Summary
- Final Fantasy games offer character customization options, appealing to players who prefer putting their own personality into the game.
- FF titles like Crystal Chronicles, Type-0, and FF XV: Comrades offer varying degrees of character customization options.
- Final Fantasy 11 and 14 stand out for their rich customization choices, with FF 14 offering a more welcoming and diverse costume selection.
Cloud, Zidane, and Clive: These are all beloved character leads in their respective Final Fantasy games. Cloud, in particular, has appeared many times in crossover games, including ones not directly related to Final Fantasy 7. While fans love playing through carefully crafted stories with premade characters, other players like to put their own personality into the equation.
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Those players enjoy creating their own characters, which is a popular gameplay mechanic found more in Western RPGs than Japanese ones. Still, there have been character customization opportunities in Final Fantasy games, and some are even very popular. So let’s rank the best Final Fantasy games that offer character customization based on how many customization options players get and how good the games are overall.
7 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Co-Op On The GameCube
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
- Released
- February 9, 2004
- ESRB
- Teen // Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was released first for the GameCube, and its focus was on four-player co-op. Players could create their character based on four different races, including Clavats, Lilties, Yukes, and Selkies, which set them up with different weapons. Spells could be acquired in dungeons and lost after the dungeon was all said and done, so no one race could exclusivelly be a mage.
There weren’t many customization choices on offer, as things boiled down to various hair and clothing colors, which would later be amplified in the sequels, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time.
6 Final Fantasy Awakening
Back To School
- Developers: Square Enix, Perfect World Games
- Publisher: Oasis Games (NA version)
- Released: February 2, 2018 (NA version)
- Platforms: PS4, Xbox One
Final Fantasy Type-0 was a PSP spinoff that was later re-released on consoles. It was set in a military academy and offered players over a dozen story characters to play as. Final Fantasy Awakening was a mobile spinoff of that game which allowed players to make their own cadets and choose typical avatar customization options, from hair to facial features to weapons.
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The game kept the hack-and-slash gameplay of the original, which functioned decently on mobile devices. It was released first in 2016 in China and later dropped in North America in 2018. Unfortunately, like many mobile Final Fantasy spinoffs, it is no longer available as of 2020, but for a time, it was a fun multiplayer game to take on the go.
5 Final Fantasy 15 Multiplayer: Comrades
A Co-Op Game In The Dark Timeline
- Developer: Square Enix
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Released: December 12, 2018 (as a standalone product)
- Platforms: PS4, Xbox One
Final Fantasy 15 Multiplayer: Comrades was originally packaged with the main Final Fantasy 15 game, but eventually it was spun off into its own version on digital console stores. It takes place late in the game’s story when monsters become more rampant. Players are set up with their hunter to help quell the monster uprising and can fully customize their avatar in great detail.
The weapon choices were minimal, with players choosing between things like a katana or daggers, and missions were more bite-sized, making it seem like it was a game designed for mobile devices first. Smaller missions aside, players can join others on dozens of missions in four-player co-op. Final Fantasy Awakening is still available to play, and despite it taking place late in the FF 15 main story, players really don’t have to know anything about Noctis and his crew to get enjoyment out of it.
4 Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier
Shinra’s Secret Project
Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier
- Released
- November 17, 2021
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- Ateam Inc., Square Enix Creative Business Unit I
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Battle Royale
In a world filled with too many Battle Royale games, Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier is actually an interesting spin on the genre. It's a prequel set before the main game, wherein Shinra was experimenting with their SOLDIER program. The idea is that matches weed out rookies, and the winner becomes the canonical first SOLDIER for Shinra.
Players can customize their avatars, tweak their load-outs like a Job system of sorts, and jump online with other players on mobile devices for versus matches. Unfortunately, The First Soldier was shut down in 2023, after only launching in 2021, which is a real loss for Final Fantasy 7 fans. However, maybe it could come back to consoles someday.
3 Final Fantasy 11
The First MMO
Final Fantasy XI
- Released
- October 28, 2003
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Animated Blood, Violence
- Genre(s)
- MMORPG
Final Fantasy 11 is an obvious choice here, as MMOs typically offer players deep customization options. This was the franchise’s first MMO, which players felt was a hard go in the land of Vana'diel, but they stuck with it because the rewards were great if they put in the time.
At the start, players can choose from five races, including Hume, Elvaan, Tarutaru, Mithra, and Galka, and basic Jobs like Warrior, Black Mage, or Thief. As they level up, they can unlock new Jobs and, of course, a big hook was the multiplayer aspect. Final Fantasy 11 was released first on PC in Japan in 2002, but would later come to PS2 and Xbox 360. Even though there is a spiritual successor MMO, Square Enix is still supporting Final Fantasy 11, with the latest expansion, Voracious Resurgence, ending its episodic run in 2023.
2 Final Fantasy Explorers
Monster Hunter Portable
Final Fantasy Explorers
- Released
- January 26, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Final Fantasy Explorers doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves. It took the Monster Hunter formula and simplified it for a new generation before Monster Hunter World reinvented that franchise’s aspects. The aesthetic is also cuter, with more anime-like avatars that players can customize initially and then further when they craft new weapon and armor sets.
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There are also unlockable costumes based on other characters in the franchise, like Cloud from Final Fantasy 7, complete with his famous Buster Sword. It's a 3DS-only experience, and players can team up for four-player sessions across an action RPG landscape.
1 Final Fantasy 14
Starting From Scratch
Final Fantasy 14
- Released
- August 27, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen - Language, Mild Blood, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Genre(s)
- MMORPG
Final Fantasy 14 improved a lot on what Final Fantasy 11 started when it relaunched itself in 2013 after a poor debut in 2010. Players can choose between the Hyur, Elezen, Lalafell, Miqo'te, and Roegadyn races, along with basic Jobs like Archer, Pugilist, or Gladiator. Leveling up branches out skills and jobs, and expansions deepen the gameplay from new Job offerings to new locations.
The costume choices are also more varied, giving the world of Eorzea a more welcoming feel than its MMO predecessor. For many, Final Fantasy 14 is the ultimate Final Fantasy experience, whether players go into it alone or with friends.
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