Favorite Final Fantasies

[Malakhim]

I don't have a specific favorite Final Fantasy as much as I have a top 5 that I enjoy far more than the rest.

Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy XIII

Interestingly enough, they're all kinda different in many ways, and I love them for different reasons.

I love them all mostly for the characters and stories that they tell. FFIV's setting is very much a traditional "anime fantasy" setting, although the conflicts and stories that the characters tell make it stand out as a tale of redemption, revenge, and duty. FFVI has the largest cast of characters, and I cared about each and every one(save Umaro and Gogo, who are awesome anyway), FFVIII didn't have the strongest set of protagonists in my opinion, and to be totally honest I was much more interested in Laguna's story with Kiros and Ward, Julia and Raine, and Ellone. He seemed like a goofball that was easy to relate to. FFXII had interesting characters, however they paled in comparison to the epic war drama that they were players in, and to this day, I still think that FFXIII has some of the best(if not a bit overdramatic) characters and character interaction I've seen in a lot of games. It also probably has the most believable love story that I've seen in video games in that the characters have a REAL investment in eachother and interaction as opposed to the game just telling us they like eachother/they end up together near the end inexplicably.

So as not to take too much more thread space, I'll give bullet points for the rest.

Music(Hamauzu does an awesome job for FFXIII)
Design aesthetic(of special note the towns and environments of FFVIII)
Themes and situations present in each game
Great battle mechanics

[Carpe]

IV, VI, VII, Tactics

[Dreamer]

My top three, in order are:

1. Final Fantasy 6
2. Final Fantasy 7
3. Final Fantasy 4

I found the rest to be sub-par when compared to those three.

Also, Kefka is the best bad guy EVER. I mean, how many villains have you actually seen in any medium who actually SUCCEED in destroying the world and making themselves a god? Not many. And he did it all while being completely and utterly bat$#&% insane the entire time. ^-^

[Sopholifius]

i would have to say final fantasy IX as it was my first lol...arn't firsts always special. i really liked the story plus to be honest i think it was my first ever video game....

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

!: Tactics
2: Tactics War of the Lions
3: FFVII

[Chezen]

VII & VIII battled each other for my favorite until VII started having more storyline and media. Aeris was easily my favorite the instant I saw her. When VII came out, no one had ever seen anything like it. Now it's so normal lol.

The VII story is better in theory I think, but had a lot of execution problems. There were a lot of plotholes and a few buggy type stuff that didn't make sense. It had some pretty fun stuff to do though, besides the main story. I absolutely loved chocobo farming and racing. The metaria system is still the best one mechanic in all the games, I think. I believe I've played this game 4 or 5 times, and I do everything in it every time.

On the other hand, VIII, in my opinion, is some of the best storytelling I have ever seen. It's such a simple story, but the execution of it was excellent. Add into that very well laid out gameplay, interesting weapons manufacture, mini games and sidequests galore, neat limit break and summons animations, beautiful cutscenes, and you cannot forget Triple Triad. It was just a very detailed game. I've played it 4 or 5 times as well. I personally think it was the best one they ever did overall.

FFX... I enjoyed it very much, but I was never the blown away fan like the acclaim it got. By making it look so good in normal play, I felt it took away from the cutscenes. The story wasn't as interesting to me as the previous two. I loved Cloud and Squall, but I didn't care for Titus very much. I'm not much of a sports fan to begin with, so I wasn't over-excited about blitzball like I was chocobo racing and triple triad. However, I loved Yuna, and liked Auron a lot. The story was still good, though the ending was a bit frustrating. It still had all the elements I loved about Final Fantasy, and was over all a solid game. I've played it twice.

It's a bit off track, but I really, really wish they would release FF games dual language.

[Punxsutawney]

5) FF8 - pretty good game, but Triple Triad was the real catch
4) FF4 - loved Kain and Cecil, great game
3) FFT - great game
2) FF10 - Blitzball was so addictive
1) FF7 - Awesome, Epic storyline with unforgettable characters

[Xatsh]

Favorit FF games for me of all times.

VII, VIII, IX, X, and XI.

6 I think had the best villian of all time, Good old Sephy fall short. I mean seriously Kefka was crazy and actully blew up the world more or less.

VII was just an overall game.

IX I think embodied what FF was, not as good as VI and VII but a really good game none the less.

I think X told a spectacular story.

XI was just a epic game in general, only mmo that made me feel a true sense of accomplishment and attachment to my guild.

I liked XII but not as much as the previous titles, and XIII was ok but it was missing the magic of the other games.

[ARoy]

By and far Final Fantasy Tactics is my favorite. I love the complex political story that it told, and the job system was top notch.

This times graham's number

WoTL only made it better. I was disappointed by the attempted sequel and despite trying to play the second one several times, could never get past the first few missions. Didn't try the third one (I think there's a third one?)

FF7 was my first, so I remember it fondly as well.

[Bebekurenai]

I played all FF except the original Tactics and XIII, but I saw the entire XIII played by my BF so I kinda feel I played it too. I loved all of them, even FFX-2, being FF2 the less loved due to the strange spell tier system. It was kinda irritating to see Cure level up and cost so much mp. FFVIII is also for me not on the top because the villain changed so many times. Edea was bad, then good, Seifer was bad but you learned he was brainwashed. Then all of a sudden Ultimecia appears and you should hate her because she was the reason of all. And Adel... I was used in all FF to hate the villain like in FFVII I couldn't wait to get to the crater and smack Sephiroth.
FFX was awesome, made me cry, great battles, great extras and music. FFIX also made me cry, the ending was unexpected. FFVII was my first and I remember saving right before Aerith gets the hit so I could replay it every time. FFX-2 was too Barbie, and the story was a bit forced but I still loved the job system and the extras that made you replay it to get 100%. Why Tidus really comes back is a flaw to me but well...
FF11 got me hooked for 5 years, "nuff said".
Prolly my favourites of all might be the most adult ones, from FF10 onwards. FFXII is one of my favourites, story is amazing, and each character is very well defined. No more lil princesses, no more kids trying to be the main heros. The only thing I missed was the summons who were useless but still fun to get. FFXIII is also great to me, I did get bored sometimes watching my BF playing it for all the tunnels and endless areas, but the story was rewarding.

I couldn't position all of them in a top chart, because all of them make me play them again and again. Some have maybe less gaming power but on other hand a big story to be told, or other way round. Maybe today I want a growned woman to fight for her kingdom's freedom, but tomorrow I just want to be a girl who needs to be rescued. Anyhow all FF are special to me and their stories never to be forgotten.

Edit: I left out FFVI!!! I should have no cookies today
Awesome adult story, nothing was like it seemed, great crew of characters, abilities, summons, music. I never got to have all summons sadly, so I might give it another try.