I've played Final Fantasy over a decade now, so I definitely have a few opinions on what my favorite games are. I can't limit it to the list presented, nor can I actually give you my exact favorite one, so I'm going to give you three and explain why they're my favorites.
First: Final Fantasy X
Turning the game on and the beautiful intro comes on. That song sets the scene for a really sad story, interwoven with action and some areas of fun. I can't say enough as to how much I love this game. Especially with my recent play through of Final Fantasy VIII (previously my favorite Final Fantasy game, but now it's not even in my top 3) and having played this in the past two years, it's been solidified in my mind that this is my favorite Final Fantasy. I love the length of the game, the amount of extras that you can do, and most importantly: Blitzball! Blitzball is such a great game in and of itself, and the rewards for the system kept me playing for hours. It even beats out the card game in Final Fantasy VIII, which is good in and of itself, simply because it's more complex and well-thought out. Some of the epic scenes were absolutely fantastic and memorable, and beating the Luca Goers in the tournament when you aren't actually supposed to just makes this game so great to me. The best thing about this game though is the impression it made on me when I first played the game in 2002, due to the fact that the graphics at the time were second to none. It offered a breathtaking view of a new world, complete with vocals (which could have been better, granted, but they're still not bad). I'm so happy they're remaking it!
Second: Final Fantasy VII
You guys know all about Final Fantasy VII, and you know that there are hundreds of fanboys of the game. I'm not one of those people. Rather, I'm a fan of some of the tactics they employed in telling the story, such as starting off working with an ecological terrorist organization, Cloud's schizophrenia and the love triangle between Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith. Even the side stories of the optional characters were interesting and excellently done, although I (and everyone else) would agree that Vincent's was better than Yuffie's. I liked the scientific tone the game had, to where even the magic spells were manufactured by scientific experiments. The climax of the game, though, is what I love the most: Sephiroth (or Jenova in Sephiroth's shape) comes down and slides his giant masamune down Aerith (or Aeris)'s back, killing her outright. Killing a main character's love interest is an ingenious way to set in stone the game's legacy into gamer's minds. Even to this day, people like us still discuss this game and long for a remake with the PS3 (or PS4) level graphics. Even Square Enix knows that it left a legacy, as it's provided other games, a movie, and the infamous PS3-quality intro to the Final Fantasy VII game, making us want that remake even more. Really, this game is just one of the greatest games of all time, and I think had it been remade, it would overtake Final Fantasy X as my favorite Final Fantasy game.
Third: Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
In all honesty, I like Crisis Core better than the first two, but only because it's the newer game with a different play style. Not only that, but I didn't want to place this above the first two because this one wasn't on the list, but I still think it's worth mentioning because it's so dang awesome! Even though I haven't played the game in quite some time, I still remember how fun it was to play the game, experiment with different materia, and go on extra missions to level up and accomplish tasks. The best part about the game was the story, though. It's the back-story of Final Fantasy VII made real, and it does not disappoint. It makes you fall in love with Zack Fair and then rips your heart out at the game's end. It shows you a side of Sephiroth you would have never expected to exist, even with his portrayal prior to snapping in Final Fantasy VII. It introduces two excellent characters in Angeal and Genesis, and creates a rivalry with the Turks and Hojo. Play this game and you can never look at the original Final Fantasy VII the same again. You just can't. The emotional pull of this game motivated me to play Final Fantasy VII again, and I couldn't help but hate the enemies even worse than I already did, and cherish the life of the characters (because even main characters aren't exempt from death). Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core sets a standard for good gameplay and an excellent story that the Final Fantasy series really has been lacking. I'm hoping they can pull this off once again.
Alright guys, there's my take on my favorite Final Fantasy game(s). As an analytical person, I really feel like these three pass the tests in a variety of things, and I might do a game review of one of them once I get my hands on a copy of any of these three games again. That being said, I don't want to take away from the awesomeness of any of the other Final Fantasies that came before, nor do I want to tell you what I feel would be a lie in saying anything after X was good (okay, I liked X-2 a little bit). Anyways, I hope you enjoy! I've played Final Fantasy over a decade now, so I definitely have a few opinions on what my favorite games are. I can't limit it to the list presented, nor can I actually give you my exact favorite one, so I'm going to give you three and explain why they're my favorites.
First: Final Fantasy X
Turning the game on and the beautiful intro comes on. That song sets the scene for a really sad story, interwoven with action and some areas of fun. I can't say enough as to how much I love this game. Especially with my recent play through of Final Fantasy VIII (previously my favorite Final Fantasy game, but now it's not even in my top 3) and having played this in the past two years, it's been solidified in my mind that this is my favorite Final Fantasy. I love the length of the game, the amount of extras that you can do, and most importantly: Blitzball! Blitzball is such a great game in and of itself, and the rewards for the system kept me playing for hours. It even beats out the card game in Final Fantasy VIII, which is good in and of itself, simply because it's more complex and well-thought out. Some of the epic scenes were absolutely fantastic and memorable, and beating the Luca Goers in the tournament when you aren't actually supposed to just makes this game so great to me. The best thing about this game though is the impression it made on me when I first played the game in 2002, due to the fact that the graphics at the time were second to none. It offered a breathtaking view of a new world, complete with vocals (which could have been better, granted, but they're still not bad). I'm so happy they're remaking it!
Second: Final Fantasy VII
You guys know all about Final Fantasy VII, and you know that there are hundreds of fanboys of the game. I'm not one of those people. Rather, I'm a fan of some of the tactics they employed in telling the story, such as starting off working with an ecological terrorist organization, Cloud's schizophrenia and the love triangle between Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith. Even the side stories of the optional characters were interesting and excellently done, although I (and everyone else) would agree that Vincent's was better than Yuffie's. I liked the scientific tone the game had, to where even the magic spells were manufactured by scientific experiments. The climax of the game, though, is what I love the most: Sephiroth (or Jenova in Sephiroth's shape) comes down and slides his giant masamune down Aerith (or Aeris)'s back, killing her outright. Killing a main character's love interest is an ingenious way to set in stone the game's legacy into gamer's minds. Even to this day, people like us still discuss this game and long for a remake with the PS3 (or PS4) level graphics. Even Square Enix knows that it left a legacy, as it's provided other games, a movie, and the infamous PS3-quality intro to the Final Fantasy VII game, making us want that remake even more. Really, this game is just one of the greatest games of all time, and I think had it been remade, it would overtake Final Fantasy X as my favorite Final Fantasy game.
Third: Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
In all honesty, I like Crisis Core better than the first two, but only because it's the newer game with a different play style. Not only that, but I didn't want to place this above the first two because this one wasn't on the list, but I still think it's worth mentioning because it's so dang awesome! Even though I haven't played the game in quite some time, I still remember how fun it was to play the game, experiment with different materia, and go on extra missions to level up and accomplish tasks. The best part about the game was the story, though. It's the back-story of Final Fantasy VII made real, and it does not disappoint. It makes you fall in love with Zack Fair and then rips your heart out at the game's end. It shows you a side of Sephiroth you would have never expected to exist, even with his portrayal prior to snapping in Final Fantasy VII. It introduces two excellent characters in Angeal and Genesis, and creates a rivalry with the Turks and Hojo. Play this game and you can never look at the original Final Fantasy VII the same again. You just can't. The emotional pull of this game motivated me to play Final Fantasy VII again, and I couldn't help but hate the enemies even worse than I already did, and cherish the life of the characters (because even main characters aren't exempt from death). Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core sets a standard for good gameplay and an excellent story that the Final Fantasy series really has been lacking. I'm hoping they can pull this off once again.
Alright guys, there's my take on my favorite Final Fantasy game(s). As an analytical person, I really feel like these three pass the tests in a variety of things, and I might do a game review of one of them once I get my hands on a copy of any of these three games again. That being said, I don't want to take away from the awesomeness of any of the other Final Fantasies that came before, nor do I want to tell you what I feel would be a lie in saying anything after X was good (okay, I liked X-2 a little bit). Anyways, I hope you enjoy! |