Final Fantasy is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, building up a hugely dedicated army of fans over the years since first launching back in the '80s. With so many games to choose from – and with so many players having their own favourite titles – there are few series that lend themselves to a good old ranking better than this one.
It probably makes sense, then, that Japan's public broadcaster, NHK (think the BBC in the UK), has held its very own poll to see which Final Fantasy game is the 'best' of all time. The poll asked viewers to rank their favourite games, characters and more from the series, with a whopping 468,654 votes being cast in total. Let's see how it went down, shall we?
NHK Japan Poll - Best Final Fantasy Games
- Final Fantasy X
- Final Fantasy VII
- Final Fantasy VI
- Final Fantasy IX
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Final Fantasy V
- Final Fantasy VIII
- Final Fantasy IV
- Final Fantasy XI
- Final Fantasy XV
NHK Japan Poll - Best Final Fantasy Characters
- Cloud (VII)
- Yuna (X)
- Aeris (VII)
- Vivi (IX)
- Zidane (IX)
- Solus zos Galvus (XIV)
- Tidus (X)
- Lightning (XIII)
- Tifa (VII)
- Zack (VII)
So there we have it, Final Fantasy X is officially better than VII and Cloud is everyone's favourite spiky-haired boy.
Do you agree? Do you disagree with a burning passion? As it happens, our very own Nintendo Life reader poll of the best mainline Final Fantasy games went very differently, so perhaps this argument isn't settled just yet.
[source nhk.or.jp, via fanbyte.com]
Comments 131
nope, found 10 the most overrated of the lot, never understood the love it got.
Tidus was probably the worst character of the series just so annoying.
favorites in no order
VI
XII
VIII
IX
It's kinda sad that even in Japan, nobody from Final Fantasy I-VI cracked the list.
Which is odd since Final Fantasy VI seems to be the third most popular game over there.
X gets a lot of hate, but it's a really good game. It is kinda linear, but it's incredibly fun. IX is my favorite though.
Entitled to their opinion... but they are completely wrong.
VI is easily the peak for me while X really signals the beginning of the end.
X is so mediocre. I played it this past year and almost didn't get through it. The gameplay is linear. The story has some interesting ideas but is pretty bad. I kind of like what they did with Yuna, but that's the only positive thing I can really say about the game. Oh and the cutscenes are good, but that's every FF.
I've played all the 3d FFs but XI and XII is the only one I wasn't able to finish due to how repetitive it got and the story wasn't that much better than 10. So I'm glad XII didn't make the list at least.
@Samuel-Flutter
i thought it got nothing but love from what i remember unless thats changed over the years
FF8
FF7
FF9
FF6
FF10
for me
I can agree on X being the best FF game, I really love that game
Shame that X-2 is so bad
@Caryslan well, young players
6 all the way, or if you are old like me, it was Final Fantasy 3.
@Juma009 I'm old too (47) and couldn't agree more!That game was a masterpiece.
FF5 is my favorite, Though I really like 4 as well, and honestly between 1-10 I like all of them (expect 2 and 8.) 12 and Tactics (if we count spinoffs) are both also great, don't really feel like doing a list since it kinda varies for me depending on my mood.
Favorite character I guess Gogo from 6, most of the cast in 6 is pretty great including the best main character Terra, 4 has some cool characters as well like Edward the Spoony bard, Tellah and Rydia. Minwu from FF2 is great as well even if the game is poo.
FF15 is gonna be my first game, essentially using it to ween myself into the series before I dive into both 7's remake and 14 with friends rn
I didn't really like X, I never really cared about the characters and didn't find the battle system particular exciting. I've not played much of the series pre PS1 so I'd have to go with VII but only just, I really like VIII but it could do with being balanced better so that Squall isn't so powerful compared to the rest. I really enjoyed XV as well despite its flaws and I've not played much of XII but I hated the battle system
Surprised to see X so high although I did really enjoy it.
I’m glad XII didn’t make it as I really didn’t enjoy it- I wonder if it’s because it feels a bit more like a western RPG than the others
Final Fantasy VIII (8) and XII (12) are my favorite.
Still feels like lots of people wouldn't agree.
Seems like a good time to recommend Tim Rogers' excellent series on FFVII's translation for Kotaku. Watching it I learned that a lot of Japanese Aeris' charm and wit didn't survive localization to English.
I can only assume it's a similar story with Yuna, who I can't imagine cracking the top 10 in a western poll.
My Best Final Fantasy games.
1. FF VIII (90/100)
2. FF IX (82/100)
3. FF X (80/100)
4. FF XII (78/100)
5. FF III NDS (75/100)
6. FF X-2 (70/100)
7. FF IV NDS (65/100)
Worst Final Fantasy for me.
1. FF VII (Too overrated) (0/100)
Yes, i'm not kidding !
2. FF XIII (Too hard, too different) (60/100)
I can't say about FF 1 and FF 2 since i have never played before.
I can't say about FF V and VI too since i have ever played a little bit of FF V PS1 but never finished, FF VI i used cheat code to finish just for curiosity.
I don't play FF XI and XIV. No MMORPG games in my gaming room.
I stop caring Roman number Final Fantasy started from FF 15. It contains some rated 18+ things from DLC. I banned that game.
I condemned FF 16 for being rated 18+.
My top ten favorite main Final Fantasy games:
1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy IV
3. Final Fantasy IX
4. Final Fantasy X
5. Final Fantasy III
6. Final Fantasy V
7. Final Fantasy VII
8. Final Fantasy XII
9. Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls
10. Final Fantasy VIII
My top 10 Final Fantasy characters:
1. Zack (Crisis Core)
2. Sabin (Figaro Legacy)
3. Cecil (Light and Dark)
4. Zidane (The Great Kidnapped)
5. Shadow (Memories of Ruin)
6. Seifer (SeeD)
7. Benjamin (Mystic Quest Legend)
8. Auron (Zanarkand)
9. Lulu (Sight Spira)
10. Leon (Dark Shadow over Palakia)
I find the lack of 12 disturbing.
While X isn’t my top, but I guess I remember hearing about how popular it was during its time in Japan. It was the reason why there was a direct sequel to it.
FFVIII
FFVII
FFIX
FFXII
FFX
FFXIII
FFXV
VIII is my favorite due to the story more than anything. VII had some awesome gameplay, along with IX. XII was interesting, my first FF game since IX, but Dragon Quest VIII wound up being more fun on the PS2. XV was fun to play initially, but started to get stale the further I went into it.
Huh, so despite XIII not being a popular series of game, Lightning still made the top ten characters.
Come on guys, FF7 is overrated as heck, FFXV needs more appreciation.
VI and IX are in the top 5 games and Vivi is in the top 5 characters. Eh, I'll take it.
I would have FF3 (SNES) at #2, remember the strategy guide that was the size of a dictionary.
The first 4 are actually the same picks as me, maybe i should move to Japan... xD
There are some people that rage lot because of some choices..remember that this is a personal choice guys!
Everyone hates on Tidus cause he's not a edgy no emotional guy like Cloud. He's literally a realistic teenage that acted like any of us would if we taken away from our world.
Glad to see the best FF game at the #1 spot where it belongs. Also not surprised Cloud is #1
@RupeeClock She's pretty much the only good thing about that trilogy
@Donnerkebab I honestly love the experimentation with the battle and level systems. The setting is pretty great too.
@suikoden I guess it's more fun to hate on Tidus, the character designs, and the voice acting. But honestly I don't have a problem with any of those.
X is the only one I've played to completion (it came out at the the only time in my life when I had the free time to play through an entire RPG) so out of pure ignorance I agree.
That’s pretty much how I would have sorted the games, only with 4 and 5 up higher. Glad to see 15 at the bottom, where it belongs. What a piece of garbage.
So interesting that 6 ranked so high, but none of the characters are ranked! I’ll do the honors, with a top 6, for FF6!
In no particular order:
1) Kefka
2) General Leo
3) Terra
4) Celes
5) Edgar
6) Sabin
Take that, Japan! (This is a joke, I love Japan, they make all my favorite things!)
NINJA APPROVED
NHK audience sure seems to be out of the loop about the otherwise natively renowned XIII, but at least Lightning got a mention. 😄
For me, FF flagships fall into tiers rather than tidy item-per-row lists. VIII, IX and everything XIII still make my top tier while V, VI, VII and X dilogy have amalgamated into a monolith of "second bests". I've yet to finish XII and play XV, so no personal rankings there. Not sure when I'll even play the MMOs since XI is delisted anyway and I can only run XIV on PS4, but buying timed subscriptions to coordinate with my rather sporadic Remote Play sessions isn't a tempting scenario.
8, 6, and 12 are my top 3. To each their own.
NHK did this poll last year, and this very site also posted it then. Doesn't seem like there was a new one done. The full list of top 30 games including spin-offs and top 75 characters.
Last year's post includes the full list:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/03/japan_picks_its_favourite_final_fantasy_game_and_character
10 is my favourite but I think 9 is the best one overall. I like FF7 but I'm not a fan of Cloud as a character so I can't really agree with the character poll
12 is the best. Balthier is the best character.
All I have to say is that XIII and XV (and probably XVI) are poops. All other are great games more or less.
@ManaOwls I'd agree with VIII, as I said above with a bit of balancing this would be comfortably my favourite in the series
@Anti-Matter true, 7 is overrated.
But 7 is good as well though
@Axlroselm 16 didn’t even come out yet
I am confused. Is it Aeris or Aerith
This is interesting. Grew up with 1, 4, and 6. Both 7 and 10 I put off a long time because I didn't think either was interesting. Eventually played 7 and thought it was an awful game. That made me reeeeeally delay 10, but eventually I got to it and I actually enjoyed it. Still didn't like only having 3 characters at a time, but I thought it was very well done.
@Caryslan FFVI is #3 on the list...
FFXV is not getting enough love! Played both the Pocket Edition (get that one, you're gonna love it) and the main title and it's story and grand build up is amazing. Very theological as well!! So I guess my list is as follows:
FF XV
FF I
FF VIII
FF VII
FF IV
FF VI
FF X
Yeah, I think that's about it.
FF VI
VII is still my favorite in the series by a long shot. The materia system is my absolute favorite magic system in an RPG ever. I really love the simplicity of IV, though, so it's probably in the two-spot for me. Most of the time, the series seems to be trying to juggle all the elements of a 14-year-old's wet dream - sorcery, giant Kiaju monsters, robots, lasers, space exploration, lost cities, time travel. VII is definitely guilty of that as well, but IV's story is so much more memorable to me because it's just done well and it's very to-the-point. In that regard, I really like the original on the NES as well, and I'd probably put it at three. IX is really solid, and kind of reminiscent of IV in some ways, so it's fourth. Ten would probably fifth then.
Long story short:
VII
IV
I
IX
X
VI
XIII
VIII
XII
I have never played the others.
It's funny how much 10/Tidus are beloved in Japan. I freaking hated that game simply because of Titus. But having lived in Japan for several years it makes sense. The whole feel is very close to thier culture. At least I see 9 getting some love in there though. Best FF IMO.
@suikoden Your post is everything. Only change I'd make is IX in the number 1 spot.
And V is still my favorite. The later you get into the series, the more overdramatic the cutscenes get, and the longer the battle animations get. Please, Square, for ports in the future, LET ME TURN OFF THE BATTLE ANIMATIONS! I just want to run around in a circle watching numbers go up, Square.
@BlackenedHalo I feel like that's a good list. If you play those games you get the gist of everything ff as well. I haven't played 8 or 9 but I just got 8 on switch so I'm excited
Final Fantasy X is the best. Japan is right again.
Interesting list, I never knew Japan loved X so much. Kind of a shame to see so little love for the pre-playstation era characters. I'd have thought that Terra would be on there considering how popular 6 seems to be.
For me personally...
FFVII
FFVIII
FFX
FFXV
FFV
FFVI
FFIX
FF
FFII (Actual FF2, not 4.)
FFIII (Same as above, not 6)
FFXII is a good runner up and if spin-offs were allowed I'd rank FFT pretty up.
As far as characters go I don't really have a big preference there. Cloud is iconic but I can't say he's my favorite. I was a bigger fan of Barret and Yuffie more so than Cloud. If I had to pick an FF character I'd probably say Squall simply for how awesome his weapon is, plus the fact I mained him in Dissidia.
VI is the best one. I'm playing VII for the first time now on the Switch. It's fun, but I'm scratching my head about the praise and love it's gotten over the years. Again, a very fun, good game, but VI I find has so much more charm, more interesting characters and I enjoy it more.
X was the last one that I really enjoyed. I felt the series went downhill after X.
As a latecomer to X, I wasn't terribly impressed. It wasn't bad, just okay. Played XII recently and felt the same. (It didn't help that I played Xenoblade Chronicles first, which improved on it in every way.) XV was fun until it just ended. Felt like half a game.
My favorites are still the PS1 games.
Edit: Also, don't understand the love for Zidane. Dude's a perv. Worst part of IX.
I can see the character list both for Japanese perspective, and my own list being realistic. But that game ranking list leaves me scratching my head. Not surprised about X being first. I don't love, it it was a confusing story that really didn't make sense, but I can see it being soooo anime, and soooo Japanese (the fishing village theme, etc.) I'm surprised about 7...that seemed so Western. 6 and 9 are in a good spot. I know XIV is popular in Japan, but I don't even know how the MMOs can be considered mainline entries. And I really don't know how 11 snuck on the list. 4 being so low surprise me. XV shouldn't surprise me, but now that I've been playing it, it's actually really good, so I'm surprised it's that low...but it did beat XIII trilogy. Which is a little surprising becase that trilogy is actually pretty good in hindsight. Certainly better than 11 and 8....
X has one of the best battle systems of the series, but they were really finding their feet with the 3D/vocal performances; neither of which have aged particular gracefully.
Also, playing it in English, while the performances are mostly decent, the lip-synching and wonky animation can absolutely destroy an emotional moment, far more so than the blocky/chunky graphics of the earlier games, where a lot more was left to the imagination.
Do you think those terrible mobile ports of older games gave a bad impression on younger gamers as to how good FF6 and FF5 were?
@suikoden I never finished it on Ps2 so I bought it for Switch. And man, the dialogue from the hero and that other Wakka or whatever his name is, is just so obnoxious and immature that I cringe every time they open their mouths so I had to put down the game for that very reason.
I would prefer japanese like I did for DQ 11, or no voices at all.
Damn your nick, I would love some new Suikoden games, the III on Ps2 is probably one of my favorite games of alltime with the mood they set from the intro music to all different peoples views you got to play to and how their stories intertwined with eachother to decorating your own castle.
4’s too low. 10’s too high. And 15 shouldn’t be on the list.
Zidane!!?? Come on, he sucked. And neither Terra or Celes in there, all right.
Having been playing XIV a long while now, i can say it's probably my favorite FF by far.
The story and music put the vast majority of the other games to shame. Combat starts off really slow and repetitive but really shines when fighting bosses in dungeons or primals. And the locations remind me a lot of Xenoblade which are gorgeous. Easily worth the sub
Pretty lame list tbh, X is probably the most overrated game in the series and I honestly dont know why. The story of the game has some cool concepts and the combat was really good, but that doesnt excuse the dumbed down linearity of the level design, lack of any real challenge, the ugly character design and bland environments, and the cringey dialogue/voice acting. I've had no desire to play it again in the past 18 years since I've played it. This game marked the end of the series for me personally.
@backlogrob also an insult that 3 doesnt make it considering how much it pioneered for the future games.
Wait, 6 is popular in japan too? I thought it was just the west that showered it with praise. So why are we not getting a re-release on modern platforms or a remake, perhaps in the octopath engine?
@Bobb I remember when they were ported to GBA and young people then found them confusing and hard, it takes actual effort to play a game where your party isnt on auto pilot lol
@Muh-ario Yeah, I replayed 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 when they released on switch and boy has 10 aged poorly. Honestly it was the worst experience I had when revisiting these games.
Locke Cole is one of my favorites... actually, the whole cast of FFVI would be my choice for best characters alongside the game itself being my number one.
The reason why Japanese peoples like FF X the most because it was the only Final Fantasy game with very Japanese Okinawan style in fashion, in cultures, and the fiction religion Yevon teaching with Archaic style Chinese letters (Yevon alphabets)
@Muh-ario Yup, 100% agreed. 3&4 are so critical to the franchise and are super replayable compared to later titles. I’d argue even 1 deserves more love, especially the GBA version, but hey, whatcha gonna do? ¯(ツ)/¯
Been playing more of 9 lately. What a good game, all the characters are so great and then there's Amarant
Still need to play more of 6, I hit a bit of a wall before the halfway point but I was really enjoying it. It was actually the first FF I played myself, to be a hipster when 7 Remake came out and people were replaying 7.
Heavily medieval fantasy but with a lot of technology in the background is right where I prefer my FFs, I think.
Also got suckered into the FF14 free trial by some friends and I've... actually been really enjoying it?
Also, I’m just gonna say it. 13 should’ve made it. ¯(ツ)/¯
TOP 12
1. FF6
2. FF7
3. FF Tactics (yes i'm cheating, but if it makes one person play it...)
4. FF9
5. FF8
6. FF12
7. FF5
8. FF4
9. FF10
10. FF15
11. FF13
12. X-2
Never played: XI, XIII-2, LR: FF XIII or XIV
Top Characters:
@Figaro Zidane absolutely sucks at the beginning, but once he mostly chills out a couple of discs in, I like him. Mostly.
Dude's a teenager so I'm probably grading him on a curve here.
@Chowdaire currently replaying 3 on Steam and it still holds up for me after not having played it since 2006.
My rankings
1) Final Fantasy VI
2) Final Fantasy IX
3) Lost Odyssey
4) Final Fantasy IV
5) Final Fantasy X
6) Final Fantasy XII
7) Final Fantasy V
8) The Last Story
9) Final Fantasy VII
10) Final Fantasy XV Royal
11) Final Fantasy III
12) Final Fantasy
13) Final Fantasy VIII
14) Final Fantasy II
15) Final Fantasy XIII
I feel this is a fair list And totally just included the mainline games and nothing else Sakaguchi worked on after Square Enix... nope not me!
Though I guess people can tell I've preferred the more Fantasy-esc/steam punk (crystal punk?) settings and story over the Sci-Fi settings. That and the classic games, once you've started with the SNES games, are really hard to go back to except maybe FFIII.
EDIT: I also don't want to include the Final Fantasy XII Remake until I've played all episodes as I feel I want to judge it as a complete work rather than as a singular episode/s.
I liked FF VI then XII as the best 2, but having X & VII is fine by me. Top quality, legendary games.
So for me:
1. FF VI (Advance)
2. FF XII
3. FF X
4. FF VII
5. The rest....
Cloud and Zidane as fav characters for me I suppose.
@RupeeClock XIII is very popular in Japan and so is Lightning, it's the only reason it got a full trilogy while the fanbase on the rest of the world basically hated it. Although after the lackluster XV some people changed their mind and now think of those games as decent
What °n° No love for Terra ○n○ Aww... this makes me so sad TnT
FFX is not only my favourite FF of all-time, it's my favourite game of all-time. Admittedly a lot of that has to do with personal nostalgia and circumstance at the time. Objectively I'd probably say FFVI is the best Final Fantasy game all-around and one of the greatest JRPGs ever.
As for characters, I'm kinda surprised none or any of Kain, Sabin, Shadow, Mog, Red XIII, Kimarhi, Sazh, Luna, Rydia, Tellah, Terra, Setzer, Cyan, Seymour, Squall, Kefka, Kuja, Jecht, Auron etc. didn't make this list. But there are so many cool characters for different reasons, it's really tough to make a list.
Tidus left a message. He said, "AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAaaaaaaa"
How I rank them
1. FFVII and FFVII Remake are my favourites.
2. FFX is great, but the random encounter rate is way too high, and some of the dialogue is just flat out bad.
3. FFVIII, it was a toss up between this and IX. I'm giving it to VIII because it's more memorable despite having way more flaws.
4. IX I like the artstyle, but the story is not as well paced as the games above, plus the limit break system sucks.
5. X-2 there's a couple of sections where I just mute the game, the songs are so bad. However the battle system and branching story was cool.
6. FFIV for me it's the best pre playstation era final fantasy, the story is simple but interesting.
7. FFVI it's alright, I just think there are too many characters with too little screen time.
8. FFV it's ok, outside of the job system it's just not that memorable.
9. FFXV the game is unfinished, I like the main party dynamic, but it's just a half baked game even with the DLC.
10. FFXII I hated the battle system, it's slow clunky, unbalanced and boring. The main character is also Vaan, enough said.
My Personal Top 3 Final Fantasy Games:
1. FFX
2. FFVI
3. FFVII
My Personal Top 3 Final Fantasy Party Characters:
1. Kain
2. Sabin
3. Kimarhi
My Personal Top 3 Final Fantasy Protagonists:
1. Cloud
2. Terra
3. Cecil
My Personal Top 3 Final Fantasy Antagonists:
1. Kefka/Emperor Gestahl
2. Sephiroth/Jenova
3. Jecht/Seymour
My Personal Top 3 Final Fantasy Entanglements:
1. Vivi-Life/Existentialism-Kuja
2. Tidus-Luna-Seymour
3. Squall-Rinoa-Seifer
...99. Tifa-Cloud-Zack (Toxiciticus Supremus Maximus)
My Personal Top 3 Final Fantasy Moogles:
1. Mog
2. Stiltzkin
3. Montblanc
FFVI is peak Golden Age jrpg. It's nearly #1 for me but Chrono Trigger beats it just slightly.
I always have hell deciding which of that top three is my favorite, so I fully identify with the game list. Not quite so much the characters.
My favourite one is XII and that list makes me sad. I love the gambit system, it was fun programimng the characters AI.
I liked XV a lot too, it was a bit shallow and too ambitious for its own good, but it had some really great highlights.
The Emperor Solus addition is a curve ball 👀
I would have ranked XIV at number 1 without a shadow of a doubt. Probably VI and IX next and after that I would struggle to choose the order.
FFX is atrocious and Tidus is the most unlikeable character ever in the history of the series.
“Boo! Boo this man!”
I'd like to think me and japan agree that x is a better game when you pretend x-2 doesnt exist since it makes lots of the originals events pointless
@Kr96
Are you sure that it's popular in Japan? This article is about Japan ranking their top 10 Final Fantasy games.
I'm a bit surprised FF8 is on the top 10, but Squall isn't. Squall's growth as a character is really quite beautiful to me, as is Yuna.
Lightning is my fav character. Wish the story was better.
@eltomo I had to give this comment some love. Even of X is my favorite Final Fantasy.
10 is my favorite. I love the combat system, the music, the characters (except Wakka), and blitzball. I still get the damn feelings when I play it.
I think X-2 is wonderful too. It gets a lot of flak for having a brighter appearance though I seem a lot of people immediately “nope” it because of the opening sequence, not knowing that Yuna is not actually a pop star, somebody is impersonating her. While I’m not sure if I’d say the story is dark, it is certainly sorrowful and somber and the main characters are generally trying to put on a brave face and not take on the burdens of the world. I also think X-2 retroactively adds a great deal of Yuna’s perspective from X. Her “I don’t like your plan.” speech at the very end of the game really sums the whole thing up nicely.
8 and 4 have regularly been up in my list. Love 7.
I think 12 is generally overlooked. I don’t know why. The combat takes some getting used to but the music is great, the script and VA are top of the line. The relationships between Basch and Gabranth, and Vayne and Larsa are strong and moving, but I have brothers, so that might just be me. I think the story is multilayered or better or worse. The primary struggle of Ashe vs the empire is dependent on the struggle of Venat vs the Occuria, and all this comes millennia after the Espers themselves failed to end the tyranny of the gods.
Anyway the hunts are fun.
I'm gonna say almost every single one of you are wrong
VII Is the best FF game by no contest. I hate how people say it's overrated and don't even play the game
@NintendoKnight nobody agrees with you
For me, FF3/6 is so far ahead of the rest of the series (and most other RPGs period) that it's crazy. To date, it still has my favorite soundtrack, storyline, cast, and ending of any game. It's basically the Les Miserables of video games. And thanks to the severe lack of FF3 characters in the top characters poll, I made my own:
10. General Leo
9. Edgar
8. Shadow
7. Ultros
6. Sabin
5. Terra
4. Celes
3. Cyan
2. Locke
1. Kefka
2nd favorite FF is 2/4, 3rd is 9. I suppose...7...would be a distant fourth.
I more or less reject any list that puts VII ahead of VI personally, but II (their part IV) not being in the top 5 is travesty.
But it could all be forgiven, all of it if they didn't have Zack dead last. I don't even understand how Zack isn't either 1B or ahead of Cloud since he is literally the same character but better in almost every way.
Personally it's:
VI
VIII
IX
IV
X
VII
XV
the rest are toss ups, but to be fair I never finished XII
And Cloud is a middle of the pack character to me.
1.Zack
2.Terra
3.Squall
4.Zidane
5.Tide
6.Aerith
7.Cloud
After that it's fuzzy
The entire 13 series was trash and lightning was a garbage character. That being said, 10 was a great game, but over rated. Doesn't deserve to beat 7. The order should be: 7, 6, 9, 8, 10
Zack was underappreciated
@turntSNACO
so true bestie. and that was the start for me of liking aerith to now her being my third favorite fictional character of all time across all mediums. i’m so glad ff7 remake captured her charm in english, but also maaya sakamoto’s work as her voice actress makes me love her even more which i thought was impossible. my favorite troll gremlin girl who is deep down, lonely and scared 😔
10 is my favorite game of all time , aerith cloud yuna and tidus are my favorite protagonists, japan literally as my taste i’m glad they have such great taste !!!
@themightyant Okay, honest question about Final Fantasy Tactics: when does it get good (or even fun)? I ask this because I've tried to get into the game on multiple occasions--starting way back with the PSX version and more recently with the version on the Play store--and I always get bogged down by how clunky and slow it is. I know my problem isn't with the genre, because I absolutely loved Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and A2 (the former being the first game I topped 100 hours in). So what am I not seeing in the original?
surprised zidane is popular
i find there’s an increasing amount of snobbery with the final fantasy games in recent years. With a sort of universal agreement that 6 is best and a degree of vitriol if you go against that, personally speaking my faves change between 7, 9, 10 and 14 regularly, i’ve grown to love 10, and can really understand why it would be number 1. but i could make an argument for most of them tbh and that’s what’s good about the final fantasy series.
Top 10 games
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy IV
Top 10 Characters:
Zidane (he’s funny and charming but has a seriously dark and surprising backstory)
Kefka (Funny, evil and has some great character development for a villain)
Sephiroth (One of the most menacing villains of the series)
Laguna (goofy, funny, weird but with a big heart)
Tidus (This character deals with a lot of emotion and teaches us how to laugh trough hard times)
Celes (This character has many faces and shows some seriously good character growth)
Vivi (Who doesn’t love this Black Mage kid? He has a backstory not too different from Zidane’s)
Squall (introverted and rude at first but he learns along the way that friendship and love is important.)
Cloud (10 points for the hairstyle, also pretty interesting backstory)
Terra (Amnesia magic slave girl who get to discover where she comes from and we get to see how she deals with the truth)
Ask me on a different day and I’ll probably give you a different answer. There are so many great Final Fantasy characters.
@Anti-Matter you put Final Fantasy VII as the worst Final Fantasy game because it’s overrated?! That makes no sense at all
Lighting is considered one of the best characters? Lady bland incarnate herself? Oh silly Japanese...
FF X is nowhere near as good as VII. I'd put every PsOne FF before X. At least they put VI after VII. Seven is so much better it's not even a fair competition.
My Personal Top 3 Final Fantasy Games:
1. FFVII
2. FFVIII
3. FFIX
My Personal Top 3 Final Fantasy Protagonists:
1. Cloud
2. Squall
3. Zidane
My Personal Top 3 Final Fantasy Antagonists:
1. Ultimecia
2. Sephiroth
3. Kefka
@Deliesh You raise an interesting point. I've struggled with a lot of tactical RPG's because almost ALL of them are slow and ponderous to start with while they teach you the mechanics (often for over 10-20 hours). Each one after that, once you know the basic mechanics, seems even slower as they go over ground you already know. It's a very frustrating problem i've found with the genre. (I had the same thing with FFT A2, Tactics Ogre LoCT, Mario Rabbids battle etc.)
I know that doesn't answer your question but what I would say is if you persevere beyond this, there is a wonderfully rich story with intrigue and great characters, i've played it through 3 or 4 times over the years and it still hits me.
For my part I should try A2 again which, for exactly your reasons, I couldn't get on with.
@Wargoose we already have an awful list, dont give us another
@Cheez What's wrong with linear gameplay in a JRPG? There will always be at least a little exploration available, while having a bunch of non-linearity beyond that doesn't make the sub-genre any better. In fact, being more linear is one of the sub-genre's strengths compared to those excessively open world WRPGs.
First 4 are interchangeable, based on personal preference, but #5 should have been FF4
I can't believe XV is even on the list. It's the worst FF game I've ever played. Sure the graphics are fine, but the game is utter *****. I would have put XIII before XV any day. All comes down to individual opinions though.
@Barbara001
XV's story amazing? What story? There is none. What little there is, a kid could have written in 2 hours. Even the villain is more indifferent and boring than watching paint dry.
My guess is nobody remembers the default names from the first 6 games of the series because they named them, thus a modern sweep of he category.
@Aneira Are you sure you played the game? Especially with episode Ardyn DLC everything falls into place. It's an allegory for the story of Christ, and it's quite beautifully written. Especially in the pocket version, where the story takes central stage, it has quite the pace. I thought it was brilliant!
@Barbara001
Yeah, I'm sure. You never forget a disappointment like that 😉
I have to ask out of curiosity. Have you played any other FF games, so that you can truly compare?
@BulbasaurusRex a little linear gameplay is fine. But when you feel like you're watching a boring movie instead of playing a game I don't see the point anymore. FF XIII had no exploration before one of the final acts. But yeah FF XII was a lot less linear, but not as good of a game as X, so I would definitely say it doesn't make or break a game. It just can hurt a game when it's too linear. Personally 6-9 all did an amazing job at drawing the line between linear and non-linear gameplay.
I mean, my only FF game is 7, and it's pretty good, so....
@Cheez FFX was one of those "you had to be there" games. Unless you played it at the time it probably wouldn't have the same impact as it did back in 2001(I'm so old).
I'm sure a lot of the people who voted for X were those who played it when it first came out.
I'm not a huge fan of the game, but I still have some nostalgia for it just because it was one of my first PS2 games.
@Samuel-Flutter I tried to play it last year and just couldn't. Super linear and really boring.
@Aneira FF VIII, VII, VI, IX, X, I, IV, III, II just a little, didn't play, XII, XIII, XI, XIV, V. So no, not all of them but most of them. I guess the biggest problem was the hype, since you named the disappointment. People were expecting so much, the biggest, baddest most spectacular, but got something quite precious. And I played it as that precious little thing, which made it very special to me, cause I played it quite a while after the release.
@Barbara001
In that case well played. Your opinion is obviously very valid. We all have different ways of enjoying a gaming experience. For me, the story is everything. I started with VII all those years ago and was blown away. The story was something special that I had never experienced before. I followed up with VIII and was very disappointed. Sure if you like your odd love story, but it lacked tension and lots more. Poor sequel to the series. I dropped out due to the fact that I owned other systems than Playstation and played the former on PC, so didnt play another FF game until I purchased an overpriced copy of FF6 for SNES. That was perhaps my greatest FF experience of all time. It was magical. Everything about it. I would love to see a modern remake of that one.
I also own 4 on SNES but havent gotten to it yet. Maybe I should do it soon. A few years ago I was given a pink Playstation 2 at my birthday so that I could experienve FF XII. Im still not sure if their intension was to mock me as I have always deliberately avoided Sony consoles. I played through it and was somewhat disappointed at my friends praisel. You see, when you have played through VI and VII, you come to expect too much of the series. I play them cause I dont like reading books, but want the same powerful storytelling experience. XIII trilogy I played through and actually enjoyed and Im not sure why. A lot of things I disliked, but overall I enjoyed the experience and even thouhg the story was somewhat weak, it kept me interested through the lore. I liked it much more than XV, so when everyone else was putting XIII down, my expectations for XV could nothing but rise.
Im holding back on FF7 Remake until the whole trilogy is released. Im sure I will enjoy it. Dont know why so many talk about VII being overhyped. If you didnt experience the game around its initial release, of cause you will feel its overhyped. When you see graphics from another age you need the nostalgia to be able to enjoy it I believe. It will be interesting to the what they come up with for XVI. I just feel they need better writers.
@Barbara001
Thread #14 nails my feeling.
@Aneira I do get where you are coming from. FF VI and VII have such great plotlines, so many characters, extra characters that are optional and not everything is spelled out, so much is left to the imagination to fill the blanks. But with the newer games everything is spelled out, sometimes to the extend of over explaining. Fewer characters, bigger visuals, lots of booms and bams, little depth. That's why I was glad I played the Pocket Version first. It's got all the story, but a not so OOOOOH artstyle, I had to use my imagination again and some plotpoints are incorporated that are not fully fleshed out, giving it that old school "not everything is explained" feel.
I sometimes miss the days of really great RPG's. Lufia, older Tales of.. Games, the older Final Fantasy's. So I really do get what you are saying. I hope the upcoming Mana remake will scratch my itch. And I saw a trailer today of the Shin Megami Tensei III Remaster that looks very promising.
So, in conclusion, perhaps give the FF XV Pocket Edition a shot, you might like that one and fingers crossed that ff XVI will be better, though I wasn't that fond of the trailer to be honest... They should have a new writer now though, so we shall see.
VII is one of my favourite games of all time so it would definitely top the list for me. Character wise, I honestly love what Remake did with Aerith; I didn't really care about her in the original but in Remake she's just the best, they did a great job with her character.
6 and 7. Found X... beautiful, but not my jam.
6 though, the Opera Scene and Locke, Celes, and Ultros alone just 😗 ✋ And as many people mention Kefka is a great baddie.
7’s plot was more confusing, but resonated with me strongly. I look forward to playing the remake.
I love the fact XII doesn't even get mentioned.... it's a boring mess that takes itself too seriously and should have been a spin-off rather than a numbered FF game, same goes for XI & XIV.
Cant believe there is no 12 on the list, as it is arguably my favourite. Otherwise I love most of them, particularly 6, 7, 9 and 15 is actually pretty amazing in parts (though I still haven't finished it!)
Totally right, FFX is my best FF ever. That intro and that ending is just pure art. Don't think will find scenes like these anymore. VIII was good too. Hope I will have strength to finish VII one day which is my first FF. XII would have been great if there was more emotional stuff and the summons was useless too.
@Muh-ario I have not played a lot of FF games but if one of youre complains is that FF X is to easy then I bet you dont like FF IX either. That one is a lot easier then FF X.
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