Recently, Japan's national broadcasting company, NHK, held a "best Final Fantasy game and character poll," and naturally, the results might shock you.
It feels like I've been championing Final Fantasy X for nearly my whole life and suddenly feel validated, as it took the top spot in the poll as the best Final Fantasy of all time. The cliched generational pick of VII was second, followed by VI (the one a lot of people consider the best in terms of quality), IX, XIV, V, VIII, IV and XI.
Spinoffs were allowed in the poll, as Tactics took spot 11, with Crisis Core at 13, Type-0 at 16, Crystal Chronicles at 17, Mobius at 20, Tactics Advance at 22, Dissidia (the original) at 23, Ring of Fates taking 25, Dissidia 012 at 26, Adventure at 27, Echoes of Time at 29 and Record Keeper at 30. A few sequels like X-2 and Lightning Returns also made the list. This poll is legit, as it had an astounding 468,654 votes.
The other poll dealt with best character, which saw Cloud win it, followed by Yuna, Aerith (Aeris), Vivi, Zidane, Emet-Selch (XIV), Tidus, Lightning, Tifa and Zack. I find it kind of funny that Lightning isn't in the top five given how much the creatives push her so hard, and VII clearly dominates overall with Cloud, Aerith, Tifa and Zack all part of the top 10: only X and IX have multiple reps.
Final Fantasy [NHK via Nintendo Life]
