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Depends on what kind of gameplay you like. Final fantasy 10 is a masterpiece turn based rpg. 15 is a great action oriented style. My personal favorites are 7 and 9. The remake of 7 is pretty epic but totally different gameplay than the original iteration.

Very different story too

I started on FF10, and it was amazing.

I've played 6-10. The good news is that the stories are mostly different so you can just pick one.

Personally I only consider Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy IX (4 through 9) "must play games", in addition to Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. But your mileage may vary.

Final Fantasy 7, 9, and 10 are good classics. 7 and 9 are my absolute favorites. 10 was groundbreaking at the time for its graphics and voice acting. FF12 is good but also very grindy.

For more modern stuff: 15 is very beautiful but the story is garbage. FF13, 13-2, 13-3 are hot garbage.

If you want to check out other JRPGs that are modern, try Persona 5, Nier Automata, FF7 Remake. I think the OG FF7 is much, much better story wise though. A lot of things got lost in the remake. Character personalities changed, dialogue became much more “anime-y”, it was more raw and human in the original. The remake’s combat system is more fun though.

FF9 is a bit of a homage to the FF series, it took a heap of the tropes and mechanics from previous entries and repackaged them into something (I'd say) pretty special.

Magic medevilism with a mechanopunk flavour and political intrigue that gives way to world altering batshit crazy pomp.

I think that's a good place to start

You can really start with any, but 6-15 (but not 11 or 14) all have something to offer. Many people suggest VII or X as good starting points. I actually started with XV and made my way backwards through the releases.

But really, they are all different enough that you can play just whichever appeals and likely be satisfied with that. There is no connection from one to the next.

With the OG.

No, please, don't do that.

While I love the original, it has nostalgic value to me but it is...hard to play today. My favorites are FF 6, FF7, FF8, FF10 and FFTactics. All of them are worth a play imo

Edit to add: I am currently playing through Tactics right now on an emulator for my phone. Favorite game ever, played the base version and am now playing the PSP version.

4 is good, 6, 7 and 7 remake, 8, 9, 10 are great, 12 is ok, 13 sucks ass, 11 and 14 are mmo, 15 was great. Start with the older ones imo. Don’t let the title of 7 remake fool you play the original first as remake is more like a sequel in an alternate timeline.

Start at FF1 it's super short, and sets the template for all of the rest.

1-6 are like playing the Evoland games if you have played those. The mechanics change with each new game but the basic game sounds, and system mechanics stay the same.

7-10 are the best, and where the games changed to 3D from 2D.

The stand alone 10 games after 10 are really forgettable.

11 is basically just an MMO

12 is spit into 3 and feels more like Fantasy Star than Final Fantasy.

13 is great back to the old ways mostly.

14 is MMO again

15 is like a split MMO/Offline game that is always online.

Just my opinions. Hope that is helpful.

Good info. Thank you!

What would you say 7 & 9 are? action?

I do enjoy a good turn based game. Divinity: original sin was glorious.

Good to know. Was something i was worried about. Don't enjoy being lost in the middle of a storyline.

I appreciate the opinions! That's what I'm looking for. Sounds like there is some discord about 13 though.

Thanks for the detailed response!

FYI: FF is all JRPG. There are no shooter or slasher titles. It's all swords & magic, fantasy type stuff with some sci-fi elements depending on what game you're playing.

As for what game, you have some good suggestions, it depends on what sort of rpg you're looking for I'd think.

Recent titles I enjoyed were god of war raganrok and horizon forbidden west. Played alot of elden ring though I know better than to expect that type of game from this series.

My god tier RPG's from the past:

Ocarina of Time

God of war - the whole series

Fable

Dragon Age - The whole series

Witcher 3 - enjoyed the whole Witcher series though

Kotor

Mass Effect

RPG may not fit just right with some of these titles but it's a list i really enjoyed.

each main entry introduces a new world, setting, characters, plot, etc. so you don't have to worry there. there are sequels, but it's made known in the title, such as FFX-2.

i would say do some light research and pick the one that appeals to you. there are pretty varied opinions on FF as a whole and there isn't really a consensus on how best to approach it. if you want my personal opinion, my favorites are 6, 9, and 10.

1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12. I’d probably start with 1 because it’s quick and will give you a feel for universal concepts that will keep coming up, and then skip to 9 because it’s fantastic. Do go back and hit the others in that list afterwards though.

14 would be a great way to start. If you’re in the mood for online

FF VIII, FFX, and FFXII are my three favourites in the series for a combination of story and gameplay.

Important thing to note is when they were released and on what console as this does change what the game looked and felt like, I struggle to go back to the PS1 titles now but easily replay PS2 and up. FFX was the first PS2 title. FFXIII Was the first PS3 title. FFXV was the first PS4 title.

If you are after a shooter type, try out FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus (PS2, released after FFX to be confusing) You play as Vincent Valentine and it is more of an action/shooter based title

FFXV also is an 'active' system where you can choose if it pauses while you are in a menu mid battle etc, but feels more spammy/action based. Can be pretty fun with the combo's etc if you ever played and liked Kingdom Hearts combat.

FF8 was my first rpg, so would always say it’s my fave because it just has that special place in my heart. 7,8,9 and 10 are known for being the best in the series. 8 had kinda mixed reviews from fans it was an either you loved it or hated it. A lot of the hate was about the junction and draw system. It is also the most technologically advanced story wise in the final fantasy universe so some people view it more sci fi. But it also has some of the best theories from fans, even though the creators debunked the theories they are still interesting to read. Also even the people who hated it still love triple triad, which is a card game in the game.

As someone who has played most of the classics, I'd recommend starting with any of these: IV, V, VI, VII, IX, or X. Each of those stand out either thematically, mechanically, or as fan favorites.

While the series was turn based (at least main series offline), the battles mechanics could vary greatly. Final Fantasy I, IV, and IX have the party members locked into specific battle roles. FFX also starts out this way but can give you more options by late game or, depending on the version, after some quick grinding for levels and special items. FFII, VI, VII, VII and XII are more open about how you set up your character's roles in battles. FFIII, V, and FFX-2 have "job systems" where the roles are predefined, but can be swapped and new roles earned over the adventure. FFIV also is the only mainline game to have a max battle party total of 5, and FFX was the first to let the active and reserve characters be swapped mid-battle to change up how strategies would work.

Thematically the stories could sometimes get different, too. Most of them boil down to some bad guy wanting to take over/destroy the world with some comic relief enemies thrown in the early game, but a few of them can get bleak. FFX does it often.

original 7 if you want turn based, remake if you want hack and slash.

I personally love 7, 9, 6 in that order

Most folks will list one of the ones in 7-10 as their favorite. All of which are after the switch to 3d from 2d sprites, and are generally classic style turn based RPGs. 6 is my favorite out of the 2d sprite era, with a solid story and good gameplay. 11 and 14 are the MMORPGs, 14 being one of the more popular (deservingly so) MMOs on the market. 12-15 have their quirks and can be fun, but each has their issues. Final Fantasy Tactics is also an incredible game, and has one of my favorite job/class systems out of all the games.

Most FF games are going to be turn based RPGs at their core, even if some hide it a bit more. There are a few random offshoot games that might be different, but those usually rely on having played the main game it was based on.

The new one is not quite fully an action rpg, but it's not really turn based either. I would not describe it as hack and slash at all, however. Games like kingdom hearts are more actiony than 7R.

The original 7, and 9 is not action at all.

If you have no experience playing RPGs, FFX is the best starting point. The battle system doesn't punish you for slow decision making, and the leveling system is straightforward.