What Is The Best Final Fantasy For Newcomers?

Most of the Kotaku staff is spending their time playing, replaying, and just constantly thinking about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth right now in the wake of its release. For those of us who are avid fans of Square Enix’s long-running franchise, it’s a great time. But there is one particular staffer who is not having a good time. Senior Editor Alyssa Mercante has never played a Final Fantasy game, and has even gone on the record about her long-held belief that Aerith from Final Fantasy VII was a goat woman with big ears (It’s a bow, obviously). But this all could be changing in the near future, as Alyssa is ready to undertake the adventure of playing her first Final Fantasy game. Which brings us to the important question. What is the best Final Fantasy game for newcomers?

This question has led to lengthy discussions among the staff, with all of us having our own answer. Some people think she should just dive right into Rebirth with no knowledge and just enjoy the most recent title. Others say that she should go back to the classics and try out Final Fantasy VI. A contingent has offered up the more modern Final Fantasy X as the correct answer, with some absolute sickos going one step further and saying to just dive right into X-2. While I started in the FFX camp, I soon realized that the answer had to be Final Fantasy IX as it is series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi’s favorite. You can’t disagree with the guy who created Final Fantasy!

The conversation has become so heated that we decided to bring the question to you, our dear readers. What is the best Final Fantasy game for newcomers? What do you think is the best entry point into the storied franchise and why? This could be because you think it’s the best or just the most representative of the series at large, or maybe because it has the most loveable cast. Let us know!

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