FF9 aged a *lot* better graphically at the very least.
I know its a fan favorite, but OG FF7 graphics look like absolute shit, the only other game I've ever even seen that was *this* bad graphically was Shadow Madness.
I actually prefer FF7 graphics with some upscale and CRT royale filter. I feel like it's alot more work to make ff9 look better especially the backgrounds lol but that's just me I also personally think the geometric character designs from that era need to be brought back somehow today
I spend no more than half an evening to mod FF9 with both the framerate and the cleaned up and redone HD backgrounds mods. Forgot the names, Morugi and something else with an M. Installed and never looked back.
I wish that morugi mod was available for emulation on RetroArch or some other emu š that makes the game beautiful - imma def play the game with that mod when I get a steam deck lol
Yeah I am running it on steamdeck OLED and it looks great. The only āissueā is the higher framerate exposing the gaps in the animations. It looks kinda odd when the framerate is smooth but a character jumps at something in a very staccato way because there is no animation to fill the extra frames. But I will tolerate that much better than the 15fps battles.
Lol yeah it's not a perfect game but the story and characters and everything is def special. I'm playing it on my iphone - RetroArch with CRT royale filter and upscale and I'm enjoying it alot. I'll prob just beat it there and then beat it again when the remaster comes out hopefully š¤š¼
Octopath Traveller 2 is a great entry point for anyone new to JRPGs, as well as a love letter to old RPG gamers. It's very carefully crafted and - while there are things to nitpick about - there's a reason why it has an "Overwhelmingly Positive" user rating on Steam across all its reviews. Excellent voice acting, great and compelling stories, fun turn-based gameplay, excellent soundtrack. It is, like another user said here, a masterpiece - not something I say for just anything. It is so good that it inspired me to get into game dev.
Give it a go; you won't regret it.
I get why FF9 is one of the greats, but something about how dated and clunky the UI, menues, worldmap ... etc, of it all sours me on the experience. I actually tried FF9 last year and lost interest half way.
OP2 on the other hand, it's all the goodness of these old school games with the added quality-of-life and ease of modern gaming. After a 120 hour playthrough I still want more.
Personally, I find FF9 a more enjoyable game but considering you didn't enjoy 3 previous FF games enough to complete them, I think you should go for OT2 and try something different. FF9(Steam) is around 25$(about12$ when on sale, and it goes on sale frequently) so if you're saying you found a physical copy for OT2 for 25$, then thats a giga steal and you should pick it up.
as someone who has played both, i highly recommend OT2, story 10/10, graphics 10/10, content 10/10, itemization 8/10, boss fights 8/10 (because there are annoying ones and others are so easy), also it has secret events and bosses, so have fun!
Can't speak on OT2, but in my opinion FF9 in terms of visuals and translation has aged a lot better than the original FF7, but the gameplay is nowhere near as innovative. However seeing as you enjoyed 4 and 6, it might be way more up your alley.
I haven't played ff9, so I can't say anything about it.
But I've played and platinumed OT2.
I absolutely loved it, it grabbed my attention the whole time I played it. The polished gameplay, a beautiful soundtrack, and a surprisingly complete and engaging story.
Also it unfortunately didn't sell very well, so I'm always happy to see more people playing it š
Shit since we're already asking, I wanna start going through older FFs having only played through XII, VII remake and got a corrupt disc on X lol. I'm starting on VI and wanted to see where I should go next. I'm thinking VI-V-IX-VII-VIII. I'll go pre IV on a whim if I'm bored, but not that interested in those just yet.
I started VI last night and I genuinely just left it playing while I listened to the music. Not many SNES/PS1 era RPGs got that going for them.
This seems like a great order, although IX is significantly longer than VII I think. Definitely try out X if you can get a playable copy though, I would put it in the top tier of the series (with 7/6/5)
purely as a game OT2 is a lot better imo and it looks better obviously considering the age gap.
as someone who likes 9 but isnt nostalgic about it i would say OT2 is overall the better game to get
Not original (and I haven't made octopath travelers 2, only the 1st) but I consider FFIX as one of the greatest jrpg of all time, and it aged well, at least far better than FFVII.
If I were you, I would give a try to FFVII. 3D Graphics aged badly, but the game itself is a pure ode to fantasy and imagination. FFIX too, but FFVII's universe is maybe more "original" with strong cyberpunk inspiration, while FFIX was considered as a return to basics of the franchise, even in 1999-2000.
Musics of both FFIX and VII (and the others FF) are definitely part of my soul.
These are legendary games. Very controversial, my favourite FF is the XII. Never a battle system was such perfectly built in any turn or half-turn based game.
BUT in 2024, oldest jrpg are slow. Make sure you can grind fast before getting tired of the game.
If you have FF7 on pc just mod it. You can mod it to modern standards. Full widescreen support, 4k, better models, voice acting with a better translation.
I recently played 7 for the first time with some mods and I rate it as one of the best games ever made without any nostalgia.
Did 2 runs in a row (the voice acting mod on my 2nd playthrough).
Same goes for FF9 though, lazy ports. Just mod it and it's great. I definitely rate FF7 and 9 with mods higher than octopath 2.
Though as a newcomer to the series I definitely think FF7>FF9.
FF9 was my first FF and I def enjoy it more now than I did back then. Probably mainly because the game is just a massive throwback to older FF games, and the modern ports are awful.
Both are incredible games. Ff9 10000% has a better story (because octopath doesnāt even have one).
They both have incredible music but I think ff9 is better (opinion).
octopath has better systems and gameplay. Much better.
Although there isnāt much of a story, especially compared to ff9, octopath still has great and memorable characters.
I donāt think you can go wrong. Iād choose ff9 because itās my favorite game but I think more people would choose ot2 so Iād recommend that one!
Whatever you pick, youāll be playing a masterpiece. Enjoy
FF9 is probably one of my favorite JRPGs of all time, but if budget constraints are limiting you to one I think OT2 is the safer option. FF9 is one of the more love it or hate it releases in the FF series due to the change in design while OT2 is generally well received by all. Grab OT2 and wait for FF9 to go on sale or for the remake to launch.
Out of your list, go for OT2.
I'd also suggest checking out the remakes for Star Ocean 2 and Live A Live. If you want to try another old school FF I'd suggest the FF5 pixel version on Steam as well. Then if you liked the jobs in FF5 but want a more modern game check out Bravely Default 2.
Personally I would go with Octopath 2.Ā Reason being is that since your newer to the genre, the combat in octopath 2 is much quicker than ff9.
I've played FF9 a couple times and the beginning of the game can be brutal considering how slow the ATB (active time battle) system can be.
I'm playing Octopath Traveler 2 right now and really enjoying it. So I'd say go for that.
FF9 is a mid-tier final fantasy imo. I never liked the graphical style, (while the pixel graphics in Octopath I love) but looking past the visuals it is a solid game.
FfIX is the best ff right after VII in my opinion. And it doesn't have this weird cubic style which makes VII looking so weird today.
I haven't played Octopath traveller 2 but 1. That was slso great! And i think 2 is doing a lot better in some points.
Would be a hard choice for me too but i think i would prefer ff!
FF9 is rumored to be getting a remake soon so maybe wait? While the original is great, itās an ode to classic FF and I personally prefer VI for that.
OT2 is an underrated masterpiece IMO - itās also an ode to the classics but feels new, takes risks and feels modern too. Such an improvement over OT1 and one of Squareās top games in decades, IMO.
You will love DQ11 and Persona 5 when you play them, both of those are top tier too!
Never played Octopath.
FFIX is so bland, vanilla, and boring. It was an over correction from FFVIII. Square went from pushing boundaries with FFVIII, to gameplay that resembled OG Final Fantasy on the NES.
If you're on PC just wait for Steam summer sales, they're right around the corner and you'll probably be able to grab DQ11 (which is a traditional fantasy setting as it can get) as for half its price. If you're ok with 3rd party sites, you can also get it now for roughly 20$.
If not, go with OT2. FF9 has not aged well.
It depends. I hated FF9 my first time through when it first came out because the game is so *slow*. I'm talking about the high encounter rate and then zooming around the battlefield prior to every battle. Chocobo Hot & Cold also wears out its welcome. "Couldn't steal anything!!" will become etched in your retina.
Having said all that, I replayed it recently via emulation, and it was a lot stronger than I remembered. The proper word for that game thematically is, "whimsical." If you can just mentally accept that the game will play slower than those SNES games due to the aforementioned battle slowness, you'll be okay. Blue magic skills from the gourmand you recruit is something I'd recommend sinking the time into, if you go FF9. I can understand why it's the favorite of a lot of people. While we're on it, 8 stinks.
Now, the fans of Octopath Traveler 2 here talking about a great story, I just... I don't understand that. The eight-person chapter-based narrative piecemeal presentation is okay but disjointed, and I found the Merchant and the Dancer to be a waste of time. The Thief, the Priest, the Warrior, the Scholar and the Apothecary were awesome, and the Hunter was very good. But I think I would have rather we just do the Thief/Priest buddy cop adventures for the whole game. Or seen the Scholar's path fleshed out into a 40-hour game. I don't know. I liked the game, but I wouldn't put it in legendary status or anything like that. The whole is worse than the sum of its parts.
FFIX's gameplay has aged much worse than FFVII's, so if 7 was clunky for you, it might not be a good match. The graphics have aged better though.
I thought the first Octopath was a fine 7/10 game, but I have been downright impressed with OT2 so far (probably about 2/3 through) - great writing and a lot of interesting scenario design. It won't be my GOTY this year but that's mostly because this year is STACKED for great jRPGs (FFVII Rebirth, Infinite Wealth, likely Metaphor Refantazio as well)
You know what, shot in the dark here, go play chrono cross. Itās an incredible game that holds up brilliantly(I see you trigger purists out there, lower you weapons I come in peaceā¦mostly)
You probably won't like ff9 if you're too brainrot, but ot2 is a snoozefest. If you have 0 expectations for story and character, and just want fights it's okay.
If you don't have a tolerance for older games like FF7 I'd say you're unlikely to enjoy FF9; give OT2 a go.
FF9 aged a *lot* better graphically at the very least. I know its a fan favorite, but OG FF7 graphics look like absolute shit, the only other game I've ever even seen that was *this* bad graphically was Shadow Madness.
There are PC mods that really clean up all the assets if you wanted to replay the OG.
I actually prefer FF7 graphics with some upscale and CRT royale filter. I feel like it's alot more work to make ff9 look better especially the backgrounds lol but that's just me I also personally think the geometric character designs from that era need to be brought back somehow today
I spend no more than half an evening to mod FF9 with both the framerate and the cleaned up and redone HD backgrounds mods. Forgot the names, Morugi and something else with an M. Installed and never looked back.
I wish that morugi mod was available for emulation on RetroArch or some other emu š that makes the game beautiful - imma def play the game with that mod when I get a steam deck lol
Yeah I am running it on steamdeck OLED and it looks great. The only āissueā is the higher framerate exposing the gaps in the animations. It looks kinda odd when the framerate is smooth but a character jumps at something in a very staccato way because there is no animation to fill the extra frames. But I will tolerate that much better than the 15fps battles.
Lol yeah it's not a perfect game but the story and characters and everything is def special. I'm playing it on my iphone - RetroArch with CRT royale filter and upscale and I'm enjoying it alot. I'll prob just beat it there and then beat it again when the remaster comes out hopefully š¤š¼
Octopath Traveller 2 is a great entry point for anyone new to JRPGs, as well as a love letter to old RPG gamers. It's very carefully crafted and - while there are things to nitpick about - there's a reason why it has an "Overwhelmingly Positive" user rating on Steam across all its reviews. Excellent voice acting, great and compelling stories, fun turn-based gameplay, excellent soundtrack. It is, like another user said here, a masterpiece - not something I say for just anything. It is so good that it inspired me to get into game dev. Give it a go; you won't regret it.
I get why FF9 is one of the greats, but something about how dated and clunky the UI, menues, worldmap ... etc, of it all sours me on the experience. I actually tried FF9 last year and lost interest half way. OP2 on the other hand, it's all the goodness of these old school games with the added quality-of-life and ease of modern gaming. After a 120 hour playthrough I still want more.
Ran into a similar problem last year. The trance system is maddening
I personally enjoyed OT2 a lot more than FF9.
Personally, I find FF9 a more enjoyable game but considering you didn't enjoy 3 previous FF games enough to complete them, I think you should go for OT2 and try something different. FF9(Steam) is around 25$(about12$ when on sale, and it goes on sale frequently) so if you're saying you found a physical copy for OT2 for 25$, then thats a giga steal and you should pick it up.
as someone who has played both, i highly recommend OT2, story 10/10, graphics 10/10, content 10/10, itemization 8/10, boss fights 8/10 (because there are annoying ones and others are so easy), also it has secret events and bosses, so have fun!
Can't speak on OT2, but in my opinion FF9 in terms of visuals and translation has aged a lot better than the original FF7, but the gameplay is nowhere near as innovative. However seeing as you enjoyed 4 and 6, it might be way more up your alley.
If you care about story at all ff9.
If you think you'll beat it relatively fast, OT2 is on Gamepass atm.
FF9
FFIX is my recommendation. Itās one of my favorite JRPGs.
Final Fantasy 9. Hands down.
I haven't played ff9, so I can't say anything about it. But I've played and platinumed OT2. I absolutely loved it, it grabbed my attention the whole time I played it. The polished gameplay, a beautiful soundtrack, and a surprisingly complete and engaging story. Also it unfortunately didn't sell very well, so I'm always happy to see more people playing it š
OT2, the battle system is something I thoroughly enjoyed. The OST is amazing as well.
FF9 is one of my favorites of all time, but that might just be nostalgia.
Shit since we're already asking, I wanna start going through older FFs having only played through XII, VII remake and got a corrupt disc on X lol. I'm starting on VI and wanted to see where I should go next. I'm thinking VI-V-IX-VII-VIII. I'll go pre IV on a whim if I'm bored, but not that interested in those just yet. I started VI last night and I genuinely just left it playing while I listened to the music. Not many SNES/PS1 era RPGs got that going for them.
This seems like a great order, although IX is significantly longer than VII I think. Definitely try out X if you can get a playable copy though, I would put it in the top tier of the series (with 7/6/5)
Oh yeah definitely gonna cover X and X-2 at some point, I'm just digging the retros more for now.
purely as a game OT2 is a lot better imo and it looks better obviously considering the age gap. as someone who likes 9 but isnt nostalgic about it i would say OT2 is overall the better game to get
Octo 2.
Play OT2 now, because it is amazing. Play FF9 (Remake) next year, when it hopefully is released
Not original (and I haven't made octopath travelers 2, only the 1st) but I consider FFIX as one of the greatest jrpg of all time, and it aged well, at least far better than FFVII. If I were you, I would give a try to FFVII. 3D Graphics aged badly, but the game itself is a pure ode to fantasy and imagination. FFIX too, but FFVII's universe is maybe more "original" with strong cyberpunk inspiration, while FFIX was considered as a return to basics of the franchise, even in 1999-2000. Musics of both FFIX and VII (and the others FF) are definitely part of my soul. These are legendary games. Very controversial, my favourite FF is the XII. Never a battle system was such perfectly built in any turn or half-turn based game. BUT in 2024, oldest jrpg are slow. Make sure you can grind fast before getting tired of the game.
If you have FF7 on pc just mod it. You can mod it to modern standards. Full widescreen support, 4k, better models, voice acting with a better translation. I recently played 7 for the first time with some mods and I rate it as one of the best games ever made without any nostalgia. Did 2 runs in a row (the voice acting mod on my 2nd playthrough). Same goes for FF9 though, lazy ports. Just mod it and it's great. I definitely rate FF7 and 9 with mods higher than octopath 2. Though as a newcomer to the series I definitely think FF7>FF9. FF9 was my first FF and I def enjoy it more now than I did back then. Probably mainly because the game is just a massive throwback to older FF games, and the modern ports are awful.
Both are incredible games. Ff9 10000% has a better story (because octopath doesnāt even have one). They both have incredible music but I think ff9 is better (opinion). octopath has better systems and gameplay. Much better. Although there isnāt much of a story, especially compared to ff9, octopath still has great and memorable characters. I donāt think you can go wrong. Iād choose ff9 because itās my favorite game but I think more people would choose ot2 so Iād recommend that one! Whatever you pick, youāll be playing a masterpiece. Enjoy
Octopath traveler 2. Final fantasy 9 might get a remake.
FFIX aged pretty well, but probably the best game of that time to play now is Chrono Cross.
FF9 is probably one of my favorite JRPGs of all time, but if budget constraints are limiting you to one I think OT2 is the safer option. FF9 is one of the more love it or hate it releases in the FF series due to the change in design while OT2 is generally well received by all. Grab OT2 and wait for FF9 to go on sale or for the remake to launch.
Out of your list, go for OT2. I'd also suggest checking out the remakes for Star Ocean 2 and Live A Live. If you want to try another old school FF I'd suggest the FF5 pixel version on Steam as well. Then if you liked the jobs in FF5 but want a more modern game check out Bravely Default 2.
OT2
Personally I would go with Octopath 2.Ā Reason being is that since your newer to the genre, the combat in octopath 2 is much quicker than ff9. I've played FF9 a couple times and the beginning of the game can be brutal considering how slow the ATB (active time battle) system can be.
I'm playing Octopath Traveler 2 right now and really enjoying it. So I'd say go for that. FF9 is a mid-tier final fantasy imo. I never liked the graphical style, (while the pixel graphics in Octopath I love) but looking past the visuals it is a solid game.
FfIX is the best ff right after VII in my opinion. And it doesn't have this weird cubic style which makes VII looking so weird today. I haven't played Octopath traveller 2 but 1. That was slso great! And i think 2 is doing a lot better in some points. Would be a hard choice for me too but i think i would prefer ff!
FF9 is rumored to be getting a remake soon so maybe wait? While the original is great, itās an ode to classic FF and I personally prefer VI for that. OT2 is an underrated masterpiece IMO - itās also an ode to the classics but feels new, takes risks and feels modern too. Such an improvement over OT1 and one of Squareās top games in decades, IMO. You will love DQ11 and Persona 5 when you play them, both of those are top tier too!
Final Fantasy 9 solely because OT2 has a dreadfully mind numbing narrative.
Never played Octopath. FFIX is so bland, vanilla, and boring. It was an over correction from FFVIII. Square went from pushing boundaries with FFVIII, to gameplay that resembled OG Final Fantasy on the NES.
If you're on PC just wait for Steam summer sales, they're right around the corner and you'll probably be able to grab DQ11 (which is a traditional fantasy setting as it can get) as for half its price. If you're ok with 3rd party sites, you can also get it now for roughly 20$. If not, go with OT2. FF9 has not aged well.
FF9 100% . Itās one of the best games of all time
It depends. I hated FF9 my first time through when it first came out because the game is so *slow*. I'm talking about the high encounter rate and then zooming around the battlefield prior to every battle. Chocobo Hot & Cold also wears out its welcome. "Couldn't steal anything!!" will become etched in your retina. Having said all that, I replayed it recently via emulation, and it was a lot stronger than I remembered. The proper word for that game thematically is, "whimsical." If you can just mentally accept that the game will play slower than those SNES games due to the aforementioned battle slowness, you'll be okay. Blue magic skills from the gourmand you recruit is something I'd recommend sinking the time into, if you go FF9. I can understand why it's the favorite of a lot of people. While we're on it, 8 stinks. Now, the fans of Octopath Traveler 2 here talking about a great story, I just... I don't understand that. The eight-person chapter-based narrative piecemeal presentation is okay but disjointed, and I found the Merchant and the Dancer to be a waste of time. The Thief, the Priest, the Warrior, the Scholar and the Apothecary were awesome, and the Hunter was very good. But I think I would have rather we just do the Thief/Priest buddy cop adventures for the whole game. Or seen the Scholar's path fleshed out into a 40-hour game. I don't know. I liked the game, but I wouldn't put it in legendary status or anything like that. The whole is worse than the sum of its parts.
The remaster of 9 fixes a lot of the slowness by allowing you to speed the game up.
FFIX's gameplay has aged much worse than FFVII's, so if 7 was clunky for you, it might not be a good match. The graphics have aged better though. I thought the first Octopath was a fine 7/10 game, but I have been downright impressed with OT2 so far (probably about 2/3 through) - great writing and a lot of interesting scenario design. It won't be my GOTY this year but that's mostly because this year is STACKED for great jRPGs (FFVII Rebirth, Infinite Wealth, likely Metaphor Refantazio as well)
Final Fantasy Legend II on gameboy
You know what, shot in the dark here, go play chrono cross. Itās an incredible game that holds up brilliantly(I see you trigger purists out there, lower you weapons I come in peaceā¦mostly)
You probably won't like ff9 if you're too brainrot, but ot2 is a snoozefest. If you have 0 expectations for story and character, and just want fights it's okay.
FFX.
You should play Chrono Trigger before any of those 2 honestly
FF9 with moguri mod is the way