What is the best Final Fantisy game of all time? ( poll )

You kids... Just because the graphics of the NES and SNES era Final Fantasy games were similar, they are drastically different in tone and story. Final Fantasy VI (6) is probably the favorite, but I have several friends who insist IV (4) is the best Final Fantasy because of the story. V was the game that introduced the job system, which revolutionized future Final Fantasy games and even RPGs in general.

The NES-era games aren't very notable, but only because of the technical limitations of the system. If you think about it though, you could easily argue that the original Final Fantasy is the most important, because it was the one that started it all.

I think a more interesting study would be to gather everyone's age as well as their favorite Final Fantasy. Turns out that whichever final fantasy came out when you were young is the best one.

Final Fantasy XII. Loved the world, characters, combat and they plot twists toward the end were amazing. Loved it.

Thanks for landing this 3 and a half year old necro nugget in my inbox. This thread caused me to download a chiptune package of the FF6 soundtrack and refresh my memory on the awesomeness that was that game. I hadn't made the connection until now, but just like the music in Mega Man 2 was my first introduction to what could be closest defined as heavy metal in 1989, Final Fantasy 6 was my introduction to what could most closely defined symphonic black metal/dark ambient in 1995. Turns out it's still as good as things put out nowadays by Carach Angren and Tvangeste. You'd think more amazing pieces in this fusion genre would have surfaced in the 25-to-250+ years the genres have existed. Now if I could only find a band like that which has covered this soundtrack.

@chiablo: If I'm not mistaken, FF3 was the first game in the series that had the Job system. However if you're talking about American releases, I believe you're right bout FF5 being the first game in the main series to come out that had the Job system with the PS1 re-release of that game... as long as you don't count Final Fantasy Tactics.

To your point, I was born in 1984, so I would have been 11 to 12 when I played FF6. This is also the age I got my first computer and played my first proper (non NES) adventure game. That adventure game was Leisure Suit Larry 6, and it was the best game ever because internet pornography was hard to find and I was a horny pubescent boy. I still hold a special place for it in my heart, even though I can tell in retrospect that Lucas adventures like Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max were clearly better games.

So, yes, the effect of coming-of-age combined nostalgia definitely weights my answer. However, considering how the soundtrack affects my grown-ass-man state of mind and current musical tastes, combined with how readily I was able to remember the story beats when each piece of music played and how it was able to resonate within me emotionally, I don't think nostalgia is the single driving force behind my answer. If that was the case, I would still feel something when I listened to that god awful Insane Clown Posse crap from the same time.