<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>Easiest to the most difficult
Easiest, a tie) The easiest in the series, I would have to say is a tie between Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy 7, these two are the most popular in the series. I guess this just goes to prove that FRinal Fantasy fans are wimps who like very easy games =)
Next easiest, a three way tie) Next on the list I would place Final Fantasy 1, Final Fantasy II, and Final Fantasy 5, these ones could have been more difficult if I didn't know exactly what I was doing. Final Fantasy 1 for example, I remember the most difficult dungeons being Marsh Cave and the Earth dungeon, that still holds very true on my 3rd or 4th time through the game, once you pass these dungeons, the rest is a cake walk. Final Fantasy 1 could easily be quite a difficult game for first timers though. The end bosses are all easy in FF1, it is getting to them that is the difficult part.
4) Final Fantasy 9, Going through this game without leveling up cajn be quite a difficult experience, but not impossible.
3) Final Fantasy 8, This game can be very difficult if you don't waste hours leveling up GF's, upgrading weapons, and drawing magic. I played right through and didn't draw any magic except Aura, the rest I converted from items and cards. The game also boasts the best puzzles in the entire series. Of course, like all Final Fantasy games, by spending a lot of time upgrading your characters, and not focusing on the game, you can quite easily get through parts that you normally should have difficulty getting through. Yet the end of FF8 game can still be difficult even for those who do stop to upgrade.
2) Final Fantasy 3j, was a damn difficult game, but luckily it was also quite a fun game.
1) FF2j, it's only difficult because the game is an unballanced piece of crap. This game had very easy parts, and then other parts that required leveling up. This is a game that is actually not possible unless you upgrade your stats. As I have mentioned before though, it's not really worth playing this game, there is no reward for it.
My favorite games in order from least to most.
9) FF2j, without a doubt, by far my least favorite in the series. There was not much of a plot, the gameplay absolutely sucked, it is essentially a very flawed version of the Final Fantasy Legend 1 and 2 system.
8) Final Fantasy II, now this game has good music, excellent music I might say, but other than that, even for its time period, the graphics were not anything outstanding, and at the time of its release there were already better RPG's available (Dragon Warrior 4, Seventh Saga, Phantasy Star, etc...). The plot was about average as far as RPG's at the time go, and the characters, except for Yang and Kain, were all really boring.
7) Final Fantasy 7, now I know this is a favorite of a couple of people here at the Shrine, but this is one that I just could not get into. The whole big sword thing really bothered me for some reason, I did not want to play the role of a stick figure who had a sword three times larger than he was. Another thing is the dialogue, it seemed very comic bookish and that I did not like at all. Lastly, I felt the plot could have been more interesting, it is the only RPG where I can say that I found the plot to actually be boring (Though Grandia II approaches it). I think perhaps the largest flaw in the game was that the best part of the game was the beginning, and not seeing much time in the upper world of Midgar really hurt the game in my opinion, as that was the one thing I was really looking forward to, but never actually got; and the remainder of the game was not very interesting.
6) Final Fantasy 1, I found this to be a fun game, but it does fall short in some areas, mostly the balance factor, for example, Fire Spell costs the same as any other spells, but it is WAY more useful throughout the game than others. There is no plot in the game either, the story is about as complex as Ninja Turtles III on NES. In short, Garland is trying to drain the world of its life energy (no reason given) and he is using the 4 Fiends of Elem,ent (Lich, Kary, Kraken, and Tiamat) to do this. Yet those who wish to play Final Fantasy 9, I urge you to play this one first, it will make FF9 a much more rewarding experience.
5) Final Fantasy 5, now I admit, I didn't play through all of this game, maintly because my version of it is heavily buggy, I don't know why, it is the PSX version. I am giving this one the benefit of the doubt, otherwise I would put this game 7th or 8th rank.
4) Final Fantasy 3j, This game had some very good music to it, and I am hoping that it is one day remade on the GBA or some other device, and the music quality upped to a better level. I also found this game to be very fun, and it was really the first Final Fantasy title, as it was the first to include Moogles and Chocobo's (though I suspect Square originally intended these two things to be unique to this game and Final Fantasy Adventure, as Final Fantasy Adventure was actually released a bit earlier, and was the real first game to have these two things, Moogles and Chocobos are actually native to the Seiken Densetsu Universe). Anyways, this game is really worth playing, even nowadays.
3) Final Fantasy III, this game is extraordinarilly fun, and it marked the beginning of a new era for RPG's in general. It was the first popular RPG (Lunar SS was probably the first, but it wasn't popular like FFIII) which had a complex story to it. It also did not really have a main character to it which takes the series back to it's FF1 and FF3j roots. The major complaint that people have about this game is that everyone can learn Ultima, well if you have the time to get everyone to learn Ultima, more power to you! It was the first game that really had characters, each character had its own unique personality, and each was introduced with a little description, each character had its own suitable theme music. This was the first modern RPG ever released lets just say. This game also borrowed from Final Fantasy Adventure where the second in command betrays the first in command and takes the power (Final Fantasy Adventure was a groundbreaking game for Square as well =P)
2) Final Fantasy 9, though not groundbreaking like Final Fantasy III, it was a very good RPG, it was quite atmospheric in certain areas, especially the ntown where it was always night, and the huge library (sorry, the names of both places escape me). It was quite the sequel to Final Fantasy 1, from what I gather, it takes place in the same world several thousand years after Garland failed to drain the world of its lifeforce. Again Garland is trying to do the same, and it gives a reason as to why he is doing this, it also introduces his henchmen Kuja, who is almost Sephyroth's (FF7) identical twin, only Kuja is a monkey and Sephyroth was a clone with the personality of a monkey =P. I found the main characters to be the best main characters in the entire series.
1) Final Fantasy 8, This game takes place beginning in a very Victorian setting, and the music very highly compliments that. Though the main characters by themselves are less than the main characters of Final Fantasy 9 and perhaps even 3; one thing about this game that is for certain, the secondary characters in the game are persaps the most interesting characters in the entire Final Fantasy series. It almost seems as if the main characters are actually supporting the secondary characters. Squall and Rinoa are Laguna and Julia continued. Squall and Laguna are also complete opposites, Squall is a fairly cool character who keeps most of his feelings to himself, but Laguna is a very open character; Squall even commented once that he felt Laguna was a loser. Ellone is another extremely important character in the game, though you don't really find this out until later, but she is central to the plot. The towns in this game are the most interesting towns in any RPG I have ever played, it is possible to travel from town to town by train or car, or you can just walk if you feel like it. I just find it extremely enjoyable to go about the towns and explore what sorts of things they have to offer, especially in the Galbadian region. Galbadia itself is very similar to Impirial Britain, though with a more modern feel to it; because of the cars, available, as well as Television and advanced electronics. Without giving away too much, the ending of the game is perhaps the most impressive I have ever seen, and unlike any of the other Final Fantasy titles, the ending ties in the whole cast and is relevent for the most part to the plot of the game, tying things up very well; that being said, there are certain things in Final Fantasy 8 which lead it wide open for a possible sequel.
http://www.ffonline.com/ff8/</div>
Easiest, a tie) The easiest in the series, I would have to say is a tie between Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy 7, these two are the most popular in the series. I guess this just goes to prove that FRinal Fantasy fans are wimps who like very easy games =)
Next easiest, a three way tie) Next on the list I would place Final Fantasy 1, Final Fantasy II, and Final Fantasy 5, these ones could have been more difficult if I didn't know exactly what I was doing. Final Fantasy 1 for example, I remember the most difficult dungeons being Marsh Cave and the Earth dungeon, that still holds very true on my 3rd or 4th time through the game, once you pass these dungeons, the rest is a cake walk. Final Fantasy 1 could easily be quite a difficult game for first timers though. The end bosses are all easy in FF1, it is getting to them that is the difficult part.
4) Final Fantasy 9, Going through this game without leveling up cajn be quite a difficult experience, but not impossible.
3) Final Fantasy 8, This game can be very difficult if you don't waste hours leveling up GF's, upgrading weapons, and drawing magic. I played right through and didn't draw any magic except Aura, the rest I converted from items and cards. The game also boasts the best puzzles in the entire series. Of course, like all Final Fantasy games, by spending a lot of time upgrading your characters, and not focusing on the game, you can quite easily get through parts that you normally should have difficulty getting through. Yet the end of FF8 game can still be difficult even for those who do stop to upgrade.
2) Final Fantasy 3j, was a damn difficult game, but luckily it was also quite a fun game.
1) FF2j, it's only difficult because the game is an unballanced piece of crap. This game had very easy parts, and then other parts that required leveling up. This is a game that is actually not possible unless you upgrade your stats. As I have mentioned before though, it's not really worth playing this game, there is no reward for it.
My favorite games in order from least to most.
9) FF2j, without a doubt, by far my least favorite in the series. There was not much of a plot, the gameplay absolutely sucked, it is essentially a very flawed version of the Final Fantasy Legend 1 and 2 system.
8) Final Fantasy II, now this game has good music, excellent music I might say, but other than that, even for its time period, the graphics were not anything outstanding, and at the time of its release there were already better RPG's available (Dragon Warrior 4, Seventh Saga, Phantasy Star, etc...). The plot was about average as far as RPG's at the time go, and the characters, except for Yang and Kain, were all really boring.
7) Final Fantasy 7, now I know this is a favorite of a couple of people here at the Shrine, but this is one that I just could not get into. The whole big sword thing really bothered me for some reason, I did not want to play the role of a stick figure who had a sword three times larger than he was. Another thing is the dialogue, it seemed very comic bookish and that I did not like at all. Lastly, I felt the plot could have been more interesting, it is the only RPG where I can say that I found the plot to actually be boring (Though Grandia II approaches it). I think perhaps the largest flaw in the game was that the best part of the game was the beginning, and not seeing much time in the upper world of Midgar really hurt the game in my opinion, as that was the one thing I was really looking forward to, but never actually got; and the remainder of the game was not very interesting.
6) Final Fantasy 1, I found this to be a fun game, but it does fall short in some areas, mostly the balance factor, for example, Fire Spell costs the same as any other spells, but it is WAY more useful throughout the game than others. There is no plot in the game either, the story is about as complex as Ninja Turtles III on NES. In short, Garland is trying to drain the world of its life energy (no reason given) and he is using the 4 Fiends of Elem,ent (Lich, Kary, Kraken, and Tiamat) to do this. Yet those who wish to play Final Fantasy 9, I urge you to play this one first, it will make FF9 a much more rewarding experience.
5) Final Fantasy 5, now I admit, I didn't play through all of this game, maintly because my version of it is heavily buggy, I don't know why, it is the PSX version. I am giving this one the benefit of the doubt, otherwise I would put this game 7th or 8th rank.
4) Final Fantasy 3j, This game had some very good music to it, and I am hoping that it is one day remade on the GBA or some other device, and the music quality upped to a better level. I also found this game to be very fun, and it was really the first Final Fantasy title, as it was the first to include Moogles and Chocobo's (though I suspect Square originally intended these two things to be unique to this game and Final Fantasy Adventure, as Final Fantasy Adventure was actually released a bit earlier, and was the real first game to have these two things, Moogles and Chocobos are actually native to the Seiken Densetsu Universe). Anyways, this game is really worth playing, even nowadays.
3) Final Fantasy III, this game is extraordinarilly fun, and it marked the beginning of a new era for RPG's in general. It was the first popular RPG (Lunar SS was probably the first, but it wasn't popular like FFIII) which had a complex story to it. It also did not really have a main character to it which takes the series back to it's FF1 and FF3j roots. The major complaint that people have about this game is that everyone can learn Ultima, well if you have the time to get everyone to learn Ultima, more power to you! It was the first game that really had characters, each character had its own unique personality, and each was introduced with a little description, each character had its own suitable theme music. This was the first modern RPG ever released lets just say. This game also borrowed from Final Fantasy Adventure where the second in command betrays the first in command and takes the power (Final Fantasy Adventure was a groundbreaking game for Square as well =P)
2) Final Fantasy 9, though not groundbreaking like Final Fantasy III, it was a very good RPG, it was quite atmospheric in certain areas, especially the ntown where it was always night, and the huge library (sorry, the names of both places escape me). It was quite the sequel to Final Fantasy 1, from what I gather, it takes place in the same world several thousand years after Garland failed to drain the world of its lifeforce. Again Garland is trying to do the same, and it gives a reason as to why he is doing this, it also introduces his henchmen Kuja, who is almost Sephyroth's (FF7) identical twin, only Kuja is a monkey and Sephyroth was a clone with the personality of a monkey =P. I found the main characters to be the best main characters in the entire series.
1) Final Fantasy 8, This game takes place beginning in a very Victorian setting, and the music very highly compliments that. Though the main characters by themselves are less than the main characters of Final Fantasy 9 and perhaps even 3; one thing about this game that is for certain, the secondary characters in the game are persaps the most interesting characters in the entire Final Fantasy series. It almost seems as if the main characters are actually supporting the secondary characters. Squall and Rinoa are Laguna and Julia continued. Squall and Laguna are also complete opposites, Squall is a fairly cool character who keeps most of his feelings to himself, but Laguna is a very open character; Squall even commented once that he felt Laguna was a loser. Ellone is another extremely important character in the game, though you don't really find this out until later, but she is central to the plot. The towns in this game are the most interesting towns in any RPG I have ever played, it is possible to travel from town to town by train or car, or you can just walk if you feel like it. I just find it extremely enjoyable to go about the towns and explore what sorts of things they have to offer, especially in the Galbadian region. Galbadia itself is very similar to Impirial Britain, though with a more modern feel to it; because of the cars, available, as well as Television and advanced electronics. Without giving away too much, the ending of the game is perhaps the most impressive I have ever seen, and unlike any of the other Final Fantasy titles, the ending ties in the whole cast and is relevent for the most part to the plot of the game, tying things up very well; that being said, there are certain things in Final Fantasy 8 which lead it wide open for a possible sequel.
http://www.ffonline.com/ff8/</div>
-Insert Inspiring Quote-
