I am just so amazed at how many people here think that FFIX is the best of the FF series. It definitely is one of my favorite games of all times and I too agree it was the best of the FF series.

FF fanboys around me are all about FF7..I couldn't even play that garbage because of the graphics.

I really think that FFIX was truly the best and I wish they extended it. I didn't like FFX at all...and FFX-2 to me was a joke. I did however like FFX's enemy (sin) just because of the meaning..

Why do I get the impression you ride the whole "Graphics=good" train. Most people around here say that FFVI is the best in the series and thats in 2D.

It took a while to grow on me actually, but i can't see how some people don't love this game to bits, some people don't even like it.

Some kid on another forum used the typical 'too kiddy' reason, what on earth do they mean by that anyway?

Why do I get the impression you ride the whole "Graphics=good" train. Most people around here say that FFVI is the best in the series and thats in 2D.

I can't play a game that isn't really appealing. 2D is different. FF7 to me was like a bad cross in between 2D and 3D..the graphics weren't sharp nor smooth...it was "rough" I don't know...I couldn't play it.

FFIX is definitely my favorite Final Fantasy, too. It's got everything a good game needs, and I never get tired of playing it.

As for the good graphics equals a good game; I can't really be bothered. I like FFVII, and I loved the game was what it was.

I finished FFIX for a second time awhile ago and it`s still an amazing game. My favorite FF game is VIII, but IX certainly goes right after it.
It took me through such joy, sadness and that thing which I call "true fantasy."

I reckon it depends on what you're looking for that determines the 'best' final fantasy...

Music wise, I'd choose either V (Clash on the Big Bridge <3 <3 <3),
or VI (The Decisive Battle, not as good but still good)
Graphics wise, since we're only including pre-PS2, either IX or VIII
Gameplay wise, VII
Battle system wise, VI
Ending wise, IX

There are so many ways you can choose the 'best final fantasy' and i often find myself switching between games a lot, depending on my mood.

I just started playing this game for the first time about three weeks ago, now. I'm on the third disc (Just after Kuja's palace), and although I probably will carry on with it til I'm finished, I'm not enjoying it anywhere near as much as I have enjoyed all the other FF games I've played. The graphics are good, but the music is annoying, the battle system is good, I'm glad they brought the 'jobs' system back, but the battles are slow and irritating, I also hate all the characters, and havn't been even remotely engaged by the storyline yet... is there one, even, really?

Also, and I don't know why, but the Summons are terrible in this game! They're meant to be your most devastating attacks, but in this game they're almost useless. And Kuja, what a joke, worst...bad-guy...ever!

The only redeeming feature is Tetra Master, the card game, I'm totally addicted to that! Gotta win them all! I think I have about 75 of them so far...

rofl

I like FFIX. Not my favorite, but it was enjoyable. The music was absolutely wonderful, I love the villain, and the story line was interesting. FFVIII is by far my favorite, with FFX being pretty up there too.

VIII is your favorite? Eesh...

Respect points, lost.

I think IX was awesome, one of my favourite in the series. For a long time it was dismissed as being a poor FF, even the producers seemed to forget about it in interviews sometimes and I simply couldn't understand why - I thought it was great!

My only complaint about it was the feeling that the character's were strictly confined to their particular roles with literally no freedom to deviate from their paths. However, for me FF games are mostly about story anyway and IX's was great. It's pacing, the times at which twists cam and the characters involved in the plot were cool. I also really liked the Trance system and it gave nice clues that

*SPOILERS*

Zidane wasn't the same as the others due to his Trance.

*SPOILERS*

Vivi is probably my favourite character in the game, though I get the feeling I'm certainly not alone in that notion.

Yeah, just really good game and a great way to round off the end of FF on PS1.

VIII is your favorite? Eesh...

Respect points, lost.

Why's that? VIII was a pretty decent Final Fantasy.

FFVIII wasn't the best 32-bit Final Fantasy, but it was definitely better then FFXII the weakest of the Fantasy's so far.

Why's that? VIII was a pretty decent Final Fantasy.

Story was pretty lame. The plot twist was half assed. The battle system has to be the most flawed in any game. The characters are about as bland as white rice.

Just my opinion, though.

I like FFVIII but I do have to say I dunno how it could be a person's favourite - the magic system was near-awful as it promoted "stock 'n' save" tactics more than actually USING the magic due to losing stats through junctioning.

The game actually depresses me if I play it for too long - probably got something to do with the grey text boxes!

I'm trying not to derail the thread completely by talking about FFVIII here.

However, I would agree with how game quality wise, it's not the best. And it took me awhile for FFVIII to be my favorite. I think it only did become so because of nostalgic purposes, more than anything. But all in all, I did enjoy the story line, the characters, and even the junctioning.

=/

Eh, don't worry about it it's mostly me that would responsible for any derailment in the last 3 (including this one) posts but I'll make a quick reply to soften the blow I threw at FFVIII then scamper:

I also liked the story, character and even the junctioning even if I criticise the uses of magic with junctioning. The junction system itself was a good idea and I liked the customisation available through it.

What wasn't a good idea though was the combination of the following:

A) the quantity of magicks you had junctioned to a slot made a difference to stat boosting

AND

B) the fact that the stacks of magic depleted on every use.

Either 100 stacks should've meant non-depletion through use (ie instead of 100 a litle infinity symbol would pop up!) or quantity should've been an irrelevant variable with respect to stat boosting.

Back on topic though, I've already voiced how I think FFIX is an excellent game and completely underrated by fan (globally) and creator alike. Only negative I saw was the chibi-orientated character models, I would've personally preferred realistic proportions on the characters but in the end it didn't really matter.

The best thing about FFIX was the fact that it had to tackle something very difficult and seldom attempted: create TWO entire worlds with purpose, stature and history. One of those worlds you only got to experience for maybe a couple of hours aswell, so it had to fit all that within a small amount of time. And it succeeded, it actually pulled it off, and for me that is what makes FFIX so great is the dual-world persona of the story.

FFVIII wasn't the best 32-bit Final Fantasy, but it was definitely better then FFXII the weakest of the Fantasy's so far.

Ahem.

If we're talking story & characters, the games are at least level, and even then only so because a few of XII's characters aren't really developed as well as they should be (not that VIII's any better in that regard though, mind. cough, Irvine, Selphie, etc.) I'd argue XII is ahead in these areas, though I do recognise it has problems.

If we're talking gameplay and longevity, XII is ahead of VIII by all the miles from here to Pluto.

(by the way, I realise this is an FFIX thread and don't want to hijack it, but given my positions on both these games I simply couldn't let that comment pass)

Edit: OK here goes with some on-topic thoughts:

I agree that IX is generally under-rated among fans of the series. However here I think it gets its dues at least, and is arguably slightly over-rated. I'm not a huge fan of some of the fringe characters such as Quina or Amarant, nor some of the music, although I do like some tracks. I also found the ability system limited and lacking in replay value because it's basically the same each time through. I would have liked a bit more flexibility.

I don't really think the two-worlds thing was a huge plus for the game, since Terra had bugger all to explore. Not that I didn't like Terra, but to compare it to Gaia is really stretching it.

In general though it is a good game and probably the second best in the series.

I don't really think the two-worlds thing was a huge plus for the game, since Terra had bugger all to explore. Not that I didn't like Terra, but to compare it to Gaia is really stretching it.

If I worded my post suggesting I thought Terra was equal to Gaia in terms of the exploration you get within it then sorry, that was not my intention.

What I basically meant was that even though you only spend a couple of hours within Terra you get the feeling and the idea that this IS another planet in its own right - that its fate was just as important and expansive as Gaia's. You explore a single town, essentially, yet the story allows you to grasp the entire fate of the planet.

It's not that the two-worlds theme gave more content but rather its relevance and significance to the story, which is even more difficult to pump up when you DON'T have the player exploring said world for hours. To get that significance with a single town explored and 2 hours of gameplay is a really hard thing to pull off yet they managed it. That's what I thought was great.

Ahem.

If we're talking story & characters, the games are at least level, and even then only so because a few of XII's characters aren't really developed as well as they should be (not that VIII's any better in that regard though, mind. cough, Irvine, Selphie, etc.) I'd argue XII is ahead in these areas, though I do recognise it has problems.

If we're talking gameplay and longevity, XII is ahead of VIII by all the miles from here to Pluto.

I agree gameplay wise FFXII is better, and that's what keeps me still playing it, even today. But I don't just play RPG's for the gameplay. If I just wanted that, I would play a shooter, or a platformer. I play expecting to be told a good story, and XII didn't deliver. VIII story wasn't the best, but it was solid. I also felt the characters were developed enough, except Qutisis who just stays in the background after Disc 1.

Back on to IX, I came to the end of disc 3 last night, after shitting out my liquified brain due to the sheer yawn fest that was 'the big twist'. Oh for God's sake, what an absolute cock of a story. I dunno... maybe I've grown out of Final Fantasy games, even RPGs in general, but if this story was meant to be gripping, or challenging, or even remotely interesting then I've surely missed something here.

And does nobody else feel the lag in the battle sequences? They're mind-numbingly slow, it makes me not want to use spells, because of the piss poor, slow, boring animations, so my battles now consist of impatiently bashing the 'O' button whilst reading War & Peace, cover to cover, every single battle. It doesn't help that there's a battle every ten fucking seconds, either!

Still, last disc now... the end is in sight. Seriously, the ending had better be something really special, or I'll eat my own knees!

And does nobody else feel the lag in the battle sequences? They're mind-numbingly slow, it makes me not want to use spells, because of the piss poor, slow, boring animations, so my battles now consist of impatiently bashing the 'O' button whilst reading War & Peace, cover to cover, every single battle. It doesn't help that there's a battle every ten fucking seconds, either!

Go to the options and set the battle speed at the fastest. Also, use Auto-Haste, an ability you should probably have by now.

Also, if you don't enjoy the game, why would you waste your time on it?

Just for completist's sake. Plus, I haven't got all the cards yet.

Also, auto-haste and changing the speed in config (which I have already done) only speeds up the 'time-bar' thing, not the actual painfully slow animation sequences.

Yeah, but it still makes the battle faster. Better than nothing i guess.

Actually from the point where the command is selected and just before the rather slow animations you also get a small but noticeable delay which is really frustrating and it happens every time. Previous FF that used the Active Time Battle didn't have that. Except from maybe 4 or 5 but ATB was still at early stages then. But in 9 it's like the system chooses then who gets the next turn - you or the enemy.

I'm trying not to derail the thread completely by talking about FFVIII here.

However, I would agree with how game quality wise, it's not the best. And it took me awhile for FFVIII to be my favorite. I think it only did become so because of nostalgic purposes, more than anything. But all in all, I did enjoy the story line, the characters, and even the junctioning.

=/

Lay off the sauce. kthnxbai

I did however like FFX's enemy (sin) just because of the meaning..



?

Lay off the sauce. kthnxbai

Um, ok?

Sauce is slang for alcohol. I'm calling you a drunkard for liking the (widely accepted) worst parts of FFVIII.

:-*

No, I know what sauce is.
Forget it, I'd rather not start anything. I'll just leave it at that.

Well, I finished it (IX). How utterly underwhelming, and the final bosses were (once again) a disappointing push over.

I didn't even have any Ultimate Weapons, and probably not all of the black magic or Eidolons.

I suppose there's always Ozma, but I don't have the time (or patience!) to bother with the Chocograph/Gold Chocobo business.

Yeah, Final Fantasy IX... utter, utter fail IMO. Boring, slow, irritating and ultimately underwhelming. Just like most of the other newer FF games really. I'm getting too old for this shit.

I never thought IX to be boring. in fact i believe it was the best final fantasy ever! i mean you cant compare it's graphics to the new one's.. well you can in terms of magic sfx (they really toned magic down after 9 didn't they?) but in story-line i believe the story was the most gripping final fantasy story ever. why? well it was very bold of them to make a story about the origin of life and the perspective of death, really if you didn't know that was really the main point of the story please, shoot yourself now.

anyway, think of it this way, IX was produced at the turn of the new millennium which was probably why this kind of story was chosen. people at this time were thinking of life etc due to things in the turn of the year 2000 (for example the (lol) y2k bug).

IX was the only final fantasy game I could play and finish more than five times. You cannot call an RPG a piece of shit if you did not look at the story line and its meaning. thats what the basis of an rpg is anyway.

I thought the basis of an RPG was character development controlled by the player...?

i thought rpgs were about dressing up as your favorite char am i missing something???????

Back on to IX, I came to the end of disc 3 last night, after shitting out my liquified brain due to the sheer yawn fest that was 'the big twist'. Oh for God's sake, what an absolute cock of a story. I dunno... maybe I've grown out of Final Fantasy games, even RPGs in general, but if this story was meant to be gripping, or challenging, or even remotely interesting then I've surely missed something here.

It's a lot easier to get into this game's story if you're enjoying playing it. My impression is that you're simply very impatient, but that's psychoanalysis beyond my capabilities, admittedly.

Anyway, I thought the story was somewhat well-written; the end of disk 3 has got a few kinks in the way it's executed, but I thought the plot of the rest of the game was pretty good. Would you care to specify what you didn't like about the plot?


And does nobody else feel the lag in the battle sequences? They're mind-numbingly slow, it makes me not want to use spells, because of the piss poor, slow, boring animations, so my battles now consist of impatiently bashing the 'O' button whilst reading War & Peace, cover to cover, every single battle. It doesn't help that there's a battle every ten fucking seconds, either!

FFIX is the worst in terms of battle length, true, but this did not bother me that much. This is what makes you seem impatient to me, but maybe I just have too much free time.


Still, last disc now... the end is in sight. Seriously, the ending had better be something really special, or I'll eat my own knees!

I find your sense of masochism pretty amusing.