Final Fantasyhas always been considered to be one of PlayStation’s most beloved and well-renowned franchises ever, and although a lot of the games have been ported elsewhere over time, for many years, the series was synonymous with the PlayStation due to a lot of the most popular games being exclusives. This all started in 1997 when Square Enix was having trouble developingFinal Fantasy 7for the SNES, and as a result, decided to shift its development to the PlayStation, resulting in the game becomingone of the industry’s first groundbreaking system sellers.
Ever since, Square Enix and theFinal Fantasyseries have always been tied to the PlayStation, with almost all the mainline games, and a plethora of spin-offs being released for every single one of Sony’s consoles. It’s therefore fair to say that any fans of the series who also happen to own a PlayStation system have more than enough Final Fantasy games to jump into and enjoy, but considering that there are now so many games out there, which of them is truly the best for each console? Keep reading to find out.
After the series had started leaning more intomodern and futuristic settings,Final Fantasy 9brought the series back to its roots, being firmly based in an expansive fantasy world that was full of kings, queens, knights, and all sorts of otherworldly monsters lurking around every corner. While a lot of longtime fans were pleased about this change, another reasonFinal Fantasy 9gained such critical acclaim was due to its compelling story and incredible cast of characters who all get their own time to shine throughout the narrative.
By this point in the series,Final Fantasygames had been renowned for telling some of the best stories in all of gaming, andFinal Fantasy 9was certainly no exception, exploring very personal themes of life, death, and free will while also sprinkling in plenty of goofy moments to ensure it never became too dark in its tone.Final Fantasy 9’scombat also retained the fast-paced ATB formula of 7 and 8, while also bringing back character-specific abilities that were seen in some of the earlier games, ensuring that every party member fit a specific role while also feeling vastly different from one another in combat.
Final Fantasy 10is a revolutionary entry in theFinal Fantasyseries which proved that Square Enix was still ahead of the curve when it came to makingfun and compelling RPGs. Not only was it the first game to feature voice acting, making the overall experience much more immersive and ‘Modern’ in the eyes of many players as a result, but Square Enix once again decided to completely change the setting, with the world of Spira being based on the mythology of eastern countries like Thailand and Japan. This was already enough to help the game stand alone as something brand new and fresh from its predecessors, but the developers went a step further by crafting a story that has gone down as one of the most beloved and memorable in all of gaming.
As Tidus and the party go on their Pilgrimage in the hopes of defeating Sin, a gigantic monster that wreaks havoc on the world every few years, they start to question what the creature even is, why the people deserve to face its wrath, and if there really is any way of breaking the cycle once and for all. Pair this with outstanding graphics that still look amazing even to this day, along with what many argue to be the best progression system in the series with the Sphere Grid, and it’s not hard to see why so much of the fanbase fell in love withFinal Fantasy 10when it released for the PlayStation 2.
After the disastrous release of the originalFinal Fantasy 14in 2010, Yoshida and the team got hard at work on making a revamped version that would iron out all the technical issues and annoyances that the original had, resulting in the development ofFinal Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. In stark contrast to thenarrative-driven singleplayer experiencesthat the series had become known for by that point,Final Fantasy 14instead took the MMORPG route, dropping players into a massive open world where they are free to complete activities, explore dungeons, and take part in timed events to earn a boatload of EXP.
Speaking of EXP,Final Fantasy 14gets a lot of deserved praise for its progression system, which not only provides simple stat buffs but also grants entirely new skills for players to test out in combat too, making sure that the gameplay never ends up becoming stale or predictable. Of course, sinceFinal Fantasy 14is technically a live-service game, it has received numerous updates over the years from Square Enix with each new expansion bringing in a plethora of extra weapons, outfits, and entirely new questlines for fans to get stuck into.Final Fantasy 14is now the most popularFinal Fantasygame by a country mile, and although it had a shaky launch, the dedication from the team to release it for the PlayStation 3 in a solid state went a long way in earning people’s trust back.
Considering that they were literally preparing to try and remake one of the most critically acclaimed and universally beloved games ever made, it’s no surprise that Square Enix had more than a few doubters leading up toFinal Fantasy 7 Remake’srelease. However, when the game finally dropped, it blew away everyone’s expectations with its faithful yet modernized take on the story and characters, along with its incredible combat system, which managed to blendhack n' slash actionwith the classic turn-based system. The characters, while all just as lovable and charismatic, also received plenty more screentime, especially the Avalanche members, who are given entire sub-plots dedicated to learning more about them, and how they feel about the team’s recent actions.
Because the remake only takes place in the Midgar part of the narrative, it gave Square Enix more freedom to hone in on that portion of the story, allowing for some of the more emotional moments, like the destruction of the plate in Sector 7, to feel much more impactful. When also taking into account the countless amount of side content, including the addicting Summon battles and Wall Market activities, it’s easy to understand why the game has made such a lasting impression, becoming many people’s favorite game of the ninth generation of consoles.
After the mixed reception ofFinal Fantasy 15released for the PlayStation 4, Square Enix decided to do something radically different withFinal Fantasy 16, both in its story and gameplay. Although the game was taking inspiration from the fantasy roots of the series, it also had a much darker and more mature tone to it, along with inserting plenty of political drama which did a great job at giving some context to the world and making it feel as real as possible. Although the game doesn’t feature party members in the traditional sense, it does still include a large cast of intriguing and very memorable characters, withthe ever-mysterious Benediktaand monstrous Hugo being just a few popular examples.
Regarding gameplay,Final Fantasy 16completely did away with the classic turn-based formula to instead embrace a more action-oriented combat style, with battles, therefore, being much more flashy and over-the-top as Clive hacks and slashes his way through enemies with the use of his devastating Eikon powers. Though some felt that the combat was a little underbaked, to begin with, it does start to become much more in-depth as the game goes on, giving players plenty of freedom to create a build that perfectly suits their playstyle.
AlthoughFinal Fantasy 7quickly became wildly popular when it was released, fans were still eager to learn more about the world and its characters, especially the man who seemingly kicked off Cloud’s story in the first place, Zack. Therefore,Crisis Coreacts as a sort of prelude toFinal Fantasy 7, following Zack’s experience of being a SOLDIER and his relationship with the likes of Sephiroth, Cloud, and the Shinra Corporation in general.
Crisis Corewraps up every single hanging thread that was left from the original and even sheds light on new characters who also play pivotal roles in the wider story too, such as Angel, who was the original wielder ofthe Buster Sword. This was also one of Square Enix’s first attempts at trying out a hack n' slash combat system in the series, and although it could feel a little janky at times, being able to slide around enemies and cut them to pieces with the Buster Sword is still a ton of fun, especially with the inclusion of Materia and the incredibly unique DMW slot machine system.
