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For a first pick, start with Final Fantasy X for a focused, character-led story, Final Fantasy VII for a landmark blend of party combat and world-building, or Final Fantasy XIV if you want a long-running online adventure. This ranking orders all sixteen numbered games by story and cast, combat and customization, pacing and accessibility, world design and presentation, and their distinctive contribution to the series. The order is subjective: preferences for turn-based systems, jobs, action combat, or online play can shift it substantially.
The scope is the numbered series from I through XVI, including the online games XI and XIV. These are not chapters in one continuous story: Square Enix describes each mainline entry as having its own world, characters, story, and mechanics. Related games and spin-offs are not counted as separate numbered entries. Square Enix’s series history separates those releases from the numbered sequence.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE - PlayStation 5 | $49.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
FINAL FANTASY I-VI Collection Anniversary Edition - 2024 (NSW) | $47.71 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE | $31.90 | Buy on Amazon |
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How this ranking weighs the games
This is an editorial ranking, not a claim of objective quality or a sales, review-score, or popularity list. Each placement weighs how well the story and characters hold together, how engaging the combat and customization are, how clearly the game moves a player through its world, and what makes it distinct. No one factor wins automatically: novelty, age, or a preferred combat style alone does not settle the order. Game Informer made the same basic point about its own 2023 staff ranking, noting that readers’ personal orders would likely differ.
Older games can feel different depending on the version played. The comments below refer to each game’s core identity rather than claiming every release has identical interface, balance, or quality-of-life features. The first six are available together in the Final Fantasy I–VI Pixel Remaster bundle, which PlayStation describes as six remastered 2D pixel adventures with interface and soundtrack updates and extras.
#1 Best Overall
- Cinematic pixel art - What if FINAL FANTASY had continued to push the limits of pixel art? The first FINAL FANTASY to join the HD‑2D lineup, FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE delivers a visually striking experience that feels both nostalgic and new, enhanced by dynamic camera angles and pixelized 3D models that make every moment more dramatic and immersive.
- A return to the familiar - A classic RPG adventure unfolds in a world filled with beloved FINAL FANTASY elements—airships, crystals, espers and moogles woven into the fabric of the story, and so much more.
- Strategic turn-based battles - Exploit enemy weaknesses to stagger them—breaking their defenses to seize extra turns and gain the upper hand with powerful Resonance attacks in cinematic battles shaped by smart choices.
- FINAL FANTASY legends - Bolster your team with Visions, echoes of beloved FINAL FANTASY characters, who fight alongside you with unique skills and abilities for deep party customization.
- Hours of side content to discover - The world is full of secrets, including the wandering swordmaster Gilgamesh, a Colosseum with deadly monsters and rewards to match, the Chamber of Arms with formidable foes sealed within legendary weapons, and a showdown with Ultima Weapon.
All 16 mainline Final Fantasy games, ranked
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Final Fantasy X
X takes the top spot for the strength of its emotional through-line and the way its cast gives the journey human stakes. Its turn-based battles make party choices legible, while the pilgrimage structure gives the story a clear sense of direction. It is also a useful starting point for players who want a more modern presentation without giving up deliberate, menu-driven combat. PlayStation identifies it as the first game in the series to feature voiced characters.
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Final Fantasy VII
VII combines a memorable party, a broad world, and a story that moves between intimate character conflict and large-scale stakes. Its materia system makes party builds flexible without requiring a complicated combat manual. It ranks just below X because its original-era presentation and pacing can feel less immediately accessible to some new players, but its identity remains unusually cohesive.
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Final Fantasy IX
IX is a warm, sharply characterized fantasy adventure with a strong sense of place. Its traditional party roles and turn-based rhythm reinforce its storybook tone, and its cast gives the journey much of its charm. It loses a little ground for pacing and the slower feel of some battles, yet its world and emotional character work make it one of the series’ most complete experiences.
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Final Fantasy VI
VI earns its position through an ensemble cast, a dramatic shift in the scale of its conflict, and a striking 2D presentation. Its characters offer different abilities and personalities, keeping party composition lively. The sheer breadth of the cast can make individual arcs feel uneven, but the game’s ambition and atmosphere are still distinctive.
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Final Fantasy XIV
XIV is the strongest choice here for a player who wants an ongoing online role-playing game and a large-scale narrative delivered over time. Its format gives the world room to develop in a way a self-contained single-player entry cannot replicate. The trade-off is structural: progression, social features, and the time commitment of an MMO are part of the experience, not optional details. It ranks highly on world and story, but below the single-player standouts for accessibility to someone who wants a compact, complete game.
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Final Fantasy XII
XII stands out for its political setting, expansive environments, and combat systems that let players shape how a party behaves. Its Gambit system assigns conditional actions to party members, creating tactical control without requiring constant direct commands. That flexibility is a strength for players who enjoy tuning systems, though the setup and measured pacing can feel distant to someone seeking continuous hands-on action.
Rank #2
FINAL FANTASY I-VI Collection Anniversary Edition - 2024 (NSW)- The games that inspired a generation come to life once more, in the ultimate 2D pixel remaster!
- These games are newly developed remaster editions based on the original titles. Some of the changes and additional elements found in other remakes of these games are not included.
- The Anniversary Edition includes a pixel character sticker sheet.
- Universally updated 2D pixel graphics, including the iconic FINAL FANTASY character designs created by Kazuko Shibuya, the original artist and current collaborator.
- Beautifully rearranged soundtrack in a faithful FINAL FANTASY style, overseen by original composer Nobuo Uematsu.
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Final Fantasy IV
IV helped make character-driven storytelling and a defined party central to the series’ appeal. Its brisker narrative momentum and memorable cast compensate for comparatively straightforward customization. The precise feel varies by release, but the underlying adventure remains a strong early example of the series’ shift toward dramatic, character-focused role-playing.
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Final Fantasy XVI
XVI commits to action combat and a darker, more cinematic fantasy story. Its battles are immediate and spectacle-rich, and the presentation gives major confrontations considerable weight. It ranks in the middle because the action focus offers less of the party-wide tactical planning and build variety many longtime players seek. Platform context has changed: Square Enix announced Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC availability, Xbox Play Anywhere, and a Complete Edition with DLC on June 8, 2025; check current regional store listings for the edition available to you. Xbox Wire’s announcement records that dated release information.
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Final Fantasy V
V is among the best entries for players who care most about experimentation. Its job system makes party development the main attraction, encouraging combinations and tactical adaptation. The lighter story and episodic feel are part of its charm, but leave its narrative less affecting than the games above it.
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Final Fantasy VIII
VIII has a distinctive romance-led story, an unusual school-and-war setting, and a flexible Junction system that invites resource planning. That originality makes it memorable, but the mechanics can be opaque and may reward habits that feel counterintuitive, such as managing character strength through junction choices rather than simply equipping stronger gear. It is a rewarding game for players willing to engage with its systems, less welcoming as a blind first choice.
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Final Fantasy XIII
XIII has a striking audiovisual identity and a combat system that becomes more interesting as party roles and timing decisions open up. Its tightly directed early progression and terminology-heavy opening make it a harder sell for players who want immediate freedom or a clear explanation of the world. Once its battle rhythm clicks, it has a strong mechanical identity; its constrained sense of exploration keeps it below the more rounded entries.
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Final Fantasy III
III introduced a flexible job-based approach that became an important part of the series’ design vocabulary. Changing party roles gives the adventure a useful layer of strategy, but its older structure and comparatively thin characterization make it more compelling as a historical and mechanical curiosity than as an all-purpose recommendation. Its feel differs noticeably across releases.
Rank #3
Sale
FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE- Immerse yourself in the city of Midgar like never before, with improved textures, lighting, and background environments
- Players can switch between two game modes: "Graphics Mode" prioritizes 4K high-resolution graphics; "Performance Mode" prioritizes smooth action at 60 frames per second
- Capture and share your memorable moments from the game with a fully customizable “Photo Mode”
- Players can enjoy immersive battles by using the DualSense PlayStation 5 controller with its haptic feedback integration
- Play the brand-new episode featuring Yuffie and experience new combat and gameplay additions
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Final Fantasy XV
XV centers on the bond among its four leads and the pleasure of traveling through a broad, open world. PlayStation calls it the series’ first open-world entry. That scale gives the road-trip atmosphere room to breathe, but the main story can feel uneven beside its strongest character moments, and its action combat is less tactically satisfying than the best systems in the series. Choose it for the party’s journey and mood more than for a perfectly even narrative.
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Final Fantasy XI
XI belongs in a mainline ranking, but it should be judged as an online role-playing game rather than as a single-player campaign. Its appeal lies in its shared world and the social, long-form play that an MMO makes possible. The same structure demands a different relationship with time and progression from a self-contained game, so it is a poor fit for someone who wants a short solo story. Game Informer’s 2023 ranking likewise discusses it as an online role-playing design.
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Final Fantasy II
II breaks from the conventional experience-point approach by tying character growth to actions and attributes. That system is an ambitious departure, but can feel unintuitive or grind-prone compared with the cleaner progression systems of later entries. Game Informer also highlights its action-based attribute growth. It is worth exploring for players curious about the series’ experiments, though not the easiest route into it.
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Final Fantasy
The original Final Fantasy established the series’ party-based fantasy adventure, but its straightforward narrative and older mechanics make it the least inviting first play for many modern players. Its importance is real; importance is not the same as the most satisfying experience today. For someone curious about where the series began, the Pixel Remaster offers a more accessible route than seeking out an older release.
Which Final Fantasy should you play first?
Choose by the experience you want rather than by treating the ranking as a mandatory order. The games are standalone adventures, so there is no story-continuity requirement to begin with I. Square Enix’s official series history lists the numbered entries and related releases separately.
- For a focused story and turn-based battles: start with X.
- For classic party role-playing and a celebrated world: try VII or IX.
- For a job system and build experimentation: choose V.
- For tactical party behavior: consider XII and its Gambit system.
- For direct action combat and cinematic presentation: choose XVI.
- For an open-world road-trip atmosphere: try XV.
- For an ongoing MMO: compare XIV and XI by their current platforms and access requirements before committing.
- For the early series: the I–VI Pixel Remaster collection packages those six 2D adventures with updates; check the store listing for your platform and region.
Where to check editions and platforms
Availability, editions, and included content can differ by region and platform, so confirm the current listing before buying. PlayStation’s Final Fantasy guide covers the Pixel Remaster bundle and series entries on its platform. For XVI, the June 2025 Xbox Wire announcement establishes Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC availability at that date, including an Xbox Play Anywhere Complete Edition with DLC; it does not establish every current price, format, or regional listing. The official Final Fantasy Portal history is useful for checking the numbered sequence against spin-offs and related games.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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