FF5 will always be my favorite. Just so much to do in that game. But after that, my list tends to change with my mood. Like right now the next four would probably be FF9 > FF7 > FF13 > FF6, because though FF10 would normally be somewhere on that list I'm kind of bored of it right now.
FF10 is such a weird title for me to rank. It's hammy, but it's beautiful; it's large in scope, but somewhat confined; it's got great characters, but not much development; it's got a great battle system, but pretty easy to beat/break.
I still love it, and I've only appreciated it even more with age. Visually and thematically I adore it; but it's easy to sink a TON of hours into it (like Netflix) that I find myself kinda burnt out. I switched, funny enough, to X-2 to switch up the pace and I love how different it feels despite the same terrain.
I actually booted up
Final Fantasy IX tonight ...for the dumbest reason: I wanted to show my boyfriend how absolutely brilliant the '
opening act' is. FF10 worked by giving most of your party because of a pilgrimage; most of FF5's cast is related; most of FF8's cast knew each other from
fucking daycare...
But Final Fantasy IX managed to bring together all of its main key players in the most amazing and sheer-luck-based circumstances. And c'mon, is anything funnier than Steiner running around with clanking armour and then thinking the play is real and his Princess *really* got stabbed?
Then again, I have to say, the Final Fantasy
Series has
always known how to start with a
bang.