Is Jagged Alliance 1 worth playing or should I just skip to JA2?

I'll give you the short answer, which is just
play Jagged Alliance 2. JA1 doesn't have that much substance compared to JA2.

I have autism and can't allow myself to jump into a sequel without playing the original first. This even applies to spiritual successors. It makes going through my backlog really daunting.

>>4230586

Same here, bro :(

>>4229953
JA2 is the better game but that doesn't mean JA1 is bad. It has its faults but it also has a lot of charm, and I don't mean that in a shallow way.

I think most people interested in trying out the series would like it, they'll just like JA2 more. Playing the first game would make you appreciate the returning characters more as well.

>>4230586
I always like to sniff the instruction manuals.

>>4230586
Then kill yourself.

>>4230586
This is the worst autism

>>4229953
>No Unusually Ruthless Reuban
Shiiiiiiiit!

>>4229953
>>4230586
JA1 is a pretty good game. It has some stuff that is toned down in JA2. For example, mercenaries have much more unique and stronger personalities, many of them will forget what you told them to do mid-action and you will have to repeat yourself.
Similarly, their conflicts are much worse. When I heard my merc (Dude1) complaining about another guy (Dude2), I assumed (due to me playing JA2 first) he will complain a bit and maybe leave my payroll eventually.
Imagine my surprise when the VERY NEXT DAY Dude2 was missing and nowhere to be found - and it was implied Dude1 murdered him and hid his body. Damn.

It feels kinda more real and less like a game, much more immersive. Sadly, it's also rough around the edges, simpler and not as polished. Still, I think it's worth playing simply because JA2 is a very different experience - I understand skipping when sequel is "the same but better", but in case of Jagged Alliance, the first and second games are very different. At least give the first game a go, and if you dislike it, THEN skip it.
It's definitely worth at least giving it a shot.

File: ivan gun useless.png (14KB, 427x128px) Image search: [Google]

14KB, 427x128px

>>4229953
I'm about to complete JA1 for the first time, and while it's not a bad game, I can't say it aged to be a timeless classic. I would recommend skipping to JA2, it's the most thought-through of the two.

I've read that JA1 has stronger merc's personalities issue (kleptomaniac mercs stealing your stuff and moneys, mercs ratting out other mercs that stole your moneys, psychotic mercs killing each other, etc.), just like already mentioned in this thread. The thing is that I've READ about it. The only personality trait I ran into is Fidel not willing to give up on shooting until his target is dead, and that is more of a nuisance. Since I'm playing with a team of mercs that I found to have best performance/cost ratio (Ivan, Ice, Fidel ...), it is likely that most players miss out on that merc interaction thing as well. Because of that I feel like it's a thing not meant for the first play-through. I also want to mention that JA1 seems about 30 hours to beat, and I remember JA2 being well over 30 hours, so you are going to invest a lot of time playing both entries.

if you have a lot of time on your hands, like really a LOT of time, you can try both. If you just want to see what this series is about, just go straight for JA2.

>>4229953
JA1 is an excellent and fun game but JA2 improves on it in every way and is a masterpiece. So if you have only time for one game you should go play JA2 but its really worth it to play JA1 too. If you play 2 first and then go back to 1 however, you might be slightly disappointed.

JA2 is one of the best games of all time, 1 is a footnote in comparison

up to you which is worth your time

Damn, I spent forever playing with the mission editor in Deadly Games.