beat all the Final Fantasies

So! It’s been a year and a half since my last update and I have beaten FFI, FFVIII, FFIX, FFX (currently replaying!), FFX-2 (still playing… because my DVD is broken in the middle), FFXII and FFXIII:RW (on my DS!). Phew! I started FFVII but was turned off by the graphics and decided to wait for the remake (you know it’ll come). I bought a DS during the year so I’ll probably play FFIII and FFIV sooner of later. In general I decided to wait for remakes. I admit I prefer nice graphics and stuff (though I didn’t mind for FFI… I guess it had a nice old-school feel).

So.. what’s left (that I haven’t played at all) is: FFII, FFIII, FFIV, FFV, FFVI, FFVII and that’s it! Mainly old stuff.

My boyfriend and I got through his old-fashioned, NES FFI this morning after quite a few hours of work. Lots of fun! It was amusing to see such old graphics and how the story was underdeveloped when compared to today’s FF – but for that time, what an achievement.

Now, I only need to pass II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII (currently playing!), IX, X, X-2 and XII. Er. Way to go I guess! ;)

FFX RULES ITS SO AWESOME THAT ONE TIME YOU GET TO PLAY IT IN BETWEEN THAT 30 MINUTE CUTSCENE AND THAT PART WHERE THEY TALK FOR THREE HOURS YA LOL THAT WAS INTENSE I LIKE LEVELLING UP

Did Bahamut skyfortress today.. really liked it.. was kinda easy because i was high leveled but still so fun.. Cried a little because it was the end..
it’s like a movie.. u cry because everything’s ends well..
They make u believe some characters are dead.. but they aren’t phew..
I’m totally in love with Balthier.. So I’ll keep playing to beat Omega Mark XXII.. the optional-so-hard-boss..

I can access the final dungeon of ff12 but i’m saving this for later.. as i want to keep a little fun watch the animation including sexy Balthier..
I’ve also unstuck myself in ff8.. won’t take too long beore i finish it too.
after that i’m totally onto ff7’s case

This is a new goal.. let’s just see where am I up to now. When i say “beat” i mean the normal storyline.. not the hidden-and-so-hard-boss who is present in every final fantasy (like Nemesis in FFX for exemple) that would take me too long.
FFI – haven’t touch it yet.. will eventually download en emulator
FFII – does it exist really?
FFIII – haven’t touch it yet.. i dunno how i’ll do that.. i don’t feel like buying a nintendo DS
FFIV – haven’t touch it yet.. will buy anthology to beat it
FFV – haven’t touch it yet.. will buy anthology to beat it
FFVI – played the entire game but formated my PC before beating Kefka (final boss) and forgot to save my emulator.. will play it again on anthology
FFVII – played it many times on my PC never finished it.. I’ll buy the PS version and will finish it.
FFVIII – My saved game is still in disc 2 and i’m stuck.. get killed by cerberus..
FFIX – never touched it.. will eventually buy it

FFX – beaten

FFX-2 – beaten

FFXI – it’s an online game.. I won’t be playing it
FFXII – My saved game is in Giruvegan.. give me 2 more weeks and it’s beaten.
FFtactics – played a little.. but not finished
FFCrystal Chronicles – never tryed… have to find a gamecube for that

I just beat Final Fantasy I. This marks only the second FF game that I’ve ever beaten in my life, though I’ve started just about all of them. After FF III or VI depending on your gaming system, the only other one I’ve beaten.

It was fun to play the very first game in a series. It was actually quite challenging. I don’t know if I like playing the stock characters, where you have to choose who you use. The challenge was good though. I did use cheats twice in this game. One to find the airship, because I was pulling my hair out trying to find the bit of desert it was buried in. One to navigate the top level of the Sky Fortress to get to the last Fiend.

As stories go, obviously this one is pretty basic in the FF strain and even in fantasy strains in general. Light warriors must defeat an enemy of darkness by gathering the strength of the four elements: Fire, Air, Earth, and Water. Not much more to it than that.

Now, it’s on to FFII, which is exciting, because I haven’t started that one yet.

I started Final Fantasy VIII last week, and I am now on disc two.

For the early final fantasies, and even for the late final fantasies, there are several strategies you can use (most experienced ff players know these).

For the earliest Final Fantasies, such as I and II (Origins), which use “stock” characters as opposed to pre-chosen characters that fit a story arc, the strategies are basic. You have to choose a combination of players that work best for you. My successful combo on FFI was to use a warrior, a thief (who learns to fight quickly), a black mage, and a white mage. All final fantasies tend to use that combination, at least all except the thief, which appears sometimes.

Then, there is leveling up, which refers to gaining more experience, getting stronger, getting more armor, and getting more magic. Also basic: if a palace or fortress is too hard, you need to level up, which you means you need to fight lots of those little battles to gain experience and other qualities to make you stronger for the harder place.

In terms of armor and weaponry, based on the amount of money (gil) I have, I start with buying armor, then weapons, then magic (if it must be bought), then relics or accessories, which appear in later games. Defense is the most important; at least you’d have more chance of surviving a harder battle. Then weapons because you tend to fight more than cast. Then magic, especially healing magic like Cure, because magic is integral to all FF’s. Then relics because they’re not as necessary as the others, but they do help.

The last strategy is that you must pay attention to clues, which you can only do by talking to people you meet in towns. I think FFI was kind of hard (I still haven’t quite beaten it yet…I’m leveling up for the final fortress) because some of the clues are obscure. It took me forever to find the airship.

OK….I’m getting ready to beat this one. It shouldn’t be too hard, but beating one of these things for me is momentous. That’s why it’s one of my 43 things to beat all FF’s.

I beat Final Fantasy VII tonight. I’ll probably begin to play Final Fantasy VIII once I get into the flow of school. For now, I need to finish my summer reading.