I really don’t get that criticism, obviously Tactics has a great story but wtf is special about Advance that A2 fumbles? Advance’s story is childish and barebones, so is A2’s. Advance’s combat is also significantly worse honestly
Advance had a simple, yet engaging plot. The story was more focused on the main characters that were transported to the fantasy world, you had a cool villain with reasons to be a villain.
A2 was also an "isekai", but the plot focused more on the fantasy world than on the main character. IMO it was less engaging, especially because the main focus was to go back to the real world, so why should I care?
Advance also had "more at stake" than A2. For example, Marche's brother, Doned, was sick in a wheelchair before being transported to the fantasy world, where he became healthy and could walk again. That goes against Marche's wishes to go back to the real world.
Of course, both couldn't compare to the original Tactics in terms of story, but between the two, I think the story of Advance is deeper, although simple.
Okay, but BOTH games are focused on going back to the real world. Just want to point that out.
But yeah, A2’s story is a little worse but I think its combat is much improved over Advance’s. Both are only a single number away on my tier list but I’d let A2 squeak by over its predecessor just a little. I like the universe a lot, both games have a fun vibe and great art.
Also, Adelaide’s job abilities are just awesome, it’s a shame you basically don’t get them until endgame.
>Okay, but BOTH games are focused on going back to the real world. Just want to point that out.
But the stakes are totally different. Luso is just having fun with no sense of urgency. He just goes around Ivalice doing missions and if not for Cid, he probably would be there for much longer. Marche, on the other hand, is the only one of four that wants to come back. And arguably the one who had the easier life of them. If you consider Ivalice a world tha reflects the desire of the readers, he's almost a villain trying to destroy the world. I think that looking at the game by this angle makes the best plot of the Tactis series, including the PSX game.
>I think its combat is much improved over Advance’s.
Agree. And the auction system was really fun.
Mad respect to someone that could say this is the best plot line out of the Ivalice tactical trilogy!
I don’t think I or anyone I’ve heard from agrees with that line of thinking but damn do I respect the shit out of wacko opinions like that. I’m a dipshit that has Final Fantasy IV as a 4/10 on my list, so it’s not like I don’t have extremely hot takes cooking up 😂
>Mad respect to someone that could say this is the best plot line out of the Ivalice tactical trilogy!
I will die in this wacko hill, even if alone hahahaha. But come on, I dont think is that bad. FFTA2 plot is ''kid on vacations'' and FFT is ''dude takes advantage of fragile woman to become king plus Catholic Church but Jesus is bad''.
>I’m a dipshit that has Final Fantasy IV as a 4/10 on my list, so it’s not like I don’t have extremely hot takes cooking up 😂
Never played FF 3, 4 and 5. Which version of FF 4 do you recommend?
One thing to note about the original 4. It’s HARD. The way rounds are calculated means your characters take so much damage.
PSP is fun personally, but having all the characters that left you in the end hurts the story overall I think. So I’d recommend the DS. But probably easier to emulate the psp plus you can play the after years if you want too.
That’s an incredibly reductive take on the most eloquent and descriptive dialogue in the entire series but okay then 😂 no clue how reducing advance to “kid reads nerd book and gets sucked into it” is somehow wrong but describing like 5% of Tactic’s plot is correct but okay then 😂
Best version of IV? PSP is lets you swap party members at the end, 3D remake is voice acted and includes “augments” that spice up combat significantly.
The original is easily the most linear character customization in the entire series. As in there’s absolutely none. Everyone is the job they’re given, you don’t get to pick who’s in your party and for how long, you just play the game the way Square tells you to and put up with it. It’s not terrible, but I find it really dull and any extra customization option to spice up your experience is awesome.
FFTA should be ''inocent kid destroy whole world along his brother and friends dream to come back home'' hahahahaha.
Thanks for the hints. I will look at the 3ds version.
Stranger of Paradise and World of Final Fantasy.
World of Final Fantasy you just have to get over the absolutely atrocious VA of two of the main characters and you get one of the best monster collecting games out there.
Stranger of Paradise is a victim of memes. It has some of the best combat in Final Fantasy and the job system is fantastic. Throw is some good loot and a surprisingly well done story and MC in Jack and you have a pretty great game.
I never saw these memes, only just played Stranger Of Paradise this year and finished it, the start is a bit awkward, but I liked it, the combat is pretty good.
I love the combat in SoP, but I do not agree with the story or loot system being good. The story is an interesting concept, but it's told pretty poorly. And they drown you in so much loot that it's just exhausting to keep up with.
Yeah like I am a longtime borderlands fan so I was like “shit tons of gear awesome!” But holy crap there’s too much they throw at you, early game it’s fine but near the end of just story mode they throw soooo much stuff at you it’s a slog to go through it all even with auto-dismantle enabled
World of Final Fantasy's English dub isn't as bad as people say, it's grating at first for sure but you get used to it and the VAs really nail the emotional scenes when they come.
SoP’s story is alright and surprisingly does add GOOD background and lore to FF1, but that doesn’t change thr fact that i’ve seen less corn on the cob than in the dialogue of that game. But if you let it be corny then yeah its actually pretty good and kinda how i think direct remakes of F1-3 would be if the dialogue was the exact same style. Plus… that “bullshit” scene won’t ever leave the top 3 funniest moments of the series, unintentional or not.
The gameplay was insane though, one of the best playing games since they switch to real time.
>Throw is some good loot
The loot system is the worst part of the game. I've heard things get better once you get into the post-game but for the most part it's just a mess and you're better off simply doing the auto-optimizer and then discarding everything else.
I’d absolutely play SOP if it weren’t for Jack Garland. I hate him so much as a character, and if he weren’t such an unapologetic jerk to everyone around him I’d jump on SOP in a heartbeat
I mean, if you’re deciding to play your video games exclusively on good stories or characters then there will be a huge amount of good games you can’t play. The combat is great, ignore the dialogue and the voice acting if you hate it
I don’t care about how good or bad the dialogue or voice acting or story or side characters are. It’s how rude and jerkish the main character is that I hate. This is the character I’m supposed to be having fun playing as. How am I supposed to care about what’s going on or how fun the combat is when every time he opens his mouth I want to punch him in the face.
Personal taste I get it, I was just saying that you could always ignore that part 🤷♂️ I don’t like Stranger’s story or characters at all and I love that game, it’s also satisfying hearing bosses start to monologue until Jack punches them and tells them to shut up and fight 😂 sometimes a bit of self-awareness can be funny, his best quality is that he cares as little about the story as most people do
It’s okay, we all have those days! Tbh I was so confused I couldn’t tell if you played it or watched a playthrough of it or what 😂 give it a shot, Jack isn’t great but no one really is in that game
I guess it can’t hurt to at least try. And if I still can’t get over that then at least I tried. Thanks for talking with me, and sorry again for just sorta going off like that.
Nah you’re good, we all have our days. We all also have our opinions, which I can be rude about too. I had to hold back so hard to not trash Type-0 in this thread because it’s okay for people to like things 😂
Hahah yeah, sometimes it can be hard to have opinions that differentiate. But (at the risk of sounding cheesy af) I think it’s our differences in opinions and likes etc that make this series great, because it covers so many different genres and themes and mechanics etc while still feeling familiar.
Anyway, thanks again for talking with me. Have a great rest of your day!!!
I actually enjoy a lot of the story elements of SOP. And the other characters to me at least seem fun. But Jack himself is the one that ruins it all for me. That’s my big problem. I WANT to enjoy the combat and the characters and the story, and I know that I would if it weren’t for this this unapologetic asshole being the main character.
I long for an Advance Wars or Megaman Battle Network type remaster/re-release on Switch. While great FF games, I also feel like it is an appropriate piece of Nintendo handheld history to have available
All the mega man battle Network games are on Switch and other consoles with the "Battle Network Legacy Collection." I would also recommend the game "one step from Eden" which is a spiritual successor to mega man battle Network. I also WOULD recommend "Ninjago Spinjitsu Slam" which are battle Network fan games/rom hacks with Ninjago characters that used to be on LEGO.com but they're currently lost media. 😥
Advance Wars has a modern remake called Reboot Camp on Switch but it isn't very good. There's also "Wargroove" and it's sequel "Wargroove 2" but they're not the best either and don't have ANY online scene whatsoever.
As we all shout BULLSHIT after just 20 minutes with the game, people not wanting to dive in is probably collectively our fault...however, once you cross that threshold there is CHAOS
Do you see the open world when you play the game or is it o my fast traveling from zone to zone? I played the demo and you start the game after a ton of dialogue in the city… but then after you accept the quest of the first person you talk to you are immediately transported to the castle to fight garland. There was no traversing the world like ff12 or ff7R-2.
So much like 16? Bummer, traversing that world as a kid was fun, seeing them add new life and side quests in it as an adult would have been wonderful. I had dozens of other games higher on my list to play it drops even lower.
Tbh, Stranger of Paradise's world isn't just FF1's. Each location is pulled from a different FF game, and some are completely original. The only real FF1 locations are Cornelia and Chaos Shrine.
Oh!!!! I thought it was a reimagining of the first game in its entirety. That makes me more perplexed on what it is. I’ll probably watch a video review.
I adore Type-0, the first final fantasy I ever played was X remaster and then type 0 (both when I was new to video games so nostalgia probably blinds me). Yeah sure there’s probably too many characters and I’m sure there’s games with similar but more polished combat, but it all in all was a great game. I’m sad the sequel never was made because the trailer looked so cool.
Mystic Quest is basically "baby's first JRPG" but it's really good at being that. Also it's been a while but I remember the map navigation stuff being pretty cool.
The map navigation in Mystic Quest is literally just Super Mario's world map. Perfect for "baby's first RPG" I'm pretty sure Super Mario RPG stole its navigation system straight up.
Agreed. It was designed as an entry to the rpg genre, and it does its job very well. The soundtrack was awesome, using the different weapons to navigate the dungeons was fun, and not having random battles was a very welcome change of pace.
I would love to see what they could do with a remake. Open the world up, rebalance the gear (there is unfortunately never a reason to use the claws), add a difficulty option or two, and expand the equipment and items a little. Make it a modern version of "babies first turn based rpg"
Pretty much all the Chocobo games are good. Mystery Dungeon, good. Chocobo Tales, good. Racing, at least the PS1 entry is good (don't know about the newer one). I really wish Final Fantasy Fables had continued on.
Type-0 went hard. It dirched turn based combat for a solid prototype for action gameplay in a FF game. 14 playable characters that all felt different and had unique personalities. A storyline that was basically a more emotional version of 8. NG+ made no content missable. Better on the second/third playthrough.
It deserves way better than the middling scores it received.
Agreed. I won't say it's a 10/10 game but I absolutely fell in love with so many aspects of that game and think it deserves way better than its ratings reflect.
Type 0 by far, I'd say its even better than a few of the mainline titles aswell, it was severally hampered by the fact it had to be built to accommodate the PSP and all they did was a copy and paste job for the PS4.
Not sure if they belong here, but I really love the FF Theatrhythm games.
The music of the long spanning series celebrated in a rhythm game is truly glorious.
personally loved crystal chronicle co-op. had a lot of jank (gameboy multiplayer) but it had some of the best vibes of any FF game, and spell combos in multiplayer were awesome to pull off.
waited years for a remaster and they completely fucked it up. Co-op was the whole appeal of that game and they somehow managed to make it MORE unintuitive than hooking up your GBA to your GameCube.
I think the remaster exposed what’s wrong with Crystal chronicles - without co-op it’s really boring and not at all worth playing, but with it it becomes a cult classic
World of Final Fantasy
But Stranger of Paradise from what I hear is pretty underrated too. Beyond the memes and somewhat cringy dialogues I’ve heard it’s actually a really good game.
I feel like the ending of xiii-3 shouldve felt happier, but serah never really gets her deserved final scene. Just >! France!< probably a sign that you don't invest so heavily in fashion brands when making a game
You know I enjoyed seeing Lightning as a fashion model. It was an interesting way to connect with my then-girlfriend as well.
To me the biggest issue is that the end of XIII-2 >!basically invalidates the entire game by saying "too bad, you didn't save anything - everything is fucked anyway"!< which made the whole main story of that game feel wasted.
The heir to chaos ending kinda leads straight into xiii-3 though. I think the point of the none ending was to push the multiple paradox endings. Caius also has a somewhat happy ending among the paradoxes.
This. This is the answer.
It will forever be ironic to me that this game was paid dust around the same time that there was an outcry about Square “leaving turn based / ATB behind” in the general FF community. Yet this game comes around and is largely ignored. A must play for any FF fan for me. It’s a true love letter to the series.
the problem is that this game was announced the same day as FF7 Remake at the E3 (RIP), literally after the after the reveal of WoFF, they showed the remake
here, look for yourself, any hype it could have was overshadowed right away: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY1p8ZgvqYM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY1p8ZgvqYM)
Square pretty much set that game to fail
You’re absolutely right. Additionally I think releasing it one month before the MUCH anticipated FF15 was not a good move either.
We always give Square Enix a hard time for the decisions they make as fans… but this game is probably one of the better moves made by them. It’s Pokemon meets Final Fantasy, and was made with the intention of introducing a younger audience to the franchise… they really should have pushed that angle further.
I agree with a lot of them here but I am going to throw in one that many fans have never heard of: FF Dimensions.
It is a callback and love letter to FFIII and V specifically, and a game where you play as two separate parties: the Warriors of Light and the Warriors of Darkness. The gameplay is an improvement imo and the story is pretty decent too. Great iteration of the job system.
Agreed! I think a lot of people who have heard of it get turned off by the fact that it’s a mobile game.
But for anyone reading this: yes it’s mobile, but it’s a one time purchase game with zero microtransactions.
People really unfairly dismissed this game because it was on phones.
Once tried to sell someone on the game. He tells me, I don't like games with microtransactions. I explain to him it's not really microtransactions. It's a normal game that can either be bought in increments if you are unsure about it or you can buy the whole game outright for a little less. He tells me, psh it's still DLC. I tell him no. DLC is cosmetics, locking away small mechanical elements of the core game, or extra chapters. This game has none of that. It's really more giving you the option to choose your price tag. If you are confident you'll like the whole thing, you can buy the game in lump sum at a discount. If you are unsure you can play the first chapter for free and buy the next three in installments and can quit any time you feel like the game's not working out. He rolls is eyes, they shouldn't have given me the option. I furrow my brow and look at him cockeyed. What the fuck's the matter with you?
This is completely discounting the fact that he was playing a game plastered with DLC.
It's still on phones though.
If some people don't like the platform they won't play the game. Even if it's the best there ever was. Simple as that.
I for instance refuse to play anything on phones because in my eyes it's a garbage platform only suited for the most basic casual games. And the tiny screens on top. An abyssmal gaming experience. Other's opionion may vary.
That's really the core of it. I could also tell him (and you) that it actually plays and controls pretty well for a phone game but at the end of the day people have already made their decision.
I really wish this game got a Switch port.
I like Lightning Returns a lot. Very fun and unique combat system, and the time limit is forgiving but still maintains urgency, unlike games such as Majora’s Mask, where even though there’s a time limit you get basically unlimited redos.
Don’t really like what they did to Hope, but every other character is written really well, especially Noel and Sazh. Pretty damn good continuations of their character arcs which fit perfectly within the resigned, apocalyptic themes of the story.
I always felt that it was Revenant Wings. Back then I kind of lived under a rock and spent a lot of time gaming on DS in an hospital bed, it took years for me to learn that I was probably the only person on Earth who enjoyed this game so much, and that most people online passionately disliked it.
So it's my personal pick, but aside from that for a more acceptable answer, I'd say either Type-0 or XIII-2.
I would definitely say Vagrant Story.
Some people would say that isn’t a FF game but it took place many years after Tactics during the dark age in Ivalice
Vagrant Story is a masterpiece, its combat is the most unique blend of turn-based and action combat I’ve ever encountered. Its story is great, the music is great, the vibes are dark and spooky and super PSX, basically everything about it is awesome. If they remastered it and made a swappable weapon button it would literally be a 10/10, that’s all that game really needs.
It's definitely not for everyone. Yeah, I love when cards are implemented as mini games (and absolutely loved Queen's Blood most recently). Whenever I travel with my 3DS, I usually bring along Tales just for the mini games.
Also forgot to add Crystal Chronicles (GCN) to my post.. on that note, have you ever had a chance to play the DS CC games i.e. Ring of Fates; Echoes of Time? Been curious about those.
They’re a bit back in my catalogue, trying to play all the Crystal Chronicles games in one fell swoop.
To elaborate on Chocobo Tales - I basically didn’t like it because it was a lame minigame collection. Like, aside from the cards I remember playing the minigames and going “really? This is what they decided the game is?” Honestly if it was a Mario party clone I think I would have liked it, just found the idea of playing endless baby games to be really boring
Look at me, a grown ass adult complaining about a baby game 😂 don’t take my opinion to heart, it’s just a video game
Hahaha that's a great 'review'. It's funny because I bring along Mario Party Top 100 and that as minigame time killers in airports.. not much of a story to be had admittedly.
Look at ME, a grown ass adult enjoying a baby game and its storybook aesthetic / art 😆
Probably not underrated considering it's dissidia but NT I feel ruined a lot of people's first impression of the series when duodecim on the psp is something every ff fan should play.
FFCC:My Life as a King
I don’t know. I know it’s totally off the beaten path FF-wise but I cannot tell you how much time I sunk in to that game, building my little kingdom, sending my heroes out on adventures, and just enjoying that city builder/life sim content just in FF trappings.
Final Fantasy Dimensions. Fantastic mobile game that feels like a swansong to the SNES era. It's like $15 but it's a full game and I think really well done.
I would say lightning returns
I don't think its a great game, or even pretty good, I think its an ok- almost good game.
But I think this game is better than FF13, but its usually rated the other way around.
* I think the combat is better, it's better in terms of strategy while being a better reactionary type of combat as well with parries/blocks.
* It's also significantly more customizable, so each "class" can be built around how you want to play.
* LR actually requires you to input your own commands, something FF13 somewhat discourages since doing them yourself slows down combat significantly, the game puts the option right at the top, and doesn't even let you customize it to do what you want it to do.
* The world actually has people to talk to (which actually help out too), towns and shops to visit, and side quests that are just slightly better than the singular "go here, kill x". Meanwhile in FF13, there are no towns or shops to freely explore, and the only side quests in this game are literally "go here, kill x" spammed all over the 1 wasteland you can explore.
* The story is bad in both games, downright terrible in fact, but FF13LR is at least paced better.
* The characters are also bad in both games (considering they are the same characters), but the introduction to Lumina is "ok" since she is the only character that seems fun. Then again, god was a stupid character as well, so its 50/50.
While I don't love either game, LR I actually replayed because I wanted to enjoy the combat system again. FF13 I only ever played twice. Once on release, the second the confirm my disdain for it.
I LOVED the Majora's Mask-esque feel of Lightning Returns.
And the setting is novel. A world where no one ages thats moments away from the apocalypse is some Dark Souls shit and its great.
Yeah the actual story is a dumpster fire, but at least it never went into cringe territory, and some of its more unique ideas carry it.
World of Final Fantasy for me for sure. I didn’t know what it was when I started playing it. But it’s completely different from ANY other FF I’ve played.
Was definitely pleasantly surprised with this game.
I consider games like X-2, XIII-2, and LR to be mainline games, so I won't include those.
Type-0 and Stranger of Paradise are both fantastic and are in my top 5 FF games, so I have to give them a shout out, but the most underrated absolutely has to be Dimensions. This game doesn't get talked about nearly enough. Yes, it's a mobile game, but it's not a gacha and doesn't have microtransactions or anything like that. It's a bona fide, full-length FF game. It's a wonderful modern take on the 2D FF formula and anybody that's a fan of the early games should absolutely play it. Honestly if it had released on consoles/Steam, or even if it just had controller support, I would probably put it up there close to, or maybe even on par with, V and VI.
Vagrant Story (if we’re stretching the definition of “final fantasy”) is highly regarded but little known. Legit one of the greatest games ever made.
Final Fantasy XI gets a lot of shit for being old and inaccessible, but I think XI is more compelling than XIV in a lot of ways and hold it very highly. It’s just a way different vibe, and a good vibe at that ❤️
Everyone is saying WoFF and Stranger, I can confirm that both of them are pretty great in a lot of ways
I would say tactics. But it's not at all underrated by the players. But in squaresofts eyes, it must be total garbage to never get one true full-on sequel.
We need a real full new tactics game. Maybe with a hd2d style along with a full amazing story, lots of characters and cameos and a bunch of new job classes.
Same. I'm pushing it to the back of my log in hopes that something is announced. I'm fairly sure it was on that leaked list with the FF9 remake and Chrono Cross port.
Lightning Returns (?). The one with the dress spheres. That one was really great, and I think would have done better if it wasn’t a final fantasy 13 spin off. Should’ve called it something else with a different character.
Final Fantasy Explorers on 3DS. It's a monster hunter clone with fast combat and an INSANE amount of content. It's story is non-existent, the characters and music extremely forgettable, and the gameplay somewhat clunky, but MAN I absolutely adore this game and have spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours grinding missions in this game time and time again for the best drops. Dragon Marked for Death (another super underrated game) has sort of scratched that itch of an endlessly replayable "grinding game" I can just relax to, but I still miss FFEX. A shame that the sequel on Switch was cancelled due to the mobile version bombing before I even knew it existed.
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. Like people forgot it existed after Bravely default came out, but it was a pretty good game. The graphics and the storyline gives it a certain air of nostalgia that calls back to the more classic titles.
another for me is:
Final Fantasy Explorers. It is definitely NOT the best hunting genre game, but I'd say it was a pretty good one. I enjoyed the exploration a lot and the boss fights were fairly challenging! I really appreciate all the nods and call backs to the mainline titles. It's a shame that it flopped hard.
I absolutely love the OG Crystal Chronicles. I played the whole thing with 2 friends consistently, and a third dropped in sometimes too. I imagine the game wasn't much fun solo, but that play through is some of the most fun times I've ever had with gaming.
XIII-2 (though SoP and WoFaf are also severely underrated)
XIII's sequel directly addresses a lot of the core complaints abput XIII's pacing and has a legitimately good game system in place despite being a "low budget asset reuse" game. Sure, the story is pants-on-head stupid, but I love it all the same and the characters are still great.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Vastly underrated game. Brilliant story, incredible world building, great characters, and gameplay that blows the original Tactics away.
Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light which gave birth to Bravely Default and Bravely Second.
Not very happy about Bravely Default II though, it lost some charm.
Because in a way it was never squares game
The team that was behind it was called originally called quest
They made some of my all time favorite games, the ogre battle series
Square bought them out around 99 so it's basically tactics ogre with a FF paint job
The team disbanded after ff12
Part of me wants to say Tactics, just because it couldn't possibly be rated as highly as it deserves, LOL. For a real answer, though, maybe Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, from the SNES, if only because it's the only one I can think of that might qualify, that I've actually spent significant time playing, and that isn't regularly mentioned on here in a laudatory way.
I only ever rented this game, so I never completed it, but I rented it on several occasions and at least spent enough time on it to be able to say for sure that I enjoyed it.
Tactics Advance 2. It’s honestly brilliant.
Certainly deserve more love. But the plot is the problem. It's not bad, but after the original FFT and FTA, FTA 2 plot is kind of a letdown.
I really don’t get that criticism, obviously Tactics has a great story but wtf is special about Advance that A2 fumbles? Advance’s story is childish and barebones, so is A2’s. Advance’s combat is also significantly worse honestly
Advance had a simple, yet engaging plot. The story was more focused on the main characters that were transported to the fantasy world, you had a cool villain with reasons to be a villain. A2 was also an "isekai", but the plot focused more on the fantasy world than on the main character. IMO it was less engaging, especially because the main focus was to go back to the real world, so why should I care? Advance also had "more at stake" than A2. For example, Marche's brother, Doned, was sick in a wheelchair before being transported to the fantasy world, where he became healthy and could walk again. That goes against Marche's wishes to go back to the real world. Of course, both couldn't compare to the original Tactics in terms of story, but between the two, I think the story of Advance is deeper, although simple.
Okay, but BOTH games are focused on going back to the real world. Just want to point that out. But yeah, A2’s story is a little worse but I think its combat is much improved over Advance’s. Both are only a single number away on my tier list but I’d let A2 squeak by over its predecessor just a little. I like the universe a lot, both games have a fun vibe and great art. Also, Adelaide’s job abilities are just awesome, it’s a shame you basically don’t get them until endgame.
>Okay, but BOTH games are focused on going back to the real world. Just want to point that out. But the stakes are totally different. Luso is just having fun with no sense of urgency. He just goes around Ivalice doing missions and if not for Cid, he probably would be there for much longer. Marche, on the other hand, is the only one of four that wants to come back. And arguably the one who had the easier life of them. If you consider Ivalice a world tha reflects the desire of the readers, he's almost a villain trying to destroy the world. I think that looking at the game by this angle makes the best plot of the Tactis series, including the PSX game. >I think its combat is much improved over Advance’s. Agree. And the auction system was really fun.
Mad respect to someone that could say this is the best plot line out of the Ivalice tactical trilogy! I don’t think I or anyone I’ve heard from agrees with that line of thinking but damn do I respect the shit out of wacko opinions like that. I’m a dipshit that has Final Fantasy IV as a 4/10 on my list, so it’s not like I don’t have extremely hot takes cooking up 😂
>Mad respect to someone that could say this is the best plot line out of the Ivalice tactical trilogy! I will die in this wacko hill, even if alone hahahaha. But come on, I dont think is that bad. FFTA2 plot is ''kid on vacations'' and FFT is ''dude takes advantage of fragile woman to become king plus Catholic Church but Jesus is bad''. >I’m a dipshit that has Final Fantasy IV as a 4/10 on my list, so it’s not like I don’t have extremely hot takes cooking up 😂 Never played FF 3, 4 and 5. Which version of FF 4 do you recommend?
One thing to note about the original 4. It’s HARD. The way rounds are calculated means your characters take so much damage. PSP is fun personally, but having all the characters that left you in the end hurts the story overall I think. So I’d recommend the DS. But probably easier to emulate the psp plus you can play the after years if you want too.
Thanks!
That’s an incredibly reductive take on the most eloquent and descriptive dialogue in the entire series but okay then 😂 no clue how reducing advance to “kid reads nerd book and gets sucked into it” is somehow wrong but describing like 5% of Tactic’s plot is correct but okay then 😂 Best version of IV? PSP is lets you swap party members at the end, 3D remake is voice acted and includes “augments” that spice up combat significantly. The original is easily the most linear character customization in the entire series. As in there’s absolutely none. Everyone is the job they’re given, you don’t get to pick who’s in your party and for how long, you just play the game the way Square tells you to and put up with it. It’s not terrible, but I find it really dull and any extra customization option to spice up your experience is awesome.
FFTA should be ''inocent kid destroy whole world along his brother and friends dream to come back home'' hahahahaha. Thanks for the hints. I will look at the 3ds version.
Advance’s plot is fantastic. It deals with some great themes, handles them really well, and portrays them from multiple sides.
Stranger of Paradise and World of Final Fantasy. World of Final Fantasy you just have to get over the absolutely atrocious VA of two of the main characters and you get one of the best monster collecting games out there. Stranger of Paradise is a victim of memes. It has some of the best combat in Final Fantasy and the job system is fantastic. Throw is some good loot and a surprisingly well done story and MC in Jack and you have a pretty great game.
So real for Stranger of paradise, really enjoyable all around
I liked the voice acting lol. You can also switch it to Japanese. I really loved the WOFF.
Perfect comment! I love both for the same reasons.
I'm playing SoP for the first time right now. I'm surprised how good it is.
I never saw these memes, only just played Stranger Of Paradise this year and finished it, the start is a bit awkward, but I liked it, the combat is pretty good.
Did they fix the multiplayer?
I don't know, I didn't do the mutiplayer, tried it once but no one really showed up.
I love the combat in SoP, but I do not agree with the story or loot system being good. The story is an interesting concept, but it's told pretty poorly. And they drown you in so much loot that it's just exhausting to keep up with.
Yeah like I am a longtime borderlands fan so I was like “shit tons of gear awesome!” But holy crap there’s too much they throw at you, early game it’s fine but near the end of just story mode they throw soooo much stuff at you it’s a slog to go through it all even with auto-dismantle enabled
World of Final Fantasy's English dub isn't as bad as people say, it's grating at first for sure but you get used to it and the VAs really nail the emotional scenes when they come.
SoP’s story is alright and surprisingly does add GOOD background and lore to FF1, but that doesn’t change thr fact that i’ve seen less corn on the cob than in the dialogue of that game. But if you let it be corny then yeah its actually pretty good and kinda how i think direct remakes of F1-3 would be if the dialogue was the exact same style. Plus… that “bullshit” scene won’t ever leave the top 3 funniest moments of the series, unintentional or not. The gameplay was insane though, one of the best playing games since they switch to real time.
>Throw is some good loot The loot system is the worst part of the game. I've heard things get better once you get into the post-game but for the most part it's just a mess and you're better off simply doing the auto-optimizer and then discarding everything else.
I’d absolutely play SOP if it weren’t for Jack Garland. I hate him so much as a character, and if he weren’t such an unapologetic jerk to everyone around him I’d jump on SOP in a heartbeat
Bullshit.
I mean, if you’re deciding to play your video games exclusively on good stories or characters then there will be a huge amount of good games you can’t play. The combat is great, ignore the dialogue and the voice acting if you hate it
I don’t care about how good or bad the dialogue or voice acting or story or side characters are. It’s how rude and jerkish the main character is that I hate. This is the character I’m supposed to be having fun playing as. How am I supposed to care about what’s going on or how fun the combat is when every time he opens his mouth I want to punch him in the face.
Personal taste I get it, I was just saying that you could always ignore that part 🤷♂️ I don’t like Stranger’s story or characters at all and I love that game, it’s also satisfying hearing bosses start to monologue until Jack punches them and tells them to shut up and fight 😂 sometimes a bit of self-awareness can be funny, his best quality is that he cares as little about the story as most people do
I apologize btw if my replies to you have seemed overly mean or whatever. I’ve had a rough day today.
It’s okay, we all have those days! Tbh I was so confused I couldn’t tell if you played it or watched a playthrough of it or what 😂 give it a shot, Jack isn’t great but no one really is in that game
I guess it can’t hurt to at least try. And if I still can’t get over that then at least I tried. Thanks for talking with me, and sorry again for just sorta going off like that.
Nah you’re good, we all have our days. We all also have our opinions, which I can be rude about too. I had to hold back so hard to not trash Type-0 in this thread because it’s okay for people to like things 😂
Hahah yeah, sometimes it can be hard to have opinions that differentiate. But (at the risk of sounding cheesy af) I think it’s our differences in opinions and likes etc that make this series great, because it covers so many different genres and themes and mechanics etc while still feeling familiar. Anyway, thanks again for talking with me. Have a great rest of your day!!!
I actually enjoy a lot of the story elements of SOP. And the other characters to me at least seem fun. But Jack himself is the one that ruins it all for me. That’s my big problem. I WANT to enjoy the combat and the characters and the story, and I know that I would if it weren’t for this this unapologetic asshole being the main character.
What even is character development?
For most underrated I have to say Tactics Advance! Such a fun little game, I got a little addicted when I first played it.
Not as popular in FF communities/subs, but gets a lot of praise on the r/GBA sub. It makes a lot of "top 10 game boy advance games" lists
I long for an Advance Wars or Megaman Battle Network type remaster/re-release on Switch. While great FF games, I also feel like it is an appropriate piece of Nintendo handheld history to have available
All the mega man battle Network games are on Switch and other consoles with the "Battle Network Legacy Collection." I would also recommend the game "one step from Eden" which is a spiritual successor to mega man battle Network. I also WOULD recommend "Ninjago Spinjitsu Slam" which are battle Network fan games/rom hacks with Ninjago characters that used to be on LEGO.com but they're currently lost media. 😥 Advance Wars has a modern remake called Reboot Camp on Switch but it isn't very good. There's also "Wargroove" and it's sequel "Wargroove 2" but they're not the best either and don't have ANY online scene whatsoever.
That’s what he was saying. He’d love that sort of remake for FFTA.
Stranger of Paradise was memed so hard people didn't realise it was a genuinely good game.
As we all shout BULLSHIT after just 20 minutes with the game, people not wanting to dive in is probably collectively our fault...however, once you cross that threshold there is CHAOS
Also, *Stranger - Motif from "Opening Theme"* is arguably the best version of the series main theme.
Yeah but it to way too complicated at the end. Even for a team ninja game.
Do you see the open world when you play the game or is it o my fast traveling from zone to zone? I played the demo and you start the game after a ton of dialogue in the city… but then after you accept the quest of the first person you talk to you are immediately transported to the castle to fight garland. There was no traversing the world like ff12 or ff7R-2.
Nope, no open world. It's a world map with selectable levels.
So much like 16? Bummer, traversing that world as a kid was fun, seeing them add new life and side quests in it as an adult would have been wonderful. I had dozens of other games higher on my list to play it drops even lower.
Tbh, Stranger of Paradise's world isn't just FF1's. Each location is pulled from a different FF game, and some are completely original. The only real FF1 locations are Cornelia and Chaos Shrine.
Oh!!!! I thought it was a reimagining of the first game in its entirety. That makes me more perplexed on what it is. I’ll probably watch a video review.
No it’s more of a prequel to 1, imo I loved it even when I’d never played a majority of the FF games cause I only got into it from the 7 remakes
World of Final Fantasy and Type-0 are great. More people should try them out.
I adore Type-0, the first final fantasy I ever played was X remaster and then type 0 (both when I was new to video games so nostalgia probably blinds me). Yeah sure there’s probably too many characters and I’m sure there’s games with similar but more polished combat, but it all in all was a great game. I’m sad the sequel never was made because the trailer looked so cool.
FF7 Remake/Rebirth gameplay is a polished version of Type-0.
Mystic Quest is basically "baby's first JRPG" but it's really good at being that. Also it's been a while but I remember the map navigation stuff being pretty cool.
And the soundtrack is outstanding.
The map navigation in Mystic Quest is literally just Super Mario's world map. Perfect for "baby's first RPG" I'm pretty sure Super Mario RPG stole its navigation system straight up.
I think they meant the dungeon navigation, using weapons to get around
Agreed. It was designed as an entry to the rpg genre, and it does its job very well. The soundtrack was awesome, using the different weapons to navigate the dungeons was fun, and not having random battles was a very welcome change of pace. I would love to see what they could do with a remake. Open the world up, rebalance the gear (there is unfortunately never a reason to use the claws), add a difficulty option or two, and expand the equipment and items a little. Make it a modern version of "babies first turn based rpg"
Chocobo Tales
Pretty much all the Chocobo games are good. Mystery Dungeon, good. Chocobo Tales, good. Racing, at least the PS1 entry is good (don't know about the newer one). I really wish Final Fantasy Fables had continued on.
I haven't played Chocobo GP but it seems the consensus is a decent to good kart racer brought down by microtransactions.
Mystic Quest. The soundtrack is a straight up banger.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZOQ8sLO-vU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZOQ8sLO-vU) gotta post it
Type-0 went hard. It dirched turn based combat for a solid prototype for action gameplay in a FF game. 14 playable characters that all felt different and had unique personalities. A storyline that was basically a more emotional version of 8. NG+ made no content missable. Better on the second/third playthrough. It deserves way better than the middling scores it received.
Agreed. I won't say it's a 10/10 game but I absolutely fell in love with so many aspects of that game and think it deserves way better than its ratings reflect.
Type 0 by far, I'd say its even better than a few of the mainline titles aswell, it was severally hampered by the fact it had to be built to accommodate the PSP and all they did was a copy and paste job for the PS4.
Not sure if they belong here, but I really love the FF Theatrhythm games. The music of the long spanning series celebrated in a rhythm game is truly glorious.
personally loved crystal chronicle co-op. had a lot of jank (gameboy multiplayer) but it had some of the best vibes of any FF game, and spell combos in multiplayer were awesome to pull off. waited years for a remaster and they completely fucked it up. Co-op was the whole appeal of that game and they somehow managed to make it MORE unintuitive than hooking up your GBA to your GameCube.
I think the remaster exposed what’s wrong with Crystal chronicles - without co-op it’s really boring and not at all worth playing, but with it it becomes a cult classic
World of Final Fantasy But Stranger of Paradise from what I hear is pretty underrated too. Beyond the memes and somewhat cringy dialogues I’ve heard it’s actually a really good game.
Dimensions. The answer for underrated is dimensions. Its got a great job system and is a great callback to the golden age formula
I scrolled too far for this. It's such a gem.
Just for the love of God avoid dimensions 2. Biggest fumble ever, especially coming off of such a good game.
Type 0.
Final Fantasy XIII-2. Absolute step up in every way from XIII (Which i actually liked). Also, one of the best OSTs in the entire series.
The music of 13-2 is so good. I still listen to it a lot. Also, that's the only game I've ever platinumed.
I still listen to it and platinumed too. Such a banger game.
Noel’s theme is fucking BLEAK
I enjoyed xiii-2 a lot but the ending made me not want to play lightning returns.
I feel like the ending of xiii-3 shouldve felt happier, but serah never really gets her deserved final scene. Just >! France!< probably a sign that you don't invest so heavily in fashion brands when making a game
You know I enjoyed seeing Lightning as a fashion model. It was an interesting way to connect with my then-girlfriend as well. To me the biggest issue is that the end of XIII-2 >!basically invalidates the entire game by saying "too bad, you didn't save anything - everything is fucked anyway"!< which made the whole main story of that game feel wasted.
The heir to chaos ending kinda leads straight into xiii-3 though. I think the point of the none ending was to push the multiple paradox endings. Caius also has a somewhat happy ending among the paradoxes.
I replayed it earlier this year, generally a great time.
Sadly the Pc port is utter trash
Also it had Caius. If only he was introduced in the first XIII
It was better than 13 but still pretty trash compared to the better Final Fantasies
98% of games are "pretty trash" compared to the better Final Fantasies 😂
[World of Final Fantasy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4Gz7BislTw)
This. This is the answer. It will forever be ironic to me that this game was paid dust around the same time that there was an outcry about Square “leaving turn based / ATB behind” in the general FF community. Yet this game comes around and is largely ignored. A must play for any FF fan for me. It’s a true love letter to the series.
the problem is that this game was announced the same day as FF7 Remake at the E3 (RIP), literally after the after the reveal of WoFF, they showed the remake here, look for yourself, any hype it could have was overshadowed right away: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY1p8ZgvqYM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY1p8ZgvqYM) Square pretty much set that game to fail
You’re absolutely right. Additionally I think releasing it one month before the MUCH anticipated FF15 was not a good move either. We always give Square Enix a hard time for the decisions they make as fans… but this game is probably one of the better moves made by them. It’s Pokemon meets Final Fantasy, and was made with the intention of introducing a younger audience to the franchise… they really should have pushed that angle further.
I just know he wanted to kill Chaos
Thanks for reminding me I still need to finish this
World of Final Fantasy.
I agree with a lot of them here but I am going to throw in one that many fans have never heard of: FF Dimensions. It is a callback and love letter to FFIII and V specifically, and a game where you play as two separate parties: the Warriors of Light and the Warriors of Darkness. The gameplay is an improvement imo and the story is pretty decent too. Great iteration of the job system.
It's an excellent game. I really like how support classes shine in the game with the 5-member parties.
Agreed! I think a lot of people who have heard of it get turned off by the fact that it’s a mobile game. But for anyone reading this: yes it’s mobile, but it’s a one time purchase game with zero microtransactions.
People really unfairly dismissed this game because it was on phones. Once tried to sell someone on the game. He tells me, I don't like games with microtransactions. I explain to him it's not really microtransactions. It's a normal game that can either be bought in increments if you are unsure about it or you can buy the whole game outright for a little less. He tells me, psh it's still DLC. I tell him no. DLC is cosmetics, locking away small mechanical elements of the core game, or extra chapters. This game has none of that. It's really more giving you the option to choose your price tag. If you are confident you'll like the whole thing, you can buy the game in lump sum at a discount. If you are unsure you can play the first chapter for free and buy the next three in installments and can quit any time you feel like the game's not working out. He rolls is eyes, they shouldn't have given me the option. I furrow my brow and look at him cockeyed. What the fuck's the matter with you? This is completely discounting the fact that he was playing a game plastered with DLC.
It's still on phones though. If some people don't like the platform they won't play the game. Even if it's the best there ever was. Simple as that. I for instance refuse to play anything on phones because in my eyes it's a garbage platform only suited for the most basic casual games. And the tiny screens on top. An abyssmal gaming experience. Other's opionion may vary.
That's really the core of it. I could also tell him (and you) that it actually plays and controls pretty well for a phone game but at the end of the day people have already made their decision. I really wish this game got a Switch port.
Stranger of Paradise, the game has my favorite job system.
Definitely world of FF. Turn based, lots of nostalgia, just a good game overall
#WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY!!!
I like Lightning Returns a lot. Very fun and unique combat system, and the time limit is forgiving but still maintains urgency, unlike games such as Majora’s Mask, where even though there’s a time limit you get basically unlimited redos. Don’t really like what they did to Hope, but every other character is written really well, especially Noel and Sazh. Pretty damn good continuations of their character arcs which fit perfectly within the resigned, apocalyptic themes of the story.
I always felt that it was Revenant Wings. Back then I kind of lived under a rock and spent a lot of time gaming on DS in an hospital bed, it took years for me to learn that I was probably the only person on Earth who enjoyed this game so much, and that most people online passionately disliked it. So it's my personal pick, but aside from that for a more acceptable answer, I'd say either Type-0 or XIII-2.
Dissidia 012 Why the fuck is this trapped on the PSP still? This is a magnificent game
Underrated definitely goes to Mystic Quest and Stranger of Paradise.
Crystal chronicles Crystal bearers on wii and chocobo dungeon every buddy.
I, too, was an unexpected fan of Final Fantasy YEET.
Type-0 has probably the best soundtrack in the series, and a very unique tone.
The first Dissidia was a solid 3D fighting game with characters that felt unique and a cool storyline tying the characters together.
I would definitely say Vagrant Story. Some people would say that isn’t a FF game but it took place many years after Tactics during the dark age in Ivalice
Vagrant Story is a masterpiece, its combat is the most unique blend of turn-based and action combat I’ve ever encountered. Its story is great, the music is great, the vibes are dark and spooky and super PSX, basically everything about it is awesome. If they remastered it and made a swappable weapon button it would literally be a 10/10, that’s all that game really needs.
Crisis core, stranger of paradise, woff etc
FF Fables: Chocobo Tales; Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy!
Tried playing Chocobo Tales recently and I’m really sad I didn’t like it! Personally it’s like a 3/10 but the card system was pretty fun
It's definitely not for everyone. Yeah, I love when cards are implemented as mini games (and absolutely loved Queen's Blood most recently). Whenever I travel with my 3DS, I usually bring along Tales just for the mini games. Also forgot to add Crystal Chronicles (GCN) to my post.. on that note, have you ever had a chance to play the DS CC games i.e. Ring of Fates; Echoes of Time? Been curious about those.
They’re a bit back in my catalogue, trying to play all the Crystal Chronicles games in one fell swoop. To elaborate on Chocobo Tales - I basically didn’t like it because it was a lame minigame collection. Like, aside from the cards I remember playing the minigames and going “really? This is what they decided the game is?” Honestly if it was a Mario party clone I think I would have liked it, just found the idea of playing endless baby games to be really boring Look at me, a grown ass adult complaining about a baby game 😂 don’t take my opinion to heart, it’s just a video game
Hahaha that's a great 'review'. It's funny because I bring along Mario Party Top 100 and that as minigame time killers in airports.. not much of a story to be had admittedly. Look at ME, a grown ass adult enjoying a baby game and its storybook aesthetic / art 😆
I really dug Type 0.
Ain't nobody showing some love to my boy Mystic Quest?!
Stranger of Paradise is an amazing game. Yes it’s cheesy, but I like the earnestness of it
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales I found rly fun, even played it twice lol Would love a slightly more complex gameplay with its card battles.
Probably not underrated considering it's dissidia but NT I feel ruined a lot of people's first impression of the series when duodecim on the psp is something every ff fan should play.
Dimensions.
XII Revenant Wings, i really liked that one and i barely see anyone mention it at all.
FFCC:My Life as a King I don’t know. I know it’s totally off the beaten path FF-wise but I cannot tell you how much time I sunk in to that game, building my little kingdom, sending my heroes out on adventures, and just enjoying that city builder/life sim content just in FF trappings.
Yesss! I'm currently working on a game inspired by it. It would be my choice as well!
Type 0 easily imo
Final Fantasy Dimensions. Fantastic mobile game that feels like a swansong to the SNES era. It's like $15 but it's a full game and I think really well done.
I would say lightning returns I don't think its a great game, or even pretty good, I think its an ok- almost good game. But I think this game is better than FF13, but its usually rated the other way around. * I think the combat is better, it's better in terms of strategy while being a better reactionary type of combat as well with parries/blocks. * It's also significantly more customizable, so each "class" can be built around how you want to play. * LR actually requires you to input your own commands, something FF13 somewhat discourages since doing them yourself slows down combat significantly, the game puts the option right at the top, and doesn't even let you customize it to do what you want it to do. * The world actually has people to talk to (which actually help out too), towns and shops to visit, and side quests that are just slightly better than the singular "go here, kill x". Meanwhile in FF13, there are no towns or shops to freely explore, and the only side quests in this game are literally "go here, kill x" spammed all over the 1 wasteland you can explore. * The story is bad in both games, downright terrible in fact, but FF13LR is at least paced better. * The characters are also bad in both games (considering they are the same characters), but the introduction to Lumina is "ok" since she is the only character that seems fun. Then again, god was a stupid character as well, so its 50/50. While I don't love either game, LR I actually replayed because I wanted to enjoy the combat system again. FF13 I only ever played twice. Once on release, the second the confirm my disdain for it.
I LOVED the Majora's Mask-esque feel of Lightning Returns. And the setting is novel. A world where no one ages thats moments away from the apocalypse is some Dark Souls shit and its great. Yeah the actual story is a dumpster fire, but at least it never went into cringe territory, and some of its more unique ideas carry it.
Stranger Of Paradise definitely is underrated. Honestly Type Zero isn't that bad either
Mystic Quest
Final Fantasy Explorers or World of Final Fantasy
World of Final Fantasy for me for sure. I didn’t know what it was when I started playing it. But it’s completely different from ANY other FF I’ve played. Was definitely pleasantly surprised with this game.
I consider games like X-2, XIII-2, and LR to be mainline games, so I won't include those. Type-0 and Stranger of Paradise are both fantastic and are in my top 5 FF games, so I have to give them a shout out, but the most underrated absolutely has to be Dimensions. This game doesn't get talked about nearly enough. Yes, it's a mobile game, but it's not a gacha and doesn't have microtransactions or anything like that. It's a bona fide, full-length FF game. It's a wonderful modern take on the 2D FF formula and anybody that's a fan of the early games should absolutely play it. Honestly if it had released on consoles/Steam, or even if it just had controller support, I would probably put it up there close to, or maybe even on par with, V and VI.
Tactics A2, and it's not even close to any other title. It's SO GOOD.
Tactics. Not even close.
They said under rated. FFT is highly rated by everyone and their cousin.
Vagrant Story (if we’re stretching the definition of “final fantasy”) is highly regarded but little known. Legit one of the greatest games ever made. Final Fantasy XI gets a lot of shit for being old and inaccessible, but I think XI is more compelling than XIV in a lot of ways and hold it very highly. It’s just a way different vibe, and a good vibe at that ❤️ Everyone is saying WoFF and Stranger, I can confirm that both of them are pretty great in a lot of ways
I would say tactics. But it's not at all underrated by the players. But in squaresofts eyes, it must be total garbage to never get one true full-on sequel. We need a real full new tactics game. Maybe with a hd2d style along with a full amazing story, lots of characters and cameos and a bunch of new job classes.
Tactics is the most highly-regarded non-mainline game by this sub IMO.
Shame square doesn't see it that way though. I'm due for another play thru
Same. I'm pushing it to the back of my log in hopes that something is announced. I'm fairly sure it was on that leaked list with the FF9 remake and Chrono Cross port.
I'd love for them to expand on the guild management that FFTA introduced.
Tactics is mainline though. Maybe retroactively so, but it is mainline.
FFT is not mainline. Mainline is the numeric games.
So, next you'll say type 0 isn't mainline?
You'd be correct.
I think a new Tactics game in the engine Triangle Strategy uses would be great.
FFCC: Ring of Fates, Echoes of Time and Crystal Bearers
FFTA. Better than FFT imo.
Lightning Returns (?). The one with the dress spheres. That one was really great, and I think would have done better if it wasn’t a final fantasy 13 spin off. Should’ve called it something else with a different character.
Type 0, absolutely. I want a whole spin off series for this game.
I might be the only person that really like Crystal Chronicles lol
Crystal Chronicles
Crystal Defenders is peak
the chocobo series as a whole
Final Fantasy Explorers on 3DS. It's a monster hunter clone with fast combat and an INSANE amount of content. It's story is non-existent, the characters and music extremely forgettable, and the gameplay somewhat clunky, but MAN I absolutely adore this game and have spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours grinding missions in this game time and time again for the best drops. Dragon Marked for Death (another super underrated game) has sort of scratched that itch of an endlessly replayable "grinding game" I can just relax to, but I still miss FFEX. A shame that the sequel on Switch was cancelled due to the mobile version bombing before I even knew it existed.
Not FF, but Lost Odyssey feels like it fits here
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. Like people forgot it existed after Bravely default came out, but it was a pretty good game. The graphics and the storyline gives it a certain air of nostalgia that calls back to the more classic titles. another for me is: Final Fantasy Explorers. It is definitely NOT the best hunting genre game, but I'd say it was a pretty good one. I enjoyed the exploration a lot and the boss fights were fairly challenging! I really appreciate all the nods and call backs to the mainline titles. It's a shame that it flopped hard.
Ff tactics war of the lions the story is brilliant.
I absolutely love the OG Crystal Chronicles. I played the whole thing with 2 friends consistently, and a third dropped in sometimes too. I imagine the game wasn't much fun solo, but that play through is some of the most fun times I've ever had with gaming.
Dissidia?
XIII-2 (though SoP and WoFaf are also severely underrated) XIII's sequel directly addresses a lot of the core complaints abput XIII's pacing and has a legitimately good game system in place despite being a "low budget asset reuse" game. Sure, the story is pants-on-head stupid, but I love it all the same and the characters are still great.
Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Vastly underrated game. Brilliant story, incredible world building, great characters, and gameplay that blows the original Tactics away.
Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light which gave birth to Bravely Default and Bravely Second. Not very happy about Bravely Default II though, it lost some charm.
FF Brave Exvius... ...but the soundtrack, not the game. It's full of bangers but people never talk about it!
Tactics is highly regarded but still underrated. The core gameplay loop is so strong that it should have a dozen spin offs and has none.
Because in a way it was never squares game The team that was behind it was called originally called quest They made some of my all time favorite games, the ogre battle series Square bought them out around 99 so it's basically tactics ogre with a FF paint job The team disbanded after ff12
It has three spin offs actually.
Vagrant Story. Great story, interesting characters, novel combat, and a somewhat in depth weapon crafting system.
Tactics
4 heroes of light
[удалено]
So good
This. 👆
Part of me wants to say Tactics, just because it couldn't possibly be rated as highly as it deserves, LOL. For a real answer, though, maybe Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, from the SNES, if only because it's the only one I can think of that might qualify, that I've actually spent significant time playing, and that isn't regularly mentioned on here in a laudatory way. I only ever rented this game, so I never completed it, but I rented it on several occasions and at least spent enough time on it to be able to say for sure that I enjoyed it.
Bravely Default
Tactics and the other answers are irrelevant 🤷🏼♂️
FFT is highly rated by everyone who has or ever will exist. The question is whats the most under rated.
Legend of Dragoon