Not caring about combat?
As an aging FF fan, I've noticed a growing trend among FF fans online that caring about combat systems seems to be taking a greater, even primary priority when ranking the series?
It's not something I particularly relate to; combat and progression aren't things I really care about over story, characters, art, presentation, music, and graphics.
Well not caring at all about combat and progression might be a bit of an overstatement, but it's definitely on the lower end of my priorities when assessing my favorite FF games and video games in general.
For example, my personal FF ranking would be something like:
VI > IX > XVI > VII > T > XIII > I > X > IV > XII > II > V > III > XV
I understand games like V and X are highly renowned for their combat systems (amongst other reasons too of course), but while I did appreciate the fun and depth of them, it didn't do too much to overwhelm my complicated feelings about the other aspects of those games.
I'm drawn to Final Fantasy and other story-driven games not to thoroughly explore strategic and challenging gameplay depth – my priority is to enjoy the artistic depth and vision of the authors and narrative. Combat to me is a means to that end. When gameplay systems and combat become so dominant that they overwhelm the games of a franchise predominantly known for its iconic stories and characters, it waters down the enjoyment to me.
Grinding, excessive challenge, and intricate character optimization deviate me from what I'm here for, which is Uematsu's riveting soundtracks, Sakahuchi's spiritual storytelling, and character depth and dialogue. If I want the former there is no shortage of other deeper RPGs to test that part of my brain.
I guess my purpose of this write up is to ask if anyone else relates to this perspective?