(Least) Favorite Final Fantasy Game(s)?

[Robert Maxwell]

Anyone who plays role-playing games has almost certainly run into the Final Fantasy series at one time or another.

Which game is your favorite? Which is your least favorite? How would you rank them?

My personal ranking of the "main series" would be:

1. FF6
2. FF4 (remake)
3. FF8
4. FF4 (original)
5. FF10
6. FF9
7. FF3 (remake)
8. FF1
9. FF2
10. FF7

(Not played: III (original), V, X-2, XI, XII)

Of the Tactics games:

1. Tactics (the original)
2. Tactics Advance A2
3. Tactics Advance

I am also, apparently, in the minority that likes FF12: Revenant Wings. I have not played Ring of Fates, though, since I'm told it's only worthwhile for the multiplayer experience, and I don't really do multiplayer.

I have not played any of the spinoffs of VII (since I don't like it at all, as you can probably tell), nor have I played Legend, Adventure, or Mystic Quest. I have also not played Crystal Chronicles, not having a Gamecube.

But don't let that stop you guys from ranking them! Which ones do you love/hate?

 

[Mr Light]

I've only played 12 and 6 (GBA remake) and some of 10. 12 was definitely my favorite, both in story and graphics and gameplay.

 

[Kelthaz]

Final Fantasy is a funny series. There's plenty of games that I love from it, but plenty that rank somewhere near E.T in quality. Here we go from best to worst, while ignoring the spin-offs.

Fantastic:

1. Final Fantasy IV
2. Final Fantasy VI

Pretty Good:

3. Final Fantasy V
4. Final Fantasy VII
5. Final Fantasy IX

Mediocre:

6. Final Fantasy III
7. Final Fantasy VIII

Terrible:

8. Final Fantasy X
8. Final Fantasy I
9. Final Fantasy II

Yeah, I've never played XII. I've been meaning to give it a shot, but I'm not sure if the supposedly awesome story will outweigh the dungeon crawling.

Oh, and Final Fantasy Tactics is the best game ever made. The sequels suck, but the original is godly.

 

[LitmusDragon]

I've played every game in the series except XI. WoW is my online game of choice. No time for XI.

I know I'm in the minority but X is my absolute favorite. I think it has the most compelling leveling system. Absolutely loved the ability grid. I thought the art direction and storyline were top notch in this one as well. The only drawback really was Blitzball, which I still kind of enjoyed. Auron wins the award for best FF badass as well in my opinion. It also had a deep post-game. It took almost as long to clear the arena type battles at the end as it took to beat the rest of the game.

I didn't like XII very much. Too big a departure from the previous games. I also found the user interface to be confusing. If there's anything a FF game should have, it's a straightforward easy-to-understand UI. It might just be old man get-off-my-lawn mentality but I really thought the menus were not intuitive.

My least favorite though would have to be VIII. I can't seem to get more than an hour or two into that one before I start to fall asleep. The pacing seems off.

IX was a lot of fun and had some great characters but it too suffered from pacing problems. I tend to get bored about 3/4 through it. Not sure if I ever finished it.

I'd rank them something like: X -> VI -> IV -> IX -> VII -> V -> Nes games -> XII -> VIII

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I like VIII precisely because it's paced differently. It's a very long game, with a ton of depth in the mechanics if you take the time to learn them. Same reason I like the Tactics games!

 

[CommodoreKong]

I can't really stand turned based RPGs anymore (with the exception of Chrono Trigger), but back in the day my favorite Final Fantasy games by far were IV and IX. VI was okay and I didn't really like any of the rest of them that much.

I do highly recommend Spoony's series of Final Fantasy VIII videos, they're great at showing how bad and stupid the game is.

 

[Mr Light]

I found the 12 leveling system to eventually make a lot of sense, and I loved the "gambit" system dearly. It was 10's leveling system that I couldn't make any sense out of which is why I stopped playing it after a few days. I got as far as when you meet the sorcerer princess chick and her bodyguard and then you go to a dock or something...? How far into the game is that?

 

[zakfa]

I've played them all and I'm currently playing xii
My favorite is vi
My least favorite is viii (although I find disc 1 to be pretty decent all downhill after that)

 

[Sephiroth]

(in order of worst to best)
X-2
Chocobo Dungeon 2
Final Fantasy Legend (1,2,and 3)
11 (MMO FTL)
Chocobo Dungeon
2
12
10
3
1
Chocobo Mystery Dungeon
4
Mystic Quest
5
Dissidia
6
FF Adventure (yes I know it's realy a Secret of Mana game)
Dirge of Cerberus
9
8
Crisis Core
7

did I miss any?

 

[eastman23]

Of the ones I've played (I to VI, VIII, and Mystic Quest), VI is my favourite. II (the real one, not IV) is the worst IMO.

My list would go (from favourite to not):
VI
IV
V
I
Mystic Quest
VIII (kinda low because I haven't actually finished it yet)
III (ditto, but in this case I have found it difficult to get into)
II

One of the these days I'm going to get caught up, I swear!

 

[byron lomax]

I love VI and VII about equally - the gameplay, battles, characters, storyline and music were just pefect in those. From beginning to end I was riveted.

I'm quite fond of IX for its whimsical nature (a nice contrast to the rest of the series), but on the downside the game is too short.

VIII is a very cruel and unusual game that I've never finished. The fact that they went for something totally different is admirable, but some things about the game felt totally wrong to me. Great protagonist, though.

X was solid, but didn't really feel that special gameplay-wise. It was good, but didn't feel spectacular like the best FF games.

 

[BigFoot]

I've only played VII, X, and XII and I loved all three of them.

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

I've played every game in the series except XI. WoW is my online game of choice. No time for XI.

I know I'm in the minority but X is my absolute favorite. I think it has the most compelling leveling system. Absolutely loved the ability grid. I thought the art direction and storyline were top notch in this one as well. The only drawback really was Blitzball, which I still kind of enjoyed. Auron wins the award for best FF badass as well in my opinion. It also had a deep post-game. It took almost as long to clear the arena type battles at the end as it took to beat the rest of the game.

I didn't like XII very much. Too big a departure from the previous games. I also found the user interface to be confusing. If there's anything a FF game should have, it's a straightforward easy-to-understand UI. It might just be old man get-off-my-lawn mentality but I really thought the menus were not intuitive.

My least favorite though would have to be VIII. I can't seem to get more than an hour or two into that one before I start to fall asleep. The pacing seems off.

IX was a lot of fun and had some great characters but it too suffered from pacing problems. I tend to get bored about 3/4 through it. Not sure if I ever finished it.

I'd rank them something like: X -> VI -> IV -> IX -> VII -> V -> Nes games -> XII -> VIII

Well I for one really liked x also. I really loathed tidus during the first half of the game, but ended up sympathizing with him a lot by the end which is part of the reason I ended up liking the game so much. I thought the story was underrated and found the themes compelling. By the end of the game the somber camp-fire menu screen meant much more.

The worst has got to be Chrystal chronicles. Man who thought that was a good idea?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I loved the story in X, I just felt like the game was a barely-interactive movie, for the most part.

 

[Sephiroth]

oh yeah, i'll put the tactics series(War of the lions AND the advance series) between 11 and Chocobo Dungeon, I found those games nearly unplayable

 

[crouteru]

I like IV through X and XII of the main series. Tactics is good aswell, especially the PSP version. That's about as far as I've gone with the franchise.

I find the NES games almost unplayable, not because of the difficulty, but because of the limitations of the layout and text during, for example, battles and shopping.

 

[The Fatman]

I'm torn about VIII. I dearly love the characters and story, but I hate most of the gameplay No Armor?? Drawing magic? the Junction system discouraging you from using said magic? the ridiculously intricate and unskippable summon animations, the rank and salary structure... it just goes on. But, when I think of Final Fantasy, my immediate mental image is of Squall and Rinoa.

So, if I had to rank the whole series, right now I'd do:

1) VI - most balanced game. I don't connect with the characters as much as I do with VIII, but the gameplay is damn near perfect. Also, best villain in the series.
2) VIII - see above
(tie)3) X
(tie)3) IV
5) VII - A deeply flawed game who's highs overload it's lows. Ask me again after the inevitable PS3 remake and I might rate it higher.
6) XI - Played for a year or so. Found I just don't care for MMO's in general, but it is a well done game for what it is
7) I
8) V
9) XII - exact opposite of VIII for me. I loved the gameplay, but didn't care one lick about the story or any of the characters (save maybe Basch)
10) III
11) II
12) X-2
13) IX - the only game in the series I actively dislike. That said, I picked this game up right after a finishing a marathon of VII and then VIII so my judgement might be clouded by expecting and wanting something more along those lines.

 

[Adagio]

FF10-2 was not very good. I guess this is the reason why Squaresoft doesn't do many direct sequels.

I didn't try FF 1 until well after FF10 came out. It hasn't aged well. I'm going to put that in the bottom of the pile.

Never played FF 2, so I don't have an opinion on it.

FF 3 was interesting. I never finished it, though. I only tried the remake.

FF 4 gets crazy difficult. Another one I didn't finish. This is going in the middle along with 3.

Never played 5. No opinion.

Haven't played that much of 6. I think I got a little past the opera house. What I played was good, though.

FF 7 was okay, but I didn't think it was as great as everyone said it was. Maybe I'm not as crazy a fan of the series as some are.

FF 8 was okay as well. I didn't like the draw system. That really bumps it down for me.

FF 9 was fun. I liked it.

FF 10 was also fun for me.

Haven't tried 11. I'm not real big into MMORPGs.

FF 12 is fantastic. The hunts become ridiculous, though.

I think my least favorite is -- and I know I'm going to take crap for it -- Final Fantasy 1.

 

[The Fatman]

FF10-2 was not very good. I guess this is the reason why Squaresoft doesn't do many direct sequels.

.....

I think my least favorite is -- and I know I'm going to take crap for it -- Final Fantasy 1.

I don't think you'll take much crap for saying FF1 is your least favorite. I think it has a certain nostalgic charm, which is why I rank it so high... but there's not much else to go on to defend it...lol

I definitely agree with you on 10-2.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, it's hard to think of 1 as very good unless you played it when it first came out, like I did. At the time, it was a pretty unique game. Console RPGs of such complexity were a new thing, and FF1 was the first game to really blow the competition out of the water. It really was genre-defining.

It's interesting to see how hot and cold people are to 8 around here. Even those who love it have things they hate about it! Personally, I like all its quirks. Yeah, the GF animations should be skippable, but I'm fine with replacing most equipment with magic junctioning instead. It really requires you to think of your magic as a finite resource, and I think that's why some people don't like it. The FF games have always had kind of a "bottomless gun clip" mentality, and 8 was a definite change of pace, at least when it came to magic.

It also had an excellent storyline, and the themes were a lot subtler than most FF games, which might be why it is not received as well by fans.