Vlad Recommends Top 5 Final Fantasy Games
We asked Vlad to create a Top 5 list of his favourite Final Fantasy games, to inspire us, the uninitiated of the universe created by Hironobu Sakaguchi.
When it comes to a Final Fantasy game, everyone at GRIND turns their attention to Vlad. He's so enchanted by the characters in the Final Fantasy universe that he could talk for hours about Square Enix's titles – in fact, he did just that in episode 2 of the GRIND x RRC podcast, which you absolutely must watch! You can find it on the YouTube – Revista Grind channel, or on grnd.ro in the Podcast section.
Because Vlad is passionate about this legendary series and has played most, if not all, of the titles, we asked him to create a TOP 5 of his favourite Final Fantasy games, to inspire us, the uninitiated of the universe created by Hironobu Sakaguchi.
05. FINAL FANTASY
By today's standards, the 1987 original has nothing special about it. But it is the matrix that laid the foundations for a legendary series and an NES game whose story spans 18 hours! Most conventions were established here, from the class system to the turn-based battles. The first Final Fantasy marked Square's last attempt before abandoning ship to work in a less creative environment. And the game's success gave birth to a series that is still making history!
04. FINAL FANTASY IX
Released in the transitional year between PS1 and PS2, FF IX is a tribute to the early games in the series. It returns to the medieval landscapes that made the Final Fantasy universe famous and presents a story that masterfully blends nostalgia, hope for a better future, existentialism, nihilism, and determinism. Zidane, the main hero of the adventure, embarks on a journey of self-discovery that helps him understand that free will and self-determination matter more than the Creator's intentions. If it had been released a year later on PS2, the game would have sold several million more units. But by seeing the light of day exactly when the rest of the world was eagerly awaiting the next generation of consoles, it remained a special jewel among PS1 collectors. Fortunately, the game is now available on all platforms.
03. FINAL FANTASY VI
Released on SNES in 1994, Final Fantasy VI achieves the impossible: the graphics and presentation look like an early PS1 launch, the music seems to have more instrumental clarity than the chip produced by the Nintendo-Sony collaboration allows, and the story features a multi-protagonist approach facing by far the most evil antagonist in the series. It's truly hard to believe that such a massive experience, offering 60 hours of gameplay, fits on a 4MB floppy disk!
02. FINAL FANTASY X
The Final Fantasy series began its global domination on Nintendo consoles, took the adventure to the next level on the original PlayStation, and later became a worldwide phenomenon on PlayStation 2 with X. The tenth game in the main series is immense in every way: it includes a more epic story, more cinematic and grandiose battles, more engaging music, and side quests that can keep you busy for dozens of hours after the main story ends. X is the second best-selling game in the series, the first to feature character voices, and the last made by the team that put the Final Fantasy series on the RPG map. It's worth playing for the story and for the turn-based combat system brought back to its origins but updated for a new era of gaming. Anyone who claims they didn't cry at the final scene is a liar!
01. FINAL FANTASY VII
We're talking about the most well-known, best-selling, and most monetised of all the games in the series. There's still a modding community for the 1997 original, and Square Enix is working on a trilogy that expands the story's universe and adds new dimensions. Even if you haven't played Final Fantasy VII, you've surely encountered the rivalry between Cloud and Sephiroth in Super Smash Bros Ultimate or Kingdom Hearts.
What would your Top 5 be?
