Getting back into the Final Fantasy series.

It was the year 2001 when I was first introduced to what was a fantastic series. My uncle gave me his copy of FF7 for the PC and I must of spent 200 hours on that game. Moving on, at the age of 15 I managed to save up enough for a PSOne slim and bought it just to play FF8 and FF9. After a slight disappoint meant of FF9, I followed this up by playing FFX in 2006. What a great game (FFX-2 no thanks). I also played some FFVI on my PSP but never quite completed the game.

When FFXII was released I did buy the game, what a let down though. I played about 30mins and gave up, stopped at the point where you navigate the sewers. Its at this point that I started to dislike the series, the changes SquareEnix made were far too radical. How could they get rid of turn based battle, random battles and world map exploration? So since the release of FFXII I havent touched the series. Something inside of me really wants to get back into playing the series but my mind just cant get past all the changes. What is FFXIII like, do you think I should give the series another go? Were any of you guys also put off by all the changes at first but still enjoyed the games post FFX?

I really wish great turn based RPGs were still made and why do they still refuse to make a Skies of Arcadia sequel?

If you’re trying to "give the series another go" PLEASE DO NOT PLAY FFXIII. Instead play any of the PS1 games (FF7,8 and 9) or games before that, especially FF 4 and 6 were really good.

What is FFXIII like, do you think I should give the series another go? Were any of you guys also put off by all the changes at first but still enjoyed the games post FFX?

Watch the following review about FFXIII : Zero Punctuation : Final Fantasy XIII (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1569-Final-Fantasy-XIII). I don’t normally listen/read reviews (preferring to play them myself), however I do agree with everything in that review. I’m not saying don’t play it because of that review etc… just offering my two cents.

Otherwise, I’d suggest either starting with Final Fantasy IV or VI myself.

I really wish great turn based RPGs were still made and why do they still refuse to make a Skies of Arcadia sequel?

You get rep from me by wondering about a Skies of Arcadia sequel. Player controlled airship battles (limited maybe, but still great) in this, whereas in the FF series with it’s plethora of airships… there are no player controlled airship battles… only FMV ones.

The old FF were great in their day, but times move on. You can’t really blame SE for getting rid of random battles, as they are often held up as ‘Exhibit A’ for why JRPGs aren’t relevant in this day and age (part of the whole grinding thing in general – its seen as really unfashionable now, and as a result, levels and exp gathering is dying out in WRPGs, whereas JRPGs are just dying out in general).

I can still play FF7, 8 etc and not even notice that the turn based thing isn’t something you usually see now. They’re still great games and I still feel that from them when I play them (same way if you watch black and white movies or movies with subtitiles, you only really notice for the first 10 minutes or so, before you get engaged and stop thinking about it).

But that doesn’t mean I would want random battles and turn based combat back in modern games. I mean, I loved Eye of the Beholder to pieces, but if Skyrim were to use flick screen movement with compass directions, instead of full movement, I wouldn’t be all that impressed.

To answer your question about FF13, if you want random battles and old style RPGing, then none of the new FF are going to be your thing. If you haven’t played it already, Lost Odyssesy is about as old school as it gets these days (its pretty old now, but its probably your best bet).

Altus is the new Square – I said it, I’m sticking to it.

If you’re a fan of JRPGs there’s NO reason not to play Persona 3:FES and Persona 4.

Ive played those two games too, excellent games BTW. I just wish Square could strike a balance between the Dragon Quest series and the current FF games, with the conclusion being games in the vein of FF7,8,9 and 10. Regarding level grinding yes I do love it, the PS1 FFs seemed perfect for this but wouldnt want it to be taken to DQ levels (Couldn’t get into DQ8, 100% old skool grinding).

Altus is the new Square – I said it, I’m sticking to it.

If you’re a fan of JRPGs there’s NO reason not to play Persona 3:FES and Persona 4.

hmmm I’ll have to try those 2 games then! thanks for the info.

If you LIKE level grinding try Digital Devil Saga 1/2 – the grind is pretty nutty, but the story is weird enough to make up for it (or just get a Gameshark and cheat a bit – 10 Times XP – o god yes!)