Final Fantasy Games Were Your Decisions Matter The Most

Final Fantasy stands as one of the most iconic video game series of all time. There are a number of all-time classic titles in this series' catalog, and with every game, Square Enix finds some new way to subvert the typical fantasy genre and bring a new host of engaging, relatable characters to their audience. If there's one area that the series does tend to stick to, however, it's in the linearity of each game's story.

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There are plenty of JRPGs where player choice can take the narrative in vastly different directions, but the Final Fantasy games do not number among them. Games like Triangle Strategy and Tactics Ogre show that Square Enix is able to take this more fluid approach to a story, however, and in these particular Final Fantasy games, player decisions still hold an incredible amount of weight in the overall gameplay and story being put forth.

5 Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

There Are Many Important Decisions Cloud Has To Make

An absolute classic that's been given new life, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth brings many modern twists to the classic title, and it's no surprise that this iteration of Cloud's journey has a greater emphasis on relationships and party companions. There are many key dialogue choices the player can make as Cloud that determine who he ends up dating later in the story, as well as companions' overall loyalty towards him in the story.

The players' decisions not only determine what scenes they get to see as the story unfolds, but also how Cloud interacts with his party. It's not on quite the same level as a branching narrative or multiple endings, but player decisions still carry a good deal of weight where companions are concerned.

4 Final Fantasy 14

Quest And Character Direction Fall In The Player's Hands

Player freedom is a huge part of what makes MMOs so popular. The "massively" part of a massively multiplayer game comes from having plenty to do, plenty to see, and plenty of builds to specialize in. Final Fantasy 14 is no exception in this regard, but on top of player freedom in terms of customization and exploration, this title in decidedly nonlinear in a way that many Final Fantasy games aren't.

Especially during the early parts of characters' careers in this game, players have branching opportunities to explore different regions and complete quests in whatever order they wish. Player decisions have a huge part in how their character progresses during those integral, early areas of FF14.

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3 Final Fantasy 6

Player Recruitments Change The Ending

The ending in Final Fantasy 6 differs greatly depending on who the player decided to bring along with them. This game is considered a classic even among other entries in the Final Fantasy series, and it's not surprising to see something as ahead of its time as a fluid, companion-based ending showing up in this title.

Besides the small handful of mandatory characters, there are a host of optional characters that can be recruited, and each of them change the ending scene in some way, especially if they were recruited alongside someone they've grown particularly close to over the course of the story. It's a very dynamic way of ending the game that rewards players based on the decisions they made to recruit - or ignore - certain companions.

2 Final Fantasy 13-2

Player Choices Lead To Paradox Endings

The first game in this duology was often maligned for being too linear - a symptom more of its time than the game itself, which had the unfortunate luck of being made during the great open world craze of the early 2010s. Final Fantasy 13-2 not only continues the high quality story and gameplay of the first game, but ends on one of several paradox endings based on certain decisions made during the story.

These endings are all decidedly non-canon, with a very clear 'true' ending among the paradox endings, but that doesn't change the fact that these are all fascinating windows into the world of this game, and excellent opportunities to see new dimensions to characters unfold.

1 Final Fantasy 10-2

Players Who Do Not Act Are Punished

Similar to Final Fantasy 13-2, this second-half counterpart to a Final Fantasy game has a bit more fluidity in how the story flows and functions, with two major endings, two secret endings, and - depending on what choices are taken during the story, a number of different cutscenes on either side of these endings to more personalize them. Many of these endings will be based around how Yuna and Tidus' relationship continues and progresses from the first game. For those that have kept up with their story across both titles, this is an incredibly emotional and compelling facet of the game, and one that will stick with players for a long time.

Players must also make spur of the moment decisions, with the final boss running on an unseen timer that grants a bad ending if they are not defeated in time. Altogether, there are a myriad of ways that this game lets the player make relatively small decisions, but with lasting consequences where the direction of the story is concerned.

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