List of the Five Best Final Fantasy Games of All Time

Written by: Finn Orfano • Edited by: Elizabeth Wistrom
Updated May 20, 2011 • Related Guides: RPG | Final Fantasy

Fans have come to expect quality out of the Final Fantasy series of roleplaying games, and more often than not, Square Enix delivers. Which ones are the best of the best, though? Here's our list of the five best Final Fantasy RPGs of all time.

Quick History

Squaresoft’s (or as they are now known, Square-Enix’s) Final Fantasy series has become synonymous with the RPG genre in gaming. It has been more than 20 years since the Japanese release of the original title for the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1987, and since that time the Final Fantasy games have gained an immense following all over the world, helping to bring a once niche genre of gaming into the mainstream. While all roleplaying fans undoubtedly have their own personal favorite titles in the series, here in chronological order are the top five Final Fantasy games of all time.

Final Fantasy IV

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Originally released in the U.S. as Final Fantasy II in 1991, this epic Super NES title was the first of the true story-driven Final Fantasy games. In it, players assume the role of Cecil, a dark knight who starts to have a moral crisis when he faces a conflict between following orders and doing what is right. It was also the first title in the series to use the Active-Time Battle System instead of a stock turn-based combat engine, and introduced a massive cast of characters, each with their own back stories. It was innovative stuff for the time, and has been remade on several occasions throughout the years, most recently on the Nintendo DS.

Final Fantasy VI

Like Final Fantasy IV, the sixth installment of this classic RPG series underwent a name change en route to North America, releasing as Final Fantasy III for the Super Nintendo in 1994. It features the largest case of any non-spinoff game in the series, as well as an epic story that remains a favorite among roleplaying fans today. At its core, Final Fantasy VI is about a group of rebels working together trying to overthrow an evil dictatorship and stop a sadistic madman, but the story is so much more than that, really. Each character faces his or her own struggles, and the game was one of the first to tackle such adult themes as suicide, teen pregnancy and mass murder. It also featured an epic score from renowned series composer Nobuo Uematsu and is widely recognized not just as one of the best Final Fantasies of all time, but one of the best video games ever made.

Final Fantasy VII

For the seventh installment of the series, not to mention its debut on the Sony PlayStation, Squaresoft dramatically changed the way the world looked at roleplaying games. Fans of the genre had come to expect certain things when they played an RPG, such as solid storytelling done completely via text and super-deformed sprites representing their characters. Then in 1997, along came Final Fantasy VII, the first game in the series to use 3D computer graphics and cinematic cutscenes. It opened the world’s eyes to a type of game that, up until that point, had enjoyed primarily just a cult following.

The epic adventures of Cloud, Tifa, Aerith and company are well known by most gamers by now, especially considering that the success of Final Fantasy VII would eventually spawn several sequels and prequels in both movie and game format, and would lead to these characters enjoying cameo appearances in other Square-Enix games.

Final Fantasy IX

The final installment of the series to appear on the original PlayStation, 2000’s Final Fantasy IX is somewhat of an anomaly on this list. It didn’t introduce any massively successful innovations to the gaming world. It didn’t radically change the RPG genre in any significant way. What it did do successfully, however, is blend the best of the old and new school Final Fantasy games into an attractive package. While the characters in the game sported a super-deformed look ala the Super NES Final Fantasy titles, the graphics were just as sharp and as crisp as later Sony Playstation versions, and the cutscenes popularized in Final Fantasy VII were every bit as present and every bit as spectacular in this one as well. Every aspect of the game oozed quality, from plot to gameplay to character customization to musical score.

(Tie) Final Fantasy X & Final Fantasy XII

How can one choose between the two main single-player Final Fantasy games for the PlayStation 2? Each has its own reasons for inclusion on this list, but each as its flaws as well. For example, Final Fantasy X was the first game in the series to include full 3D dungeon environments and voice acting. The problem is the voice acting wasn’t very good on the whole (and downright cringe-inducing at times) while many gamers lamented the lack of a world map and free exploration. Final Fantasy XII, on the other hand, was an absolutely gorgeous game, with cutscenes that could quite possibly rival the work done on the Lord of the Rings movies. On the other hand, the gambit-based battle system (reminiscent of what one would find in an MMORPG) was a love-it or hate-it affair, and while the plot was solid, the character designs were of varying quality. On the bright side, it did do away with random encounters, which was most welcome. Both games met with critical success and both games, like Final Fantasy VII, would go on to spawn sequels. In the end, both are worth playing, although which of the two gamers will enjoy more is simply a matter of individual taste.

Phone Service Jan 27, 2012 7:20 AM

RE: List of the Five Best Final Fantasy Games of All Time

I love Final Fantasy X the best! The story, the battles, and the side quests! oh i wish they'll be able to create a game like this again.

Jameel Aboulhosn Jul 18, 2011 2:33 PM

FF7 really not the best, try X

FFX2, 11, 12, and 13 are all terrible. FF Type-0 and FF13-2, and the rest of the 13 project will also surely be terrible,. While FF1-6 are good, the only truly good one was 4. Now, while FF7 introduced some new elements - it them all in a very mediocre way. The 3D graphics for the main-screen characters were god awful and horrible - the pre-rendered resident evil backgrounds were nice. The music was awesome, but it was EXTREMELY annoying in the actual game. In comparison to Chrono Trigger, which they released almost 2 years earlier, the game is crap and outshown by a 2D game with less new stuff in it. The top 5 FF games are FFX, FF4, FF7, FF9, and Tactics.

FF7 did not have "good graphics" for it's time. The 2D graphics of Chrono Trigger, even the 3D graphics of Chrono Trigger (which are literally Star Fox 1 for SNES graphics), are far better than either the 2D or 3D graphics of FF7. Even Resident Evil 2 had much better graphics than FF7, which came out 2 months later. Furthermore, 7 and 8 did very little new with RPGs. Neither did CT for that matter, but it introduced multi-character attacks to the ATB system, the storyline was actually immersive from the beginning (unlike FF7 which is frankly boring, nonsensical because they didn't give you any starting point, and Cloud is a whiney little dipshit, it turns you off immediately), the side-quests were just as fun as the main story, the game had massive replay value with New Game+ mode and at least 15 different endings, and the art in the game was so good it didn't even need FMVs to tell story. The levelling system was old-school and you didn't control it, the equipment was very cut and dry like most RPGs, and the game was a little bit shorter than 7 (20 hours or less if you have the game memorized, use new game plus, don't level or don't do sidequests). Really a much better game than 7 but that doesn't make 7 bad - definitely not the best FF though.

spaz Jun 25, 2011 8:51 PM

FF8 Rocks!!

FF8 rocks man dont be hatin on it!!!

CloudxStrife Jun 16, 2011 7:13 PM

X-2

every1 hates on tht game y it really wasnt a game at all more of a follow up for it they couldnt leave FFX like that or ppl would have been pissed it was over all yes a little boring but i loved the cinema and over all experience to see tidus come back alive

CloudxStrife Jun 16, 2011 7:11 PM

im wondering how ff7 is overrated really?? evry review and all the spotlight it has it totally deserves on every level. i dont understand when people say that it is overrated the graphics story and characters where all a break threw for gaming so enough with the bull actually play the game ive beat that game 4 times and maxed over at least 200+ hours in it and yes i know it maxes at 99.99 hours on the game

CloudxStrife Jun 16, 2011 7:07 PM

morons

ok to every1 that read sthe rest of this list first of all ff7 is the best hands down just because of story line grapgics for its time and its follow ups are amazing. the second is 8 i dont see what any1 says by saying it lacks on graphics this is a ps1 game people have u even played the game the graphics on that game blew my mind and ff7 for that matter ff7 +8 brought new life to the way we see rpg's especially graphics now quit hatin and replay the games

lavents Jun 16, 2011 6:54 PM

ok not to be mean but like the guy up there said which final fantasy has sold millions of copies and is still going which has a movie. and ff7 was the first FF to us 3D tech im srry but tht tops it for me 6 was good never played it but ive seen it and im srry i just didnt think tht the graphics were better than 7 the characters were fuzzy and small as the enviorment and 7 they loooked more real but like i said earlier tht was the first FF to use 3D and im so glad they did just my opinoin just sharin

FF7 FOREVER

Anonymous May 27, 2011 2:18 PM

Not a Bad list but they didn't add FF-2 for snes other wise not bad. To be honest I liked them all but wasn't a big fan of FF-13
And to the point SNES FF-3 or 6 was the BEST so get over it.

Anonymous May 22, 2011 6:58 PM

Final Fantasy V

The fifth game is by far the best because of its job system.

Simon May 12, 2011 9:51 AM

...

the best FF is surely FFXII !!

Joe May 8, 2011 5:33 AM

Of all time? As if... you didn't even mention FFIV or FFVI.....

Michael Hartman Mar 10, 2011 10:12 PM

Thanks for your comments.

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Ed Mar 10, 2011 7:48 PM

Best

Obviously you need to set up some type of criteria (a measuring stick) in order to identify "best". So let's look at some industry standards. First of all, FFVII is the best Final Fantasy game. Period. It has sold more (around 10mil copies), completely changed the series (graphically and fan base), and created the standard of Final Fantasy games. It spawned international merchandise like never before and created multiple spin off games and movies. FFVII's characters have become Iconic in the gaming industry. All self-respecting gamers know the names of Cloud, Aeris/Aerith, and the gang. No other FF game has influenced gamers, the industry, or the world (through merchandise, movies, or sales) as much as FFVII. Don't believe me, visit Japan and go to the Sony Headquaters. And although all other FF games may have one or two aspects that are worth mentioning, FFVII is the complete package of gaming. Whether it was (Spoiler alert {if anyone still hasn't played it}) trying to find a way to bring back Aeris/Aerith or beating a Weapon; FFVII had the most in depth secrets (Vincent/weapons/summons/chocobos),and game replay (alternate endings, etc). Need I mention the limitless combinations of Materia to create unique weapon scenarios or how the polygon graphics and CGI instituted a new standard of artistic beauty in games? Even the music is the most influential of all the games (in more concerts). All other FFs pale in comparison. I seem to notice that pseudo gamers fall in love with one or two aspects of the new games. And again, they are good, not great games. The only FF that is close is VI but even that one is not as revolutionary.

John Mar 3, 2011 3:08 AM

Johnny

Absolutely spot on list. My exact five favourites as well (the exception being XII, which I found to be a chore to play.

Ghienne Leonhart Feb 1, 2011 6:32 AM

+FF8 was the best
just because it doesn't have great graphics like the others it doesn't mean that it's the worst :)))

Ghienne Leonhart Feb 1, 2011 6:29 AM

YUP!!

final fantasy VIII was the best!!
just because the graphics ain't that good, it doesn't mean that it's the worst..

ffX is good too..

i finished them when i was 8..
and now im 15 im so thankful that im juz 15 by now cause i wont miss the other new installments :)

Daniel Smart Jan 5, 2011 9:35 AM

Well Done

I was expecting to have some big disagreements with your list but was very pleasantly surprised; it's just about exactly as I would've made one.

I do still think FF7 is one of the most over-rated games of all time, but it was a still a good one, and its importance is undeniable enough that it deserves a place on any such list, even if in the end I thought every other FF game on this list was better than it.

It was also very good of you to mention the flaws of both FF10 and 12, as these two are pretty hotly debated. I agree both belong on the list but neither is a perfect game in the end.

I quick mention on the other comments here as well, I've heard it stated before that FF8 marked a particularly low point for the series and have to agree. While it did do some things right, its characters and story lacked depth. In those respects, it paled in comparison to FF Tactics, Xenogears, Star Ocean, and other RPGs released around the same time and in particular, its attempt at a love story fell completely flat in my opinion.

Not trying to offend anyone by saying this. I'm sure there are people out there who really love that game, and I'm glad they were able to find it. But there's a reason FF8 rarely shows up on "best of" lists and in my opinion that's because it's a weaker game than its peers over all.

This list got it right.

Supergwapo Nov 12, 2010 10:18 PM

i agree with that, ff8 is the best.... the best videogame ever made in the history of mankind

Samon Oct 22, 2010 8:00 AM

Totally agreed. 8 should be there.

Best FF's are X and VIII. VII is good, and had a movie and all that, but... somehow... i feel strongly guided to 8 and 10. I mean, there's no FF that is bad. Even X-2 was complementay and was quite good. But......
is like... VII is 8.5/10, IX is 9/10, VIII is 9.5/10 and X is the same 9.5/10.

And yes, i do believe taht IX was better than VII. And that VII is overrated, however it's awesome. I'm not saying it's bad, just that there are betters. Or in other words more kicking ssa <- FF's.

Jacob Sep 29, 2010 8:35 PM

True

FFIX really bought the old black mages and knights....Its really funny seeing how FF has evolved over the years....From castles to futuristic crap (aka FFVII,still a good game but not all that good)FFXII was good

Anonymous Aug 28, 2010 12:10 AM

yup 8 owns

8 is the best.. most people just dismiss it because its to complicated and different.

EEEEEEEEEEE Aug 5, 2010 9:41 PM

your sentence made no sense

- Aug 4, 2010 4:27 AM

You're obviously an idiot... FFXII is up there but FFVIII is? That's probably one of the worst over-all, if it isn't FFX-2.

Ryan Jul 12, 2010 3:45 AM

agree

Yup 8 was the best , it was perfect .

John Mar 18, 2010 2:40 AM

Wrong

Actually, 8 is the best.