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Final Fantasy is one of the most important and influential video game series of all time. It’s also one of the most varied. Ever since the original Final Fantasy on NES, the series has experimented and evolved, often redefining the standards for an entire genre. Whether it’s new settings and characters, or radically different battle systems, no two numbered Final Fantasy titles are the same. But which entry is the best Final Fantasy game?
With Final Fantasy XVI on the horizon and seemingly poised to change up the series once again, we decided to look back at the previous mainline, numbered Final Fantasy games and rank our favorites. That means no spin-offs or directs sequels like Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Final Fantasy X-2, or Final Fantasy Tactics are on this list.
Well, almost all of the mainline games–we left Final Fantasy XI and XIV off this list since they’re long-running MMOs (yes, Final Fantasy XI is still active) that are difficult to compare against their single-player counterparts. But rest assured many of us play and enjoy both and would list them high on our personal Final Fantasy rankings.
For the Final Fantasy games we did rank, however, we’ll include recommendations for the best ways to play them on modern platforms.
And if you want to see how we rank other iconic video game series, check out our lists for the best Legend of Zelda games, the best Monster Hunter games, and best Mario games, too.
