Quote Originally Posted by Depression Moon View Post
Yeah I meant it it frustrates me almost as much as Penumbra in XII almost decided not to play it anymore.
Well, then no offense intended or anything, but I have to wonder if you really did play FFIV, since the hard type versions are all harder than FFVI and have an encounter rate so high at times that it's enough to make me put the game down before I even get to those parts. And I've loved and played the game repeatedly since it was released.

Anyway, as for my list,

Best:

Story: I'm going to say FFVI. The story starts off a bit cliche even for the time, but juggling a 14 character cast and giving them all (almost) a great deal of characterization was impressive back then and still holds up today.

Best gameplay: FFXII. Maybe it's my hatred of your standard turn based systems and random encounters that make me pick this, but it's the first RPG in years that I willingly sought out fights in and put about 80 hours into so it had to be doing something right. The fact that battle was also challenging and required at least some semblance of strategy was also a plus. It's a shame some people are so enamored by sitting there mindlessly mashing the attack command until their enemies die and calling it fun to notice the depth and challenge this game brought. It's doubly a shame since we may never see Square build on this great system in the near future as a result.

Music: FFVI. If I need to explain why, then you either haven't played it or hate music.

Main Character: I'll say Vivi. Easily the best character the series ever produced.

Villian: Kuja for the same reasons Wolf Kanno listed.

Overall: Will always be FFVI for me. FFIX and XII are close runners up though.

Worst:
Story: Not counting spin offs and sequels it'd be FFVIII hands down. Boring characters with worse character development, switcheroo villains, a love story as forced as the last time I went number 2 and deus ex machina plot twists that try to make me suddenly care about the villain. The story was terrible in every sense of the word. At least with the simpler stories of some of the earlier games they didn't try to fool you into thinking they were more intelligent than they were.

Gameplay: I'll go with FFVIII again. I'm tempted to pick one of the first three, but their flaws are more a product of when they were made. FFVIII's junction system was game breakingly easy to exploit, and you were actively encouraged to exploit it. It gets the nod for being so poorly balanced it's not funny, despite the fact that there's no way the development team could have missed it.

Music: FFVIII again. I can honestly say I hate at least half the tracks on the soundtrack. There are some real gems there, but you have to wade through a sea of mediocrity to get there.

Main Character: Squall. His character development was as forced as I could imagine. He spends half the game not caring about anyone else, then suddenly starts to give a crap for no real apparent reason and with no build up. I could see if it was more of a gradual attachment building with Rinoa and the rest of the party, but it always struck me as sudden and forced. So we're left with a guy I can't stand for the first half of the game, and a personality shift I can't believe for the last half.

Villian: Sephiroth. Wait, he wasn't in FFVIII? Meh, I'll stick with him.

Overall: I suppose I'll have to say FFVIII. The earlier games have their flaws, but I can forgive many of them since they're as much a product of technical limitations and the style of games at the time as anything else. FFVIII on the other hand could have been a lot more than it was.