Should I get into this franchise?

[EdwardTheMartyr]

I like JRPGs such as Eternal Sonata, Ni no Kuni, Tales of, Hyperdimension Neptunia, and Super Mario RPG. Final Fantasy is one of the most influential game franchises in history.

The problem is that it looks so... disjointed. All these games look drastically different from each other. I've seen gameplay of XV and it looks really weird.

 

I can tolerate gameplay that isn't consistently good across the franchise. What I want is an entertaining narrative. Tales of doesn't always have good stories, but those games are cooperative. I like coop RPGS like Eternal Sonata.

[thefourfoldroot]

They are largely all completely separate games. Like most of the Takes series I guess. Get into it certainly. I'd go with 9, then 8, then 7, then 10 then, well, that's it. Don't bother with 12 through to 15.

Edited November 28, 2019 by thefourfoldroot

[SkyMason]

This game has a really disjointed narrative if nothing else, it's pretty divisive among the fanbase for how 'incomplete' and slapdash it was at launch, but with some patches and absolutely shameless DLC there is a complete, if unsatisfying narrative in FFXV (IMO). Just remember to watch the anime shorts and the (awful) CG movie as well to get the full picture. As has been mentioned, the games are purposely different from one game to the next by design, constantly shifting the gameplay and tone, but the focus on a strong narrative has been in place since FFIV. Of course I'd recommend the series as a whole to anyone, it's the gold standard for JRPGs (or it used to be). Every single title in the series has its fans and naysayers, it's always been like that. There is a noticeable drop in consistency past FFX (or earlier depending on who you're asking), but they are all about as enjoyable regardless as the other JRPGs you've listed, and they always have outstanding production values and presentation.

Edited November 28, 2019 by SkyMason

[AiManiaTrophyhuntres]

well, the question is not IF you should join the franchise. The question is where to start. in a way, that you won't be disappointed.

BC FF Franchise can give you a lot. If you can even tolerate that a story is not always as good as usual like it happens in tales of, let me say: All FF Stories are great in their own way. When you see someone rambling or hating, you have to understand the context first, which is, that early FF games had absolutely stunning stories and recent games have avergare up to great stories. but not as awesome as we used to.

which means it is still great compared to other franchises or games. If you like what FF is serving. But opinions on that are very different.

While the ppl above said try 7/8/9/10, I totall agree, but if you are new, maybe the older graphics and subtle way of storytelling is maybe not for you. maybe 12 with it's complex system or 13 are more interesting for you.

only 15 is not really a good example. I like it in a way, played it 5 times after all, but it's by far the shortest story and will probably not help into getting into the franchise. It is likeable if you can accept a slip-up in a beloved franchise but not a good start.

My personal recommendation is 10, bc it has the nice graphics AND the good older storytelling (but also not as complex as older FFs), but also 12 (i hated 12 long ago but the remaster ist great).

And then there is the question if you are the critic hating on the new, or open. depending which one, you can go down the numbers from 9 to 6 or you go up to 13, which I indeed liked too.

If you do this right, you can probably love each title.

Always bear in mind that opinions on FF franchise are so different like fingerprints, there are too many and there are no 2 persons agreeing 100%. so don't believe any one of us and give at least 2 different games a try to understand.

[LucianaRosethorn]

If you want a good story stay away from XV, it's the worst one out of the lot. The series in general is definitely a recommendation and it's hard to say which one you should play first due to it coming down to personal preference, some will say this one is better while others will say a different game. I would advice you do a little research to find which one tickles your pickle the most, that is based on characters, story premise and graphics/design. They're all different to each other unless its a direct sequel such as X-2 or XIII-2, so you have no need to worry about which game is the correct one to start with. 

[PSXtreme_]

If you are going to start playing FF, do yourself a favor and don't do the newest ones.

 

Go old school and play IV through VI...they don't have the eyecandy, but you actually have to play them with some strategy beyond mashing buttons or doing QTE crap.

 

[scemopagliaccioh]

So you like turn based, looking at the Neptunia series, I'd say download the FF10 remaster, has excellent graphics in current gen, one of the best FF game, personally the magnum opus  of Square, 10 is turn based and has an excellent story, 10-2 less so with the story  but has excellent gameplay, you also get to have monsters like in Ni no Kuni. After that, if you like more turn based go with the previous entries,  12 is kind of a black sheep, but the remasters have   a different classes/jobs focused gameplay than the original entry, you might not like how the gambits  makes things "automatic" though. 13 I'd just avoid it, the battle system is stressful, even on random encounters and the story is at best passable. 15 is more wrpg than jrpg, so it depends on what expectations you enter the game, be prepared to cash out for several DLCs they cut from the main story, I didn't like the battle system that much, except on the DLCs where you had to think a little for the trophies, I liked the story but others didn't.

Make sure to also check out World of Final Fantasy.

[xZoneHunter]

Okay so first of all FFXV was a huge disappointment and a slap in the face to every fan as we did not get what was promised.

 

However, as someone who'd go in completely new it's an enjoyable action JRPG. It's really easy to pick up combat wise and while the story is forgettable at best, you'll still get some good moments out of it. As the characters and world are interesting enough. With the ton of updates and DLC the game got the last few years they fleshed out alot of things in both the gameplay and story aspect. 

 

Personally i'd say FFXV is a good one to start with. It's easy, new, and doesn't come with all the caveats olders games have. Although if you want to experience history, play VII or IX (you can play IX in coop also). Also all of the games are separate stories so you can jump into whichever one you want.

Edited November 28, 2019 by xZoneHunter

[EdwardTheMartyr]

1 hour ago, thefourfoldroot said:

They are largely all completely separate games. Like most of the Takes series I guess. Get into it certainly. I'd go with 9, then 8, then 7, then 10 then, well, that's it. Don't bother with 12 through to 15.

What about the really old ones on the NES, SNES, and PlayStation?

16 minutes ago, xZoneHunter said:

Okay so first of all FFXV was a huge disappointment and a slap in the face to every fan as we did not get what was promised.

 

However, as someone who'd go in completely new it's an enjoyable action JRPG. It's really easy to pick up combat wise and while the story is forgettable at best, you'll still get some good moments out of it. As the characters and world are interesting enough. With the ton of updates and DLC the game got the last few years they fleshed out alot of things in both the gameplay and story aspect. 

 

Personally i'd say FFXV is a good one to start with. It's easy, new, and doesn't come with all the caveats olders games have. Although if you want to experience history, play VII or IX (you can play IX in coop also). Also all of the games are separate stories so you can jump into whichever one you want.

Do they ever have references to people or organizations in other games?

[thefourfoldroot]

11 minutes ago, EdwardTheMartyr said:

What about the really old ones on the NES, SNES, and PlayStation?

Do they ever have references to people or organizations in other games?

Those I mentioned were on PlayStation and 2. I didn't mention earlier ones as they are just not easy to get into for modern gamers. If you want to though 6 is the best.

I ordered them as I did as 9 has aged very well due to the graphical style and funny characterisations; 8 has more of a cinematic feel after that, larger in scope and with a much better card game than 9; by this time you'll hopefully love the series enough to overlook the aging graphics of 7. 10 is ok. Decent story and shouldn't be missed, but some boring elements. If you didn't like the previous games though it's good you won't get to it as it won't change your mind.

As to recurring elements: eidolons(sp)/GFS/summons, Cid as a character name and type, enemies, turn based battles with some type of active time system... 

Edited November 28, 2019 by thefourfoldroot

[Zircon_Lotus]

All FF games plays different from the others, specially the newer ones. Since XIV is an MMO, XIII is the main predecessor to XV, and they are completely different. 

FF XV is very different, since it's much more similar to an open world, action game with RPG elements than a turn based JRPG, which is the category that fit the majority of FF games. XV had everything to be a really good game, but ended up being a mess. Graphically the game is good, the combat is fun to play, but the story is really bad, short and rushed. In the ind it's just a good, but forgettable game. 

From the games you described, I think you should play safe and start with FFX or olders.