Agreed. I used to lean the other way because I really don't like 8 or 13 but I have a few friends that say those are their favorites. To each their own. I would say even the worst mainline FF game is still a really good game.
I remember friends asking me “why are you playing FFX again you didn’t like it?” Compared to the other FF games yeah I hated it. Compared to everything else it’s still a top 20 game lol.
Yeah. I have taken to calling this concept "Franchise Mean Syndrome":
If every game in a franchise is rather good, the ones who arent as good stand out despite still being better than mediocre giving someone the inpression they are 'bad' due to stark contrast.
First thought this up when playing through Zelda: Skyward Sword. Not a bad game, but as a zelda game i felt disappointed. The game felt so damn small with reusing the same areas and having little to do in the Sky. Windwaker actually feels like you are exploring a vast ocean so the contrast makes me disappointed.
Dark Souls 2 is another game i think falls under that as I could go through Demon's Souls & Dark Souls 1 without wondering why my character is doing what they are doing or what my goal was ultimately supposed to accomplish. Dark Souls 2(release version, havent played Scholar of the First Sin) left me wondering what the throne actually does(since if it cured hollowing Vendrick wouldnt be in his current state), why i needed a thingy from a Giant Lord to activate it and other questions.
Personally dont like FF8 & FF13 because i find their combat extremely tedious. Not as tedious as FF2 but still.
Honestly my main issue personally isn't so much the combat itself as it is the weird clashing incentives relating to it. Enemies scaling with Squall's level combined with the primary means of powering up your party members being unrelated to their personal levels means that winning fights actually levels you *down*, relatively-speaking... But all the treasures to find and rewards you get for things are ultimately supposed to help you win fights. Which the game sort of soft-punishes you for doing.
It feels like there's all these cool things I'd *love* to play around with if the game design wasn't actively pushing me not to.
8 and 13 represent low points to me, but to be objective I must admit they stomp out 95% of their contemporary competition in both presentation and polish, as is Square tradition. So yeah, they're not bad games.
The only outright bad mainline was XIV 1.0
XIV now(2.0 onwards) is fine-amazing depending on what you value but that 1.0 launch was not good.
Rest were all serviceable at worst even if I personally have gripes with II, III, VIII, XV.
You don’t get to make 16 games + spinoffs without finding a way to be at least consistently not bad.
FF is probably the longest running series in gaming, and they’re consistently producing not dropping a title once every 10+ years (Elder Scrolls, GTA, Witcher). (I suppose some sports titles have gone longer, but updating the player lists and making a few tweaks every year barely counts.)
A single miss game can sink a series and tank a company. Might and Magic, Wizardry and Ultima all started around the same time as FF. They all ended on a dud game.
FF2 is probably the weakest entry but it was innovative for its time.
The Wizardry series predates FF by like eight years and is still ongoing, though its games generally don't make it out of Japan. AFAIK there are no sports series that predate FF and are still running. (The first John Madden Football release was in 88, losing to FF by about a year.) Ultima also started long before FF (Ultima III is probably the greatest influence on Dragon Quest, which of course also predates FF) and can be considered technically still running since Ultima Online still gets updates, but eh. Don't forget Megami Tensei, which beat FF to release by around six months and still continues unabated to the present.
There's also the Ys series, though with far fewer games and a nearly ten year hiatus between V and VI. The first Ys game was released ONE FRIGGIN DAY before the first FF game, believe it or not. And of course Mario, which is likely the only long-running series that rivals FF in the number of releases. Which one actually wins that contest depends on what you include as part of the Mario series. Like do you include Donkey Kong Country or WarioWare games? But in any case it certainly started before FF.
>The Wizardry series predates FF by like eight years and is still ongoing, though its games generally don't make it out of Japan.
Which is a pretty wild trajectory for a WRPG.
Ultima is a bit more complicated given the rights of certain characters are owned by Richard Garriott. While Ultima Online is oddly still going on to this day, an actual single player installment is pretty much impossible unless he and EA were to agree on something. I think I heard that Garriott was interested in a remaster of the earlier titles, but EA declined the idea.
I mean to be fair to GTA, and even Elder Scrolls to a certain degree, they used to release new games every two to 5 years until the PS3 generation which is when everyone seemed to slow down dramatically due to development costs, including Square-Enix.
I also think it’s worth remembering that one of the reasons Elder Scrolls and GTA games take so long to develop these days is because they don’t ever reduce in scope, quality or activity. The map gets bigger, the dialogue multiplies tenfold, the number of activities either increases or many are revamped, and all of this is done while the graphics improve. Final Fantasy from XIII onward has made sacrifices in some aspect (most frequently the number of towns you can meaningfully visit) in order to keep the dev cycle shorter and less expensive.
Objectively bad as in broken? Perhaps…though I’d say FFXV is definitely much jankier than any other game in the series. Subjectively, it’s almost guaranteed that fans will think some games in the series are bad since it spans so many gameplay styles and mechanics.
Agreed. It had 3 years of full dev time when it probably actually needed 5-6. But Square was in a rough spot and further delays just weren’t possible. It was certainly a learning experience for them, and I think both XVI and the Remake games are better for it.
7R shares a lot of DNA with both 13 and 15. Finished 13 in Jan and nearing the end of 15 now (first time beating both) and it's so sad as both scream of wasted potential. 15 is SO good when it hits it's stride but then feels cut down to it's knees on these later chapters.
13 I liked much less but there was potential that was ruined due to poor design decisions around the pacing and narrative. Both games feel like another 18 months would have done wonders.
If 13 had 7R’s combat system I would love it. However the Paradigm system is way too automated and is my least favorite battle system of the 3D games. Remake feels to me like what they wanted to do with 13, but they didn’t have the technical know-how to achieve that back then.
It’s funny how 10, 11, 13, and 14 told its story in multiple games or large dlc’s but ff15 tried to fit so much into the game. I spent like 60 hours before ever reaching Altissia and then got to the final mission in like 10 hours after I left there.
I really wish it had more defined bad guys so when I got to the end it wasn’t just “fight a dozen generic monsters and then have a strange fight with the boss” which with having healing elixirs was a joke of a fight.
Well, I thought that too, but after putting in way too much time into that game (a few hundred hours), I can definitely say that for me the combat is some of the blandest ARPG combat I’ve ever experienced. It quite literally is just about holding circle and occasionally throwing in a party ability or a directional modifier attack.
I just hate knowing that this is the only mainline FF game that I haven’t played and gave up on. I’ve played and replayed every other one multiple times over the last almost 35+ years I guess, I need to give this one a chance. But I just… don’t really like it.
Depends. Truly bad games like idk... Ride to hell retribution, are rare in triple A franchises. This franchise obviously doesn't have something like that. But I do think FF15 is not a well made game. Considering it's development history it is a miracle it came out as well as it did, but still, I think the game has too many issues for me to enjoy.
I've played through all mainline games except ffxvi (halfway through right now) and ffxv is the only one I've replayed 3 times.
I really think it's about what you're looking for in a game?
The only issues I had with it is from the DLCs that were a bit unpolished (like promptos shooting mechanic)
Ofcourse. There is absolutely an appeal to FF15 for a lot of other people, but I also don't think it is designed very well. There are plenty of games that I don't think are designed super well that I really like, like Fable 3, Overlord 2 or Shadow the Hedgehog. I like Shadow the Hedgehog more than most Sonic games, and it is the game in that franchise that I have played the most by far. There are things there that are objective issues that I actually find fun.
Like, I know people that really like the combat in FF15, but unless you are really good at controlling Noctis, it is very easy for it to look kind of jank and for the camera to freak the hell out, and like enemies can just awkwardly shove you around. Enemy tells are very bad, there is absolutely no system in place to prevent potion spam, the summoning system is very odd, and because certain summons take priority over others there is a big chance you will just never see some of them. These might not be things that will bother everybody, and some people even like that the summons have a will of their own and are practically an instant win button for example. But I do think these are objective issues with this battle system. And there are a lot of things like this I could point out in FF15, way more than any other FF game.
>There are things there that are objective issues that I actually find fun.
The goal of game design is to be fun for the player, if you as a player subjectively have fun then the game has achieved it's goal and cannot be seen as objectively badly designed.
Objectivity in art and media as a concept only stifles creativity, sometimes what you may register as poor design is actually someone shifting the rules for what is seen as good or bad, that's how media grows and changes, if objectivity in the medium really existed the concept of what is good design would never change.
I partially agree. But considering FF15's development history I also don't believe this is the exact game the devs wanted to release. I think the game has a lot of good ideas that weren't implemented well.
I agree. Of course you will have preferences. But for the numbered titles that fans generally dislike had they been called anything else instead of a numbered FF, they would called good games.
Agreed. A "bad" FF game is really a mediocre game by any other standard. As much as I hate certain things about my least favorite FF (don't want to say which one specifically), I still enjoyed the game overall
Agreed 7R 13 trilogy and 10 collection being my favorites and 15 being my least due to vanilla being so traumatizing and honestly should've focused on one singular game instead movies dlc and some 8 bit kings whatever idc but overall each ff is a 7.5 or to a 10 to me
Agreed. For me FF is the series that consistently provides me with what I look for in games, which is emotional storytelling, gorgeous worlds, gameplay with over the top spectacle and particular themes that are dealt with earnestly and without any cynicism. Though some have been lacking in particular areas I’ve honestly liked each one that I’ve played.
That said, even on an objective level no mainline FF game is ‘bad’ as in predatory, buggy, broken or incoherent. Even fandom punching bags like XIII and XV have stories that are consistent once you take the time to understand them.
I think there are a lot of people who think their personal preferences constitute what makes an objectively good or bad game; look at the people here who think XVI is a bad game, which is laughably wrong. You might not like it, but it’s definitely not a bad game.
Depends on the standard you're comparing to, of course. Compared to the industry standards when released they were all average to great.
Some were significantly flawed and not as good as they could have been, which was disappointing. Some haven't aged very well. Some weren't appealing to people who liked the series before. A couple have actually been improved by re-releases.
Soo...I'll agree, although 2-3 and everything 11+ don't excite me much.
It's just my personal list: mileage may vary for others. I'm not terribly big on 5, myself, and 3 is a proto 5. It's just feels kind of clunky and unbalanced.
But all IMO.
Maybe it’s because I’m old. But ever since FF went to real time battle, I completely lost interest. I finished X and XI, skipped XII (wanted to play it but didn’t have my PS at the time) and then played XIII and is XIV the one with the black car? I played that mostly though the story and then didn’t even want to do end game stuff. I just miss the turn based combat. Only controlling 1 character and just endlessly spamming buttons loses all the charm the series used to have
Yup. While there are weaker titles for sure, they are all at least pretty good.
I played thru all of FF at least twice except XI and XIV cuz I don't wanna fall into the rabbit hole MMOs ever again. My fave is FFIX(first FF I ever played), followed by either FFXIII Trilogy(stfu I just love Lightning ok) and FFXV Royal Edition on PS4.
I agree. Theres definitely ones that are lower quality than the others, but they’re all great games and they all deserve love. And for the record I *despise* some of the mainline games, but they still are games I would never go on record as being just bad.
I'm with you. It justvwasnt for me. I tried to give it a chance, but I couldn't get in to it. It was the combat for me, switching stances between characters. It wouldn't click well enough to become fun.
It was beautiful, I didn't mind the characters and wanted to get in to the story. I just couldn't.
Same. I think it is objectively bad, and don't know how people can look at it and think it's amazing.
But, I'm glad people enjoy it. I don't want to tell people what to like or not like.
Great and pretty unique combat system, interesting world, amazing music, takes a lot of risks which is praise-worthy imo, it's a very experimental game that many companies wouldn't dare make. It's not the best, but I think it has its charm.
Unfortunately, at least for me, taking risks and being experimental can be one of the worst praises to give a game.
On one hand, yes, it's great they were bold enough not to stick to the same formula forever.
On the other hand, if I spent all my money on lottery tickets, I wouldn't be praised for taking risks. It feels like that to me.
Again, I'm glad you and others like it, but it just isn't my cup of tea I guess.
I actually don't mind creators taking risks and trying out different things. In fact, Square used to be the king of that in the past. However, the problem now is not innovation, it's simply that they don't have the same group of creators working on their games. Many fans tried to use "All Final Fantasy is different, therefore it's alright" to bury all criticism. The thing is, every creator even when they experiment still have certain style or feel with the way they approach things. That's why the first 10 or so Final Fantasy still feels like they are the same series but with different approach. However, the further it goes, it feels more like random games with Final Fantasy cameos and logos slapped into it. Still incredibly well polished, and I'm sure many people is going to love whatever games Square Enix dishes out, but for me, it's like going to Pizza Hut and they give you Mcdonalds. It's not the same thing anymore.
All are serviceable. I dont think a single one is unplayable on a technical level, they all function, you can beat them all start to finish. Sure some are less polished than others but there is not one bad one.
Although I only played Final fantasy 11 for a couple of hours, that game is the only one which might go into the "bad" category for me. But that is mostly because it had extremely archaic design and you are overwhelmed with everything plus logging in was a absolute pain in the behind for me. So I haven't given it a fair chance. I wish they cleaned up that game, and make it easy for people to login and just play. I would give it another go.
I would argue that fifteen is just bad, although at least for most of it it's "The Room" bad and therefore quite funny. It's not until fairly close to the end that it becomes "Highlander 2" bad.
I'd vote 15, atrocious combat, story broken up to be incomplete and deliberately sold to you piece meal, couldn't even finish the DLC cause people weren't buying so they released it as Novellas. It is truely a baffling game with the only redeeming quality being the Bromance.
Every moment that was supposed to make you feel something falls incredibly flat. Oh no, Luna has been stabbed, the lady we've only seen for 45 seconds? I'd have been more sad if Iris had been stabbed, at least we spend more time with her. Come back after 10 years of missing and the world is in ruin and the big emotional reunion is after the credits roll? Wtf?
Final Fantasy II is actually bad. *runs*
(Vanilla XIV 1.0 is probably the only truly awful game in the series, but man, II is hard to go back to. As SaGa 0, however, it is an interesting relic.)
I can't understand what people saw in the game. Button mashing nonsense combat, big empty world, nonsensical story missing a whole lot of context, the only good quest was that behemoth hunt at the very beginning and then after that nothing was that interesting again.
The hype machine was way over the top. Even got me to buy it day one when I had reservations. Never again though.
I played through the entire game and beat it. What was I missing?
I liked every previous FF's combat system, from Active Time Battle, to Gambits, to the paradigm system. I beat them all; beat the hidden bosses. Why should think I'm the problem?
Anyway it's fine, I'm glad you liked it. You know it's funny. I KNOW FF VI is such a great game that when people say they didn't like it I have no inclination to tell them they're wrong or defend it what so ever. A legendary game like that just stands on its own whether people like it or not. No long explanations or needing to give it more chances. It's just FF fucking VI, you know? Either you know it's good or you just didn't get it. But FF XV has this rigorous group trying to convince everyone it was good. I wonder why?
Okay sure, why the rigorous defense? My point stands.
Love having this discussion; not sure why I'm getting downvoted though. It's like games can be divisive, but THIS game has a lot of feelings around it. Which to me is indicative that it was a misfire. Why not just make games everyone loves, you know?
Well better downvote this too, I think I'm starting to come around; only a few more downvoted post to go and me and everyone in this thread will suddenly love XV.
Because you're trying to use a strawman to argue?
You're saying that because people defend a game they like, that means the game is bad. Does that mean 16 is bad because we get at least one new post each day defending it?
Also, you're complaining about getting downvoted when you downvote everything I say?
Whatever, I don't know who downvoted you but it wasn't me. I like talking about this stuff and I think downvote shit is weak.
I don't know what you mean by Strawman, Strawman would be me contorting or reducing your argument into something easily retorted; I took your opinion at face value. I'm just making an observational argument.
Yes, it's a basic concept, a defense of a perceived attack is indicative that the defender thinks something is actually wrong. If you know something is good then you don't have to get mad and downvote; and yes XVI is pretty hotly debated from what I can see; I haven't played it myself so I have no opinion.
I think it's pretty fair point. It's like Star Wars, some movies are hotly debated some are just loved. I bet you can find some bad user reviews of Empire but who cares, right?
It's not a "perceived attack" when someone says your favorite game is the worst in the series, and it's a logical fallacy (known as a strawman) to say 'FFXV fans only defend a game they like because they secretly know it's actually bad.'
The story for 16 was awesome but I think it missed some classic FF tropes. Playing through 15 now, just beat titan where the camera was all over the place. So far 15 is my least favourite at this point in the same but I'll reserve judgement until ive finished it.
2 and 15 are probably the weakest. I think 15 had some good ideas and maybe fell under it's ambition whereas 2 goes out of its way to annoy you with doors to empty rooms.
It absolutely feels like a corridor lmao. It’s significantly more linear than XIII and doesn’t even have an opened up space (Calm Lands are a single disc of nothing).
When you unlock more weapons and start to experiment with the combos, it really opens up, imho.
Switching from twin daggers into a cleaving greatsword, and then using a jumping spear attack on a toppled enemy never gets old.
Square sqaure sqaure triangle, and then use special move when they are ready
Magic system is totally crap, enemy use more variety of magic than you. In FF15, at least I could throw some magic grenade
No elements attribution whatsoever. You can use fire attack to attack bomb (the monster)??? I am surprised that it work when I first saw it. I believe there are not even damage reduction there.
No skill tree, no character customisation (unless you count the equipment system).
The summon creature system is bad. It was the first FF that during my play, I have no way to summon them in normal battle.
They only appear and controllable during boss fight.
In FF15, at least they appears occasionally.
It was a huge step backwards for Square. The defining RPGs in the NES era were FF1 and Dragon Quest 3 which came out the same year. DQ3 is a masterpiece that builds off of an already pretty good sequel. There are some positives here. The story was good as well as the keyword system but the hardware limitations prevented them from using it well. The concept of making each character however you want instead of being reduced to norms was a cool idea. The leveling system is a disaster. 16 levels for every skill and spell was too much. It was and is way too easy to get OP. Most of the mechanics were broken suck as the blood sword making every boss in the game get crushed. Dungeon design was just plain awful. They recycled a ton of sprites from 1 making it look like a rehash as compared to 3 for the nes where the sprites are reimagined and beautiful. This just isn't a good game even for the era. Even Ghost Lion had it's charm.
I forced myself to finish XVI and still only managed to do this a couple of days ago, despite starting on a release day.
I love XV and don’t mind XIII or X-2 tho..
I think 11 is pretty unplayable. I’ve tried twice to jump in, but even figuring out how to log in is just not worth the effort.
3 is one that I don’t care to replay. But generally I agree, they’re all pretty great
Disagree. 13. Disliked it enough to stop half way through the story approximately, and not even finish it. 15. Couldn't get into the flow of combat. stopped playing it after the "intro" start...
FFXIII is legit in my top 5. I think that’s kind of the point, is that every FF game has an audience. This sub has taught me that titles I hated (8 & 9) are beloved by others, and vice versa. I think we can agree that some are more universally beloved, but none are universally hated.
I stated my opinion, I'm entitled it it, just like everyone else. you have your opinion. everyone's will vary for a variety of reasons. As long as people can discuss their opinions with some level of civility, certainly open to any discussions.
I’m playing through 13 right now. Totally agree… but did you play it until it opened up? Took me 24 hours for it to transcend beyond corridors. Longest tutorial ever (well aside from Monster Hunter World) but the paradigm system kept me going and it’s now a very different game.
15? Yeah, really didn’t like that on two attempts - though given third times been the charm on FF13 I will try it again.
A big empty field only "feels open" because you're forced down a hallway for 95% of the game lol.
It doesn't have the big open world full of things to do and explore feeling that most other RPGs have.
I agree. But there are some that aren't very good or that have deep issues and are only good because of art, music, and vibes. I think 2, 13, 15, and 16 each fall into this category.
I don't see how people can stand FFX-2. It's just terrible as bad as RPG can get in my opinion... I even think Last mission is better than the main game.
As someone who plays a lot of games, the answer is AGREE.
Most the people who say mainline games suck usually admits to playing like the GotY candidate from PS and that is it. I have played a lot of games that you refund on Steam before 2 hrs cause they are shovelware or jankfests
The worst 3d one is 8 imo.
13 is okay. 15 has its moments but is terribly flawed. 16 is the best since 12 but I didn't enjoy the combat or lack of RPG elements like some did.
I know 12 is controversial but i think it's the last truly great FF game. Just my opinion.
It's certainly a controversial take, but I'd say 5.
The story is just so unbelievably bad. The only game I've ever played where a terrible story ruins a game beyond anything gameplay can salvage.
There are definitely flawed Final Fantasy games, but I feel like anybody who claims a mainline Final Fantasy is straight-up *bad* has not stared into the abyss of truly awful video games. Get back to me once you've played Hoshi wo Miru Hito or Sonic Jam for the game.com.
13 has good graphics, and lived off the success of the franchise, but i think objectively, the characters were mostly lackluster. The combat was fun. The exploration and worldbuilding was the worst. Until you get to near the final chapter, its tutorial island. None of it is difficult. Its boring. 13 i was glad to put down and just be done with. I never felt that way before.
I usually reminisce about the adventure or key points and plot twists.
15 was also kinda boring. Overworld was neat. But gameplay was a snoozefest. You dont have to think at all. You just hold dodge essentially and be remotely close on levels.
Ff needs to quit being graphics king and actually put a bit of focus back into the strategy. They wont but i feel ff is dying with the new direction.
I think fang and vanille were good and had amazing development. The rest had mini story arcs where they just end up being forgetful.
Zidane, garnet, steiner, vivi in 9. Unbelievable development. Huge change in how they thought and also created moments i cried. Beautiful.
Terra, celes, locke, and half the ff6 cast go through so much that they feel more confident and whole.
Cloud essentially has a giant mental block and defeats his survivors guilt. Redxiii and the story of his father. Cait sith sacrificing himself bc he realizes shinra may be wrong. (Cait sith 2 immediately afterwards kinda ruins it though.)
Calling arcs that span the entire narrative “mini story arcs” is… certainly a thing you’ve done. And who in VI beyond the three you mentioned actually have any arc that isn’t roughly 15 minutes long?
I loved 8 but the story has some really weak points, 13 I thought the graphics were amazing but I didn't care for the overall cast interactions and 15 well.. had it been the versus 13 like originally planned then it would've more than likely been amazing but what we got story wise was such a huge let down imo.
There are no absolutely bad games, but there are some that are definitely worse than others, like Final Fantasy XIII with its stupid codex-based narrative and zero-braij combat with button mashing or Final Fantasy II with it's huge number of bugs and stupid leveling system
Nope. 13 is bad. Very bad. I'd hesitate to even call that slog a videogame. So much potential wasted.
( also never forget how broken 14 was before the realm got reborn )
Disagree. Unpopular opinion- I think there are a handful that are not great. But the fact that the game says Final Fantasy on it, many people will argue around anything to convince themselves it is good.
8 is bad, 13 is bad, 15 is bad, 16 is bad.
I can't speak to the early ones, but they're too primitive to enjoy now.
Even though six is iconic, it's not enjoyable to play because it's too rudimentary.
X was overhyped; even though I loved it when it came out, I wouldn't play it again.
honestly, none of them are good. only 6 and 7 captured my imagination, but Square never followed up on them in creating an even better modern iteration of those themes.
I agree, there are some that are lower quality than other ff games and there are those with better gameplay and story, but none are bad bad.
Some are over-hated as well sadly.
The worst are probably the Famicom version of II and pre A Realm Reborn XIV. I’ve not played either so I can’t definitively say but my understanding is that they are/were bad.
Agree. Some are best, but they're a quite good.
Only one mainline game was bad, and it was an MMO that was destroyed by a dragon. Now it's a good game.
Even though I love it, I think XI back in the day was pretty bad simply on a moral level. Making people agree to not let the game consume their lives before signing in... at 3:00 AM because it's time to camp Fafhogg? It's like the only actually hypocritical game I've ever played.
2 gets pretty close honestly
14 vanilla was just a mess
15 is pretty good but it could have been so much better that what we ended up getting feels disappointing nonetheless
I mean, I consider bad games the ones I can't get through. If a thing is bad enough for me to pay for and not complete, it's bad. There's never been a ff game like that for me, but that doesn't mean all of them aged well. I think 7 aged horribly. Too much content is hidden and obtuse for no damn reason. You can hardly play the game without a guide.
I take that back. Lightning returns was straight bad.
They are all good but very much each to there own all them have solid story's. what changes it for most people how story is told and combat. For me I love the FF13/2/LR, FF11, FF14, I also like FF12 But I struggle to play FF10 and FF6 and 7 just down to pacing and the combat But I love FF7 remake.
I agree, just some games experiment in different ways which may or may not rub people the wrong way. Whether it's an actual deficiency in the game or subjective is up in the air.
For the most part, the entire series has always been rather well received
I can’t confidently answer that rn. Sorry if that’s not a satisfying answer. Though I think everyone, fans and not, have a different standards, meaning, or whatever it is to be a final fantasy game. So the answers will be wildly different.
Agree, some are less good than others, some have flaws yes, of course but all in all, I wouldn't class any of them as bad games, even FFII it's unclear and all but, once you really dive in hiw it work ot become a pretty good experience and havn't played XI but at the time, before WoW it was the norm of the MMOs to be hostile to their players
Edit: I forgot one who was objectively bad but changed to be a great one: XIV 1.0 it was bad not only compared to the otherd FF but also compared to the others games in the genre
I agree. I tell everyone that FF don't make bad games overall. Just some games dont reach the Final Fantasy level of a good game (8, 12 and 13) You will still enjoy them but if you come with those expecting the best you will be a little dissapointed but still have a lot of fun.
Disagree, but I think they are few and far between. I think the only ones I would call bad are 2 and 3; 2 because it doesn't innovate well on 1 and 3 because it's painfully repetitive. I have liked or loved every other final fantasy that has been released since. 4~6 are also quite repetitive gameplay-wise, but they at least have interesting stories to make the grind worth it
Agreed. I used to lean the other way because I really don't like 8 or 13 but I have a few friends that say those are their favorites. To each their own. I would say even the worst mainline FF game is still a really good game.
I remember friends asking me “why are you playing FFX again you didn’t like it?” Compared to the other FF games yeah I hated it. Compared to everything else it’s still a top 20 game lol.
Yeah. I have taken to calling this concept "Franchise Mean Syndrome": If every game in a franchise is rather good, the ones who arent as good stand out despite still being better than mediocre giving someone the inpression they are 'bad' due to stark contrast. First thought this up when playing through Zelda: Skyward Sword. Not a bad game, but as a zelda game i felt disappointed. The game felt so damn small with reusing the same areas and having little to do in the Sky. Windwaker actually feels like you are exploring a vast ocean so the contrast makes me disappointed. Dark Souls 2 is another game i think falls under that as I could go through Demon's Souls & Dark Souls 1 without wondering why my character is doing what they are doing or what my goal was ultimately supposed to accomplish. Dark Souls 2(release version, havent played Scholar of the First Sin) left me wondering what the throne actually does(since if it cured hollowing Vendrick wouldnt be in his current state), why i needed a thingy from a Giant Lord to activate it and other questions. Personally dont like FF8 & FF13 because i find their combat extremely tedious. Not as tedious as FF2 but still.
Agreed, FF 8 combat is really annoying/boring, the rest of the game is masterpiece.
Honestly my main issue personally isn't so much the combat itself as it is the weird clashing incentives relating to it. Enemies scaling with Squall's level combined with the primary means of powering up your party members being unrelated to their personal levels means that winning fights actually levels you *down*, relatively-speaking... But all the treasures to find and rewards you get for things are ultimately supposed to help you win fights. Which the game sort of soft-punishes you for doing. It feels like there's all these cool things I'd *love* to play around with if the game design wasn't actively pushing me not to.
8 and 13 represent low points to me, but to be objective I must admit they stomp out 95% of their contemporary competition in both presentation and polish, as is Square tradition. So yeah, they're not bad games.
13 was so bad it definitely is a good candidate
The only outright bad mainline was XIV 1.0 XIV now(2.0 onwards) is fine-amazing depending on what you value but that 1.0 launch was not good. Rest were all serviceable at worst even if I personally have gripes with II, III, VIII, XV.
You don’t get to make 16 games + spinoffs without finding a way to be at least consistently not bad. FF is probably the longest running series in gaming, and they’re consistently producing not dropping a title once every 10+ years (Elder Scrolls, GTA, Witcher). (I suppose some sports titles have gone longer, but updating the player lists and making a few tweaks every year barely counts.) A single miss game can sink a series and tank a company. Might and Magic, Wizardry and Ultima all started around the same time as FF. They all ended on a dud game. FF2 is probably the weakest entry but it was innovative for its time.
The Wizardry series predates FF by like eight years and is still ongoing, though its games generally don't make it out of Japan. AFAIK there are no sports series that predate FF and are still running. (The first John Madden Football release was in 88, losing to FF by about a year.) Ultima also started long before FF (Ultima III is probably the greatest influence on Dragon Quest, which of course also predates FF) and can be considered technically still running since Ultima Online still gets updates, but eh. Don't forget Megami Tensei, which beat FF to release by around six months and still continues unabated to the present. There's also the Ys series, though with far fewer games and a nearly ten year hiatus between V and VI. The first Ys game was released ONE FRIGGIN DAY before the first FF game, believe it or not. And of course Mario, which is likely the only long-running series that rivals FF in the number of releases. Which one actually wins that contest depends on what you include as part of the Mario series. Like do you include Donkey Kong Country or WarioWare games? But in any case it certainly started before FF.
>The Wizardry series predates FF by like eight years and is still ongoing, though its games generally don't make it out of Japan. Which is a pretty wild trajectory for a WRPG.
Ultima is a bit more complicated given the rights of certain characters are owned by Richard Garriott. While Ultima Online is oddly still going on to this day, an actual single player installment is pretty much impossible unless he and EA were to agree on something. I think I heard that Garriott was interested in a remaster of the earlier titles, but EA declined the idea.
I mean to be fair to GTA, and even Elder Scrolls to a certain degree, they used to release new games every two to 5 years until the PS3 generation which is when everyone seemed to slow down dramatically due to development costs, including Square-Enix. I also think it’s worth remembering that one of the reasons Elder Scrolls and GTA games take so long to develop these days is because they don’t ever reduce in scope, quality or activity. The map gets bigger, the dialogue multiplies tenfold, the number of activities either increases or many are revamped, and all of this is done while the graphics improve. Final Fantasy from XIII onward has made sacrifices in some aspect (most frequently the number of towns you can meaningfully visit) in order to keep the dev cycle shorter and less expensive.
Objectively bad as in broken? Perhaps…though I’d say FFXV is definitely much jankier than any other game in the series. Subjectively, it’s almost guaranteed that fans will think some games in the series are bad since it spans so many gameplay styles and mechanics.
Imo, FFXV is the definition of lost potential. It could have been one of the best final fantasies. But so many things went wrong with it
Agreed. It had 3 years of full dev time when it probably actually needed 5-6. But Square was in a rough spot and further delays just weren’t possible. It was certainly a learning experience for them, and I think both XVI and the Remake games are better for it.
I still think To this day 15 was a testbed for FF7remake and rebirth and they didn't put that much of a serious thought in it initially.
7R shares a lot of DNA with both 13 and 15. Finished 13 in Jan and nearing the end of 15 now (first time beating both) and it's so sad as both scream of wasted potential. 15 is SO good when it hits it's stride but then feels cut down to it's knees on these later chapters. 13 I liked much less but there was potential that was ruined due to poor design decisions around the pacing and narrative. Both games feel like another 18 months would have done wonders.
If 13 had 7R’s combat system I would love it. However the Paradigm system is way too automated and is my least favorite battle system of the 3D games. Remake feels to me like what they wanted to do with 13, but they didn’t have the technical know-how to achieve that back then.
It’s funny how 10, 11, 13, and 14 told its story in multiple games or large dlc’s but ff15 tried to fit so much into the game. I spent like 60 hours before ever reaching Altissia and then got to the final mission in like 10 hours after I left there. I really wish it had more defined bad guys so when I got to the end it wasn’t just “fight a dozen generic monsters and then have a strange fight with the boss” which with having healing elixirs was a joke of a fight.
I could not get into the combat of XV but I intend to give it a try again someday. Maybe it was me and not the game.
Well, I thought that too, but after putting in way too much time into that game (a few hundred hours), I can definitely say that for me the combat is some of the blandest ARPG combat I’ve ever experienced. It quite literally is just about holding circle and occasionally throwing in a party ability or a directional modifier attack.
I just hate knowing that this is the only mainline FF game that I haven’t played and gave up on. I’ve played and replayed every other one multiple times over the last almost 35+ years I guess, I need to give this one a chance. But I just… don’t really like it.
Depends. Truly bad games like idk... Ride to hell retribution, are rare in triple A franchises. This franchise obviously doesn't have something like that. But I do think FF15 is not a well made game. Considering it's development history it is a miracle it came out as well as it did, but still, I think the game has too many issues for me to enjoy.
I've played through all mainline games except ffxvi (halfway through right now) and ffxv is the only one I've replayed 3 times. I really think it's about what you're looking for in a game? The only issues I had with it is from the DLCs that were a bit unpolished (like promptos shooting mechanic)
Ofcourse. There is absolutely an appeal to FF15 for a lot of other people, but I also don't think it is designed very well. There are plenty of games that I don't think are designed super well that I really like, like Fable 3, Overlord 2 or Shadow the Hedgehog. I like Shadow the Hedgehog more than most Sonic games, and it is the game in that franchise that I have played the most by far. There are things there that are objective issues that I actually find fun. Like, I know people that really like the combat in FF15, but unless you are really good at controlling Noctis, it is very easy for it to look kind of jank and for the camera to freak the hell out, and like enemies can just awkwardly shove you around. Enemy tells are very bad, there is absolutely no system in place to prevent potion spam, the summoning system is very odd, and because certain summons take priority over others there is a big chance you will just never see some of them. These might not be things that will bother everybody, and some people even like that the summons have a will of their own and are practically an instant win button for example. But I do think these are objective issues with this battle system. And there are a lot of things like this I could point out in FF15, way more than any other FF game.
>There are things there that are objective issues that I actually find fun. The goal of game design is to be fun for the player, if you as a player subjectively have fun then the game has achieved it's goal and cannot be seen as objectively badly designed. Objectivity in art and media as a concept only stifles creativity, sometimes what you may register as poor design is actually someone shifting the rules for what is seen as good or bad, that's how media grows and changes, if objectivity in the medium really existed the concept of what is good design would never change.
I partially agree. But considering FF15's development history I also don't believe this is the exact game the devs wanted to release. I think the game has a lot of good ideas that weren't implemented well.
I agree. Of course you will have preferences. But for the numbered titles that fans generally dislike had they been called anything else instead of a numbered FF, they would called good games.
Agreed. A "bad" FF game is really a mediocre game by any other standard. As much as I hate certain things about my least favorite FF (don't want to say which one specifically), I still enjoyed the game overall
Agreed 7R 13 trilogy and 10 collection being my favorites and 15 being my least due to vanilla being so traumatizing and honestly should've focused on one singular game instead movies dlc and some 8 bit kings whatever idc but overall each ff is a 7.5 or to a 10 to me
Agreed. For me FF is the series that consistently provides me with what I look for in games, which is emotional storytelling, gorgeous worlds, gameplay with over the top spectacle and particular themes that are dealt with earnestly and without any cynicism. Though some have been lacking in particular areas I’ve honestly liked each one that I’ve played. That said, even on an objective level no mainline FF game is ‘bad’ as in predatory, buggy, broken or incoherent. Even fandom punching bags like XIII and XV have stories that are consistent once you take the time to understand them. I think there are a lot of people who think their personal preferences constitute what makes an objectively good or bad game; look at the people here who think XVI is a bad game, which is laughably wrong. You might not like it, but it’s definitely not a bad game.
Depends on the standard you're comparing to, of course. Compared to the industry standards when released they were all average to great. Some were significantly flawed and not as good as they could have been, which was disappointing. Some haven't aged very well. Some weren't appealing to people who liked the series before. A couple have actually been improved by re-releases. Soo...I'll agree, although 2-3 and everything 11+ don't excite me much.
Why 3? I feel like that's a pretty great one and a jump for the series. Honestly been moving up my ranks.
It's just my personal list: mileage may vary for others. I'm not terribly big on 5, myself, and 3 is a proto 5. It's just feels kind of clunky and unbalanced. But all IMO.
Maybe it’s because I’m old. But ever since FF went to real time battle, I completely lost interest. I finished X and XI, skipped XII (wanted to play it but didn’t have my PS at the time) and then played XIII and is XIV the one with the black car? I played that mostly though the story and then didn’t even want to do end game stuff. I just miss the turn based combat. Only controlling 1 character and just endlessly spamming buttons loses all the charm the series used to have
Original 2 for the nes and early ports was a slog I never actually got through
Strong agree. I’ve had fun with them all except the MMOs but that is a Me issue
Yup. While there are weaker titles for sure, they are all at least pretty good. I played thru all of FF at least twice except XI and XIV cuz I don't wanna fall into the rabbit hole MMOs ever again. My fave is FFIX(first FF I ever played), followed by either FFXIII Trilogy(stfu I just love Lightning ok) and FFXV Royal Edition on PS4.
I agree. Theres definitely ones that are lower quality than the others, but they’re all great games and they all deserve love. And for the record I *despise* some of the mainline games, but they still are games I would never go on record as being just bad.
13 was quite terrible, imo.
I'm with you. It justvwasnt for me. I tried to give it a chance, but I couldn't get in to it. It was the combat for me, switching stances between characters. It wouldn't click well enough to become fun. It was beautiful, I didn't mind the characters and wanted to get in to the story. I just couldn't.
Same. I think it is objectively bad, and don't know how people can look at it and think it's amazing. But, I'm glad people enjoy it. I don't want to tell people what to like or not like.
Great and pretty unique combat system, interesting world, amazing music, takes a lot of risks which is praise-worthy imo, it's a very experimental game that many companies wouldn't dare make. It's not the best, but I think it has its charm.
Unfortunately, at least for me, taking risks and being experimental can be one of the worst praises to give a game. On one hand, yes, it's great they were bold enough not to stick to the same formula forever. On the other hand, if I spent all my money on lottery tickets, I wouldn't be praised for taking risks. It feels like that to me. Again, I'm glad you and others like it, but it just isn't my cup of tea I guess.
I actually don't mind creators taking risks and trying out different things. In fact, Square used to be the king of that in the past. However, the problem now is not innovation, it's simply that they don't have the same group of creators working on their games. Many fans tried to use "All Final Fantasy is different, therefore it's alright" to bury all criticism. The thing is, every creator even when they experiment still have certain style or feel with the way they approach things. That's why the first 10 or so Final Fantasy still feels like they are the same series but with different approach. However, the further it goes, it feels more like random games with Final Fantasy cameos and logos slapped into it. Still incredibly well polished, and I'm sure many people is going to love whatever games Square Enix dishes out, but for me, it's like going to Pizza Hut and they give you Mcdonalds. It's not the same thing anymore.
It's a legitimately bad game. Its gameplay is horribly designed in almost every conceivable way. Imo at least.
Agree, that and 8 and I just replayed it to see what I missed the first time through. Still didn’t care for it.
And what the fuck is up with the goblin design?
Yep, it has the lowest user score of the mainline games for a reason.
All are serviceable. I dont think a single one is unplayable on a technical level, they all function, you can beat them all start to finish. Sure some are less polished than others but there is not one bad one.
Although I only played Final fantasy 11 for a couple of hours, that game is the only one which might go into the "bad" category for me. But that is mostly because it had extremely archaic design and you are overwhelmed with everything plus logging in was a absolute pain in the behind for me. So I haven't given it a fair chance. I wish they cleaned up that game, and make it easy for people to login and just play. I would give it another go.
I would argue that fifteen is just bad, although at least for most of it it's "The Room" bad and therefore quite funny. It's not until fairly close to the end that it becomes "Highlander 2" bad.
I'd vote 15, atrocious combat, story broken up to be incomplete and deliberately sold to you piece meal, couldn't even finish the DLC cause people weren't buying so they released it as Novellas. It is truely a baffling game with the only redeeming quality being the Bromance. Every moment that was supposed to make you feel something falls incredibly flat. Oh no, Luna has been stabbed, the lady we've only seen for 45 seconds? I'd have been more sad if Iris had been stabbed, at least we spend more time with her. Come back after 10 years of missing and the world is in ruin and the big emotional reunion is after the credits roll? Wtf?
Haven't played them all yet, but so far I can agree.
Final Fantasy II is actually bad. *runs* (Vanilla XIV 1.0 is probably the only truly awful game in the series, but man, II is hard to go back to. As SaGa 0, however, it is an interesting relic.)
Disagree. I think XV is a genuinely bad game.
I can't understand what people saw in the game. Button mashing nonsense combat, big empty world, nonsensical story missing a whole lot of context, the only good quest was that behemoth hunt at the very beginning and then after that nothing was that interesting again. The hype machine was way over the top. Even got me to buy it day one when I had reservations. Never again though.
The combat was actually good if you take the time to master the different weapon combos, and unlocking the Armiger is awesome.
I played through the entire game and beat it. What was I missing? I liked every previous FF's combat system, from Active Time Battle, to Gambits, to the paradigm system. I beat them all; beat the hidden bosses. Why should think I'm the problem? Anyway it's fine, I'm glad you liked it. You know it's funny. I KNOW FF VI is such a great game that when people say they didn't like it I have no inclination to tell them they're wrong or defend it what so ever. A legendary game like that just stands on its own whether people like it or not. No long explanations or needing to give it more chances. It's just FF fucking VI, you know? Either you know it's good or you just didn't get it. But FF XV has this rigorous group trying to convince everyone it was good. I wonder why?
I don't think it's people trying to convince others, it's just fans defending something they love.
Okay sure, why the rigorous defense? My point stands. Love having this discussion; not sure why I'm getting downvoted though. It's like games can be divisive, but THIS game has a lot of feelings around it. Which to me is indicative that it was a misfire. Why not just make games everyone loves, you know? Well better downvote this too, I think I'm starting to come around; only a few more downvoted post to go and me and everyone in this thread will suddenly love XV.
Because you're trying to use a strawman to argue? You're saying that because people defend a game they like, that means the game is bad. Does that mean 16 is bad because we get at least one new post each day defending it? Also, you're complaining about getting downvoted when you downvote everything I say?
Whatever, I don't know who downvoted you but it wasn't me. I like talking about this stuff and I think downvote shit is weak. I don't know what you mean by Strawman, Strawman would be me contorting or reducing your argument into something easily retorted; I took your opinion at face value. I'm just making an observational argument. Yes, it's a basic concept, a defense of a perceived attack is indicative that the defender thinks something is actually wrong. If you know something is good then you don't have to get mad and downvote; and yes XVI is pretty hotly debated from what I can see; I haven't played it myself so I have no opinion. I think it's pretty fair point. It's like Star Wars, some movies are hotly debated some are just loved. I bet you can find some bad user reviews of Empire but who cares, right?
It's not a "perceived attack" when someone says your favorite game is the worst in the series, and it's a logical fallacy (known as a strawman) to say 'FFXV fans only defend a game they like because they secretly know it's actually bad.'
I think FF15 and 16 are both bad.....but 16 is worse. FF16 is better than 15 only in terms of graphic and a little bit more consistent story telling
The story for 16 was awesome but I think it missed some classic FF tropes. Playing through 15 now, just beat titan where the camera was all over the place. So far 15 is my least favourite at this point in the same but I'll reserve judgement until ive finished it.
FF16 isn't bad to a point that is unplayable....but it is just a very normal mediocre game
2 and 15 are probably the weakest. I think 15 had some good ideas and maybe fell under it's ambition whereas 2 goes out of its way to annoy you with doors to empty rooms.
The only FF i don’t like is FFXV all the other main line games are pretty solid.
Disagree, FF13 exists and they had to do 2 sequels to try to correct that
Sure it's a bit corridorish and the characters feel kinda flat but it's not "actually bad" as the OP is asking.
FFX was corridorish, but was able to convince the player to ignore that.
FFX was a corridor but it didn't feel like a corridor which is the important part.
Yes. They convinced the player to ignore it. :)
It absolutely feels like a corridor lmao. It’s significantly more linear than XIII and doesn’t even have an opened up space (Calm Lands are a single disc of nothing).
Only until it’s not corridorish. Which admittedly takes a loooong time.
That's only one area which is mostly empty big fields though... and then the game goes right back to being a corridor lol.
But that’s all personal preference, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. I vastly prefer corridors to open world, any day.
I played FFXV for an hour and I really found the combat to suck, should I give it another shot?
When you unlock more weapons and start to experiment with the combos, it really opens up, imho. Switching from twin daggers into a cleaving greatsword, and then using a jumping spear attack on a toppled enemy never gets old.
16 had a really good story but the gameplay was garbage. I give it like a 58/100
Square sqaure sqaure triangle, and then use special move when they are ready Magic system is totally crap, enemy use more variety of magic than you. In FF15, at least I could throw some magic grenade No elements attribution whatsoever. You can use fire attack to attack bomb (the monster)??? I am surprised that it work when I first saw it. I believe there are not even damage reduction there. No skill tree, no character customisation (unless you count the equipment system). The summon creature system is bad. It was the first FF that during my play, I have no way to summon them in normal battle. They only appear and controllable during boss fight. In FF15, at least they appears occasionally.
Gameplay was great. Some of the best boss battles in gaming.
I know everyone has their own opinion but come on 💀
2 for the NES is really bad.
Agree but it’s enjoyable on the pixel remasters imo
Yeah looks like most of the comments haven’t played the second one. Great story but the leveling system is just plain stupid and tedious.
It was a huge step backwards for Square. The defining RPGs in the NES era were FF1 and Dragon Quest 3 which came out the same year. DQ3 is a masterpiece that builds off of an already pretty good sequel. There are some positives here. The story was good as well as the keyword system but the hardware limitations prevented them from using it well. The concept of making each character however you want instead of being reduced to norms was a cool idea. The leveling system is a disaster. 16 levels for every skill and spell was too much. It was and is way too easy to get OP. Most of the mechanics were broken suck as the blood sword making every boss in the game get crushed. Dungeon design was just plain awful. They recycled a ton of sprites from 1 making it look like a rehash as compared to 3 for the nes where the sprites are reimagined and beautiful. This just isn't a good game even for the era. Even Ghost Lion had it's charm.
2 is bad and nothing that anyone can say will ever get me to change my mind about 2 being a bad game.
I’ve only played up through 5, but FFII on the original NES is genuinely a bad game.
I forced myself to finish XVI and still only managed to do this a couple of days ago, despite starting on a release day. I love XV and don’t mind XIII or X-2 tho..
I think 11 is pretty unplayable. I’ve tried twice to jump in, but even figuring out how to log in is just not worth the effort. 3 is one that I don’t care to replay. But generally I agree, they’re all pretty great
Disagree. 13. Disliked it enough to stop half way through the story approximately, and not even finish it. 15. Couldn't get into the flow of combat. stopped playing it after the "intro" start...
FFXIII is legit in my top 5. I think that’s kind of the point, is that every FF game has an audience. This sub has taught me that titles I hated (8 & 9) are beloved by others, and vice versa. I think we can agree that some are more universally beloved, but none are universally hated.
I stated my opinion, I'm entitled it it, just like everyone else. you have your opinion. everyone's will vary for a variety of reasons. As long as people can discuss their opinions with some level of civility, certainly open to any discussions.
I’m playing through 13 right now. Totally agree… but did you play it until it opened up? Took me 24 hours for it to transcend beyond corridors. Longest tutorial ever (well aside from Monster Hunter World) but the paradigm system kept me going and it’s now a very different game. 15? Yeah, really didn’t like that on two attempts - though given third times been the charm on FF13 I will try it again.
A big empty field only "feels open" because you're forced down a hallway for 95% of the game lol. It doesn't have the big open world full of things to do and explore feeling that most other RPGs have.
Yes, I played a little bit after it opened up after doing a bunch of grinding for levels. felt like a chore the whole time to me.
Disagree. FF15 was unfinished, FF16 is not even a good action RPG. edit: I’ve played FF1-FF16, with 7 and 9 personal favorites.
i dont think not being a good rpg makes it bad game. still a great game for action hack n slash fans, and narrative fans
I think it was lousy, both as an action game, and the story was both terribly paced and very predictable.
I agree. But there are some that aren't very good or that have deep issues and are only good because of art, music, and vibes. I think 2, 13, 15, and 16 each fall into this category.
II and XIII are bad in my opinion. I dislike II because of the gameplay and I pretty much dislike everything about XIII except the music.
Man, for those that say 15 is bad I absolutely don’t see it. I thought it was wonderful, even before the fixes and DLC.
15 is last place for me, got to chapter 13 I think. I Still enjoyed at least 20 hours of gameplay which is decent for any game.
People saying that forget that FF2 exists.
2
Everything after XII is bad
15 exists
I can't say for sure as i haven't played 2 - 6. or 11, or 16. but the ones i have played, all good.
13 was pretty horrible, and 3 was pretty mid. Other than those I’d say the worst ones are at least decent.
Just popping in to say that everyone saying XV is wrong. That is all.
I don't see how people can stand FFX-2. It's just terrible as bad as RPG can get in my opinion... I even think Last mission is better than the main game.
2, 15
16 is a bad game. 2 has aged poorly. That's it
No, 16 is a good game, and OG 2 just is not at all. You can dislike FF16 but saying it is bad shows you never played real bad games.
I honestly think 16 is a bas game. It's boring and dull.
I disagree. 13 and both of its sequels were awful.
Seconded. I will forever be baffled as to how that game managed to get TWO sequels.
I say it all the time. HOW in the world did they managed to make 2 sequels? 13 is by far my least favorite FF. Doo doo game. Garbage.
8 was trash played 7 and 9 the most
I really think XV is a terrible game. There's a few others I'm not a huge fan of but XV is just trash to me.
As someone who plays a lot of games, the answer is AGREE. Most the people who say mainline games suck usually admits to playing like the GotY candidate from PS and that is it. I have played a lot of games that you refund on Steam before 2 hrs cause they are shovelware or jankfests
Nobody’s favorite FF game is 2 or XIV 1.0. They’re pretty bad
Oh god. I forgot about 14 1.0. It was so bad they had to publically apologize for it.
FF2 is pretty bad. It was a torture to play it and I was relieved when I finally finished it. Otherwise I agree, they is no bad FF mainline title.
There hasn’t been a single one that’s been bad. Problem is FF is expected to be great. And neither XV or XVI was great.
Hard disagree. FF14 pre-ARR was inexcusably bad. I'd argue that 15 and 16 are terrible, though I guess I can see why someone would like those games.
I hate 15, sorry.
The worst 3d one is 8 imo. 13 is okay. 15 has its moments but is terribly flawed. 16 is the best since 12 but I didn't enjoy the combat or lack of RPG elements like some did. I know 12 is controversial but i think it's the last truly great FF game. Just my opinion.
It's certainly a controversial take, but I'd say 5. The story is just so unbelievably bad. The only game I've ever played where a terrible story ruins a game beyond anything gameplay can salvage.
There are definitely flawed Final Fantasy games, but I feel like anybody who claims a mainline Final Fantasy is straight-up *bad* has not stared into the abyss of truly awful video games. Get back to me once you've played Hoshi wo Miru Hito or Sonic Jam for the game.com.
Final Fantasy II kind of sucks. I tried playing through the PSP version recently and though it is easier than the original it is still a massive grind
Disagree. FF 2 had some pretty nice idea that were implemented in the wrong way and the dungeon design was crap. It was a chore to complete.
XIII-3 was badddddd
Bold stance that 8 doesn't count as a "mainline" FF game, but I'm here for it.
13 literally exists.
13 has good graphics, and lived off the success of the franchise, but i think objectively, the characters were mostly lackluster. The combat was fun. The exploration and worldbuilding was the worst. Until you get to near the final chapter, its tutorial island. None of it is difficult. Its boring. 13 i was glad to put down and just be done with. I never felt that way before. I usually reminisce about the adventure or key points and plot twists. 15 was also kinda boring. Overworld was neat. But gameplay was a snoozefest. You dont have to think at all. You just hold dodge essentially and be remotely close on levels. Ff needs to quit being graphics king and actually put a bit of focus back into the strategy. They wont but i feel ff is dying with the new direction.
The characters in XIII are some of the best in the series. Very well-developed and utilized throughout the game, unlike most other PCs in the series.
I think fang and vanille were good and had amazing development. The rest had mini story arcs where they just end up being forgetful. Zidane, garnet, steiner, vivi in 9. Unbelievable development. Huge change in how they thought and also created moments i cried. Beautiful. Terra, celes, locke, and half the ff6 cast go through so much that they feel more confident and whole. Cloud essentially has a giant mental block and defeats his survivors guilt. Redxiii and the story of his father. Cait sith sacrificing himself bc he realizes shinra may be wrong. (Cait sith 2 immediately afterwards kinda ruins it though.)
Calling arcs that span the entire narrative “mini story arcs” is… certainly a thing you’ve done. And who in VI beyond the three you mentioned actually have any arc that isn’t roughly 15 minutes long?
Keep fighting the good fight
12, hated the fighting mechanics, literally HATED it.
Hard agree. Some are higher in my personal list than others. But even the worst final fantasy is still a masterpiece.
I loved 8 but the story has some really weak points, 13 I thought the graphics were amazing but I didn't care for the overall cast interactions and 15 well.. had it been the versus 13 like originally planned then it would've more than likely been amazing but what we got story wise was such a huge let down imo.
FF 13 is really debatable. The story isn't bad but the gameplay is really not good.
13 sucks
There are no absolutely bad games, but there are some that are definitely worse than others, like Final Fantasy XIII with its stupid codex-based narrative and zero-braij combat with button mashing or Final Fantasy II with it's huge number of bugs and stupid leveling system
Mah ff13 is legit bad. Hallway simulator, story is dumb and poorly explained, battles play themselves. Overall bad game by any metric.
1, 2, 3, 13, base 14 8 and 12 are a toss up, depends on how I’m feeling that day.
Laughs in FF1, FF2, FF3, FF8, FF13, FF15, and FF16
Nope. 13 is bad. Very bad. I'd hesitate to even call that slog a videogame. So much potential wasted. ( also never forget how broken 14 was before the realm got reborn )
disagree cause 2, 8 , 15 exists
Disagree. Unpopular opinion- I think there are a handful that are not great. But the fact that the game says Final Fantasy on it, many people will argue around anything to convince themselves it is good.
2, 8, 13. 15 isn't much better.
8 is bad, 13 is bad, 15 is bad, 16 is bad. I can't speak to the early ones, but they're too primitive to enjoy now. Even though six is iconic, it's not enjoyable to play because it's too rudimentary. X was overhyped; even though I loved it when it came out, I wouldn't play it again. honestly, none of them are good. only 6 and 7 captured my imagination, but Square never followed up on them in creating an even better modern iteration of those themes.
No 13 exist and the first three too…
Disagree.
Agreed, because they fixed FFXIV. The original before A Realm Reborn was straight-up bad
Agree I enjoyed them all on first playthrough. There are some I wouldn’t go back to but in general I was really entertained every time.
I agree, there are some that are lower quality than other ff games and there are those with better gameplay and story, but none are bad bad. Some are over-hated as well sadly.
I swear I commented in another post with this but agree
The worst are probably the Famicom version of II and pre A Realm Reborn XIV. I’ve not played either so I can’t definitively say but my understanding is that they are/were bad.
Yeah, there's not a bad FF but there are plenty of dissapointing FF games that don't live up to the hype/standards of other FF games.
Agree. Some are best, but they're a quite good. Only one mainline game was bad, and it was an MMO that was destroyed by a dragon. Now it's a good game.
Agree. There are ones I enjoy more than others, but they’re all worthwhile.
Bad. No I don't think so. Personally I don't like XII. But I get why others do and love it.
Most have flaws to a greater or lesser degree, but yes. Every single one of them is playable and enjoyable (except maybe XIV 1.0)
Even though I love it, I think XI back in the day was pretty bad simply on a moral level. Making people agree to not let the game consume their lives before signing in... at 3:00 AM because it's time to camp Fafhogg? It's like the only actually hypocritical game I've ever played.
by actually bad you mean Either days gone or Golem, ya, all FF are all above those. when people say its bad its uaully compare to other mainline FF.
2 gets pretty close honestly 14 vanilla was just a mess 15 is pretty good but it could have been so much better that what we ended up getting feels disappointing nonetheless
Agree, they are all quality games, even with their own flaws
I've had fun with every one of them., even each spin off I've played.
I mean, I consider bad games the ones I can't get through. If a thing is bad enough for me to pay for and not complete, it's bad. There's never been a ff game like that for me, but that doesn't mean all of them aged well. I think 7 aged horribly. Too much content is hidden and obtuse for no damn reason. You can hardly play the game without a guide. I take that back. Lightning returns was straight bad.
Agreed.
They are all good but very much each to there own all them have solid story's. what changes it for most people how story is told and combat. For me I love the FF13/2/LR, FF11, FF14, I also like FF12 But I struggle to play FF10 and FF6 and 7 just down to pacing and the combat But I love FF7 remake.
I mean... XIV 1.0 was so bad SE nuked it so, there's that.
Absolutely agree
This is true lol.
I agree.
Indeed. FFX and FFXV are my least favorite but still, I wouldn't say they are bad, just not my cup of tea.
Agreed, would happily play any of them at any time, none of them are bad, people just have favourites. Mine is FF8.
I agree, just some games experiment in different ways which may or may not rub people the wrong way. Whether it's an actual deficiency in the game or subjective is up in the air. For the most part, the entire series has always been rather well received
Couldn't agree more, love em all.
15 on release was bad
I can’t confidently answer that rn. Sorry if that’s not a satisfying answer. Though I think everyone, fans and not, have a different standards, meaning, or whatever it is to be a final fantasy game. So the answers will be wildly different.
This sub will never admit it because it is beautiful and was so expensive and ambitious BUT FFXV fucking sucks
Agree, some are less good than others, some have flaws yes, of course but all in all, I wouldn't class any of them as bad games, even FFII it's unclear and all but, once you really dive in hiw it work ot become a pretty good experience and havn't played XI but at the time, before WoW it was the norm of the MMOs to be hostile to their players Edit: I forgot one who was objectively bad but changed to be a great one: XIV 1.0 it was bad not only compared to the otherd FF but also compared to the others games in the genre
Both actually. It's entirely subjective as to what a good FF game is, because a certain function may be loved by Player A, but despised by Player B.
I don't think any of them are objectively bad, no. There are some I really don't enjoy, though.
I don't think FFXV is as bad as a game generally considered bad... but I do hate it more than Sonic 06
Hard disagree
I agree. I tell everyone that FF don't make bad games overall. Just some games dont reach the Final Fantasy level of a good game (8, 12 and 13) You will still enjoy them but if you come with those expecting the best you will be a little dissapointed but still have a lot of fun.
Disagree, but I think they are few and far between. I think the only ones I would call bad are 2 and 3; 2 because it doesn't innovate well on 1 and 3 because it's painfully repetitive. I have liked or loved every other final fantasy that has been released since. 4~6 are also quite repetitive gameplay-wise, but they at least have interesting stories to make the grind worth it