Final Fantasy fans! What's your favourite Final Fantasy game and why?

[Holarchy]

Yeah well. I'm nosey and I'd like to know. Personally, my favourite has to be Final Fantasy X purely because I played it whilst growing up so it'll hold a special place in the gaming part of my heart. I also adored the combat system, for some reason. Oh, and this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5FTJxfV3pc

HA.HA.HA.HA.HA.HA.

 

[oplinger]

My favorite Final Fantasy is one that doesn't use the word "whilst"

...Okay seriously, My favorite is 5. Not because I grew up with it, because I couldn't have.

I just liked the story, the characters...and most of all *drum roll* .....the job system!

It made combat ridiculously interesting to me, crossing skills over and what not, though a lot were kinda useless, it did make things fun.

Also you know....a giant magic wielding murderous -tree- ...oooh lordy me. Definitely made it the most memorable.


Second place though, is FF8, because I'm blind and exceedingly retarded apparently, and didn't see squall as an angsty whiny mommas boy. ...and also because at first I didn't realize what was really going on. Many people don't really see what's going on. I mean on the internet they do, and -now- they might, because it's all there to find. But at the time, realizing it was all just a cracked out love story from a little girls mindfuckery made it so much more interesting.

 

[RJ 17]

The original Final Fantasy Tactics.

As one of the people apparently old enough to have grown up with the entire series starting with the original Final Fantasy for the NES, I can say that for me personally, FF's 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and Tactics were the glory years for the franchise, everything else has had gradually increasing levels of crap applied to them (calm down folks, it's just my opinion, I'm not trying to start a fight).

As for why I like FFT the most, I think it's got the best story. I also like how your party consists of essentially NPCs while picking up a "hero" character every now and then. Playing through the entire first two chapters with your band of NPCs really makes you grow fond of them (at least in my case), they might not have any lines or characterization at all, but damnit they've been with you since the beginning, they're loyal and true companions.

As for the technicals I like the battle system and job system.

 

[Holarchy]

My favorite Final Fantasy is one that doesn't use the word "whilst"

Hey! I like the word whilst. I refuse to let it die out.

Second place though, is FF8, because I'm blind and exceedingly retarded apparently, and didn't see squall as an angsty whiny mommas boy. ...and also because at first I didn't realize what was really going on. Many people don't really see what's going on. I mean on the internet they do, and -now- they might, because it's all there to find. But at the time, realizing it was all just a cracked out love story from a little girls mindfuckery made it so much more interesting.

I loved FF8 for basically all the reasons you listed too. Squall didn't annoy me in the slightest and the whole love story aspect kept me gripped. Guess I'm kinda romantic after all.

 

[RJ 17]

Second place though, is FF8, because I'm blind and exceedingly retarded apparently, and didn't see squall as an angsty whiny mommas boy. ...and also because at first I didn't realize what was really going on. Many people don't really see what's going on. I mean on the internet they do, and -now- they might, because it's all there to find. But at the time, realizing it was all just a cracked out love story from a little girls mindfuckery made it so much more interesting.

I loved FF8 for basically all the reasons you listed too. Squall didn't annoy me in the slightest and the whole love story aspect kept me gripped. Guess I'm kinda romantic after all.

Like I said in my response, I'm not here to pick a fight, but I will say you have to be in some serious denial to classify Squall as anything but angsty at best or full on emo at worst. Just look at his attitude, most of the time he acts like he can't be bothered by anyone. He's got two girls that practically throw themselves at him but he's apparently just too cool to be bothered with either until later on in the game.

But if you want the strongest evidence of "there's something very wrong with Squall...", look no further than the scene in the waiting room in Galbadia (spelling) Garden. Everyone is quitely having their own thoughts, then Squall's kicks in and he becomes obessed with death. He works himself into a frenzy with his thoughts alone before shattering the silence by just bursting out and yelling "YOU'RE NOT GONNA THINK ABOUT ME IN THE PAST TENSE!!" before running out of the room, leaving every standing there thinking. "What...the fuck...was that?"

That said, my only real complaint about FF8 is that it was too damn easy. Once you master the finer mechanics of the Junction system, you're essentially playing on god-mode. But as I said in my first response, in my opinion every FF after Tactics has been filled with gradually increasing levels of crap. FF8 is therefore the beginning of Square's downfall in my eyes, and as such is at the top of the downward slope...translation: the game wasn't too bad, I just thought it was too easy.

 

[zombieshark6666]

Final Fantasy XII due to the Combat, the graphics, the characters, the 'Grey vs. Grey' as opposed to 'Black Vs. White', that kick-ass opening cinematic...

Also, Balthier, Basch and Vayne. The greatest characters to ever exist in any game EVER.

And...

Spoiler: This Guy!

Yizamat. Big ass boss dragon with 50 million HP. One of the hardest, most fun fights I've ever had in a video game EVER.

Whilst I agree with most of your reasons, I'd say it's the fantastic world of Ivalice and the great sense of adventure that exploration gives you. That and the mix between Star Wars and fantasy with chocobos, Amazon bunnies and other such goodness.

 

[geK0]

Pretty damn close between X and XII.... can't decide

 

[Wayneguard]

My favorite characters are in final fantasy IV but my favorite setting is definitely Gaia from final fantasy IX. Overall, I'd have to say final fantasy IV is my favorite closely followed by IX.

 

[AyreonMaiden]

Final Fantasy XII due to the Combat, the graphics, the characters, the 'Grey vs. Grey' as opposed to 'Black Vs. White', that kick-ass opening cinematic...

Also, Balthier, Basch and Vayne. The greatest characters to ever exist in any game EVER.

And...

Spoiler: This Guy!

Yizamat. Big ass boss dragon with 50 million HP. One of the hardest, most fun fights I've ever had in a video game EVER.

Oh god. I thought I was truly alone here.

Mine is FFXII too. For all your reasons. And I dare say, I add Vaan and Penelo to the reasons. I loved being an absolute no one in the party for a change. I was no "chosen," no anomaly, had no relation to the main antagonist...I was just some ragamuffin who got caught up in something far bigger than me. I enjoyed seeing how everything escalated from that fateful moment when I conspired to sneak into the palace to the final battle.

I loved the subtlety. No one was egregious in their expression of their stakes in the war or their personal feelings towards anyone. These were people of action, whose emotions showed on their faces rather than on their whiny speeches. On that note, the writing was the most mature I've seen in a FF game, and at worst it was charmingly ostentatious in its faux-Shakespearean grammar.

I loved the cohesive world design. The art direction made sense all across the board. It was enormous and also open-ended. There were tasty carrots dangled in front of you at just about every turn, much like old-school Zelda. So many different baddies to hunt...

And the battle system! If Square wasn't going to get rid of grinding, then the Gambit system is the best band-aid for that ailment. People cry about the game playing itself; yeah, you can do it, but it's entirely your choice if that happens. I had a good amount of player agency with basic Cure, Buff and Attack Gambits, died plenty when it was challenging, and relaxed when it was time to grind.

Best FF ever for me, and I hate that people lump it up in the "decline of Square."

 

[dimensional]

VII for me I tried VI before this but couldnt get into it and when this came around I bought it because everyone was telling me how great it was (I used to give into peer pressure then) so fully expecting to hate it I played it and was completely blown away absolutely loved the characters and story while the materia system was great fun.

After this one I started playing other JRPGS including going back to VI eventually (and really enjoying it this time) but yeah basically it is the only game ever to make me do a complete 180 on my opinions of a genre (RPG) and after finishing every FF game (main except XI and XIV) VII still has my favourite characters in. Also its the only FF I have managed to finish multiple times and still enjoy.

Its not as great as the fans make out but then no game/film/book ever is.

 

[The Madman]

I've only played the earlier ones, but of them I'm rather fond of Final Fantasy 6. It's got a nice whimsical fantasy tone to it that nevertheless doesn't stop it from packing the occasional powerful punch. Very good little game!

The last one I ever played was 8, and it was terrible. I don't understand how anyone could like that game and it's the game that single-handedly killed my interest in the series.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Close one between FFX and FFVI.

I've played them all and none are without their flaws, but FFX's are minimal and mainly relating to optional content. Best visual aesthetics, best soundtrack, best battle system, best cast in the PS2 era. And a much better deconstruction/subversion of the 'Destined Chosen to Save the World' archetype than FFXIII.

 

[scorptatious]

My favorite would have to be Final Fantasy IX. A game I've first played well over a year ago. After playing through Final Fantasy VII, my first Final Fantasy game, I was curious to see what some of the other FF games were like. I've already watched Final Fantasy VIII through a let's play, so I decided to skip ahead and play Final Fantasy IX. My god. This was such a fantastic game.

I loved nearly everything about this game. The cast of characters, the battle mechanics, the soundtrack, the CGI cutscenes, nearly everything except maybe the Chocobo Hot and Cold game. Which I kind of lost interest in rather quickly.

It also had one of the best and most satisfying ending sequences I've seen in a video game. With a beautiful song in the credits to top it off.

This is the kind of game that will always be with me. And one I won't soon forget for a very long time.

 

[oplinger]

Like I said in my response, I'm not here to pick a fight, but I will say you have to be in some serious denial to classify Squall as anything but angsty at best or full on emo at worst. Just look at his attitude, most of the time he acts like he can't be bothered by anyone. He's got two girls that practically throw themselves at him but he's apparently just too cool to be bothered with either until later on in the game.

But if you want the strongest evidence of "there's something very wrong with Squall...", look no further than the scene in the waiting room in Galbadia (spelling) Garden. Everyone is quitely having their own thoughts, then Squall's kicks in and he becomes obessed with death. He works himself into a frenzy with his thoughts alone before shattering the silence by just bursting out and yelling "YOU'RE NOT GONNA THINK ABOUT ME IN THE PAST TENSE!!" before running out of the room, leaving every standing there thinking. "What...the fuck...was that?"

That said, my only real complaint about FF8 is that it was too damn easy. Once you master the finer mechanics of the Junction system, you're essentially playing on god-mode. But as I said in my first response, in my opinion every FF after Tactics has been filled with gradually increasing levels of crap. FF8 is therefore the beginning of Square's downfall in my eyes, and as such is at the top of the downward slope...translation: the game wasn't too bad, I just thought it was too easy.

I think we may have differing definitions on what "angst" and "emo" mean.

Angst: Feeling of dread, anxiety or anguish

Now, dread means to fear greatly. I don't really remember a lot of fear going on there.

Anxiety means distress of unease, He wasn't all that uneasy. In fact most of the time he seemed pretty sure of himself.

And definitely no anguish, so not going to touch that.

Now that we've cleared up what that's all about, we can tackle "emo"

Emo is a music genre, that's what the term is coined for. It's also used to describe anyone who's constantly depressed and maybe suicidal. Maybe cries a lot, and cuts their wrists.

Squall doesn't do either, nor is he all that depressed...and definitely not suicidal, in fact he seems to like living.

As for the women....you can not be interested in people. I do it all the time. It's pretty easy.

Squall may be an arrogant, brooding guy that hates the spotlight. But so is Batman. Yes, I just said Squall is like Batman. He's not interested in people, but that's the dynamic of the character. He goes from a self-centered tough guy, to stuck with a group of people, and looked up to as their leader. And eventually cares for them. Especially one of them.

Batman does the same thing in Justice League. Minus the leader thing.

And I have never, in my whole life, heard someone call Batman emo. >.>

 

[Dave In A Cape]

My personal favourite is a split between VII and X.

VII was the reason I got into Final Fantasy and I will go back and play it from time to time and still get the same enjoyment I did when I was little despite how dated it is now.

With X I just love the characters as they are fleshed out really well and you feel like their motivation and their personalities are spot on and the tragic story of sacrifice for the greater good especially when it comes to love.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

I don't have a single top favorite. I have two, actually. My top two favorites are FFIX and FFX, for various reasons I don't actually feel up to going into detail of right now, being short on time. But I can't choose one or the other, really.

 

[Aircross]

I liked VI the most.

"Final Fantasy 6 (or Final Fantasy 3 if you can't count) on the SNES was mentioned in the video, and was the last fully 2D Final Fantasy (going by the main series, disregarding all those handheld spin-offs). Despite or possibly because of the low-res art, the chibi-style characters managed to show a lot more life and expression than any of the frowny uncanny valley monstrosities of future games. The story, crucially, was easy to follow. None of that 'dream of the fayth' or 'smashing together past and future like pillowy breasts in a granite wonderbra' bullshit - just a rag-tag group of assorted heroes up against a demented villain who wants to blow up the world because he feels like it. But while straightforward, the plot was told in a grandiose, almost operatic fashion in a clean, well-designed world. I'd like to see more games have the balls to have an apocalypse half-way through." - Ben Croshaw

 

[Hikaru CF]

12 is my favourite because of the huge and diverse world that you can explore. It doesn't restrict you much at all in terms of exploration so it feels like an MMORPG. And because of the huge amount of side quests, you can play well over 100 hours and not even be close to finishing everything.

The battle system is also my favourite of the series because instead of annoying and repetitive random battles, monsters roam the map in real time, travel in packs and can potentially kick your ass if you aren't careful. I'd describe the game as Final fantasy meets Star wars (in terms of story) meets Oblivion (in terms of the game's structure) and I bloody love it.