Final Fantasy Playing the Whole Series

[StanJr]

Is it possible to play the whole Final Fantasy series from 1-whatever they are at now?

 

I know FF1 was the only US release on the NES and that FF4 and FF6 were translated to FF2 and FF3 for the SNES and then we got the rest domestically, but is there a way to play FF2, FF3, and FF5 on emulation translated to English? I have played all of the domestic releases up to X, but would like to go back and fill in the gaps.

 

Yes?

 

[twoquickcapri]

US release:

FF1 - NES, PS1, GBA, PSP

FF2 - PS1, GBA, PSP

FF3 - DS, PC, Ouya

FF4 - SNES, PS1, GBA, DS, PC

FF5 - PS1, GBA

FF6 - SNES, PS1, GBA

FF7 - PS1,PSN, PC

FF8 - PS1,PSN, PC

FF9 - PS1,PSN

FF10 - PS2,PS3

FF10/2 - PS2,PS3

FF11 - PS2,PC,360

FF12 - PS2

FF13 - PS3,360

FF14 - PC

Edited April 24, 2015 by twoquickcapri

[+thegoldenband]

Fan translations, or only official? As noted in twoquickcapri's list, FF3 is the big outlier if you want official translations only. Otherwise you can get FF2-3 and FF5 via ROMHacking.net patches.

 

BTW does this mean more video gaming posts on Electric Frankfurter? I was literally just looking at the 30 Hardest NES Games list earlier today.

[KeeperofLindblum]

You can play through all of the main numbered series. (Skipped the online titles)
They are all out in one way or another.

I know because I did it over a period of two years. (Slowly obviously)
*points to the blog link he has below*

Edited April 24, 2015 by KeeperofLindblum

[7800fan]

Doesn't one of the FF title require an official PS2 hard drive?

 

Good luck playing the entire series though, that takes a lot of time without cheat devices.

[R.Bear]

I would not count FF11 and FF14 as part of the main series since they are MMORPG games which can't really be completed unless you would like to try and complete every quest in the game, but even then they will keep adding patches to add more content. You would also need to play FF11 on a PC if you tried. I doubt the PS2 version works anymore and the PS2 version requires the hard drive. Both also require that you pay a monthly subscription.

 

For the ones that were never released in the US, I would just play the fan translated versions of the original games.

Edited April 24, 2015 by R.Bear

[Tempest]

The easiest way to play through them all is on the PS2. I believe all the titles up through 12 are available on the PS2 or on a PSX disc which the PS2 will play (some PSX remakes are in the store). FF3 was the last one that wasn't available on the Playstation but they finally released it last year (might be PSP only though). 13 parts 1,2,and 3 are all on the PS3 so if you had a PS3 fat you could actually play through all of them other than 3.

 

11 and 14 are online ones which you should skip. Although if the 11 servers are still up the PS2 should work. I played 11 on my PS2 up until a few years ago.

[StanJr]

All good information! Thank you. A lot to chew on there. The main thing is knowing that it IS possible. I was not aware that FFV was available on the PSX. I guess it is time to start hunting.

 

And, goldenband, thank you for the nod and the read! I am hoping to get more video game content up soon. I'm currently on a comic book kick as I read through my entire collection and purge out the stuff I no longer want. That's a project that is already a year in the making and I am up to "M" in the Marvel wing of the collection! Sheesh.

 

I will try to get some more video game stuff up soon. It helps to know someone is out there looking at the site! Thanks

 

[Gabriel]

I was not aware that FFV was available on the PSX. I guess it is time to start hunting.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-Anthology-VI-Playstation/dp/B00002R28C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429895250&sr=8-1&keywords=final+fantasy+anthology

 

There ya go. Hunt over.

[82-T/A]

I only ever played Final Fantasy 1 on the NES, and then Final Fantasy Legend on the Game Boy.

 

I loved FF1 on the NES... but... while good, something about the Dragon Warrior games I really liked more.

 

But I really remembered Final Fantasy Legend. I played that game forever... loved that game. The music was good, the world was very detailed... extremely impressive for a game boy game.

[Algus]

Several of the earlier titles, including FF3 (the Japanese one) are available on iOS/Android and Steam. Square-Enix's pricing for these games is pretty outlandish though.

 

I used to be a pretty big FF fan. My username is a character from an FF game and prior to 11 I had played them all, including the spinoffs. In those days you had to get the fan patches for the older ones that were Japan only.

 

Series lost me after 11. I was not a big fan of 12 or 13 and have not played many of the spinoffs/etc that have come out since then. Some of the games are really memorable and some of them are fairly tedious. PC is a good place to be for playing them right now though as you can easily emulate the first nine and several of them are also legally available on Steam.

 

I think FF will always have a special place in my heart but at 30 (har har I know Im a youngin here!) the series just doesn't have the same appeal to me as it did when I was 10.

 

FF6 is still one of the most beautiful games I have ever played though.

[Tempest]

Series lost me after 11. I was not a big fan of 12 or 13 and have not played many of the spinoffs/etc that have come out since then.

Really? 12 is probably my favorite FF with 8 being right behind it. I think Lightning Returns has been the first FF game I've been truly disappointed with as it was just so different and dull (basically you solve super boring quests for people but you have a strict 6 day time limit and need to avoid combat like the plague).

[StanJr]

 

http://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-Anthology-VI-Playstation/dp/B00002R28C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429895250&sr=8-1&keywords=final+fantasy+anthology

 

There ya go. Hunt over.

 

Beautiful. Thank you

[omegadot]

I know the Chrono Trigger in the store for PS3 is terrible. I have it and I'll never launch it again. The lag before menu was obscene and loading between areas was terrible. And like, there are a few uses of the menu in a JRPG. I was incredibly disappointed. Not sure how the FF games that had the same treatment fair. I'm also not sure how the PSX disc version fairs on a PS3, but I'd be hesitant to get the Playstation Store version on a PS3.

[Algus]

Load times were a noticeable annoyance of Final Fantasy Anthology (FF5 and FF6) back in the day. FF Chronicles (FF4 and CT) notably improved load times but they were still bad vs playing on SNES (or just emulating which was perfected for SNES by the time Anthology hit the US)

 

Really? 12 is probably my favorite FF with 8 being right behind it. I think Lightning Returns has been the first FF game I've been truly disappointed with as it was just so different and dull (basically you solve super boring quests for people but you have a strict 6 day time limit and need to avoid combat like the plague).

 

I've got a couple friends who were really into 12 too and surprised when I said I didn't like it. I found the combat system tedious and I disliked the characters. Ivalice as it was in FFT was much more interesting to me than in any of the other games set on that world.

 

FF8 is where it went downhill for me. I actually love that game's visuals, music, and story but the gimmicky combat system with scaling enemies irritates the hell out of me. Try to play casual and enjoy getting stomped on by super-charged enemies. Plan a little bit and faceroll the whole game. Bleh.

[twoquickcapri]

I know the Chrono Trigger in the store for PS3 is terrible. I have it and I'll never launch it again. The lag before menu was obscene and loading between areas was terrible. And like, there are a few uses of the menu in a JRPG. I was incredibly disappointed. Not sure how the FF games that had the same treatment fair. I'm also not sure how the PSX disc version fairs on a PS3, but I'd be hesitant to get the Playstation Store version on a PS3.

PlayStation 1 version of Chrono Trigger is the worst with lag. Final Fantasy 4,5,6 for the PlayStation 1 have very little to none

[StanJr]

The series lost me after 9. I just couldn't get into the whole Blitzball thing and while IX seemed like it simplified the magic systems and made things pretty simple, X seemed to go the other direction (like VIII) and I wasn't ready to go with it.

 

But, that said, I really want to play through the series as much as I can, because I'm still a fan overall and want the whole experience so I can complain when and where appropriate.

[omegadot]

I fell off the wagon around the same place. I played Grandia 2 before FFX, so the fact that there were random battles was just something that really irked me at the time. I've had thoughts of doing the same run through, although I'm still on disc one in FFVIII after like 4 months so we'll see on that one. I'm actually enjoying it more this time. The draw system after the materia system was just jarring for me and some of the repetitive areas were too frustrating.

[Algus]

I love X (I actually like X-2 as well... Yeah....whatever Sailor Moon Final Fantasy is ok with me) but after all these years I have ~never~ been able to wrap my head around Blitzball. It seems cool and probably is for people who can get into it but whatever.

 

What I liked about FFX? It actually made use of the ~entire~ party since you could switch battle participants on the fly and needed to cycle between them to exploit enemy weaknesses. I also liked how weapons only provided attributes. I had a ton of different swords for Auron and Tidus and switched between them as needed based on the enemies I fought. Lots of fun. I like Tidus too. Instead of some badass Dark Knight or whatever, you're just a dumb spoiled kid who's good at sports and not much else. He grows a lot from the whiny little punk he is early on.

 

Man, now I want to start a binge of my own LOL.

[Tempest]

I love X (I actually like X-2 as well... Yeah....whatever Sailor Moon Final Fantasy is ok with me) but after all these years I have ~never~ been able to wrap my head around Blitzball. It seems cool and probably is for people who can get into it but whatever.

The first time I played X I completely skipped Blitzball other than the one game you needed to play. This time around when I was playing the HD remake I decided to play it to get Wakka's best weapon. It's actually not that hard and once you get the hang of it it's pretty easy. There's also a trick where you can hide inside your own net and the computer can't find you. Score a goal, then wait it out for an easy victory. It's still not a lot of fun, but it's not nearly as bad as I first thought.

 

The one mini-game I could never figure out was the card game in FF 9. I LOVED the one in 8, but the one in 9 confused the crap out of me. Thankfully you only need to play it once.

 

 

 

I fell off the wagon around the same place. I played Grandia 2 before FFX, so the fact that there were random battles was just something that really irked me at the time. I've had thoughts of doing the same run through, although I'm still on disc one in FFVIII after like 4 months so we'll see on that one. I'm actually enjoying it more this time. The draw system after the materia system was just jarring for me and some of the repetitive areas were too frustrating.

 

Is Grandia II any good? That's on my list to play (DC version).

 

The trick to 8 is to draw 99 of each spell early on (takes a bit, but it's actually not that bad) then auto junction everything. Suddenly your characters are super bad ass and you'll have no trouble with the rest of the game. If you go around and get the unique cards from the card game you can distill those into some super nice items.

[omegadot]

 

Is Grandia II any good? That's on my list to play (DC version).

 

The trick to 8 is to draw 99 of each spell early on (takes a bit, but it's actually not that bad) then auto junction everything. Suddenly your characters are super bad ass and you'll have no trouble with the rest of the game. If you go around and get the unique cards from the card game you can distill those into some super nice items.

 

So I haven't played it in like 8+ years. I got it when it launched, LOVED it, then I haven't played it again since. The reason for that is I seem to remember the boss battles taking a very long time and I'm not sure how far I could get. I may have sucked, though. I was debating making a go at it again but I'm in a bad habit lately of starting up JRPGs.

 

oh my, I just googled it's launch date. It HAS been a while.

Edited April 26, 2015 by omegadot

[Bruce Tomlin]

Doesn't one of the FF title require an official PS2 hard drive?

 

That would be FFXI, the first MMO. The PS2 (and 360) will officially go unsupported next March because they literally have bought up every PS2 development station left in the world that they can find to keep it going, and both systems are past their prime. The most recent expansion (which was only released in Japan) is the last official PS2 release ever.

 

Also, some part of the development toolchain for FFXI is apparently tied to the PS2 development systems. (My guess is it's the 3D model editing.) They're adding some more content this year in three installments, and have said that's going to be the last. The game will probably keep running on life support for a few years, but it's been badly in need of server merges for over a year due to all the players who have left.

 

There's a LOT of stuff in FFXI now. You could probably consider playing through the mission content to the final boss fight as "clearing" a particular expansion, for the purposes of playing the whole series. Most of the older content can even be played solo now by various means.

[Tempest]

I wish I had the time to go back to FFXI. I think I quit back in 2007.

[omegadot]

FFXI still supports the PS2??? Holy crap!

[NE146]

When the series went polygon (FF7)i s precisely when they lost me as a fan of the series. So it's all 'meh' after that to me. BUT... FF2, FF3, and FF5 are worth playing if you dig the original series and missed out on them.

 

Although FF2 & FF3 were released in the US on the gba/psp/DS and whatnot, to me the only way to play FF2 & FF3 is on an NES, or an NES emulator. And for that you need a fan translation. They're easy to find anyway. Ditto for FFV.. it came out for the GBA and playstation.. but man it's much better playing the SNES version. So you need the fan translation again, and play it on an emulator of choice.

 

And heck, here's one for you man.

 

Final Fantasy V (J) T+Eng1.1_RPGe.zip