Weekly /r/FinalFantasy Question Thread – Week of March 29, 2021

There's a lot of media around Final Fantasy VII, so it depends on how much you want to go down that rabbit hole.

Games:

Movies:

Books:

Crisis Core On PSP is highly rated. And if you like the Turks, there's a RPG Maker version of Before Crisis you can download for free online with some googling.

They said there would be a free upgrade and then a DLC on release. I’m expecting more details the week of, especially how the save data transfers over to the new version so I can plan ahead.

15 is good. It's more action-y like 7R. A lot of the older games are slower paced.

I usually reccomend people start with 10 because it's my favorite, but also because it is completely turn based so you have time to think about your actions. It's more methodical and slower than 15 or 7R for this reason. I don't know if you've played other JRPGs or not but 10 is a great way to get into the genre. It's a great bridge between classic and new games because it is new enough that it has things like voice acting but old enough that it has the same methodical pace of the older games.

For those older games I'd reccomend 6, 7, or 8. The games that are older than this are a little lacking in the story department except for 4. 4 is where the storytelling took off and you can give that a shot but it's also a lot harder than the others so if you're new to the genre it might not be the best place. 6 is 2D and has a great storyline. It also has a great mix between the characters having their own roles and you being able to customize them. 7 and 8 you have more customization options regarding how your character grows, if that's something that interests you. 7 also has the added bonus of you seeing the original.

5 isn't a bad choice. It has a job system where you can change what everyone does which is a lot of fun. It's not really hard to figure out necessarily but it can be a bit daunting if you're unfamiliar with JRPGs in general. The story also isn't quite as strong as the other games, IMO, but that can be somewhat of a strength because it doesn't take itself seriously at all.

A lot of people are going to reccomend 9 to you but I don't think that should be your next one. It's fantastic, don't get me wrong, but it's slow as mollases. The story pacing, the battle pacing, everything is just slow, and I think it would be jarring going from 7R to 9 with no other experience in the series. Plus part of 9's appeal is it was kind of a love letter to the old games, so I think it would be more enjoyable if you played at least one of those old games.

14 and 11 are both MMOs. They're both a lot of fun but very, very different. 14 is more like WoW where a big part of learning the fights is figuring out the mechanics and positioning and making sure you hit your rotation as best you can. 11 is an old MMO and has a lot of old design philosophies. You don't get quest markers or anything to really guide you in game and the combat is more about timing attacks with other people and having the right combination of jobs. But both are fun for their own reasons and if you're interested I would look into the reddit that are specific to those games because you'll get better information.

So that leaves 1, 2, 3, 12, and 13. 1 and 3 have the same problem as 5 where they use jobs, except 1 you have to pick at the beginning so you can't experiment and 3 has some redundant jobs that are only useful in a couple fights so it's harder to figure out. Plus they were NES games so the stories aren't as well told. 2 is weird because you gain stats after battle directly and it can be hard to make your characters level up the way you want them to. 12 is fantastic but is also weird because you control your characters using gambits which are basically like programming your own AI for them. It's still fun but it's atypical. 13 is devisive because it's very straightforward for most of the game and is rather corridor-ey in map design. But some people really like it because the battle system IS a lot of fun once the game let's you play around with it which doesn't happen until you're a ways in.

we usually recommend to anyone who only played the remake to play the original for two reasons:

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For FF15, first thing first unlike FF7R, FF15 game does not force you to play a certain way, (staggering or exploting weakness) so it's easy to fall into the trap of "smashing basic attack + healing items" if you don't take your time to learn how to chain different attacks you will make the game dull and boring, these are good example of how the combat looks if you actually try: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4. (advice go to settings and change the camera distance and auto correct, that's something I wish I did)

Since you will be playing the Royal Edition you will be making yourself a great favor, FF15 is a game that has a troubled history and the original realase was lacking, we do recommend to play the game plus all DLCs episodes that the Royal Edition has (Episode of Ardyn is the only one missing DO NOT skip it watch a walkthough if you have to).

last if you don't wanna go blind into FF15 finding a way to watch the prologue movie Kingsglaive (<- fist 12 minutes) is recommended since it will make easier to understand some concepts early. if you decided to play FF15 first I ask you to reply me since there is a recommended order to play the DLC episodes. Extra: 5 anime episodes free on youtube

Each character has a primary paradigm and two secondary paradigms that they excel in. These will be the first three paradigms that they learn. Eventually, every character will get access to all six paradigms, but they'll be better off if they focus on the ones that they're best at. Here are the primary and secondary paradigms for each character (primary listed first):

The most well-rounded party is Lightning, Hope, and Fang. This combination has characters who excel at every paradigm, giving you the most flexibility. However, every character has unique abilities that give them an advantage in certain situations, so you have to gauge what you need most for the scenario you're in.

Everyone has their strengths. Sazh for example is the offensively-geared Synergist, but also has the second highest HP, learns some of the best curative spells as a Medic, learns Steelguard as a Sentinel, and has the best Blitz as a Commando, but he can't launch enemies. Though Lightning does not excel as a Saboteur, she learns the single-cast Poison, which is very useful against superbosses in this game due to the way Poison works in FFXIII. Though Vanille and Fang do not major in Synergist, they are the ones who learn the strongest versions of some of the buffs. Any party combination you can make work! Lightning-Hope-Fang is popular, but I find sticking Sazh in many formations works very well since he learns the top-tier versions of many paradigm roles: single-target Saboteur spells (the multi-targets are bad), Steelguard, Curasa. He can't learn Raise as a Medic though.

Snow, Lightning and Fang have the best casting speed, so some consider them the top-tier Ravagers in endgame, as even though Hope and Vanille start as the most powerful magic-users, their casting speeds are the slowest.

I believe there is a pretty significant plot point about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through, at which point you're able to change your party configuration. Up until that point though, it's mostly on-rails, yes.

Some characters are better at certain roles than others - Lightning, Snow and Fang, for example, are generally better at the physical based jobs like Sentinel and Commando - but by end game most of them can handle three or four roles good to great.

If you enjoyed FFXIII-2 there are optional super bosses and maybe some missions that are worthwhile. XIII was the mainline entry for that console so it severely limits these concerns.

Racking up LP is pretty easy just by going through the game normally, fighting the enemies that come across when you explore. You can save it until you have 50–100 or so, and then allot them. If you have some equipment and spells you would like to use, then unlock those (and no need to touch the other nodes), and use the rest for HP boosts and augments. Travel towards the Quickenings on the board if you just want a direction. You will most likely have completed the license board(s) just by playing normally without grinding maybe 70% into the game. You can ignore most technicks licenses and any equipment you don't have or don't use; just go for the augments.

There is also an accessory that doubles LP yield, called the golden amulet, so you could look up how to get one the earliest. It works only on the wearer but you can swap it around. It is great on reserve party members!

The biggest thing early on is just making sure you cover all the stats. Meaning - Make sure you can junction magic to characters' Magic, Strength, Vitality and Spirit. (If you need to prioritize one, I'd go with Magic, because that effects how many spells you can Draw from enemies. Higher Magic = Drawing 9 casts of a spell more often than just 3 or 4.)

You can honestly get through three discs of the game even without understanding the junction system - I did as a teenager. And once you get a handle on the ways to exploit it, it's pretty easy to overpower enemies in a variety of ways by disc two.

One thing to keep in mind as you play - ALWAYS use the Draw command to check enemy's Magic, especially bosses. Some bosses - the first one being at a Radio / TV Tower - have GFs that you can Draw, and if you miss them, you don't get another shot until the game's final dungeon. Also, enemies gain levels with you, and sometimes their spells morph after 10 levels. (i.e. A monster that casts Fire at Level 10 might have Fira at Level 20.)

if you need a guide to understand the junction system, this video will help you a lot:

Tips: