Which Final Fantasy Disappointed You The Most?

[CrazedMonkey]

Despite my hatred of X and XII, the FF that disappointed me the most was VII. I got told how great it was, that I'd never played anything like it, etc. Then, when I picked it up and played, I was completely disappointed. Don't get me wrong, there were some things I liked, but overall it made me feel like I had wasted my time. Cloud, in any appearance, makes me want to wring his neck. He's so bland and uninteresting, and it seems like evertime they come out with something for VII he reverts back into that whiny mode. Sephiroth (and I don't care how many people worship the ground he walks on) was nothing but an annoying Mama's boy who never shut up, he easily ranks with my worst villians ever because I just couldn't take anything he did seriously. Yuffie upon first release made want to kill her (I will grant that I thinks she's gotten better as her appearances increased), Cait Sith was a complete waste of space. Aeris somehow came to the conclusion that a date with her was worth risking your life for (she's cute, but not that cute), and Barrett was a walking stereotype. I half expected him to "break out the fried chicken" every time he talked. That said, like most guys, I do like Tifa. Not just because she's drop dead gorgeous or has a huge rack, but because, as a character, she's just all around likable. She actually shows a soft motherly side to her that's hard not to like while simultaneously being able to slam any guys face into the concrete. Vincent was awesome with his dark appearance, quiet tone, and wicked skills (both with the gun and his limit breaks-awesome). Plus he had a dark past that was genuinely interesting enough to make me care. I'm also a fan of Nanaki (I refuse to call him Red XIII because he HAS A NAME dammit). He, like Vince, was generally quiet but gave off an air of wisdom and knowledge that I couldn't help but respect. Regardless, these 3 were not enough to save the game for me. I played through once, was completely underwhelmed, and never picked it up again. Nor will I ever pick it up again. People can tell me "play Crisis Core, it explains so much" as much as they want but Crisis Core revolves around someone I hate (Sephiroth), someone i never cared about to begin with and quickly forgot about until CC itself (Zack), and 2 people I never knew existed and never really wanted to know (the other 2 jerks). More over, Crisis Core shouldn't have to explain anything, the first game should have given me a clear picture why things were the way the were. There was hardly any mention of Zack at all in the original game, and the 1 or 2 appearence he did make left me thinking he was some unimportant slab of meat. VII should be able to make me care about it in it's own right, it shouldn't need spinoffs filling in the massive and numerous plot holes. Advent Children did not help anything either, just brought in 3 more people I didn't care about. Whoopie . It may not be the WORST FF I've ever played, but it was the most disappointing.

[Moogle]

You forgot Cid hehe. Eh, when I played FFVII long ago after its
release, I definitely loved it, because for one, it was the first 3D
final fantasy so it was definitely an eye opener. And it presented
something new compared to the previous final fantasies, story-
wise and the game format... but still managed to have that final
fantasy feel. So in essence I had nothing really to expect then
but greatness, when square was still on top of their game. Maybe
that's why I loved it.
There were really no FF's that disappointed me I think, as I have
enjoyed each one i've played. Maybe except Final Fantasy XII:
Revenant Wings for DS. *shudders* It was fun for the first few
levels... but then i don't know what happened. It just got boring.

[Dan558]

I was expecting better characters and a more enthralling doomsday-ish story from FFXII. So some people may call it unfair I say it this way but compared to other Final Fantasies it was an extreme letdown.

FFXIII has its on and off moments. Overall I would say it is good enough for a Final Fantasy but it scraped by at times. At first I didn't really like FFX but I at least thought from the start it was still worthy of the Final Fantasy title, just not one I preferred like VIII. If the series continues like this much longer then FF might have died for me after X with its last kick being XIII.

Edit add-on: I know its not really the subject but overall biggest letdown game. Spore.

[Xanatos]

Extraordinary experience called Final Fantasy VII, no RPG can rival, the exact thing I was promised, exact words of many fanboys forced upon me. In reality, it was just another, solid at best, RPG game, leaving me to wonder how many kids have actually played RPG games before Final Fantasy VII was released.

Two, max three decent characters, many annoying ones, unbeatable villain who's also an intelligent strategist according to many, who still gets beaten several times, and makes rather poor moves for intelligent strategist. For being different from Kefka he shares awful lot of similarities with the same. Confusing, blank at times story, not really from my point of view as much the fans of game itself having a hard time to get their facts straight. As I've already mentioned, the very hype was Final Fantasy VII's downfall in eyes of many players, including me.

[Dan558]

It seems FFVII is doomed to never get the proper respect it deserves ever again. It collapsed under its own weight, especially with all the sequels and prequels.

People are poised to hate it for a couple major reasons now. Due to people who actually picked it up in it's prime, it's now overhyped in later years because it has to compete with FFs with much more resources, greater technology and experience. Compare it to something older hard enough and you are bound to come up with similarities. Now anyone who wants to try it immediately get in the mood set of what they have heard by people who have liked the game so they expect God on a disk.

That or they hear from the bitter people who foolishly were swayed by the hype and were negative when they didn't get liquid gold flying out of their screen.

Me? I played it when it was new and I know it's good. I've played it enough to know what the game explains and I do not get mixed up in all its sequels/prequels (which milked it till it became so convoluted). It's lost its luster but I know its fame was well deserved.

When people have over-expectations and sourly bash the game it kinda just makes me want to hype it back up to the level it deserves but it really just continues the cycle. People swayed by hype to then bash the game are foolish, seems a lot like bashing it out of spite is the new trend. Hopefully just as overhyping may have been a trend the new trend of FFVII hating/"disappointment" will also topple or at least fizzle out.

[Zargabaath]

While I was very disappointed in Final Fantasy XIII I think for the sake of changing my answer up I will say I was most disappointed with Final Fantasy VI.

I was introduced to the Final Fantasy series years ago by two friends. Michael is a big fan of Final Fantasy VII & Final Fantasy X. Edward's favorite Final Fantasy is Final Fantasy VI. So when talking to them about the series I got two perspectives as Michael leans on the FFVII onward side and Edward NES-SNES side. Being my friends I trusted their judgment on the games. I like Final Fantasy VII. I liked Final Fantasy X. But when it came to Final Fantasy VI, I was let down. As some here may know my biggest detraction from the game is the World of Ruin and the lack of any further plot development (in the World of Ruin), the lack of Kefka, the non-linearity of it all that goes along with the lack of plot. There was a lack of drive, besides save the world from any more of Kefka's destruction. I felt that the story shouldn't have ended for the most part at the Floating Continent.

Michael doesn't like Final Fantasy VI pretty much at all; I do find plenty of aspects of the game that I like. Michael said the there was too much talking in Final Fantasy VI. He's a pretty big fan of Final Fantasy V, as all three of us are, but the funny thing is - the script for Final Fantasy V is longer than Final Fantasy VI.

But overall, I was expecting something great and still after a third run through the game I cannot shake my dislike of the World or Ruin.




*** Those are not the actual names of my friends.***

[Angel of Iniquity]

Mine would be between FF7 and 13.
Again, as most people stated, the hype destroyed any validity it held.

I played it... and tried to find what people were talking about and quickly lost interest and STILL haven't found an urge to beat the materia keeper. I have it, but I just don't touch it...

FF13. Here is the thing. With most FF's albeit FF7, I have fun playing them, including this one. I had fun all the way to the final hunt(vercingetorix). But then I think of it's name, final fantasy, and then i go back to the other titles...
This one isn't as good as the others. Was it fun, yes. But it didn't match the others at all.
Then I started to notice all of it's flaws.
Unmemorable music, ugly lightning, female main characters don't particularly catch my interest, boaring story and fighting, and lack of a post game playability.

[Zidane77]

X was my first disappointment, (after playing all the old ones).
But i got used to him and X-2, didn't really care about them, just whatever.
XII was a huge disappointment, and having online games in the series.
Dirge of Cerberus was 25% fun and 75% piece of crap.

[vivi_33]

To be honest..FF13 did a lot for me. I bought it the first morning it released everything looked insane. Graphics, opening scene, battle seem'd really cool aswell. Played 5-6 hours, completly linear the entire way. Got really annoying fast. I enjoyed the aspect of free roam in the other games...Hopefully in 15 they impliment that more and give you more freedom to do sidequests and what not.

[Angel of Iniquity]

To be honest..FF13 did a lot for me. I bought it the first morning it released everything looked insane. Graphics, opening scene, battle seem'd really cool aswell. Played 5-6 hours, completly linear the entire way. Got really annoying fast. I enjoyed the aspect of free roam in the other games...Hopefully in 15 they impliment that more and give you more freedom to do sidequests and what not.

Well, you don't have to wait that long, this winter FF13-2 is coming out and they said it will be completely different that the first, other than the combat system in a sense.
And Versus 13 is coming out soon, I hope, and should be an awesome game as well.

[vivi_33]

Well, you don't have to wait that long, this winter FF13-2 is coming out and they said it will be completely different that the first, other than the combat system in a sense.
And Versus 13 is coming out soon, I hope, and should be an awesome game as well.

Less linear i hope you mean ? I mean i kept getting annoyed following a tight path the whole time. I mean maybe 15 hours in you get to be a little more roam friendly but still..

[ZantetsukeN]

It's a tie for me, between VI and XIII.

I had heard all of these great things about VI, but after playing it for a few hours, I didn't think it was nearly as good as it was made out to be. It is good mind you, but I was let down because my expectations were a lot higher after hearing such praise.

XIII was a disappointment because nothing seemed to click with me. The story seemed a bit off to me in certain places, and it just didn't really have some of the things I had grown to love with the previous games, such as memorable music, freedom, tons of sidequests etc.

[Yuri3458]

I would say the most disappointing to me was final fantasy XIII. I mean the game isn't all that bad but not being able to roam around and go do sidequests just isn't that fun. Staying on one path the whole time can get kind of boring. I must say I miss being able to control all the players in your party. One thing I did like was when final fantasy X gave you the ability to use all your characters and control their attacks. That was nice. Other than fianl final XIII I liked all the other final fantasy's my favorite being final fantasy IX.

[motscroises]

VIII. It wasn't the worst, but it was so hyped up. I thought it was going to be the best game I ever played, but I really didn't like the characters or the actual game play. So sad.

[the_savior21]

I would say viii or xiii don't get me wrong viii is one of my favorites still but it was supposed to be way better then vii and it was only slightly better and way over hyped xiii was a failure to me

[nickness89]

I wasn't disappointed by any of the main games, except maybe the cap on levelling/crystarium in XIII, but i was mostly disappointed by X-2, mostly because it's an all-female cast, which i think is just annoying. I'm all for girl power if thats what women like to hear, but its nice to have a mix of genders and races in a party.

The fights are just too easy, the bosses are simple, and getting 100% is the most frustrating thing in the world when you realise you just missed one of the percentages. However, i liked the dressphere theme, and being able to decide which abilities you learn with the different spheres.

[markandrewkinzett]

10-2

[nickness89]

Actually I take back my last statement ... VIII disappointed me, generally with the Draw system. It took a lot of fun out of the game for me.

And when you get to the final disc, you can't go into any villages or anything, you HAVE to go straight to the final fight, that pisses me off.

[Illusion]

DoC. Game play, didn't like the game play at all.

[Firefly]

DoC. Game play, didn't like the game play at all.

I second this..the game was..ok..but also the story kinda bored me in alot of places.

[The_Dream_Recluse]

I don't really have a problem with any of the Final Fantasy games - they all have some flaws, but what game doesn't?

However, if i was to pick the most disappointing flaw out of all of them, i'd have to pick X. It was a terrific game, but i absolutely despised the camera (or lack thereof) in it.

[Hero without a Name]

XII for me hands down, didn't like the story line. Some of the characters were pretty cool but it didn't make it for the bad battle system IMO. I hated Vann, I hated the desert. Dalmasca was way too freaking big, and they ruined Summons/Aeons. I never used them, and overall...it just blew for me, but that's just my opinion

[Vegeta76]

XIII hands down. I tried so hard to like it, but the story was just horribly executed. Some friends of mine insist that if I "read into the back story" or something, that the game's story becomes a whole lot better. Well, okay, I can argue that for a ton of games (e.g., Halo has a pretty well written story behind all the bland level design and bullets); but to insist that the story featured in the game that I'm playing is only half as good as intended, implies to me that somebody dropped the ball somewhere.

The battle system was fun once you got beyond the tutorial points, which really don't officially end for several hours, but the areas were uninspired, lifeless and (aside from the place that looked like the Calm Lands), linear as hell.

Here's hoping the next game goes back to its FF roots.

[Cereal~Killer]

FFXIII. Really uninspired, uninteresting story. Boring characters. The only thing they had going for them was the 3 girls were hot. The game lacked towns and NPCs, which kind of makes it not feel like Final Fantasy. There were not many sidequests at all. Too linear. I also didn't like the battle system. It had too much going on at once and was maybe a little TOO fast-paced.

[Crescent]

FFXIII- Made me want to put a gun to my head

[Crescent]

XIII hands down. I tried so hard to like it, but the story was just horribly executed. Some friends of mine insist that if I "read into the back story" or something, that the game's story becomes a whole lot better. Well, okay, I can argue that for a ton of games (e.g., Halo has a pretty well written story behind all the bland level design and bullets); but to insist that the story featured in the game that I'm playing is only half as good as intended, implies to me that somebody dropped the ball somewhere.

The battle system was fun once you got beyond the tutorial points, which really don't officially end for several hours, but the areas were uninspired, lifeless and (aside from the place that looked like the Calm Lands), linear as hell.

Here's hoping the next game goes back to its FF roots.

HERE, HERE. I completely agree with you about Halo as well xD

[markandrewkinzett]

I cannot understand why so many people dislike FFXIII. Okay I agree to begin with it is very linear but if you put in the work you get to a point where you DO decide where you go. As for the story I don't see much up with it but is the story the only thing that makes a game? Also when you have finished the story you can continue on and do things you didn't or couldn't do earlier so there is plenty of freedom there. As for anything else I think the game mechanics (the new Paradigm and Crytarium systems rock), and as for the graphics, sound and FMV cutscenes what can I say except ****ING AWESOME!!! Surely there is someone out there apart from my girlfriend who agrees with me.

[Mindu]

I finished FFVI for the third time last night, and I'm going to have to share the opinions of a couple of the previous posters on here. I had heard so much praise about the game before I first played it, mostly from people who are in their mid 20s now and started playing the series during the SNES era - those same people that often maintain I, IV or VI are still the best games in the series.

The game had a great script, a decent story and gameplay that was so easy that I just felt like I was being taken for a ride. On my last playthrough I beat the final boss in less than thirty hours, and the only bosses who gave me much trouble were Ultima Weapon and the Warring Triad. Although I like the story, I didn't care much for most of the characters save for Terra, Shadow and to a lesser extent, Sabin and Cyan.

For me, Locke's overly-protective complex is unconvincing; the first time I played I mistook some of his dialog towards Celes and Terra for bad pick-up lines, and generally felt as though his failure with Rachel led to an irritating over-correction of his personality. As for Celes, I thought aspects of her personality annoying in the World of Balance, particularly her overreaction to Locke doubting her in Vector, and when she was moping around in Albrook after the fall of the Empire. What made this worse in my opinion is that the arc of her ignoring Locke was left unexplained; there was no resolution and after Thamasa she and Locke are acting as though nothing ever happened. However, I did respect her more for rallying the party members in the World of Ruin, but this part of the story led to other problems, particularly when she meets Sabin and there's not much explanation as to what he has been doing for the last year, and the same can be said for a few of the characters. Surely Sabin would have known what Edgar had been doing at the very least, but Square didn't implement anything here. I didn't think Shadow was given enough of a role, either. He's an optional character for most of the game, and unless you're following a FAQ you wouldn't necessarily know how to save his life or get him in the party in the World of Ruin, unless you discovered it by chance. Additionally there could have been more on his connection to Relm, but he never directly interacts with her at any point in the story.

[Mystyrion]

Just the mainstream series
XII

Counting prequels, sequels, and spinoffs.
X-2 by farrrrrrr.

[NeoArashi]

FFVII. I never got how people could Hype this so much. Although I firmly beleive that there is no best game ever (more sale= more popular, but more popular =/= better) I still think that almost everything FFVII did, it was done better in FFVI. (especially the villains)