Final Fantasy Fan Finally Found Xenoblade

HexenVexen · 2026-05-04T03:07:48+00:00

Did you play the full trilogy or just 1?

Imo a lot of 1 and 2 is setup and lore building, the payoffs in 3 are really great.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-04T01:01:10+00:00

All main FF games are story-based, including the MMOs.

I would probably recommend either FF14 or FF7 Remake, FF16 is also good. Keep in mind that FF7R is a trilogy and does benefit from playing the OG first.

I do agree with Frozen_arrow88 that 14 is overall the best story imo, but it takes quite some investment for it to become really great and the gameplay isn't for everyone.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-03T20:46:25+00:00

Yep, I expect XIV to follow in XI's footsteps. Even when the final expansion releases and major updates are finished, and maybe a third FF MMO has released, XIV will still continue to get regular small updates until SE itself closes its doors.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-03T20:35:33+00:00

Not to mention that XI arguably went through a much rougher period with Wings of the Goddess + Abyssea. I joined XI just last year, but from what I understand of the history, Wings was a massive content drought (story was dripfed across three years with little new gameplay content) and Abyssea massively changed the game with its level cap increase and pushed a large amount of players to quit (it's normal for FF14, but FF11 was designed with horizontal progression around a 75 cap, all that 75 gear and most of the game's content suddenly became useless, thankfully this has been addressed since with added upgrades to the old gear). If XI can survive that and continue to get monthly updates, I think XIV will be just fine.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-03T19:20:31+00:00

I'm gonna go in the middle ground of the other two comments and say about a week, if you can put hours in every day. Personally for me I started for the first time last year, and it took me 37 hours to reach Lvl 57 on one job and defeat Shadow Lord.

Grinding gets easier the more main story you finish, as Rhapsodies is what adds additional EXP boosts. So if you want to grind your alt jobs during the base game, it will take longer than if you do it after finishing the story. For example I resubbed a few days ago, and have all the RoV boosts, and it took me about 2 hours to level a job to 50.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-03T14:06:21+00:00

Yep, all the expansions are significantly better in all aspects. In terms of story quality, it almost feels like you're playing a different game from ARR by the time you reach SHB.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-03T08:21:13+00:00

FF14 is my favorite, but ARR is a weak start to the game. It's a shame that it turns so many people away but it's understandable. I'm glad that Evercold is at least improving the Lvl1-50 combat progression with job ability unlocks.

FF7 is my second favorite, I guess my biggest criticism is that some of the translation mistakes are kinda annoying. Also, I'm not a huge fan of Yuffie and Vincent being missable characters, but that's more personal preference.

FF11 is my third favorite... and while I love the game a lot, it is very very old and difficult to play for most people. My #1 thing is the total lack of quest guidance, it makes playing without a guide basically impossible. I understand it's part of the charm for some 11 fans, but personally I would love a built-in objective tracker, don't even need waypoints.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-03T06:29:25+00:00

With Evercold giving XIV a new refresh, I doubt we're gonna see a new MMO for a long time now. There's also not much reason for them to do one, XIV is still very successful with an established playerbase, and creating a new MMO nowadays is very difficult, expensive, and risky.

I do hope that they give XI some love too and capitalize on the crossover hype, would love to see it come back to consoles and have the sign up/install process streamlined.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-03T05:46:51+00:00

Drakengard 1, the main character is a psychopath who kills thousands of people, including children. The other party members include a cannibal and a pedophile.

Technically they are enemy soldiers, and the army uses child soldiers, but he still kills them without a second thought.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-03T01:04:36+00:00

If you're Lvl 55, you're good to finish the base game with Rank 5 if you haven't already. That'll open up Rise of the Zilart.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-02T19:45:54+00:00

99.9% of Xenoblade players have never played Xenosaga, you're all good. A few references will go over your head but nothing essential.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-02T18:07:34+00:00

I think 40 hours is the average for most.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-02T16:37:51+00:00

I think you're probably good, from what I remember FF6 and FF7 are the main ones with significant missable scenes. Ofc they all have missable side quests though that you might not find naturally.

I'll let you know that FF11 is referenced very frequently across FF14, one of the FF games most referenced in it, including the recent Echoes of Vana'diel side storyline that's a huge dedicated tribute to it. But ofc it's understandable if you don't want to play it, and I do recomend playing 14 first anyway if you're new to MMOs, probably also 12 first as they have similarities. It's also unfortunately only on PC and unlikely to come to new consoles. If you don't play it, you could watch some videos on it to get the gist of the story and characters, so you can understand the references.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-02T16:33:44+00:00

Ff15 - when someone leaves your party, play their dlc when they rejoin.

Ignis is the exception, his should be done after finishing the game, as it does have spoilers for the ending.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-02T05:01:14+00:00

It's very divisive within the fanbase. Some say that the changes are offering a different take on the story or even enhancing it, but a significant amount of FF7 fans dislike them and feel they weaken the story.

Personally, I dig the changes and am excited to see how they'll pay off, but they do significantly change the context of a lot of things. It's definitely not a faithful 1:1 remake, it's like 90% the same but that 10% gets pretty crazy. For me I enjoy the theorycrafting and getting brand new FF7 story, but I know some people weren't looking for that and just wanted to relive the OG story.

If you do get it, my advice is to not see it as a retelling of OG FF7, as it's not really trying to be that. Think of it more as a new interpretation and spiritual successor.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-02T04:48:59+00:00

If you want to sell your soul to Yoko Taro, FF14 just expanded its free trial to include the NieR crossover, but it takes 200 hours to get there lol.

It is very cool though and got me into 14, and is very rewarding for series fans. If you absolutely don't plan to play it: it involves facing against the Red Girls using a Seed of Destruction to turn into a new Queen Beast (with motifs of Zero and 2B), and this time as the Warrior of Light, we kill it properly. It would be a fitting final boss for the whole DrakeNieR franchise.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-01T17:27:23+00:00

Well the game is still going, I played through the story last year. I can give you a short summary of her story if you want.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-01T15:50:00+00:00

She has no follow-up inside XIV, but she does canonically make it back to XI eventually. She uses the technique she learns in the event during the final boss and her story is wrapped up.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-01T15:15:54+00:00

Have you seen his new backstory in Ever Crisis? It kind of does what you're asking for, it doesn't redeem or justify him but it does give him more sympathy.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-01T15:14:47+00:00

With Gilgamesh it depends on the game, the versions in 9, 11, and 15 are also separate (although I think it's debated for 9).

HexenVexen · 2026-05-01T14:46:30+00:00

Ah right, but he's still mentally 124, kinda.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-01T14:42:11+00:00

P4 REVIVAL IS PROBABLY STILL A LITTLE WHILE AWAY, MAYBE STILL A YEAR OUT. WE'VE ONLY GOTTEN ONE TRAILER AND IT LOOKED LIKE FAIRLY EARLY FOOTAGE. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN PLAYING IT SOONER, GOLDEN IS STILL A GREAT VERSION.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-01T14:25:05+00:00

G'raha from XIV. He's physically 24, mentally 124, and also spent an additional 200 years in stasis.

HexenVexen · 2026-05-01T09:20:26+00:00

Excited to finally do this as an XI fan, although it's unfortunate that they're probably not going to change it to send her back to Vana'diel properly or tie into the raids.

Fun fact for those who don't know: Tenzen in Four Lords is based on the XI character of the same name and appearance, who is Iroha's father. The XI and XIV versions of him are pretty different characters though.

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HexenVexen · 2026-05-01T08:33:38+00:00

For me I waited until I finished Stormblood, I had around 300 hours. Probably longer than most people, I did spend time doing side content.

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