When he was talking about all the kingdom hearts stuff the only thing i understood was him saying kingdom hearts 1 to 3 the rest was just some sort of alien language
I know... it doesn't help when deals and sales are available almost every week on the PS store... it's hard too avoid, but I'm trying to save money... I keep telling myself I have games I haven't played yet... still it kills me wanting to have a look at whats on sale, lol.
I just played Zero recently. It was my first Yakuza game. I'm hooked. Still working on the plat for Sekiro at the moment, but going to start Kiwami soon.
@@GeuGeuStudio It really does. I gave it a shot on a whim because the RU-vid channel Easy Allies are always talking about how good it is. Zero is a masterpiece.
I would argue Yakuza 0 before Kiwami not just because it's a good starting point, but there are characters and substories that turn up in Kiwami that were introduced in 0 that make you feel nostalgic, even if you only just finished 0.
That's what I've heard too.Never played one so I was thinking on doing just that even though Zero's less cheaper than kiwami.Still,from what I've seen this looks like a blast.Can't wait to dig my claws into It.
I think the downgrade in functionality and abilities would be rough? It's usually better to play older games first before having more features, better graphics etc otherwise going back feels like a sacrifice
@@agentorangecb1 I'm not there yet but wouldn't you get a downgrade from kiwami 2 to 3? 3-5 aren't on the newer engine are they unless they decide to do kiwami 3-5. 6 may be on the new engine I'm not sure
The third game really had the best character development (out of the three, i think four is tied with it) and story, it truly cemented my love for Nathan. I did play four first and after now playing the other three i regret it, you appreciate four so much more with the history.
The story is wafer-thin until Uncharted 4, where it gets all deep. Much in the vein of the storytelling in Naughty Dog's Last of Us, they discovered they could be telling a better story with Drake and did. Shame that Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider series is better on almost every level in terms of story, set pieces and action.
See, the only problem with AC is it's so monotonous, which is very different from the rest of the series. I recomend sticking to Rob's suggestion. That way, you are invested enough to tolerate the monotony
@@SetsunaInoue however, I'd argue before playing Revelations you need to understand Altair's background. Plus AC might be monotonous. But it gives a really good basis for the general mechanics of the games and the whole Assassin's v Templars background. It also helps with understanding the stuff as Desmond. Now I haven't yet played any after Revelations. But been told Desmond stuff disappears for various reasons. Don't want to say without giving away spoilers. But for the first four games I actually enjoyed some of the Desmond stuff. So playing AC helps show you more of the narrative and introduces the mechanics. So it depends if you care about knowing the characters and story or want less monotonous gameplay.
@@sambailey855 while I can agree that it might be slightly more confusing with some of that stuff, I still think that because it's so monotonous, it would help have an introduction to the series first, one that's going to give a player a reason to go back to the other games in the series. Playing 2 and Brotherhood and stopping before Revelation might be the best. Actually, I came into the series at Brotherhood, and played one and two afterwards. And personally I'm glad I did, it gave me a reason to care about the backstory
@@SetsunaInoue I'll be honest i started at AC II & thought, even though the parkour & combat were sluggish, the game itself was excellent. I've now moved onto Brotherhood & it is so boring, basically doing all the same things while trying to update Rome. For me, stealth & combat are the problem though. Trying to get into the Borgia towers & get the commanders who are flanked either side by guards was ridiculous. Then again, i keep trying while i was on chapter 3, maybe i was underleveled. Or i suck. Did platinum AC II tho, that's my defence lol
Thank you so much for making this list. It breaks my heart to see people give up on a series because they started with the wrong game. Kingdom Hearts especially, it's hurts me when someone starts with 3, having no idea what's going on.
Yeah Kingdom Hearts is too confusing not to start at the beginning but you've also got the people that get mad at 3 for not understanding it because they only played 1 and 2 because they consider the rest spin-offs
I often start a series because I've heard so greatly about it, but I always start with the first if possible. I gave up on Assasins Creed, after only playing a fraction of the first and never got into it again. So now I'll definitely be trying the Ezio Collection.
Make sure to play X-2. It's awesome! Seven reasons why you should play X-2 after X(because I actually did that in the other order) 1: As Yuna you will walk up to a LOT of people who you met in X and while they do explain some of the back story, you're going to be missing a lot. 2: X-2 has a very well thought out gear system, but many of the character classes you take on via the garment grid system include subtle injokes and sly nods to things from X that you won't get unless you have played X. 3: you visit pretty much every place you visited in X... or what's left of them. Yeah they don't really show the "before" pictures much. 4: not every event in X-2 is based on an event in X, but a lot of them are. Which you won't fully understand if you didn't play X. 5: you won't get the significance of the new places you're visiting that weren't in X. 6: you won't fully understand why practically everyone knows who Yuna is. Or why it's unusual to meet someone who doesn't. 7: You won't understand why Yuna is seemingly obsessed with Tidus. Or why it's not as weird as it seems at first.
Nah, just play IX or VI after X. X-2 is not worth your time. Reason 3 above is the main reason why X-2 is a chore, it's a poor re-hash of assets from X. Most of the arguments above are for playing X before X-2 if you ever play both, not arguments to play X-2 ever. The only cool thing about X-2 is the fast paced battle system, but VI is also fast paced (though slightly less) and is a much better game.
@@herved.2063 I personally thought X-2 was great. I LOVE the way the gear system in X-2 works, best ever in a FF game IMO. Also item 3 is talking about how you visit all those places like Zanarkand and Bevelle after the Sin War is over. X-2 doesn't let you explore them the way they used to be, instead you see them as they are now... in ruins.
He'll always be Tie-dus to me, damn it. I mean, c'mon, they gave him a water-based name and wanted us to pronounce tide as tea. We're not the ones in the wrong here!
I finished Yakuza 0 2 weeks and man, it is an amazing game! Please don’t go in there just expecting fight scenes over fight scenes. The reason why the Yakuza series is so loved is because of its amazingly written story. Like the story is incredible with loveable characters, characters you soon love later, and so many twist and turn. It’s amazing and if you want an emotional story with you laughing your asses over the interaction and sub stories, then go for it
Rob, thank you. Because of your affection for the game, I pushed through the first hour of _Final Fantasy 15_ , which had initially left me a little cold. Now, I cannot stop playing this absolutely brilliant game. My sincere thanks!
Idk I started with the 2018 and was still just as invested as I think I would have been otherwise. Granted I had some basic knowledge of the previous games, but I think they do a good job of keeping it understandable and relatable to anyone even if they haven’t played the previous ones
Strongly agree with that, the whole point of the game is that it now adds depth to Kratos; if you don't know what Kratos has endured before and where he was, then you completly miss the way the character is now and why this new setting is so great. You'd just think "yeah, very nice portrayal of Norse mythology, cool" and that's it :) But great video as always, thanks!
For God of War I suggest you watch some brief video about the story before the 2018 installment not because of the story of 2018 is a continuation of them but to better feel and understand Kratos inner struggle.
If you haven't played the original games, the moment when he gets reunited with some old "friends" won't mean hardly anything at all, and that just makes me sad.
I mean to me, all the God of War games are really good enough even for today's standards. So unless you don't have access to them, would still recommend the original 3 GoW games at least.
Great video! Especially since I was just talking with a coworker about where to start into the Final Fantasy series. BTW, I totally agree that FFX is the best place to start.
Love this list, Rob! I could totally see you guys doing a part 2. I feel like there’s a lot of franchises that could fit here. Elder Scrolls/Fallout, Far Cry, Persona, Dragon Age, etc. It’d be awesome! Also love the GoT references given the new season!!
Apologies but I have to disagree. GOW is a series you should play in order to really enjoy the subtle nods throughout the 2018 God Of War refresh. *Man 2018 was a savage year for games huh*
Actually 3: Metal Gear Solid, Uncharted and Kingdom Hearts. His other answers were Final Fantasy X, God of War 2018, Yakuza 0 (which is not the first game in the series) and Ezio's Collection (which starts with Assassin's Creed 2)
Tbf series like MGS and Kingdom Hearts are so confusing sometimes with their prequels and spin offs. Some people may say start one place, others may say somewhere else. So understandable.
When I first started watching Friday Features I was making lists of games to buy which were featured in them. Now I'm agreeing with Rob. So yeah, thanks
newcomers should absolutely play KH2 before watching days. watching days first spoils the whole roxas arc that makes the beginning of KH2 so mysterious
@@Lady_Piddlebits yeah I remember that bit, that was the first time i took off my "no head/chest shot" rule because I was doing my first play-through aiming for non lethal areas only (legs/arms/shoulders) and no shotguns as a sort of challenge. Cause those buggers were basically undead, based on what were told and implied in story. I unloaded more ammo into them than rambo with an unlimited ammo cheat.
I thought the story of 3 was incredibly mediocre and felt very rushed when compared to Drake's Fortune & Among Thieves. 1 is repetitive gameplay wise after a while, but the story keeps you hooked till the end and it's worth it. I loved 1, adored 2, was not a fan of 3, and have yet to play 4, but now have a PS4 so I can. The games I'm looking forward to are Death Stranding, The Last of Us: Part 2, and now Cyberpunk 2077 (after playing The Witcher 3 and seeing just how amazing CD Projekt Red are)
Love the games, the only thing I don't like is about 3/4 of the games always feel like they are Indiana Jones style action games, and then they bring in moments where it feels more Gears of Wars shooter type gameplay. Would rather have the games be a bit more run and gun than strategy shooter, however the games are short enough that you could play through all 4 in a very reasonable timeframe. Did that last fall, actually. Got the Nathan Drake Collection and when I was done with the first game ended up getting Uncharted 4. First time in my history that I went through 4 whole games in a series in a reasonable amount of time.
God of war is my favorite series of all time. You have to play 1,2, and 3 first. There are so many throwbacks to the old games that a newbie will not pick up on its unreal. For example when Kratos gets the Blades of Chaos out again. The weight of that moment would be totally waisted on a newbie! Play the first three games first. Then you can move on to whatever game you would like in the series.
Personally, I’d recommend the Witcher 3 to anyone who wants to get into the Witcher games. It’s such a fantastic game with an amazing story. Even though it’s the third video game entry for The Witcher series; I didn’t feel lost at all and I hadn’t playing the first two Witcher games when I first played Wild Hunt
Same! The only difference, or thing to be cognizant of going in if you're new and doing 3, is finding out the history of Triss. I agonized over who to choose, and didn't know the past, so I chose her hehe
I'd like to take this opportunity to mention a game series called Ys. They're a bunch of really obscure but also really good action JRPGs. Chronologically, Ys Origin is the first one, so I'd start there. It's on PS4, along with Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. I've only played those two, but I friggin' love both of them. I think the rest might be on PC, but I'm not sure. I know there's also a 9th game in the works called Ys IX: Monstrum Nox.
As good as the Ezio Collection is, I must disagree with you. It’s best to start at the very beginning, namely Assassin’s Creed itself. Reason being: there are several story elements in AC2 that won’t make much sense if you haven’t. Desmond’s flashback to Damascus where he’s chasing Maria, Lucy rescuing him from Abstergo, the significance of the outfit Ezio is shown and the lore behind the Assassin Order and their creed, not to mention the Templars.... Altair is still a good protagonist and the Crusade-era Holy Land is a fun place to explore, even if it does get repetitive at times. Start with the game that kicked off the series, not the successor.
The old games have aged terribly, not so much aesthetically as they still look decent, the gameplay is massively dated though. Like tank controls on the Ps1, going back to old button mashing God of wars is pretty horrific. At least the studio knew gaming had moved on when they rebooted the franchise, rather than sticking with archaic old tap tap tap tap tap tap tap gameplay like Dynasty warriors (which rightly bombed) One of my fave games is Resident evil 2, the 90s one. I wouldn't dream of telling anyone to start with that or the prequel as their first Resi though, they've aged badly - I'd suggest Resi 4 or the Resi 1 remake. I'd assume it's the same thinking for Rob. Some old games are terrible to play now and the GOW games for me are in that bracket. Games have moved on from, tappity tap tap dodge QTE tappity tap tap CUTSCENE.
@@davehedgehogUK Nah, I played the old God of War games last year and loved them. The combat is extremely fun with the music and brutality and the level designs are pretty good too. They haven't aged terribly in any way, considering they're still very much playable. If you wanna look at terribly aged games, go and play games like Morrowind or Assassin's Creed 1.
@@mythflow4868 No, it's not. Games like Super Mario Bros are better aged than Morrowind. The combat is unbearable, progression is slow and the lack of voice acting really gets into me. I tried to get into it 4 times with no avail. And you should change 'extremely' to 'barely'.
@@mythflow4868 I'm sorry, but the combat really put that game off for me. And I don't mind no voice acting in games like Pokemon or Final Fantasy, but in 3rd person action RPGs, I just need it. I hope Skywind releases soon. Then, may be I can enjoy it.
This was a great analysis, couldn’t agree more across the board. True statement-“To be fair I don’t really know what’s going on in KH3 and I have played the other ones “ lol still fun of course but yeah, who can follow that story
Buying the Kingdom Hearts All-in-one package on ps4 was the best decision I've ever made! I bought it at the very start of quarantine and it will keep me occupied for years lol
I was interested in playing the persona series for the longest time, so I started with persona 5, and man I LOVED it; I truly can't express how much I enjoyed it, the best word to describe it would be "stylish". So please if you love RPGs (turn base or other wise) please, please try the persona series and the best one to start with is persona 5. And hopefully you will fall in love just like me!
Rob I started Kingdom Hearts 1 at Christmas... I’m only up to Birth By Sleep. I love them but it feels like a grind at this point that I’ve become fatigued from it all. While it’s needed for KH3 I’d honestly just say go play it straight away. You’ll get burned out if you play them all before. Too late for me though, I’ve come too far to give it up now
Cameronman1329 Never play a series one after another. Thats why you burned out. Switch to a different genre between each one so it is fresh when you come back to it. I am telling you this because I used to do this too with a lot of series. Uncharted, Assassins Creed, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Final Fantasy, Tales of series and etc.
Nathan Drake Collection was my first PS4 title [I wasn't able to get a PS3, want one if full cross compatible isn't available on PS5]. One of my favorite game series.
Okay, so let me, resident kingdom hearts expert, tell you why Rob is right about not going chronologically. The first game was made without a sequel in mind, and the prequels have references that are meant to be discovered in release order. Play the first game, play chain of memories, play 2, play days, then go to Birth by sleep, Coded, and finally 3D. After that, watch a youtube video on the phone game (union cross, X, and unchained X all of which are the same game basically) watch the back cover movie, then finally play 3. If you do it out of that order it really won’t make as much sense and I know that Rob has to mention the ps4 releases but really do play days rather than watch it, that game is emotional and the tedium of the missions is intentional and gives good insight into the life of the main character. I won’t spoil anything at all but if this helped at all and you like the series, I’m glad 😃
Hello, you've caught me trying to think of something witty to say in the comments of a youtube video in the pursuit of validation and human interaction however parasocial it may be... till next week, ya'll!
Strongly disagree with the recommendation to start with God of War (2018). Play the HD remakes first. There are a TON of references to old games in the 2018 release, and you'd miss all of that
I so agree on Final Fantasy 10 being the best one to play first if you've never played a Final Fantasy game. It's a very solid game with characters you will love and all the themes and aspects perfectly executed. Suteki Da Ne is the anthem of my soul.
About Assassin's Creed I'd recommend to start with the first game. It's serious, intellectual and very interesting. The games after are fun, yes, but I love the seriousness of the first.
I definitely agree with starting out with Assassin’s Creed 2! Ezio is such a memorable character placed in such a beautiful setting; also, Leonardo Da Vinci. Kingdom Hearts 3 would definitely be my least favorite of the main games, I feel like the lack of Final Fantasy characters really hurt it. God of War 2018 is made so much better by following Kratos’ journey from a sadistic Demi God on the path of vengeance to a character learning how to reach his son. Altogether, a great list! I always enjoy watching the Friday feature and listening to Rob talk about his love for games!
Well, 14’s been slowly connecting all the Final Fantasies, but it’s in smaller ways that don’t require playing previous ones. In fact, it provides context for people who haven’t. :)
hell yeah FF is an amazing series. My personal favourite is FF IX but whenever people tell me they don't know where to start with FF, and they don't want to jump into it because there are so many of them, I also, like you, have to tell them, it doesn't matter. They are not conected to each other, except for trilogies and co. my man, Rob, Metal Gear Solid is just a masterpiece!!! It's not easy to explain what it is all about but this series is one of the best EVER created!! Choronologically it's totally out of place though lmao ahh, God of War, amazing series as well. I didn't get into it early enough. But when the games were on discount, I grabbed them all and looked up the order to play them, then platinumed all of them in the right order :D Kingdom Hearts, I didn't get into it yet, but I am waiting the the entire series to go on a good discount so I can play them all. Assassin's Creed, except for Odyssey being trash storywise and a too big map, it's actually AC Origins, Odyssey, ACI, II + Brotherhood + Revelation, AC IV, AC Rogue, AC III, AC Unity, AC Syndicate Somewhere inbetween is LIberation, I forgot where though. Think between III and Unity.
Rob excellent choices to start these wonderful games. I also recommend these series. Tomb Raider, Bioshock, Persona, & Danganronpa. Another super Friday feature. Thanks Rob. Brilliant as always. 😍♥️😊
@@fatadi100 I personally liked the anime. There are 2. There is one that shows and explains more things once you've played. The game is different on so many levels. I can understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea. But I love the series. Cheers
@@fatadi100 Eh, the anime is alright, but it really should've been twice as long. It's honestly a VERY abridged version of the actual game's story, although I do like how it kinda simulates a few of the game's mechanics. (The anime of the first game, I mean. Danganronpa 3 is something entirely different, and I love it.) I find the game itself to be far more fun than it has any right to be lol. Ridiculous premise, but the gameplay and story are top-tier. Danganronpa 2 and Danganronpa V3 are tied for me as my favorite in the series.
@@Road_to_Dawn I liked the 2nd Anime. It was very detailed and long( can't remember the name right now) I totally agree with you about the games. My fav was 1 & 2. 3 was good as well. But the 1st two are my addictions. Very addictive and super concept & storylines. Take care. Cheers 😊😊
You know how people make challanges like "Mario with no coin" or something like that? I have a challange for you guys: Make one video without anything about FF and/or Metal Gear! ;)
I could see that but I feel ( if it were me too of course) people want an easily accessible game is ffiv or ffvi on ps store like vii or X is if so great I know IX is too
I second this, but I think what restricts me to recommend AC1 is the fact that it has some flaws that are a bit unforgiven (e.g., no subtitle option) and also game mechanics are still kinda poor
Assassin's Creed III is BAE. Don't get me wrong, Ezio is still the best assassin in the whole series (granted, I stopped with Black Flag), but the depths of betrayal you feel when you discover (a) Haytham is ur dad, and (b) Connor's childhood friend betrayed him, are unparalleled. I found climbing trees in the forest and its woodland game hunting to be quite enjoyable, too! It also, technically, introduced ship sailing, but it was pretty rubbish in that regard. Sailing in Black Flag is much more fun and more than enough to distract you from the main objectives in the Caribbean, hahaha
This was fantastic! I’ve been wanting to play Final Fantasy for so long now, but I never knew where to start and was so intimidated by all of the games! Thank you for this wonderful video!
Did you ever end up playing any FF games PS Access friend? If so, which ones? And did you enjoy them? People are missing out imo if they don't at least try some of them.
@@CrazeeAdam I DID! I've only played through a tiny bit of FFX, which I enjoyed, but for some reason, I stopped. I need to revisit it. I also played all of the remake of FFVII, which I absolutely LOVED! It's the only FF game that I've finished so far. I've also really been wanting to check out FFXV, but I haven't done it yet! Do you have any recommendations for any to check out?
Personally, I feel the same way about God of War, that you do about the Uncharted games. I genuinely feel you can’t truly appreciate how much Kratos has changed unless you have played at least a few of the older games, at the very least, 1, 2, & 3.
Same.. Also awesome someome else watches all of these every now and then. Despite how great and "on their own" the newer God of War games are, they do connect HEAVILY to the older ones. And like, what sort of impact Kratos has when he picks up his Blades again in God of War (2018), has 0 impact if you didn't play the previous games. If you did play them, it has ALL the impact
For those of you who haven’t played any Assassin’s Creed games yet, absolutely start with 2 (unless you are truly one of those people who plays absolutely everything in order from beginning to end, knock yourself out then). Play the Ezio Trilogy, then optionally you can play AC3 but definitely don’t skip AC4 Black Flag. Now what I’m gonna say is a pretty unpopular opinion but you are missing out if from there you don’t play Rogue story wise; Rogue went under the radar because it was made for the PS3 when Unity was coming to the PS4 but it is a pretty great title that shows how the whole Assassin vs Templar conflict isn’t wholeheartedly one-sided in who the heroes are, and it does a great job representing why someone would choose the Templar Order over the Assassins. Also, although Unity has many flaws it does have hands down the best parkour system in the series so if you really enjoy the gameplay of ACII then the sequel that does the best with recreating that experience is AC Unity.
« You have to play throught the jet-ski bit in Drake’s Fortune » 😱😫😡🤬 Wow, that sentence awakes so many forgotten emotions: rage, frustration, anger and despair. Fun times! 😅😉🤣
Dalmar Ampere Dark Souls as well. I took on Ornstein & Smough solo and it was an unforgettable battle. Knight Artorias is the best boss I've ever fought though, because he kept me on my toes with the magnitude of damage he inflicts and his ability to close gaps with frightening speed.
@@dalmarampere6637 Spiderman ? Really? The bosses are notoriously bad. It's easy to just destroy them with gadgets and suit abilities and if you're not able to abuse that the fights are generally easy anyways. Even the secret boss could just be looped with impact web
That Assassin's Creed segment perfectly describes what I did... experiencing origins now and it's unbelievable but I'm so glad I played through the ezio trilogy and black flag first, it's completely enriched the newer AC for me. Also KH1 is the best one in the series, dont @ me
I think its more important to know what games are "bad entry points" for example i love the Witcher 3 but didn't understand the story so i got the Witcher 1&2 and god the first game is ba- it hasn't aged well, let me tell you, if that was my entry to the series it would be part of my "i don't really care about those games" list Just Read the books is what im tying to say.
Personally, having done so, I would suggest starting God of War from the beginning. That way there are some really nice surprises that will come when finishing with GoW 2018.
Finished KH3 some days ago and I realized that after playing all previous games and watch all cutscenes...I still have more stuff to watch to be able to understand the whole story. Even a mobile game is important for the story...
Rob... ROB SAID MAJIMA IS YOUR SECOND FAVORITE EYEPATCH WEARING BADASS? Majima is your most favorite man, he destroys Snake... How? (Go For The Top Yakuza Dead Souls) stop lying
@@99Lezard99 i think i play a demo of ff back in schools days dont know which one tho .... and i just finish uncharted 4 last month as for the rest of the games on list as said in the post havent play most of them
"Don't be surprised by the bad guys, they are always there first" Even when you have to solve puzzles that require an item you possess and cause the whole room to collapse, somehow they beat you there.
I feel like the counter to this list is "7 games from popular series you must play, even if you never play any others" or "7 essential games that perfectly encapsulate their 7 essential series". When I'm dipping a toe into a series, I don't necessarily know if I'm going to continue to play the whole thing. I want something that gives me the best sense of either what the series has to offer as a whole or where it's going because I'm probably not going to commit to anywhere from 3 to 20 games (looking at you Final Fantasy) when there are so many other games coming out I already know I want. Especially if playing those games requires hardware I may not have.
