Pat

FFVIII and FFIX did not get much credit back in the day. Both deserved the same praise VII got.

My only gripe about IX was how long it took to level once you got to the 60s.

The chocobo digging minigame was so much fun. I guess 2 gripes, the card game was no good. Triple Triad was boss.

Im a huge FF fan, but im sorry, VII is overrated. People love to give all the credit to VII, some credit to X, barely any credit to IX, and none to VIII, X-2 or XII.

My preference:

XII

IX

VIII

X-2

X

VII

Still waiting to play 1-6, the 13s, 14, 15, 16, Type 0, crisis core, tactics...

I suppose it makes sense if youre looking at non-gameplay story-based character strength.

But I do want to point out that I found Ashe to be the strongest in XII as I pitted her and Basch against each other many time with no weapons or armor. She always came out victorious in a fight to the end!

FFVIII was my first final fantasy game. It holds a big place in my heart. Likened to Dragon Quest VIII.

The game play was great. It was a great example of an RPG. It was a great introduction to the huge, open world style of final fantasy. And it was much smoother than VII.

I am a huge fan of XII, but I agree you should play at least from VII and up before playing XII in order to get the most out of it and master the gambit system.

I feel it is a rite of passage to first play the normal turn based styles of earlier rpgs before moving on to the gambit system (which was highly underrated).

But every game I played was crucial to the series. A completely different style of weapon system, or magic system, or armor sysyem or summon monster system.