Best Final Fantasy Games

Just a friendly reminder that these ratings were decided by readers, not staff. So please divert your hate towards the masses.

(No but seriously, try to be nice.)

I’ve only played VII on the switch, so… might be biased a little.

Good list, tho XIII-2 is 100% much better than XIII. I love both but the gap between them shouldn’t be so high.

EDIT: wow FF7, 7R, 9 and 10 all being ranked above 6? That’s a new one to me.

Final Fantasy XI was surely rated badly by a lot of people who haven’t played it? It’s dated for sure but anyone who’s played it for more than a few hours would 100% rate it higher than a 6 if only due to the time investment required meaning players who stuck with it clearly loved it. I know we have to trust that the voters have actually played the game in question for this to mean anything but that feels massively suspicious.

Well, no arguments with the top 5. Heck, you can swap the no. 1 and no. 2 spot and I'm still okay with it. IMO, Type-0 should have been higher than any of the XIII Trilogy, in fact, I'd dare say that it is what XIII should have been (if only it was still called Agito XIII and XV is still Versus XIII). Then again, this was a vote from the fans so I won't complain much

@ShogunRok Great work.....7 all the way 👍 to all who voted.....surprised Final Fantasy XII got 8th mind you it did come out at the end of the PS2 era.
One thing that does show is the disappointment of Final Fantasy XV

@darkswabber I also liked XIII-2 better than XIII. It had some really cool ideas, like adding monsters to your party.

What i took away most from this list is how criminally misleading the word 'Final' is 😆

Number 1 was never in doubt. A whole generation of gamers were made to cry by that game.

@nessisonett I feel like a lot of games in this list where given low scores by people that didn’t play them.
The 13 trilogy may not be top tier but everyone I ever heard that finished them either liked them or loved them, people hating on them usually didn’t even play them because “they’re bad”.

IMO several of the “bad and mediocre” ones should 100% be above 15.

@Integrity 😆

@darkswabber Yeah, I’ve played the XIII trilogy and I do think they’re pants but they’re still better than FF II and several spin-offs. XIII-2 is genuinely decent and improves a lot on the first one so I’m surprised it’s that much lower here.

The top 5 is totally acceptable.

The best Final Fantasy game will always be Final fantasy VI

Can’t argue too much with that at all. Although I do wish they’d make a remake of 8 without the enemy scaling. Then I would place it higher.

@kyleforrester87 Yeah, Remake’s loved by a lot of people and has recency bias though. Irritated me no end but doesn’t surprise me it’s that high.

fishing game should be in the top ten, even though I haven't played it, it just should

The War Of The Lions was fantastic. I'm glad it made the top ten.

War of the Lions should be higher but great list and I agree with most of the placement! PushSquare readers know their FF's!

X is way too high on the list. At least Push Square's comment clarifies that it's garbage compared to the other games at the top.

For me its still a missed chance that they just didnt upgrade FF7 graphics and controls. FF7 is my favorite, FF8 close second, FF9 at third. FF Tactics was also fantastic. Crisis Core was great i just didnt like the gameplay great stort though. Dissidea on the PSP was fantastic my god did they butcher the PS4 release..... ☹️

WTF worst list I've ever seen because it's so random. None would normally put ffxiii higher than ffxiii2! Also, ffv a game considered one of the most hardcore in the fanbase is just 13? Then you have viii in 6. Can't say I didn't expect it though this is a franchise that divides opinion

im glad this series has different takes more often than not , the devisivness is way more amusing than companies repeating the same formula in every sequel like call of duty, also everyone knew the top 5 gonna have x , vii , vi and ix.

Yea pretty much the usual same old PS1 trio with 10 and 6 somewhere in the top 5 with them. Japan's rankings were a bit better with XIV deservedly in the top 5 even if they excluded XII from the top 10

@Judal27 i also think XIV is definitely top 5 , i think it being an mmo and much more time consuming makes it less appealing for the usual single player gamers.

This list is pretty accurate to my tastes. I would change a few around. Personally my one and two would be FF7 and FF7R but I’m highly biased and FFXII would also be higher for me.

I think FFXI and FFXIV are a little underrated also, especially 14, but probably because they aren’t as popular with the PlayStation audience and are more so on PC.

That said good list.

@ShogunRok which one is your pick for #1?

Surprised the MMO's aren't higher in the list due to their continuous updates, massive audiences and the ability to play coop with friends and family. 1 on the NES is my favorite. Back when games had huge manuals. Fold out map and on the other side was the monsters stats and pictures.

@Ultrasmiles I know a few of my friends don't want to touch it just for being an MMO so that's definitely a reason lol. Can't be helped I guess but it really is something special

Results are sensible imo. 6-10 was peak ff. First 5 games were good for their time but the five that followed were much better as far as I'm concerned. I do think X-2 gets a lot of hate when it's gameplay was quite good. I guess the story was a bit silly and maybe people hate the main cast as well. Also think 12 is quite good but the main character should have have been someone else. 14 gets very good but it just takes too long to get through the earlier (less stellar) levelling storylines.

7, 9, 10, 8, 4/6 is my top 5ish lol

FFX-2 is the worst. FFXII is the next worst.

If ranking do not start with those two, i.e. they're the worst, your list is already wrong.

@CthulhuFhtagn Either 7 or 9, I've never been able to choose!

The hate for Tama in World of Final Fantasy is warranted BUT only in the English version. The English translation and voice acting in that game is horrendous with bad attempts at capturing Japanese humour. Tama's strange way of speaking in English is just an invention of the team handing the English version.....such a terrible decision.

FF X-2 is in my top three but I understand that makes me a giant weirdo and I'm okay with that 🥲

@eltomo I am in the opposite mindset. It's story gets a lot of hate because people wanted a different story told than the one given.
The game play and job system however was fantastic and don't get the love they deserve.

Nice to see 9 so high, my personal favourite. Crisis core doing well is refreshing to see too, though I'm surprised that your summary didn't mention the ending, easily the most memorable part of the game.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is way too high. It’s a fine game but it’s way too flawed and carried by nostalgia to be great. Way too short a narrative to be so padded, little reason to engage with its best feature (the combat), the old story beats were well done, but almost everything added was insipid fan fiction, the “quests” were terrible, etc.

I had fun playing it, but there were a hundred ways I wished it was better, as opposed to titles like VI and Tactics which were sublime experiences.

Come at me, I’ll be hiding in a sewer. Not that one, the other one.

@Juanalf
Your not the only weirdo. X-2 was actually my 1st FF I ever played believe or not and it's in my top 3 as well. 😁

I'm pretty shocked how high up the list it got honestly. I figured it would be at the bottom for sure but turns out it isn't as disliked as I thought.

I only rated the ones I've played obviously but for me it's
1. X
2. VII Remake
3. X-2

I will simply never, ever understand the love for VIII. I remember being so incredibly hyped for it after putting 120+ hours into VII, and just absolutely hating it. I slogged through that game for however long it took to get to the end, telling myself it has to get better eventually, got to Ultimecia and realized that was the end and just gave up.

Everything about that game is great, except for the main f'ing character. Squall is such a miserable, useless, utter waste of a character that could not give a sh*t about anything or anyone around him. After hate-playing that game for so long I finally realized that Squall doesn't care, so neither do I.

Regardless, and this is likely very much not a popular opinion, but the original FFVII (even though I love it) is a great game with a terrible narrative retroactively made better by Crisis Core being both the proper setup for VII's narrative and characters, and an infinitely better game.

Okay, I'm starting to question if y'all actually played half these games after looking at this list.

Thats the beauty of it though, outside of the 1-3 spots normally being locked in by the same games (usually it is VI instead of 7R though, thats odd), these lists are almost always different.

Nobody can agree on these games, and that's... kinda cool.

I guess I'm in a minority here in thinking the original VII is a bit overrated (VII Remake was much better imo), so a bit disappointed (though not terribly surprised) it ended up at the top of the list.
However, that disappointment pails in comparison to seeing Dissidia 012 rated so low (19th with a score of 6.57). Are people rating it without playing it? Or is there some reason people are rating it that low?

As I get older XII becomes closer to #1. VIII is still my #1. VII is top 5. As for a proper ranking. Cannot think right now.

Hi there fellow gamers.
Interesting poll results, with the number 1 being the usual suspect I guess.
FFVII is good, but not that good, in my opinion. It´s just the most famous that´s all. But if people love, that´s great.
My list is quite diferent and I didn´t play all of them, so it goes something like this:

• FF VI;
• FF XIII;
• FF IV;
• FF VIII;
• FF XIII-2;
• Crisis Core FF VII;
• FF Tactics War of the Lion;
• FF VII;
• FF X;
• FF VII Remake;
• FF XV;
• FF IX;
• FF Type 0 HD;
• FF III;
• Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII;
• FF XII.
  Didn´t play XI nor XIV because they are online games.
  Also didn´t play any of the Dissidia games.
  Weird list, but it´s mine 😉
  Cheers, stay safe everyone and happy JRPG gaming to us all

@themightyant Hi there friend.
I did played FF XII, I kinda forgotten about it.
Shows how much I liked that game 😉
But I edited my list, so thanks for that.
And as for FF XIII, I actualy did enjoyed the game more than most.
Sure the story is not the best, nor are the characters.
But it has one of the most different battle systems and quite fun and challenging once you play in manual mode and it has my favourite OST in a FF game.
I said it was a strange list 😜
Cheers, stay safe and have a good one

I’m probably a little older than most of the readers at 64 the first final fantasy game just blew me away. It’s a game I enjoy on my mobile phone now. It will always be very nostalgic to me!

Oh well... one can pick the relative positions, but in general seems to be right. FF8 is probably the only one higher than it deserves, but given the crap that came after, i guess hindsight makes it better.
I'm somewhat satisfied.

@themightyant I love FF XIII and XIII-2 battle system. At first i played in auto on PS3 and it was still fun.
But once I changed to manual on PC, it just became even better. My list kinda reflects my memories and feelings of said games and have more "nostalgia" for some than others.
Also, having different favourites it´s what makes this so interesting.
FF VI blew me away when I was a kid. My second FF game.
FF VIII entrance with the love story and CGI.
FF Tactics War of the Lion was so different and challenging.
Final Fantasy games will always be special to JRPG fans.
But maybe they should drop the "Final" in the tittle though 😜
Cheers, stay safe and all the best

@themightyant You are absolutely right on the money.
That´s why FF VI blew me away at the time.
I actualy replayed the game like six years ago on PS and man, does the game holds up in everything.
The Opera House was great because a certain character learns what it´s like to be human and to express emotions.
But the scenes in The phantom train with Cyan and a certain attempted suicide of a major character.......
You know the ones. Heartbreaking stuff.
Oh and the Final Boss Dancing Mad?
I don´t know what anyone says anout how good One Winged Angel is, because it is, But Dancing Mad?
That´s Nobuo Uematsus Masterpiece right there.
I don´t know how to put links in this coment, so I´ll do it the old fashioned way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbXVNKtmWnc
Also, I just have to put this comment I saw:
"Sephiroth: Final Fantasy's most Iconic villain.
He attempted to eradicate the entire world.
Kefka: Final Fantasy's most successful villain. He succeeded."
Always good to find another fan of this stuff.
Cheers, stay safe and all the best.

@themightyant Right there with you friend.
Uematsu san did magic with the Snes chip.
"Thanks for the trip down memory lane" Your welcome 😉
Oh, I have checked that youtube channel you mentiones, and lo and behold, she did an amazing piece on Dacing Mad.
Thank you for sharing, apreciated.
Cheers, stay safe and happy gaming music to us all

@darkswabber Personally much preferred 13 to 13-2. Also, never played anything prior to 7 due to the 2d graphics and being tired of that in the jrpg genre, so I couldn't rank it based on that. I guess maybe that game should have seen a remake

How f***ing dare you put FF8 in anything less than top three. That game is a masterpiece.

FFVII and FFIX is where my heart is, but FFVI is easily the best in the series.

I am mad 8 wasn't higher... But I'm happy it wasn't lower. In my opinion 8 is superior to 9 (I tried to like 9, I really did, but it just bored me in the first 5 hours). I preferred 8 over 7 too, but 7 Remake is winning me over.

@Saitama117 8 is a fantastic game. It should go 10, 7 Remake then 8, with 8 being #1.

Stranger of Paradise straight in at number 9!

Can’t argue too much with that to be honest. Nicely done.

Final Fantasy 13 ❤️

@ShogunRok That’s because it’s secretly great, especially if you value gameplay over story and graphics.

More people here need to give XIV a shot. With the expansions included it’s easily the best FF game and it’s really not even close IMO.

I know there's not much news at the moment, but do these 'greatest [insert genre or series here]' articles really have to be dredged up quite so often?!

As a big fan of Lightning in the series it was a bit of a disappointment to see the series for XIII in the bottom half of the rankings, but I also know that everyone has their own opinion and is entitled to it. I’d personally put VII Remake(including the DLC) higher up than the original FFVII, but that’s just me. I wouldn’t even go so far as to say 28 of my rankings I’d just rank my top five.

5. Final Fantasy IV
4. Final Fantasy VII
3. Final Fantasy VII Remake
2. Final Fantasy Tactics
1. Final Fantasy XIII

@Scob they’re fun

Final fantasy 8 is a travesty
It should be way lower, like waaaay lower.
God does that game suck.

@LilianaQuinn83 13 especially the first one was really great i loved it. My favourite is X though.

I enjoyed all the 13 series though.

FF7R on Top 4 is the best/worst joke I've ever seen. Definitely one of the worst FFs imo

The top 3 are my top 3. Nobody ever has those 3 as the top 3 in that order or at all. Nice!!!

Love XV, even though the annoying fanbase love to hate on it. X will always have a special place, for being the first and for having actual turn based gameplay rather than the inferior ATB. Seven on top where it very well deserves to be.

My choice:
1. FF 8
2. FF 9
3. FF 10
4. FF 12
5. FF 3 NDS
6. FF 10-2
7. FF 4 NDS
8. FF 13

I don't care what anyone says, and I'd fight them to the death. FFX-2 is one of the best Final fantasy titles. People let their nostalgia of FFX ruin their chance to experience it for the fantastic game it is. Sure it has some fan service, but I still love it all the same.

@Ashkorsair That’s the worst haiku I’ve ever read.

My top 3 are FF8, FFXII and FFXIII. Done.

It's a shame that 7R placed so high, but I'll put that down to recency bias. I just don't think it should place anywhere near those absolute classics. Better than VI, VIII and XII? Please!

So good to see ff6 not getting jerked off like always! I think ff7 is much deserved.

Final Fantasy Tactics moving up in the ranks if I'm not mistaken. Good to see you godless heathens are developing some taste. I kid, but seriously this list started off pretty odd. Final Fantasy VII Remake rightly knocked down a peg after recency bias put it in at #3 initially. Good to see the list "normalizing".

Also, more people need to try FFXIV. Subscription cost scares some people off I reckon, but the base game is actually free and you get a free month to try it out. XI being so low is a result of people who didn't actually play it assigning a ranking to it. It wasn't as big on PS2 but is highly, highly respected in the PC community.

Thirdly, I've never seen so many people list XIII as their personal favorite as I have in these comments. I knew they existed, but I never actually saw them in the wild before. Like a mystical unicorn. Next they will be telling me Dirge of Cerberus is the best shooting/action game of all time. The Hope character from XIII makes my blood boil, and not in a good "this is a well written character" way. More like an "I'm not sure Japanese devs understand actual human emotions" way. Sasz was cool/relatable though.

Dissidia 012 snubbed here as well. I think this list could be re-named most popular FF games instead of "best".

Sad to see Tactics Advance (Game Boy Advance) and FF Tactics A2 (DS) omitted as they were really solid, standalone entries. Also a lot of other spinoffs that could be ranked such as FF XII Revenant Wings (awful), Crystal Defenders (awful), Mystic Quest (alright), and so many more like the FF Legends series on the original Gameboy. There's just a ton of these games!

These rankings are bonkers, and I love it.

@nessisonett I was suprised by the low score for XI as well. It's in my profile (I rated it a 9/10) and I loved it when I played it!

ff xii is so under rated. ff xv is easily one of the worst entires by most accounts and is too high on this list.

I started XV the other day - still in the very early stages of it. My first FF experience (save for occasionally glancing over a friend's shoulder when he was playing VII way back in the early 00's on his laptop). My only gripe so far is that the menus are a bit clunky and you can't dismiss the popups that come up when you turn in a quest or a hunt, which slows down the boring bits. Combat is very different to what I'm used to, but I'm cool with having something which is a bit more chill to actually play. If that's only 13th on this list, and based on my enjoyment so far, then it looks like I'm going to have a good time poking around this franchise.

All in for VI at the top.
im always wondering which of 6 and 7 i prefer.
7 was a revolution in many aspects, but man final 6. The story and its characters... THE MUSIC.
The main problem i got with recent final fantasies/JRPG is the voice acting during combat. All those screams... man do they like screaming. imagine that in a UFC or a boxing match. Each strike coming with a super loud EEYYAAAHH

Not surprised FF-13-3 is the lowest ranked mainline game. It made half of 13-2 which made half of 13-1. Ouch.

I always remember my first thought when I saw the trailer for the first time. Not "this is awesome" or even "this sucks", it was, "they've given her a bigger bust." And it wasn't for the reasons you think. I knew at that point they were desperate. Their attempt to make Lightning their mascot had failed and they were going the hotter and sexier X-2 route as a last ditch effort to save her. Pathetic really.

My first FF was VIII, and I really love this title, from the characters to the music and story. I know it has its flaws, and I can see it now, but the first time I heard Balamb Garden, went to the moon and back, and saw the endgame animation (I won't spoil it), my younger self couldn't find no fault with this magical game.
That said, IX is by far the best FF I've ever played, an absolute classic and a masterpice.

FF14 Oline should definitely be higher on the list, strangers should be too,, I guess I'm an outsider I really don't like 9 never did tried again recently hated it, 12 was scrap aswell nothing memorable at all, gambit system was just not refined enough granted was a little better when they remaster came,
7, 8, 10, 14, 13 trilogy and Strangers are my top
(Sorry)

I hope 13 gets a remastered collection soon. I haven't played it in years so I'd like to see what my current opinion is now that I've played through other games in the series. Even if it's bad I still want a remaster, it's just as important to remember bad games as well as good games.

My top five are these.

1. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lion
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Final Fantasy VI
4. Final Fantasy IX
5. Final Fantasy IV

I’m shocked IV is so low. Yes it’s a bit of a jank fest in certain versions (I originally played it on FF Chronicles) but the game is the perfect FF game to just run through. It’s a fairly simple game compared to many other titles in the franchise.

The DS version is the best version of the game. I’ll die on that hill.

FF VI needs a remake. Everyone always raves about how good it is but I just cant play 2D pixel style games, no matter how hard I have tried. I really do feel like I'm missing out, hence I would love to see it remade.

However I don't want it to get the same treatment as FFVII (although I did love it), I'd like to see it keep the same turn based strategic combat and over world exploration as the original (think modern day dragon quest or persona 5). This is the main reason I'm really not hyped for 16, anything after 10 feels like it's really lost its magic. The more action orientated the latest title gets the further away they are becoming from what made FF so enjoyable in the first place. 16 actually looks more like devil may cry or a souls-a-like.

Not all games need to be open world, reflect reality and "make sense". Photographic visuals and realism do not make a great game - art style, story telling and gameplay however....

Keep the soul. Just slightly update the presentation and lift the dialogue to a more modern standard. If it's as good as people say it is that's all it will need. There's plenty of (sorta) old school gamers like myself who would lap it up.

As the fabulous RuPaul once said 'you don't got to reinvent the wheel, the wheel's just fine".

I'm shocked 15 and stranger of paradise got so high

FF8 is still no1 for me. It came out in my angsty teenage years when I also had exams to do just like the brilliant SEED tests. One of the few titles in the series (if not only) that tested and rewarded your knowledge on the enemies, lore and mechanics. Can't believe XV scored so low that was an awesome game, also paved the way for the new gameplay mechanics that will be the norm for ff games moving forward. If at all possible please redo this after we have had a chance to play 16 I would very much like to partake in the voting next time around.

My list for main titles only:
1. V
2. VI
3. VII
4. XIII
5. XIV

I'm a sucker for X (is it obvious?)

Then in no order, I just love 7, 8, 9, 13 and 15

Also loving 16 so far!!

After playing FFXVI, it's now easily in my top 10 Final Fantasy games.

Here's my personal list:
1. FFIX
2. FFVII
3. FFVIII
4. FFX
5. FFXII
6. FFVI
7. FFXVI
8. FFIV
9. FF Type-0
10. FFXV

I just finished Final Fantasy VII Remake yesterday. It was my first FF game. While I enjoyed running around and fighting and it was gorgeous, the story left me confused. Only now I hear it’s only the first part of the story lol. Guess I gotta wait for the next part for it to make sense!

Lists are always fun to check. I don't take this one very serious though. With XIII-2 being lower on the list than XIII and XV, I wonder if most voters even played it at all, since it "fixes" most problems XIII had (as being explained in the text as well).

For me It would be much more interesting to read a list entirely curated by experts/enthousiasts.

My personal list changes regularly but this is my most recent ranking

1. FFVII
2.FFXVI
3.FFIX
4.FFVIII
5.FFXV
6.FFX
7.FFXIII
8.FFXII
9.FFVI
10.FFIV
11.FFXIV
12.FFII
13.FFV
14.FFIII
15.FFI

I always struggle to rank XIV in particular because I love it like I do all of them and it's very much a great Final Fantasy but it's just so difficult to rate it comparing to the others due to it being an MMO.

stranger of paradise being anywhere but last on the list is laughable

ffvii remake/rebirth and ff xvi are obviously plagued by recency bias and will have a hard time making the top 10 in a few years time.

nice to see ffxii not being completely thrown under the bus.

all 4 entries from the ps1, including tactics, vi, xii, x and xiii (counting all three games as one) would make my top 10. have yet to play iv and ffvii remake would squeeze into the final spot possibly.

In my opinion, they are all in first place equally ^___^

Rebirth being so high makes sense as its so new. Should almost omit it for a while until people actually beat it and the honeymoon phase wears off.

Strangers of Paradise definitely punches above its 18th slot but there are a lot of good games here as well.

Rebirth is great, I really enjoyed it for sure. But.. I think if FF7 didn't exist and this was a totally new game, it wouldn't hit quite like it does. Most of us interested in this game grew up playing the original.

My ranking of the top 10 Final Fantasy games:

10. Final Fantasy VIII
9. Final Fantasy XIII
8. Final Fantasy IV
7. Final Fantasy X
6. Final Fantasy Tactics
5. Final Fantasy IX
4. Final Fantasy XVI
3. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy XIV
1. Final Fantasy VII/Remake/Rebirth

(I don't count VII and it's remakes separately)

For a game called Final Fantasy there sure are lots of them...

@EquiinoxGII You’re probably right. I really loved most FF’s from X (my first one) onwards but Intergrade didn’t do that much for me. I thought it was okay.

I haven’t played Rebirth yet but I guess the experience will be quite similar for me.

Rebirth suffering from huge recency bias.

@Darude84 personally I prefer rebirth, but I love the 2nd main act of the original. That's where most of my memory lies within 7. It's like anything I suppose, nothing can capture the original essance of a game. It would be the same if X got remade. They try toi hard to make something better, when in reality it was already incredible. And that there's a reason we fell in love with that particular game at that time. Weirdly 7 isn't my favourite but I have the fondest memories of it.

@Anti-Matter would swap 12 for 7 only because I didn't play that one.

Position 1 and 2 both a score of 9.0 so why is 7 ranked 1st and 6 2nd? Is there another factor in the ranking, or should they actually be joint 1st?!

@nocdaes I think it's because FFVII's score is based on a higher number of user ratings than FFVI's. Either way, I'm happy to see FFVI up there, still the greatest and most timeless JRPG ever made in my opinion.

Look, i am ok with the top, but FFXIV... if you play it from ARR to Endwalker is without a doubt the best FF experience. I say that as a big ff7 fan. FFXIV is the best FF. 7 the best stand alone and 9 after that.

This isnt a ranking..... This is a serious hot take list. I hate it.

this is my personal top 5
1) Final Fantasy IX (yes this is the best one, only downside is the loading before each battle)
2) Final Fantasy X
3) Final Fantasy VII
4) Final Fantasy VI
5) Final Fantasy VIII

My bottom 5 (lower is worse)
1) Final Fantasy XIII (this is the worst one, too linear and too little customisation, the world feels empty and bland, the characters a meh, but the graphics was quite spectacular at the time)
2) Final Fantasy II
3) Final Fantasy XV
4) Final Fantasy
5) Final Fantasy XIII - Lightning Returns

Note that even though this is my least favourite mainline Final Fantasy games, I do not hate them, in fact I have beaten all of them and even have platinum trophy in Final Fantasy XV.

@Ashkorsair Nah, I think it's really underrated.
It's one of those games that people love to hate.
I think there is three main things that people usually bring up:

1) the junction system being broken in that you can abuse it to get very OP or get unlimited GIL
2) The junction system being overly complicated
3) Drawing Magic is tedious

I don't think the system is too complicated, I think it's quite fun system once you understand it. And you don't need to abuse the flaws in the system if you don't want to.
And yes the Drawing system can be tedious.
But it's a jRPG.. Grinding is to be expected.

I think there's a pretty darn good game underneath those flaws.
I like the combat, the junction system (Despite the flaws), the characters, the story, the music (oh man it's great), the card game.

@drunk_guy Agreed, this isn't a very good way to get an accurate result.

For example ranking Final Fantasy VII Rebirth over Final Fantasy IX is just not correct.

But I get it, the new games are made to appeal to a mainstream audience, they have better graphics, better sound quality, action based combat and are fully voiced.

I can understand that they appeal more to the mainstream.

I also think that it can be difficult to get into a game that is +20 years old, so perhaps this is why.

But I think that most people who grew up with the franchise will agree that the ends of the SNES era to the PS2 era were the peak of the franchise. And then we can all argue whether the best was 7, 9, 6 or perhaps 10. but most who were around back then would probably agree that this was the "golden age" of final fantasy.

I think Rebirth and XVI are both great games and I do enjoy them a lot. (Rebirth a bit more than XVI)
It sure feels like Square Enix is on the way back up, but still not quite there. Rebirth is probably the best Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy 12 (if you exclude the MMoRPGs).

13-1 and 13-2 are really bad but 13-3 its 10-2 made it right, also type 0 is a good game.
Some games old poorly like final fantasy 8 and final fantasy 1-3 but i think remakes could put them in better place.

@Jswift56
I don't even like FF 7.