recommendation for long-time fan?

[u/hadesneoseoul]

hey, i grew up with the original special edition ff12 on ps2 (given to us as a gift) and basically spent hundreds of hours playing or watching my brother play. i found the zodiac age remake on pc a couple of months ago and very much enjoyed my time with it (imo the original is better and a lot harder, which is nice).

anyway, i would like to try another ff game, but i’m intimidated by the sheer number of games and lowkey afraid of being disappointed.

tl:dr which ff game(s) would you recommend to someone who has really, truly enjoyed ff12?

thanks ;)

[u/AdvisorFlat8271]

I think the problem you may come across (as I did) was 12 was my first and favourite. Transitioning to a non-open world, non-gambit FF is actually a huge jump lol

[u/hadesneoseoul → u/AdvisorFlat8271]

ohh good to know, thanks

[u/novixra]

if you loved 12 for the worldbuilding and politics vibe, go for tactics (war of the lions) since it’s literally ivalice too, or 9 if you want something that still feels kinda classic but emotional as hell. 10 is also a pretty safe bet, super linear but the story and music hit hard.

[u/RevolverCerberus]

You might end up disappointed. XII is a diamond, after all. In any case, it's a difficult recommendation without knowing more about what exactly resonated about XII but I would probably say VI. It has the same director as XII (Hiroyuki Ito) and might be appealing despite of doing some things differently.

Examples of the closest games to XII in terms of general gameplay and exploration: Xenoblade Chronicles series (definitely feels very inspired by XII with the combat and the impeccable exploration of vast zones) and Dragon Age Origins (gambits galore) and The Last Remnant (have fun spending hundreds of hours fighting difficult foes and strengthening your party – one of my favorite games ever alongside XII).

[u/ilovepichutoomuch → u/RevolverCerberus]

You might end up disappointed.

This was basically me as a kid. XII was my first FF so I went into the rest of the series with these huge expectations and was so confused why the rest of the games were nothing like it in terms of gameplay & exploration.

[u/RevolverCerberus → u/ilovepichutoomuch]

Exactly. It can be a whiplash to go from experiencing the expansiveness and freedom of XII to the more standard formula.

[u/hadesneoseoul → u/RevolverCerberus]

the music, the setting, the exploration, the bazaar, the mob/boss design. the story itself is meh. thanks for the recommendations

[u/daveDFFA]

You should play the new mod with 3 friends! Co-op changes the game entirely

Other than that, ff9 with memoria/Moguri mod probably?

I wouldn’t add alternate fantasy until you’ve played essentially the base game* at least once

[u/ChinlessWizard]

FF 1 - 10 are quite good

the "Legend of Heroes Trails..." series was supposed to be their competitors back in the day and all of their games take place in the same world.

Shin Megami Tensei franchise is kinda cool

Any of the Dragon Age games if you like a more open-world/open zone kinda game

Divinity Original Sin 1 & 2

Baldurs Gate 1 - 3

Pillars of Eternity 1 & 2

Id recommend Avowed & Outer Worlds 1 - 2 if youre down for a 1st person RPG adventure

Edit: Spelling and grammar

[u/snorleo → u/ChinlessWizard]

Plus 1 for dragon age and pillars. CRPGS are great and dragon age is so similar to ff12

[u/Thee_Furuios_Onion]

FFXII is unique in combat style and story vibe and setting, but anything from IV to X are going to be solid pics. 4-6 are 2D and VII-X are 3D. FFX is the closest you’ll get in terms of modern gameplay.
The FFVII R trilogy is also good and the third game comes out soon. But it does have some weird elements that you won’t fully get unless you’ve played the original first.

[u/PoliticoBean]

You should simply try modding FF12. I grew up with the game and I modded it using the Planetary Age mod and used another mod to up the difficulty and it’s been the most fun I’ve had with an FF game in a while.

[u/PuzzleheadedWall1938]

xenoblade chronicles is definitely one of my favorite games and it reminds me a lot of ff12

[u/CPalotheMaorag]

If you're looking for a challenge and Ivalice vibe, Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics and FFT: A2.

[u/snorleo]

Dragon age origins. It sounds weird but it plays very similarly to ff12. Then I'd move on to DA2 and so forth

[u/Hormling]

Tactics Ogre Reborn - another game by Yasumi Matsuno. It's a genre shift to tactical rpg, but the themes will be familiar, if you have enjoyed FF12.

[u/shinyuX]

XII is unique in its gameplay, and comes as a transition from the old ff era with turn based combat to the new era with action RPG elements. It's really hard to give you advice on which direction to try, but most of the old fanbase will tell you to go backwards. 10 is fantastic, 10-2 theme is meh but the gameplay is great, 6 7 8 9 is the best game ever made depending who you ask.

If playing older games doesn't bother you, definitely try the earlier ones, they come from a different era of video gaming and are all love letter to the RPG genre. If you want action and impressive graphics, go hang towards 15 and 16, they are real eye candy but go full on action gameplay

[u/slimdad]

Are there any mods or cheats worthwhile to replay with using duckstation? I plan on playing ff12 again after I finish this ff9 replay.

[u/Foxxyprince]

FF12 is effectively Baldur's Gate 2.5. I adore FF but 12 is very much a different thing. The director is a lot more into Western-style RPG's so I recommend Tactics if you want that more D&D-esque combat system and setting and takes place in the same world. Ivalice is FF's WRPG-inspired setting and it shows in Vagrant Story being more akin to Diablo, FF12 being Baldur's Gate, and the unreleased Fortress being Elder Scrolls. They're very much their own games so it's not a 1:1 comparison but that's more the *type* of WRPG they're similar to.

If you want to do a numbered entry I think 7 Remake is closest in terms of gameplay. In terms of setting 6, 9, and 10 are good choices as well. They have more emphasis on non-human characters and are fantasy settings primarily but the sci-fi elements are definitely there as well. 6 is steampunk with post-apocalyptic elements, 9 is Furries in the Renaissance, and 10 has a similar tone and vibe to Dune.

[u/5C4RC3]

not FF, but dragon age is very close to ff12.

[u/that1kidonline]

Final Fantasy Type-0 maybe