The Pixel Remasters are great--all six of them. Just make sure you do the font replacement that's real easy to do, no patches needed. Here's how you do that.
They are NOT ports. They are completely reprogrammed games from the ground up, including with fully orchestrated music. Tons of bug fixes as well.
Which one should you start with? Tough call. Personally, I'd start with 6. Any game except 2, which sucks.
ProJared did tremendous videos on every FF game up to 12 so far. I know he's not on our side, but those particular videos are still worth watching for how informative they are.
Just note that, unless otherwise specified, none of the games have anything to do with each other.
I'm a huge FF fan and would have to admit this is wrong. At least compared to something like TES. Since each story is self contained they can only build lore within their own game. They are each very unique, with elements ranging from fantasy to scifi. Once you get to the later entries, there is some carryover and side-games that continue the stories.
If a game depends on or builds off from a previous game, it will generally make that clear and be titled something like "Final Fantasy VII: The Second Coming" or whatever. If you stick to numbered titles without subtitles, you can feel safe knowing that it is completely unrelated to other games.
The original is a perfectly fine starting point, though a bit simplistic. 6 is widely regarded as the best of the pixel era, and is many people's favorite overall. 7 was many people's first entry point and is overrated, but certainly not bad. Honestly, just start with any of them.
I didn't think FF2 was all that bad, aside from the flamboyant design of the main character. I didn't touch it until the PSP remake, though, so that could have something to do with it.
I'm pretty deep into the FF rabbit hole and have been since I was barely able to read.
Personally, I have never finished 1 or 2. They're extremely user unfriendly and terribly balanced, so you have to either be a JRPG die-hard or a massive FF fan to even try. The pixel remasters fixed a lot of broken shit, but still. There are better games.
3 is kind of borderline. Lots of great ideas executed not terribly well. Good game, but only barely. The PSP remake is a lot better, if you can get past the hideous art style. Start here if you really, really like the genre.
4 is the first game I'd say is truly just a good game in and of itself. It's still a bit of a mess due to its age, but it's perfectly playable. This one has a ton of remakes for some reason. There's The Complete Collection on PSP, which I think is the best one. There's the 3D remake on DS, which I haven't played a ton of but it seems okay, if really slow. Then there's the pixel remaster, which is basically Complete Collection with some added quality of life features and minus The After Years, which isn't very good anyway.
Like current_horror said, none of them have anything to do with each other. They (almost) all have chocobos and black mages and gil and all that shit, but it's just a shared universal framework. Nothing more. There are a couple exceptions, but none in the main series.
I’ve actually been meaning to dive into Final Fantasy. I love Skyrim and FF had very deep lore. Do I have to start from the very first one?
The Pixel Remasters are great--all six of them. Just make sure you do the font replacement that's real easy to do, no patches needed. Here's how you do that.
They are NOT ports. They are completely reprogrammed games from the ground up, including with fully orchestrated music. Tons of bug fixes as well.
Which one should you start with? Tough call. Personally, I'd start with 6. Any game except 2, which sucks.
ProJared did tremendous videos on every FF game up to 12 so far. I know he's not on our side, but those particular videos are still worth watching for how informative they are.
Just note that, unless otherwise specified, none of the games have anything to do with each other.
Thanks!
I'm a huge FF fan and would have to admit this is wrong. At least compared to something like TES. Since each story is self contained they can only build lore within their own game. They are each very unique, with elements ranging from fantasy to scifi. Once you get to the later entries, there is some carryover and side-games that continue the stories.
Strictly speaking, thanks to FF13-2, all Final Fantasies could, in theory, be in the same universe.
Crystals are materia are draw stones are fragments of the l'Cie.
Summons are eidolons are fal'cie are guardian forces are ESPer spirits.
Boco the Chocobo is omnipresent, in all timelines at all times.
If a game depends on or builds off from a previous game, it will generally make that clear and be titled something like "Final Fantasy VII: The Second Coming" or whatever. If you stick to numbered titles without subtitles, you can feel safe knowing that it is completely unrelated to other games.
The original is a perfectly fine starting point, though a bit simplistic. 6 is widely regarded as the best of the pixel era, and is many people's favorite overall. 7 was many people's first entry point and is overrated, but certainly not bad. Honestly, just start with any of them.
Except for 2. Don't play that abomination.
I didn't think FF2 was all that bad, aside from the flamboyant design of the main character. I didn't touch it until the PSP remake, though, so that could have something to do with it.
I'm pretty deep into the FF rabbit hole and have been since I was barely able to read.
Personally, I have never finished 1 or 2. They're extremely user unfriendly and terribly balanced, so you have to either be a JRPG die-hard or a massive FF fan to even try. The pixel remasters fixed a lot of broken shit, but still. There are better games.
3 is kind of borderline. Lots of great ideas executed not terribly well. Good game, but only barely. The PSP remake is a lot better, if you can get past the hideous art style. Start here if you really, really like the genre.
4 is the first game I'd say is truly just a good game in and of itself. It's still a bit of a mess due to its age, but it's perfectly playable. This one has a ton of remakes for some reason. There's The Complete Collection on PSP, which I think is the best one. There's the 3D remake on DS, which I haven't played a ton of but it seems okay, if really slow. Then there's the pixel remaster, which is basically Complete Collection with some added quality of life features and minus The After Years, which isn't very good anyway.
Like current_horror said, none of them have anything to do with each other. They (almost) all have chocobos and black mages and gil and all that shit, but it's just a shared universal framework. Nothing more. There are a couple exceptions, but none in the main series.
Adding my input. I loved the remakes of FF3 and FF4 on the DS. Also, FF Crisis core on the PSP was amazing.
Cool! Thanks!!! Will probably get one soon
The final fantasy games are mostly one-offs.
They are also massively overrated.
Which one did you like the most of you had to pick one?
Blessed taste.
That one came out on PS1 right?
9 is the best, no contest.