With as long and storied a history as Final Fantasy has, there has been a lot of experimentation along the way. Spin-off titles have tried different approaches to gameplay and even entirely new genres. Sequel titles have taken what worked well in the first entry and expanded upon it, or dramatically changed the mechanics and focus.
Some titles have even been successful enough to start their own sub-series of games, and have proven to be very popular with fans of the franchise despite their differences from the main series. With so many games under the Final Fantasy banner, it's easy for even the most diehard of fans to have missed out on a few over the decades.
10 Final Fantasy IV: The After Years Is A Great Sequel For Fans Of The Original Game
Final Fantasy IV is one of the best entries in the series to start with. Almost two decades after the original game was released, a sequel story was created called Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. It takes place 17 years after the events of Final Fantasy IV, and players take the role of Ceodore, the teenaged son of Cecil and Rosa.
Many familiar faces make a return from Final Fantasy IV, and fans of the first game will appreciate revisiting their favorite characters. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is presented in an episodic format, with each chapter focusing on a particular character. It's an uncommon approach that sets the game apart from its contemporaries.
9 Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings Explores A Different Style Of Gameplay Than Its Predecessor
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is far enough removed from the game that came before it that players who disliked one may actually enjoy the other. Where the original Final Fantasy XII had exploration and combat that felt like playing an MMORPG solo, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is much closer to a Final Fantasy Tactics game, except it features a real-time strategy battle system.
This radical departure in play style likely prevented some players from enjoying one entry or the other due to its differences. But at the same time, it opens up the Final Fantasy series to fans of real-time strategy genre games, which the series isn't normally known for.
8 Final Fantasy Tactics Brings The Final Fantasy Franchise Into A Whole New Genre
Final Fantasy Tactics takes the franchise in new directions with its turn-based tactical strategy gameplay. An imaginative setting, interesting characters, and a deep and intriguing narrative made the game a hit with fans. It became a sub-series with multiple of its own games in the years that followed.
While all of the games in the Final Fantasy Tactics sub-series have enjoyed their own success, none have quite matched what the original Final Fantasy Tactics managed to accomplish. It even enjoyed a modern remaster called Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, with cinematic cutscenes complete with voice acting, improved translation and dialect of the localized script, and additional features and content.
7 Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Expands Upon The Story By Revealing Its History
Long before the Final Fantasy VII Remake was a reality, fans enjoyed the expansion of the original game's story through other entries. Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children explained events after the end of Final Fantasy VII. But it was Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII on the Playstation Portable that helped make sense of the back story leading up to the original game.
Players learn all about Zack Fair, a character rarely mentioned in the original game. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII reveals Zack's significance to the events of the series, the true origins of major characters like Cloud and Sephiroth, and sheds light on many mysteries and questions players still had after finishing the original Final Fantasy VII.
6 Dissidia Final Fantasy Has Familiar Characters In A Completely New Game Style
Dissidia Final Fantasy is a series that started on the Playstation Portable. It brings characters from the entire Final Fantasy franchise together and builds a narrative around them, but its major innovation lies in its gameplay. Rather than the typical RPG fans would expect from the franchise, Dissidia Final Fantasy is an action game focused primarily on battles in a 3-D environment.
In addition to having innovative action-based gameplay, Dissidia Final Fantasy also brings many characters out of the earlier Final Fantasy games into the modern gaming era for the first time. Historic characters that were only realized as 2-D sprites previously can be seen and played in a fully 3-D game, adding to the game's charm for many fans.
5 Final Fantasy X-2 Appeals To Female Players With Its Pop Themes And Cast Of Leading Ladies
This sequel to Final Fantasy X is quite a departure from its predecessor. Final Fantasy X-2 was the first direct sequel in the Final Fantasy franchise history, but it wouldn't be the last. It focuses on telling a personal story, has an all-female cast of playable characters, and the music has an upbeat pop style.
It also saw the return of the Job System, which hadn't been in a mainline Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy V. Final Fantasy X-2 even allows players to change job classes right in the middle of combat, with over the top transformation scenes and fancy costume designs. These dynamics make the game's battle system memorable.
4 Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Takes Risks And Tries New Things
Some of the most daring departures and biggest risk-taking in the Final Fantasy franchise happen in spin-off titles, and Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is a good example. The game has a much more accessible modern release, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition, but the original version has some unique qualities.
Real-time combat is a feature of the game that is unusual to see in Final Fantasy titles, and so is local multiplayer. In the original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, however, multiplayer was only possible using a Gamecube to Gameboy Advance cable accessory. Up to 4 players could play, and players 2 through 4 needed their own Gameboy Advance system and connecting cable to play.
3 Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift Is An Admirable Sequel That Broadens The Lore Of Ivalice
In Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, players step into the shoes of Luso, a rambunctious youth. Luso decides to write his name down in an ornate, half-finished book he finds at his school library one day. That book turns out to be a grimoire, and it sends Luso to the world of Ivalice to begin his adventure.
Fans who have played the previous game, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, will find themselves in familiar territory. Races, job classes, and even some characters make return appearances. Fans of Final Fantasy XII will see a few familiar faces along the way as well.
2 Final Fantasy Explorers Tries A Different Approach And Encourages Multiplayer
Final Fantasy Explorers covers new ground compared to the usual entry in the series. Playing more like a Monster Hunter game than a Final Fantasy, the gameplay is open-ended and the player's focus is on completing quests. The majority of the playable content only becomes available after the story is completed, which is another departure from the series norm.
Players can play with other people in their party, and the game encourages multiplayer. For those who wish to play alone, or when there are three or fewer human players, monsters can be recruited and used in battle as party members.
1 Final Fantasy Record Keeper Is Light On Story But Full Of Nostalgia
Final Fantasy Record Keeper is a mobile game for Android and iOS devices. While players who are new to the franchise could start here and gain some insight into the decades of history of Final Fantasy, the real appeal will be for long-time fans.
Iconic and memorable battles from the main Final Fantasy games are re-created in 2-D pixelized glory, complete with familiar music and sound effects from their original games, and even some short story reminder synopses. Players jump from significant battle to battle, in a condensed version of the events that played out in each game.