Final Fantasy Series - Tier Ranking! (2023)

Introduction

I'm going through the entire mainline series, some sequels, and sharing my personal takes! As stated in the video, these are just my opinions! Don't take it personally if we disagree! Please share your rankings below- I'd love to compare!

Content

Okay, are we ready so listen I? This is coming as someone who has played every single Mainline, Game, sequel, spin-off mobile game.

There's you have the list the 80 plus games I've played.

So it's starting us with 10.

So, okay I'll, preface this by saying as I always say: Final Fantasy is whatever the hell you wanted to be.

Everyone's taste is different.

I, don't everyone's allowed at their opinion, you could think everything I'm about to say is wrong.

The reality is I, don't care, that's my two cents, let's Dive In sensu.

Now ten two has my favorite combat system in all of Final Fantasy outside of five I'm, a job class girly.

However I, don't love its OST very much I think it fits the game very well.

I, don't hate tattoo as much as most people I.

Also you know.

I was really relieved to see a cast of all women as a woman who grew up, loving Final, Fantasy I was like this is amazing.

I'm gonna give it a c I kind of want to give it a b.

I love the combat so much that I want to give it a B, I think visually.

It's gorgeous the music is fun.

It does exactly what it's set out to do.

I'm, gonna, I'm gonna, give it a B I would give it a B minus.

If that were possible.

I would give it a B minus if that were possible.

I'm gonna give it a c Final Fantasy 10.

everyone's gonna get their pitchforks out.

I love, Final, Fantasy 10., we're listening to Final, Fantasy, 10, music right now, beautiful game gorgeous game got a lot of people into the series for the first time, love the use of the summons, I love the Aeons and how they are utilized in the story.

Ending makes me SOB uncontrollably every single time.

Uh Yuna is an all-time favorite, Final Fantasy character.

For me, top three I love it I love its opening.

I am going to give it an a and not an Esther.

Why is that I? Don't love its combat system.

Personally, the sphere grid is fine, but it doesn't wow me I felt that it was for me at least I.

Don't love it more! On subsequent playthroughs, the initial introduction of its linearity really did bother me at the time.

It's almost here.

For me, it might even bump up to last year for me, but it's just there's something about it without spoiling things.

I love! The concept of sin.

I think spear is a really interesting world uh.

What do we have next Final Fantasy 11.

is going to be another, a tier.

For me this was Final fantasy's first MMO, it's brilliant.

It feels uh.

It felt groundbreaking for its time.

It was graphically.

It was great for an MMO at the time it had really gripping gripping gripping gripping storytelling elements in it.

Uh I felt that the races really felt distinct and mattered in Final Fantasy 11, where they don't feel like that.

For me, in 14, 11's class structure felt, like five I loved, how they still tied in the series elements like the menus and such and the sounds into an MMO.

So that is an a tier for me.

Final Fantasy 12 for me, is a tier I know.

People here that know me are gonna, be shocked and say d.

Why isn't that asked here? You love Final, Fantasy, 12., I, think it's because this is I'm assuming this is without zodiac age.

Um 12 is such a long game.

There are points where I feel like it's storytelling does trip a bit uh I.

Think.

A lot of this is because of this change of directors that had happened.

Midway through um I, just don't connect with all of its characters.

The way that I do other games in the series or would need to I love its world I think ivelisse is 10 out of 10.

What carries the game? For me, the score is great, but not quite where 10 or the others are I'm comfortable, saying it's an a tier Final Fantasy for me, I think uh up front and balfir are amazing characters.

I wish we had a spin-off game of just those two I, don't think I'll get yelled at for this next, one I really don't dislike.

Final Fantasy 13 too I, like it more than Final Fantasy, 13.

I, think it improves the combat, makes it feel less sleepy I think the story is more engaging.

I think that the game is gorgeous uh, okay, rabbit and wings.

For me, listen I, don't hate revenant Wings as much as a lot of the Final Fantasy fandom does now.

If you don't know what it is, it's a tactical role-playing game that was released as a direct sequel to Final, Fantasy, 12.

I think the gameplay was a little bit.

It has a learning curve to it.

It has like Tower Defense elements in it.

It's a truly unique game on the Nintendo DS I would love to find a figure out some sort of way to stream it, because I would love to show it to people.

It is I, think really fun for what it is.

I think that it is a game that performs pretty well I, don't think it contributes like a ton to the the Final Fantasy 12 worlds, but it is an evil.

East game.

I'm gonna rank it below 13-2, it's not a d-ranking.

For me, I, don't know if there'll be a single d-rank game.

For me in here next up is Lightning Returns get mad haters I'm, giving that game a beat.

It is my favorite game.

In the Final Fantasy 13 bubble, it has the I think the smoothest combat it looks the best I like it score.

The best I think it has the strongest character moments.

I think they flushed out a lot of the things I didn't like about the delivery of lore and World.

Building in that game, I just couldn't hate it I, don't know what to tell you.

I guess: spoiler alert, because you're gonna see me put 13 behind 10 2 here, actually I'm putting 10 13 2 ahead of it.

Sorry it might be, might be so.

This is what's interesting, so Final Fantasy 14 here is separate from every single individual expansion.

Oh, this is the original launch.

That's the D! The original Final Fantasy 14 was an absolute disaster.

It was awful, it was terrible.

It was the worst I hated every second of it.

It was buggy, it was a mess.

I played at launch.

The game was clunky.

The quests were not interesting.

The lore was like hardly delivered I just it had its problem.

Next up we have Final Fantasy, 14, A, Realm, Reborn I would give A Realm Reborn.

Maybe a c now I'm trying to put it above, 10-2 I, think it probably deserves to be more of a B I think it deserves to be more of a b getting a b, because it is the other I'm gonna move back to C, because I think that it's a game that so many people haven't fully experienced because they didn't it wasn't they haven't, removed a lot of the filler in the in the most efficient way and I think if they did more people would be into it.

I know a lot of people just skip it entirely, which is sad because of the actual key story.

Quests are great, but it's so much laborious work to get to them.

So I'm gonna give it a c I.

Do love the mechanics of 14 I love the way they introduce the classes.

The class quests are amazing.

Okay, I, don't feel like it's fair for me to rank and Walker, because I haven't finished it yet I'm still playing it.

I love having sword.

I love, it absolutely love it.

It was moved.

I cried more in that than I did in storm blood.

I felt that it was really powerful.

Storytelling I gave Heaven's sword a tear, I love having sword.

It's my it's my favorite expansion behind our first s, tier which is shadowbreakers I, felt like it ripped my heart out and I just loved it.

I I really enjoyed it.

It was so good.

It was so good.

I can't storm blood is getting nades here for me as well.

I really liked stormblood, uh I, didn't love it quite I.

I, don't think I could put it above 11 in good conscience or Heaven sword, which I know I think is probably going to be an unpopular opinion.

Quality FF, Final Fantasy 15.

for me is a complicated game to rank.

If we're talking about the Royal, Edition I think it's a much better game.

I found it hard to connect to the characters.

I don't have an issue with the all-male cast like some people do, but I have an issue with the fact that I didn't get to know them as much I.

Think I I, love noctis, like I love, noctis a lot but I the way the game was delivered.

I mean it was clearly I think just unfinished right, I I think if we had the, if I was ranking, the Royal Edition I would put it right.

I would probably put it in B tier, but I think that the biggest block of my enjoyment of 15 was that when major major world events would happen, and all these big things would happen in the game, you would go back to other towns and talk to them and nothing.

No one was acknowledging anything and it felt very static.

The world felt very big just to be big felt empty to me.

I didn't feel like the NPCs really had a sense of what was going on in the world.

It made me not I didn't get a sense of World building in connection to it uh.

So it goes at the back of the seats here.

For me, I really don't have a great relationship with 15.

uh part of that is motion.

Sickness too.

It took me so goddamn long to beat it because it is not a very great game for people like me with motion sickness.

Maybe we'll play Pocket Edition this weekend, because they'd love to see that oh, we shall see now.

Okay, now the next one for me is Final Fantasy one uh.

This is tough, because I None of these other games would exist without Final Fantasy one.

If we are talking about it as a here's, the thing I think Final Fantasy.

One is probably arguably one of the most replayable games in the entire series.

It is the foundation in which everything else exists as a standalone game.

It is still entertaining.

It is really phenomenal how it holds up even the original on the NES.

There are bugs that can be very frustrating.

It's buggy.

It's got a learning curve.

It could be challenging.

Pixel remasterers have smoothed a lot of that out, but I played it as recently as last year on original hardware and I had the time of my life I think the bosses are memorable.

I love the story structure, the Warriors of light that it's it's it doesn't need to be more than it is I, really love it I'm, giving it an a it's going to the front of the a tier for me.

I love it and it's wild to think that it started everything.

Uh next up is Final.

Fantasy 2.

I made a tweet about Final Fantasy 2.

Today this game is so important to me.

This game set the precedent that none of these games were going to be the same.

This game set the precedent that Final Fantasy would be ever evolving.

Ever Changing know that the combat has a learning curve.

I know it can be frustrating the stat.

Leveling is strange.

Uh pixel remaster did mess with some of that and make it a little more accessible.

Has some really iconic tracks memorable memorable tracks in its score? Um.

It's not a game.

I love to run back in replay, but it is nowhere near I.

Think as awful as its reputation on the Internet or in the fandom have have garnered garnered uh.

It was something that was lower on my list honestly for a long time.

But as time has shifted, I have definitely warmed up to Final Fantasy 2.

I will put it in the B tier Final.

Fantasy 3 might be the most difficult game on here.

For me to rank.

It is I think a sleeper surprise joy to play.

It introduces the first like job system that we're really gonna like get to see and play around with.

It is a very interesting game.

I love its story, I think if the characters are very Charming uh, there are some elements of Final Fantasy 3 that I really love that are still mentioned in Final Fantasy today, um.

The crystal tower is an example of that I think it really left an imprint on the series for a long time.

Uh and I do go back and play it pretty in free, I mean infrequently I would say, but I do revisit it and I enjoy it.

I think it's a solid B for me: Final Fantasy, 3, it's a solid B I believe I think I would say a solid B, Final Fantasy Four number one up there in the S tier right now.

This is one of my favorite video games of all time.

I will admit to having a bias toward this game, because it is the first Final Fantasy that I played uh.

The series had been out before it was really the first one I had in my hands when it was released in the United.

States is Final, Fantasy, 2 and then I went back and played the older ones, but I absolutely love, Final, Fantasy, 4., I.

Think Cecil is one of the best protagonists.

The series has again: it really introduced storytelling in a way that was creative and interesting.

They were weaving characters in and out of the story in a way that felt yeah, mostly natural uh.

We had to see a lot of kind of significant emotional moments happen.

Uh it deals with loss.

I, think.

The way the summons are integrated into the story is super interesting with Lydia I love that it gets weird I know a lot of people hate that it gets weird and goes off the rails a little bit at the end, but I think that is the most tragic thing about Final Fantasy 4.

The difficulty that was released in the states isn't my favorite I do prefer the the Japanese difficulty that we got when we received a 3D remake, but I think this game and all of its versions are really playable really fun, and it is a standout for me, as my second favorite Final Fantasy of all time, not to keep going on Final Fantasy 4, but the opening of Final Fantasy, 4 I think is one of the strongest openings in the entire series.

It is so powerful.

It just throws you right in I love that you open up.

You see those ships, you hear the Red Wings theme.

It's such a it's just such a good track.

Then all of a sudden you're, murdering people and you're like wait, am I the villain.

Next up is real difficult for me.

Final Fantasy 5 has my favorite combat system in all of Final Fantasy I love how it handles its various acts.

I will say without spoiling too much of this plot.

Uh Ferris is a standout favorite character of mine.

While the score I think visually, it is stunning I mean you get to ride a dragon.

Okay, there are so many things that I could say about five and go on and on and on about absolutely love, Final Fantasy 5.

It was really awesome, seeing the developers of Final Fantasy 16 listed their favorite final fantasies and the only game that every single one of them mentioned was Final.

Fantasy, V I was so excited by that uh.

It is amazing, it is an S tier game for me, I think it's wild, how it kind it just I mean we didn't get it here in the states.

I think that heard its notoriety a bit, but it's it's good.

It's good! Next up is Final Fantasy, six Final, Fantasy, six I.

Don't think I need to say much about this uh it is.

It is right there for me.

I absolutely love this game.

I think Final, Fantasy 6 is virtually like a perfect game, so I I there's not much else.

I can say about it.

Next up is Final Fantasy VII I have hot takes with Final Fantasy VII.

A lot of people have come for me and gotten mad at me.

Over the years.

Listen I understand the significance of Final Fantasy VII.

This series would not be where it is today without Final Fantasy VII I was with this fandom in the series before Final Fantasy VII I saw the gigantic shift in the world when seven took over the world.

Okay I was there through the whole thing, I mean knowing what happened.

Soccer Gucci lost his mother.

So a lot of the concepts planning that went into seven was to tackle the idea of death and that life can have impact after death, and that is a beautiful theme to me and its narrative is so strong and so powerful and I love that and I respect it I, don't they are iconic and amazing and I cry my eyes out playing Seven I, just I don't connect to some of those characters as much as some people in the fandom do I, like one of my favorite things about seven, is the fact that it's like who is the antagonist we have this company.

Then we have this other person who just showed up and then there's this there's so many things going on.

I love all of the balancing of that um, but this game.

For me, uh is an ATR game.

It's it's the front of the a tier, but it doesn't crack into that s tier for me.

It just doesn't and that's fine um sorry I'm moving this I'm, putting it above I'm moving my order around I'm changing my order, I'm putting 12 ahead of seven because it just is for me, but it is ahead of one Final.

Fantasy 8 is interesting to me.

I love the junction system because it is designed to have you play any way that you want.

If you know how to learn the system quick enough and you manipulate it, you can refine magic.

You could become so overpowered in the first desk, even uh, you a lot of people like, oh, you have to sit there and draw everything or run from every fight.

That's not the case! Uh.

There are a ton of weight.

Oh you just have to spam.

Gfs, that's not how it works.

I think there's a lot of people who misunderstand the system and how to utilize it properly.

I had a lot of fun learning about the junction system, how best to get magic for it.

How to refine items? Are the in-game tutorials great? No, the menu tutorials are great and get the point across.

I have talked about this during when we play eight there's so many things, woven together between Laguna's time and squall's time that get missed by people, dialogue, options very early on in the game that people don't really see the strengths and how it's all connected, I, also love its setting uh, it's very distinctly European design influences are really really really amazing.

I love that there are kids who act their age appropriately and has my favorite, like I, said favorite OST in the series, and probably some of my favorite locations.

Next up for me, we gotta get through this.

My number one favorite video game of all time.

This is a big, is Final Fantasy, 9., Final, Fantasy 9 is my favorite video game of all time.

It is hironobosakaguchi's Love Letter to the entire series.

It has a top three OST for me, VB is my favorite character of all time when it the way it introduced.

You know the active time.

Events was really cool getting to pop over and see what other characters were doing while you were wandering around shopping was so rewarding the fact that it takes very subtle elements from other final fantasies, the bells uh and lots of other little nods to the series throughout it.

It truly feels like a sakuguchi final fantasy fans, Final Fantasy, and it will be very difficult for anything to ever top this game for me, because it has elements of what Final Fantasy 4 had in it, where it goes off the rails a little bit at the end, it gets a little weird, but I love that and I also love its combat system.

I love that it brought back four party members I love that it is rewards grinding through learning, abilities, I, absolutely love, Final, Fantasy, Tactics, I, love, Final, Fantasy, Tactics, so much so that it is going right there, a tactical RPG that again, you can break it.

If you go like, let me play freaking calculators selling blue in the face, but it has a challenge and a half in it.

Both versions are phenomenal.

The script is great in both the Intrigue, the politics of this game.

I love it oh, my God ivelisse is fantastic.

The characters are just beautifully written I.

Don't I can't think of a negative about this game.

Next up.

What do we got? Final Fantasy, oh okay, I! Really really like this game, we're more of the rift this game I enjoy more than the first one uh for those who are not familiar.

This is a DS game.

This game also uh features some cameos from other ivelisse characters like Final, Fantasy, 12 characters, it's a b tier and that's for no other reason than the fact that I I think it has it.

It could have had a little bit more, and this is just my own own feelings right.

This whole list is my own feelings, I think lusso as a protagonist and a character.

I didn't I, didn't care enough.

I, I didn't I, didn't get invested until way too late in the game and I.

Think that's a maybe a me thing.

I need to go back and play it again.

Also I'm changing my ranks again because I don't want to put a realm reward above 10 2.

I, just don't anyway, I love tactics, advance I have streamed this game.

We will stream, it again doesn't have nearly the emotional impact of the first I'd, probably put it down here down here: I wouldn't put it below 13.

I'd, probably put it down in the C rank.

Thank you for making it Sparkle.

All of these are solid games.

Even games in the C tier are games that I love.

I went into this game.

Thinking that I was going to hate everything about its existence.

That I was just going to be appalled and miserable and hate it.

It takes place like two decades-ish after the original blob, some elements of the of like the combat, but not all of it.

It felt like and I think I think.

The big thing with me was I.

Didn't like the writing.

I I felt a bit.

The story felt a bit disjointed and kind of all over the place for me, and it's very rare for me to give a game.

A d-rate and I've defended this game and I'm like it's, not as bad as people say it is so I don't want to rank it in the D tier because then it seems like I'm just dunking on it, like everybody else does because I do feel like I am someone that appreciates that game? More than most people I know that have played it.

I think it could have been a lot worse than it was if that makes sense, but that's that and again, if I could rank n Walker, it would be like here.

I haven't finished it yet, but so far as of right now and Walker is right here for me, I will finish n Walker this weekend, yeah! That's it I, don't think I'll change! Anything.