As I am sure you’re aware, we’re currently going wild for Final Fantasy here at Respawning! I only got into the franchise during the Playstation 2 era as that was my first non-Pokemon orientated games console. In the time since, I have played (To completion) Final Fantasy X, XII, the XIII trilogy and XV (If you can’t read Roman numerals then bad luck). I’ve managed to steer clear of the online entries in the Final Fantasy franchise, much to the dismay of the others here on Respawning (I’m sorry Colin, please don’t beat me), and so I want to lend my voice to those here who are celebrating this truly remarkable franchise.
An avid trophy hunter, I have unlocked the Platinum trophies for Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2 and XV. I confess I didn’t obtain the elusive Platinum for XIII until my second playthrough as I’d foolishly sold integral items earlier in the game, foolishly thinking like an absolute cretin that they wouldn’t be needed again later! I also had to enlist a friends help to defeat the absolute bastard that is Vercingetorix, but all the grinding and item developing trophies were completed by me. The XIII-2 platinum wasn’t as hard to get, and I can proudly declare that I defeated the Adamantoise on XV the legit way, before the game was patched so you could insta-kill it with the Ring of the Luci’i (Though I have still done it that way since about 60 times).
The Final Fantasy XIII trilogy proved quite divisive for the fanbase from what I have seen, and in my opinion, the best entry of the three has got to be Lightning Returns. This is because it puts the spotlight back on the main character, Lightning, from the first game after her absence from the second due to… Reasons. I thoroughly enjoyed the (More) open world compared to that of the other titles in the trilogy, and the climactic ending in a world consumed by darkness left me thoroughly satisfied with its conclusion.
Until I played Final Fantasy XV, and it became my favourite game of the generation (And all time!), my favourite entry in the series was definitely FF XII. I played through it to completion multiple times and loved every second of it, as the delightful characters (Not you Fran) and jaw-dropping scenery made every moment special, and really felt like I was along for the ride on the epic journey that Vaan and company were battling through.
However, I can’t extol the virtues of Final Fantasy XII without talking about my only real gripe with it, and that’s the decision to make the Zodiac job system mandatory in the Playstation 4 port, The Zodiac Age. I tried it for about 10 hours but absolutely detest it and now I pretend it simply doesn’t exist and that I haven’t played the game since the Playstation 2 era. You can’t change my mind.
As mentioned earlier, Final Fantasy X was my first foray into the franchise and the sheer depth and spectacle blew me away from the word go. From the first encounter with Sin in Zanarkand at the beginning and the ability to summon Aeons to assist you in battle, to the level of absolute badassery on display from Auron. There are so many game mechanics and memorable plot moments in this game that make it a title I will never forget. One other reason why I’ll never forget it is the level of bullshit tolerance required to get the Platinum for it, so an attempt to do so gets a hard pass from me!
To bring me to my original point from the subtitle of this article, I truly hope there is never a ‘final’ Final Fantasy game, and that it is one of the few franchises in existence that gets to just go on forever. It always brings something new and fresh to the table with every installment and, whatever the next entry to the franchise is (So long as it isn’t online), you can be sure I’ll be there on release day to get my copy!
Oh, and one last point, it’s pronounced ‘choke-abo’ not ‘chock-abo’. Won’t tell you again.
Let us know your favourite Final Fantasy game in the comments and on Twitter @RespawningUK. You can also find me on Twitter @MaliceVER and on YouTube @ Void Euphoric Records.
Thanks for reading, and for everything Final Fantasy that you could possibly need, Respawning is the best place for you.