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Since we’re counting down the days until the release of Final Fantasy XV, I thought it would be a great idea to write up a blog post dedicated to one of my all-time favourite video game franchises, the Final Fantasy series.
I recently watched the “Final Fantasy XV: New Legacies” video that featured countless Final Fantasy fans, game developers, and voice actors talking about their most cherished memories of the series, and it just teared me up. I was so touched by it that I decided to write this little post and tell you all about my top 5 favourite Final Fantasy titles and why I harbour such a deep love for these games. Here we go!
5. Final Fantasy XII
Coming up at number 5 is the one and only, Final Fantasy XII. I adore this game. I started replaying it over the summer and it just gets me every time. The storyline, the characters, the dialogue, EVERYTHING! Everything about this game is just gold to me. And yes, I know that this particular Final Fantasy title was received very poorly when it was released back in 2006, and frankly, I never understood why. My heart hurts when people hate on this game and yes, I agree that isn’t the best title in the series, but my god, Square Enix did so many things right in this game.
One of these things is the politics in the game. Now, I am not a person who follows politics or even understands politics (which is bad considering I’m studying Journalism.) But I LOVE fictional politics and much of the story is revolved around politics within a fantasy setting: the politics between the nations, the politics regarding the resistance movements, the politics regarding the cultures and the different societies existing in the world of Ivalice, and the politics around the different military groups. I just find that type of fictional politics simply fascinating even more so when it’s written well. And Final Fantasy XII did this extremely well.
One of my favourite things about Final Fantasy XII is the gameplay. Despite the way many of the side quests are presented in the game, you could classify it a single-player MMO. This was the first Final Fantasy to abandon the ‘overworld map’ and the whole appearance of the game was constructed to feel like an MMO. This was what Square Enix was going for. They wanted to try something different. There is no multiplayer included in this game and it was only made to look like an MMO as such. In my opinion, this is what drew people off of the game and why it probably is known as being one of the weaker of the Final Fantasies. For me, I really enjoyed the gameplay and the MMO-style game mechanics. It was different and fresh, and as much as I love the classic turn-based combat system, I found this new style of gameplay (especially the hunt system) exciting and gave you the chance to really explore each nook and cranny of Ivalice which made it feel like you were exploring a living breathing world. The way the gameplay was presented made you care about the world and the creatures living in it. This is something I will always cherish Final Fantasy XII for.
As for the characters, I loved them. ESPECIALLY BALTHIER AND FRAN! OH MY GOD, I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. I loved how each character interacted with each other and how they grew so close with each other throughout their journey. Before I finish, I do know that many fans consider XII to be a rip-off of Star Wars with the characters having strikingly similar arcs to those in Star Wars: (Ashe = Leia Organa, Balthier = Han Solo, Fran = Chewbacca, Vaan = Luke Skywalker, Gabranth = Darth Vader, etc.) And yes, you probably can see the Bahamut resembling the Death Star and maybe the Strahl resembling the Millennium Falcon, but I don’t think it is a direct retelling or rip-off of Star Wars. I feel it is more like Square were paying homage to Star Wars. I felt they did this on purpose as many of the similarities were very easy to spot out. The ‘evil empire’ storyline is used in countless movies, TV shows, and games so I’ve never agreed with XII being just a ‘rip-off’ but almost like a tribute to Star Wars. I adored that they did this and I think the Star Wars references work so well in the game.
So if you think Final Fantasy is not worth your time, do play through it again. It just might surprise you the second time around.
4. Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy IX, man what I can even say about this game? This game is an absolute treasure and definitely one of my favourite video games from my childhood. I remember the first time I ever played it. My brother purchased it from a second hand shop, brought it home, and we just sat there on the bed playing it the whole night, absorbing the beautiful story, the endearing cast of characters, and getting so frustrated when we’d get stuck on a very repetitive boss battle (OZMA!) And oh the grinding! Final Fantasy IX is a very grind-y game, but god, I love it to pieces!
With Final Fantasy IX, Square decided to go back to the old classic style of Final Fantasy by choosing to incorporate kings, queens, knights, princesses, castles, medieval-style towns and villages, into the story. Unlike VI, VII, and VIII with their steampunk/science fiction feel, Final Fantasy IX featured a more classical fantasy themed narrative. The characters are memorable and likable and just like XII, the game makes you feel like you are playing in a living breathing world. Locations in the game such as Lindbum and Alexandria are just breathtaking. The developers really gave you room to explore the beautiful environments and each village and city you explore is enriched with such detail and care. You can tell the team put so much work into the game to make it as satisfying to play through as possible, and they succeeded immensely. Each village and town is filled with plenty of NPCS to talk to and items to collect along with fun side quests and mini games.
This Final Fantasy also features probably my all-time favourite character, and not just my favourite Final Fantasy character, but my most cherished video game character (next to Lara Croft of course. Don’t worry, Lara. You’re still my queen.) Along with many well-written characters in this game such as Freya, Zidane, Garnet, Steiner, and Beatrix, my favourite has to be the adorable little black mage, Vivi Orniter. I mean, how can you not love Vivi? LOOK AT HIM! He goes through such a powerful character arc in the game with trying to come to terms with who he is and how he was created. At first, he starts out as this clumsy shy character but as the story goes on, he develops into this strong courageous black mage. He goes though such a journey in Final Fantasy IX and steals every scene he’s in with his unforgettable cuteness.
“How do you prove that you exist….? Maybe we don’t exist….” *Not crying!*
3. Final Fantasy VII
Of course I had to slap Final Fantasy VII on here somewhere. But unfortunately, it’s not my number one. I love Final Fantasy VII with every fibre of my being and I can’t thank it enough because it was my very first Final Fantasy.
It was the game that introduced me to the Final Fantasy series. Essentially the approach that Square wanted to do with the 7th installment in the series was to create a much different feel to Final Fantasy and to do something completely different than to all of the other Final Fantasies up until then. That was the main reason Final Fantasy VII featured a more high-tech cyberpunk-style world rather than the usual ye olde fantasy type of setting. They really wanted to make a Final Fantasy game that existed within a real life setting. This explains all of the cities, for example Midgar, and the main storyline involving Sephiroth and the Shinra Corporation. They wanted to create a Final Fantasy that seemed more realistic and wanted to make Midgar feel like a real place players could see themselves living in. They wanted to experiment with what it would feel like if magic existed in the real world. This is why I am so freakishly excited for Final Fantasy XV as that game looks to have the same type of modern day fantasy feel that VII had: a fantasy based on reality.
As I was saying, Final Fantasy VII was the very first Final Fantasy game I ever played. My brother and I are both huge fans of the series and it wasn’t until VII came out, that we became consumed and addicted to the rest of the games thanks to this special little number. And now that next year marks the 20th anniversary of the game, having the chance to experience Cloud’s story again on the PS4 port was just as beautiful and mesmerising as it was the first time I played it as a child on the PS1. I remember playing this game for the first time when I was six years old and many of the complexities within the storyline have become more understandable to me now as an adult. I still play VII whenever I get the chance and the nostalgia-bumps I get due to the characters, the gameplay, and Nobuo Uematsu’s phenomenal soundtrack just goes to show that this game will forever have a special place inside my heart.
At first, I wasn’t all that hyped about a Final Fantasy VII remake, but after watching the trailers and gameplay segments that have been released, I think releasing the remake next year on count of the 20th anniversary would be very special for the fans. I hope they can make that happen. Get on that, Nomura!
2. Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X, for me, has to be next highest on the list here. Although Final Fantasy VII was the first Final Fantasy I ever played, and IX and XII are among my favourites also, Final Fantasy X was the first Final Fantasy I ever became truly obsessed with.
What I mean by that is that this was the first game in the series that really made me want to be a part of that world living alongside these characters, which is ironic because the world, Spira, in Final Fantasy X is the LAST place anybody would want to live in. If you have not played it, play it, and you’ll see why.
When I first played this game, like I said I became obsessed with it. I would think about this game every day and every night, I would draw comics/fanart about the game, I used to dress like Yuna and pretend I was a summoner, at one point I tried to play blitzball with my cousins in the back yard (it didn’t go very well), and I even wrote fanfiction about this game! Not my finest moment, I know. But what I’m trying to say is, Final Fantasy X was the first Final Fantasy that really made me care about the characters and the world, and made me want to live in Spira. As a kid, I used to have dreams about Spira, playing Blitzball with my friends, living on Besaid Island with Yuna, Tidus, and the gang, and riding on chocobos in the Calm Lands. I just adored the relationship between Yuna and Tidus, and how beautiful and heartbreaking it was. I felt so much sorrow for the people who lived in Spira, how they had to endure this constant cycle of death with Sin every ten years, and also how they were forced to trust in such a corrupt religion like Yevon. Final Fantasy X provided a strong powerful impactful story that has continued to stay with me even now because of how much I connected with the world and the characters such as Yuna, Lulu, Auron, and Wakka especially.
Final Fantasy X was the first game in the series to include voice acting and I think this was a great idea because the voice actors really gave the character so much more depth and made the character seem more real and physical. John DiMaggio (Wakka and Kimahri) and James Arnold Taylor (Tidus) contributed fantastically to the game and gave such emotional depth to their characters, and the different range of voice acting in Final Fantasy X made it feel much more cinematic than most Final Fantasy games before it. Square made a good choice in bringing in voice acting to the series. It added more essence to the game’s landscape, characters, and storyline, and it probably wouldn’t have created such an impact on me personally if not for the amazing voice actors involved.
Another reason I love this game (as if there wasn’t enough), was the combat system. Final Fantasy X featured the original traditional Final Fantasy turn-based combat system. Unlike the games before X, the battle system consisted of active time combat. The last time we’d seen the traditional turn-based battle system were the classic Final Fantasies that were released for the SNES back in the day. This was a good decision on Square to make as it made the battles much easier to get through and allowed you to switch party members during battle. In battle, it also included a window in the upper right corner of your screen where you could see which character’s turn it was next and this was one of my favourite features about the combat system as it helped to beef up the battles a little and give the player more to engage with and even connect more with the characters.
Before I reveal my number one favourite Final Fantasy, all I have to say is: PLAY FINAL FANTASY X. It’s an incredible RPG with a strong emotional storyline, well-developed, well-written characters that stay with you forever, and a damn enjoyable turn-based battle system. What’s not to like?
1. Final Fantasy VI
And my number one all-time favourite Final Fantasy game is…. *drum rolls*
FINAL FANTASY VI!
In my opinion, Final Fantasy VI has the best plot and the best storyline of any video game ever made. I’m not kidding. The specific story, plot, setting, and characters in Final Fantasy VI are the most well-written, the most in-depth, and the most beautifully constructed things I have ever witnessed in a video game. It is a masterpiece. The plot of this game is so wonderfully complex and developed, and almost theatrical in its presentation. I love everything about it.
The story was deep and well-structured, the characters had so much meaning and depth to them, and each character such as the likes of Locke, Celes, Cyan, Gau, Terra, and the Figaro brothers have emotional backstories and incredible character growth that carries them along throughout the game. Even Mog had an ounce of characterization to him! Damn, I love that little moogle! For a SNES game that was released in 1994 that had 2D pixelated sprite graphics, it was amazing what Square was able to do with these characters and this story, and how they were able to make us, the players, feel so much for them. And even just the characters were beautiful to watch, but the towns and cities you could explore had so much detail to them. You could really tell why so many people have placed Final Fantasy VI on top of all their favourite video game lists or favourite RPG lists. It was truly a landmark in RPGs.
And how can I forget about the glorious soundtrack to this game composed by the wonderfully talented Nobuo Uematsu. You can all laugh and snicker at me all you want, but the music in Final Fantasy VI still tears me up. There are so many tracks from this game that still linger with me and even when I’m doing college work or I’m doing a bit of creative writing, I still listen to those tracks and they remind me of a simpler time when I would just play through Final Fantasy VI without a worry in the world. Some of my favourite tracks from the game include Terra’s Theme, the beautiful Searching For Friends when Celes wakes up in the world of ruin and has to seek out the others after Kefka destroys the world, the wonderful Darill’s Tomb that plays where Setzer is reminiscing about her, and of course the unforgettable Dancing Mad. Final Fantasy VI is definitely the best piece of music Nobuo Uematsu has ever composed. He just ticked off every box and got everything so right. Each theme fits each character so perfectly and the music alone makes you feel so much for these characters when their theme starts to play. There is not one track that I don’t like on this soundtrack. So Mr Uematsu, I thank you.
Another thing I have always loved about this game was the customization and battle system. What we had here was an RPG that had a similar customization to the one in Final Fantasy IV where you had about two or maybe three characters in your party that equipped actual magic and a few who equipped weapons that worked like magic for example Gau’s Rage commands and Strago’s Lore abilities. The fun thing about Final Fantasy VI’s combat and customization was that each character in the party had their own unique battle command and this made the system so much more enjoyable and made every character their own. It has always been one of my favourite active time combat systems in the series and I still enjoy playing the game just for that system.
The funny thing about why I seem to love Final Fantasy VI over many of the others I’ve talked about on this list is that I played Final Fantasy VI the latest after playing all the others on this list. I first played Final Fantasy VI shortly after completing Final Fantasy XIII for the first time back in 2010. I don’t know what it was but the game just swallowed me up and I had such a difficult time putting it down. As much as I love VII, X, IX, and XII, Final Fantasy VI just takes the cake with its memorable opening sequence with Terra, Biggs, and Wedge making their way to Narshe in magitek armour. That opening scene still gives me goosebumps and would definitely be one of my favourite, if not my all-time favourite, opening scenes to a video game.
If you take anything away from this blog post today, let it be this. Play Final Fantasy VI. It’s a beautifully crafted game with a deep storyline, a very engaging villain, a wonderful set of characters, emotional scenes that will sweep you away and have you scrambling for a box of Kleenex tissues. Final Fantasy VI is truly a remarkable RPG that has yet to be topped. But you never know, Final Fantasy XV may be just that contender I’ve been waiting for to challenge my undying love for VI.
Well, that’s really all I have to say about one of the most magical video game franchises to grace the world of gaming. If you have not played Final Fantasy before in your life, all I can say to you is: play it, enjoy it, love it. But please don’t start with the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, don’t be that person. If you are looking to get into the series but don’t have the slightest idea where to start, my advice would be to start with VI or VII. Those two are probably the most popular in the series and have been many people’s favourites since their childhood. If you are looking to get lost in a magical world and just want to forget about reality for a while, Final Fantasy is the perfect place to get started.
I hope you all enjoyed this blog post and are looking forward to the release of Final Fantasy XV as I am. Have a lovely day, folks!
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