What are your Final Fantasy memories?

[Embryon]

Our Theatrhythm feature, which went up today, touches on the various ways that Final Fantasy has impacted my life. We're all RPGFans here, so I'd like to spark a discussion: what are your memories of Final Fantasy? Did you miss your junior prom because you had just reached Ultimecia's Castle and you couldn't tear yourself away from the TV? Did you listen to a burned CD full of FFVII music as you walked to school every day back in 7th grade? Did you stay up all night, finally triumphing over the Ark Angels in FFXI just as the sun began to rise? Was the release date of FFIX the same day you met a lifelong friend? Whether your story relates to a particular game or is just related to the series in general, I'd love to hear about the way Final Fantasy (and even RPGs in general) have affected you.

You read my tale, so let me hear yours! :)

[Parn]

I camped Charybdis for that stupid Joyeuse in FFXI.  Not once.  Not twice.  Three days in a row.  Everyone who needed a Joyeuse was getting one.  We eventually got all three.  Pure misery waiting for that stupid thing to pop, especially since there was competition.  That was the only time I've ever camped something like that in an MMO, and I will never do something like that ever again.

[Agent D.]

First time I beat Emerald Weapon in VII. Sort of a highlight in my RPG career, seeing as I was 11 or 12. It doesn't count for beans now, I can beat most of the final fantasies in 2 weeks if I have the free time and motivation.

The ugly side of this coin was that ffxii was the ONLY final fantasy I walked away from midway. Couldn't finish it, game sucked SSSOOO much.

Edit: I realize I didn't mention how these were sort of important, though I have mentioned my FFXII dislike before. Emerald weapon was the first super boss I ever defeated. It gave me that oomph to do it in other games like chrono cross, other ff titles, and pretty much all rpgs in general. It became my ultima weapon of sorts, I could use it to beat everything. The ffxii thing...it's the first RPG I couldn't finish due to straight dislike...and the only rpg I never intend to complete.

[Aeolus]

Felt embarrassed for some reason when I first went through FFs VII and VIII.

Now I know why....

Rented the hell out of FFVI. Forced my youngest brother into it as well and now he has the victory theme as his ring tone.

Got and played through the PSX FFs as they came along save for VIII (which I had to borrow off of said brother until I completed it) and IX (which for political reasons is no longer mine but I still completed it).

Forced myself to take a break from FFVI to check out FFV and I haven't regretted it since.

FFIV was probably my first FF game but I never got a chance to really play it until the PSX version and that was after going through Chrono Trigger.

FFI required a trip to a used game store to pick up and then Origins came along and I both played through that version along with my first attempt at FFII where I made the exact same mistake as everyone else and tried to powerlevel my party. Went back to II much later though and completely avoided level grinding which was what I needed to get through the game.

First played FFIII on the emulator (along with SD3, Terranigma, and the SuperNES version of FFVI which is where I noted that HP and MP growth is exactly the same for every character and fixed at every level) and then eventually the inferior DS version.

FFT was my first SRPG and once I figured out how to place my team down properly I was hooked enough to run through three more times. Didn't need to restart the game either since I figured out that with my untapped spillover JP and MA/Move boosting gear I could make Ramza into a serviceable Wizard with the ability to one shot Weigraf with a Flare (and take a healthy chunk out of Velius with a second Flare before dying horribly). Didn't figure out why leaning on the crutch of T.G. Cid was a bad idea until it was too late but I did manage to deduce the brokenness of the Oracle's Life Drain spell so I beat Altma with that instead.

I also got FFMQ used but it is awesome in a neat and simple way (which is the complete antithesis of today's Squeenix) and anyone who says otherwise should :frogout:.

FFX is the only proper FF game I have yet to beat. Unfortunately I got a copy used so I have no interest in the upcoming(?) HD version.

I enjoyed FFXII for what it was worth when it first came out but I wish it was better than being a garbled mess and the antichrist of OCDs everywhere. Fortunately Xenoblade Chronicles exists so now my wish has come true.

FFTA was a massive disappointment due to its grindy and repetitive nature. TA2 wasn't nearly enough of an improvement to bother finishing right now.

All the sequels and compilations can go die in a fire and burn in hell. I have yet to encounter a single one of these that wasn't completely and irredeemably godawful in the worst ways imaginable.

FFXI is an MMO and thus does not exist. FFXIV also does not exist but by virtue of not actually existing in any sort of usable form yet.

[Ashton]

Making Gau leap into the Veldt, getting on my airship, and leaving him there, forever.

[Monsoon]

I actually think Gau is one of the top three most powerful/useful characters in FF VI.  True story. 

My best Final Fantasy memory is probably seeing the opera in FF VI for the first time.  Wasn't expecting that.  When you regain control of Locke I was actually disappointed, because I wanted it to keep going. 

Worst?  Probably when I played FF Tactics for the first time and I discovered the second area where you can't leave between story battle sequences (the castle where you fight Velius/Belias).  I was so distressed by my inability to take a break for leveling up (Velius was kicking my ass) that I was reduced almost to tears and considered restarting the game.  FF Tactics is one of my all-time favorite games now, but for awhile I was incredibly pissed off about that.  Gotta keep two save files.

[Aeolus]

I actually think Gau is one of the top three most powerful/useful characters in FF VI.  True story. 

My best Final Fantasy memory is probably seeing the opera in FF VI for the first time.  Wasn't expecting that.  When you regain control of Locke I was actually disappointed, because I wanted it to keep going. 

Worst?  Probably when I played FF Tactics for the first time and I discovered the second area where you can't leave between story battle sequences (the castle where you fight Velius/Belias).  I was so distressed by my inability to take a break for leveling up (Velius was kicking my ass) that I was reduced almost to tears and considered restarting the game.  FF Tactics is one of my all-time favorite games now, but for awhile I was incredibly pissed off about that.  Gotta keep two save files.

If you know what you're doing then yes, Gau is among your top three party members along with Edgar and either Terra or Sabin even without Wind God powers. Early on some of his rages will allow you to perform attacks and spells beyond what you can currently access, then much later on he can become a physical tank with a Snow Muffler and virtually indestructible with the Magic Pot rage. Unfortunately, Edgar's much easier to use than Gau, Terra, Celes, and Relm can all ratchet their magic damage up much more easily with all the female gear and costumes available to them, and Sabin's Bum Rush is just that fucking ridiculous. Of course you can stick the Gem Box and Economizer on him and have him learn Ultima through the Paladin Shield (then keep it on afterwards) and turn Gau into a nigh immortal god of destruction (unfortunately you can do the same to Mog and he can also equip the Moogle Charm as well for when you just give no fucks).


Incidentally I also recall what was probably the most ridiculous FF encounter in my life when I fought the Ice Dragon MKII fight for the first time in the Dragon's Den in the FFVIA port. The party wound up mostly wiped pretty early on in the fight except for Mog whom I foolishly set to dance. Que a night long battle between a mostly frozen dancing moogle and four Ice Dragons that couldn't do more than delay the inevitable with all the Stop spells and freezing attacks (and then just freezing attacks when they all ran out of MP) they could spam at him.

[Andrew]

The first Final Fantasy game I ever played was Tactics Advance. I loved it then and I loved it now. I think the first Final Fantasy Tactics is a mediocre game that receives far more praise than it deserves. (Please don't hurt me everyone.)

After that, I played them in a rather erratic order:

Final Fantasy X was the first main series game that I played and, thankfully, an exceptionally good one. The cutscene that involves the gang stopping Yuna's wedding is still my favourite FF scene. Watching them slide down the chains is awesome. Also, great ending.

Final Fantasy XII was next. I love it. I love it a lot. I had my say over on the FFXIII v Xenoblade topic so I won't repeat it here. I would like to say though that I think Rasler Nabradia is one of the coolest characters ever. Is it weird that I think that and, apart from appearing a couple of times as a ghost, he's only really in the opening cutscene?

I borrowed VIII off a friend, but never actually owned it. Got as far as the end of the first disc and then gave up on it. I think that's when my friend told me all the characters had grown up in the same orphanage, or something like that. That sounded ridiculously stupid, so I think my interest waned. That said, after the FFX scene mentioned above, my next favourite is the waltz done by Squall and Rinoa.

I think I played IX next, but I don't remember it very well. I can't remember what I thought, but I'm sure I didn't finish it.

Like IX, I don't remember V all that well. Again, I don't think I finished it.

I played FFVII after a friendly kindly gave me his copy. I know it cops a lot of criticism these days, but I thought it was great. Even in (I can't remember the exact year) about 2010 I can see why it was thought of so highly. I hated hunting down Yuffie in those forests. :P

VI! I love VI. I don't think I need to explain why.

FFIII was next when I played the remake on DS. Did not like it at all.

Sometime around here I tried a trial of XI. I'm pretty sure I couldn't even figure out the controls. Needless to say, I never purchased the full game.

I think FFXIII came out around here, which was when I played it. I liked it, but it was certainly lacking a few important features. I don't think I'd go back and play it again. Didn't really like any of the characters.

I bought the remake of FFIV on PSP when it came out, and was glad I enjoyed it as much as II hoped I would. Great story and characters. Kain and Rydia are two of my favourites. Unfortunately, I did not like The After Years at all. It ruined the whole experience for me a bit.

Finally I played FFI on PSP. Which, shockingly, I actually really, really enjoyed.

Which I then, stupidly. followed up by playing FFII. Awful game.

And that's that! I'm playing XIII-2 right now... but I'm not sure what I think yet. I have not played XIV.

Oh, and I should make a special mention of Crisis Core. Zack is awesome.

[Kevadu]

This thread makes me feel old.  My Final Fantasy memories started with Final Fantasy on the NES.

[Yoda]

FF on the NES was the first RPG I played. Unlike Zelda I loved FF because of the story and being able to figure out where to go. The music really hit home too for a young me. Beating the game was awesome and I still remember where I was and who I was with. The character I named after my cousin Nick dealt the final blow.

[Dincrest]

I used to go over to a buddy's dorm every night when he was playing FF7 (back in '97) because I got so into the story.  I was slowly getting more and more into anime and the game was like interactive anime.  Since I only had a Sega Genesis at the time, I cut my RPG teeth on Phantasy Star 2-4, but it was Final Fantasy VII that sparked me into the RPG fan I am today. 

[MeshGearFox]

FFVIII, despite not being a game I like that much currently, was for a time my favorite FF game, and from an emotional/mental/memory-connectivity standpoint, it's probably the most important FF game to me, as I was playing it during a very... interesting summer in my life. Where I kind of reset myself as a person. And I was playing FFVIII through a good portion of that.

I'll go more in depth later with this, I think. Actually the full story involves me diving into a lot of my personal issues and I'm not sure I want to do that (in a coherent way, at least).

[SonicDeathMonkey]

VII: Started playing this when I was about 8 years old. Me and my friends shared a copy that was  borrowed from another friend, and I ended up not beating it for a couple years. I'd just get lost for a while and not really even care because I was just having so much fun playing it, and pouring over GameFAQs guides and such. It was the first RPG I ever played, and to this day it's pretty much my favorite game just because of the massive amount of nostalgia that is attached to it.

VIII: The extent to which I was excited for this cannot be overstated. I remember my dad paying me $100 to de-weed the front lawn (he was being nice giving me that much money, but I pretty much earned it because that shit took forever), and finishing a few days after the game came out. I immediately begged my mom to take me to EB to buy it. It was the first time I ever bought a new game for $50, as I don't think I had ever really even had that much money at once ever before. We got back from the mall kind of late so I only got to play it for about an hour before I had to go to bed (I was in 4th or 5th grade). Although I had played the shit out of VII, I still was really young and didn't really know much about the series as a whole, and so I kind of expected it to be a lot like VII except maybe with a different story. I'm really not sure what I expected, but I remember being kind of... not disappointed, but certainly taken aback, as I was walking through a university-like place talking to people and not fighting anything. I wasn't crazy about the character designs, either. I remember being kind of upset that I didn't get to actually fight anyone that first night of playing because I had to go to sleep before I was finished running around the Garden. I warmed up to the game though, and eventually beat it, but it wasn't the game I wanted it to be when I bought it.

IX: Skipped this one for some reason, didn't end up playing it until after I played X.  No real meaningful memories attached to this one.

X: My friend's brother stole a PS2 from some department store when it came out (took a display model into the bathroom, slipped it into his backpack) and this was one of the games he bought for it. I actually just watched him play it for quite some time, marveling at the graphics. I eventually got a PS2 of my own and got this game pretty quickly. Not my favorite in the series, pretty good though.

After that I kind of lost interest in the series. X-2 was had a great battle system, and was pretty fun actually, but in a very different way than the classic entries. I got pretty far in XII, but I still haven't bothered finishing it. I got used to the gambit system but I never really learned to love it. Haven't played XIII at all. Replaying the older games in the series the last few years has been fun, though. So far I've beaten I, IV and VI. I'd say IV, VI, VII are my favorites, VIII and IX are great as well, X was very good, XII was okay.

[GrimReality]

I won't bother going through all the games.
I DO remember when we got Final Fantasy II(at the time. IV now). I was playing it when my mom or dad came in the room, heard the music, and looked at the tv. Now, my brothers and I had bought a SNES without permission, so I had to quickly explain away why NES games were suddenly sounding incredible. I recall coming up with some bullshit about a "super" cartridge with a special sound chip. Either they bought it, or just didn't care, because we never got in any trouble.

[Yoda]

God I'd think about FFIV's music during class all fucking day while I doodled