Which single player Final Fantasy game has your favorite set of villains, main cast, setting, music, and story?

Hawk The Slayer

Hawk The Slayer

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Which Final Fantasy game has your favorite villains, main party cast, music, setting/world, and story?

For me it's

Villains - Final Fantasy IV with the Four Archfields, Goblez, and Zeromus

Main Party Cast - Tie between FFIV, FFVI, and FFIX but might be FFVII Remake's trilogy depending on the final part.

Music - Final Fantasy IX

Setting/world - Final Fantasy IX has my favorite world and setting. A very unique style combining high fantasy with Norse Myth and some Jim Henson mixed into one.

Story - Final Fantasy IX and FFIV tie

-
 
Ff16 for me.

I was all about Clive May Cry. My favorite FF protag, my favorite world design, my favorite bosses.

FFX is a distant second place.

Ff7 still wins in soundtrack due to nostalgia though.
 
IX everything.

The music is instant nostalgia, especially the title screen. I hear that shit and I'm instantly 10 years old again. The characters and setting are charming as hell, and I love how it's (to my knowledge) the only FF game at that point to feature a main villain with a redemption in the end. I also like how the MC isn't a miserable twat the entire game.

It also has the saddest death by far and large.
 
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Ah cool,

Villain?
My fave villain is Kefka, he is like frieza + joker, and his final battle ost is the best final boss ost ever ( especially in gametal and lasmush cover )

Main Party cast?
This is the hardest :p, i like zidane and lock, and tidus, i think these three are the nimble char types.

Setting?
FFX, because lotta water and beaches!
FFVII, well, the locations are beautiful <3

OST?
FFVIII still generally had the best ost of all for me
 
Main cast - Final Fantasy IV

Cecil is one of my favorite characters of all time and I enjoy everybody else as well.

Villains - Final Fantasy VI

Kefka, nothing else needs to be said

Music - Final Fantasy VI
A bloody masterpiece that few games, much less other Final Fantasy games, can even stand in the same room with.

Setting/world - Final Fantasy X/X-2
A bit unfair since you spend two games with it but even then it's still super distinct, fresh, and just plain charming.

Story: I want to say a tie between VI and X/X-2 but if I had to pick i'd say X/X-2 since i think I like the core story more. FFVI has the stronger side stories and character depth but I think the main plot of the X games is a little stronger.
 
square enix japan GIF

Final Fantasy Otherworld GIF

square enix japan GIF

Xbox One GIF by Xbox
 
Personally FFVI was my absolute fave and fit all of these buttons. Perfect cast of characters, the villains were solid (and won), the music was amazing, the setting between the two worlds was great, and the story just really hit.
 
Villains - VII, love Shinra and Sephiroth

Main Party Cast - IX, such a unique and varied cast. VII would be close.

Music - Good gravy, hard one. Gotta give it to IX. VIII would be a close second.

Setting/world - Final Fantasy IX. This is what makes IX my favorite.

Story - Man another hard choice, this is where IX was the weakest IMO. VII or VIII...hmmmm I think VII takes the nod here.
 
Villains - FFX
It's the slowly revealed mystery behind each villain and their connection to the party that makes them memorable, Sin, Jecht, Seymour, Yunalesca and finally Yu Yevon himself.

Main Party Cast - FFVI
Full of memorable characters with great character arcs that band together to take back their world from an evil nihilistic clown.

Music - FFVII
Nobuo Uematsu's best score, just a bunch of memorable bangers in it, the man was clearly inspired at the time to tell the story of the game through music.

Setting/world - FFXVI
Anyone who actually took the time to read all the lore, probably realized all the love it went into creating this amazing world and the political conflicts in it, a shame it probably won't be used again.

Story - FFTactics
Yasumi Matsuno's best story and also the best story in any SRPG, dark, full of betrayal and drama.
 
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Setting/World - FFX by a mile

Main Cast - FF16 or FF6

Music - FFX by an inch

Story - Unsure but maybe FF11

Villains - FF7 Series (Sephiroth is the guy who everyone remembers and wants as a cameo, whether people here like it or not 🤷‍♂️)
 
Other than the surprise final boss, IX is the best one.

XII is also right up there for me, just remove Vaan.
 
X was the peak, and perfectly encapsulates what the series looks like at its best.

Best music.

Best setting with a mixture of fantasy and high-tek.

Best cast; we all fell in love that year.

Best battle system; it was right before they went full on retard with the active time battle.

Plus, it was so good they made a sequel.

And...

Video Games Japan GIF
 
rubik's dude said:
IX everything.

The music is instant nostalgia, especially the title screen. I hear that shit and I'm instantly 10 years old again. The characters and setting are charming as hell, and I love how it's (to my knowledge) the only FF game at that point to feature a main villain with a redemption in the end. I also like how the MC isn't a miserable twat the entire game.

It also has the saddest death by far and large.
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FFIX was and still is my overall favorite FF game, hope the remake turns out to be great. But whatever happens, at least we still got the Moguri Mod for FFIX which is a awesome fan remaster.

IAmRei said:
Ah cool,

Villain?
My fave villain is Kefka, he is like frieza + joker, and his final battle ost is the best final boss ost ever ( especially in gametal and lasmush cover )

Main Party cast?
This is the hardest :p, i like zidane and lock, and tidus, i think these three are the nimble char types.

Setting?
FFX, because lotta water and beaches!
FFVII, well, the locations are beautiful <3

OST?
FFVIII still generally had the best ost of all for me
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Yeah I like Zidane, Locke, Tidus, and one of the reasons why Edge is my one of my favorites in FFIV even though he's not the main cause he's similar to them in a way.

adamsapple said:
Other than the surprise final boss, IX is the best one.

XII is also right up there for me, just remove Vaan.
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Never minded the FFIX final boss that much cause he had a cool ass theme and looks amazing. And yeah Vaan is probably the worse main character in FF.
 
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they said FF9 final boss just pop out of nowhere but i alway think he is kinda like a wills of terra, especially make sense if you add a concept of crystal in FF14
 
Sharius said:
they said FF9 final boss just pop out of nowhere but i alway think he is kinda like a wills of terra, especially make sense if you add a concept of crystal in FF14
Click to expand...
I read some theories on it here and there throughout the years and I think he was hinted at during the
Lifa Tree. Also remember reading that Kuja's fear bought him to life. I never minded him though and I thought both Necron and Zeromus from FFIV which also came at the end were amazing final bosses.
 
Villains: FFVI mostly because of Kefka, though I think this has usually been one of the weak points in the franchise.

Setting: FFX. I've always loved the mix of fantasy with tropical elements (big reason why Chrono Cross has my favorite setting in all of gaming).

Cast: This one is tricky because I think VI has the most compelling and interesting cast while VII has the most "fun" and likeable one. Ultimately I'd probably go with VII because of the waifu material

Music: VII Remake/Rebirth. Great modernization of the original soundtrack which itself was already one of my favorites.

Story. I'd say a tie between VII and IX.
X was cool too in terms of themes but I didn't find the execution that compelling
 
FF7 has one of the best soundtracks ever, including tv and movies. Hits me deep and hard (no diddy) in the feels every time I hear that main overworld theme

VII, VIII, IX, and X - holy fuck, what a run that was
 
Villains - Final Fantasy VI - Nothing tops the lovable psychopath Kefka. Dude poisoned the water of Doma to get an easy victory. What an absolute boss.

Main Party Cast - Final Fantasy VII - I like every single one of them except Cait Sith. Final Fantasy X is a close second.

Music - Final Fantasy VII - it's got the perfect feel. So many memorable tunes that tickles my nostalgia.

Setting/world - Final Fantasy X - it felt like a real place with real people with real problems

Story - Final Fantasy X - I was rooting for the characters to save the world.
 
Hawk The Slayer said:
FFIX was and still is my overall favorite FF game, hope the remake turns out to be great. But whatever happens, at least we still got the Moguri Mod for FFIX which is a awesome fan remaster.


Yeah I like Zidane, Locke, Tidus, and one of the reasons why Edge is my one of my favorites in FFIV even though he's not the main cause he's similar to them in a way.


Never minded the FFIX final boss that much cause he had a cool ass theme and looks amazing. And yeah Vaan is probably the worse main character in FF.
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I'm fine with vaan, as i consider the main char of 12 are ashe and basch and balthier, and vaan is my link to the story as side character. I can agree if vaan is not the best, but he is far from worse. The worse is squall for me. But again, i consider Laguna as rhe MC in 8.

Im not telling i'm the right one, i mostly use different POV than most people btw : ))

And

In terms of design, Edge is coolest bandit/ninja/nimble type char
 
IAmRei said:
I'm fine with vaan, as i consider the main char of 12 are ashe and basch and balthier, and vaan is my link to the story as side character. I can agree if vaan is not the best, but he is far from worse. The worse is squall for me. But again, i consider Laguna as rhe MC in 8.

Im not telling i'm the right one, i mostly use different POV than most people btw : ))

And

In terms of design, Edge is coolest bandit/ninja/nimble type char
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Definitely!

6d7qswsui18c1.jpeg
 
And if we can talk about other than numbered FF, my best FF is still FFT. Ramza is one of the badass, if not, most badass. Fully commitment without a flinch, he took down all things to save His sister. I always think, he has sister complex beyond logic : )) and one of the main villains that pushed me far to grind far above his level, and comeback to revenge. Dang, i think i will make one run again soon
 
Final Fantasy VII for all of it.

Villains: Initially it's Shinra, and it's made abundantly clear why over the course of the initial chapter. Then, the focus shifts to Sephiroth, who's motivations tie directly into Shinra, making the shift feel organic. Unlike other FF's, where we have the 11th hour villain reveal, Sephiroth remains the core villain until the credits roll, and the player is given reason time and again why Sephiroth is the clear threat.
Main Cast: Literally every character is a stone cold classic. 'nuff said.
Setting: The continuation of VI's move to industrialism is brought home here. The setting ties into the themes and character motivations perfectly, explaining everything from the magic to the technology we see.
Music: The entire soundtrack is a fucking banger, with a couple of tracks landing the hallowed pantheon of timeless classics for the entire medium.
Story: There's a reason this is the game that catapulted Final Fantasy into the stratosphere and firmly established JRPGs as a major genre in the west. It's a simpler tale than IV, agreed, but it's execution is fantastically solid. It's goofy, funny, scary, serious, heart breaking, but above all, it's endearing. It stays with you, decades later.
 
IAmRei said:
I wish, if there is any full 3d AAA remake of FF4, they can use FF16 some assets as its kind of the closest.
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Agreed a 3d high budget AAA remake would be amazing for FFIV. They already got a good sense on how to do things from the FFIV CG scenes with the PSP and 3DS versions. Although it's style will fit more with reuse assets from FFVII Remake and Rebirth since they got the similar mix style of anime, realism, and vibrant colors. FFI6 Lack the vibrant colors from FFVII Remake and Rebirth.
 
Story - FFX. It has a laser-focused narrative that has a lot of meat to it, with plenty of interesting twists along the way. Sadly the last great story in the single-player series, in my opinion. Later games have their moments, but they all have either huge pacing issues (FFXII, FFXVI) or deeply flawed storytelling (FFXIII, FFXV).

Main Cast - FFVII:R. Of all the good things Square has done with the Remake series, what it has done with the characters is one of the most impressive. Even beyond the main cast, they are all just exploding with personality.

Music - FFVIII. Still think it's the greatest video game soundtrack ever composed.

Villains/Antagonists - Tactics. While the "villain" label is debatable, Delita is certainly one of the best antagonists in the series, and some of the others are pretty good too.

Setting - FFX. So many locales in Spira are just downright incredible to look upon....Luca, the Moonflow, Macalania Woods, Zanarkand....
 
Hawk The Slayer said:
Agreed a 3d high budget AAA remake would be amazing for FFIV. They already got a good sense on how to do things from the FFIV CG scenes with the PSP and 3DS versions. Although it's style will fit more with reuse assets from FFVII Remake and Rebirth since they got the similar mix style of anime, realism, and vibrant colors. FFI6 Lack the vibrant colors from FFVII Remake and Rebirth.
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I think FFXVI can be used because medieval/fantasy approach, more grounded. The color is based on color post processing. It can be adjusted in terms for say, some minutes.
 
FF7 had a pretty interesting story/lore, fell in love with the cast of characters and sephiroth will be my most fave villain. He just resonates with me the first time I see him. I am not a fan of what they did with the remake series by introducing whispers and timelines, but they have a chance to explain it in part 3, so I will reserve judgement till it ends. Music is amazing, both the og and the remake.

FFX is next on my list with nice music, memorable locations and interesting characters. I find seymour to be ok, but nowhere near sephiroth's charisma and coolness.

FF9 is 3rd. It feels like a classic FF game after that emo FF8 love story and junction system stuff. Interesting characters like vivi, music is nice, locations are varied and well done. If they remake this game, I would like them to keep it in tune with the original and not introduce new elements to the story like they did with FF7 remake.
 
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Villain - Sephiroth (FF7). Toss up between Kefka and Sephiroth but Sephiroth's iconic.

Setting - FFIX

Music - FFVII Remake Series

Story - FFX or FFVI

Cast - FFVII Remake Series (so far). The best ensemble cast in any video game in my opinion.
 
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Villains - I would almost say FF XV if the game was more competent about telling it's own story. Sadly it flopped so I think I have to default to FF 7. The Turks, Rufus, Sephiroth, Hojo, Shinra, etc are all very memorable and motivations are pretty clear.

Main Party Cast - I want to say FF 7 because of Barret alone. He actually gives a shit about what he's fighting for, drives a good early chunk of the story, and has genuine empathetic motivations (Marlene / Dyne / Events in North Corel). I know a lot of people had problems with the translation and just saw angry dumb black guy speaking in slang, but I think everyone forgets he was a miner in butt fuck no where till his town was burned to the ground. He probably had minimal education and his inability to express himself or convince others resulting in frustration was something I found empathetic. I also think his story obviously parallels a lot with obvious real world issues of corporate greed, environmental pollution, climate change, etc. I can connect more with those issues than something happening to a princess or something. Tifa and Aerith are also great supporting cast and Cloud does eventually develop as a character.

Music - FF 7 easily. This is the easiest pick of the list. Entire OST is #1 GOAT for video games period. Even outside of the obvious fan favourites like One Wing Angel, Aerith's Theme, Those Who Fight Further, Jenova, Turks Theme, etc the OST has range and almost all of the OST is top quality. Tracks like "Those Chosen By the Planet", "On That Day, Five Years Ago" , "Shinra Company", etc don't get talked about much but are all super iconic and carried a lot of tone / mood that the visuals at the time couldn't. There's also a ton of other classic odd tracks in there like Electric de Chocobo, Crazy Motorcycle, Hurry, etc that barely get talked about. Like 90% of this OST is S or A tier. I'd give FF8 a runner up for OST. Blue Fields, Don't Be Afraid, Force Your Way, etc are S++ tier but there's a lot of that OST that just falls flat for me. It's not as consistent as FF 7.

Setting/world - I think FF X has the best consistent world overall. The locations largely make sense and don't feel too out of place. I do love FF7 and 8 though for their weird standout locations though. Places like Midgar, Junon, Gold Saucer, D-District Prison, Esthar City, etc feel like they make no sense in the context of their worlds but they are extremely cool designs in isolation.

Story - Probably FF X again. Sin remains a clear goal for a majority of the game, Yuna's fate gives the story some character development meat to chew on, the journey also stays fairly grounded. Minus points for the Tidus laugh though...


TL;DR - Villians 7, Main Party 7, Music 7, Setting/World X, Story X
 
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FF6 for Villian, Kefka the Joker actually won for a brief time. So much so, I had to restart the game because I thought I did something wrong.

FF14 if included has the best complex moral character in Emet Selch, the hero we needed with the most epic snap of the fingers. Nidhogg is the backbone of one of the best expansions for the game and features in that epic bridge sequence. Unforgetabble, goosebumps.

FF6 for the music from the intro and Opera sceene peak SNES, burned into my brain. FF7 next for overall music from start to finish and that battle theme.

FF7 or FF8 for the main characters, more developed and come to life than FF6, that 2D to 3D transition. Squall and Cloud are pretty epic to me, Zidane was overall forgetable. FF7 probably pulls ahead slightly with Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, Redxiii. Remake really pulls it ahead though.

FF8 may have the best subplot and characters ever with Laguna and Raine. That ending movie ending is probably one of the best game endings I had experienced until Mafia 1. Hot Dogs included. It was so well done.

FFX for the setting/world and ther overall Sin plot.

FF14 for a crazy re-work of the story for a realm reborn, using their failures to launch one of the most successfull endearing reboots ever.
 
Hawk The Slayer said:
Which Final Fantasy game has your favorite villains, main party cast, music, setting/world, and story?

For me it's

Villains - Final Fantasy IV with the Four Archfields, Goblez, and Zeromus

Main Party Cast - Tie between FFIV, FFVI, and FFIX but might be FFVII Remake's trilogy depending on the final part.

Music - Final Fantasy IX

Setting/world - Final Fantasy IX has my favorite world and setting. A very unique style combining high fantasy with Norse Myth and some Jim Henson mixed into one.

Story - Final Fantasy IX and FFIV tie

-
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Dissidia and Duodecim, best villain roster, music from every game, cast from every game. Yeah its peak lol
 
Most mainline FF games are some of my fav games ever but I'd say VII and X are my standout games and my margin of appreciation between them is very close.

But for the sake of being definitive.

Plot: X
Cast: X
Villains: VII series
Setting: X
Music: VII series

X as I've revisited it over the years has became my fav game of all time. The characters are so well done, as are the themes, Yevon and world of Spira. Auron's journey, Zanarkand etc.. all of it is just beautiful and it's a true classic.

ff10-amano-tidus-and-yuna.jpg
 
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Final Fantasy VI, no contest.
with Tactics as a close 2nd. Villains are kind of weak. I guess if you consider Delita as the primary villain it would be higher, I am thinking the Templar Knights corrupted by the stones are what you are fighting.

Best core cast: 6 > 4 > 9 > 7 > 8 > 10 > Tactics > 12 > 5 > 13
Best villain: 6 > 9 > 7 (Sephiroth is really just a cool character design, after he goes insane he barely says anything) > Tactics > 4. The villains are so bad in 5 8 10 12 and 13 I wouldn't even rank them.
Setting: 6 > 7 > Tactics > 4 > 9 > 12 > 8 > 10 > 13 > 5
Music: Tactics > 6 > 9 > 4 > 10 > 12 > 7 > 5. I barely remember the music in 13 and 8.
Story: 6 > Tactics > 9 > 4 > 10 > 7 > 12 > 8 > 5 > 13
 
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Final Fantasy VIII has the best everything in terms of setting. Great characters and villains, excellent world and atmosphere, and also pretty good story and events overall. I should replay it...

Final Fantasy X has excellent characters too, however the villain is not as good.
 
IV for everything.

Until my mood changes then IX for everything.

Actually, VI for everything.

No, no, no - X for everything.

Wait, actually thinking about it XVI for everything.

But there again VII is very overrated but for good reason, VII for everything.

IV for everything.

Until my mood changes then IX for everything...

and so on
 
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This is a really tough question...

If we take the villain by strength and how brutal he was to the world of the game - Kefka here in my opinion, the others are not even close to him, if without special spoilers he actually destroyed the world and became a god in the process.
If we talk about my favorite one, it is Kuja. To me - he is an extremely interesting villain, whose feelings and motivation are very well written; I don't want to go straight into spoilers.

Main Party Cast - In my opinion, this is FF 9, the same can be said about the world and the setting in general. This is an extremely unusual and unique part of FF and it stands out very much from the rest.
Music: I can't identify a winner for myself, so FF 9 and FF10 (FF 10 - did this before it became mainstream in FF7 Ramakes remixes =))
Story: If you take the old school FF6, if you take the new school then FF9 and FF10
 
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