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There's a lot of disagreement regarding what the best Final Fantasy is. Understandably: everyone likes something different, so there's bound to be many different answers.

I'm curious, though, if there's much fan agreement regarding what the worst FF is.

I search the forums but didn't find this question asked in the form of a poll, which is what I'm interested in. The goal of this thread is to figure out if there is/are one or two games in the series that receive significantly more votes than the others, and to discuss why this may be the case.

Thus, I'd like this to not turn into "yea 6 sux cuz [LIST]"; in fact, I would actually prefer if you don't give your own opinion and instead give speculation as to what you expect the vote to look like, why the vote looks as it does, or if you think a vote on CoN would look sufficiently different from a vote taken on a different FF site or on a non-FF gaming site altogether. E.g., something like "I think FFVI might be less popular, at least among this site's users, because its characters' hairstyles are too relatable. Perhaps this would be different in Japan."

(You'll notice I didn't include FFVI in the list; you can only have ten choices, and I figure no one on a site founded around FFVI would pick that as their downright least favorite FF. I also did not include the belated FFIII or the online FFXI, for those respective reasons)

I'm going to refrain from further comment until some votes come in.

This post has been edited by Death Penalty on 29th January 2013 15:16

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

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I predict that FF II, FF VIII, and FF XIII will be the three games with the most votes for worst.

Final Fantasy II has less nostalgia value for English-speakers than most Final Fantasy games since we didn't get a legal version of it until the early 2000s (the same is true of FF III and to a lesser extent V). But on top of that, it has dated graphics, it lacks parts of the traditional FF schtick like classes, summons, or ATB, and its character growth is uneven (to put it delicately), requiring strange grinding methods like attacking one's own allies to gain in stats. Its story isn't bad, but FF II has several marks against it that has it traditionally rank pretty low when people put their preferred Final Fantasy games in order.

FF VIII is traditionally a divisive game (I would say the same for FF VII and FF XII, but less so), because it bucks some of the fan-favorite FF traditions like classes, MP, traditional weapon and armor shopping, etc. But more importantly, it came out just two years after FF VII, possibly the most successful and popular FF title, and was so different from it (or FF IV through VI) that it produced a weird double reaction - some people loved the the Nomura character designs, GF and junction systems, and sorceress-guardian-force-memory-time-dilation storyline, and others hated it. Even though FF VIII is quite acclaimed and popular, it has a number of haters that I would expect to have some kind of presence in a CoN poll.

I have not played FF XIII and have only watched parts of it played for... maybe an hour total (spoiler - I voted for something else in this poll), but holy hell do a lot of people hate it. It has some unusual twists on traditional FF classes, summons, and magic to say the least, and is often compared to a linear action game that has abandoned the series' RPG roots. I've also heard bad things about FF XIII's cast, with particular ire for Hope and Vanille. Its combat, while turn-based and possessing some interesting twists, has also been compared to watching meters rise and fall so much that I hesitate to buy the game. I'm honestly not sure how much I'd like it. So bottom line, this is a forum for oldschool Final Fantasy games, and a significant number of those oldschool fans *really* don't like FF XIII.

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END SPOILER

I say either FF3 (the one with the onion knights) or FF8,
I think that FF7 and 13 are going to be everyone's punching bags.

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Ramza and Zalbag are the greatest of FF chars.

Quote (laszlow @ 29th January 2013 22:16)

So bottom line, this is a forum for oldschool Final Fantasy games, and a significant number of those oldschool fans *really* don't like FF XIII.

Heh, yep. It's a rant that gets old real fast when you've read it umpteen times

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The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

For me, it's FFXII. I really wanted to love it, because I've loved all other main titles in the series. Especially since it hit the conceptual sweet spots that I'd missed in FFX: less linear, more open space and zones (maps?) to explore, a lot more NPCs, more content to keep me playing for hours on end... Yeah, I got all those things, oh boy did I get them.

I don't want to turn this into a critique, but I'll just give a few details. (Mind you, these same reasons may well be what makes this game their heart's favourite for some other person.) There were a lot of maps with a lot of monsters, but the mobs were mostly the same ones again and again with a different name. It was perfect for grinding - which I soon found myself spending a lot of my playtime on - but not really good for world immersion.

I kind of liked the battle mechanics, because my team seemed more alive yet I could have some control over what they were doing, through the use of gambits. I thought they went a little nuts with the gambits, I probably had an actual use for only 10% of them while I did buy them all for completion's sake.

What I did not care for was the whatever-you-call-it-table where you had to spend tech points to learn how to use a specific weapon, just owning it wasn't enough. You could only learn a skill or stat that was next to one you had already learned. I felt like I was marking off check boxes rather than steering character development.

Finally, the characters and the story. I couldn't get into any of the characters, really, and the story didn't move or captivate me. Ashe was just Lightning Lite. Maybe SE thought that because people loved Wakka, that they'd want to see a shirtless halfwit lead a FF title, but Vaan didn't appeal to me at all.

I always try to finish ALL sidequests and get all the extra content on at the very least the second play-through, but man did I have to bite my lip to keep the grinding and mindless target-hunting going, and when I went back to the story I had trouble remembering what had gone before, because it wasn't all that memorable in the first place.

And as a silly final point, the special moves were just depressing. I get that you were supposed to chain them to do more damage, but a thirty second animation in which you pummel shit to bits and destroy everything should do a boatload of damage on its own. Popcorn moves I call 'em.

I only played FFXII to finish once, and that is really rare for me with FF games. I've finished even FFX-2 twice, although I didn't collect every bra and scrunchie in that game. I tried to play FFXII again a couple of times, but it didn't hold my interest. Bummer.

Post scriptum: It did have a very good soundtrack, though.

This post has been edited by Prince on 30th January 2013 11:51

If you were to poll the members of this forum, I think that 8 or 13 might get it. 13 more likely. I don't know much about 13 but I just know that a lot of people feel that the FF series has gone off the path it should be taking and that 13 gets panned a lot in that regard.

8 I know is a punching-bag around here, for being one of the poster-children of FF games that focused too much on narrative and forgot that it was still a game.

A third choice would be 2 thanks to its strange game mechanics.

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Quote (laszlow @ 29th January 2013 18:16)

I predict that FF II, FF VIII, and FF XIII will be the three games with the most votes for worst.

Final Fantasy II has less nostalgia value for English-speakers than most Final Fantasy games since we didn't get a legal version of it until the early 2000s (the same is true of FF III and to a lesser extent V). But on top of that, it has dated graphics, it lacks parts of the traditional FF schtick like classes, summons, or ATB, and its character growth is uneven (to put it delicately), requiring strange grinding methods like attacking one's own allies to gain in stats. Its story isn't bad, but FF II has several marks against it that has it traditionally rank pretty low when people put their preferred Final Fantasy games in order.

FF VIII is traditionally a divisive game (I would say the same for FF VII and FF XII, but less so), because it bucks some of the fan-favorite FF traditions like classes, MP, traditional weapon and armor shopping, etc. But more importantly, it came out just two years after FF VII, possibly the most successful and popular FF title, and was so different from it (or FF IV through VI) that it produced a weird double reaction - some people loved the the Nomura character designs, GF and junction systems, and sorceress-guardian-force-memory-time-dilation storyline, and others hated it. Even though FF VIII is quite acclaimed and popular, it has a number of haters that I would expect to have some kind of presence in a CoN poll.

I have not played FF XIII and have only watched parts of it played for... maybe an hour total (spoiler - I voted for something else in this poll), but holy hell do a lot of people hate it. It has some unusual twists on traditional FF classes, summons, and magic to say the least, and is often compared to a linear action game that has abandoned the series' RPG roots. I've also heard bad things about FF XIII's cast, with particular ire for Hope and Vanille. Its combat, while turn-based and possessing some interesting twists, has also been compared to watching meters rise and fall so much that I hesitate to buy the game. I'm honestly not sure how much I'd like it. So bottom line, this is a forum for oldschool Final Fantasy games, and a significant number of those oldschool fans *really* don't like FF XIII.

This all seems fairly sound to me. In addition to what you said, FFII seems like a fairly 'safe' choice: someone who is generally pleased with the series and doesn't have a strong disfavorite might be inclined to pick FFII simply because it is a bit foreign to the rest of the series and doesn't stand out as much.

As Lasz said, given what we know about CoN opinions in general, I wouldn't be surprised to see FFVIII get a fair number of votes. I don't think it'd be a top candidate, however, in a larger FF-fanbase poll.

Again given what I know about CoN opinions in general, I wouldn't expect to see FFXIII as a top candidate. I think it'll still be one, but I know that a surprising number of people here enjoyed the game. In a larger FF-fanbase poll, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see FFXIII sitting at the top.

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

I have a hard time making a call on the "worst" Final Fantasy game. I know that a lot of people consider me too easily pleased, but I've never played a Final Fantasy that I actually considered "bad." Some are better than others, sure, but I've had things that I've enjoyed in every single one I've played, and that means I don't feel that it's fair to call any of them the "worst," despite the fact that in any ranking system there has to be a "best" and a "worst." (That's also why I have a hard time giving a single answer to the flip side of this coin!)

All that said, though, if pressed, I would go with Final Fantasy VIII. I really enjoyed it while I was playing it, even though large chunks of it seemed silly. I had fun playing it. But would I ever go through it again, knowing that my gaming time is finite and shrinking seemingly every day? No. It's the one game in the series for which I can say that, and for me, that's the only way I can call it the "worst."

Now, while that was me giving my own opinion, I think it's also pretty close to what I would expect if we were to extrapolate that to the wider fanbase at large. You can't really say that any of the games are objectively bad, I don't think, just that some are not quite at the same level as the heavy hitters. When looking at it that way, I'd assume that given what I see on the internet from day to day, it would certainly be a pretty even race between II, VIII, and XIII.

For what it's worth, given what others upthread have said, I love XIII. It has problems, there's no doubt about it, but I had much more fun playing it than I did, say, VIII, X, or maybe even IX at a push. Not that I want to debate that here, as per the OP!

This post has been edited by Rangers51 on 2nd February 2013 14:40

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

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FFVIII or FFXIII easily.I never want to deal with that stupid card queen, and rules that are aggravating to get rid of.FF2 sucks, but FFXIII Is worse.Uninteresting story, annoying whiny characters(Hope and Lightning) most characters are 1 dimensional, and have the personality of every other ff hero from previous games, and a linear corridor that is in fact, a straight line.

FFVIII Had some things going for it, but it became the most tedious grindfest i have ever experienced, aside from FFX, but FFVIII is actually worse in that aspect.Usin RNG exploit to get rid of a rule, is a bad game design sign, and resettling over and over becomes tedious.It would benefit if it were less time consuming to get rid of triple triad rules.The card quest in balamb is fun, but the stupid card quest and getting rid of rules by resettling your console a million times, isn't.

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We are stardust.Our bodies are made from the guts of exploding stars.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

Quote (Death Penalty @ 29th January 2013 15:15)

, I would actually prefer if you don't give your own opinion

oh and.. I wondered when you'd show up, Magi

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www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

I was tempted by this thread, and of course, FF8 and XIII had the most negative impact on me.

I enjoyed some stuff in ff8, but its painful to go through the tedious busywork to get all cards.It reminded me of the annoyance from suikoden 1, in that if i lost all my money, i spend 5 minutes resettling the game till i max cash from playing dice, except ff8 is a million times worse, because you could spend 5 hours resettling the game till a rule is abolished.Who thought this was a good idea? I'm going to leave before my blood pressure shoots up, because this is making me angry just thinking about it.

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We are stardust.Our bodies are made from the guts of exploding stars.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

Quote (Blinge Odonata @ 2nd February 2013 12:37)

Quote (Death Penalty @ 29th January 2013 15:15)

, I would actually prefer if you don't give your own opinion

oh and.. I wondered when you'd show up, Magi

Wow, I failed reading comprehension pretty hardcore in this thread.

My reason seems pretty solid to me, and i haven't seen anything completely dismisable.



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We are stardust.Our bodies are made from the guts of exploding stars.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

Baah, I can't vote! I love I-VI, so seeing as the later games are more different I'd probably not like them as much, but I can't bring myself to vote on a game I haven't played...

Quote (Blinge Odonata @ 2nd February 2013 05:37)

Quote (Death Penalty @ 29th January 2013 15:15)

, I would actually prefer if you don't give your own opinion

oh

Yeah, that's why I tried to predict the three top vote-getters instead of saying which game I voted for.

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

Quote (Magitek_slayer @ 2nd February 2013 12:41)

I was tempted by this thread, and of course, FF8 and XIII had the most negative impact on me.

I enjoyed some stuff in ff8, but its painful to go through the tedious busywork to get all cards.It reminded me of the annoyance from suikoden 1, in that if i lost all my money, i spend 5 minutes resettling the game till i max cash from playing dice, except ff8 is a million times worse, because you could spend 5 hours resettling the game till a rule is abolished.Who thought this was a good idea? I'm going to leave before my blood pressure shoots up, because this is making me angry just thinking about it.

I just find it funny that all you do is complain about optional side junk that you never actually have to do in the course of the game when saying why said game was bad.

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I fear my heart and fear my soul
Life goes on, it surely will,
Without me and I wonder:
Will I ever see light again?

Life goes on...

Quote (Sherick @ 2nd February 2013 20:36)

Quote (Magitek_slayer @ 2nd February 2013 12:41)

I was tempted by this thread, and of course, FF8 and XIII had the most negative impact on me.

I enjoyed some stuff in ff8, but its painful to go through the tedious busywork to get all cards.It reminded me of the annoyance from suikoden 1, in that if i lost all my money, i spend 5 minutes resettling the game till i max cash from playing dice, except ff8 is a million times worse, because you could spend 5 hours resettling the game till a rule is abolished.Who thought this was a good idea? I'm going to leave before my blood pressure shoots up, because this is making me angry just thinking about it.

I just find it funny that all you do is complain about optional side junk that you never actually have to do in the course of the game when saying why said game was bad.

Are you kidding me? If i didn't use magic for stats, i'd be incredibly weak.You need magic for stats, and there are 2 ways:Card modding, and drawing.Getting rid of rules is helpful, and i want to be a completionist, but its just horrible.Whoever thought this was a good idea, should never work in a gaming company again, because it is just terrible gameplay design.A game is meant to be fun, and spending hours to get rid of just 1 rule, is stupid.

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We are stardust.Our bodies are made from the guts of exploding stars.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

Quote (Prince @ 2nd February 2013 18:19)

Wow, I failed reading comprehension pretty hardcore in this thread.

Don't sweat it, newbie privileges....

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www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

I voted before I read the first post... heh heh, voted FFVIII. This game was just a big miss for me. I can't have an opinion on anything beyond FFVIII since it was the last game in the series I played. That being said, it was a no brainer for me when considering FFI-FFVIII.

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For me it's either Final Fantasy 2 or Final Fantasy 10

Final Fantasy 2 felt more like a chore than anything else and the story plot was basically following a Queen's orders. That's it. The villain Paramecia was impressive though.

Final Fantasy 10 has horrible voice-acting, cheesy story and plot and was un-clear on who the true villain was. Was it Seymour or was it Yu Yevon ? And the final battle was a joke.

While Final Fantasy 13 does gain quite of alot of hate and outrage from fans I actually found the plot to be really enjoyable and interesting and Final Fantasy 8 had a addicting Junction System and a fun bunch of characters.

Final Fantasy 12 starts out really slow but when it heats up, it heats up.

So FF 2 and FF 10.



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Top Three fave Final Fantasies Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy V [ GBA ]

Public service anouncement: some opinions are just plain wrong

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www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

I've just started to play FF8 for the first time, and to be honest I'm really enjoying the game. The characters are quite engaging, the storyline has held my interest so far, and I'm really enjoying the junction system. As someone with a slightly different perspective to some here (being still relatively new to the older FF games) I can kind of understand spme people's ire with FF8, but as a relative newbie to this series I'm really enjoying it.

Of all the FF games I've played so far my least favourite is FF4. It seems that goes against a lot of people here, but hey, we all have our own POVs.

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Even when I say I am
I'm always on the alert
Looking for the problem

It's a little counter-intuitive to have a topic that asks a question, then tell people not to answer the question (except with votes).

I understand you're trying to avoid flame wars, but I really feel like people should be able to act and speak in a mature manner without a gag rule.

That said, it seems that the least favorites are XIII, VIII and II, and my opinion is that they have the least engaging characters.

Let's start with II. It has a story, but it's really just a placeholder story, kind of an excuse plot. There's no feeling, no depth, not one line that sticks out and grabs your attention. Consequently, the characters just feel like avatars with no soul or expression. It would be till Final Fantasy IV before they really started trying to tell a story.

VIII has a better story, but not by much. The characters are all human, are mostly white, and mostly have model-like figures. It just seems like they were baiting the hentai-makers with this one. The lame soap opera meets sci fi plot and over-wrought character development make this installment seem sophomoric and kind of goofy.

XIII I haven't played, so it's a little difficult for me to say why it's getting so much hate, but my opinion is that the voice acting combined with the writing just murder any sense of immersion or drama for the story. And once again, all the characters are human, they are mostly white, and mostly have model-like figures.

We're not stupid, and we can tell when they're just putting out product. VI was really the only time they bothered to make something happen in the story that really affected the whole world, that really punched you in the gut.

This post has been edited by Spooniest on 6th March 2013 05:32

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X is blue.

If FFXIV was available, most fans, if prompted, would vote it as worst I believe. I don't think it's the changes from the traditional FF format that makes a game bad. VI and VII were pretty wild changes from what came before them and nobody would say they're the worst. Also XII has a lot of support and that, honestly even as my third favourite FF game, is so far removed from what an FF is that there's no point in having it as a part of the series.

FFXIV, on the other hand, embodied everything that fans dislike about Squenix' current policy. This sounds like I'm saying fans should vote XIV the worst, and that's true, however I know people would rather hang a notorious conman than a public official whose incompetence caused a sewage leak into everyone's living room.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Quote (sweetdude @ 30th March 2013 09:01)

If FFXIV was available, most fans, if prompted, would vote it as worst I believe. I don't think it's the changes from the traditional FF format that makes a game bad. VI and VII were pretty wild changes from what came before them and nobody would say they're the worst. Also XII has a lot of support and that, honestly even as my third favourite FF game, is so far removed from what an FF is that there's no point in having it as a part of the series.

FFXIV, on the other hand, embodied everything that fans dislike about Squenix' current policy. This sounds like I'm saying fans should vote XIV the worst, and that's true, however I know people would rather hang a notorious conman than a public official whose incompetence caused a sewage leak into everyone's living room.

Yeah, I'm guessing you're right about FFXIV, given the whole train wreck that it was. It would be fairly difficult to include here just because so few of us have even played it - I don't know anyone here at CoN who has. I think it's fairly safe to say that CoN members tend to be pretty far removed from the MMO scene as a whole, which is why I excluded FFXI as well.

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Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

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In my opinion FFX-2 was easily the worst ever, but in the main series I'd have to say either II or XIII.

I couldn't get in to II at all, I didn't find it very enjoyable and like Berryfunny said it felt like a chore.

There were aspects of FFXIII I liked, but it's that whole issue with it being too linear. I found FF less enjoyable in general after they stopped allowing you to travel by airship towards the end of the game and do the side-quests however you want. I didn't like the Cieth Stone missions because they were not very exciting and it took me ages to get from one to another sometimes.

And I also dislike the over-use of the word hero in FFXIII.

I could not stand anything past X and barely tolerated that one! VII is overrated IMO, and the new III is annoying due to graphics. VIII is as expected getting a lot of,flak but it is my second favorite of the series following VI ...I never was able to finish XII OR XIII they were too linear for me I was hoping for the open world experience of the previous games...

Tactics advance annoyed me too, your best character goes to jail over using a standard weapon and you have no hope to win the mission...

This post has been edited by Docrob on 29th September 2013 16:57

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Quote (Docrob @ 29th September 2013 17:55)

I never was able to finish XII OR XIII they were too linear for me I was hoping for the open world experience of the previous games...

Too linear? If you like open world games keep playing further into XII, it opens up a lot more. I think, if anything, people thought it was too non-linear.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

You know, upon further reflection, I guess the weak link in the chain really is Final Fantasy II.

It was great on paper, but the execution fell pretty far short. I'm guessing the schedule was too tight for it.

And even so, the first time I played II, I was utterly entranced, I didn't even care that the leveling system was so janky. I was burning with curiosity about these verboten Final Fantasy games that we stupid round eyes had not been allowed to see.

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X is blue.

VIII has long been the black sheep on this forum, so much so that I imagine if CON ever gets to covering more of the later games we may see VIII skipped over for IX.

VIII has killer graphics that were well ahead of its time. That's about the best I can say for the game. The gameplay was just awful. Random encounters can easily become the most tedious part of any FF game, but are a necessary part of the leveling up process. FF8 took this tediousness to a whole new level of bad with the junction and draw system. Hours wasted on that crap before you could get on with the game, and hours more wasted watching GF cut scenes. Bah!

The story seemed silly to me too, though it started out with some promise. The opening sequence is amazing, but the tone it set for Squall and Seifer's rivalry never really developed. Seifer was never close enough to Squall to become a real rival like Kain was to Cecil, and he was too much of a pawn to become the main villain like Sephiroth to Cloud. He just kind of showed up and you fought him sometimes. Edea was an interesting villain, the mysterious sorcerer. But that totally lost all appeal when the "big plot twist" was revealed -

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

We're all orphans and you were our teacher, we just had amnesia!

Wait, what? That's the moment where the game really lost me. I kept playing out of sense of obligation, even when the plot went further off the deep end with the whole time kompression evil witch from the future storyline.

The music, usually a given when Uematsu is composing, didn't really impress me either. And while I really enjoyed the characters that Nomura created for FF6 (Setzer and Shadow) and for FF7, by FF8 his character design was starting to feel repetitive.

But for FF8, I think the biggest reason older fans dislike it is because it represented a step back for the franchise. FF4 through 7 built up a steady crescendo of greatness, and FF8 bucked the trend in many people's minds. True, a lot of SNES Final Fantasy fans consider FF7 overrated, but many of them will also begrudgingly admit that it's a good game, and no one can deny the impact it had on the RPG genre (popularizing it outside of Japan) and video games as a whole.

After that, I would probably say FF2. The story was actually interesting, and way more fleshed out than in FF1 (heroes with names, conflicted characters, more world building, etc.). The gameplay mechanics were a chore though, and very different from the rest of the series. The reason I rank 8 lower is because 2 at least has the excuse of being limited by the technology of its time. 8 was made when Square was a trendsetter at the pinnacle of its success.