Marked for Life

[Daemon]

No not Zimmerman =p

Out of all Final Fantasy Games, which version got you hooked and why?

For me, FF3 for Nintendo was the game that started my addiction. Although at the time, only JP version existed, I had to play it through without understanding the entire game. The one that got me truely hooked was FFVI with the Magitech armor and my all time favorite Villian Kefka.

What about you?

[Demon6324236]

FFX, while others will disagree, I loved the story, characters, world, and while it was not the hardest, it also wasn't so easy as to bore me, it was the first FF game I played that I really got into. I still replay FFX to this day, and plan to get HD when its released.

[Kaisha]

The original on NES. Spent a month on and off with a friend slowly figuring out our way through it. Even drew maps because the simplicity of its visuals made for a lot of confusion in some of the larger dungeons.

Kept playing every series' entry from there on in.

[Slaxx]

FF1

I got it when it first came out and immediately fell in love with it (hell I still have it on 3 different systems I'm currently running as well as my original copy of the NES version).

I didn't play another FF until i picked up a used SNES in the late 90s and one of the 2 games I got with it was FF6 (labeled 3 in the US SNES version). A couple of my friends and I spent a summer in college playing through it and found just about everything in the game. To this day it is still my unquestioned favorite in the series.

I came to the real FF3 when the first US version came out on the Nintendo DS and sadly it was just too dated by the time I got to it. I played through it but it took 2 tries, I just couldn't summon up that sense of nostalgia for it that I was able to find when I picked up all the other early FF games that I missed on there original release. Sadly even for a game that had been so totally remade for it's DS release it didn't update so many of the clunky interface issues that had been streamlined in other games from that time (not just FFs) that have gotten a face lift.

FFX was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the hell out of it (but I am an unapologetic fanboy of the FF series) and I can't wait to get my hands on the HD remake with the International Version bonus content we never got to see here.

[Rekin]

FFVIII not the actual game but the demo version on the ps1.

It was beautiful and had very appealing music. I loved watching Leviathan sweep away monsters. Then I got the game itself and being a kid at the time I couldn't fully comprehend the game and thus struggled through it. Then I played it again recently and completely demolished by finally making full use of the game's junction system and item/spell conversion options becoming nearly invincible by the end of disc one. Also a strong point I found about the story was that it was very subtle in some regards.

[Vivivivi]

FF4 for me. I was allowed to pick one SNES game for my birthday when I was a kid, and the game I wanted wasn't in the store (which I can't even remember anymore). So after carefully inspecting all of the boxes, and having played a few PC games like King's Quest, Final Fantasy appealed quite a bit to me.

As it turned out, I was drawn into the storyline, gameplay and music. With no internet or strategy guide to follow it took me a very long time to complete (I think 80 hours total), but it totally had me hooked. I played 6, 7 and 10 when those came out, and years later I decided I wanted to play all of the main titles in order. Haven't made it to 12 yet :)

[Umichi]

Final fantasy 7 here

guess why :)

[Vil]

FF4 on SNES for me. I remember being so moved by the story, I couldn't put it down. I was around 10yrs old when it was released here in the US. Like someone mentioned above, there was no internet or guides to properly show a playthrough, so it took me and my sister quite a bit to get through it. But get through it we did, and we kept playing new games just to see all the old characters again.

[Mirage]

Final Fantasy 5. On an emulator, because i never had a SNES, much less a super famicom! And the PS1 version sucked.

[Vil]

Final Fantasy 5. On an emulator, because i never had a SNES, much less a super famicom! And the PS1 version sucked.

The loading times on those PSX releases were atrocious anyway xD

[Slaxx]

I never did understand how those loading times were so atrocious. I'm pretty sure the entire game could be loaded on the RAM of a PS1 (just a guess, I don't know the actual numbers to back that up).

And no I don't know enough (or care enough) about computers to know if that matters. I'm guessing it doesn't but it doesn't take away from how ridiculous some of the load times were. Either way those PS1 re-releases made the early FF games available to a huge market of gamers that never had the chance to fall in love with the FF series in all its pre-7 glory.

PS Emulators are great and all but I, personally, am willing to pay for the games I enjoy and believe in. The PS1 re-releases were a way for me to do that.

[Aezelas]

FF6 is the one I started with.
Awesome storyline, numerous places, mobs and playable characters, epic music and boss fights. This made me realize a video game could be more than just a game.
I became a squaresoft fan since then, and have rarely been disappointed.

I won't forget FF7 for obvious reasons, but i'd rather put FF Tactics right after FF6.
FF6 brought me into Square's world, FF Tactics made me fall in love with Matsuno's world.

[Alpheus]

FFVIII is what got me started. I enjoyed the junction system and the story. I then played VII and enjoyed it as well, then came IV PS1 release then IX then X then I and II on GBA and finally X-2. I still havent managed to play through V and VI for some reason i just can't. Made it to the final dungeon in VI once but then I just left it there idk it was weird as to why I did so. I actually enjoyed XIII though it didn't present it's linearity as well as the other Final Fantasy entries did though it did follow the FFVI formula of having your options open up quite a ways into the game (WoB felt more on rails while WoR felt more open). XIII's battle system to me seemed a natural progression on what ATB could look like as it allowed for either manual control or automatic input while both modes required you paid attention to the flow of battle and adapt as the battle changed. I think the best distillation of the ATB Paradigm system was best demonstrated in the FFXIII-2 DLC Requiem of the Goddess though. I kinda wished they offered more instances like that where it was as fast paced and engaging.

That brings me to XI where I've only been playing for about 3 years now, was lucky enough to have someone take me under his wing and gave me a chance after some of my more earlier friends decided to quit. I'd like to think of myself as quite an accomplished WHM; I myself am eying to make a Yagrush though there's still quite a road ahead.

[pretre]

ff7 and played everyone after it, only ff I didn't like was 13

[Leonardus]

Started with FFI here, as I owned an NES as a kid well into the SNES era, and got a SNES really late (Wherein I rented FFIII/VI countless times but never was able to buy it).

As a teenager I painted a garage and used that money to buy FFVII and a PSX. VII, Tactics and Bushido Blade- Squaresoft was awesome back then.

I think the biggest mistake SE's ever made was to never really make a true "FFT 2." Really think they missed out back then.

Also, I'm probably one of the few people to like Squall from FFVIII. People call him emo and all, but I really liked how he was all quiet and reserved.


FFVIII not the actual game but the demo version on the ps1.

Did you have that demo disc with the awesome title music? (Which I later found was a Xenogears track).

[Merton9999]

FFI

My mom got it for me for Christmas in 1990 because "it had a sword and a crystal ball on the cover so I thought you'd like it." She had no idea.

I liked IV (II U.S. when I played it) even more. I didn't know at the time that it was three games later, and it blew me away how far they had come from 1. The ATB, the focus on story and characters ... amazing.

And then came VI, or III U.S. I got it in college on the release day for SNES, played it every chance I could, and hooked 5 mates on the series with that game. One of my buddies actually broke into my room (crawled through the window) when I was in class to play it. To this day FFVI is my favorite media experience of all time.

I've enjoyed all the rest in some way or another. I'm definitely not the guy that wants to return to the old classics. I like the newness and the changes. But nothing has really done what IV and VI did emotionally for me.

[Merton9999]

FF6 is the one I started with.
Awesome storyline, numerous places, mobs and playable characters, epic music and boss fights. This made me realize a video game could be more than just a game.
I became a squaresoft fan since then, and have rarely been disappointed.

I won't forget FF7 for obvious reasons, but i'd rather put FF Tactics right after FF6.
FF6 brought me into Square's world, FF Tactics made me fall in love with Matsuno's world.

That whole ~6 year stretch was truly amazing. I think it was IV(II), SoM, VI(III), CT, VII, Tactics released in that order. Such variety and unforgettable quality one Squaresoft game after the other. It was absolute torture being in college and sitting through every class thinking only about playing one of those games!

[Mostfowl]

FF1 got me hooked, FFIV/VI are my favs with FFX coming in 3rd and VII and VIII being my least favorite. The others all intermingle in between. I have completed them all at least twice because even my least favs have a decent replay value :D

[Rekin]

Started with FFI here, as I owned an NES as a kid well into the SNES era, and got a SNES really late (Wherein I rented FFIII/VI countless times but never was able to buy it).

As a teenager I painted a garage and used that money to buy FFVII and a PSX. VII, Tactics and Bushido Blade- Squaresoft was awesome back then.

I think the biggest mistake SE's ever made was to never really make a true "FFT 2." Really think they missed out back then.

Also, I'm probably one of the few people to like Squall from FFVIII. People call him emo and all, but I really liked how he was all quiet and reserved.



Did you have that demo disc with the awesome title music? (Which I later found was a Xenogears track).
I can't rightfully recall. I just remember it being very fun at the time.

[Daemon]

FFI

My mom got it for me for Christmas in 1990 because "it had a sword and a crystal ball on the cover

Lol... Mom too..

[Mirage]

The loading times on those PSX releases were atrocious anyway xD

That's the main reason I thought they sucked.

I think I had a PC capable of emulating them before the PS1 versions were even released anyway.

[Daemon]

Final Fantasy 5 got ported over to the Iphone recently and is currently being sold on the App Store. I'm hoping SE will do a full remake of Final Fantasy VI rather than just a port. The storyline and the game itself is amazing and while a port would be good for keeping the classic at its original state, I loved how they remade Final Fantasy 3. It was great to see both the Nintendo version and the remake that was released for the DS and I have to say that not only was the remake better than the original, it felt more fresh and new while still following the same storyline, music and all other things. Just the 3D graphics and enhanced music made it better than the 8bit version.

After watching Final Fantasy I, II, III, IV and V released on the Iphone, I'm wondering if VI and VII is coming soon...as technology is getting better and since cellphones are showing improvements with better upgrades in memory, graphics, Screen Resolution, and storage as time goes by, it could be possible. If FFXIV proves to be SE's new hit version then developers will have to keep their word on turning back the clock and reworking FFVII to the standards of today's generation.

http://m.gamespot.com/news/no-final-fantasy-vii-remake-until-square-enix-tops-original-6384331

http://kotaku.com/5472668/square-enix-keeps-answering-possible-final-fantasy-vii-remake-questions

It would be exciting to play a remake of VII on the PS3. One of the reasons I did not become so interested after playstation 1 advanced to II & III was how realistic games were becoming. Also the reason why I did not enjoy Final Fantasy XIII. It was more of an action than fantasy in my eyes. Same reason I didn't like the movie Spirits Within. However if SE does Remake VII keeping the game Fantasy and graphics slightly cartoonish ill be willing to pay more than $150 for a collectors edition. Unlike the $100 I paid twice for FFXIV which money was wasted in disappointment.

[Merton9999]

I'm hoping SE will do a full remake of Final Fantasy VI rather than just a port ... It would be exciting to play a remake of VII on the PS3 ... Also the reason why I did not enjoy Final Fantasy XIII ... Same reason I didn't like the movie Spirits Within.

I like how opinions over each entry in the series vary wildly by person. It's actually a fun part of the community discussion for me. People get obsessed about their favorite FF being the "last good one"... lol.

I won't deny how bad Spirits Within was, but loved the heck out of XIII, even being a fan since 1. On the other hand, I don't have any intention of buying the X HD remake. However, I'd take a week off of work, turn off my cell phone, and become a shut-in if they remade VI even the way they did IV, let alone an HD version.

I'd buy an HD VII, but wouldn't obsess over it :p

[Daemon]

I like how opinions over each entry in the series vary wildly by person. It's actually a fun part of the community discussion for me. People get obsessed about their favorite FF being the "last good one"... lol.

I won't deny how bad Spirits Within was, but loved the heck out of XIII, even being a fan since 1. On the other hand, I don't have any intention of buying the X HD remake. However, I'd take a week off of work, turn off my cell phone, and become a shut-in if they remade VI even the way they did IV, let alone an HD version.

I'd buy an HD VII, but wouldn't obsess over it :p

Lol yeah it is fun, but hey Hi Five to you for loving FFVI too. Although you loved FFXIII, I just never could get fully into the game like other series. I dunno if I'd obsess over VII also but hey, if the graphics, music was reworked to be as awesome as the amount of work was done to FFXIV reborn, we just might have a good reason to fall in love all over again. And like FFIII adding in new things the original does not have would even be cool.

As for Spirits within, what happened to BLM? WHM? MNK? 4 warriors coming together to set on a journey to restore the world through the power of the crystals? Light warriors instead of science team... Hmmm.

Edit: Gaia was part of the storyline, which was FF7 yet the movie was not FF7.

[Toukai]

FFVII for me, I played X first in 5th grade and had a blast but when I got a hold of VII, followed by IX was what really hooked me in.