For me it’s
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Final Fantasy Tactics
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Final Fantasy VII
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Final Fantasy XI
The three games I keep coming back to in the franchise.
Tactics has the best writing imo as well as gameplay.
Visually speaking VII’s aesthetic and music are peak FF.
And then when it comes to getting lost in the lore and world of a virtual game, I like XI.
Granted all 3 share similar themes like good writing, music, gameplay, etc. but those are my standouts.
How about you?
IV is good. We have to keep in mind that this was the first Final Fantasy game on the Super Famicom hardware, so they were trying to figure out what that new era of the franchise would be.
FFIII in Japan had more gameplay variety and options, but FFIV started a trend of cinematic emphasis in the series that is still part of its ongoing appeal now.