RE: Ranking Final Fantasy Games
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FFIV is a very good game. The good things you've heard about it are right. It isn't anything complicated like the modern games or even FFVII but it's a classic fantasy RPG with a few twists that make it a worthy Final Fantasy title.
FFVI is something older fans tend to cherish more than even FFVII so I'm not surprised at the results. Personally though I didn't see the appeal. I'm actually more impressed by FFV than VI because of the improved Job Class System. I'm surprised FFVIII ranked so low but thinking back the gameplay itself was very annoying so I can understand. I'm much more of a story person as my own topics probably show haha. So FFVIII ranked higher just because I loved all the twists and emotions. Also the icicle to the chest scene was so iconic I suppose that miHoYo even paid homage to it in Honkai Star Rail with Cocolia doing the same thing to the MC.
You are right, VIII is deserving of more credit I suppose. But a lot of my rankings are extremely influenced by sentimentality of many years. For example, when I do another post from 5-1, obviously IX will be in the top 5 somewhere, but how much of that higher rank is due to the game being great, compared to just my own personal memories I associate with the game with rose tinted glasses?
I genuinely have no idea. I can't even trust my own ranking haha
So with VIII, I just don't have those rose tinted glasses. More like metallic blue-tinted glasses with a reminder of how annoying it was to work with the tacky junction system. I guess I didn't play it during a particularly meaningful stage of my life?
Regarding IV - I've got the pixel remaster on my desktop so I can't forget to play it after VI! Especially will now I have some confirmation it's worth it =D
Haha rose tinted glasses are definitely good at doing that. I have to agree because for me it was the opposite. I wasn't such a fan of FFIX so it was surprising to me how many people loved it. I was really interested in the time travel and lineage plotlines from FFVIII especially with all the theories that came up afterwards about how Ultimecia might be an alternate version of Rinoa made immortal by becoming a sorceress. There was also a theory that Ultimecia caused her own defeat by possessing Edea and in the process also saved Rinoa. Meanwhile FFIX was more about personal insecurities like Vivi and eventually Zidane wondering if they're real. Personally I didn't like how Zidane kept reassuring Vivi but as soon as it turned out he wasn't real either he goes total depression mode.
That's actually similar to what happens in IV but I thought Cecil handled it better. I guess when you get to it we'll see if you agree.
Thanks for the spoilers at the end there!! It's only been 30 years! lol
yeah Ok you do raise a point that the very nature of the plots' focuses are different, which can certainly appeal to different people. IX's kind of intrapersonal philosophising was just something that appealed to me before I even knew what philosophy was. They make such a point of it they even marketed each character with their own philosophical slogans 'To be forgotten is worse than death' and such.
But each character does explore these themes really well, and I felt so much for Kuja towards the end.
As an aside, the music can also determine the rank of a game for me perhaps more than most people, and I'd wager the majority of people would likely rank IX's soundtrack as number 1 - although to be fair, VIII's is borderline on par, I reckon! 7-9 really was the golden era
Lol sorry should have put up a spoiler warning.
Yeah I think most fans of FFIX really felt for Kuja. Often I feel he overshadowed the main characters. I mean he knew all about his origins and about Garland and fought against his fate. And to relate to the point about music I think many players were fans of his theme.
But personally I rank the VII-X era of Final Fantasy music on the same level. I agree it really was Square's golden age. But IV and VI also have some really good tracks too especially with the Black Mages rock remixes.
Cheers to that!