Final Fantasy Rankings Part 2 and March 27th

Final Fantasy Rankings Part 2

(Original unabridged post from my Gamer blog)

(Part 1 post from my daily blogs)

This is a listing of my ranking of Final Fantasy Core games as of 2014.
I am including some information along with the rank.  There will be 2 numbers after the game's title: the first is my game grade(1-10) in context of when it came out.  The second is what I'd grade the game today.

6. Final Fantasy 4 (10) (8)

Final Fantasy 4(known as Final Fantasy II in US), was the first introduction to an epic plot to many JRPG fans in the United States.  The epic story of redemption is still one of the best in video games, now only starting to show its age because of bad translation.  There are, however, many translated parts that have survived and become much beloved.   It used advanced 16 bit graphics(particularly with the airships) and it went to places you never thought of.  Like the first it blended Tech and Fantasy into what Final Fantasy always has been, a blend of the two.  I dock it points now because the graphics really need more detail in the overworld, and the translation stinks and is confusing.  Still, unlike 5, 2 and 1, I'd recommend casual RPG players give it a go, its very very important in gaming culture.

5 Final Fantasy 13 (8) (9)

While doing my list, this is the only game that I would rate better today than I did the day it came out.  Not only have I vastly enjoyed this game, it has only grown in my eyes as time has gone by.  A lot of the crap said about 13 is true of all JRPG's, and I believe its crap reviews and bandwagon hatred is more a symptom of the rejection of JRPG's in the last 5 years or so.  I loved this game.  I loved the characters, I loved that the characters grew over the course of the game, I loved that everyone was there for a reason.  I saw visual things that stunned me.  I heard music that made me tear up.  I took part in a story that grew epic, world changing, and emotionally draining by the end.  Despite looking "modern", despite having not that great combat(hence the 8 rating), it felt like a Final Fantasy should.

4. Final Fantasy 7 (10) (8)

This was the first Final Fantasy that I played near its launch.  I can't really say anything about 7 that hasn't been said.  It was THAT revolutionary when it came out, even if you did not like it.  It ushered in a rush of JRPG's that have not happened since.  A whole generation of Japan's best got sent our way because of the success of 7.  Why do I rate it 8 now?  Well, the character models aren't even cute any longer.  The cutscenes, while amazing for their time, are very short.  Many of them are rendered at much less quality than the others.  The music, story, and presentation get high marks, and the Materia system mechanic ranks as my favorite of all games, not just Final Fantasy series.

March 27th

While the original series of Final Fantasy rankings was 2 posts long, I am taking 3 posts to do it here.  I try not to give you all too much a wall of text to read every day.  As an aside, since 7 is up there on the list, I fully believe that the Zephyrm Cochrane from Star Trek: First Contact was directly ripped off of Cid from Final Fantasy 7.

Freakin' guitar, I can't catch a break.  I finally put in the time to start knowing what the hell I'm doing and the world conspires against it.  I'm starting to think I was remembering the wrong string from 10 years ago, and think that the A string has a bur on the string saddle causing my strings to unravel.  Maybe it wasn't Ernie Ball's fault... I hope so, because their strings are way cheaper.  Anyway, I'm getting my amp models set up in case all I have to play for a long while is Rocksmith amps... can't even get that done though, I got 2 amps and the string broke.

I complained earlier that nothing in God of War 2 seemed as much like a Metroid area as the Temple of Pandora did in God of War 1.  I still stand by that, but at least the Fate's island is starting to show that they attempted this with it.  There's some overlap and returning to areas before, and seeing previously explored areas from afar, so its there.  The visuals still amaze me, and its pretty cool what they focus on you killing in this game.  It'll take 2 or 3 of them dying before you realize you're attacking a certain demographic in Greek Myths and its not what you expect at first.  I have to say one of my favorite things is the indifferent snear Kratos gives to all things that get in his face and yell a horrifying scream.  Kratos is never impressed.  He is disappoint.