Which Final Fantasy Game Has the Best Storyline?
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SolidKeith
ShinRa Guard
In my opinion FFX had the best storyline in the series thus far. And it's only competitors IMO are FFVI and FFVII. I really want to say FFIX is up there but I can't. It just wasn't as engaging for me even though I really love and enjoy the game. I think that FFIX has one of, if not the best in game atmospheres/ambiance.
FFX get's the nod from me for a few reasons. I really enjoyed the narration by Tidus throughout the game, it was really well done and I'd like to see it again in future installments. Death and loss were a really big part of the game which really played on my emotions. Tidus and Yuna's water scene felt really good to watch. Yuna's Kilika sending was eerie and beautiful. And every freakin time I see that end scene
I cry like a little baby. I don't think any other FF has made me feel so emotional.
FFX get's the nod from me for a few reasons. I really enjoyed the narration by Tidus throughout the game, it was really well done and I'd like to see it again in future installments. Death and loss were a really big part of the game which really played on my emotions. Tidus and Yuna's water scene felt really good to watch. Yuna's Kilika sending was eerie and beautiful. And every freakin time I see that end scene
where Tidus tries to hug Yuna from behind and jumps off the ship
Lyffstreamus
Chocobo Breeder
I also play Final Fantasy first and foremost for the character driven stories. That being said the following are my favorites for different reasons. For the sake of the poll, I chose FFVII.
FFVI: This was my first FF game and so comes with a significant amount of deep rooted nostalgia for me. We started to get a glimpse into the different characters and their psyches in a more widespread way then ever before and each offered their own rich personality and story to the game. The story was really quite something because it started to push itself out of the box that had been formulated before it. Not that the earlier games were not fantastic in their own storylines but here we begin to push the boundaries even further with technology and some darker themes not before seen. The fact that we were no longer focusing on ONE protagonist here was I think a risk that was taken but somehow worked very well. The theme of true friendships strengthening the whole worked so well as a big theme here and it is in part because of that decision.
FFVII: It's interesting because the very first concepts of my favorite game of ALL time, Xenogears, were initially meant to serve as installment VII of the FF series. They deemed the ideas too dark and controversial on the whole and the teams broke off to produce what would become Xenogears and of course FFVII separately. Xenogears is in my opinion superior in storyline to most if not all other games I've ever played, but FFVII must be given it's due. I can really see how some of the themes they brainstormed with in the beginning were kept. This game was revolutionary in it's storyline. It had a psychological depth that had not made it's mark on the mainstream like any game before it and in turn paved the way for future games to be delievered in the same thought provoking right. It forces the invested player to really ponder and ask questions about some seriously difficult stuff we face in life both on a personal basis, as well as as a society. Granted, they did this through a very fantastical story and world very much unlike our own, but with any sort of empathy and imagination, those differences feel seamless when submerged in the game. This is why I have to vote for this installment of the series above all else.
FFVIII: I have to make mention of the love story that took center stage in this game. Before X, there was VIII, and I don't mean that in the numerical sense obviously. Though I don't consider the rest of it's story to rival the others, I DO feel that it's love story alone spanning further than just one generation really did nestle it's way right into the warmest parts of my heart. I loved Rinoa and Squall. That's just me I guess because plenty of people hated it? I AM a hopeless romantic.
FFX: Okay, coming up on FFX, it was almost like they took what worked in FFVIII and learned their lesson with the rest. While the story is fairly simple at face value, what is really going on behind the curtain of reality enriches the love story and in turn the entire emotional experience that is X. I really do feel that X is a culmination of some of the best of Final Fantasy before it. The tragic nature of it left us just as speechless as Aeris' death which, let's be honest, is no small feat, and left you feeling deeply for the entire cast of characters in the end. At least it did for me. This game was full of storyline surprises, like FFVII but in a very different way and I consider it to be one of the top for a moving experience.
That's all I have on this for now, but I may be back later to go into FFT even though it isn't on the list. Much of what I wrote here is limited to my own experience and is heavily storyline focused, but in the end, I had to pick FFVII. It really was groundbreaking. I love my stories dark, difficult, philosophical, and thought provoking though so though it is no Xenogears, that was my decision.
FFVI: This was my first FF game and so comes with a significant amount of deep rooted nostalgia for me. We started to get a glimpse into the different characters and their psyches in a more widespread way then ever before and each offered their own rich personality and story to the game. The story was really quite something because it started to push itself out of the box that had been formulated before it. Not that the earlier games were not fantastic in their own storylines but here we begin to push the boundaries even further with technology and some darker themes not before seen. The fact that we were no longer focusing on ONE protagonist here was I think a risk that was taken but somehow worked very well. The theme of true friendships strengthening the whole worked so well as a big theme here and it is in part because of that decision.
FFVII: It's interesting because the very first concepts of my favorite game of ALL time, Xenogears, were initially meant to serve as installment VII of the FF series. They deemed the ideas too dark and controversial on the whole and the teams broke off to produce what would become Xenogears and of course FFVII separately. Xenogears is in my opinion superior in storyline to most if not all other games I've ever played, but FFVII must be given it's due. I can really see how some of the themes they brainstormed with in the beginning were kept. This game was revolutionary in it's storyline. It had a psychological depth that had not made it's mark on the mainstream like any game before it and in turn paved the way for future games to be delievered in the same thought provoking right. It forces the invested player to really ponder and ask questions about some seriously difficult stuff we face in life both on a personal basis, as well as as a society. Granted, they did this through a very fantastical story and world very much unlike our own, but with any sort of empathy and imagination, those differences feel seamless when submerged in the game. This is why I have to vote for this installment of the series above all else.
FFVIII: I have to make mention of the love story that took center stage in this game. Before X, there was VIII, and I don't mean that in the numerical sense obviously. Though I don't consider the rest of it's story to rival the others, I DO feel that it's love story alone spanning further than just one generation really did nestle it's way right into the warmest parts of my heart. I loved Rinoa and Squall. That's just me I guess because plenty of people hated it? I AM a hopeless romantic.
FFX: Okay, coming up on FFX, it was almost like they took what worked in FFVIII and learned their lesson with the rest. While the story is fairly simple at face value, what is really going on behind the curtain of reality enriches the love story and in turn the entire emotional experience that is X. I really do feel that X is a culmination of some of the best of Final Fantasy before it. The tragic nature of it left us just as speechless as Aeris' death which, let's be honest, is no small feat, and left you feeling deeply for the entire cast of characters in the end. At least it did for me. This game was full of storyline surprises, like FFVII but in a very different way and I consider it to be one of the top for a moving experience.
That's all I have on this for now, but I may be back later to go into FFT even though it isn't on the list. Much of what I wrote here is limited to my own experience and is heavily storyline focused, but in the end, I had to pick FFVII. It really was groundbreaking. I love my stories dark, difficult, philosophical, and thought provoking though so though it is no Xenogears, that was my decision.