IV is 100% my favorite of all time and I don't see any FF game ever giving me the same feeling I got playing this game over and over in the last 30 years. The opening was effing amazing, the music was off the hook from the opening note - and I still get goosebumps thinking about getting goosebumps after entering the Mist Cave with the mist effect and best cave/dungeon music in the whole series. That huge leap from FF 1 USA on the NES to the 16-bit graphics set the tone, and then the plot twists were great, the quest to become a paladin, beating Scarmiglione but then he revives and back attacks... and absolutely nothing in any game I had played to that point was more exciting than "A WHOLE WORLD UNDERGROUND???" and then "WE ARE GOING TO THE FFFFFFF MOOOOOON!???" It's so amazing in all ways. I love V, VI, VII, VIII and IX nearly as much (I LOVE V, I first played it on emulation on a PC probably 20 years ago with a translation patch - so I had Butz and Cara instead of Bartz and Krile) - but IV will forever stand next to Tecmo Super Bowl, Counter-Strike, BotW and Twilight Princess in my favorites of all time.
I gotta say… I don’t think I’ve been in as much agreement for a tier list ever… for anything. Even your comments about FF1 and 2 align with mine. Now there are a few titles I haven’t played (13-2, Lightning returns or any of the tactics games), and I haven’t played enough of 11 or 14 to really have an opinion (although I’m finally getting into 14…. It’s early days). VI and IV are my favourite, in fact my favourite games of all time. My only real difference of opinion was the After Years. I REALLY like that game. I’d have it in B tier I think. I’d also have 12 in S.
@@DamnDaimen Same, and I am probably in the same camp as Dee. Played FFIV first, then FFVI and remember when FFVII was marketed EVERYWHERE, and probably hyped it up so much that the generation who never played a Final Fantasy came into it all hyped. That and the EMO thing was hot at the time, so Cloud being this EMO proxy likely sat well with many at the time.
I've fallen in love with Final Fantasy 1 by playing Final Fantasy Renaissance. Great vid! And yay to the FFII love, the music really showed Amano starting to play with theming.
I was stoked to see this video on my recommended list. Your deep lore and development knowledge and general insights are so valuable for the Fandom. I almost never have time to catch you on twitch but distilled content on YT is perfect! Also... I get that 3 was kind of a black sheep but it was a game of so many firsts for the series and it was charming as hell. That one would be an A for me.
i watched this on my tv yesterday and couldnt comment but i'm here today to comment and say this is a great video!!! loved hearing your thoughts on all the games in one lil video :)
The only question that matters...what was your first game? This depends heavily on where and when you were born. Japan got all of them in order of creation...except one...mystic quest. North America and Europe were either denied or were found to be too childish and dumb for Japanese rpgs. In some ways, western culture in general is incapable with Japanese media. The answer to this question will determine how you rank these games.
Finaly... a tier list i really agree on... As 7 as my 1st numbered ff game... w/o bias, i believe that ff7 and 10 are amazing games.. but ff9,4,5,6,12 and tactics are still better... But as much as i want to love ff8... the gameplay just isnt for me..
I'm working my way through every single mainline Final Fantasy game. I'm playing through the pixel remaster games right now and already beat the first three, just started Final Fantasy 4 a little while ago.
Amazing tier list, your knowledge of the saga is impressive. I really hope you make more content of this kind. Until then, you won my youtube sub and twitch follow !
This felt like a real persons proper rankings, true to what you have loved and has meant something to you and not just what you'll hear anyone normally say about this series. I love that all three of the SNES games made S tier, even though they wouldn't for me I think that's a great take.
IV was my first rpg as well, on snes. I remember it making me cry as a kid, because of people dying, I felt the characters deeply, and never had in a game before. Rydia was amazing. I couldn’t wait for another FF game after that. And I saw FF Mystic Quest, for rent one day, and thought it was the next game in the series. I played it, I couldn’t believe how bad it was when compared to FF4 (although on its own, I liked it). I was so upset that that was the next game.. then I saw a pic of FFVI, or 3 at the time, in a Nintendo Power magazine. And couldn’t wait. I finally got it when it came out, I stayed up all day and night playing it. Pretended to be sick to miss school the next day, just to play it, and to this day, there isn’t a game imo that can touch it. The only way it could be better, is if it got a true remake, and they took as much time as they gave the FF7 remake, to make it perfect, like adding in being able to play through each characters backstory. And make all the espers be received through some kind of quest/fight/13-2 type catching game, etc. Just touching up the stories, or what they show of them, a little. Not sure really what I’d like the look to be. More realistic, like the FF7 remake, or something different, like watercolors, and artwork used from Amano’s drawings. Also, bring in a collectible card game like the one in 8. Then make expansions for the characters stories after they kill Kefka. That world should be brought to life! Sry, didn’t plan on going off on that. I loved FF11, 8, 10, 12, all the tactical ones, and pretty much all of them except FF13. I haven’t played 16, and was disappointed with 15, but liked it as a game. Just not a FF game.
::slow clap:: I have very similar thoughts about many of the mainline games in the series and your appreciate for Final Fantasy V really put a smile on my face. It's definitely a top-tier game for me.
Definitely fair! I have the unique experience of having played nearly every single FF title/spin-off/mobile game released but totally understand how unrealistic that is for most.
Wow.. what a great list. I’m pretty picky about teir lists, not because I have to agree, but rather when the person doesn’t know what they are talking about ( cough ff2). Very good knowledge about the series. Im almost done the series.. im mid way through ff5 and loving it
I think IX is the best FF game, IV gives me the most nostalgia and will always be No. 1 in my heart, V and VI were the most replayable - VII and VIII are awesome, but I can't bring myself to dive into a replay of either. X is fun, but I feel so compelled to get every character in each battle that I end up micromanaging everything - and the linearity is offputting. Beautiful game, but just can't manage to go hard on it - and remain roughly 3/5 of the way through my first playthrough, lol. XII and XIII are on the table, but going to finish my current FF VI playthrough and attempt to finish X before I do... Also LOVED the Final Fantasy Renaissance remake with more job classes. Definitely going to play through that again with a different set of characters (I went Warrior, Thief, Blue Mage, Dancer - it was AWESOME)
Thanks for sharing this list and these opinions! I agree with most of it, however, I would give XV and XIII-2 a solid A. XV was clearly incomplete towards the end, but I loved the characters and the relationships and the whole photography aspect of it. The graphics look AMAZING, even by 2023's standards. I felt like I fully understood the main characters and their personalities seemed so real and relatable to me. There were times when I kind of forgot that these characters are not REAL people, while playing. XV was a real tear-jerker!!! VII will forever be my S-rank (Tifa, Cloud and Aerith are my favorite party). To be honest, I've never cared for XII. Love Fran, Balthier and Ashe; I thought Vaan was a trash main character. He wasn't too different from Zidane (didn't care for him, either), but then again a few lead characters are pretty similar, across the series. XII just wasn't my jam. I didn't care for the amount of time it took to setup the AI in battle and didn't care for the medieval setting and dialect. PS - CHEATING! Don't let your ranking for other games influence your ranking of a different game. Rate them all individually as you set out to do and let them fall where they will.
I’ve played most FF games so far, aside from a few, and 9 is also my fave so far tbh. I’m currently trying to beat 4, but I’m kinda having a hard time feeling attached to it though
I love how the songs of the Final Fantasy Franchise was shuffled all along while you did your thing. How did you do that? Gen X here with a MEH attitude towards newer technology. Hahaha.
+1 For Final Fantasy IV, i agree that Cecil is the best protagonist, i always tell the people about him how well his story was done, well until he changed at least. I also liked Final Fantasy Legend II, Sa-Ga - not really a FF but Sa-Ga game, but one of oldest and best ones, and released about the same time as FF IV. Modern games are bigger and perhaps better, but these 2 have heart & soul. :) And no matter how often i replay them, i still do not get sick of them after decades of their release. On the other side, FF V was very mediocre and developed simultaneously with FF IV, so it could not take advantage of the milestones FF IV did achieve, the game that did was FF VI and it really shows. The best games with job replays is called Final Fantasy Tacics. It got a far better story and characterization and OST, too!
I also LOVE FFIV (which I still think of as II), and I feel like most people overlook it because it's so linear compared to VI. It's such a wonderful game!
Love the list, my top is almost the same, maybe swapping positions between 4,6,9 and tactics on any given day. I will say I fell off 13 and after, just hasn't been the same quality for me, like they went for a new audience, I don't know, writing, equipment, and other things just don't land like they did in previous entries.
I actually liked 10-2 and 13 I feel they get a lot of undeserved hate. . I've played all the mainlines on release (I feel old AF lol) plus Tactics minus 11 and 14. I feel like 4, ,6, 10 and Tactics are my favorites and I've played them the most. Im leaning towards 16 being my all time favorite. Lol Get mad.
Very nice video, took some stress out from me in a stressful day :) Thank you! My Ranking of Main Installments if anyone cares lol. I cannot yet Rank XVI (still playing it) or XI (not enough knowledge to judge it... YET). 1) XIV 2) VIII 3) VII 4) V 5) XII 6) I 7) IX 8) IV 9) VI 10) XV 11) III 12) II 13) X 14) XIII 15) XIV And yes, XIV is the best (ARR) and the worst at the same time (1.0). I LOVE FINAL FANTASY!!! ALL OF THEM!!!!! PS: If we added Side Instalments, DUODECIM would be #2 above VIII for me. :)
My only problem with FF10 was that the voices for Tidus and Seymour felt a bit unfitting - I honestly liked their Japanese voices better, where Tidus sounds like a cheeky Ichigo and Seymour has a dark, cold and menacing voice, and I actually assumed that this was what they would sound like the first time I saw footage from that game. That said though, I do prefer some of the American voices as well; Auron's American voice is a bit warmer, calmer and more polite, and Belgemine's voice is much less intimidating (she sounds like a drill sergeant in the Japanese version, haha).
Check out the PSP version of FF4 sometime if you can! The additional dungeons and equipment are very cool, and being able to choose your party at the end felt like something that could have been implemented in the original game.
These lists have to be hard to do especially when you have to justify why a favorite of everyones is not an S so they will understand. Admittedly I’d do the opposite if I made a list and put VI in B tier with no explanation just to see the comments blow up in rage. 😂 IV was not my first but it’s my favorite. It’s just such a classic game. Was there even marketing for it, I just remember the weird VI commercial with Mog killing everything.
I also totally agree with your take on VII! It's a very *important* game in the history of the franchise, but it's not that great of a game in and of itself!
Hmm that's weird. I got motion sickness in some games like RE7 and Outer Wilds as a few examples, or anything VR. But not in FF15. Would have actually loved to get sick while playing so I could stop going through that awful 15th iteration.... everything after the first map was a disaster. And WOW, this is the first time someone comes close to my ranking. The only real difference being that FF8 is my favorite game of the series. So sad that the last one is more like Devil May Cry XVI rather than Final Fantasy XVI...
10-2 in C. Nope. You fixed it at B (although its A for me because of the combat system being easily the best ATB of 1-10) then put it back in C 😢😢😢 A game with that good of a combat system can't be C 10 and 11 are S tier too. 11 just has an amazing legacy and it was something special at the time. No mmo has every reproduced that. Glad you pointed out 5 job system is amazing too.. All your A is my S (except 1) 😅
I like ff7, but it is not my favorite. For many years I hated it due to a friend who was obsessed with sephiroth. Also, if you play FF8 with doing nothing but gf's you are missing out on some people important battle mechanics.
I'm just skipping around the vid and not watching the whole but what's up with the music around 16:15? When discussing V being s-tier, you play V's music; fine. I also agree with V being S tier. But when discussing VI being s tier, you play IX music?
It's a random Final Fantasy playlist as this was done during a livestream :) - there was no music editing or planning involved. Hope that clears up any confusion.
To me FFXI was "S" tier. It is to this day the best MMO I have ever played. It had it's issues (especially before "Treasures of Aht Urghan") and had MAJOR MAJOR RED FLAG issues when Abyssea hit and each subsequent xpac increased the new problems Abyssea introduced. However, in it's current iteration, you can play FFXI solo and experience 95% (if nmot more) of the game content alone... So if you hate grouping with players, there's that for you. However it's still the best MMO, second only to Ultima Online and WOW: The Burning Crusade to me. Too many MMOs don't respect your time, or just plain out copy WoW, or have an absolute crapton of Micro Transactions and (recent phenomena) ugly character customization. FFXI was time consuming, but each little bit was never lost (well except XP loss, but beside that), there was constant progress, and even as a casual with a 45 then 40hr/week job and other responsibilities, I still hit level 75 on 3 jobs before abyssea, so did it legit playing with groups of players and guildies, and unlike WoW, the content was not obsolete once I managed to get to it, and I didn't need a trillion mules for crafting/playing different classes ( Tho still needed a few, more games need to take a cue from Ultima Online and allow a character all craft skills, or since most mmo have 8, allow 4 ). So my List ( From what I've played ): S = FF11, FF6, FF5 A = FF4, FF10, FF7 B = FF1, FF2, FF8, FFT, FF4:TAY C = FF9, FF3 D = FF12, FF14 E = FF13, FF15 FF5 is between A and S tier, so low S-tier. FF9 started super strong, but I absolutely hated the second half, I never played it again. Like 12, most ppl love it, but the 2 of them I never could get into. At least I had fun with FF9 for a bit. FF12 was utterly boring to me. FF14 switched to a more "WoW-esque" style with ARR, so I promptly canceled it. I know it has changed since, but I just don't feel getting back into it. I'd like a "FF11 classic" (everything that stops just before abyssea) better I think. To each their own. FF13 and FF15 were absolute garbage. I was giving a chance to FF13, until I fought a boss who would do a one hit kill move ONLY IF you didnt have the healer class .in your composition. If you had a healer he did NOT do his insta-death move. That was the last straw for me... My friend gave up at Bartholemew fight, and my sister a few hours later after that. FF15 is just... yuck.
The gameplay in FF6 is not in ANY way a downgrade from FF5’s job class (also another watered-down Final Fanatic neckbeard platitude whose horse is beaten worse to death than Rodney King). If anything, the gameplay is as in-depth as FF9’s because each character has their uniqueness, whilst holding more layers to their mechanical development. Level ups mean more. Your stats only increase in the hp and mp tangibles. All other stats are cemented unless manipulated by esper optimization. And before you say “everyone can learn every magic”, guess what? Same with 7. Same with 8. SAME WITH 10. Same with 5. All of the other games that are compared to the esper system share its same “flaw”. If you even call it one. Getting overpowered take a brutal amount of time and dedication just like every final fantasy. The only difference is that FF4 and FF9 don’t give you that opportunity to do so. Characters abilities are EXPANDED upon. The only exceptions are Terra, Celes, and Gogo who utilize the same grand effect of miming, morphing, and using runic. Sabin learns new blitz upon lvl up which is the most basic form. All of the others have depth. Pardon, Cyan is the same as Sabin. FF5 has the 2nd ability slot. So what? Half of the ACCESSORIES from FF6 give you the same ability accessibility that FF5 gives with its job system. Not saying FF5 is bad. No. A tier game. But its story is hysterically a sideline in a gameplay focused game that FF5 is. And don’t even try to sell me that FF5’s cast is better than FF6. Again, about as barebones as maybe Breath of Fire 2 I’d compare FF5 characters to. Even snippets of characters like Shadow, Gau had so much meaning and intrigue than the loads of dialogue boxes Lenna has. Final Fantasy 7 I would even say puts the game before it to shame if not my love for FF6. A sizable portion of the 8 million sales FF8 produced were mistakes of fans of FF7 thinking this game was a direct sequel to one of the greatest games ever made. The jump to 3D isn’t even enough to market its success. The sheer volume of its story, its character, and even the slick ps1 sounds the game makes as you traverse the triangle menu screen hyped the world of gaming up. If you had the amount of people playing video games around today back then, this game would have sold 100 million+ copies. The plot of FF7 took multiple games and extras to tell. FF4 just had ENOUGH room to tell another story. That’s the difference. Disc 1 was so good in the gameplay department AND the side character story department. So much opened once you got to the world map and so much more KEPT opening up each and every town and landmark you visit after such. -Blue magic and stealing is why every game after FF4 is better- It’s not about simply leveling, buying equipment and going to the next area. There’s SHIT you can steal and there’s MAGIC you can learn from enemies!! FF4 had steal as well…in like the last 3rd of the game!! And looking at a steal faq will show you how little impact stealing is in ff4. EVERY other game gives you the steal ability right away. Tons of powerful equipment you can get by performing and enhancing the command. Characters had more meaning to them and fitted in more so than the early 2D models. FF6 and FF7 are the ONLY two games in the series that offered secret characters, and Vincent was the best one! As a side characters he had more substance in his arc than almost everyone in FF4 except Cecil. Even having Kain showing up and leaving wasn’t as intense as acquiring Vincent! Hell, square even pumped out a freaking game for this asshole!! 😂😂 I enjoy FF8, FF9, FF10, and FF12 a lot, but I could go on DAYS of explaining why even these games don’t hold a CANDLE to FF6 and FF7!
I played FF4 like 10 times all the way through and I used to think it was better than 6 and 7; but if you get past the fact that it’s fun and very easy to get into, you start to see plenty of stale details. 1. 80% of the dungeons are palette swapped caves. Granted, this is a 1991 snes game. However, Lufia: Fortress of Doom and the original Breath of Fire were fairly barebones as rpg games could get and I’d still say the world building (at least for BoF1) was designed more intricately than FF4. The game is a couple years younger, but I wouldn’t say age has anything to do with it. It seems as though the story was fleshed out in the way that most of what Cecil and co. adventured through were palette-swapped caves. I understand it may not seem like a big deal because the events of the story and constant character exchange made the game flow refreshing…however: when you play the game enough to remember where the game takes you, you’ll start to wonder if whether or not some of the designers were lazy, or if they intentionally wanted the gameplay settings to be mostly palette-swapped caves. Compared to every other game after that, this game takes the cake for that. Also, while Wolsey’s translations for squaresoft were some of the most golden moments in Jrpg history, the characters that “die” left so much to be desired. You have characters, you have some of their arcs, and then they want to sacrifice themself for humanity. This loop happens with just about every character that ups and leaves with the exception of Edward who is bounced off the ship. Yang, Tellah, Palom, Porom, and even Cid, all share this common trope. Personally, it felt like a running joke when you see some of those characters a couple screens later and almost forget about them and their small endeavors. Lastly, I think this is the game where the directors and producers shit the bed with the Star Wars references. Don’t get me wrong, the series is littered with them. This game (and maybe 12 too for that matter) feel like direct carbon copies of episode 4, 5, and 6. Outrageous similarities would put it lightly. The only conspiracy theory I would ever believe is George Lucas secretly working for Squaresoft, and in particular, this game. Also the music is kinda poor imo lol but debatable of course. FF6 and FF7 are the magnum opus because of different reasons. FF6 earned its way to the top by merely fan support. And when you get past the angry male neckbeards that cover the game, you get a fleshed out game that puts everything before it to shame. The graphical output the SNES put out at its peak, the orchestrated soundtrack that almost differentiates the sound quality almost entirely from its 16-bit predecessors, and the color palette. I mean, the game SHOWS you right away that you’re gonna get some bleak and depressing moods right out of the gate. The intro is dark as fuck with that piano organ, and it doesn’t even give you a chance to ‘press start’. Female lead character, giving players the depth in who leads the show. Male mysoginist neckbeards will always try and say Locke ‘steals’ the show, but we all know that Terra leads the first half, and Celes leads the second. Locke is a strong sideshow, and will always be. Terra and Celes offer different perspectives in the game: giving up. Terra does so subtly by offering a different goal by being a mother to orphans who are still alive. About the here and the now. They need assistance, protection, guidance. Terra drops everything to do just that. Celes takes a more sensational and dramatic approach: suicide. Cid’s demise helps make her death not RAW and BLAND like the deaths in FF4 seemed. It wasn’t based off some Star Wars themed “the needs of many outweigh the needs of the few” bs that triggered all of their demises. It was as real as it gets. Also Kefka. He didn’t need a second half WoR appearance. He set out what he wanted to do. He won. The next part is how long he gets to keep his WWE championship belt. If you fulfill all of the content the game offers you, the more worth it is invested to go up his tower and exact revenge. You literally go from NOTHING to EVERYTHING. -There will be a part 2-
In my opinion 8 is the best I loved 10 15 and 7 were alright and 9….. I don’t understand how people like this game the story is so boring to me same with the characters except vivi but I still respect your opinion
Hated FF2 with every fiber of my being lol. I can appreciate it setting the ever changing aspects of the series and the OST is good but the combat is so trash, the lv up system is a grind and at the same time the most exploitable next to 8 and the encounter rate especially in treasure rooms made me wanna throw my GBA to the wall. Then there was the chance of support magic missing often. 😂
There are some thing I don't agree with. I'll tell you why your wrong....... I'm Just kidding. like what you like, dislike what you dislike. here's my tier list. S 1 FF7 2 FF10 3 FF9 A 4 FF8 5 FF12 6 FF 6 7 FF4 B 8 FF15 C 9 FF5 10 FF1 11 FF3 12 FF2 D FF13
Ff14 is overrated, takes too long to get to the good parts, ive played like 60-70hours into it, but in the end i was skipping all dialogues. I’ve come to a conclusion that MMO’s shouldnt tackle writing a story at all. It really is boring and uninterestingly narrated. I really think its a cultural phenomena to defend that game, just because it’s a party of ff fanservice, but it really takes too much effort, hours and hours of UNINTERESTING dialogues and cutscenes(remember ffx where EVERY minor cutscene had interesting dialogue or characters? forget it in 14). To me it’s all a matter of density, you cannot dilute storytelling with hours of fetch quests and such.
VII should be at the bottom of S tier, X should be higher than VIII for the combat alone (change to Japanese voiceovers w/ subtitles and the plot will not annoy you as much), TA should be above XIII. VIII is the only one I cannot justify being so highly-ranked. Otherwise great list.
IV is 100% my favorite of all time and I don't see any FF game ever giving me the same feeling I got playing this game over and over in the last 30 years. The opening was effing amazing, the music was off the hook from the opening note - and I still get goosebumps thinking about getting goosebumps after entering the Mist Cave with the mist effect and best cave/dungeon music in the whole series. That huge leap from FF 1 USA on the NES to the 16-bit graphics set the tone, and then the plot twists were great, the quest to become a paladin, beating Scarmiglione but then he revives and back attacks... and absolutely nothing in any game I had played to that point was more exciting than "A WHOLE WORLD UNDERGROUND???" and then "WE ARE GOING TO THE FFFFFFF MOOOOOON!???" It's so amazing in all ways. I love V, VI, VII, VIII and IX nearly as much (I LOVE V, I first played it on emulation on a PC probably 20 years ago with a translation patch - so I had Butz and Cara instead of Bartz and Krile) - but IV will forever stand next to Tecmo Super Bowl, Counter-Strike, BotW and Twilight Princess in my favorites of all time.
I gotta say… I don’t think I’ve been in as much agreement for a tier list ever… for anything.
Even your comments about FF1 and 2 align with mine. Now there are a few titles I haven’t played (13-2, Lightning returns or any of the tactics games), and I haven’t played enough of 11 or 14 to really have an opinion (although I’m finally getting into 14…. It’s early days).
VI and IV are my favourite, in fact my favourite games of all time. My only real difference of opinion was the After Years. I REALLY like that game. I’d have it in B tier I think. I’d also have 12 in S.
I actually agree with most of this list except put VII and X in S and V at the top of S tier.
I have the most nostalgia about VII, but realistically it's not very good.
@DamnDaimen it is good and timless the english translation just sucks and disc 2 seems like filler
@@DamnDaimen Same, and I am probably in the same camp as Dee. Played FFIV first, then FFVI and remember when FFVII was marketed EVERYWHERE, and probably hyped it up so much that the generation who never played a Final Fantasy came into it all hyped.
That and the EMO thing was hot at the time, so Cloud being this EMO proxy likely sat well with many at the time.
I've fallen in love with Final Fantasy 1 by playing Final Fantasy Renaissance. Great vid! And yay to the FFII love, the music really showed Amano starting to play with theming.
I was stoked to see this video on my recommended list. Your deep lore and development knowledge and general insights are so valuable for the Fandom. I almost never have time to catch you on twitch but distilled content on YT is perfect!
Also... I get that 3 was kind of a black sheep but it was a game of so many firsts for the series and it was charming as hell. That one would be an A for me.
Thank you so much 🥲
i watched this on my tv yesterday and couldnt comment but i'm here today to comment and say this is a great video!!! loved hearing your thoughts on all the games in one lil video :)
The FFX & VII placement is wild
I can understand X's placement sure, I wouldn't say it's up there among the best of the best. But the FF7 placement is actually a little wild.
Agree, X is way too high.
V is S Tier! Let's Gooooo
This list is not the same as MY LIST, therefore I am ANGRY.
But good video.
Hahaha! 😂
The only question that matters...what was your first game? This depends heavily on where and when you were born. Japan got all of them in order of creation...except one...mystic quest. North America and Europe were either denied or were found to be too childish and dumb for Japanese rpgs. In some ways, western culture in general is incapable with Japanese media. The answer to this question will determine how you rank these games.
I am currently working my way through all the main FF games
Finaly... a tier list i really agree on...
As 7 as my 1st numbered ff game... w/o bias, i believe that ff7 and 10 are amazing games.. but ff9,4,5,6,12 and tactics are still better...
But as much as i want to love ff8... the gameplay just isnt for me..
Bro, FF4 is my favorite game of all time! So glad to meet another one of us!
9 is my all time game as well
VIVI IS BEST BOI
I'm working my way through every single mainline Final Fantasy game. I'm playing through the pixel remaster games right now and already beat the first three, just started Final Fantasy 4 a little while ago.
Amazing tier list, your knowledge of the saga is impressive. I really hope you make more content of this kind. Until then, you won my youtube sub and twitch follow !
Definitely more to come! Thank you so much!
VII and VI are my favs :)
The fact that you started a game with numbers in its name at X-2 bothers my OCD to no ends
I love to see someone ranking FF4 higher than FF6.
FF4 is the best SNES FF.
We're light!
Everyone else in the planet is wrong. 😂
I skip to the end of FF tier list videos to see where XII is in before I decide if they're worth watching. Good video.
This felt like a real persons proper rankings, true to what you have loved and has meant something to you and not just what you'll hear anyone normally say about this series. I love that all three of the SNES games made S tier, even though they wouldn't for me I think that's a great take.
The tiers under S for me are always moving around, but S for me is always IV, VII, and VIII!
I love seeing VIII get appreciated ❤️
BADASS. This is what my exact list would be too.
I was drinking a juice force when this comment popped up. *CHEFS KISS* MOMENT
9 is my fav too.
is it FFIII DS or FFIII Vanilla ? I actually like vanilla version more on the Pixel Remaster
IV was my first rpg as well, on snes. I remember it making me cry as a kid, because of people dying, I felt the characters deeply, and never had in a game before. Rydia was amazing. I couldn’t wait for another FF game after that. And I saw FF Mystic Quest, for rent one day, and thought it was the next game in the series. I played it, I couldn’t believe how bad it was when compared to FF4 (although on its own, I liked it). I was so upset that that was the next game.. then I saw a pic of FFVI, or 3 at the time, in a Nintendo Power magazine. And couldn’t wait. I finally got it when it came out, I stayed up all day and night playing it. Pretended to be sick to miss school the next day, just to play it, and to this day, there isn’t a game imo that can touch it. The only way it could be better, is if it got a true remake, and they took as much time as they gave the FF7 remake, to make it perfect, like adding in being able to play through each characters backstory. And make all the espers be received through some kind of quest/fight/13-2 type catching game, etc.
Just touching up the stories, or what they show of them, a little.
Not sure really what I’d like the look to be. More realistic, like the FF7 remake, or something different, like watercolors, and artwork used from Amano’s drawings. Also, bring in a collectible card game like the one in 8. Then make expansions for the characters stories after they kill Kefka. That world should be brought to life!
Sry, didn’t plan on going off on that.
I loved FF11, 8, 10, 12, all the tactical ones, and pretty much all of them except FF13. I haven’t played 16, and was disappointed with 15, but liked it as a game. Just not a FF game.
::slow clap::
I have very similar thoughts about many of the mainline games in the series and your appreciate for Final Fantasy V really put a smile on my face. It's definitely a top-tier game for me.
Good to see an XI enjoyer. Most tier lists skip over it do to lack of experience with it which is fair.
Definitely fair! I have the unique experience of having played nearly every single FF title/spin-off/mobile game released but totally understand how unrealistic that is for most.
Wow.. what a great list. I’m pretty picky about teir lists, not because I have to agree, but rather when the person doesn’t know what they are talking about ( cough ff2). Very good knowledge about the series. Im almost done the series.. im mid way through ff5 and loving it
Agree with most of your list but I'd put VII up in S tier, II down to D, XIII-2 to B, XI down to B or C.
FFX without Blitzball A tier, with Blitzball S tier
W Tier list, W video
I think IX is the best FF game, IV gives me the most nostalgia and will always be No. 1 in my heart, V and VI were the most replayable - VII and VIII are awesome, but I can't bring myself to dive into a replay of either. X is fun, but I feel so compelled to get every character in each battle that I end up micromanaging everything - and the linearity is offputting. Beautiful game, but just can't manage to go hard on it - and remain roughly 3/5 of the way through my first playthrough, lol.
XII and XIII are on the table, but going to finish my current FF VI playthrough and attempt to finish X before I do...
Also LOVED the Final Fantasy Renaissance remake with more job classes. Definitely going to play through that again with a different set of characters (I went Warrior, Thief, Blue Mage, Dancer - it was AWESOME)
Most people I talk to agree with your take on ffx-2, including me. I love the battle system and wish they could have put it in a better game.
Hi, great video! What is the music at 16:15? I saw someone commented about the music, but not able to find out which one it is. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this list and these opinions!
I agree with most of it, however, I would give XV and XIII-2 a solid A. XV was clearly incomplete towards the end, but I loved the characters and the relationships and the whole photography aspect of it. The graphics look AMAZING, even by 2023's standards. I felt like I fully understood the main characters and their personalities seemed so real and relatable to me. There were times when I kind of forgot that these characters are not REAL people, while playing. XV was a real tear-jerker!!! VII will forever be my S-rank (Tifa, Cloud and Aerith are my favorite party).
To be honest, I've never cared for XII. Love Fran, Balthier and Ashe; I thought Vaan was a trash main character. He wasn't too different from Zidane (didn't care for him, either), but then again a few lead characters are pretty similar, across the series. XII just wasn't my jam. I didn't care for the amount of time it took to setup the AI in battle and didn't care for the medieval setting and dialect.
PS - CHEATING! Don't let your ranking for other games influence your ranking of a different game. Rate them all individually as you set out to do and let them fall where they will.
I was 250! 👍 impressed that you finished them all… been at it for 20 years and still haven’t finished them all.
It's a JOURNEY for sure!
I’ve played most FF games so far, aside from a few, and 9 is also my fave so far tbh. I’m currently trying to beat 4, but I’m kinda having a hard time feeling attached to it though
I love how the songs of the Final Fantasy Franchise was shuffled all along while you did your thing.
How did you do that?
Gen X here with a MEH attitude towards newer technology. Hahaha.
-I think technology peaked with frozen pizza -John McClane (Die Hard)
For me FFVIII is s-tier but I really appreciate you putting tactics on S tier and I respect that
The only part of X-2 I remember is the epic opening and that song. What a great opening act. Everything else from there I don't remember
+1 For Final Fantasy IV, i agree that Cecil is the best protagonist, i always tell the people about him how well his story was done, well until he changed at least.
I also liked Final Fantasy Legend II, Sa-Ga - not really a FF but Sa-Ga game, but one of oldest and best ones, and released about the same time as FF IV.
Modern games are bigger and perhaps better, but these 2 have heart & soul. :)
And no matter how often i replay them, i still do not get sick of them after decades of their release.
On the other side, FF V was very mediocre and developed simultaneously with FF IV, so it could not take advantage of the milestones FF IV did achieve, the game that did was FF VI and it really shows.
The best games with job replays is called Final Fantasy Tacics. It got a far better story and characterization and OST, too!
IX in the top slot is all I need to know/see xD. My personal favorite as well, bias as all get out, nothing can change my mind.
FFX, FFXII, FFVII Remake, and FFIX are S tier for me personally.
And I already know that Rebirth is going to become my favorite game of all time.
This list convinced me to try the XIII trilogy. My tier list would look almost identical to this, minus the games I haven't played.
I also LOVE FFIV (which I still think of as II), and I feel like most people overlook it because it's so linear compared to VI. It's such a wonderful game!
Love the list, my top is almost the same, maybe swapping positions between 4,6,9 and tactics on any given day. I will say I fell off 13 and after, just hasn't been the same quality for me, like they went for a new audience, I don't know, writing, equipment, and other things just don't land like they did in previous entries.
bringing some love from Twitch. its harder over here for sure. Big support and best of luck
The media isn't always the problem. Sometimes it's the players.
I actually liked 10-2 and 13 I feel they get a lot of undeserved hate. . I've played all the mainlines on release (I feel old AF lol) plus Tactics minus 11 and 14. I feel like 4, ,6, 10 and Tactics are my favorites and I've played them the most. Im leaning towards 16 being my all time favorite. Lol Get mad.
Love watching your video. In my opinion 4,6, and 7 are the goat.
Ive watched a lot of FF tier rankings and this is the one I agree with the most for sure!!!! We have very similar rankings. (:
Very nice video, took some stress out from me in a stressful day :)
Thank you!
My Ranking of Main Installments if anyone cares lol.
I cannot yet Rank XVI (still playing it) or XI (not enough knowledge to judge it... YET).
1) XIV
2) VIII
3) VII
4) V
5) XII
6) I
7) IX
8) IV
9) VI
10) XV
11) III
12) II
13) X
14) XIII
15) XIV
And yes, XIV is the best (ARR) and the worst at the same time (1.0).
I LOVE FINAL FANTASY!!! ALL OF THEM!!!!!
PS: If we added Side Instalments, DUODECIM would be #2 above VIII for me. :)
My only problem with FF10 was that the voices for Tidus and Seymour felt a bit unfitting - I honestly liked their Japanese voices better, where Tidus sounds like a cheeky Ichigo and Seymour has a dark, cold and menacing voice, and I actually assumed that this was what they would sound like the first time I saw footage from that game.
That said though, I do prefer some of the American voices as well;
Auron's American voice is a bit warmer, calmer and more polite, and Belgemine's voice is much less intimidating (she sounds like a drill sergeant in the Japanese version, haha).
My top 3 are exactly the same, but my fourth and fifth places would go to VII and V, respectively.
Check out the PSP version of FF4 sometime if you can! The additional dungeons and equipment are very cool, and being able to choose your party at the end felt like something that could have been implemented in the original game.
I've played it! I've played every version of these games I have a huge problem. ;_;
Also for 9 with the massive love for chocobo hot and cold game with the side quests. ❤😁🔥
These lists have to be hard to do especially when you have to justify why a favorite of everyones is not an S so they will understand. Admittedly I’d do the opposite if I made a list and put VI in B tier with no explanation just to see the comments blow up in rage. 😂
IV was not my first but it’s my favorite. It’s just such a classic game. Was there even marketing for it, I just remember the weird VI commercial with Mog killing everything.
“As a woman who grew up playing final fantasy.” (Best Dwight Schrute impersonation) Impossible. A woman must be a child before she grows up.
But it’s kinda dope when you read that last sentence in the voice of the Faceless man from Game of Thrones.
I also totally agree with your take on VII! It's a very *important* game in the history of the franchise, but it's not that great of a game in and of itself!
FF1 and 8 over FF10 is crazy!
But then I see FF9 on S tier so I'm going to approve anyway.
Hmm that's weird. I got motion sickness in some games like RE7 and Outer Wilds as a few examples, or anything VR. But not in FF15. Would have actually loved to get sick while playing so I could stop going through that awful 15th iteration.... everything after the first map was a disaster. And WOW, this is the first time someone comes close to my ranking. The only real difference being that FF8 is my favorite game of the series. So sad that the last one is more like Devil May Cry XVI rather than Final Fantasy XVI...
This is a real FF fan's list, for sure. I feel ashamed that i haven't played 5
Glad to see FFV getting the respect it deserves.
I want to love FFIX, but I just can't get over Excalibur II's nonsense.
Have you beat EW yet? Has your initial placement of it changed?
10-2 in C. Nope. You fixed it at B (although its A for me because of the combat system being easily the best ATB of 1-10) then put it back in C 😢😢😢 A game with that good of a combat system can't be C
10 and 11 are S tier too. 11 just has an amazing legacy and it was something special at the time. No mmo has every reproduced that. Glad you pointed out 5 job system is amazing too.. All your A is my S (except 1) 😅
I like ff7, but it is not my favorite. For many years I hated it due to a friend who was obsessed with sephiroth.
Also, if you play FF8 with doing nothing but gf's you are missing out on some people important battle mechanics.
Do people hate FFX-2? I thought it was an excellent follow-up with the best battle system in the series. Definitely a B-tier game overall.
FF7 came about for many specific reasons (any one of these reasons was not in effect, FF7 would have been vastly different).
I'm just skipping around the vid and not watching the whole but what's up with the music around 16:15? When discussing V being s-tier, you play V's music; fine. I also agree with V being S tier. But when discussing VI being s tier, you play IX music?
It's a random Final Fantasy playlist as this was done during a livestream :) - there was no music editing or planning involved. Hope that clears up any confusion.
I love your taste in games
Thanks!
Great list!! You just earned a sub
To me FFXI was "S" tier. It is to this day the best MMO I have ever played. It had it's issues (especially before "Treasures of Aht Urghan") and had MAJOR MAJOR RED FLAG issues when Abyssea hit and each subsequent xpac increased the new problems Abyssea introduced. However, in it's current iteration, you can play FFXI solo and experience 95% (if nmot more) of the game content alone... So if you hate grouping with players, there's that for you. However it's still the best MMO, second only to Ultima Online and WOW: The Burning Crusade to me. Too many MMOs don't respect your time, or just plain out copy WoW, or have an absolute crapton of Micro Transactions and (recent phenomena) ugly character customization. FFXI was time consuming, but each little bit was never lost (well except XP loss, but beside that), there was constant progress, and even as a casual with a 45 then 40hr/week job and other responsibilities, I still hit level 75 on 3 jobs before abyssea, so did it legit playing with groups of players and guildies, and unlike WoW, the content was not obsolete once I managed to get to it, and I didn't need a trillion mules for crafting/playing different classes ( Tho still needed a few, more games need to take a cue from Ultima Online and allow a character all craft skills, or since most mmo have 8, allow 4 ).
So my List ( From what I've played ):
S = FF11, FF6, FF5
A = FF4, FF10, FF7
B = FF1, FF2, FF8, FFT, FF4:TAY
C = FF9, FF3
D = FF12, FF14
E = FF13, FF15
FF5 is between A and S tier, so low S-tier.
FF9 started super strong, but I absolutely hated the second half, I never played it again. Like 12, most ppl love it, but the 2 of them I never could get into. At least I had fun with FF9 for a bit. FF12 was utterly boring to me.
FF14 switched to a more "WoW-esque" style with ARR, so I promptly canceled it. I know it has changed since, but I just don't feel getting back into it. I'd like a "FF11 classic" (everything that stops just before abyssea) better I think. To each their own.
FF13 and FF15 were absolute garbage. I was giving a chance to FF13, until I fought a boss who would do a one hit kill move ONLY IF you didnt have the healer class .in your composition. If you had a healer he did NOT do his insta-death move. That was the last straw for me... My friend gave up at Bartholemew fight, and my sister a few hours later after that. FF15 is just... yuck.
The gameplay in FF6 is not in ANY way a downgrade from FF5’s job class (also another watered-down Final Fanatic neckbeard platitude whose horse is beaten worse to death than Rodney King). If anything, the gameplay is as in-depth as FF9’s because each character has their uniqueness, whilst holding more layers to their mechanical development.
Level ups mean more. Your stats only increase in the hp and mp tangibles. All other stats are cemented unless manipulated by esper optimization. And before you say “everyone can learn every magic”, guess what? Same with 7. Same with 8. SAME WITH 10. Same with 5. All of the other games that are compared to the esper system share its same “flaw”. If you even call it one. Getting overpowered take a brutal amount of time and dedication just like every final fantasy. The only difference is that FF4 and FF9 don’t give you that opportunity to do so.
Characters abilities are EXPANDED upon. The only exceptions are Terra, Celes, and Gogo who utilize the same grand effect of miming, morphing, and using runic. Sabin learns new blitz upon lvl up which is the most basic form. All of the others have depth. Pardon, Cyan is the same as Sabin.
FF5 has the 2nd ability slot. So what? Half of the ACCESSORIES from FF6 give you the same ability accessibility that FF5 gives with its job system. Not saying FF5 is bad. No. A tier game. But its story is hysterically a sideline in a gameplay focused game that FF5 is. And don’t even try to sell me that FF5’s cast is better than FF6. Again, about as barebones as maybe Breath of Fire 2 I’d compare FF5 characters to. Even snippets of characters like Shadow, Gau had so much meaning and intrigue than the loads of dialogue boxes Lenna has.
Final Fantasy 7 I would even say puts the game before it to shame if not my love for FF6.
A sizable portion of the 8 million sales FF8 produced were mistakes of fans of FF7 thinking this game was a direct sequel to one of the greatest games ever made.
The jump to 3D isn’t even enough to market its success. The sheer volume of its story, its character, and even the slick ps1 sounds the game makes as you traverse the triangle menu screen hyped the world of gaming up. If you had the amount of people playing video games around today back then, this game would have sold 100 million+ copies.
The plot of FF7 took multiple games and extras to tell. FF4 just had ENOUGH room to tell another story. That’s the difference. Disc 1 was so good in the gameplay department AND the side character story department. So much opened once you got to the world map and so much more KEPT opening up each and every town and landmark you visit after such.
-Blue magic and stealing is why every game after FF4 is better-
It’s not about simply leveling, buying equipment and going to the next area. There’s SHIT you can steal and there’s MAGIC you can learn from enemies!! FF4 had steal as well…in like the last 3rd of the game!! And looking at a steal faq will show you how little impact stealing is in ff4. EVERY other game gives you the steal ability right away. Tons of powerful equipment you can get by performing and enhancing the command.
Characters had more meaning to them and fitted in more so than the early 2D models. FF6 and FF7 are the ONLY two games in the series that offered secret characters, and Vincent was the best one! As a side characters he had more substance in his arc than almost everyone in FF4 except Cecil. Even having Kain showing up and leaving wasn’t as intense as acquiring Vincent! Hell, square even pumped out a freaking game for this asshole!! 😂😂
I enjoy FF8, FF9, FF10, and FF12 a lot, but I could go on DAYS of explaining why even these games don’t hold a CANDLE to FF6 and FF7!
We need...an ff5 job tier list.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
FF5 has an end destination. How you get there is up to you.
FF Mystic Quest: "What was my rank?"
I LOVE Mystic Quest it would've been A tier just on its OST alone
I played FF4 like 10 times all the way through and I used to think it was better than 6 and 7; but if you get past the fact that it’s fun and very easy to get into, you start to see plenty of stale details.
1. 80% of the dungeons are palette swapped caves. Granted, this is a 1991 snes game. However, Lufia: Fortress of Doom and the original Breath of Fire were fairly barebones as rpg games could get and I’d still say the world building (at least for BoF1) was designed more intricately than FF4. The game is a couple years younger, but I wouldn’t say age has anything to do with it. It seems as though the story was fleshed out in the way that most of what Cecil and co. adventured through were palette-swapped caves. I understand it may not seem like a big deal because the events of the story and constant character exchange made the game flow refreshing…however: when you play the game enough to remember where the game takes you, you’ll start to wonder if whether or not some of the designers were lazy, or if they intentionally wanted the gameplay settings to be mostly palette-swapped caves. Compared to every other game after that, this game takes the cake for that.
Also, while Wolsey’s translations for squaresoft were some of the most golden moments in Jrpg history, the characters that “die” left so much to be desired. You have characters, you have some of their arcs, and then they want to sacrifice themself for humanity. This loop happens with just about every character that ups and leaves with the exception of Edward who is bounced off the ship. Yang, Tellah, Palom, Porom, and even Cid, all share this common trope. Personally, it felt like a running joke when you see some of those characters a couple screens later and almost forget about them and their small endeavors.
Lastly, I think this is the game where the directors and producers shit the bed with the Star Wars references. Don’t get me wrong, the series is littered with them. This game (and maybe 12 too for that matter) feel like direct carbon copies of episode 4, 5, and 6. Outrageous similarities would put it lightly. The only conspiracy theory I would ever believe is George Lucas secretly working for Squaresoft, and in particular, this game.
Also the music is kinda poor imo lol but debatable of course.
FF6 and FF7 are the magnum opus because of different reasons.
FF6 earned its way to the top by merely fan support. And when you get past the angry male neckbeards that cover the game, you get a fleshed out game that puts everything before it to shame. The graphical output the SNES put out at its peak, the orchestrated soundtrack that almost differentiates the sound quality almost entirely from its 16-bit predecessors, and the color palette. I mean, the game SHOWS you right away that you’re gonna get some bleak and depressing moods right out of the gate. The intro is dark as fuck with that piano organ, and it doesn’t even give you a chance to ‘press start’.
Female lead character, giving players the depth in who leads the show. Male mysoginist neckbeards will always try and say Locke ‘steals’ the show, but we all know that Terra leads the first half, and Celes leads the second. Locke is a strong sideshow, and will always be. Terra and Celes offer different perspectives in the game: giving up. Terra does so subtly by offering a different goal by being a mother to orphans who are still alive. About the here and the now. They need assistance, protection, guidance. Terra drops everything to do just that.
Celes takes a more sensational and dramatic approach: suicide. Cid’s demise helps make her death not RAW and BLAND like the deaths in FF4 seemed. It wasn’t based off some Star Wars themed “the needs of many outweigh the needs of the few” bs that triggered all of their demises. It was as real as it gets.
Also Kefka.
He didn’t need a second half WoR appearance. He set out what he wanted to do. He won. The next part is how long he gets to keep his WWE championship belt. If you fulfill all of the content the game offers you, the more worth it is invested to go up his tower and exact revenge. You literally go from NOTHING to EVERYTHING.
-There will be a part 2-
In my opinion 8 is the best I loved 10 15 and 7 were alright and 9….. I don’t understand how people like this game the story is so boring to me same with the characters except vivi but I still respect your opinion
9 is one of the slowest starts ,But the quality of the characters makes up for it, it's difficult for anyone who likes a good story not to like 9
Seeing ARR sit above XV hurts my heart.
ARR didn't make me puke everytime I wanted to fight something ;_;
absolutely brilliant!
What about FF7 Remake and FF4 remake for the DS. 😮
good rankings imo
You missed Bravely Default on SSS
First time know that 12 change directors midway lol
No wonder at all...
Hi, its me, im here too.
no
She didn’t play ff7 remake? Or ff16?
IX love you!
Sooo... Were 16 would be in the top?
I really enjoyed the journey - it lands in the A tier for me.
Hated FF2 with every fiber of my being lol. I can appreciate it setting the ever changing aspects of the series and the OST is good but the combat is so trash, the lv up system is a grind and at the same time the most exploitable next to 8 and the encounter rate especially in treasure rooms made me wanna throw my GBA to the wall. Then there was the chance of support magic missing often. 😂
US FF2 is the baby version of FF4.
that is it indeed.
There are some thing I don't agree with. I'll tell you why your wrong....... I'm Just kidding. like what you like, dislike what you dislike. here's my tier list.
S
1 FF7
2 FF10
3 FF9
A
4 FF8
5 FF12
6 FF 6
7 FF4
B
8 FF15
C
9 FF5
10 FF1
11 FF3
12 FF2
D
FF13
sources cited: crack pipe
FFVI is S tier... that's all that matters, tho it should be number 1 haha
Ff14 is overrated, takes too long to get to the good parts, ive played like 60-70hours into it, but in the end i was skipping all dialogues. I’ve come to a conclusion that MMO’s shouldnt tackle writing a story at all.
It really is boring and uninterestingly narrated.
I really think its a cultural phenomena to defend that game, just because it’s a party of ff fanservice, but it really takes too much effort, hours and hours of UNINTERESTING dialogues and cutscenes(remember ffx where EVERY minor cutscene had interesting dialogue or characters? forget it in 14).
To me it’s all a matter of density, you cannot dilute storytelling with hours of fetch quests and such.
VII should be at the bottom of S tier, X should be higher than VIII for the combat alone (change to Japanese voiceovers w/ subtitles and the plot will not annoy you as much), TA should be above XIII. VIII is the only one I cannot justify being so highly-ranked. Otherwise great list.
Please rank EW after 6.5. Thanks
Also I upvoted your video and am truly sorry for spreading a bible tier shitpost
4 & 6 at the top... ok you pass.