Same on both counts, ff4 had an incredible atmosphere and story (even if they did have too much "no-ones ever really gone...").
Playing ff5 now, it's good, but, and I hate saying this, but the fixed classes gave them more character, rydia is awesome because she's rydia and she nukes people while Cecil is awesome because he protects rydia while she nukes people.
But mechanically ff5 is probably better otherwise. Lot of room to experiment.
I didn't get to play II and III until much later due to the lack of international release, but while I enjoyed the "training" system I do kinda agree with fixed roles. The hybrid model of the future games where characters has abilities but could learn all spells kinda kinda made magic in general less unique, though I like how FFVII did it with materia
I’d really recommend the four job fiesta as a way to play FFV, even for the first time. The limitations on what jobs you can use really add a whole extra element to the gameplay and underscore the fact that just about any class is viable. It’s a really brilliantly designed game imho.
Congrats! First one I beat as well, but it was the GBA version back in like 2004. To this day, FF1 stands as one of my favorite games just due to its simplicity and hands off storytelling, while still letting you customize your party and spells. My first win was Paladin, Master, Ninja, Red Mage
Correct. Each game is it's own story. The characters, worlds, lore, enemies, even types of magic and how it works are all different in each game. The combat system is also different in every game, although always staying with in turn based until the later titles. It's an anthology series, each one is self contained.
Some themes are present in more than one. The use of crystals was a big story element in a bunch of them. Names are reused for newer characters and other things, which can make it fun when you recognize a name and see how much the character holding it is different. The character Cid is a great example, he might be a main party member or an NPC in a town. When you got a weapon that was badass in previous titles you knew it would be a keeper.
Spell names are probably the most consistent thing in the series. Summon spells especially were something people looked forward to in each new game. What was summoning Ifrit going to be like in this game?
Going through the games in order is fun because you can see how the games changed and built on each one as they came out.
I almost started at 6 but I was really craving an old school RPG and I felt like this was the place to go!
I beat Chrono Trigger earlier this year as well, it's been great but my phone's battery has not loved me.
I played 1 a few months ago (100%ed the Pixel Remaster) and was surprised how good it was. It's obviously rudimentary but that's not a really a problem because it's a short game.
I always find it to be one of the easiest to revisit. I’ve played it on NES, GBA, PSP and more recently the Pixel Remaster. It’s just a solid game all around, even if it is basic by most standards.
How was it? When I played the original on Wii's virtual shop a while back, the pixel remake wasn't out yet. I thought it was really hard, but a lot of fun.
I played it on my phone which nowadays is the port of the pixel remaster. I loved it and I thought it was great!
I definitely felt a little overpowered due to not fleeing at all. I would recommend checking it out, I got just under 28 hours of playtime on my first run.
I played this one at launch on the NES and it's been one of my favourites ever since. Definitely not the best in the franchise but holds a special place in my heart.
Congrats! I wasn't able to beat it until it came out for the GBA. Still one of my favorites, though I think Legend and IV are my all time favs. To date, they're still the only ones I've finished too.