Highlights
- Final Fantasy games include hidden quests and secrets for players to pursue, making 100% completion a challenging task.
- Each game has its own unique requirements for 100% completion, such as obtaining celestial weapons and armor, completing tasks and mini-games, and defeating super bosses.
- Missable content and specific requirements, such as recruiting optional characters and meeting time limits, add to the difficulty of achieving 100% completion in certain games.
Final Fantasy games are often more straightforward than Western RPGs, but that does not mean they are completely devoid of side content. Each game in the franchise usually includes hidden quests and secrets players must pursue in order to achieve 100% completion.
The 10 Best Final Fantasy Games, Ranked
The best Final Fantasy games have influenced countless titles over the years and have also left an indelible mark on many of those who played them.
Most games lack a quest log or checklist, making some of them almost impossible to complete without a guide. Even with the internet's help, the amount of time it takes or the specific nature of fully completing a given entry makes it a gargantuan task. Some Final Fantasy titles are so difficult to reach 100% completion in that one often wonders if it is even worth the effort.
If available, TrueTrophies' Platinum Trophy completion percentage will be included. While useful, this data is just one piece of the puzzle.
9 Final Fantasy 10
Platinum Completion: 15% (HD Remaster)
The checklist for 100% varies depending on which edition of the game is being played. Even in the initial PS2 version, it was hard to obtain every celestial weapon and armor for the party. On top of finding them, players also had to complete various tasks and minigames to earn sigils and crests to unlock the weapons' full potential.
In international versions and the modern remasters, players now have to deal with a handful of super bosses like the Dark Aeons and Penance. Even with a sound strategy, fighting Penance is like running a marathon.
8 Final Fantasy 12
Platinum Completion: 16% (Zodiac Age)
With the twelfth numbered entry's new direction also came a new focus on side content. Talking to NPCs in towns and cities reveals a bevy of side quests to complete. They are not particularly well organized, however, so it is difficult to keep track of all of them without a guide. Then, there are the hunts.
They are usually as simple as tracking down a monster and slaying them, but later battles become arduous tests of skill. The hardest hidden boss, Yiazamat, is an exceptionally long fight, taking well over an hour to complete even with a well-equipped party.
7 Final Fantasy Tactics
Missable content is a theme within some of these entries, and Final Fantasy Tactics fits the bill for sure. Though the game is fairly easy to get through for experienced players who have a sound strategy for their party, they will not really achieve 100% completion unless they successfully recruit all the optional characters.
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Many of these characters are only recruitable after fulfilling specific requirements, some of which can be missed. They all start at level one, but they level up quickly. Besides, who doesn't want Cloud Strife in their party?
6 Final Fantasy 13
Platinum Completion: 13%
Final Fantasy 13 saw criticism for being especially linear. This is true of the first large chunk of the game, but it does open up once the party leaves Cocoon and heads to Gran Pulse. Here players can finally engage with the optional content.
64 missions are scattered throughout this land and task players with slaying groups of beasts or a single powerful enemy. By the end, the battles become difficult to the point where only a specific strategy will lead to victory.
5 Final Fantasy 15
Platinum Completion: 29%
This game took forever to come out and had an infamous development cycle. The final release still felt like a Final Fantasy game but clearly took a lot of cues from Western RPGs in its approach to tackling side content. Still, some quests and hidden bosses remained elusive even with a clear quest log available through the menu.
Final Fantasy 15 started out with a few hidden super bosses, but updates added even more to the equation. If one includes the multiplayer portion, Comrades, as necessary to 100% completion, then it is an even taller order. It was hard to beat all of Comrades even when a lot of people were playing. With a less active community, it is an even bigger challenge.
4 Final Fantasy 4
Platinum Completion: 65% (PS4 Version)
Few things are as irritating as a game that is relatively easy to 100% complete except for that one little thing. Final Fantasy 4 falls into this category. In order to get the Adamant Armor in the fourth numbered entry, players have to find a Pink Tail and bring it to a certain character to trade it for the piece of equipment.
However, this item is only found on a particular enemy located in one very specific part of the game. On top of that, the drop rate is notoriously low. Players should prepare to grind a lot if they really want every piece of equipment in Final Fantasy 4.
3 Final Fantasy 9
Platinum Completion: 11% (PS4 Version)
With RPGs being as long as they are, it is rare to find a weapon hidden behind a time limit. Final Fantasy 9 dared to go where no other title in the series did, though. Players who want to see everything there is to see and get everything there is to get need to reach the final dungeon with a paltry 12 hours of in-game time on the clock.
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There are a few exploits to alleviate this time limit, and remasters allow players to skip cutscenes, but even with these, it is a monumental task and is definitely not recommended for a first playthrough.
2 Final Fantasy X-2
Platinum Completion: 16% (HD Remaster)
Where Final Fantasy 10 only opens up in the latter portion of the game, Final Fantasy X-2 lets players visit different parts of Spira practically from the start, completing different side quests throughout the various areas as the story progresses. This was a unique structure for a Final Fantasy game at the time, but it also makes 100% completion a total nightmare.
On top of that, watching every cutscene is a requirement for it. While most players would not skip a cutscene, this also means accidentally cutting off a line of dialogue locks players out of the achievement. There is a ton of missable content here, and it's almost too much to keep track of.
1 Final Fantasy 7
Platinum Completion: 31% (PS4 Version)
Final Fantasy 7
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original) , PC , iOS , Android , Nintendo Switch , Xbox One , PS4
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Released
- January 31, 1997
Final Fantasy 7's checklist might seem easy to some because of how well it has been documented. There's nothing simple about it, though. The amount of work required to get the Gold Chocobo alone adds countless hours to the grind. Without exploits like the item duplication glitch and liberal use of reloads, it would take even longer.
That's only the start of it. Defeating all the optional bosses like Ruby and Emerald Weapon requires a precise understanding of the battle systems, the boss' moves, and a little bit of luck. Still, it's worth it for the sense of accomplishment.
