[Multiplatform] Game Series you just stopped playing. Sonic is the correct answer, by the way.

Final Fantasy. I absolutely adored FF6 when I was a kid and it's one of the main reasons I started getting into games at all. Still one of my favorite games to this day. Then FF7 came along and instantly became my favorite game of all time. This game has either a love or hate relationship with people, but it'll always hold a special place in my heart. After that, Tactics rolled in and I was simply amazed by how great it was. I still believe it has one of the best plots of any rpg I've experienced. I tried out 4 and 5 and while they aren't my favorites by any stretch, I still like them much more than the current FF titles.

What happened? I look at Tactics as the last great FF game. 8 and onwards were either terrible or completely forgettable. I've been disappointed for quite a while with the direction the FF series is headed. Most characters are bland and undeveloped, it seems like they could care less about plot these days, and the battle/skill setups leave much to be desired. I'm also really tired of this jpop craze.

I'm rather disappointed with Suikoden as well. I absolute love Suiko 1 and 2. I know everyone loves 2 the most, but 1 was quite enjoyable and had a great plot. I'm not usually into tragedy, but Tir's struggles in the first game drew me in and made him stand out as a character. It was the most enjoyable part of Suiko1 for me. As for Suiko2, even though Suiko2's translation left much to be desired, the thing I enjoyed the most about the game was that it was a direct sequel. You see almost all of your favorite characters return and even get to use a lot of them. It was done just perfectly.

Which leads me to why I started to dislike the series. Suiko2 was perfect in my eyes since it picked the plot right back up and brought back important characters. I was expecting the same in Suiko3, but I was severely disappointed. Even though it was set a while after the second game important characters could have returned, but we're just left to guess what the hell they're doing while all of this supposedly important stuff is going on. The plot wasn't that bad, but it just didn't pull me in the way Suiko 1 and 2 did. The music sucked too, which is a shame since the previous games had great soundtracks. After my disappointment with 3 I didn't even want to bother with the rest. From what I've seen everyone hates 4 and Tactics, but a lot of people have said 5 is good, so I may check that out someday. I have no idea if there are plans for another Suiko, but it really annoys me that they wasted so much potential to explain the world and runes more throughly.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Denicalis

All right, I disagree with your dismissal of IX, especially since you've played the SNES era FF games. I think it's a brilliant book end to those games and is wonderfully nostalgic.

But that's a matter of taste, so whatever. However, I very strongly urge you to play Suikoden V. I'd given up after III (double ugh), IV (ugh) and Tactics (violent reaction and throwing of things). And as such, I didn't pick up V for a long time after it had come out. I think it was largely because of Leknaat and someone else constantly harping at me to give it a shot. Not only did V work as a wonderful follow up to I and II for me, and completely restore my love of the Suikoden series, it actually rekindled my love of video games in general. I hadn't sat down and played an RPG I really enjoyed in years, but I tore through V, absolutely devoured it. You won't regret it.

I was going to go into more detail about why I thought the other FF games were this and that, but I thought I had rambled on enough. The forgettable comment was meant for 9 primarily, but even though I feel that way I really don't think it was a bad game. Anyway, thanks for your input about Suiko5. I've always been debating with myself if I should bother, but I think I'll finally give in and get it. I've really been missing the Suiko world.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Leknaat

I've played III and IV also. Not my favorites in the series, but, by God, I want to know about those true runes! (This desire--among other things--makes Deni call me a Suikoden fangirl...)

I really can't blame you for that. It's something I've been wanting to know since I first started the Suikoden series! I want to see the hero from the first game again too, damnit.

Originally Posted by nanaman

The Mana series. I made a thread about it a while back, but I can't stress it enough. They've completely massacred what was good about the games up to Seiken Densetsu 3, and I can't stand seeing new Mana games coming out one after one. Still, I always do try the games to see if they eventually have gotten better just in case, but alas, the more games that come out the more they seem to suck ass.

The last Mana game I played was Legend of Mana. The newer ones just seem like crap, but I really just need to try them out and quit being lazy about it. I absolutely adored LoM, but that game is extremely hit and miss with people. I don't blame you for hating the game since most do, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the game.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.