Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Squeenix The Five Tiers of Final Fantasy Games

Zed Duke of Banville

Dungeon Master
Patron
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
11,759
The Two Tiers of Final Fantasy Concept Art...

1st: Amano

Oath_at_Dawn.jpg


Chaos2.jpg


Ochu_vs_Warrior.jpg


Amano_Behemoth_vs._Light_Warrior.jpg


Amano_Dragon.jpg


2nd: Everyone Else
 

Urthor

Prophet
Patron
Joined
Mar 22, 2015
Messages
1,872
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
I'd also love to remember tier 0, stop talking about the damn Final Fantasy series after 30 something years and play other cool new games
 

Exhuminator

Arcane
Joined
Sep 10, 2015
Messages
609
I have beaten these: FF4, FF5, FF6, FF7, FF9, FF12
I have played and dropped: FF1, FFX

Of all those the only FF I truly loved was FF6 and FF12.

I think this series is really overrated. I'd take Phantasy Star 1-4, or the Dragon Quest series over it any day.
 

Dawkinsfan69

Dumbfuck!
Dumbfuck Bethestard
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
2,815
Location
inside ur mom ᕦ( ▀̿ Ĺ̯ ▀̿ )ᕤ
idk much about FF games, I heard 6 was the best so I gave it a shot and it ended up being boring as fuck. music is pretty good tho

I don't understand why this needed to be a game, if it were just a book it would be less than 100 pages and you could read it in under an hour. But since it's a game they drag it out by having you walk slow as fuck back and forth all over the place, random time-waste encounters, and all the BS ends up being like a 40 hr game

probably just another one of those series that old people like because they're feeling nostalgic
 

Vorark

Erudite
Joined
Mar 2, 2017
Messages
1,394
DQ is JRPG comfort food. If you're burnt out on the genre or never liked it to begin with, it won't change your mind.

Here's my relevant commentary about the few FF games I've played or tried to:

  • FFIII: The 3DS version was so goddamn slow I gave up. Still plan to play the original one of these days.
  • FFIV: Fake deaths and melodrama, just like a Mexican soap opera.
  • FFV: Dem job system, aged like fine wine.
  • FFVI: It's cursed. Tried to finish it three or four times and every single playthrough is aborted due to a bizarre problem or another. Even managed to get backup saves corrupted.
  • FFVII: Materia system was alright. Ofc the game had to kill the character I used as a healer, so it took me a fair while to retool my party.
  • FFX: Aborted after the infamous Tidus laughing scene. No, just no.
  • FFXII: "Hello, did you know about the wonders of manufactured nethicite?" The characters wouldn't shut up about this stuff. Combat was nothing special, although I had my share of fun coming up with new gambits. Basch, Balthier, Ashe and Fran were all decent albeit wasted on the game.
  • FFXIII: Genuinely liked the battle system, provided you turned off autobattle. Quite fun to get max grades on all encounters. Remember jack shit about the story.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2013
Messages
6,165
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Serpent in the Staglands Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
10 has a lot of idiosyncrasies (peculiar features specific to it, and which don't seem to exist in any other game), especially as a Final Fantasy game, but I still think it is one of the greats: it has an amazing scale and ambition for a PS2-era RPG and seemed to strike the elusive balance between amazing scenery and set pieces and bringing meaning to those set pieces through a combination of narrative exposition and environmental storytelling/exploration.

This is contra FF13, which has visually impressive scenery and set pieces but it all feels vapid and uninteresting.

It's also extremely creative (nothing quite like its visual or thematic setting exist anywhere else in media), which can be off putting at times, but also enticing.
 
Last edited:

LJ40

Cipher
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
612
Location
Wizardry/Ultima/Goldbox
DQ is all about the casino.

I thought it was always about finding the bikini outfit for that one female character in the party?
If by "always" you mean 2 out of 11 games and by "bikini" you mean a bikini top and a skirt/sash wrapped around the waist, then sure. DQ outfits are tame as fuck compared to games actually about shit like that.
 

Damned Registrations

Furry Weeaboo Nazi Nihilist
Joined
Feb 24, 2007
Messages
14,982
FFX has to be one of the biggest wastes of a great set of character and battle mechanics I've ever seen. Truly a shame. FF5 easily has the best bosses/combat in the series and is probably my pick for favourite. FF6 was one of my first rpgs, and I've got a lot of nostalgia for it, but it's objectively pretty shallow and really only offers a lot of nice artwork and music. It's got cool stuff to explore for but the combat is too easy for it to matter all that much. In that regard it's kind of the exploration equivalent of FFX- tons of cool items and places and characters to find, but nothing to do with them. Honestly it kind of marked the decline of the series in terms of challenge, optional super/gimmick bosses notwithstanding.
 

MRY

Wormwood Studios
Developer
Joined
Aug 15, 2012
Messages
5,703
Location
California
I certainly loved FF6 as a kid (14 year old, anyway), but even then, it was obvious to me that there were grievous flaws in the gameplay design. It's far too easy, wildly imbalanced (not even talking about exploits, just basic balance), the whole esper system undermines the whole party building mechanic by homogenizing the classes and wiping out the benefits of their special abilities. It's strange. It's like a game where there were infinite resources for audiovisual/tech aspects, and a very fine by RPG standards creative team, but no one bothered with playtesting and balancing.

It deserves to rank above FF4 for sprite shoes if nothing else. Even when I had all the time in the world, the movement speed in FF4 felt very slow.
 

Ysaye

Arbiter
Joined
May 27, 2018
Messages
771
Location
Australia
DQ is all about the casino.

I thought it was always about finding the bikini outfit for that one female character in the party?
If by "always" you mean 2 out of 11 games and by "bikini" you mean a bikini top and a skirt/sash wrapped around the waist, then sure. DQ outfits are tame as fuck compared to games actually about shit like that.

I have only played 9 and 11, but aren't there also bikini tops for Jessica in 8?

I never claimed DQ games were that deep...
 

LJ40

Cipher
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
612
Location
Wizardry/Ultima/Goldbox
DQ is all about the casino.

I thought it was always about finding the bikini outfit for that one female character in the party?
If by "always" you mean 2 out of 11 games and by "bikini" you mean a bikini top and a skirt/sash wrapped around the waist, then sure. DQ outfits are tame as fuck compared to games actually about shit like that.

I have only played 9 and 11, but aren't there also bikini tops for Jessica in 8?

I never claimed DQ games were that deep...
I was counting 8 and 11. Forgot all about the outfits in 9.

But as to your original point: No, that's not even remotely close to what the games are "always about".

On topic, FF 6 and Tactics are top tier, 13 and 15 are the bottom.
 
Joined
Jan 28, 2015
Messages
891
Location
Canuckistan
My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
As for ranking FFs I've played

Tier 1: 5 (It is such a joy to play I think it really stands on it's own)
Tier 2: 6,3,1,4 (All fun titles, the core FF experience imo)
Tier 3: 7,12 (These ones feel like pale re-hashes of the tier 2 titles)
Tier 4: 2 (A total clusterfuck of a game)
 

Alpan

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 4, 2018
Messages
1,340
Grab the Codex by the pussy Pathfinder: Wrath
1st: V, VI, XII
2nd: VII, IX, X
3rd: IV, VIII, X-2 - the most interesting tier. IV is the worst of the SNES FFs but still pretty good; I have the softest spot for VIII (my first FF, aged 10) but the magic system was cancer in retrospect; X-2 is a terrible story and cast featuring an amazing job and combat system.
4th: I, III, XV
5th: II
Haven't played and not quite sure I should bother: XIII and sequels
 
Last edited:

KeighnMcDeath

RPG Codex Boomer
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
Messages
12,871
Eh combat hasn't changed much between Phantasie and the Final Fantasy.








And look! They still jump in the air like the original. Bounce of victory!!!
 
Last edited:

Grauken

Gourd vibes only
Patron
Joined
Mar 22, 2013
Messages
12,787
Eh combat hasn't changed much between Phantasie and the Final Fantasy.




and look! They still jump in the air like the original. Bounce of victory!!!


I wasn't aware that Phantasie has a real time combat
 

Dedicated_Dark

Arbiter
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Messages
957
Location
Beyond the Grave
FF IX - The most charming & heartfelt one.
FF XII - The almost best one.
FF XIII - Lightning Returns - Cause I like gameplay.

Haven't played most of the others cause teenagers put me off.
 
Self-Ejected

Thac0

Time Mage
Patron
Joined
Apr 30, 2020
Messages
3,292
Location
Arborea
I'm very into cock and ball torture
:necro:

Tier 1: IV, VI, X
IV ushered in the golden age of SNES FF, VI perfected it. X is just a damn good compromise between production value and good gameplay and I love the spherogrid
Tier 2: V, VII, IX
Games are in here for very different reasons, V has best gameplay, IX is most charming, VII has a cool world and characters. All of them excel in one area and are worse in others.

Tier 3: III, X-2, XII,
III is the first FF I would call a proper FF, outclassed by later titles. XII has the amazing gambit system. X-2 has hot chicks and a pretty good combat system with atb and dress spheres but is utter shite story wise.
Tier 4: I, VII:R, XIII-2
FF I did not age well, but I yet have to play the NES version with spell slots and no automatic targeting. I suppose they made this worse with updates. XIII-2 is the best of the Fabula Nova Crystallis. VIII:R manages to capture the character very well and has fun combat but not much else.

Tier 5: II, VIII, XIII
FF II is a bad SaGa game, not a Final Fantasy. Cool ideas and I am thankfull it spawned SaGa but the execution is very rough. VIII is absolutely ruined by drawing and enemy leveling, has some cool ideas and the best minigame tho. XIII is just boring, a game that has literally nothing besides combat.
Tier 6:
IV The after Years, XIII-3, XV
lol

Edit: MMOs not rated since I cant compare a game that takes 500 hours to one that takes 50. I liked XIV ARR tho.
Spinoffs not rated because there is a billion of them
 
Last edited:

Grauken

Gourd vibes only
Patron
Joined
Mar 22, 2013
Messages
12,787
:necro:

Tier 1: IV, VI, X
IV ushered in the golden age of SNES FF, VI perfected it. X is just a damn good compromise between production value and good gameplay and I love the spherogrid
Tier 2: V, VII, IX
Games are in here for very different reasons, V has best gameplay, IX is most charming, VII has a cool world and characters. All of them excel in one area and are worse in others.

Tier 3: III, X-2, XII,
III is the first FF I would call a proper FF, outclassed by later titles. XII has the amazing gambit system. X-2 has hot chicks and a pretty good combat system with atb and dress spheres but is utter shite story wise.
Tier 4: I, VII:R, XIII-2
FF I did not age well, but I yet have to play the NES version with spell slots and no automatic targeting. I suppose they made this worse with updates. XIII-2 is the best of the Fabula Nova Crystallis. VIII:R manages to capture the character very well and has fun combat but not much else.

Tier 5: II, VIII, XIII
FF II is a bad SaGa game, not a Final Fantasy. Cool ideas and I am thankfull it spawned SaGa but the execution is very rough. VIII is absolutely ruined by drawing and enemy leveling, has some cool ideas and the best minigame tho. XIII is just boring, a game that has literally nothing besides combat.
Tier 6:
IV The after Years, XIII-3, XV
lol

Edit: MMOs not rated since I cant compare a game that takes 500 hours to one that takes 50. I liked XIV ARR tho.
Spinoffs not rated because there is a billion of them

After long consideration I changed my tiers

1st: 8
2nd: 4, 5
3rd: 1, 7, 3
4th: 2
5th: 6
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom