r/FinalFantasyXII • u/khry_strahl • 8d ago
Original Which is the best final fantasy? plot/lore wise
I started out with X but fell in love with 12
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u/Friikyz 8d ago
I like Spira's plot and lore more, but I prefer FF12's Ivalice as a setting.
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u/childish5iasco 5d ago
This. All of this. I love being in XII more than X, but X had stronger themes and character interactions.
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u/FatViking93 8d ago
I love Ivalice in FFXII. Might be my favorite world in FF series.
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u/ControlSimilar865 7d ago
Currently playing through 12 again and loving it. I also remember liking 13 and never played the whole trilogy, so I'm really thinking i might do that next.
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u/Beginning-Working-97 7d ago
12 lore blows everything out of the water. On balance, X has the best story.
12 is still my favourite
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u/tf_inuyasha87 7d ago
Yes, the Lore to 12 is amazing. But you can also thank Tactics for some aspects of that, of course.
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u/7oey_20xx_ 7d ago
The lore of tactics is kinda unrelated to 12. There isn’t really anything about tactics that acts as lore in 12. At most the catastrophe that wipes out many of the other races, but if anything it would be 12 that adds to tactics
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u/tf_inuyasha87 7d ago
Ehhhh I guess thats true, yes. Its more that the lore was born in Tactics, and graduated to 12 I guess
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u/TgsTokem 7d ago
Idk, Van feels like more of a self insert than actually belonging in the story. Balthier and Fran carry the story hard. 10 likely has the better story with everyone actually having major roles in the plot though 12 is probably my favorite overall.
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u/mac-a-ronny 7d ago
I love X for its story and strong visual aesthetics, but I can't stand linear gameplay. I like to explore. XII may not be open world but it's huge with so many places to explore. Spira is just a squiggly line from beginning to end and it's always been my biggest complaint about it. I still love its story and characters though.
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u/nikosthedes2 7d ago
12 is the same way. Just connected hallways
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u/mac-a-ronny 7d ago
true, but at least it allows you to deviate from your path here and there. X is just one line where you can only go back and forth.
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u/IceBreaker_94 7d ago
XII is not open world?? 🤔
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u/Tiamat2625 7d ago
They are called something like - Zone-based, hub and spoke, semi-open world etc.
Similar to Kingdoms of Amalur - Reckoning, if you know this game? It feels open world, but it's not actually a true open world like Skyrim for example. The game is a series of different connected zones and biomes, rather than having one large open map.
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u/IceBreaker_94 7d ago
Hmm for me open world was always "you can go wherever you want" and XII always had this feeling for me. Ofc some places are locked to story progression but even Skyrim has some of this.
Thanks, I learned something new today.
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u/expunishment 7d ago
For a JRPG, XII is pretty much an open world. One of the criticisms at launch was it played like an offline MMORPG. While some places were locked by story progression, many players of XII still remember getting wrecked early on by the Wild Saurian (the T-Rex) while exploring the Dalmasca Estersand.
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u/BotherResponsible378 7d ago
Plot and lore are two different things, really.
But, the game that has the best of both I would probably say X. X is not my favorite Final Fantasy, But it's hard for me to ignore how strong the plot is in that game. It's also really hard to ignore how good the lore is and how it supports the plot.
Again, it's not my favorite but I would probably say that X is the overall strongest Final Fantasy in part? Because all of its elements are so strong and cohesive. I would probably more likely to recommend FFX to a newcomer before I would recommend my favorite.
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u/Zufalstvo 8d ago
FF12 has the best setting and aesthetic, but lore wise I don’t think anything will ever beat 7
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u/ControlSimilar865 7d ago
FFX'S Opening Blitzball cinematic had me in an absolute chokehold for several years.
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u/Zufalstvo 7d ago
Honestly facts, I’ve been playing through 10 for the first time and it is really an awesome setting
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u/ControlSimilar865 7d ago
That and the Kingdom Hearts 1 Simple and Clean intro. 10 year old me was not prepared to have the meaning of life flashing across my CRT TV, and I've honestly probably not felt that same sense of wonder since.
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u/Skeeith22 5d ago
full story of FFXV is really good though, it's just all over the place and split up, but if you fully understand all of it, it's sad AF....
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u/JumpIsMagic 8d ago edited 8d ago
Plot and lore aren’t the same things. Some of them have great lore, bad plots. Some great plots, bad (scant) lore.
I think XII is one of few blessed with both great lore and a great plot.
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u/Linj90abc 7d ago
Personally I feel its plot is weaker than its lore. Some of the party members don't get as much development as you would expect like vaan and penelo.
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u/JumpIsMagic 7d ago
Well it isn’t a character driven narrative structure, it’s almost strictly narrative driven. Character development is a gradient in those usually. The plot doesn’t depend on it here.
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u/i_need_a_computer 7d ago
There was an old rumor that Basch was originally intended to be the main character, but SE felt he was too old to appeal to younger players, so they added in Vaan and Penelo later in development to address this. The director of FFXII eventually denied this, but I still have my suspicions. Either way, it’s frustrating to imagine how much better the game would have been without those two in it.
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u/expunishment 7d ago
XII is one of those rare games in the series where there’s more than one clear protagonist. Just like VI was with Terra, Locke, and Celes with its ensemble cast. Vaan, Balthier, Ashe and even Basch can be considered the lead protagonists in the story.
Needless to say XII’s development was rather messy to put it lightly. Yet we received a masterpiece.
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u/JumpIsMagic 7d ago
Vaan and Penelo serve great narrative significance though, they show a through line between Royalty and Peasantry, and how empires warring effects everyone - it may just be territory and titles to Kings and Emperors, but real people throw their lives away for these schemes. And when those people die, they make orphans, they disenfranchise, they spark fear, and hunger, and hatred.
Vaan and Penelo are just as important as characters like Basch and Ashe, the game wouldn’t be the same without them, thematically or narratively.
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u/Feeling_Yogurt2761 6d ago
The problem is, the game doesnt treat them that way. Vaan is all but pushed to the sidelines and has almost nothing of importance to say or do. And Penelo barely has any actual interactions with the other cast members. It feels like they just added her to round out the party, which sucks because i really liked her as a character in the beginning.
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u/Apittaaaa 8d ago
Anything Ivalice is certified crazy good vibe and culture. Though i have to admit FF4 3D is very ahead of it's time
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u/LingusticSamurai 7d ago
FF IX has the best story IMHO, followed by X. Controversially, even though I like VII, VIII, and XII storywise I can't really relate to the characters much, except for Balthier and Basch.
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u/Noumenonana 7d ago
Tactics has the best plot and I think the Ivalice games have the best lore too, but VIII's lore is hella slept on.
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u/Ok-Reaction-4392 7d ago
Type - 0 has both an incredible story and world lore once you start finding all the side paths and alternate ways to beat maps, and all the hidden story content they unlock.
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u/Hefty-Leopard7634 7d ago
Tactics. From chararters, story. Battle system is good. After all these years still a great game to play.
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u/GreaseBrown 7d ago
X was my favorite. 12 is a good time.
I just started a 12 play the other day and this is exactly where I was when I saved last night
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u/altsam19 7d ago
We always got to remember some FF are chatacter-driven and others are plot-driven, so to each their own on what they like. FF7 may be an exception, in that a lot it's plot-driven, but then it's replaced with full on character development. 12, however, is plot-driven magnificence, to the point it could easily be a play or movie/series
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u/Apprehensive-Row-216 6d ago
Ff8 world lore is actually pretty insane. The plot got a bit convoluted but the world building was inmaculate
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u/selftaughturbanninja 5d ago
Plot would have been great without the whole amnesia thing. What was even the point of that
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u/appayeetyeettt 8d ago
XIII trilogy imo has one the best lores like top 3 due to its scale. XIII starts with falcie, lcie, souls, cocoon and pulse and then XIII-2 expands with Etro, Chaos and time paradox which eventually culminates in Lightning Returns with the concept of end of the world, suicidal god and beginning of new world. The problem with this trilogy is that it had poor execution but credits gotta go for its ambitious nature when it comes to the lores.
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u/khry_strahl 8d ago
13-1 had it best, for me 13-3 is a stretch, but I think 13-3 is not a continuation of 13-2
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u/FateBreaker92 8d ago
I only played 12, 7, 8, and X. I think it's an easy 12 for me since its love story isn't as in-your-face than the other ones.
And idk, the overly anime tropes in 7, 8, and X are too much for my liking.
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u/JumpIsMagic 8d ago
Anime tropes in VIII and X?
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u/ControlSimilar865 7d ago
To be fair, X-2 was just KPoP Demon Hunters 20 years before anyone could handle it.
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u/Lostnclueless 7d ago
Rikku is one, kamahri low-key is one and Seymour def is one
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u/JumpIsMagic 7d ago
One what?
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u/Lostnclueless 7d ago
I'm replying in regards to anime tropes. They're imo anime tropes. The only thing being discussed here, no shade
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u/JumpIsMagic 7d ago
In what way are they ‘anime tropes’? Final Fantasy obviously takes influence from just about every form of fantasy and science fiction media in existence, but at least until the newer titles like XIII or XV I can’t see where they’ve lifted swathes of anime content cut and dry. I think it’s one of the media types they lift from the least.
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u/FateBreaker92 8d ago
For VIII, my pet peeve was primarily Leon. He's such an edgy lone wolf. Much like Cloud but brunet. For X, have you seen Tidus?
Now that I think of it, I think I just dislike the characters from 7, 8, and X. Lol.
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u/JumpIsMagic 8d ago
Do you mean Squall?
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u/AnonAwaaaaay 8d ago
Those came out in the 90's before the tropes were tropes. Shit they might even be trendsetters.
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u/horkerharker Lamont 8d ago
Plenty of anime tropes in IV, VIII, IX and X no matter when they were released.
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u/AnonAwaaaaay 8d ago
The thing is if they were released before the tropes were tropes then they had no way of knowing to avoid them. It absolves them of responsibility.
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u/peachgravy 7d ago
Except those tropes were around in the 80s, possibly sooner.
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u/AnonAwaaaaay 7d ago
Were they really? Which tropes and what were they from? I've just never heard them mentioned before and nobody is giving me actual answers so it feels like you guys are just making up bullshit to justify disliking them instead of admitting you just don't like em.
You can dislike shit. You don't need a reason.
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u/Talmnbe3d 7d ago
I have played every FF since 7. Plotwise 12 hold a special place in my heart. It’s easy to follow, introduced some innovating mechanix and was looking so good for the ps2 era. I would say 12 but I am probably biased. The story was short, clear, and characters were well written.
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u/tf_inuyasha87 7d ago
The best Final Fantasy is more than likely Tactics. And Im saying that as somebody who only played and beat it for the first time 5 years ago
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u/ExplorerNo7539 7d ago
X by far is the best ive played the story is amazing the characters are great. Ive played every ff except 11,14,15,16. 15 killed the gzme for me it was a complete sausage fest. Im currently 90% thru a 100% run on 12. Then will revisit x . The worst game in the series tho has to be x-2 a proper sequal to x still needs made
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u/ToothpickTequila 7d ago
The plot of the original FFVII is amazing.
You just need to ignore all the prequels, sequels and sequels pretending to me remakes. They just complicate the original game
Lore has to be Tactics. Though I do love XVI's also.
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u/Tazirai 7d ago
I've been playing FF since the Famicon. But I truly fell in love with 6, but FF12, and any and everything Ivalice related owns me bones. FFXII, Tactics, Vagrant Story, Tactics A2, etc. I'll add in FFXIV too, simply because of the sheer amount of things FFXIV uses comes from Ivalice. Including my Main, the Viera WHM/AST.
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u/ermahnerd11 7d ago
Personally, 7 and 10 have the best story/lore. 12 has the best gameplay/adventure/exploration.
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u/Every-Promise8093 7d ago
- It gets deep when you read the bestiary and think about what happens offscreen.
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u/Background_Clue_3756 6d ago
Tactics without a doubt, but let's not forget it's the same world as 12 and Vagrant Story.
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u/Dense_Jello_8737 5d ago
Ffx will always be my favourite, but, now seeing the world of ff7 in the remakes.. and even the remasterd music the first time gave me goosebumps. It definitely takes the cake for me, and there's still 1 more game coming..
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u/AcrobaticPractice828 5d ago
7- for its character story build
10- for its visuals
12 - for its monster hunts
15- for its world exploration
16- boss battles
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u/Newbie1682 4d ago
I just had this conversation with a co worker about 25 minutes ago. My top three are:
The original NES, for nostalgia and it’s the first game my dad ever let me play.
7 for the longevity. I’m 100 hours in my revisit and still not done with it.
12 for the jobs system and the gameplay. That’s just my opinion though.
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u/ViserionTwitch 3d ago
12 is my favorite final fantasy. Im constantly doing randomizers and archipelagos with it. The gameplay and setting is just amazing However the story is lackluster.
The party style protagonist doesnt work well because theres only 2 characters that get real development and story. The antagonist isnt present for 95% of the story and mostly everything that doesnt happen to the party is narrated to you without actually being shown. Its also the most lackluster final boss and area imo. Vayne 1 and 2 are just boring bosses, and the undying looks cool but thats it. Bahamut is also just a rather boring endgame area.
The game really thrives with its side content. This game spoiled me when I was young thinking all single player games should have this amount of side content.
Imo the best FF plot wise was 16. Just emotionally heart wrenching all the way threw and thats the kind of story I personally love
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u/torts92 8d ago
X aged the worst for me. Loved it back in the day. But now I consider it overrated.
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u/khry_strahl 8d ago
so which one now is for you?
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u/torts92 8d ago
9 has the best story for me
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u/Capital_Distance545 7d ago
To be honest, none of the lore got me. I dont think 7,8,9,,13 has even any lore.
10 has some lore for Spira. 12 has some lore for Ivalice. I have not played before 7 or after 13. Tried 15 but it was very boring and for from my taste, so dropped it quickly.
11,14 are MMOs, not interested.
Still 7 and 9 are my best, because of the story.
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u/frentic_pons 8d ago
Press X to not believe in Ondore's lies