The Final Fantasy series is massive at this point. Not only are there sixteen mainline games, but Square Enix has also delivered countless spin-offs and two fully-fledged MMOs.

If you’re a hardcore fan, odds are you haven’t fully completed all the games in the series. Given how much time that would take alone, the sample size of full-completionists is low, and a few of them are also just plain tough to get through.

5

Final Fantasy 11

It’s Hard To Keep Up With This Huge MMO

Final Fantasy XI is easily one of the most feature-packed MMOs of all time. It’s been in service since 2022 for multiple platforms, and somehow, it’s still alive and kicking (for reference, World of Warcraft launched in 2004, so the fact that it’s still around is a triumph). There were even greatly exaggerated rumors that FFXI would be shutting down in 2022, but these were quickly dispelled by Square Enix itself, and you can still download and play the game now on PC.

That said, the game’s world of Vana’diel is so packed that only the most ardent Final Fantasy fans have completed it all. Since 2002, the game has hosted 14 expansions and add-ons, from Rise of the Zilart in 2003 to Voracious Resurgence in 2020. Having played FFXI off and on for years, there are infamous eras of the game, as the playerbase waxes and wanes like any MMO.

Early on, the game’s solo leveling process was brutal, and many leveling runs were predicated on finding a perfect group at the perfect time. It’s since gotten more solo-friendly, but this was an MMO fans’ MMO for years. Very few people have completed all the content it offers.

4

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

I Don’t Know Many Other People Who Beat It

Many Final Fantasy fans never even checked out Final Fantasy 13, much less its two sequels. While Final Fantasy 13–2 has its fans (myself included), Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is a harder sell. Billed as an action RPG rather than a turn-based affair, you’ll play the titular Lightning as you attempt to close the book on the XIII saga once and for all.

To say it was polarizing is an understatement, as fans did not necessarily want to play a story set 500 years in the future that centered solely on Lightning (an already polarizing protagonist). Given how many fans were happy with FF13-2 at the time, they didn’t see the need tocontinue the 13 saga, and could have seen it end before Lightning Returns added further complications.

The kicker? Lightning Returns is about 40 hours long at a minimum. While that’s not as taxing as many other mainline entries in the Final Fantasy series, 40 hours isn’t a walk in the park for an action game where you ostensibly control one character. It just didn’t gel with a lot of the core audience.

To date, it’s one of the worst-received and worst-selling Final Fantasy games for all the reasons mentioned above. I did end up finishing Lightning Returns ​​​​​​at launch and found it incredibly fun in a campy way. The final act is among the wildest in any Final Fantasy game, period.

If you’re looking to close the loop on this one and manage to snag a copy for cheap, give it a try.

3

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

Recommended Only If You Really Like Vincent

Vincent is my favorite Final Fantasy 7 character, so I naturally had to check out Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. As part of the never-ending cavalcade of Final Fantasy product rollouts, this 2006 PS2 action game divided fans more than any other game on this list. Using Vincent’s signature shooting abilities, the game wasn’t what many fans were used to, and some didn’t even make it past the first level. Even the power to transform into beasts didn’t really save it in the eyes of mega-fans.

While Final Fantasy 7 still has a massive following today, the spinoffs aren’t necessarily the cause of that. There was a degree of FF7 fatigue at the time, and Dirge of Cerberus helped contribute to that. Hopefully, Square Enix will have vestiges of the game implanted in FF7 Remake Part 3, whenever that hits.

Even though Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII is roughly 12 hours long, a lot of folks won’t even stick it out for half of that if they’re not a fan of character action games. It was a bold move by Square Enix to aim for multiple audiences, but it didn’t really pay off. My physical PS2 copy is still on a shelf, though, so there’s that.

2

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

The “Western Final Fantasy”

Mystic Quest

I first played Final Fantasy Mystic Quest at a friend’s house close to launch, and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This strange spinoff of the mainline series is described as a “western Final Fantasy,” and was designed specifically to woo newcomers to the JRPG genre.

As a result, it’s incredibly easy to follow and pick up, but it lacks depth, which scares off many big fans. A 14-hour playtime is also a huge chunk if you’re not enjoying yourself, as there are far more JRPGs available now in the West than there were in 1992.

The lack of a true world map was cited as a beginner-friendly mechanic at the time, but it hasn’t aged well, as exploration is hampered for the sake of simplicity. The game has some interesting qualities (like the grappling hook for traversal, the soundtrack, and some character designs), but overall it’s become a forgotten relic, with only a few references in the Theatrhythm series.

It’s hard to recommend Mystic Quest to anyone now, given how far it’s been surpassed (even by its peers at the time). But if you want to check out an oddball piece of history, it’s just an SNES cart away.

1

Final Fantasy XIV 1.0

A Game So Bad It Got An Apocalyptic Event

I had the unique opportunity of trying out the original Final Fantasy XIV at E3 many years ago, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “There is no way this is going to have a good launch,” I thought to myself, and all of my peers felt the same in the testing session.

Well, turns out we were right. The original Final Fantasy XIV (1.0) launched in September 2010 and landed with a thud. Hardcore MMO fans and genre newcomers alike united to push back against it, and the studio apologized for the state it was in shortly after launch. A console port was fully canceled, and Naoki “Yoshi P” Yoshida was tapped to come in and direct the project.

Yoshi P would subsequently build a bond with the community through “director chats” that persists to this day. In 2011, Square Enix already made its plan to completely revamp the game clear: 2.0 arrived in 2013 and was a rip-roaring success. For reference, Final Fantasy XIV as we know it today is completely different. It’s currently in its “2.0” era and has reached 7.0 with the Dawntrail expansion.

While it’s had its trials and tribulations along the way, the Realm Reborn era is seen as one of the best revamps of any game, amid the likes of No Man’s Sky. Only truly hardcore Final Fantasy fans managed to make it through all the content XIV 1.0 had to offer.

Even if you’re not a Final Fantasy fan, the current version of FFXIV is worth dipping into. The team has made a lot of strides to add more solo-friendly content and mechanics, so long as you’re OK with dealing with a subscription fee.