    (This is what the earlier final fantasy game covers looked like)  
Some time after graphics were invented the FF design people came up with this awesome picturized dealy thing that looks generically like this: 
And before we could incorporate that art into every cover...the entire data of good graphics got erased and we got sent back in time for FF4 
In all honesty...this picture says more about FF than i could probably say in a hundred posts This captures the heart of early final fantasy games: The daring hero, the damsel (girly thing) in distress, the ever faithful rogue, the black magician (who HAPPENS to join your team for some unkown reason, and you for some ODD reason decide to let him on the team), the red/white magician (who of COURSE gets along SO well with the black magician....somehow good and evil lines were blurred before even before the 90's!), and of course...no final fantasy would be complete without chocobo.............WHY?!?!?!?! I dunno but that's how they did it...and boy it sure aint gettin any better!! According to wiki, the chocobo (SORRY sean really...i know you've stopped reading all together now) was introduced in FF2. A chocobo is a normally flightless, galliforme/ratite bird....bascially a chicken mixed with a dodo and an emu...there's a book about em...called chocobo tales, and ill never read it. chocobos come in all colors, shapes and sizes and are seen in almost EVERY final fantasy game 
so FF3: 
Final fantasy follows the tragic story of...actually i have no idea...but im sure i could make up a decent plot Final fantasy is placed in the same type of world as FF1/FF2. You follow the story of a girl named Clerith. Clerith's one prized possesion is her chocobo but as the great war gets nearer and nearer to her home chocobos are being taken by the kingdom and used for battles. In one such battle a lord demands her to hand over her chocobo. She tries to run away but gets caught up into the fight. A young boy named Lester saves Clerith and helps her fight against the kingdom....ok...im bored let me try this again 
The plot of the game involves four orphaned youths who come across a crystal, which grants them a portion of its power, then instructs them to go forth and restore balance to the world. Shocked but heartened, the four inform their adoptive family of their mission and set out to explore and bring back balance to the world. 
There we go, THAT sounds like a final fantasy plot...in fact that sounds all too similar to Final fantasy 2... hmmm well...lets go to FF2: The game's story centers on four youths whose parents were killed during an army invasion. The invasion leader, an emperor, pursues world control using monsters and demons. The youths join a resistance to end the emperor's war YIKES, i wonder what the FF1 will be (hmmmm): The story begins with the appearance of the four youths called the "Light Warriors", who each carry one of their world's elemental orbs, which have been darkened by four elemental fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces and restore light to the orbs, thus saving the world ya...so honestly the plots and gameplay are all really similar... anyways the only difference is from a gamers perspective...BACK to our standard art 
  
Finally...an attempt at real graphics...anything before this is not appealing to look at But back to the beginning...why FF? Im not sure what ACTUALLY got me into final fantasy...maybe it was that FF Adventure game 
Oh the joys! Throwing you RIGHT into the fight: You...are...a..........fight.....er......for........empire...g....la....ve That is...if you can figure out how to skip past the EVER slow moving text...ya, you go ness...kill that monster...kast...uh...ness...uh...whatever that kids name is And rose's friend is dying! Right in the beginning, geez these japanese people can't get enough sorrow can they. And then amanda has to die on you...she was almost the one for a bit, but no...gotta stay true to rose cause she's the real girl for you. OOORR not because she turns into a tree at the end. How romantic...parting words, no joke: im the last mana tree, please protect me. Hmmm...ok, so you fell in love with a tree and now your stuck defending it with your life, way to go So i dunno! maybe it was FF adventure! that backstabbing, the monsters, the ever multiplying bad guys, etc...im not sure i want to calculate all the rpg cliche's that happen in this game...but here goes: RPG CLICHE 2: "No! My beloved peasant village!"
The hero's home town, city, slum, or planet will usually be annihilated in a spectacular fashion before the end of the game, and often before the end of the opening scene. Actually before the beginning of the opening scene. Kast/Ness/Kid's village gets wiped out and his family sold into slavery while the young men are forced to fight monsters for the entertainment of the empire RPG CLICHE 3: Thinking With The Wrong Head (Hiro Rule)
No matter what she's accused of doing or how mysterious her origins are, the hero will always be ready to fight to the death for any girl he met three seconds ago. 
---Girl: Help! H E L P!! Hasim's got a serious wound! (who the heck is Hasim and what kind of a name is that??) Hasim: Oh.. please.. take this girl to.. Wendel.. and.. see
Bogard...... He will take care of the rest.. ..
Girl: .. .. Hasim!? .. .. H A S I M!!
::Hasim passed away::
Girl: Oh.. No.. Don't leave me alone, Hasim!
Ness: I'm looking for that Bogard, too. Why don't you come with me?
Girl: Oh .. Can I?
Ness: I can't leave you here alone. .. I am Ness.
Rose: Call me Rose. RPG CLICHE 4: Cubic Zirconium Corollary
The aforementioned mysterious girl will be wearing a pendant that will ultimately prove to be the key to either saving the world or destroying it. 
---Dark Lord: How do I get there? .... Up the falls?
Julius: Miracles occur sometimes, Sir Dark Lord....
Dark Lord: .. How?
Julius: A girl has the key to it. ---Old man: Go away! .. ..That is.. the.. Pendant of Mana.
Rose: .. My mother gave me this. Are you the Gemma Knight? 
---Old man: ......there was a lady who assured our victory. That lady had that pendant on her
chest. Seem like this girl is the key for this time...
---Mother: I must tell you, Rose. You and I are the members of the Mana
Family. We are the seeds of the Mana Tree. We must guard it. Vandole
abused the power of Mana long time ago. So I sealed the Waterfalls with
that Pendant, so that nobody can come to the Mana Tree. But again,
Glaive is trying to use it for evil. Guard the Mana Tree with the Gemma
Knights! 
---Ness: Let's go!
Rose: Keep this Pendant, Ness!
Julius: Give me the Pendant!
(Juilus appears on the left side of the screen and he shoots a fireball
at Ness. The fireball knocks Ness over the edge. He holds onto the
edge.)
Rose: Hold on!
Ness: I.. can't..
(Ness slips and falls down several screens, and he lands in a house in
Menos.)
---Ness: ..Where am I? .... Pendant!! .... Where is it?! .... I thought
that it was Amanda talking to me....
---Ness: Amanda! Did you take the Pendant? .... Why?
Amanda: I'm sorry. I had to bring it to Davias.... That Pendant was to
exchange for my brother. But.... Davias cursed him and turned him into
a parrot....! I must get the tears of Medusa to uncurse him!
Ness: .. Amanda.... .... I'll help you.
Amanda: Thank you.
---Davias: The Pendant is no longer here, my dear....! Garuda is flying
over Mt. Rocks to Glaive....
---Ness: Rose! They took the Pendant!
Rose: We have to get it back! .... Let's go! Dark Lord's room is on the
top floor!
---Defeated Dark Lord
Received Pendant...
Ness: .... It's fake! Then, where is the real Pendant?
---Julius: Use this Pendant and cast the spell, Rose.
Ness: Rose! Don't! Come over here!
Rose: ............
Ness: Rose? What did you do to her, Julius?
Julius: I am the last one left of Empire Vandole. I shall receive the
power of Mana again! Now, Rose! Reverse the Waterfalls!
Rose: Klnka Imra Miryon Tin Qua.. ..
RPG CLICHE 6: Single Parent Rule
RPG characters with two living parents are almost unheard of. As a general rule, male characters will only have a mother, and female characters will only have a father. The missing parent either vanished mysteriously and traumatically several years ago or is never referred to at all. Frequently the main character's surviving parent will also meet an awkward end just after the story begins, thus freeing him of inconvenient filial obligations. ---Ness has neither a mother nor a father living...they seemed to not even be included in the story, no obligations whatsoever! RPG CLICHE 8: Nominal Rule
Any character who actually has a name is important in some way and must be sought out. However, if you are referred to as a part of a posessive noun ("Crono's Mom") then you are superfluous. ---Boy: Dwarf Cave is to the west!
Man: Hello again! How've you been?
Boy: Welcome to Wendel, the sacred town.
Woman: The Waterfalls make all of our rivers flow. The water springs
from the root of the Tree of Mana. Mana is supporting our nature.
Old man: I hear that the Tree of Mana is very beautiful....
Boy: Cibba is a sage. He used to be a great warrior.
...annnnnd many more...thanks guys for being so helpful with your information RPG CLICHE 15: Hey, I Know You!
You will accumulate at least three of these obligatory party members: -The demure, soft-spoken female mage and healing magic specialist who is not only in love with the hero, but is also the last survivor of an ancient race. (Rose) 
-The achingly beautiful gothy swordsman who is riven by inner tragedy. (Amanda) 
-The big, tough, angry guy who, deep down, is a total softy. (Watts) 
-The hero's best friend, who is actually much cooler than the hero. (Willy!) -The grim, selfish mercenary who over the course of the game learns what it means to really care about other people. (You) -The nauseatingly cute mascot who is useless in all battles. (Chocobo)  
RPG CLICHE 26: Local Control Rule
Although the boss monster terrorizing the first city in the game is less powerful than the non-boss monsters that are only casual nuisances to cities later in the game, nobody from the first city ever thinks of hiring a few mercenaries from the later cities to kill the monster. (oops wrong cave...wow...these guys are a little too easy...now i just wish i had a bike or something) RPG CLICHE 31: Bed Bed Bed
A good night's sleep will cure all wounds, diseases, and disabilities, up to and including death in battle Innkeeper: Howdy! 10GP/night! Wanna stay? ::goodnight:: RPG CLICHE 34: Zap!
Most villains in RPGs possess some form of teleportation. They generally use it to materialize in front of the adventurers when they reach the Obligatory Legendary Relic Room and seize the goodies just before you can. The question "if the bad guy can teleport anywhere at any time, then why doesn't (s)he just zip in, grab the artifact, and leave before the adventurers have even finished the nerve-wracking puzzle on the third floor?" is never answered. (anotherwords...if you want up the falls so bad...why not WARP your way up instead of hunting down some girl with some pendant?) RPG CLICHE 37: Fake Ending
There will be a sequence which pretends to be the end of the game but obviously isn't -- if for no other reason than because you're still on Disk 1 of 4 ---(After fight)
Defeated Dark Lord
Received Pendant...
Ness: .... It's fake! Then, where is the real Pendant?
(Go down the stairs)
Ness: Rose? .... Rose?! Where is she be..? .. Julius.. ?!
Where is he.......? !! Must be at the Waterfalls!! ---(After defeating Julius)
Defeated Julius.
Julius: See the true power of Mana now! (After defeating Julius)
Julius: GRRRR ....
(The scenes changes showing the Mana tree. Ness is facing Rose.)
Rose: .... Ness.
Ness: Are you okay, Rose?
Ness: I defeated Julius. It's all over.
Julius: .... No!! .... It is not!
(The screen flashes a few times)
Julius: Ness! You will never leave here alive!
RPG CLICHE 50: Short Attention Span Principle
All bookshelves contain exactly one book, which only has enough text on it to fill up half a page. ---Rose: .. Ness..?
Ness: What?
Rose: I think you should be able to use Cure Magic.
Ness: Yeah. It should help.
Rose: .. Read this!
Received the Magic Book of Cure. Learned Cure! (just like magic, no pun intended)
Rose: Good night..
Ness: .. Good night.. Book 1: THE TREE OF MANA GROWS WITH THE ENERGY OF NATURE. Book 2: THE EVIL FORCE OF PEOPLE MAKES THE TREE EVIL. Book 3: WATER FROM THE EVIL MANA TREE TURNS PEOPLE EVIL.
IT IS A VICIOUS CIRCLE BETWEEN ENERGY AND MANA. Book 4: ONE WHO TOUCHES THE MANA GETS THE MIGHTY POWER.
Book 5: KING OF VANDOLE GOT THE MIGHTY POWER OF MANA. THE ONLY ONE WHO
CAN STAND AGAINST IS THE .... GEMMA KNIGHT.... WITH THE....
EXCALIBUR.... Book 6: GEMMA KNIGHT WITH THE RUSTY SWORD WILL BE TESTED. THE TRUE
GEMMA KNIGHT SHOULD BE GIVEN THE LEGENDARY SWORD, EXCALIBUR....!
Book 7: THE VANDOLE SOON SHOULD FALL. WE LEAVE OUR LAST HOPE IN THE
CAVE OF THE WATERFALLS. GLORY TO VANDOLE AND TO OUR CHILD OF HOPE....! RPG CLICHE 52: Insomnia Rule
A "free stay at the inn" is never really free. Expect to be woken up in the middle of the night for a mandatory plot event. 
---Man: Welcome to Kett's. Rooms ahead are occupied. Please feel free to
use the western room. You can't get past this door. It's for Mr. Lee.
::Ah! New victim!::
Ness: .. .. Good m.. ?! Rose is missing! 
RPG CLICHE 54: I Don't Like Gears Or Fighting
There are always giant robots. Always. ---::Defeated Golem!:: 
RPG CLICHE 54: Magical Inequality Theorem
In the course of your travels you may find useful-sounding spells such as Petrify, Silence, and Instant Death. However, you will end up never using these spells in combat because a) all ordinary enemies can be killed with a few normal attacks, making fancy attacks unneccessary, b) all bosses and other stronger-than-average monsters are immune to those effects so there's no point in using them for long fights where they'd actually come in handy, and c) the spells usually don't work anyway. ---::Ness uses Slep!:: SMASH ::Ness has passed away...:: ---::Ness uses Mute!:: ZAP ::Ness has passed away...:: etc... RPG CLICHE 55: Magical Inequality Corollary
When the enemy uses Petrify, Silence, Instant Death, et cetera spells on you, they will be effective 100% of the time. ---::Mute:: ::Silence:: ::Slep:: ::Poison:: ::Ness has passed away...many times:: 
RPG CLICHE 87: Supply and Demand Axiom
Killing a powerful enemy will usually yield an item or weapon that would've been extremely useful if you had gotten it before killing that enemy. ---Defeated Cyclops...found Star! 
---Defeated Iflyte...recieved (sword) Rusty! 
---Defeated Hydra!
Found the Magic Book of Fire. Learned Fire! 
---Defeated Golem!
Received the Magic Book of Lightning. Learned Lit.
---Defeated Lich!
Received the Magic Book of Nuke. Learned Nuke!  ---Defeated Kary! (Open chest) Found (sword) Ice. 
---Defeated Dragon!
---Defeated Red Dragon! ---Defeated Dragon Zombie! Found (sword) Dragon! RPG CLICHE 95: Selective Invulnerability Principle
RPG characters are immune from such mundane hazards as intense heat, freezing cold, or poison gas... except when they're suddenly not. Surprise! ---(When you reach the Snowfield)
Ness: It's too cold for you ahead. Wait for me here. (wait wait, no i want coco to come with me!! man...now i have to walk...) 
---Ness: AAARGH! Poison gas!!! 
RPG CLICHE 143: Falling Rule
An RPG character can fall any distance onto anything without suffering anything worse than brief unconsciousness. In fact, falling a huge distance is an excellent cure for otherwise fatal wounds -- anyone who you see shot, stabbed, or mangled and then tossed off a cliff is guaranteed to return later in the game with barely a scratch. ---Dark Lord: I won't let you leave here alive!
(Dark Lord pushes him down the waterfall (5 screens of waterfall mind you)
Ness: .. .. Ouch! .. Where am I? .. Where is this? ---(After riding the trolley and falling into the big hole)
Watts: Wow!? Are you okay?
Ness: .. Ouch!.. Oh..
(Watts walks over to Ness)
Ness: Thanks. Do you know this cave well?
Watts: Looking for Silver? Let's go together, then!
---Julius: HA!
(Julius shoots Ness with lightning and Ness falls over the cliff. The
screen turns white. After a few seconds, the scene changes and Ness is
laying in a desert.)
Ness: Ou.. .. ouch.. Can't.. .. move.. ..
..........?
(Ness's chocobo walks over and picks him up. The chocobo walks one
screen to the east and into the town of Ish.)
---Julius: Give me the Pendant!
(Juilus appears on the left side of the screen and he shoots a fireball
at Ness. The fireball knocks Ness over the edge. He holds onto the
edge.)
Rose: Hold on!
Ness: I.. can't..
(Ness slips and falls down several screens, and he lands in a house in
Menos.)
???: .. Wow! Somebody .. came down from .. the sky!
Amanda: .. .... Ness?! ..
???: Do you know him?
Amanda: ...... .. Ness....! RPG CLICHE 168: Way To Go, Serge
It will eventually turn out that, for a minimum of the first sixty percent of the game, you were actually being manipulated by the forces of evil into doing their sinister bidding for them. In extreme cases this may go as high as 90%. The clear implication is that it would have been better to not get involved in the first place. ---Ness: Rose! ....?
(Man takes off his disguise)
Ness: Julius?! Why? You helped me before....
Julius: I was not sure if she was the right girl or not until I saw
what happened inside there. I was waiting for this chance to get her!
And now.... Glaives have her in our hands!
Ness: Rose!!
(Julius attacks Felix)
Julius: You have no chance against me, my dear!
(Julius leaves)
Ness:.. .. Rose.. RPG CLICHE 173: Golden Chocobo Corollary
The magic formula for acquiring this supreme upgrade will be only vaguely alluded to in the game itself. Ideally, you're supposed to shell out $19.95 for the strategy guide instead. ---One screen east then north from the entrance of Jadd
Boy: Cave of Oasis? I'll tell you for a bag of Fang!
Boy: Here's the clue. Palm trees.. and 8. Got it? (uh...no...what the heck is THAT supposed to mean) Strategy guide - At Screen ### which is # screens down from Jad and # screens from the west beach with the 2nd cat shop there will be the # oasis with # palm trees. The upper left two palm trees must be transverssed by making an infinity sign around them # times  
(...oh...well of COURSE...anyone knows that) RPG CLICHE 187: "So, Andross, you reveal your true form!"
You will have to kill the evil villain at least twice at the end of the game. First the villain will look like a person or some creature and be rather easy to kill. Then he will grow to about 50 times the hero's size and be much harder to kill. ---Julius: You're late, Ness.. I already got the greatest power of Mana!
The time has come for the Empire Neo-Vandole! Now that I have the
mighty power.. I do not need you anymore, Ness!
(After defeating Julius)
Defeated Julius.
Julius: See the true power of Mana now!
(After defeating Julius)
Julius: GRRRR ....
(The scenes changes showing the Mana tree. Ness is facing Rose.)
Rose: .... Ness.
Ness: Are you okay, Rose?
Ness: I defeated Julius. It's all over.
Julius: .... No!! .... It is not!
(The screen flashes a few times)
Julius: Ness! You will never leave here alive! ANYWAY...that was uh...a time waster i guess i won't waste your time with the sequels because...i sorta went over them already in an earlier post Final fantasy 1-6 was uh...early cheap gameplay, no graphics, and half-hazzard overcliched storylines Actually FF6 ALMOST looks interesting...but not REALLY...so ill spare you the details and give you pictures 
  
FF7 is a problem....it is by FAR the most hyped game and has the most impossibly drawn out plot (not like...deep...just long, and with lots of stuff added) So ill skip it for now FF8 was something i almost got into but never did...but...being a 15% FF fan you will run into screaming "squallxrinoa" fans...they're kinda hard to avoid 
you have to admit...they DO make a good couple (you know...its like when you see dumb guy and then a girl dumb enough to fall for the guy! ...just kidding) 
 And somehow i think this is like one of the bad guys...or good guys...i don't even care, he's kool and this picture rocks and too bad if i don't know much about him (sometimes in final fantasy its best not to know a lot about the characters that are kool - ex. almost sephiroth)
I never got into FF9 either. FF9 was filled with kiddish emotions and kiddish figures...honestly it was hard to tell if you weren't with a bunch of intelligent 9 year olds. And as such, no pictures...............ok maybe one picture...  
ok...maybe garnet/ff9 does have some place in my final fantasy heart...probably cause i've watched one too many within temptation amvs one too many times or something like that 
and i don't know who this red fallen angel looking beast is but its somehow attributed to FF9 and somehow almost really kool 
Anyways...so i never got into them that much...so what...in fact i haven't been over enthralled by any of the final fantasy games FF7: Spirits within...where and what the heck is this!? How does it fit? Where did it come from? Why!? Whatever...it was a sweet movie...um...given that...it was supposed to be a dumb movie and we borrowed it from a person who has a gauranteed 20/1 ratio of stupid movies to ok movies (robert) 
Ya its somewhat cliche...guy and girl get stuck on the same elevator, the bad guys is easy to tell from the start, the black guys dies saving everyone's life, its probably a feministic movie, the guys are over sensitive caring friends, the girls are either really intelligent and superior to the males around them or really masculine and heartless and...once again superior to the males around them....it was a female superiority type of movie...  
 Ya those blue eyed guys were awesome ...deep eyes huh? hmm... So ya...it had a depressing ending and a depressing everything...it was a sad movie but it was pretty good...BETTER THAN FF AC, no question. I liked it, watch it if you are bored But that has almost less to do with Final Fantasy then a bunch of bananas...cause everyone knows FF: TSW is kind of a...mismatched, half thrown in, half nothing sorta final fantasy game...there were no swords! Where's the gunblades?? The huge swords?? The colorful birdy mounts? ...anyway actually to go to the common elements of final fantasy list...hmmm 1. Airships ...satellites? 2. Crystals...ya ish...enough 3. Chocobos - ACTUALLY YES...the chocobo made it into this movie as a small drawing on the side of some ship/armor plating/satelite armor or what not...you can see a little yellow chocobo and its shadow 4. Moogle...hmmm didn't see one 5. rebellion against a major economic, political, or religious power; a struggle against an evil which threatens to overtake or destroy the world; and nature versus technology....yeah...that pretty much defines FF: TSW 6. The love between major characters, and in some cases rivalry between characters, as well as the desertion or death of major (and sometimes playable) characters, often drives the plot as well......yes to all three 7. Other recurring situations that drive the plot include amnesia, mind control, and altruistic suicide......im guessing dreams count as a mix between amnesia and mind control...and altruistic suicide...yes... 8. The protagonists of the Nomura-designed Final Fantasy games usually have a name alluding to or directly related to meteorological phenomena or celestial bodies - in basic terms, names linked to the sky and weather...........maybe...lets pretend Aki is a name for some celestial thing 9. Wings/Feathers - wow this is a first...maybe there are none...i forget if there were but...ya...no feathers = not final fantasy So ya...not quite final fantasy...its a missing the some of the basic common elements. Anyways enough of FF: TSW...on to..................FF-X....lord help us... | 
