Which FF do you feel is the most underrted within the series? (2020 Edition)

[Wolf Kanno]

What it says on the tin. Which FF is not appreciated enough? Any game with the FF Moniker counts so spin-offs and sequels count as well.

[Lord Golbez]

I think probably FFIV. I could say a lot about which FFs I think are overrated but FFlV typically seems to fall below the radar and it's a great game. The first truly great FF game IMO. FFVIII is a pretty strong contender too, given its hatedom.

[WarZidane]

Definitely one of the spin-offs, can't quite make up my mind which one though. Maybe Crystal Chronicles.

[Fynn]

The Tactics series, still. FFTA is as ignored as ever along with A2, but the saddest thing is that barely anyone even acknowledged FFT anymore. I’d say a Steam port is long overdue.

Of the main series, I’d say FFXII has finally been vindicated, so I’d have to say V is the one that’s the most underrated at this point.

[Shiva95]

Probably FFIV. It's one of my favorite one, but people on the internet don't talk much about it.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm going to plug my usual choice of Final Fantasy III, especially since unlike other games mentioned so far, its not divisive. I don't know too many people who claim to hate it. Most people felt it was good, maybe not great, but the general consensus is that it was not offensive to fans, yet it always gets forgotten when people discuss FF titles. I mean even FFII and VIII get more lip service.

For spin-offs, I'm going to say either FFTactics Advance, cause while it was far from perfect as a game, I felt the story was surprisingly profound. Me second choice would be The Spirits Within, which I still feel is the best FF films SE has managed to produce and a far better film in general than the backlash against it would suggest.

[Aulayna]

Honestly I think FFIII's main issue is that the majority of fans didn't really get to play it until its remake on the Nintendo DS, and at that point "by the numbers RPG" would be a polite way of describing that game in comparison to X, IX, VIII, VII, and VI. It's a good game but had nothing really noteworthy (or indeed, controversial) about it by the time fans in the West got to play it (officially) which is likely why it flies under the radar a lot.

For mainline I'd say IV and V are still fairly underrated although IV seems to be gaining more of a fanbase in recent years.

Spin-off wise, can only agree that the Tactics series needs more love. Although I'd also say that XIII-2 is underrated in my eyes, I think it's a vastly superior game to XIII.

[Wolf Kanno]

Honestly I think FFIII's main issue is that the majority of fans didn't really get to play it until its remake on the Nintendo DS, and at that point "by the numbers RPG" would be a polite way of describing that game in comparison to X, IX, VIII, VII, and VI. It's a good game but had nothing really noteworthy (or indeed, controversial) about it by the time fans in the West got to play it (officially) which is likely why it flies under the radar a lot.

I agree that's the main problem with it. I feel there is nothing wrong with III but it's totally forgotten by a majority of the fanbase, even the original FFI gets more respect and it's a clunkier experience than even III if you're playing the originals. It certainly missed its chance and most of its groundbreaking elements are lost on modern players. I just feel like it deserves more respect because it was the entry that really solidified concepts like the Job system, Dragoons, Summoners, optional dungeons, and being a bit more cinematic than the previous installments. I love FFIV, but playing the original FFIII and seeing how much FFIV took from it ended up knocking that game down a few pegs for me.

I am also really surprised by all the IV love going on in this thread cause I still feel like that entry is the most sacred of cows among the franchise at this point. It's incredibly rare to see anyone bad mouth that entry and it usually gets a lot of praise, even from people who wouldn't rank it as their favorite. I love the game myself, but I don't think I would ever regard it as underrated beyond the gameplay being better than people give it credit for.

[Aulayna]

On the brightside FFXIV is doing a very good job at re-imagining and weaving some of III's narrative threads into its Main Scenario.

[Wolf Kanno]

On the brightside FFXIV is doing a very good job at re-imagining and weaving some of III's narrative threads into its Main Scenario.

So I've read, I was really happy they expanded some concepts from it. Hell XI ended up making Cloud of Darkness the final boss of the MMO as well. It gets a lot of love and respect among the creators, just not the western fans. Again, waiting twenty years to release it is the main culprit.

[maybee]

FF2 : The game isn't that awful. The game gives you freedom on how you want to play and how you want your characters to battle. Also FF2 has one of the best villians in the series, and the first male white mage Minwu and one of the first incredible female main characters with Maria.

FF5: FF5 is a ton of fun. I hope that this one gets a remake on the Switch soon.


edit: Yes, want to say FF3 now too. It's the first one that really takes advantage of the job class and it has excellent music.