Fynn's top 10/bottom 5 FF list!

[Fynn]

Since I'm done with my top 25 games list (after a long, 33-year waiting period), I've decided to make one for FFs!

This one's gonna be a bit different. It' actually going to be two lists. First I'll go through my bottom 5 FFs, so that I get all the death threats that are inevitably coming out of the way, and then I'll move on to my top 10. These reviews will be much shorter than my top 25 and I hope to post them daily. Also, I'll be adding an audio version to each, so that you can listen to my lovely voice reading them to you, if you're so inclined

As usual, this list is highly subjective and I am not saying that any of these games are really, objectively bad/awesome and that you're a bad person for liking/disliking any of them. It's all in good fun. Stay tuned for part 1 of my bottom 5 FFs list later today

Here's a handy list for navigation!

Bottom 5:

• #5: FINAL FANTASY III
• #4: CRISIS CORE: FINAL FANTASY VII
• #3: FINAL FANTASY XIII
• #2: FINAL FANTASY X
• #1: DIRGE OF CERBERUS: FINAL FANTASY VII

Top 10:

• #10: FINAL FANTASY X-2
• #9: FINAL FANTASY II
• #8: FINAL FANTASY IV
• #7: FINAL FANTASY IX
• #6: FINAL FANTASY VII

[Pumpkin]

Looking forward to seeing where IX and VIII rank!

[Fynn]

Looking forward to seeing where IX and VIII rank!

The good/ban news is that one of them is not making an appearance at all.

[Pumpkin]

oh

[Karifean]

*readies evil glare*

[Pumpkin]

Oh yes, poor Karifean. I think you at least like Final Fantasy IX!

[Fynn]

Let's get this started! Bottom 5 FFs, here we go!

Click here for the audio version

#5: FINAL FANTASY III

As this game shows, this list does not necessarily contain games I consider bad. Final Fantasy III is still a very solid game, in my opinion. it’s just that I experienced it at a point that it really left me disappointed.

But let’s start with the good things. Final Fantasy III was definitely ahead of its time when it comes to the story. While the main characters have no personalities of their own (and only little hints of them in the DS remake), the villain presents moral complexity that was, at that point in time, unheard of. Xande feels hurt that, out of all of his master’s disciples, his gift was the gift of mortality. In his eyes, it was a curse, even though his master truly considered it a blessing and gave it to him because Xande was his most beloved disciple. People’s opinions on this move are still divided to this day and if you start a topic on it in the FFIII section of our forum, I’m sure a lot of people will be willing to discuss.

Okay, now that the nice thing is out of the way, allow me to move on to why this game is on this list and not the other. We all love the job system, right? Final Fantasy III introduced this mechanic, but unlike the one found in Final Fantasy V, this particular version does not stand the test of time. While in FFV you could mix and match job abilities to fully customize your party, here all skills are set to their corresponding class, making switching jobs a huge hassle. In the end, I ended up assigning each of my characters one class and sticking to it till the end, because there was really no point in investing any time into the others. Kind of a letdown, if you ask me.

The world, while interesting in its layered structure, was also quite a drag to explore. You can’t fly over mountains until you get your best airship – and even then, you only get to fly over some very tiny mountains. This really killed my sense of freedom which I would expect out of getting an airship. Also, even in the remake, you can only save on the world map. There are no save points, and the final dungeon is incredibly long with a very painful boss rush near the end. Beating Final Fantasy III really depends on luck and requires tremendous patience. It’s really one of the worst examples of fake difficulty I have ever encountered.

Still, all things considered, it’s not a bad game at all. It was certainly ahead of its time in many ways. Perhaps I just played it too late, since I only had a chance once it got released on the DS – at that point I’d played most of the series already. Overall, it was just a very dated experience for me that failed to impress me to the degree that I’d hoped.

[Pumpkin]

I think I liked it but I still have to go back and play it, it's been so long. Arc is just precious though

[Ayen]

I still need to play that one. Not surprised it landed on here. People seem pretty meh about it.

[escobert]

The DS release of III is actually one of my favorite FFs It's the only pre-VII FF that I really enjoyed playing.

[Colonel Angus]

It's a fun little game. Difficult as heck, but still fun. V, Tactics, & X-2 all improved on the job system, but that doesn't take away from the game. It's too bad Squeenix never upgraded it during the PSX era when they upgraded many of the other games. But it probably wouldn't've been the same as the DS/Steam version.

[Fynn]

Click here for audio!

#4: CRISIS CORE: FINAL FANTASY VII

Here’s an easy target. The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII is widely considered to be a trainwreck, yet for some reason, Crisis Core is usually called one of its more… shall we say, “least harmful” elements. Heck, there’s people who adore this game! For some unfathomable reason!

To certain point, I can see why, though. Crisis Core is, for the most part, very fun to play. A complex materia system, combined with old-school summons and a real-time battle system – it’s got the fundamentals of a really solid action RPG. The story is a nostalgia fest for FFVII fanboys, centering around probably the most beloved character of Final Fantasy VII - Zack. And the music is nice.

But none of those things (aside from the music) is without serious issue. The battle system is fun at first, but then comes the grinding. Endless chains of repetitive quests that you need to keep taking if you want to level your materia properly. But be careful not to undertake too many! Otherwise, you’ll be ridiculously overpowered. See, “balanced” is the last word I’d use to describe this battle system.

The story, while not as ridiculously stupid as a certain other entry into this sub-series (oh, you know the one, and don’t worry – it’s time is coming), is still pretty smurfin’ dumb. Not to mention very fanficky. Remember Doctor Whatshisface? The one responsible for most of the stuff that happened in FFVII? No, not Hojo. The other guy. Of course you don’t – he’s been retconned in. Just like Rufus’s brother, Rude and Reno’s buddy Cissnei, and of course, Sephiroth’s old BFFs – Angeal and Genesis. This wouldn’t be half bad if any of these characters weren’t so painfully Mary Sue-ish, but they are. Genesis gets the award for the lamest, sissiest villain of all time. At least they developed the Zack and Aerith relationship in this game quite nicely. That part I really enjoyed.

So again, not quite a bad game, but one that kinda poops all over the source material. There’s some good things about it – things that are actually very enjoyable – but the overall end effect is that I felt kinda used after playing this.

[Pumpkin]

I couldn't get in to it. It took the things I disliked about VII and amplified them x)

[Fynn]

I couldn't get in to it. It took the things I disliked about VII and amplified them x)

Which ones do you mean?

[Pumpkin]

Mostly story and characters. To me, VII was a game with great potential in the story but it fell short of what it could have been. So when they go back and explore the backstory, they could have pushed it a bit further to reach that potential. Instead it made it worse.

I also disliked most of the characters and they did no favours to the cast. But I haven't played the whole thing so who knows!