• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Tell me about your very first Final Fantasy experience

spookyfish

Member
Final Fantasy for the NES in 1990. I had never played an “RPG” before, and I was hooked. Although I kept looking for the “hidden stair” in the giants’ hallway—which wasn’t hidden at all. Thanks, instruction book.

Final Fantasy 3 (6) remains my favorite experience, while FF2 (4) remains my favorite story.
 
T'was a kid. Rented FF3 (I think that's what they called it) at Blockbuster for SNES. Thought the opening scene with mechs was cool. Liked it enough to rent again next week. Waaaay before internet times. Never finished it because the combat go too hard and guides weren't really a thing. Made it to the Opera. Good memory tho.
 

Vystalorn

Neo Member
Watching a longplay of FFVI on a whim, hearing "Decisive Battle" and being blown off my feet, before killing the video so I didn't spoil anything for myself. Sure, after 50 hours (and a few more to go before I finish the game) it's lost some of that magic, but it's still an incredible piece of music. The game itself is nothing short of a masterpiece, especially in its time, and it has so much to offer today as well.
 
Last edited:

Y0ssarian

Banned
First one I played was VIII on PS1 back in 1999. It was one of the first PlayStation games I played (I had played PC, SNES and N64 prior) and I remember the opening video and graphics blowing me away
 

Kenpachii

Member
first one was some pc version in a city, cant remember which one it was. after that i played final fantasy x which was a nice game.
 

bbeach123

Member
FF8 when I was a 14 years old boy . Never played any rpg or jrpg before that . Just fighting game/ mario / mostly non story game cuz my English was pretty bad back then (still bad now lol) .

As a edgy chuuni teen age boy who love harry potter, something about a emo main char leading a party saving the world in a schoolday settings involve in a love triangle beating the shit out of my rival taking back my love one is just magical .

The game take me 6 months to finish , had to restart 2 time because having boss level scaling with player in 1999 is just cruel...
 

Kokoloko85

Member
I remember watching an older friend show me Final Fantasy 4. It looked awesome but I never understood the combat and numbers lol.

The First Final Fantasy I bought was FF8 and I love it
 
Last edited:

IKSTUGA

Member
I watched my friend play FFX on the PS2 and thought it looked amazing, didn't know a thing about FF at that point (damn Nintendo kids). First FF game I bought was either Crystal Chronicles or Tactics Advance (don't remember which came first). Didn't like CC at all, Tactics Advance on the other hand is probably my favorite GBA game. Played the crap out of that one.
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
My first experience was also my second JRPG experience. Prior to this, I had been playing shoot'em'ups (Gradius), fighting games (Street Fighter) and platform games (Crash Bandicoot).

Eventually my big bro and I went out and rented a PS1 game, which just happened to be Suikoden 1. It was weird seeing so much text in a game compared to games we had been playing before this. But in a way, it felt great accomplishing stuff in that game. Because of this sudden interest in the JRPG genre, my brother started reading some stuff about a game called Final Fantasy VII and that it was going to blow everyone away.

Then the game got released and the rest is history.
 

DonkeyPunchJr

World’s Biggest Weeb
First saw FFI at Nintendo Power Fest in Chicago (1990 I think?). I subsequently rented it a couple times over the years but didn’t really know WTF I was doing, although I thought it looked cool and was intrigued that you could build your own party.

Couple years after that was when I really got into JRPGs (Shining Force was what really got me into it), then I eventually picked up a used copy of Final Fantasy VI in 1995 and I was hooked on the series ever since.
 

Majukun

Member
was FF VI/III on SNES and i must admit i didn't really like it that much..gameplay was good, but aesthetically it was not really my cup of tea at the time (and neither is now tbh)
 

wa600

Member
I was at a friends house when he played Final Fantasy VII. He started his load file before this railroad path to Corel and played until Gold Saucer. Probably a few weeks later he borrowed me the game. Being from Europe I am pretty sure this was the first time I even heard of Final Fantasy. Loved every second of it. Has one of the most memorable soundtracks and makes me feel like being 10/11 again whenever I hear the music.
 

Scotty W

Member
My neighbor had FF 2 on snes, and we played it for about 8 hours one day and then never again. I understood nothing and hated it.

I came back to ff3 a few years later, after Mario Rpg and Chrono Trigger and loved it. Never net the last boss though.
 

Retro_V486

Member
On a friday afternoon after school I went to rent a copy of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in my way home. The clerk messed up and put FFT in the sleeve.
I didn't notice until I got home. Didn't feel like going back to the store and started playing.

Fell in love with the game and it's still my favourite of all time.
 

lachesis

Member
My 1st final fantasy was FF4 - Final fantasy II in U.S.
I wasn't really into turn-based RPGs in 8bit era. Was much more into metrovania type of games (like Knightmare II) - or simpler ones like Ys - so yeah.

And oh boy, what an experience it was. Still one of my favorite game, just because it was my first "FF". Loved the music, and simple but elegant storytelling.
 

ShinobiWan1

Member
I was a Sega kid growing up, so I was into Phantasy Star. But my cousin was really excited about Final Fantasy, we read about it in GamePro and EGM magazines. I knew my auntie was getting it for his birthday, so I saved up and got him the strategy guide. I liked watching the game, and the music was very catchy.

I also watched Final Fantasy "II" on the SNES, and was blown away at all the advancements. The first one I actually played was "III" or VI, and it is still my favourite to this day. I've played every Final Fantasy since.

Fun story: Back in 2001, I was living in Japan and visiting some family friends for dinner. The kids had pulled out the old Super Famicom and were playing FFVI when I arrived, but couldn't get past a certain part. They didn't really know the game, so they didn't know about Sabin's blitz techniques. I offered to help, and fire danced my way through to victory. It was super fun, and the kids thought I was awesome haha
 

Fbh

Member
Living in the country side in the 90's, with no internet and only limited gaming magazines, I got into the franchise pretty late.
I remember walking into a (pirated) games store and they had a TV running a bunch of videos and trailers. One was the intro of FFVIII which instantly caught my attention. Didn't get it at the time because it was too expensive, but an aunt found out I wanted it and she brought me a european copy when she came visiting.

It came with the cool white boxart and it was also one of like 3 legit Ps1 games I owned. Only problem is that it was in German, so I had to play through it with a guide.
 
The original one on the NES back when I was around 9 years old. Didn't know any english back then but we had a french/english dictionary at home so I could manage. I loved every minute of it but the one that really impressed me was IV (II in North America).
 

Mossybrew

Member
Bought into the hype around Final Fantasy VII and picked it up a few weeks after release. I'd say I put about 5 hours into it when I just said Fuck This Lame Shit and traded it back in.
 

MikeM

Member
FFVII. I remember playing it for a bit and hating it. I picked it up a second time and for some reason could not let it go. I spent A LOT of time in the arena at the Golden Saucer.

I platinumed FF7 Remake on PS4 and loved every second of it.

Oh, and Team Tifa.
 

Naked Lunch

Member
The original FF on NES.
The amazing hand drawn illustrations for FF1 in Nintendo Power really sparked my interest and imagination for the game.
I never saw or played an RPG before so my kid attention span really couldnt handle the game. I ran from almost every battle just trying to get through it as quickly as possible - not understanding you have to level up. Got stuck on a boss and quit.
Unfortunately, I did the same 'running from every battle thing' in FF2 (FF4) years later on the SNES.

It wasnt until FF3 (FF6) that I truly fell in love with the RPG genre and played the game properly. When VII dropped it was hyped to heck but it was such a step back in the gameplay dept from FF6 - I was pretty disappointed with it.
 
Last edited:

kingpotato

Ask me about my Stream Deck
I had a Genesis, so I never saw the SNES final fantasy games until much later, but I do remember in junior high some friends looking at a game magazine where they showed the level layouts and the full enemy sprites of US-FF3 (FF6) and I thought it looked amazing, at least in print. Later, my best friend got a PlayStation while I asked my parents for a Saturn. We rented FF7 one night when I stayed over and I was blown away with the presentation of it all.


Toward the end of the PlayStation 1 era my parents got me one for Christmas and with it they gave me Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy 7 and Resident Evil 2. Fucking amazing Christmas honestly. Played 7 and 8 several times over, but 9 only once (still can't stand anything about 9). Really enjoyed 10 and even 12 was alright, but 13 was so bad I lost all interest in the series. Not into MMOs so I don't know if I'll ever come back, but I thought the trailer for 16 looked interesting fwiw. I have yet to play FF7Remake, but did play some of the PSP spinoff, or at least one of them.
 

ShinobiWan1

Member
I had a Genesis, so I never saw the SNES final fantasy games until much later, but I do remember in junior high some friends looking at a game magazine where they showed the level layouts and the full enemy sprites of US-FF3 (FF6) and I thought it looked amazing, at least in print. Later, my best friend got a PlayStation while I asked my parents for a Saturn. We rented FF7 one night when I stayed over and I was blown away with the presentation of it all.


Toward the end of the PlayStation 1 era my parents got me one for Christmas and with it they gave me Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy 7 and Resident Evil 2. Fucking amazing Christmas honestly. Played 7 and 8 several times over, but 9 only once (still can't stand anything about 9). Really enjoyed 10 and even 12 was alright, but 13 was so bad I lost all interest in the series. Not into MMOs so I don't know if I'll ever come back, but I thought the trailer for 16 looked interesting fwiw. I have yet to play FF7Remake, but did play some of the PSP spinoff, or at least one of them.
I was in your same situation too, but at least we had Panzer Dragoon Saga and Grandia! (I prefer the Saturn version :) )

The original FF on NES.
The amazing hand drawn illustrations for FF1 in Nintendo Power really sparked my interest and imagination for the game.
I never saw or played an RPG before so my kid attention span really couldnt handle the game. I ran from almost every battle just trying to get through it as quickly as possible - not understanding you have to level up. Got stuck on a boss and quit.
Unfortunately, I did the same 'running from every battle thing' in FF2 (FF4) years later on the SNES.

It wasnt until FF3 (FF6) that I truly fell in love with the RPG genre and played the game properly. When VII dropped it was hyped to heck but it was such a step back in the gameplay dept from FF6 - I was pretty disappointed with it.

LOVE Yoshitaka Amano's artwork!

I remember picking up this Dreamcast game while I was in Japan, because it had Amano's art haha. I was thrilled to see that for a Sega game, but I have never actually played it. Also, it's part 2

b8AyseZ.jpg
 
Last edited:

kingpotato

Ask me about my Stream Deck
I was in your same situation too, but at least we had Panzer Dragoon Saga and Grandia! (I prefer the Saturn version :) )
That's a sore subject for me because I reserved a copy of panzer dragoon saga
from an online retailer and it never came in 😓
Access to less common games was limited where I lived.
 

ShinobiWan1

Member
That's a sore subject for me because I reserved a copy of panzer dragoon saga
from an online retailer and it never came in 😓
Access to less common games was limited where I lived.
I can feel your pain as well. I picked mine up at a Toys R Us back in 98. Just easy, casual, not a care in the world. Later on, a friend borrowed it...then vanished forever. I figured I would just replace it, but that didn't end up happening...ha...

I did snag the JPN copy while I was there though

FQ9nvML.jpg


I believe it was an FF8 demo disc. I was hooked from the opening CGI. After that I rented it from Blockbuster and didn't return it for weeks

Also had my first sexual awakening
That VIII intro hooked me so hard, all the cinematics blew my mind. I loved how they moved so naturally (especially the ending) My brother once dated a girl that looked just like Quistis, that also blew my mind haha
 
Last edited:

kingpotato

Ask me about my Stream Deck
That VIII intro hooked me so hard, all the cinematics blew my mind. I loved how they moved so naturally (especially the ending) My brother once dated a girl that looked just like Quistis, that also blew my mind haha
I believe it was an FF8 demo disc. I was hooked from the opening CGI. After that I rented it from Blockbuster and didn't return it for weeks

Also had my first sexual awakening
Yes!!!! FF8 intro was amazing. Take a lot of the cool elements from FF7 and make the characters more human looking. It was amazing for me. Still probably my fav FF (nostalgia) even with the flaws.
 

DJR

Member
Mine was FF9 - I'd upgraded to a PS2 from my N64 and borrowed FF9 from our local video store (back when you could rent games). The second the CGI storm scene kicked in and the camera cut to Garnet and the Alexandria skyline, I was snared. The sweeping score helped incredibly too. Still one of my faves today!
 

amigastar

Member
I can't. I've never really played a Final Fantasy game in all those years playing Rpg's and JRpg's.
Maybe i should start somewhere but i don't know where.
 
Last edited:
I recall recommending Final Fantasy for NES to a friend after falling in love with JRPGs by playing Phantasy Star on the SMS. I told him, it's the same kind of game, they're amazing you should get it.... Oh god, was I disappointed!

FF II on the NES saved the franchise for me, the music and story were pretty amazing for the time (the graphics were still lacking, but it was much better).
 

Raven117

Gold Member
I feel super fortunate to be able to say that my first FF experience was the original game on the NES. Game was probably a year or two old. I'm guessing I was 7 years old.

I was at my buddy Eric's house with my old brother and he was going nuts over this game. He was telling us about it, that you could choose a party, and explore castles and fight monsters, etc.

It was pretty wild and seemed so insanely epic. Being able to cast spells, seeing your comrades die in battle, having to gain experience and level up. I had no idea what he was talking about but it seemed really cool. I can still vividly picture it. The small CRT tv in his room, the music, action figures and those small portable pinball machines all over the place. PEAK LIVING, lol.

On a side note, he also had the Earthbound/Strategy Guide combo and I can still remember the way the scratch and sniff "fart" smelled, lol. It was pretty awful.
This pretty much for me as well.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
FF7 Remake love the aggressive combat, the personnel (Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Aerith) and I get why people like the franchise it hits a home run every chapater.
 

rahuljx

Member
Final Fantasy Legend 2 on a friends Gameboy. Technically that's a Saga game so it doesnt really count. Although I loved it I didnt really bother much with RPGs after that. By the time I got my SNES most of my friends had stopped gaming and I also wasn't quite feeling it.

But then I played FF3 (FF6) and that snowfield scene in the intro just blew me away. For the first time the music and the visuals came together to convey a certain pathos, mood and atmosphere which I had never seen in a game before. I kept playing fully invested in the characters' journeys. I had never come across such a grand story and such bittersweet moments in games. The music was outstanding. I have loved gaming ever since and Squaresoft games will always be a rich part of my childhood.
 

TheAssist

Member
Oh boy, I must have been like 8 years old. I saw the game at a relatives house and put it in their Playstation (I only had an original Gameboy back then).
So obviously this was my first JRPG as well and my reading comprehension and general knowledge of games and RPG's was very small.

I wasted all my MP on the easy random encounters and came up to the scorpion boss. And I died. I dont even know if I was bothering to read the dang translation error, but I died when his tale was up.

Naturally I was not very amused when I realized the game was putting me back to the very start. But I tried it once again, I kinda liked the setting and music. And then I died again ... -.-

Thought the game was stupid and probably went on to play Pokemon red edition or Wario World or whatever.
A few month or maybe even more than a year later I saw the game again. And since it felt like an eternity since I last tried it I put it in again.

I died to the scorpion two more times and was convinced the game is utter trash. Probably went on to play FIFA 99 or Spyro or something.

in 2001 we moved to another state and I met a guy that become a good friend at the time. A few months in he was talking about this game he was playing on PC. He thought it was really cool. It was called Final Fantasy VIII. The name itself didnt speak to me, but that high number. I had seen a similarly high number on a game before.

So I called up the household where I used to die to the scorpion boss and asked if they could send me that game with the roman numeral. A few days later I was holding the game in my hands and put the disc in my now very own PS1.

I died to the freaking scorpion. Again. What a piece of shit.

But no. I must have been 11 years old now. I was basically a man. I played through 007 racing, I could beat that piece of shit scorpion mother fucker.
So I did.

And then. The story happened. The escape. Meeting the crew for real. Getting to know Tifa. Planning the next bombing mission. Escaping Shinra during the train ride. Breathing that dirty Midgar air. Battling Air Buster. And finally. Meeting AeriS again. Hearing that music. Heaven.

It felt like I was becoming a part of this world. Talking and getting to know these characters felt so unlike anything else I have ever played (mostly racing, or sports games and some platformers or adventures). I mean these characters had....character. Backstory. Purpose. Emotions. I became attached.

Aaaaand I remembered I promised the game to my stupid ass best friend at the time. Fuck.
Naturally I asked him about EVERYTHING that happened. I remember wishing there being spell animations that take several minutes to play out, because this was so awesome to look at. If only I had known....
I tried to go to his house as often as possible (we switched consoles, he got my PS1 and I got his N64). At home I was stuck with these lame games like Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, Super Smash Brothers, or Mario Party 2. I mean who wants to play that trash anyway.

So at some point we switched back and I could finally play again for myself. I learned to love the game and its characters. It quickly became my favorite game and I played IX, VIII and X in quick succession after that. And while I liked all the mentioned FF's, FF7 always stuck out as the one with the best atmosphere, music, world and characters. For me anyway. And my love has only grown for nostalgia reasons.

Stupid ass trash scorpion can suck it though.
 

ShinobiWan1

Member
Oh boy, I must have been like 8 years old. I saw the game at a relatives house and put it in their Playstation (I only had an original Gameboy back then).
So obviously this was my first JRPG as well and my reading comprehension and general knowledge of games and RPG's was very small.

I wasted all my MP on the easy random encounters and came up to the scorpion boss. And I died. I dont even know if I was bothering to read the dang translation error, but I died when his tale was up.

Naturally I was not very amused when I realized the game was putting me back to the very start. But I tried it once again, I kinda liked the setting and music. And then I died again ... -.-

Thought the game was stupid and probably went on to play Pokemon red edition or Wario World or whatever.
A few month or maybe even more than a year later I saw the game again. And since it felt like an eternity since I last tried it I put it in again.

I died to the scorpion two more times and was convinced the game is utter trash. Probably went on to play FIFA 99 or Spyro or something.

in 2001 we moved to another state and I met a guy that become a good friend at the time. A few months in he was talking about this game he was playing on PC. He thought it was really cool. It was called Final Fantasy VIII. The name itself didnt speak to me, but that high number. I had seen a similarly high number on a game before.

So I called up the household where I used to die to the scorpion boss and asked if they could send me that game with the roman numeral. A few days later I was holding the game in my hands and put the disc in my now very own PS1.

I died to the freaking scorpion. Again. What a piece of shit.

But no. I must have been 11 years old now. I was basically a man. I played through 007 racing, I could beat that piece of shit scorpion mother fucker.
So I did.

And then. The story happened. The escape. Meeting the crew for real. Getting to know Tifa. Planning the next bombing mission. Escaping Shinra during the train ride. Breathing that dirty Midgar air. Battling Air Buster. And finally. Meeting AeriS again. Hearing that music. Heaven.

It felt like I was becoming a part of this world. Talking and getting to know these characters felt so unlike anything else I have ever played (mostly racing, or sports games and some platformers or adventures). I mean these characters had....character. Backstory. Purpose. Emotions. I became attached.

Aaaaand I remembered I promised the game to my stupid ass best friend at the time. Fuck.
Naturally I asked him about EVERYTHING that happened. I remember wishing there being spell animations that take several minutes to play out, because this was so awesome to look at. If only I had known....
I tried to go to his house as often as possible (we switched consoles, he got my PS1 and I got his N64). At home I was stuck with these lame games like Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, Super Smash Brothers, or Mario Party 2. I mean who wants to play that trash anyway.

So at some point we switched back and I could finally play again for myself. I learned to love the game and its characters. It quickly became my favorite game and I played IX, VIII and X in quick succession after that. And while I liked all the mentioned FF's, FF7 always stuck out as the one with the best atmosphere, music, world and characters. For me anyway. And my love has only grown for nostalgia reasons.

Stupid ass trash scorpion can suck it though.
That's awesome!

The enemy I had a lot of issues with in VII initially was the Midgar Zolom, thing kept putting my party to sleep! I even drew a comic about it! (back in 98) Kind of seems a bit scandalous today...but I didn't realise when I was a teen! Snake dragged the fight on forever!

GDBFr1C.jpg


The next interesting Snake experience I had in Final Fantasy was XV. If you go to this one (I can't remember any details about this game) somewhere up north, where the water is shallow but not enough to be able to dismount. There's a big Midgar Zolom looking guy that comes at you full force. But because you can't dismount, no one triggers the fight or received damage (or even cared about the snake haha). It's kind of funny!



This is before any DLC, so maybe it was fixed
 
Last edited:

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
Poor AF growing up but mowed a shit ton of grass, shoveled coal, and cut fire wood to get a subscription to Nintendo Power.
When this sexy paper back beast showed up in the mail it was all over for me. I must have read it 1000 times. Saved up for the game and got it for Xmas the same month it was released in the US.

ZY8GqP9.png
 

Athreous

Member
FFVII!

There was this place with a Demo disc that included FFVII for PS1... I used to rent that disc a lot, just to play the 1st reactor mission, over and over again!
 

Dream-Knife

Banned
FF7 on Switch 2-3 years ago. I thought it was pretty good, but I like Xenogears a whole lot more.

Since then I've played 6, 10, 7R, 14, and 15. I don't think FF is for me personally.
 

Dolomite

Member
Watching my older cousins FF8 on the OG PS1. Was a dope experience.
FF tactics was the first FF I cared to play my self though
 
Last edited:

yansolo

Member
i was about 9, a kid i knew had one of his friends come over and brought ff vii with his memory card to show us, it was the first time i had seen a game that wasnt broken into single stages, but where you could walk around the world and visit different places, not to mention seeing a game that came with 3 discs. seems like nothing now but it blew me head off back in 97
 

april6e

Member
Friend has recently bought a PS2 and Final Fantasy 10. Prior to that point, I had only played E rated Nintendo and Microsoft games.

We watched some mid game cutscenes and I was utterly blown away by the graphics. My eyes were melting as I had never seen anything even close to that level of graphics before. I spent like 4 hours rewatching the same cutscenes in the theater mode like 30 times in a row. And spent the rest of the night being blown away by the summoning animations, Blitzball and the combat.
 
Last edited:

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
It was after having played Phantasy Star, and I remember kind of console warring with my friend over hit. He was blown away by FF and I was like, eh, but Phantasy Star is way better.

I think the first FF I actually loved was FF5, which I played when RPGe's translation came out.
 
Top Bottom