What Should be your FIRST Final Fantasy?

When I was 15 or so I was told I had a brain tumor , had to go for like 3 surgeries high chance to not make it, my dad got me a ps1 and I remember playing all through ff7 during those times .so ff7 has a special place in my heart .

To me, there is no better entry point than X. It might not have the best characters, the best story, or the best magic/ability mechanics, but the battle system is about as relaxed as it gets. Its presentation has aged incredibly well so there isn't a generational disconnect, and nothing about it is so convoluted as to make it unapproachable.

Final fantasy 7 was the only big, complex game I ever played with my father. I was only 6 when it came out, and he actually used it as an opportunity to help me learn to read. I can’t say I understood too much about what was happening at that age, but it holds a special place for me because of the time spent playing it with the old man. Really good memories.

My first that I started was X and I fell in love. I then started going numerically and finished 1 and 2 before X, but I’ve been working my way through and it’s been fascinating so far. Just started FF4 on GBA and I’ve been loving it! (100%ing 3 on DS was… a very long process. Pixel Remaster is the way to go there, oi vey.)

Great video, I think a lot of good points were hit on! Will probably give 16 a shot once I finish 4, I’m very intrigued with how it’s going to be!

FFX is always my answer. Its the first one that feels like the modern age of FF but gives you an idea of what it might be like to go back to the earlier games.

Tbh my first FF was III. I was playing this on my Samsung Galaxy SIII and I loved it. I know most of the fans hate it, but I really like it. After that I sinked in FF world and I can't get enough of it

I really appreciate how you break down the “story first” vs “gameplay first” type suggestions. As someone who has a fair bit of experience with jrpgs from other companies, I consider myself very much a gameplay focused person. So V looks like a great place for me to start, after initially not loving my limited tries to the series in the past.

Great video!

I got my start with Final Fantasy with 6 all the way back on the SNES in the 90s, and have pretty much never stopped playing FF ever since. Played all of them, and I'm totally looking forward to 16!

Over the past year since May 2023 I have played and platinumed Ff1-10, 10-2, 12, 13, 7 Remake/Rebirth, Crisis Core and 16.
Currently working on 13-2 then Lightning Returns and 15.

Great video, super informative. As an FF fan since 7, it always good to get perspective on which one to play to fill in my gaps of FF

Awesome, thank you for this video! I have played 1 and 15 and was looking to get back into the series. I will probably play 16 next and then 4 as per your recommendation. Thank you!

Thank you, I’ve seen final fantasy everywhere since I was a kid but I’m just now beginning to try it, I’ll try 7 and I’ll come back to update along the way

I've been a gamer for 30 years, never played FF but lately I got interested to play some.

This video is very informative, thank you!

My first FF game was FF7 Remake. Now I become a fan of the series. Looking forward to playing the original FF7, FF7 Rebirth, and Crisis Core FF7

For most people, it’s about to be 16.

I've never played a final fantasy game before but I've seen others play through them. I wanted to be able to have my own experience and chose 8 as my start. I knew absolutely nothing about it so I went in blind as if it were 1999. 8 didn't make this list, but as a first time player to the series, I've been enjoying my experience so far. I have 7 and 9 also ready to play on my switch and am excited to dive into both titles as soon as I finish 8.
Thank you for the other recommendations. I'm very interested to maybe go back and start at the beginning now that I've dipped my toes into the Final Fantasy franchise

The 3D remake of 4 is also the hardest version in a number of ways, where they added even more mechanics to counter your counters. Like using lightning on a water elemental boss to break his defense and prevent a devastating attack, well in the 3D remake, I think it's a silence counter attack he uses to punish you for doing the exact thing you're supposed to do to beat the boss. That's the one real drawback I'd say to that version when considering what's going to be the first to play. I personally had to play that one 3 times to get past Dr. Lugae boss, which was constantly on a hair trigger to do the wrong move at the wrong time, and the whole fight would collapse into failure.

Any Final Fantasy is a great entry to start with. But What I did with my nephews was starting them with this order:
3,4,6,7,9,10,12, and 15.
14 is a great mmo to start with,if only you're okay with realm reborn and how long it takes.
I also told them to play tactics advanced as way for them to be introduce to TRPGs.

thanks a lot for this video! I’m a giant FF14 fan, and am looking into more “traditional” FF games to experience more of the Final Fantasy “spirit”. Your guide really helped me to get my bearings and not be intimidated by such an expansive series.

As a kid my first ff game was 7 and is what made me fall in love with the series and proceed to play basically every single mainline game and even many of the spin offs. I personally think it's a bit of a case by case basis on what people like or dont like from a game and it's story, but for me i'd say 7 and 10 are probably the best universal starting points despite 8 and 9 being my favorites. 10 for me is the most baseline you can get for a ff game, it's not my very favorite, but theres literally nothing i hate about it and generally it seems like no one really has any complains about it, and 7 is well... 7, not much to explain there, i know people who dont like any other ff game BUT 7.
I also think that ff has a very clear 'split' in styles, that being the classic Squaresoft era (1-11) and the Square Enix era (12-16); even if you're a fan of games like 13 or 16 you might not end up liking 7 or 8 because they feel quite different, not just in gameplay but in presentation and story as well.