Most Under-rated Final Fantasy title?

[Robbiedbee]

I voted FFIV, but FFV is very close. FFIV is awesome in pretty much every way, and is up there with the very best FF games in terms of plot, characters and music. When I first played the game, I thought it suffered from being a little rigid in its character development system (not enough customisation), but after getting to roughly the halfway point, I didn't miss it at all. It has a fantastic system in its own right.

This FF has to be acknowledged for its contribution to subsequent FF titles as well; it introduced a lot of things that became staples in the series.

I realise a lot of people wouldn't see FFIV as underrated because a lot of people do give it a lot of praise, but from where I'm standing, it should be way, way up there with FFVII and FFX.

 

[Hayate]

I picked IX as the most under-rated FF Game Title. =/.

It was released and I saw it in stores, I remember picking it up and saying "Na, It looks so lame." haha. I think it was because right after it was released the PS2 had just came out and everyone skipped it waiting on the release of FFX. That is what I think. I played it about a year ago and I actually liked the game. It is in my top favorite's actually. =).

 

[kaybee]

i think X-2. i mean, yes the story isn't that great but it is really fun, and the dressphere grids are brilliant. plus i had never even heard of it until i saw it jus lying on the bottom row in a gameshop while i was looking for XII lol

 

[SpreadZero]

Final Fantasy IX is really underated. :/ And I have no clue why b/c the animation was great. I loved the gameplay. Plus the characters were very likable. The most likable out of any FFIX game in my opinion I mean FFIX has a classic cast that any one can relate to.

Another under-rated title is Crystal Chronicles. I mean no one really even payed attention to it. Some go as far as to not even call it a FF game. But I thought it was fun and enjoyable. Plus its good to have nintendo consoles get a FF game.

 

[Pikazoid]

I don't know whether it's 9 or 12.
I mean 12 is kinda hated and 9 is not really loved, but it's such a great game.

 

[hidachi4]

9 was kinda released on the heels of 8 from what I remember. 8 was the futuristic game meant to match ff7's popularity. 9, as basically all of you know, went back to the medieval approach. I could be wrong on this but I really don't think 9 was marketed the way 8 was. And, like another poster said it was released right around when the PS2 was. I would not be surprised if 9 would have been the one to sell 8m copies if it was released in 1999 instead of 8, though obviously neither would have come close to the popularity of 7.

Anyway, I agree that 9 is the underrated one if there is an underrated one, but I don't know that the game itself has been underrated by those that actually played it. It just was released at an unfortunate time.

 

[hidachi4]

Also, look at 12 which was released around the same time as the PS3. It sold around the same amount of copies as 9. I'm not saying that was the only factor, but it pretty clearly had an effect. I'd expect 13 to hit the 8 million range just like 8 and 10, though maybe not since PS3 hasn't had nearly as much success as PS1 or 2

 

[MasterVivi]

I'm going to say XIII.. lol.. This game is shit on by final fantasy fans for its linearity and its lack of towns.. Both of which i agree with espically the latter, but if you can accept those two flaws the other aspects of the game are pretty good.. I loved the story and the battle system was really fun imo.. All the characters were developed nicely unlike ffxii, which really made you care about them.. Plus the soundtrack was amazing and i thought barthandelous was an awesome villan..

People are saying the ff series is dead because of this game.. I just lol at them cuz i rather enjoyed it.. cant wait for versus and ffxv ..

 

[Squid]

well I think from I - 5 were pretty underrated, but I have never played any of those so I voted for IX.

It gets so much unjust hate because of its art style and upbeat characters but I think those things are what makes this game amazing.

 

[Roland_Deschain]

HEY!!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE IS FINAL FANTASY XII???? I WAS GOING TO VOTE THIS GAME BUT ITS NOT EVEN ON YOUR POLL??? DOES THIS NOT QUALIFY? I CAN FORGIVE YOU NOT PUTTING UP X-2 ....which you didnt. BUT COME ON! WHERE IS XII lol

I think 12 is every underrated. The new battle design for me was absolutely incredible. It was a great refreshing break from your basic turn based battle Rpgs...Even though it was turned based it had such a real feeling too it. Now the story lacks..I know...But the characters were sooo cool. Especially balthier. And the world and music was beautiful. Not too mention I did like the license system.

Also some of the most callenging boss fights Ive ever had were the extra ones on that game. I would have liked to see them build off of this.

Other than that I voted for 9 because of what pretty much everyone else said.

 

[ffking]

id say either 12, 13 or tactics. hardly anyone plays tactics which sux cuz the story is amazing. Xiii gameplay is well thought out and fun. xii maybe be slow at the start but it certainly catches up

 

[Jacqui]

I was torn between V and IX. I voted for V, because I don't feel that it's noticed as much as some of the others, although I've found that people tend to scan over IX. I'm not sure between the two- V and IX are both underrated I think.

 

[Krisp]

I feel like Final Fantasy V got left out, it really has no place in the heart of nostalgic fans. FF4 and FF6 were released in the US in the 90's and received relative success, and both games have very large cults online nowadays. FF5 never got to see that kind of love due to Squaresoft not releasing it over here.

When asked if people like FF5 or not, most of the time I see people claiming they like it, but also a lot of people respond "never played it." That is a shame, I think FF5 is the best of the classics. It had a wonderful story and gameplay, and will always be one of my favorite Final Fantasies ever.

 

[Sum1sgruj]

Definitely #9. That one should actually have gotten more credit than others. Like #8 for example.

FF8? That game got way more attention then it deserved. It's actually a bit over-rated in my opinion.

 

[Espurr]

Based off only the games I've played, I would say it's a three-way tie between II, V, and XII.

II gets a lot of hate but I enjoyed it a lot.

V is always forgotten and gets rarely played by fans

XII is the same as II

If I had to choose one though it would probably be II. I've met quite a few people who enjoyed XII. For those who have played V most people I've seen seem to have enjoyed it. I've only seen a very small amount of people who have enjoyed II though so I'll go with II as most underrated.

Edit: Also XI deserves a nice honorable mention since a lot of fans are turned off by XI being an MMO.

 

[noname1520]

I'm just gonna check through all the numbered FF so far because those are the ones I know. Are these games under-rated?

I - NO, because it's the first and where it began so everyone's gonna know about it.

II - YES, because of it's cancelled releases outside of Japan it was not well known until the PS1 release.

III - YES, again the "Japan only" reason again. It was not really well known until the DS remake.

IV - NO, because of the big North American release, DS remake and introduction of the ATB to the FF series. Plus it sprung a sequel (The After Years) and is having a PSP remake

V - YES, once again the "Japan only" situation/thingy. It was not really known until the PS1 release. But I assume it's gonna be less under-rated after the release on the Wii.

VI - NO, because of the "big NA release" situation. As well the amazing story. Plus Kefka is on 1 side of the "most epic FF boss" war. (The other side consisting Sephiroth).

VII - NO, "Complications of Final Fantasy VII" must I say more.

VIII - WELL NOT REALLY, BUT I'M NOT SURE. I can't really say because I don't know much about VIII.

IX - NO, people keep saying it's under-rated even though EVERYONE knows it and EVERYONE likes it. IX is just not under-rated and this thread itself is evidence.

X - NO, it's very popular and well-known, probably second to VII. It has a sequel that is not very approved of by the FF Fanbase giving the original X more publicity.

XI - UMM, I HAVE NO IDEA! It is an MMORPG so I guess it's not under-rated.

XII - YES, even though it's very hated, it's actually a very good game, it's just very different than most FF that's all. Plus it's not even on the poll of this thread.

XIII - NO, EVERYONE ether loves it or hates it. Plus all the other FF games bearing the number XIII, (Agito, Versus) boost the name of XIII.

XIV - Can't really say, it's too new.

XV - DEFINITELY NOT! The game hasn't been announced yet and everyone's making rumors about it.

I'd have to say the most under-rated FF games are the spin-offs and FF related titles. Except Dissidia, that's the ultamate fan service, I must say.

 

[Starships]

I voted for Final Fantasy V, but really after voting thought about Final Fantasy II. How much love does this game have, or really hype ? Not much. It it has a unique battle system and unique music so it's not awful, but it still really fades into the background. FF V would come second place though. Not many people have played it, and like FF II it gets alot of hate from fans.

 

[SeraphicFeather]

1 - Yes. I think that although it is the first game & thus everybody has heard of it, theres still the fact that its seen as the most underly developed. Shame, seeing as I had loads of fun with it.

2 - Yes. I haven't played much of it yet, but I didn't specifically see much attraction to it. Its FF, so its good, but some aspects made it look ugly (character battle sprites specifically). I'm going through now regardless, but such areas are likely to detract from a really good storyline.

3 - Yes. I almost never hear any info from fans of FF3. I played the DS version & loved it. At the time, I was addicted to it. It had an amazing style of animation & the music was brilliant too.

4 - No. Its my favourite so far, but lets look at it. FF4 (NES), FF4 (PSX), FF4 (GBA), FF4 (NDS), FF4 The After Years & soon to be FF4 Complete Collection (PSP). Its coming up to popularity of FF7 & 6.

5 - Yes. I've kinda got sick of hearing people call it FF3 with a new storyline. Because honestly, FF5 had a better storyline, a better soundtrack & the sprites were mega detailed, for the time. I would personally love to see this, the overlooked game get a PSP/3DS remake.

6 - NO. People complain about FF7 being the most overrated FF to date. WRONG. I have heard MUCH more from FF6 than any other FF game to date. I must say, other than FF2, FF6 was my least favourite game. Sure, it had a very good OST & decent characters, especially Kefka, but the graphics were HORRIBLE. The storyline was boring (to me) & all these people bitch about the battle Kefka vs. Sephiroth.

7 - No. Who hasn't heard of FF7? Its an incredibly famous game that restored RPGs to glory. It has a truly wonderful storyline that ensnares all who watch. However, FF7 has been milked to the point of extremity. Whereas Crisis Core & Dirge of Cerberus were both brilliant games, with Advent Children also following up well, no other Final Fantasy game can boast a more expansive & better heard of story. That being said, it lacks one thing. A proper sequal. FF7 lacks a new, updated look for the full game that was well known & loved, perhaps this shows a small weakness in its popularity in recent years, especially since FF6 rose to fame once more. Unfortunately, the game has been spoiled in some areas, such as Sephiroth, who was overused in stupid amounts. A character that struck fear into the hearts of everybody, capable of destroying giant snakes with one slash, but now reduced to being overused & milked stupidly.
Text wall over.

8 - No. There are a very large amount of Squall & Rinoa fans out there. This game is very well known, maybe less so than the likes of 4, 6, 7 & 10, but still very popular. Not to mention that Squall was a main character in most of the Kingdom Hearts games to date, one cannot say that FF8 was underated.

9 - No. I have heard lots of decent comments on FF9. I haven't played it & didn't care too much until seeing Zidane in Dissidia. With 4 discs to play, FF9 has a fair amount of popularity too. Less than FF8, more than FF5.

10 - No/Yes. After a very long time since the previous instalment in the Final Fantasy era, there was immense popularity from the Playstation 2 FF debut of FF10. It was so popular that it became the fastest selling RPG since FF7 & would remain so until the release of Pokemon Diamond & Pearl versions. Not only this, but people genuinely enjoyed it too. With good comments all around, FF10 is an all round loved game. That being said, its sequal, FF10-2 didn't make such a big splash. FF10 was such a big up in the FF saga, that when FF10-2 was released, it seemed like such a big letdown. The graphics were decent & had certainly been improved, as well as having a faster gameplay with constant 60fps, it missed the good storyline, characters, music & challenges of the previous game. Easily compared, due to their being in the same world, FFX-2 was vastly put down for its predecessor. That didn't mean that the game was bad though. It has its flaws, as every game does, but that didn't stop it from being enjoyable. Although less of a Final Fantasy than some Final Fantasy's, it still provided many hours of fun.

12 - Yes. Almost everybody has heard of this. But that doesn't mean that it was loved by everyone. After a long anticipated 5 years since FF11 had been released, the world was set to play FF12. It boasted state-of-the-art graphics & sound (for the time) & had a solid fps, running smoothly & quite quickly. It provided a new storyline element that brought us a long way away from the other FFs. Government. Final Fantasy 12 had a lot of talk of government & such, which threw people off. Then there was the change of gameplay, which threw off more fans who found it boring. And then there was Vaan. Vaan was a unique character, but also very unloved, much like the likes of Rikku, Tidus & Wakka. His voice actor got on a lot of peoples nerves, which threw off a massive ton of fans too. FF12 also introduced the new era of Final Fantasy, the Ivalice Alliance, but through a game loved like marmite. Such a game with so much work put into it, was unfortunately pushed aside as the release of the even newer era of Final Fantasy, Fabula Nova Crystallis.

I CBA TO DO THE REST XD

 

[Rydia]

FFIX. So many people call it a child's game when the story line has some of the darkest elements in the series. And it has one of the most enjoyable story and character set of the games.

I also think FFV is underrated. It's not one of my favorites but it is in no way a bad game.

 

[Ugadawg86]

V or IX are the only 2 logical choices.