Alright Lifers, my Zelda thread got a lot of responses so I wanna do the same with my 2nd favourite series.
I'm guessing fewer people here have played FF than have played Zelda but I figure it's one of the most widely played series (going by the sales numbers) so hopefully enough people to answer the Q.
Which Final Fantasy game has the best:
1) Story 2) Characters 3) Villain 4) World 5) Battle mechanics 6) Graphics/graphical style 7) Music
Alrightey so mine go as follows:
1) Story - FF6 - This was so much deeper a story than anything else that existed at the time. It has so many great and memorable moments: the opera, celes' suicide, the ghost train, Cyan sending letters to the distraught widow. The way the games pacing and structure changes to match the mood in the world of ruin was just brilliant too. Really gives you a great sense everything has fallen apart without having to say it.
2) Characters - FF9 - Nearly every main character in this game is perfectly designed. Except Amarant and Eiko, who are both annoying and pointless. Steiner and Vivi are easily the best 2 characters in the whole series and are both hilarious and serious in equal portions. The only thing missing is that Beatrix should've replaced Amarant as a playable character.
3) Villain - Ardyn FF15 - Ardyn saved this story from being bad. Well designed and acted character who has a mysterious presence about him. The main reveal in the penultimate chapter gave this story so much more meaning and weight than it had otherwise earned up to that point.
4) World - FF7 - Incredibly huge and also incredibly varied. Pretty much every different town has it's own theme. I still remember being surprised that Midgar wasn't the entire world, given how big it was. Also Cosmo Canyon is the coolest location in any FF game. Can't wait to see that in full 3D.
5) Battle mechanics - FFXV - Bit of a controversial choice given that it's so unrepresentative of the series as a whole, but I absolutely loved this battle system. It's the only action-based battle system I've seen where it still feels like you're controlling a party rather than a single character (something I'm convinced is vital for RPGs). It also has some incredibly badass-looking moves.
6) Graphics - FF9 - This graphical style has aged brilliantly. It's like looking at an old painting. The character designs and the cartoony fantasy style certainly help. It makes it one of the only old FF games that I don't think would benefit much from a 3D remake.
7) Music - FF9 - This is a damn hard one to choose. There are about 5 games that all have equally good soundtracks. I've gotta end up going with FF9 because it has a nice balance between epic ballads and comic waltzs.
1) FFVII - Yes, it's weird and borderline incomprehensible through large sections of the game... but that was a part of its charm. So many classic, unforgettable scenarios throughout the game: crossdressing and infiltrating the honey bee inn, the creepy sequence where you walk through the Shinra building after Sephiroth has killed everybody, escaping Midgar on a motorcycle, giant robotic giants stalking the Earth, Red XIII learning the truth about his father, the devastating sequence of events that transpire at the Forgotten Capital, etc. etc.
2) FFVII - I've yet to play a FF game with a cast of characters as iconic and compelling as the bunch in this game. Tifa Lockhart, Barret Wallace, and Red XIII are particular stand outs. Even most of the villains are wonderful.
3) FFVI - No real contest here: Kefka is basically Final Fantasy's answer to the Joker, and he's every bit as despicable and fun to watch as that description implies. VII has a lot of fun villains, but the main one, Sephiroth, is a bit of a bore.
4) FFVII - Easily the most varied and visually fascinating world in the entire series.
5) FFXII - I LOVE the gambit system once it opens up. It's so much fun to program and play around with, and works far better as a solution to the problem of real time combat in a JRPG than XV's horrendous system.
6) FFVI - I'll assume this is addressing "aesthetic style," as XV is obviously the best looking game in the series. I really love the dark fantasy steampunk style of VI, and it gives the game a really unique visual identity.
7) FFVII - Hands down. This is probably my favorite video game OST of all time. (I'm sure this selection, in particular, is driven heavily by nostalgia. Mixing childhood memories and music is a guaranteed way to create warm fuzzies in a person.) Nevertheless, it's still a really evocative and varied collection of tunes.
Seriously: I get chills listening to the music in this game.
1.IX - Sad that the FF I never played much of wins this one but hey, I SAW the story so it totally counts. The story is awesome.
2. IV and IX - IX's characters are also great but despite VI having some amazing characters, some of them I didn't care for. But I fondly remember most of the characters of IV to this day.
3. VI - I mean...obvious choice.
4. X - Really thinking about it, it at least has the most areas I instantly remember. And most of them were pretty cool, so I guess this one?
5. XII - I don't think they brought this one back, for some reason. A shame as it was maybe the best way to change Final Fantasy gameplay.
6. XIII - Ironically, I really really don't like XIII.. But I can't deny it's gorgeous looking.
7. IV/VII - The FF soundtracks I've listened to the most.
X was pretty good for realism (and dont forget Blitzball)
Which part of FF10 displayed realism?
It's a great game, and I should've added another category of "Romance" so that FF10 could win that, but I have no idea how any of it could be seen as realism?
Ooooh how about best mini game in a Final Fantasy game? I know there's a special place in my heart for triple triad and blitzball, as horrifically tedious as it could get
Yeah I should've done mini-games. I think Triple Triad is the best. Blitzball is good. Chocobo Hot and Cold is good.
Maybe FF9 comes first on that? Chocobo digging, treasure hunting, card game, quiz master, battle arena. Quite a lot of stuff.
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Topic: Which Final Fantasy game has the best (x)?
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