Evolution of the FINAL FANTASY series

[Sora96 17,256]

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

From crap to gold in only 20+ years

[Sora96 17,256]

From crap to gold in only 20+ years

 

Crap? Every FINAL FANTASY game had amazing graphics for it's time.

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Crap? Every FINAL FANTASY game had amazing graphics for it's time.

Not the first one. Pure stereo-typed 80's graphics. 

[Sora96 17,256]

Not the first one. Pure stereo-typed 80's graphics. 

 

WHEN DID YOU THINK IT WAS RELEASED?.....

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

WHEN DID YOU THINK IT WAS RELEASED?.....

80's according to a google search. 

Did I say the American version, cause no, I didn't. 

It was released in the 80's in Japan. 

[Sora96 17,256]

80's according to a google search. 

Did I say the American version, cause no, I didn't. 

It was released in the 80's in Japan. 

 

1987. It looked great in 1987.

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

1987. It looked great in 1987.

your opinion not mine.

Agree to disagree. 

[Sora96 17,256]

your opinion not mine.

Agree to disagree. 

 

Nope, not mine. I don't comment on graphics from the '80s. it was praised for it's graphics.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_(video_game)

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Nope, not mine. I don't comment on graphics from the '80s. it was praised for it's graphics.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_(video_game)

I'm not going to argue with you on a trival opinion. 

Edited April 29, 2014 by Shana09

[Jiraiya's Disciple 631]

I don't think the graphic's are bad for a game made in the 80's...

[Sora'sMum 352]

I'm not going to argue with you on a trival opinion. 

Stop commenting. 

Just for clarification, are you saying that other games released around the same time as the first Final Fantasy game had better graphics than it did, or simply that it's graphics aren't good as compared to today's standards?

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Just for clarification, are you saying that other games released around the same time as the first Final Fantasy game had better graphics than it did, or simply that it's graphics aren't good as compared to today's standards?

FF 1 was ok. 

nothing spectacular for its time, and not any better than other 8 bit games released then. 

[Sora'sMum 352]

FF 1 was ok. 

nothing spectacular for its time, and not any better than other 8 bit games released then. 

Okay, sweet. I wouldn't know, I haven't played any 8-bit games, except for Dr. Mario. 

[Amber Cole 1,557]

The last 8bit game I played was zombies ate my neighbors.

[ReikuSSR 1,071]

Not the first one. Pure stereo-typed 80's graphics. 

Is there something wrong with the 80's kiddo? Some of the best awesomeness came from the 80's, kids these days do not know what true entertainement is, back then shit was real and shit was felt, that is when souls radiated more than today.

The last 8bit game I played was zombies ate my neighbors.

The last 8-bit games I played and will forever play are Mega Man and Mario.

 

*typo

Edited April 28, 2014 by ReikuSSR

[Dio Brando 5,810]

Not the first one. Pure stereo-typed 80's graphics. 

Megaman 2 was an 80's 8-bit graphics and that game is still one of the best platformers ever made

 

Graphics doesn't equal gameplay

 

in fact back then FF1 was the game that started the series we loved and it was so popular back when it was released in Japan and North America

 

Sure it didn't age well but that doesn't mean we should discredit the game's contribution....if FF1 didn't succeed there would've never been Square or KH or anything cuz Sakaguchi put the future of his career and the whole company on FF1 back when Square was near bankruptcy in the 80's

[Kaweebo 3,617]

My interpretation of how this series has evolved.

 

FF1 - Revolutionary for it's time.

 

FF2 - Decidedly NOT revolutionary for it's time, but not a bad game.

 

FF3 - Pretty darn good.

 

FF4 - Still pretty darn good.

 

FF5 - Darn good.

 

FF6 - Amazing darn goodly good good.

 

FF7 - Revolutionary for modern JRPGs and 3D games in general.

 

FF8 - Eh...it's okay?

 

FF9 - Classically pretty darn good.

 

FFX - Gorgeously, beautifully stupid.

 

FFX-2 - Interesting.

 

FFXI doesn't exist.

 

FFXII - Uh...

 

FFXIII - Beautiful, yet really really dumb. Worst of the series, in my opinion.

 

FFXIII-2 - Better than the last one.

 

FFXIV also doesn't exist.

 

Lightning Returns - Haven't played, but I'd imagine it's on the same level.

 

Edited April 28, 2014 by Kaweebo

[Dio Brando 5,810]

More like de-evolution

 

For me the evolution stopped at FF10,after 10 the series began to focus more on beautiful graphics and CG but completely lacks in story and gameplay

 

4,6,7 and 9 for me were the pinnacle of absolutely great story-telling and fun gameplay....it couldn't get any better than those in my opinion

 

but unfortunately starting with FF8 the series began to experience the noticable decline in story-telling and gameplay...hours of  boring Triple-Triad and magic drawing coupled with horrible characters like Squall,Rinoa,Zell,an awful villain like Ultimecia and a dumb story telling couldn't make the game fun for me no matter how many times I gave 8 a chance

 

Sure 9&10 were awesome and brought the series back again after the horrendous experience that is FF8....then X-2 came out and shat all over 10's story....11 barely exist 12 was eh,XIII is a hotel hallway,XIII-2 thankfully was a great game........then comes Lightning Returns.....the lowest point the FF franchise can possibly fall into.

[Sora96 17,256]

More like de-evolution

 

For me the evolution stopped at FF10,after 10 the series began to focus more on beautiful graphics and CG but completely lacks in story and gameplay

 

4,6,7 and 9 for me were the pinnacle of absolutely great story-telling and fun gameplay....it couldn't get any better than those in my opinion

 

but unfortunately starting with FF8 the series began to experience the noticable decline in story-telling and gameplay...hours of  boring Triple-Triad and magic drawing coupled with horrible characters like Squall,Rinoa,Zell,an awful villain like Ultimecia and a dumb story telling couldn't make the game fun for me no matter how many times I gave 8 a chance

 

Sure 9&10 were awesome and brought the series back again after the horrendous experience that is FF8....then X-2 came out and shat all over 10's story....11 barely exist 12 was eh,XIII is a hotel hallway,XIII-2 thankfully was a great game........then comes Lightning Returns.....the lowest point the FF franchise can possibly fall into.

 

X-2 didn't focus on graphics or CG, it only has like 11 FMVs compared to X's 52. And as for just graphics, Square Enix didn't improve them that much over X. And as for X-2, it's loaded in terms of gameplay. ATB, Last Mission, mini-games galore, far from linear. And a ton of replay value. I enjoyed X-2's story, it wasn't as good as X's but I liked it. If you don't like it's story that's okay, but they hardly focused on graphics, CG and lacked gameplay.

 

My interpretation of how this series has evolved

 

FFXI doesn't exist.

 

How doesn't XI exist? I know MMOs aren't everyone's cup of tea, but and there's an obvious reason why but it has been the most profitable game in the series thus far. And has been a very popular MMO and also the final PS2 game in Japan.

[Kaweebo 3,617]

How doesn't XI exist? I know MMOs aren't everyone's cup of tea, but and there's an obvious reason why but it has been the most profitable game in the series thus far. And has been a very popular MMO and also the final PS2 game in Japan.

That's very true and from a business standpoint it's a very good idea. I'm just personally not comfortable with a world like FFXI's where it has a story that will never end, because it really doesn't have one. It's just a world for a community of players to fool around in and that's not really my cup of tea. Final Fantasy, up to that point, has been about characters and story. XI and XIV don't do that for me. It's more inserting yourself into a world where your decisions don't matter because they're just quests that everyone does.

 

If you like that sort of thing, more power to you. But in my personal opinion, XI and XIV should not qualify for numbered titles. Now, if they were just called 'Final Fantasy: Insert Subtitle Here', I'd have no problem. As is, they're mostly just games that people who are playing through the series generally skip and just feel useless as part of the MAIN series.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Kaweebo

[Sora96 17,256]

That's very true and from a business standpoint it's a very good idea. I'm just personally not comfortable with a world like FFXI's where it has a story that will never end, because it really doesn't have one. It's just a world for a community of players to fool around in and that's not really my cup of tea. Final Fantasy, up to that point, has been about characters and story. XI and XIV don't do that for me. It's more inserting yourself into a world where your decisions don't matter because they're just quests that everyone does.

 

If you like that sort of thing, more power to you. But in my personal opinion, XI and XIV should not qualify for numbered titles. Now, if they were just called 'Final Fantasy: Insert Subtitle Here', I'd have no problem. As is, they're mostly just games that people who are playing through the series generally skip and just feel useless as part of the MAIN series.

 

Well actually I think XI's main stories have finished since it's highly unlikely they'll release another expansion pack. But I respect your opinion.

[Shulk 8,623]

Not the first one. Pure stereo-typed 80's graphics. 

FF1 was released in the 80's under an EXTREMELY tight budget. Not to mention that back then, you really couldn't make graphics much better than that. You have to cut them some slack, gaming back then wasn't running off of the best technology. That's why they'd focus on the other elements such as gameplay, and why some people prefer old games to ones that focus way too much on looking pretty, and way too little on making a good story with fun gameplay.

Also, if you're judging it off of its graphics, why are you playing 8-bit games in the first place?

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

FF1 was released in the 80's under an EXTREMELY tight budget. Not to mention that back then, you really couldn't make graphics much better than that. You have to cut them some slack, gaming back then wasn't running off of the best technology. That's why they'd focus on the other elements such as gameplay, and why some people prefer old games to ones that focus way too much on looking pretty, and way too little on making a good story with fun gameplay.

Also, if you're judging it off of its graphics, why are you playing 8-bit games in the first place?

Why are YOU twisting my words? 

I didn't say I didn't LIKE the first three or so FF's, I said the graphics were nothing advanced for their time. 

[Dio Brando 5,810]

Why are YOU twisting my words? 

I didn't say I didn't LIKE the first three or so FF's, I said the graphics were nothing advanced for their time. 

IT'S FREAKIN NES WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING IN THE 80'S?CGI?

 

Sure there were better looking games on the NES like Megaman and some others.....but FF1 back when was considered innovative and different in terms of gameplay and story for an 8-bit game and it was Dragon Quest's greatest rival in the industry back then

 

It was the first game so I don't think you can expect a giant leap in the beginning of a series....later games have improved and added on the formula that FF1 established