Poll: Best Final Fantasy Game.

[Scars Unseen]

For me it goes:

VI (by a large margin)
IX (Jim Sterling covers this game's good points pretty well)
VII (Overrated does not mean bad)
FFTactics (only the original... fuck the Advanced versions)
IV (Mostly nostalgia factor here to be honest)
VIII (Squall is a mope, but still more likable than Tidus)
V (Not bad, but I played it too late for the nostalgia factor to take hold)
Mystic Quest (bite me, the music was good)
X (Square's first foray into voice acting killed the game for me. Also, Tidus is a baby)
...I never finished any of the others, though I keep swearing I'll get around to finishing XII one of these days(at which point it will probably get pushed at least above X for having better voice acting).

 

[The_Scrivener]

I think FF6 is a great game for its time, but I have no idea why lots of people think its the best. Ultros is absurd and almost single-handledly makes the game worse than some of the other choices. The anachronism drives me nuts. For instance, when someone calls Sabin a "gym rat" or something to that effect? There are zero instances of gyms in that world. How is that polished? It doesn't make any sense.

 

[The_Scrivener]

I've actually been on a bit of a Final Fantasy binge lately. After finally getting around to playing VII, I went ahead and played VIII and IX as well. However... X is still my favorite.

VII is my favorite of the three I played recently. I think if the internet hadn't completely ruined the big emotional moment, and if the media that takes place after the end of the game hadn't ruined the somewhat ambiguous ending, it might have been my favorite of all time.

VIII ended up being a bit of a disappointment. Not BAD, just not really amazing or anything. The combat system is entirely too complicated, the main story is full of plot holes, and Ultimecia is a seriously weak main villain. That being said, the ending was actually really good.

IX was pretty damn good, and came in just behind VII in terms of how much I like it. Love the characters, love the story, and the combat/level up system might be my favorite in the series, aside from X.

So, while I've played a few more Final Fantasies than this, in terms of the ones I've beaten, it goes:

X
VII
IX
VIII

Now, I'm off to go play Final Fantasies I thru VI.

I don't think you can appreciate VII at full value if you spend any time with the crap media that came about after it. Keep in mind, most, if not all of that stuff came from Square-Enix and not Squaresoft which is a huge indication that it is homogenized, incoherent, uninspired trash. I consider FF7 as canon unto itself and ignore the financial afterthought nonsense that came years later.

I still play it every few years and the emotion of the Aeris scene isn't lost on me still, but I also played it well before the Internet got to it. (Or anything for that matter.)

 

[FFP2]

I can't only pick one...

In no particular order the best FF games IMO are: 6, 9 and 12

My favourite FF game on the other hand is hands down 10-2.

 

[mateushac]

Oh my god! I love you! You remembered Tactics! If only I could find a working PS controller where I live =(

 

[havoc33]

FFVI, FFVII and FFIX are the best in my book (with honorable mention to FFXII because of its amazing world and battle system. Vaan, and a somewhat weak story brings it down though).

I'm still surprised that many people think so highly of FFX. I mean, it was good, but nowhere near the quality of the other top games. It had Tidus, shitty voice acting across the board and an absolutely ridiculous looking villain in Seymour Guado. So no, that game is not top tier in my book.

 

[IrateDonnie]

The first FF was my favorite, only because it let you choose your party.Which added replayability for me trying to see how far I could make it with weird combinations of parties....trying to play with a party of four white mages ect...

 

[Aircross]

I've only played IV, VI, X, and XII.

VI is in my opinion the best out of the ones I've played so far.

The expressions from the sprites is 5000% more human than angsty polygons.

 

[RobfromtheGulag]

The poll is irrelevant. Which game has spawned 3+ spinoff games and 2 movies?

<a href=http://gamescreens.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Final_Fantasy_VII-7-Wallpaper.jpg>That's <a href=http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120229234736/trollopolis/images/c/c8/TrollFace.png>right.

 

[MightyRabbit]

For me, IX then VI. VI is probably the better game in terms of mechanics, but I still prefer IX for its world, music, characters and such.

 

[bananafishtoday]

VII is my favorite of the three I played recently. I think if the internet hadn't completely ruined the big emotional moment, and if the media that takes place after the end of the game hadn't ruined the somewhat ambiguous ending, it might have been my favorite of all time.

I think that the biggest blow the Internet Hype Machine (and subsequent media, building off this) dealt to VII was the flanderization of Cloud as whiny, weak, and angsty. As a convenient illustration, compare his FF7 art to his Dissidea art:


The standard, cliche RPG arc goes something like, "I thought I was a loser/nobody, but I'm actually the hero!" Ie, an average person who finds out they're not so average, either through birth or prophecy (or both.) Off the top of my head... FF4, 5, & MQ, both Lufias, Illusion of Gaia, and Xenogears start from this premise. What 7 did was to set up Cloud as someone who knew he was the hero, then reveal to him (and the player) that he's a loser. He thought he was an elite fighter, both by training and genetic engineering, but turns out he was an enlisted grunt who wasn't good enough to make the cut for SOLDIER, and the "engineering" was harmful tampering rather than beneficial improvement. He has his mental breakdown, but comes out of it sure that he can be the hero on his own merits. Rather than the angst ball he's caricatured as, his trajectory is more "incredibly cocky and sure of himself->existential crisis when he learns his self-image is based on bullshit->reconstitution as a legitimately heroic individual once he comes to terms with and accepts who he really is."

So yeah, it was a really radical departure from the standard formula at the time, but it's something that later media/hype has kinda lost sight of.

(On a similar note, I really hope 6 holds up well for you [and other new players in general.] There are so many incredibly innovative things in that game that it invented but which I worry new players might mistake as cliched because later games copied them so aggressively.)

 

[go-10]

my personal favorite is VII, followed by VI, then IV, and finally... I know I'll be hated for this but... XIII and XIII-2

the rest of the series changes based on the day II has always remained at the bottom and VIII right after it, I just never really understood what's so great about those 2 games; then again I was never to fond of emo

 

[Leemaster777]

*SNIP*

Ah, I agree completely. In fact, I made note of that while I was playing.

I was kinda struck by how Cloud's personality didn't seem to match how he was portrayed in some of the other media I've seen of him. Throughout the entire game, I never thought he came off as "emo" or anything to that effect. It's like you said, he came off more to me as just overly confident. And personally, I prefer this to how he's protrayed in other games. It just seems like they want him to be more like Squall. (Incidentally, I found Squall almost insufferable throughout VIII. It took me a GOOD long while to finally warm up to him... which makes me question how he got so many people, both in the game and fans, who seem to like him so much.)

 

[Gizmo1990]

FF 9 is the best. I love everything about 9. Music and characters being the two main reasons. But if you are only looking for one thing that makes 9 the best then here it is. It is the best because of this guy:

Spoiler

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

I included the FF games I thought would be most likely to be selected. And not to say that people can't have opinions, but anyone who would've chosen FF 1-3 is acting only on retro nostalgia or hasn't played FF in 20 years yet still keeps up with gaming culture enough to be on this forum.

I certainly hope you would not be suggesting that games from a series that has its roots in the NES era are only considered the best in the series based on nostalgia or ignorance of the other entries. If so, my gold cartridge of the original Legend of Zelda [small](one of the most groundbreaking and innovative games that was but one of many classic masterpieces that helped pave the way for games as we know them today)[/small] would like to have a few words with you.

Dude, next time, just admit you didn't have enough room for the whole series and replace the spinoff title you did put up there with "Other entry (explain)" or a similar option. People rarely click that option without clarifying what they mean in the thread so you'll still get a definitive answer and more posts to boot.

Anyway, my choice is, of course, Final Fantasy VI. For reasons that would just have me repeating what everyone else has already said.

 

[Myndnix]

My favourite is IX, always. I also enjoy I, IV, V, and VI. And Tactics.
And I know I'm not supposed to like XII, but I do.
VIII and XIII can fuck off and die.
The rest come somewhere in between.

 

[Drake666]

I'm going to cheat, my favourite for the PS1 would be a tie between 8 and 9, and for the ps2 it would have to be 10. Finally for the 360 it would have to be 11.


P.S i voted for 8.

What do you like about 8 ? (really curious, it's rare to see someone who likes it)

I mean, the idea of being a from a school of mercenary is pretty good... but the setting and weaponry are weird. I like the time compression thing at the end, but the rest is so out there. There's missiles and explosive... so why not use them against the sorceress ? Why does Seiffer turns evil :S (I mean, he was a douche, but come on!) ? The GF causes amnesia is also pretty lame. The weapon creation system is bad and the magic drawing is a time killer (or an obligation to play cards OR to transform creature into cards OR to transform items into magic which is weird... why not sell magic while you're there ?).

But, still, I love the fact that they show us playable flashback (I know they're supposed to be "time travel experiment" by Elise, but I prefer to call them flash back ), I love the GFs (their design and their powers) and I find the sorceress character interesting. However, those little good points are not enough to make a good game (I think). Did I miss something ?

 

[SweetShark]

Where the heck is FFXII?
This game is awesome!!!
I know this game have an awful story and the main hero is a b*tch, but the game have the most interest sub missions I have ever seen!!!

 

[Arqus_Zed]

Protagonist not a stoic putz
+ Vivi Ornitier
+ strong female characters
+ awesome pre-rendered CG backgrounds giving life to an amazing steampunk fantasy world
+ tons music with the memorability of a 16-bit soundtrack
+ classical yet incredibly deep and well-thought out storyline (with a minimum of plot holes for FF standards)
+ the most expansive chocobo mini-game of all
= Final Fantasy IX

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I'm torn between FF VII, FF X and FF VIII(yeah really).