What is Final Fantasy all about?

[Joshua Randall]

An evil villian has plans to achieve levels of god-like power and take over the world, and it's up to a ragtag group of pretty, angst-ridden teenagers to stop him (or her). Along the way, there will be much soul-searching, personal growth, and maybe a romance or two.

But isn't this the plot of all computer RPGs?

 

[Skrit]

By "first few" do you mean "more than half"?

I mean FF1 I loved, I still laugh when I see the blackbelt character punch. I never played FF2 (which wasn't in the US). My next incarantion of FF was 4?? (Which ever is the US 2) on the Super Nintendo this one is possibly my favorite. This is where I blur out.. I can't remember what 5 and 6 were like, I remember I didn't like the one where you had the Jobs instead of straight character classes. I was skeptical about FF7 but when I played it I liked it. It's all down hill from there..

 

[CronoDekar]

It's hard for me to really say what my appeal to the series is. With the exception of FF11 (which is an MMO), I've played all the FFs from 4 and up, and my opinions on each of the games range from "That was a really enjoyable experience" to "That was SO AWESOME," leaning mostly to the latter. The characters and battles are fun, the settings are cool, and the plot is usually good. But I also just love my Japanese-style RPGs (hence my nick), so that probably has something to do with it.

Mainly I'd suggest taking a shot at one or two of them and seeing if they're your kind of game. I'd probably recommend 6 (3 stateside), 7, or 10 (my personal faves) as starting points. Also, about the movie... it's probably not the best example of FF. It's alright, but nothing to write home about. Same with the anime series.

 

[Dark Jezter]

But isn't this the plot of all computer RPGs?

Ultima series? Nope.
Fallout? Nope.
Baldur's Gate series? Nope.
Planescape Torment? Nope.
Neverwinter Nights? Nope.
Knights of the Old Republic? Nope.
Icewind Dale? Nope.

Guess I need to play more PC RPGs.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I was being sarcastic, wise guy.

And I can make an argument that some of the games you listed do fit this plot:

An evil villian has plans to achieve levels of god-like power and take over the world, and it's up to a ragtag group of pretty, angst-ridden teenagers to stop him (or her). Along the way, there will be much soul-searching, personal growth, and maybe a romance or two.

Neverwinter Nights? Morag is trying to gather the Words of Power so she can take over the world and re-make it. It's up to a group of ragtag adventurers (not teenagers per se, but Sharwyn and Linu are definitely "pretty") to stop her. Along the way, there is much soul-searching (*cough* Aribeth *cough*), personal growth (*cough* henchmen quests, especially Daelan), and maybe a romance or two (PC w/ Aribeth, PC w/ Sharwyn, PC w/ Linu, [or PC w/ Aarin Gend if PC is female]).

Knights of the Old Republic? You're kidding, right? This is textbook. Darth Malak is trying to take over the universe. It's up to a ragtag group of angst-ridden teenagers (literally in at least one case) to stop him. Along the way, there will be much soul-searching (emphasis on the much, especially the Darth Revan situation, as well as Bastila's fate), personal growth (the PC mostly, but also Carth Onasi and arguably Bastila again), and maybe a romance or two (PC w/ Bastila or PC w/ Carth).

 

[John Crichton]

Wiki did a good job in a short composite of words to sum up FF. I'd like to especially point to the section of Common Themes. Many of the gameplay elements (names, status ailments, classes & magic) are outlined here but the Plot Elements section is too sparse (not knocking the Wiki as it's meant for reference only) for a subject that is the most important to me: what the games are about and the tone.

I, too, started the series with FFII (IV in Japan) on the Super Nintendo. Being a Phantasy Star fan up to that point, I found the game different enough and generally full of more story than my favorite PRG series. The difficulty level (initially) was also lower - any PS fan will assest to those games not being kind to the player in the early stages. So instead of forcing level-ups on the map, FF focused on the story of a few core characters stuck in a situation that they couldn't control (small players against a large empire gone bad). I'd go on, but this isn't about PS vs FF, I'm giving a little background for perspective.

The most important and entertaining things about the FF series are that the themes are nice and *dark*. I like dark. Main and important characters are frequently killed off, sometimes return but generally are no longer accessable by the player. Just about any of the happier moments are always counterbalanced by an equal or greater amount of depressing happenings.

The creators also do a pretty good job of referencing history and blending that history with their original story. It doesn't always work but has always been a high point of entertainment for me.

 

[Rackhir]

Ultima series? Nope.
Fallout? Nope.
Baldur's Gate series? Nope.
Planescape Torment? Nope.
Neverwinter Nights? Nope.
Knights of the Old Republic? Nope.
Icewind Dale? Nope.

Guess I need to play more PC RPGs.

Aren't all those except the Ultima series from Black Isle/Bioware? His comment was off in the first place, I think it should have been "Isn't that the plot of almost all Console RPGs". Computer RPGs are a whole nother beast.

 

[Skrit]

I was being sarcastic, wise guy.

And I can make an argument that some of the games you listed do fit this plot:

Neverwinter Nights? Morag is trying to gather the Words of Power so she can take over the world and re-make it. It's up to a group of ragtag adventurers (not teenagers per se, but Sharwyn and Linu are definitely "pretty") to stop her. Along the way, there is much soul-searching (*cough* Aribeth *cough*), personal growth (*cough* henchmen quests, especially Daelan), and maybe a romance or two (PC w/ Aribeth, PC w/ Sharwyn, PC w/ Linu, [or PC w/ Aarin Gend if PC is female]).

Knights of the Old Republic? You're kidding, right? This is textbook. Darth Malak is trying to take over the universe. It's up to a ragtag group of angst-ridden teenagers (literally in at least one case) to stop him. Along the way, there will be much soul-searching (emphasis on the much, especially the Darth Revan situation, as well as Bastila's fate), personal growth (the PC mostly, but also Carth Onasi and arguably Bastila again), and maybe a romance or two (PC w/ Bastila or PC w/ Carth).

Sometimes repetition is cool. Such as another one of my fav series Phantasy Star. No matter what upstart government, person, monster is causing trouble in the world yo know Dark Force is behind it. The only real twists happen during the plot, and how Dark Force is controling everyone.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Aren't all those except the Ultima series from Black Isle/Bioware? His comment was off in the first place, I think it should have been "Isn't that the plot of almost all Console RPGs". Computer RPGs are a whole nother beast.

Indeed, most of them are by Black Isle/Bioware. However, considering that those are the two companies that have produced most noteworthy PC RPGs in the last several years, it's not surprising they've got so many I've listed.

I guess I could have included Diablo and Diablo II on the list. Those are technically RPGs (and made by Blizzard instead of Black Isle/Bioware), even though they are very action-oriented.

EDIT: Actually, I just realized that I didn't include Morrowind on the list. How could I have left that one out?

 

[Zulithe]

Wiki did a good job in a short composite of words to sum up FF. I'd like to especially point to the section of Common Themes. Many of the gameplay elements (names, status ailments, classes & magic) are outlined here but the Plot Elements section is too sparse (not knocking the Wiki as it's meant for reference only) for a subject that is the most important to me: what the games are about and the tone.

Part of the beauty of Wikipedia is that it is an open encyclopedia that anyone can contribute to. If you're not satisfied with some parts of the article, feel free to expand on it yourself.