Final Fantasy: My top 15!

Final Fantasy is a JRPG series close to many hearts. While it's difficult to call any of the main line games bad; it isn't difficult to call them bad in comparison to other games in the series. The best and worse games in the series are pretty much universally agreed upon at this point. The main arguments lay in the middle of the road games. These games are still solid JRPG's but didn't quite hit all the targets.

I have played all the games in the series and even some games that were not actually Final Fantasy titles but given that name when brought over to the US. Out of those 15 mainline games only 2 really required me to force myself to finish them and as you can tell I'm including the two MMO's. I am not including any sequels or off shoots in this list either. This list reflects the original version of the game in most cases.

My personal top 15 mainline Final Fantasy titles!

15) Final Fantasy 13 - This game is just one mess after another. Bland design, unlikable characters and a story so convoluted they had to include an encyclopedia in game to make sense of this drivel.

14) Final Fantasy 8 - Like #15 I had to force my way through this average at best story with nonsensical plot points all the while fighting the combat system more than the monsters. At least it had a fun card game to play...

13) Final Fantasy 2 - This game had a lot of firsts for the series, a lot of which will be come main stays. While sporting a decent story it's incredibly unbalanced game play and horrific leveling system made this game a lesson in how NOT to make an Final Fantasy game.

12) Final Fantasy 5 - I'm sorry, I know this game seems to be held in high regard but I can't fall in line. The graphics and story were a step down from 4 it's prequel and I personally couldn't stand the job system. Add a massive imbalance to the game that made only Ninja and Summoner useful in the end game and you got a game that probably would of been best left in the past as it never came out in the US (till much later) being passed over in favor of 6.

11) Final Fantasy 14 - I played both versions of this game and while I enjoyed the story mostly the spam based combat system and armor ratings ultimately left a bad taste. This game is also very raid based and grindy. While I enjoy the fact it doesn't hand anything to you it does it in a very unfun way. I miss my character more than I miss the game itself.

10) Final Fantasy 3 - This game never came to the US until the Nintendo DS and I never got to really finish it as my copy would crash at certain points. I admit I had to drop this one but I had to be fair and judging on how far I got in the game I rather enjoyed most of it. The lack of phoenix downs was rough and again not a fan of the job system but the story was decent and having multiple layers to the world lent itself well to world building.

9) Final Fantasy 10 - This is the first game to take away the over world map and replace it with areas to explore. It also featured voice acting for the first time. The characters were mostly likable for the most part. This game is largely average across the board. Despite it's many firsts it didn't really push the envelope much but at least it had some decent twists.

8) Final Fantasy 15 - Final Fantasy: Road Trip is the best way to describe this game. While I didn't like all the main characters per se I did enjoy their interactions. The story is pretty standard fare and game play is mostly based of the Kingdom Hearts games but can be fun and challenging. This game is the first in the series that isn't an MMO to get updates and expansions.

7) Final Fantasy 1 - The grand daddy of them all! This was the game that was going to make or break Squaresoft back in the day. While lacking a lot of the series usual tropes it did push the boundaries of what a NES JRPG could be. Solid graphics, great music and a rudimentary but good storyline cemented the series as a staple of gaming.

6) Final Fantasy 12 - This game had a strong Star Wars vibe to me. It's world seems to be a mix of medieval, steampunk, and technology blended into one exotic destination. I personally liked the characters overall and the story was one of the better ones in the series. Never did get that spear...

5) Final Fantasy 11 - I know this might be  bit controversial but hear me out. This game was basically a marvel of engineering. The large expansive worlds populated with many places to explore. A solid story filled with awesome characters, imaginative areas and tough as nails game play wrapped in a fully realized Final Fantasy style world with a great battle system that took skill instead of button mashing in order like 14. Also it's the first Final Fantasy that allows human interaction with out actually interacting! It was a world that you could care about and those along side you or... you can run into less than fun people too. Overall it was a world within a world and even though I know I can never go back I'll never stop missing it.

4) Final Fantasy 7 - Again I expect some backlash over this but again hear me out. This game is very good, memorable characters, one of the most iconic scenes in all of gaming, and great game play. Everything else however... Not so much. The story is hampered by poor translation, poor graphics and the first game to introduce the horrible 3 party system that most rpg's jumped on. If platinum trophy's existed back then I'd have one but it has aged poorly in lots of respects. The remake looks amazing and I hope it does this game justice.

3) Final Fantasy 9 - After the abysmal FF8 this game was exactly what the doctor ordered. A Fantastic story in a well developed fantasy setting, 4 player parties and the best graphics to date. Still one of the best out there.

2) Final Fantasy 4 - This was a tough call for me. FF4 is a fantastic title loaded with great characters, great scripting and great pacing. The graphics and music in this title were well crafted and executed. A 5 player combat system that was fairly well balanced with an excellent story though they never did explain how Yang and Cid survived.

1) Final Fantasy 6 - This could have went either way with FF4. In the end though I think I have to give the nod to 6. A large roster of characters all with their own compelling back stories and theme songs. The introduction of limit breaks and a massive story and killer music and sound. Like FF7 it too has it's own fair share of iconic scenes and hidden characters. The overall story line is dramatic while still maintaining a bit of humor from time to time. FF6 is easily the overall best Final Fantasy game and arguably the best JRPG of that era. After they finish remaking 7 this should be the next game on the list. Truly a masterpiece even if the final villain's effectiveness is questionable. 

There you have it! My own personal best of Final Fantasy list. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know! If you like this and can't wait for next weeks Dragon Quest version of this list and my other content feel free to donate points to the cause, like, comment, and remind!

Thank you!

Everything Rob