Poll: Your Favorite Final Fantasy after 7

[sXeth]

9 or 10.

9 is generally the one I'd pick, but I'd admit there's some definite horrible awkwardness to the mechanics at times. From the emphasis on stealing (granted, the protagonist is a thief class) to keep up without super-grinding, and a general lock on party composition that often forces you into dodgy setups (Particularly the Four Elemental Fiends part).

10, well yeah, Tidus is annoying. And Blitzball is a cheesy at best gimmick. But beyond those surface flaws its a more solid game.

8 is a pile of jank that feels like you're following the boring party rather then the interesting one, and reliant on a lot of stuff buried in menus while the tutorial tells you the worst possible way to play. 7 is its own pile of awful writing and mediocre gameplay (when it does descend into a barrage of terrible minigames).

Never jumped too much into the real time ones. The bits I played were the general mess I'd expect of trying to mix a turn based tactical game into some sort of real time ARPG. Lots of fiddling with AI settings and watching the game play itself as much or more then you.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

X. It had its flaws, but so does every game on this list. It had lots of fun characters and a battle system that I feel hasn't been exceeded since then. Also the battle song sounds a bit like a sea shanty to me, so more win there. If it had a cutscene skip option for certain scenes and revamped the Aeon portion of the final battle to be more involved, I think it would be much better regarded.

Spira is one of the only gaming worlds I've ever really wanted to delve further into and learn more about, such as the history of the arch-summoner Yu Yevon who created the 'ultimate Aeon' through his sacrifice, only for it to become the eternal terror of all humanity. At the same time he 'preserved' his doomed homeland in a dream state where it could actually continue to grow on its own and give rise to alternate versions of its real human population (Tidus being an altered 'copy' of Shuyin, and a much nicer, more fun guy as a result). Lots of interesting concepts here that we didn't get to see fully fleshed out.

Here's a video I found recently examining the crucial differences that made one extremely linear Final Fantasy game well-regarded, and the other one not so much:

Spoiler

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

The mythical version of SaGa Frontier that actually got finished.

Hell, most days I'd take the SaGa Frontier that we actually got. Though Cube Watermelon's playthrough of FF9 makes me think I should pop it in one of these days.

 

[dscross]

X. It had its flaws, but so does every game on this list.

I didn't mind 10, but it's still one of my least favourites in the series next to 12 and 3 (I still haven't played 2, but I imagine that's not great either). 10 feels much too linear for a FF for me most of the way through. One of things I liked most about the final fantasy series is the sense/feeling of exploration. 10 and 12 didn't really feel like that in the same way. It just felt like corridor, cutscene, corridor, cutscene up until nearer the backend of the game. I think a lot of people like 10 if it was the one that introduced them to the series, which seems to be the case with a lot of PS2 owners who are a good few years younger than me. I did like it though, in general. It was alright and I didn't mind the story really - it's just not as good as the majority of what came before it or 15. 15 is definitely way better than 10, gameplay wise, imo.

Saying all that, I played 10 quite recently, so I don't know if that changes my perspective slightly.

 

[Tanis]

FF8:
Yes, I know it's objectively not the best...but a LOT of nostalgic baggage comes with that game for me.

I also think FF10-2 doesn't get near enough love for how much fun to PLAY.
One of the BEST implementations of the 'job system' in any series.

 

[Casual Shinji]

10 probably has my favourite combat of any turn-based combat game. You can switch out any team member at any time without losing a turn, there's a bar indicating the order of turns for both your team and the enemies, so it doesn't feel like you're blindly strategizing, and barring two, your team is comprised of fighters with very specific abilities that match up very well with most enemies. You hear that Persona 5?

The characters and setting are fun, too, if you don't take them too seriously. I actually like how the setting makes you feel like you're on a tropical vacation.

I like 9 for its witty and charming characters, and picturesque world, but I don't care much for the way it does turn-based combat, so I never got very far into that one. I still kind of want to though.

 

[Maximum Bert]

I never finished XIII-2 (right at the end) or played XIII-3 so not really going to comment on those except that the reason I stopped playing XIII-2 despite being so close to completion was I couldnt take the boredom anymore and did not want to force myself to play another second. Also never played XI as my comp would not run it at the time and Type 0 is one I also havent got around to.

If we are including VII as we seem to be then that would be my favourite by a mile as its still my favourite game ever made and is the game I have replayed more than any other (at least games of length). I just love the world, characters, materia system and story so much in that game.

If we are not including VII then X would be the next easy bet for much the same reasons except replace materia with battle system as I still feel it has the best battle system in the series when you are actually fighting (VII has the best pre battle system imo).

VIII I like but the card system kinda puts me off playing it again as getting all those cards was a major pain and I feel it was tied to heavily to the other game systems making it less easy to ignore.

IX I also liked but jeez that battle system is sooo slow and imprecise and after disc 3 it always felt like a major slog so the few times I have replayed it I always stop there.

XIII and XV I also got some fun out of but XIII took way to long to get going and had some incredibly annoying characters. Doesnt help the battle system is near auto pilot until you start doing the harder hunts which happens after you finish the damn story. XV was just unfinished the story was very weak as well and while the battle systems were fun in a way its also quite weak imo. I wish they had focused more on story and not pointless busywork.

XIV I have played a lot and enjoyed and still play today although im out atm but honestly if I did not have such a good time with the people I play with I would have dropped it entirely by now. Still my favourite MMO I have ever played though.

XII I hate after II its my least favourite in the series to such an extent I struggle to find anything I like about the game except the final hunts.

 

[Viking]

I actually think 8 was the best, much more interesting mechanics than 7.

 

[Paragon Fury]

It's a three way tie between the XIII series, XV and FFXIV:ARR for me.

XIII series was fun, had a legitimately good villain even if he did look a little fruity and the combat system was fun.

XV is a goddamn masterpiece and worth the wait.

XIV:ARR is an excellent MMO and hell, meaty enough that it could be a standalone non-MP FF game.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

I never finished XIII-2 (right at the end) or played XIII-3 so not really going to comment on those except that the reason I stopped playing XIII-2 despite being so close to completion was I couldnt take the boredom anymore and did not want to force myself to play another second. Also never played XI as my comp would not run it at the time and Type 0 is one I also havent got around to.

If we are including VII as we seem to be then that would be my favourite by a mile as its still my favourite game ever made and is the game I have replayed more than any other (at least games of length). I just love the world, characters, materia system and story so much in that game.

If we are not including VII then X would be the next easy bet for much the same reasons except replace materia with battle system as I still feel it has the best battle system in the series when you are actually fighting (VII has the best pre battle system imo).

VIII I like but the card system kinda puts me off playing it again as getting all those cards was a major pain and I feel it was tied to heavily to the other game systems making it less easy to ignore.

IX I also liked but jeez that battle system is sooo slow and imprecise and after disc 3 it always felt like a major slog so the few times I have replayed it I always stop there.

XIII and XV I also got some fun out of but XIII took way to long to get going and had some incredibly annoying characters. Doesnt help the battle system is near auto pilot until you start doing the harder hunts which happens after you finish the damn story. XV was just unfinished the story was very weak as well and while the battle systems were fun in a way its also quite weak imo. I wish they had focused more on story and not pointless busywork.

XIV I have played a lot and enjoyed and still play today although im out atm but honestly if I did not have such a good time with the people I play with I would have dropped it entirely by now. Still my favourite MMO I have ever played though.

XII I hate after II its my least favourite in the series to such an extent I struggle to find anything I like about the game except the final hunts.

Why do you hate FF 12 so I can argue with you that its not a bad game.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

Final Fantasy 10 without a shadow of a doubt. I loved blitzball. I loved the monster arena challenges. I loved the dark summons and trying to beat them normally before giving up and yojimbo'ing their asses. The scenery was colourful and varied and the characters were quirky.

It's really the last good final fantasy game i have played...what followed is unremarkable and tedious

 

[Karthesios]

I say 10, not necessarily because I thought it was the best but it was one both my dad and I played through together when it first came out. After that, he started a new game and proceeded to overhaul the sphere grid and max everyone out over the next 260 hours of gameplay. It was a bonding experience for me.

 

[Captain Marvelous_v1legacy]

XV is the only one I've beaten, so.... As much as I'd like to play and beat the other games, I don't exactly have 600+ hours to spare. I have considered FFX, though.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

Final Fantasy VIII.

It's the only Final Fantasy that I have any in-depth experience with and I honestly really enjoy the thing.

 

[Pecola]

IX, easily. Strange thing in my house growing up, some games my siblings and I just skipped without talking about it.

Played everything before and X and XII, didn't play IX until just a few years ago. One of the greatest in the series, one of the best game endings ever IMO.