Final Fantasy was the franchise that made JRPGs into the force they are in America. Beloved by fans and critics alike, the series started on the NES but really hit its stride during the SNES era before completely redefining itself on the PS1. The series has been through a multitude of changes over the years but many fans still point to the SNES and PS1 eras as the series' high watermarks.
Both eras of Final Fantasy have their strong suits; both were integral to making the series the behemoth it is today.
10 SNES Era Was Best: Yoshitaka Amano's Design Work Was Amazing
Yoshitaka Amano had been a part of the Final Fantasy team since the beginning, doing character and monster designs but the SNES era would be where his work really shone through the most. On the NES, the graphics couldn't really get across how great his designs were but the SNES's better graphics and larger color palette showed fans just how great his work was.
The character sprites were simple but got the point across and the monsters, each one drawn by him and put on screen, are among the series' best. On top of that, his unique blend of Western and Eastern art influences gave each game a unique and wonderful feel.
9 PS1 Era Was Best: There Were No Duds
While the SNES era contained FF IV (II outside of Japan) and FF VI (III outside of Japan), it also had Mystic Quest, a vastly simplified version of the game that doesn't get much love from fans. Beyond that, IV itself had some pretty notorious problems, including one of the weirdest English translations of all time.
In the PS1 era, all three games- FF VII, VIII, and IX- were and are well regarded. VII and IX are considered among the best FF games and VIII's unique systems, characters, and story have their fans. The PS1 era had no duds and was all killer, no filler.
8 SNES Era Was Best: Kefka Is One Of The Greatest Villains In The Series
FF VI was where the series really hit its stride and nowhere is that more apparent than with the villain, Kefka Pallazzo. A twisted Magitek Knight, Kefka's nihilistic quest for power makes him one of the series' cruelest villains. He was also just amazingly entertaining, with his trademark laugh a sound effect that every fan of the game knows by heart.
Kefka was the start of a new kind of villain for the FF games, an interesting, well sketched-out character that would drive the narrative. His villainy set the bar high for those who came after him.
7 PS1 Era Was Best: The Greater Capabilities Of The Console Made Many Aspects Better
The PS1 was a much more powerful system and that made a lot of difference. For instance, the system could make Nobuo Uematsu's breathtaking orchestration really sizzle, bringing the series' always great soundtracks into the next level. The full-motion video cut scenes were a revolution, an entirely new way to do cut scenes that changed the series forever.
On top of that, in-game graphics were much better. While the artistry of the SNES FFs' sprites was great, players finally got to see the characters rendered in a pseudo-3D environment and it looked amazing. While it's arguable if the stories improved- it's near impossible to top VI- the enhanced presentation made the difference for a lot of people.
6 SNES Era Was Best: The Larger Cast Of Characters Made For More Interesting Party Dynamics
FF IV and FF VI still used the class systems for their characters and the roster of characters for each game was in the double digits. This led to a lot more customization of parties beyond the warrior, healer, magic-user paradigm that would dominate VII and VIII, although IX was closer to SNES versions in this regard.
While not every character lived up to their potential, the more varied abilities of the larger character rosters made party planning a large part of the game. This allowed players to change up their play styles throughout the games and changed the experience.
5 PS1 Era Was Best: There Were More Secrets
One of the great things about disc-based media, and a huge factor in why Square switched to PlayStation, is the amount of information that they could hold in comparison to a cartridge. This allowed the devs to pack the PS1 with all kinds of secrets and extras, from hidden areas and summons, to fun mini-games to the ultra-hard secret bosses that were a grave challenge.
The added storage space of disc-based media changed Final Fantasy forever. The devs started packing the games with more and more extra content beyond just the sprawling stories, making each game more well-rounded.
4 SNES Era Was Best: The Games Provided The Blueprint For The Future
FF IV and VI turned the narrative style of the FF games on their ear. For a long time, the games were all about parties of heroes trying to find elemental crystals to stop evil from taking over the world. IV and VI were a sea change, both sprawling narratives full of twists and turns that changed the way the series would tell stories in the future.
Fleshing out characters to an amazing extent, introducing sympathetic villains, and presenting complex narratives full of triumph and tragedy, the SNES era of games revolutionized storytelling for the series.
3 PS1 Era Was Best: It Was The End Of An Era
Final Fantasy had been built for years by the solid team of Hironubo Sakaguchi, Yoshinori Kitase, and Nobuo Uematsu, a tandem that had elevated the SNES era to the moon. The PS1 era was the end of the partnership between the three, with Sakaguchi and Uematsu leaving Square. While Kitase would stay around, things were never the same.
FF IX was their last game together and it was a return to form for the series, a last gasp of the medieval style that had been the games' hallmark before the more sci-fi influenced VII and VIII. The trio made some amazing games during the PS1 era, ones that really changed the way the series was perceived.
2 SNES Era Was The Best: Less Is More
One of the most amazing things about the SNES era was how they were able to do so much with so little. While FF IV can still be a little rough around the edges graphically and musically, Final Fantasy VI is a masterpiece, as Square's devs took the SNES hardware and milked everything they could from it. Proof of that is three words- Opera House Scene.
The scene in the Opera House is the most iconic scene in all of Final Fantasy. It combines the simple yet expressive sprite work with perfectly synthesized orchestration, and breathtaking, emotional storytelling to create something so special that few scenes since, even with the graphical and musical capabilities that came after, could compare. Less is more and the SNES era proves that.
1 PS1 Era Was The Best: It Created The Icons
As great as the SNES games could be, they can't match the character recognition of the PS1 era FF games. Cecil from IV is a generic redeemed good guy and there was no actual central character in VI, although an argument can be made that Locke, Terra, and Celes were co-leads. VII gave the series two of its most iconic character- Cloud, one of the series best protagonists, and Sephiroth, one of the most recognizable villains ever.
On top of those, there's also Aerith, Tifa, Squall, and Vivi. The PS1 era gave the series characters that would become synonymous with Final Fantasy and transform the series into the juggernaut it is today.