Which Final Fantasy Game Should You Play First? | Final Fantasy Starter Guide 

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I say V But if you have daddy issues, play X If you have sibling issues, play IX If you have relationship issues, play VIII If you have mommy issues, play VII If you have identity issues, play IV If you have issues, play VI

For beginners, FFX never fails. I would highly recommned FFX for those who are starting into the series.

I started with the first one. I don’t know if that’s the best starting point, but it was for me because it got me hooked.

From my experience, I'd say either play FF7, 9, or 10 first, and play the others later on.

Thanks for using my rendition of the theme to start off! Its pretty insane to see my work incorporated in a channel like this! Thank you!

i like that tolerance is discussed as a factor. for anyone with higher tolerance i always suggest FF4 (and let people decide if they want 2D or 3D), otherwise i do agree that FF10 is the best modern place to start

Oh boy well on being someone who has grew up with the final fantasy series and has seen it grow throughout the years I'd definitely have to say that FF9 is my choice of the go to starter which has everything you need to get you started/introduced into the series as a whole...

I played FF7, 8, and 9 for about 5 minutes when I was a kid (around 8 yrs old) and never got into them. Recently, after coming across videos from this channel and various others, I have decided to actually give them a try. I'm playing FFXV and FFIX right now and will play 7 when I'm done with 9, and I'm not very far into either one but I'm extremely happy I decided to give them another chance. They are excellent games! Thanks for the great vids, add my name to the roster of official Final Fantasy Fans haha

I’d say IV is the best place to start. Followed by VI and VII.

You CANNOT just hit me with a montage set to the FF theme bro I'm crying!

I normally suggest IX. It's got a decent battle system and still has the classic high fantasy setting which I like to pretend is what FF is still all about :)

I think the first FF game I ever played was 10. But mostly I just watched my siblings play it. Then I really got into Crystal Chronicles and eventually 14. I've played Kingdom Hearts and World of Final Fantasy so I'm kind of aware of a lot of the characters and enemies of the franchise without actually knowing any specifics. But it's always fun watching the "evolution of..." videos on this channel cause I get to see enemies in older games and be like "Hey! That thing is in the newer games!" So it's kind of fun to see references from any angle.

You guys always impress me with your product quality keep up the Amazing work

I started with 7R, now I’ve played 15, 13, and I’m gonna get the rest of the 13 trilogy, 14, 12 and 10

10 is where I started (when it was new!) and I'm still an FF fan to this day. I haven't played every single mainline game, but I have beaten about 75% of them and love almost everything I've played.

This is going to sound crazy but 15 was the one that got me hooked and I started playing backwards, 13 trilogy, 12, 10 and 10-2, then by that time the 7 remake came out The story of Ardyn Lucis Caelum was one of the most captivating ever

For me, FFIX was my gateway to the franchise and I would recommend it to anyone who want to start playing final fantasy games.

I started with 7 remake. It has the excitement of a real time system like in later games but also has the strategy of a turn based system like an older games.

Im really tempted to play the first one, the cover art on the early games are so stunning with a eery feel to it, and also from a version Guide i found out that the nes version have a very interesting magic combat that looked kinda fun

I would have to go with IV. You gain spells as your party's characters level up, and characters are automatically switched out in your party automatically in accordance to where you are in the story. It has the least amount of customization by far. This makes it perfect for beginners.

In general, I'd recommend starting with IV, VI, VII, IX, or X, and then narrow down based on some of the preferences mentioned above.

I always recommend 6 and 10 to play first. And you hit the nail on the head with your tolerance discussion. Great vid.

I'm a simple man I see a video from the FF-Union, i hit like and I enjoy it... even IF I am FAR from a beginner and have played every single one of the main line and most of the spinoffs and side projects... just wanted to say you are doing amazing work. keep it up guys... have a beautiful new year!

Started playing FFVII today as my intro to the series.

I always recommend newcomers to start with FFIV. Fairly basic but still dynamic storyline, clear jobs and roles for the cast, plus it includes easily understandable tropes such as Chosen One, longlost sibling turned evil, brainwashed best friend, love interest in danger, and vengeance.

I started playing 7 when I visited my cousin's house. I loved the whole concept of JRPGs and when I when to Best Buy i was looking for Final Fantasy and didn't know at the time there were multiple, so I picked up 9 and fell in love with that game. When I finished I went on to 8, 7, 10 and then the rest.

Start with FF9 for true "fantasy" I love a thief with tail, a pretty princess with a super ugly mom, a kid with a wizard large hat. A overly serious knight but often turn out funny, weird frog eating food critic friend etc etc. It also include alot of classic FF style mini games and world lore either monster or well known FF mascot moogle/chocobos.

My first ff game was ff13 2 I saw a cool lady in armour on the front and thought finally a game where I can play as a girl. Little did I know the wild journey I would go on falling in love with the characters, the soundtrack and the locations I went on to wait eagerly for the next game and loved lighting returns just as much!

Final fantasy 4 was where I started as a child. It blew my mind

Love the opening to this video! What a tribute to final fantasy!!🎉❤

Started with XIII. Probably why I enjoyed it so much. I didn't have anything to compare it to.

I’ve played them all multiple times except 15. X is probably the best for a totally new person. IX is also possibly the best, and it sticks to the core FF experience better IMO. VI and VII are definitely the best story wise. V is definitely the best battle system wise. You can’t go wrong with most of them. This video was pretty accurate but should have hyped up VI more as it’s peak story telling and should have hyped up IX more as it’s a good mix of being a more modern game but having the classic FF elements. Also, despite being routinely crapped on, VIII is an amazing game. Would not recommend as someone’s first, but it’s super underrated

FFX embodies a lot of the series. I definitely recommend that one first. It was my first FF game too!

FFVI and FFIX are really good games to start with because they both have simple systems and moderate difficulty. FFIV DS is way too difficult for a beginner, but FFIV PSP would be a good starting point as well.

Dude that into was such a nostalgia trip... Great vid! In my opinion, if anyone wants to start this series I say just dive into FF4. The story there was what got me hooked into playing the older FF games. 😁

I actually started with FF 13

10 was my first and I have been hooked ever since

My first was IV. I was probably 7 or 8 when I played the 1st time. I wasn't into RPGs as a kid because I wasn't into reading, but my brothers let me play 2 player with them on IV which was fun, and I eventually played it all on my own. Some years, after my brothers played VI, I finally played that one on my own as well (I loved playing 2 player, controlling Setzer a ton, but didn't care to actually play myself for a while). They helped me grow to love RPGs. There were still many I didn't get into like my brothers growing up, and I still don't like any NES RPGs, but FF IV and VI and others are still some of the best games that I go back to play every noe and then :) Very interesting video! And hey, FF VII Remake is nominated for a ton of video game awards this year! So cool.

All I can say is you can’t go wrong where you start in the FF series since each game is a standalone in itself but some later games do reference to older ones as mentioned in the video. My advice is start with whichever you choose and stick with it. Some stories progress slower than others but get better and better as you play further!

My first one was Tactics, Love the story, characters, etc. But i was 8, and it was hard, specially on 2nd language. I think 15 is very similar to other modern games, and can be a good bridge between these and the FF games. 7R is also like that. I would recomend 9 as the first one. Great charaters and battle system, good learning curve, good sidequests, memorable story.

I'd say start with Final Fantasy VII. Personally, I'd say it's the best entry point for the franchise because the story is familiar enough to anyone who has played games, while the gameplay perfectly captures the experience of every FF game up to X. VI is also a good entry point. It's what I started with and what made me fall in love with the franchise.

Final Fantasy 8 was my first ever game of the franchise on psone, back in 1999 lol. Still love it now

My friend introduced me to FF just recently. He played FFX a lot as a child and convinced me to start playing it just a few weeks ago. I'm glad he did, because I'm really enjoying the experience!

Depends on what kind of person you are. Many won’t go back to older games because of the graphics or gameplay. If that’s how you are the I suggest you start with the old ones and work your way up. If that doesn’t matter then maybe start with the most popular? Idk. I really love the final fantasy mainline games - 5 6 7 8 9 10 and 12 are all must plays for me personally. 3 and 4 are good too. At that point you might as well play 1 and 2 for completionists sake. They’re okay, give credit where it’s due for the birth of this amazing franchise. 13 is good but super linear and some characters really grind my gears, but I’ve played and beat it three times- got all trophies AND achievements for it too. it’s rather polarizing though. Didn’t like 15s combat to be honest, and never got very far into it. I do want to give it another shot though someday. And for side games in the series - Crisis Core (emulate it and get the mods) is lots of fun if you really enjoyed 7. And Tactics is amazing! Also Dissida fighting games are cool (I only played the psp ones) oh and 7 remake is super duper fun and cool, just sucks the full story won’t be told until god knows when! Never played 11, an mmo. Never played 4 the after years. Never played tactics advance 1 or 2. Never played the Crystal Chronicles. Never played that 12 ds game.. only played the rhythm game for a few hours at a friends place. And never played any others that I’m forgetting. BUT BOY HOWDY HAVE I PLAYED 14. This year 2020 is the first year since its 2013 PS3 release that I’ve taken a break for most of the year, coming back for one month each major patch/side patch to do the new stuff and events. But before this year I’ve put 11k+ hours into Eorzea... Anyway. I’m on a long car ride and have nothing better to do! I hope you enjoyed my ted talk and ily if you cared to read all this! ;D now to actually watch this vid lol, and back to trying to get a time of 0.0.0 in FFX Choco Racing mini game -_-

I started with XIV almost 6 years ago, which made me then play X and love it. I'm looking forward to play IV and VI. :)

I started with final fantasy 7 not knowing what it was and it had been in America a long time when I bought it for the computer. It was an amazing game that instantly got me hooked to all the others! Needless to say final fantasy tactics is my favorite of all time but seven was my entry point and I have a lot of nostalgia for seven and eight

It's a real good video, I tried numerous times in the past to get in to the franchise but it didn't worked out that well for me until I got asked to play ff14 with a friend and it clicked with the guidance I received, a few thousands hours later I nearly beat all the content that’s available. I would start again with 14, and yes shadowbringer is the best add on/dlc I've played in since witcher blood and wine Side note: 14 is the only one that i completed so take my statement with a grain of salt

FF6 the must play, if you want to get in to Square RPGs or RPGs in general Chrono Trigger.

I definitely agree that FFX is the best place to start. Specifically, I'm glad you guys mentioned tolerance. That's incredibly important. I read people's recommendations on Reddit all the time, but I feel like long time fans forget that not everyone is interested in playing something from 1997. I'm 27, so I grew up playing games in the SNES era, but I'm not really fond of going back to play those games now. The world of gaming has evolved exponentially, and while I genuinely wish that I could tolerate the styles of older games, I find it very challenging to get into them. I played FFVI, for example, about 6 years ago, and i honestly didn't enjoy it. Objectively, I could appreciate that it was a good game for its time, and I thought the story was interesting, but I just could not have fun with it. Honestly it made me feel really guilty, but then i remembered that I'm not obligated to enjoy the same things as everyone else, and that there is nothing wrong with having a preference for newer games. So, again, I think FFX is definitely the best place to start if you don't need your games to be action style combat, but still want good graphics and voice acting.

I played tactics when it first came out, and now I play it on mobile. I love that when I just need to kill some time, I can pull out one of my favorite Games of all time from my pocket and work on getting some job points

Started with 7 recently, adored it and now playing the remake. Gonna play 15 and 16 and see from there

"there is no wrong answer...." except 2, we all know that's the wrong answer.

I played VI first or III I guess in North America with Terra Branford. It got me to love Final Fantasy because I enjoyed the storytelling.

I started on 12 around the same time I started playing kh1 around 07'. My cousin only that one at the time but always preached 7's good word and it was my 2nd. I'm almost 23 now and I have played every single FF including many of squares other games. This franchise was and always will be epic despite what people may say about the games individually.

I started on 10 and was hooked

Without even watching I'm going to say 10 all the way

"Betta dead than al bhed, ya?"

I started with FFVI and was hooked with the story telling. After that I have played them all & concorde 8, 10 & 10x2 lol

I never played any of these as a kid. Didn’t beat one til I was almost 30. My first was 9 and I don’t regret it. I’ve since played 10 and 7. Any of these 3 would’ve been good for me personally to have started with. I think I’d continue to play more no matter what I chose to start with. A great series. Especially 4-10 it seems. I’ve dabbled in 12 and liked what I played.

Final Fantasy 10 is probably the first FF game you should play.

While I've grown up watching FFVIII being played by my big brother, then I got stuck in the Kingdom Hearts franchise, but decided to explore into the FF realm... and my first true Final Fantasy game was one of the spinoffs- World of Final Fantasy :D I haven't beaten through it, but I love the balances, the Mirages, the characters, everything! (and I pray for a sequel!) Then I got into Dissidia Opera Omnia (which is a GREAT gatcha game btw!) And after I got my Switch, I decided to get the remaster version of FFVIII, and while I love it, one particular mission was so frustrating I wanted to tear my hair out (that train puzzle... gah!) And also decided to get into the Theaterythm games and got FFIV for the DS :D Really hoping for a port for the previous Dissidia games to come to the Switch... and maybe a port for Crisis Core as well

You mentioned the PS1 Golden Era, and I agree that all three of those are solid starting choices. Of those, the one that I think has aged (by far) the best, and the one I would personally recommend, is Final Fantasy 9. Its art style didn't shoot for absolute realism like 8 did, but it's also not just plain blocky polygons that often look like they're barely holding together like 7. It's full of very charming and interesting characters, inverts a lot of standard fantasy genre tropes, and is an absolute thrill-ride of a story. Heck, the entire first disc is a non-stop action rollercoaster that's over before you know it. It's full of loads of optional (but worthwhile and often very enjoyable) side content, and there's a lot of customizability with character development as pretty much all your active and passive perks are acquired through equipping different pieces of gear for set periods of time, similar to, say, Tactics Advance. The only downside, in my opinion, is that the battles are fairly slow-paced, even for turn-based standards, but more modern re-releases have included a fast-forward toggle among other optional quality-of-life changes. While 9 is my favorite of the offline FFs, my favorite game in the series overall (and possibly my favorite game of all time) is 14. The story starts slow, but it picks up to fantastic quality in the first expansion and to an amazing degree in the third expansion. The entire base game and the first expansion are free to play with the free trial, which has no time limit, so play as much as you want for as long as you want until you either decide it's not for you, or you decide you're ready to make the dive to a subscription. It's an especially good place to start if you already have friends who are on it. My best friend had never played a FF game before but finally decided to pick it up to have a game to play with his wife and me, and now we're on it together all the time. He since then has gone on to play FF15 and FF7 Remake.

I recently started with ff6 and it’s amazing

That History of Chrono Trigger topic is looking delicious though.

whenever I suggest a first Final Fantasy, I tend to go with 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, or 10 depending on what they are looking for, 1 of course because it's the first one, but 4 and 6 are genuinely great places for anyone to start if they like sprite based rpgs, 7 and 9 are for the great story and wonderful characters, and 10... well... 10 just has the best ease of access

I started with VIII when it was first released, got hooked on it instantly. Midway through VIII i decided to try out VII and got hooked on it too. I made the decision to focus on completeing VIII first b4 going back to VII. The experience was awesome. From there, I played 9, 10, 12 and so on. Out of all the FFs, I can never shake off that nostalgic feeling of playing VII and VIII. So in my personal opinion, start with either VII or VIII first.

Oh I have a cool video idea. Since you did evolution of omnislash you should do evolution of limit breaks throughout the series

Fourteen! Definitely try Fourteen - if not the first Final Fantasy you try, make it the second one! I am willing to make a complete fool of myself over Final Fantasy Fourteen of course, haha, so my vote is obviously very biased. A very balanced way of looking at this question and a very, VERY good way of answering. Thank you so much for working so hard and so thoughtfully on these kinds of questions. The kinds of things you dive into and the details you unearth to share with us are always so great, even games I thought I knew everything about you've managed to surprise me on!

Definitely IV for me. Short, breezy and a great (if a little trite) story. Best pick up and play game in the series.

FF7 was my first, like Darryl. Introduced to it in the same way too. Watched a friend play it on his Playstation and was hooked immediately. The difference though was he was playing the Japanese version because his grandma would send him games from Japan and he would play them so I had no idea what was going on but just the mechanics and the gameplay is what grabbed my attention. I played one RPG prior to that which was Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars which is still a fantastic game, so I had a feel for the genre already but the graphics looked way better (at the time) than anything I had seen before. I’ve played every final fantasy game that was released afterward but haven’t played many of the earlier ones. Some day perhaps.

My first ever final fantasy was tactics advance, took me ages to finish as I didnt understand it very well but loved it, a friend got me 16 as a wedding gift and I want to go back and play a lotbof the older ones, not sure whether to go from 1 onwards or just play whichever one I am drawn to at the time

Tbh, X is always my go to for a first Final Fantasy for newcomers, too. It’s just a nice medium between the classic and modern FFs, and allows one to learn common mechanics of FF in general to start. It’s just great. :3

I'd say 7 8 or 9.

My first Final Fantasy game was Tactics Advance. It's still my favorite of the entire series. I enjoyed it so much I got FF 1 and 2 for the GBA, thinking they would be the same. They weren't the same, but I still enjoyed them enough to get the other FFs that were available for GBA. Then I went back and played 7 and 9 on my PS1. I played quite a bit of Crystal Chronicles with my friends. I watched a friend play through 10 and 12, since I didn't have a PS2. I played through War of the Lions. I played 13 after I got my Xbox 360. When I got my first gaming PC, I played the first incarnation of 14. I played quite a bit of Explorers. I'm currently struggling through the hardmode dungeons of the Crystal Chronicles remake. My first FF game may have been a spin-off, but I feel like it led me down a rabbit hole. As for the main series, I would recommend 9 even though my favorite is 6.

It was 12 for me back on ps2, got me hooked so hard i replayed it with 100% completion(those swords required alot of grinding) and after finishing it i went on playing from the start, there were psp remakes on ff1, ff2 and ff4(with sequels), the ff3 i played original NES version and it is one of my favorites. Same for ff5 and ff6 was gba, ff7 PC, and ff8 recently hd version. And so on. My favorite is a side game, ff tactics.

I'd say start with IX, X or XIII. I started with XIII, no regrets.

I started with XV, it was my first rpg ever. It gave me a transition from action adventure games to jrpgs, now jrpgs are the only games I really play.

FFTactics was my first game and I immediately fell in love with it, and I’ve ended up playing every mainline game except XI. Tactics honestly isn’t a bad entry point, and it also has a great adaptation on the Apple store. Technically not a mainline game but it’s honestly one of the best games in the series imo

I think IV and X are great places to start. I would go into III for a most customizable beginner experience. I haven't play V but it sounds like it has some similar quirks to III so it might be another good start for a more custom game.

FFX hands down. It feels “Final Fantasy”, with graphics and gameplay that is still decent in this age

For a game called Final Fantasy there is never an end to the games! Best series of games ever!

I usually recommend either 9, 10, 12, or 7 remake depending on the person

I started with X, but after playing them all I say start with I and then get a feel for how the series evolved and how it generally keep getting better with a few exceptions

My first game was FF7R. Now I need another one to hold me over until we get part 2!

I'd say either IV or VI. Unless you want a 3D experience - then go straight to VII, IX or X. The thing about the FF series is that the vast majority of them are not good but GREAT games, so whatever game you choose, there's 85-90% chance you won't regret it!

Good vid 👍🏼

I recommended my friend to try IX since it came out on mobile and due to the fact that she never owned a gaming console/never played a vgame before. Also it was my first FF game back on the PS1.

I feel like X is a good answer. It's a really nice compromise between the general style of the earlier games and the experiments of it's successors. If you especially want to experience the traditional Final Fantasy style though, I have to suggest IX. It's like a victory tour of what made the older games great, with the more modern polish of the PlayStation era and beyond. (Plus, y'know, it's my favourite so I'm biased) I started with VIII myself, and while I can't necessarily recommend it to someone who specifically wants to enter the Final Fantasy universe, I do feel like the fact that it was so different mechanically from its predecessors served me well. Since it was so unique it allowed me to view each title separately on their own merits rather than constantly comparing each entry to each other, and I think it's made me much more tolerant of all the changes that have been tried since.

I just jumped into the world of FF last April and all I can say is wow what a series. I started with FF7 on my iPad (I passed on the game when I was 7 and am really regretting it now lol) I also watched a let’s play of FF7R while playing the original and that def added a lot to me playing the original. Then I moved to FF15 (on game pass) then ff9 (on game pass) then I picked up 10 but got a little burned out on the grind, same with 6 which I also got on my iPad. All super fun games but something about the story of FF7 especially with a lot of added context just hits different. Hopefully lot of new people try at least one of these games this year if they have not already. As someone coming from a FPS/ rpg (like fable) background I was absolutely blown away from the stories square crafted with these games

I remember reading about FF4 (FF2) when I was in elementary school. I shy'd away from it cuz I recall reading about black and white magic and that was a big no no in my house growing up. It wasn't until FF7 came around that I got my first introduction to the series. That's when I started picking up emulators and ROMs to play the older games, including the "recently" translated FF5 ROM. I've played each new release since, however; FF5 still is one of my favorites of the stand alone offline games. But since I was also playing a lot of Everquest at the time, FF11 had huge appeal. I played that for well over a decade, only stopping because I became a parent. Now that my kids are older, I've started FF14 and.....it just hits so many cords given my experience with the series.

I'm definitely a little bias, but FFX is what I almost always suggest. The game still looks good enough, it's not too hard outside of a few bosses, and turn based combat is a little more beginner friendly than atb. I think the story and voice acting are good for the most part, but some people will disagree with that.

In term of story, 7 and then 7 remake then the original FF.

I'm probably gonna start with the upcoming one

I have to say that my very first FF game ever was Dissidia on PSP and I already knew about the franchise but never was able to play it; maybe is because of Dissidia that I really wanted to know more about every character´s home world and that is how I started my never ending rampage of devouring FF for its story (that is my main motivation). I started with VIII on PC and then began to play the rest but I think that for those who values the story as I do the best place to start would be VI(PC version with the mod "A World Reborn"), IX, or XIII depending on the setting you like most (Steampunk, Medieval or Futurist respectively)

FF8 was my first. I was in 3rd grade and it got me to like school lol

FF10 was my first and to this day still the best I've played (aside from the MMOs)

The first game I played was 6 on the GBA. It’s got an amazing story, and is the most fully realized 2D game

I'd say that the 'best' answer would be "whichever mainline numbered entry is the most convenient for you to get" - I started with 7 because it was the recent release at that time. Maybe I got lucky in that regard because I'm not sure I'd like the series quite as much if I started with 8. Trying out a recent release is probably the best idea as well since that would give you a feel for how the near-future games in the series might be. If someone started with 6 or 7 and then played 15 expecting it to be somewhat similar, they'd be pretty surprised. 14 is a pretty good choice too, if someone likes MMORPGs. It definitely feels like Final Fantasy and you can play quite a lot of it for free.

X is absolutely the right answer. I said as much when the video started.