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turgar

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(Personal) Ranking of Final Fantasy Games

Similar to my Legend of Zelda list, Final Fantasy is another great franchise I've grown up with. (It's also another one I've ranked with ATACS).

This list only includes titles I've played. I'm including sequels (e.g. FFX-2) but not spin-offs (e.g. Legends, Mystic Quest, Mobius, etc.), even though some of those are pretty good games. I haven't played enough of the MMO titles to include them here, though I'm not sure if they would fit on this list anyway.

Update (09/16/2020): Adding FFXII.

I've decided not to include FFXIV for now (though it could be my favorite Final Fantasy). An MMO is a different core experience -- many of the games on this list span generations and gameplay styles, but all are primarily self-contained, single-player experiences.

If I were to make an extended Final Fantasy franchise list, the games I've played now include: Adventure, Legend I, II and III, Mystic Quest, Tactics A2, Mobius, Theatrhythm: Curtain Call, XIV and VII Remake.

List items

  • Final Fantasy X was a breath of fresh air for me. The JRPG scene seemed to really take off after the success of FFVII. There were a lot of great games, but there was also a trend toward bigger, heavier games that struggled with stories to tell (see FFVIII and FFIX).

    FFX went a different direction. Its tropical, water-world setting was bright and full of natural beauty. Combat was quick, fun and dynamic -- you could easily see the turn order and swap characters in and out mid-battle. Progression was handled via a fairly flexible grid system. Not surprisingly, Square also made good use of the PS2's new technology, adding full voice acting, great cutscenes and several memorable tracks.

    Tidus may not be the most well-liked protagonist, but he's actually one of the most believable to me. He's a reluctant, slightly-spoiled sports star who could well be a modern celebrity. Juxtaposed against Spira's strict society (built on the real fear of a technology-destroying monster), he doesn't easily understand or fit in. Tidus isn't a bad guy, though -- Yuna may be pious, self-sacrificing and nearly his opposite, but he comes to care for her and her mission.

  • Final Fantasy VII is another stand-out pioneer of 3D-console gaming. It offered a unique visual style, and effectively added rendered cutscenes as a powerful storytelling tool.

    Part of FFVII's magic may be time and place, but that certainly isn't the whole story. Its gritty, almost-cyberpunk setting isn't so far removed from our own world. This creates characters -- and villains -- which are more relatable and believable than many other games.

    Its gameplay is also pretty good, with the flexible materia system, limit breaks and a number of character and endgame side quests.

  • Final Fantasy III is my favorite classic-era Final Fantasy title, and one of my favorites overall. It's hard to say exactly why, but some of the songs (Eternal Wind and the town theme), the ending set pieces and the refinement of the Final Fantasy job system still click with me.

  • Final Fantasy VI is another SNES-era game which I haven't touched for years... That said, I still remember it having some of the best character development of any Final Fantasy title (or JRPG in general). Terra, Locke, Sabin, Edgar, Cyan, Gau and (of course) Kefka are some of the most memorable characters around.

  • I liked what Square was going for with Final Fantasy XV, and it's good to see them picking the series back up after a long hiatus. FFXV's combat and storytelling unfortunately miss on executing its ideas. It's still fun, though, with a few great moments. The setting, character camaraderie and Prompto's photography also stand out in my mind.

  • The original still holds up pretty well, for its straightforward execution and classic job system. The Warriors of Light battling Chaos is a simple enough theme, but it still inspires.

  • I remember Final Fantasy IV as a polished, early-SNES era RPG. It's also one of the first to assign specific roles to each character, which helped define them. The story has some cool ideas and character interactions (including dark knights, jealousy and at least one SPOONY BARD), but takes too many silly or wacky turns along the way.

  • In some ways, Final Fantasy V borrows ideas from FFIII (like the class system and multiple worlds). I'd say it experiments with them rather than refines them, though. FFV's class system also has plenty of cool ideas, although I found it to be confusing and grindy at times.

    I liked FFV's characters, and it features plenty of dialogue and development. Unfortunately, though, too much of the plot movement reads like an off-the-wall comic book (also see FFIV).

    Those ending graphics are still pretty impressive for the SNES-era.

  • Oof. On paper, the concept behind Final Fantasy X-2 makes sense -- following the events of FFX, Yuna sets out to find Tidus in a changed Spira. Then X-2 stretches the concept to breaking. With zero character development, Yuna opens X-2 as a gun-totin', backflippin' pop idol. The ridiculous, girl-power feel is reinforced by silly jokes, pop set-pieces and wild costumes.

    It's a shame that X-2's story went a little crazy, since I remember its gameplay and costume (job) system as pretty good. Direct sequels can be a tricky business for any IP.

  • Final Fantasy II tried some new things (especially for such an early title). The unique progression system in particular is fun to play around with. Its story and execution end up being fairly unmemorable though -- I played it this year and still don't remember much about the main cast or events.

  • In terms of both gameplay and story, Final Fantasy XIII just takes too long to get there. By the time I saw how things might fit, it was too late to care.

    Up until that point, you're simply along for the ride with dramatic, over-styled characters.

  • Final Fantasy XII's pacing and progression didn't work for me. It's easy to run into frustrating enemy mechanics and difficulty spikes, especially if you step off the beaten path.

    A few of FFXII's story and character moments stand out in my mind, but it was hard to follow how the larger story fit together.

  • ----- SPOILER ALERT...? -----

    So... magic, flying war colleges? Flashbacks? Orphans? The moon? Witches? Zenim- I mean, Utimecia?

    Final Fantasy VIII's story seems more like a college kid's weird personal fantasy. And the protagonist is an emo, anti-hero named after an atmospheric effect... sound familiar at all?

    Graphics and audio are pretty good. Gameplay is also fine, although I don't remember caring for the Draw/magic systems. Triple Triad was an interesting idea.

  • I stopped playing Final Fantasy IX after finishing the first disk. I think I was feeling JRPG fatigue at the time, so it's on my backlog. That said, it didn't grab me when I played it.
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