Like most long challenges, sometimes they end with a whimper instead of a bang. Due to a bunch of other distractions, I crapped out a bit on my Final Fantasy challenge towards the end. That doesn’t mean I failed necessarily, I just saw no light at the end of the multiple tunnels and it made me think “Balancing these games is hard as shit.” Here are my final thoughts on, well, Final Fantasy Month.

Final Fantasy 1

As usual, Final Fantasy 1 leaves me in a lurch. Every time I play this game, I find myself in the same situation: leveling up near Elfheim, trying not to get poisoned and hoping to hell I run into Ogres so I can get money and level ups more quickly. Wolves? No thanks.

So I didn’t advance very far, trying a few journeys to the Marsh Cave in which every enemy beat the holy dog shit out of me. Especially the four Mindflayer looking dudes. 

That said, Final Fantasy 1 is still one of my favorites in the series. I will probably continue to play it even as March comes to a close. I just won’t be playing it every day.

Final Fantasy 2

I beat this game a few years back and thought “I probably won’t play that again.” Yet here I was playing it again. I don’t hate this game by any means, but I do think it has the steepest learning curve of the whole series. I think I’m somewhere near the Imperial City, Borsk or whatever the hell it’s called. I’m unlikely to finish my playthrough of this one, but it’ll taunt me like a stubborn hangnail anyway.

Final Fantasy 3

Being that I already had a copy of this for the DS, it seemed redundant to buy another version for my Vita. But it was on sale, so whatevs. This is another game that sorely needed a makeover after its release and I think they did a good job sprucing it up. It’s one I may come back to simply because I think it’s one of the few I’ve never beat. And if you fought the last boss, you might  know why. I remember getting my ass kicked my a huge turtle. Yeah, that’s about it.

Final Fantasy 4

Another one I beat not that long ago, it’s still a game I can play over and over again. I’m not a huge fan of the moon part of the game, but the characters and storyline are still enduring after all these years. I got a little stuck on the battle with “King Baron,” or Calamazoo the Shitty Tidal Wave Turtle (what is it with me and turtles kicking my ass). I will probably put this one on hold for now since I beat it not that long ago, but it’s a favorite that feels like a warm blanket now and again.

Final Fantasy 5

Criminally underrated, Final Fantasy 5 always shows me something new each time I play it. The job classes are fun and it’s nice to experiment with them. The characters are pretty good and the storyline is simple. It’s a game I don’t remember ever beating, but for some reason I think I did. I left off the game at the end of the month on a mountain (maybe). I was just starting to find a rhythm with my current group, so it’s likely I’ll come back to this one soonish.

Final Fantasy 6

My favorite still, playing this again made me happy as usual. However, it can sometimes be like watching a movie you’ve seen over and over again. The game doesn’t offer much in the way of replayability like some of the others on the list, that is until your characters get higher level. Playing through the early parts is always good to remember nice times with one of the best RPGs ever, but I’m less likely to go through this one again simply because I have so many games right now I’d love to get to playing.

Final Fantasy Tactics

Maybe I’m impatient with tactical games more than I thought or I’m playing too many casual games as of late. But one thing I noticed about Final Fantasy Tactics, one of my all-time favorites, is that it’s not an easy game to just pick up for a few hours. It requires dedication, something I’m not really able to give it right now. While I’ll always love this game and will likely give it a try again sometime in the future, for now I need to put this one on standby. 

So that’s my conclusion of my month of Final Fantasy! I had good times, bad times, and great memories. Starting next month I’ll be playing PC games again, so check out the website for news about that soon. 

Which games in the Final Fantasy series would you like to revisit? Comment below!