Final Fantasy I to XV: Ranking the series from worst to best

Now that Final Fantasy XV is finally out, it's time to see where it stands with other games in this landmark role-playing game series that debuted in 1987.

[PhoenixUp]

Interesting choice in ranking

[Epicor]

I actually agree with most of this list. Glad to see IX on top - my personal favourite! Also I would rank VI as 2nd best.

[ninsigma]

FF12 ahead of 7?? Can't possibly agree with that.

[Gaming_Cousin]

I also disagree with Final Fantasy 8s placing. Should be higher

[ninsigma]

Wasn't the biggest fan of 8 but again, a better game than 12 lol

[_-EDMIX-_]

Lol

I absolutely love the game play of Final Fantasy 12! Too bad that story was complete utter garbage.

I love everything about Final Fantasy 7

[Kashima]

FF12, 13 and 15 are the worst to me.

[Hotabang]

same here

[Relientk77]

Final Fantasy 9 is my favorite

I do think Final Fantasy 8 should be higher on the list

[Omnislashver36]

IX I actually wish was getting remade this generation. They could really 'perfect' that art style with today's tech, and it had all of the quirky, awesome, and cinematic tropes you could ask for in a Final Fantasy. VII is also great to remake but I wish it was PS5 as it's art style no doubt calls for more realism.

[rainslacker]

9 is probably my favorite. Mostly because they took the series back to it's roots after the more steam punk of 7 and 8. It also had great pacing and a wonderful story that was serious and dark but not so in your face with the themes like they did in the prior games.

I really enjoyed FF8 too, but it's pacing was pretty slow at first, but once you got to the 2nd disc I really enjoyed it.

I can say I'm looking forward to this collection they have coming out. hopefully with some updated graphics at least akin to the PC port of FF7 they did recently. Been a while since I binge played the whole series. Should be fun.:)

[Kakashi Hatake]

Don't see how 9 is ahead of the 7,8,and 10. Always thought 9 was a huge downgrade from 8 in terms of battle system. Limit breaks are so lame in 9.

[ninsigma]

I would definitely put 9 ahead of 8 and 10 personally. Imo 6, 7 and 9 are probably the best in the series.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Holy disagrees Batman. Name 3 things 9 does better than 7,8, and 10. 9s battle system was incredibly dated. Weak main character, etc.

[Epicor]

Well these things are surely a matter of personal taste, but:
1. Characters. 7 comes close imo but I feel 9 had the most diverse and interesting characters that each had great side stories that didn't feel meaningless nor out of place.
2. Music. 7 comes again close and while 7 had better individual tracks 9 had overall better and more fitting soundtrack.
3. General feel of the world. Humorous, fun, fantasy-like, engaging... More so than the other entries in the series. Wonderful mini games, great villains, interesting areas to explore, lots of secrets to discover. For me the 9th one is THE ultimate final fantasy.

[Omnislashver36]

9 has all of the quirky, fantastical, cinematic, and awesome tropes you could ask for in a Final Fantasy. It's timeless in my opinion and way better than 10, although a good game. 8 was confusing and I still couldn't tell you what was going on. I mean, Squall's a great character but edginess took priority over story in my opinion. Magic was also very good in 9, way better than 8. Objectively it has one point in magic that you can't break the system as easily. 4 player battles, fantastical themes, diverse cast, some plot twists, and all with a heavy dose of nostalgia. It's near perfect and battles 7 in my opinion as best FF(still haven't played 6, but Nomura may remake that next as he said he's interested in remaking SNES generation games)

[MoveTheGlow]

9 over 6. Wow... kinda bold! I think there's some real inconsistency in 9 that keeps it from being great (like how the CG cutscenes look absolutely nothing like their counterparts, particularly Kuja, something went wrong there). Then again, the card game in 9 was amazing on its own.

God, FFXII.
"Final Fantasy XII plays more like a Western RPG, like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic."
Well, yeah, and like KOTOR 2 it lacked a proper endgame.

[goldwyncq]

Final Fantasy has always been about the story and the characters for me and IX tops VI in both categories.

[Ogygian]

To be honest, 6 is a bit old.

I played it just a couple of months ago, and while it's quite interesting, the 2D Final Fantasies have pretty generic worlds.

[MoveTheGlow]

I guess in a way I was in the right place at the right time to love VI. It's more about what it did differently then, as opposed to what it would actually be now, which... yeah, that makes sense.

I think, on the contrary, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time to play 9. I wanted them to go further with the whole cyberpunk thing that was sorta happening in 8, but alas. And by the time they got really futuristic, it was XIII, and that thing had other issues.

[BrandanT]

Looks like everyone has their own favorites for final fantasy. Everyone disagrees and puts up their own.

VI is the best for me!

[Ogygian]

For most people, nostalgia factor is put ahead of reason. My first FF game was 9 so I accept that perhaps I might be overrating it.

Also, we need to judge games as they are now, and not when they first came out so that rankings are actually useful to people. The 2D Final Fantasy games just aren't that great anymore. I found 7 unplayable due to the shockingly bad graphics (I'm eagerly awaiting the remake, however, so I can enjoy the story).

If all Final Fantasy games came out today, 15 would no doubt be one of the best, and that's where it should be. It doesn't benefit from the nostalgia of the others, but it is a great game.

[gamerpop]

I think you're confusing modernity with "great". No shit FFXV trumps the others in regards to scale and aesthetic, but that doesn't make it impressive. Old FF games were genre leading. XV is not better than Fallout 4, let alone Witcher 3, Mass Effect, etc. XV is good, that's all.

[WoshJills]

I think we can all agree 13 is one of the less acclaimed ones.
In my opinion, Final Fantasy games didn't get good until #3.

My favorites are 9 and 4. I really like 3, 7, and 8. I am looking forward to 6.

[Tzuno]

3,9,10,12,13....9 was my favorite, now it's 12

[SephirothX21]

People think they're great putting VI before VII. VII is the best FF game. Everybody knows it but its too obvious so people like to put other FF games ahead of it to stand out. The characters, the story, the world, the ability to explore with the airship, the chocobo breeding, the mini games, the soundtrack and one of the best villains of any video game ever. FF VII is not just the best FF game but perhaps the best game ever released. VI is brilliant don't get me wrong and VIII, IX and X were also great but VII is in a league of its own. There's a reason everybody wanted the game to be remade and if the remake is half as good, I'll be quite happy.

@Below
If that's your actual opinion then fine but I have played all the games as well and strongly disagree with you. I thought the pacing of VII's story was great and for its time and the hardware it had to run on, it was a greater achievement than the games that followed. IX had a better battle system but IX's characters were dull and the game didn't offer the same level of exploration as VII. The villain was also uninteresting. VII had a better combat system to VI and the story and characters were just plainly more mature, well-rounded and more likable.

The majority of people who say VI is better than VII are playing hipster. VII is the only one being remade for a reason.

[ShadowWolf712]

IX and VI are better than VII. VII is dated as heck, with a completely unintimidating villain and a cast whose development is handed to you in one big chunk that interrupts the overall narrative. Everything VII introduced has since been done far better, even within the same franchise. Both handled character development and story better, and IX created a far more interesting world. I think this because I've played them and it's my actual opinion. You don't get to try to invalidate it with nonsense about how anyone who doesn't agree with yours is just playing hipster.

[ShadowWolf712]

I agree with #1 and #2, but the rest is a bit iffy.