Which Final Fantasy was the most difficult?

[Midgar Mist]

This can be one that you couldnt beat or if you beat them all then the one you found most difficult. In my case that would be III as i didnt get anywhere near the final boss. I found IV and VIII pretty hard too, even though I got to the final boss then couldnt beat them.

[Fynn]

XII, but in a way that just required you to think carefully about your strategies or gambits. I-III (original NES version) are also pretty punishing, but more in the way of being grindfests.

[Ayen]

I'd say II because of the setup, and being able to stumble into high level monsters without meaning to. Status alignments stay with you after battle, too.

[Fynn]

Statuses stay after battle in most games, though, and II actually had more statuses that didn't than I.

[Karifean]

Hard to say. I Game Over'd on Final Fantasy XIII more times than on any other game for sure, but getting a Game Over in that game is hardly comparable to getting one in any of the earlier games.

FFX-2 has the toughest bonus content but the main storyline is pathetically easy.

Of the others FFV sticks out the most I guess. It got pretty unforgiving at times.

[Loony BoB]

Generally speaking, probably XIII, as it's the only one where you can't just grind to a really high level and walk over everything in the main story by just holding down X (or whatever X applies to, the attack button, you get the idea).

If you're looking to the hardest content in the game, though, perhaps XI or XIV would get that prize. If you're talking no MMOs, then uh... no idea. Most of the FFs have some pretty hard content in them.

[VeloZer0]

XII, but in a way that just required you to think carefully about your strategies or gambits.

Are we playing the same game? I just set up my gambits once at the start and watched the game beat itself.

Realistically anything not on the NES is just a whole different level, the only question is picking between 1,2 and 3. FF1 sticks out in my head, but I don't really have anything to back it up with.

Of the post NES era I would say that FF4 DS is the most difficult. Difficult in a good way that actually makes you think and strategize.

[Saber]

My most challenging Final Fantasy was II. It is the only game that made me think on how to beat the last boss. If it wasn't for the drain spell and the two blood swords you could get I would have never beat the game.

On a side note Final Fantasy XII has the hardest side quests I have ever seen.

[Wolf Kanno]

Final Fantasy III (NES/Famicom version) you can't necessarily grind to godhood, because you're too busy grinding to stay alive. Seriously, in order to be over-leveled enough to waltz through the game, you need to be something like 15-30 levels higher than you currently are in order to make even the most bulltrout of RNG failures not bite you in the ass. It pretty much wins this award for having Phoenix Downs and Life spells being rare, and also being one of the few FFs where utilizing status magic is the key to making the game not one massive ragequit. I probably died more times in this game than any other in the series.

[Pumpkin]

I, I'm not good at old games

[Ayen]

Statuses stay after battle in most games, though, and II actually had more statuses that didn't than I.

I recall playing games where some would disappear after the fight is over, and that wasn't the case in II. I also had to run quite a way just to get to a town where I can do anything about the status effect, and I don't remember if I ever found a cure or anything. I can't even remember what the status effect was, but it was annoying.

[Wolf Kanno]

Statuses stay after battle in most games, though, and II actually had more statuses that didn't than I.

I recall playing games where some would disappear after the fight is over, and that wasn't the case in II. I also had to run quite a way just to get to a town where I can do anything about the status effect, and I don't remember if I ever found a cure or anything. I can't even remember what the status effect was, but it was annoying.

You didn't start having full recovery of status magic after battle until FFVII. The first six games kept all statuses on a character until properly healed.

[Formalhaut]

XII, but in a way that just required you to think carefully about your strategies or gambits.

Are we playing the same game? I just set up my gambits once at the start and watched the game beat itself.

Are you serious? FFXII isn't that easy. I would say it is probably on the easier side of the numbered FFs, but it is by no means 'auto-play'.

FFX-2's bonus content is very difficult, requiring carefully considered set-ups. The same goes for FFX, I guess, but there the challenge is coping with the grind of the Monster Arena to 'qualify' for that level of difficulty. Once you're at maximum stats, it is more of a process of following strategy and measured tactics.

The overall toughest game is probably Lightning Returns, if anything.

[Ayen]

Statuses stay after battle in most games, though, and II actually had more statuses that didn't than I.

I recall playing games where some would disappear after the fight is over, and that wasn't the case in II. I also had to run quite a way just to get to a town where I can do anything about the status effect, and I don't remember if I ever found a cure or anything. I can't even remember what the status effect was, but it was annoying.

You didn't start having full recovery of status magic after battle until FFVII. The first six games kept all statuses on a character until properly healed.

Ah, well, there you go. I played VII and beyond more than the earlier ones. Though I don't remember any lasting statuses as vividly as the II situation when I played I, IV, V, or VI. It was probably the backtracking.

[Sefie1999AD]

It depends on what the most difficult means. Pre-GBA FF1 was hard in a way that RNG can mess you up anywhere. Ice Cave was especially unforgiving, as you can get ambushed by 9 sorcerers/mages at any time, and they'll kill your party before you get a single turn. This is less of an issue in post-GBA versions since you can save anywhere. FFs II and III aren't that hard, but they're very tedious in the way how much they require grinding.

IV is the hardest one for me. I haven't played the DS version, but the Japanese Hard Type version for SNES was really hard for both random battles and boss fights. The battle speed seems to affect the game a lot, as my levels had to be in the high 60's to beat the last boss on the fastest battle speed, while I can do it 10 levels lower on the default speed.

V is quite tough at times, but it's beatable with minimal grinding if you can come up with good ability setups for your party. I thought VI, VII and VIII were the easiest games in the series. IX isn't too hard, but (SPOILER)Necron and Ozma are hard in their own ways since those battles are heavily luck-based. I don't think X and X-2 were that hard, but some of X's boss battles are very frustrating and take ages to retry because of unskippable cutscenes before the fights (I'm looking at you, (SPOILER)Seymour Flux, Yunalesca and Braska's Final Aeon!). XII started tough for me since the characters gain levels very slowly, but after the beginning parts, I didn't think the main game was that hard.

FFXIII had some pretty tough battles, and at some point, every battle felt like a mini-boss, but at least you can retry every battle, so Game Over isn't really an issue. XIII-2 was a lot easier, but some of the DLC battles were amazingly tough. I've only beat LR on the Easy difficulty, and it wasn't too hard. Tactics has a very steep learning curve, but it didn't feel that hard when you've got the hang of the battle system.