Playing a bunch of old RPGs now

[smileyryder]

I was fortunate enough today to receive a very generous payment for helping my brother move. I was given a PS2 with Final Fantasy I & II, VII, VIII, IX, and X as well as Kingdom Hearts I & II. There were about 7 other games Onimusha 1, 2 and 3 but I'm not as interested in those.

I played Final Fantasy VII on the PC but haven't played any of the others because I didn't own a Playstation.

Which should I play first through the Final Fantasy's or the Kingdom Hearts games? And what other PS2 games would any of you recommend? I'm interested in the Persona franchise.

[Bowser]

Kingdom Hearts is "old" now? 2001 or 2002 or something?

Jeezers.

[Joshua_Johnston]

I recently found myself in a similar situation; I was able to borrow a friend's neglected PS2 and play some RPGs I never had the chance to play before, including Kingdom Hearts 2 and Final Fantasy XII. (I'm currently burrowing through Star Ocean 3 and Arc the Lad.)

Your question is a good one. There are some cameo appearances in Kingdom Hearts I and II by characters from some of the FF games, although none of them are significant enough to warrant playing the FF games first, and since you've played FF7 you already know about some of the more notable ones.

The Kingdom Hearts games are so wildly unique that they're worth playing first; they're action RPGs that are as long as many traditional RPGs, and the Disney / Square crossover thing somehow manages to deliver a compelling tale. It would be worth your time to go out and get Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories on PS2 (it can be had for $20 or $30), as it bridges the gap between I and II and makes II a lot more comprehensible, especially in the beginning.

I also recommend playing the games pretty close to each other; it was about 7 years between the times I played KH I and II and it took me awhile to remember what had happened.

Once you're done there, you'll find FFIX and FFX to be the best of the rest.

[Espeon200]

The Kingdom Hearts games are so wildly unique that they're worth playing first; they're action RPGs that are as long as many traditional RPGs, and the Disney / Square crossover thing somehow manages to deliver a compelling tale. It would be worth your time to go out and get Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories on PS2 (it can be had for $20 or $30), as it bridges the gap between I and II and makes II a lot more comprehensible, especially in the beginning.

I also recommend playing the games pretty close to each other; it was about 7 years between the times I played KH I and II and it took me awhile to remember what had happened.

Yeah, I managed to borrow Kingdom Hearts and a PS2 from a friend in college and I really love it. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was definitely "most excellent."

I don't know about playing them close to each other, though. The same friend who loaned me the PS2 and the game replayed KH I right before starting KH II, and he complained about how much retreading there was between the games, since he'd just replayed the first one in the series.

I would say that after you get done with the games you have you should definitely check out FF XII. I really loved that game, though I never got to finish it.

[Joshua_Johnston]

I second the FFXII thing. The plot is convoluted, but it's a nice yarn and the combat works pretty well.

[poptart]

I'm also playing some old rpg's from the sega cd library. I am almost finished with vay and recently started lunar 2. This summer I made it a personal mission to finish faselei and biomotor unitron for the neogeo pocket and all of the phantasy stars but stopped at 3 because it got pretty boring. PS3 really does suck! Once I am done with sega cd, I will end my summer finishing up panzer dragoon saga, dragon force 1 and Legend of Zelda links awakening.

[Aaron]

I second the FFXII thing. The plot is convoluted, but it's a nice yarn and the combat works pretty well.

I picked up FF12 for 25 bucks a few weeks after it came out at a Toys R Us sale. I played through quite a bit of it, disliking the character design thoroughly (it looked like the entire world was inbred and everyone looked the same). I played a great deal into it, got to a certain dungeon over half way in, probably 3/4. Recognized time was well spent, and called it quits. The plot didn't really pull me in.

[poptart]

I picked up FF12 for 25 bucks a few weeks after it came out at a Toys R Us sale. I played through quite a bit of it, disliking the character design thoroughly (it looked like the entire world was inbred and everyone looked the same). I played a great deal into it, got to a certain dungeon over half way in, probably 3/4. Recognized time was well spent, and called it quits. The plot didn't really pull me in.

I should be done with all the 16-bit rpg's in 10 years so by then I should be playing FF12 and giving you guys my impressions of it.

[Joshua_Johnston]

I picked up FF12 for 25 bucks a few weeks after it came out at a Toys R Us sale. I played through quite a bit of it, disliking the character design thoroughly (it looked like the entire world was inbred and everyone looked the same). I played a great deal into it, got to a certain dungeon over half way in, probably 3/4. Recognized time was well spent, and called it quits. The plot didn't really pull me in.

I think those are some valid criticisms. The art design was a little derivative (it looked like a cross between generic anime and "Dune") and the plot was too complex to really be compelling.

It was a polished game (the combat was well-designed, the music rocked, and it pushed PS2's tech) but it lacked... heart.

Shameless plug, part 12: I argued in an op-ed (http://www.nintendojo.com/editorials/view_item.php?1243799061) that Baten Kaitos Origins (which came out around the same time as FF12) was as good as FF12 -- and was in some ways better -- despite a MUCH smaller development budget.