Top Five - 3D Final Fantasy Edition

It was bound to happen. At one point or another I was bound to make something Final Fantasy related, and really with how long the series has been running and how successful it has been, this shouldn't come as a surprise. What might come as a surprise is that I have actually never played any of the 2D Final Fantasy games. That's right. Not a single one. While other kids were playing Final Fantasy I was trying to beat Mike Tyson in Punch-Out (and my age begins to show in three...two...). So this post is about my top five modern Final Fantasy games from the core series.

Let's get this rollin'!



5. Final Fantasy VIII -




Yeah, it's broken as sh!t. Honestly, the battle system is a laugh and a half in the challenge department. My boyfriend and I were playing it again the other day and we couldn't believe how broken it was: we could just summon and draw, and we would pretty much obliterate anything on the field. But for what it's worth, the game gives you a ton of freedom. The way the battle system works lets you change an insane amount of options and tailor things to your liking, and I like that you can equip ("junction") summons to any character your want (an ingenious idea). It's a complex, deep, and beautifully made battle system that is unfortunately very unbalanced. Also liked the story a lot, and the art is far superior to VII in every aspect imaginable. Better characters too, and a more interesting setting. Honestly, I don't understand how VII got so much praise but VIII got so much flack.




4. Final Fantasy XIII -





I know, I know! Nobody seems to like this one, but I'm playing it a second time and I am loving it. It's insanely linear, but now that I am playing it I am realizing that it's not very different from FF X in that aspect. FF X just does a better job of creating the illusion of a world, but when I sat there and thought it about and began to strip away the core of both games, I realized they are not really all that different. XIII also happens to have what is easily the most refined, creative, and well balanced battle system in any Final Fantasy. It's like an evolution of the FF X-2 battle. The stagger bar is a brilliant extension of the stun system in X-2, the Paradigms shift are also an extension of X-2's class system, the party A.I. is flawless, the battle takes an incredible amount of thought if you want the best scores, and it's fast...brutally fast. The thing about XIII is that while it pissed me off to be running straight lines for hours (okay, sometimes semi-straight lines), it was all worth it because of the story and the battle system. And speaking of the story: whether you like them or not, XIII has one of the best cast of Final Fantasy characters, because a lot of them actual show growth and change (Hope being a prime example of this).



3. Final Fantasy X -





I didn't like this game at first. I had just finished both Shenmue games and I was expecting something equally as epic; after all, Final Fantasy X was all my friends talked about when it released. I was terribly disappointed. It was odd to me that a game like Final Fantasy X could be so devoid of interactivity in comparison to something as grand and detailed as Shenmue. But I learned to really, really love this game the second time I played it. I would say mostly because I knew what to expect then. It still remains one of my favorites, and the battle system is pretty well done (if a bit unimaginative). Some of the characters are great too, and I will admit that I cried at the end of the game. It also gets extra points because if it hadn't existed, X-2 wouldn't either.



2. Final Fantasy X-2 -





Definitely the best Final Fantasy when it comes to gameplay, but I felt it lacked a little something. The story was alright, but the characters ranged from great to absolutely god awful! I wish Square would just carbon copy the battle system and toss it into a new Final Fantasy, one that is tied to a rich story. The battle system is just out of this world: you can speed it up or slow it down to make it match the speed of either real-time or turn-based battling, you can chain attacks, you can stun enemies and even prevent attacks, you can switch classes instantly, etc. There is nothing this battle system doesn't do right.

Also, the game had the epic and wonderful mission system. It really opened up Spira, and in hindsight it makes sense that it should. However, I wish most Final Fantasy games took a page from X-2's book, because the mission system allowed for a lot of freedom in exploration.



1. Final Fantasy IX -





What's not to like? The battle system is a little on the simple side, but to be fair, the game is incredibly charming. That's more than I can see for certain othergames in the series. The story is great without being overbearing, the characters are very lovable, and the game is just plain fun. There is something that Final Fantasy IX has which no other Final Fantasy game seems to. The thing is that I can't really put my finger on it, so it might just be the sum of its parts.

I also really appreciate the throwback. Though I have never played the 2D Final Fantasy games, I have played plenty of other 2D RPGs from back in the day, and I understand pretty much where IX stands. It's a beautiful homage to everything that ever made JRPGs so good.

Also: Vivi! =OD




- Kharlo -