The Evolution of Final Fantasy. My opinion on it.
Hi Again 
So…I’ve been thinking lately. Final Fantasy has changed so much over the years. Anyone think it’s gotten better? Gotten worse? Or, is it the same old, same old?
Personally, I like what has happened to it. Back in 1987, I was not a fan of Final Fantasy (but then again…I was only 1 year old 
) It seems that as I got older I started to appreciate what a great series the games were. Sure, the series does have its downsides; some games are absolutely a chore to play through and may even be hard at times. However, as overrated as the series is (I mean is it really the best RPG series out there?) I still enjoy it.
- FF1 was a pretty good game. It had a very basic battle system, and needed lots of fixes. But this was Squares wild card. Square was trying to go out with a bang, and it was the total opposite. It shot them into godlike status now known as one of the top RPG developers out there.
- FF2 was…how can I say this nicely. It was different. It was a complete revamp from Final Fantasy 1. It had a completely new battle system (Which was adopted by the SaGa series) Characters leveled up according to how they were used in battle. No longer did you need to buy higher level spells. Use a spell enough and it got stronger. Personally, I thought that the story in FF2 was much weaker than the first one, and the characters had some personality…but I didn’t like them in the least. This was squares first attempt at an in-depth story in an RPG (at least to my knowledge)
-FF3 introduced the current job system. Unfortunately, this game stayed in Japan. Unlike in FF1, in FF3 you could change jobs whenever you felt like it. This was an amazing change of pace from FF1. Jobs in FF3 changed many things from stat growth, to what you weapons and armor you could equip. Personally, I think this is one of the best games in the series even if it did require you to grind until your fingers got numb if you wanted even a slight chance at the final boss. This game did eventually get remade for the DS. However, it was a weak remake.
-FF4. This is where the series starts to really take its shape and form. What made FF4 so revolutionary? It introduced the ATB (Active Time Battle) system. ATB gave a time gauge to each character, and when it filled up it allowed a character to take an action. Also, certain actions had charge times (Items, summons, magic, etc.) so you had to use a little bit of strategy for the final bosses. This is where the series started to have really good storytelling, and went into the characters emotions. Also….I believe this had the series’ first love story (go listen to FFIV theme of love on Youtube, it’s amazing) This game really made you feel for the game.
FF5. This game is nice. However, it didn’t really add that much to the series (which is probably why we didn’t see it until Final Fantasy Anthology for the PS1). The Job system did, however, get a MAJOR upgrade. Now Classes had specific abilities that could be traded between classes if you leveled that specific job up. The story was not that great, but the music…it’s amazing. Clash on the big bridge…listen to it. And love it!
FF6- Whoa…did we just advance hundreds of years into the future. This game is amazing…known as one of the best rpgs of all time to some people. This was the first game in the series to allow party selection. It had a total of 12 (?) party members and you could select 4 for your party. This game really had quite a bit of character development, and it did very well at telling the backstory and personality of most of the characters (aside from the optional ones). The magic system was very good too. You equip espers (also known as summons, eidolons, Guardian Forces, etc) and each esper taught from 1-5 spells. Fight enough and you learn that ability. It was unique at the time, and has been adopted by many series.
FF7. Final Fantasy’s leap into 3D. This game…has a league of raging fanboys. Not that it’s a bad thing. There are LOTS of reasons why. The characters in this game are very good. Everyone loves them. Cloud may in fact be the most popular character in a video game ever. This game was so popular…it did not spawn one spinoff…but…a movie, a sequel, a prequel, and a cell phone game. FF7 has in fact become a series within a series. The story in this game is superb, the villain is well liked (and a pretty boy at that). This game also introduced a usable limit break system, which are more powerful attacks that do LOTS of damage to the enemy or add other effects. If you haven’t played this (then you must live under a rock) then go…now…stop reading. I’ll wait….*jeopardy theme plays* see…it’s a great game. anyways…good game, everyone should give it a shot.
FF8. This is hard to explain. This introduced the junction system…some people love it…other people hate it with a passion. I’m on the love side. Junction system is unique and has never been used since. Unfortunately the junction system is broken. The junction system involves you drawing magic from your enemy and attaching it to your stats to buff them up. The problem with this is, for one, drawing at early game before you learn refining abilities can take hours if your MAG stat isn’t high enough. Also, you can overpower your characters immediately. Either you can make the game completely simple…or limit yourself. This games story…I don’t know. It should have ended at disc 2, but that’s just my opinion. However, the love story in this…I absolutely looooove it. I’ts seriously like something right out of a sappy love novel. I love Rinoa. She is one of my favorite characters in the whole series. The cast really…reflected upon each other to bring them closer together. I really liked that about the game.
FF9. This was a throwback to the old school days of Final Fantasy. It involves bosses, and references to the old Final Fantasy games. Just turn your head to the side and look at the map. Look familiar? Looks quite a bit like Final Fantasy 1′s world map…kinda. It involves the original four elemental fiends. This was basically a game for old school fans. It’s one of the most enjoyed titles of the series. The characters are…noob friendly so to say. The battle system is simple and easy to understand. It’s a tad on the easy side, though.
FF10- *sigh* FFX, I’m personally not a fan. However, everyone loves this game. I hate EVERY character in the game, but apparently everyone is liked by someone, somewhere. It had the first interactive mini game, Blitzball. Blitzball can be fun if you want to get into it. Basically, it’s underwater soccer with a mini rpg type game. Fun, but tedious to get into. This was the first game since FF4 to stray from ATB. FFX uses the CTB (Conditional Turn Based Battle) system. CTB is where every action has a recovery time. If you use weaker attacks you recover faster than something like a overdrive (FFX’s limit break) This game, however,…had an absolutely amazing story, and side quests that can keep you busy for upwards of 120 hours. This game ditched the traditional level up system. It used a sphere grid…which had you move along a board game type map and use certain items to learn abilities and raise stats. Quite unique.
FF10-2 People hate this game. It’s regarded as a chick game. It’s a sequel to FFX, but it was good IMO. It had a BAD story. However, I loved the battle system; changing jobs in mid battle was amazing. It added a whole new depth to the game…don’t really have much else to say about this.
FF11- It’s an MMO…tha’ts all I gotta say. First MMO of the series…don’t care for them
FF12- Laziest FF game in the whole series Set your gambits right, and the game will basically play itself. This game…has sidequests up the behind. It’s not rare to get over 300 hours on this game alone. This game had ATB…but it was different. It was free roaming…and every action had a charge time. No battle transitions, and everything took place on the world map. This game introduced a license board. Licenses are used for everything. from learning abilities, to raising stats, and even equipping equipment. It was nice,…but seemed sort of tedious.
FF13- This is the newest game in the series (I don’t count FFXIV since it’s an MMO). This game is absolutely gorgeous. The characters are loved (HopexVanille it’ll happen) and the game has a confusing, but an amazing story. This game went back to the sphere grid type level up system. However, it did not use items to learn anything or raise stats. you just move your job level gauge from orb to orb using CP. (this games exp) Ah yes, the job system. FFX-2′s job system…on some SERIOUS crack. not only did you change jobs…you could do it on the fly in a matter of seconds and your whole party changed jobs, not just one. I highly suggest you try it out if you haven’t already.
Alright, so as you can see…FF has changed immensely in the last 23 years. It is a great series, and I hope it goes on for many other years to come.
Anywho, regarding my stream, I have recently picked up Final Fantasy XIII, so I may end up playing through that game again. As for now, I am playing Wild Arms 2. Come check it out; it’s a good classic RPG for PS1. Hope you enjoyed my essay *kicks keyboard* why am I kicking my keyboard you ask? Its a random reference
Anyways, have fun and I hope to see you by my stream this upcoming week
Thanks,
Shinky
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For the most part, I agree with you. As much as the Junction system is flawed, I just can’t find it in myself to hate it. It was the Second FF I ever really played (My first and forever Fave being FFIX) and it was a blast.
I think the problem starts to come in when people start comparing and basing the games as compared to other games. For Example: Is FF13 the best FF ever made, or is FF1/2/3/etc infinitely better? That’s Subjective and is completely pointless as far as debates go. But did you enjoy it? As a standalone game, did FF13 give you any satisfaction? That should be the only answer that matters.
One more thing: LightxHope is Canon >:3