GAF Votes: Final Fantasy series rankings (Voting ends Mar. 2)

1. Final Fantasy 6
2. Final Fantasy 9
3. Final Fantasy 4
4. Final Fantasy 7
5. Final Fantasy 1
6. Final Fantasy 10
7. Final Fantasy 12
8. Final Fantasy 3
9. Final Fantasy 2
10. Final Fantasy 13
11. Final Fantasy 8

I still haven't played V for some reason. II is bland and pretty bad, but I absolutely detest 13 and 8.
 
I think FF8 is utter garbage, so I'm already shocked to see it doing decently well thus far in the voting.

Edit: Well, maybe not utter garbage, but definitely one of the weakest entries in the series.

It'd be interesting if you'd have asked people to '*' their first game in the series. I don't believe 8 would be as high in my list if it wasn't my introduction.
 
I hated HATED FF8 when I first played it, on second replay I was blown away by how great it was. It took me a while to wrap my head around the junctioning, but once it clicked, the game moved to the top of my favorite FFs list.

This is exactly what happened to me with 8. On my first time through I didn't really understand all the stuff you could do with junctioning. But on my 2nd and 3rd plays I picked it all up and increasingly enjoyed the game with each playthrough.
 
1. FF9 All around the best package. Great story, graphics, fantastic art style that no one can hate, and a great musical score.
2. FF8
3. FF10
4. FF4
5. FF12 That battle system
6. FF5 That job system
7. FF6
8. FF7
9. FF10-2 That job system again, but this time with a whack story.
 
  1. FF6; One of the greatest RPGs ever made. The number of characters that joined your party was surprising at the time and it was the fact that each of those characters had fleshed out backgrounds.
  2. FF7; I thought the narrative was intriguing and I liked the modern setting that the world had. I always thought that the Shinra corporation, as an entity, was interesting because of the businessmen who ran it. I thought that was fresh for an FF game. I dug the materia system; it was fun to arrange materia combinations in character slots however you thought would best be suitable for you.
  3. FF4; The narrative was memorable and to this day, it resonates well with me. It's one of those games where I can go back and replay and it doesn't feel quite dated. It had a soundtrack which could never be forgotten.
  4. FF8; I appreciated that Square created an FF game which had realistically proportioned characters. It brought a whole new atmosphere to the world, going from FF7 to FF8. The draw system was radically different than past magic systems, but cool to tackle on.
  5. FF9; A throwback to classic FF experiences in the form of a wholly-new adventure and cast of characters was pleasant to play through. All of the characters were charming, but specifically, Vivi was cute. FF9's super-deformed character models were more polished than FF7's, although I rated it lower than FF7 because it didn't affect me as profoundly.
  6. FF10; The switch to PS2 made this FF game even better-looking than the FF games released on the PS1. I didn't particularly care for the cast of characters; the only character I liked was Auron. But I liked the battle system, environments, and soundtrack.
  7. FF5; The job system was the highlight of the game. The narrative was secondary to me. In my opinion, it had a far better implemented job system than FF3's.
  8. FF2; I rated this above FFI because I appreciated what they were doing with this one. It was an odd FF game because the battle system was unlike anything I've played in the series, in regard to learning new magic by equipping new gear.
  9. FF1; The adventure that started it all - it was simple, yet fun. I rated it near the bottom because it didn't mean very much to me, overall. I suppose that might be because I didn't play this game when it originally released. I started out on the series with FF4 and FF6.
  10. FF3; It's my least favorite FF game because I didn't enjoy the class system and I thought it was quite challenging at times which, to me, detracted from the experience.

I have yet to play FF10-2, FF12, FF13, FF13-2, and FF14, but I'll get to those someday.
 
1. FF6
2. FF9
3. FF12
4. FF10
5. FF7
6. FF5
7. FF10-2
8. FF4
9. FF8
10. FF3
11. FF1
12. FF13
13. FF2

I think Crisis Core should be included if 10-2 and 13-2 are included.
 
Fixed the link to the MGS rankings results in the OP.

Thanks Johnas. (⌐■_■)

NP.

I'm gonna have to think for a while about this one, I have never finished II, III, VIII, or X-2 (although I'm playing II right now and really enjoying it).

More of a DQ guy myself.
 
1. FF12; love everything about it, the FF game I have the most hours in at around 300 across multiple save files.
2. FF9; probably my favorite cast of characters in any of the games. Battles were a bit slow but everything else I adored. Also that soundtrack, Uematsu's best imo.
3. FF6; Great cast of characters, first game in the series to have some strategic/challenging battles as well.
4. FF13-2; It is a bit on the easy side besides a few bosses but it was fun which is what I really care about. Caius was amazing. I actually quite enjoy the monster system.
5. FF10; Always thought of Sin as a great antagonist, simply because despite of not being a motivated-personal villain he gave a horrible sense of dread and urgency the entire game. Like some sort of JRPG monster movie.
6. FF7; Was one of the first RPGs I ever played and had a huge influence on my gaming taste for years.
7. FF13; It was flawed for sure but I actually enjoyed how the characters acted more like living people who had problems and didn't get along as opposed to a merry band of warriors out to save the world. Also the battle system, obviously.
8. FF5; Despite being near the bottom of my list I think I've played this one more than any others in the series... The job system offered a lot of fun ways to experiment that we didn't see again until X-2.
9. FF8; I originally hated this game with a fiery passion. Back before I had the internet I could never beat the final boss or unlock half my abilities for that matter. On a recent playthrough I actually had a ton of fun with it, something about SeeD and being mercs with a little secret base thing was cool.
10. FF1; I don't think the first three games aged particularly well but this game was the FIRST JRPG I played outside of the Pokemon series and it blew my mind at the time. Walking around the world, selecting my classes, buying gear, grinding. It was a magical experience.

Man this was harder to put together than I thought as someone who has played and enjoyed every game in the main series outside of the MMOs.
 
1. FF12; I love the scale of everything in this game. The world is just so fantastic and diverse, the different races, colours and scope of the cities is amazing. The battle system is really interesting and has lots of combinations. There are no more random encounters and the chaining system is really satisfying. This scope of this game makes it fantastically re-playable.
2. FF5; JOB SYSTEM. It gives you so much freedom to play the way you'd like and not having the constraints of terrible party members.
3. FF6; The aesthetics in this game are gorgeous. The soundtrack superb. The change in pace in the World of Ruin is so unsettling it creates the perfect mood and environment.
4. FF9; I love the medieval charms of this game. It has lots of quirks and oddities, and it is relatively simple, but it is really fun to explore.
5. FF10; I cannot explain why I like this game so much but everything to me is wonderfully balanced.
6. FF7; This game is just bizarre and fun. It jumps from fun at the Gold Saucer to Aeris' death to snowboarding down mountains. It's crazy but still remains emotionally hard-hitting so many years on.
7. FF10-2; This game to me has lots of flaws, it's a bugger to 100%, the story was a bit silly, and well, I could go on. But what this game did right is giving you so much freedom right off the bat. Everywhere in Spira was open to you, sure the enemies would destroy you, but you could still go there. It had a Job System where you could change mid-battle, it was fast-paced and versatile. And seeing without any threats was just refreshing.
8. FF8; This game stole my childhood. First Final Fantasy I'd experienced and I loved every minute of it. The backgrounds for the world were to immersing and detailed, they held create this wonderfully colourful and beautiful world.
9. FF3; I've only had the experience of playing the DS version but the main reason this makes the list is the Job System. I shall have to play it again though as I really cannot remember the story though I know I enjoyed it.
10. FF13; Goddamn, the battle system is phenomenal, everything post-Pulse is really enjoyable. The hunts, the scope of the exploration, the pacing. It's a shame I really dislike the first lot of hours so much.
 
Dear god,


What is with the influx of voting threads these days?

Next thing you know we're gonna be voting on GOTY 1985
 
1. FF9; LOVE this game. the characters, the setting, the music, and even the story. Garnet and Zidane's reunion at the end even made me shed a tear or two, no joke xD

2. FF10; Where to even begin. This was the first FF game I played and the moment Tidus flipped upside down to kick that Blitzball I was hooked.

3. FF12; This game gets a lot of crap, but the battle system was AWESOME! Vaan was a bit meh, but other than that great game.

the older FF games were good but they just didn't resonate with me as these 3 did so I'll just end my list there.


EDIT; someone should do one of these for the Tales of series!
 
1. FF6; dat opera, dat train suplex, dat everything. :D
2. FF4
3. FF10
4. FF7; pretty alright, pretty overrated. :/
5. FF9
6. FF13; was supposed to redeem the series after the horrible let down of 12, it didn't.
7. FF12; didn't even want to put this on because I hated it, but alas, here it is. :(
8. FF8; couldn't even finish this one so I guess it's below. 12 :p

haven't played 1-3, 5, the MMOs, or the x-2s.
 
1. FF7
2. FF8
3. FF10
4. FF9
5. FF5
6. FF10-2
7. FF13
8. FF6

The only other mainline title I've played is 12, but I refuse to include it in my list because it's shit, and doesn't deserve the point it would get if I listed it at #9.
 
1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy IX
3. Final Fantasy IV
4. Final Fantasy VII
5. Final Fantasy I
6. Final Fantasy X
7. Final Fantasy XII
8. Final Fantasy III
9. Final Fantasy II
10. Final Fantasy XIII
11. Final Fantasy VIII

I still haven't played V for some reason. II is bland and pretty bad, but I absolutely detest 13 and 8.

ScOULaris said:
Use regular numbers instead of Roman numerals, as it will make sorting all of the votes much easier.

Yeah...
______
1. FF9
2. FF10
3. FF7
4. FF8
 
1. FF7; The highest, not for reasons people typically give. It's the little things, the numerous minigames, the side missions, the interesting visual setting that fill this game out. The exploration of towns/cities is the best in the 3D FFs by far. Forget the characters and whatever positive or negative biases you might have for a second, and you'll find the hands-down most fun-to-play game of the series. Combat is fluid, though the enemy design is fairly weak (implementation-wise). The only successfully creepy game in the series, and while the story is the kind you can find in many places, it's magnificently presented. A remake would not do these qualities justice, and would probably lose most of what's actually fun about the game. Also, best end-of-battle music. Ever.
2. FF6; The height of the 2D FFs. Can't say much negative about it.
3. FF4; Score inflated a bit by nostalgia. FF4 was the first real JRPG that I ever played, receiving it the same day that I got my SNES when I was turning 7. The music/backgrounds/enemy design are all top notch, and while the story is shallow, it's obviously a quantum leap in the series' progression.
4. FF10; Beautiful game, with a linear path done right. Best use of 3D space in the series.
5. FF8; The most overhated game in the series, by far. The story's presentation and pacing are amazing, while the outrage at the "twist" is silly and exaggerated. Though overall, it's still near the middle of the road for the series.
6. FF12; Would be 2-3 places higher if it hadn't suffered from the worst pacing problems of the series later in the story. A great game which I still need to replay (having only played it twice around release and never since).
7. FF5; This belongs higher, but here we are. My one and only complaint for FF5 is that it seems like a huge downgrade in enemy sprite quality after FF4. The design is good, but the implementation always seemed weak. Amazing job system, which only FFT does better. 5 has a weak story, but taking everything else into consideration it can be forgiven.
8. FF9; Nice game, great music and setting. Kiddy-ish art style very works well for the most part, but the game falls apart by the end (not referring to the ending sequence). Extremely sluggish combat automatically reduces its ranking by at least 2 places. Wish I could find a higher spot if only for Chocobo Hot and Cold.
9. FF1; Holds decent nostalgia value, and its original version is more playable than its close successors, so I've given it a boost in ranking despite it being fairly mediocre in many core respects.
10. FF2; The GBA/PSP remakes are very good, but the NES version brings this down to the bottom. The leveling system is the worst easily, even after the fixes in later versions. But the game has a lot of charm, great music, and some interesting story dynamics that keep it on the list.
 
1. FF8
2. FF9
3. FF10
4. FF13-2
5. FF7
6. FF10-2
7. FF6
8. FF13
9. FF12
10. FF3

The only other FF games I've actually played were FF1 and FF2 on iOS, but I didn't care for those ones at all.
 
1. FF9 - Amazing setting, great characters, awesome music and an enjoyable story. Perfect.
2. FF8 - My first FF, and was my favourite...until I played FF9 properly for the first time a few years back.
3. FF10 - Great experience as being the first 3D FF with voice acting. Love the story and the battle system was neat.
4. FF13 - Very flawed but I think it's an enjoyable journey. One of my favourite battle systems and battle themes.
5. FF12 - Was debating putting this higher than 13. I do enjoy it a lot, especially now that I'm older.
6. FF13-2 - Slightly wonky game, but has some great points. Should of been harder and longer.
7. FF10-2 - Extremely camp and lackluster compared to FFX, but god the battle system is awesome.
8. FF4 - Not played much of it yet, but enjoyed what I played. Need to get back to it on my PSP.
9. FF7 - I'm going to be hated, but couldn't get into it. I really want to try though. Bring on that remake :P
10. FF3 - Couldn't stand this one to be honest.

I have played FF6, but not enough to really comment on it. I know I should play it, but I only have the PS1 version and yeah....
 
1. FF8
2. FF10
3. FF6
4. FF10-2
5. FF4
6. FF12
7. FF13
8. FF5
9. FF2
10. FF1

I may place both FF12 and FF5 higher one day, but that day is not today.
 
1. FF10
2. FF6
3. FF8
4. FF12
5. FF4

Seems like i really like the even numbered episodes and absolutely hate the uneven ones. Too bad 14 turned out to be crap.
 
I predict FF13 will take this easily. (︶︹︺)

PS - I'll never understand why so many people choose to ignore the sample ballot in the OP. You're just risking your votes not being counted if they're formatted in some strange manner that is nothing like the template outlined in the OP.

I'm not saying I will purposefully discount them, but accidents happen when I'm cleaning up these threads in order for the votes to be tallied.
 
This was tough.

1- VII
2- VI
3- IX

4- XI
5- V
6- XII

7- IV
8- X
9- VIII

10- III
11- I
12- XIII

13- II

I can't rank XIV, because I haven't played it. I won't rank X-2 or XIII-2 because I don't believe a continuation of a concluded Final Fantasy has ever added anything of true value to the series. Yes I'm still mad about what they did to VII.
 
1. FF6 ; a culmination of everything that made the 2D Final Fantasy games great.
2. FF12 ; the gameplay overhaul was very welcome, combat felt fresh, scope was great.
3. FF4 ; the first FF I played. Lovable characters, good sense of journey.
4. FF9 ; the best of traditional 3D FF games, because it retained the feeling of the old entries
5. FF7 ; like with FF4 the character cast was great, I loved the non-main quest extras and everything.
8. FF3 ; maybe the job system was a little botched but hey, you can turn yourself into a frog!
6. FF2 ; like the first game, but the gameplay was more structured and the story was better.
7. FF1 ; still surprisingly playable, though sometimes it's completely unclear where to go.
9. FF10 ; the characters were rather annoying but otherwise the gameplay was quite refined.

I've played some of the others but didn't finish them.
 
1. FF7
2. FF10
3. FF2 (yes, the Japanese two, no I am not insane)
4. FF4
5. FF8
6. FF6
7. FF12
8. FF1
9. FF9
10. FF13

Though Tactics easily deserves #2 on my list. And unfortunately I have not beaten 3 or 5.
 
I predict FF13 will take this easily. (︶︹︺)

PS - I'll never understand why so many people choose to ignore the sample ballot in the OP. You're just risking your votes not being counted if they're formatted in some strange manner that is nothing like the template outlined in the OP.

I'm not saying I will purposefully discount them, but accidents happen when I'm cleaning up these threads in order for the votes to be tallied.

Most people don't read the OP. They see the thread title and just start posting. This is the case with every thread ever it seems.
 
1. FF6; Music is amazing, story is the best mixture of seriousness/silliness without going into pseudo philosophy like the later games. The characters are memorable without having extreme quirks or annoying stereotypes like in later games. It's just the perfect mix of the old final fantasy and the later final fantasy.
2. FF12; This is a strange game since the first half sets up an interesting political plot, interesting characters (except Vaan and Penelope) but then completely falls apart. I guess it has something to do with Matsunos health concerns. The systems are also in this strange mixture with brilliance mixed with pure laziness.
3. FF9; Return to form after seven and eight that took themselves a lot more serious than they deserved to take themselves. Good characters and a nice fantasy setting but a really slow battle system and a really boring finale.

And the rest of the list of those I've played.
4. FF4
5. FF7
6. FF8
7. FF5
8. FF10
9. FF13
10. FF10-2
 
I am only voting for games I have completed. I have not completed FF12 (not even close) and FF1. I have never touched FF2 and FF3. Also, I still have not played FF13-2, but I intend to eventually.

1. FF7; I still consider it one of the greatest games of all time. It might be overhyped, but I still think this game is so superbly made. The entire Midgar section before opening up the huge world was so awesome. The story was so different for me at the time, and mysterious, and dark, with great plot twists and lovable characters (and even enemies). Graphics were such a delight at the time. Music was almost Uematsu's best. Battle system was addictive as addiction can get. I still fully stand by this installment as the greatest of the series.
2. FF9; An extremely underrated game of the series, this one does so many things right. I still think it has the best characters and ending of the series, as well as some of the most charming music in the game industry. I also want to say that I think this installment had the best dungeons...very clever for the most part. The whole thing is such huge, too, and charming in so many ways. So, so underrated.
3. FF10; I know this game has quite a few flaws and drawbacks of the FF series, but I still really, really liked it. I have many fond memories of this. The story was still good to me, and the characters were all right. But what really got to me was the battle system and its sense of progression...I loved the trial dungeons too. It also presented some of Masashi Hamauzu's best music. I also think this one has the best beginning to a FF.
4. FF4; A simple but effective story with a huge mid-way plot-twist that changes narrative direction and even gameplay direction.
5. FF6; I know this is considered by many the best, and it is indeed a great game to me, but when I think back at the most memorable, for some reason, FF6 doesn't scream at me. Maybe it's because I caught it later than a lot of you. I really loved some of the characters, like Kefka, and I really, really loved the world. Some of the dungeons were fun, too, and of course the entire 2nd half of the game was crazy. But I think for me, at least when I played it at that time, it felt like the story took a backseat when the 2nd half opened up, and I was all about the narrative at that point in my life. Now it's different, and maybe if I replayed it it'd be promoted on this list. A really great game, no doubt, but I can't consider it one of the best.
6. FF8; I hate the battle system. So, so, so much. I tried to like it so many times, and eventually, I can usually learn to love. But not this one. It just drove me nuts for so many reasons. I can admit that maybe I just didn't "get" it. I was still pretty young. But as a kid I always thought it was just a bunch of cheap bs. Speaking of bs, the story does some bs plot twists too...but I just love the scenario so much, and the creativity of the world, and the two main characters love connection, that it just pleased me regardless. Also, the biggest reason why this is still up on the list is because this is by far one of the greatest music soundtracks ever.
7. FF13; The story is bad. The characters are bad. The dungeon designs are bad. There are no towns. There really is a lot of stuff this game did wrong, and I consider it one of the weaker installments; however, it still did some things right. The battle system is fantastic and I consider it one of the best in the series. I also can't get over how pretty it is. Despire being lame or overly predictable, there were still some memorable scenes, and Gran Pulse area was great. But man did that ending suck.
8. FF5; I know a lot of people love this one, but I always felt like this was the black sheep of the series. Good game, but again, as a kid, I was about the narrative, and FF5 certainly didn't have that. I barely remember the story, except for negatives. Heck, FF13 might even have a better story. I liked the battle system but I don't swear by it like some of you. I also thought the dungeon design was more repetitive and less creative. Music is fantastic, though, and I did like the amount before-the-final-boss content there was.
9. FF10-2; This is the only FF game that I honestly did not like. Music was sometimes good, and sometimes awful. Story was boring and non-existent until the very end, where it got a bit interesting. Everything felt recycled and not in a good way. I preferred FF10's battle system a lot. This one just didn't click with me.
 
1. FF6; two worlds, 14 unique characters, epic masterpiece
2. FF8; never understood the hate for it...first human looking characters, first ff with song, jaw dropping FMVs, great changeup on the fighting system and TRIPLE F'n TRIAD
3. FF12; best fighting system of the series, great voice acting, great story until the last 30%
4. FF7; fallen out of love with this world and it's characters over time but can't deny the countless hours sunk while playing it
5. FF10; blitzball was honestly more fun than the game. VA was atrocious
6. FF9; can't remember much from this other than Zidane turning all dbz at halfway point
7. FF13
 
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