1. white text on a textbox.
2. vision of non linearity in terms of exploration, giving the players options and rewarding them for doing so (ie. ffvi's world of ruin where side quests were entirely optional but important, and you could do them like at any time, or going to wutai in ff7, or finding shumi village in ff8)
3. Awesome kick ass summons
4. great music
5. a new and interesting customization system that makes the game feel completely different from the game before it. This gives FF versatility and variety that few rpg, or, game franchises period don't or never had. Hence why each FF discussion turns into "my ff is better than you ff" because the series is so goddamn personal with each entry.
6. biggs and wedge
7. moogles
8. chocobos
9. cid
10. a story that tackles semi-mature themes, albeit prematurely and some entirely too self indulgent. but for some reason, I love them. Final Fantasy games have this crazy sense of adventure that makes me smile. I don't know why. i just think back in FF8 where Squall takes Rinoa to lunatic pandora ON HIS HANDS AND FEET and then they go into space and she goes batshit and you have to SAVE HER FROM OUTER SPACE and I get all tingly inside. Or the opera scene in ff6. or climbing mount ordeals or going into the pits of hell in ff4. or cross dressing to save tifa in ff7. so on and so on. Ever since I've played FFVII the games have captured my imagination more than any other game series. there's so many memorable partrs in every single one of the games, which is why FF12 sucks, because it's a game about nothing.
