Top 20 Best RPG Series of All Time

#2. – Final Fantasy

# of Good Games in the Franchise: 7

Active: Yes

When it comes to RPGs most people consider Final Fantasy the magnum opus. That’s fair because this is the franchise that popularized the genre on a worldwide basis. Throughout history it played second fiddle only to Dragon Quest in Japan. The first three titles were originally released for the Famicom. From there the series moved to the Super Nintendo with three iterations, and then the PS1 for another trilogy. Here it continued on the PS2, and then the PS3 and Xbox 360. The latest release was on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Final Fantasy XVI has been announced for the PlayStation 5 but it’s likely to release for the Xbox as well.

Final Fantasy scores so high on this list because of the early iterations. Aside from the second game all of the 8/16 bit titles are absolutely incredible and almost unmatched. Final Fantasy VII was also incredible, but VIII was a huge misstep, and IX a return to form. After this the franchise has largely lost its way. Final Fantasy X was awful, as was XI. XII was okay, but could just barely keep up with other modern RPGs. XIII was terrible, as was XIV. XV was mediocre. The only reason this franchise is so high on this list is because of the early games, and they are still worth playing even today. It’s a sad state of affairs but Final Fantasy has largely lost its way. That does not distract from the absolute masterpieces that the early titles were however.

The Best Way to Play:

Square-Enix has re-released and remade most of the games in this series multiple times. The most recent efforts are the pixel remasters, and this is how I recommend playing the first six Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy VII-X have been remastered for various modern platforms and you can’t go wrong with these releases. XII is in the same boat. Final Fantasy XIII however is backwards compatible on the Xbox Series X, and upscaled here. It’s almost like a remaster. The others are available for modern platforms and you can’t go wrong with how you choose to play.