All mainline Final Fantasy games ranked

Many types of video games, such as the JRPG category, include some famous titles like Final Fantasy. It may have more entries than any other series and isn't going away anytime soon. Furthermore, because FF games are anthology-style, if one doesn't click for you, there's a strong possibility another will.

It can be very debatable to rank any FF saga as a result. In addition to FF 10 and 7, considered top-performing titles, everyone has a lot of affection for the first installment they managed to play.

The games on this list will be ranked according to the most commendable titles and provide some background information on each.

FF 11, a legendary MMO from the heyday of MMOs that helped shape much of 14's early concept, and FF 14, a fantastic testimony to the whole franchise on the MMO platform that combines FF underneath one banner, deserve special mentions but won't be ranked.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

---

Ranking all the Final Fantasy titles

1) Final Fantasy 2

All those who live must someday die (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): Nintendo Entertainment System
• Release: December 17, 1988

One may argue that none of the major Final Fantasy video games are egregiously awful. Final Fantasy 2 was an obvious choice to place at the bottom of this list because every list of ranked video games must include one game.

It took a while for it to be released in the West, and by that time, the FF series had moved on to better things, making it challenging to revisit the first installment.

What's there isn't necessarily awful, but it is unusual. Your character's stats do not level up uniformly, like in FF 1, when you get the overall experience. Instead, your specific attributes like Health, Power, Vitality, and others develop dependent on the performance you conduct in battle.

It's intriguing, to be sure, but it's more arduous and perplexing than enjoyable. Sadly, the game's leveling system significantly slows things down because combat is its main focus.

FF 2 is difficult to suggest to anyone who does not have a strong interest in the franchise's history.

---

2) Final Fantasy

Why do you yearn to live, knowing all things must die? (Image via Sqaure Enix)

• Platform(s): Nintendo Entertainment System
• Release: December 18, 1987

Without a doubt, Final Fantasy is a good game, but it isn't the greatest. It may be one of the best games in a series with many more installments. However, it deserves some appreciation because it launched the Final Fantasy franchise.

At its core is a fundamental combat system that developed and influenced FF types of video games throughout the decades. In fact, it inspired the JRPG battle lexicon.

FF may not be the game that younger gamers want to play today, but it is an integral part of video gaming history and will always be.

---

3) Final Fantasy 13

Hope? There is no hope. Not for l'Cie (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,PC
• Release: December 17, 2009

In many ways, the franchise's red-headed stepchild is Final Fantasy 13. When it was released, it wasn't well received by fans, especially in comparison to the hoopla surrounding it. Many also didn't appreciate how linear and closed off it was, more like it was in a corridor (until later in the game).

But once you're strapped in, you're in for a real treat. FF 13 is an underappreciated title that boasts one of the strongest combat systems in the series, a cast of strong female leads, and a few male leads who compliment the female characters' stories.

From The Promise, which threads through and out of the tale in both powerful and poignant ways, to combat themes like Blinded By Light, to the all-time anthem, The Sunleth Waterscape, FF 13's score is one we're still jamming to today.

---

4) Final Fantasy 15

I just hope that things can stay the way they were (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
• Release: November 29, 2016

The anticipation for the release of 15 was intense. Originally known as "Versus 13," 15 not only expanded on the Fabula Nova Crystallis series of video games created by the 13 trilogy but served as FF's next evolutionary step. It introduced a next-generation open environment (not to be confused with 12's center open environment).

Noctis, Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis weren't the most interesting characters. Still, their road journey through Eos' green landscapes was filled with a slew of enjoyable interactions, from real-time combat with Ethereal Summons to eating over a bonfire beneath a starry sky.

FF 15 falls just short of the top ten due to its monotonous action loop, perplexing plot, and unimpressive side missions.

---

5) Final Fantasy 4

I suppose this is my fate as a Dark Knight (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): Super Nintendo Entertainment System
• Release: July 19, 1991

The setting for what would later become the standard to beat for the next generation of RPGs was created by Final Fantasy 4 in a period when RPG tales were thin or even nonexistent.

Several interactions and scenes in FF 4 are filled with raw emotions, which may appear overly straightforward and unoriginal nowadays, but were incredibly affecting since video games have had so much less than that to operate with each other in respect of story themes and advancement.

The Super Famicom/SNES allowed the series to look magnificent with a new look compared to its NES predecessors, much like how the switch to PlayStation's new devices contributed to making FF 7 a hit. Furthermore, the active-time warfare concept adds intensity to traditional turn-based combat.

For ages, archetypes and character classes would be symbolized by figures like Cecil, Kain, Rydia, Golbez, and others. Huge battles against difficult elemental bosses were immortalized in Nobuo Uematsu's "Battle With the Four Fiends," with an unforgettable adventure concluding in an epic finale moon dungeon.

The side content quests to locate secret summoning abilities and special equipment complement the classic good vs. evil tale.

---

6) Final Fantasy 3

The earthquake was only the beginning (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): Nintendo Entertainment System
• Release: April 27, 1990

Final Fantasy 3 is less an outstanding video game playable and more a textbook on FF franchise mainstays. It is sometimes misidentified as FF 6 and forgotten in the United States due to it not being released till many decades back when it was rebuilt for the Nintendo DS.

Its tale and universe are forgettable, but its fighting is perfectly competent. At its poorest, this is the Final Fantasy game most deserving of being skipped.

At its best, it's a title that establishes the groundwork for concepts, gameplay, and other features that we'd grow to appreciate in later editions.

---

7) Final Fantasy 12

If I could protect but one person from war's horror, then I would bear any shame (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): PlayStation 2
• Release: March 16, 2006

Final Fantasy 12 gets too little recognition. Comparing 12 to the other Square Enix blockbusters, although it's a commercial and critical success, it frequently goes unnoticed.

However, it's an homage to grand sagas with dramas, stunning cities and war-torn set pieces, political systems tarnished by terrible plots, and, most crucially, magic.

A diverse set of monsters — flaming horses, tyrannosaurs, and mechanical aircraft, to mention a few — and meandering dungeons lend a remarkable feeling of scale and depth to 12's open universe. If you haven't yet played it, Zodiac Age is the official remaster that includes a slew of quality-of-life improvements and a job-based development system.

---

8) Final Fantasy 8

Oh, please let it be this room when I wake up! Please let me be in this puny bed when I wake up! (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): PlayStation
• Release: February 11, 1999

Final Fantasy 8 is undoubtedly the most adventurous of the three FF games and debatably the most controversial of the PlayStation era. Anxious youngster Squall and his group got caught up in an old sorceress's plan to bend time and space as they pursued the escapades of professional pupils from Balamb Garden, known as SeeDs.

Besides exploring the past through deft flashbacks, their journey pushes users to consider if the events witnessed are happening. Final Fantasy 8 was a sight to behold, with a vast world to explore and vivid companions to team up with and get connected to.

It also featured the amusing card game Triple Triad and a fantastic visual summons known as Guardian Forces.

The junction system, which enables magical powers to be loaded to increase particular character stats, is 8I's most contentious feature. These spells, which must be "pulled" from specific spots on the battlefield or directly from adversaries in battle, also behave as goods in the inventory, avoiding the need for MPs.

That is, casting a spell on a character reduces the stats it is designed to improve. FF 8 is prevented from rising to the top of the series by a risk/reward system that links those perishable charms to player power. This system is either loved or despised by gamers.

---

9) Final Fantasy 9

Bring My Beloved Dagger To Me (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): PlayStation
• Release: July 7, 2000

The ninth installment cleverly combines traditional themes with cutting-edge design to satisfy fans from two generations while standing on its own. We had a great time exploring Alexandria with Zidane, Garnet, and the rest of the team, with the dark mage Vivi unexpectedly taking the lead as one of the franchise's best characters.

The PS1 trilogy's combat is undoubtedly its finest aspect, and the skill system has increased the excitement level of equipping and replacing gears to new heights. 9 brings the franchise's golden era to a close, and it does it on a high note.

---

10) Final Fantasy 5

I was wrong; I cannot fight four people (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): Super Nintendo Entertainment System
• Release: December 6, 1992

Final Fantasy 5 is sandwiched between two famous FF titles — 4 and 6 — that many consider among the series' most incredible. Sadly, this results in the frequent oblivion of FF 5.

It also implies that it is nearer the end of the list than the top, but don't discount it just yet because it has one of the best job systems in the franchise.

Building towards the more basic variations of role switching originally presented in FF 3, 5's jobs expands the game's RPG mechanics in ways rarely seen before in the series.

We don't just mean because of the insane combos you can construct with it. Because of the job system's flexibility, each party member can appear just like the person you've individually developed and shaped.

Aside from the job structure, which is obviously (and deservedly) the game's biggest selling point, the soundtrack is fantastic. Furthermore, its softer tale is refreshing compared to the world-ending disasters common in JRPGs and even previous FF titles.

FF 5, though often overlooked, is worth your attention at some point in your gaming career. Although it won't blow you away like some other games on this list, you'll roll the credits happy that you finished this 1992 classic.

---

11) Final Fantasy 10

I've...Learned How To Smile...Even When I'm Feeling Sad (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): PlayStation 2
• Release: July 19, 2001

A lot of things about FF 10 were revolutionary. It makes the most of becoming the first installment featuring full voice-acting by delivering an enthralling and often tear-jerking story of heroes facing ancient destroyers and onerous cultural customs while having a relationship throughout the process.

The Sphere Grid established a thrilling new benchmark in freehand character advancement, while 10's redesigned fighting system made conflicts faster and more enjoyable.

Tidus may be a nerd, but he's rounded out by his interactions with appealing comrades like Sweet Yuna and the way-too-cool Auron.

---

12) Final Fantasy 6

Guide me anew. I'm thankful, my beloved, for your tenderness and grace (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): Super Nintendo Entertainment System
• Release: April 2, 1994

FF 6 is the best game in the series, as well as the best role-playing game ever made. It has it all: a terrific (and sizable) cast, Terra as the protagonist and Kefka as the antagonist, an excellent soundtrack, and a compelling narrative with multiple "best of gaming" moments.

The combat still stands as the apex of traditional turn-based action, rich in richness and customization.

It's a gratifying power trip, particularly to transform into an Esper and destroy Magitek soldiers and suits. We are confused about FF 6 because we want to see it rebuilt with the same awe and attention as FF 7. However, we also hope Square Enix will leave it as it is.

---

13) Final Fantasy 7

Alright, Everybody, Let's Mosey! (Image via Square Enix)

• Platform(s): PlayStation
• Release: January 31, 1997

If not for its epochal seventh installment, where else would FF be? 7 introduced a new era for emotional storytelling and rich world-building, becoming the first installment in the franchise to use FMV and 3D graphics.

Character designs that stood out, such as Sephiroth's silver hair, unnaturally long masamune, and Barrett's muscular physique and arm cannon, contributed to Cloud and the company's status as the franchise's face.

Political corruption, environmental justice, mental disorder, and survivor's guilt were resounding, pervasive themes that gave 7's already excellent dieselpunk and dystopic universe more narrative complexity.

Innovative art direction and the classic tune by Nobuo Uematsu even enhanced Square's typical turn-based combat. Perhaps the most significant and enduring game on the list is FF 7.