Best Final Fantasy Game?

Has too be VII for me. First one i ever played, amazing story and soundtrack. Cant count the amount of times ive completed this game. Pure masterpiece.
 
Okay, I'm about to get (theoretically) punched in the face.

The only way somebody could argue that 7 had a better story and characters than 6 is if they had never played 6.

Let's look at this one first by comparing antagonists.

>>Kefka VS Sephiroth.

I want you to take a moment and think of a few quotes or defining moments from both character. What makes them so outstanding? What really stuck in your brain.
Instantly, I can come up with plenty for Kefka. "Son of a submariner!" "There's SAND on my boots!" That time he blew up the world. "Run, run, or you'll be well done!" He used mind control on Terra. He literally became a malevolent God.
What do I come up with for Sephiroth? He once chucked materia at Cloud. He killed Aeris. He summoned a meteor to kill everybody. Other than that, I can't remember anything he ever said, other than some mindscrew shit he fed Cloud.
What does this mean? It means Kefka is a more effective character. Sure, Sephiroth is a total badass who was ahead of his time (playing the game now, however... eyuuugh, his type seems so over done nowadays.), but he wasn't much of a character. Yeah, he killed Aeris. Yeah, he tried to blow up the Planet. But what about him as a character? What do we really know about him as a personality other than he went psycho after finding out he was genetically altered?
Kefka stays with us after that first scene on his way to Figaro. You know you're going to both love and hate this guy the minute he appears. Therefore, he is more effective as a character.
Also, think about how much screen time they have in comparison to each other. Kefka almost feels like one of the main party by the end!! And seriously? When is the first time you see Sephiroth in the flesh? Halfway through disk one? And then again at the end? Really?
(Sephie does have that sword thing going for him, though. And the black leather. So... I guess he kind of has that "Make Cloud his bitch" thing, too?)

Next, I'll look at the three main characters.

>>Terra/Celes/Locke VS Cloud/Aeris/Tifa

This one is going to really get me killed. This is also the one that makes 6 better hands down.
Basically, in seven, you have this in-your-face love triangle that makes you feel either irritated or wanting to "kill-for-your-ship." (I guess if Sephiroth ships Cloud/Tifa, then he literally DID kill for his ship...) In six, you have this hint of something at the beginning with Terra and Locke that quickly changes gears to friendship with a Celes/Locke pairing on the side. No love triangle, no leaving the audience hanging. The game focuses more on the development of Terra as a human being learning to love, Celes atoning for her sins and learning to be accepted as a woman, and Locke getting over Rachel and letting his past go.
What does Cloud/Aeris/Tifa do? Well, Cloud is so mentally fucked up until the second disk it is impossible for him to love either girl. And I'm not referring to his angsty-ness: no, I'm referring to the fact he literally thought he was somebody else. Aeris spends the first disk being really nice and making you like her, then she dies. No development, just "sweet, virginal saint chick." Yup, go ahead and lynch me, I'm pointing out that Aeris is a flat character. She doesn't change; she doesn't have any sort of obstacle to overcome. She has always known she was a Cetra and accepts that; there is no conflict here. She is a plot device used to make the player feel angry and want to kill Sephiroth. That's all. I don't know what to say about Tifa; I know I like her. She's badass and maternal and all that, but she doesn't really have that much internal conflict. The truth is, FF7 is about Cloud's conflict, and the other characters are just part of that. Now, compare that to 6: who is the main character, even? We learn so much about every character that they seem more human, more like real people. I can't think of one of the central characters that actually piss me off and irritate me.
Don't get me wrong: I like 7 a lot. It is a fantastic game. The characters in 6 are just better written.

Finally, let's look at the story.

>>Plot VS Plot

Final Fantasy 7's plot isn't that great. Think about it: A tortured young man joins a rebel group with his hot, childhood friend and Mr. T. Soon, meets a mysterious girl and hears about a mysterious and pretty-boy SOLDIER (who happens to be an old friend) who has gone on a bit of a random rampage. Then, the mysterious girl turns out to be important, but she dies. Some shit goes down, and the SOLDIER decides to kill everybody for no reason. Cloud finds out he never actually was who he thinks he is and becomes an okay guy. Then they save the world. The end.

Now think about 6: A mysterious girl attacks a town while being controlled by an evil empire. She finds a strange beast and passes out, and is then rescued by a dashing rouge. She goes to a desert kingdom and meets a hilarious king and recognizes a fantastically creepy clown-guy. Then she meets some rebels, and the party splits up, after which the story line gets too complicated for me to accurately summarize. You meet way more awesome characters, fight a fucking train, watch the world literally get destroyed, and more. Each character gets more developed and you learn about them. They begin to feel like real people; you start to care. And, by the end, you really, really want Kefka dead, not just because of one cute girl he killed, but for the serious damage he's done to these poor character's lives. One death? Traumatic, yeah, but 7's cast gets over it. 6's cast has their lives torn apart; their towns destroyed, their family and friends murdered in cold blood by a man who has the power of a God. That kind of damage couldn't be resolved through revenge to one man: 6 hadn't even begun by the end. Think about all the repairs and adjustments that would need to be made to the world. (Before you say anything, I remember that meteor messes Midgar up. But they've still got power, remember? I think they develop electricity or something - it's been awhile since I last saw AC.)

Anyway, there's some of my reasons for liking 6 better than 7. Any (respectful) thoughts on my reasons?

EDIT: Holy man, that is one hell of a long essay. Pahahaha. xD
 
Okay, I'm about to get (theoretically) punched in the face.

The only way somebody could argue that 7 had a better story and characters than 6 is if they had never played 6.

That's a bit of a rude thing to say, tbh. I've played both VI and VII and I had way more fun playing VII. I can't even finish VI because frankly, I find it to be extremely boring, I hate the dialogue, I hate the battle system and I don't find any of the characters interesting so far (save Edgar, Sabin and Cyan). I just find the whole game to be kind of meh. I tried to keep trucking, hoping it would get better but I still find myself rage quitting every few hours. To each his own though.

That's not to say I thought VII had the most interesting characters in the world either. I didn't really think any of the characters in VII were spectacular nor did I think Sephiroth was a fantastic villain but I enjoyed the gameplay way more than VI.

That said, I think the best FF game is IX. I loved the characters, the story, the fantasy feel, the environments, the music and the villain. I just thought it was a great game all around.
 
That's a bit of a rude thing to say, tbh. I've played both VI and VII and I had way more fun playing VII. I can't even finish VI because frankly, I find it to be extremely boring, I hate the dialogue, I hate the battle system and I don't find any of the characters interesting so far (save Edgar, Sabin and Cyan). I just find the whole game to be kind of meh. I tried to keep trucking, hoping it would get better but I still find myself rage quitting every few hours. To each his own though.

That's not to say I thought VII had the most interesting characters in the world either. I didn't really think any of the characters in VII were spectacular nor did I think Sephiroth was a fantastic villain but I enjoyed the gameplay way more than VI.

That said, I think the best FF game is IX. I loved the characters, the story, the fantasy feel, the environments, the music and the villain. I just thought it was a great game all around.

Ah, but see? You are not arguing that VII had a better story and characters, you're arguing that IX was better. I think that could be argued fairly, and from a gameplay perspective I think it could be argued that many of the later Final Fantasies are better than VI.

For the record, I love IX, and I couldn't pick a favourite if I was forced to choose between IV, VI and IX. They're all so good in different ways.

I think that's the beauty of the series - there's something in it for everybody. :)

(And a side note - I apologize if I came off as rude; that was not my intent.)
 
My favorite Final Fantasies in order will have to be

5) Final Fantasy 8 - The only thing wrong it was the love story between Squall and Rinoa. However, this is a pretty awesome game.

4) Final Fantasy 13 - Screw all other people that down this game. It's freakin' beautiful, Leona Lewis sings its theme, the story and gameplay are awesome, and virtually no sidequests that they cause me to fail a semester accomplishing.

3) Final Fantasy 7 - This was hands down my favorite FF, until I matured the understand and respect the complexities (and simultaneously, the simplicity) of the others.

2) Final Fantasy 9 - Its ten year anniversary will be tomorrow, so I must have been 8 when I got it. This game had best graphics of the PS1 trilogy, a pretty decent storyline (albeit the Zidane-Garnet love story), and it was completely composed by Nobuo Uematsu.

1) Final Fantasy 6 - Hands down the best Final Fantasy. An ensemble storyline so that there was no central character, awesome music (second to FF9), an insanely evil final boss (Sephiroth < Kefka), character that learn magic in ways that do not question my intelligence (no buying, or learning via clothing or naturally), and the first death of a Cid.
 
Hmmm, for some reason i always felt an attachment to VII. I thought the game did what every earlier FF had and did it well, possibly even better. The gameplay was fantastic, the music epic, the characters had deep stories with alot of self development(i especially liked the idea of the multi pesonalty dysfunctional reunion induced soldier cloud, who in the end transformed into his true self, a stoic and quiet delivery boy LMAO), the story was incredible with nice twists and turns, but till giving that customizable feel. But i liked that FF7 evolved from just the game ito something more(well, you have to read the n the way to a smile texts before watching AC, otherwise it will make almost no sense), it deepens the likeness of the story imo.
 
FFIX was my fav, lovable characters, simple yet fun battle system I enjoyed the story and I love the cut scenes and the cuteness between dagger and Zidane!

<3
 
My top 3 Final Fantasy games would be:

3- Final Fantasy IV: This is the first Final Fantasy I've played. It's a classic. I really liked the battle system (ATB) when it came out. The story and music are really good and the game was hard (which is good IMO). I really like what Matrix software did with the remake on the DS.

2- Final Fantasy VII: I also have a lot of good memories related to that game. The replay value of this game is high. The story is complex and on the first playthrough at some points you really don't know what is going on. The scene where Aeris dies is one of the most dramatic moment in Final Fantasy history. The music is also amazing.

1- Final Fantasy VI: I think this one is the best Final Fantasy ever made. The characters are memorable and they are well developed. The story is really good even though it's the typical empire vs rebels story (for the first half of the game). I really like the fact that you have to recollect all the characters in the WOR (not mandatory though). The soundtrack is amazing and most of my favourites FF tracks are in this game.
 
Even though my fav as always been FFVIII for personal reasons, I will always aknowledge IX as the best one. Maybe not storywise, but for everything else it's got to offer. It mixes everything FF ever came up with that was awesome (except for a job system, but you can't have every single thing in one game now do you).

The ability system, the minigames, the soundtrack, name it. It's right on the money for a classic RPG.
 
I have played almost all of them but X for me is the one just the story , extras and battle system.
 
Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy IX are the best IMO. They just have everything they need. The music in all three is good and they all kind of set a standard in the time they were released.

I don't think FFVII is the best because it has plot holes, seems kind of rushed and the characters were WAY to unbalanced.

I love Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XIII but I think the other three are "better".

FFVI is the best... It's pretty much perfect in my opinion. >.>
 
I pick vii, ix, and x, ff tactics psp

they all made me never put the controller down with tons of side quests to be played.

Vii has a great story and characters with amazing gameplay.

IX feels lik a true fantasy and was just tons of fun

X had voice acting for the 1st time in a ff game and had amazing summons

Tactics has a unique and unforgettable story with many plot twists
 
I say Final Fantasy X. It was the first one I played, and I loved the story, characters, battle system, and I have the complete soundtrack on my iPod. No other Final Fantasy has done that for me, and I've played about all of them.
 
Crisis Core is a masterpiece. perhaps the best FF game I have ever played. I loved Zack's story and he has by far the best personality and storyline of any Final Fantasy character (Unlike some of the more emo characters like Cloud), and the way battle flowed gave me better control of my character's actions and being able to dodge on the fly. My close second favorite is FF9.
 
everybody knows that ff VII changed the whole perspective of see the role playing game when it came out on playstation

but i must to say that the best game ever of final fantasy's saga, is the XII one.
i mean, the ivalice team made a stunningly development and they explored all the properties of the console
the story is so mature and solid (in my opinion it's better than the VII )and the best detail was that the main character, vaan, is not a typical protagonist because the story doesn't have its form because of him
i mean, when you play there are a characters already that have a conflict, a problem and a story, and you just play as a viewer. you are just a simple kid that finished inside of all that matter because life is like that xD.

i don't know
but i think that was cool
 
My favorite is FF VIII. After I finished it, there was just...almost nothing I really didn't like about it. It had nice characters, a good story and I loved the music.
Next would be IX. It's so magical and made me feel with the characters and - in my opninion - it has the best OST of all FFs.
I also like VI, X and VII much, but none of them beats VIII or IX <3
 
I preferred the combat system of FF12, and the realism, and the fantasy. Great story and settings that kept me addicted. The only thing that was missing was the ability to fly the airship myself in 3d, even though the main character Vaan kept looking up towards becoming an airship captain someday throughout the story. They haven't made one that lets you do that yet.
 
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