My Top 5 Final Fantasy Games

I've been playing RPG games for a very long time! I'll admit I didn't get into them until the PlayStaion One era so I didn't play the early Final Fantasy games or Chrono Trigger when they first came out. I have played most Final Fatasy games now though and I wanted to throw together a list of my favorite 5 games in the franchise. I will count sequel games even though some might think those don't count as stand-alone games. Alright, let's get to the list!


5. Final Fantasy X

I remember back in 2000 seeing screenshots of this games and being amazed! It was the first Final Fantasy game for the PS2 era and the first in the series that would have voice acting! It's so weird to think of big name RPG games without voice acting but until this game came out that was pretty much the norm. The game came out in 2001 and blew people away!

The reason I really like this game is the story. It's probably the best story of the Final Fantasy games I've played. It is a story about fantasy but it's a love story at it's heart. Some of the voice acting holds it back from being truly great to me but it's not a big deal outside of the horrible Tidus laughing scene! God that's the worst scene in gaming! The combat system is really solid as well! It's on PS4 so if you haven't played it, it's easily accessible and it's like $20 for it and X-2 now.

4. Final Fantasy XIII-2

I really like the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy! I know that a lot people don't care for them but they struck just the right cord for me. I do think the story in all the games connects well and it's a deep story that needed more than one game to explore. The combat system and characters are the reason I will always love them.

I put XIII-2 on here over Lightning Returns because this game kept the same style of gameplay and combat system as XIII. I also really liked us getting to have a full game with Serah since you spend most of the first game trying to save her. The monster system is pretty solid as well and has a Pokémon vibe to it that I liked! And seeing Lightning in full on God mode is amazing!

3. Final Fantasy XV

This game had so much pressure around it! It was technically announced the same time that Final Fantasy XIII was in 2006 but it was called Final Fantasy vs XIII. It got cancelled as that game and got branded Final Fantasy XV and finally came out in 2016 to mostly positive responses.

This has been one of the more interesting Final Fantasy games in that they have done a ton of updates to it. It had major changes to certain chapter in the story and there has been a good bit of dlc for it. Despite all that I loved it! I was attached to these characters and my God the graphics and presentation are probably the best in the series! The way the summons are done in this game blew me away! You have to fight them like in other games but man they're so epic here! That Leviathan fight though!

2. Final Fantasy XIII

So yeah, Final Fantasy XIII is my second favorite Final Fantasy game! I fell in love with this game the first night I got back from getting it! The way it looks, the combat system, the characters, all top notch in my opinion! I totally get that this game isn't for everyone and some people hated this game because it felt so different, but it hit just right for me!

I think Lightning is one of the most interesting characters in the franchise! She has the emo attitude of Squall and Cloud but has a real side to her that those characters didn't to me. The whole point of her doing what she is doing is to find and help her sister! The story is very deep and can definitely be confusing the first time you play and I totally get people not caring but I loved it! I read all the entries in game about the lore and ate it up!

The combat in this game is the best in the franchise! It's so fast and gets very deep in the last third of the game. They actually made buffs and debuffs matter in a Final Fantasy game and that's awesome! The weapon upgrade system is a little overly confusing but thats fine, just watch a YouTube video and you'll be good! I'm hoping that this game gets the PS4 treatment like X and XII did but I'm not gonna hold my breath since it was controversial, even though it's one of the best selling Final Fantasy games.

1. Final Fantasy VII

This was the first RPG I ever played and it's the reason I started caring about stories in games! I didn't fully understand the story and characters' motives the first time I played it but I loved it anyway. Having played though this game a ton now, it's astonishing how well told the story is and how developed the characters are!

This was the first Final Fantasy game not on a Nintendo platform and there was a ton of pressure on it. Well, from the opening moments people knew that it was something special! The graphics and presentation were things we hadn't seen in a game before and it changed the format of RPG games forever! This and Chrono Trigger were the trendsetters that all other RPG games would use for the next 10 or so years!

The combat system was great, having the ability to get side characters like Vincent, and a vast amount of side stuff/bosses to take on makes this one of the most replayable FF games. I get that some think this game gets too much hype and I respect that, but this is not only my favorite FF game but it will probably forever be in my top 5 games of all time! And with a remake coming at some point, that has me hyped out of my mind! As long as I live long enough to play that, my life will be good!