What makes final fantasy good

After questioning some troubling orders from his King, the dark knight Cecil is demoted and sent on a simple delivery job with his friend Kain. The shocking events that follow send Cecil and a group of heroes on a dramatic journey of betrayal, love and redemption. It also features a built-in jukebox, so you can listen to the soundtrack at any time.

These crystals bring life to and prosperity, but they have lost their power and are on the verge of destruction. Four characters are driven together by fate: Bartz, Princess Lenna of Castle Tycoon, the pirate captain Faris and the deeply mysterious Galuf.

Together, they embark on a journey to save the planet. This game introduced several interesting ideas, including a story with strong characters, but no central protagonist - each member of the party gets their own moment center stage and you can choose who to control for much of the game. But one still does have the power of magic - a young woman named Terra, who is enslaved by the evil Empire. The story starts in Midgar, a city controlled by Shinra Inc - a less than ethical multi-conglomerate that is absorbing Mako energy and destroying the natural resources of the planet.

The game also made waves with its cinematic battles and innovative Materia system that essentially lets you slot abilities and magic into armor - this allows for an incredible level of flexibility in how you set up the party. The version available on current gen devices features a number of useful features, including the ability to speed up time, turn off random encounters or even boost your characters to full health.

Also, it featured the card game Triple Triad - one of the best mini-games in the series to date! It's an updated version of the game with enhanced visuals, and useful boosters, such as the ability to speed up time. The game begins with an elaborate plan by the roguish Zidane and the Tantalus Theater Troupe to kidnap Princess Garnet, the heir of Alexandria.

But to their surprise, the princess wants to be kidnapped, and make her escape from the castle. Before long Garnet, her personal guard Steiner, have joined Zidane and a colorful cast of misfits, including Vivi, Freya and Quina, on an unforgettable journey across a dangerous land.

This game marks a return to the series traditional fantasy roots, after the sci-fi inspired worlds of the prior two games. Is that the one with Sephiroth? Mommy issues and all. With a multi-million-dollar marketing campaign, eye-popping computer-generated imagery and the promise of poignant, heartrending narrative, Final Fantasy VII took the world by storm when it was released for PlayStation in It is perhaps best known as the game where Aeris dies.

Aeris's death isn't a spoiler. It's a genuine tragedy. That's kind of weird. You're kind of weird. Lots of reasons! For a lot of today's and somethings, it came out just in time to shepherd us through adolescence. We watched Cloud and Tifa grow up as we were growing up.

We sympathized with their mistakes and wished we could be as strong as they were. But it was also an excellent game even if it hasn't aged quite perfectly. It took you on a wonderful adventure through all sorts of cool places, from the gritty, dystopian city of Midgar to the carnival-esque Golden Saucer to the icy hills of the Promised Land. It allowed you to customize your characters by equipping them with magical orbs called Materia that could manipulate their skills and stats in creative ways.

There was just a ridiculous amount of stuff to see and do. Like many Final Fantasy games, number 7 has a wild, twisty plot. Sometimes it can get confusing, mostly because Square did an awful job translating the text. But it's still an emotionally resonant piece of work that takes you inside the heads of quite a few fascinating people with quite a few fascinating stories to tell. It's really good at making you feel like you're on an adventure, a wild chase that takes you through some really exotic settings.

Any other masterpieces? And in prison. And space. And a time-compressed alternate reality. Final Fantasy X - The one with Tidus. Dark, haunting, and full of water. Final Fantasy XI - A massively multi-player online game. Fun if you're into that sort of thing. Fun if you're into that sort of thing and you don't like other people.

There are some common themes, though. The items always have the same names—basic healing units are called Potions, for example, and reviving items are Phoenix Downs. There's usually a character named Cid. There are usually summon creatures named after mythological creatures like Shiva, Ifrit, and Bahamut. You can pilot flying vehicles called airships and use them to explore the world. And there are recurring creatures that have become staples of Square's library over the years, like the yellow horse-bird Chocobos and the adorable puffy Moogles.

So we mentioned the 14 main installments, but there are also three direct sequels to main installments, and way too many spinoffs to count. Ask four Final Fantasy fans this question and you'll get eight different answers. If I've never played a Final Fantasy game before, where should I start?

Take the nominal lead, Zidane, for example. This is particularly evident in the case of Vivi. And yet despite all the pain and the tragedy the heroes endure, the game never wallows in misery. It still looks for joy and humor in the world and goes out of its way to leave you with a smile on your face.

Skills are active commands that you can use in combat, such as magic spells, or deadly physical attacks. It all means that you have to make constant decisions about the makeup of your party.

Do you stick with an underpowered piece of kit to bank the skill for later use? Should you switch up your support abilities to help overcome a particularly bothersome boss?