First time FF-er, VI or IX?

Hello ffshrine/gh!

I have long saught to start playing Final Fantasy. I once tried doing it with the GBA version of I, but never got far (vampire somethingorother?). Since then, most friends have told me that 6 is the best or 9 is, and that 7 is great for cultural references. So, I’ll poll – which one would you guys recommend? I just got a PS3, so I think I could get them on PSN, but not sure. Otherwise, I have most consoles.

Welcome to the Shrine! 😀

For a first-time FF player, I guess it depends on whether you don’t mind PSX-era graphics. If that’s not an issue, then I would definitely recommend starting with one of the PSX-era FF titles (VII, VIII and IX).

All three are well worth playing, with VII being the most popular and effective benchmark for the entire series (all three can be purchased for download on PSN rather cheaply and are fully compatible with both PS3 and PSP).

VI and IX are two of my particular favourites, VI being my favourite FF of all time, and IX not far behind, but it might still be best for you to start with VII and take it from there. 🙂

Welcome to the Shrine! 😀

VI and IX are two of my particular favourites, VI being my favourite FF of all time, and IX not far behind, but it might still be best for you to start with VII and take it from there. 🙂

Is there a FF before the VI worth playing ? I really loved the VI, including the old graphics. I think the emulator improve the graphics with particular filters, I played snes version.

Is there a FF before the VI worth playing ? I really loved the VI, including the old graphics. I think the emulator improve the graphics with particular filters, I played snes version.

I personally think you should play them in order:1 first, then 4.After 4, play 5, then 6, and so on.I didn’t include the original 2 and 3, because they suck.

1 is often underrated by newcomers, and they forget that it was innovative in 1987.I personally feel you would have more appreciation, if you start with ff1.

I didn’t include the original 2 and 3, because they suck.

I have to disagree with you on that one, they were very good actually, they just did things differently and experimented more with the series which probably ended up helping out the series later on. FFII and III introduced many things that became staples of Final Fantasy including chocobos and moogles. If you don’t like the originals you could always play the remakes which I enjoyed quite a lot. The different "levelling" system in FFII was quite hard to adjust to but eventually you get used to it… Also the "phrase" system was kind of stupid but other than that it was quite a good game. FFIII had greater customization options compared to the FFI and II, the many choices for jobs allowed you to have a greater amount of choice in what you want your character to be good at, and if it didn’t suit you, you could change it at any time you wish. Even though the job system was heavily improved on in FFVI it still is quite a fantastic game not to be looked down on.

Hi!
I faced the exactly same decision and I chose IX. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it at all. VI felt really great to me, though.

FF VI is my favorite FF game, the characters story are very good, but maybe the overall story is not in the same level
FFIX tried to be a tribute to the series in itself, it’s a good game, but maybe you should play it after playing other FF games.