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What are the best Final Fantasy games to start with, for those new to the series?

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5 Games Considered

5 Options ConsideredPriceSteam RatingGenre
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
Very PositiveRole-Playing
Final Fantasy VI
Mixed–
Final Fantasy X HD Remaster
–Role-Playing
Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition
Very PositiveAction Role-Playing
Final Fantasy IX
Very Positive–
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Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

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Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Additional content, changes and upgrades for the HD remaster

•••
The HD remaster includes new content from the PlayStation 2's Japanese International version that didn't get a Western release. When assigning battle roles for your characters, you have the option to give them two jobs instead of one. If you decide to make Balthier's initial job a white...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Huge and diverse open world to explore

•••
The world of Ivalice is a medieval fantasy setting that has elements of magical technology beneath the surface, with several locations to explore out in the wild. The grand, magnificent Royal City of Rabanastre is sequestered between a desert, branching off to plains that alternate between dry and...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Amazing amount of challenging optional content

•••
Once you reach the later parts of the game, you'll be free to go after many different side quests like hunting powerful enemies for great rewards, and taking down stronger Espers, Final Fantasy XII's version of the series' magical deity summons. You'll be able to traverse each map...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Standout characters among the cast

•••
Unlike the majority of the cast whose motivations and growth are too closely linked to the plot, Fran and Balthier have their own lives that don't revolve around the story, making them feel more authentic than the others. Balthier is a charming, witty sky pirate who always has his eye on the pr...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Intuitive player-programmed combat with the gambit system

•••
The gambit system allows you to assign pre-set conditions and commands for your characters in real-time battles, like using healing spells when a party member is at less than 50% HP, or only using physical attacks when an enemy reflects magic. As you progress through the story, you'll find more...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Airship travel is limited to picking destinations on the map

•••
When you gain access to the airship, that excitement sours quickly once you realize you can only select locations on the map and travel to them instantly. You'll only get to see a cutscene of the airship taking off for flight before you're faced with a loading screen.
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Later parts of the story feel tacked on

•••
Final Fantasy XII's political story is dense, mature, and captivating--until you reach a certain point after the halfway mark where things become too predictable. Plot holes begin to crop up, competent characters make questionable and reckless decisions for the sake of drama, and compelling vil...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Main protagonist adds little to the plot

•••
The main character, Vaan, is a teenage pickpocket who aspires to be a sky pirate with his own airship, which sounds interesting, but his relevance to the plot falls off sharply within the first 6-8 hours. He wants to avenge the death of his older brother Reks, but this becomes only a tertiary goal...
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
Genre:Role-Playing
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Final Fantasy VI

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Final Fantasy X HD Remaster

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Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Addictive underwater sports mini-game called Blitzball

•••
Blizball is an addictive mini-game in Final Fantasy X that's great to play as a respite from the main game. It's like a mix of soccer and rugby played underwater, where you pass a ball around the sphere-like field, trying to score goals while the opposing team tackles and kicks to try and s...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Incredible music that fits the game's mood and tone

•••
Final Fantasy X has an amazing soundtrack with a range of iconic tracks that are still beloved to this day, fitting well in each scene and situation they play in. "To Zanarkand" is a moving piano song that plays in the opening cutscene and again later on in the story, matching the game...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Thoughtful and grounded story

•••
Final Fantasy X tells the story of the main character Tidus who one day finds himself in a faraway place 1,000 years in the future in a world full of death and suffering. A cleric-like summoner named Yuna embarks on a pilgrimage with Tidus and their other companions to destroy Sin: a gigantic whale...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Strategic and proactive turn-based combat

•••
Turn-based battles in Final Fantasy X give you great ways to plan out how to approach each fight instead of leaving you to mostly react in battle. On the right-hand side of the screen, you'll see a long column including the icons of each character in your main party and how many turns the boss...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Airship travel is limited to picking points on the world map

•••
It's really disheartening to unlock the airship in Final Fantasy X later in the game, only to discover that all you can do is pick a location and go to it automatically. You can't maneuver it through the skies like in older Final Fantasy games. It would have been nice to have the freedom to...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Extremely linear environments

•••
The locations in Final Fantasy X are beautiful and detailed, and yet there are lots of invisible walls blocking you off from exploring those locations. More often than not there's only a single path in any given environment to follow. It's a lot like running down a single corridor from the...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Severe difficulty spike partway through the game

•••
As you go through the game, you'll probably feel comfortable with the difficulty up until a certain point. There's one boss in particular that's notorious for how hard it is to beat compared to the previous ones. You'll more than likely have to spend hours grinding enemies in the ar...
Specs
Genre:Role-Playing
See 6 more Pros & ConsSee 6 more Pros & Cons

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

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Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Amazing performance and textures on high-end PCs

•••
For players with top-of-the line PCs, Final Fantasy XV looks incredible in 4K and HDR, with hardly any dips in the framerate. If you want to see every little detail, you'll need to install the HD textures. The textures will take up about 155GB of space, but it's worth it to flesh out the ga...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Excellent combat that runs smoothly

•••
The flashy active combat system looks amazing and runs well. It's full of spectacle, with Noctis dashing from enemy to enemy with his warp strikes, and his magic spells that scorch the earth or freeze the winds nearby. With the freedom to switch between Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio whenev...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Solid companionship between the main characters

•••
Playing as the main character Prince Noctis, journeying across the world with his friends is the most authentic part of the game because of their realistic bonds. Other than the main story scenarios, you'll get to see the smaller ways that Noctis interacts with Prompto, his upbeat best friend,...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Impressive visuals

•••
Final Fantasy XV is an epic game that knows how to put on a show with its visuals. Some of its best moments are visually awe-inspiring, standing out from other games through sheer ambition and huge proportions, like fighting boss battles against enormous foes. Even during regular battles, if you...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Powerful soundtrack

•••
The soundtrack in this game is grand and inspiring, going the extra mile to help plenty of moments stick out in your memory alongside the music. The prologue alone gives a great preview of a fiery level you'll reach later in the story, playing the song "Hellfire" with an energized cho...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Core character development for Noctis' companions isn't in the main story

•••
The weak story in Final Fantasy XV links back to Noctis' companions--Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto--and how you won't get to know the guys all that well unless you exit to the main menu to play through optional DLC. You have to reach certain points in the story before these DLC stories are ava...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Weak story

•••
Because the Final Fantasy series is known for its great stories, it's frustrating that the one here is badly executed. There are a lot of payoffs in the plot that the writers intended to be dramatic and emotional, and yet you probably won't feel the full impact of them since the buildup to...
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
Genre:Action Role-Playing
See 6 more Pros & ConsSee 6 more Pros & Cons

Final Fantasy IX

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