Which titles

[tonkie18]

I’m trying to not judge games by their covers and try new things.

 

There are so many in these series, I was wondering whether you could point me in the right direction. Should I start with the first in a series or are there better games I would enjoy more?

 

I have been looking at trying

 

Resident Evil

Final Fantasy

Assassins Creed

 

Which one was your favourite/which one should I avoid? I have PS3/PS4/PS5 and Vita.

 

Thanks in advance

[DrBloodmoney]

My personal recommendations for starting these would be

 

Resident Evil

 

You could start with the remade RE1, from a while back, but even that is fairly antiquated by modern standards, and I wouldn't actually recommend that as a first RE game in 2022.

 

Personally, I'd recommend starting with the RE2 / RE3 Remakes. 

They are very playable and fun, and knowledge of the original RE is not super required, as as much as is needed to be known, is pretty much alluded to in the game anyways. 

They work as relative companion pieces (they take place in overlapping areas, and times) and are both excellent.

 

RE4 still holds up -  it's never been a personal favourite of mine, but it is wildly popular, and I'm in the minority there, I think.

RE5 is, I think, good, but much much better as a co-op game than in Single Player.

RE6 is best avoided unless you are really into RE5, and want more, as it is basically RE5, but not good.

 

(I've not done RE7 or RE8, so can't speak to them)

 

 

 

Final Fantasy

 

Very tough one to say, as a lot of folks (like me,) started on the SNES or even NES versions, but personally, I think the best jumping on point is either FFVII (the original, not the remake - the Remake is fantastic, but kinda requires knowing the original to appreciate,) or maybe Final Fantasy IX, which is still the PSOne style, but a bit more advanced graphically.

 

Having said that, there might also be an argument for FFX (not my personal favourite, but again, I'm in the minority - a lot of hardcore FF fans rate it very highly.)

 

To be honest, because all numbered FF games are self-contained, independent stories, you can really hop onto that franchise anywhere you like.

 

There aren't really ones to avoid in that series, except FFII (which you'd need to go out of your way to play anyways,) and FFXV, which does have its fans, but it is not a good game IMO, and actually, a very bad example of the series generally, even if it was good.

 

 

Assassins Creed

 

That one is easier - I think the natural jumping on point is either the Ezio Trilogy - That will be a great starting point showcasing the original AC style,  and the games have aged reasonably well - or Origins, as that is the start of the 'New AC' style. 

 

The only ones to avoid there are maybe ACIII (it's not terrible, but it is a step down.)

Edited March 8, 2022 by DrBloodmoney

[saiyanbloodstyle]

Assassin's Creed story is the best, especially the Ezio trilogy which is #2, brotherhood & revelations, the stories and games are fantastic.

 

But yeah i think that's a great one, would avoid Valhalla though which is the latest one.

[HuntingFever]

For Resident Evil, I recommend playing 1 & 2 first, then take it from there. For Final Fantasy, I recommend playing either FF7 (Original) or FF9 and see how you go. I can't comment on the AC games since I've only played 1 of them so aren't qualified to say where to start with them

[tonkie18]

Thanks guys, you’ve been super helpful as always.

 

Its a shame I’ve missed so many great games, but then again I’m pretty lucky as I have so many to look forward to. 
 

But as you can imagine I don’t know where to begin there’s so many. 
 

I will keep an eye out for the Ezio trilogy now, FFVll and the RE2/3 ones.. I think I have the first one somehow already, but I’ve never played it.

 

I’m having an operation on Friday and want to make the most of the gaming time by trying to get into some new franchises ?

 

Much appreciated

[DENNIS330bmw]

They are imo all great series … ac with the historical settings and city’s and their open worlds.. ff story and nice worlds… and resident evil fun games overall … enjoy playing them. Cheers

[dieselmanchild]

20 minutes ago, tonkie18 said:

Thanks guys, you’ve been super helpful as always.

 

Its a shame I’ve missed so many great games, but then again I’m pretty lucky as I have so many to look forward to. 
 

But as you can imagine I don’t know where to begin there’s so many. 
 

I will keep an eye out for the Ezio trilogy now, FFVll and the RE2/3 ones.. I think I have the first one somehow already, but I’ve never played it.

 

I’m having an operation on Friday and want to make the most of the gaming time by trying to get into some new franchises

 

Much appreciated

You sound kinda like me, a bit late to the gaming scene and very little experience in lots of popular franchises. I know it can be a little overwhelming knowing where to start but I’ve generally decided it’s best to try and start from the beginning of a series and I’ve been pretty happy with experiencing them that way. That way you get to see how a series evolved naturally overtime, and imo it’s also a lot smoother than if you were to start with a newer, modern entry in a series and then go way back to an older title with antiquated gameplay and mechanics.

 

I just played Resident Evil for the first time ever within this past year, and so far I’ve played RE 1 remake, RE Zero, RE2, and RE4. It’s a really awesome series, but the style really changes dramatically and evolves throughout the series so the games can feel completely different depending on where you jump in.

 

I would personally recommend either RE1 HD remake or RE 2 to start.

 

Resident Evil 1 - Absolutely fantastic. It’s gorgeous, super creepy, and really captures that survival horror essence that made the series so popular. It made me completely fall in love with the series, and offers a challenging platinum that felt very satisfying to earn. However NOTE that this one features the “fixed” camera angles of the original game, so the camera, movement, and controls can feel very uncomfortable and be difficult to adjust to at first. It took me a few hours to really settle in and start feeling comfortable with killing/dodging successfully. I’d recommend looking up some footage first to see if this style appeals to you.

 

Resident Evil 2 - Now this is also a great one to jump into the series. It is very similar to the first game in it’s atmosphere and setting (think creepy mansion labyrinth) and looks absolutely gorgeous. The main different though is that they completely rebuilt this game from the ground up, ditching the fixed camera angles of the original and instead adopting a modern control scheme and 3rd person, over-the-shoulder camera style. The RE2 remake captures the essence of everything that makes Resident Evil so great, but it is tailored for a modern gaming audience. In terms of movement and controls, this game feels way more comfortable than RE1 if you’re used to modern games.

 

Now for Assassin’s Creed…

 

If you want to go to the roots of the series, I would agree with the recommendation of the Ezio trilogy. The Italian renaissance setting is vibrant and beautiful, and Ezio remains arguably the most charismatic and likeable protagonist in the whole series. Despite being older games, the gameplay holds up rather well today and these games are pretty short overall and fun/easy to platinum. You can’t go wrong here.

 

However if you’re in the mood for a big, sprawling RPG that feels modern, I would personally recommend Origins. Origins is where the series really took a turn and reinvented itself in modern times, and it’s quite an impressive game. The setting in Ancient Egypt is absolutely gorgeous, the combat and stealth feels great, the story is deep and doesn’t require much knowledge of earlier entries in the series, and the world is vast and packed full of things to explore. This is the kind of game that you can get totally engrossed in and easily lose 100 hours of your time without realizing it.
 

If you’re looking for something relaxing and intriguing to play while you’re recovering from your operation, this is a really great pick and will keep you busy for a long time! Hope you can find something that looks interesting. Good luck with your operation. ?

[LastMinuteSavior]

You should probably focus on these:

 

AC Origins + AC Odyssey

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Resident Evil Remake 2 

 

(Other entries are either too dated or had mixed receptions)

 

Also, I noticed a disturbing lack of The Witcher 3, the first The Last of Us and Uncharted 2, 3 & 4 + LL on your profile.

You might wanna fix that too.

 

[kkulifay]

Great responses so far. I vote for AC. I’ve only played Unity, Black Flag, and just started Valhalla. Out of sequence I know lol. They’ve all been very memorable experiences so far and I might be the only person on this site that loves Valhalla. It’s so fun and keeps you busy with such a variety of things to do. 

[darkrequiem7]

For Final Fantasy, I'd say play VII (original, not Remake) or X. My favorite is VI, but that was my first one and nostalgia is strong with that one (plus I've only played the SNES version). The good thing with Final Fantasy is each mainline game is standalone, so you can play any of them and enjoy them. XIII is kinda rough and XV isn't representative of the gameplay of any of the other FF games.

For AC, I'd say start with AC2 and if you like it then go in order of release for gameplay progression, though if you get bored with AC3 I'd say move on to AC4. Starting at Origins, the series had a soft-reboot so if you don't like the original gameplay you could also give that a try. Most AC games aren't directly connected aside from the Ezio trilogy, with only a loose modern-day story thread that gets less and less important as the games were released. You'll barely miss anything by skipping games that don't appeal to you.

Can't make proper RE recommendations as I only watch youtubers play those games. RE2 Remake seems like a good starting place though.

 

The first response above pretty much nails it though.

[tonkie18]

@dieselmanchild Thankyou for your thorough reply. Your descriptions have me really excited to play those games. I tend to start games from the first one too. However I think the camera angle may have been the reason I didn’t pursue RE as it looks like I started and didn’t get far. I might revisit and try to persevere with it. Suddenly I can’t wait for my operation ?

 

@LastMinuteSavior I love TLOU. I’ve completed both games and I’ve just picked up the PS3 version as well as I miss it already. However I’ve not tried the Witcher, putting it on my list thanks. I did start Uncharted as I really wanted to get into it, but I didn’t get very far with it. I’ll have to give that one another go too. 
 

Please feel free to recommend any must play games.. I’ve missed out on so many great ones.

[MarcusPunisher]

For Resident Evil, I can definitely say that any of the title from PS4 will do, just avoid Umbrella Corps at all costs.

 

For the first game, I would highly recommend Resident Evil 7 as it is the most accessible one and it does not require prior knowledge to any of the previous games, minus one of the DLC, Not a Hero.

I would then move to either try Resident Evil 2 Remake or Resident Evil 4. The former is once again more accessible and easier to get new players into. The ladder has some of the best level designs and combat once you get into it, but it can get difficult to get used to the controls and the mechanics.  

 

From there, it really depends on what interest you. For me personally as a long RE fan, RE 1 Remake is the best RE game out there, it just depends how well you can get used to fixed cameras and backtracking, but the survivor horror aspect and challenge is what makes it so great.

[da-Noob123]

Final Fantasy 

 

FFX  was my first so I will always be biased towards that one being first. However, to get a good feel of the series as it evolved over time maybe: FF7 > FFX > FF7R AND  if you really like X it does have direct sequel, X-2, but it is quite different.

 

Resident Evil

 

I have next to no experience with RE. I currently am trying to play RE7 for the Attack on Completion event and literally started playing it last night. I have managed to get past the point I was at back in 2017 which was not very far. I  quit because Jack - a persistent enemy akin to RE2/ 3's was pissing me off but this time I perservered, for now at least.

 

I did attempt RE1 Remaster but I didn't save at the first recorder and quit about a 45 minutes in thinking there was at least an autosave, nope. So I said nope to it and have yet to go back. Fun story, the very first time I tried playing the game, when I hit X to start a new game, my power went out. Scared the hell out of me!

 

Assassin's Creed 

 

I too endorse the Ezio trilogy,  in my opinion the series peaked here. If you do like the Modern day storyline told across the games it pretty much ends with ACIII which I enjoyed but others largely don't, plus it had lots of bugs.

 

Origins onwards might as well be a completely different series. I did like it better than Odyssey  and I have no desire to start Valhalla.