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sapphire-mage · 1 year

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So You Want to Get Into Classic Final Fantasy? (A Guide to Final Fantasy I-VI for Those Who Want To Check Them Out)

You may have seen recently that the HD Remixes of Final Fantasy 1-6 are coming to Switch and PS4 in Spring (or that they're already on Steam or mobile), and you might be thinking, "Should I try one of them?" Maybe you've played VII/VII Remake or XIV, and you're like, "Maybe I should give one of these a go!" Maybe you're thinking to start in numerical order? Maybe you already have one in mind?

Either way, I want to throw my 50 cents into this conversation as someone who has played every number but 11. This isn't going to be a critique. I like all six of them. To varying degrees? Yeah. But I'll be honest about pros and cons of each. Let's begin, shall we?

GENERAL TIPS AND INFO:

-Take note that ALL of these games are turn based combat JRPGS. They may have something different between each of them, but they are all turn based combat driven.

-FF1-FF3 have a turn based style where you can decide the actions of all of your characters, and their actions will be played out on a basis of their speed, kind of like Pokemon. FF4-FF6 allows characters and enemies to act freely while you decide their next move, which can be more dangerous, but take note, there is a 'Wait Mode' you can activate that will stop the flow of battle while you scroll through the magic or item menus.

-If by some chance, Final Fantasy isn't vibing with you: By all means quit. Maybe pick up one with a story that interests you more. Maybe turn based combat isn't your thing. Maybe you want a better leveling system. Maybe you would rather do more modern adaptations. It varies, but don't be afraid to step away. If it's not your thing, it is not your thing. That's okay.

-When it comes to any of these games: Wait until they are on sale. Square tends to put their games on sale pretty often, and pretty often, those sales are a steal. So keep that in mind!

OKAY! Let's begin!

Final Fantasy I

Despite being the first in the series, it's a difficult sell as 'your first Final Fantasy' or 'your first classic Final Fantasy'. But it isn't a bad choice, especially if you have a decent amount of JRPG experience anyway. The story exists, but more in a 'world building' way and not a 'character' way. It is also the shortest out of all six being discussed here.

What may be a pro or con for some is that the main four characters are self-inserts. You choose their battle job (a choice that is permanent, by the way), name them, and then use them for battle and adventure. But they barely speak a word of dialogue, if at all. This is bad for people who want characters to feed off of, but great for people who want to put their OCs as the characters (I'm those people at times).

General Tip: Feel free to use whatever character class selection you want, but for a general idea: Warrior is powerful but expensive to keep powerful, Thief is the fastest but slightly fragile compared to the other two fighters, Black Belt is almost has powerful as Warrior but significantly less expensive, White Mage has access to insane healing spells but very expensive, Black Mage has access to insane attacking spells but very expensive, and Red Mage has access to half the spells W and B Mage have but has the versatility to use a sword and both of their spell options.

Final Fantasy II

This is the Final Fantasy that I have to inform you is 'The Bad One'™ of the six. Personally, I love this game. Has a surprisingly deeper story than you'd expect, dealing with a rebellion trying to bring down a facist overlord (which is awesome). But it is probably the hardest of the six. Walk in the wrong direction and high level monsters will eviscerate you.

It also has a very unique leveling system. Where most games in the series require EXP and give you stats as you level, this game gives you stats as you USE those stats. Want your HP and Defense to go up? Take some damage, and you'll have a chance to level those stats. Want your Fire spell to grow stronger? Use the spell in battle, and the spell will grow stronger with your MP and magic power, possibly. Want to get better with swords? Keep using swords, baby!

Also, has the coolest villain of the first three games in the form of The Emperor. He looks like The Goblin King from Labyrinth and is such a bastard. Very entertaining.

General Tip: Keep characters focusing on a specific thing, but have everyone be a 'mage knight'. Give each character a weapon to focus, and a magic type to focus (white magic or black magic, don't cross types). If you want a very specific suggestion, consider making Firion and Guy handle weapons of your choice, but use white mage to heal. Have Maria use a bow, but utilize black magic and being your mage.

Final Fantasy III

It is my least favorite of these six, but it is a beloved game in the series for a reason. Most importantly, it is the game that inspired a lot of XIV. Hell, XIV fans may recognizes many songs (including the above one), enemies, and characters throughout.

The big thing I should mention is that this game has two versions on Steam: The Classic Remix (sprites, insert characters that you can name but have no character arcs) and The 3D Version (3D figures, actual main characters with names). The decision is yours and yours alone, Steam users.

Otherwise, this is the first game to allow a Job Sytem. As you progress, you unlock jobs that your characters can select and become, but you can't do it as freely as you may like. Also, when your character is that select job (let's say Black Mage, for instance), they can only be that job and nothing else until you change it. Once you do, the skills and abilities that character was able to use before may not be usable anymore unless you change them back. You'll see.

General Tips: Kind of figure out what kind of jobs you want each characters to handle, and stick with they general realm for each of them. Fighters be fighters, mages be mages. There may be times where you'll want to break that, but that's up to you to strategize.

Final Fantasy IV

We're finally reaching the 'epic stories' of Final Fantasy now, so I'll be talking a bit more about story. IV is the first real dramatic epic that Final Fantasy is known for being, and the characters and story prove that. Is it the best in the series? Arguably not, but it is very good. Dealing heavily with themes of redemption, revenge, and forgiveness.

From a gameplay stand point, it's probably the most challenging of the 4-6 era. There isn't that much freedom with your characters, as each of them have their designated skills, abilities, and talents set from the start of leveling to the end of leveling. And you can't change those things. So instead, you need to level your characters, figure out how to best beat the upcoming bosses, and use what you have.

And the music is fantastic in this game. Songs ranging from gorgeous melodies of feeling safe and home, to some stressful and tense songs as you come face to face with the enemy. You may recognize some from Endwalker, as Endwalker pulled a lot from this game.

General Tips: Learn everything that your characters can do, and utilize them to the best of your ability. Maybe your healer needs to focus on buffing or attacking, while another character heals with magic or items. Maybe you need to better research your enemies with what you have. Everything is creativity in this game with your limited options.

Final Fantasy V

I'm not gonna sugar coat it: This is my favorite in the series. But I'll try not to be biased. For starters, the story steps down from its epic roots to be more comedic. Somehow, this game managed to be a parody of FFIV and every Final Fantasy that would follow V, before any of them would be created. You'll have a lot of goofball good guys and bad guys, while also having a mean as hell main villain who has a strange, almost comedic origin story.

CW worth noting: There is a character who goes through some gender clash. Basically, you're introduced to them as one gender, when it is revealed later that they only disguised themselves as that gender because people of their born gender don't get respect in their occupation. Feelings on how this character was handled vary, but the character is beloved regardless and stays true to themselves to the end. I wouldn't say it was outright transphobic, but I wouldn't say it was handled with grace (one piece of dialogue makes me wince). And it may get some side glances from players now. But ultimately, the cast and fans accept and love this character regardless.

The music is very Pokemon Hoenn region: TRUMPETS EVERYWHERE! Somebody was having a trumpet party while this game was being made. Still, the music is great, especially the boss themes as you go further into the game. The track you're listening to is my personal favorite from this game.

But I haven't even spoke of the strongest aspect: The gameplay! It has a job system like Final Fantasy III, BUT you can carry over things you've learned from previous jobs! Got a Black Mage, but you want to utilize Time Magic? Good news, you can equip the Black Magic you've mastered while using Time Mage! Want to try out Monk, but you want to keep stealing items with your Thief? Have your Thief master 'Steal', and then equip it as a Monk. The strategy and creativity is unlimited!

General Tips: At the start of the game, you have access to a job known as 'Freelancer'. On the surface, this job is useless. But later on, you'll find that it automatically equips ALL passive abilities (ie HP +20%, Dual Wield, Equip Armor) without using up any of your slots! So take note: Freelancer is a secret endgame class! Strategize with that in mind! LEARN WHAT PASSIVE ABILITIES YOU CAN!

Also: Don't. Underestimate. Blue Mage. If you can figure things out, Blue Mage is insanely powerful. Then again, I speak as a devout Blue Mage fanatic.

Final Fantasy VI

As far as epic Final Fantasy games go, this is the biggest and baddest one from 1-6. Action, comedy, romance, horror, tragedy, joy! Everything and more in this theatrical adventure! By far, the strongest story of the six in my eyes and the eyes of many. Often argued to be one of the strongest stories of the entire series even beyond the classic six, and I agree! Lovable main characters all around, some kick ass female characters who take the forefront over most of the guys often times, and a psycho clown who serves as the central villain! I would argue, from a story stand point, this game is the quintessence of classic Final Fantasy.

Music is out of this world. Some of the best tracks you'll hear in the series, along with an opera song that will warm your heart and a final boss theme that will make you question what anyone saw in a certain One Winged Angel.

And then there's the gameplay. While I will admit that I find V's gameplay better, VI's gameplay is still quite good. Like IV, all characters come with skills and abilities that are unique to each character, which makes party formation important. But once you get past the first act, you gain the ability to teach magic to ANY CHARACTER IN THE GAME (except two late game secret characters, but you don't have to use those)! As long as they keep a certain item equipped, they were learn the spells those items have to offer over a span of battles. This turns all of your characters into battle mages, and creates for some interesting strategy.

THE ONLY DOWNSIDE is the final act. The final act removes every party member from your team but one, and with that one, you have to reunite EVERYONE. And those quests vary in difficulty and time, although almost all are optional. And that wouldn't be an issue save for the fact that the final dungeon will force your to create THREE TEAMS of FOUR PARTY MEMBERS (maximum, you can enter with one party member on each team if you want). As such, you might want to consider leveling and teaching spells to as many party members as you can. This hurts a lot of fans of this game, but it never bothered me.

General Tip: This is less of a general tip and more of a demand. When you get your airship for the first time, UNLOCK MOG! I don't care if you think or were told Mog is bad. If I can beat the final boss with him, you can make use of him! Look up how to unlock him and make sure you do it! Hell, it may make the final dungeon easier, cause you'll have him as a party member. You can always recruit him later, but during that early part of the game (before you lose every party member), Mog can learn a water dance ability that is surprisingly useful. But that's just me. Some people hate Mog, but I'm not some people.

Alright, that's all six. Now, from a stand point of which of the six should be your first. Well... Ranking them from best to worst starting option...

Final Fantasy V or VI

Final Fantasy IV

Final Fantasy I

Final Fantasy III

Final Fantasy II

This isn't ranking them in quality, but whether they are a good starting place. At the end of the day, I would recommend picking up V or VI if you've never played a classic Final Fantasy. If you've never played a Final Fantasy period, then maybe also consider VII, IX, or X. But that's up to you (and if I do a post on those).

As for whether you should pick V or VI...

IF YOU WANT CRAZY GOOD GAMEPLAY AND DON'T MIND THE STORY NOT BEING TOO SERIOUS, play Final Fantasy V.

IF YOU WANT CRAZY GOOD STORY WITH SOME PRETTY GOOD GAMEPLAY, play Final Fantasy VI.

Or play both. They're both really good.

If you've played one or both or want a reason to pick up one of these others:

Play Final Fantasy I so you can connect with the most classic of the series, as it won't take up too much time.

Play Final Fantasy II if you want a real JRPG challenge that rips you from your safe zone.

Play Final Fantasy III if you want to connect with a lot of the creation of XIV.

Play Final Fantasy IV because it's awesome.

Play Final Fantasy V because it's awesome.

Play Final Fantasy VI because it's awesome.

So yeah, that's everything. Again: You don't have to play any of these. Or all of these. You could play VI, and I promise, I won't be like, "Wow. You didn't play V? Cringe." If someone does, screw them. Play and try what you want to play and try. I'm just here to guide the way.

As for 7-15... Maybe I'll discuss them. But that's up to you for now.

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