"must confess never got around starting any final fantasy stuff, and now it seems... overwhelming. where does one start?"
If you can stomach the older graphics, I would start with FF VII. It is what most RPG/FF gamers (including myself)consider the eppitome of what a good RPG is.
You can find it on ebay and I would recommend getting the guidebook as well. Don't let that guidebook scare you off, it's not like you have to read a ton of material to get through the game. A lot of the guidebook is graphics and hints and clues.
After that, I suggest you skip 8 & 9 and go to FFX and FFX-2. That's just my personal opinion because although the leap from FFVII to FFVIII graphic-wise was good (thanks to the introduction of the PS2), I felt like the story wasn't as good.
Part of the appeal of FF games is the soundtrack. Nubuo Uematsu is a genius composer. His use of themes for characters reminds me a lot of how John Williams writes his scores. He even has a heavy metal band called "The Black Mages", affectionately named after characters in the FF games. His remake of "One-Winged Agel" for the DVD "Advent Children" is nothing short of pure, metal bliss.
no subject
If you can stomach the older graphics, I would start with FF VII. It is what most RPG/FF gamers (including myself)consider the eppitome of what a good RPG is.
You can find it on ebay and I would recommend getting the guidebook as well. Don't let that guidebook scare you off, it's not like you have to read a ton of material to get through the game. A lot of the guidebook is graphics and hints and clues.
After that, I suggest you skip 8 & 9 and go to FFX and FFX-2. That's just my personal opinion because although the leap from FFVII to FFVIII graphic-wise was good (thanks to the introduction of the PS2), I felt like the story wasn't as good.
Part of the appeal of FF games is the soundtrack. Nubuo Uematsu is a genius composer. His use of themes for characters reminds me a lot of how John Williams writes his scores. He even has a heavy metal band called "The Black Mages", affectionately named after characters in the FF games. His remake of "One-Winged Agel" for the DVD "Advent Children" is nothing short of pure, metal bliss.
Hope that helps.
(can you tell I'm a FF geek?)