Most Under-rated Final Fantasy title?

Which Entry in the Final Fantasy series is the most under-rated?

  • Final Fantasy I

    Votes: 1 1.2%

  • Final Fantasy II

    Votes: 4 4.7%

  • Final Fantasy III

    Votes: 2 2.4%

  • Final Fantasy IV

    Votes: 4 4.7%

  • Final Fantasy V

    Votes: 14 16.5%

  • Final Fantasy VI

    Votes: 2 2.4%

  • Final Fantasy VII

    Votes: 2 2.4%

  • Final Fantasy VIII

    Votes: 13 15.3%

  • Final Fantasy IX

    Votes: 22 25.9%

  • Final Fantasy X

    Votes: 3 3.5%

  • Final Fantasy XI

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Final Fantasy XIII

    Votes: 6 7.1%

  • Spin-offs(Tactics, Crystal Chronicles, etc...)

    Votes: 9 10.6%

  • None of the games are under-rated.

    Votes: 3 3.5%
  • Total voters
    85
FFI - Properly Rated. It was greatly featured in Nintendo Power and had its own strategy guide that Nintendo Power put out. It's a great game (for the time) considering that this was supposed to be the last game Square ever made, but it had lots of recognition at the time (and it's also the one I wanted the most out of any video game as a kid)

FFII - Properly Rated. It DID have a great story line (for the time) and was way ahead of its time, however the leveling system was broken and the game made it hard to figure out where to go (as did FF1). Also had those empty rooms with nothing in them to waste your time. I understand why this game never made it to the USA.

FFIII - Under Rated. Though the story was mostly sidequests, it introduced job classes ( though a bit broken at the time, it paved the way for future games). This could have been a great game in the USA if it made it over here. Sadly though, I don't remember much about it, as I beat it on an emulator long ago and didn't seem THAT memorable.

FFIV - I'm gonna say properly rated, even though this is my favorite game in the franchise. The story was great and the characters are probably the best in the history of Final Fantasy. The soundtrack was awesome as well (boss battle theme in 4 is the best of them all). It had emotional moments (Cecil becoming a paladin, being shipwrecked on the shore of the town you pillaged, etc). This game, to me, DEFINES Final Fantasy. It DID get a lot of recognition by Nintendo Power at the time (and called Final Fantasy 2), as well as having many ports and remakes.

FFV - Under Rated. I don't get why this game never made it to the USA. The story was good and the job class system was very well put together. Characters were a little flat with Bartz and Reina/Lenna, but Galuf and Faris kept me entertained. Lots to do, many secrets, places to explore, and a damn great soundtrack.... and yet, never came to the USA until the PS1 era... and even then, not recognized enough at the time.

FFVI - Under Rated. Most FF fans love this game the most. Characters and story are top notch, and this game definitely defines Final Fantasy. I'm saying it's underrated because FF6, Called Final Fantasy 3 here, I didn't hear much about it at the time. Not much in Nintendo Power and not much from anybody I knew. Now, it's not underrated, but at the time I think it was.

FFVII - Properly Rated. Even though FF7 is probably the best game in the franchise (definitely the best game on the PS1), many people already recognize the game as being great. Some STILL say this is the best video game ever made. The characters and story are the best in any video game I've ever played, and the music was wonderful. Graphics didn't age well, but at the time, it was the best anyone has ever seen. VERY awesome game, but got all the recognition it deserved from people, gaming magazines, internet, etc. And Aeris....... well..... the scene with her is the most memorable of ANY video game, movie, tv series, etc EVER.

FFVIII - Over Rated. This game was very overrated. After the success of FF7, EVERYONE was looking for the next one. VERY VERY high expectations were made for FF8, and I feel like, even though FF8 was good, it did not live up to the hype. There were too many flat characters, the junction system and draw system didn't really work well, and the whole thing about getting paid and taking quizzes and upgrading weapons just didn't make the game seem to fit. Music was okay, but forgettable. Never lived up to the hype.

FFIX - Under Rated. After FF8 was kind of a let down, not many fans seemed to look forward to FF9, and the series was starting the decline. Also, at the time, there were too many RPG's out there (Suikoden, Lunar, Legaia, Breath of Fire, etc) and at this point, Square was getting to the point where it felt like it could put out anything and people would like it... and they DID put out a lot of crap (Vagrant Story, Threads of Fate, etc) so not many could enjoy the game on its own merits. As a game, the music was awesome and the story was good.... not great, but good. The game was fun to play and had many enjoyable moments with lots of secrets. It's a great game, but the sea of RPG's and decline of Square's quality of games made a lot of people overlook this one at the time.

FFX - Over Rated. The first FF game on PS2 was well received and people seemed to like this one a lot. I felt this game was overrated though. Characters were flat and annoying. Voice acting was horrible (I couldn't stand hearing Wakka, ya). There was no world map and the world was a tube. Also the ending was all "Yay! Spira is saved" but Tidus was all about getting home.... and that's never really addressed in the ending (hope that doesn't spoil anything). Seemed a let down to me, but people seemed to praise this game for some reason.

FFXI - Over Rated / Shouldn't be rated. This is a MMO. Why does it get a number? After this was put out (along with FFX-2) I stopped playing Final Fantasy, and to me, Final Fantasy had TEN games.... That's it.

FFXII - No rating by me (unfinished). After about 10 years of giving up on Final Fantasy, I've decided to hunt this one down and give the series after FFX a try. Haven't finished it yet so it has an incomplete for me.... but it seems like it wants to be a MMO but offline.... kinda like the .hack games were. I'm going to probably say overrated, but until I complete the game, I can't say.

FFXIII - Incomplete. Just bought the game a couple days ago. Seems like it has potential but I've been playing for 5 hours and almost nothing has happened story-wise, even though I'm making progress.
 
Robbiedbee said:
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.
Click to expand...

I think I've changed my mind over the last 4 years. Recently, I did a little research; I looked at a load of different people's "Top 10 RPGs" lists, and collated all the data into a big list. FFIV received a good amount of praise, from a lot of different sources. (Chrono Trigger and FFVII were the top 2 most mentioned, miles ahead of 3rd place).

So, I'd have to say FFV. I think the job system is amazing in that it offers so many different ways to approach party building, offering a different gaming experience every time. I think this particular attribute may be one of my favourite things of the series, and it is no coincidence that my tjree favourites, VII, FFVIII and X are all very strong in this regard. They all offer lots of customization and different options for your characters. I feel FFV was so important in shaping the direction the series went in.

FFIV was also very important in shaping the series in that it introduced a rich cast of well written characters, and deep storytelling elements, but FFIV gets a lot more praise, certainly from mainstream publications etc.
 
I think XII is under rated. I really enjoyed it and maybe it got some press but ratings weren't so hot for a game that was, in my opinion, a monster of a game. III and V were great games and probably got love during release by the people who had access to them. Mystic Quest was a fun little game but it was kind of a red-headed step child I think.... Kind of like the Super Mario Bros 2 we got that wasn't really a Mario game at all. I also agree that FF tactics probably didn't get the rep. it should have.
 
I agree with Omega, XII is underrated,though the game was a departure from the traditional turn based random battles,It was an epic questing game.It seems to have received a bad rap if anything.
 
Going to say Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy XIII-2. I've gotten over the horrible/ troll ending thing, because Final Fantasy VII had a sucky ending as well, and the Pokemon like gameplay is fun and Caius is the best Final Fantasy villains around.

But one didn't come out in Western worlds till very late and the other is a sequel of a broken base game.
 
Upon thinking about this thread as of late... I really think FF III gets an under-rated rank.

As RPG games go, I've played worse. I enjoyed the story-even if the characters were originally just palette swaps of each other. Of course, it's just a rip-off/variation of the original final Fantasy, but still.


The Job mechanic-however- was one of my highlights. I enjoyed the numerous variations of the classes. You could set up any collection of team formats and the story-related unlocking of these jobs really made it interesting to pursue.

Going by the DS remake, the ultimate weapon/onion knight questions were quite tedious... But still, it extended gameplay in an already pretty long-hour ranking game.


All in all, it's certainly not the best... But it's better than people give it credit.
 
V and XII are two games I really enjoyed but didn't get a lot of attention. III also should have more fans, but honestly the DS version of the game was annoyingly difficult and I don't have a lot of respect for it. Still, though, it was a decent game.
 
I agree with the people above saying XII was underrated. Many people complain about it, and I can't get why. The game has a good design, the whole medieval thing is cool, the plot with the judges and such is cool too, and the battle mechanics are freakin awesome. Whenever you don't feel like fighting, you just have to press R2 and go away! It's realistic. So I don't get why people don't like it.
 
Final Fantasy Tactics/FFT: TWotL is, what seems to be, the most underrated of the whole series. I'm not sure why that is, honestly.

For it's initial release, it was like none other. The battle system was pure genius, the story was dark and deep, and the overall gameplay was fantastic. It's rerelease added a few more bells and whistles, but the core of the game didn't change. (But I don't mind having Balthier in my party. :lew:)
 
I'd have to say non of them are under-rated. I think the FF fan community is together for the most part in knowing which games are good and aren't, which most would agree since enix came in just haven't been as good. The Final Fantasy fan I like to call the pure-bloods of the gaming community.
 
My vote goes for FF tactics. It was a whole new way to experience FF with still keeping to its roots in a turn based style strategy that I fell in love with. The in depth job system, the usual crazy but awesome story and also a difficult but very fun game to get lost in. I know a lot of people love it but since it isn't in the number series it always get overlooked in the overall FF scheme of things.
 
I also have a hard time saying any of the games are underrated. Aside from FFI and II whose days are simply over, I know of a dedicated fan base for each numbered game and any of the spinoffs I've personally checked out. There's two camps for everything, but peering past the vocal minorities I think things have mostly come to balance with enough time.
 
Razberry Knight said:
oh how convenient, FF12 isn't there.
Click to expand...

That's a really good point. Where's FFXII?! I voted for FFIX, because I do think it's the most underrated, so many people have never even picked it up because of the art style or because they think it's going to be too light and kiddy when it's actually got one of the darkest storylines of the series. Next to FFIX though I'd definitely say FFXII is really underrated. People seem to feel pretty 'meh' about it, and I get that the story wasn't great, that was a let down for me too, but it's got one of the most expansive worlds, so much side quests and the battle system is great. The gameplay more than makes up for the lacking story imo. It really should be in the poll.
 
11 is well rated....its an MMO that didn't really try to get much attention. .... if this was a spin off, i'm sure it wouldn't be considered so underrated. still iw antt o vote for XII and it should be updated to have it in.
 
Final Fantasy Tactics is by far the most under-rated. Just because it doesn't hold a numeral most people leave it out entirely, even though it was made by the same team at Square Enix (that's why the battle system does have a few quirks, their forte was ATB at the time). It's also the same world as FFXII, but it was made way before XII was, so why not consider it cannon? Is a numeral really so important?

It's not that people dislike it, it's that it's just so overlooked by...pretty much everyone, and is in my opinion, the second best Final Fantasy ever. Nine is better

Also, nine is not under rated :gasp: I know a fair share of people that basically worship it. I think it's just that people don't notice it as much because nine fans seem to be much quieter, whereas the VII fanboys never stop talking, basically eclipsing the IX fans since anytime someone mentions the PSX generation, every VII fanboy ever jumps to talk about it.
 
FInal Fantasy Tactics is canon as much as any spin off, meaning their all canon. doesn't really mean that Final Fantasy Tactics wasn't any more of a main game than Before Crisis. The game as simply not part of the mainstream gameplay of FF, hence the new name FF Tactics".

And as much as people think there is a FF7 fanboys overshadowing ppl, its really FFX fans who overshadow everything else and believe themselves to be the superior fans. Every time we here "we haven't received a good game since FF10" and honestly, the time span is way too short to be saying that. We've received plenty of good FF games, problem is we havent received enough numbered FF games to move forward.


Numbered FF being underrated is a bigger deal than a spin off or an MMO because those are the mainstream ones, an obscure game deserves to be obscure in my obok, no matter how good it is. And also, since the game did get a remake, i wouldn't call it completely underrated.

but i find the points for Ff tactics rather...bland....the excuse of it being connected to 12 before 12 existed just doesn't serve much justice. 12 could've easily been its own world.
 
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