First of all, welcome and thanks for coming here to ask!

the order of the games and if it’s important to play some of them first

Let’s address this first, and don’t worry, you’re not the first to ask this and certainly won’t be the last.

I’ll try and cover those listed in the sale but by and large, the order doesn’t matter. Each main number in the series are stand alone and completely independent of each other. So you’re not losing out on anything by jumping around and playing XII before VI, then XV. To make things easier on yourself, stick to a main numbers in the series.

Sequels and so on…

There are some things to note.

The following have direct sequels:

• FFIV: FFIV The After Years
• FFX: FFX-2
• FFXII: FFXII Revenant Wings
• FFXIII: FFXIII-2, Lightning Returns (aka FFXIII-3)

Then there’s the VII series of games and media which goes in the following order:

• Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
• FFVII
• Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
• Advent Children [Movie]

But FFVII Remake?

It may be a controversial point but I don’t think you’re going to lose out on anything by playing this either before the original game. It takes some changes and creates a variation of the original that stands on its own. It’s not a sequel, it’s not a prequel and it’s not a strict remake or remaster.

Online…

As you’re already aware, XIV is an MMO. What you might not realise is that XI is also an MMO. It’s much slower and different to what you’ll be used to in XIV, but it’s servers are still running.

Notes on other entries

There’s a few other games that you might come across that should be mentioned:

• Stranger of Paradise is a standalone game that is supposed to be a prequel to the first Final Fantasy, in an alternate universe. You can play this without worry or any knowledge of that first game.
• Final Fantasy Type-0 is another standalone game that shares some themes with XIII but that’s about as far as it goes.
• World of Final Fantasy, again, is a standalone game but this takes the series in a different direction. It’s very cute with “chibi” style character and a Pokémon catch’em all element to it.

Remasters

There’s several remasters which I’d recommend if you were to look at playing these particular numbers.

• VIII
• X/X-2
• XII: Zodiac Age This is the remastered version, not a sequel, prequel or anything like that

Versions to avoid

There’s definitely some games to avoid in my experience. The original PC versions of VII and VIII are the main culprits. Don’t mistake these with the remasters though.

Dissidia

This is a series of fighting games that uses characters and villains from all numbered versions of the games. While they’ve appeared on PSP in the past, and have earned a lot of praise, the latest entry has been critically trashed by reviewers and fans. So I’d avoid Dissidia NT.

Turned based or not

If you’re seen any discussions around recent Final Fantasy games, you’ll know that for some time now they’ve been dropping the turn based styled gameplay. There’s plenty of variation on the turn based combat but for simplicity sake, I’ll stick with that term.

Turn based combat allows you to see the execution time for the next attack via a gauge. When the gauge is full a move can or will be performed. This lets you see whose move is next. Combat like this leans more toward strategy styles gameplay than reactive, and lends well to working with a large variety of tools.

Real Time combat is what we’re seeing with a lot of the new entries. Some offer hybrid variations of turn based x real time, some don’t. Generally combat is instant, more reactive and faster pasted. There’s less emphasis on ailments and strategies around those than with turned based.

Combat is complex and can make or break a game for some. If you want to read more, check out this page.

Recommendations

I’m not going to recommend a specific game as there’s a lot of bias in my favourites and what I love, you may hate. But I will give some tips when looking at your first.

• Think about what’s important to you. If graphics are important then you’re not going to get far with the earlier games.
• Read the synopsis of a games story before you decide. These games are heavy on story and it’s best to find something that interests you to help get you invested.
• Consider whether you want turn based or real time battle.
• Stick to a main numbered game, and don’t worry about sequels to begin with.

I hope all of this helps and you find a game that you love. Feel free to use this community to ask questions and discover more about these games!