What's the best Final Fantasy game?

[Nero 99]

what do you think is the best Final Fantasy? I think it's &, best characters, enemies, villains , music, story.basically I love every thing about the game!

[Cloud121]

Final Fantasy IV, followed closely by IX.

[SeverThe7th]

Like Cloud121, 6, except followed closely by 7.

[Cloud121]

Like Cloud121, 6, except followed closely by 7.

VI? I said IV, as in 4. :)

[-_-Nintendo-_-]

6 (or 3?) Nothing has come quite close to it.

[SeverThe7th]

VI? I said IV, as in 4. :)

Heh, my bad. Scanned over it to quick.
4 is my 3rd fave though.

[Wraith Storm]

Although I love FF 8 from the characters, music, story, and interesting spin on the battle system, the "GAME" it self felt somewhat broken and unpolished. That leaves Final Fantasy 6 or 7 for certain. While Its a tough choice I'll cast my vote for FF6.

[Apollo]

Mystic Quest!!!

No, just kidding. IX is my favorite.

[dlopez9069]

I prefer VIII mainly because I like the battle system. VII comes in a very close second though.

[FantasiaWHT]

4 with 6 in a close second. 6 was amazing until the WOR, that just got too diffuse and unfocused for me to really enjoy.

Btw, OP, do you have a reason for not putting the FF's in order?

[RadiantSvgun]

Final Fantasy II on SNES. I played it for years... Other than that, I would say Final Fantasy VIII on PSX.

[FlufflePuff]

I would say 6 is my favorite. With 4 being a very close second. I also still enjoy the first one.

[darkhades]

6 is my favorite, followed by 9.

Why no option to vote for FF III? It's not my fav, but may be for someone else.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Final Fantasy XXV, baby! Giants vs Bills!


...word is bondage...

[Cloud121]

Mystic Quest!!!

No, just kidding. IX is my favorite.
Thank god I'm not the only one that loved FFIX.

[mailman187666]

my favorite is definately X. The Sphere Grid had me so freakin' hooked into the game it was amazing.

[MrRoboto19XX]

I give my vote to VI, with IV making a close second.

[jcalder8]

After seeing so many votes for IV I'm wondering what is the best way to play it? Emulator or did it come out translated?

[cyberfluxor]

I loved FF V followed up by FF VII and MQ.

Final Fantasy V was the first FF game I played (translated ROM of course) back around '99. My computer at the time didn't have sound so the radio was my BGM and recall Sting's 'Brand New Day' single playing a lot. But I spent so many hours playing and leveling through the game to a new experience in gaming since at the time I was into FPS, RTS and puzzle/adventure games on the PC. The sprites were vivid on my CRT with a great attack sequence with every move and cool leveling systems with spells/skills. On top of that the plot seemed targetted at my age (14) and really built on the character developments. Maybe I was a sucker for my "first FF experience" but either way it was great.

With Final Fantasy VII it was an experience as one of my first 32/64 bit game. It was that and Twisted Metal that pulled some of my attention to the PS console and brought to buy a lot of the RPGs today. A friend had a broken Playstation and said I could use it since his parents already bought a replacement, along with that a GH copy of FF VII and TM which apparently worked when powered on its side. I had recently recieved my first TV (cable ready 19" CRT with mono sound and RCA) so hooking up the system was fun. Up til that point all I had was a Sega Master System and Game Gear so it was a new experience. It was up there with my Diablo experience I had a few years prior and competed with the time I was normally playing Starcraft. It only robbed me of a few hundred hours but was totally worth it and may one day go back again on that adventure.

Finally, the Mystic Quest game is hated by many and is seen as a side-track to the series but it has its moments and is worth at least a play through. Sure, all of the towns have the same theme music that's rearranged for its geographic location but give it a try if you haven't.

[Nirvana]

In terms of storyline and all that, definitely have to go with FFVII. Unforgettable plot. God I love that game.

But in terms of time put into, I think I put the most time into FFVIII. I loved that game too. Zell was a sweet character. Also, I loved Triple Triad. I was really damn close to 100%ing that game in terms of sidequests. I beat Omega Weapon.

[DragonMaster Sam]

Final Fantasy IV, although somehow I wound up voting for Final Fantasy VI. Anyways, IV has a great plot, great characters, and a pretty good soundtrack. VII is a good game also, but has been vastly overrated by the internet.

[le geek]

Final Fantasy II/IV is my sentimental favorite, but really XII is amazing...

Cheers,
Ben

[Borman]

Ill be different with Final Fantasy 11 Online ;) Followed by Tactics

[Cloud121]

After seeing so many votes for IV I'm wondering what is the best way to play it? Emulator or did it come out translated?
Personally, I say the best way to play it is on an emulator with the J2E translated ROM. Though playing it on actual Super Famicom hardware isn't a bad idea either. The official translation is somewhat spotty at times (I don't care what anyone says. Spoony Bard > You), so it's good to play the J2E version to get the small bits of story left out.

[Kevincal]

FFVII was the first RPG I ever got excited about and bought. I beat it and thoroughly enjoyed it. It gets my vote.

[Nukie]

I have to cast my vote to the original. Mainly because it's what sparked my love for the rpg.

[calthaer]

I concur that the best way to play IV is with an IPS-patched ROM. I played it ~ 8 years ago that way...can't remember if it was the J2E translation, but I do remember it was the Japanese "hardtype" version of the game that I used an IPS patch for, and not the watered-down American equivalent.

[Icarus Moonsight]

VI was the zenith of 16-bit JRPGs IMO. Seconded only by Phantasy Star IV and FFIV. I've heard great things about XII, but haven't played it yet. I liked the character designs of IX, again, haven't played it. I find 7 and 8 much more often than 9... makes me wonder if I'll ever have the chance to pick it up on the cheap.

[Fuyukaze]

I thought 1 was ok but boring on the NES and PS1 but did nice on the GBA.

I thought 2 was ok on the PS1 but didnt realy shine untill the GBA version.

I just got 3 for Christmas so I've yet to give it a chance. I'm not crazy over the change to 3D though as many fans waited such a long time to play it. Now we can but somehow I cant shake the feeling it's just not the same.

I realy enjoyed 4 on the SNES. True, it may not have been the best of translations but it was still an enjoyable game. The PS1 release never got played as I'd beat the game to death on the SNES years before. The GBA port on the other hand was a definite improvement.

I played and was bored with 5 on both the PS1 and GBA. The story was interesting but some of the later monsters were cheap. That and it eventualy became boring to me, extra dungeon or no.

6 was and has always been a favorite of mine. The story, the gameplay, the charcter development, and the very ending alone was enough to make it a game with which I would compare all other RPGs to. Even today I find myself measuring new ones to its merrits.

7 was a red headed step child to me. At first I loved it, I think we all did. Somewheres along the way I came to hate the game though. Perhaps it was the fanatic response people gave it, or perhaps it was the damned chocobo breeding but either way it became less about gameplay and story to me and more about FMVs.

I was one of probly a handfull that loved 8 for it's magic system yet hated it for it's story. The charcters annoyed the hell out of me as they always felt too emo for my taste. I beat the game but the final fight with the boss was so forgetable to me. The ending was barely memorable though the FMVs were pretty.

I hated the art style of 9. I still hate the art style of it. The story had alot of interesting aspects to it but if you cant stand the visuals of the game, it makes for a long and tedious chore to play thru. I remember even less of the last couple boss fights in this then I do of 8.

10, love it or hate it, this was the first FF game sense 6 that realy got my interest. It's true, I never considered myself a graphics whore but almost everything about it was nice. The story while a tad on the emo side at times was definitly interesting, the charcters while annoying at times were never that much a pain and the ending, well, I freakn loved the ending.

I will never play 11 as the damn thing should have never been introduced into the FF series at all but should have been on it's own. It should have been called Final Fantasy Online and be left at that. Instead they simply wasted the slot for 11 on an online game that will be dead within the next 5-10 years if not less.

I'm still mixed on 12. I want to like it because it looks to have a great story but I continue to get bored with it. There's so much to do, so many places to visit, and so many side quests to acomplish that somewheres along the way I forget what it is I'm doing and just get bored. Perhaps one day I'll be able to finish the game's story and not worry about the useless side stuff. Maybe.

[Three-P]

Hard to choose a best one, so I'm going to do the polar opposite and choose the worst one. And that one would be Final Fantasy X-2. That game was kind of a kick to the groin, after the success of its direct prequel. A few reasons why include....

1-Lulu sits this one out. Sure, she has a guest spot, but her highly-destructive black magic spells would've come in handy. Paine's skill with a sword doesn't make up for it at all. (Yes, I know she's carrying Wakka's child in her womb.)
2-Summoning no longer an option. With the aeons pretty much gone, you lose some serious firepower in your arsenal.
3-Auron is no more. He was the greatest FFX character, yet they had the foresight to leave him out, aside from maybe a cameo or two. (A big reason I was disillusioned with this game.)
4-No Waiting. Remember how previous FF games would give you the luxury of choosing between ACTIVE and WAIT? This one just throws that concept right into a privy.
5-Asinine missions. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine are the main protagonists, yet some jerk-off called, "Brother," is in charge. And he makes it his life's mission to sit on his ass and make many of your decisions for you.
6-Butchered story. After about 3 hours, I find myself scratching my head, saying, "Ok, you lost me."
7-Too much dress-up. Sure, little girls will like this Barbie-inspired Job System concept, but it looks more like a glorified dress-up game than a Final Fantasy.

So, there you have it.

[Daria]

Final Fantasy 7 was plagued with... disappointments. Two dimensional characters fueling a congested, overly complicated story line. The plot had some really cool psychological sci-fi thriller themes going on that like with all modern Final Fantasy titles just fell apart at the end. The characters were too weak to flesh out any of the cooler bits of the story. And then there was the crappy translation plagued with typos.

It's not a matter of the game being bad, just mediocre. The rabid fan base makes it's mediocrity painful.

That said my favorite Final Fantasy is IX. It too had a story line that disappeared at the end of the game in favor for "surprise" final villain, but the majority of the game was a fast past (sans mind numbing level crunching) boy meets girl sort of adventure story. Bad shit happens and in the end love conquers all. I may have well been playing an 80's fantasy film. I also like the way the game recycled some classic Final Fantasy archetypes into (then) modern personality driven characters. Freya as the Red Mage and Vivi as the Black mage are a pair of the two most obvious examples. Also of note, for one of the first times I'd notice the 3D characters models (which didn't look like shitty Lego people ala FF7) expressed realistic emotion. For example as your characters explore the "innovative" ice cavern your party walks against the snow with arms crossed and chins tucked in. They look cold.

[Blitzwing256]

err wasn't frejya a um dragoon?

[Daria]

err wasn't frejya a um dragoon?

Yeah she was. Didn't she use magic? She certainly looks like the old school red mage sprite.

[Mason P.]

I like 1 the best. Yea I know the story isn't as deep as some of the other games, but I enjoyed being able to pick my team. I have never played a role-playing game as many times through as i did the first one. I would finish it and restart the whole game again with a diffrent squad.

When 4 came out I was soo excited. When I ended up getting it, I was so let down. Here is a game that seemed really slow compared to the first and I couldn't pick a team. Hell you only stared with one guy (if I remember right). After that I put down the series. I own and have played every one, but have never finished one. I just keep going back in my mind to number 1 and think " I'd rather be playing the first one." .

[GnawRadar]

VI is my favorite followed by VII and then X. VI sparked my interest in RPGs in general and then Chrono Trigger sealed the deal and since then I've played each FF game and became a huge Square fan.

[bones11]

I'm playing through all of the FF games in order, currently on III...so it may be a year or so before I can cast a vote. Have to say they have all be enjoyable in different ways so far, but I'm loving all of the classes available in III. The Geomancer class kills!

[outsider]

It's hard for me to decide - I've spent more time with VI and VII than any others, so I'd have to put them in a tie for first. That period of time was the pinnacle of the series IMO.

I played through the original NES game several times as a kid, it was my first experience with an RPG, so that would probably be a close second. I'd place V, XII and IV somewhere not too far down the list. I've really enjoyed just about every FF game, excluding X and X-2. I've played them all to the end at least once.

[RegSNES]

Best FF IMO is FFVI. Awesome story with well developed characters and an engaging soundtrack. Of course the whole FF series as a whole is freaking sweet so I may as well gush on the other games while I'm at it.

The original FF, while pretty difficult is still a fun game and for its time, I thought it had a nice little plot twist at the end. I loved the remastered music on FF Origins.

FFII hardly gets any love because its so... different. Kinda like Zelda II: Adventure of Link. Yeah, the way you "level up" is weird and magic, outside of cure spells can be pretty useless, but the game has a sweet musical score and a decent story.

FFIII I played for the first time in early 2007 via the DS. This is old-school RPGing for sure. Having already played through FFV, the story felt recycled to me but I still liked the Job system even if it wasn't nearly as deep as the aforementioned FFV. It was a good way to kill 60+ hours.

FFIV has a well written story, a superb soundtrack and no two characters feel the same from a gameplay perspective.

FFV's story takes a backseat to the gameplay. It's all about the Job system and to this day FFV is still one of the deepest RPGs around. I was actually rather fond of FFV's music too. Other FF games like FFIV, VI and VII seem to get more love in this regard.

FFVII. The story, while pretty straight forward could get pretty confusing at times with Cloud's muddled past and all. I know this game gets a lot of hate, but I think this is still a good entry in the FF series but not great like I once thought it was 10 years ago. I even feel the music was one of the series weakest efforts.

FFVIII's main story focuses on love and I am a sucker for a good love story. Sure nearly every RPG throws in a love story but it's hardly the main focus. Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic but I thought Squall and Rhinoa made a great couple and I loved how they got together.

FFIX took thing's back to basic knights and black mages fantasy theme and while an enjoyable game, I think it got far more praise that it really deserved upon it's release.

FFX. Never finished this one. Still need to get back to it but of the 30+ hours I put into it, I really enjoyed this game. The sphere grid was different and took some getting used to but I was able to adjust to it. Tidus seems like a whinny kid but when you get thrust into conflict like that, who wouldn't gripe and moan?

[Dreamc@sting]

Guilty as charged..I am a FFVII fanboy lol - overall it is my favorite for characters, music, story, basically everything, but VI is a very close second, as well as X right after that

[Kevincal]

I hate the fact that people have to feel guilty for picking FFVII just because "hardcore" rpg'ers think it's cool to bash FFVII fans... You know, the type of people that only love "quirky" games. They turn their nose up at any game with commercial success, even a great game such as FFVII... Can someone please explain this phenomenom to me?

[Icarus Moonsight]

I could finish VI and savor every moment. For me, VII was a CHORE. I gave up on the first disk. I just can't fathom the gushing praise this game receives from some. In fact, I wonder if we played the same game sometimes.

Daria deserves some kudos for nailing my thoughts on the head with her mediocrity comment. It's not a bad game, but nowhere near equal to it's adoration. Mind you, I'm not an RPG fan. It takes an exceptional game from the genre, or one that resonates well to my taste, for me to get into it. VII failed to appeal to me on both fronts.

I guess it's less hate and more bewilderment. Especially when better games go completely unsung by comparison.

[BocoDragon]

Final Fantasy VI is my personal all-time favorite... And I have mad love for FF VIII and XII.

VII and the rest are great too.

[TurboGenesis]

Final Fantasy VI (FFIII USA SNES) is the best!


/thread

[briskbc]

I haven't played all of them yet but I my favorite so far is IX. It's a nice recovery from my least favorite, VIII. FF IX story has a nice blend of whimsy and drama and the battle/skill system is easy enough for the occasional RPR gamer like myself.

[FantasiaWHT]

I hate the fact that people have to feel guilty for picking FFVII just because "hardcore" rpg'ers think it's cool to bash FFVII fans... You know, the type of people that only love "quirky" games. They turn their nose up at any game with commercial success, even a great game such as FFVII... Can someone please explain this phenomenom to me?

I definitely don't only love "quirky" games, and I'm no longer a hardcore RPG'er, and I finished FFVII finally sometime in the last year or two. It was a thoroughly underwhelming experience, even ignoring expectations.

Like Icarus said, finishing that game was just a chore. I had started it three times previously and had never been able to force myself to finish it. #1 - it's hideous. Yeah, it has pretty cutscenes, but the gameplay is UGLY. Not just low quality, but UGLY. #2 - I hated the battles, and I hated the materia system, and I hated the fact that you could only equip your characters with 3 items. All that together just meant that fighting and character development was tedious for me. #3 - the story itself was good, but it was told in an overly-convoluted way. Too much influence from FFT. #4 - I just didn't dig the setting at all. The mix of extremely-advanced technology and people wielding swords to fight has always been a bit of a stretch for my willing suspension of disbelief.

[calgon]

As for personal preference, there were just a small handfull of FF games I enjoyed and have the desire to play again, those being: FF IV, FF7, FF8. FF3 is ok, and I really want to play the gba version of V