z-man said:
For me... FFXIII is a movie that occasionally bugs you to see if you're still awake. It's a great movie, but gameplay is laughably shallow. Very linear and it felt like a complete tutorial until the end. You could barely customize until near the end. Next, I didn't know that people liked X and XII. I've seen so many complaints about the gambit system primarily. X was also a very shallow experience. The characters barely felt Final-Fantasy-Esque.
As for me, I'd place VII under VI and IV. VII was revolutionary in appearance, but VI and IV had some completely unforgettable moments. VI had Kefka. Kefka was the most insanely awesome villain in FF (for me at least). He had a set out goal that he wanted to accomplish (something the later-day villains were missing) and he had exactly how to get there planned out. His goal was amazing, and he did whatever he could to get there. Also... he's a clown. That has to account for something D: IV was good for a completely different reason. Thanks to the DS version, the characters were so endearing. I was actually moved when the twins turned to stone to save the characters, for example. The voice acting really helped there in some of the cutscenes. While some VA's were cheesy and annoying, it really helped the experience.
Now, I'm afraid the FF series has gone towards the interactive-movie phase. Either that... or they just aren't very good. XI was horrible... due to reasons I don't need to mention. XII had a very poor battle system. XIII was way too linear and just boring. X was not a final fantasy game (in feel). Why can't we go back to the classic systems of old?
after having my VIII stolen, I was off of VG's for a while, so I missed IX, X, X-2, and XI...XIII was fairly shabby to me, the story was ok, but the fight scence graphics and the draw system totally gaytardedly broken...I've mainly only heard good things about IX, which I am borrowing and VIII, so I can play and beat again whenever I can get the time
but I'm with you on the old systems in the classic FF games, I liked the job system from V, but the game just dragged on too long for me to complete all the side quests for all the lengendary gear...story-wise, VI is my fave, and it didn't require a special system for flair, it was just an overall good RPG, like IV (which had the best ending, from what I've played, IMO)...I have III on my DS flash card, and been meaning to play it, being it's one of the ones I haven't played
the FFT series is fairly decent, I had the first one on the PSX, never got a chance to play the advance ones on the GBA, but I also got FFTA2 on my flash card and will play it soon enough, along with FFXII - RW on the DS...which I haven't heard anything about
IV & VI > I (NES) > FFT > V > VII > VIII...just from what I've actually played