Summary
- Final Fantasy games have extensive history with various gameplay styles, catering to both turn-based and action combat preferences.
- Nintendo Wii was home to five new Final Fantasy games, including the Crystal Chronicles series, which utilized motion controls effectively.
- PlayStation 4 boasts the largest library of Final Fantasy games, with new entries like Final Fantasy 15, along with its tie-in games, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Final Fantasy is a staple in the RPG genre, whether players prefer their RPGs to have turn-based or action combat. It has existed for decades and there are more games than one could shake a fist at. It would probably take several months to finish them all without interruption.
8 Final Fantasy Games With The Best English Voice Acting, Ranked
Whether or not players prefer the English VA over the Japanese ones, few can deny the excellence of these performances in Final Fantasy games.
That’s an astounding thought to consider, but so is this: Which console or portable gave Final Fantasy fans the most bang for their buck? That is to say, which system natively had the most Final Fantasy games on it, not taking into consideration ports or remasters? Here are the results.
5 Wii (5 New Games)
Crystal Chronicles Thrives On Nintendo’s Motion-Based Console
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
- Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles began on the GameCube as an action-based multiplayer game. It seemed to hit its peak on the Wii, wherein Square Enix doubled down on it being a Nintendo exclusive franchise. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord were sim games mixed with some tower defense. They were released digitally and reviewed well. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, the third game in the multiplayer series, was also released on the DS, and both platforms could talk to each other while playing.
Then there was the much more ambitious Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, which was an action-based game with a full narrative. It used the Wii's motion controls well. Lastly, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon was another entry in the Chocobo-focused Roguelike series which did eventually get remade for systems like the Switch, renamed Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY!, and it, too, featured co-op. Besides the new entries, many Final Fantasy games were also released digitally on the Virtual Console.
4 PlayStation 2 (6 New Games)
From Voice Acting To Legacy Sequels, The PS2 Broke New Ground
- Brand
- PlayStation
- Original Release Date
- October 26, 2000
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $299
- Weight
- 4.85 lb
- Dimensions
- 3.1" x 11.9"
- Final Fantasy 10
- Final Fantasy 10-2
- Final Fantasy 11
- Final Fantasy 12
- Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special
- Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy 7
The PS2 has a long-standing record of being the best-selling console of all time. That's in large part thanks to its RPG library via Square Enix, which helped it achieve that success. Final Fantasy 10 was huge, not only graphically, but it was the first mainline game in the series to feature voice acting. It’s also the first mainline entry to get a sequel, Final Fantasy 10-2, which focused on Yuna trying to find Tidus. If that weren’t enough, the PS2 was also home to the franchise’s first MMO, Final Fantasy 11.
Final Fantasy: 8 Best Animal Party Members, Ranked
These party members do more than sit, roll over, or shake upon command.
Final Fantasy 12, to close out the main entries, certainly sent off the PS2 on a high note in 2006 before the PS3 took over. There were some weirder games too, like Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy 7, which was an action-based shooter starring Vincent from Final Fantasy 7. Lastly, Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special combined Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy characters together for a board game RPG. It was only released in Japan in 2004.
3 PlayStation (7 New Games)
Square And Final Fantasy Helped Sony Dominate Their First Generation
- Final Fantasy 7
- Final Fantasy 8
- Final Fantasy 9
- Final Fantasy Tactics
- Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon
- Chocobo's Dungeon 2
- Chocobo Racing
The PS2 relationship between Sony and Square Enix blossomed on the PS1 first, when the two entities, Square and Enix, were separate. Final Fantasy 7 broke new ground for the franchise and RPGs overall, as it got more players interested in the genre thanks to flashy graphics and more mature themes. While they didn’t blow up as big, Final Fantasy 8 and Final Fantasy 9 were solid entries too, almost giving the franchise back to back to back hits. In between these three mainline entries was Final Fantasy Tactics, the franchise’s first tactical RPG.
Then Chocobos had a run on the PS1, with three titles. First, there was Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon, which was not released outside of Japan. However, the sequel, Chocobo's Dungeon 2, was, and followed up on the original's Roguelike design. Lastly, Chocobo Racing was a Mario Kart-inspired goofy racer featuring Chocobo, mages, monsters, and some familiar mainline heroes like Cloud. There were also three collections released on the PS1: Final Fantasy Anthology, Final Fantasy Chronicles, and Final Fantasy Origins.
2 Nintendo DS (7 New Games)
Portability Bred New Innovations
- Brand
- Nintendo
- Original Release Date
- November 21, 2004
- Hardware Versions
- Nintendo DS
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $149.99
- Weight
- 9.7 oz
- Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light
- Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
- Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings
- Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales
- Chocobo to Maho no Ehon: Majo to Shojo to Gonin no Yusha
The Nintendo DS is so close to being the best RPG platform of all time thanks to its portability and vast library, even beyond Square Enix and Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light was a reboot of the series featuring harder difficulty and a return to turn-based battles. This would seemingly inspire the creation of Bravely Default within Square Enix. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift was a solid sequel that improved over its GBA predecessor. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time were good multiplayer games as well.
Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings was a sequel to the original game, set after its events concluded. Instead of an MMO-style RPG system, Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings was an RTS. Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales was a collection of mini-games starring Chocobo, and Chocobo to Maho no Ehon: Majo to Shojo to Gonin no Yusha, if the name didn’t give it away, was an exclusive sequel in Japan. Beyond those seven new entries, there were also substantial remakes of Final Fantasy 3 and Final Fantasy 4, which improved the graphics and added voice acting.
1 PlayStation 4 (11 New Games)
The Ultimate Final Fantasy Dream
- Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy 15
- Final Fantasy 15
- A King's Tale: Final Fantasy 15
- Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy 15
- Final Fantasy 15: Pocket Edition
- World of Final Fantasy
- Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
- Itadaki Street: Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary
- Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
- Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake
The PS4 easily has the largest library of Final Fantasy games, both new and old. Nearly every mainline game can be played on this console, whether it’s via a digital download or a remaster. Let’s go through the new entries, starting with Final Fantasy 15, which has a lot of tie-in games. First, there was Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy 15, which was indeed a demo. However, it was also a prequel starring a younger version of Noctis. It’s short, but counts as a game as much as P.T. Does. There was another prequel, A King's Tale: Final Fantasy 15, which was about Noctis’ father, and this game was an old-school brawler.
Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy 15 was a PSVR game about fishing, and Final Fantasy 15: Pocket Edition was a retelling of the original game but with simplified combat, areas, and chibi-style characters. It was released on iOS first, but it also came to platforms like the PS4 in the same year. Moving on from the deluge of Final Fantasy 15 games, there was also World of Final Fantasy. It was a monster-catching game like Pokemon that crossed over tons of classic characters, like Squall from Final Fantasy 8 hanging around with Rikku from Final Fantasy 10.
Speaking of crossovers, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT was a fighting game that came out in arcades in 2015 before becoming a more full-featured release on the PS4 in 2018. Itadaki Street: Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary was another board game RPG, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin was a Soulslike co-op game, and Theatrhythm Final Bar Line was a rhythm-based musical adventure. Last but not least, Final Fantasy 7 Remake first came out on the PS4, jump-starting what is to become a trilogy. "Remake" may be in the title, but it’s more transformative for the series than a simple remake. So again, it’s easy to see why the PS4, so far, has been the height of the Final Fantasy series.