Top 10: Final Fantasy Games

 

Author: David Lam

1) Final Fantasy VII

                Final fantasy VII provided a whole new gaming experience and it is one of Square's biggest milestones when it came to the Final Fantasy franchise. This game provided a whole new unexplored world that involved new battle features and game play styles. The cyber punk setting along with the good animation/ artwork went hand in hand in convincing players to play this game.

2) Final Fantasy X

                Final Fantasy X is probably the second biggest game in the series which received mostly good reviews. It was large and kept the players' attention for a very long time. The artwork and graphics are at a level that surpasses most games. The summons that aid your characters is not a new concept. However the summons are all well designed and are visually appealing. There is various mini games and secrets to keep players busy for more than ten hours. Such an interesting story combined with great graphics makes for one of the best Final Fantasies in the franchise.

3) Final Fantasy X-2

                Following the surprising ending of FFX, FFX-2 provides a continuation that is well thought out and executed. The game features dramatic changes to the heroine in the previous game and also an ending to the tale between Yuna (the heroine) and Tidus (hero). There are new weapons and abilities that will astonish players as to how much time has passed since the previous game. FFX-2 has provided a wrap up to the story and it ranks third because of its great reception.
4) Final Fantasy IX

                Final Fantasy IX provides and appealing story that is based on magic and swords. It is a typical but effective fantasy setting. The hero is a rogue while the heroine a princess. Those two world meet in this story of friendship and love. The characters are well designed and each character that you can obtain specializes in different skills. There is such a large variety of characters that the game allows for an infinite combo of abilities and skills. The intriguing story line and character development serves to keep the attention of players. The characters are all dynamic leaving new powers and reasons to fight that boss at the end of the game.

5) Final Fantasy Tactics

                Final Fantasy Tactics gives us a plot concerning the differences between the rich and poor. Both are at war and you play as a naive noble named Ramza at age 17. You are young and idealistic resulting in many mistakes early in the game. You, the player, must learn the ways of the world that is going through a giant civil war. The politicians are all backstabbing each other and there is a secret group of demons called Zodiacs. You must defeat them all which results in a change of Ramza's persona. Final Fantasy Tactics also features a new game style which is turn based strategy. Square did a great job appealing to the strategy buffs and incorporating their storyline with it.

6) Final Fantasy VIII

                The reason that FF VII did not meet everyone's expectations might have been due to FF VII. FF VII was so mind blowing that FF VII did not come close to meeting the glory of its predecessor. Regardless FF VII gave players an interesting story along with very unique characters. The different attacks combined with combo moves allow for a diverse environment that gives players something new to consider when engaging in battle.

7) Final Fantasy XIII

                The thirteenth game was good to a certain extent. However the game does not stick to the norm that the other games have stuck to. The characters are all different and the protagonist is a female instead of the new male. Generally the majority of players were male and this change provided some interesting results. The story pretty much end up with a group of friends (the characters) overcoming every obstacle with the power of friendship.

8) Final Fantasy XI

                Now the eleventh game is totally different and that is because it provides a MMO experience. Certainly it was a challenge for Square to incorporate MMO and Final Fantasy however they accomplished it and even though it is out of the norm this game definitely allowed for a new feel to the game. Usually you must play as a character that has certain qualities that you must follow, but now you can customize and create your character.

9) Final Fantasy III

                 Final Fantasy III gave us some interesting job systems allowing for various characters to have various abilities. The concept of jobs is similar to Final Fantasy Tactics and it is played in a turn based battle like most of the other FF games. FF III is played with the same interesting concept that tactics provided however in the usual environment that most FF games have and it is one of best early games that Square put out

10) Final Fantasy XII

                This FF game provides a very new concept which is that battles occur without a transition screen. Now this game received nearly all positive reviews however in my opinion it strayed from what the franchise was all about. It did not have this RPG structure but instead it was more like a story game where you could not integrate yourself with the character as often. Every decision made is by you the player yet in FF XII it has an open battle system that is not turn based. The turn based concept provided us with time to make our decision and plan our attacks while here we seem to be pressed for time.