1. FF3; Sets the standard for main FF games; one have the fondest memories of.
2. FF12; Should really be IZJS; it's just that good.
3. FF5; Dat Job System.
4. FF2; Birth of SaGa leveling system!
5. FF6
6. FF7
7. FF4
8. FF9
9. FF10
10. FF1
1. Final Fantasy 12
2. Final Fantasy 4
3. Final Fantasy 6
4. Final Fantasy 5
5. Final Fantasy 3
6. Final Fantasy 7
7. Final Fantasy 9
8. Final Fantasy 10
9. Final Fantasy 8
10. Final Fantasy 1
1. FF12 ; Truly the best by a mile. The gambit system was a breath of fresh air and the story was borderline acceptable. Also Bathier4Eva
2. FF8 ; I just loved the Junction system, the battle of the gardens bit and the bat-shit insane ending.
3. FF5 ; Job System joy.
4. FF7 ; The classic and I've finished it many times, the materia system was good fun to break
5. FF10 ; A good fun game, and I put over 150 hours or something into it
6. FF13 ; Genuinely enjoyed myself with it but did miss the openness of the others. Gran Pulse was a highlight.
7. FF13-2 ; Only because I'm currently playing it and can't really rate it properly, but it's better than...
8. FF9 ; A bit to slow and old school for me.
1) FF7
2) FF8
3) FF10: Specifically the PAL version
4) FF9
5) FF4
6) FF12
7) FF6
8) FF13
9) FF5
10) FF10-2
Now explanations (keep in mind that I still ranked FF's I hate, just for consistency I guess. I don't care if they get 1 point. Let people like what they want and get the result they want accordingly):
1) VII : If it wasn't for this game, I would have never fallen in love with JRPGs in the first place. I will never get tired of playing it. Something about the characters in this game resonates well with me. Maybe it's the tragedy that almost every character comes from and how dark the overall game is and some of the overall symbolism in the game (facing the past, uncovering the past, looking for hope). I still think the materia system is one of the best in the series. This along with a lot of the sidequests (The Gold Saucer, raising chocobos, the Weapons). Yes, this game has aged the worst graphically out of the PS era FF's but it doesn't matter to me.
2) VIII : I'll get this out the way first: Yes, the junction system (combined with Cards, Card Mod and refinement abilities) destroyed this game's difficulty. I absolutely blazed through it, only ever facing true difficulty in random places. That being said, I think this is the greatest love story in Final Fantasy. The character development of Squall himself is the center of the story and everything else seems to irrelevant. The game was also still fun to play despite the lack of difficulty and I love the different worlds. I think this was one of the most character driven FF's in a long time (if it wasn't, it would have been a disaster plot-wise). Throw in some fun superbosses, a pretty fantastic final dungeon, a great soundtrack, a stunning set of final battles and the addictive Card game and you've got a winner.
3) X : FFX is a unique FF in that I did a 180 turn on it's protagonist in subsequent playthroughs. Despite this having a pretty memorable cast, I absolutely hated Tidus the first time I played the game. Once I learned to appreciate his circumstances and how he adapted and why he was narrating the game, it really opened up for me. The qualifier of the PAL/International version is pretty important here. Playing on the Expert sphere grid really adds a good layer of challenge and made maxing stats to take on the
Dark Aeons and Penance
all the more rewarding. A somewhat hit-or-miss soundtrack, it earned back points in a great battle system, the Monster Capturing/Arena sidequest, some incredible visuals (which still stand up, imho) and blitzball!
4) IX : FF4 and 9 seem to swap places regularly on my top 10 but I do enjoy 9 a little more and I'm not entirely sure why. I might be the great worlds and a lot of great characters and backstories. FF9 still has, in my opinion, the hardest superboss I have faced in any FF and maybe that's why I always come back to this game. The soundtrack is a bit of a recycling/reworking job of the main theme but it has some stellar tracks which keep it in the company of 7 and 8. I always question the very juvenile presentation and what it accomplished. I think it took away from some of the more profound plot points in the game and never really took the game to "that" level of maturity I wanted. That being said, it was still a hell of a ride. Some of the sidequests in this game, especially Hot and Cold, are fantastic.
5) IV : People will probably wonder how I ranked this above any of the other 16-bit FF's. Blasphemy, I know. I played this AFTER the top 4 along with 5&6. I think the reason is the story and it's characters. The story of redemption and development, coupled with a great love triangle (yes, I even rank it above the one in FFVII just based on how it affects the story) and some interesting revelations down the road really make it memorable. The moments of sacrifice and honor in this game also really stand up for me. The battle system itself is very old school and not the deepest, but you did have some great optional sidequest/bosses to round out the experience. I think this game had one of the more personal and complete stories in FF and you never really grew too detached for it. The small cast also helped with this.
6) FFXII : I'm in the minority of people I know who like this game. I really do not like the story and a lot of the characters are forgettable, along with their stories (Vaan, for instance). I think if certain elements of the story were handled differently, I would have been more attached to it. While we're talking about negatives: the treasure chest system and monster drops in this game were absolutely horrible. It seemed artificially time consuming and "difficult" to deal with. Now onto the positives: the game is huge. The vast areas coupled with a lack of an airship really made you take the journey. The lack of random battles increased the immersion. The gambit system (which many people argue let the game play itself) helped with the repetition of battle. The sidequests, from collecting the best weapons to battling summons (including one of the hardest summon monster battles in any FF imho) and the Mark system just added HOURS to this game. Couple that with literally some of the biggest superbosses in FF history and you almost forget that there IS a main story in this game. Don't listen to the haters. This game is worth at least one playthrough and if you're a guy who goes for 100% in his FF's, this is your wet dream come to life. Good luck. Oh and while it may not have a "catchy soundtrack", I have recently rediscovered how incredibly cinematic it is. You could easily slap it into a movie and it would blend in well. I think my renewed appreciation of the music really helped my subsequent playthrough (This game is huge enough that I have only played it about 2 times since I bought it).
7) FFVI : Oh the controversy! Look, I don't think this game is horrible. I really don't. That belongs to my bottom 2 games. FF6 does a lot of things right. It has a large cast with unique features to warrant their existence (i.e. unique fixed jobs) let you customize your party to an incredible degree. The game has one of the more ambitious stories as well, with an incredible transition midway through. However, something about this game never clicked with me, no matter how many times I played it. While there were some great character moments, I could have maybe done with fewer of them so I could concentrate on the stories I did like (Edgar and Sabin for example). I also think that a lot of characters ended up having very shallow back-stories. I also personally did not like
Kefka
as a final adversary and found
him far too one-dimensional and cartoony in his motivations
. Getting to the gameplay, I found the battle system to be largely ok. While some characters had great features, I found a lot overall battle system and experience system quite flat. I don't even remember the sidequests and superbosses to this game that much at all.
8) FFXIII : A story of what could have been great if it weren't for some awful design choices. The story was a mess. The characters, for the most part, ended up being forgettable due to their links to the story. The linearity killed the start of the game. It has the worst end-game economy Final Fantasy. Pretty big strikes. That alone removes it from top 5 contention. It's a real shame. The encounter and battle system is one of the most refreshing changes to what could have been a tired formula of another turned-based game. I am NOT one of those FF fans who doesn't want change and wants random encounters and turn-based combat forever (especially given the decline in storytelling). It was challenging. I can't remember the last FF game where I frequently died in normal battles. The amount of strategy you needed to employ for certain bosses and enemy formations. The mark hunting system is another great import from XII and one that is still rewarding. The game is also a stunner visually. The soundtrack is more miss than hit but it has some gems, including a great battle theme (Blinded by Light). So much that could have been. Sigh.
9) FFV : Going to keep this short. I used to hate rotating job systems but I learned to live with them and appreciate them in subsequent playthroughs. FF5 is a game I will now replay every now and then. That being said, I never liked the stories or the characters. I thought the worlds were vastly inferior to 4 and 6. It had a largely forgettable soundtrack. The superbosses varied from difficult (fucking
Omega. I am convinced you cannot beat this asshole without Stop
) to easy (
beating Shinryu in one turn
). I also remember spending far more time in random battles in 5 than any other game, which artificially increased the difficulty in areas for me (the Pyramid, for example, is one of my most hated areas in any FF). I can defend ranking 4 over 6 but I can never ever defend someone ranking 5 over 6. The game just felt so thin. There wasn't a whole lot of personal connection for me. It never clicked. I sometimes wonder how this game came AFTER 4 as I think the progression of immersion and sophistication goes 5, 4 and 6. Who knows.
10) FFX-2 : What can I say. The root story has some merit but is lost behind a silly Charlie's Angel presentation and just a huge level of cheese. Everything was just so unnecessarily goofy. The battle system was pretty fun but I never truly felt the actual game itself maximizes on it's potential (save for maybe
the secret dungeon in Bevelle
). I got the highest possible %age completion on this game once, which included some inane side quests. I will never play this game again.
1. FF12 (in my top 10 games of all time)
2. FF11
3. FF3
4. FF13
5. FF8
6. FF10
7. FF1
8. FF7
9. FF6
10. FF2
First five were easy. I used to hate 13 but I've grown to really appreciate it after revisiting it. FF12 being such a masterpiece really ruined my initial impressions of it. If Tactics was allowed it would've been my #2.
1. FF9 Perfect balance.
2. FF5 Job system.
3. FF7 Very good balance, the materia system is excellent but normal magics are too weak (Fire2 costs more than it's worth).
4. FF12 Optional content.
5. FF6 It teaches how to do a story driven first part and a free second part.
6. FF8 Interesting growth system.
7. FF10 It hides well its linearity.
8. FF10-2 Battle system.
9. FF4 Horrible growth system, interesting story.
10. FF13-2 I want more fragments!
FF7; My first RPG ever. I laughed at my friends when they explained the premise. Then one day I rented it and was blown away.
FF8; I've beaten this FF game more than any other in the series. Sure the draw system was broken as all hell, but it made the game more fun to me. Also the Junction system was awesome.
FF10; I can just remember the storm of PS2 titles, and how I had suuuuch anticipation for this game. It delivered.
Final Fantasy 8 (FF8) I probably enjoy the cast and music (some of the best in the series) much more on this over FF7 but not quit the story. They are not far apart.
Final Fantasy 10 (FF10) Well rounded FF and highly under the radar (doesn't seem to have cult followings) for being the first real 3D FF it was a gem, the music track is one of the best in the series.
Really difficult but I'd go with that order based on the ones that I have played, FF9 being substantially worse/disliked a lot more than 10+ and up for me.
7-8-10-13|2 are really enjoyable experiences for me. 7 & 8 are top dog, FF10 is slightly being trumped just because I'm currently playing and enjoying 13-2 (freshfactor) but 13-2 will probably switch spots with 10.
1. FF12 - Ivalice has a certain quality to it that I don't think any Final Fantasy game before or since has matched yet. The battle system was a MUCH needed change over the random encounters that had been plaguing the series up until then, Alexander O. Smith's fantastic localization (one of the best I've ever seen, in fact) breathed life into both the dialogue and voice acting (both of which were also phenomenal), the largely militaristic soundtrack is quite possibly Hitoshi Sakimoto's Magnum Opus, the sheer breadth of content is staggering (I STILL haven't managed to 100% the game yet!)... it's much more than deserving of being my favorite Final Fantasy...nay, my single favorite game of all time.
2. FF13-2 - This game is straight-up fun on a bun. Retaining the best battle system in the series while fixing what very few issues I had with it pretty much makes it the best friggin' thing ever. Serah and Noel interact with each other surprisingly well, and Noel in particular has become my favorite protagonist in the series with his stellar voice acting, awesome battle animations, and well-done motivations and backstory. Serah herself ain't too shabby, either, especially after spending most of XIII as nothing but a mere plot device. It's nice to finally see what she can do on her own. The soundtrack, oh god, the soundtrack. It's rare that the series reboots its music, but I'm sooo glad that they did. The amount of variety is pretty sweet, and the vocal tracks are very well done, particularly ones with vocals done by Origa and Joelle. Naoshi Mizuta stepped up to the plate and took charge, schooling Uematsu in every way possible. An improvement over XIII in every way, and it most definitely shows in my playtime.
3. FF13 - Second-best battle system in the series, right next to XIII-2. Hamauzu's soundtrack blowing away anything Uematsu's done before, great story with one of the best cast of characters in the series, absolutely phenomenal visuals, etcetcetcblahblahblahgushgushgushgush. <3333
4. FF10-2 - 100%ing this game is bullshit, and so are the minigames. Now that that's out of the way, soooooo goooood. Especially that battle system. dem dresspheres~ Soundtrack was a massive disappointment, but every other part of the game was spot on. In particular, it was quite interesting to see how Spira reacted to change after hundreds of years being stagnant.
5. FF6
6. FF9
7. FF5
8. FF10
9. FF8
10. FF7
I'll edit in the other descriptions later. I'm lazy. :V
Oh god, it feels so wrong writing out the games without roman numerals. ;-;
Can I just say this is just like picking which lovely daughter of mine is my favorite.........
FF7- I've always stated it may just have been the time in my life when I was playing this game, a time I'll never forget, but the game changed the RPG genra and reinvigorated my love for gaming all over again after a few yeard of NHL94, and other weak entries FF10- The story graphics and gameplay were all amazing at that time, I spent hours doing anything and everything there was to do and loved every minute of it. Would have been worth it to buy a PS2 just to play this game..almost my number 1, you hate love if you hate this game... FF9- Great story, great characters, great fun. FF12- Loved the new gameplay and a nice change of pace, it did get a little annoying later in the game when you didn;t have to do anything but walk around the map and let the computer do everything, but the story and characters were very good. FF8- Despite teh hate this one gets too, was very very fun and had a prety good story late. FF13- Despite the hate, I really appreciated the game, yes, some parts were really slow, but over all, it kept me engaged for over 100+ hours and that is definately worth something. FF10-2- A little on the jPop side, but still good carry-over of the story FF6- This game gets cult like love around here, FF5- Good, but not great fun. FF2- Been playing this on my phone for about a month now and have been really enjoying it when compared to FF1
01. FF6 - For me this game defines what Final Fantasy is, in scope, in quality, in focus, in progression. If you were to compile the best parts of every other entry of the series, this is basically the result you would get. I'm not saying it's heads and shoulders better than any other entry, but it is the best. Probably the best Command-RPG ever made, maybe the best game ever made, I'm not really sure. 02. FF4 - Proto6, the first three games aren't on my list, I've never played the original 3, so I'd be judging it based on the DS version, but those games don't compete with what I love about the series, the presentation of a world I want to spend time in, and being formally toured of the world via the story. 4 is the first Final Fantasy that I think represents the things I come to the series for. 03. FF8 - My first, and the one I've played the most. The most consistent and considered world of any of the games. The presentation quality took a step up from 7, but a huge leap in terms of consistency. Still to this day I think it's the most ambitious entry in a number of areas. Unlike most people, I like that the characters themselves are shells in terms of the progression, but I hate to be stuck with characters I don't like because of their build being required. 04. FF10 - FF7 cost by far the most of any game at the time, what we're seeing in terms of the scope of current games shrinking compared to last gen because of budget, Square already went thru ten years ago. 10 is a great game, the last great Final Fantasy as of now, but it was also the first step in what was a very bad direction for the series. 05. FF7 - It is the game that changed the series, in many ways changed gaming. It laid the foundations of heavily filmic game presentation. Some would argue for the worst, but I'm not amongst them. I've actually been replaying it the last few days, it has issues, but it's still incredible. 06. FF9 - I change my mind about 9 pretty often. I like every individual aspect of the game really, but it just doesn't come together the way 7 and 8 did for me. Vivi's story is really beautiful though. 07. FF5 - Many consider this to be the best in terms of combat design (I think XIII is personally), and it is strong in that area, and in many others, but I think part of it's allure is how we didn't get it right away. To me it's excellent, but it's outclassed by it's SNES peers. 08. FF13 - Every game above this I consider to be great, 13 is only good. It took me 55 hours, and it took me 24 hours to get to the open part of Gran Pulse. I like aspects of the game before that, but that's when it gets great, it just takes far too long to get there, and as a result the overall game is hurt. Lightning is the best design in the series however. Lots of areas of this game looks amazing, although highly inconsistent. 09. FF10-2 - Similar to 13 really, great combat, set to a monotonous adventure, although at least 13 was all new locations. 10. FF13-2 - Maybe ten hours in I thought it was going to be the best since 10, but alas, it really goes to shit towards the end (except the very ending bosses). I like the infamous ending movie though.
1. FF11; I have more memories made from this game than any other single thing ever. It was an incredible game and the only FF game that actually let me be part of the world and story as me. It's an MMO. And it's FF. That's kind of all anyone needs to know I guess. This is the first and only MMO that has a story and characters (NPCs) I actually care about so far.
2. FF13; Yes. FF13. A lot of people disliked it, but I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed the setting, the story, the characters, the gameplay, everything. FF13 was as close to the "perfect game" as it has come for me yet. I should note that I loved all the "linear" parts of the game. I actually found the more open Gran Pulse chapter to be the weakest part of the game.
3. FF4; This was my first FF (and I think first RPG) ever. So it has a special place in my heart. FF4 was the first video game to ever make me cry. It had so many touching moments with characters I actually cared about. It showed me that games could be more than just games.
4. FF5; I love the class system. It made me feel like I had a lot of freedom on what to do with my party. The characters were a little more bland in this one, but I really enjoyed the story anyway. This vote is mostly for the class system honestly.
5. FF8; This vote is purely for the story. The actual battle system was kind of trash and could be easily exploited. And lets not forget the super long un-skippable summons. But still, I completely fell for the love story. I also spent way too much time playing the card game - Triple Triad or whatever it was called.
6. FF6; I liked how there was no "main character", but almost all the characters felt fleshed out to me. This vote is mainly for the cast. It would be higher if characters like Setzer and Gau did more for me though. The intro for this game is probably the most memorable for me. Love that song, walking through the snow towards the city in the magitek armour or whatever.
7. FF10; Not sure what to say. I really enjoyed the story and characters (as with most FF games - that is my main draw to the series afterall). I also felt that the battle system was more strategic because you got to see the turn order. I was initially unhappy that there was no world map, but I got over that eventually. The ending
was very sad and I'll probably remember it forever.
8. FF12; It took me a while to warm up to this one. At first glance, it felt like it was missing something for me. It didn't feel like a mainline FF game. But over time, I came to enjoy the characters and the world. The overall story is a bit weaker for me though. I like the gambit system. Going back to play again is hard though because you have to unlock gambit stuff. This game has my favourite FF theme song.
9. FF9; I don't know why I didn't like this one more. When I heard what it was supposed to be, I was really excited. I think there is a little bit of bitterness that it wasn't what it promised it would be. I didn't really feel anything for the characters in this one and I don't remember much of the story, which I guess means it didn't stick with me too much. I didn't like that you learned abilities through equipment, so you often had to wear worse equipment just to finish the grind and learn the ability.
Ending was dumb.
But despite all these negative things, I still loved the world and it was very lighthearted - which was a nice change from 7 and 8.
10. FF7; This isn't just "backlash" at the popularity of the game. I always felt this was a weaker FF. I don't like any of the characters, and the story still doesn't really make sense to me. Still, there were some very memorable moments and the materia system was kind of cool. I should note that even though this is the ranked 10 on my FF list, it is still one of the better JRPGs I've played. FF as a series is just that far ahead of most other JRPGs on the market for me.
I know the OP says to list up to 10, but I'll list the others too - even if they won't be counted.
11. FF10-2; I don't know about this one. Sometimes I'll tell people I like it a lot. And other times I'll say I hated it. I can't make up my mind on how to feel about it.
12. FF1; This is probably because I played it way after it was originally released
13. FF3; Also played way after originally released
14. FF2; Same as above
I haven't finished FF13-2 yet, so I haven't ranked it. I'm liking it a lot, although I am bothered by a lot of the "westernization" elements. Right now, it's looking like it would be number 4 or 5. If I finish it before voting closes, I'll rank it properly.
And yes, I finished all the other ones except FF11, but that's an MMO and can't be "finished".
I won't rank FF14. I put in like maybe 15 hours total and just dropped off. It just wasn't ready. I'll play it again when 2.0 or whatever releases and evaluate it again then.
I typed all this out in one go. My mind tends to be all over the place so I'm sure there are factual errors, inconsistent evaluations, repeated statements, and contradictions throughout. But whatever. This is as straight from my mind as possible, so I think it's as accurate as possible for this particular moment in time.
FFTactics : Including 11 & 14 in this list already makes a "fair comparison" silly and if they're on it there's no reason Tactics can't be included as well.
FF4
FF5
FF10
FF7
FF12
FF1
FF8
FF11
If you insist on not counting Tactics then this is my list:
1. FF6
EDIT: Was there a separate results thread for the MGS poll? Your link just goes back to the MGS OP and I'm not seeing results on that page.
1. Final Fantasy 7; If I never played this game, I don't know if I had gotten into gaming as much as I have.
2. Final Fantasy 6; Perhaps the most magical FF world. The number of characters was a bit too high so that it isn't as consistently perfect as FF7. Still a helluva game.
3. Final Fantasy 9; A brilliant throwback to the SNES era game. The game's biggest flaw is it's final boss, who just comes out of nowhere.
4. Final Fantasy 12; Love the artstyle and themes of FF12. It also dared to do things differently - which is also the reason so many people speak ill of it.
5. Final Fantasy 4; While the themes of the series were pretty much set at this point, FF4 was the first to really dive into the game's characters in a meaningful way. And immediately set the bar quite high in that regard.
6. Final Fantasy 10; Mindblowing at the time of it's release and still a pleasure to the eye. Although the temple section were horrible and the voice acting god awful at times, the game succeeds in giving a sense of a real pilgrimage through the world of Spira.
7. Final Fantasy 8; I like the tone and themes of the game. If it didn't have the bad level scaling and people with amnesia, it would've charted higher. And magic drawing - oh my gooood.
8. Final Fantasy 13; Always felt the game is better than the internet rage makes it sound. One of the best battle systems in the series. The tutorial section is admittedly way too long and some of the characters are... not bad per se, but could've been presented differently.
9. Final Fantasy 5; I regret I have not played this as much as I should and definitely not enough to give any meaningful insight. Brilliant soundtrack. The characters felt quite bland even compared to the previous game.
10. Final Fantasy 1; Liked the exploration in this one - especially since you really were not given straight directions where to go. That also made it a hard ass game. Never finished it - hit a wall and for some reason never came back - but liked what I saw.
1. FF13: So much negativity around this game that I almost didn't give it a chance, so happy I did. The visuals are drop-dead gorgeous, a lot of my time was spent walking around and panning the camera, just appreciating the stunning scenery and character models. The battle system is brilliant, an excellent mix of ATB, Jobs and Gambits. Rewards strategy. Stuff may have been lost in translation when it comes to story but the overall ideas and themes were pretty damn good and kept me hooked. The world they created in this game was simply spectacular and the soundtrack fit it perfectly.
2. FF12: A huge step forward for the genre, I cannot express how much I love the Gambit system in this game. It did away with a lot of what I found extremely tedious with the genre and made combat painless and hastle free. The story wasn't too hot but the world was pretty huge, lots of places to go. Special mention to the main characters' running animations, each was distinct with it own character.
3. FF8: Mind blowing for the time and impressive to this day, I actually only finished it just a year or 2 ago and it still holds up. The whole military idea with Gardens was great and finally having full size characters was awesome. That soundtrack.
4. FFX: Best ATB battle system in any game. Best main theme in any RPG (the piano theme). This RPG really made me feel that the next gen was at hand when that gen started. The lenght was excellent too, just enough to leave you wanting more.
All 4 are actually on almost equal standing for me since I love them all for different reasons so picking favourties was really tough.
1. FF7
2. FF9
3. FF12
4. FF10
5. FF8
6. FF13
7. FF6 (genuinely not bashing. i've tried playing it twice now and have lost interest both times after about 3 hours)
1. FF10
2. FF1
3. FF9
4. FF4
5. FF2
6. FF7 (not trolling, I genuinely liked it less than all the others... I played it a decade after it came out, which partly explains that)
1. IX- Infinitely charming, well written, amazing art direction, beautiful score, and fun mechanics. The only flaw present in this package is that battles are a little sluggish. This is the closest to perfection as the series ever reached.
2. VI- An amazing package in its own right and only surpassed by IX doing pretty much everything better.
3. V- The last point in which the franchise really gave much care to refining its mechanics and themes, rather than experimenting with entirely new ones. It's probably one of the tightest games in the series and would easily top the list had the experiments of IX and VI not succeeded so well.
4. XII- A lot of potential was lost in the process of this game's development, but it is perhaps a testament to the initial direction and framework put into the game that it is still a great game in spite of being an incomplete work.
5. IV- While often incoherent, short, occasionally unbalanced, this game's simplicity allows for it to be one of the most distilled incarnations of the franchise and an excellent starting point for those wanting to jump in. It also brought a new direction to the franchise's storytelling process that lasted over two decades.
6. VII- Though the writing is nothing short of a mess, this game proved that the franchise was viable as a gaming blockbuster.
7. X- The first truly modern entry in the franchise, this game marked the franchise's complete transition to a more linear and cinematic experience. Despite the drawbacks implied by this, it managed to still be compelling and enjoyable .
8. I- Ground breaking when it came out, time has not been entirely kind to this game. It is still enjoyable in the right context.
9. XI- Flawed in many ways, it was a good basis for taking the franchise online.
10. XIII/XIII-2- Though poorly written, these games share a unique concept, great score, and a refreshingly fun combat system. XIII-2 also shows that the franchise is again capable of refining what worked and learning from what didn't.
As for the unlisted
II- An admirable experiment that I still personally enjoy. Though it is a low point in the franchise, it at least proved to be the catalyst for the SaGa franchise and that is a good thing.
III- Perhaps great in its own time, it suffers a number of design flaws and presently only serves as an example of the process of refinement that led to the near perfection of V.
VIII- Another admirable experiment, it suffers the writing woes of VII with little of positive elements that compensated for them. Nice soundtrack, though.
XIV- The first true failure of the franchise, and for good reason. Though it had few good ideas, it exists as a series of poor executions that took little care to improve upon the lessons of the previous online entry.
After 8 the drop off is tremoundous for me. I didn't like 9 very much, didn't enjoy 5 at all, and 13 shouldn't even be in the top 10... it should be like 35th. I'm sure it'll be the worst FF for years to come.
After 8 the drop off is tremoundous for me. I didn't like 9 very much, didn't enjoy 5 at all, and 13 shouldn't even be in the top 10... it should be like 35th. I'm sure it'll be the worst FF for years to come.
1. FF12 A beautiful sprawling world with an insane amount of content.
2. FF9 So much charm and a dramatic story with great pacing.
3. FF10 A great cast of characters and a well developed world.
4. FF8 Whacky but entertaining characters and a generally nice art style.
5. FF4 The best classic Final Fantasy with a story that isn't full of filler.
6. FF7 The one with the quirkiest humour along with entertaining characters.
7. FF13-2 A game which is just pure fun in sacrifice of the story.
8. FF11 A great yet flawed and time consuming game.
9. FF10-2 It has a great battle system and job system.
10. FF5 It has a great job system.
1. Final Fantasy 4
2. Final Fantasy 6
3. Final Fantasy 7
4. Final Fantasy 8
5. Final Fantasy 5
6. Final Fantasy 10-2
7. Final Fantasy 12
8. Final Fantasy 10
9. Final Fantasy 9
10. Final Fantasy
If Tactics were being counted it would've been number one with a bullet. Best game bearing the FF name.