I am currently on a very casual quest to replay those Final Fantasy games that I consider to be "my era" on Steam. These are defined as Final Fantasies VII through X-2 - the ones I grew up with, constituting five titles in total. I also have a very long term quest to play through all the main series games (including direct sequels, such as the aforementioned X-2), and I thought it would be interesting to detail that.
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| Mog flying the airship in Final Fantasy VI. |
Mid Final Fantasies
These are all the games falling under the "my era" umbrella. I have played all of these, and they were my introduction to the series. On Steam at the moment I have all these games, and am between playing VIII and IX.
Final Fantasy VII
This was really the first Final Fantasy I played and owned, however since I was seven years old at the time, I was a little confused by it and didn't become fully invested in it until I'd played the Final Fantasy that came after it. I have replayed this one the second most out of all games in the series.
Final Fantasy VIII
This is the big one that I replay the most. Even during my 'replay VII-X-2 on Steam' quest, I ended up playing this one again twice before I started on VII. It's the only Final Fantasy I've played in two different languages.
Final Fantasy IX
Despite being a huge favourite in the series, I've only played this through once. I've restarted it a couple of times, but ended up abandoning those playthroughs. This is going to be the next one I play on Steam, and I'm really excited to go through it a second time once I get around to it.
Final Fantasy X & X-2
I have only completed Final Fantasy X once, so it's another one I'm excited to go all the way through again. I've never quite finished X-2, and it's a very different type of game, but I love it a lot. It's my favourite female-fronted Final Fantasy (although I would love more options there), and sometimes that's just what I need, so I hope to finish this one after I've played through IX and X - hopefully making X-2 the next Final Fantasy game I finish for the first time.
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| Naming my characters in Final Fantasy VII. |
Early Final Fantasies
This group refers to Final Fantasies I - VI. To me, these naturally group together because they share certain sensibilities and conventions compared to later games in the series. They all have much more of a medieval fantasy feel to them then the more sci-fi and branching ideas of later Final Fantasies, even though by Final Fantasy VI we are seeing a big shift in genre and feel.
Final Fantasy I, II, & III
I'm grouping these three together as they're very similar to each other. They have more simplistic stories, focuses on the 'heroes of light' theme, and relatively little characterisation. These games are where you can really see the influence of tabletop fantasy games on the series. Several years ago I started playing Final Fantasy from the very beginning of the series, and completed these foundation games. They are far from my favourites, but I love the base mechanics and exploring these beginnings was a valuable experience. Also, I played the DS version of Final Fantasy III and it's really cute.
Final Fantasy IV
This one has a lot more stuff going on, and I've played a substantial amount of it, but I ended up getting stuck on a certain celestial body, so at some point I think I'm going to have to start this one from the beginning again.
Final Fantasy V
This is one of the few games in the series I have not played at all. I'm not sure whether to give IV another shot first, or jump straight into this one I have no experience of.
Final Fantasy VI
I had never played this until last year, so this is the most recent Final Fantasy game I've played for the first time. I really loved this one, and it's amazing seeing so much of the spirit and charm of later games having their introductions here. This one is a stylistic marvel, and well worth a play if you've fallen in love with the mid-series games.
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| An extremely relatable moment in the library in Final Fantasy VIII. |
Late Final Fantasies
This group contains everything from the tail end of the PS2 era up until the present day, and also serves as the marker of a shift in style across the series to match changing consumer desires concerning visual style and genre conventions.
Final Fantasy XII
I loved this game, and surprised myself by playing the whole thing from start to finish. I had heard somewhat negative press when it came out (mostly relating to the gambit system), so I didn't know what to expect and approached the game sceptically, but I completely loved it. To me, the downside wasn't the battle system, but the story, which I found a little dull. Gameplay-wise I found it really compelling. I've only played it through once, so this would be another one I'd love to replay at some point.
Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2, & Lighting Returns
I haven't played Final Fantasy XIII or Lighting Returns at all, and am not really in a rush to, but I have played XIII-2 a little bit, and quite frankly I found it pretty boring and unappealing (and I got stuck, whoops). I'm interested in potentially playing these games at some point, but it will likely be after I've played all the others I haven't yet completed.
Final Fantasy XV
This is one I haven't really had the chance to play yet. I don't have a PS4 or a PC that would be able to run the PC version, so it's eluded me so far, but lots of things are interesting about it to me and I'll get around to this one at some point. Maybe I'll play the pocket version, who knows.
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| Mog in the mountain town of Narshe in Final Fantasy VI. |
Conclusion
Here's my list for clarity:
- Final Fantasy I ✔
- Final Fantasy II ✔
- Final Fantasy III ✔
- Final Fantasy IV ×
- Final Fantasy V ×
- Final Fantasy VI ✔
- Final Fantasy VII ✔
- Final Fantasy VIII ✔
- Final Fantasy IX ✔
- Final Fantasy X ✔
- Final Fantasy X-2 ×
- Final Fantasy XII ✔
- Final Fantasy XIII ×
- Final Fantasy XIII-2 ×
- Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII ×
- Final Fantasy XV ×
The order I will play through them will probably be first X-2, then IV and V, and then either XV first or in chronological order from XIII on. So that's my plan. Hopefully I'll get there eventually. Assuming I don't replay Final Fantasy VIII a hundred times instead.
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