 😀
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*dies of pun*
Well, your first love is always your first love, isn’t it?
Ha! Ha ha! HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA! Wait, what? I’m kidding, of course.
Excellent. I’m glad I’m starting off my foray into the series with the pinnacle of Final Fantasy-ness!
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So they say. *shrugs*
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FF Memory moment: when I started playing X on ps2 and got to the first couple blitzball cut scenes in the opening sequence. I thought we could never get better graphics at that point.
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Nice! The graphics were very good for the time, that’s for sure!
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You should make yourself an anomaly on the internet and only play the Final Fantasies regarded as ‘bad’ The XIII saga, Dirge of Cerberus but not FF7, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Crystal Chronicles, etc. You shall make all the internet busybodies angry at your complete love and knowledge of all the ‘improper’ Final Fantasy games.
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I like this idea to become a Final Fantasy pariah. I might actually try that…. hm….
YES nothing makes me happier than irritating the internet busybodies of the gaming community!! Makes for great stories haha
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