Where should I start with the Final Fantasy series?

[TristanLuigi]

Like any gamer, I've heard a lot about the Final Fantasy series, but I've never seen one of the games in my life. So, what game should I start with? How much should I research it before I play?

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[tikitai]

none of the games are related to each other unless theyre direct sequels (e.g. FFX and FFX-2)

so its pretty much your choice

XI and XIV are mmorpgs

[TristanLuigi]

none of the games are related to each other unless theyre direct sequels (e.g. FFX and FFX-2)

so its pretty much your choice

XI and XIV are mmorpgs

Yeah, but obviously the game evolved over time and I want the one that introduces the series the best.

[childofdarkness016]

I played 1-5 and only finished 1, which I started on, and 3, which is currently my favorite even though I know it shouldn't. If you want to play them all, start with 3 on the NES because it's easy but it's hard enough to warm you up for 1. If you want to just try one to see if you like the series, go for 4 or 6, which are supposedly the best. Skip 2 regardless because iT SUCKS LIKE A LOT DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED. You don't really need to do any research on them, but if you don't really play JRPGs, it might be a challenging game. 1, 2, and 3 are definitely the hardest, and 5 is a giant grind fest. I didn't get too far in 4, so I can't say much about it, but it definitely has the best plot of the 5 I did.

Regardless of which game you pick, PREPARE FOR MASS-GRINDING. I think 3 is the best in terms of grinding, since if you properly change your classes, you only need to grind before the final dungeon iIrc.

Also I highly suggest trying out the spin-offs Bravely Default and Crystal Chronicles (the first one. never played the rest of the series). I've heard only good things about the former, and it has an excellent demo you should play if you have a 3DS. The latter has a lot of nostalgic value to me and is a pretty good "casual" action RPG. That's not to say it's an easy game, of course, it's just very simple and grind-free.

[Thorax]

A lot of people will suggest VII. It's good but it isn't the end-all of FF. All of the games are unique unto themselves and have their own stories and characters, so you can start wherever.

Personally, my favorite FF game is Final Fantasy: CrCIA Core for the PSP. It's different from the rest of the FF games in that it's more of an action RPG then the typical turned based stuff. Storywise it's a prequel/sequel to FF VII.

[TristanLuigi]

I played 1-5 and only finished 1, which I started on, and 3, which is currently my favorite even though I know it shouldn't. If you want to play them all, start with 3 on the NES because it's easy but it's hard enough to warm you up for 1. If you want to just try one to see if you like the series, go for 4 or 6, which are supposedly the best. Skip 2 regardless because iT SUCKS LIKE A LOT DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED. You don't really need to do any research on them, but if you don't really play JRPGs, it might be a challenging game. 1, 2, and 3 are definitely the hardest, and 5 is a giant grind fest. I didn't get too far in 4, so I can't say much about it, but it definitely has the best plot of the 5 I did.

Regardless of which game you pick, PREPARE FOR MASS-GRINDING. I think 3 is the best in terms of grinding, since if you properly change your classes, you only need to grind before the final dungeon iIrc.

Also I highly suggest trying out the spin-offs Bravely Default and Crystal Chronicles (the first one. never played the rest of the series). I've heard only good things about the former, and it has an excellent demo you should play if you have a 3DS. The latter has a lot of nostalgic value to me and is a pretty good "casual" action RPG. That's not to say it's an easy game, of course, it's just very simple and grind-free.

Thanks for your input. My friends have Bravely Default, and I think it looks really good but I don't want to buy such a new game because I don't know how well I like the general air of the series. Crystal Chronicles is something I haven't looked into at all and I might check it out.

[tikitai]

1 to 6 have almost identical combat systems
7 is arguably the most popular game in the series and the first one with 3D graphics, 8 is similar to 7
they focused on making 9 like the old games
10 has a turn based system instead of the traditional active time battle of the series
i dont really know much about 10-2 and 12
13 has a way smoother battle system but completely sacrificing most strategic value the other games had
13-2 is stuff
lightning returns plays like an improved 13
the tactics series is an isometric turn based highly tactical customize your army type of game
dissidia is a 3d fighting game with chars from 1 to 13

they all tell great stories, so it pretty much depends on which ones you can get

you can try getting ff7 and ff8 on steam

[childofdarkness016]

A lot of people will suggest VII. It's good but it isn't the end-all of FF. All of the games are unique unto themselves and have their own stories and characters, so you can start wherever.

Personally, my favorite FF game is Final Fantasy: CrCIA Core for the PSP. It's different from the rest of the FF games in that it's more of an action RPG then the typical turned based stuff. Storywise it's a prequel/sequel to FF VII.

Yeah, VII is the "mainstream" one it seems. VI seems to be the one that "true fans" like best, though.

[tikitai]

oh yeah forgot to mention my personal favorite is ff6

[heedicalking]

if you have a PS3, get X/X2-HD for it (comes with both games).