Online FFs vs single-player FFsFollow

Which style of Final Fantasy games do you like better - the classic single-player, or the online XI and XIV?

I've played XIV from ARR on for about a year now. My list of single-player FFs is: IV, VI, VII, VIII, and X.

I would say I personally like the single-player ones better, by far. One of the biggest reasons, for me at least, is how unlikeable all the characters in the online ones are. While XIV's major characters (the Archons, Scions, etc.) I'd say are no more or less tolerable than a typical band of FF characters for the most part, enough questgivers treat you as if the simple fact that you're an Adventurer makes you a pathetic lowife who cannot be trusted, that I think if the Player Character was Terra Branford or Tidus, (s)he probably would have just given up trying to be decent to his/her abusers.

The single-player FFs certainly had their share of annoying and/or ******* characters, but generally only one or two really major ones per game, and even then things often weren't played for drama or cynicism the way they often are in XI and XIV. Relm's ********** towards Strago & threatening to paint peoples' pictures in VI is a good example of something that was kind of played for humor whereas the Wood Wailers and Ishgardian Templars seem deadly serious when they make it very clear to the PC that (s)he is one slip up away from the stake.

I'm not as familiar with XI because I never played it originally, but from what I've seen and heard, it was just as dark and depressing as XIV, if not more so - entire expansions apparently revolve around outright exposure and commentary of the hypocrisy of the people who run the show in Vanad'iel, while the antagonists are only marginally less sympathetic.

Sure, XIV might have the perks of online play, better replay value since it is always changing and being updated, as well as the lack of annoying random battles wherever you go, but...I'd still say I prefer the single-players overall.

Edited, Sep 22nd 2015 11:46am by JFrombaugh

They serve different purposes to me. Single player FF games are all about the story. The online games do have a story, but they also have a huge social dynamic that drives me to continue playing long past finishing the story. I have real life friends who moved to other cities who play XIV with me, allowing me to "hang out" with them without having to deal with two hours of traffic.

If the online games didn't provide that social outlet, I'd probably prefer the offline games as well.

The other problem I have with FFXIV compared to other MMOs is the extreme "on-rails" approach to the storyline. Although I don't consider myself a RPer as such, when I play an online RPG that gives you freedom over your choice of race, class, etc., I don't want to be forced into a cookie-cutter mold in which your character's personality, alignment, and so forth are mandated by the plot and developers - to me that's contradictory to having the game be online in the first place.

This is a major reason why I just stopped playing WoW, by the way - and why I feel that ESO and SWTOR are both criminally-underrated MMOs. Although I'm too young to remember them, I've talked to a lot of people older than me who grew up playing the old Dungeons & Dragons tabletop RPGs, and who decided to give WoW a spin as a result of that - and many of them confessed to me that they didn't bothered to continue playing into the last few expansions. This kind of leads me to infer (although I could be wrong) that the open-ended approach to questing of the original Vanilla WoW content, combined with the social aspect and ability to play online with friends, is a major part of what made the game as popular as it was.

Not really. WoW became an instant hit mostly because of it's accessibility and when it released.

You have to remember that the MMO scene was VERY different 11 years ago when WoW first launched. It's competition was things like EQ, UO, Asheron's Call, FFXI, etc. Then along came this new upstart that was very newbie friendly, with fast(er) paced gameplay and progression, and the instant fanbase that came along with the Warcraft name. At a time when people were looking something new and exciting (and smartphones, MOBAs, and even online multi-player on consoles weren't really things yet) WoW was in the right place at the right time and basically pulled in EVERYONE. MMO newbies and players of other games alike. It had very little to do with the questing structure and everything to do with gameplay, and the good timing of it's release.


Anyway... back to the actual topic.

Single player games and MMOs are so different it's hard to meaningfully compare them. One isn't inherently better than the other and people play them for different reasons. Single player games tend to have better stories (though FFXI's was pretty damn good) but obviously lack the social aspect of MMOs. There's no reason why you can't play both and enjoy them equally. Trying to compare them seems like a pointless effort.

Though I am a fan of FFXIV, I gotta say that I prefer the single play FF games... if we are talking about the games before 10.

FF4/FF6/FF7/FF9 are my favorite FF games. I of course love the original and started with it when I was like 5 years old but those games brought hundreds of hours of enjoyment to me and really developed my love for reading, role playing and creative writing.

FF14 has some great story moments, but there is a lot of padding due to it being an MMORPG and everything is designed to slow you down. Sure we grind in single player games too, but I never once felt like it was busy work. I always wanted to be stronger, I wanted to max my characters.

FFs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 12 all take place during that kind of time period and in that setting.