I have never played a Final Fantasy game ever, is it worth it to start now? Or too late??

It's definitely not too late, since they still play just fine. I would recommend you to start with Final Fantasy VII or IX (the ones I consider the best, personally) and then VIII, X or XII, which are also great.

I wouldn't recommend start with FFVII-R though, because it's quite different compared to the classics; except if you just want to play a more modern Final Fantasy, but I'm not a big fan.

And if you want something that's easy to get: Final Fantasy V and VI are great choices too!

Anyway... I think you can't go wrong with the classic games.
 
Last edited:
cortadew said:
I had a PS1 when I was a kid but for some reason I never got to play any game of the series.

I don't think I would have liked them since I used to find turn based games pretty boring, nowadays my tastes have changed and I am more open minded but is it worth it to start as an adult?

Okay I will be honest, I tried the first game but found it a bit dated and did not continue playing :/
Click to expand...

The best games in the franchise are 9, 6, and 10

I'm not even sure which order I'd rank 'em. Probably 6 as the best.

10 is more linear and also has the sphere grid... but also feels the most modern and has an HD remake
 
I'd just jump in FFVIIR, you can figure it out as you go. That will give you a good idea what the series aspires to be. Your odds of getting into the series this way are much higher. If you start with an older game you could easily be driven away by something that might've not aged so well.

Then, once you are hooked, you can look at the previous entries and pick the ones you want to play. It's a pretty flexible series in that sense.
 
Last edited:
OP says he plays snes games and has a crt even lol so yes start with IV.

As you probably know, IV on snes is called II in the US while VI is called III. Play the snes versions over the playstation versions.
 
Last edited:
Sure. One good thing about the franchise is that games are mostly independent (excluding of course sequels) and you can start with basically any game you want.

If you enjoy sRPG games, you can start with Final Fantasy Tactics, one of the best games in the franchise and the graphics aged pretty well.
If you are more into action RPGs, you can start with Final Fantasy VII Remake, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins (I'm playing it rn) and Final Fantasy XV.

I find that older FF games (NES and SNES era, mostly) have pretty shallow systems, I would play mostly for the story and characters, like I would with a Visual Novel.
 
Hey OP, whatever you do, don't you dare skipping on V.

I would even say it's a great entry point. The story is simple and fun, so it won't bore you with tons of text or exposition. The gameplay is probably one of the best in the series, with a fast combat system (active turn based, you gotta think fast) and a job system that will keep you hooked until the end.

It also has a great OST (with a few of the most iconic songs in the series) and a few cool characters too.

If you have a retro setup, it's a no brainer.

VI is also cool, but as some say it's more depressing and much more story focused, so I prefer V for being more gameplay focused.

PS: before you dive into any of those, check out Romhacking.net in case there some community recommended patch or something. Things like restoring removed or censored content, restoring the original japanese difficulty level, etc.
 
Last edited:
LazyParrot said:
This is a pretty weird question, especially coming from someone who claims to be doing lots of retro gaming.

Like, what makes Final Fantasy games so different from the other older games you've played so far? Why would your age even matter?
Click to expand...
I have been playing mostly action games like Castlevania series or Ninja garden, Ghost and goblins but never been brave enough to touch FF series due to it's length and complexity.
 
I only played for first time ever my first ff games last year.
7remake on ps5 and XV. I loved both a lot.
 
I think you would be making a mistake starting with 4 cortadew cortadew , it's not bad, but it is a bit of a primitive slog compared to what came later. You might like it, but the worry is that you burn yourself out before getting to what is interesting. I would start with 6 or 7, depending on what generation you want to start with. Btw, you have played Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG, right?
 
Ulysses 31 said:
The gameboy FFs are worth a look too.

Click to expand...

These are neat. I own this on Switch. I'd also say Adventures of Mana, which was Final Fantasy Adventures in North America. Which might make OP check out the Mana series at some point. My only gripe with Legends is that its bare bones when something like V or VI have much more flare to the games. It's like the transition from Phantasy Star I to Phantasy Star IV
 
FFVI is the best. Play the SNES version. If possible one of the patched roms with better translations or quality of life improvements.
 
cortadew said:
I had a PS1 when I was a kid but for some reason I never got to play any game of the series.

I don't think I would have liked them since I used to find turn based games pretty boring, nowadays my tastes have changed and I am more open minded but is it worth it to start as an adult?

Okay I will be honest, I tried the first game but found it a bit dated and did not continue playing :/
Click to expand...
What do you mean too late? Are you dying of a terminal disease or something?
 
It is never too late to start playing Final Fantasy. The real question is, what games should you start with. Are you an older head who appreciates a good turn based battle system, or do you prefer more real time combat systems with rpg elements? Do you prefer pixel graphics, or 3d? The great thing about FF, is that you can start with one, and then go backward or forward in the series. The only ones that tie in with one another are the direct sequels (ie FFXIII, FFXIII-2, FFXIII Lightning Returns). I personally would recommend starting at the beginning, or at least FF2 (FF4 in Japan), but I'm also 40 years old, and that was literally my first ever pre order, so I probably show a little bit of bias. Let us know if you have any questions about any of them in particular, and more importantly, let us know what you choose to do!
 
cortadew said:
You tell me FFX HD would be the best to start, but isn't 4 the one where the series got really good?
Click to expand...

4 is where it found its western audience due to being the first game released outside Japan, and it's arguably where they settled on the narrative-based formula which would define FF going forward. IMO 6 is where it got REALLY good, and 7 basically just blew the fucking doors off the genre altogether.

cortadew said:
Oh I would like to get FF7 remake but I think playing the original first may be necessary
Click to expand...

Playing the original is absolutely necessary since a) it's one of the best games ever made and b) the remake isn't really a remake as such but an alternate timeline sequel with similar beats, and leans heavily towards action game design more than RPG design.

I would agree that 7 and X are both really good places to start. They're very user friendly, challenging for a beginner without being absurdly difficult, and both have great stories, settings and characters.
 
my first was XIV. it was kinda fun but the whole setting put me right off. creepy little people with cat/elf ears and weird big chickens that people ride about on.

tried XIII/XIII-2 but they bored me to death.

played a little of VII Remake and was enjoying it but didn't get far because I was too busy playing other games. I'm definitely going to get back to it. So i guess i would recommend jumping in with VII remake.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It's too late for you I'm afraid it's a lot to catch up on given the whole series follows the story of Chris redfield and the gang..
 
The PSX games are a good place to start and if they're too dated for you you FFX
but ignore anyone in this thread that didn't mention FFVIII.
 
Some of the main-line Final Fantasy games are considered the best in gaming history, so it's definitely worth getting into.

My personal top 3 are:
  1. Final Fantasy VII (my absolute favourite)
  2. Final Fantasy X (legit made me tear up)
  3. Final Fantasy IX
I would recommend playing Final Fantasy VII as it has such a great story and some of the best music in the series. And y'know, if you end up loving it....Final Fantasy VII Remake will be a real treat.

It's also worth noting that the games aren't sequels to each other (with some exceptions), and have completely different stories - so don't feel pressured to "play them in order". I.e. Final Fantasy 7 is a completely different story to Final Fantasy 8 (but Final Fantasy 13-2 is a sequel to Final Fantasy 13 etc).
 
Last edited:
Scotty W said:
I think you would be making a mistake starting with 4 cortadew cortadew , it's not bad, but it is a bit of a primitive slog compared to what came later. You might like it, but the worry is that you burn yourself out before getting to what is interesting. I would start with 6 or 7, depending on what generation you want to start with. Btw, you have played Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG, right?
Click to expand...
Yes I have played Chrono trigger, fantastic game.
 
Play 1 (its based on Dungeons & Dragons)
Play 4 It's the best one and the last when they were trying to hang on the D&D roots
Play 6 its also great.

then play Chrono Trigger which is the best thing Square has made
 
Last edited:
Final Fantasy games, even the numbered ones, barely belong in the same franchise.

So if you try one, and either love or hate it, is not necessarily indicative of how you'd feel about others.

This is especially true for the entries after X.
 
Pilgrimzero said:
Play 1 (its based on Dungeons & Dragons)
Play 4 It's the best one and the last when they were trying to hang on the D&D roots
Play 6 its also great.

then play Chrono Trigger which is the best thing Square has made
Click to expand...
All these clowns pretending that 7 isn't worth playing just because it's the most popular one
 
FF7 Remake was my first one and despite having some issues with the game I overall enjoyed it.

Definitely worth trying.
 
Pilgrimzero said:
Play 1 (its based on Dungeons & Dragons)
Play 4 It's the best one and the last when they were trying to hang on the D&D roots
Play 6 its also great.

then play Chrono Trigger which is the best thing Square has made
Click to expand...
Imagine skipping on Galuf's game. :lollipop_tongue:
 
Everyone has a different favorite. Personally, I think 10 is one of the worst, and I think 15 is fantastic if you hadn't been hyped for it for 8 years.

My top 5 picks in order:
7 OG
7 remake
6
12
15

after those definately do 8 & 9, then 13 and spinoffs, then 10. and after all that if you want more, 14 has a free trial that lasts about 150 hours of playtime and is a love letter to every entry in the series. you definitely need to have played most of the earlier titles to get the most out of 14.
 
tbh, its never really too late. That is one of the few genres where you can play like 25 years later and it still holds up because of the turn based gameplay.

Play in any order, start where you feel just, enjoy lol.

You could start with FFX HD, FFIV, FFV, FFVI, FFVII etc
 
TintoConCasera said:
Imagine skipping on Galuf's game. :lollipop_tongue:
Click to expand...
Eh. I just didnt like it. I mean.. it was fine.

Only FF Ive really not like was 2 and thats because you can build yourself wrong and your screwed. Oh and I have big issues with 15 story wise

Only ones ive havent played are the 13s. Which I plan to... some day.
 
Whatever you do, don't start with VII or X. Start with others that aren't so popular among the fan base, such that it's easier to get a better ground start. It's much more rewarding to start from the first (were I you) so you could see just how much the series has evolved and changed. You could better understand the references and links as you play along, but it's not necessary to understanding the story or plot in any of the titles as the entries are independent of one another.

Keep the embolden part in mind, as the fact you may not enjoy one entry does not mean you wouldn't necessarily regard the next. That's one of the benefits of each being built with a different philosophy from story to gameplay. You may not like FF2's "use to improve or lose" ability/stat system but find FF5's job system to be quite groundbreaking for how much it offers in party-building.
 
Last edited:
SlimeGooGoo said:
Everything after FF12 is just bad, avoid like the plague.

If you didn't enjoyed FF1 than you'll probably won't enjoy 2 and 3 either.

FF4 is the first one to have a good story with interesting characters. It's also one of the easier ones.
FF5 has the best gameplay (thanks to its job system) and is straight to the point.
FF6 has the best visuals of the SNES, and a great soundtrack as usual, but in my opinion it kinda falls flat with its story and characters. Also, a little bit too depressing.

On the Playstation 1, the best ones are FF9 and FF7.
FF9 is a more polished game since it was the last one on the PS1. Both have great story and characters.

FF10 is a more modern experience, since it features 3D environments and voiced characters.
Some consider it to be the last great Final Fantasy.
If possible, play it on the PS2. The remaster ruined some things, specially the characters' faces.

FF12 is a fun game because of the worldbuilding and the amount of content it has.
The story and characters are boring though.
Click to expand...
The first part of this is a bad take. FF12-15 are damn good games.
 
SlimeGooGoo said:
Not biased at all

21655.jpg


But yes, FF12 is a good game, just not a great Final Fantasy.
Everything after that is just plain horrible, both gameplay and story/character wise.
Click to expand...
14 is awesome
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Final Fantasy 16 - one of the most boring and uninspired games I have ever played
2 3 4
189
9K
paolo11 replied
What's the most iteresting interactive game you've ever played?
34
100
DryvBy replied
i wish upcoming final fantasy game will have the level of storytelling of 16
39
656
The Cockatrice replied
Is Tiny Tina's Wonderlands worth it?
28
499
Major Insano replied
Dragons Dogma 2 worth $30?...or should I just skip it? (PS5)
2
86
1K
Lux R7 replied
Top Bottom