I've never played a final fantasy game, but it think sephiroth is awesome. Which games should I start out with?

[fushigi friend]

Turn based combat is somewhat fun, but I really just want to see the tall buff man with the sword. Without spoiling anything for me, can you guys recomend me games where the big man himself has lots of screentime?

[Drakenfel]

By the ‘Big Man’ do you mean Sephiroth himself? If so then he is the main antagonist of ff7 there are different villains in each title. The final fantasy universe is mostly considered to be in the one place but spread out over vast spans of time or along alternative timelines. This is why I can’t really think of anyone who has been in more than one main title. Thought they can be referenced as an easter egg for returning players.

The main games people will tell you to go to for turn based combat will be between ff6-9. 10 was also turn based but was mostly a testing ground for the newer style of the ff series so you should probably stick to older titles to start out with and without spoiling too much I will explain their own charms.

FF6 is considered by many to have the best story though the game does show its age graphicly. If you can get passed that and simply focus on gameplay and the story this is a great title.

FF7 is the most iconic and recognisable title in the franchise the story is good, I loved the gameplay and Sephiroth is one of the greatest villains of all time.

FF8 is a graphical masterpiece for the time and even now I can’t help thinking how beautiful it looks when I play it. Gameplaywise it wasn’t the best but it was still fun but the only real complaint I have for the game is the heroine who I have hated since I first played the game. Despite her I really do think this was a good game.

FF9 was considered the end of an era and ff9 delivered brilliant gameplay with a nice story and characters it’s a good playthrough that you will love if you like traditional ff games.

As for the order that’s really up to you as the stories don’t really collide you won’t get spoiled though if you’re into graphics ff8 is relatively easy and the cutscenes make you feel like you’re in a movie. If gameplay is what you’re looking for, I’d go with ff7 seeing as you like Sephiroth. Though it doesn’t really matter as they are all good games.

The later titles move more and more away from the turn based system as time moves on but I haven’t really played them enough to give a decent review on those except for ff10 which wasn’t the best but was good enough…

FF10-2 did not happen. Some people will say that it exists but they are lying. If anyone ever mentions this blackhole of despair to you put your fingers in your ears and scream as loud as possible until they leave. It’s the only way to maintain the balance in the universe.

[Electric Cupcake]

As I've said before, if not the original (which sadly still isn't available on Steam), than Final Fantasy IV would be my recommendation for someone just getting into the series. It's straight forward with all the standard Final Fantasy elements in place and nothing too experimental, has a lovely musical score and a beautiful love story.

[(Edgy) Asriel Dreemurr]

Each Final Fantasy is a completely different story, with its own setting and characters. Connections are very minimal, and most are just mechanics, monsters, and character names.

Sephiroth is only in games tied to FFVII. So in terms of games you have the original FFVII, the Remake, and Crisis Core. There’s also the Advent Children movie.

It should be said though, that even in the original FFVII, Sephiroth is played up as a more mysterious character. He does not show up very often relative to the game’s full length.

[Electric Cupcake]

Originally posted by (Edgy) Asriel Dreemurr:

Each Final Fantasy is a completely different story, with its own setting and characters. Connections are very minimal, and most are just mechanics, monsters, and character names.

Sephiroth is only in games tied to FFVII. So in terms of games you have the original FFVII, the Remake, and Crisis Core. There’s also the Advent Children movie.

It should be said though, that even in the original FFVII, Sephiroth is played up as a more mysterious character. He does not show up very often relative to the game’s full length.

He's also in Kingdom Hearts, Theatrhythm, Pictlogica, World of Final Fantasy and Dissidia.

[Zero McDol]

I started at FVII in 1997 so I recommend FFVII. Up to you.

[Xengre]

Too add my input, along with much of what Drakenfel said:

FF6 is often widely regarded as amazing or overrated, but like ACTUALLY overrated. I fall into the category that it is, in fact, overrated. It is not a bad game but the story is actually very thin and it has some of the most underdeveloped cast in the entire franchise. Really, its largely minor excuse for action to go from point A to B and driven by circumstances out of your control to split up your party. The core of the story/cast is due to circumstance, not story, such as circumstances created by the big bad villain who is often heralded as comparable to Sephiroth and some even say he does better. In essence, his accomplishment is higher, but as a character he has minimal motive and development. While not as bad as a certain end surprise final boss switchero in one FF game I wont spoil in terms of "surprise! here we go!" he doesn't amount to much more. He is just a crazy nutjob. The game has three good primary characters and the rest are hyper thin largely supported by said circumstances/good characters because they would fall totally flat and be a joke on their own. In terms of story its a fun little romp and has okay length. Some of the major story events, despite the lacking story, are interesting and the overall adventure is not bad just don't expect a top tier story if you are coming from or have expectations set on something quality like FF8 or FF9's. It has excellent music. The combat is kinda fun, because it FORCES you to utilize various characters instead of maining a single set for your party due to the forced splitting up the game constantly has going on due to "circumstances" both of which it does rather well in contrast to many other aspects. That said the combat is also fairly imbalanced, as are virtually all FF games actually (in that they are too easy to break due/cheese), but even more upfront in your face so than other FF games because some characters are clearly god-tier and just stomp everything while others are just there for extra fluff/flavor until way later (at which point certain characters still continue to mop up the game's fights anyways). Realistically, its a fun semi-atmospheric romp and nothing more. Its a good one to start as a first choice FF game so you don't come from better options to this, ideally, or when you need to mix things up and play this every now and then which it suits well due to its design.

FF7 has one of the best villains in the franchise and one of the most endearing female characters for many fans as well as certain events I will not spoil, in case you don't already know. The materia system is interesting and the combat is fun and more balanced then some of the others in some ways but still, fundamentally insanely broken if you discover the more powerful abilities (which can be acquired super early) or know how to setup your characters and how to be efficient. Story/music are great, but story is also a bit more on the simpler side than some of the others in terms of some cliches while still being a solid experience. The cast is certainly a quality one and, personally, the reason this is my favorite of the franchise. It has plenty of mini-games and extra content, though some aspects rewarding while others are a waste of time with no actual meaningful value.

FF8 has arguably the most complex and well developed story with many layers for its story and cast. It will take most players multiple playthroughs to truly peel away all its secrets and intricacies, in a good way not a it is poorly handled way, with many accompanying "aha!" moments. Its combat is neat but marred by absolutely brutally poor balance decisions, which can in fact be alleviated for one of the best battle experiences in the entire franchise but it takes setting intentional rules for yourself to do. Its got one of the deepest/neatest customization systems for how your character performs in combat but its complexity also means it may be initially confusing at first. Note: It isn't actually as intimidating as it may initially seem. It has a really cool GF system for how it handles summons both in terms of stats/growth/combat but due to balance issues they are completely unrewarding and useless to veteran players but fun for first time players if they don't look online for hints on how to break the game. A core issue is the game, effectively, allows you to utilize your limit break (a character's most powerful ability) an infinite number of times... Simply opt to not use your limit break except perhaps once per dropping to critical HP per character or some such rule and its much more balanced. The other is the item mod/card system which allows you to acquire end game stats at the start of the game pretty easily, not even a lot of grinding or anything. It can be fun to break the game in subsequent playthroughs but I recommend doing it properly and not abusing things first time through as the combat system is a lot better tuned and atmospheric than many of the other FF games when you don't cause instant death or deal max damage to everything killing it 50x over in a single move. The characters are mostly great but there are also some very underdeveloped characters similar to FF6. Overall, the more developed characters are ample and good enough to make it non-issue though it does seem like a few of them were intended for more but might have had cut content. Really, if any FF game was to get its own book or series it could be this one. Its an epic story and the characters have excellent explanations for why they are who they are. The MC has some especially interesting relationship tie ins and great growth over the course of the story. The ending might be a tad confusing to younger players though, but should hopefully be easy enough to understand the core matters. Great length, fun to explore and some interesting though mostly unrewarding side content (but some is very much worth it).

[Xengre]

FF9 is a top tier FF game. It is infamous for its chibi or unique character art style in a way that initially turned many gamers off when it first came out but after you play it a bit you will probably not even notice it at all a mere 1-2 hours in. The cast is extremely endearing (except three characters who are so incredibly paper thin they ought as well have almost not been added... Quina does add some minor comedy, another adds... adds... yeah I got nothing. Then there is Freya who has an excellent start and then its like her content got cut??). Summons suck in this game btw. Straight up a trap and some of the worst summons in the franchise in terms of combat viability. I mean they do damage but really... they are so subpar compared to alternatives. That said... they range from looking meh to epic with some of the most ridiculous scenes (esp the story related ones and a few later on summons). The cast is much like FF6 and other old school FF games in that there are distinguished classes but they all have various add-on modifiers which have a limit that grows as you progress but is always strict enough to make you pick how you setup your given characters along with some superb equipment balance that makes the combat a real blessing. All characters can be effective and fun to use in this game, though I will point out the limit break aka trance in this game for some is very underwhelming compared to other characters with excellent ones but its really fine overall. The two big blemishes with the game's combat is... if you know what you are doing you can roflstomp bosses as all bosses simply have far too low HP in the game. This will almost certainly not apply to most first time players, though, and they can expect a typically excellent battle experience bar second issue which depends on how the player engages the game... Stealing in combat. Aside from the first initial set of bosses 99% of the game's remaining bosses, aka nearly every single boss in the entire game..., has very good stuff you want to steal if you plan to really keep your synthesis creation/characters and such all epicly setup. This is problematic because the RNG for stealing is notoriously BS, which for a veteran player in particular who can literally instant kill bosses, is especially obnoxious. That said if you just play through the game first time through trying to steal occasionally but not overly focusing on it then it shouldn't be too annoying (tho steal from Grotto boss for Vivi's Blizzara at least lol). The game has excellent length and side quests. There are a few blemishes where it could have been better with regards to story beats and villains but it also does mostly well, its just some spots fall a bit short of their full potential. It also has some high quality plot twists and character developments near the end and has one of the best most complete endings of any JRPG. Also, even many of the annoying characters properly grow and end up being endearing such as Steiner. Plus, the game has Vivi one of the coolest and most lovable characters ever with some top tier story and character developments and Beatrix (one of the coolest and best female characters in all of video games and a shining role model of a proper female character, and almost like a female Sephiroth in terms of epicness).

FF10 is good but very linear. The story/characters are solid though at some parts underbaked (Lulu/Waka a bit for isntance, Khimari or w/e name is, etc.) but still at least decent. In terms of atmosphere and story impact you do get the feel you are part of this world. Balance is okay for normal fights but story boss fights are (often notoriously difficult for no F'ing sense because... why people? I to this day don't understand how people struggle with it tbh I really do not) waaaaaay too freaking easy as the game literally gives you free limit breaks, massive stat boosts, etc. in these fights. In terms of how much can you break the game its #1 in the franchise. Break DMG/HP limits for 99,999 values, various other reasons, but most of all Delay Attack exists. Wanna see a super boss never take a single turn? Delay attack and high agility. GG Of course, the game does have some grind depending on what you want to do... but in terms of completing 97% of its content its not bad at all. Blitzball can be hit or miss mini-game for most between this one and its sequel (some like one while others like the other, i prefer #2's management type over this one myself) but you can totally ignore it too in both games if you want. Final boss fight is pathetic, but at least the fight before that is good. The game oozes atmosphere and authenticity so this is a fun one to play and the voice acting isn't as bad as people make it out. Tidus... gets a lot of hate from various people because they don't have the empathy or fail to understand the situation he is placed in (most other people would simply break down, give up living, or accomplish nothing in his situation... its actually quite rough).

FF10-2 lol um why does this exist again? Aside from the Blitzball and what amounts to basically a low quality money-grab fanservice with pretty visuals for the time... what does it offer? Too much to complain about here so I wont even bother.

FF12... the game that should have been named something else entirely. Not a bad game but it is 100% without question not a Final Fantasy game. It doesn't carry any real story, with some very minor political background and next to zero character development (no, for real it only has a few story beats and to give excuse from going to point a to b. its even worse than FF6 by miles). It doesn't even have a main character (don't believe me? Google it). The character you start off is often regarded to as a minor character while Balthier is referred to as the closest thing to a MC the game has though general consensus is, due to a lack of ya know... story and character development, even he doesn't actually qualify. Oh, and don't ever get the original. Get the Zodiac version. The original western release has like 80% of the spells/abilities pushed back until only being available near the final dungeon of the game (YES I'm SERIOUS) and so you are forced to work with some of the more basic setups and bland builds (which still offer certain setups that are bonkers wtf hyper broken though... like the notorious uber buff physical attack build that makes a single character out DPS the equivalent of several parties worth of characters at once cause someone forgot to stop adding broken buffs to the game that can be stacked). In terms of combat, aside from abuse esp in Zodiac which better balances things and adds more, its one of the more liked ones. Many like the way you can give your party automated commands, customization of actions, it has lots of extra side boss type content (thanks to the excellent Hunts questline/content) and building your characters properly is very rewarding. The game is a bit open to explore which is cool but the game is also very small with really only two tiny cities and... well a few people's backyards as far as I'm concerned. Most are playing this for the combat and exploring like a dungeon crawler type experience but in 3D rather than 2.5D.

FF13 I- have never played even though I own it. One day. :) Some absolutely love the story/characters while others hate it. Enjoy it for those aspects and/or the combat and put aside hating the fact that the three games it is composed of are somewhat limited, especially how linear the first game is. This is due to engine and development tool issues that actually carried over to Square Enix' development woes and FF13 Versus (aka reimagined as FF15).

FF14 may be an MMORPG but ever since it got remade its been soaring. Never played it after the remake of it but I've heard its story even played solo as a single player experience is very good. It has great music, solid combat, and offers tooons of content/playtime. Plus any MMORPG benefits that you might be into as a online game except maybe PvP (which I've never really heard anything about regarding this game or if it even has it).

FF15 visually beautiful, great music... though overused but also offers access to past FF game soundtracks too, which is good because you will be doing a lot of listening to it as you drive around/explore. The launch state was kinda bad. It basically is a solid experience that can be hit/miss depending on the player due to what was supposed to be a massive 3 part series that got nuked to 1 game and then nuked to forced release before it was even close to done (hint: it is rumored to have potentially been intended to be 10x larger based on missing content found, certain details from things like development maps, areas we knew we would visit that were cut out, how the game's design changes and becomes linear later on, etc.). The combat is fun for some but too brainless and repetitive for others. It has some depth with regards to back attacks/coop actions/counters and stuff but lets you basically have 99 lives and spam items in a down state to self revive and basically never die so long as you got money to sustain your Phoenix Downs/healing items. Also, magic is absurdly broken and by broken I mean being able to do like 4x9999 damage Quad-magic a few minutes into the start of the game if you know what you are doing (even for a brand new player if they experiment a bit). Also some of its side quest content is definitely grindy/time consuming (tho you can complete everything pre-DLC in around 100ish hours so this isn't no Xenoblade Chronicles type experience. Main cast is great. Female seems cool at first, and her original Versus design was awesome, but due to too much cut content for rushed released and story events... Ai... it is unfortunate. I'll leave it at that. The main villain is often heralded as the best character and the second coming of Sephiroth, some even state he might be a bit better even. Honestly, still enjoyable somewhat but get on sell (do NOT get the broken Steam version, get another one on PC if you get on PC because this one has issues I wont get into but it causes the infamous stutter problem). I really enjoyed sight seeing and the comaraderie/banter of your fellow bros. Save it for a later FF game to play though.

FF1-5... play if you are an uber fan. Some love specific entries but they are not the main ones people are typically going to suggest.

Also several of these have various spin-offs like FF7.

[Jelovceva]

Originally posted by the flood:

Turn based combat is somewhat fun, but I really just want to see the tall buff man with the sword. Without spoiling anything for me, can you guys recomend me games where the big man himself has lots of screentime?

Lovely! I'm simply in love with the person and his story!!!

A BIG recommendation is to play Final Fantasy Crisis Core first. It is a prequal to the original FF7 story, where you can see the development of the world and it's characters before the beginning of the main storyline.

As many have said, he is the main antagonist of the FF7, but in FFCC you will get to discover a much more human side of him, and watch his character grow around ongoing events. No spoilers here, but i REALLY love way you get to connect with him as your almost-friend and mentor, and not just the 'big bad guy'. His behavior in FF7 becomes somewhat more understandable.

After that, you can play the original FF7, loads of fun, great stories and characters to explore! :D

Hope this helps a bit~~

Edit:
Forgot to mention, FF Crisis Core is not on Steam, as far as I know, as it is a PSP game, but you can easily install it on an amulator - worked perfectly fine for me. I've just finished my replay of the game, after 6 years! Loved it as much as i did the first time!

[Gigadesu!]

I'm a huge fan of FF9.
I think it's the high point of the series and hasn't been topped since.

[solidap]

You'll have to play the stupid spin-off material for Sephiroth fan service.

FF7 was made by people with talent, who used Sephiroth effectively and dramatically, rather than having him smirking and flexing his boy pecs every 5 minutes

[fushigi friend]

Originally posted by solidap:

You'll have to play the stupid spin-off material for Sephiroth fan service.

FF7 was made by people with talent, who used Sephiroth effectively and dramatically, rather than having him smirking and flexing his boy pecs every 5 minutes

Alright, ff7 it is then