Which is the best final fantasy game to start with

Final Fantasy is one of the longest running game franchises in the world, with fans and critics alike praising the games. Unlike many other games, there is no long running story throughout the series and each game with a few exceptions showcases a different hero, each with their own set of foibles , and a completely different cast of characters, with some recognizable names, creatures, and more appearing in different games— even though they are usually unrelated.

This, in theory, makes just about any game in the series a great entry point, but that's not actually the case. Some FF games are better than others when it comes to potential new fans for a variety of reasons. These three games probably get the most flack and most of it stems from the design choices made in the first game. While the games still look beautiful even though they are from two console generations ago, the first game feels like it's on rails, it never really opens up until close to the end, and a lot of the story details are relegated to data files.

While the other two games are more well liked in the community, the story is still a bit wonky, and most don't like the first game enough to keep going.

Final Fantasy XII has its fans because of its unique gameplay system: The Gambit System allows players to customize their parties actions, basically programming them to respond to situations so the player can concentrate on using one character. The reason for this is the game represents a unique mixture or single player and MMO gameplaying styles.

Everything in the game revolves around money— the player has to buy Gambits, spells, and just about everything else but money is only gotten through selling items, which forces players to grind a lot and take on hunts. The dungeons are long and repetitive, the story is generic , and most of the characters aren't great.

The game has a large cast of characters, an epic story, and is full of powerful monsters that are challenging and look great.

It would be a precursor for a lot of things in the series and is interesting from that standpoint. This game marks a return to the series traditional fantasy roots, after the sci-fi inspired worlds of the prior two games.

The game contains lots of references that serve to reward series veterans, while introducing many elements of the franchise to newcomers. The game features exciting turn-based battles, and introduced the sphere grid system of character progression. Still pretty epic though. The world of Ivalice is at war. The small kingdom of Dalmasca has been conquered by the Archadian Empire, leaving Princess Ashe the one and only heir to the throne. Meanwhile, Vaan, a street urchin and orphan, dreams of flying freely in the skies.

The two will join forces with friends, pirates and warriors to form a resistance, find a way to restore Dalmasca to its former glory, and maybe even save the world. The ZODIAC AGE edition of the game - available on most platforms - expanded the options further, with even more gambits and the ability to give characters a second job in combat. It also features improved HD visuals, a remastered soundtrack and the ability to speed up time. A deepening crisis threatens to plunge the floating world of Cocoon into chaos.

A powerful and dangerous being called a Fal'Cie has been discovered, and in the aftermath a group of unsuspecting strangers are branded enemies of the state. Those looking to get into the series for the first time may be a bit overwhelmed by all the options available.

And since the FF series is so diverse and each entry is somewhat unique, it can make narrowing in on one game to start with even more difficult. However, some Final Fantasy games are more accessible and easier to get into than others.

The answer for which Final Fantasy game to play first really boils down to finding a single entry that best represents the series as a whole. For a first entry, one of the more traditional mainline titles is perhaps best. This can also apply to several of the earlier mainline entries, though, which set the foundation for Final Fantasy games but aren't necessarily representative of the entire franchise.

It's also arguably the most popular entry in the series. When the game launched on the PS1 in , it became a cultural phenomenon and was listed in several publications as one of the best games in general ever made. Graphically, the original FFVII certainly aged poorly, but the heartwrenching story, characters, and gameplay hold up well. It has an engrossing cast of characters with some of the best plot twists in a Final Fantasy game. The gameplay mechanics are also friendly to newcomers, with the Materia system being a great balance of simple-to-understand and layered.

The setting of Final Fantasy X went another interesting route. It went away from sci-fi and high-fantasy to a fantasy world with tropical inspirations. It focused in on an emotionally resonant, character-driven story and introduced the level-up Sphere Grid system.

Like the Materia system, this one was also easy to learn, but can be as deep as players want to make it. The development cycle of Final Fantasy XV was undoubtedly a chaotic one.

XV took a decade to release and didn't quite live up to the huge expectations, but still managed a solid critical reception. This was the franchise's first mainline dive into the action-RPG subgenre, and while combat wasn't as polished as it could have, it was simple enough to grasp.

Though the execution of the plot is disjointed, it was a fascinating, vibrant, modern-Europe-inspired world with lore and lovable characters. Noctis and co.