Video Games
Final Fantasy Tier List Maker
Rank the mainline Final Fantasy games, from Final Fantasy I to Final Fantasy XVI.
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Drag items into a tier — or tap an item, then tap a tier.
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Meet every game (16)
These 16 games load into the maker above. Each write-up covers what the game is and what to weigh when you rank it. Facts were last checked on .
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Final Fantasy
The 1987 role-playing game from Square for the NES, created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, that started the series. Four youths called the Warriors of Light each carry one of the world's elemental crystals.
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Final Fantasy II
A 1988 role-playing game from Square for the Famicom, the second installment. It was originally exclusive to Japan, and later ported to and remade for several platforms, including the Game Boy Advance and PSP.
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Final Fantasy III
A 1990 Famicom game in which four orphans from the village of Ur are chosen by the world's crystals to defeat a great evil and restore balance. The gameplay returns to the traditional style.
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Final Fantasy IV
A 1991 Super Nintendo game, titled Final Fantasy II in its initial North American release. Its story follows Cecil Harvey, a dark knight who tries to prevent a sorcerer from seizing powerful crystals.
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Final Fantasy V
A 1992 Super Famicom game, the fifth installment, which begins when a wanderer named Bartz investigates a fallen meteor and learns of the danger facing the world's four Crystals.
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Final Fantasy VI
A 1994 Super Nintendo game, titled Final Fantasy III in North America. It was the final main entry with 2D sprite graphics, and the first to be directed by someone other than the series creator.
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Final Fantasy VII
A 1997 PlayStation game and the first in the main series to have a PAL release. Square Soft released it in Japan, and Sony Computer Entertainment released it internationally.
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Final Fantasy VIII
A 1999 PlayStation game set on an unnamed fantasy world with science fiction elements. It follows a group of young mercenaries led by Squall Leonhart as they are drawn into a conflict.
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Final Fantasy IX
A 2000 PlayStation game focusing on a war between nations in a medieval fantasy world called Gaia. Players follow a thief named Zidane Tribal, who kidnaps Princess Garnet.
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Final Fantasy X
A 2001 PlayStation 2 game, and the first in the series with fully three-dimensional areas and voice acting. It replaced the Active Time Battle system of earlier games with a new battle system.
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Final Fantasy XI
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game, designed and produced by Hiromichi Tanaka, originally developed by Square and later published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installment.
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Final Fantasy XII
A 2006 PlayStation 2 game that added an open world, a controllable camera and a customizable "gambit" system that lets players control the artificial intelligence of party members.
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Final Fantasy XIII
A 2009 game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, later on Windows in 2014. Released in Japan in December 2009 and internationally in March 2010, with fast-paced combat.
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Final Fantasy XIV
A subscription-based MMORPG directed and produced by Naoki Yoshida and released in August 2013, replacing the failed 2010 version. It later added support for PlayStation 4 in April 2014.
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Final Fantasy XV
A 2016 action role-playing game and the fifteenth main installment, released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2016, on Windows in March 2018 and for Stadia in 2019. It features an open world.
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Final Fantasy XVI
A 2023 action role-playing game and the sixteenth main installment, first released for PlayStation 5, with a Windows version in September 2024 and an Xbox Series X/S version in June 2025.
Final Fantasy tier list questions
Which Final Fantasy games are on this list?
The list covers the 16 numbered main-series games, from Final Fantasy in 1987 to Final Fantasy XVI in 2023. Spin-offs and sequels, such as Final Fantasy VII Remake or Tactics, are not included.
Are all of these games single-player?
No. Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV are massively multiplayer online role-playing games, and the rest are mostly single-player role-playing or action role-playing games.
How should I rank Final Fantasy games?
Common criteria include story, characters, battle system, music and nostalgia. Many fans compare the classic 2D games, the PlayStation era and the modern action games separately, since the series changes its style so often.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these references on .