If you asked me to pick best combat, best exploration, best side quests, etc. I think I can do those confidently.
But maybe it's just me but this is a super difficult decision and it is mostly between XIII and XIII-2.
I still can't do it, LOL.
She obviously didn't get much screen time in the two sequels but I had to turn down the volume a bit every time a Vanille cut scene came on.
Even the voice actress commented on this. LOL
Combat system: I would pick either FF13 or 13-2. I would prefer party members than the solo adventure LR gave
Music: This would be difficult since IMO all 3 had great soundtracks, but I would go with 13-2 by a slim margin over FF13.
Level up: I like the crystarium in FF13 over the one in 13-2 but the grinding required was very obnoxious. I also like levelling up the weapons more in ff13.
Exploration: IMO, LR wins this hands down. If the entirety of FF13 was more like chapter 11 where you could explore the achelytl steppe and its surrounding areas I would take FF13. LR also had towns that could be explored with a lot of NPC interactions.
NPC interactions: LR or 13-2.
Quests: LR had the best quest system. You can view active and finished quests at any time and the screen would tell you how much of each item you had for that quest. FF13 only let you set one quest at a time which was annoying.
Storyline progression: 13-2. I didn't like the linearity of 13 and was not a fan of the doomsday clock in LR since it inhibited exploration.
Even for an obscure game like Final Fantasy Dimensions II (yes, I played it and thought it was good) I felt sentimental.
In fact, no a single game I didn't feel sentimental for. But some more than others but no game left me with no sentimental feelings.
Maybe it's just a flaw with me, I don't know. I felt the same way after finishing DQ games too.
Just a big fan of his artwork and it's synonymous with Final Fantasy but was perplexed why the 3rd game didn't get the same treatment.
It's not a terrible game by any means, but because reception was cold in comparison to the previous games Square gave us not one, but two, sequels and some novels to make up for it.
I think if the original FF13 was a roaring success we would never get the two sequels and Square would move on.
To me I would say the Archlyte Steppe. The wildlands come 2nd but Square really knocked it out of the park with that map. I pretty much just stopped the main story and went to town on those missions in chapter 11. To me it felt like a true Final Fantasy game for the first time in the game.
I personally did not like the sectional areas that 13-2 had. I really like one big map and the loading times between each area kind of kills the vibe.
Getting back to 13, seeing all those oretoises "up close" and challenging them was kind of like awe inspiring but not a good idea since I got my tail whooped. Then I see this big dude, Titan, and it's crazy how he eats an adamantoise like a bite sized cheeseburger.
The music really added to the atmosphere too (wildlands' music is my favorite of LR and that really helped me enjoy Wildlands as my 2nd favorite area). The presentation and the FMV intro to it made it really jaw dropping. Especially seeing all those animals out in the field.
I think what made it more inspiring was the fact that the first 10 chapters were linear and the moment you hit the steppe you had a lot more freedom.
For a game released in 2009 I've yet to see another game pull something off like that on such a grand scale.
I'll go with Japanese.
I know there won't be an 80th anniversary team but if there was, would these 5 be it?
According to this website no new servers were added in almost 2 months (or maybe it has not been updated).
Finally!
Hard to believe that Giannis is listed at 6'11" 240 and David is 7'1" 235.
But aside from that he was a tremendous athlete, great shooting touch, could hit free throws at a decent clip, and would contend for DPOY every year during his peak.
