Topic: Why you Love Final Fantasy?

I have only recently got my self into the Final Fantasy (was introduced to FFVII only 6 years ago) and I admit it is a strong series.  I have dipped into other games in the series but I find it hard to get sucked into as much as my close friend (huge fan).  So I thought I would find out from the fans why you love this series so much and what they think stands out the most.  I have asked my friend the following questions and now I want some "third party" answers.  So if you can spare a moment and answer the following questions I would be grateful.  I will never down play a series without either trying in or by finding out what makes it so great!

Best/Worst game?
Best/Worst Character?
Best/Worst Summon
High Point of Series
Low Point of Series
What one aspect of the series do you love the most?
Next game you would love to see in "HD"?
People say FF VII is the "best game ever".  Do you agree?
Best Memory
Worst Memory
Best/Worst Enemy Encounter
If there was something you could plant from the older games into the newer - what would it be?
What is the longest time logged & what game was it?

With so many Final Fantasy games coming out this year, there must be something bringing people back constantly

Best FF7, Worst X-2
Best Character Cid(FF7), Worst Cait Sith
Best Summon Odin, Worst Basically every summon in 12 lol
High point FF6 - 10, Low point X-2
Dem summons!
Would love 7 but that aint happening anytime soon, so id say 12 cause its most likely to happen
Well its my favourite game of all time......so yes!
Best memory When you get to the end of Cosmo Canyon dem feels, Worst when you have to sneak up on that little red monster in FF9 by tapping the hell outta o only to get caught and start again!!
Best Encounter Cloud v Sephiroth, Worst god damn Tonberries
Materia system from 7!

Yeah so...i might like 7 haha

Best: Final Fantasy VI
Best Character: Shadow (FFVI) Even though he is an optional character I love his backstory
Best Summon:  My personal favorite is Hades in FF VII
High Point of the series:  NES and SNES Eras
Low Point of the Series:  The moment that it went into 3D with Final Fantasy VII
What one aspect of the series do you love the most?  The Summons
Next game I love to see in HD:  Final Fantasy.  Yeah I would love to see an HD remake of the first games.
People say FFVII is the best do you agree?  Heck know in fact I think that is when the series went downhill
Best Memory:  Probably going to every store in my city looking for a copy of FFVI and not finding one.  Only to get a copy from my parents for my birthday a week later.
Worst Memory:  How the series has become
Best Encounter:  Kefka.  Come one name a time when every character in the game gets to battle the final boss.  Not only that but his whole Archesper form is freakin sweet.
Something from the older games into the new ones:  Honestly the sprite graphics I loved the simplicity of them that just seemed to fit the series well.
My first playthough of FFVI on the SNES I got the timer to 99:99.

I will be honest in the fact that after FF VII the series just went downhill to me.  In fact the last one I played was FF VIII.  The newer ones just dont interest me like the older ones do.

Best/Worst game?         Best - VI, Worst - maybe XII
Best Character?  Maybe Cloud is the best. I like all the leading ladies as well.
High Point of Series:                VI & VII. I really, really liked playing XI online too.
Low Point of Series:            Square turning into Square Enix
What one aspect of the series do you love the most?      The stories/characters/and worlds.
Next game you would love to see in "HD"?                 VII
People say FF VII is the "best game ever".  Do you agree?     Not out of all games. It's up there though.
Best Memory: Watching brother play on SNES.
Worst Memory: Dying and leveling down in XI.
Best/Worst Enemy Encounter: Best is perhaps the end of VII.
If there was something you could plant from the older games into the newer - what would it be? A semi-coherent story.
What is the longest time logged & what game was it? Definitely XI simply because it's an MMO.

1. Best/Worst game?
• Best = FF7 • Worst = FF13
2. Best/Worst Character?
• Best = Barret • Cait Sith
3. Best/Worst Summon
• Best = ANIMA(FFX) • Worst = Chocobo (FF7)
4. High Point of Series
• The story and characters
5. Low Point of Series
• FF8 - Ultimecia Castle on Disc 4 and selecting "Save" as your first unlock.
6. What one aspect of the series do you love the most?
• Story, Characters, Music and optional side games (Blitz Ball, Chocobo Races, Cards etc...)
7. Next game you would love to see in "HD"?
• FF 7 Obv
8. People say FF VII is the "best game ever".  Do you agree?
• Not the best game ever, but IMO the best FF game.
9. Best Memory
FF7 Slums - Dressing Cloud up as a girl and Smashing some perverts
or
The FF8 FMV with Quistis on a machine gun turret - letting rip - like a (hot) boss.
10.Worst Memory
• FF8 - Playing as the three randoms in the Ice cave with the bombs....
11.Best/Worst Enemy Encounter
• Best = FFX Master Seymour - Good challenge • Worst = FFX Dark Anima, too much of a challenge :s
12.If there was something you could plant from the older games into the newer - what would it be?
• The team that creates the new ones, they really killed the series.
13.What is the longest time logged & what game was it?
FF7 Around 300 hours in FF7 due to the amount of restarts.

From what you have said, do yo think that it was "the timing" of when you played VI?  From what I have heard of people who have played the series, it seems that they are found of one not because of the game but because of the memories it has created.  It is just nostalgia at the end of it.

Might be worth asking a player new to the series (ie 10 onwards) to find which they like.  They might see it differently to what you saw?

May I ask at what point in your life did FF7 come out?  How old where you?  I am seeing a pattern of what FF is peoples favorite.  As I said above, it may not be down to JUST the game

I'm going to preface this by saying my answers are based off purely off the experience as if I were playing them in 2014 and not their time of release.

Best/Worst game?
Best: FFXIV:ARR. Worst: FFII
Reasoning: FFXIV has just about everything I've ever wanted in a game. Great story, gameplay, content, and world. FFII just can't hold my attention. I tried to replay it a while back but the story and characters feel very bland. I never finished it.
NOTES: If MMOs don't count, best is the XIII series. If I had to pick a worst that I actually finished, FFVIII Crisis Core.

Best/Worst Character?
Best: Caius Ballad. Worst: Zell
Reasoning: Caius Ballad has such a deep and complicated history. I won't give spoilers, but no FF villain has ever been as interesting to me. I chose Zell for the worst because he was constantly annoying me both when I first played and when I replayed FFVIII. He doesn't add much to the story and always feels inferior in combat to other characters.

Best/Worst Summon?
Best: FFVIII Odin. Worst: FFXIV:ARR Titan-Egi.
Reasoning: Very hard for me to explain this one without a spoiler, so I'll just say if you played FFVIII, you'd likely know why I chose this. I chose FFXIV's Titan-Egi as the worst because as a Summoner, by the time you get Titan, he's already a useless summon. He has almost no utility anywhere in the entire game. Considering how badass the primal Titan is, Titan-Egi was a waste of time.

High Point of Series?
High: The PS1.
Reasoning: The PS1 generation truly allowed for Square to push the boundaries of the RPG genre. FFVII was groundbreaking while FFVIII and FFIX both greatly improved in nearly every aspect.

Low Point of Series
FFXIV.
Reasoning: After much anticipation, FFXIV launched as a broken and sometimes unplayable game. It was so broken that Square decided to take on a new producer in order to fix the failed game. He took one look at FFXIV and told Square he wants to completely scrap it and rebuild an all new game.

What one aspect of the series do you love the most?
I've always loved how deep story and interesting character progressions. Even though most of the games all take place in different times, they all share similar aspects that tie the series together. That really appeals to me.

Next game you would love to see in "HD"?
This is really tough to answer. If by "HD" you just mean upgraded graphics, FFXII. If by HD you mean an actual HD remake (Like Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes), FFVIII.

People say FF VII is the "best game ever".  Do you agree?
It's hard to say. I personally think that in 2014 it's highly over rated and that many people are still enjoying it purely on nostalgia, but if they are enjoying it that much for any reason, wouldn't that make their opinion that it's their best valid? For me, I think that in 2014, FFVII is a fairly bland and annoying game that doesn't hold up well. At release, it was revolutionary and really helped change gaming as we know it, but I don't see it as a better game than FFVIII or FFIX.

Best Memory
I remember when I was younger, I bought FFVIII because it had four discs (yes, that was my primary reason). Four discs could only mean more gameplay for my money, so I took a bet on it. For those couple of years, my parents were separating and only my Dad had a PS1, so every time I'd go over to visit him I'd make time to play FFVIII. My Dad, 2 sisters, and brother would sit around watching me play. It took me a couple years to reach the final boss, but at that point it was impossible for me to beat the game because I never used "Draw" one single time to pull any GF. I nearly finished the game with about 4 total GF... seriously. This is also the biggest "noob" moment of my entire gaming career.

Worst Memory
Getting all the way to the end of FFVIII but not being able to beat it! As said in my best memory, I made it impossible because I had never used Draw in order to pull GFs so when I reached the final boss, I only had about 4 GF to junction, only 3 of my party members were over level 40 or so, and all my weapons were pretty much stock except for Squalls. I was just a kid and it was my first real RPG, give me a break.

Best/Worst Enemy Encounter
Best: FFXIV:ARR Titan. Worst: FFXIV:Titan.
Reasoning: Cheating the system here, but why can't it be both? Titan must be killed as the last step to get your relic weapon. I had already done everything else, geared up as best I could, and completely learned my class, but everytime I'd queue up with 7 other players to get this done (yes, it's an 8 player only fight), we'd fail because of other players. It's not a super difficult fight as it's fairly scripted, but even to this day, people continue to have problems with it. It took me week after week of watching everyone around me die and fail and thus prohibiting me from progressing in the game. This made it the worst. It's the best because it's such a fun fight! The music, the dodging, the animations, and the stage are all so awesome, it's hard not to put this as my best.

If there was something you could plant from the older games into the newer - what would it be?
I'd have to say a more complex and deep 'equipment' system. I want to be able to wear/upgrade different pieces of armor that all have their own stats and attributes. This is something so many modern RPG lack that it bothers me.

What is the longest time logged & what game was it?
Obviously, I've put an insane amount of time into FFXIV:ARR. Next up on the list would probably be FFVIII.

With so many Final Fantasy games coming out this year, there must be something bringing people back constantly smile:
LIGHTNING! Joking obviously, but I think people are drawn to the concept of the series. Story driven deep RPGs with memorable characters and graphics. I strongly believe that with an open mind, nearly anyone can enjoy any of the story lines and characters in most of the games in the Final Fantasy series.

@nathanuc1988 wow, you are totally on different shore with me. I really liked Crisis Core and can't bear FFXIII-2-3. And FFVIII eh... can't tell that it's bad, but remake, please NO!!!

It was a toss of between FFVIII and FFIX for the remake when I chose. I felt the FFVIII has everything it needs for a full HD remake. Great story, characters, gameplay, and tons of content. A full remake of FFVII would be nice too, but I still think FFVIII was the better title.

(May I ask at what point in your life did FF7 come out?  How old where you?  I am seeing a pattern of what FF is peoples favorite.  As I said above, it may not be down to JUST the game)

1997 - I would of been 9. I first played a copy my older brother borrowed from a friend. My bro hated it, I loved it, although at that age/time, I was not able to grasp materia/summons etc...
I got stuck on a boss and was unable to get past a boss on Disc 1. - (Shinra robot in the elevator?)
My bro had to return it and I was without it for some time. I managed to get a copy a year later and destroyed it !

For me, I think it was the arrival of FF7 - think about it, through my young years I was playing Mario & Sonic great games but just mainly 2d platformers, then games like FF7 came out, with the insanely good FMV's, awesome music score etc.. and it really took RPG/adventure games to another level of immersity (for the time) - blow you away material, especially with the really lovable characters and story.

But then I think maybe thats a bunch of dog swollocks. Because I loved FF8 & 9 nearly just as much.

I wouldnt rule age out - I cant remember the last FF type game I completed. (although I blame dota 2)

Good to see someone else can appreciate Caius! A lot of characters have come and gone from my memory, but Caius still sticks out as a great character.