Favourite Final Fantasy Game ?
I prefer FF7 over the lot . The Monsters-Boss-Rest/Interact system always seemed to work well togeather, and the storyline was the best one I've seen in a game ! The materia system wasn't overtly complicated, so it was easy to get into, but tough to master (to a point). Ultima (The "mega" spell of the FF series) was just powerful enough, but not ultra-powerful like in FF8, when all you had to do is throw the spell a couple of times and then the boss was dead. The climax was totally unexpected , and Sephiroth was the most brilliant boss character of the series, with his "emotionless" acting, and Cloud's past, it made a brilliant story.
FF8 was crap, basically. Technology + Magic = Crap in my opinion. The main character (Squall) was the most unexpressive bloke I've ever seen, and the love interest (Rinoa) was pathetic. As mentioned above, Ultima was overpowered and the bosses were very easy to beat. The GF System was stupid, and those with the proper knowledge (like me) could power-level squall's gunblade into a Strength 255 + weapon in 1-2 hours +. The limit breaks were unbalanced, and the storyline (plainly) sucked. "Witchs" and "Ultamicia" anyone ?. A dissapointing sequal indeed. The graphics and sound were improved from FF7 though ......
FF9 is a tough one. In one sense, it was quite childish in the storyline, but the storyline was a nice change from the "save the world" scenario in FF7 and FF8, and Steiner and the rest of the gangs past's were filled in nicely. The graphics were a mix of FF8 and FF7, with just the right mixture in it to avoid FF8's "sour" look, but enough to avoid the "Industrial" (is that the right word ?) look of FF7. The Item-Learning abilities were nice, but was always a bit annoying to have to equip low-level items to get a certain ability you want. Second best in the series.
FF10 has the best graphics of the lot (due to the PS2 upgrade), but the storyline was off-par with the characters (Apart from Auron, ninjas are always good in my opinion ... ), like Yuna, who, despite being the main focus of both love and story, spoke very rarely and always in a "weak" tone that made her seen the underdog of the party. Third best in the series .......
FF10-X has got the Graphics of FF10, but the Childish story of FF9. The three main characters were usually good, but the airship crew ("Brother" in particular) all acted like last-minute add-ons. Fourth best in the series I'd say .....
What do you guys think ?