3: FINAL FANTASY TACTICS

This game was released shortly after Final Fantasy VII. It follows the story of a young nobleman named Ramza Beoluve as he battles corruption in a world dominated by power and control. Building an army of powerful allies, he defeats the opposing forces who would tear the world apart in their quest to possess it.

SNES featured games of a similar nature to this one, including Bahamut Lagoon, Fire Emblem and Front Mission. The objective of each battle is to move your characters around the map and defeat the opposing forces. You have a variety of characters from which to build your army, many of them classic job classes from the Final Fantasy series.

Outside of combat, you move around a basic map with a set path. You can randomly enter battles by moving back and forth on these locations. EXP and JP are earned by battling as well as the chance of obtaining items. EXP is used in improving your character's status while JP is used to gain new abilities from your job class; which can transfer over after you change class.

The story of FFT is what makes it such an enjoyment to play. Its dark story has elements of classism, deciet, revenge and hatred. The continous plot twists will keep you interested to find out what happens next. The in-game ability to replay scenes and read profiles on the characters is a welcome addition to the epic tale Square is telling in this game.

Pick this game up if you are in the mood to test your strategic intelligence or if you are just in the mood to see a good story in a vast, thriving world.

2. FINAL FANTASY IV

Released in North America as Final Fantasy II on the SNES, FFIV stands out in my mind as one of the best games ever made. It may be simple and out of date in today's world, but that doesn't make it any less good.

The game follows Cecil, a Dark Knight of the Kingdom Baron. Dismissed of his duty as leader of the elite airship squad, The Redwings, he and his friend Kain travel to deliver a package to the home of the summoners. Upon learning that the package was meant to kill the villagers, Cecil turns his back on his kingdom and seeks to bring them down before they steal all of the ancient crystals.

Gameplay is simple. The classic battle system is used and a variety of characters is avilable with their special skills. One drawback is that you have no choice in your characters and must use who you are given. Cecil starts off weak in the game, as he is a knight of Darkness fighting darkness. Once he becomes a Paladin, a holy knight with a sword of goodness, he is a force to be reckon with. His allies are equally deadly, from the Dragoon Kain to the White Wizard Rosa.

Side quest are available but not as obvious as other games. You actually have to look for them instead of learning about them. Castles with treasure, quests for stronger weapons, and journeys to gain powerful summons are found in abundance.

The love story, while not seeming so important on the surface, is actually very deep. Cecil turned his back on the Dark Sword and obtained the power of the Paladin, an almost inmpossible feat, all to protect his beloved Rosa. Cecil also comes to terms with the family he enevr knew by the ordeals he faces throughout the game.

I have been playing FFIV since it came out on SNES and I have yet to become bored of it yet. Why don't you give it a shot for yourself?

1. FINAL FANTASY X

FFX has proven to be the top FF game there is. Graphics, sounds, gameplay and story are all present in great quality and quantity. All the effort put into this game by its creators was worth it.

The story brings us into the world of Spira, a land where our main hero Tidus is known for his skills in the game of Blitzball, an underwater sport. After being dragged into the future, where society has devolved and technology is evil, Tidus meets Yuna, a young summoner on a quest to rid the world of Sin, the incarnation of evil. Along with Yuna's protector's, Tidus heklps her obtain her goal to bring peace to the land.

It's interesting to see Tidus walk through this foreign land, unsure of whats around him. Players have done this for years, being a newcomer to a place and not know whats going on. This allows us to better relate to Tidus and get into the game more.

The graphics are stunning, moving from CG to gameplay almost flawlessly. Emotion is much better used than in any other game I have seen, allowing us to see without words what the characters are thinking. Watching the game's cut scenes and listening to the dialogue is one of the greatest pleasures about FFX.

Sound is by far the greatest improvement this game made. For the first time, voice actors are used in a Final Fantasy game. This new feature itself gives us insight into the characters just by hearing their voices and tones. Besides voices, the music in this game is beautiful, helping the settings and moods of each scene. This factor would be continued in X-2, where music plays an important role in the main story.

Gameplay is a pleasure, not a hassle. Using a turn based system and the option to switch players during battle make fighting more entertaining and strategic. Overdrives, as the Limit breaks are known, are simply amazing to see, as Tidus performs his sword techniques or Yuna her summons. Speaking of summons, they get a lot more action in this game. When Yuna summons a monster, it takes the place of the characters, actually becoming a playable character, with its own abilities and overdrives.

The level up system is known known as a Sphere Grid, which could have been less complicated. It shouldn't take you too long to figure it out though. Mini games and side quests can be found in great numbers, keeping you entertained if you want a break from actual gameplay. These help add a few more hours of playability to an already lengthy game.

The love story of a game has never been so strong. Tidus and Yuna build up their relationship as the story progresses. Much of it can't be seen with just words, but with the facial expressions of the two, bringing in the importance of the graphics to the game. Their love story is so intense and memorable, it is the main reason for a sequel.

In my opinion, this is the best of the Final Fantasies and I hope you have as much fun playing it as I did talking about it. It should keep you playing for about 50 hours just to reach the conclusion of it's epic tale.