Update 2: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has been added to the list.
Updated: Final Fantasy XVI has been placed in this article.
As mentioned in my post yesterday there is a limit on how long a post can be, at least on Substack so here I am for the second half of the list. Without wasting any time, let’s get into it.
10: Final Fantasy XV
This comes with the caveat that I have never gotten around to playing the Royal Edition of the game or the DLC episodes which I understand vastly improve the experience. I have however seen the Kingsglaive movie and the anime. It's clear when you play the game that it went through development hell. The game is pretty, the music is great, and the 4-way bromance is just executed perfectly. Prompto taking pictures and showing them when you rest at camp is genius. I like how there are even some pictures that could easily become memes. However, the most memorable thing of all time has to be how Ignis will announce that he has come up with a new recipe mid-battle. Thanks, Iggy but can you let me stab this behemoth to death first? The game however has some rough patches and technical issues which aren’t typically seen in a Final Fantasy game. It took many years to come out and even though it’s reductive to say the original vision was Final Fantasy Versus XIII a dark, anti-hero alternative to Final Fantasy XIII. In the end, XV felt like 2 different games stitched together. The first half was open world and the story faded into the background. The second half was linear and the story ramped up. Ardyn the antagonist was incredibly complex by the end and wonderfully delivered. To understand the full story, you had to watch the movie and the anime, something that was a big mistake but seemingly was their way of getting around the development issues. Lunafreya just disappeared and became a damsel in distress character, unfortunately. The battle system was good but a little simplistic. Magic was a bit weird as it was cast via items and the Summon monsters appeared randomly, I think I saw all but one of them in my playthrough. All in all the final product wasn’t bad, it just could have been way more special and genuinely one of the better games in the series. Special shoutout to the cup noodles promotional mission which is just ridiculous but so good and I love being able to listen to many of the series soundtracks in the car whilst on your relaxing road trip.
9: Final Fantasy VI
This game for me sort of has the same problem as Final Fantasy XV. The first half of the game is amazing and the story develops and evolves so much. Spoilers ahead. The second half lets it down for me. I think it was incredibly brave of them to let the villain win halfway through the game and I love that twist but the second half of the game is just finding your party members who are spread all over the world before reuniting and fighting him again. Despite this issue, the game is pretty good overall.
8: Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV introduced us to the legendary Dark Knight, Paladin and Dragoon jobs and they are all executed brilliantly in this game. Spoiler alert. Cecil being the Dark Knight you play as who reforms and becomes a Paladin after seeing the evil within the King’s actions. Kain his best friend becomes his rival because of a love triangle situation. Rydia is a child whose home is destroyed by Cecil in the early moments of the game and goes through amazing character development throughout. Tellah has a complicated and painful past. Heck with time I even love Palom and Porom. The story is incredibly dark throughout, definitely ahead of the times. The music is pretty great too considering what limited hardware they were working with. What prevents this from being higher up on the list is that I don’t find the final act of the game particularly interesting. Furthermore, quite a few of the characters “die” but almost all of them are alive by the end which undermines their sacrifices. It is a game I love though despite its flaws and without a doubt my favourite of the pixelated games. I have completed The After Years sequel but it was so long ago that I don’t remember it well enough to put it on the list although I understand it isn’t well received.
7: Final Fantasy XIV
And so we have arrived at our top 5 games in the series. I have played this game till the end of Stormblood so this could potentially change. I am a sci-fi person over medieval but I find this game incredibly relaxing. I feel like it’s the perfect game to play whilst listening to some music or a podcast. The base game does take too long to get through and it isn’t overly interesting but it does get much better after that. The community is lovely for the most part and supportive. The most memorable moment for me is when I did a dungeon with some people who seemed to know each other and had done the dungeon before. The dungeon was new to me and I didn’t know a big story moment was going to happen after we finished. I play a Lalafell which is a cute gnome-like race and after we defeated the boss, the rest of the party petted my character adorably, all gave me commendations, thanked me for playing and said they hoped I enjoyed the upcoming story scene. I mostly play it single-player. It respects my time, I can dip in and out of it happily and go for months without playing it as a break if I need to. The story is pretty good so far and the gameplay has a nice rhythm to it which has a nice balance of being simplistic enough to get into it but layers of depth for those who are looking for something more. I have done plenty of hours in this game despite on paper it not being something I would be into.
6: Final Fantasy XVI
I am someone who typically prefers Sci-Fi over Medieval style Fantasy and yet here it is 5th on my list. I genuinely would not be surprised if this game is other people’s favourite game from the series. I absolutely love Clive and he may be my favourite protagonist of the series, the story is beautiful with amazing voice acting and the Eikon battles are genuinely some of the best boss battles I have ever played. They are incredibly intense and remind me of PS2 God of War games and Shadow of the Colossus but on a grander scale. What stops this game from being higher up on the list for me is I find a lot of the supporting cast aren’t fleshed out enough, a lot of the villains are great but the overarching villain in Ultima I find is a little lacklustre. I really enjoy the combat system however I feel that after a certain point, the combat feels repetitive and lacks strategy. The side missions are delivered badly even if the writing in missions is decent. I also have very mixed feelings on the soundtrack, I think it has some great pieces of music but I also find a lot of it is forgettable. Overall I love this game and I am impressed with what has been achieved.
5: Final Fantasy VII
Possibly a controversial choice as I know this game put Final Fantasy on the map at least in modern times. It’s won plenty of awards and accolades over the years including for its amazing soundtrack. It’s a special game to me that’s why it is so high up on the list. The story is amazing and I love the art direction despite the blocky characters. I guess the gameplay has aged slightly but not enough to be a problem. The story is incredibly deep but where this game lets itself down for me is outside of the 4 main characters (Cloud, Aerith, Tifa and Sephiroth), I feel like the cast just blends in the background to me outside of their origin stories and introductions. There is plenty of interesting side content too, such as fighting the weapons or finding some of the hidden summons. I love this game and I love what it did for gaming. It showed that deep stories are possible in video games, stories that can be better than other forms of media. Sephiroth is a fantastic antagonist who is just unrelenting. Cloud goes through plenty of personal traumas and character growth. Tifa is the wise one who keeps him grounded and without being specific Aerith goes through plenty of hardships too. In the Greatest Video Games Hall of Fame, this game has to go in there. There may be other games in the series I prefer but it’s hard to deny the cultural impact this game had and continues to have.
4: Final Fantasy VIII
I will die on a hill possibly on my own saying that Final Fantasy VIII is better than VII but I truly believe that. I think this game is criminally underrated. Spoilers ahead. I am generally not a fan of love stories as I feel like they too often tread the same path. Yet despite this, I think one of the better games of the series is one featuring two people hugging as part of the logo. I like how the feminine lead for once is the confident one, she’s the one who approaches Squall and makes her feelings clear. People often find Squall to be angsty but I sympathise with him. He is a teenager who has been horribly disfigured by his rival and is expected to be an effective leader throughout the game. He hasn’t had it easy, possibly even facing some body image issues after the scarring and yet is expected to be highly responsible and take care of his team. I think his grumpy demeanour as a result is completely understandable, he wants to push everyone away to prevent himself from being attached which he worries will lead to him making mistakes. However, it’s only when he realises how much he cares for Rinoa he develops as a character massively and becomes an even greater leader. I will admit that the last act of the game does get a little weird but it isn’t bad, quite the opposite, just weaker than the earlier parts of the game. The cutscenes are amazing in this game, the Battle of the Gardens is one of the most amazing action sequences of the series. It’s hard to talk about this game without discussing the Junction system but I actually kind of like it. It’s incredibly flexible, I guess too flexible and it’s not explained well in the game but for those that don’t understand it, I find auto junction works well for the most part. It’s different sure, but that doesn’t automatically translate to it being bad. I think this is Nobuou Uematsu’s greatest work, especially within the series. Liberai Fatali, Find Your Way, The Landing, Force Your Way, The Man with the Machine Gun, Martial Law, Fisherman’s Horizon and Maybe I’m a Lion are just some of the lovely tracks he and his team created. I would argue that most of the soundtrack is quite lovely. The characters all have quite distinct personalities too and are supportive of one another. Zell is incredibly loyal. Quistis is tough but fair and I guess stoic but occasionally vulnerable. Selphie is the adorable little sister-type character. Edea I will admit is a one-note villain in the series but her character design is flawless mostly because of her headdress. Seifer is the more interesting antagonist who just wishes people would believe in him like they do Squall and he has his own agenda. There are great FMV sequences and pre-rendered backgrounds throughout and the summons have some of the best animations in the series, certainly a marked improvement from Final Fantasy VII. Even as I type this up, it makes me want to play it again.
3: Final Fantasy X
I genuinely believe this is one of the greatest stories ever made. Sure Tidus is a bit whiny but I think that’s more of an issue with delivery rather than the reasons for why he is upset. This game for the longest time was my favourite game ever, not just from Final Fantasy. That was until the next game knocked it off the top spot. I think the music is fantastic throughout, To Zanarkand just perfectly encapsulates the sadness that will be in the story throughout. Via Purifico is a somewhat underrated piano piece too. The most dramatic moments are perfectly accented with equally intense music. I love the main cast. Kimahri is throw away sure but Tidus is a great fish out of water character. Yuna is someone who comes across as weak initially after all she needs protection but she can call these huge monsters into battle. She also has such a strong moral compass that she will do anything to make sure it fits within her beliefs and ethics even if it goes against her religion. Rikku is the adorable little sister character again much like Selphie and I love how they tried to tackle the issues of racism through her. Wakka for example dislikes all Al Bhed people, he thinks they are all heathens, he doesn’t try to understand them yet ironically he gets on with Rikku throughout even though he doesn’t know what she is. Wakka’s journey is special, he is the older brother character but is forced to face his prejudices head on and he matures and accepts he was wrong in such a way that few people are willing to do. Lulu initially is made to seem like the feisty character but in reality, she is one of the more wise ones but is just reserved. Finally, Auron is gruff but incredibly wise and does whatever he can to make the world a better place. The true turn-based gameplay is great with a bar on the side to show you the order of everyone’s attacks so you can strategise effectively. The villain is no Sephiroth but I still really like Seymour. His voice actor delivered the lines in an incredibly menacing way. Just like Final Fantasy VII, it’s hard to deny the impact of this game on the gaming medium. Aside from the excellent story and gameplay, the Sphere Grid is one of the earlier examples of skill trees in video games. Chocobo races and dodging lightning bolts can go to hell.
2: Final Fantasy VII Remake
And so here we are at the number 1 spot. I will generally play a remake but love seeing new games. This game manages to expertly mix the old and new. I love how fleshed out all the characters are from the original game with terrific voice acting throughout. It made me feel emotional in places where I would typically just brush it off and not think twice. I both understand and am in awe of how much they expanded the Midgar section of the original game and I didn’t think there were any pacing issues. The music is expertly remixed too. The battle system is intense but strategic and it’s clear the dream of the movie Advent Children has finally been realised. I finished it twice within a year and again when Integrade came out. I don’t typically replay games that frequently. It takes everything I love about Final Fantasy VII and just kicks it up a massive level. I am impressed and I cannot wait to play the next 2 games. Rebirth can’t come soon enough. You have my faith Square Enix and I currently don’t believe you will let me down.
1: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The update is, we have a new number 1. I am in some ways very surprised by this being the new top dog for me. I am not an open-world guy by any means and I am a gamer who is into stories. Act 2 of the original game is arguably the weakest part of the story because it’s the set-up to the final act, it’s the investigation to clarify the mysteries and answer the questions the player has and that flows into this game too. Rebirth is just huge and honestly it was initially off-putting to me but I just found all the side activities fun. To the point, I almost did everything and put in around 92 hours. I feel like this game was influenced a little by Witcher 3 because the side stories were genuinely deep and meaningful. Even Queens Blood has a plot if you look for it. I also believe that the characterisation was really elevated for Rebirth and I could probably do an essay breaking down why I love each of the main characters. Perhaps my rating is influenced a little by recency bias but at the time of writing, I believe arguably this is the best game Square has ever done and in turn, it’s my favourite game of all time. Perhaps with time, this will change but even then I feel like it will only switch positions with Remake and no more.
There is my list, it took me long enough to write it and I am sure it has taken you long enough to read it. I hope you enjoyed and let me know what your order will be in the comments below. In the meantime, I am on counting down to the release of Final Fantasy XVI, especially after playing the impressive demo. Let me know what you thought in the comments below and if you have a moment, please consider following us on here and Twitter/Mastodon.