Final Fantasy
Background
In 2004, age 5, I watched my babysitter play Final Fantasy 1 on NES. All I really remember is seeing them kill Garland. Four years later, I played it on Wii virtual console in third grade, but never got past the elf forest, and just kinda forgot about it.
In 2015, I dropped out of high school, and with truly unlimited free time in this state, I picked up Final Fantasy X on PS2. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but literally going from 1 to 10 is arguably the worst way you could experience the franchise. Because after that I got blindsided by all the games between them using Active Time Battle and wasn't a fan. So I put the games down.
But then in 2017, I got an urge to start an MMO. I was torn between Final Fantasy XIV or Guild Wars 2, and ultimately went with XIV since I thought it'd be a better world for role-playing. I had finally played VII beforehand and warmed up to ATB, but playing XIV got me obsessed with the franchise, and I've since played every mainline entry. Here's my favorites.
Final Fantasy IV
FFIV is a common recommendation for a starting point. I'm more of a play them in order kinda guy, but IV is a legitimately solid place to begin. IV is the first game to introduce ATB, it doesn't have any major gimmicks compared to the other games (if anything ATB is the gimmick), and it's generally not a difficult game to beat; making it a good beginner's entry.
But if it's too easy for you, the 3D remake will kick your ass. It's so hard that Steam version adjusted the difficulty Devil May Cry style, so Normal was easy and Hard was normal, and even then the Normal mode is still really difficult. It's a fascinating dichotomy, having a game be both the easiest and hardest of the franchise, depending what version you play.
Final Fantasy V
FFV is legitimately one of the best RPGs of all time. If I were to point towards any one game that defines Final Fantasy as a franchise, V would be it. I love the progression on the overworld from on-foot to an airship, I love the job system letting you craft any playstyle you want, I love how virtually everything it introduces has become a franchise mainstay, but most of all I am amazed that no other game with a job system has been able to replicate it. Truly a one of a kind masterpiece that everyone should play.Final Fantasy VII
When I first played this in 2017, I thought it was generally great, but it wasn't until replaying it years later that it solidified as deserving of all the hype it gets. It's a game of rock-solid pacing from beginning to end, and I'd argue it's the real last SNES-era FF. The presentation, the design ethos, a lot of what defines FF changed after VII, making it a fascinating end cap of the series. That's not to say games after it are bad, but none of them truly reach VII's highs.Final Fantasy XI
FFXI has cursed me. Because for all the confusing questlines, maze-like environments, and unforgiving encounters, I have never played an RPG--not MMO, RPG--with character building more layered & intricate than FFXI. It is the absolute king of horizontal progression, with each of its 22 jobs having more varied & viable playstyles than any modern RPG could ever dream of achieving. It has a learning curve, but it's a curve well worth learning.Final fantay XIV
Why yes, I do play the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV with a free trial containing all of A Realm Reborn & Heavensward & Stormblood. I'm a Stormblood veteran, and yeah XIV is pretty great. I don't play it nearly as often as I did in 2018, but I hop on every new patch & do enough to ensure my ilvl will be ready for the next patch.
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