Author Topic: The Official December 2007 Rank the Main FF Games Thread (Read 1920 times)

TVC15 · « **on:** December 12, 2007, 08:27:36 PM »

Lol we are fegs. This is the OFFICIAL NO BS RANKING of best to worst/blurst.

1. Final Fantasy 5 - Natch. To put it bluntly, it's the most playable of the games, with a fun and flexible gameplay system and an unobtrusive story. Some FFs might arguably have better gameplay systems than the job system as presented in FF5, but they also have obnoxious stories.

2. Final Fantasy 6 - The older, wiser TVC15 will tell you that an RPG's first ten hours are much more important than its last ten. By that rule of thumb, FF6 is very easily near the top of the FF ranking.

3. Final Fantasy 4 - And the younger, dumber, and substantially gayer TVC15 will try to sell you this one, mainly on nostalgia and its music. Sadly, those 2 aspects easily put it above all of the games listed below.

4. Final Fantasy 7 - Love it or hate it, it's difficult to deny it's the best of the PSX FFs. It still looks okay if you can get around the framerate. The story and translation are a complete mess, too, but, well, this is the best of the PSX ones, I'm not arguing it's actually that good.

5. Final Fantasy 9 - Would be the best of the PSX FFs, but it is held back by obnoxious loading times, a slower-feeling battle system, and at times its unfocused story (which at other times is one of its best aspects). This is another where the first ten or so hours are better than the remainder of the game, except even moreso in comparison to FF6. This is probably the most bipolar game in the series, with some of the highest highs and the mehest mehs.

6. Final Fantasy 12 - Similar to FF9, high highs and meh mehs; simultaneously featuring new and exciting ideas. . .many of which are completely boring. Square does get points for doing something new and somewhat interesting, even if they can't keep the ship aloft for all that long. Still better than the blatantly bad FFs.

7. Final Fantasy X - The first of the FFs that is more bad than good. Sadly, it has one of the more interesting battle systems in the series, but it's just not different enough to make up for one of the worst presentations in the series. No world map, not even the illusion of non-linearity, and terrible, terrible character after terrible, terrible character.

8. Final Fantasy 8 - Final Fantasy X, except with a dumber battle system (it is exploitable, but it feels as if it's broken, not like they intended for its issues to be there), a dumber story, and at least a few dumber characters.

9. Final Fantasy 11 - Ugh. Let's not even go here.

I've neglected including the first 3 games in the ranking, due to the difficulty of placing them. They are difficult to rank as anything more than curiosities in this day. If I had to rank them amongst themselves: 1 > 3 > 2

hyp · « **Reply #1 on:** December 12, 2007, 08:32:19 PM »

whaa? no mention of FFX-2? this thread isn't as cigarillo worthy as i thought.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #2 on:** December 12, 2007, 08:33:13 PM »

YOU LEFT OFF X-2

NES ranking: 1 > 3 > 2
SNES ranking: 4 > 5 > 6
PS ranking: 10-2 > 8 > 7 > 10 > 12 > 9 > 11
ARBITRARY FOREVER RANKING: 4 > 10-2 > 5 > 8 > 6 > 7 > 10 > 1 > 12 > 3 > 9 > 11 > 2

demi · « **Reply #3 on:** December 12, 2007, 08:35:18 PM »

4 > 9 > 5 > 3 > 1 > 10 > 12 > 6 > 7 > 8 > 2

The Sceneman · « **Reply #4 on:** December 12, 2007, 08:41:50 PM »

I havent played FF 1-6

Oh wait Ive got 3 on DS... its OK.

out of the ones Ive played:

7>9>8 (although really these 3 are on an equal tier imo) >12>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>10

TVC15 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 12, 2007, 08:43:09 PM »

FF X-2 doesn't count. That's just the PS2 port of Barbie's Horse Adventure.

The Sceneman · « **Reply #6 on:** December 12, 2007, 08:46:44 PM »

I watched my little brother play it for about 1/2 an hour. I couldnt really figure out what was going on.

Rman · « **Reply #7 on:** December 12, 2007, 08:52:34 PM »

For the one's I've played.

Best: FF6. It was also my first FF6. I was absorbed by this game as a kid.

Honorable Mentions:

FFX: Cheesy voice acting aside, it features my favorite battle system. The battles were fast paced, fun, and tension building at the same time. I also loved the Sphere Grid.

Sphere Grid

I gave up trying to get everything in that game. I was owned by the higher levels of the Monster Arena and by the ultimate weapons quest. Dodging lighting 100 times? C'mon, Square, that was just too cruel?

FF8: Loved Triple Triad. Loved the Dawson Creek style soap opera romance. I also loved the fact that you didn't need to level up if you chose.

FF7: This has aged terribly, but what an experience the first time. The story was nigh incomprehensible at times and the game was not difficult at all, but the production values were out of this world and the materia system was fun as well.

Van Cruncheon · « **Reply #8 on:** December 12, 2007, 09:30:08 PM »

5 >>>>>> 8 >>>>>>> 6 >>>>>> i don't care any more

TVC15 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 12, 2007, 09:31:29 PM »

Dude, 8 is fucking repugnant.

Van Cruncheon · « **Reply #10 on:** December 12, 2007, 09:36:07 PM »

8 is fuckin' awesome. i could junction shit for WEEKS and tweak guardian forces until my prostate ruptured. also BEST FF SOUNDTRACK TO MUCK WITH STATS BY

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #11 on:** December 12, 2007, 10:02:32 PM »

1. Final Fantasy VI: The only one that kept me the entire game, no hitches or complaints. Espers and characters own face in Vi. It's still the best.

2. Final Fantasy V: Best job system in the series hands down. Fucking awesome awesome awesome.

3. Final Fantasy IV: It definitely shows its age in comparison to the two above, but for the first SNES Final Fantasy, it was incredible. Shit story, but one of the best ALL AROUND Final Fantasy games.

4. Final Fantasy IX: the most impressive PS1 Final Fantasy and the one with the best design. Wsh they'd revisit this style again.

5. Final Fantasy X: Fuck the haters! X has the most addicting battle system outside of the first three I listed due to its insane speed and summons. The story was interesting, but it was dragged down by horrible characterization and bad voice acting. Also, art style was really meh. But when it comes down to gameplay, this game is fucking awesome.

6. Final Fantasy VII: Yeah, it's not fantastic or even all that great anymore, but back then it was. Don't kid yourself. It's nearly unplayable today, but it was an interesting step for the series. Has the best music of the series other than VI.

7. Final Fantasy VIII: Boring, but cool story. Honestly, I need to revisit the game. I haven't played it in like 5 years so I forget a lot about it.

8. Final Fantasy XII: The biggest disappointment in the entire fucking series. This had seriously the best art style, best direction, best voice acting, best atmosphere of them ALL, but it was RUINED by one of the shittiest battle systems I've EVER played. Gambits are absolutely distinguished mentally-challenged, the skill board or whatever its called isn't innovative or interesting for character growth, and it's just a flat out BORING game.

9. Final Fantasy XI: lulz.

10. Final Fantasy 3: Played the DS one. It's not bad for being a NES game, but, well, you know, it's an NES game. Job system was pretty cool. But it's just way too old.

11. Final Fantasy I: Great if you play when you're twenty years younger!

12. Final Fantasy II: Awful awful awful shit.

Himu · « **Reply #12 on:** December 12, 2007, 10:58:36 PM »

If we're going to do main series:

1. Final Fantasy 8 - Most interesting setting, the game had some of the best characters, the junction system gives players full control of how they want to customize their characters, it has THE best sidequests in an FF barring FFVI, Squall is a badass. It has some of the most AWESOME moments in Jappa rpg gaming too. Jumping from a high building and stealing a car and RAMMING IT INTO A GATE? Check. AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT? Check. SLUT SORCERESS? Check. BEST INTRO IN A GAME? Check. FUCKING MISSION THAT HAS A SCI-FI TAKE ON THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY? FUCKING CHECK. BEST ENDING IN THE SERIES? Check. BEST SOUNDTRACK? Check. I could go on and on. Best Final Fantasy.

2. Final Fantasy VI - Best characters in the series, full omg win situations, characters are all diverse, the second half of the game featured one of the first times Jappa rpgs experimented with non linear narratives, the esper system is awesome. While it lacks omg graphics, it still makes you feel that emotional pit you get when you want to play it. Full of classic moments: opera scene, world of ruin, Celes trying to kill herself, Celes killing Cid on purpose by feeding him bad fish;etc.

3. Final Fantasy X - Good cast, EXCELLENT battle system, good but extremely flawed character growth system. Shit sidequests though. I liked the story at the time.

4. Final Fantasy VII - This game has aged horribly but I still have a soft spot for it since it was my first game. As per usual for people who experienced this game when they were 12 years old, this was my favorite game for years on end until I got better sense. Anyways, it's a good game but not great. Still, the atmosphere is amazing, and I LOVE the steampunk world. Midgar is the best city in an rpg: FACT. Okay...maybe not better than Esthar but it's still awesome.

5. Final Fantasy IX - It's a good game but highly flawed. Chocobo Hot and Cold is my favorite mini game in the series but that could not save FFIX. Characters are highly under developed and the only good character is Vivi. It takes a minute after you inputted your commands via atb for them to happen; FFIX was fucking SLOW. The story was stupid, Kuja was the worst villain ever, and Necro or whatever is the worst final boss of all time. It is also too fanservice-y for my tastes. Great ending though.

6. Final Fantasy IV - good game but it has aged a lot. The moon sucked, the melodrama was RIDICULOUS. Good game.

7. Final Fantasy V - Good game, but I've never been particularly impressed with its game design. I love the battle system but I can't play FFV because I always feel FFT did it better. The story sucked, the characters sucked, the world sucked. THe only good thing about FFV is the difficulty and the job system.

8. Final Fantasy XII - the most disappointing FF ever.

9. Final Fantasy I - Good game but extremely weak compared to other first games in other notable jappa rpgs, especially Dragon Quests'.

10. Final Fantasy III - the game that started the whole job system thing. Interesting premise, boring game.

11. Final Fantasy XI - mmorpg. Not a Final Fantasy.

12. Final Fantasy II - Kawazu sucks.

Main series + side games:

1. FFX-2
2. FFT
3. FFVIII
4. FFVI
5. FFX
6. FFVII
7. FFIX
8. FFIV
9. FFV
10. FFXII
11. FFI
12. FFIII
13. FFXI
14. FFII

tiesto · « **Reply #13 on:** December 12, 2007, 11:35:55 PM »

TVC: Excellent list and with some great comments, I find myself agreeing nearly exactly with your sentiments for each game, although I think my overall order is a bit different.

FF5 is my personal favorite, love the job system, the quick pace of the gameplay, the soundtrack
FF4 for nostalgia's sake, awesome soundtrack
FF6 for the characterization, the first half is easily the best FF story, awesome music, unforgettable scenes
FF7 was pretty fun, and my hype for the game was through the roof. Gameplay was disappointingly easy, I hated 3 character parties, translation was atrocious, but had its share of unforgettable moments as well
FFX had some sweet graphics and a really great and refined battle systme, nice music as well and was evenly paced until near the very end
FFIX was just much too slow, although I did really like the cast and appreciate the "taking it back to the oldskool" concept
FFXII had some nice ideas, fantastic music, and some of the best towns in the series, but the overall game felt like absolutely nothing was happening... from the story that never really progressed, to the large, uneventful fields with the shittiest loot ever, to the hands-off battle system which only really shines during some of the toughest optional bosses
FFVIII ugh... couldn't get over the awful storyline, the Junction system was way too much micromanagement for my tastes. Awesome setting though
FFX2 is another ughhhh... game was a total embarassment to play, hated the mission structure and all of the lame minigames I was forced to play, the Dark Knight class is totally broken, balance is entirely off (fight cakewalk monsters then battle an impossible boss), fucks with my OCD since it's so easy to miss one little sub event so you can't get a 100% clear
FFXI fuck this, I hate MMOs, game pretty much was the reason my brother didn't get into med school

I really liked FF3 (more so the original Famicom than the DS), challenging, some nifty dungeons, the first edition of the job system, some cool chiptunes. FF1 was my favorite game as a kid and I have a lot of nostalgia for it, FF1 on the FF Origins PSX collection is fun to dick around in, FF2 is the pits, levelup system broken as shit, even though the story/characterization was innovative for its time.

bork · « **Reply #14 on:** December 13, 2007, 12:24:22 AM »

Final Fantasy 1 was kinda cool for a few minutes. I used to start new games and save immediately in the first town, pissing off my brother who had put hours into it; I never realized there was only one save slot in that game back then.

Vizzys · « **Reply #15 on:** December 13, 2007, 01:39:40 AM »

Of what Ive played:

FF4: I still think of the old school FF games this one is the best, but to be honest I havent played much of 5/6 so whateva

FF7: I liked it, a lot. Materia is my favorite so far probably, some say it makes the characters unoriginal by having non specific spells but I say story and dialog is where character should come in. Amazing music.

FF9: Good music, waaaaaay better then 8. Not a big fan of the character design but I see what they were going for. Old school in 3d, cool.

FF12: I liked the characters and the story was semi interesting but the gambits are pretty bad idea, I never "got" mist knacks too much and this is another ff I quit early. Great visuals, meh music.

FFX: I beat this one, I LOVE the battle system and I HATE the sphere grid. FUUCKKKKKK BLITZBALL.
When I first started this game I thought it would be all futuristic like zanarkand you know and was slightly disapointed to see the era change on me so to speak. Tidus was whiny sure but the story kept me interested until the end at least. Aeon charging breaks the battle system prety hard tho

As for the music i found it 99% forgettable, much like FF12. A shame.

FF3: Kind of boring and I lost interest, my opinion might be different if I played this on NES but that never happened.

FF8: Bored me to tears. I hate hate hate the aeons in this game DIE DIE DIE FF8 FUCK THIS GAME ARRGH. The music however was great.

FFXI: Tried the 30 day trial, its not horrible but I don't feel MMORPGS

FFX-X2: dress spheres bhdhnfjhgdharrghvrfdshgdnhjfdj

All In all Id rather play earthbound or shin megami tensei then the majority of Final fantasy games.

Mupepe · « **Reply #16 on:** December 13, 2007, 09:30:42 AM »

Quote from: Himuro on December 12, 2007, 10:58:36 PM

If we're going to do main series:

1. Final Fantasy 8 - Most interesting setting, the game had some of the best characters, the junction system gives players full control of how they want to customize their characters, it has THE best sidequests in an FF barring FFVI, Squall is a badass. It has some of the most AWESOME moments in Jappa rpg gaming too. Jumping from a high building and stealing a car and RAMMING IT INTO A GATE? Check. AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT? Check. SLUT SORCERESS? Check. BEST INTRO IN A GAME? Check. FUCKING MISSION THAT HAS A SCI-FI TAKE ON THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY? FUCKING CHECK. BEST ENDING IN THE SERIES? Check. BEST SOUNDTRACK? Check. I could go on and on. Best Final Fantasy.

Eduardo24 · « **Reply #17 on:** December 13, 2007, 10:47:41 AM »

I don´t understand why people say the game has aged terribly. It looks just like any game with pre-rendered backgrounds of that era. I have absolutely no problems replaying that game.

FF9: My favorite PSff. I really like they went back to the basics.

FF1 has actually aged pretty well for a NES game me thinks and I actually like that the classes stay the same during the whole game instead of changing them like the job system.

FF4: The best SNES FF in imo.

FF6: HATED the world of ruin.

FF5: Didn´t like this game much. I don´t like the job system, giving any game so many classes is just annoying. I would prefer a game with only 10 well balanced classes.

FF8: The system here is just broken and the story doesn´t make any sense.

Solo · « **Reply #18 on:** December 13, 2007, 02:20:44 PM »

I hate them all.

recursivelyenumerable · « **Reply #19 on:** December 14, 2007, 04:30:59 AM »

6 >= 5 >= 4 >> 1 > 9 >= 8 >= 7. Basically, I like all the SNES ones. The PS1 one ones have plenty of cool parts, but are overall not good games. I haven't played 10+ and haven't finished 2 or 3. I kinda suspect I'd like 10 and 12 better than 7-9 if only because of less loading.

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Author Topic: The Official December 2007 Rank the Main FF Games Thread (Read 1920 times)