6, 7, and 10 at the top 3 eh? Well, i agree with most of that. 6 and 7 would definitely be in my top 3. 10, not so much. Tidus is kind of awkward from what i remember. and i'm not just talking about the weird laughing scene either. And with the sphere grid being an ok idea, eventually everyone can just have everything, and that takes away from the diversity a bit.
That being said, the story was very well written in my opinion, it manages to make you sad in some parts (especially at the end). A thing that few games can do for me nowadays. Summons and end game content is really good as well what with the monster arena, and dark Aeons if you played the right version. Probably lands somewhere in the middle for me.
After a quick moment of reflection, this is what i would say are my top ten in the series. (at the moment)
10th- FF12
What can i say? Tons of miss-ables, much too lengthy hunts, almost impossible to get the zodiac spear without a guide. Main character has motivations like "i wanna be a space pirate" and
"I really wanna be a space pirate" heard that somewhere, thought it was funny. I just didnt care too much for either Vann or Penelo. Can make all characters the same (lame).
Now, the rest of the cast is great. Balthier is easily the coolest in the group. Basch has some past issues goin on, Ashe is a princess, i mean cmon. lol. Definitely does better that FF3,
and pretty much all the side games. Giving it the 10th spot. However, i've never actually played this to the end. keep losing interest around the middle.
9th- FF1 or FF2
Series wouldn't be where it is today without good ol FF1. maybe i'm just a bit biased because i've probably played and beaten ff1 more than any of the others. Great ability to play as whatever
class, and as long as your characters are all different, you have a decent balance. Not much in the way of story, but this set the trend for most RPGs to follow it.
Tied with FF2. Had so much potential. Leveling up your abilities, weapon skills and stats was pretty fun for me. But the fact you could cheat the system kind of broke it. (aka atk yourself to raise HP)
The word memorizing was new and interesting, but in reality ended up with you spamming all known words to every npc. Story was great tho. Way better than ff1. I'd have to give the edge to FF1, but
it would be so close of an edge to seperate them.
8th- FF9
This game, was a refreshing call back to the earlier games in the series. While things were going a bit more futuristic, FF9 took things back a notch. The battle system can feel a bit clunky, but
ultimately gets the job done. I think that learning abilities off your items was actually kind of neat. It made a lot of otherwise useless gear have a point. At least, if you wanted that skill.
Alot of the mini games weren't that great though. The card game was a shadow of triple triad in FF8, and the chocobo treasure map hunting was just annoying. The story is awesome though, as you would expect
for a Final fantasy title. Another super easily miss-able uber item here tho. Good luck getting your hands on the Excalibur 2.
7th- FF8
Ok, so 8 is a bit hit and miss for me. Its an Epic for sure, but Squall is kind of a downer for most of the game. This has a bad habit if breaking your immersion. At least for me. The story is very
good however. Joining SeeD at the start of the game made you feel awesome and empowered. You even get a uniform! Junctioning and GFs learning abilities was pretty nice, but the necessity to draw so much
dam magic makes leveling a HUGE pain. And if you want your ultimate weapons, you better get all those Timber weapons Monthly's. cuz if you dont..........
But the triple triad.......omg, so much time wasted. Would play for hours.
Much better story than the earlier titles mentioned. Wether or not (SPOILERS)--------->squall is dead at the end of disc 1
6th- FF5
Holy cow the story! Talk about things going nuts right from the get go. Exdeath is such a great villan. You really want to slaughter him by the end of the game. And all 5 characters are fairly fleshed
out. Its very easy to laugh with bartz, and feel sad for Galuf and his lost memory. Plus this is where the class system got really solid. A bit tedious to level up maybe, but with the ability
to share skills from other classes you've played was always awesome!
5th- FF10
As mentioned above. Things hit the fan pretty quick. Probably the most epic opening i've seen in an FF game. GO...NOW....IF YOU WANT IT! (0_0)....ANOTHER WORLD AWAITS YOU! (Metal music in FF WTF XD)
The characters are all very well developed and relate to each other in a very unique way. Tidus is a bit of a wierdo tho. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA.
This game has by far one of the saddest endings in a game i've ever played. And i've played alot. The sphere grid while cool, makes everyone kind of the same in the end. But theres great end game
progression what with the Monster arena and the Dark aeons depending on what version you're playing.
Has a decent story, but nothing in particular other than "end of the world", "Summoners plgramige", "Sin", really stands out.
4th- FF4
A Proper FF title, with a not quite so popular sequel. I would sill argue its better than 10-2, 13-2 and lighting returns. FF4 was the 1st time the we really had a whole cast of coherent, fleshed
out characters. FF2 and 3 came close, but they blew the lid off with this one. Cecil's internal struggle, Rosa wanting to be there for him, Kain, troubled as to where his allegences lie, Edge having
to worry about his kingdom, the antics of Palom and porom. everyone has thier specific class, and you can level with confidence. This AND its sequel (The after years). Makes my number 4 spot.
The Story will take you all over the world, and (SPOILERS)-------> to the MOON and back
Its really quite epic.
I havent played all the way thought the After years yet, but i will be when i get around to playing it.
3rd- FF6
Probably the most iconic opening in all the series, with the best world map music to boot. So many times i would just listen to that sweet over-world tune. Great take on the Espers. Heck, the main
character is an esper. One of the best villans in the series. Kefka. My world, this guy is crazy. Doing real evil stuff for no particular reason. Makes you really want to take him down. Awesome story,
its got a freaking opera! and need i mention DOOOOM TRAIIIIN! You would be hard pressed to find a more solid cast of characters in ANY game, let alone the FF series. Combat while fun, can get slightly
repetitive at times, but you can learn abilites from your espers, a feature we would see in later installments in the series.
2nd- FF14
Now as i'm sitting here thinking over all my favorite FF games. I keep coming back to FF14. Maybe its just because i've played it alot recently, but FF14 is arguably the most solid experience
out of all the games. You can play it single OR multiplayer. Need to do a multiplayer section, but dont have friends yet? Use the duty finder to match you up with people from all over their servers.
You get a much better connection with your party members...because they're real people. The Npcs are well developed as well. The story is incredibly solid, and makes you want to continue to explore
new areas and discover more of the lore of the world. Also, unlike many other MMOs, you only need 1 character in this game. As you can be all classes, and arent locked into a set path. Wanna change
your class? Its as simple as switching your weapon. Tired of fighting? Wanna craft yourself some new gear? Switch to miner class, go get some ore, and then switch to blacksmith and make yourself that
new weapon.
Also, the FF series has spawned an era of Completionists, many of whom will find their money well spent, and their time well rewarded. I gladly pay the Subscription fee every month. So far, the
only MMO I've ever been willing to pay SUB for. and it is SUPER worth it.
1st- FF7
I dont remember my mind being blown away by another game, anywhere near as much as FF7. Due partly to the 3d graphics at the time i'm sure. FF7 took the formula we all knew and loved, and SUPER charged it!
Limit breaks.........FF6 kind of had em, but in ff7, they truly became a thing. The story was put on a much more modern level as well. I mean seriously, who wasn't going to understand the whole, polluting the planet thing. The corrupt corporations, just so much in parallel to our own world and time. It really was the 1st game to make me think critically about things in real life when i was a kid. And by god if it dosent have one of the most heart breaking moments in video game history. Whats that u say? game make me cry? yea whatever. wait.....nooooooooooooo.
Mind shattered........without going into spoilers....so much time spent......so many hopes crushed.
Definitely made me think twice in future RPGs.
Combat was amazing, and mini games were too. lots of time spent in the gold saucer. But really the story in the end is what sealed the deal for me. I had a much easier time relating to the story of FF7
than any other in the series. And i genuinely wanted each character to succeed on their own storys, aside from the main ones. And i totally loved the materia system.
Final note, Sephiroth is my favorite villan. He might not be as "fleshed out" as kefka is, but he's a fallen hero. And by far more powerful.
And yes, i do think Sephiroth would destroy Kefka in a fight.
Anywho, thats my top ten list......so far. Going though all that makes me want to make this a top 10 video! lol.
I'll probably remake it when i play through all the games again.