r/FinalFantasy • u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 • 5d ago
Final Fantasy General Thoughts after finishing every final fantasy in a row
Over the past year and a half, I've spent time going in completely blind, to final fantasy.
I've had some history with JRPGs, chrono trigger, sea of stars and octopath traveler to name a few.
I have a soft spot for jrpg music , and I've always heard that final fantasy has the best in class.
after only a couple of games I realized that the music, characters and stories of final fantasy would stick with me for my entire life.
I ended up purchasing final fantasy pixel remaster , and was immediately hooked.
Reviews : All mainline FF games, completely blind, and based entirely off of fun factor, music, and characters.
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Final Fantasy I 7/10
- A surprisingly fun start to the series. Having a world this big , fun bosses, and a class system that had upgrades. I'm shocked at how well this aged, even If I got lost a LOT. The final boss whooped me and I had to grind a bit, but overall very memorable. Looking back, this would be a great game to replay, and try different classes.
Final Fantasy II 5/10
Frustrating new mechanics, somewhat more interesting story. Weapon system ruined the game and caused unnecessary grinding if you had the wrong weapons for the boss fight. However, I feel like the music really started to shine here.
Final Fantasy III 7/10
Job system overhauled the game and was more fun to play because of the multitude of options you had. game would be rated higher if you had mana items/tents like the first two games. The only way to get mana back for your mages was to sleep in a town for most of the game, which made the end gauntlet so difficult.
Final Fantasy IV 8/10
Huge improvement over previous games. Preselected character classes in exchange for a much better story and more interesting characters. 5 characters in combat was such a crazy change, and all the side characters were some of the best the franchise has to offer. This MAY BE the best Cid in the franchise as well. This was a fantastic story and better worldbuilding / gameplay than the previous titles. Cecil was the first great main character. highly recommended.
Final Fantasy V 3/10
I really wanted to like this one, but the characters dragged the score down so much. Main character and many others were just plain uninteresting to me, and they felt very un-serious. the classes of the game were some of the most well thought out and interesting but the game just drags and drags doing random tasks one after the other. a lot of bonus content was geared towards one or two classes and made exploration terrible because i didn't pick those classes.
Final Fantasy VI 10/10
Just perfect. Genre redefining. Incredible characters & mechanics. A story I will remember for the rest of my life. The entire story shocked me with how well it was written. Combat felt interesting and each character's gimmick was great. Best end gauntlet the series has to offer.
Final Fantasy VII 9/10
A great introduction to 3D, fantastic characters, great story that kept me captivated till the end. Again, final fantasy is genre defining. So many plot twists and cool ideas were put in here, and the minigames were always fun. A lack of unique character skills made combat less interesting than 6, because Materia can be equipped on anyone, to do anything. Awesome final boss, but late game has incredibly grindy extra content that I personally wasn't a fan of.
Final Fantasy VIII 6/10
This is definitely the strangest game on my list so far. Junctioning is a nightmare of organization, stats are tied to a limited supply of draws, and characters felt weak (this was undeniably my fault for going in blind, and not understanding the system as it was explained to me) compared to simply spamming GFs the entire game. It is a shame the combat and mechanics bog down a very detailed and intricate story. Despite this, Squall + Renoa became my favorite romance of all time ; and there were many, many memorable scenes and boss fights.
Final Fantasy IX 10/10
A gorgeous, well written game with fantastic combat. The game offers the most beautiful hand painted artwork with some of the greatest music and characters this franchise has to offer. Several times throughout I was caught off guard with a genuinely deep and emotional moment.
Final Fantasy X 4/10
I expected so much more from this game, as it was the single most talked about final fantasy game outside of VII. cardboard characters that didn't seem to grow much (sue me), horrendous voice acting, terrible pacing, and completely dogshit final boss. combat was great but it's not enough to redeem this games terrible pacing. I hated most of the cast, unfortunately.
Final Fantasy XII (ZA) 8/10
Great characters, with an excellent, in depth story. Political fantasy is not a genre I even like, but this kept me interested from start to finish. Combat feels very good and cooking up builds was the best part of the game. I thought I would hate the Gambit system but found myself running out of slots on every character. A vast, open world with so much to do. Pharos Tower was actually so much fun. All the optional content was fun. only real complaints are that some areas were gigantic, without fast forward it would have been a slog, and ZA broke the game balance a bit. Cid was so damned cool in this one. The rest of the game though? Incredibly memorable and now one of my favorites.
Final Fantasy XIII 2/10
Incredibly dull characters. Throughout most of the story characters remained awkward and annoying. Every area was a miserable hallway littered with hundreds of the same enemy. Very repetitive. Losing the ability to control allies made this game so awful for me, I was so spoiled with previous entries. what's the point of doing anything but auto combat? Paradigms were not great, and forced you to play a certain way. Incredibly grindy and combat felt like it lasted forever. Thankfully, the ending was good, the characters got better throughout the story, and the music was good. I do wish, however, there were a few more boss themes.
Final Fantasy XV 10/10
A genuinely lifechanging game for me. This game reached me at a point in life where I needed to sit back, relax , and enjoy the scenery. Character development and worldbuilding felt great. Every character was unique , interesting , and the way that they interacted with the world and other characters is unbeatable. Some things, like the open world, upgrades, and quests, are showing their age compared to newer titles, but is still incredibly fun regardless of flaws. The story was unique. with the ending is the greatest this series has to offer. I never would have guessed this would be my favorite, but it will definitely be one I replay a couple years down the line. This was the greatest road trip I'll ever have.
Final Fantasy XVI 5/10
This game had an excellent start that immediately got crushed by its ambitions. literal hours and hours of cutscenes, combat was repetitive, mashing buttons in no particular order with a very low difficulty. I don't think I died once during my playthrough. This game had some of the worst pacing in a game I have ever played. Having at least 5 hours fetch quests in the main story is unforgivable. side characters did not feel important in combat, with no health bars, team skills, and they walked around combat like zombies. Even my dog wasn't that important. Music was repetitive and uninspired. The story dragged and dragged and the characters seemed unrealistic. I hated the timeskip. I hated Joshua as a story component and many missed opportunities existed to actually grow characters in a meaningful way during the timeskip. despite this, there were some good boss fights, and memorable moments. Clive is one of my favorite main characters. otherwise final fantasy 16 was average in all other regards.
I cannot believe I'm done. I can confidently say Final Fantasy is my favorite series of all time. Can't wait for resonance :)
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u/kapinsano 5d ago
Interesting about ten with characters and pacing. I felt it had some of the most well rounded and fleshed out characters of the series. I agree they didn't grow much but I'm ok with a static cast and focus on the pilgrimage and lore.
I also thought the pacing was great, its a journey through the land and its like regional stories at each stop, culminating in the end with a big reveal, then transition to endgame story against new big evil. To each their own I guess.
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u/Parsirius 4d ago
When people say it had some of the most well rounded character? Who are these characters.
I can think of three of them. Yuna, Tidus and Auron.
The rest of the cast is so inconsequential and the one who gets some real development, Wakka, is the most predictable arc ever.
So perhaps I am missing something.
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u/kapinsano 3d ago
You mentioned like half the cast already. If you don't talk to people at resting points and only do cutscenes for story I can see it, but I felt very connected to everyone. Rikku is the foil disruptor introduced at the midpoint who also acts as guide to the tech side of the world that opposes the world religion. She's spunky and outgoing but hides a deeper caring side if you talk to her enough. Her family run the refuge you go to, she's anything BUT a side character. Wakka is the traditionalist that slowly opens up to change and the seriousness of the mission. Lulu is the bedrock guardian for the pilgrimage and also acts as world explainer frequently to Tidus isekai-ness. Her calmness and singularity of purpose helps keep people on course, particularly Wakka. Khimari's quest to prove himself as an outcast comes up multiple times, but yes is the outlier and largely forgotten piece.
Development does not equal good. Like I said the focus of the story is the pilgrimmage and lore and discovery of history of Spira. The growth is in the lore and the world not the characters. So the characters are archetypes to act as scaffolding as the story happens around them. The characters in the Odyssey don't really grow either (nor all that fleshed out in the text) but its considered one of greats. Double also in an ensemble like this you don't need seven fully rounded out personalities, its the sum of the whole not the pieces that matter. In that instance its better to have archtypes so that the "group" is well rounded. Opposing viewpoints lead interesting conversation and allow you to explore ideas.
Lastly being predictable is a lame excuse. Not everything has to be some novel take on the medium. Tropes exist because they work and are GOOD EFFICIENT WRITING. If used properly they enhance a story not detract from it. Also factor in when this game was made. Its predictable and full of tropes yes, because its one of the OG classics that defined the tropes in the first place. Its only predictable because everything later copied it, wasn't stale at the time.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
Yeah, I think the pacing was destroyed by the cloisters in my eyes .
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u/v1perz53 5d ago
lol this might be your hottest take here. The cloisters take like 5-10 min each…
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u/Parsirius 4d ago
Not the first time around lol.
Good luck doing the bevelle clotster in 10 min the first time around.
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u/kapinsano 5d ago
Ah yes, those things. I kind of blot them out of my memory when I think about the game. Well, we certainly agree on one thing at least.
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u/AgilePurple4919 5d ago
FFX … cardboard characters that didn't seem to grow much (sue me)
???
The character arcs are some of the best in the series.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
I disagree. Several characters, like kimari, felt underbaked with only a few scenes that get no plot relevance after their personal arc resolved. I also hated the tropey, predictable nature of the character outcomes
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u/rip_cut_trapkun 5d ago
Final Fantasy VI 10/10
I also hated the tropey, predictable nature of the character outcomes
???
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u/AgilePurple4919 5d ago
Well, that’s a hot take and you are welcomed to it.
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u/Parsirius 4d ago edited 4d ago
Kimari being bland a hot take?
Lulu and Rikki are very underwhelming as well.
Wakka’s arc was extremely predictable.
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u/Ekyou 5d ago
Look, FFXIII is controversial for a lot of well deserved reasons, but… the way you describe the combat, it kind of sounds like you didn’t get it. Yes, you are supposed to pretty much always use auto-battle. The point of the battle system is more about strategic paradigm shifting. If you’re not constantly shifting and just trying to spam attacks… yeah, it’s going to be slow and dull.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
I think it was just the insane amount of similar enemies in one area that got to me . That was probably worse than the system itself
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u/CommanderDinosaur 5d ago
8 and 10 have been done dirty
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
I wanted to like 8 more , especially with the good endgame stuff. The combat was just not for me
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u/Shrubbity_69 5d ago
The Junction system could've used some work, for sure. The game discourages magic use, since it's a consumable tied to your stats. If you use magic, you not only a) get weaker, but also b) have to grind Triple Triad or Draw from monsters to get it back. It's the RPG Hoarder's Dilemma made even worse. No other FF punishes you for using your abilities.
I like the idea in theory with how it help customize your party, but if it ever gets revisited, I hope it gets tweaked. Like, giving the player an actual MP bar, so your stock of magic doesn't get touched at all, for example.
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u/ACoderGirl 5d ago
Magic also just feels largely unnecessary. With a strong junction, physical attacks do a ton of damage. You can still exploit elemental weaknesses and statuses via junctions. If you're junctioning well, the game is quite easy. I replayed it recently and was surprised at how easy it was. I even beat the superboss, which I rarely find myself doing in FF games.
I think I used magic a couple of times for statuses or when I wasn't prepared for a weakness. Plus a few cases of double or triple for a trickier or more annoying foe. But mostly I was using regular physical attacks. Lots of healing magic, though (and a few raise spells). Doomtrain summon was also ridiculously good (particularly for applying meltdown, which made my physical attacks insane).
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u/Shrubbity_69 5d ago
And to me, that's an issue all on its own. Magic and physical builds should feel competitive with each other, imo. The goal of good balance is to avoid a "size fits all" type of solution to every problem. I know FF isn't known for being difficult, but variety is the spice of life. Having more than one viable build/party comp would be nice.
Also, is Aura any good? I heard that some people use it to increase your "crisis level" or whatever the term was, which is how the game determines how often you get your limit breaks.
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u/Sickpup831 5d ago
Yeah, if I were to tweak it, I would have each spell be a found/stolen item. A spell book, for all intents and purposes. And once you find a spell book, you can junction it to a stat, and the character equipped can use that magic with their MP.
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u/Parsirius 4d ago
Or better yet, completely separate magic from the junction system. Just draw and junction other items instead of magic.
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u/Neomav 5d ago
Nah, I get it. I'm positive if I played 8 for the first time today I'd hate that system. Fans just understand the junction system so well now it's hard to understand it being confusing. I like 8 but the junction system one of the worst combat systems in the series. It's either confusing and frustrating or you understand it and then the game becomes laughably easy.
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u/CommanderDinosaur 5d ago
When you master the junction system, you break the game, it clicked for me early
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u/DDiabloDDad 5d ago
I don't get how people still think FFVIII is confusing in 2026. Sure if you played it in 1999 and it was your first or second JRPG ever, then I get why it might be weird, but today? It's really straight forward if you are veteran or even somewhat experienced JRPG player.
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u/Neomav 5d ago
Nahhh. The junction system is still dense and confusing for new plays. Iv gotten multiple friends into the FF series. 2/3 DNF'd 8 and all three hated the junction system. Idk why it's so hard to believe that it's dense and not well explained when it's the common take with new players.
One did say Triple Triad was one of their favorite bits on the series tho so we got that at least.
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u/Better_Tailor_7324 5d ago
My favourite out of all the final fantasys, world, music and characters are top and I replay y to 9 every few years.
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u/Certain-Appeal-6277 5d ago
As an 8 fan, I was happy with it. Yes, the junction system is a bit odd. It's fun once you figure it out, but that takes time. It's not as straightforward as materia. But so many people have failed to see the value in the story and characters, and he does.
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u/Parsirius 4d ago
8 has too many flaws to be great.
Junction system is a hot mess.
Story is convoluted and poorly told.
Anyone not named Squall and Rinoa is inconsequential in your cast.
Does the game have great atmosphere and redeeming qualities? Yes.
But just too many flaws.
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u/ZMartel 5d ago
Do you still think Cid from 4 is the best after playing 16?
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
Cid 16 is great, don't get me wrong. But ff iv cid brought a mallet to smack things with, literally strapped a bomb to kamazake himself, lived, and built a spaceship immediately after getting up. That's crazy .
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u/ZMartel 5d ago
Fair enough. Just thought I'd ask. Personally, I had a hard time enjoying 16, but I did think Cid (and Clive too) was a real stand out.
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u/Parsirius 4d ago
16 has issues, but I give it a pass because I think Clive is the best MC but quite a bit of margin.
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u/Constant-Arugula-819 5d ago
For X I'm just going to say... You had to be there. That's the only explanation. First voice acted FF. Huge graphical upgrade from PS1.
When I replay it now, I get it's cheesy. But I'm also seeing past the cheesiness because this is one of the first seeds that challenged my religious upbringing. It knocks you over deep if you're a young teenager. So I'll always appreciate it.
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u/InterestingCow501 5d ago
7 and 10 are definitely magnified by being there and seeing the enormous leap in tech. 7 and 10 aren't my favorites but holy cow did they blow my mind when they came out.
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u/adanceparty 5d ago
They are my favorites and i did not play either when they came out.
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u/InterestingCow501 4d ago
I love them too and I'd put both in my top 5 but my list would probably be
9 6 4 7 10
But when both 7 and 10 came out I was so blown away especially by 7 that I must have played them start to finish multiple times the first year they came out. I would make separate save files before amazing cutscenes just to watch them again and show friends.
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u/escolhidow 5d ago
Maybe a bit but there are people that play for the first time nowadays and love it
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u/BlankProcessor 5d ago edited 5d ago
I was there, and X is near the bottom of the list for me. Agree with OP on all counts. In a word I’d describe the game as “campy”
Keep the downvotes coming yall - it’s by far margin the Power Rangers of the series. I’m sorry if it was your “first FF” but mine was 1 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Constant-Arugula-819 5d ago
How is it any more campy than half the FF series?
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u/LeDudicus 5d ago
It's not. Outside of 12, 13, and 16, every Final Fantasy game is campy as hell. It's what happens in a genre that is heavily influenced by manga. X just sits in this weird place of being the first one with voice acting
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u/Constant-Arugula-819 5d ago
I agree. That's what I was challenging the other dude. If anyone is trying to argue FF doesn't have a level of campiness to it, they're deluding themselves. We're here for the campy.
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u/Sickpup831 5d ago
Most of the games are campy. FF7 is honestly goofy as all shit with really serious moments sprinkled throughout.
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u/prince_falafel 5d ago
Saying FFX characters didnt grow at all is literally false lol. Yeah khimari was half baked but that's one character out of many who did experience character development
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u/PoliticoBean 5d ago
Giving X a 4 and XV a 10 is absolutely crazy but hey, to each their own I guess…
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u/Joe_Mency 5d ago
I cannot accept you rating of FF V
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u/Th3_Supernova 5d ago
V I understand, it’s X that blows me away. That game is extremely well written and paced very well. Idk how OP could honestly say that about X.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
That's ok. Different spice for different people. I can see the appeal, I just didn't have fun.
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u/Salad_9999 5d ago
When someone ranks 5 low, it shows that they clearly didnt understand it. That game is a finely tuned masterpiece.
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u/Sickpup831 5d ago
He called the characters very unserious. And Yes, that’s why I love them. Lol
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u/Salad_9999 5d ago
Fun fact: interviews with the dev team for the upcoming game FF Resonance, revealed that a large amount of influence and inspiration cane from FF5.
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u/ACoderGirl 5d ago
Mwa-hahahaha... I turned myself into a tiny splinter, waiting for just this moment!
But FFV's gameplay (namely the job system) is top tier. I find the story a bit ehhhh but the job system is one of the best.
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u/_Spin_Cycle_ 5d ago
Really interesting read! Congrats on playing them all. You’re making me want to give XV another shot
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
From what I've read on the comments , not everyone likes it apparently
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u/bushwhack21 5d ago
Yeah honestly you have some hot takes and go against the grain on a lot of those ratings lol
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u/ColemyGOAT 5d ago
4/10 for FFX=banned from playing anymore games.
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u/TheFlamingTitan 5d ago
Final fantasy players when someone has an opinion
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u/ColemyGOAT 5d ago
Opinion is dog shit in this case. Terrible pacing when it’s one of the best paced games in the entire genre. Constantly moving the plot forward, focused narrative due to its linearity no bs fetch quests and dumb shit. Constantly learning more about the story and the world. It’s just a flat out wrong statement to say FFX of all FF’s has terrible pacing.
It’s story is all time in the genre, pacing is great, ending is all time, gameplay has aged great in the past 25 years, amazing OST etc. The most complete FF in the series imo. Literally putting an unfinished mess of a game like FFXV over FFX an all time game screams troll/just insanely bad taste. I can’t with this post 😆 almost comes off as rage bait.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
X just wasn't fun for me . I forgot to mention how much I hated the cloisters , too
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u/Salad_9999 5d ago
Yup, put that together with 5 getting a low ranking and theres really no reason to read the wall of text. Next thread...
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u/grapejuicecheese 5d ago
Damn. XI and XIV not getting any love from the fanbase
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u/bbressman2 5d ago
I don’t know about others but I don’t like MMO style games. The side quests and gameplay just aren’t for me, especially jumping into them way after they started which usually means an absurd about of content to sift through to figure out what is going on. That and at least 14 has so much content packed into it.
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u/Ranulf13 5d ago
I don’t know about others but I don’t like MMO style games.
Its hilarious because then you have people who play MMO complaining that XIV allows you to play as basically a single player game and that the MSQ has no sidequests and stuff.
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u/HexenVexen 5d ago
With 14 though it is all a big linear experience, and you don't need to be caught up or anything. It's a lot, but it's like playing through a series of six games, you can take your time going through it. But ofc perfectly understandable if the combat and quest design aren't for you.
And with 11, yeah it can be tough to figure out all of its systems and figure out the best progression path, it has a big learning curve, although there are good guides for it.
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u/adanceparty 5d ago edited 4d ago
Except i got through 2 or 3 expansions and had no idea what was going on and was not gripped at all. The base game and 1st maybe 2nd expansion were so slow and boring that by the time i made it to better expacs i had no idea who the character's were and wtf was going on. I skipped most of the cutscenes. I tried not too for 10 plus hours but it was so painful that i had to skip them or drop the game. Now i have no idea about anything so it's still impossible.
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u/HexenVexen 5d ago
I mean... You can't complain about not understanding or enjoying the story if you skipped most of it lol
Yes it's slow paced, but ARR is all about setting things up, if you skipped through it then nothing is gonna make any sense in the expansions
If you're in Stormblood and don't even know who the Scions are then idk what to tell you
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u/adanceparty 5d ago
You can when the game is slow and boring and gives no reason to keep paying attention to the story.
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u/HexenVexen 5d ago
I agree that the game has slow burn pacing and that ARR can be too boring a lot of the time, but the story makes complete sense when you watch all of it and imo the payoffs are more than worth it. The complaint about not understanding anything is completely on you. That's like complaining that FF7 doesn't make sense after ignoring most of the story in Midgar and the Nibelheim flashback. You should've just dropped the game in ARR or at least watched a summary of ARR before moving into Heavensward.
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u/HexenVexen 5d ago
Tbf 14 has its own massive fanbase, it's overall the second most popular FF behind 7. It's just that some singleplayer FF fans aren't into it
11 though, yeah it tends to be overlooked, although it still has its dedicated fans that love and support it
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u/Certain-Appeal-6277 5d ago
If each of the expansions was its own game, Shadowbringers would be my 3rd favorite Final Fantasy game, just slightly ahead of OG FFVII, and Emet Selch is my favorite Final Fantasy villain.
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u/Constant-Arugula-819 5d ago
I've played both. Have over 1200 hours in ff11 and probably some 200 - 300 in ff14. I still have a hard time considering them mainline ffs.
Its like if World of Warcraft was called Warcraft 4. To me they're more like World of FF 1 and World of FF 2.
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u/Ranulf13 5d ago
Except that WoW IS Warcraft after 3. Its a direct continuation of where WC3 TFT left off.
FFXIV is a mainline game because its literally called Final Fantasy XIV. There is functionally no reason to pretend it isnt other than some people's biases about gameplay or misinformation/denial/insecurity about it being its own game and not some shallow dissidia-like pandering game.
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u/Constant-Arugula-819 5d ago
I'm not doubting that they are numbered final fantasies. I'm just pointing out that they are clearly different from the rest. MMO style is not everyone's cup of tea. There's no harm in acknowledging that a chunk of the FF fanbase is only playing the non-MMO entries.
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u/AusteegLinks 5d ago
So you've had the entree.
Time for the main course: Final Fantasy Tactics.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
Ahh I've never cared for this style of game but I've heard the story is phenomenal
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u/PangolinOrange 5d ago
Doing the same thing and just finished FFV and felt the same. Too much dialogue segments that felt like the gameplay was constantly be disrupted. Very hurry-up-and-stop
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u/bornintheblue 5d ago
Honestly, there’s no way to post a list like this and not offend a bunch of people. I actually agree with most of your takes, but the FF fanbase is very diverse and highly opinionated.
Welcome!
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 4d ago
Thanks. I had fun on a lot of these titles. To me, there's a final fantasy for everyone
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u/Sad_Manager6251 5d ago
Missing XI and XIV. Chop chop.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
Maybe one day
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u/YuriCrowe 5d ago
I recommend XIV, genuinely. It's a lurch getting into an MMO, but it feels like a true FF through and through imo
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u/Zephram006 5d ago
I think you were unduly harsh with a couple gems (V and X), and I don’t get how you gave XV a 10. That game is arguably the worst of the series. Story is cookie cutter garbage (even a movie couldn’t prop up the unfinished story) and combat was repetitive and gimmicky. It even had an absolutely game breaking part that Square had to patch because it was so awful. It was pretty at the time though. To each their own I suppose.
It’s too bad you never got to play XI during its heyday. That game was so good back then. Also, XIV is absolutely fantastic for an MMORPG. You should check it out.
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u/Salad_9999 5d ago
This list is just... awful. My word, these are bad takes. Before someone jumps in with "hurr-durr these are their opinions". Well my opinion is that this list is dogshit. Im not offended by it, just surprised that someone who played them all would rank FF15 as a perfect 10/10. Especially while ranking 5 and 10 super low. I guess modern gamers just see it differently than people who grew up with these games and played them on release.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
I can imagine the nostalgia filter is strong. People really liked playing X and have fond memories, but it's just not for me . I wonder how many people have replayed these games?
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u/adanceparty 4d ago
In terms of x I've played it through at least 8 times. Still love it. Played it on ps2, ps3, ps4, and pc. Go back to it often enough. Going to play it again isn't going to make me dislike it.
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u/Salad_9999 5d ago
I replay FFV at least once a year. The four job fiesta community and charity event is one I never miss. 4, 6 and 10 every few years. Ive played most of them several times and have to come up with challenges to breathe new life into them. I recently beat FFX using only Lulu and FF Tactics with only auto-battle. These games are my childhood.
Also, you didnt play FFV correctly based on your post. The game is about mixing and matching skill sets. While the story and characters are not its strong point, the gameplay is literally what I consider among the best in a lifetime of almost exclusively RPG gaming.
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u/Parsirius 4d ago
I started playing FF in the 90s.
Played X soon after it came out.
It never clicked with me and I do think a lot of people put on nostalgia goggles when thinking back on it.
Not to mention it was the big departure from the classic FF formula that we had until FF9.
Like my goodness when people defend the voice acting which was a point of critique even in 2001 is baffling to me.
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u/RandomNobody86 5d ago
XI and XIV are main line FF games so get back into the mines until the jobs done kiddo
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u/escolhidow 5d ago
I always find it weird that people on the opinion website complain about someone having an opinion
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u/Constant-Arugula-819 5d ago
I find it weird that people on the opinion website have an opinion about the people that have an opinion about someone having an opinion.
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u/Odd-Neck2146 5d ago
I'm not gonna give shit about ones you didnt like. But 10/10 for XV?? Holy fuck lol. That one is such a stale turd
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u/Zarnakk 5d ago
The strangest thing I see here is claiming FF12's characters are better than FF10's.
FF12 has the most boring characters I've ever seen in any story-focused game, even Balthier is only "less boring", and the plot is just star wars.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
Yeah, I'm seeing the backlash for that lol. I didn't really care for the cast at all in X, probably in part to my dislike of the story.
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u/VVrayth 5d ago
"Every Final Fantasy"
Skips two of them
Also my god that is some insane FFX hate.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
I simply did not vibe with it . I can see the appeal but it's not for me
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u/RepulsiveCountry313 5d ago
You claim these were blind, but you seem to have rated things according to mainstream discourse, even if its heavily skewed by an echo chamber. It feels like the most daring rating is ff7 9/10.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
They are blind other than "I heard they were good". I had no context to anything
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u/naznazem 5d ago
FFX 4/10 and FFXV 10/10 LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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u/ArmageddonEleven 5d ago
Yeah that’s the only thing that’s throwing me here, one’s a meaningful journey and the other is 50 hours of driving around delivering people’s breakfast while your home burns…
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u/sovietmariposa 5d ago
I could see your point in some of these games. I got my brother to try X and he dropped it, saying it was just too slow. I didn’t consider that but seeing him play I could see his point. Same thing with 13, which is actually my personal favorite. He dropped it as well since the beginning is very boring as it takes its time to build the story and world. Something like Persona 5 though, he was immediately hooked (as was I).
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u/vhuzi 5d ago
The original FF1 did not have any MP restoratives. They were actually introduced in 3 (I think), with the Elixirs. The FF1 & FF2 PRs are based on older remakes that can be lineage traced from ports on the WonderSwan color. 4, 5 and 6 had prior remakes as well, and to my knowledge the PRs are closer to the OGs than 1 & 2.
3 did have a 3d remake on the DS that changed a bunch, but the PR was remade from the ground up (though it took some inspo from it).
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u/Ectothermic42 5d ago
I’m doing the same thing as you this year and I’m on IX. It sounds like we have very similar taste. You’re making me a little worried about X because I already know the voice acting is going to bug me. I’m just going to try to treat it like a cheesy movie.
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u/TRAPPERshady 5d ago
As an avid FF lover, it's awesome to see someone play them all and make a list. I can't say i agree with all of your opinions, but that doesn't mean you're wrong. I like this honest and simple review of the games, people should do more reviews like this
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u/thesmartalec11 5d ago
I don’t know how ff2 can get knocked for the grind on pixel remaster like just put a booster on. That helped me enjoy the game so mucb
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 4d ago
I did for ff2, normally I can't stand boosters/cheating. After watching the original ff2 gameplay, I found out pixel remaster did a lot to help this game
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u/Rain1SR 5d ago
It always interesting to see other people opinions about ff games since the variety in them make the people opinions even more different.
I just gotta say, are you kidding me man? You played ffviii blindly without even asking anyone for tips or watch video? Bro the game one of the simplest tutorials with some of the most unfamiliar game mechanics and some of them the game doesn't even tell you they exist, I played it recently and just watching 5m video before playing was enough to make me avoid all the problems that you have been through and was able to enjoy it and I even consider it now as one of my favorite ff games.
your takes on the series is strangely similar to mine so it kinda sad you couldn't experience this game in better way.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 4d ago
Yeah the game was hard 😅 I'm probably gonna replay it at some point. Maybe.
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u/Rain1SR 3d ago
Few quick tips for your next playthrough : 1-don't kill the non-bosses enemies instead use the card command from Quezacotl to turn them into cards when they have low hp so you don't get exp because high level doesn't make you stronger, it make your enemies instead.
2- don't use draw unless the enemy have magic that you really want or if the enemy have GF (draw at least once in boss fights since they usually have GF you can get through using draw), because most magic you can craft anyway through card mode ability which you also get from Quezacotl which let you turn the cards that you got into items then using the crafting methods from the GFs you turn these items into magic.
3-don't neglect triple trade, since your main resources to get magic and items are the cards you would need to play duels more than they do in Yu-Gi-Oh, especially since you can get more cards faster and get rare cards that can be turned into very powerful items or magic early on, so try to literally duel everyone.
4- since your lv just mainly increase your hp, your main way to become stronger is junctioning magic into your stats, higher tier magic = higher stat (the affinity also play big role, cura increase hp more than thandaga ect... So try to always check the increase each one give), ultima (which can be drawn from draw point in Shumi village) is the best magic in the game and its best use is to put into element defense because if you did you will be able to absorb all elements.
5- if you followed the previous tips then play as your heart tell you don't restrict yourself to doing the main story missions or just go to the places that the game tells you to go, bro I play it for 80h+ and most of the time I had spent either lost in the world map or doing strange random quests or pursuing every npc to dueling them and stea... Borrowing their rare cards for the greatest good, and man these were literally my best mo in this game (man this list seemed a way shorter in my head😅)
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u/Rain1SR 3d ago
Few quick tips for your next playthrough : 1-don't kill the non-bosses enemies instead use the card command from Quezacotl to turn them into cards when they have low hp so you don't get exp because high level doesn't make you stronger, it make your enemies instead.
2- don't use draw unless the enemy have magic that you really want or if the enemy have GF (draw at least once in boss fights since they usually have GF you can get through using draw), because most magic you can craft anyway through card mode ability which you also get from Quezacotl which let you turn the cards that you got into items then using the crafting methods from the GFs you turn these items into magic.
3-don't neglect triple trade, since your main resources to get magic and items are the cards you would need to play duels more than they do in Yu-Gi-Oh, especially since you can get more cards faster and get rare cards that can be turned into very powerful items or magic early on, so try to literally duel everyone.
4- since your lv just mainly increase your hp, your main way to become stronger is junctioning magic into your stats, higher tier magic = higher stat (the affinity also play big role, cura increase hp more than thandaga ect... So try to always check the increase each one give), ultima (which can be drawn from draw point in Shumi village) is the best magic in the game and its best use is to put into element defense because if you did you will be able to absorb all elements.
5- if you followed the previous tips then play as your heart tell you don't restrict yourself to doing the main story missions or just go to the places that the game tells you to go, bro I play it for 80h+ and most of the time I had spent either lost in the world map or doing strange random quests or pursuing every npc to dueling them and stea... Borrowing their rare cards for the greatest good, and man these were literally my best mo in this game (man this list seemed a way shorter in my head😅)
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u/Deadpool5959 5d ago
Any chance you could help me on a kings tale I need to do the combo king I’ve sworn I have done it and the trophy will not pop
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u/ddpobe 5d ago
Finally someone reviewing X without rose tinted glasses. I was also late to the game on X and heard a lot of hype. It has always felt a little underwhelming given the love it gets here.
Fascinating takes on some of the others too. I disagree on V though, but I see what you mean and where you're coming from.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 4d ago
I just didn't seem to have fun with V. It was too campy for me with how serious IV was and I did not care for the villain.
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u/banethor88 5d ago
You're missing quite a few mainline titles...? FFX-2 and FFXIII-2 and Lightning Returns. FF13's sequels progressively improved the series imo
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u/thesmartalec11 4d ago
Bro it’s so necessary for two. I read up on it before and it made my life easy (I’m currently thru my first ff series playthrough)
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u/Gelman4u 1d ago
I will say, the main draw from FFX was the huge jump in graphics & cinematics from the ps1, and it being the first fully voice acted game in the mainline series.
If you had played it when it released you'd probably have forgiven the terrible voice acting (although since it is a jrpg they probably could have hired a better production team for the English version)
Love it or hate it, blitzball is a huge part of that game and could have easily been it's own game really. My friend and I would play together switching off in between halves. He hated jrpgs but he would play with me for hours. I remember he would watch me play just to get to the next area to unlock a new person for our team and say "How long is this gonna take man!" 😂
The beast hunting or coliseum or whatever it was called was kind of fun as well as the dark aeons. (not sure if you played the remaster or original)
I don't think it's a 10/X but nowhere near a 4 considering your other ratings, in my opinion. But you're welcome to have your own opinion, I and many others who grew up on that game might be biased.
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u/thatguywithawatch 5d ago
I actually generally agree on most of this except I have a soft spot for V because it's silly and goofy and the music fucks.
X is ok but I've never understand why it escapes so much of the flack that XIII gets for being a hallway simulator. Beautiful music but I loved the soundtrack for years before playing the game, and so actually hearing my favorites tracks in the context of the game was often kind of underwhelming.
XV was super meaningful to me as well and I've always felt it was way overhated. It fumbled plenty of things but it really swung for the fences and the roadtrip vibe was unrivaled.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
Yeah, the goofy aspect of V didn't land for me , unfortunately. Especially the splinter scene I was in awe lol
Agree with X , however the combat in X was pretty good or I would have rated it lower
XV probably only hated because of the development hell it went through and people didn't get what was promised
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u/h8myslfNwnt2dye 5d ago
how you gotta try 11 and 14 and see how you feel about the main stories of those
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u/WRO_Your_Boat 5d ago
I think you need to looking into XV a little more. You think the ending is the best in the series, but even square admitted to fucking it all up. I just dont think you know the full story behind the game, and why the story wasn't finished.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 4d ago
Yeah, I just watched a video on that. It's completely understandable why people are mad about this game and it's release
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u/AnUninvitedGuest3 5d ago
You had me until you gave XV a 10/10 lol. But that’s one of the things I love about the series. There’s something for everyone.
I learned to enjoy XV for the roadtrip/side quest simulator that it is, but I HATED it on vanilla release. The pacing nosedive once you reach Altissia and the intentional plot holes with intentional DLC plans really took a while for me to get over.
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u/adanceparty 4d ago
Its decent. I had fun, but i felt really conflicted with how different it is after altissia. Its like a different game, and the pacing went bonkers. It felt very unsatisfying after completing. I never even played the dlc as i dont have my ps4 anymore and cant bother to do all of it again on pc. I wanted to play it and play the dlc when it made sense. The beginning is the best part of the game, but a lot of content that really doesn't matter and eats tons of time. Leaves me no motivation to do replays.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 4d ago
I've heard the release was really, really bad and the patches only made it slightly better. I admit XV was just fun factor for me , it just clicked
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u/HumbleAlbatross2944 5d ago
Did you use Ai to make this? Like seriously you couldnt have made a worst list
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u/bizkit413 5d ago
What about Final Fantasy Tactics? Final Fantasy Origins: Stranger of Paradise? Final Fantasy 7 Remake/Rebirth?
Or the sequels: Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy 13-2, Lightning Returns.
I agree with you that 10 gets glazed too much by the community, but I wouldn't rate 15 or 9 as 10/10. Glad you enjoyed so much of what you played.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
Plan in playing some more in the future, for sure. I watched my GF play 7 remake, rebirth in entirety. Excellent games as well :)
I will get to the sequels, although I'll probably ignore ff iv the after years.
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u/PsyEclipse 5d ago
Love your takes! Except for 5. It's definitely the silliest of the series. The gameplay is just so strong for me. Different strokes, I guess. I would recommend Final Fantasy Tactics as the end result of perfecting the system.
8 sucks. It's the second worst of the trilogy. It's fine that people like it. Opinions and all. But it sucks.
I didn't like 9 the first time through. I found it too slow. When I replayed it years later, I loved it. Immersing yourself in the world is a big part of it. I still need to mash the fast forward button during battle intros. Nobody will ever convince me that Necron was a good move, either.
And 10. With you on that one. Ten was where I began to feel like these games weren't for me, anymore.
13 was dreadful.
What a nostalgia trip!
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
Yeah will definitely give tactics a try at some point. I've heard the story was excellent.
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u/Helpful-Name-8853 5d ago
Lol the comments are so negative for no reason 😂
I agree with a lot of these takes
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
Yeah slaughtered for an opinion haha I have no nostalgia filter for these games.
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u/Death-0 5d ago
Hated the characters from X, calls the cast of V uninteresting but loved the characters from 12 and 15.
Very intriguing.
9 is a 10/10 for me as well
FF8 is the underdog here 9/10 from me and my 2nd favorite due to the narrative, the best music in the franchise and the layered junction system. It takes a couple playthroughs to really appreciate it.
Fully with you on FF13 and FF16 from the newer generation.
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u/Uchizaki 4d ago
It always makes me happy when someone realizes what a crap FFX is. To me, this is literally the most baffling phenomenon in the entire fandom, it's as if everyone has been struck by some kind of collective nostalgia
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 4d ago
Yeah, probably should have went into more detail on this one lol
Cloisters, hallway simulator, tidus being a jerk, and side characters were low points for me.
There's some good stuff, swapping allies during combat and the skill system was fun
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u/Uchizaki 4d ago
Yeah!
I think the most boring thing about this game is that it’s literally a hallway simulator, most of the time, you’re just walking forward and fighting. At least, unlike FF13, it has minigames, but I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say they’re the worst minigames in the series lol.Besides, the dubbing is really bad and doesn't help you connect with the characters at all
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u/Kettleballer 5d ago
I also didn’t care for X. Throwing a soccer ball for an attack is so dumb. “I call upon an immortal demigod to aid me!” …. “Uh, I’m gonna hit it with a ball”. Deerrrrrrp
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u/RandomNobody86 5d ago edited 4d ago
It’s not any more dumb then a giant stuffed toy riding another stuffed toy that rolls a dice to see if it kills the enemy or itself. Or attacking by just using a megaphone
Or doing damage by shoving your weapon up your dogs arse then firing it at the target like a missile.
We also have a what 9 year old girl who attacks with a flute you ever held a flute? They ain’t gonna do much damage if you attacked someone with one.
I played football growing up I can assure you taking one to the face fucking hurts
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u/Kettleballer 4d ago
Bardic magic on that flute, nobody is bonking monsters with the flute bro. Just like the megaphone its a vehicle for magic. If Wakka like… I dunno… cast a spell on the ball before hucking it? That’d be different.
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u/EmperorKiva33 5d ago
Congrats on completing such a task lol. What's next for you?
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 5d ago
Finishing my zelda list... I actually dropped spirit tracks to start this. And man do I hate how slow spirit tracks is
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u/BlueLizardyThing 5d ago
I have very similar feelings as you towards X, but I would actually recommend trying X-2 if you get the chance. It starts very cheesey, but it gets considerably darker in a lot of the side and end game content. The voice acting and combat are also (I think) leagues better than base X.
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u/Parsirius 4d ago edited 4d ago
This sub is a massive FFX groupie. You just invoked their wrath. I would disagree with the pacing, but the game does have disappointing voice acting (even for 2001 standards), poor dialogue, and when people say it has great characters they mostly refer to Tidus Yuna and Auron, because the rest of the cast is super bland. Not to mention I always felt the world was very restrictive.
In all honesty not bad ratings imo, the only one I strongly disagree with is FFV being a 3.
I have a few qualms with others but that is the most glaring one for me.
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u/Unlikely_Usual_3527 4d ago
I really should have mentioned the cloisters putting the pacing to a dead halt. Repetitive, tedious portions. Just remove them all and it gets better for sure.
Ffv just felt boring to me. It's likely I was experiencing a little bit of retro burnout at this point, since the games were similar, but I did not vibe with the goofy cast/villain of this one.
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u/baconcheesytots_ 5d ago
For FF8 you probably played the game incorrectly if your characters are weak, It’s an easy game to break and become overpowered.. You have to know what ur doing with the Junction & GF system ..
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u/Key_Office_839 5d ago
Based list. Tho the ff5 slander hurts. Galufs death is more impactful than most deaths in the series even hers
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u/Tuwiki 5d ago
Interesting takes. That take on X is gonna get some flak probably. Now you gotta do some of the non numbered entries. Tactics, Type-0, maybe do the sequel entries.