How would you rate the numbered final fantasies?

[Volrath]

And another Final Fantasy thread becomes pathetic. Honestly, I don't understand how people can't ever have a civilized discussion about these games. You'd think we were talking about war or religion...but maybe the mere mention of FFVII should result in a move to the Symposium if this is always going to happen.

Emu, I happened to notice that in your original ranking of the games, you put "every other game that's ever been released goes here" before FFVII, so I don't really think you can blame people for getting the idea that you thought it was pretty crappy. Still, you've clarified your position, and it's a legitimate one. It's a classic question that comes up often in discussion of any entertainment series: Do we stick with what worked? Or do we change direction? People will disagree on this, and it doesn't warrant what's happened here.

I find the FF series as a whole pretty uneven, so the question of whether any of them could "ruin" the series doesn't really mean much to me. But just so my post here isn't totally spam, I'll go through the games quickly. I've never played FFII,III,V,X-2,XI or XII so that should make it go faster.

FFI is obviously a classic, introduced so much. FFIV is great, though the difficulty doesn't always translate well to today's gamers. FFVI is superb, one of my favorites. FFVII was actually the first one I ever played, so it holds a special place in my heart for that reason. I mostly enjoy the allegorical aspect of it...its mixture of terrorism, corporate power, environmental issues, etc seems oddly prescient years after its release. FFVIII had some interesting elements, but the story just totally fell apart for me right around the time "Ultimecia" came into the picture. FFIX had its moments, but I'm not a big fan of it either. FFX is decent, though I can't stand the voice acting. It's a shame Tactics isn't numbered, because man I freakin' love that game.

Now let's try and have a reasonable discussion from here on, rather than provide examples of just about every negative stereotype about message boards out there.

 

[EmuMaster2002]

Well, okay, that was a mixture of bipolarity and straight-out bitterness.

In reality, it isn't terrible, but I wasn't a fan.

If I had to fit tactics into mine, I'd shove it right after 4, or maybe 5.

 

[KhaoticErase]

Permission to make a new list with EVERY Final Fantasy I've played?

Hello? Why has this thread died?

Well, if it does happen to revive, can we NOT TALK ABOUT FF7 ANYMORE? No matter how many people unreasonably despise it, that won't change the feelings of the MAJORITY, who LOVE it. Period. NO ONE respond to what I just said, just follow through with the thread's topic.

P.S. I don't think this is necroposting; it's only on the third page.

It's a double post, a necro post, AND spam! The trifecta! ~ Arcthemonkey

 

[arcthemonkey]

It's a double post AND a necropost AND spam.

 

[Monk]

VI
VII
IV
X

As for the rest of them, they're good, but the four above are the ones that really stand out to me (except for some of the cheesy dialogue in X - the laughing scene was atrocious).

VI is easily my favorite.

 

[Dopples]

Sephiroth, if you're honestly insulted by those who hate FF7, then don't come to non-FF7 forums. Everyone has differing opinions. You shouldn't get insulted by that.

 

[Bogus]

1. VI

Branching storylines, Esper/Human conflict, Kefka, Steampunk...greatest game ever.
2. IX

..it made me cry, which makes it awesome.

3. V

Because having a party of monks with x-attack is fun and Boco was adorable.

4. VII

Story was engaging, system was basic and fun, materia was indeed a grand addition and it had the death of a main character that is still riddled with controversy. Also, every game set in a dystopia (I'm certain I'm using that word wrong) is just plain neat.

5. VIII

Characters and military aspect are the only reasons I enjoyed this game, Time Compression baffles me. It sits this high on the list as it was the first I played and the reason I went looking for more of the series.

6. IV (Dark Knight)

7. I (Classic, and surprisingly difficult compared to newer RPGs)

8. III (Not my favorite...but was still fun)

9. II (It's wrong to call a classic cliche'...but holy hell)

10. X

Story was engaging, albhed/yevon conflict was very nice, music was incredible and some of the characters were great. Voice acting and the sphere grid are my only gripes.

11. X-2

I enjoyed the mission-based gameplay and thought the dresspheres were novel, but I'm one of the few that thought X ended just fine and didn't need a sequel. Moogle Suit! It's the only reason I even played it...

12. XI

I played a Mithra Thief to level 5 before realizing that a lot of the people playing, at least on my server, were just too arrogant and selfish for me to continue. May have also been an issue that my abusive boyfriend was cheating on me through the game..but meh, don't care to try it again anyway.

I refuse to play the newer games in the series, mainly because I'm afraid of change. There, I said it. I'll never play them because they scare me.

Steampunk is nice..I like Steampunk. FFVI was one of my favorites because of that. A lot of the FF games had Steampunk elements, and this is what set them apart from the other RPGs. Airships are Steampunk...if it has an airship, it has an element of Steampunk. FFVI has the most of this element in it, and I agree that FFVII was more of a dystopian(spell check says this is not a word..I'm gunna use it anyway) future, but you cannot deny the presence of Steampunk.

I'd also like to add that regardless of how much I hate certain aspects of some of the more recent final fantasies, it's honestly best to keep one's opinions of them to themselves in this forum. Arguments last forever when related to these games in particular. Everyone has a different opinion and no one is going to "win". Agree to disagree and leave it at that.

On that note, I'm glad not everyone hated everything about VIII. It was the first one I played, and I really enjoyed the characters. I will agree with Volrath though, it threw me off when Time Compression (Koompreeessssion!) came into play...what sense did that make? But hey..they were trying something new and the scientist was damn funny.

I just saw an ant crawl into a can of soda...it is time to clean the computer space. I hope this thread does not die, as it is interesting to see which games in the longest-lived (not sure of this actually) and most commercialized RPG series are everyone's favorites.

 

[Heydon'ttakemychicken]

VI it's awsome lets leave it at that,
X First one I ever played,
FFTA One of my favorite games ever so much replay...
IX good game although i don't remember much of it
IV like he said /\
VIII just didn't really like like it... meh everyone has diffrent tastes.
never played VII but, i plan to though

 

[Kururu]

Best to worst?
Well, VI, IV, IIj, IIIj, VIII, IX, I, V, VII.
If it had the side FFs, then the list would be longer.
Like, VI, IV, IIj, FFTA, IIIj, CC, VIII, IX, USA, I, Adventure, V, VII.

 

[LightAndMagic]

Final Fantasy IX

By far one of my favourite games of all time, and by far my favourite Final Fantasy. The characters were so intriguing, well developed, and interesting to watch. The main character was finally not an angsty little whiner (well except for that one section, but I'll forgive him). And the setting/land was truly imaginative. And Kuja was an incredibly smart villian, and powerful. I think if he wore a different costume he'd be a lot more liked. I mean, he manipulated people around him to the point where an entire race was pretty much wiped out, and one getting close to it. And then destroyed two major cities! C'mon!

Final Fantasy VII

I don't care. I liked it. Although I hate Sephiroth (in my opinion, the most overrated villian ever, he destroyed a small village and killed a girl, not all that much) And Aeris is possibly one of my favourite female characters of all time, a truly touching scene when she died.

Those are the clear two. The rest are all in the middle except at the very bottom, the very very bottom.

FINAL FANTASY X

I don't think I've ever hated a cast of characters more in my life. Literally, the only character I didn't mind was Lulu, and she was a walking cliche herself. All the characters rubbed me the wrong way, the villians didn't impress me, the world was kind of interesting but didn't keep me thoroughly interested. Oh and by far the worst script ever. That fake laughing moment between Tidus and Yuna was the most awkward thing ever. And then add in the ear stabbing voice acting. Yep. Hated this game. And I especially hated the sequel. (I borrowed it from a friend and upon hearing "Oh poopie!" as part of the dialogue, I shut it off, and I absolutely refuse to play it ever again.)

 

[EmuMaster2002]

Spoiler: @ L&M:

Well, it's not as if Zidane's one angsty moment is anything to forgive. Garland basically told him, "Hey, dude, you're not even real."

It's like being told you're adopted, only instead of, "We're not your real parents," it's, "Hey, you don't have any parents and your body is just stealing your soul from somebody else."

Also, Kuja's metal bikini only proves that he is so damn masculine that he can wear a BLOODY METAL THONG and still be one of the most badass (but still fairly realistic and redeemable) villains of all time, being beaten only (maybe) by Garland of FF1.

After all, "I, Garland, will knock you all down!"

Also, I love you forever because you like FFIX. That redeems your enjoyment of FF7.

 

[Bunnie]

FFXII: Apparently I'm part of the minority when I say that FFXII is my favorite game in the series. In a way, the battle system was potentially a bad move on the company's part because of how ill received Final Fantasy XI was by their loyal fans, and to add an important aspect into this one was kind of... stupid, for lack of a better word. But, regardless, the story line was awesome . Fran and Balthier had me loving every second of this game. The cut scenes were miles better than anything previous to this one, and the voice acting was nearly perfect in my opinion, especially in comparison to a couple of it's predecessors...

VII was great, so I agree with a large amount of the video-game playing population when I say that. But, it definitely had it's flaws, most of which have been listed by previous posters. The only thing that really killed me about this game was how cliche some of the story got. Cloud getting amnesia or whatever the hell his problem was in disc 2. It's been too long since I played for me to recall exactly what happened. And as good as the game was, after seeing there's better, I'm not sure I have any intention of picking this one up again. Maybe I'll sell it on eBay or something...

VIII: I just beat this one for like, the eighteenth time. It doesn't get old, I love every one of the characters, especially Selphie. <3

IX: In the same ballpark as VIII for the most part. The characters were a little more developed, but the story line was just as, if not a tad more appealing.

X was certainly good, and I thought the sphere grid system was genius. However, I really couldn't agree more with LightAndMagic about the ridiculously awkward cutscenes in that game... I can not count how many times I shut off the TV (Because Square is retarded and didn't put a skip option. D:< ) and just walked off until it was over. So, overall, dialogue was shitty as hell, but the game play kept me occupied for hours.

Can I just say I didn't play X-2? The only reason it's in my game collection is because... someone besides me put it there. <_<

Anyway, 1-6 I never got around to playing. But I'm surprised that no one has bothered to mention Mystic Quest (or maybe they have and I didn't see it?). This one wasn't bad either, a very classic RPG, and totally worth playing in my opinion, but it didn't seem to be near as popular as any of the others.

Edit: Whoops. Mystic Quest isn't numbered. My bad. ;O

 

[Prexus]

Final Fantasy USA (Mystic Quest) is a nice, classic RPG. But it's not fun, and it's not worth mentioning even if it was part of the numbered series.

You should play X-2, 4 and 6, Bunnie. Those are three of the better games in the series. If you give them a fair chance, and don't focus too much on the graphics of 4 and 6, you will be surprised. I could honestly see VII and VIII falling off your list, and being replaced with 4 and 6.

I say you should play X-2 just because it adds a lot to the series. It's an oddball, with non-linear mission based gameplay, and a static party, but it's really a good play and very fun.

 

[EmuMaster2002]

Hey! MQ was worth playing! IT was laughably cliche, which made it fun just for the comic value.

 

[Prexus]

It wasn't a Cliche when it was made, though. I try to judge the value of a game based on the time it was created.

 

[Anonymous]

best to fdsagd:
ff8, ff12, ff9, everything else.

 

[Grandor]

My favorites by preference ( I won't be listing the ones I haven't played because it's not worth wasting space for.)

VIII: I look like Squall, I used to have his cold ass attitude and I can relate, really. He's one of the first characters in FF to wear jewlery like that. And I like his griever necklace. The plot was rich I think, and it deserves to be credited number one in my list.

IX: 9 was fun to play, Zidane was kool, and Vivi is a memorable character. Not really much to say here, the plot could have been better but it was a good game.

XII: 12 has great graphics, a great new battle system and is fun. It's not as serious and richly developed as the other FF's but it's really good. I like the change of piece of actually seeing your enemies on the battlefield rather then random encounters.

V: FF5 was great! You've got to look past the graphics. I liked the music, I liked the way it was going and it's definetly one of my favorites from FF Anthology.

VII: I don't see the big deal. The graphics hurt my eyes, FF5 may have had worse graphics but I really don't see the big deal. However, I did like the cutscenes, and everyone says "The plotline was so great!" I guess, they spent a lot of time on character backgrounds, it should be noted.

X: Well, it had some nice characters. But I didn't like it. The summoner Yuna has to reach all these temples, and we have to drag her around helping her out. One of the only reasons I liked this game was probably because it was the first on the ps2 but because it had Auron in it. And he's kool.

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

Like Grandor I will not post the games I haven't played...

4, 6, 9, 10, 5, 1 & 2 tied, 7 & 8 tied.
If you care why, read below spoilers.

Spoiler: why I say this order

Spoiler: final fantasy four

FF4 is my favorite. I'm not sure why, other than it was the first true RPG of that style that I played. Before that I really only played dungeon crawlers. Things like Wizardry and Bard's tale. Final Fantasy 4 actually altered my taste in games dramatically, otherwise I probably wouldn't care about todays console RPGs. The original US release (Final Fantasy 2, or FF4 easy type) I'd rate as a 5/10 (I count 3 as average), but the actual FF4 (hardtype) I'd rate as a 8/10 or even 9/10 - if I'm actually playing it the score raises a point heh. This stands as one of my all time favorite games, ever - of all genres, and not just out of loyalty (I'm not a brand loyal type of person).

Spoiler: final fantasy six

FF6j/3us has to come next for me. I was simply just shocked by it. At the time I was still playing the shoot em up and beat em up games, and while I stilled played FF4 on occasion, FF6 was like a whole new break through in gaming. I never played anything like it at the time as far as feel and set up go. I mean, sure it's still a relatively close combat system, and had several similar elements to 4, it's theme and range were almost entirely new for me, and unheard of. 7/10 on my scale.

Spoiler: final fantasy nine

FF9 is next. I loved this game at a time. I have no clue why. I just picked it up on a whim and played it. I didn't get it right away, and it took me time to buy it eventually, about the time they started showing off FF10 I'd say. But I really enjoyed the old game style appeal of it, and the cute little graphics. I was tired of gritty attempts in games, and dark atmospheres - every game I was playing had this attempt to look and feel more sinister than the one before. The fact of that is probably why I'll give this one a higher score than I might have otherwise, simply because it was a breath of fresh air in a sense. 6/10.

Spoiler: final fantasy ten

FF10, was a good game. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and liked the simplicity of it. Though it got too nagging at times, and convoluted in my opinion - I still think it attempted to much of itself - it was still a fun game. Though I like other FF games better, i'd give it a 5/10 or 6/10. First time you play, it's a 6 - but after that I just feel the game loses a lot of replayability, and that costs it a lot of points. The only thing I feel makes the game replayable is mostly in large to the skill system, and even that wasn't that great imo. Like FF9, I didn't go and buy it until it was "older". In fact my FF10 is a "greatest hits" game... odd...

Spoiler: final fantasy five

Final Fantasy 5. This game kicks ass, but isn't that great. There's very little substance, and really not that much too look at. It's the reverse of what I feel todays games are though. Instead of adding nothing new, and just being flashier than other games, FF5 was less flashy but added a lot to the table - unfortunately I feel the story and all that it encompasses is just... well... flat.
Sure, I played FF5 after FF7 was just released here, but still... I remember games from that time period it was made, and some of these games had more substance - and some of those were puzzles. So for the innovations, mostly, it gets a 4/10.

Spoiler: final fantasy

Final Fantasy 1. The game technically has replay value, simply because you have 4 characters and can chose from 6, and so your party is different each time. And that does change game play and what little strategy there is. I was lucky enough to have played the NES version, and the Gameboy remake. So I can grade this, both at a time period close to it's release, and the remake, on a modern scale. First, I wasn't impressed originally. I actually didn't care for the game, I'd rather play Donkey Kong at the time. But I did get enjoyment out of the remake, being older and enjoying RPGs now. But, I don't grade things based on it's creation - unless it's that amazing, and I don't view FF1 as being all that great. It wasn't the first to use it's mechanics, it just ended up being the most successful. 3/10

Spoiler: final fantasy two

FF2 is tied with FF1. I think it's a really good game - but it's difficulty was too intense (yes I'm talking about the original release - NOT the dawn of souls gba version). But I feel it had substance that FF5 lacked majorly, and with the remake it became an easier - though too easy - game to play. It just seems like it can't be balanced well. So it too gets a 3/10

Spoiler: final fantasy 7-8

FF7 and FF8... other than the mini games, neither really did anything for me. While I actually enjoyed, very much so, both games when I started playing them - I eventually lost interest in them. I beat FF7 only because I ended up getting really sick, and couldn't leave the house during a harsh winter storm, and had nothing else to do. I got real close to the end of FF8, and eventually just forgot about it completely. Then, when I needed more memory on my memory card, I deleted the file and never played it again. Final Fantasy 7, had some fun moments, but I think it's too over rated now (no, my score did not change because I feel that today), and Final Fantasy 8 -to me- was the most disappointing game of the series. They both receive a 2/10 - just barely average, and I feel lacking greatly.

Every other Final Fantasy I played (3, 11) I only played for a short time. I only played FF11 once, and for only 13 minutes. As for Final Fantasy III (japan) I only had for an afternoon, and I don't even remember it. I haven't played X-2 or 12 (and probably won't play either).

 

[marblelight]

1 - FFIX
2 - FFVIII
3 - FFX
4 - FFXII
5 - FFIII (DS)
6 - FFI
7 - FFVII
8 - FFV
9 - FFII
10 - FFVI
11 - FFXI
12 - FFIV

 

[Amos36]

FF'S I HAVE PLAYED:

1. FFVII
2. FFXII
3. FFX
4. FFIX
5. FFX-2 (Can't see how people didn't like this one...) <I still love you Yuna...>

6. FFVIII
7. FFIV

I HAVEN'T PLAYED THE OTHERS!!!

But Chrono Trigger would be 2nd if it was only main FF's...