Final Fantasy IV

>>4166828
They love their melodrama, so all the fake deaths probably got to them.

>>4166828
It's a fun game

>>4166830
Except for one.

The love theme is pretty good, though.

>>4166828
3 and 5 are much more popular in Japan.

First FF to do romantic themes i think

>>4166828
I feel like they tend to favor V, actually.

>>4166828
It was a really innovative game for the time, especially on consoles.

>had the most in-depth, "cinematic" story to date
>pre-made characters that enter and leave your party as part of the story makes it feel less like a game and more like playing a story
>first FF on Super Famicom
>introduction of ATB system evolving the turn-based system that was already starting to be considered a little archaic

I mean, it wasn't the FIRST to do most of these things, but doing them all together in a really high profile release like this was a big deal.

Also I don't actually know how much it's still loved in Japan but those are the reasons it's so popular in America, especially because we hadn't gotten II which had a lot of the ideas of a more cinematic game first, and III which established FF's signature job changing gameplay in Japan.

Prior to playing IV, I had tried to play VI, VII, and IX. I just couldn't get into them for some reason. Now I'm at the end of IV and I gotta say it's something special. I think part of the amazement comes from how revolutionary the game was (as >>4166973 points out). The way the game tells a story through rpg battles, like in the scenes where Edward overcomes his loss and gains a bunch of levels to show he has grown emotionally or when Cecil becomes a paladin by letting his dark knight reflection beat on him. It is a shame that the story falls apart later on, but the early game story is just so strong that it can stand on it's own, if that makes any sense. The soundtrack is also fantastic. The actual game play is fun enough to hold me 'till the end, though at times not the most engaging. Thanks OP for starting this thread and giving me an excuse to gush.

Anyone able to recommend which FF I should play next? Should I move on to V or maybe retry VI?

>>4167034
V is great, you should definitely move on to that next.

>>4167034
FFV explores the different characters more, and the job system is pretty neat. Only sad thing is the fan translation is a bit shitty. At least it was fifteen years ago. I haven't played it for a while.

>>4167034
>>4167317
>>4167367

Concur, V is awesome. I played the fan translation back in 02, first game I ever emulated on my uncle's computer-- I didn't know computers could even do that, so I'd just bought consoles until N64 burned me by not having anything I actually liked on it.
At any rate-- the GBA version's translation is really decent. played through it two winters ago.
Once you do that one, I would recommend going back to IX just to give yourself a break from the style, and then go back to VI.

V and IX are my two top FF games.

>>4166828
>Theme of Love is taught to grade schoolers?
It only takes one weeb teacher to popularise these things. Just like how the Space Battleship Yamato theme song is a pretty common song for school bands, I imagine.

>>4167692
>Japan
>Weeb
Please look at what you wrote very carefully.

FF6 is much more popular in the states thanks to the magic of Ted Woolsey's translation - especially with what he did to Kefka. Over there he's just an average ho-hum villain with some weird clown costume. Over here, there's SAND on my boots!

>>4167317
>>4167367
>>4167401
Thanks for all of the (you)s! I can't wait to try V, just gotta finish the last bit of FFIV first. Since all of you are recommending it I have pretty high hopes going in!

>>4167813
just be warned, if you want to play around with its spiffy job system you'll have to grind a lot more than in IV which kind of wrecks the pacing

File: 1494267071556.png (20KB, 480x446px) Image search: [Google]

20KB, 480x446px

>>4166973
>had the most in-depth, "cinematic" story to date

I don't really know if I'd consider IV to have a cinematic story. I like to think of the SFC FFs of having more "theatrical" stories. IV is like a traditional play, with a clear sort of structure and plenty of soliloquies by the characters. I'd say the introduction is basically up to Mist being destroyed, the first act ending after Leviathan attacks, etc.

V is a more traditional "game" story, and I still haven't played through the entire thing so I can't speak authoritatively on its whole thing.

VI is like an opera, the story is very complex and more detailed than it needs to be, but that's okay because it's really less about the plots specifics and more about how the game presents each of them with its various 'arias' (bossfights and minigames)

File: 2njvmdi.jpg (115KB, 800x566px) Image search: [Google]

115KB, 800x566px

>>4166828

>>4167828
There's never any need to grind in 5 ,if you really want to max out multiple jobs for some reason it can be done very quickly in Bal or Rift

>>4167858
you already have a lot of jobs in the first two worlds, but most encounters will still give you 1 ABP, which means all your characters will either be sticking with one job or you'll remain in one place that has an encounter which may give you 5 ABP - boring
you don't need to grind to get through the game, but you do need to grind if you want to have fun customizing your characters

>>4167882
IV - Best music
V - Best gameplay
VI - Best as a whole

>>4167894
>VI - Best as a whole
I dunno, I always lose interest somewhere during the world of ruin but whatever

>>4167829
That's quite insightful. I was using "cinematic" as more of a shorthand for "story-focused" but it's definitely not cinematic in the same way, say, Xenosaga is.

>>4168359
Yeah, I'd say that FFVII has the distinction of being the first "cinematic" one.

>>4167692
You about YOU read what I wrote, cunt, then point out where I said anything about Japan.

>>4169520
>>4167758
Looks like I quoted my own post instead of yours. Clearly I have numeracy problems but it is still you who has literacy problems.

File: gordon2[1].png (3KB, 256x224px) Image search: [Google]

3KB, 256x224px

>>4167034
Yeah, as you said, is probably the game that puts more emphasis into the story. Most FF circlejerk around characters and how cool they are, whereas IV there is still a plot.

I'd say, in my experience, the closer to IV is actually II. II doesn't have characters as charismatic as IV (which somehow can be a good thing), still the plot is fantastic.
The people recommending you V are doing that because is a popular game around here, but if you are looking for something closer to IV, have a look at II.

>>4166828
It's really the first entry that tied everything that we've come to expect from the series all into one package. JRPGs at the time definitely weren't at its level yet. >>4166973 sums it up pretty well. We take what FF2 did for granted, but it had a very epic plot at the time and new gameplay. It was the FFVII at the time. I personally think that the pieces for a great plot were there (especially in the latter half of the game) but because of a limited script and repeated twists the story's potential wasn't realized. Theme of Love is an amazing piece of music, the version from the Pray vocal album is the best.

>>4167894
FFVI's only downfall is the Esper system. Give it a more casualized version of the gameplay in the Brave New World hack and I'd have less doubts about giving it the "best SNES game" title. BNW has somewhat of a circlejerk on /vr/ but I hope that doesn't push people away from it. It's really an all-around improvement on the gameplay.

>>4170203
>My name is Gordon, I ate Prince of Kashuon

>>4166828
I really dont get all the hype for IV, i got bored of it midway through.
III is great, the job system works like a charm, now i am trying V for the first time and i am really enjoying it.

I still have to play VI, but first ill try VIII for a change of style

>>4170445
Personally, my favorite version of Them of Love is probably Uyama Hiroto's remix; then again, I'm a fan of stuff like Nujabes and DJ Okawari, so it's probably not too surprising.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR_41qZg2WE

File: RetroArch-0618-114747.png (10KB, 708x664px) Image search: [Google]

10KB, 708x664px

>>4170203

>>4169525
Once more, read your own post again and realize why you are retarded. Learn what words mean before you stupidly throw them around.

>>4170948
That's a pretty nice version, I'm actually a fan of those two as well. Thanks, anon.

>>4170883
What version of V are you playing? I thought nothing of it when I first played it years ago. It only became a favorite of mines after I got around to playing the GBA version about two years ago. Though when I was younger I just looked for different things in my video games. I expect a similar turnaround when I get to playing XII again.

>>4171290
How thick would you have to be to not get it? You clearly think I was referring to OP's example but I was referring to my own and that should have been evident after my previous post. Never did I specify anything about Japanese people, this misunderstanding is entirely on you. Stop posting, preferably forever.

>>4171358
No problem. Uyama likes to sample from video games once in awhile, like this one track he did that borrows a bit from Schala's Theme, from Chrono Trigger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90nU13rL9yo