Where would you rank the Final Fantasy stories, remember these are my opinions, you don't have to agree! Don't forget to support the channel and hit that LIKE button. It helps!!
Here's my ranking, worst to best😁 including the spin-offs I've played cuz why not A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift Final Fantasy III Final Fantasy Final Fantasy IV: The After Years Final Fantasy X-2 Final Fantasy Dimensions Final Fantasy Dimensions II Final Fantasy II Final Fantasy IV Final Fantasy VII World of Final Fantasy Final Fantasy XV Final Fantasy V Final Fantasy VII Remake Final Fantasy VI Final Fantasy XII Final Fantasy Tactics Final Fantasy XIII Final Fantasy VIII Final Fantasy X Final Fantasy IX
Glad to see XV's story get some love. :) I've always kinda said that the way the story is TOLD is kinda messy but the story itself one of the best in the series when you get down into it. I recently beat the Royal Edition with all the DLC, bonus content, and multimedia stuff fresh in mind and I was floored by how incredible of a villain Ardyn is-to the point that he may have dethroned Kefka as my favorite in the series.
I don't know FFXV shows Square-Enix wasn't that skilled in doing open world gaming. The story is incomplete and it doesn't really get going until Chapter 10 or 11 i think. Plus the concept of World building seemed lost with the developers.
@@JoinTheVoidOfEnuo I've completed ff15 when it came out but have yet to play the Royal DLC, seeing as it's free on subscription would you say it adds much to the game?
@@johnjackson2349 Short answer? Yes, especially if you're able to get it free. But a lot of your enjoyment may also be contingent on how much you enjoyed the base game on release. As far as gameplay goes, Royal Edition content includes some quality of life improvements, the ability to play as the three other guys via the ascension node upgrades (Prompto is OP btw), an alternative version of chapter 13 where you play as Gladio & Ignis, and a greatly expanded version of the final dungeon. In terms of story, that expanded final dungeon makes adds a decent chunk and so does Episode Ignis. There are also a few additional cutscenes here and there. Episode Prompto is focused more on character development than story but it's still solid. The only episode I'd say you can skip outright is Episode Gladio since it doesn't do much for story nor character development. The BIG one though is episode Ardyn, which unfortunately came out after Royal Edition, so that's a separate purchase-but it's completely worth the $5 asking price. It really transforms Ardyn from a charming, if two dimensional villain to being 100% justified in his motivations-especially if you watch the Episode Ardyn prologue anime episode beforehand. No spoilers, but it's to the point where you can argue he's not the true villain of the game, just a part of a bigger picture. Hope that helps! If you ever get around to playing it, feel free to come back to this comments section and let me know what you think. :)
@@JoinTheVoidOfEnuoI am now going to try the game again. I played it on release and thought it was mid. But if all of that is worth the change, it sure would be.
@@thecedexI think Square Enix would have nailed the open world if they didn't spend years just troubleshooting and fixing their engines. It's probably an excuse you've heard plenty of times, but I really am bummed that they couldn't achieve what they originally wanted to do with the game.
I feel FF4 is an S or an A at the very least It defined JRPG storytelling came out in 1991!! So many games have ripped off elements from it Earthbound stole it's ending from FF4 Xenoblade...even FF16 rips FF4 off The world is strong the characters are strong there are surprises around every corner... we go to the moon! It's crazy and beautiful
It's a B, too simplistic and tropey, even if it holds the prestigious distinction of being the first attempt at using a video game as a storytelling medium. It makes for a good game, but if you try and summarize the key plot points and characters... it's just not THAT strong.
Always FF6 for me so glad to see it up there, i feel despite it being old its a game that everyone should experience. Ive never seen a game juggle so many characters effortlessly and to this day the opera scene is still my fav ff moment and FF6 inspired so many ff games that came after it. FF7 would be a close 2nd
I replayed XII recently and I'd probably rank it B. I finally learned to accept Vaan as a good explorer to Ivalice athough he really puts rat in brat and is annoying as hell. But it's just such a beautiful world and interesting story, and it's amazing how they just made everything very realistic and intelligent in the war. I just really miss Rozarria no only physically but also in its narrative, because the way they did it it felt more like a Dalmasca vs Archadia as if Rozarria almost had no importance at all.
Ff15 story was terrible - it doesn’t take DLC to make a proper or complete game . In my opinion the weakest ff I ever played and I played them all except ii .. it took until end of chapter 9 to get story going . It was rushed and it’s obvious how many producers and writers left in middle of production before picked up again to rush it out
actually the story of XV is pretty much the best one in franchise after 6, the problem is the storytelling. If it was just a problem of bad pacing it would not be so much a trouble, but there are worse problems; the game has PLENTY of cut content and a good part of the story is distributed in diverse media (movie, anime, DLCs, exclusive demos, books, mobile games, etc.). Its just a mess.
IV is the goat for me. I completely understand there are limitations to the story, mostly due to content being cut because of cart size in the early 90s, but the story just connects with me so much. A flawed man trying to atone for his sins and facing the darkness within himself and learning to accept it as part of himself. Meanwhile, Kain is the other side of that coin, fighting his darkness and losing out to it multiple times. It isn't until TAY until he learns to accept his shortcomings as well.
I was so happy you decided on S tier for ff9 in the end 😁 loved your reasoning behind your love for Squall and ff8, and then you put ff15 into A tier and It was a hat trick of happiness haha - great video Gen
Final fantasy 2(us version) definitely deserves to be rated higher. I can understand why you would rate it lower if 7 was your first experience but 2 was my first experience and that story is the reason why I play RPGs as a 46 year old still to this day. 7 is the best though. Nothing beats that story for me
Love your tierlist! It's great to hear people experience XV for the first or additional time and enjoying it because it was such a great multimedia project that While fumbled, was still amazing imo. Would love to hear your thoughts on worldbuilding/gameplay mechanics if you think of getting around to these aspects^^
Great list. I think you did a solid job focusing on the story rather than gameplay and fan expectations. However, I would have placed 12 just a bit higher. Thanks for the solid video.
Overall your ranking and mine would match as i have played all but 11 as well. I would say 14 is S tier due to Shadowbringers and Endwalker being so powerful and masterfully written as a narrative. And that 16 would be A tier for me as the story early was about slavery, thrn switched to the ultima theme and the slavery bit got completely shoved aside. It would have been nice to see the more geo political impacts in the story from how it was presented in the beginning.
I think I agree with you for the most part. I would have put 12 above 2, though. I think it's tough to rank 13 also, but you did a pretty good job. FF13 has some interesting character interactions. After I played it I felt that is was an experiment about about how dysfunctional characters can come together more so than a solid story in a grand adventure around the world. Great job on the video.
7:31 They have to serve the overall story, I would say of the characters' arcs. Yuffie and Vincent are both optional characters. Yuffie's related quests develop the world a little bit, but don't feed the story. Vincent's, however, feed us more information directly connected with the primary events 💙 Don't forget, this is all successor to a game whose main characters had absolutely no story to even mention, beyond tool of the prophecy to win the game 💙💙 Cloud's developments and realization as so closely related to the villain, those are character bits that feed the primary story 💙💙💙 Discussing how Vincent's related information is optional for an improved understanding of events in the story crosses over into more game analyzing, but again: if we're just talking about how the characters are part of the main story, we can talk about Vincent's role in it 💙 Not to mention Cait Sith and what it is that motivates them to be part of this team - that ties back right into the main story, too and more, besides FFII had a lot of characters, but ...
13:32 I didn't play a lot of the downloadable content released afterward. Instead, I drank up the extra content that was released prior to the game. That would be the anime, "Brotherhood", and the film "Kingsglaive". Those two gave me so much to enjoy for the characters, understanding to appreciate the friendship these four had. That understanding of strong friendship was only further strengthened by each time one of the 3 of the prince's companions was absent for any length of time during the game. Having them return was always very satisfying. I didn't think it was necessary, at all, to have additional quests about them. Further lore released to give us extra details to everyone else, seemed interesting, but to me just wasn't necessary-more than that, it seemed to ruin the lens through which we had viewed so much. All the hints provided about lore prior to this generation only gave me better connection to these heroes, and to the prince, because we only knew what he knew (until all the DLC) The anime told us why the four were such good friends and the movie... okay Well, the movie doesn't fit into that, exactly, but it did make me very eager to get into the game and to learn what the prince's journey was going to be. Also, it had to be separate, because in the game, the prince doesn't know what happened, and so neither do we. By this point in the franchise, I had this idea that every game began with "destruction of the home village" in one way or another and the movie... the movie was just a feature length version of that very thing lol 💙💙💙 but the prince wasn't there for that event, so (as I mentioned) it wouldn't fit to have Kingsglaive exist or be available within the game. It has no more place there than a quest that takes the perspective of the villain. This game was about Noctis. 💙 So how was the story? ... ... B I loved the kinship of the brothers and understanding that structure of having a tight nit group was also important to previous kings, but... B
I’ve only played PS era onward but X is my favorite story! Then I’d say VII, XVI, IX, XIV, VIII, XV, XIII, XII. But all of them are basically S to A tier imo, really cool and memorable stories that I will cherish. Someday I’ll get around to playing the earlier ones. Final Fantasy Forever!
2:20 um... yus lol I do think the characters' sacrifices is worth mentioning, especially since that is a plot device that gets used less and less for actual meaningful devastation of the spirit during the narrative, as the franchise continues 💙
Replaying V I think im just...shocked at how human the characters were? I remember them being a bunch of chuckleheads but. Dorgans grave, Galuf asking for a moment to himself. Bartz and Galuf drinking together to ease his anxiety. Reina instantly trying to kill her dragon to save her mom with no hesitation. Even something as simple as Bartz fear of heights. It reminds me of how I could relate to Cloud's motion sickness. I think genuinely V beats 4 and 2 by a long shot story wise making it A tier at LEAST
I really like the placement. I started with Final Fantasy 1, but most of my nostalgia falls for 4 & 6. I can definitely agree that some of those "deaths" in FF4 would have added more to the story if there was more permanence. 👍🏻
Hi there, I've just gotten into your videos recently and I really like what you do, so please keep it up because your videos are really enjoyable 😁 P.S. I just subscribed
Very similar mindset on some and love the way you keep changing from second to second like I do lol. Man it's hard to Tier up FF games!! This is mine currently: S: FFVII, FFX, FFVI, FFVIII, FFIX A: FFXIV, FFXII, FFIV, FFXIII, FFV B: FFXV, FFXVI C: FFIII, FFII, FFI Man, that was so hard to do, and everytime I replay one the list slightly changes haha, just like you in the video...these were constantly changing positions and I was like hmm but but hmm lol. So for me, FFI, II and III I love them all but find them the weakest in terms of story, I really enjoyed II but then III was just super fun and more in depth with the jobs which also lead to V's improved jobs which is why V is higher up the list for me + V omg, it's hilarious. I never actually finished V until the pixel remasters came out and I loved every second with that game. Definitely went up the ranks once I had actually played it properly! For me, XV and XVI are my least favourite modern FF games, tbh I was toying with putting them in C tier but then It didn't feel right putting them with the original 3 entries. It's a really hard one as I did not like XV that much at first, still kinda don't fully like it in all areas and there is a lot more to XVI I like than XV in some areas but then XVI for me was just so empty and lacking in so many areas that I can't rate that game highly even though I love Jill and Joshua, just not enough to boost the rank of it. FFXIV - is absolutely fantastic and gives me nostalgia for every single previous FF entry to date lol. So the memories just feel even more special with XIV. This game would be S-Tier for me, it's one of my favourites, in fact, it's so close to S-Tier for me but the only reason it isn't, is because it's an online subscription based game which I hate. I feel tied in when I pay for a sub and like I can not play anything else at all and must play that game to get my months worth of sub lol! I know, this is soemthing I need to get over as it is soooo cheap! but still. Maybe if I get over that I will put it in S-Tier because honestly that game is fantastic and the story is incredible. For story and gameplay alone it is S-Tier to me but overall it's high A-Tier for now due to the sub fee. FFXII - Ok, this one is the black sheep for me, almost S-Tier for me. I have probably played this one more than most FF games, something about it is so fun and addictive and yet I find the story crap, most chars crap, everything I love first about FF games is kinda ignored here...and yet I still put this game high up. Also I can't believe u platinumed this, damn man respect! I still haven't that trial mode...UGH lol. Everything about the world in this game is S-Tier, exploring this world was the best I've seen, the way some of these underground caverns connect and open up shocked me! The hunts are awesome too. All games in my S-Tier - well, every single one of them has an amazing story and cast of characters. Not just this they all have amazing systems and customisation. They all have a lot of depth to them and the combat systems are perfect in every single one! VII was also my first like most, and nothing has ever come close to beating this game to me except...HA wait for it, FFVII-Rebirth which we can't put on this list! With the S-Tier in particular if I ever replay one of those my brain is like nah this ones better, no this one! lol. Like there are so many things about VIII that I love that I almost want to put that above X and VI but I don't know, for now this is my current ranking lol. For me though the golden age was PS1 to early PS2. Mostly PS1 because it had eventually FFI - IX and a lot of my top tier ones are all PS1! For me this was the peak of FF and everything since X has been lesser games even though they have still been amazing games but for me my S-Tier is where it was best. Each one of those games was consistently good and had so much depth to them but also story! When I was younger FFIV was one of my favourites, even above VI at one point but as I got older and replayed it, that shifted a bit. I still love it BUT like you say, that whole death and then bringing them all back thing, really weakens the story. That for me also brought it down a bit. Still love the game but definitely not in my top anymore. High A though! Sorry for the massive explanation and opinions but like you I love talking about this series 😁
1:39 Okay, I did have to remind myself you're focused on "story", what are the narrative beats we can recount... Yeah, this one I agree with you 💙 little bit of intrigue, but mostly just an unrelated series of quests with their clues scattered wider and wider across the world map 💙💙 What's the story? Seeking out the fiends at the hearts of the known elements... How do we get there? A cherished Hobbit's journey full of undisplayed character growth to four Heroes who never have a personality described in any way, shape or form. They save the day. Never an idea that their first great challenge, your first boss fight, was not just another unrelated quest in the series 💙💙💙
Solid list! I think Id go S tier 10 and 7 A tier 8, 6, 9 and 16 B tier 4, 12, 13 and 15 C tier 5 and 2 D tier 1 and 3 Havent played the MMOs Keep up the good work mate, love the tier lists!
I think Ultima’s character in 16 really helped feel like a big bad too I knew when we got to him it was getting real still love 10 the best so much emotion every time for like 20 years lol
3:37 This is like FFII. There is a lot of trauma the main characters go through to try to stop the empire. About the twins, tho... They were petrified... I'm underwhelmed that we get them back, but ... petrify was never permanent - so this crosses over into a subject about magic use and how that fits into the story. To me, it seems most of the time like the story (of a lot of FF I've enjoyed) doesn't know your characters are capable of all these fantastic things ... until the battle transition. So for the twins, at least, I like that we do go back and use Soft or Gold Needle to restore them, at some damn point 💙💙💙 that is how we get them back, right? they don't just ... magically stop being petrified, do they? ... some wonderful moment of the story when suddenly a ton of bad things become okay again? right? ...
9 is way better than 16. Ooooh I wonder who ifrit could be? Its clear from the first moment that its clive and that joshua isnt dead. The story was mid at best
2:52 SPOILERS I remember the beginning being much more full of destiny, similar to the first FF, where the second was more about determination. It was a big deal when you learned that your whole world map was actually just a plateau and you still had a ton of world to explore; mirroring (again) the first game when you finally get out of the giant lake, thanks to the Dwarves. My problem is I don't remember much AFTER that lol 💙
@@yurivitorio407he could literally be lying. Anyone who says the story is bad or the characters are weak either didn't pay attention of have kindergarten levels of comprehension. And it's no wonder these same people put FF8 an FFX above it.
@@RevoZtuns was tidus the main protag of FFX? Was lightning the main protag of FF13? Vaan was just the person who we controlled and saw the story through. Balthier and Ashe were always the main drivers of the story just like Yuna and Auron were for FFX and Fang and Vanille were for FF13. It's what makes the story even better honestly.
Well cant say much cause havent played all of em but glad 16 and 15 are quite high cause those got me into it. I really like the 7 remakes so far. Im currently engrossed in 14 and hopefully one daylw ill play 13 cause at least compared to some games coming out today ot looks to have an actual engaging story
I agree on most of the tier list except for XV and XII (didn't finish it) XVI (I recently played the demo in PC. Will probably finish it since I feel like the story in demo is a hook for me) Now, XIV - it's an S tier for me. I believe a lot of people in the comment (or even among FF fans) didn't try it because it's an MMORPG. And I almost didn't... if not for Covid. The character and villains are some of the most well written and my most personal favorites in FF world. People should really try it (it's free now until the 2nd expansion Stormblood if I'm not mistaken)
4, 7, and 14 are my top ones. 4 introduced me to jrpg’s and rpg’s in general. Never heard of them before. For a time I went off video games entirely. Didn’t anticipate starting up again. I had a friend who kept pushing me to play 7. He loaned me his copy and I borrowed my half-brother’s PlayStation over the weekend. As of Monday I bought my own console and copy of ff7 and never looked back. FFXIV was the 2nd mmo I ever played with the first being dc universe online. DC only held my attention for a couple months. I started FFXIV during patch 2.45 and have logged on multiple times a week ever since. It’s among my favorite games ever. I do like 15 a lot but them canceling the episodes was very disappointing. Aranea was my favorite in the story and I was really looking forward to her story.
I agree with most of that, at least the ones I've played. I'd love to know where you would place Final Fantasy Tactics though, as that is one of my personal favourites and I rate it with 7 & 10 as my top 3 FF games.
10:09 FFX is for me a great story. It has so much of what FFVII was doing, but it does the emotions better Not only that, but The story in this game does so much more to earn the two words "final" and "fantasy" in the title, than any other entry. It's always an end to the problems, but never an end to the Fantasy. Everything about their way of life for 1,000 years has ended; including some immortal characters who can at last (not to say "finally") go to rest. This is the GOAT for the series, for me It was such a knife to my heart when this game became the first game in the franchise to receive a sequel, full of so many of the elements we had believed were gone In the land of sequels, this is fine - but when no other game had had one... I was gutted 💙💙 I mean, good for Yuna, but in the old days of story telling, we just KNOW she went on to do bigger and better things for Spira, but we didn't write a bloody sequel to a game called "Final" bloody fantasy. We scoffed at Final Fantasy VII for ... being another in a series of "final" games. Oh, look at the franchise now lol 💙💙💙
I can't list FF games - I enjoy whichever one I'm currently playing. 7 is my favourite, because it was my first, and because of the nostalgia of playing it myself and also seeing my children playing it and loving it back in '97.
Nice list. Only one I would change is XII to B tier. That game has some good parts in the story, the political dynamics of the land, the motivations of the characters, some side quest. FF VIII it´s story resonated well with me too, I also got mental isseus myself, but it ain´t that bad anymore now I´m 37, I just learned to live with them along the way. It realy helped me in my dark days playing those video games.
Story-telling is probably the most important for me and FF9 and FF7 remake are the best IMO at telling the stories, followed by FF6 and FF10. I am still waiting for Rebirth to be released on the PC, but FF7 Remake has so many fun characters and actually humorous dialogues, it which restored my faith in the series. Since FF12 you need to spend time on reddit or youtube just to understand the plot, which takes so much away from these FF games. Gameplay wise I really like the FF7 remake's hybrid action and turn based battle system, although FF12's gambit and FF13's paradigm systems also are quite fun to play without getting too repetitive or confusing like FF15's battle system. Graphic wise the newer games are obviously the best looking but all they look great when they are published. The same with music.
XII on the same tier as I and below IV, XIII, V, and II is definitely a take. But this is also coming from someone who would put the story (and especially the characters) of X on the D tier so to each their own.
7 has the best opening and specially the whole midgar section is just perfect but FF16 is also just perfection. FF6 and FF10 would be A for me but great list!
Wow i came in thinking i wasn't going to agree with your list but i absolutely agree with your list only ff16 i was unsure of since i personally dont know much about it.
I agree with 6, 7, 9, and 10. 4, 5, and 16 are an A. The rest are B of the main games while the prequels and sequels have their own opinions. Perhaps we'd share opinions in another video? :)
8:57 This one does in the feels what FFVII didn't do enough of - and what earlier games were doing a little bit better, but for the poor "visualization" The graphics help the later entries in this series. They reach a wider audience, at this point, because the characters and story are fleshed out enough to be more easily relatable 💙
11:08 Agreed, very like FFII, but I think much more open. FFII makes it pretty clear who the villain of the piece is FFXII, on the other hand, makes it clear which characters oppose one another, but ... as we learn about them, we find that there aren't any characters to properly despise I think this game does a much better job of giving each character an independent reason to stay together through the journey Even FFX let some of the main party fall short in the way of character growth and personal determination, rather than just conveniently being motivated to be there but would I put this above FFX, in terms of story? No, but better than some 💙
12:01 FFXIII gave a lot more attention to the characters and explored them through their relationships with each other. The primary story wasn't always as clear, until the characters finally came together as the group we expected them to be and we were finally give our freedom of control in their battle development, symbolic of their new determination. It's another one that has a good solid through line for the characters and their reason for being main characters in this story FFXI, by contrast, doesn't have that kind of unity, it's too much like the very first game, in that regard. This one would be A for me 💙
Only ones I haven’t played and beat are 2 and 5 (haven’t played 3 either, but kinda don’t care to). If I had to pick one in terms of story to play between 2 and 5, which one would you personally recommend more?
@@GenesisVII I’m def aware about their gameplays, but know nothing about their stories because I wanted to be blind to them if or when I ever decided to play them. This video intrigued me because of its focus on story. That being said, I kinda push through the gameplay if the story is worth it. With that, does that change your answer at all?
@@dominiccenteno1233 Appreciate you fam that’s where I was leaning towards. Not one for the job system very much. I’ve yet to play Octopath 2, and I think that’s the only other game with a job system I think I’ll be motivated to play. Don’t have as much time as I used to, so I def value story and quality presentation over gameplay, even tho I do still like to immerse myself in the depth of a JRPG combat system if it hits just right.
@@Postumeartist X has an ok plot, but is really brought down by being framed through Tidus' viewpoint. Tidus is one of the weakest characters in the series. Not the voice acting, not the laughing scene, the character. Axe Tidus and the story is probably A tier
Interesting! Tidus isn’t my favourite character in the series by far, but I thought he served as a good way to move the plot forward. Some aspects of his character were grating, but I feel that was mostly due to the English voice acting. I thought Seymour was a weak antagonist for sure, but as I get older, I think he was a decent idea executed wrong. He should’ve been written as more sympathetic and empathetic given his goal.
Most i agree except the following: FF6: for me, having so many characters made the story too convoluted, so i rank it A. Ff16: i liked the story but i think its an A, basically because the ending villain wasnt too impactful for my tastes. Ff9: id rank the story as an A; i love the game but story wise its pretty simplistic, very similar to 8 as a matter of fact. I do have one complaint brother: you did not mention the BEST, and i mean by a landslide, the best story in all ff, final fantasy tactics. I know you may not consider it part of the main series though but to me, FFT is without a doubt on a tier of its own. Nice tier list.
I appreciate you not ranking V too low 😂. I agree the story is very simplistic but I think it does a great job of keeping you engaged and giving you that grand adventure feeling.
Thanks for this video although I disagreed with most of them actually, but I think it's because the ranking is seeing the story at the Macro level (main plot + character development and scale). Here's is my tier Final Fantasy 1 (B) = simple plot but, as you traverse the world, you can really feel the impending dread and doom of the world dying. Final Fantasy 2 (F) = this is the series trying to do a narrative the first time w/o actually having a narrative except Empire attacks again and again and people die. Final Fantasy 3 (B) = Like FFI this game was more about exploring the world but this time its uncovering the one behind it. I think it did a good job. Plus I do get a kick of Zande being revealed quite late and your first meeting with him is an instant battle lol. Final Fantasy 4 (C) = at the time this was revolutionary, now it's really dated. Too much fake out deaths and mind control for my taste and the world feels kind of stale. Also too much Melodrama lol. Final Fantasy 5 (A) = it's a simple story but the developers understood the assignment. Characters were always lively enough to make the theme of friendship resonate in the game and Ex-Death is the perfect Saturday morning cartoon villain. Final Fantasy VI (S) = just overall amazing story, the game starts out with the empire and takes a twisted turn one the WOR hit. And while the WOR is basically a big sidequests, you can really take in the grimness of the world. Final Fantasy VII (A) = If this was in Disc 1 alone this would be an S. But Disc 2 brought it down a bit (most of it I would give a B or C), after the Northern Crater some things just felt a bit nonsensical. But it does end strong. Final Fantasy VIII (D) = Anyone that thought having a story with Child Soldiers is a good idea, needs a reality check (haha). Plus this gets really convoluted quick. Laguna part is great though Final Fantasy IX (A) = Kudos with the Active Time Event to give other characters a chance to shine with their personalities, plus I really thought the medieval setting gave the Designers a chance to be creative with the world building. Final Fantasy X (B) = I love how the story tried to convey a sense of history and culture to explore, I just wished you got explore more out of the beaten path to appreciate things more. The main plot was good but it really does pick up once the game is about to end. Final Fantasy XII (S) = The just love the immersion of the game that alone makes Dalmasca a fully realized world. While the main plot gets a bit lost as time goes on there's a lot to like in the personalities and Motivation, not just with the main heroes, but the villains as well. In fact I think it helps most of these characters don't have a complex backstory because it made their characterizations and motivations more grounded in the conflict. Final Fantasy XIII (F) = This is probably the worst example of anime storytelling and characterization. The the game being basically a linear dungeon crawl, it's only chance to tell a good story is with its cinematics and cutscenes (most of them not really that good). Final Fantasy XV (D) = I friend of mine said it best your main heroes are named Noctis, Gladious, Ignis, and Promto yet most NPC have names like Jared, David, and Dino. Why bring this up, for a game that has a lot of open world there really isn't a sense of world building involved. Also doesn't help the main story is incomplete even stuff happening with no explaining (like what happend to the Emperor of Niflheim)
6 or 9 are the only two s rank stories, if you consider the time 4 was released it can be considered s as well, the other titles mentioned are only thought to be better by people who didn’t play the three I mentioned.
I played and beat XIII when it came out and I cannot remember one single thing about it. IMO it’s ultra F-tier. On the other hand I would rank XII in A-tier. I thought it was great although it definitely falls off towards the end.
6:28 My first experience of the series, as well. I had no idea a VIDEO GAME could be so detailed in narrative and complicated in the freedom of action within the provided world. So . very . not my favorite game in the series. One of the last times that a character's death is meant to literally devastate the Player Meteor and Jenova, Lifestream, SOLDIER, Mako, Shinra, Sephiroth, Vincent, Cloud - all tied up so strongly in a singular series of events that lead us through this game Not actually that different from VI ... or V ... or IV, really. In 3D. There are better stories in the franchise, I think 💙
Huh, I might bump XV down to B since you don't really spend a lot of time involved IN the main story until the later part of the game, but this is VERY CLOSE to how I'd rank them, too.
FFIV deaths were a sad need for the purpose of the game. FF was still not set on making a "change party member" mechanic, so they wanted a story to feature plenty of the jobs previously shown at FFIII but they had to come and go while the story lead up to the final team you get. FFV game the job system in a way to show the jobs again, and after that the gmes had tu use their own character styles and mechanics (Relic/Materia/GF) to emulate them
If you had put the ninth part lower, they would have simply spat on you))) An excellent story, a fairy tale for adults, without children's snot, the last of the best games in the series.
people will hate me but personally i never understood the hype around ff9. freya amaranth quina eiko and steiner cintribute almost nothing to the main story and the story would be exactly the same without them. their respectivr story arcs end around disc 1 with quina's whole story arc being discovering the entrance to a cave. vivi probably had the most rememberable story arc in the game but thats not enough to make it an s tier. tbh, lorewise ff9 is pretty bad as well with the summoners tribe not really being strong enough and the whole endboss turning out of nothing in the last fight feels like they had to wrap up the story by throwing in a superior entity. that pretty much made kuja meaningless as an endboss... maybe a tier but definitely not s personally considering the lore and diving deeper in the story ff10, 8, 7 and 13 are superior to anything else especially if you take a moment to dive deeper in those concepts.
What do you mean contribute nothing? In what sense? I mean tifa and barrett could die in 7 right after you meet them and the story could go on exactly as it would. Same with red and cid. There is really no purpose to anyone outside of cloud and aerith by that logic. The entirety of ff8 would play out the same without the laguna segments, without zell, without quistis, without selphie. Irvine could have just been an npc who just has the sniper scene. Lulu and wakka could be relegated to the roles of lusu and gatta and the story would be exactly the same. Hell, in ff6, you can ignore like 11 characters altogether. Steiner is a better written character than everyone i mentioned by far.
hehe. ive played every ff title multiple times and consider myself a ff geek. dont get me wrong, ff9 is a great game and i enjoy its gameplay a lot especially hot and cold has a special place in my heart. but this video is about ranking the story hehe. the whole story of ff9 is questioning what has been, who you thought you were, realizing who you really are and coming to terms with it. every character can be broken down to that pattern, even the sub characters. e.g. freya thought she had to find her lover and her life would be complete again, but once she found him she realized things had changed she was not who she thought she was anymore came to terms with it and they parted kuja eventually couldnt accept who he was and as a concequence of that he lost the battle to himself in the end. these arcs are great on their own but imo the game doesnt do a good job at weaving those arcs into a deeper plot. what does necron even symbolize? where does he come from? there is just not much more to explore to the story than what is shown in the game. ff7, 8, 10 and 13 created whole universes, stories that drag you into them, have several theories going on among fans etc. ff9 just doesnt go any deeper than what is shown in the game. its fine as it is but i think the universe it plays in and the missing lore are its biggest weakness. still a great game though. but thats why i would give it an A for story but never an S.
@@draculathevampire934 7 is the only one ive played so if ur telling me its overrated because its the best and most realistic characters then the other final fantasies suck?
Personally i would rate FF13 story as an either an S or a high A, i always hear peoples rankings and using the gameplay as an excuse as to why it has such a low ranking... The reason why there is no exploration or freedom to the gameplay at the start is because they've been given a focus and to their knowledge they have to follow it to the end and do nothing else which is reflected in the gameplay.. and then when the heroes finally start to realise the corruption in the government and controlling everyone they decide to make their own destiny and not follow the path that is given to them which is when the gameplay opens up and becomes more exploration.
Even though XII is my favorite FF I completely agree that the story is not great. I am strong believer that the gameplay of XII is what carries it for the most part. My favorite FF story is X’s and the overall aesthetic. It’s a very unique game indeed. XVI is great (Clive and Cid are just 😍) but at some point it becomes a little stale and slow. XV is not for me at all. I found it too corny. XIII is a snoozefest for me. I recently replayed the XIII trilogy on my now sold Xbox Series X and I just couldn’t get into it anymore. I don’t know how 16 year old me was able to spend 800+ hours on those games back when I had them on the PS3. Want to get into some of the older titles like VI and VIII. VII is great but I feel like at this point it has over saturated for me and I just don’t care about it anymore.
I found xii rather brilliant in that its 3 stories, the story of son rebelling against father, the story of exiled queen and kingdom, and the story of the feuding brothers.
I thought the story of 16 started off strong up through the point where you're fighting the female antagonist. However once the world and story opens up more into this political drama I lost most of my intrigue for the story. It didn't help that I thought both Clive and Jill were pretty vanilla.
Haha, dude. I would have ranked the games pretty much exactly the same apart from XVI which I have not played. Maybe I would put VII in S tier and others in high A but yeah - pretty much the same.
14 should be in a SS tier in my opinion.. also 15 is an A? and 12 is a C? no way.. 15 is at best C the story is all over the place and they can't get their narrative straight and the fact that you have to watch the move and the anime and play the DLC to fill in the gaps just kills it for me it should be even lower than C. also 7 and 10 shouldn't be S they are narratively weaker than 6, 9 and 16 which I agree those are S tier. (btw 11 is and if not equally as good as 14 narratively it is just hard to get the story done in that game).
15 > 12 > 11 > 14 10 > 9=8 > 7 > 16 > 6 Ff14 is the most bloated and blown out of proportion ff game ever. It's crippling overrated. They copy and paste the whole franchise and make it monster of the week and turned it into a One Piece video game. Dawntrail should have never happened. It should have died. Heavensward had some original ideas, but nothing in final fantasy 14 moves me. Ever.
9 is such a generic story with no depth in it, how in the hell 7 is weaker? its themes, symbolism kills most FF games. Let alone Cloud's characters arc just destroying FF9 and 6 as an example
Where would you rank the Final Fantasy stories, remember these are my opinions, you don't have to agree!
Don't forget to support the channel and hit that LIKE button. It helps!!
Fear of 8 is real
Here's my ranking, worst to best😁 including the spin-offs I've played cuz why not
A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Final Fantasy X-2
Final Fantasy Dimensions
Final Fantasy Dimensions II
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy VII
World of Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy IX
The funny thing is. I think FF7 original isn't that good. But the entire legacy of it with spinoffs and remakes make it the midas touch.
Nah
FF7 is my favorite as well. First time playing in 1997 & it was so awesome.
B tier is honestly pretty generous for FF13.
The way the story is told is pretty bad. But the story itself is FFX level imo.
Glad to see XV's story get some love. :)
I've always kinda said that the way the story is TOLD is kinda messy but the story itself one of the best in the series when you get down into it. I recently beat the Royal Edition with all the DLC, bonus content, and multimedia stuff fresh in mind and I was floored by how incredible of a villain Ardyn is-to the point that he may have dethroned Kefka as my favorite in the series.
I don't know FFXV shows Square-Enix wasn't that skilled in doing open world gaming. The story is incomplete and it doesn't really get going until Chapter 10 or 11 i think. Plus the concept of World building seemed lost with the developers.
@@JoinTheVoidOfEnuo I've completed ff15 when it came out but have yet to play the Royal DLC, seeing as it's free on subscription would you say it adds much to the game?
@@johnjackson2349
Short answer? Yes, especially if you're able to get it free. But a lot of your enjoyment may also be contingent on how much you enjoyed the base game on release.
As far as gameplay goes, Royal Edition content includes some quality of life improvements, the ability to play as the three other guys via the ascension node upgrades (Prompto is OP btw), an alternative version of chapter 13 where you play as Gladio & Ignis, and a greatly expanded version of the final dungeon.
In terms of story, that expanded final dungeon makes adds a decent chunk and so does Episode Ignis. There are also a few additional cutscenes here and there. Episode Prompto is focused more on character development than story but it's still solid. The only episode I'd say you can skip outright is Episode Gladio since it doesn't do much for story nor character development.
The BIG one though is episode Ardyn, which unfortunately came out after Royal Edition, so that's a separate purchase-but it's completely worth the $5 asking price. It really transforms Ardyn from a charming, if two dimensional villain to being 100% justified in his motivations-especially if you watch the Episode Ardyn prologue anime episode beforehand. No spoilers, but it's to the point where you can argue he's not the true villain of the game, just a part of a bigger picture.
Hope that helps! If you ever get around to playing it, feel free to come back to this comments section and let me know what you think. :)
@@JoinTheVoidOfEnuoI am now going to try the game again. I played it on release and thought it was mid. But if all of that is worth the change, it sure would be.
@@thecedexI think Square Enix would have nailed the open world if they didn't spend years just troubleshooting and fixing their engines. It's probably an excuse you've heard plenty of times, but I really am bummed that they couldn't achieve what they originally wanted to do with the game.
I feel FF4 is an S or an A at the very least
It defined JRPG storytelling came out in 1991!! So many games have ripped off elements from it Earthbound stole it's ending from FF4 Xenoblade...even FF16 rips FF4 off
The world is strong the characters are strong there are surprises around every corner... we go to the moon! It's crazy and beautiful
100%. V’s story being even remotely compared to IV, come on now
It's a B, too simplistic and tropey, even if it holds the prestigious distinction of being the first attempt at using a video game as a storytelling medium. It makes for a good game, but if you try and summarize the key plot points and characters... it's just not THAT strong.
@@SheonEver the story of FF4...it's VERY STRONG like i said so many games have ripped FF4 off
@@johnzigterman3250 I know it's hilarious
@@SheonEver if u summarize it just validates my point hahaha
Always FF6 for me so glad to see it up there, i feel despite it being old its a game that everyone should experience. Ive never seen a game juggle so many characters effortlessly and to this day the opera scene is still my fav ff moment and FF6 inspired so many ff games that came after it. FF7 would be a close 2nd
I replayed XII recently and I'd probably rank it B. I finally learned to accept Vaan as a good explorer to Ivalice athough he really puts rat in brat and is annoying as hell. But it's just such a beautiful world and interesting story, and it's amazing how they just made everything very realistic and intelligent in the war. I just really miss Rozarria no only physically but also in its narrative, because the way they did it it felt more like a Dalmasca vs Archadia as if Rozarria almost had no importance at all.
X-2 is fun and a good happy ending. I'd put it Low A.
Ff15 story was terrible - it doesn’t take DLC to make a proper or complete game . In my opinion the weakest ff I ever played and I played them all except ii .. it took until end of chapter 9 to get story going . It was rushed and it’s obvious how many producers and writers left in middle of production before picked up again to rush it out
actually the story of XV is pretty much the best one in franchise after 6, the problem is the storytelling. If it was just a problem of bad pacing it would not be so much a trouble, but there are worse problems; the game has PLENTY of cut content and a good part of the story is distributed in diverse media (movie, anime, DLCs, exclusive demos, books, mobile games, etc.). Its just a mess.
IV is the goat for me. I completely understand there are limitations to the story, mostly due to content being cut because of cart size in the early 90s, but the story just connects with me so much. A flawed man trying to atone for his sins and facing the darkness within himself and learning to accept it as part of himself.
Meanwhile, Kain is the other side of that coin, fighting his darkness and losing out to it multiple times. It isn't until TAY until he learns to accept his shortcomings as well.
You missed the G.O.A.T. FF story… Tactics…
Agreed!
100%
Tactics and FF7 are SSS tier for me
He said no spin offs ;)
FFT is one of the greatest video game stories of all time. I NEED either a Barnabas prequel or Ramza sequel, pleassssse SS
Ajora disagrees with that comment.
I was so happy you decided on S tier for ff9 in the end 😁 loved your reasoning behind your love for Squall and ff8, and then you put ff15 into A tier and It was a hat trick of happiness haha - great video Gen
I actually agree with this list. Excellent job hitting the points on each one too.
Final fantasy 2(us version) definitely deserves to be rated higher. I can understand why you would rate it lower if 7 was your first experience but 2 was my first experience and that story is the reason why I play RPGs as a 46 year old still to this day. 7 is the best though. Nothing beats that story for me
Love your tierlist!
It's great to hear people experience XV for the first or additional time and enjoying it because it was such a great multimedia project that While fumbled, was still amazing imo.
Would love to hear your thoughts on worldbuilding/gameplay mechanics if you think of getting around to these aspects^^
Very solid list. I pretty much agree with everything. I love 9 but I can’t argue with any of this.
Great list. I think you did a solid job focusing on the story rather than gameplay and fan expectations. However, I would have placed 12 just a bit higher.
Thanks for the solid video.
Like how 10 has gotten love the last couple years people use to trash it bad
Preach ma braddah!
Overall your ranking and mine would match as i have played all but 11 as well. I would say 14 is S tier due to Shadowbringers and Endwalker being so powerful and masterfully written as a narrative. And that 16 would be A tier for me as the story early was about slavery, thrn switched to the ultima theme and the slavery bit got completely shoved aside. It would have been nice to see the more geo political impacts in the story from how it was presented in the beginning.
I think I agree with you for the most part. I would have put 12 above 2, though. I think it's tough to rank 13 also, but you did a pretty good job. FF13 has some interesting character interactions. After I played it I felt that is was an experiment about about how dysfunctional characters can come together more so than a solid story in a grand adventure around the world.
Great job on the video.
7:31
They have to serve the overall story, I would say of the characters' arcs.
Yuffie and Vincent are both optional characters.
Yuffie's related quests develop the world a little bit, but don't feed the story.
Vincent's, however, feed us more information directly connected with the primary events 💙
Don't forget, this is all successor to a game whose main characters had absolutely no story to even mention, beyond tool of the prophecy to win the game 💙💙
Cloud's developments and realization as so closely related to the villain, those are character bits that feed the primary story 💙💙💙
Discussing how Vincent's related information is optional for an improved understanding of events in the story crosses over into more game analyzing, but again: if we're just talking about how the characters are part of the main story, we can talk about Vincent's role in it 💙
Not to mention Cait Sith and what it is that motivates them to be part of this team - that ties back right into the main story, too
and more, besides
FFII had a lot of characters, but ...
Pretty solid list imo , great taste in games brother.
13:32
I didn't play a lot of the downloadable content released afterward. Instead, I drank up the extra content that was released prior to the game. That would be the anime, "Brotherhood", and the film "Kingsglaive".
Those two gave me so much to enjoy for the characters, understanding to appreciate the friendship these four had. That understanding of strong friendship was only further strengthened by each time one of the 3 of the prince's companions was absent for any length of time during the game. Having them return was always very satisfying. I didn't think it was necessary, at all, to have additional quests about them. Further lore released to give us extra details to everyone else, seemed interesting, but to me just wasn't necessary-more than that, it seemed to ruin the lens through which we had viewed so much. All the hints provided about lore prior to this generation only gave me better connection to these heroes, and to the prince, because we only knew what he knew (until all the DLC)
The anime told us why the four were such good friends and the movie...
okay
Well, the movie doesn't fit into that, exactly, but it did make me very eager to get into the game and to learn what the prince's journey was going to be. Also, it had to be separate, because in the game, the prince doesn't know what happened, and so neither do we. By this point in the franchise, I had this idea that every game began with "destruction of the home village" in one way or another and the movie... the movie was just a feature length version of that very thing lol 💙💙💙
but the prince wasn't there for that event, so (as I mentioned) it wouldn't fit to have Kingsglaive exist or be available within the game. It has no more place there than a quest that takes the perspective of the villain. This game was about Noctis. 💙
So how was the story? ...
... B
I loved the kinship of the brothers and understanding that structure of having a tight nit group was also important to previous kings, but...
B
I’ve only played PS era onward but X is my favorite story! Then I’d say VII, XVI, IX, XIV, VIII, XV, XIII, XII. But all of them are basically S to A tier imo, really cool and memorable stories that I will cherish. Someday I’ll get around to playing the earlier ones. Final Fantasy Forever!
Great stuff Gen 👊
FFX is 🐐'd, then there's everything else
I like this braddah!
2:20
um... yus lol
I do think the characters' sacrifices is worth mentioning, especially since that is a plot device that gets used less and less for actual meaningful devastation of the spirit during the narrative, as the franchise continues 💙
Replaying V I think im just...shocked at how human the characters were? I remember them being a bunch of chuckleheads but. Dorgans grave, Galuf asking for a moment to himself. Bartz and Galuf drinking together to ease his anxiety.
Reina instantly trying to kill her dragon to save her mom with no hesitation.
Even something as simple as Bartz fear of heights. It reminds me of how I could relate to Cloud's motion sickness. I think genuinely V beats 4 and 2 by a long shot story wise making it A tier at LEAST
I really like the placement. I started with Final Fantasy 1, but most of my nostalgia falls for 4 & 6. I can definitely agree that some of those "deaths" in FF4 would have added more to the story if there was more permanence. 👍🏻
I really like 4 but yeah the 'deaths' one would been fine haha
Hi there, I've just gotten into your videos recently and I really like what you do, so please keep it up because your videos are really enjoyable 😁
P.S. I just subscribed
Welcome aboard!
Very similar mindset on some and love the way you keep changing from second to second like I do lol. Man it's hard to Tier up FF games!! This is mine currently:
S: FFVII, FFX, FFVI, FFVIII, FFIX
A: FFXIV, FFXII, FFIV, FFXIII, FFV
B: FFXV, FFXVI
C: FFIII, FFII, FFI
Man, that was so hard to do, and everytime I replay one the list slightly changes haha, just like you in the video...these were constantly changing positions and I was like hmm but but hmm lol.
So for me, FFI, II and III I love them all but find them the weakest in terms of story, I really enjoyed II but then III was just super fun and more in depth with the jobs which also lead to V's improved jobs which is why V is higher up the list for me + V omg, it's hilarious. I never actually finished V until the pixel remasters came out and I loved every second with that game. Definitely went up the ranks once I had actually played it properly!
For me, XV and XVI are my least favourite modern FF games, tbh I was toying with putting them in C tier but then It didn't feel right putting them with the original 3 entries. It's a really hard one as I did not like XV that much at first, still kinda don't fully like it in all areas and there is a lot more to XVI I like than XV in some areas but then XVI for me was just so empty and lacking in so many areas that I can't rate that game highly even though I love Jill and Joshua, just not enough to boost the rank of it.
FFXIV - is absolutely fantastic and gives me nostalgia for every single previous FF entry to date lol. So the memories just feel even more special with XIV. This game would be S-Tier for me, it's one of my favourites, in fact, it's so close to S-Tier for me but the only reason it isn't, is because it's an online subscription based game which I hate. I feel tied in when I pay for a sub and like I can not play anything else at all and must play that game to get my months worth of sub lol! I know, this is soemthing I need to get over as it is soooo cheap! but still. Maybe if I get over that I will put it in S-Tier because honestly that game is fantastic and the story is incredible. For story and gameplay alone it is S-Tier to me but overall it's high A-Tier for now due to the sub fee.
FFXII - Ok, this one is the black sheep for me, almost S-Tier for me. I have probably played this one more than most FF games, something about it is so fun and addictive and yet I find the story crap, most chars crap, everything I love first about FF games is kinda ignored here...and yet I still put this game high up. Also I can't believe u platinumed this, damn man respect! I still haven't that trial mode...UGH lol. Everything about the world in this game is S-Tier, exploring this world was the best I've seen, the way some of these underground caverns connect and open up shocked me! The hunts are awesome too.
All games in my S-Tier - well, every single one of them has an amazing story and cast of characters. Not just this they all have amazing systems and customisation. They all have a lot of depth to them and the combat systems are perfect in every single one! VII was also my first like most, and nothing has ever come close to beating this game to me except...HA wait for it, FFVII-Rebirth which we can't put on this list!
With the S-Tier in particular if I ever replay one of those my brain is like nah this ones better, no this one! lol. Like there are so many things about VIII that I love that I almost want to put that above X and VI but I don't know, for now this is my current ranking lol. For me though the golden age was PS1 to early PS2. Mostly PS1 because it had eventually FFI - IX and a lot of my top tier ones are all PS1! For me this was the peak of FF and everything since X has been lesser games even though they have still been amazing games but for me my S-Tier is where it was best. Each one of those games was consistently good and had so much depth to them but also story!
When I was younger FFIV was one of my favourites, even above VI at one point but as I got older and replayed it, that shifted a bit. I still love it BUT like you say, that whole death and then bringing them all back thing, really weakens the story. That for me also brought it down a bit. Still love the game but definitely not in my top anymore. High A though!
Sorry for the massive explanation and opinions but like you I love talking about this series 😁
1:39
Okay, I did have to remind myself you're focused on "story", what are the narrative beats we can recount...
Yeah, this one I agree with you 💙
little bit of intrigue, but mostly just an unrelated series of quests with their clues scattered wider and wider across the world map 💙💙
What's the story? Seeking out the fiends at the hearts of the known elements...
How do we get there? A cherished Hobbit's journey full of undisplayed character growth to four Heroes who never have a personality described in any way, shape or form. They save the day.
Never an idea that their first great challenge, your first boss fight, was not just another unrelated quest in the series 💙💙💙
Solid list!
I think Id go
S tier 10 and 7
A tier 8, 6, 9 and 16
B tier 4, 12, 13 and 15
C tier 5 and 2
D tier 1 and 3
Havent played the MMOs
Keep up the good work mate, love the tier lists!
That’s the list, man.
I think Ultima’s character in 16 really helped feel like a big bad too I knew when we got to him it was getting real still love 10 the best so much emotion every time for like 20 years lol
I almost agree 100% haha but I would put IV up into A and drop XV into C 😁
5:08
For me, this is FFX; but I'll save more detail for later when I've heard you on it 💙💙💙
3:37
This is like FFII. There is a lot of trauma the main characters go through to try to stop the empire.
About the twins, tho... They were petrified... I'm underwhelmed that we get them back, but ... petrify was never permanent - so this crosses over into a subject about magic use and how that fits into the story.
To me, it seems most of the time like the story (of a lot of FF I've enjoyed) doesn't know your characters are capable of all these fantastic things ... until the battle transition.
So for the twins, at least, I like that we do go back and use Soft or Gold Needle to restore them, at some damn point 💙💙💙
that is how we get them back, right?
they don't just ... magically stop being petrified, do they? ... some wonderful moment of the story when suddenly a ton of bad things become okay again? right? ...
FF6, FF7, FFX, FF9 in that order for Best Stories and All S Tier
replace 9 with 16 and we good to go
9 is way better than 16. Ooooh I wonder who ifrit could be? Its clear from the first moment that its clive and that joshua isnt dead. The story was mid at best
I agree with a majority of your top choices. Was surprised you put ff12 up so high. It’s one of my favorites
I'm not a 12 hater! Haha
I was hoping there would be surprise Limit Break cast on the tier list, where FF7 gets its own “VII - Tier” above S
2:52 SPOILERS
I remember the beginning being much more full of destiny, similar to the first FF, where the second was more about determination. It was a big deal when you learned that your whole world map was actually just a plateau and you still had a ton of world to explore; mirroring (again) the first game when you finally get out of the giant lake, thanks to the Dwarves. My problem is I don't remember much AFTER that lol 💙
He obviously never played FF12
He literally said that he go the platinum trophy for it.
@@yurivitorio407he could literally be lying. Anyone who says the story is bad or the characters are weak either didn't pay attention of have kindergarten levels of comprehension.
And it's no wonder these same people put FF8 an FFX above it.
@@luvlybalugavaan was weak as the main protagonist tbh. Balthier stolen the show. But story wasn’t bad
@@RevoZtuns was tidus the main protag of FFX? Was lightning the main protag of FF13?
Vaan was just the person who we controlled and saw the story through. Balthier and Ashe were always the main drivers of the story just like Yuna and Auron were for FFX and Fang and Vanille were for FF13.
It's what makes the story even better honestly.
Well cant say much cause havent played all of em but glad 16 and 15 are quite high cause those got me into it. I really like the 7 remakes so far. Im currently engrossed in 14 and hopefully one daylw ill play 13 cause at least compared to some games coming out today ot looks to have an actual engaging story
I agree on most of the tier list except for
XV and XII (didn't finish it)
XVI (I recently played the demo in PC. Will probably finish it since I feel like the story in demo is a hook for me)
Now, XIV - it's an S tier for me. I believe a lot of people in the comment (or even among FF fans) didn't try it because it's an MMORPG. And I almost didn't... if not for Covid. The character and villains are some of the most well written and my most personal favorites in FF world.
People should really try it (it's free now until the 2nd expansion Stormblood if I'm not mistaken)
4, 7, and 14 are my top ones. 4 introduced me to jrpg’s and rpg’s in general. Never heard of them before.
For a time I went off video games entirely. Didn’t anticipate starting up again. I had a friend who kept pushing me to play 7. He loaned me his copy and I borrowed my half-brother’s PlayStation over the weekend. As of Monday I bought my own console and copy of ff7 and never looked back.
FFXIV was the 2nd mmo I ever played with the first being dc universe online. DC only held my attention for a couple months. I started FFXIV during patch 2.45 and have logged on multiple times a week ever since. It’s among my favorite games ever.
I do like 15 a lot but them canceling the episodes was very disappointing. Aranea was my favorite in the story and I was really looking forward to her story.
I agree with most of that, at least the ones I've played. I'd love to know where you would place Final Fantasy Tactics though, as that is one of my personal favourites and I rate it with 7 & 10 as my top 3 FF games.
My tiers would be as such:
S: 7, 10, Tactics
A: 8
B: 9, 13
C: 12
D: 5
Haven't played: 1-4, 6, 11, 14-16
10:09
FFX is for me a great story.
It has so much of what FFVII was doing, but it does the emotions better
Not only that, but
The story in this game does so much more to earn the two words "final" and "fantasy" in the title, than any other entry.
It's always an end to the problems, but never an end to the Fantasy.
Everything about their way of life for 1,000 years has ended; including some immortal characters who can at last (not to say "finally") go to rest.
This is the GOAT for the series, for me
It was such a knife to my heart when this game became the first game in the franchise to receive a sequel, full of so many of the elements we had believed were gone
In the land of sequels, this is fine - but when no other game had had one... I was gutted 💙💙
I mean, good for Yuna, but in the old days of story telling, we just KNOW she went on to do bigger and better things for Spira, but we didn't write a bloody sequel to a game called "Final" bloody fantasy.
We scoffed at Final Fantasy VII for ... being another in a series of "final" games.
Oh, look at the franchise now lol 💙💙💙
I mostly agree with these rankings. I would swap 9 and 16 with 8 and 14, respectively. But I admit my bias!
I can't list FF games - I enjoy whichever one I'm currently playing. 7 is my favourite, because it was my first, and because of the nostalgia of playing it myself and also seeing my children playing it and loving it back in '97.
Nice list. Only one I would change is XII to B tier. That game has some good parts in the story, the political dynamics of the land, the motivations of the characters, some side quest.
FF VIII it´s story resonated well with me too, I also got mental isseus myself, but it ain´t that bad anymore now I´m 37, I just learned to live with them along the way. It realy helped me in my dark days playing those video games.
XVI, VIII and especially XV all above XIV is a joke
Story-telling is probably the most important for me and FF9 and FF7 remake are the best IMO at telling the stories, followed by FF6 and FF10. I am still waiting for Rebirth to be released on the PC, but FF7 Remake has so many fun characters and actually humorous dialogues, it which restored my faith in the series. Since FF12 you need to spend time on reddit or youtube just to understand the plot, which takes so much away from these FF games. Gameplay wise I really like the FF7 remake's hybrid action and turn based battle system, although FF12's gambit and FF13's paradigm systems also are quite fun to play without getting too repetitive or confusing like FF15's battle system. Graphic wise the newer games are obviously the best looking but all they look great when they are published. The same with music.
I think you was pretty accurate put tactics up there and dissidia
XII on the same tier as I and below IV, XIII, V, and II is definitely a take. But this is also coming from someone who would put the story (and especially the characters) of X on the D tier so to each their own.
7 has the best opening and specially the whole midgar section is just perfect but FF16 is also just perfection. FF6 and FF10 would be A for me but great list!
Wow i came in thinking i wasn't going to agree with your list but i absolutely agree with your list only ff16 i was unsure of since i personally dont know much about it.
Agreed for all the ones Ive played
Whey hey!
I agree with 6, 7, 9, and 10. 4, 5, and 16 are an A. The rest are B of the main games while the prequels and sequels have their own opinions. Perhaps we'd share opinions in another video? :)
Maybe!
This. I cant put 16 on the same level as 9. It isnt.
8:57
This one does in the feels what FFVII didn't do enough of - and what earlier games were doing a little bit better, but for the poor "visualization"
The graphics help the later entries in this series. They reach a wider audience, at this point, because the characters and story are fleshed out enough to be more easily relatable 💙
11:08
Agreed, very like FFII, but I think much more open.
FFII makes it pretty clear who the villain of the piece is
FFXII, on the other hand, makes it clear which characters oppose one another, but ... as we learn about them, we find that there aren't any characters to properly despise
I think this game does a much better job of giving each character an independent reason to stay together through the journey
Even FFX let some of the main party fall short in the way of character growth and personal determination, rather than just conveniently being motivated to be there
but would I put this above FFX, in terms of story? No, but better than some 💙
12:01
FFXIII gave a lot more attention to the characters and explored them through their relationships with each other.
The primary story wasn't always as clear, until the characters finally came together as the group we expected them to be and we were finally give our freedom of control in their battle development, symbolic of their new determination.
It's another one that has a good solid through line for the characters and their reason for being main characters in this story
FFXI, by contrast, doesn't have that kind of unity, it's too much like the very first game, in that regard.
This one would be A for me 💙
Only ones I haven’t played and beat are 2 and 5 (haven’t played 3 either, but kinda don’t care to). If I had to pick one in terms of story to play between 2 and 5, which one would you personally recommend more?
Such a tough one because a few people don't like the systems in 2 and the systems in 5 are S tier in my mind. I'd go for 5 for the overall experience!
@@GenesisVII But in terms of story tho?
@@GenesisVII I’m def aware about their gameplays, but know nothing about their stories because I wanted to be blind to them if or when I ever decided to play them. This video intrigued me because of its focus on story. That being said, I kinda push through the gameplay if the story is worth it. With that, does that change your answer at all?
Between 2 and 5 I say go for 2 just for the story. 5's gameplay is infinitely better though.
@@dominiccenteno1233 Appreciate you fam that’s where I was leaning towards. Not one for the job system very much. I’ve yet to play Octopath 2, and I think that’s the only other game with a job system I think I’ll be motivated to play. Don’t have as much time as I used to, so I def value story and quality presentation over gameplay, even tho I do still like to immerse myself in the depth of a JRPG combat system if it hits just right.
Great list- OG7 is my favorite game of all time (loved remake and rebirth too) but imo FFX has the best story ever
Glad IX is getting more love as time goes on! People slept on it for far too long. #yourenotalone #vivi
I agree about iv fake deaths, but still consider it A. I'd move xiii to A, swap ix and vii, and drop x to bottom of D
X is excellent. Why the hate? Voice acting?
@@Postumeartist X has an ok plot, but is really brought down by being framed through Tidus' viewpoint. Tidus is one of the weakest characters in the series. Not the voice acting, not the laughing scene, the character. Axe Tidus and the story is probably A tier
@@ogun6464 Character development is probably one of the strongest with Tidus
@@Postumeartistalways thought the story was super weak.
Interesting! Tidus isn’t my favourite character in the series by far, but I thought he served as a good way to move the plot forward. Some aspects of his character were grating, but I feel that was mostly due to the English voice acting. I thought Seymour was a weak antagonist for sure, but as I get older, I think he was a decent idea executed wrong. He should’ve been written as more sympathetic and empathetic given his goal.
Most i agree except the following:
FF6: for me, having so many characters made the story too convoluted, so i rank it A.
Ff16: i liked the story but i think its an A, basically because the ending villain wasnt too impactful for my tastes.
Ff9: id rank the story as an A; i love the game but story wise its pretty simplistic, very similar to 8 as a matter of fact.
I do have one complaint brother: you did not mention the BEST, and i mean by a landslide, the best story in all ff, final fantasy tactics. I know you may not consider it part of the main series though but to me, FFT is without a doubt on a tier of its own. Nice tier list.
I appreciate you not ranking V too low 😂. I agree the story is very simplistic but I think it does a great job of keeping you engaged and giving you that grand adventure feeling.
Great list almost exactly the same as mine.
Nah FF4 is S tier or A tier at best. Such an underrated title imo.
At best lol
Thanks for this video although I disagreed with most of them actually, but I think it's because the ranking is seeing the story at the Macro level (main plot + character development and scale).
Here's is my tier
Final Fantasy 1 (B) = simple plot but, as you traverse the world, you can really feel the impending dread and doom of the world dying.
Final Fantasy 2 (F) = this is the series trying to do a narrative the first time w/o actually having a narrative except Empire attacks again and again and people die.
Final Fantasy 3 (B) = Like FFI this game was more about exploring the world but this time its uncovering the one behind it. I think it did a good job. Plus I do get a kick of Zande being revealed quite late and your first meeting with him is an instant battle lol.
Final Fantasy 4 (C) = at the time this was revolutionary, now it's really dated. Too much fake out deaths and mind control for my taste and the world feels kind of stale. Also too much Melodrama lol.
Final Fantasy 5 (A) = it's a simple story but the developers understood the assignment. Characters were always lively enough to make the theme of friendship resonate in the game and Ex-Death is the perfect Saturday morning cartoon villain.
Final Fantasy VI (S) = just overall amazing story, the game starts out with the empire and takes a twisted turn one the WOR hit. And while the WOR is basically a big sidequests, you can really take in the grimness of the world.
Final Fantasy VII (A) = If this was in Disc 1 alone this would be an S. But Disc 2 brought it down a bit (most of it I would give a B or C), after the Northern Crater some things just felt a bit nonsensical. But it does end strong.
Final Fantasy VIII (D) = Anyone that thought having a story with Child Soldiers is a good idea, needs a reality check (haha). Plus this gets really convoluted quick. Laguna part is great though
Final Fantasy IX (A) = Kudos with the Active Time Event to give other characters a chance to shine with their personalities, plus I really thought the medieval setting gave the Designers a chance to be creative with the world building.
Final Fantasy X (B) = I love how the story tried to convey a sense of history and culture to explore, I just wished you got explore more out of the beaten path to appreciate things more. The main plot was good but it really does pick up once the game is about to end.
Final Fantasy XII (S) = The just love the immersion of the game that alone makes Dalmasca a fully realized world. While the main plot gets a bit lost as time goes on there's a lot to like in the personalities and Motivation, not just with the main heroes, but the villains as well. In fact I think it helps most of these characters don't have a complex backstory because it made their characterizations and motivations more grounded in the conflict.
Final Fantasy XIII (F) = This is probably the worst example of anime storytelling and characterization. The the game being basically a linear dungeon crawl, it's only chance to tell a good story is with its cinematics and cutscenes (most of them not really that good).
Final Fantasy XV (D) = I friend of mine said it best your main heroes are named Noctis, Gladious, Ignis, and Promto yet most NPC have names like Jared, David, and Dino. Why bring this up, for a game that has a lot of open world there really isn't a sense of world building involved. Also doesn't help the main story is incomplete even stuff happening with no explaining (like what happend to the Emperor of Niflheim)
whats the music played during the intro?
Theme of Final Fantasy from FF1 Pixel Remaster
Agree with you with all of it
6 or 9 are the only two s rank stories, if you consider the time 4 was released it can be considered s as well, the other titles mentioned are only thought to be better by people who didn’t play the three I mentioned.
FF6: C
FF7: Best ever made
FF8: A
FF9: S
FF10: A
FF12: D
FF13: C
FF14: B
FF15: C
FF16: A
I played and beat XIII when it came out and I cannot remember one single thing about it. IMO it’s ultra F-tier.
On the other hand I would rank XII in A-tier. I thought it was great although it definitely falls off towards the end.
6:28
My first experience of the series, as well. I had no idea a VIDEO GAME could be so detailed in narrative and complicated in the freedom of action within the provided world.
So . very . not my favorite game in the series.
One of the last times that a character's death is meant to literally devastate the Player
Meteor and Jenova, Lifestream, SOLDIER, Mako, Shinra, Sephiroth, Vincent, Cloud - all tied up so strongly in a singular series of events that lead us through this game
Not actually that different from VI ... or V ... or IV, really.
In 3D.
There are better stories in the franchise, I think 💙
I wonder where dragon quest 8 and 12 would fit in if added to this list 🤔
FF 8 is my favorite but there’s soo many holes that can be filled if there’s a movie/series.
I think my list would look exactly like yours, but with a minor swap between VII and X. Everything else I think is the same haha
Sounds good to me!
Honestly VIII should be also in S in my opinion. The story is so great!!!
Huh, I might bump XV down to B since you don't really spend a lot of time involved IN the main story until the later part of the game, but this is VERY CLOSE to how I'd rank them, too.
FFIV deaths were a sad need for the purpose of the game. FF was still not set on making a "change party member" mechanic, so they wanted a story to feature plenty of the jobs previously shown at FFIII but they had to come and go while the story lead up to the final team you get.
FFV game the job system in a way to show the jobs again, and after that the gmes had tu use their own character styles and mechanics (Relic/Materia/GF) to emulate them
FF6 was my first Final Fantasy game.. still think it's the best story next to FF7 ✌️
Shame that one final fantasy tactics didn’t get included. It have one of the best story and combat.
Personal opinion asside... FFVI > FFVII. Alright, you can throw your stones now.
Nah, I love 7 more but 6 is a close second. Those two are the best.
My top 5 final fantasy games (for story and other aspects) are identical to your S tier rank
Wow someone who actually includes XIV in the list for once.
I’ve played a lot of it!
If you had put the ninth part lower, they would have simply spat on you))) An excellent story, a fairy tale for adults, without children's snot, the last of the best games in the series.
people will hate me but personally i never understood the hype around ff9. freya amaranth quina eiko and steiner cintribute almost nothing to the main story and the story would be exactly the same without them. their respectivr story arcs end around disc 1 with quina's whole story arc being discovering the entrance to a cave. vivi probably had the most rememberable story arc in the game but thats not enough to make it an s tier. tbh, lorewise ff9 is pretty bad as well with the summoners tribe not really being strong enough and the whole endboss turning out of nothing in the last fight feels like they had to wrap up the story by throwing in a superior entity. that pretty much made kuja meaningless as an endboss... maybe a tier but definitely not s
personally considering the lore and diving deeper in the story ff10, 8, 7 and 13 are superior to anything else especially if you take a moment to dive deeper in those concepts.
What do you mean contribute nothing? In what sense? I mean tifa and barrett could die in 7 right after you meet them and the story could go on exactly as it would. Same with red and cid. There is really no purpose to anyone outside of cloud and aerith by that logic. The entirety of ff8 would play out the same without the laguna segments, without zell, without quistis, without selphie. Irvine could have just been an npc who just has the sniper scene. Lulu and wakka could be relegated to the roles of lusu and gatta and the story would be exactly the same. Hell, in ff6, you can ignore like 11 characters altogether. Steiner is a better written character than everyone i mentioned by far.
Tbh I dont think uve played it. Give it a chance and i bet youll change ur mind!
hehe. ive played every ff title multiple times and consider myself a ff geek. dont get me wrong, ff9 is a great game and i enjoy its gameplay a lot especially hot and cold has a special place in my heart. but this video is about ranking the story hehe.
the whole story of ff9 is questioning what has been, who you thought you were, realizing who you really are and coming to terms with it. every character can be broken down to that pattern, even the sub characters. e.g. freya thought she had to find her lover and her life would be complete again, but once she found him she realized things had changed she was not who she thought she was anymore came to terms with it and they parted
kuja eventually couldnt accept who he was and as a concequence of that he lost the battle to himself in the end.
these arcs are great on their own but imo the game doesnt do a good job at weaving those arcs into a deeper plot. what does necron even symbolize? where does he come from? there is just not much more to explore to the story than what is shown in the game. ff7, 8, 10 and 13 created whole universes, stories that drag you into them, have several theories going on among fans etc. ff9 just doesnt go any deeper than what is shown in the game. its fine as it is but i think the universe it plays in and the missing lore are its biggest weakness. still a great game though. but thats why i would give it an A for story but never an S.
7 is very overrated lol
lol are you just one of those people who think anything popular is overrated
@@kregure Why do you just assume that? Ive played 7 before and it REALLY is overrated
It's overrated because it's the best bro
@doofuscawt that's why they r overrated because it's the best and most realistic characters
@@draculathevampire934 7 is the only one ive played so if ur telling me its overrated because its the best and most realistic characters then the other final fantasies suck?
7 and ten are my favorites
10:56
whelp lol 💙
Pretty great rankings in my opinion. Only differences is I think 12 should get a solid B and 13 should get a D.
Not a bad list Id probably flip FF8 with FF4 and move FF12 up to B.
ImO FFX Number 1 and then FF7 ❤!!! I play atm FFX (i think the 5th run 😂😂)
I never played FF 1-6
Personally i would rate FF13 story as an either an S or a high A, i always hear peoples rankings and using the gameplay as an excuse as to why it has such a low ranking... The reason why there is no exploration or freedom to the gameplay at the start is because they've been given a focus and to their knowledge they have to follow it to the end and do nothing else which is reflected in the gameplay.. and then when the heroes finally start to realise the corruption in the government and controlling everyone they decide to make their own destiny and not follow the path that is given to them which is when the gameplay opens up and becomes more exploration.
Even though XII is my favorite FF I completely agree that the story is not great. I am strong believer that the gameplay of XII is what carries it for the most part. My favorite FF story is X’s and the overall aesthetic. It’s a very unique game indeed. XVI is great (Clive and Cid are just 😍) but at some point it becomes a little stale and slow. XV is not for me at all. I found it too corny. XIII is a snoozefest for me. I recently replayed the XIII trilogy on my now sold Xbox Series X and I just couldn’t get into it anymore. I don’t know how 16 year old me was able to spend 800+ hours on those games back when I had them on the PS3. Want to get into some of the older titles like VI and VIII. VII is great but I feel like at this point it has over saturated for me and I just don’t care about it anymore.
I found xii rather brilliant in that its 3 stories, the story of son rebelling against father, the story of exiled queen and kingdom, and the story of the feuding brothers.
For me, XVI IS a B-, XII a B+, XIII a D.
For the other ones, WE have the same taste 😊.
I thought the story of 16 started off strong up through the point where you're fighting the female antagonist. However once the world and story opens up more into this political drama I lost most of my intrigue for the story. It didn't help that I thought both Clive and Jill were pretty vanilla.
Haha, dude. I would have ranked the games pretty much exactly the same apart from XVI which I have not played. Maybe I would put VII in S tier and others in high A but yeah - pretty much the same.
14 should be in a SS tier in my opinion.. also 15 is an A? and 12 is a C? no way.. 15 is at best C the story is all over the place and they can't get their narrative straight and the fact that you have to watch the move and the anime and play the DLC to fill in the gaps just kills it for me it should be even lower than C. also 7 and 10 shouldn't be S they are narratively weaker than 6, 9 and 16 which I agree those are S tier. (btw 11 is and if not equally as good as 14 narratively it is just hard to get the story done in that game).
Stop the cap lol
15 > 12 > 11 > 14
10 > 9=8 > 7 > 16 > 6
Ff14 is the most bloated and blown out of proportion ff game ever. It's crippling overrated.
They copy and paste the whole franchise and make it monster of the week and turned it into a One Piece video game.
Dawntrail should have never happened. It should have died.
Heavensward had some original ideas, but nothing in final fantasy 14 moves me. Ever.
9 is such a generic story with no depth in it, how in the hell 7 is weaker? its themes, symbolism kills most FF games. Let alone Cloud's characters arc just destroying FF9 and 6 as an example
Where is Strangers of Paradise?