The Finalist Fantasy there ever was!

So, out of the frequenters here, who plays Final Fantasy? Furthermore, which is your favorite in the series?

For me, it really depends on whether you count side games in the series. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for the GCN was most epic win, and was my wife's first foray into not only rpg-styled play but co-op as well. Yeah, there were some limitations that had to be implemented because of lack of online support, but for me it didn't detract AT ALL from the experience. Needless to say, I'd like to see online included WELL in the series sometime (the 2 ds/ 1 Wii installment(s) have gotten such poor reviews I haven't tried them).

If sidegames don't count, then give me Final Fantasy 6. Hands friggin' down. I disliked the polygonal look of 7 (say what you will, Ocarina's graphics looked better IMO) and though the cutscenes were, of course, wicked awesome, I found that I waited for them more than I wanted to actually play the game. Not so in 6!

6's story did the talking, and you did all the walking. No relying on produced cutscene visual eyecandy crap, this game relied on the talents of the storytellers! Kefka is by far the baddest villain in the FF series to date, Sephiroth is just an overused stigma of what bad guys are supposed to be, he totally belongs in Kingdom Hearts (I like those games, too tho LOL).

A close second is FF4, not the stupid DS remake though. 3d graphics + FF = Fail for ZAT.

Have yet to play 13. Not too excited for it since 12 was just such a convoluted craptastic game fart. In my humblest of opinions, anyways.

Wait what does humble mean? :3

Here comes the hate posts...

I have disliked most of the Final Fantasy games. The main reason most of the time is grinding. It totally takes me out of the game. What developers sat around the table one day and decided that it would be a great part to add to the games? Please tell me why you like grinding. I just can't understand why it's fun.

I just beat Final Fantasy 3 on the DS and all the grinding literally put me to sleep. I forced my way through this game. I was even falling in and out of sleep as the ending was rolling. I do try and try to get into this franchise. I buy many of them. I really want to be part of the in crowd here.

My brain is totally backwards too. Of all the FF games I've played, the only ones I've liked are Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (nes) and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time (Wii). I think these two are on the lower end of the totem pole for fans of the series. Crystal Bearers sits in my collection waiting to be played.

Grinding is fun when the battle system and magic is fun. While many can argue what makes FF's fighting systems great, for me they only get it right about 50% of the time.

FF3 for DS was a lame grindfest with no story to pull you in. Well, no deep story. But the stories get amazing in FF4 & FF6 (and some would argue 7-9, I disagree).

Also how in god's name could you enjoy Echo of Time, it was awful-sounding from all the bugs and such. Heard the same about Crystal Bearers...

No hate, Streex. You have Insmouse, clearly you are ahead of the gamer curve!

I loved Echoes of Time mostly for the online. I've never played an online game with so many different games. There's like 99 different matches you can choose from. I spend hours online with that game. Way more than I did offline. Really addicting.

Hm... Reviews be damned then! My wife and I really wanted to get this but passed because we would have to buy 2 copies to play with each other, right? No 2 player online on a single disc right?

Didn't try but I assume there is no 2 player online with single disc. That seems to be a feature many devs don't think to include.

My favorite Final Fantasy hands down is Final Fantasy 9. I know that I will probably be in the minority here but I enjoyed so much about this title. The characters (while stereotypical) were still original enough to grow attached to them. I loved the locales that were created in this game, and how stunning the graphics looked at the time. The gameplay was also great as I very much enjoy the active turn based battle system and the ability to learn skills through armor and weapons. Most of all, though, I enjoyed the soundtrack. There are so many beautiful tunes from this game that I can't help but hum as I walk along. I suppose I just felt like this Final Fantasy kind of returned to its fantasy roots (unlike VI, VII, and VIII) and it did it so well. A phenomenal experience overall. Too bad my PS1 discs are too scratched to play anymore.

9 was a return to form to be sure, though I would not include 6 on the list. It wasn't quite as "fantasy" I suppose but really it was much more so than 7-and on (minus 9, obviously).

Only complaint is that the story's pace was a tad choppy IMO.