My rank of Final Fantasy Titles
Having played all of the main Final Fantasy titles, except XI, plus a few of the side stories, at some point or another, as well as completing almost all of them, this is how I rank the series in my mind.
List items
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1. Final Fantasy IX
This is the first Final Fantasy I ever completed. Beyond that though, I loved the leveling system by learning the different abilities of each character through their weapons. While the decision of what weapon to use wasn't forced on the player enough to make you choose between risk/reward of whether you need to the ability or a better weapon, this game just contained a certain charm that many entries in the series seemed to lack. Every playthrough I see different parties materialize as each character seems to have just enough of a draw to them to make you want to use them to see what they can do. Throw in Vivi, and he just seals the deal. Despite the deafening cries of VII fanboys wanting a remake, this is a game that I would love to see revisited.
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2. Final Fantasy X
Linearity became a bit of a factor here, but the ability to play blitzball was great. The story worked great for me, and the characters were all entertaining and likable enough in my mind to keep me wanting to play more.
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3. Final Fantasy XII
Let me paint a picture of what effect this game had on myself and my friends. Sophomore year of college, 4 guys crammed in a dorm room with a PS3 hooked up to one TV, and an XBOX hooked up to another TV on the other half of the room. Final Fantasy XII in one, Halo 2 in the other. The XBOX collected dust as my roommates would sit and wait for one another to go to class so that we may jump on and play our own game save. At one point, a roommate of mine marathoned the game skipping 2 days worth of class to play this nonstop. While the story wasn't tremendous by other games' standards, I really enjoyed the pseudo MMO style battle system and the exploration aspect of hunting down the different high level marks.
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4. Final Fantasy IV
Cecil and Kain are great, and Palom/Porom are entertaining during their stints. Love the set up and everything about this game. When I think of Final Fantasy, this is what comes to mind. It would be ranked higher, but for what my Top 3 accomplished in my mind, this just can't overcome them.
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5. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
No it's not a main numeral title, but I love this game so much it deserved its own mention. Even with the high level characters that get introduced later in the game breaking the difficulty level and letting you fly through it with ease, the job class system was phenomenal and the tactics you could use to defend or attack opponents with kept you thinking for hours on end how to approach different situations. Would love a real sequel to this game beyond the Advance ones.
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6. Final Fantasy XIII
Say what you will about the long wind up to start the game. I will probably agree with you. But the battle system in this game is pure gold. The decision of how to develop certain characters, what paradigms to use, and the eye candy, fluidity, and speed it's presented in is a thrill ride that doesn't get old. Gorgeous game, gorgeous battle system, just an unfortunately long intro.
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7. Final Fantasy VII
It is what it is. The defining Final Fantasy for an entire generation of gamers in North America. As great as it is, it shows its age. While I've played through it multiple times, it just doesn't hold that love factor for me like others do.
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8. Final Fantasy VI
The sheer cast of playable characters is a lot to wade through. But it's rewarding to mix them up over and over again. Kefka poses as one of the most heinous villains in any Final Fantasy title as well. A great game to lead us from the SNES into the Playstation.
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9. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
This game was great overall. As a portable game, it accomplished everything I expected. It delivered a Final Fantasy sized story. And while the battle system was a bit shallow in my opinion, it was perfect for a quick pick up and play for 15 minutes type of situation.
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10. Final Fantasy VIII
The Summons gave me goose bumps at how awesome they looked, even though they were so long. I just didn't connect with the characters as much as others did.
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11. Final Fantasy X-2
With X-2, you either thought it was ok, or you hated it. I personally thought it was ok. I enjoyed the battle system, and just felt a bit bombarded with the pop star pacing of the game. It wasn't necessarily annoyed, it just didn't entertain me. But the battle systems was good enough to get me through everything.
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12. Final Fantasy III
My DS is collecting dust with the mount of great games to get through on various other consoles of choice. Liking the job system though.
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13. Final Fantasy
While the nostalgia factor is high for this, compared to newer efforts, this game gets buried on the list. I bought the PSP "Anniversary" editon and it helps waste the time whenever I'm traveling.
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14. Final Fantasy II
Read above.
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15. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
I love the original Tactics, the mechanics in this one are just not the same. With a too cute story that matches the mind set of the DS, Square is really missing a much under-appreciated target of Final Fantasy fans.
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16. Final Fantasy V
Spending the least amount of my time on this title, I really haven't been able to get enough of an appreciation for it. Give me time.
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