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Caves of Narshe Forums > General Squenix Gaming > Your Final Fantasy Story


Posted by: arne0107 13th April 2013 05:46
Explain, in brief, your history with the series.

1) Went to the video store when I was 11, rented Final Fantasy III on the SNES (FF6). It had a cool looking box with a cute little white creature. Played for hours on end. Got hooked to the game. Got grounded for playing it too much. Got kicked outside during the summer and lectured for wasting beautiful days. Never actually beat it at this age-era, got stuck on the Floating Continent.

2) Age 13, a friend of mine said he had this awesome game for his Playstation (which I had never played) called Final Fantasy VII. I thought to myself "What happened to 4-6?!?!" LOL Game blew my mind. We ended up beating it fairly quickly due to my experience in RPGs. First time I saw KOTR you would have thought we won the lottery or something. Same friend would introduce me to Chrono Trigger. Thank God for that.

3) Age 14, I am officially a Final Fantasy fan. I buy FFVIII the day it releases with my allowance money. Half my friends hate it, half my friends like it. I actually love it. Still do (not as much as 7 or 6 though). I also play Parasite Eve I and II. Love them both.

4) Age 15, friend buys FFIX. I don't have enough money to buy it right away due to buying new hockey equipment. I'm super sad but I go play it at a friends house. Too cartoony for me. Feels like I'm watching Toy Story. Not enough violence, anger or "real" problems. I think I matured with 6-8 and moved on the PE I and II... and 9 was just too kiddish for me when I compared.. If I ever play it again I guess there is a chance I could like it. I've yet to do it.

5) Brief hiatus. I replay VI-VIII on occasion. I beat FF6 and follow it with a massive cheer. Age 16. Someone mentions Final Fantasy X. I shrug it off and avoid playing it even though the Blitzball part looks fun...

6) Age 21. Find FFX in a friend's DVD shelf. I ask to borrow it. Waste of time. Square has lost its touch.

7) Age 21. Learn FFXI is an MMORPG. WTF is happening? College roommate brings home FFXII. I'm delighted the battle fanfare is the same as VI's. I never play it. Too uninterested at this point.

8) Age 25. Deployed overseas. Walk into a Morale Center to rent a DVD. Holy crap they made a Final Fantasy XIII. Looks awesome.

9) Age 25. Someone just told me Final Fantasy has sucked since X. I say "BS, it's sucked since IX."

10) Age 28. Present day. PSN has FFVI-VIII, CT and PE I & II. I am in heaven. biggrin.gif

Been quite the journey LOL

Posted by: Narratorway 13th April 2013 06:13
Quote (arne0107 @ 12th April 2013 22:46)
4) Age 15, friend buys FFIX. I don't have enough money to buy it right away due to buying new hockey equipment. I'm super sad but I go play it at a friends house. Too cartoony for me. Feels like I'm watching Toy Story. Not enough violence, anger or "real" problems. I think I matured

No no...do go on...

user posted image

Posted by: ILoveMoombas! 13th April 2013 23:32
IX deals with plenty of serious issues.
A game doesn't need to look super realistic to be mature.

Anyways...

Back in the summer of 2006 when I was 16, a friend of mine came over to my house and brought FFVII, FFVIII, and FFTactics, along with some other PS1 games.
We played through FFVIII together along with my brother, and I loved it so much that I went on to play FFVII and Tactics on my own and I loved them too.

By 2008 I had bought FFX and the psp versions of FFI and II.
I loved X and Yuna became one of my favourite fictional characters.
I liked I and II as well.

XII was the next one that I played, though I don't remember when I got it.
I loved the huge world and a lot of the music, but I didn't really connect with the characters.
I got X-2 around the same time and enjoyed the battle system, though I wasn't a huge fan of the overall tone of the game.

Got FFXIII early in 2010. Loved the battle system, especially how useful buffs and debuffs were. Needed more optional content and less linear levels, though.

Later in 2010 I got FFIX on PSN. I loved the story, world, and music.
Not a huge fan of the ability learning system or a lot of the mini games, but the story is one of my favourites in the series.

In 2011 I bought the DS version of FFIII and the GBA version of FFV.
Loved the humour and job system in V.
III was enjoyable as well, especially the the music.
I got FFIV: The Complete Collection later in 2011 and had fun with it too.

In 2012 I got the GBA version of FFVI. I really loved the Esper spell learning system and the multiparty dungeons.
Got XIII-2 this year as well. I liked that is was less linear than XIII, but was disappointed that the buffing and debuffing roles didn't seem as useful as they were in XIII.





Posted by: berryfunny 22nd April 2013 11:41
Quote (Narratorway @ 13th April 2013 19:13)
Quote (arne0107 @ 12th April 2013 22:46)
4) Age 15, friend buys FFIX. I don't have enough money to buy it right away due to buying new hockey equipment. I'm super sad but I go play it at a friends house. Too cartoony for me. Feels like I'm watching Toy Story. Not enough violence, anger or "real" problems. I think I matured

No no...do go on...

user posted image



Love it. I hate it when people look down on Final Fantasy IX Just because of it's art style.

Posted by: Perigryn 22nd April 2013 19:51
For me it started around age... 9? 10? Somewhere in there, I think. I had a friend, KJ, he introduced me to Final Fantasy III US and Secret of Mana, both of which looked really cool, but without a system of my own, I couldn't really get into them. Still, the RPG bug had bit me and I at least played make-believe games that were always RPG flavoured like what I saw in those two titles.

Later that year, as I bonded with some of my now closest friends from Ottawa, my buddies Patrick and Eric, who both had, like, ever console known to man at that point, introduced me to more of the series when I was around 11 or 12 or whatever. We played Final Fantasy with naming each of the characters after ourselves and "taking turns" whenever our character came up in battle. It also wasn't long until Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen came out around then and we did similar silly stuff. I think Chrono Trigger also came around about this point too and that game blew all of our minds. We played through it together, taking turns on our own saves. Also, a trip to Eric's cousin's place in Montreal later revealed to me the awesomeness that is Super Mario RPG and we had a blast with that. Throughout all this, I had heard tell of Final Fantasy II and IV, and also how there was a III in Japan that we never got (though I think my friend actually did have it for the Famicon that he had for whatever reason...)

Anyways, my true fanlove for Final Fantasy didn't come until the Playstation era. I saw the ads for Final Fantasy VII and I was psyched! I wished like heck I had the money, or my mother had the money, to get me a Playstation and that glorious looking game. Sadly, on a mom's single income, I just hung out with my SEGA Genesis and a very basic computer, so I was still playing all the current PC/console games at friend's houses or vicariously through them. I think I eventually sated myself in that time with The Legend of Zelda and fell in love with that series too. My mom's boyfriend at the time had two sons who owned a SNES, so I played the heck out of Link to the Past!

So, my buddy Eric rented FFVII and that's when I got my first taste of it, and could not wait to have it for myself! Final Fantasy Tactics ALSO hit my radar around here when a friend let me play the crap out of it at a few sleepovers at his place (This is also where my addiction to Harvest Moon 64 and its progeny was started.) The intrigue of Tactics just drew me right it, along with the aesthetic and the HUGE array of classes and abilities. I also needed to have it anytime I could. I spent many a night up til 4am after he had passed out hours earlier playing the heck out of it.

I would not own my own copy of ANY Final Fantasy until a few years later, I think around 16/17 when I got my first job. The PS2 came out and I bought Patrick's older bro's PS from him. My first paycheck came in from my job and I went out and bought myself FFVII and a memory card and I effing went to town, playing the crap out of that game for days!

From that point, I slowly amassed the collection, picking up the PS re-releases of the original games and eventually going back and doing them justice (except for FFII cause, yeah... it's FFII) and I still have not beaten IV, V, or VI since I've been stuck in grind land.

I beat VII when I first got it, and again a year later. Tactics was one I dug into too, once I got it, and took it down happily. With VIII, I didn't like it at first, but hung on to it. Eventually, I think it was two years ago? I delved back into it and loved how it played and took it down.

IX I had gotten as a Christmas gift and it sat on my shelf for YEARS since I had so much to play and, at the time, had gotten it into my head that I should play all the FFs in order, but eventually said, "Hell to that! I don't wanna grind no mo'!" and busted it out. Played the heck out of it for a month about 4 years ago and beat it too. Seriosuly, arene0107, do yourself a favour and go play this one again.

Final Fantasy X looked breathtaking with its new age graphics and brilliant music and voice acting, but it just didn't stick with me once I got to play it (once again, through my friend's consoles.) However, like FFVIII, i gave it another go and found some more appeal in it as I grew older and gained some more patience for it. Still haven't vanquished Sin, but I plan to, one day.

I directed a show when I was in my final year of university four years back and the cast gave me a giftcard for EB Games as a thank you. I bought myself the special edition FFXII and man did that game kick ass. People naysay a lot about it, but my goodness, I love it. The open world, the more active combat, the deep, rich lore and the music! I think it's great, but sometimes, that's just me.

FFXI interested me, but I knew I would never have the money to dedicate to monthly MMORPG payments, so I've left it aside.

FFXIII I rented when it first came out, and found myself hugely disappointed with how far my hero company had fallen. While the title is stunning, the game design lacked heavily and neither the music nor world could draw me in. I played it simply because I rented it and simply to try my best to beat it. Still haven't gone back to finish it, but I don't own it either. Not really a priority.

Now here I am, open to a vast world of RPGs, and not much of it is Final Fantasy. That being said, FFXIII Lightning Returns does pique my interest. I also got Beta access to FFXIV: A Realm Reborn and, thus far, I really dig it.

So, there's hope yet. We shall see.

Sorry for the novella, but I've actually been itching to see a topic like this for a while. R51 and I chatted briefly about this idea, actually, back when I was asking him questions about the podcast. Great thread!

Posted by: Kame 23rd April 2013 06:27
Well, I guess it all started with Final Fantasy for the NES. I attempted to play it more than a few times while in elementary school, but didn't get too far into the game (cartridge couldn't hold a save). It made AN impression to the point where I remembered the title name but I wouldn't say it was an altogether positive one. The game itself felt buggy and super non-linear (especially for me being a young girl at the time).

Fast forward to 5th grade (1991) and the next door neighbor rented Final Fantasy II. He played maybe all of fifteen minutes of it before he concluded "it sucked". Since I was over there, I asked if I could borrow his rental (since he wasn't going to play it anyway). The title was one that I recognized from the previous NES game. I know it's absurd when you think about it now, but I was half expecting the title to be "Super Final Fantasy" given Nintendo's penchant for inserting SUPER in the title for stuff released to the SNES. Anyway, that weekend I played the heck out of that rental. Instead of playing the game from the beginning I started at an impasse: the well at Agart. I didn't know what the heck I was supposed to do. I talked to all the people in town like a good RPG player should, then I came to the well. Ended up throwing EVERYTHING I had in my inventory into that well... sometimes more than once. Finally when I hit the correct item (that pesky key) things happened. Big boom, airship descending into the underworld, killer dolls, evil guys who steal crystals. I was hooked. That rental kept me busy playing it till the cave of Eblan. It wasn't till I was in 7th grade that I was able to buy it... but I rented the heck out of it in the meantime.

By the time Final Fantasy III was released during my 8th grade year I was an RPG pro. All my (very nerdy) friends and I were talking about it. I hadn't been too keen on Secret of Mana that I had borrowed from a friend but I was determined to play FFIII because FFII was just so awesome. Through some trading using my coveted and rare FFII cartridge I was able to play just about every RPG released during the 90s. FFIII was no exception and I loved every minute of the game. It should be noted that when I was in high school I stumbled across Caves of Narshe in its AOL days. I still have some fanfic I printed out from CoN rolling around somewhere.

Speaking of CoN, I didn't actually join the site till several years later in 2002 after MUCH lurking. I'm not sure what prompted it since I wasn't even home when I did (visiting friends in Missouri).

To conclude this, I'm not the Final Fantasy fanatic that I used to be, buying all the new titles and hanging off Squeenix's every move. I still love (what I consider) the glory days of FF. I haven't played a "new" FF since Final Fantasy VIII (which kinda killed the series for me) and really don't have any interest in adopting more titles from the series.

Posted by: Death Penalty 23rd April 2013 12:09
Age 12 - Played FFX with a friend (I did the playing, he gave directions form the strategy guide) for about an hour after baseball practice every day over summer. He brought his tv downstairs so that we could listen to Sports Center on ESPN while playing. Probably the most fondly-remembered summer of my life.

Age 13 - Same friend had a copy of FFVIII, which I started playing solo. Due to a crack in the disc, however, the game frozen during one of the Galbadia parade cutscenes. I waited two agonizing weeks for a copy I'd bought on ebay to arrive so that I could finally figure out what happened.

Age 15 - Living in a duplex with only a mini tv and biking to the library to use the internet, I felt an odd inclination towards FFVI. I hadn't really considered myself a fan of the series, oddly: FFX and FFVIII were my favorite games I'd ever played, but for whatever reason I hadn't tried other entries - probably I was distracted by shooters or something silly. Unlike the previous two FFs I played, I didn't have a strategy guide, so I had to rely on a new source - CoN!

Age 16 - FFXII is released, so I play that, going through everything. I now consider myself a fan of the series, so I get FFIV GBA as well. I make my first SE branch-out as well: Chrono Cross. FFXII becomes forever associated with apples & cinnamon oatmeal, which I ate daily after school while playing; Chrono Cross becomes forever associated with flan, which I started baking and took a huge liking to.

Age 17 - Turns out I play games fairly slowly. After substantial debate between the expensive-on-ebay FFVII and the silly-looking-character'd FFIX, I end up buying both (though I play FFVII first).

Age 18 - More branching out, mostly (Grandia, Parasite Eve, Vagrant Story, and Xenogears were the games for the year, I heart.gif all of them).

Almost 19 - I skip school to buy FFXIII on launch day. Then I really enjoy playing it. Safe to say I'm a fan through it all. Also suffered through FFV, perhaps just in order to be able to complain about its lack of story.

Almost 21 - I finally beat FFXIII in what is already being dubbed 'the embarrassment of the century.'

Age 21 - Played Tactics for a few hours. Ragequit.

Posted by: TheEvilEye 15th May 2013 21:02
Interesting topic, I like it.

Age 5 (1990)- I remember vaguely watching my father play Final Fantasy I and Dragon Warrior on the NES. I was fascinated then but likely would have been fascinated with any game he played, and these were the ones he chose to have me watch. I remember him getting to the air tower, but most of the rest is a blur.

Age 7 (1992)- Finally tried playing Final Fantasy I, didn't get very far. By then I had played some SNES games that I liked more like Super Mario World, but remembered being intrigued by how hard Final Fantasy I was. I returned to beat it when I was around 12 or so.

Age 8 (1993) - My dad rented for me Final Fantasy 2 (IV), thinking I might enjoy it. As soon as I started playing, I wouldn't stop until I was forced to. When we had to return it back, I had gotten to the Baigan/Kainazzo fight. I rented it again a week later, only to find my saved game was saved over by someone else. Not long after, my dad bought me (FFIV) for Christmas.

Age 9 (1994) - Tried renting Final Fantasy 3 (VI). What the hell is going on? I thought this was a continuation of Final Fantasy 2? Where are Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Rydia and Edge??? There are weird machines, I'm decimating everything and walking in a contraption I don't get it. I quit after maybe two hours, only making it to Figaro Cave and fighting way too many pointless battles.

Age 13 (1998) - After playing various RPGs and due to the N64's complete lack of good RPG games, I decide to give FF3/6 another try with a bit more comprehension this time around. I love it, it has everything I wanted and quickly becomes one of my favorite RPGs of all time.

Age 18 (2003) - I decide to play a ROM of FF5 while trying to discover what I may have missed. It was thoroughly underwhelming. The job class system was interesting, but the story was terrible. I stopped playing about 5 hours in.

I never owned a PS1 or PS2 and to this day have still never played FF7-FF12. I still don't care to try FF7 after all this time, despite the urging of many, many people. I feel I can piece together the entire story anyways based on the endless debates and protagonist/villain talk. Sorry.

Age 25 (2010) - After finally picking up a PS3 for its blu-ray capabilities, I figure hey, why not pick up a game? I actually have money to spend now! That game was FF13. Contrary to what seems to be the general consensus, I enjoyed the game, especially once I got to Pulse got really into the nitty gritty of the upgrade system, and trying various synergies. I've replayed it several times since.

Age 26 (2011) - I bought Final Fantasy Tactics on the PlayStation Network, but I never did figure out how to get the game to properly save since it kept requesting an old PS2 memory pack that I did not have. The game looked fun, and being a fan of the Ogre Battle games I was sure I would like this, but I never did get to looking up how to save it properly. And since I couldn't save my progress....stopped playing after three or so hours.

Age 27 (2012) - For the first time in my life, I finally picked up a Final Fantasy game on launch day! Even got the collector's edition, still not sure why though, cool packaging perhaps? I purchased Final Fantasy XIII-2. I remember finding the music dreadful at first, but really warmed up to it and totally loved it by the end as well as the game itself. Noel is still one of my favorite FF characters and Caius made a more interesting villain than I had predicted. Guess we'll see how FFXIII-3 turns out. I'll be buying it.

Posted by: laszlow 15th May 2013 21:50
In case you missed it, you can listen to spoken versions of the FF stories of Rangers51, Tiddles, Death Penalty, and myself on the latest CoNcast episode here: shazam

Posted by: HolyCeles 24th October 2013 16:01
Here i go

1. I went to a friend's sleepover and he had FF3 for ds. I played it and thought it was amazing.

2. I then bought FF3 and played right through that. I then payed attention to FF4, bought that and played it

3. By 2011, i was a full Square enix fan. I had chrono trigger, Dragon quest 9, and many more Square enix games

Posted by: Magitek_slayer 24th October 2013 19:13
I started gaming in 1985.I was 5 years old and had my first experience with a game with mario and duck hunt.By 1987, i see the first zelda/metroid and final fantasy, and started there.I got my second game by 1991 with ff4, wich instantly became my favorite one i had at the time until ff6 and secret of mana.FF4's music blew me away, and the characters felt way more developed.Then i played ff6, and everything was changed forever as ff6 surpassed ff4 in terms of character and storytelling.I could not believe it was possible.Eventually 3 years later i played ff7 for the first time while visitors were around.I thought it was a decent game, but at the time it didn't do much for me, so i played alundra which i had at the same time and enjoyed more.In 1998 for the first time ever in my life, i could not finish a final fantasy game.It was the first time in my life where every time i picked it up, i put it down because i simply couldn't get into it, and it was not until recently that i finally beat it.FF9 finally came into the picture, and finally i felt like the series was finally giving me some characters who were fun loving and not necessarily overly serious.I liked it quite a bit, but it isn't my favorite ff game, but i still really enjoyed the tribute to us old fans.I loved that the black mage made a return and the music was great.I also around that time, 3 gameboy cames:FF legends 1-3.I did finish the original, but it took many years because i found it a little difficult to beat the last 2.FFX came, and that's where i gave up for many years.I lost hope in ff main series.FFX was a slap in the face to me.It had long winded cutscenes and not much happening.While the characters weren't always amusing, the gameplay was fun, but i simply couldn't get into it.A few years pass and i buy the ff4 and 5 ps1 version.It took me a couple of years to finish ff4 on ps1, but i finally did it, and i'm still working on ff5.FF5 is incredibly frustrating to beat.A couple more years pass, and since i was playing online multiplayer games, i was addicted to everquest at the time.In 2005-2006 i played ff2 and 3 on the nes emulator for the first time, and got a taste of it, and around 2007 i played chrono trigger on the emulator and loved it.A couple more years pass and i play ff tactics, and finally in 2010 I bought FFXIII and the xbox 360.Most disappointing game ever, and the biggest slap in the face yet.Makes a gamer like myself truly sad that we go from classics like chrono trigger and ff4 and 6 and tactics, to horrible games like FFXIII.


Posted by: Raiden314 24th October 2013 19:43
Quote (Magitek_slayer @ 24th October 2013 12:13)
Makes a gamer like myself truly sad that we go from classics like chrono trigger and ff4 and 6 and tactics, to horrible games like FFXIII.

I tottaly agree

Posted by: Raiden314 24th October 2013 19:51
Quote (arne0107 @ 12th April 2013 22:46)

Age 16. Someone mentions Final Fantasy X. I shrug it off and avoid playing it even though the Blitzball part looks fun...

6) Age 21. Find FFX in a friend's DVD shelf. I ask to borrow it. Waste of time. Square has lost its touch.

I'm the exact opposite with FFX i thought it was the best story so far since FF8

Posted by: RavenLalonde 24th October 2013 20:02
Age 6. My 11-year-old brother Isaac shows me how to play Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. I watch him play FF6 occasionally but mostly he plays Zelda: A Link to the Past. All of these are on SNES 9x emulator.

Age 10. Have been playing FFMQ on and off slowly and am finally at Windia. Suddenly I want to go fight all of the Battlefields (which I had been avoiding) and earn a boatload of experience. I finally go and beat the game.

Age 11. Have a different computer now, with ZNES instead of 9x. Try to play Final Fantasy II/IV and get stuck at Valvalis. Isaac tell me that III/VI is easier, and since the stories are not connected it is not necessary to play them in order. I fall in love with FF6 and decide that I am Celes.

Age 12 or 13. I have beaten VI and decide to give IV another go, and get as far the Moon; when Isaac runs to the GameXchange and buys a copy of II/IV for our SNES clone. I play it to death. Get to the final dungeon and get my butt kicked by everything. Put the game away for a little while. A couple weeks later I try it again and as soon I turn it on the cartridge battery dies. Start again on the emulator and beat it.

Age 15 (present). I find out that FF5 is awesome and play it to death. I get all the way to the final dungeon and then discover Chrono Trigger and forget about FF. Beat CT three times in a row and then go back to miscellaneous FF games, especially IV. I forgot how much I love these games. I now like to sit around wishing I have FF7.

Posted by: MetroidMorphBall 16th December 2013 19:22
The first time I heard the name Final Fantasy was when Nintendo Power sent me a strategy guide to the original game, which I believe was free with my subscription - imagine that nowadays! I remember the strategy guide looked pretty cool...the last page had people dressed as FF characters peering around a corner, and ended with "Chaos awaits!" or something like that, without offering a strategy for the final boss. Though interested, I never picked up the game for whatever reason.

My introduction to playing a game called "Final Fantasy" was actually not a Final Fantasy game at all - SaGa 3, known in the US as Final Fantasy Legend 3 for the GameBoy. A random neighbor insisted I play it and let me borrow the cart. Changed my life, in a lot of ways, but I can't even remember the guy's name. The immersive story, combined with strategic gameplay and open-world exploration, was unlike anything I'd ever played, even Zelda.

I can't remember which game I played next, it was either FF Legend 2 or FF4, but without a doubt Final Fantasy 4 is the one that got me hooked, and was my first real Final Fantasy game. As much as I loved the SaGa games (which of course is also made by Square and comprised of many of the same staff members) FF4 just took it to an entirely different level. It felt like an interactive movie. The game also introduced me to a really good friend of mine, who I'm friends with to this day. Recognizing the name "Final Fantasy" on the cart, I borrowed his copy after he moved into the same apartment complex as me.

From thereon, I just consumed Final Fantasy games, Square games, and RPGs in general. I bought FF6 and Chrono Trigger the day of release and dumped endless hours into them. At this point, RPGs were still a niche genre in the West, and I remember making it my mission to try to get serious gamers to understand that this was the pinnacle of gaming right here! Lol.

For better or worse, I didn't have to wait very long for it to go mainstream. Final Fantasy 7 blew the doors open, and a flood of great JRPGs suddenly became available in the US for Playstation. It became impossible to keep up, but I did still play all numbered FFs upon release through FF10. Sometime after that, I played 1 and fan translations of 2-3 via ROM and emulator.

Quote (arne0107 @ 12th April 2013 21:46)
Age 13, a friend of mine said he had this awesome game for his Playstation (which I had never played) called Final Fantasy VII. I thought to myself "What happened to 4-6?!?!" LOL

Quote (Kame @ 22nd April 2013 22:27)
Instead of playing the game from the beginning I started at an impasse: the well at Agart. I didn't know what the heck I was supposed to do. I talked to all the people in town like a good RPG player should, then I came to the well. Ended up throwing EVERYTHING I had in my inventory into that well... sometimes more than once. Finally when I hit the correct item (that pesky key) things happened. Big boom, airship descending into the underworld, killer dolls, evil guys who steal crystals. I was hooked.


Haha, I enjoyed reading some of the other stories on here, like these two gems above!


Posted by: DragonKnight Zero 20th January 2014 05:41
An anecdote from my FF history:

Dec. 25, 1997: Finish disk 1 of first playthrough of FF7. Taken completely by surprise having not been spoiled beforehand. Was not happy as I had learned Fury Brand after the Demon's Gate fight and was not using guides to that point.

Posted by: Spooniest 10th February 2014 07:48
Age 6. (1986)
The neighbors across the street have a game called Final Fantasy. My sisters tell me about it. They say you need to learn to read and do math to play it. I am sad because I know neither of these things yet. If you'll note the year, this means they imported it.

Age 12. (1993)
I first see Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest at an Electronics Boutique in North Park Mall. I then get introduced to Final Fantasy II (4, with Cecil) by my friend, and proceed to ask my mom for a Super Nintendo. I get Final Fantasy for the Nintendo instead. I am not disappointed.
My sister and I fight over the single save slot, and Jeff Rovin gives me the strategies to beat the game in 30 days.

Age 13. (1995)
I finally get Final Fantasy IV for the SNES right after Christmas. I play it and play it, and love it. I can't get enough. I remember playing it through a Sony Trinitron TV.

Age 14. (1995)
I get Final Fantasy VI for Christmas. Before winter break is over, I kick my brother in the teeth and cut my foot, giving me a redline (!) infection that keeps me out of school. I first see the SPOILER SPOLIER at the end of the SPOILER. I don't save either Shadow or Cid.

Age 15. (1996)
I throw a drama fit in a game store and badger my mom into buying Final Fantasy VII for me after playing it at a friend's house and getting a Playstation for my birthday, I believe. She relents, and I get so into the game that my schoolwork suffers. I pick up guitar for the first time. Secret of Mana is in heavy rotation at my house, and me and my brothers are playing 4 and 6 constantly. I get in a game of 1 every so often.

Age 17. (1998)
Final Fantasy VIII comes out, but I don't get it right away. It isn't until I move to Nashville in the Spring of the next year that I get it.

Age 19. (2000)
I get Final Fantasy IX. I forget how. I don't play it that much, because they didn't publish a Strategy Guide, and I'm out of high school and starting to work, so I don't have as much energy as I used to.

Age 23 (2004)
I play through Final Fantasy X and X-2 with my brother. I can't figure out the Dresssphere system at all. I don't enjoy them.

Age 28 (2010)
After playing through Final Fantasy VI for the umpteenth time after my divorce, I decide to rewrite it because I needed mechanical work to do. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/794.

Age 32 (Present)
I did a cleanup hack of Final Fantasy V by RPGe. Find it here.

Posted by: chevleclair 10th February 2014 14:48
1989- After playing Dragon Warrior and beating it for the first time, I was introduced to Final Fantasy.

1992- Final Fantasy IV (II for America) wins me over to the RPG forever. Cecil Harvey introduces me to the flawed hero.

1995- My friend Brad tells me there is a better game than FF II. He introduces me to FFIII. He's right.

1996- My brain suddenly is scrambled about how many Final Fantasy games there were when Final Fantasy VII demo is released to the Play Station.

1997- FFVII, while not as good as VI, was definitely playable. Like Noah Antwiler (aka the Spoony One),it hooks me to play any old thing from the series, just hoping to create the magic from IV and VI.

1999- Final Fantasy VIII shows gaming innovation, but sadly, the story, the endless unskippable animations and cutscenes, the gunblade, and the draw magic system cause my heart to break/

1999- The introduction of the emulator shows me the wonders of II, III, and V. Stilted English leads to the fat chocobo "Butts".

2001- Zidane Tribal leads a cast of less than 1 dimensional characters for a story and ending that ruins otherwise great gameplay.

2003- Despite pleas to never let me see this again,Final Fantasy X has another rancid story ruins phenomenal gameplay. After faithfully following the series, I bury myself in the past- playing remakes of the first seven.

2007- FFXII while better than 8,9,X, and X-2 (which I was roped into watching that same year), dragged on for 90 hours, about 85 of it spinning tires and dealing with sidequests. The plot feels shallow and contrived, and Vaan (who I think is the main character, but maybe not) doesn't even seem to belong in this game.

2010- Rule 34 junkies rejoice! Final Fantasy XIII brings nothing new gameplay wise, but yet another insipid plot. Beautiful character rendering leads to just how much Japanese taste in women has changed since I was first aware of hentai, and that's about it.

2011- I get a chance to play XXIV- I pass.

I've also played the Mana series, FFL series, Mystic Quest, and Tactics series. My thoughts on XV are quite simple. Richard Garriot is actually caring about his Ultima games again- wonder if the new one is going to be good.

Posted by: HolyCeles 10th February 2014 20:42
Redone version:

2008- Went to friends, played ff3 ds version. I then went on to buy it and played right through it, with help from youtube.

2009/2010- With my dad's old SNES, i managed to buy FF6 for it on ebay at a reasonalbe price. This was (still is) my alltime faveourite FF. I also bought the FF4 ds in that year(s)

2011- Bought Chrono trigger ds and FF5 GBA. However, for this i used some crap to make the music sound like the old SNES version, because i can't stand GBA music for FF5 and 6. I tried to get old version but could not. Oh well.

2012-I got into the DQ series and bought DQ9 and DQ5. 5 probably fave.

2013- Lost FF6. Got bravely default very end of year. Didn't get much.

2014- Getting FF4 after years ios and FF6 IOS, and hoping that sequel to Bravely default will come out this year.

Posted by: SilverMaduin 11th February 2014 16:23
In the early 2000's I played a rom of FF2 at a friends, only later learning that it was actually FF4, renumbered for western markets, for reasons I still don't completely comprehend, or really care for. Although, with FF, you could say a lot of stuff was going parallel, since most of the series was out when I got into it.

After that, me and my brother practically binged the NES and SNES era FFs, getting more enthralled with each part, so, these games I was beating more or less parallel around 2003-2006.
FF1 was a cool take on the formula for its time, and it had a rich world, that I fondly explored.
FF2 gave me an IMMENSE world, my favourite system in the series, even for its many flaws, a great cast, and I daresay, still rests at the top of my all-time fave games.
FF3, was a change of pace, a change of tone and a fun game to boot, and Square seemed to be unable to fail to deliver a compelling world at that point.
FF4 tugged at heartstrings, and impressed me with what it did using the technology it had available. It was the first FF I completed.
FF5, this felt more adventure than high fantasy, ridiculous at times (then again, with a villain called "Dark Mage ExDeath" what would we expect?) but went right about a lot of stuff, and gave me a groovy character customization system.
FF6, what more can a player ask of a game, that after you gather up your party and a mode of transport just opens up the world and lets you explore it, almost to no limit, having filled it with unique locations? You make the main villain feel like a genuine threat, even though he's just a small bundle of pixels. While not my favourite in the series, FF6 had more impact on me than most other installments.

After that I sat down to play (and beat) later installments - I got an old copy of FF7 for the PC, and later managed to get my hands on FF8. And while FF7 was cool at the time, it doesn't really come up in my memory as something that great.
FF 8 in turn, was just vile...well, okay, it looked great and sounded great, but the thoroughly abusable system and repulsive main protagonist just pushed me away.

For the longest time I didn't give FFIX a try, and blundering through FFX and again, coming with nothing from it, maybe except liking a couple of characters, and groaning at others.

Then, around 2008, I think, I finally got around to playing FFIX, and I was amazed - the light-hearted aesthetics, combined with the heartwrenching plot reminded me of the NES and SNES titles, and I've recently bought it on PS1 Classics and am replaying the hell of it.

Around 2005-2008 I considered FFXI, but decided to pass, mostly due to my erstwhile refusal to play subscription-based games. I gave it a cursory glance, since a good friend of mine said it was great, but I just didn't have the time, or the resources to play it.

And FFXII...wow. Just wow. I fell in love with this game when it came out, and it keeps loving me back. It has everything I could want from an FF game - a sprawling world, colourful characters, both heroic and villainous, Star Wars references, and a wonderful soundtrack. Also, perhaps the best Cid in forever.

I immediately got FFXIII when it released in 2010 and..well...that was money ill-spent. I was insulted. I was disgusted. That title lacked any semblance of gameplay, the visual designs pandered to demographics of tastes far removed from my own, and, backed by a cast of absolutely cardboard characters, the main protagonist is an insufferable [REDACTED] made out of spite and resentment - easily comparable with Squall in terms of being a horrible character. I have not given any other part of the XIII franchise a chance since then, even though several sources tell me they're less horrible.

in the meantime I went about appeasing my conscience - I got FFIII and FFIV for the DS, set out to hunt for the remakes of the rest of the SNES and NES games.

And just recently I got into that other MMO. Having a friend try to convince me for over two years to start playing finally worked, and I'm rather satisfied - the cast of characters in the story campaign and class stories is incredibly diverse and entertaining, and the community I landed with is both fun and extremely helpful.

I'll probably give FF15 a chance.

The series just built up this much trust in me.

Posted by: Billdolfski 6th March 2014 13:24
I started in 90 on the NES with the original FF. I had no idea what it was, but my parents got it for me along with the horrible Nintendo Power strategy guide... though I do still wish I had it. I still have my FF cart and the battery still works.

I pretty much played the rest of the series, that was released in NA as they came out or soon after. I didn't quite finish IX (don't think so anyway, been a long time) and I pretty much gave up on the series playing X due the things they removed from the NA version.

After that and getting some emulators and going back and messing with some of my old favorites I was getting on the internet to look stuff up about them and realized what an online community there was for all things Final Fantasy and I've been fairly active one way or another ever since. I figure this was in the mid 2000s.

Recently, I bought a PS Vita for the sole purpose of all the FF games I could get on PSN. I did end up getting a few Vita games but I bought the system so I could play 20 year old games, lol.

Posted by: ChickenFriedChocobo 28th May 2014 07:24
Hm, let's see...

1989 (age 8) - Receive Dragon Warrior for Christmas. Become forever hooked on console RPGs.

1990 (age 9) - Totally miss the boat on Final Fantasy because I'm too caught up in Dragon Warrior.

1994 (age 13) - Read about Final Fantasy IIIUS (VI) in Nintendo Power; decide I must have it. Acquire it, play, become hopelessly hooked. My days on the Dragon Warrior bandwagon end.

1995 (age 14) - Acquire a used copy of Final Fantasy IIUS (IV) Find the dialogue a little wonky, but otherwise enjoy the game immensely. It doesn't scratch the same itch as VI, however.

1996 (age 15) - Buy a copy of Final Fantasy (NES) on clearance at a toy store and enjoy a timewarp back to the early days of the series. Grind, grind, grind...finally defeat Chaos. Rejoice.

1997 (age 16) - While amassing enough money to afford a Playstation and FFVII, work my way through emulated versions of II, III, and V. Seethe with rage at the 'leveling' system in II until I figure out how to exploit it. Decide I need to learn Japanese.

1998 (age 17) - Finally acquire a Playstation, FFVII and FF Tactics. Enjoy Tactics better than VII. School keeps me busy enough to take a long time to beat both.

1999 (age 18) - Finish VII and Tactics both on my 18th birthday. Boot up a game of VI the next day, since the ending of neither really moved me.

1999 (age 18) - Recently arrived at college to study Japanese, meet some new friends who stick their heads into my open dorm room door while I'm playing through VII again. Later, when VIII is released, we skip morning classes to go acquire copies together. Much more gaming is done than studying. Sadly, at least for me, the game is not what I'd hoped.

2000 (age 19) - Pick up FFIX on release date, have a hard time with the 'cartoony' graphics. Don't finish.

2001 (age 20) - Play through a roommate's copy of FFX (Japanese language) while on exchange in Tokyo. Decide I'm not a fan. Also play through Japanese versions of IV, VI, and Chrono Trigger. Discover how much nuance was lost in translation. Go through a brief period of wanting to march around Redmond with Ted Woolsey's head on a stake, then get over it because, by virtue of doing it myself on the fly as I play, I realize how hard effective translation is.

Early 2002 (age 20) - Attend the 20020220 Final Fantasy concert in Tokyo. Have my mind blown all over again. See Nobuo Uematsu with my own eyeballs. Feel like I can probably die happy.

Late 2002 (age 21) - Having come back to the 'States, round up the PSX re-releases of I, II, IV, V, VI and Chrono Trigger. Weep bitterly and drink cheap bourbon during loading screens.

2004 (age 23) - Try playing FFX2. Give up in disgust. Boot up some older games to balm my wounds.

2006 (age 25) - Sign up for a FFXI account. Play about six months, decide it's not my thing. Pick up a GBA on the cheap and start rounding up reissues of older games. Decide not to mess with FFXII.

2008 (age 27) - 2010 (age 29) - Consumed by the Zone Eater known as graduate school. Gibber madly and fail to see the light of day for a long, long time. Also somehow end up married during this time. Luckily, he's a keeper.

2011 (age 30) - Nearing the end of grad school, pick up FFXIII on a lark. Decide Lightning looks awesome, get excited. Get about halfway through, realize I'm not enjoying the story at all, sigh resignedly, and go back to Dragon Age: Origins.

2012 (age 31) - Having dispensed with grad school, get something resembling a grownup job. Start gaming again seriously. Wonder why I ever went to grad school.

2014 (present day) - Revisit FFIX, discover I was selling it way too short years ago. Try FFXII, want to throw Vaan and Panelo off the airship to their deaths. Perhaps I will eventually finish. Currently replaying FFVI and wondering if I should bother with an FFXIV account. I probably know the answer, but I might be mistaken.

Posted by: fatman 29th May 2014 08:17
For me, I started gaming at a very young age with the spectrum 48, commodore 64, atari ST, Jaguar Atari.. PSone So, in approximate order of play..

FF7 - First time I'd seen a Final Fantasy game on the shelf. Cover art was interesting, cool name and displayed as a top game in the shop. I expressed interest and my Dad bought it. It was one of the most amazing games I'd ever played, I had never seen story telling like this and it was so well presented. It changed so many of my ideas of what a video game could be. I was about 12 years old.

FF8 - I was obviously very hyped for this, and it was a great game no doubt, although I was a bit dissapointed it wasn't quite to the same standard as FF7. Story towards the end lost its way a bit and game play wasn't as well thought out. Still loved it though.

FF9 - Back for more, I loved this the second it loaded up, and it's a strong contender as my favourite FF game even now. Loved the comedy, the characters and their relationships, and the art was wonderful.

FF10 - Good fun, but was a bit of a step down for me, characters weren't as interesting as in previous games, and Tidus was just a big cry baby. Fun to play through but I was no where near as invested in the plot or characters as in previous games.

FF11 - Online only!!? Yes, like most I was annoyed. And I never played it.

FF12 - I really like this, lots of great interesting characters, excellent voice acting comparedto FF10 and the innovative combat was a lot of fun. Story was a little hard to follow at times, but I got the gist of it. Great stuff.

Final Fantasy 13 - I completed this, but personally I found it the weakest FF game to date. Characters weren't interesting and the story did very little for me. Nice graphics though.

Final Fantasy Tactics - Finally got to play this on my PSP and loved it. I love turn based isometric games and this is one of the best out there. Once again the political storyline was a tiny bit difficult to follow at times but the game play was great with some interesting characters.

Went back to FF9 and played through it with my wife, she really enjoyed it, despite how old it was and the lack of voice acting. I think Vivi was her favourite.

FF6 - I tried to get into this but I never really gave it a chance, maybe one day.

FF1 - Played it on my mobile, got a couple of hours in then got lost on the world map. Constant randoms battles punished me for not knowing where to go next. I gave up. Frustrating.

FF14 -Tempted, but it's expensive, would probably go for it if a few friends played often.

FF15 - Looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Posted by: Electricbassguy 6th July 2014 02:16
I first get hooked upon seeing Final Fantasy Legend II... the game boy one. Back in 1991 or 1992. I didn't have Final Fantasy for NES.

In 1992-94 my dad and I would rent Final Fantasy II SNES. We rented it over and over and I was the main player but other people would play my files sometimes. Don't know why we didn't buy it but maybe he couldn't find it in stores.

I was pretty slow to beat it, tbh. Most people back then probably beat FF2 early on... but it wasn't until 1997 or so that I beat it myself. I had gotten to the moon (after beating Giant of Babil) once but my stepbrother had beat it technically.

I got Final Fantasy VI in 1994 and was hooked by then, playing for hours. But I wouldn't beat it until 2001 or so, years later.

Outside of IV and VI I didn't follow the games too much. My brother and I would play VII-X, and I would dabble in XI (mediocre MMO) and do a little XII, but nothing held my attention like IV, VI

Posted by: Eagle Caller 27th October 2014 10:53
Needless to say I enjoy learning everything I can about a game. Though there's something we need to deal with.

http://www.cavesofnarshe.com/forums/ipb/in...=0&#entry207601

Posted by: Lone_Wolf 28th October 2014 15:14
When I was 9 years old my older brother borrowed a copy of FFIV from his friend. He played it for hours and hours while I watched. Up until then all I had known was super mario bro's and mike tyson's punch out, so this new type of game where the bad guys lined up directly across from the good guys and took turns was pretty confusing to my tiny little monkey brain.

He bought VI 2 years later (1995) and I completely fell in love with that game. I remember getting in (and losing) a fistfight with him over playing time.

Great game, but I was a stupid little kid.

Posted by: AltheaValara 31st August 2017 21:54
This is another thread I meant to post in last time it was active. Settle back: this is going to get long.

I came late to Final Fantasy: I was well into my 20s before I even heard of the series. My first introduction to the franchise was actually an article in Discover magazine about the graphics of The Spirits Within. I was fascinated. They had a picture of Cis, and I could not believe how realistic his skin texture looked.

I didn't follow through on my fascination, though. Then in 2002 I began dating a guy who was a big fan of the series. We went out one night and bought a PS2 and FFX. When we fired it up, it was love at first sound. I was so enamored with "Zanarkand" that I went home that night and downloaded the song and its sheet music.

We played FFX together, passing the controller back and forth. I admit I slept a lot while he was grinding (I suffer from depression and it was particularly bad at this time) but he always woke me for the story bits, which I loved. I cried at the ending.

My boyfriend let me have his PSX, and lent me FFVIII. Again, it was immediate love when the opening played. I had to treturn the game to him when we broke up, but I went out and bought it for myself. For years I was in love with that game, and often daydreamed of meeting someone who looked like Squall.

Time passed, and I began collecting Final Fantasy music. FFX Official Soundtrack. The complete FFVIII OST. N Generation & S Generation. The Symphonic Suite. I loved them all.

In 2005 the Dear Friends concert came to Chicago. As luck would have it, I had a wedding to attend that day, and so missed the concert. I was seriously bummed. What if they never again had a FF concert? I couldn't face that, and so I checked out where else the concert would be playing. I decided to go to Detroit, to see it there. I had a fantastic time, both in general and at the concert. I still remember when Dear Friends was played, how the guitar soloist paused slightly before each note, giving it poignancy. It was beautiful.

I needn't have worried about there being no more FF concerts, though, because Distant Worlds came to town in March 2008. I splurged for the expensive seats. Not only did we have great seats, but we got to meet Uematsu-san and Arnie Roth! The highlight of this concert was Maria & Draco. We were close enough to the stage to see the soloists' expressions, and I swear the mezzo-soprano had tears in her eyes as she sang Mnaria's part.

I came back from the concert eager to play more FF games. I stopped at Best Buy and bought Origins and Anthology. I already had Chronicles, III & XII.

In April 2008 I started playing FFVII with my best friend. We lived thousands of miles apart so we couldn't physically play together, but we shared our progress over AIM. It was she who introduced me to CoN. I had previously tried to play VII in September of 2005, but never finished it. This time, with the help of a friend, I stuck with it. I enjoyed the game, though to be honest I found the plot a bit confusing, and didn't really understand why so many people said it was the best game in the series. I think it was a bit overhyped for me, which might have lessened my enjoyment of it (I expected more from it). It didn't help that I had accidentally read a major spoiler years earlier, so had that scene ruined for me.

We watched Advent Children together in July 2008, which I enjoyed a lot. It actually helped lessen some of my confusion over VII's plot.

Around this time I decided to play the games in order. I started the PSX version of FFI in August 2008. I found it difficult. I was afraid to use magic since you didn't get much of it. Potions healed a small, random amount. I spent a lot of time chanting "please don't let me die". I succeeded in finishing the game, though.

It was quickly followed by FFII, which I loved. I really enjoyed the fact that the characters actually had some characterization, even if it wasn't much. And bi liked the story, too. It's still one oif my favorites in the series.

FFIII was started in December 2008. I found it a bit disappointing. I thought maybe I was a bit warn out by RPGs. But really, it was the opening movie that caused my disappointment. There's a scene in it where Luneth makes a GRR-face at Ingus and Ingus gives him a shove, so I expected some animosity between them in the game. Yet that wasn't really there. I finished the game in January 2009 and did enjoy it, but found it one oif the weaker games in the series.

In April 2009 I was playing FFIV. I don't remember too much about my play through but must have finished it, because I started playing FFV in August 2009. I don't recall finishing FFV at this time, but I was rather distracted...

...because in early 2009_ my best friend sent me her spare Xbox 360. I lasted less than a month before I bought FFXI. I started the game in April.

I thought long and hard about what kind if character I wanted, researching job classes, races, and starting cities while waiting for the game to arrive. MMOs intimidated me, and I knew I was likely hoping to be playing solo, so I wanted a job that was self-sufficient. I decided on Red Mage, as they can dish out damage but also cast healing spells. I trolled baby name websites to find the perfect name for my character. I finally decided on Althea (which means "healer") Valara (which mreans " fierce one") which I thought encompassed both sides of Red Mage nicely.

I did indeed play solo at the beginning. I wasn't too sure how much of a story the game would have, so I made my own story by keeping a journal. Soon I was too busy playing to keep up with the journal, though.

One of my first memories of the game is looking for a vendor that sold potions and ethers. They were prohibitively expensive, however. I soon learned I could regenerate HP and MP by resting, which means potions and ethers weren't really necessary.

I could tell you lots of stories about XI, but this is already long do I'll skip them. I was forced to quit the game in fall of 2012 due to lack of money. I still miss the game, but probably wouldn't return if I had a chance. That part of my life is done.

Meanwhile, in November 2011 I had played Crisis Core, which I enjoyed quite a bit. It too helped make sense of FFVII's story.

By January of 2014 I had replayed 1-5. I played the GBA versions on my DS Lite, thankful I had bought them years prior. I found the GBA version of FFI much easier than the PS version. I enjoyed FFII as much as I did the first time I played. FFIII was fun this time around. I played both the DS and GBvA versions of IV; I found the DS version to be harder but loved the voice acting in it.

And then there was FFV, my first time that I recall beating the game. I enjoyed the job system so much that I played the game twice, maxing out all of the jobs on my second play. Although I don't think its story is as good as IV or VI, I still like its story quite a bit, and enjoy all of its characters.

FFVI was up next. I knew how good a reputation it had around here, so I was looking forward to the game. To be honest, I was underwhelmed on my first play. While I did enjoy it, I felt it had been overhyped. It was only on my second play that I really appreciated the game. I love how each character has a strong back story. And I appreciated what a great impact
Possible spoilers: highlight to view
Kefka destroying the world really was
. I now rate the game as one of my favorites in the series.

In October 2014 I played FFXIII. I had not been at all impressed with the trailers for the game, so didn't have high hopes for it. To my suprisr, I enjoyed it quite a bit--enough to buy XIII-2 with some Christmas money.

In December 2014 I played Tactics Advance along with some friends. It was my first Tactics game. At first, i did NOT grok the battle system. But one day it just clicked for me. The story was enjoyable, but a bit weak. Thee gameplay was excellent, though the law cards could be a bit of a bother.

I finished XIII-2 in February of 2015, and loved it as much as XIiI itself, if not more. I immediately went out to buy Lightning Returns. That game...I lasted three hours, then turned it off. I managed to fail the very first mission they give you, which was a HUGE turnoff for me. I also felt pressured by the game clock. Eventually I'll try playing it again, but I'm in no rush.

About a year and a half ago I asked my parents if I could have the spate TV in the basement, so I could hook my PS2 up to it. They said yes, but warned that the TV had a blue stripe going down its screen. Whatever- I wanted to play IX and XII badly enough that I could put up with a defect.

So I played IX first, which I loved! Zidane is such an awesome character, but I think Vivi's story was most compelling.

I quickly followed up with XII. I got into it pretty heavily at first, but ran into a snag: my controller was actually broken a bit in that the tight and up arrows didn't work. I was able too play anyway for a while, though using the license board was a pain and I had to sell loot one at a time. I eventually bought a new controller but had to wait a while to afford bit, and that killed my momentum with the game. I'm now in endgame, doing the last hunts before heading to the final dungeon.

I've been distracted from XII, though, by Brasve Exvius which I started in October. I love it to pieces. In many ways it's your typical FF game: crystals to protect, an airship mechanic named Cid, turn-based combat, etc. I really love the characters, especially Lasswell, who is my favorite. And the trust master system appeals to my sense bof accomplishment center of my brain.

Which brings me to today. I'm still a big fan of FF music, and will be going to my eighth concert in September. I've played all the main games except XIVand XV, and hope to be able to play those in the upcoming year. I am sure bi will live them as much as I love the other games in the series.

Posted by: Glenn Magus Harvey 4th September 2017 00:39
My first JRPG was Super Mario RPG. I played it halfway at a cousin's house and later finished it on my own. Then I played Pok�mon Blue. Also had a taste of Secret of Mana at a friend's house.

One day, someone downloaded an SNES emulator and Final Fantasy II (i.e. IV) onto the classroom computer in AP Stats. I tried it out. Meh. A little odd to me at the time that it didn't start me out with just one character, though I never really considered that it didn't make sense that a JRPG absolutely had to start with only one character. But whatever.

Someone else later downloaded Chrono Trigger and started playing that. Then I started playing that, and FFII.

After beating CT and FFII (SNES), I moved onto Final Fantasy III (i.e. VI). Played half of it before finishing high school. Played the second half after. Then I joined CoN.

Later, I played all of FFV, and part of FFIII (NES), FFVII (PC version), and FFTA. (The friend who had SoM lent me his copy of FFVII PC.) Also, a friend had Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within, so I borrowed his copy and watched the movie (which I liked, and only later found out that other people didn't like it).

Oddly, I sorta dropped the Final Fantasy series at that point, instead becoming way more obsessed with the Castlevania series.

Over the following decade and change, I did try out Final Fantasy: the Four Heroes of Light, FFI, FFII, and FF Tactics, eventually buying FFT when it was offered used at a gaming-related swapmeet, and also FFtSW when I found a used copy of it, and even a copy of the Final Fantasy Unlimited soundtrack despite not having seen the anime that uses it.

When a friend bought me Recettear and some other games in late 2010, causing me to join Steam for the first time, I said that I was unlikely to make much use of it, since it had no Final Fantasy, Mega Man, or Castlevania games. Well, now it has all three (albeit the last one being not necessarily any that I want), though I still haven't picked up any of them...even though I've been thinking about it.

Posted by: Velvet17 4th September 2017 04:54
Hello! I'm new. I figured this thread would be the best place to introduce myself. My name comes from the main character of my favorite Tales of series game which is now one of my top 10 of all time, Tales of Berseria. It made me laugh, be shocked, and even cry. Great game. The 17 is for my college graduation year as I'll finally be done after this term.

Anyway, here is my history with Final Fantasy:

1996 - Played FF III US for the first time, fell in love with RPGs. When N64 came out I got one and my brother got a Playstation. He was playing all the RPGs, I was not. Asked for a Playstation for my birthday and got one. Happily ever after.

VII was enjoyable though I need to play it again because I don't remember much of the story as it was so long ago.

VIII I didn't end up playing this one. My brother got it, I didn't and i never borrowed it from him. I have it in my backlog to play.

IX, got it when it came out, loved it, but was torn away from it by trying to have a social life. Finally played through it in 2012 over the summer. Loved it, Vivi is my favorite.

X , beat this one in 2003 or 2004 over the summer. I liked it but there are parts of thing game I don't want to play through again, but I will because I picked up the re-master for PS4.

XI, played a bit of this in 2003 - 2005. Game was super hard, not what I was looking for in an MMORPG. Bought 1 million gil on a now defunct website once and bought a whole bunch of cool gear and stuff for my house, then never played again.

XII, I liked it but I was again on another hiatus trying to be social and do what "normal" people did for fun. It didn't work out. Now I have the remaster and plan to get into it when school is done

XIII ,2010, hated it at first. Then gave it a chance, I found the battle system addicting once you got the hang of it. Unfortuately I stepped away from it too long right at once of the major boss battles in the game and had no way to really back track and pick up the battle system groove again.

XIV, LOVE LOVE LOVE this game. I got it at release. I still need to finish the main storyline pre-Heavensward but it is everything I ever wanted in an MMORPG and more.

XV - so far I think it's terrible but I'm willing to give it a chance.

Posted by: Glenn Magus Harvey 4th September 2017 13:27
^ Welcome! You can always make a "Your Tales Tale" (or something) in the general gaming chat forum, of course. And Velvet is awesome.

Posted by: Rangers51 4th September 2017 14:20
This thread coming back to life pointed out to me that I never crossposted the old CoNcast about this back in here - this topic inspired the episode.

https://www.cavesofnarshe.com/news/article/...t-episode-five/

I kinda miss CoNcast. sad.gif

Posted by: Elena99 4th September 2017 15:40
I didn't know you guys had a podcast! I'm going to check that out (I realize it's old and not updated anymore).

Posted by: laszlow 7th September 2017 04:53
Quote (laszlow @ 15th May 2013 16:50)
In case you missed it, you can listen to spoken versions of the FF stories of Rangers51, Tiddles, Death Penalty, and myself on the latest CoNcast episode here: shazam

It's cool. I remembered to crosspost it.

Posted by: Kigalas 31st October 2017 17:29
Well, it all started back in the 90�s. I had been a big fan of the Dragon Warrior series, and I had been renting DWIV for a month at a time, since I had the maps for all the caves and item lists from Nintendo Power and everything. Knowing this, the sleaze ball owner suggested I try FFMQ, which I did, but it did absolutely nothing for me. Later on that year I showed my friend DWIV, to which he said �yuck� to the graphics and sound, and promptly showed my FFIII, and let me play as Player 2 on Sabin, and then Cyan since I didn�t know any blitz commands. His mom wouldn�t let me borrow it so that was the end of that until FFVII came out. Again, he let me play through part of climbing the office in Midgar, which was confusing for me. He loved it, blocky graphics and all. It didn�t hook me.

A couple years later when I got better friends one of them let me borrow FFIII, as I remember liking it. I got through Mt. Kolts and then stopped playing after reaching the Returner�s hideout, as it looked the same and I thought it went to the same place I had come from (silly me). So with encouragement I kept going, and fell in love. Also first encountered the sketch bug then.

Fast forward to 2001-2. Said friend is in college, on a visit he mentions hoe a friend has X. I see the sending and some cloister of trials. Cool stuff. Now I have a reason to buy a PS2 instead of just food, gas and weed.

Probably the next year I�m in my second apartment, and own a PS2. I want III so I find out about Anthology. His may be where I first learned of esper stat bonuses. My friends make fun of Butz�s name in V (fools). I�m now in love with V and the job class system. Enter X-2, more love. My friends can�t see past the music, I get everyone to lvl 99 and a new game plus. Sometime after this I purchase Origins and the one with IV/CT. II is weird, the others make a small mark, but I get through them with some assistance from said fools as they grew up with I/IV. VI is still tops though to me. I get DQVIII with the XII demo - excitement, as DW is back on my life.

Now it�s 2006 and I own a house and spend all my waking hours playing Rock Band and random FF games on the side. XII comes out, we put in 250+ hours, and jerk roommate goes through the lighthouse without me. I spend a Saturday killing Yiazmat. I purchase V, VII, and IX for PS3. IX rules.

A few years later, I hear of XIII. I buy it, and it�s crap. Guess I�ll keep with the Rock Band love, since I invested thousands of dollars in it. I buy a copy of VIII, start it, ugly graphics, junctioning is weird but can see the potential, but sex would be nice. Maybe another time.

Enter 2013. I�m married, living in my wife�s trailer. I�m killing TunnelArmr as she tells me she�s pregnant. Yay, progeny. Hey, they�re remaking X/X-2. Sweet, my jerk roommate took my PS2 earlier anyways and I sold my games/strategy guides because of said trailer move. I have an iPhone, and get I and V. Can you tell I like V?

Present day. I spend the second half of the summer playing XII:TZA because jobs rule damnit. While on vacation I bring my PS3 since I have a save game of VI, and start looking at various faqs, finding the Perfect Stat Challenge faq by Leviathan_Mist. And that�s where I am today - leveling up in yet dinosaur forest with plans to revisit the old FFs that I never completed solo. I�m playing through I on my phone, and will go through II, IV, VII, VIII, and XIII to say I beat them.

Posted by: Eagle Caller 4th December 2017 09:19
It's too long to list now. I will leave a link to my facebook notes. If you have a question or want to comment on them you can leave one. I'm now known as Master of Fantasies.

https://www.facebook.com/mark.briggs.7165/n...01%3A1512379128

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