The Most ‘Important’ Final Fantasy Game

[The Devourer Of Worlds]

The topic ‘which Final Fantasy game is the best’ has been done to death on most forums (hell, there is a topic on this right now…), so I thought I would ask something slightly different. Which Final Fantasy game do you consider to be the greatest contribution to the series since Final Fantasy I? Now, before you all go off and simply pick your favorite game, keep in mind that we are talking about ‘the greatest contributor’, not the ‘best’. In other words, you’ll have to take into account things like popularity (whether the game sparked a mass awareness for the series), establishment of traditions (the first game to effectively use the trademarks that would later mark a game as a ‘Final Fantasy’ game) and finally, appreciation for the game itself (whether the game is considered to be decent by people who’s opinions actually mean something).

I’m not going to turn this into a poll, because I want people to actually state reasons as to why they consider their choice to be ‘the greatest contribution to the series’. I’m also not going to state my own choice, simply because I’m still trying to decide between FFIII, FFIV and FFVII, all of which I consider to be equally important to the series for various reasons (it should be noted that none of these games are at the top of my ‘Favorite FF Games’ list’).

Thoughts?

[rubah]

ff7 shoved it into the popular culture.

[Dreddz]

There really is no discussion on this, FFVII.

[ljkkjlcm9]

as overrated as I think the game is, no-one can deny that FFVII made the series mainstream... But of course, the most important is the first, because without it there would be no others, and the company wouldn't even exist... it was their "Final Fantasy"

THE JACKEL

[feioncastor]

Well, you can't really say that FF7 was the most important because it was so popular.

Importance is defined in a few other ways, too.

However, if you think that Final Fantasy games weren't popular before 7, think again. I was in line to buy FF6 the day it came out, and after a few hours in line, I went home empty handed because they had sold out.

Sure, 7 was the first US FF game to have major TV spots, but FF6 (or "Final Fantasy III" as we called it then) was wildly popular. FF1 was successful, FF2/4j was even more succesful, but FF3/6j was really anticipated in the gaming community.

However, I will accept that 7 was incredibly popular, even outside the gaming community.

You'd see advertisements for FF3 in gamepro and EGM. You'd see advertisements for FF7 in non-gaming magazines.

So I guess FF7 is the most important. It was the one that put Final Fantasy on the world spectrum. But it was not the one that made a name for the series in the gaming community.

To US VGers, it's probably FF1, 2/4j, or 3/6j. But to the rest of the non-gaming world, almost certainly 7.

[Gnostic Yevon]

I'd probably have to go with 4, which was the first with a full-on story (not that 2 didn't have a story, but it wasn't as deep or coherent as 4), and the first with summons.

FYI, I think the reason that FF7 sticks out in everyone's mind is that it was the first 3d. The same was true of the first 3d Mario game and the first 3d Zelda game.

[The Devourer Of Worlds]

Actually, FFIIIj was the first game to use summons.

[Miriel]

I can't say it any better the guys over at Penny-Arcade when they said that Final Fantasy VII was, "the game that absolutely pierced the mainstream and deposited the notion of gaming into a new generation."

[DeathKnight]

Final Fantasy I....without it...there would be no Final Fantasies

[Death Penalty]

He was disincludin FF1

[feioncastor]

I can't say it any better the guys over at Penny-Arcade when they said that Final Fantasy VII was, "the game that absolutely pierced the mainstream and deposited the notion of gaming into a new generation."

Well, that's a lofty claim. I'd say that non-RPGs can be credited with the deposition of the notion of gaming into any generation, just as much as any RPG. Like, I think that Super Mario 64 also had some effect on video games, too.

However, FF7 did "pierce" the mainstream, in a way that no previous entry in the series did. So I can accept that.

[Zeromus_X]

I could do a full-on list:

FFI: Introduced the series

FFII: More detailed plot; chocobos; evil empire type plot; Cid (How could I forget that?!)

FFIII: Even more detailed plot; moogles; surreal final dungeon; more side-quests and secrets; multiple worlds

FFIV: First character-driven plot

FFV: Last game to use crystals as a major plot device; major-cataclysm-that-changes-the-world-map-theme thing; Tonberries

FFVI: Extremely detailed story; Angelic final boss; Enhanced graphics and music; Cactuars

FFVII: Introduced FF to the rest of the world, made the series more "mainstream"

[The Devourer Of Worlds]

FFV: Last game to use crystals as a major plot device; major-cataclysm-that-changes-the-world-map-theme thing; Tonberries

In addition to this, FFV introduced new jobs and abilities that would form the basis of classes and Limit Breaks in later FF games. It also had the first truly complex plot device: The Void.

[Miriel]

Well, that's a lofty claim. I'd say that non-RPGs can be credited with the deposition of the notion of gaming into any generation, just as much as any RPG. Like, I think that Super Mario 64 also had some effect on video games, too.

New generation. New.

They weren't saying that FFVII deposited the notion of gaming for previous generations, but that during the 90s, many many people were introduced to video games by Final Fantasy VII. It most certainly introduced me to the world of RPGs and I know that I'm not alone.

[raskerino]

I'd say VII as it brought it mainstream and honestly, I'd have never played the series otherwise. I'd say VI though beats it in some ways, as VI was the first to have a truly wonderful story (arguable- I like IV, but it's storyline wasn't near as interesting). I think VIII could've brought a different direction, and kind of did as X has some of the same feel (though much lighter) and X and X-2 are based around a love story. However I think it's hard to make much of a connection. I think IX could also have hugely changed where the series was going- but that didn't happen.