Oh, that doesn't sound nearly as bad as I had envisioned. Not sure I'll like it, or that it will feel anything like Final Fantasy, but it's worth a shot.

Well, it's been like four years since we had a non-online Final Fantasy game. I think you all should give it a shot. After that long it'd have to be worth it and Square wouldn't screw its main series over.

I don't know how "they all have their place" is an argument, as they all have totally different storylines set in mostly different worlds. But I agree that FFX-2 should burn in hell. It was totally unnecessarily added to a game that didn't need it. Not only that, but it sucked in gameplay and storyline terms as well.

Um, isn't the title of this thread a bit wrong? XXII means 22?

It is.

Actually, I side with the theory they are all, in fact, related - that is, each successive game is a prequal to it's previous. Follow the espers, for instance - in games like 7, 8, 9 they were actual things. Beings that you could walk up to and poke, alive and natural. In 6, they start off as such - but they start dieing, and Magacite (the remains of a dead esper) is used, now. After this, they're spirits. Instance, FFV. Ifrit is a spirit in the library, that burns demons. But his soul is bound to a book. Same with Shiva, except she's bound to the crystal waters in the tower.

FFIV - all the summons are, again, just spirits. Something one calls from another plane. My experience with the previous games are, at best, limited - I've played them briefly, but I've not put forth the same effort.


Also, look at technology. In 8 it was probably at it's peak - 9, they were still working on things like airships. They ran off the Mist, until later in the game. In 8, they were extremely advance - at least, some aspects of civilization was. But they were pretty high up. 7 was perhaps higher - they had the Mako Reactors, and like creations.

6 was SUPPOSED to be really advanced, what with mobile armor that would allow them to cast magic, something totally gone from the world - until they find Terra. Then Kefka essentially destroys the modern world, throwing them back into the dark ages.

In 5, the only technology that existed was from Karnak. Which was powered by the Fire Crystal - once it died, the boat was retrofitted to be a steam boat, and an airship were later discovered - hidden deep beneath the earth, and quite worn.

Four rolls around, and airships are a bit more common place - perhaps Cid used the design to create more, something that became very popular. They were still pretty rare, until The Red Wing came about. A lot of advancements in technology were made this way.

As I said, I VERY briefly played 1, 2, and 3. I played 1 and 2, I believe, on the GBA - I just remember essentially flipping through characters so rapidly it became irritating.

An interesting theory when you compare the layout of the world in 7 and 8.

However, I'd argue that that theory falls apart with FFX rather than FFX-2. There's no way you'll convince me that FF9 is the sequel to FFX. I don't think it's fair, therefore, to crucify FFX-2 for ruining a theory that was already ruined.

Still, far be it from me to prop up the fetid (but cute, in an annoying way) sludge that is FFX-2.

I don't think the games are related at all. They're just single games, that share some of the same aspects.

Isn't that a contradiction in terms? Either they're totally unrelated, or they share some of the same aspects, but not both.

I agree that they are related (the FF7/8 world map note, with the similar-looking and similarly named Cetra and Centra areas, for example, or the Cid characters. Or the recurrence of the world of Ivalice - which is the only persistent world we've seen and, so far, hasn't been developed overmuch. Hopefully FF12 will do this for us). It's hardly surprising, considering that they were all made by mostly the same group of people.

If you stretch your imagination a bit, that theory works for FF6-9. Possibly FF5 and FF4 as well. However, I don't think this can be applied to the ones before or after this group, so it falls a bit flat.

I meant the storyline, gameplay, characters, etc, are different, but there are a few reoccuring themes, like ifrit, bahamut, cid, and some random others.

I dunno, there are plenty of gameplay similarities. ATB was in just about all of them.

But I know what you mean, and yes, I agree.

ATB is the type of combat in these particular RPGs. Its kind of like saying first person shooting was in all Doom games.

Just a quick note on the Chrono Trigger emulation front. Make sure your emulator is capable of disabling layers at a keystroke, because in a lot of the CT roms, the layers are slightly buggy.

And now to continue the derailing of this thread, while waiting for new RPG's to come out, you should all visit some of the classics that made this genre what it is today. I won't list ALL the RPG's on these systems, but instead cherry pick some of the best of the Super Nintendo (SNES) era.

Chrono Trigger
Lufia II (This game has been much debated to be on par if not superior to Chrono Trigger - even if it doesn't have the fifteen billion possible endings.)
Breath of Fire II
Earthbound
Final Fantasy II & III
Secret of Mana

Oh and also Phantasy Star and Shining Force II for the Sega Genesis.

Earthbound was totally not a landmark RPG. It wasn't awful, though.

Yeah, but if I didn't put it in there, SOMEONE would have complained and brought that tired old debate about it onto these forums, and I really didn't want that.

Oh, fair enough then.

Lufia 2 did rock though...

Er... But FFX didn't have ATB, and that's still the same genre. Neither did FFX-2, as far as I'm aware, and that's in the same genre, for all its crapness. Neither will FF12, and that's still Final Fantasy.

Though saying "ATB" is a bit of a generalisation. FF6+7's ATB is very different from FF8's ATB, which is different again to FF9's ATB.

In fact, now I think about it, the games don't really have all that much in common at all besides the running-around-as-a-character part that makes it an RPG. In FF8 the other characters in your party followed you around. In FF7 and 9, they appeared when they needed to. FFX used some funky camerawork to make them appear naturally, as if they'd always been there.

And they all had different magic systems. Magicite, Materia, GFs, FF9's rather oldschool approach, the sphere grid. ...dress spheres *choke*

FF12 doesn't even have battle transitions, that's a break and a half from tradition :|

In summary, I've changed my opinion. The Final Fantasy games have very little in common other than gorgeous FMVs (if you count the ones they went back and added when they released the old games) and being made by Square (which equates to a strange obsession with Nordic mythology and a character named Cid o_O). And being RPGs, of course.

I Earthbound.

Favorite older RPGS:
------------------------
Seiken Densetsu 3
Earthbound
Lufia 2
Super Mario RPG
Dragon Warrior
Crystalis
Tales of Phantasia

Am I the only one who sees XII? Where did you get the second X?