The top 25 squaresoft games of all time... (?)

[kupoartist]

Final Fantasy Online ( www.ffonline.com ) have finally posted the last of their 5 part "Foundation" Series, celebrating Squaresoft's top 25 games (voted by for the very large pool of users on their forums): here is how the games square made shape up against each other:

25 - Threads of Fate
24 - Bushido Blade
23 - SaGa Frontier 2
22 - Parasite Eve II (2)
21 - Front Mission 3

25-21 : http://www.ffonline.com/news/news.php?article=2002-06-23

20 - Final Fantasy III (3)
19 - Legend Of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 4)
18 - Parasite Eve
17 - The Bouncer
16 - Seiken Densetsu 3

20-16 : http://www.ffonline.com/news/news.php?article=2002-07-27

15 - Final Fantasy (1)
14 - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
13 - Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2)
12 - Final Fantasy V (5)
11 - Vagrant Story

15-11 : http://www.ffonline.com/news/news.php?article=2002-09-08

10 - Final Fantasy X (10)
09 - Chrono Cross
08 - Final Fantasy Tactics
07 - Xenogears
06 - Final Fanatasy IV (4)

10-06 : http://www.ffonline.com/news/news.php?article=2002-12-03

05 - Final Fantasy IX (9)
04 - Final Fantasy VIII (8)
03 - Chrono Trigger
02 - Final Fantasy VII (7)
01 - Final Fantasy VI (6)

05-01 : http://www.ffonline.com/news/news.php?article=2003-05-09

Of course, the list is by no means a 100% true indication: observe how the following games were never experienced by Square's 2nd largest audience (Europe).
Threads of Fate, Bushido Blade, FF III, Legend of Mana, Parasite Eve, Seiken Densetsu 3. FF 1 (yes FF1 - reason given in a minute), Super Mario RPG, Chrono Cross, FF Tactics and Xenogears.

Its even more suprising that FFIII and Seiken Densetsu 3 make it into the top 25, having never been released outside of Japan (indicating that had they been released, they would have been much higher.)

Also problematic is the fact that the voting ended when Kingdom Hearts was released Stateside - Last Summer(ish), and no votes were therefore counted for it. (hence FF1 and indeed FF2 is counted as never having had a Eu release)

and finally, there is the obvious bias towards the FF series. I for one would have placed the wonderfully animated, scored and epic SaGa Frontier 2 far above where it actually is, yet many have never played it despite a global release.

So what is everyone else's opinion on the top Squaresoft games of all time? I'm sure many would shift around the places of 6, 7, 10 and Tactics (though i agree with all but the last two: 10 should be lower, Tactics should be higher.). Post lists are just a rough outline of what you'd change!

[ssjtrunks13]

I wouldn't change anything as ot looks like they may have made it based on sales.

[mark0™]

I Didnt Like FFVI much, maybe 1st place should be fro Chrono Trigger, It was the most enjoyable Squaresoft game i ever played, such a dynamic story. Not Linear like the FF's.

Kingdom Hearts, if included, should get 3rd, or 4th place I think, great game.

Other than that i have no other opinions.

[Jubei]

whaaa, nooooo it must be a mis count, FFVII is meant to win anything its placed in, its still my fav game of all time

[Nelo Angelo]

I can die happy now. \o_o/

But the following games should be much higher:

Final Fantasy Tactics
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
The Parasite Eve series

[DragonSphere]

Originally posted by mark0™

I Didnt Like FFVI much.

Same here...I can't see how they'd like FFVI so much that it deserved to be number one. :confused: I mean it was good, but definitely not the best SquareSoft game.

Xenogears should move up a few spots along with Tactics; Parasite Eve I and II definitely deserve more than what was given to them; and I think Secret of Mana should've sneaked closer to the top 10 as well, maybe bumping up FFV.

[kupoartist]

Given all the problems with asking which game is best (larger due to how many copies sell), its strange that the order of FF6 > FF7 is actually seen here: yet it must be a true representation when so many more people have actually purchased a copy of FF7. (bear in mind that this wasn't a selection by a single FF6 junkie sitting in a room: with such a large community, the poll is actually pretty accurate. It also reflects the "Best FF Character" series they did, in which Kefka was 2nd, and Celes was 1st.)

anyways, my list (of those i've played) would be:

16 - Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2)
15 - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
14 - Final Fantasy (1)
13 - Final Fantasy III (3)
12 - Vagrant Story
11 - Final Fantasy X (10)
10 - Final Fantasy V (5)
09 - Chrono Trigger
08 - Final Fanatasy IV (4)
07 - Seiken Densetsu 3
06 - SaGa Frontier 2
05 - Final Fantasy VIII (8)
04 - Final Fantasy IX (9)
03 - Final Fantasy VII (7)
02 - Final Fantasy Tactics
01 - Final Fantasy VI (6)

[Preventer Wind]

Well I think for the most part it is correct. However I think FFVII should be 1. VII was just better in my opinion. I also think that FF IX is way too high and FF Tactics is too low (Top 5 I think). Front Mission 3 should be in my top 15. I liked it more then Chrono Trigger. And I also would have put Vagrant Story in my top 5.

My top 5:

1. FFVII
2. FF Tactics
3. Vagrant Story
4. FFVIII
5. FFIX or X

Now I haven't played every single one of those games. Like I didn't play Parasite Eve II because I thought the first one was bad. And I haven't played two of the FF....2 of the first 4...the most recently re made ones....forget which ones those were. I never heard of Threads of Fate and I haven't played Xenogears, Seken Denetsu 3, Secret of Mana, or Legend of Mana.

[Azuma_Ninja]

I just want to say that everyone's opinions are going to be different. We're all like some of those games more than others, but that's just how the poll ended up.

[synicalgohan91]

its very cool that a lot of final fantasy's are on the top end but i would have really liked to see final fantasy 7 on the top and Final fantasy 8 more towards the bottom. if it wasn't on there i tell u what i wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

[happy_doughnut]

I have a small question, artist.

How did these titles come to gain the place they have ? Were they voted by the people in the community/forums ?
If so, then wouldn't that decrease the *accuracy* ?

Btw, I'm asking 'cause the links don't seem to work anymore. :)

[kupoartist]

ffonline is down at the moment (the front page says they're transferring the site over to a new server). Yes it was voted by the community (which recently hit 10,000 users, only to be culled for a large ammount of useless accounts... I think about 100 voted for their favorite games)... As i've said, there is obviously room for error, but using a larger pool of people is always better: An average is better than a random selection from the same number of people after all.

EDIT: I never did mention the rather important "problem" with FFOnline: There is a very evident bias towards FF6 within the forums, regardless of how many people are there. Another forum may have come up with a different 1-2 combination, not that it truely matters. I posted this for debate rather than a definitive list :)

[dan da man]

Not a major fan, and I havent played all those games, but I think Final Fantasy VI deserved number one spot.

[Zanku]

Chrono Trigger was fantastic, i loved the game so much when i played it! I cant see how FFVI is first...? Maybe i should continue playing it and complete it...I got stuck near the beginning, there is seriously nowhere to go :shock:
I thought Secret of Mana was a poor attempt at trying to be like Zelda, except more of an RPG at the same time, the controls were terrible too.

[Krazy]

I don't think i've even played 25 squaresoft games but, FF7 is definitely my favorite. Chrono Trigger for 2nd, FF3 for third and Xenogears for fourth.

[stormshadow]

I agree to make FF7 number one because it is the greatest. However FF8, Parasite Eve 1 and 2, and The Bouncer should be taking off that list and never spoken of again. Oh there is just one more thing Front Mission 3 and FF Tactics should have got the spots that they deserved because they are fun to play, have great replay values, and are just great because of the storys............The Bouncer:boo:

[kupoartist]

Originally posted by stormshadow
The Bouncer:boo:
hehe... remember that Crap games were going to appear on the list somewhere. Square hasn't exactly made 25 games that everyone likes... (Sounds like we're adding Unlimited SaGa to the "crap register" if the review sites are correct....)

[Reid]

That's a pretty decent list.

My top five would probably be;

5)Chrono Trigger
4)FFX
3)Xenogears
2)FFIX
1)FFVII

I never really could get into FFVI seriously. I played fairly far in one time after about two false starts but then my save file was corrupted and I haven't felt much like getting back into it.

:P

[omni vengeance]

1.FFVII
2.Chrono Trigger
3.FFIV

[Preventer Wind]

Awwww come now. The bouncer isn't that bad. In fact that's the game I have beaten the most. I think 9 times. It's only fall back was the length of the game....other then that it rocked.

[omni vengeance]

I've heard the bouncer was good...but it just doesn't look like my kind of Squaresoft game.

[stormshadow]

If you want to watch a movie play the Bouncer. I noticed that Xenosaga is the same way so if you want to fall asleep because of the long video sequences, dig in.

[omni vengeance]

Scenes like that are what make a game good, ya know? I'd really like to play a game that has so many long scenes, because that just means that the game has an interesting storyline to it.

[kupoartist]

Originally posted by omni vengeance
Scenes like that are what make a game good, ya know? I'd really like to play a game that has so many long scenes, because that just means that the game has an interesting storyline to it.
FMVs and NISs are a valuable part of games, but you must see that there needs to be a balance between these things for most games: 95% of games need to have some sort of story progression, but all games need interaction. If you can't interact with a game, it shouldn't be labelled as a game. Thats a movie.

[stormshadow]

Yeah but if they make you fall asleep then the videos can't be that good or that interesting eh?