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Both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XII are great. Both are at the top of my list of Favorite Final Fantasy games.
I like Final Fantasy X because of its interesting and compelling and likable characters, some of the best in the series, its unique story, and its deeply developed world. It was somewhat simplistic, but it was highly creative, with a large and colorful cast. And the world of Spira is awesome. It is much more intricate than the world's of any other Final Fantasy game, more so than Ivalice and the world of Final Fantasy VII, which have been explored in many games.
The battle system was overly simplistic, and in the end the sphere grid, although intriguing and somewhat different, didn't really bring anything new to the table. Still it was fun. It marked a shift in the direction of Final Fantasy games. Not just in the use of voice acting and a free roaming camera, but also in it's focus on world development and realism over characters, a shift away from the traditional battle systems, putting a focus on placement in the battle and a sort of rock-paper-scissors style in which you HAVE to have the right abilities to beat certain baddies, and in making summons more corporeal entities, existing on the battle field.
Final Fantasy XII was best for its game play, completely unique for a single-player rpg. The license board, while not entirely great, was an improvement on the sphere grid, functioning in roughly the same way but allowing for deeper control. It is what the sphere grid should have been. The focus on freedom and exploration puts it in sharp contrast with Final Fantasy X. Much like Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX, they show just how different two Final Fantasy's can be. The voice acting is very good, and the graphics are great.
It has one of the best overall stories in the series, alongside Final Fantasy VIII. It is deep, complex, and political. Sadly, it has some of the worst characters in the series. They weren't bad, don't get me wrong, they were just severely under developed when compared with other games in the series, and thus very difficult to connect with. They act more like guides, taking us through a tour through the great world and story.
For me, I would have to give the title of Best Fourth Generation Final Fantasy game to Final Fantasy X. Although Final Fantasy was just as different from past games, if not more different, than Final Fantasy XII is, Final Fantasy still kept some of the novelties and in turn that nostalgic feeling from the early games. Final Fantasy XII is still a great game, and is a close second, and is in my top five best Final Fantasy games ever.
Now on to the other two:
Unlike everyone else, I liked Final Fantasy X-2. It is far from being my favorite, but still. It has the same charm that Final Fantasy X had, and that alone makes me like it. The fast-paced battle system is awesome, and the dress spheres were a novel, yet obviously gimmicky, idea. It didn't do anything new, unlike every other Final Fantasy game, but it improved upon all of the facets of the past Final Fantasy battle systems.
As I said, I absolutely love the world of Spira, so given a chance to explore it again was great in my opinion. The story, while not as epic as any other, was also nice. At first it was more of a "where are they now" kind of story, but it grew into a fairly enthralling adventure. While very light-hearted, it did have its emotional moments, and the characters of Baralai, Gippal, and Nooj are all really nice.
As for Final Fantasy XI. I have not played it, and I probably never will, never taking a liking to massively multiplayer online rpgs. Truthfully, I think it was a stupid move dubbing it Final Fantasy XI, as that kind of tarnishes the continuity of the main Final Fantasy series. What they should have done is name the game "Final Fantasy: Online". It would have maintained the purity of the Final Fantasy naming scheme.
So, that puts it as:
1) Final Fantasy X
1.5) Final Fantasy XII
2) ...
3) Final Fantasy X-2
4) ...
5) ...
6) Final Fantasy: Online
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