I’ve looked at the best Final Fantasy games, now let’s spotlight the worst Final Fantasy titles. Skip these if you haven’t picked up the series yet! While on summer vacation, I revisited nearly every game in the franchise, some I hadn’t touched in over a decade. These are the worst of the lot.
As I said in our “Best Of” article, some titles have many releases and remakes. We’ll only consider their most accessible and playable version. Be sure to check out the complete Final Fantasy ranking at the end of the article.
#5. Final Fantasy III: Pixel Remaster (PC/PS/Switch/Mobile)
As much as I enjoyed Final Fantasy III, I can’t recommend the game to someone who’s never touched the franchise.
Cons: The narrative is a rehash of FFI, so it feels cheap and repetitive.
Party customization options are so broad that it can be a hindrance. While playing around with different job chemistries is fun, certain jobs are critical for clearing many late-game bosses. Prepare properly, or you’ll get stuck grinding for a skill or spell. That’s because jobs level up individually, based on each character’s base level.
Pros: Final Fantasy III had a lot of innovative design, for an NES game. Just as the game seemingly draws to a close, an entire second world map is revealed for exploration! Dungeons also have hidden passageways and secret treasure rooms that can only be accessed with spells like Toad or Mini. There’s a lot to discover, which makes exploration rewarding. It also introduced iconic stables to the series such as summoning magic and the job system.
#4. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3/Xbox 360 Version)
Yes, I know there is a PC port of it on Steam, but I said I’d rank only the most playable version. The FFXIII trilogy is notorious for its dumpster fire PC ports that perform so badly that it’s a wonder they’re still sold. That said, even the PS3 version of FFXIII is hard to praise. It has a decent narrative with great characters but is a terrible game.
Cons: “Final Hallway XIII ” lacks engagement, with little to explore at any level. Battles require little thought or input from the player as it auto-selects skills and spells for you. It’s essentially an interactive movie. And not a good one. The ending tries hard to act like a happy ending when it really isn’t. They did not “save Cacoon” as they claimed, it became an inhabitable glacier.
Pros: The characters are great, with fun relationship dynamics (notably Sazh’s interactions with the entire party). Lesbians! Its graphics are beautiful and the environments are diverse. One level shows a beautiful springtime waterscape and the next an urban city center or a future archaic tech tower. The cast varies in personality and character growth! Every story arc and level makes a small, memorable impact.
#3. Final Fantasy XIII: Lighting Returns (PS3/Xbox 360 Version)
After being abducted by Etro and forced to defend Valhalla, Lightning took a backseat in Final Fantasy XIII-2. She wouldn’t serve as the protagonist until the final installment of the XIII Trilogy. And…Lightning shouldn’t have returned.
Cons: Random encounters felt pointless since they didn’t give experience points. You could encounter all monsters and drive them to extinction. Completing side quests grant Lightning new powers and stat growth. This makes a lot of “optional content” mandatory. It’s also the only game in the franchise with a time limit for the main story. Many quests are only beatable on certain days or within 2–6 hour windows. Players had to plan their activity carefully to ensure Lightning would be strong enough to handle the final boss, or risk starting over at earlier points. Lightning Returns was unique but stressful.
Pros: Lightning Returns gave us the conclusion we deserved. Everyone got their happy ending.
#2. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (PC/PS/Switch/Xbox)
When this game launched in 2006 I thought it was the worst Final Fantasy game in the series. After replaying it for the first time in nearly twenty years for this article… I think it’s the second worst.
Cons: Motivation for several character actions feels paper-thin. Vann and Penelo are insignificant, with little driving force in the story. Both were only included in the game due to the poor reception the game received compared to other Square-Enix titles featuring well-aged protagonists. With Bash the initially planned protagonists, Vaan and Penelo look, feel, and behave like afterthoughts… because they were.
Also, money is hard to come by. Defeating enemies does not guarantee money drops and chests usually only give pocket change. Then the game asks you to purchase everything; weapons, armor, magic, tactics/skills, and gambits (AI commands). Unless you play on New Game+ mode to automatically start with level 90 characters you’ll spend most of your time grinding to sell loot for gil.
Pros: FFXII’s world, Ivalice, is vast and the influence from both FFX and FFXI shows. Areas resemble island nations such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and others. The game plays like an offline MMO, allowing players to customize party members’ AI. As a result, FFXII focuses on exploration and has some of the most engaging environments and dungeons.
Worst Final Fantasy Games: Dishonorable Mentions
Before our number one worst Final Fantasy pick, let’s examine a few games that almost made the list:
10th. Final Fantasy XVI
- Condemning Features: The half-baked narrative and world lacked polish, while early-game sidequests were needless.
- Redeeming Charm: Clive and Joshua’s brotherly relationship. The DLC added classic FF elements the base game lacked and answered the biggest plothole, involving Leviathan.
9th. Final Fantasy II
- Condemning Features: Undless grinding for decent character stats, weapons, or armor. If you fall behind you won’t stand a chance in any boss fights.
- Redeeming Charm: Players were, for the first time, deeply involved in Final Fantasy II’s story, because of dialogue options with the franchise’s new Memorize and Key Terms system. The world opens up quickly for exploration and the characters move the story along.
8th. Final Fantasy VII
- Condemning Features: The current version has many technical issues that weren’t in the original PS1 version. While many can be solved with mods to the Steam version, the Switch, PS4, and PF5 are still a hassle.
- Redeeming Charm: FFVII’s influence on the franchise and JRPGs is impossible to deny. The game was a pioneer of 3D games, back in the ’90s. Its rich story, fun band of heroes, and story-telling hadn’t been seen in video games before.
7th. Final Fantasy VII: Remake
- Condemning Features: Meaningless fetch quests stretch out the game, usually to kill wolves or talk to NPC. Many areas, such as the train yard and the Shinra building, have lengthy dungeons and mazes that add little to the narrative. Empty calories!
- Redeeming Charm: It’s nice to see Midgar fully realized in a way that was never possible until the PS4. Brand new narration added characterization for Cloud, Aeith, Tifa, and Barret. But the real gem comes from getting to know Bigs, Wedge, and Jesse since we never got the chance in the original.
6th. Final Fantasy I
- Condemning Features: With the limits of hardware of its era, players can’t expect cutscenes and linear maps to unpack the story. Instead, talk to NPCs for hints about what’s next.
- Redeeming Charm: Because you end up talking to every NPC, FFI becomes an immersive experience and a world you’ll know better than most 3D titles in the series.
And our number one pick for the worst Final Fantasy game is…
#1. Final Fantasy VIII HD (PC/PS4/Switch/Xbox)
You either love it or hate it. I hate it.
Cons: Most characters lack involvement with the story (particularly after the failed assassination attempt). The Draw System is tedious and annoying. Some spells are only drawn from one or two specific enemies — God forbid a story boss. Squall has the personality of wet toilet paper. Ultimicia has a goal, but the narrative doesn’t explain her motivation well. Her plan for time compression is compelling on the drawing board but bad in execution. The “remaster” looks pathetic.
Pros: The game used passive AI tech that curved difficulty based on the party’s average level. It’s common to be only level 18–25 when you reach the final boss. So long as you’ve collected powerful magic to junction your characters, there isn’t much worry. The gunblade is cool.
Best and Worst Final Fantasy Games: Complete Ranking List
Here’s our complete ranking of Final Fantasy games.
- Final Fantasy X
- Final Fantasy IX
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Final Fantasy XIII-2
- Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
- Final Fantasy VI
- Final Fantasy X-2
- Final Fantasy XV
- Final Fantasy IV
- Final Fantasy V
- Final Fantasy XI
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Final Fantasy II
- Final Fantasy VII
- Final Fantasy VII: Remake
- Final Fantasy I
- Final Fantasy III
- Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns
- Final Fantasy XIII
- Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
- Final Fantasy VIII
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Do you agree with our ranking? Which is the worst Final Fantasy game you’ve played?
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