26. Final Fantasy X (PS2)
This was, in my opinion, the last great Final Fantasy. That is, it's the most recent great Final Fantasy, but it does look increasingly likely that it's also the last time this legendary series will manage to reach the level of the sublime, something it used to achieve with a clockwork regularity. I initially had my doubts about FFX, however. As someone who found FFVII to be off-putting and even somewhat traumatizing, I was rather nervous about the introduction of full 3D graphics and voice acting, but Square pulled off the transition to the PS2 with rare aplomb (with a few exceptions... see the above video). Along with the massive upgrade in production value, lots of new gameplay elements made this Final Fantasy seem very modern, particularly the sphere grid leveling system, which afforded more character customization than ever before, and the choice to give players full control of summons in battles, another series first. (Also, blitzball! Best minigame ever in a Final Fantasy! Fuck the haters!) Still, the story and characters hewed pretty close to Final Fantasy tradition while still managing to feel fresh and engaging. Sure, Yuna comes off as a tad wooden and Tidus precariously straddles the line between plucky Zidane alike and sullen Cloud/Squall wannabe, but their flaky behavior is more than offset by the gruff undead samurai badass that is Auron. And, truly, the cast is well balanced. The story, meanwhile, is suitably epic, twisting and turning its way towards a beautifully sad conclusion that seems somewhat fitting given the the fact that Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu were both about to depart from the series with which their names had become synonymous. Of course, Square then went and ruined it with an execrable sequel that would pretty much set the tone for the years to come.
