Ranking the main Final Fantasy games from worst to best

Digital Spy:
With the release of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD - a PS4 and Xbox One remaster of a four-year-old PSP game - as well as a playable teaser for the much-anticipated Final Fantasy XV, now's the perfect time to look back at the seminal Japanese role-playing series, and rank each game from worst to best.

Ignoring direct sequels (sorry, X-2 and Lightning Returns) and massively multiplayer entries XI and XIV (which are great in their own right), we're focusing on the games that make up the core numbered sequels.

Do we think fan-favourite VII is the best? How does the 16-bit era stand against its contemporaries? Read on to find out... and be wary of some small spoilers!

[greenmiker]

FF IX in the first place? FF X was the best 3D game of the series.

[ameliabaz]

FFIX is the better game, imo.

[breakpad]

i would sound familiar and graphic ....but nothing beats FF VII ...the game is not only the best FF but also a gem of gems in gaming if you consider how many good aspects were combined perfectly (maybe by luck) and created FF VII ...FF XII had also a similar feeling (of very well produced game)

[HeavenlySnipes]

I may be in the minority, but I think FFIX is better than 7 in every way

I can't come up with anything from VII that I think was done better than it was in IX

[thereapersson]

IX absolutely NAILS the Final Fantasy experience. I did put a lot of hours into FFX, but FFIX is my absolute favorite.

[floetry101]

Final Fantasy IX is a fantastic game and one of the best in the series, but VII paved the way. VII takes the cake on the basis that it was so genre defining. It made the Playstation what it is today. No comparison in my book. VII is the best in the series and the greatest video game ever made.

[Dasteru]

@HeavenlySnipes:

Materia. As much as i liked the learn through equip/use system in FFIX, i prefered the Materia system.

[Snookies12]

Well, in terms of Final Fantasy games, X is exquisite there's no doubt there. However, when talking about the true Final Fantasy experience, IX nailed it perfectly.

[Canary]

Well, except for Kuja's thong.

[Dgander]

FF7 and FF9 are tied in my opinion. FF10 is when theytook out the world map the series started going downhill. Mind explaining FF10 story to me? Anyone that says they like it has never been able to explain it to me to this day.

[xabmol]

He was but a dream within a dream that manifested into a living person, inside of someones dream??

That's all I got...

[Dgander]

@xabmol Exactly, makes no sense right?.....FF10 was confusing and when they started making the series more linear to cater to casuals.

[Snookies12]

How does making it more linear cater to casuals? FF X had really in-depth systems, sphere grid, weapon/armor creation, monster hunting, etc. These advanced systems would scare casuals away. Also, it was about the journey, they weren't really supposed to be going all over the world. They were headed for Yuna's destination and making the necessary stops on the way.

As for the story, the Faiths (who could manifest their power into physical form) were dreaming of Zanarkand. It became such a powerful dream that it actually pulled Tidus out from their dream and manifested him into Spira. He was essentially a summon. When he killed Yu Yevon, the Faiths could finally fall into eternal slumber which meant all of their power would fade away including him. That's the gist of the story.

[-Foxtrot]

FF12 above FF8, FF6 and FF10

...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media...

[DarkOcelet]

FF XII is my favorite FF game of all time. Its a matter of personal opinion :)

[Canary]

"It's a matter of personal opinion."

I disagree. No matter how much you enjoy FFXII, you can't ignore the fact that it was (very obviously) unfinished.

[Relientk77]

I think Final Fantasy IX is the best, so I agree with that being in the #1 position, but don't agree with FF12 being so high

FF6-10 are the 5 best

[Snookies12]

This right here, those were the most magical times in the Final Fantasy franchise.

[DarkOcelet]

Whats with FFXII hate lol. Its amazing.

[-Foxtrot]

No one is saying it's shit, it's no FF13 but it had a fair share of problems that made other FF games superior.

I liked it, I don't think it's deserving of the amount of hate it has but I can see why people didn't like it. Other FF games just did it better

The game felt a tad rushed and didn't really draw you in...

[Timesplitter14]

I swear I already saw that article twice on the front page this week

[hkgamer]

put vii and ix below iv and then its more like my list.

even numbered ff are just so much bettter than the odd numbered

[Elda]

I enjoyed played majority of the titles going back to the SNES days except the mmo's but FF-X & XIII are my top fav & FF-XV may be included also.

[hkgamer]

if you have enough time in your hands i suggest you give ffxiv arr a try. i played it when it launched on ps3 and was very noob friendly, not too many asshole elitists that wants to do everything perfect knowing full well that some people are new to the game.
the leveling structure of main and sub classes means that people building up teir sub classes will play low level instances so the community will always be there.

play it for a few months and you will probably enjoy it for what it is.

[salazarnaruto52]

They got it right! Final Fantasy IX is easily the best in the series

[Dasteru]

Worst to best:

XIII
XIII-3
XIII-2
X-2
II
I
III
VII
VIII
X
V
XII (IZJS)
IV
VI
IX

[Scatpants]

Ranking 7 this low and below 10 and 12 is a travesty. You must be under 25 years old.

[Dasteru]

27 actually and i have played all the FFs to completion. FFVII is good but it is also massively overrated. 90% of the people who say it is the best are just nostalgic.

[hkgamer]

i liked x-2 had an interesting battle system, i personally would rate that higher.
never really fully played 1 and 2 is untouched on my psp.

viii is my personal favourite which i can get back into anytime.

xii never got to play zodiac version but loved the environment and also the cusomisation of characters and battle options. could technically play it with no gambits and play it as an active time battle game or even have the normal turn based mechanic on. probably my sexond favourite.

@scatpants
i guess you are 26, every one who hates vii must be younger than you.

[gamejediben]

I preferred VI above all the others but otherwise this ranking is pretty accurate.

VI had the best music in the whole series. I still listen to remixed versions in my car all the time. It had two of the best female protagonists (Terra and Celes) is gaming history. The best villain in the entire series (sorry, Sephiroth). Seriously, Kefka is one eff'd up mother and he actually succeeds in destroying the world! Add in the finest home console graphics of 1994 and one of the funniest gaming moment's of all time http://31.media.tumblr.com/... and you've got a legitimate masterpiece.

These past 21 years have been kind to FFVI. They just don't make games like this anymore...

[Number-Nine]

I like how they gave FF13 some love. Best battle system in the series

[chadwarden]

indeed. I had so much fun with it

[manaxknight1]

reminded me a lot of mystic quest

[Kakashi Hatake]

FF 9 is so overrated. The battle system was crap and the limit breaks and summons were lame as can be. The characters are not as exciting as FF7, 8,or 10. FF 8 is criminally underrated.

[Kakashi Hatake]

To everyone disagreeing with my last post,can you explain what made 9 so good? I think the music was very much inferior to 7 and 8. The limit breaks sucked. Cloud and Squall had awesome limit breaks like OmniSlash and and LionHeart, what did Zidane have? In 9, not everyone could summon or use magic. People complain about 8s drawing system but at least everyone could use magic and summons.

What iconic boss battles did 9 have? The story in 7 and 8 were far better than in 9. 9 was too lighthearted and took a step back in terms of intensity. 4 characters just doesn't work as well as 3 in turn based combat. While 9 was a good game, it's way overrated.

[Setzer007]

Zidane had heart and FF9 undoubtedly had one of the best endings in the series. The music was inferior to 7 & 8? The OST in this game was amazing.

[Dasteru]

I guess in the end it is all a matter of opinion but IMO you have near everything backwards. FFIX is highly regarded as having some of the best music in the FF series. The combat system is also IMO much better than VIIs. I'll agree the limits were one of the major downsides to FFIX. Lionheart was good but the limits were a pain to actually use in FFVIII with the stupid button mash mini games. Magic and Summons were not suppose to be useable by everyone, FFIX was trying to be more like the older FF games where you actually had specific classes like Black Mages, White Mages, Warriors, Thiefs, etc. Not everyone was a jack of all trades. Again IMO it was a more fun system. As for magic and summons in FFVIII, yeah everyone could use them but whenever you use magic, the character would actually loose stats and get weaker until the magic was replaced and when getting a kill with a summon, you do not gain any exp for the characters as the summon is considered as its own specific character rather than a tool of the user. Boss battles are not about how iconic they are, they are about fun factor. FFIX had Ozma anyway which is one of the most iconic side bosses in FF history. Look up any list of most memorable FF side bosses and Ozma is in the top 3 on near all of them. As far as being overrated, coming from someone who is talking up FFVII... lol. FFVII is the most overrated game in video game history by a mile. As i said above, 90% of the people who think it is the best only think so due to nostalgia. It was a good game and there are a few things (Materia) that i really wish would be used again in future FF games, but overall, it isn't nearly as good as alot of people claim.

[Setzer007]

FFVI does not belong in the #5 spot.

[Jubez187]

I'm an old school swords and sorcery FF fanboy, but to say FFX is worse than FFXII you're on DRUGS

[dark-kyon]

best at worst
1-ff tactics
2-ff 7
3-ff 9
4-ff 6
5-ff 4
6-ff 8
7-ff 10
8-ff10-2
9-ff 12
10-ff 5
11-ff 3
12-tie between ff 13-ff 13-2 and ff 13-3