All to All (Day 157)

I'm feeling particularly geeky and prone to the making of lists today. I think I'm going to list a few series that I have played and talk about the games I have and have not completed! I might as well limit myself to series that contain no fewer than five games. When I've played 2-3 games in a series, I get this obsessive tendency to complete every game in that series, even if maybe some of the titles are not up to that same standard of quality.

I think the biggest example here is the Final Fantasy series, which of course I've been playing since I was a little kid. Final Fantasy IV (released in America as Final Fantasy II originally) was my first game in the series. Though it was flawed, I feel in love with the game's drama and characters and have since played many different versions of the game as it has been released and rereleased over the years.

Final Fantasy

• Final Fantasy: I have played several different versions of this game but to my intense shame I have never finished it. To be honest, it's not the most fun game in the world despite its cultural importance. I don't know when it's going to happen, but this game will definitely be finished at some point. The question is, which version do I play? I have briefly played the NES original, the Final Fantasy Origins version on PlayStation, the GBA Dawn of Souls version, and have not tried the PSP remake. 
• Final Fantasy II: This entry in the series is often derided by fans because of the way leveling up works. Statistics are attained by performing certain actions. Being hit increases your defense, and attacking builds your offense. That's a very simplified way to describe it. Like its predecessor, I've briefly played the NES version, but not much else. I haven't played this one as much because I always promised myself I'd finish the original game first. Unfortunately, that never happened!
• Final Fantasy III: This is the earliest Final Fantasy game I have ever finished! I played the NES fan translation very briefly, but only made it as far as Jinn's Cave. This game reprises the job system from the original title. In the case of the DS remake, your party consists of actual characters instead of generic character classes--although the job system remains. I played through the DS version and it was completely playable but ultimately a forgettable game. It took me a really long time to finish the game's final dungeon.
• Final Fantasy IV: Hoo boy. I've finished the American SNES version, the Japanese SFC version (fan translated), the GBA port, the DS remake, and I've briefly played the PSP version bundled with Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. I am a fan of this game. The plot and characters are silly and overdramatic, but I feel they have a certain charm. The gameplay (except in the case of the American SNES version) is pleasingly challenging and each playable character contributes something unique to the party. An all-around solid addition to the series.
• Final Fantasy V: The last entry in the series to not be localized in English the first time around. After failing to release Final Fantasy II and III, Squaresoft decided to release FFIV in English and pretend that it was only the second game of the series. For reasons that are unclear, they also skipped Final Fantasy V and then released the sixth game as Final Fantasy III! This led to a lot of confusion for gamers for years to come. Final Fantasy V was one of the first games to be translated by fans and the first foreign Final Fantasy that I ever played. It's a fantastic title that should have definitely been released the first time around. Fortunately, they did eventually release the game on the GBA and PlayStation.
• Final Fantasy VI: Probably my favorite title in the main series. It has a cast of great characters all with interesting back stories. Although this title did begin the trend of over customizing characters, each character still had unique abilities that gave them compelling reasons to include in a party. It was also the first Final Fantasy to introduce a "limit break" system, though at the time they were called Desperation Techniques. As someone who has played this game multiple times through, I have only seen them pop up a few times. They are quite rare and can only be executed by initiating a Fight command at low health.
• Final Fantasy VII: Definitely the most overrated title in the series, but I do appreciate it for introducing a whole new audience to Final Fantasy and it's honestly still a great game in its own right. I'm pretty sure I've only played this game through once--I definitely wouldn't mind playing it again. I might wait until the inevitable HD remake. 
• Final Fantasy VIII: A great game with awful characters and a questionable plot. It had a beautiful aesthetic and wonderful music, but it continued the trend from FFVI of having an incomprehensible plot and flat characters.
• Final Fantasy IX: Final Fantasy returns to its roots somewhat by increasing the party size (from 3 to 4) and again making each character contribute unique aspects to the party. Skills are learned from items but many are unique to specific characters. Zidane can steal, Vivi uses magic, Garnet uses summons. The graphic style is much more cartoonish than the last two titles and the presentation is much more lighthearted in general. My favorite PlayStation Final Fantasy (next to Tactics).
• Final Fantasy X: Because I didn't own a PS2 until very very late in its life cycle, I actually never finished this game! In fact, I never got very far at all. I own the game, but for some reason I've never tried to play through it. I know a lot about it from hanging out at FF message boards for years, but I've just never followed through. Will definitely play through soon.
• Final Fantasy XI: Doesn't count. :p It's always bugged me that an MMO (and now TWO of them) have been included as a part of the main series.
• Final Fantasy XII: This game was awesome in a lot of ways. It has an pseudo-MMO style of combat in that enemies are encountered on the overworld and attacked directly with spells and attacks. The world was massive and lots of secrets to explore and the plot was epic and engaging. The characters didn't stand out very much to me and the protagonist Vaan was almost completely irrelevant to the plot. It was a very enjoyable game, though.
• Final Fantasy XIII: The main complaint leveled at this game is how incredibly linear it is--and it's true. You spend a lot of time walking through straight corridors to get to your next destination. Despite this, the game's absolutely beautiful to look at and the combat system is really fun. The characters are mostly lame and annoying aside from Sazh who is amazing. Solid game.
• Final Fantasy XIV: Also doesn't count. ._.

TL;DR

Games Beaten: III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, XII, XIII

Still to Complete: I, II, X

Okay, let's maybe do one series per entry. That ended up being longer than I expected.