Final Fantasy (FF) is one of the best JRPGs in the gaming market. With innovative gameplay, fun sidequests, deep story and great character developments, Final Fantasy has left such a legacy that few games manage to do so. Let’s take a look at the five best Final Fantasy games!
1. Final Fantasy X
The tenth installment of Final Fantasy franchise marks an important transition for Square Enix (Squaresoft back then): moving on to PlayStation 2 from PlayStation One. The PS2 with enhanced processing power meant that the jump would require more work than ever from Square. However, the company did a magnificent job, bringing to gamers a game to remember! It was so popular that Final Fantasy X became the first game to have a direct sequel (X-2 in 2003), and also the first to get a HD remaster version for later generation of consoles and PC.
The game follows the footsteps of Tidus and Yuna, the hero and heroine, to defeat the monster known as “Sin”. The romance between those two, the twist of the story and its deep meaning was brilliantly portrayed. The combat system was brilliant and innovative, as was the leveling system. Graphics was top-notch for its time. The musical score was brilliant, continuing the Final Fantasy tradition. It was also the first game to feature voice-acting, although it could be improved a lot, but was still good at the time. Such combination made an almost cinematic experience while playing the game. It deserves to be one of the best Final Fantasy games.
2. Final Fantasy VII
This is probably the first Final Fantasy for many of us. It is the game that brought the franchise outside of Japan, and gained a lot of fans. It was also he first Final Fantasy to take on the 3D render challenge when the PSOne was released, and succeeded. The gameplay was fun, the materia system for learning skills was unique and innovative at the time, and as usual, the story and characters are deep and well-written. Follow Cloud and company on his quest to overthrow the evil corporation Shinra, and prepare for a lot of twists along the way. The soundtrack, as always in every Final Fantasy game, is amazing. It is the best selling FF game to date.
3. Final Fantasy VI
The last of the SNES console era, Final Fantasy VI is considered by many as one of the best Final Fantasy games, if not the best. It is perhaps the Final Fantasy with the most playable characters, and despite that, everyone of them was well-written. The standard battle system combined with a deep story and incredible musical scores ensure that Final Fantasy VI will hold a special place in gamers’ hearts. It is usually considered the most well-written of all Final Fantasy games!
4. Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy IX, in a way, is a love letter to fans of the series as the last game on the PSOne era, and as the last single-digit FF game. Strangely enough, it is the closest to what a Final Fantasy game should be, as the creator Hironobu Sakaguchi put it. It combines the elements and settings of the earlier games of the franchise with the graphics of later installments, in a stylized chibi style. It tells a very compelling story of Zidane and his company on his quest to save the world, dealing with issues of identity at the same time. The music is as good as ever. It wrapped up nicely the PSOne era for Final Fantasy.
5. Final Fantasy VIII
Following the massive success of VII, Final Fantasy VIII carry a burden of continuing the success. It managed on many fronts, and did not live up to expectation in other aspects. It is the first Final Fantasy to focus on a love story between two protagonists: Squall and Rinoa. It also made some changes to the traditional gameplay that kind of polarized a lot of fans. It is the same with character development. However, where it succeeded, it did massively. The graphics at the time was second to none, and the musical score was considered to be the best in the series, especially the theme song “Eyes on me” and “Liberi Fatali”.
5 best Final Fantasy games: Square’s great legacy
Final Fantasy is the franchise that took Square out of bankruptcy, and became a giant in the gaming industry. It is certainly Square’s greatest legacy. The 5 games above are what we considered the best Final Fantasy games. What is your favorite of the series?