I think the first time I played Final Fantasy was something like 11 years ago. It was most likely the Final Fantasy Origins version though I have dabbled in attempting the original NES version a few times. Last night, I finally finished it. It's unclear why I've waited so long to do so. I've played through much more difficult and time consuming games before--none of which were nearly as important or influential as Final Fantasy. I'm glad to be able to finally say that I've finished it, and doubly so that it was the Origins version since the Dawn of Souls and PSP versions of the game are significantly easier and streamlined. Honestly, I'd like to play the PSP version at some point but it'll probably be way down the line.
Despite a laundry list of flaws, it's hard to fault Final Fantasy. It launched one of my favorite video games series of all time and it's still fun to this day. Like many early Final Fantasy games, it really picks up near the end when you start acquiring the best spells and items. I was happy to acquire the legendary Excalibur in much the same way you do in Final Fantasy IV. I brought the adamantite to the traditional dwarf smith. Soon after, I grabbed the Masamune from the final dungeon. I'd never thought about how many similarities Final Fantasy IV shared with the first three games of the series.
Final Fantasy V was a transitional game for the series. It brought back the traditional job system mechanic from the first and third games but evolved it significantly by allowing you to mix and match abilities from different jobs. Like the the first and third games, it put much less emphasis on character development and chose instead to emphasize the gameplay. In a way, it was sort of the end of an era. I feel that Final Fantasy VI really changed what the series was about. Final Fantasy IV was the first game in the series to focus on having a diverse cast of characters but VI really kicked it up a notch in that regard with a huge cast of memorable characters (barring oddballs like Umaro and Gogo) that could be switched in and out of the party at will.
After VI, the series changed for good. Each title put much more of an emphasis on plot, character development, and customization. The crystals, which had been such an important element of every Final Fantasy game, were noticeably absent from VI and most future titles. Many traditions stayed, however. Chocobos, moogles, and airships continued to show up frequently. A character named Cid almost always featured prominently. Iconic weapons like Excalibur and Masamune were also commonly seen.
All of this really puts me in the mood to marathon the entire series, but I'm almost positive that's way too ambitious a goal to shoot for. Final Fantasy only took me 21 hours to finish, but that was spread out over several lengthy sessions over the course of three or four days. Although I'm playing Final Fantasy II now, I'm not entirely sure how long that's going to take me. I'm not particularly fond of the idea of playing through FFIII again either, even though I do have the DS version.
No, I think it's a much better idea to finish up Final Fantasy II and then play Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, which I abandoned a couple years ago. It's sort of a predecessor to Bravely Default, a new 3DS game that is getting a lot of positive attention lately. It might be a good idea to play through it before I give this new game a try.
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