{"id":7737,"date":"2012-07-06T00:01:58","date_gmt":"2012-07-06T06:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamesanityblog.com\/?p=7737"},"modified":"2012-07-06T00:01:58","modified_gmt":"2012-07-06T06:01:58","slug":"final-fantasy-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2012\/07\/06\/final-fantasy-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Final Fantasy Fun!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In honor of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy being released this week, I thought I\u2019d write a blog about my favorite games in the series, as well as my favorite music and characters in each of the games. We\u2019ll even take a look at Final Fantasy spinoffs I like! Plus this year is Final Fantasy\u2019s 25th Anniversary, so I had to write something! You know what\u2019s funny is that while I claim to have been a HUGE Final Fantasy fan back in high school and college, there\u2019s really only three in the main series that I really enjoyed. But I have taken a look at all the other ones, if only for a little bit. So let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know, Nintendo doesn\u2019t get enough credit for promoting RPGs. Back in the days of the first FF and Dragon Warrior (Quest) games, Nintendo pulled out all the stops to promote these two games. My friend had the first Final Fantasy game. I liked it, but I never felt compelled to buy it myself. I was perfectly happy playing it at his house. When I\u2019d go over there, we\u2019d take turns: one would hold the controller and play the game, and the other would give advice on where to go and what to fight while looking at the included map and bestiary (this was back when games came with GOOD instruction booklets).<\/p>\n

The original FF game did have some good music, though. Some of my favorites include Gulug Volcano, Garland\u2019s Dungeon, and Matoya\u2019s Cave. There really wasn\u2019t any real \u2018characters\u2019 in the first game, but my friend named the wimpiest character after me: the White Mage! I was so mad at him for doing that (well, not really THAT mad). What\u2019s funny is that now, the White Mage is one of my favorite characters\/classes in Final Fantasy games, because I like using cure spells.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many consider this to be the black sheep of the FF family. And I can see why. I played it on one of the FF Collections on the PSOne. I actually didn\u2019t think it was THAT bad (and I did beat it). But at the same time, I have no desire to play it again either. I can\u2019t remember the music too well (Rebel Army theme was neat), but there was one character who stuck out in my mind. He was a white mage (yes, a male white mage), who wasn\u2019t wimpy, but he did die heroically in the game. But that\u2019s all I can remember.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy 3<\/strong><\/p>\n

I could never get into this one, even though I have it on DS. It\u2019s the same reason why I don\u2019t like FF5 and FF Tactics. I just can\u2019t wrap my head around the Job system. The main reason why I don\u2019t like the Job system is that when you want to change jobs, you have to buy all new equipment for that person to wear usually. So you have to grind a lot just to get enough gold to buy more stuff. And there are some times where you don\u2019t have the opportunity to do that.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though I had played RPGs like Final Fantasy on the NES before, FF4 is really the game that truly got me into RPGs. When I first rented it (and eventually bought it), I was totally enthralled by the great story (for the time), and captivating SNES sound. Even though FF6 is my top favorite, I have to admit that FF4 has more replayability. Not sure why that is, it\u2019s difficult to describe. But maybe that\u2019s why FF4 has been remade and re-released so many times!<\/p>\n

There are so many great tunes in FF4 that\u2019s it\u2019s hard to pick a few. But I especially liked the Blue Whale, Last Battle, Baron Castle, and Red Wings themes. When I first heard the Red Wings fanfare as airships flew over a Mode 7 map, I knew I was in for a good game. My favorite characters from FF4 include Cid, who is also my favorite FF Cid of all time. Kain is also cool. His story may be dark, but I liked how he looked and fought, too. And twins Palom and Porom are silly. Palom and Porom are also cool in the FF4 sequel: The After Years, especially since they gave Porom pink hair! Speaking of which, I\u2019m glad we got to play the FF4 sequel in the US via the Wii and PSP, but it\u2019s not near as good as the original. I hated some of the gameplay decisions like, \u201cOh, you killed that summon monster? Well you\u2019ll never be able to use him again!\u201d<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

As said before, I\u2019ve never been able to get into this one since I don\u2019t like the Job system. And believe me; I\u2019ve tried several times to give it a chance, because otherwise it\u2019s the perfect example of the kind of FF game I like! A lot of the music is good, but my favorite piece is the song they play when you fly on the dragon. And of course the Battle on the Bridge. Don\u2019t remember much of the characters, except I think there was a pirate lady who was kind of cool.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who think FF6 is best, and those who like FF7 more. FF6 is my top favorite game in the series, and on my top five favorite games of all-time list, so you can guess where I fall in. I could probably gush a whole entire blog about this game, but I won\u2019t. Just know that if you haven\u2019t played it yet, you should.<\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s a bold statement, but I\u2019d have to say that FF6 has the perfect soundtrack. I like every song in it in some form or fashion. But if I had to pick a few favorites, I\u2019d say Devil\u2019s Lab (cool how it\u2019s a remixed Strago\/magic town theme), Kefka\u2019s theme, Terra\u2019s theme, Dancing Mad, and of course, the whole Opera theme. Believe it or not, my favorite character in this or any FF game is Terra. She\u2019s a neat main heroine, fun to use in battle, and she has green hair (well, in the GAME she does). And she can turn into a pink monster! I also like Mog, and Kefka is the best FF villain of all time. Who could forget his laugh? And he\u2019s one of the few bad guys who actually got what he wanted and \u2018won\u2019 so to speak, as you have to pick up the pieces and fight him after the fact.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy 7<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know I\u2019m going to make a lot of fans mad. I do respect FF7 for trying to be different and making use of the top technology at the time. But other than that, I didn\u2019t like it and I have no desire to play it again. Compared to FF6, I didn\u2019t like hardly any of the music. One Winged Angel was cool the first time I heard it, but now it is way overrated. Maybe the regular boss battle song and Tifa\u2019s theme are good. My favorite characters include Cait Sith (he\u2019s a cat riding a fat Moogle), Red 13 (he\u2019s a doggy), and Tifa. Now, Tifa is not my favorite for how she looks, but rather because she\u2019s the only human character in the game who is nice to others. Everybody else is a jerk. I did have fun teasing one of my best friends when this game came out, because my friend\u2019s name is Barrett!<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy 8<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the differences in FF7 that I didn\u2019t like, those were the ones that carried over into the series after it. So I never had a desire to play this one. I will admit that some of the music is good, though. Like The Man with the Machine Gun. I don\u2019t think there are any characters in 8 that I liked, although I will say that the name Quistis sounds like a breakfast cereal.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy 9<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get ready for another bold statement from me! FF9 is what FF7 and 8 should have been. Here\u2019s how I view FF9. With this game, Square basically said, \u201cOK, all you old farts who fear change, this means you, too, Cary. We\u2019re planning on taking the FF franchise into bold new directions, so here\u2019s one last FF game for classic fans. Go nuts.\u201d This was really the last main FF game I got into. I loved all the classic nods, and it\u2019s really a FF game about other FF games! Plus, the Chocobo Hot and Cold mini-game is one of my favorite sidequests ever!<\/p>\n

FF9 is another one of those games where I like pretty much all the music. Some of my favorites include Valle allo Flamenco (You\u2019d better like this one if you\u2019re going to do the Chocobo Hot and Cold game as you\u2019ll hear it a lot), and the Overworld and Ending themes. My favorite characters include Vivi, Quina, and Steiner.<\/p>\n

And The Rest:<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know, I think I can fit all the rest of the series\u2019 main games into one paragraph. Never played FFX or its sequel, although it does spark a small bit of interest from me. I will admit that it had some good music, and one of the characters used plush toys of classic FF characters in battle, and I thought that was cool. I think her name was Lala or Lulu or something. I never was interested in the online FF games. FF12 seemed a little interesting and Fran the bunny lady was cool looking. Not interested in FF13 or its sequel either, and the only neat thing about main character Lightning is that she has pink hair.<\/p>\n

FF Spinoffs I Like<\/strong><\/p>\n

OK that\u2019s all I feel like talking about the main games right now. We\u2019ll conclude this ridiculously long blog (I know, I get carried away sometimes) with a brief look at my favorite FF spinoff games.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was in high school, I thought this game was \u2018so lame.\u2019 \u201cHow could this be the follow-up to the greatness that was FF4,\u201d I thought. Of course, that didn\u2019t stop me from renting it and beating it multiple times, so I must\u2019ve thought it wasn\u2019t THAT bad. Now that I\u2019m older, I have more respect for this game. Square made Mystic Quest to introduce RPGs to novice gamers and younger players. And you know, there\u2019s nothing wrong with that. Like I always say, \u2018Kids deserve good games, too.\u2019\u00a0 Mystic Quest helped shaped\u00a0my views on games for kids.\u00a0 \u00a0And Square didn\u2019t advertise the game as anything but a novice RPG, so it\u2019s not like they were lying or fooling us. And even the staunchest MQ haters probably agree on one thing: the music in the game freaking rocked! However, when I did show this game to my brother Jeff recently, he said that it looked like something you could do with RPG Maker. Sadly, he\u2019s probably right!<\/p>\n

Dissidia: Final Fantasy<\/strong><\/p>\n

It may have had a horrible name, but this fighting game starring popular FF characters is one of my favorite PSP games. Instead of just pooping out a regular one-on-one fighter, Square made this game their own. Combat is very original and feels like a mix of Kingdom Hearts with Dragon Ball Z acrobatics. And it\u2019s way more complicated than you might think, with a story, overworld, tons of equippable items, summons, and much more! When the sequel came out (with an even worse name), I thought I wouldn\u2019t play it as much as the original, but I ended up playing it even more! Wouldn\u2019t it be cool if they made another sequel on the big consoles with full online play and everything?<\/p>\n

Theaterhythm Final Fantasy<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is with FF spinoffs with horrible names that nobody can spell or pronounce? Anyway, this game just came out, so I\u2019m still in the midst of playing it. It\u2019s like a cross between music games such as Elite Beat Agents and Taiko Drum Master (though not near as good as either of those two games). But the songs are all from past FF games, even 8-bit ones. So you should only get this one if you really like FF music. Which I do, so there you go. I love how they made all the characters cutesy and \u2018chibi.\u2019 If modern FF games looked like this, I\u2019d probably still be playing them. It\u2019s also more complicated than you\u2019d think, with classic characters to put in your party, items to equip, and goodies to collect. Theatrhythm hasn\u2019t blown me away like Dissidia did, but it\u2019s still pretty fun for what it is.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo\u2019s Tales<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was just a collection of touch screen mini-games on the DS (and some were kind of frustrating), but I loved the presentation. Lots of great FF song remixes, and even the hamster from Dragon Quest 8 made an appearance or two. There was even a fun card battle game on here, and while it was no more complicated than rock, paper, scissors, I still enjoyed it. I also loved the cute FF characters they used for this game, which were the same ones from the Chocobo Dungeon and Racing games. Speaking of which, a few years ago Square made a Chocobo Dungeon game for the Wii. Does anyone know if this game is any good, or just another frustrating Mystery Dungeon title? I\u2019ve been eyeing it for a while.<\/p>\n

Chocobo Racing<\/strong><\/p>\n

And also speaking of which, here\u2019s a Mario Kart clone on the PSOne that got panned by reviewers, but I loved it! The weapons may have been mostly typical Mario Kart fare, but they were all based on FF spells and skills, and you could even steal trailing powers from others by bumping them from behind. Plus you could upgrade them by collecting more of the same power. The tracks were fun and full of great FF song remixes (some really obscure). By completing story mode, you could use points to create stats for your very own racer. And if you beat story mode a bunch of times, you\u2019d start unlocking all sorts of crazy secret racers, like Squall, Cloud, 8-bit airship, Cactrot, even the \u201cJumping Jack\u201d guy from 3-D WorldRunner, one of Square\u2019s first NES games! When the 3DS first came out, I read somewhere that Square was going to redo Chocobo Racing for it. I haven\u2019t heard anything about that since then, but I hope they do because Chocobo Racing is one of those games that deserves a second chance. I\u2019ll conclude this blog with a video of the ending theme song from Chocobo Racing, as it also symbolically sums up how I feel about the FF series as a whole.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

In the comments section, tell me your favorite FF games, music, and characters. And let me know if there are any FF games you think I\u2019d like. That\u2019s all for now, later! –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In honor of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy being released this week, I thought I\u2019d write a blog about my favorite games in the series, as well as my favorite music and characters in each of the games. We\u2019ll even take a look at Final Fantasy spinoffs I like! Plus this year is Final Fantasy\u2019s 25th Anniversary, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7737\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}