Story doesn't change, neither does gameplay. Better audio, better looking sprites and stuff, some extra content. All the versions I listed are the ones I think are best (though FF 4 DS vs PSP is debateable).
Not gonna lie. If you don't like older, slower games, it's probably going to be a bit hard to get into the older Final Fantasies.
Final Fantasy 2 and 4 focus more on story, 3 and 5 focus on combat and job system. 1 is the original so you know how that is and 6 is the king of the old school ones. Still one of the best JRPGs to date.
VII is considered to be the most popular one of them all and for quite some time the fanbase consistently leaned on VII as the best one, but recently IX is getting a lot of the love due to it aging much better than VII and all the nostalgia packed into IX from the previous titles.
VIII seems to be hit or miss with a lot of people. I'm not too big on it personally, not really a fant of the story and the materia system is eh.
X is where the series starts getting contreversial. After IX the series starts becoming hit or miss for most people. Had a fresh and new battle system, was pretty much considered the definitive RPG experience on PS2 for some time. First Final Fantasy to have full voice acting and while very linear, cleverly masked it's linearity by keeping the game world very interesting. Also a bit infamous for the laughing scene. Once you'll play it, you'll know what I mean
XI is an Final Fantasy themed MMO. No experience with it to be honest. Some people like it, some don't.
XII is where Square really shook things up and you'll find wildly differing opinions on the merits of the game (or the lack of). Whole new battle system that allowed the player full movement during the battles, no overworld, instead just wide open maps where battle and exploration are seamless. Gambit system allowed player complete control over the party ai. A bit of a double edged sword as by end game, you could have the game run on autopilot if you wish. Main character was very uninteresting and a bit useless after a portion into the game. Just sort of stood by as a spectator of some sorts while other party members became the plot focus. Voice acting and graphics top notch though.
XIII is hit or miss again. Very linear like X, but unlike X, the world was nowhere near as interesting. Gameplay is walking down straight corridors cleverly masked as different types of terrain. Square revamped the battle system again. Huge focus on paradigm shift, which is to instantly shift between classes in the middle of the battle. Go from a mage to a white mage instantly. Made for some interesting battles.
whiskeystrike
Extremely well put. Good post.
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