Final Fantasy Tier Lists 2025

I'll like 16 more then and dislike 15 for some of the same reasons I dislike 8

How many times have you beat ff1 and with what set ups though?
I've done WHM RDM WAR MNK most recently, WAR RDM THF BLM, etc.

Pretty sure I did the RDM solo once too

OP didn't even list FF8 (while listing Tactics Ogre in a FF tier list lol). That's some high-quality bait right there.

IIRC FF8 was the first Final Fantasy title to get a timely English translated release, meaning a release that did not come a decade+ after the game was already out in Japan.

As a result it is a lot of people's first FF title.

FF8 B tier, put x instead of v

Ok i'll bite, I've been playing since original FF us release on NES.

S: 11
A: 5, 6, 4
B: 1, 9
C: 3, 7, 10, 14 (original, never bothered with reborn)
D: 2, 8

If we're adding extras:
the 3 Legend games for GB i'd probably put in C tier
Adventure is really a Mana game.
Mystic Quest is D tier.

I haven't played the rest, 11 sucked up my free time.

1) Once, I generally don't play the same RPG more than once because they rarely offer experience different enough in the 2nd run and they are too long for replay.

When I want to play a game multiple times for different builds I play turn based rogue-like games instead.

2) I think it was WAR THF(or MNK? I forgot) BLM WHM.


Edit: I also think the OG version has a different job names like fighter or black belt. But I don't remember. Nor I remember if newer versions changed to modern job names.

I might need to get Rooks to moderate this thread if it goes sideways. My objectivity will be out the window for anyone who rates first six FFs low.

Some of you have terrible taste!

If I was going to be critical I'd say this is really easy mode set up. It does have replay value with other set ups.

In FFV the best set up for most fights is set, in FF3 too until you get ninja then you just ninja everything.

I played the game without a guide so I didn't even know what jobs are efficient when I started. I just figured 2 physical melee DD, 1 magic DD and 1 healer is the standard party setup for RPG. And since in DnD you need a rogue to open chests, detect hidden passages and disarm traps, I figured the second melee DD would be a THF. (Obviously, this isn't how FF works. But that's my intuition when I build rpg parties.)

Whenever I build rpg parties in a new game I pretty much all followed this formula.

;D

ok i am disappointed that tactics keeps getting listed but not crystal chronicles. FFCC is SSSSSSSSSSSSS Tier, you should all feel bad for not ranking it at all.

You're all wrong. Objectively 100% completely wrong.

S: Mario Hoops 3-on-3.
A:
B:
C:
D:
F: Literally everything else.

I bought a GameCube to play it when it was new, package deal with it in. No-one would play it with me and it sucked one player so I never finished it and I've never been able to bring myself to do it since. Since you can't link a virtual Gameboy advance to it I won't play it.

If it was released on PS2 back then then I would probably play it and give it a spot. But I didn't have GC back then, so I had to skip it.

By the time it got remastered in it's buried under piles of newer games.

I think the system that it was released on originally hindered the popularity of it.

Damn right, I played mario sunshine then sold the GameCube for £20. They were only £80 basically at launch. Dumb console other than wind waker.

Only listing main titles as I completed all of them, except for 14. This is partly based on my personal enjoyment, but also what they achieved. I love all these games and would play them again in my lifetime, except for II. That thing can burn in hell.

S Tier: VI, VII
A Tier: IV, VIII, IX, X, XI
B Tier: I, III, V, XII, XV, XVI
C Tier: XIII
D Tier: II

- I’d list games like Chrono Trigger and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (I know it’s not SE) in the S tier.
- X-2 is a C. Never played XIII-2, but plan on it someday. I can imagine it being a B based on what I know.
- Loved Crisis Core and would give it a B. I also enjoyed Dirge Of Cerberus, and while clunky, I would place it in C.
- Played Mystic Quest once, and while extremely basic, I enjoyed it and loved the music! I’d give it a C.
- Strangers of Paradise is strange, but again, I enjoyed it a lot and would give it a B despite its flaws.
- I recently completed Chrono Cross. A slow burner that eventually won me over, and I'm struggling to place it. I'd give it a B+.

Never got around to Tactics (might play the remaster), Type Zero, and other spinoff titles. I know younger players appreciate XII and will hate it not being placed higher. Also, not putting XI in S-tier shows that while I freaking love this game, it is not blind love.

SE lost its way with XV and XVI. I did literally everything in XV and it is noticeably incomplete. XVI’s gameplay was pretty dull outside Summon battles, although I very much appreciate the English accents and it feeling finished. The Rising Tide DLC was my favourite part.

I completed XIII a few years ago, and the development struggle is painfully obvious. Gran Pulse is fun when you finally get there. I feel like I, III, and VIII are sorely underrated. V’s job system is exceptional, but the story is a major step back from IV.

And while IX is often named the “highest rated” FF game of all time, I cannot bring myself to name it S-Tier despite destroying it several times. It would take a sizeable editorial to explain why, but to sum it up, it just isn’t as memorable as VI or VII. If I was forced to name at least 3 in S-tier, IX would join them.

The only FF game I hate is II, but even that has some interesting moments. I’ll always love this franchise through its highs and lows.

Personally, I find FF6's story hard to remember because of the fragmented plot structure. All of the characters are written as they are the protagonist even though Terra is officially the main character. As a result, the focus got lost.

There are maybe 3 memorable moments for me which is the opening with Terra, world of ruin(second half) and and the final battle. Everything else happened in between I can't no longer remember the details after I beat it. It feels like it's about tons of different characters that shouldn't be the main focus of the story.

On the other hand, I find FF7s story very strong, on my list FF7's story is probably the second strongest if not the first. It only got lower ranking overall because the gameplay is significantly weaker than other titles. FF7's story entirely focus on one character which is Cloud. Every other characters like Sephiroth, Aerith, Tifa and Zack all exist to support Cloud as a main character, but not to take away his role in the story. So you got a pretty strong character focused story about a guy's journey to overcome his dark past and guilt then face his biggest challenge in the end.

I always feel that if FF6 could focus on one character from the beginning to the end, and use other characters to support the main character instead of competing for attention, it would probably get a much higher ranking in my heart.

For me, it is the culmination of Final Fantasy up to that point, and everything Squaresoft learned was put in to VI. Yes, the story could have had more focus. Still, Kefka is a massive selling point here, much like Heath Ledger's Joker is in the Dark Knight. In that movie, Batman is often outshined by Joker, but he's still a decent protagonist, and that goes for FFVI's cast.

FFVI is not a perfect game by any means, but no game is. I played IX far more than VI, and there's not much between them at all. For me, it feels like IX lacked big individual moments, and its final bosses could have been executed better. The gameplay is awesome and it is very polished, so I can understand why it is so highly rated. Like I said, it would take a huge editorial, or an hour+ long YouTube video for me to accurately describe what I meant here. There are so many working parts in my mind, but honestly, it is all subjective.

IMO Kefka has the potential to become a strong antagonist, but ultimately didn't get there even though he is quite close, precisely because FF6 doesn't have a strong main character to mirror Kefka. Which isn't the case in Dark Knight movie.

In Dark Knight batman represents law and order, and Joker represents chaos. Because a character like Batman exists, that makes Joker extra interesting because Joker exists to mirror Batman's position. After I finished Dark Knight, I can tell the theme is law v.s chaos and both characters supported such theme in a perfect way.

This is why having a focus in the story structure is important. Because a strong central conflict between the protagonist and antagonist makes both of them shine. If a story doesn't focus on one main character, then the main antagonist's role become weaker as well. Even if their initial concept had potential.

I played it solo, you can make the moogle carry the chalice, and fuse stuff in your combat menu Blizzard + Ragnarok = 1 hit kill ice strike for most mobs. cant do that in multi player no self fusing allowed, have to do the team work bit.

The remaster is great, I love what they added to the game.

Terra's the main character yet you can go through the entire world of ruin and beat the game without getting Terra back?? Odd

What makes Terra the main character? Because she's on the box art? NA box art has Mog. Is it that one piece of art that has Terra in Magitek Armor and Narshe? Thats literally nothing more than the first scene on the game.


Is it because the logo art shows someone (likely Terra) riding Magitek Armor? Using Magitek Armor is like 0.2% of the game. Also, the FF4 logo art clearly shows a Dragoon, and I dont think anyone would consider Kain the main character.


FF6 has no main character. In fact, I *** up my first FF6 playthrough when I was a kid because I didnt use Celes at all. Next thing I know I'm trying to drag this *** from Cid's Hut to the town you find Sabin horribly underleveled.

Sakaguchi said it in an interview a long time ago, but... I mean, it was pretty vague and even because he said that was his intention, doesn't necessarily mean it's the "truth".

Personally I too always got the feeling Tina was the main character, but I understand the point you're tryin to make and I give credit to that.

To reply to that other guy, I think FF6 has some great characters but I agree perhaps they're a bit too many.
Precisely because of that, some characters obviously don't get to delve deeper into most of them and it's sort of a shame, mayhap.
I still loved FF6 thoroughfully but I also agree with Afania that I always found Kefka with a lot of potential that doesn't get fully used in the end.
Jm2c, I'm well aware a lot of people consider him THE iconic FF antagonist, I can see why but ultimately it wasn't like that for me.

Terra is the main character of the first half of the game. It starts with her gaining agency for the first time, she's the main viewpoint up until just before her tragic origin story is revealed, she's uniquely touted as the key to defeating the obligatory evil empire, her backstory is essentially what the entire game is built up on, and just to drive it home the overworld music is her theme. Absolutely none of the plot happens without Terra in some way; her birth is what allows the Empire to discover and develop magitek and use it to establish its dominance in the world leading to the resistance that the first third or so of the game revolves around aiding. Nothing in the early plot would happen if she were simply removed with Biggs and Wedge. The entire plot is regaining her freedom, choosing to help right the wrongs she unknowingly had a hand in, discovering her past, learning just how connected she is to all of it, and using that past to try to forge a brighter future.

Even the parts of the story where Terra isn't present are kind of like... "okay, we need to get back to where we meet up with Terra", and stuff happens along the way.

And then we get to disc 2, haha whoops things got worse, and that just breaks Terra, and she gets demoted to side character. The world of ruin is an ensemble story through and through, with every character's part in it just being a vignette that sheds light on the character or the state of the world.

They could have made Terra required to enter Kefka's tower if they wanted to maintain her importance to the story. ie: Kefka's tower is locked and only an esper can open it.

My memory is hazy, but I'm pretty sure most, if not all, the espers in WoR are dead and turned into Magicite. Those that arent would probably stay far away and hidden from Kefka as they dont want to be turned into Magicite. This leaves one half-esper willing to face Kefka: Terra. All of a sudden she's back to being a crucial piece of the story and is back to the main character.

Once you get into the world of ruin, though, an esper is very specifically something the party doesn't need. Defeating Kefka is necessarily going to mean disrupting the power of the warring triad, which means magic should go away, which means if you take an esper along they'll vanish before the final confrontation. It doesn't quite go down like that because Kefka turns out to be pretty good at absorbing energy fields larger than his head, but that's the expectation the party goes in with.

Terra going along isn't a case of "we need your power, only you can do it", it's "if we do this, we can't guarantee you'll survive, but it needs to be done... come on, if you have to die you should die fighting for the world."

I always felt like Locke was the main character.

The main character is all the friends they made along the way.

I’ve only played 11
I occasionally think about doing a play through of the other ff games with bst but I always back out

I was a ff hater
Why so many games can’t get it right and have too much money
What’s the type of person that even plays ff so cringe
Only reason I started is because official Xbox magazine sent 2 beta discs that month
And my halo 2 Xbl friend was excited he won a eBay auction to get the disc I already had
Would of went untouched straight in the garbage but we were good friends so I gave it a chance

Now I have a ffxi YouTube and website and I have no plans on ever playing anything else besides ffxi
It has everything I like

At 32 I don’t have the attention span to play offline games and I can’t feel the sense of accomplishment I want from gaming if I can’t share my accomplishments or findings
I’ve never played games for the story or cutscenes