RPG Discussion (Formerly; Earthbound or Chrono Trigger?)

[Ultimecia]

I did a small analysis of FFI for one of my college subjects and it was surprisingly more significant than meets the eye, but you have to know where to look at. But the story itself was swallow, at best.
FFII got characters, some small depth of character, even deceased party members (YEARS before Aeris. Oh, and some years after that and long before FF7 people used to talk about resurrecting Phantasy Star II's Nei and Phantasy Star IV's Alys). The level up system was a good idea in the paper, but not what looks cool in the paper can become a good gameplay. Upon training you can turn your "mage" into a "fighter" so it really don't have jobs.
FFIII characters' personality was ditched, but the story was much deeper. Now you can change your jobs, and there's around 30 of them, all with unique proprieties, abilities, equips and graphics. Even for today's standards it's a customization system that deserves some respect.
FFIV was the first game to have a complete storyline. It was heavily based on Campbell's "The Hero's Journey" (or monomyth), the same source as Star Wars (that's why people says FF4 is so much like SW, both are like visual guides for it). The jobs are exclusive to each character, like in FFI. Cecil's personality grows during the game, something that a certain spike-head could use.
FFV they decided to be the last story to trust heavily on the crystals, so they got all the 'classic' elements (Crystals, Jobs) and made it. Think of it as a humorous version of FF3, but with less jobs and remarkable characters.
FFVI was pure streampunk. Heavy machines, experiments, a war of magic of yore, magic is now sealed and forbidden.... Unique characters are back. FFVII was SUPPOSED to be FFVI sequel, but because some disagreements with Nintendo, Square moved to the Playstation. All the streampunk and "unique" atmosphere of FFVII exists thanks to FFVI.
FFVII got a good story? ...Depends. The world itself is interesting, but Sephiroth didn't had a personality until Crisis Core (he was just a maniacal killing machine calling for his mommy). Aeris' death was a cheap plot device to keep the plot going (if you pay attention the party isn't so keen on finding Sephiroth until she dies) and cheap shock factor. The main character himself is an hindrance (you do many cooler stuff when he's OUT of the party). And the party itself is more like people just hanging out together than friends. They got common objectives, so let's help each other! Only after the sacrificial lamb did her job they start becoming a party. Good for industries and JRPGs, but as a game itself is overrated IMO.
FFVIII got a really BIG problem: you got to read all Timber Maniac issues through the Help menu, talk to EVERYBODY and put 1+1 and getting 4 or 5 sometimes. The real plot is hidden, so unless you read, for example, about the side-effects of the G.F. at the Glossary or who in the heck is Hymne, you can feel...Lost. The Draw system is a drag, if I was one of the producers I'd allow the players to buy "packs" of magic, not only the draw points. It DOES have one explanation, but you got to read the glossary (d'oh!).
FFIX's first project was going to be really different: by equipping summons you could access different jobs, like Bahamut for dragooner, so all characters would access every job, much like FF3 and FF5. For some reason the project was canned and they made a new game. That's really unfortunate, it sounded like it was going to be some sort of FF1 sequel (they even had the classical Garland!). I hated that 'you learn abilities from the weapons you have!', what a pain. But everything else was very much from the games FF1 to FF5: Crystals and their guardian Fiends (FF1 and FF2), a crazy monarch with perchance for destruction (FF2), a BFG of mass destruction (FF2 too), people from another planet sleeping (FF4) and so on. The only bad idea was the giant flea from outer space, I think it was a plot from the original FFIX that they forgot to reconnect.
FFX was like FFVI in a sense: FFIX was to break from the traditional mold and FFX was trying to make something anew. It worked, and it still had many classical elements on it. FFX-2 was one big experiment, it failed on the J-Pop and GIRL POWERRRRR! factor, but I guess they were trying to aim to casual Japanese gamers or just plain fanservice
FFXI...Haven't played it, but it borrows story elements from the classic series (crystal plotline, jobs) and some new stuff (like Gods)
FFXII... To speak the truth I hated it. The characters are annoying (except for Balthier and Barsch) and the system is...Well, don't get me started. It tries so hard to make it dramatic that all I want is to laugh, and the system tries to mimicks the MMORPGs. If I wanted to play MMORPG, I'd try Lineage or WoW
FFXIII...I have just started, the story seems deep, the characters aren't that bad but the fighting system so far is a joke (got 5 hours, still LOTS to go). Again, FF12 was "back to roots" (in a sense) and FF13 was a departure.