Random final fantasy poll!

[MalcolmMasher]

Favorite FF game: FF6, probably
Least favorite FF game: FF2j, definitely
Favorite FF dungeon: Hrm. I guess I'll say the Imperial Magitek Research Facility.
Favorite main character: Zidane? I'm a sucker for comic relief, and will overlook his brief emo period due to the incredible music.
Least favorite FF dungeon: FF12's lighthouse. Just went on too long.
Favorite final boss: I guess Neo Exdeath. The individual, exploitable vulnerabilities for each part (and the dummy targets) are nifty.
Favorite FF game plot: Going with FF7. I like how it has multiple "factions" (party, Planet, Shinra, Sephiroth) that never simplify into two clear sides.
Favorite weapon (Can list more than one): FF5 Chain Whip. You'd think that whipping bosses like Omniscient to death is impractical, and you'd be wrong.
Game you use the most status in: Despite the above, FF8. Set Pain to Status Attack and suddenly every attack is a status attack. Also, Doomtrain.
Game you use the least status in: FF2j. I know it can theoretically be useful, but damned if I'm going to bother.
Game with the best challenge: FF5. Job system means easy challenge tweaking.
Game you've replayed the most: FF6
Game that has aged the best: FF6
Game that has aged the worst: FF4

Favorite summon: Doomtrain. Ding ding toot toot chugga chugga ALL THE STATUSES.

[Ranmilia]

Gotta post again and say favorite summon is DOOM TRAIN... even though I just got beaten to it.  Honorable mentions to everything in FFX (the one game I felt actually succeeded at making summons a big focal deal like they're supposed to be in the entire series, lorewise) ... and FF7 Ifrit for being one of the first really awe inspiring things I saw back in the day that made me go "wow this game is awesome," even if it looks silly and "what's the big deal?" today.

[Fenrir]

Yep it's the Doom Train.

I also really like FF12's summons as they're either Zodiac Demons from FFT or Classic FF final bosses (+ 2 random guys in there since Kefka and that bad guy from FF3 were not worthy?)
Zalera and Cuchulainn are cool.

[Dhyerwolf]

Favorite FF game: Final Fantasy 10 objectively, FF 9 subjectively (sucker for the style so much)
Least favorite FF game: FINAL FANTASY 12
Favorite FF dungeon: Aesthetically, anything in FF 9. Really. All so gorgeous. Gameplaywise...yeah, probably the FF 8 final dungeon
Favorite main character: I guess...Lightning. Final Fantasy on the whole tends to be lacking on extremely awesome characters, let alone mains.
Least favorite FF dungeon: FINAL FANTASY 12. I DO NOT KNOW WHICH DUNGEON THEY ALL MAKE ME CRY PAST THE FIRST 25% OF THE GAME
Favorite final boss: I dunno...maybe Sephiroth. Fun to beat his face in+the first (and only time) I actually beat the game, it was very early in my RPG career and I wasn't very good at that point.
Favorite FF game plot: Final Fantasy 10.

[Cotigo]

I should note that Sephiroth gets points as a final boss for punishing people (like me the first time though...) who gamesharked their characters to level 99 instead of playing the game legitimately . Definitely made that fight take waaaaay longer than it should have, and while it sucked at the time I think it's kinda hilarious now. Actually, I only just now realized that since getting to L99 is ridiculously time consuming without cheats that the HP boost was probably only introduced for the express purpose of punishing cheaters. Hilarity.

Favorite Summon is a way better question than favorite weapon. I like comedy, so Doom Train is a good choice. I liked the way Odin acted during the last fight with Seifer. 10's summons are the only good part of the game, even if everything that made them interesting gets mostly negated as soon as you get Bahamut, and entirely negated if you get Anima.

Honorable mention goes to Quetzacotl, because <3 Laggy.

[Meeplelard]

I also really like FF12's summons as they're either Zodiac Demons from FFT or Classic FF final bosses (+ 2 random guys in there since Kefka and that bad guy from FF3 were not worthy?)

Pretty sure Kefka didn't get in because he's an actual character and not just so random Evil Dark Bad Guy.  That's why Zeromus was chosen over Golbez.  And FF3's guy wasn't in because they chose Cloud of Darkness...who you'd never realize was in FF12 because it was Famfrit, a giant monster thing with a big water  jug.  How are we suppose to know it's Cloud of Darkness?  Because it's title is "The Darkening Cloud."

To be fair, they also turned Emperor, aka Mateus, into a Mermaid...


I should probably make this meaningful, so favorite summon?  I have several, but offhand I'll just say FF7 Bahamut.  I liked the animation and the quick execution and the way the animation and sound effects actually feel as damaging as it is.

[Fenrir]

I didn't know about Famfrit! Not sure about the theory though, they put in Exdeath (as an UOM Fireplace) and not Super Omega Neo X-Death.

Since there's every Lucavi + every final boss for FF1-5 in FF12... Shemhazai suddendly looks pretty Kefka-ish to me.
Would make no sense to have just ONE original summon out of 13 and not have it be important at all

[DjinnAndTonic]

Mateus isn't the mermaid, Mateus is the armor, which has captured an Ice Goddess to use as a power source (speculation is that it's Shiva). Armor = Mateus from FF2 is close enough. Now... Famfrit being Cloud of Darkness is totally an asspull since Famfrit is from FFT as a Lucavi and FFTA as a Totema. They just didn't wanna leave out a game from FF1-5 and they knew they needed to put all the Totema/Lucavi in. I dunno why they didn't just drop Shemhazai for an actual Cloud of Darkness-like Esper, since she already looks pretty damn FF12 Esper-ish.

For speculation, some people draw some parallels between Ultimecia's story and Shemhazai's background profile if you wanna try to force a connection, but it's tenuous (less tenuous than a Kefka connection, though!).

[Fenrir]

Oh yeah YOU are tenuous

It all fits nicely + They have similar clothes = Too late I'm already convinced.

[Meeplelard]

I honestly don't see the similiarties in Kefka and Shemhazzai at all, and Shemhazzai's plot doesn't really match Ultimecia's either.  It's "use to be good, then Ultima became Evil, so Shemhazzai said 'I'm going with Ultima!' and then decided to teach people how to be bad."  Not really the same as Sorceress who was persecuted, then decides to take it out on everyone by destroying every living thing in existence except herself via time compression.  That dosen't even factor in the whole "Predestination Paradox Ultimecia created when she learned of her fate and tried to prevent it.

I'm reading some discussion on it, and the basic logic that kills any sort of connection is this:

-Shemhazzai is based on a centaur, the traditional HUman + Horse.  If it was based off Ultimecia, that'd be a Lion, due to Griever.
-The naming convention.  Exodus, Chaos, Mateus and Zeromus are all named after their final boss counterparts, Famfrit was given a title that explicitly links it to Cloud of Darkness.  Likewise, the Lucavi are all named after their FFT selves (...with different translations making it less obvious in some case).  Shemhazzai has no such thing.
-Backstory doesn't match any FF Villain.  The others all have some connection, Shemhazzai does not; again, it's story doesn't even remotely resemble Ultimecia's as I illustrated above, let alone any FF character.

The discussion seems to agree the design similarities it has with Ultigriever are coincidental.

Also, Djinn, slight correction, but I don't think Famfrit is actually in FFT.  FFTA, yes, and I think Niu stated that Famfrit was intended to be Cloud of Darkness in that game even (I remember this because I was in NJIT when Niu told me, and this was well before FF12 was out), but I do agree it's a total asspull.


ANYWAY, I should get back to the actual topic!  Derailing too much!

I forgot two dungeons that I absolutely despise and should have brought up before: Rydia and Edge's challenge dungeons in FF4TAY.  One is a tedious thing with enemies too strong for your party, the other relies heavily on luck to get through (what? Ran into this encounter on this forced spot and your levels aren't high enough? AUTO LOSS!)  I know they're optional but good god do they suck.

[DjinnAndTonic]

Ugh, right, I was conflating Famfrit with Adrammelech and thinking that Famfrit just must have had some weird translation for a name in FFT so I was forgetting him in that.

[superaielman]

TAY's bonus dungeons were something to give people to do while they waited for new episodes to come out. Never done them myself, nothing about them sounds that interesting. TAY gets really fun when the band gets together, not with split up parties.

[AndrewRogue]

No FFT makes this list awful.

Games this covers: I dunno. I've played bits and pieces of most of them, but beat surprisingly few of them. I guess 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9?

Favorite FF game: 6. No question without Tactics on this list.
Least favorite FF game: 8. No question.
Favorite FF dungeon: Mmm. Honestly, none of them really jump out at me enough to declare them favorites?
Favorite main character: We'll go with the Zenny answer here. Cloud is okay, but I'm not that big a fan of him.
Least favorite FF dungeon: Zozo. I dunno why. Zozo just sort of irritates me.
Favorite final boss: Kefka works.
Favorite FF game plot: 6. Simple and generally well executed, particularly considering the limitations the game had to deal with. Has some pacing issues, but still.
Favorite weapon (Can list more than one): Don't care.
Game you use the most status in: Any non-mainline FF game.
Game you use the least status in: Any mainline FF game.
Game with the best challenge: I guess 5? All of the others are kinda derp.
Game you've replayed the most: 6. Derp.
Game that has aged the best: 6, prolly. Graphics are still decent, writing is at least still at the fringes of modern game writing quality, gameplay systems are are still functional (and frankly I like them better than a lot of the later FF game designs).
Game that has aged the worst: Eh... no strong opinion here.

[dude789]

Favorite FF game: I think I have to go with 6 for this one, although 10 is really good as well.
Least favorite FF game: I wasn't a fan of FF13 at all.
Favorite FF dungeon: Hmmm. This is hard, but Lunar Subterranean really nailed the final dungeon vibe with all the optional bosses and ultimate weapons around. FF8's was really good too.
Favorite main character: Zidane probably. It was nice to have someone like him after the relatively sombre protaganists from 6-8.
Least favorite FF dungeon: I was going to say FF5 pyramid because I replayed it recently and it was annoying, but then Super reminded me that Academia 400 AF existed.
Favorite final boss: FF6's. This was just an amazing sequence especially considering the technical limitations they had with the SNES.
Favorite FF game plot: FF10's. The character and world building here is easily my favorite.
Favorite weapon (Can list more than one): I have no idea.
Game you use the most status in: Probably FF13. I used both Saboteurs and they were both pretty good!
Game you use the least status in: I think it's FF1, but I didn't really use it that much in FF10 or FF9 either.
Game with the best challenge: If you don't know how to break it, FF5 has a really nice challenge balance. FF4DS is probably still harder, but is less well balanced.
Game you've replayed the most: FF6 I think.
Game that has aged the best: This is interesting. FF1, FF10, and FF7 seem to be regarded about the same as when they came out. I think FF8 might be the one that's improved the most since people have accepted that the plot is stupid, moved on, and embraced how easy it is to break the game.
Game that has aged the worst:FF9 probably, although it is still a nice game aesthetically.

[Shale]

Favorite FF game: VI
Least favorite FF game: VIII
Favorite FF dungeon: Tower of Kefka.
Favorite main character: Yuna, I guess? I don't play FF games for the mains.
Least favorite FF dungeon: Crystal fucking Tower.
Favorite final boss: VII isn't my favorite at much, but Safer Sephiroth was a really good final fight. Kefka's a close second.
Favorite FF game plot: VI, probably.
Favorite weapon (Can list more than one): Hell if I know.
Game you use the most status in: Probably X because statustouch/strike weapons exist and Slow is such a big deal.
Game you use the least status in: II. I don't think I used a status spell once there.
Game with the best challenge: Chall...enge?
Game you've replayed the most: VI. Four times on the SNES (I didn't even own an SNES!) puts it ahead of everything but V before you even start in on the re-releases.
Game that has aged the best: V. Job/Ability never goes out of style.
Game that has aged the worst: II if we're looking at just the originals, III if you take the most recent remake/re-release.

[interrobangbang]

Memories of SNES games very hazy, memories of PSX era sorta fuzzy, memories of PS2 era and FF5 crystal clear.
   
Favorite FF game: FF5. I find it much more succinct, replayable, and enjoyable than most any other game in the series. FFX runner up, it's fun but it's slow to get going (Guadosalam is the point where I start caring/when the game stops tutorialing you more or less?)
Least favorite FF game: FF4. I think I have tried replaying it six times and stop before becoming za paladino ultomato each time since... can't bring myself to continue? This'd be FF3DS but that got entertaining endgame I guess.

Favorite FF dungeon: ... prrrrrrobably the one super-optional and really tough area in FF12 where you go to get the Zodiac Spear if you FAQ'd it, actually? Like, there's actually a lot of places in FF12 I really liked the feel of but that place was easily one of my favorites. Runner up to Kefka's Tower, though.
Favorite main character: Does Yuna count? If not, Terra (and if she doesn't count, I pass)
Least favorite FF dungeon: WHATEVER THE FUCK THAT IDENTICAL MAZE OF ROOMS IN FF12 WAS, FUCK THAT PLACE TO HELL capslock off but christ I can't describe how much i hate that dungeon. Also it says something about FF12 naming scheme that I can't recall the name of -any- of the locations I guess.

Favorite final boss: uhhhm. let's go the three dudes leading up to Kefka if I can cheat and not pick Kefka himself. would be a lot more interesting in a tougher game, and was still really interesting/stylish in the game itself.
Favorite FF game plot: FF6. most concrete and interesting turn of the game, with an excellent transfer to the second half. Runnerup to FF10, but the earlygame drags on me.
Favorite weapon (Can list more than one): Gonna order based on favorites, note I'm not a fan of a lot of the standard stuff.
Blitzball (FFX) > Combs (FF7) > Dolls (FFX) > Dualguns (FF13) > Tools (FF6) > Staff/dreamcatcher (FF13) > martial artist characters minus Snow > the rest, offhand? > Snow (how is your weapon the fucking symbol on your back, you are hitting with your fists, stop this bloody nonsense)

Game you use the most status in: FFXII. Thanks, reverse Remedies!
Game you use the least status in: I was about to say FF9, but then I remembered Tent abuse existed. Uh, probably FF7 then. FF6 runner up.

Game with the best challenge: FF5, probably? Going for non-breaking runs makes it pretty threatening pretty often. Runner-up to FF13.
Game you've replayed the most: FF5, easily.
Game that has aged the best: FF6. FF5... the GBA version helps but the graphics are still dry. FF6, oddly enough, still feels pretty impressive for the software it's on, to me.
Game that has aged the worst: Two way tie for me: FF7 for graphics, FF9 for gameplay.


Favorite summon: Tie between FF8 Doomtrain and FFX Valefor/FFX summons in general. Honestly both games did summons in ways I like (too bad FF8 is broken by stiff winds...)

Favorite dungeons by game:
FF3: No.
FF4: Final dungeon.
FF5: Ronka Ruins works, sure.
FF6: Kefka's Tower.
FF7: The mansion, actually, I think. Neat case of optional stuff and non-optional stuff merged well and sanely.
FF8: This game had dungeons? Uh, final dungeon works.
FF9: Something from disc 1.
FF10: Yes.
FF12: The super-optional hard zone. A lot of the game had fun design here, though.
FF13: Pulse, by dint of being the only thing that wasn't a corridor.

Least favorite dungeons by game:
FF3: Yes.
FF4: One of the many early caves. Choose one and it'll be my least favorite for today.
FF5: oof. Uh... Fork Tower.
FF6: The place where you re-recruit Strago. Yes game I get your point this is tall, congrats, penis size of developer compensated for
FF7: I recall a lot of places being weirdly hard to navigate? We'll go with the one optional dungeon that had a lot of weird puzzle stuff to get through it, though.
FF8: Iiiii don't recall anything other than the Minotaur/Sacred thing being all -that- annoying... so let's go with that dungeon.
FF9: Discs 3 and 4, offhand.
FF10: No.
FF12: That one goddamn "everything is all the same" dungeon.
FF13: Pulse, by dint of being the only thing that wasn't a corridor.

[Lord Ephraim]

Favorite FF game: VI
Least favorite FF game: III
Favorite FF dungeon: First Mako Reactor in FF7
Favorite main character: Bartz?  I don't like the rest of the main characters by default
Least favorite FF dungeon: Crystal Tower
Favorite final boss: XIII-2
Favorite FF game plot: VII
Favorite weapon (Can list more than one): Forks
Game you use the most status in:  XIII aka the only one they're necessary in
Game you use the least status in: VIII? I don't remember ever casting a spell
Game with the best challenge:  XIII
Game you've replayed the most: VI
Game that has aged the best: V
Game that has aged the worst: III, even the remake is garbage.

[Fenrir]

I forgot bells which are really cool.
The Gaia Bell is always the first legendary weapon I pick in FF5 because Bell, even if I don't use a geomancer.

[metroid composite]

No spinoffs?   Guess I'm choosing from FF3DS, FF6, FF7, FFX.

Favorite FF game: FFX
Least favorite FF game: FF3DS
Favorite FF dungeon: Inside Sin (FFX)?
Favorite main character: Does Tifa count?  She's the perspective character for a good while!  If not, Cloud.
Least favorite FF dungeon: Kefka's Tower (FF6), although a lot of my negativity towards it might be because it took me ages to figure out I was supposed to land my airship somewhere that looked unlandable.
Favorite final boss: FFX, if only for the music
Favorite FF game plot: FFX
Favorite weapon (Can list more than one): Probably something of Lu Lu's, like a moogle doll or something
Game you use the most status in: FFX; break debuffs and stuff.
Game you use the least status in: FF7 maybe?  I remember being surprised when told some Limits had status on them....
Game with the best challenge: FF3DS?  I don't remember that game ever being stupidly easy or stupidly hard.
Game you've replayed the most: FFX.
Game that has aged the best: FFX.
Game that has aged the worst: FF7?  I find it hard to imagine being impressed with this game's graphics.  Or not frustrated with navigating on a pre-rendered picture where it's unclear where you can walk.

[Veryslightlymad]

Favorite FF game: Final Fantasy VI
Least favorite FF game:Final Fantasy. I played Magic of Scheherazade when it came out, so Final Fantasy wasn't exactly a ground-breaking, earth shattering series.
Favorite FF dungeon:Tower of Shin-Ra, first visit, Final Fantasy VII an epic climb against the corporate monsters in the best part of the game, you get all the way up and then BAMMO. President is goddamn impaled on his desk in a pool of blood. Just wonderful.
Favorite main character:Cloud. Cloud's great in the actual game he's from where he's a goddamn lunatic and not some kind of, I dunno, legendary hero or something.
Least favorite FF dungeon:The Snow Area in Final Fantasy VII I just find it incredibly boring. I've quit the game like, 3 times when I got to this spot.
Favorite final boss:Kefka. The music is brilliant. Also, it's fuckin' Kefka, and he has a reason for being the final boss, unlike about 90% of the series.
Favorite FF game plot:Final Fantasy VI
Favorite weapon (Can list more than one):Nail bat. Mop. For serious weaponry? Uh... Hawkeye
Game you use the most status in:Final Fantasy VII. It's probably more effective in 5, but I traditionally just rip things to pieces in 5 with damage.
Game you use the least status in:Final Fantasy IV. I'm not sure I ever used a status attack other than Cecil's ID in this game.
Game with the best challenge:Hahahahahahahahahahaha Maybe the Japanese version of FFIV? I dunno.
Game you've replayed the most:Final Fantasy 6
Game that has aged the best:Oddly, Final Fantasy VIII. Even though the story is awful, it's so beyond its time graphically and musically that it's basically exactly the same game now that it was then.
Game that has aged the worst:Final Fantasy

[Scar]

I'll bite.

Favorite main character:
Least favorite main character: Squall or Cloud. Hard to pick one.
Favorite FF game: FF4
Least favorite FF game: FF8 or FF2
Favorite FF dungeon: Floating Continent - That's when the shit goes down!
Least favorite FF dungeon: FF3 Crystal Tower. Lack of a save option really sucks when climbing this thing.
Favorite final boss: Kefka
Favorite FF game plot: FF6
Favorite weapon: Chainsaw (Jason mask bitches!)
Game you use the most status in: FF11
Game you use the least status in: FF1
Game with the best challenge: FF5
Game you've replayed the most: FF4
Game that has aged the best: FF10
Game that has aged the worst: FF2