Final Fantasy Games

[AntiBeeSpray]

For all of your talk on anything to do with Final Fantasy.

 

I know it's an older series, but please keep the thread as spoiler free as possible for those who haven't played the games yet. If people need help, put the help under spoiler tags. Thanks.

 

In the middle of playing both FF X and FF VII on my Vita. Wish I had IV for my 3ds though :(. I have it for my Wii, but I like the version with the cutscenes a little better.

[JayKay]

Yeees, thank you for making this thread. What do you think of X so far? Favorite character? And are you spoiled about the plot?

[AntiBeeSpray]

Yeees, thank you for making this thread. What do you think of X so far? Favorite character? And are you spoiled about the plot?

It's really atmospheric and I like the story so far. The battles are nice too. I really like Wakka, he has a good sense of humor. A little, but it hasn't harmed my play-through of it. It's worth every cent. What's your favorite game?

[JayKay]

It's really atmospheric and I like the story so far. The battles are nice too. I really like Wakka, he has a good sense of humor. A little, but it hasn't harmed my play-through of it. It's worth every cent. What's your favorite game?

Yeah, Wakka's hilarious. And the world of Spira is such a colorful, lush place. It took me a while to figure out the Sphere Grid, but it's not as difficult as people who disliked it say, imo. Plus the Ronso are an interesting made-up FF species.

 

My favorite? Hmmm. Well, Final Fantasy VIII because the concept of the floating Gardens was so cool and made me wish school was really like that. But Final Fantasy IX is also great, once you get past the sprites. General Beatrix from that game is my favorite Final Fantasy character.

 

... But FFXII was also fun because of the Game Hunts and the super creepy summon monsters. The combat turned off a lot of FF fans, but I loved that game. It also let you run into a massive T-Rex when you were ridiculously under-leveled, just like in FFVIII. Only this time it could actually chase you instead of being a random encounter. Terrifying.

 

That's a hard question! Have you played XIII? I haven't beaten it but I do like the characters. It reminds me of VII just a bit.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Nope. I don't have XIII :(.

[Danny Franks]

I absolutely adored Final Fantasy VII. From the breathtaking intro, with the camera flying over the huge city of Midgar, and then zooming in on the train as it pulls into the station and... game's started. The overall plot was bonkers, and I doubt I could really tell you what Sephiroth's goal was, but it didn't matter, because the character stuff was so good. Cloud was the perfect hero for a teenage boy, and Aeris and Tifa the contrasting love interests who were both genuinely engaging.

 

It also had the first truly heartbreaking moment I experienced in gaming. Do I need to avoid saying what it was, in case people haven't played the game? Anyway, the overall experience of being in that world, and watching that story unfold, is one of the richest I've had in gaming.

 

Final Fantasy VIII was very good as well, but I just wasn't as connected to the characters, and the story was actually more difficult to feel a connection to, due to the split narrative structure. But I will always remember being frustrated endlessly because the third disk of my copy was scratched, and kept sticking on the cut scene where Squall rescued Rinoa from the spaceship. It would just never move past it, and in the end I had to wait for a friend to finish that disk so I could borrow his.

 

And then there's Final Fantasy XII. Personally, I loved the new approach to the battle system, giving you the ability to move around freely within the fight, and either attempt to avoid or seek out encounters. It was an excellent innovation for the series, as was the ability to unlock dozens of abilities for each character, and equip them to use any weapons you wanted.

 

It did, sadly, persist with this idea that the hero of the game should be some scrawny, annoying teenage boy, but it also had some of the series best characters too. Balthier and Fran were like Han Solo and Chewbacca (but sexy Chewbacca), all suave charm and charisma. Ashe was sympathetic as the princess trying to win her kingdom back, and even Basche was good as the gruff old soldier. But what made it better was that they all had character arcs and backgrounds of their own, that weighted the characters equally. The game played out more like a movie, or TV series, than anything before or since.

 

It also had the best ending, with a really great action finale and then coda, which did justice to the characters and again, played out in a great, cinematic fashion. I'd recommend the game to anyone who likes videogames for the stories they can tell.

[jellysalmon]

It's weird because I really enjoyed FFXII and remember liking the ending when I played it but I cannot for the life of me remember anything that happens in it besides crazy airship battles and taking down the big bad. FFX's ending however I remember super clearly. I wasn't really all that invested in the main characters but the ending moved me 2 1/2 times! 

 

Self-promoting addendum: My friends and I made a blog at http://finalfashionista.com where we've been (somewhat) facetiously critiquing video game fashion, and have done FFI-FFVI. We're still ramping up for the modern era. More details means more to assess. 

[PrincessEnnui]

I am the biggest fan of Final Fantasy. It is the reason I own a 3DS and a PSP. I got those specifically for Theatrhythm and Crisis Core respectively, though I love Square in general. :)

 

Enjoy your playthrough of X. I think of all the FFs I've played, X is the most well rounded in regard to characterization, story, gameplay, and music. My personal favorite is XIII-2. I know XIII is divisive as a whole and XIII-2 even more so, but there's something beautiful and epic about it. 

[jellysalmon]

I'm waiting for my copy of Theatrhythm: Curtain Call to arrive any day now!

 

I agree that X is really well rounded and possibly has my favorite town music in Besaid Island. I've been meaning to pick up the HD remix since I haven't played it since it came out on PS2.

 

XIII isn't my favorite but the internet hyperbole of how bad it is is out of control! It has (for me) top 3 music, top 3 battle battle system, top 3 character design. And really those are some of the most important things for me in FF. The lack of direction/motivation is really what kept me from loving it. I definitely didn't mind the linearity (X is linear too!) or the character personalities as much as everyone else. 

[PrincessEnnui]

It's funny you say that XIII lacks direction because I felt herded through most of it. Its not a bad thing either. In XII, there was more latitude in exploring, but because of the randomized drops/loot system and numerous sidequests, it was easy to lose the narrative. It's kind of funny to note the pendulum swings in exploration between linear and freedom in X, XII, and XIII. XIII-2 and Lightning Returns is the opposite, there's more choice and more freedom in regard to exploring.

 

I had no idea that Curtain Call was out. I badly want it, but I am in no way done with the first one. I think I only unlocked like two secret characters. The dark notes are much too fast for me.

[jellysalmon]

It's funny you say that XIII lacks direction because I felt herded through most of it. Its not a bad thing either. 

Ah I should have been more specific. I meant that the characters lack direction. It's not really their fault as they're given little to no information to go on, so when they decide their next move it's usually

"Crap. We're still Cieth, and don't know how to fix it. Let's try going over there? Oh. Nothing. We're still Cieth and we still don't know how to fix it" Their actions at the end of the game continue this trend as they don't really have a plan other than kill boss, hope everything works out. It does, but only because of random asspullery.

[immortalfrieza]

The Final Fantasy games I have no problems with: 1-7, 9, 10, 13.

 

Everything else? 8 would have been just fine without that incredibly annoying and tedious magic system, 11 and 14 are MMOs and thus I have no real interest in. 10-2 I find decent, but really it's missing the charm that 10 had, it didn't really make up for it with nostalgia bait either. I find 10-2 to have nothing really remarkable about it in any way more than anything else.

 

Aside, I haven't played 13-2 or Lightning Returns yet, just haven't found time to go play them with the rather large backlog of games I have that I have yet to beat.

 

Final Fantasy 12 is the only one of the series I have a real problem with because of it's incredibly boring combat system. The combat is like a cross between real time and turn based, but it's very slow and ponderous, lacks any real tactical flair most of the time, and is nowhere near as flashy and exciting as the other Final Fantasy games. See Xenoblade Chronicles for an example of a game that has a similar combat system but does it correctly. The Gambit system is the worst part though, which requires the player to either selecting their actions manually constantly or constantly alter the gambits to fit the next enemy on any that's more difficult than the trash mobs or else the A.I. is usually dumb as bricks and will get their asses kicked. The Tales series has something similar but the A.I. is competent in the vast majority of situations without having to babysit them constantly even without using their version of A.I. control.

 

This would make it the only Final Fantasy game I've played that I have yet to finish specifically because the combat system bores the hell out of me and lacked an engaging enough story to make up for it.

 

P.S. No love for Bravely Default in this thread?

Edited October 13, 2014 by immortalfrieza

[PrincessEnnui]

I appreciate the way you feel about XII, but I rather enjoy it. I love everything about, the locales, the monsters, the story... There are tactics aplenty in the game though, and every spell, every technik, and every weapon has a use. People have done some interesting things with the vanish spell in XII. XD

 

Gambits are troublesome because they are very limited until midgame and even then, setting up mage gambits is difficult. :C

[JayKay]

The Gambits appealed to the insane OCD anal retentive side of me. Perfect for level grinding or loot farming. And once you get the hang of them, your ridiculously lazy side can watch the game play itself half the time.

I used to set up my gambits really mean for fun. Like, say, have a character auto-deal out progressively more tortuous status effects until killing the enemy is a mercy. I cannot tell you how satisfying it was to torture those giant stomping biped birds in the desert.

The story does get lost in the adventuring, but there's so much to do that I don't mind. Very unusual because I mostly think of Final Fantasy as character and plot driven games. XII was an anomaly.

And unrelated but the stories behind the summons are some of the darkest and creepiest things in FF history, imo.

[jellysalmon]

There is something immensely satisfying in the late game of FFXII where you have all your gambits set up just right for that area and just walk through it destroying everything without having to enter commands.

[joelene]

I haven't played any FF's after IX but I am a huge fan of the series up to that point (except 1-3 which I haven't played, unfortunately. Next iPhone purchase) I would say that IX is my favorite because it's so magical, funny and heartwarming without being cheesy. I LOVED what they did with the scenes when the characters scattered when you reached a new destination. The details where just incredible. And chocobo hot & cold was a lot of fun. The rest are difficult to rank, but I think it would go something like VI, VII, VIII, V, IV. IV & V I actually only played recently for the first time on my iPhone and I loved them, the job system in V was great, but the nostalgia I have for VIII beat them.

VIII has a lot of problems (Squall is fucking terrible and his romance with Rinoa makes little sense and that's just scratching the surface) but it's still a fun game to play and has a sweet world to explore. And I can spend hours playing that card game.

Edited November 1, 2014 by joelene

[PrincessEnnui]

Final Fantasy VIII was my first JRPG and first FF, as such, it's near and dear to my heart. Honestly, pretty much everything about it grates my nerves.

I really hated how every player character was ignored by the story for Squall and Rinoa. I wanted to know who adopted Quistis and what GF Selphie junctioned back in the day. I think Quistis especially got shafted. I want to know more about Ultimecia as well.

 

I think it is almost criminal the way the story is handled and IMHO I can barely call it a game. That said, I still think one of the most impressive character scenes is after the SEED ball, where Quistis and Squall go to the secret area in the training area. The music and discussion are perfectly capture Squall and Quistis as characters. The aftermath of Galbadia's bombing on Trabia is well done too.

 

I often find myself surprised by how much I adore Squall's later appearances in Kingdom Hearts, Dissidia, and Theatrhythm. Seriously, Squall is beastly in both his Dissidia appearences, especially (ironically enough) with 012's assist system. 

 

Speaking of things I've grown to hate, I really hated how Square insisted on putting minigames in the middle of major events in VII-X. I glad they stopped because they completely ruined the flow of the games. If they could just stop doing it with KH now.

Edited November 1, 2014 by PrincessEnnui

[joelene]

I agree all around, PrincessEnnui. I think it's a game that is being dismissed far too easily but it's also understandable why that is. As you said, the characters really got the shaft. Laguna got heaps of story and he's barely a playable character. Ultimecia is barely a character. Her castle is a pretty great dungeon, though. I think it's my favorite final dungeon.

The characters are what I love about IX. They're three dimensional. They all have a story. They're special. Amarant mostly got the shaft but even him is more unique than any of the playable characters in VIII save Squall, Rinoa and maybe Zell.

Oh, and what mini games are you thinking off? The card tournament in IX is a pain, I agree, but drawing a blank on the ones integrated to the story in VII and VIII?

Edited November 1, 2014 by joelene

[PrincessEnnui]

I agree all around, PrincessEnnui. I think it's a game that is being dismissed far too easily but it's also understandable why that is. As you said, the characters really got the shaft. Laguna got heaps of story and he's barely a playable character. Ultimecia is barely a character. Her castle is a pretty great dungeon, though. I think it's my favorite final dungeon.

The characters are what I love about IX. They're three dimensional. They all have a story. They're special. Amarant mostly got the shaft but even him is more unique than any of the playable characters in VIII save Squall, Rinoa and maybe Zell.

Oh, and what mini games are you thinking off? The card tournament in IX is a pain, I agree, but drawing a blank on the ones integrated to the story in VII and VIII?

Ugh, there are so many.

 

From VII: chocobo racing (disc 1), the keystone battle square challenge (disc 1), snowboarding (disc 2)

From VIII: Squall vs. the Galbadian soldier flying all over Balamb Garden dukin' it out (disc 2), Laguna's sorceress knight battle with a ruby dragon (disc 3)

From IX: Cid's red light/green light with a monster (disc 3)

From X: Blitzball tournament in Luca

 

Writing this post reminded me that X-2 and a fair amount of XIII-2 is nothing. but. mini games. I am all for something different every now and then, but sometimes (read 99% of the time) I just want to get from point A to B. :)

 

Some of my spoiler markings didn't work in my prior post, apologies all.

[joelene]

Oh, right, there are quite a few! The ones in 7 doesn't bother me so much. The first two are so quick and since the Gold Saucer is so integral to the story they kind of make sense. The snowboarding not so much. And Laguna's battle I think is cute. It adds to the goofiness for me. The other one in VIII I agree is horrible and the one in IX really is a low point to the point I want to throw my control at the TV.

[Izzyboy]

A thread related to my favorite gaming series of all time? Yes please.

 

Ok, I'm pretty long in the tooth when it comes to playing FF games.  Meaning my first FF experience was the original Final Fantasy on the NES.  That game definitely qualifies for the category of "Nintendo Hard".  I still have nightmares of seeing those damn squid face Sorcerers and seeing my entire party Mind Flare'd into oblivion.  Obviously I loved every second tho! :)

 

The only ones I haven't played from the main series are 2 and 3.  I've also missed out on some of the recent Nintendo and/or handheld only offerings since I only have Playstation consoles (I know I'm missing out on some great games).  My all time favorite (for emotional/nostalgic reasons) is still FFIV (FFII on the SNES), barely edging out FFVI and FFIX.  While FFI was the first one I played, it was FFIV that really made me love the FF series. That being said I think FFVI may be the best of the series.

 

The only one I can honestly say I didn't care for was FFVIII.  While I know it has a loyal and dedicated fanbase of its own, I just didn't care for the junction system and Squall annoyed me to no end.  I didn't love FFX-2 either, but maybe that's just the shadow of FFX looming over it as I thought that game was great.

 

Unfortunately I do think the series has waned in recent years. While I have played and beaten all of the FFXIII related titles...they haven't been "stop everything I'm doing and play this all my waking hours" affairs that FF games used to be.  I enjoyed them for that they are, but they just didn't have those moments that really resonated with me like some of the past titles (Opera scene, You Are Not Alone, That One Scene with Aerith).  I admit that i may firmly be falling into the "everything was better when I was younger" trope though.

 

 

Writing this post reminded me that X-2 and a fair amount of XIII-2 is nothing. but. mini games. I am all for something different every now and then, but sometimes (read 99% of the time) I just want to get from point A to B. :)

 

 

 

Completely agree that the reliance on mini-games has become an annoyance. Its come and gone (XIII-2 had a ton of them, but I don't remember there being a lot in Lightning Returns). 

 

I've seen that they will be releasing FF Type-0 on the PS4 next spring and I'm sure I'll get it.  It does seem more "actiony" than I care my FFs to be...but hopefully its still fun.  Same goes for what I've seen of FFXV so far.  I'm a little disappointed with the initial character focus being on what seems to be around 4 interchangeable white males in the late teens to early twenties.  One thing I did appreciate about the XIII series was that it had strong female protagonists, it had an african american character that got some of the spotlight (being AA myself I really appreciated that), and basically it had some diversity in the cast.  I know its early and I'm sure the entire cast for FFXV isn't set so hopefully we see a more diverse cast of characters shown later.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Izzyboy

[PrincessEnnui]

I'm a little disappointed with the initial character focus being on what seems to be around 4 interchangeable white males in the late teens to early twenties.  One thing I did appreciate about the XIII series was that it had strong female protagonists, it had an african american character that got some of the spotlight (being AA myself I really appreciated that), and basically it had some diversity in the cast.  I know its early and I'm sure the entire cast for FFXV isn't set so hopefully we see a more diverse cast of characters shown later.

 

One of the reasons I enjoyed Final Fantasy X was that is was pretty darn diverse, there were many fantasy races and the humans came in many colors. I think I read somewhere that the setting was based on a mix of Okinawa and the Philippines. I only hope that one day FF will have more dark skin ladies like Rafa from Tactics (sp?) and Donna from X. ...And the women wear sensible clothes. (What the hell is Donna wearing anyway? Assless chaps with a black thong and lace leggings with a matching bra and and red bow.)

 

I think Square does action-RPGs well though. I think so long as Square channels either Crisis Core or Dissidia in XV, they'll be fine.

 

I hope in Type 0 does well, that will encourage them to port Crisis Core and Before Crisis to consoles.

Edited November 13, 2014 by PrincessEnnui

[JayKay]

I've seen videos of Type 0 on YouTube and it looks intense. A part of me is excited because it reminds me of VIII but it also seems kinda bleak and depressing. It's definitely going to be a change of pace.

[Izzyboy]

I hope in Type 0 does well, that will encourage them to port Crisis Core and Before Crisis to consoles.

 

 

Totally agree...since I'm console only those are some games I've missed out on.  I'd love for Square to do some sort of packaged FFVII compilation set for the PS4 with FFVII, Crisis Core, and Before Crisis.  Just be sure to give us trophies for them! :)

[joelene]

I started FF8 again (mostly to break the game by playing cards loads), and I know this is terribly immature of me but when the "Name Character" screen came up I couldn't help myself and named Squall "Asshole". And I gotta say, an hour into the game and it's already so much more fun with the characters calling him out for what he really is.

"Hey, Asshole!"

"Asshole! Over here!"

"See ya later, Asshole!"

[PrincessEnnui]

I did the same to Rinoa! It was funny too... until I realized that was supposed to be my perfect save file. XD

[joelene]

Yeah I'm wondering what I'm gonna name her if I ever leave Balamb. Idiot, maybe? Suggestions?

[PrincessEnnui]

I named her Squall once, not nearly as enjoyable since only Squall and the GFs can be renamed. Damsel, Peach, and Scrappy come to mind for cleanliness. Or, you could opt to name her something like Ri- No! That way it sounds like the characters are constantly being interrupted to attend to her...

[joelene]

Yeah, she's too harmless/bland to be called anything too damning. It's a shame there aren't enough characters for Horrible Taste In Men.

Edited November 24, 2014 by joelene

[SVNBob]

The only ones I haven't played from the main series are 2 and 3.  I've also missed out on some of the recent Nintendo and/or handheld only offerings since I only have Playstation consoles

If you've got a PS 1 or 2, Square did release FF2 alongside FF1 as a remastered Playstation Final Fantasy Origins edition.  FF4 got a similar release packaged with Chrono Trigger as Final Fantasy Chronicles, and FF5 and FF6 were released as Final Fantasy Anthology.  It looks like they're all available from Amazon.  Unfortunately, FF3 was not included in any of these releases.

[TheGreenKnight]

Final Fantasy is one of my top game series. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be IX. I judge things mostly by the characters more than anything, and I love all the characters in this game except Amarant (although Eiko took me a while to warm up to). I love the look of the game, the story, the humor (Quina is one of the funniest characters I've seen, just hilarious) and especially the music. I'd say Kuja is probably my favorite villain of the series. Final Fantasy X was the first game I played in the series, and I think it's great, too. Lulu is my favorite, and I liked the take on religion in that game. Plus, the music is phenomenal.

 

I think I would've liked FFVIII more than I do if the battle system wasn't so tedious and time-wasting. I hated Rinoa though, and still do. So annoying. Anyway, I feel the same way about XII's system--I LOVE Balthier, and Vaan, Basch, Larsa, and Fran are great, too, but the game just is too big for my perfectionist tendencies. It takes forever to make money or to level up, and the environments are so huge I had a hard time knowing where to go and when to stop (because I wanted to know where everything was, usually). If I hadn't liked Balthier from the get-go, I'm not sure I could've pushed myself through that game. Plus, the villain/storyline is a bit on the weak side. XIII is tedious, too, imo; every battle, even with normal enemies, seemed to take 10 minutes or more. Plus, the story and characters were not appealing to me. Still haven't finished that one, and not sure I will.

 

I've been trying to play some of the older games, but I guess I've been spoiled because I find them harder to get through. I admit, I don't enjoy grinding, and they seem to require it more than the later games. FFIX and X are pretty easy games, actually. Which is fine with me because the story and characters are what I play for.

Edited November 30, 2014 by TheGreenKnight

[Elsydeon]

I must be one of the only people who hated Zell in VIII. My first impression of him was that he was a total poser, and nothing that happened after changed my opinion of him in any way. You know that Offspring song "Pretty Fly for a White Guy"? That's Zell.​​

[joelene]

Oh, Zell is annoying as hell. They all are in that game! Irvine is just a horndog, Quistis has no personality at all and I don't even know what the hell Selphie is doing in SeeD. But they were too undeveloped to muster up such strong feelings as hate in me (except Squall, Rinoa and Seifer). Every single one of them had the same backstory. And it was hardly even a "story".

Edited December 1, 2014 by joelene

[Izzyboy]

If you've got a PS 1 or 2, Square did release FF2 alongside FF1 as a remastered Playstation Final Fantasy Origins edition.  FF4 got a similar release packaged with Chrono Trigger as Final Fantasy Chronicles, and FF5 and FF6 were released as Final Fantasy Anthology.  It looks like they're all available from Amazon.  Unfortunately, FF3 was not included in any of these releases.

 

 

Yeah, I actually have both Origins and Anthology.  I've never taken the time to sit down and play through FF2 though.  I need to at some point just for completion's sake.

[JayKay]

I'm replaying IX off-and-on, and I think it might trump VIII as my favorite FF after all. IX was the first FF I beat by myself but VIII was the first I ever played. But IX's music, quirkiness and well fleshed out characters are irresistible. I remember being put off by the sprites when it was released but now I find it completely charming. They're not smaller, they're just more concentrated awesome.

It makes me want to beat VI though because it seems to draw a lot from that game, and the characters are fun. I got stuck looking for beef jerky years ago and gave up on it. Now that game deserves a remake. The story and villain were very good.

[joelene]

You should try and finish it! It's truly wonderful. I don't remember a quest for beef jerky. Was it late in the game? If you're stuck somewhere you can always look up how to proceed with a walkthrough.

[JayKay]

You should try and finish it! It's truly wonderful. I don't remember a quest for beef jerky. Was it late in the game? If you're stuck somewhere you can always look up how to proceed with a walkthrough.

I think it was right around the time I was supposed to find the feral kid. Something about using beef jerky. It's been so long. You're right, the availability of walkthroughs these days changes everything. I'll have to give it another go.

[joelene]

Ah, yes! The meat.

You just buy it at the shops.

[JayKay]

Ah, yes! The meat.

You just buy it at the shops.

I am going to kill something. LOL thank you!

[Izzyboy]

FFVI is such an amazing game.  I don't think there's any chance Square will remake it though, best we could hope for is the same treatment they're giving FFVII which is releasing it on the PS4 with trophy support.  I guess that's better than nothing.  Hope you have a good time going back FFVI though! 

[Dandesun]

So Steam has a bunch of the games online and they had a sale over the weekend so I bought 7, 8, 13 and 13-2. I played through most of 7 & 8... 7 I stopped because I loved it so much I didn't want it to end. 8... the real world got in the way and I could not remember what the hell was going on when I went back to it. I've got 9, 10, 10-2 and 12 for my various consoles but I haven't hooked any of them up since the move. Right now, I'm playing 13 and while I'm only in chapter 3, it does strike me as very linear so far. But, at the moment, I'm fine with that. Sometimes, I can use a game that's linear.

 

For some reason, Snow is really pushing my lady buttons. It's kind of embarrassing.

[Izzyboy]

13 is definitely pretty linear up until late and then it opens up.  Its probably the most linear of the FF games.  I didn't mind it though, its still a good game.

[Izzyboy]

Anyone out there playing Final Fantasy Type-0? I am and I'm actually pleasantly surprised. Its still not what I really want out of Final Fantasy (a true eastern JRPG), but i'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. I like the setting and the background of nations at war.

[SVNBob]

And there's also a new phone/tablet game for both iOS and Android: Final Fantasy: Record Keeper.  And while the gameplay is a stripped down version of the FF Active Time Battle system, the story is the interesting part.  Here's the prologue.
 

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom. Its glory was measured was measured in magic and art, and above all else, stories. The record keepers preserved these stories, that their example might inspire peace and prosperity. They used powerful magic to bind their records, not in dusty tomes, but in paintings of great beauty. The Royal Archives. Here, the paintings are sorted by the stories their records tell, and kept under constant guard. And so the ages passed in peace. A peace maintained by the watchful keepers and their records. Until, one day, the records within the paintings began to disappear... As the color of memories past faded, a darkness fell upon the world, bring catastrophe and ruin.

Thus you, as the hero, are tasked with restoring the records.  By entering the paintings and reliving the stories within.  And the paintings are scenes from the FF series games.  For example, the first level of the game is the opening battle of FF7.

 

In addition to your starting hero. you gain allies throughout the game.  Some are the base classes, like the White and Black Mages.  Others are the named characters, like Tidus and Cloud.  Characters from a specific "realm" gain boosts when inside their own realm.

 

The equipment is also from throughout FF history, and also gains a boost when used in an item's home realm.  So any character can carry the Buster Sword (if you can get it; it is a rare item to find), but using it in an FF7 level is better.  Cloud using it there, even moreso.

 

It is one of the usual "free-to-play, but you can buy extra currency if you want" type games.  But it's a cool idea that draws on all of FF history.  I've only played a little, but it is pretty sweet.  Definitely worth at least a look.

[PrincessEnnui]

That sounds cool, but SE has a bad history with free to play games on iOS or whatever. I'll keep my Theatrhythm.

[joelene]

So I just read that FFXIV is one of those online multiplayer or whatever games. Sigh. I've never played one and I was looking forward to a normal FF but it looks like I'm gonna get my hands on XIV, so, what is it all about? Is there a proper story, beginning and end? Or do you play against other real players, or what? Maybe I'll just buy FFX off the shop first thing. Doesn't look like XII is available on PS3.

Edited April 28, 2015 by joelene

[PrincessEnnui]

Here's a good list of FF titles from Square Enix on PSN and what platform they're available on. FFXII isn't on PSN, but I think it will show up on PSN eventually. The reason being fans are starting to push for it PSN and officials have talked about ensuring the FF series is available for newer fans.

Edited April 28, 2015 by PrincessEnnui

[joelene]

X is a bit pricey now. Hopefully there'll be a sale soon and that FFXIV is a fun one. You can get 13 pretty cheap used I've seen, but the linear story sounds a bit... Meh. But surely there are some other FF-esque games out there too to discover.

Edited April 28, 2015 by joelene

[Izzyboy]

SquareEnix is going to have their own press conference at E3 this year and there's speculation that they may announce one (or more) of the older games coming to PSN (FFXII being the most rumored one).

 

And of course they've already announced a port of FFVII coming over to PS4. Wish it was a full HD remake (at least fix it so its 16:9) but oh well.

[PrincessEnnui]

Didn't SE say they wouldn't remake VII unless the full original team came back and did it? Knowing SE they'll probably want to add CC/BC/AC/DoC into the mix too. You know better weld the mythos together. *sigh* I miss my copy of Crisis Core. I miss DMW, such a great mechanic.