Most underrated Final Fantasy game?

[Zkuq]

haxxiy said:

Zkuq said:

I've missed a ton of them, but based on VI, probably not IV or V. I'll go with XIII, mainly because it has great lore and a good story that are supported by great, diverse visuals. I haven't played XVI yet, but XV has a pretty boring world and visual style, and the same goes for XII. I can't speak for XI or XIV, but as far as I've seen, XIII is the last time the series had such a great world, lore, and visuals (I really appreciate the colourful, diverse look of X and XIII). XIII is definitely a flawed game, but I don't think it gets enough credit for the things it did right, and even the criticized parts aren't as bad as people tend to claim (although gameplay is really boring for the first 20-30 hours - that's just inexcusable).

13 has an amazing story and setting that they couldn't fully convey due to development issues during the HD transition. Alongside 15 (and the whole Fabula Nova Crystallis thing, really), it definitely has the trophy for biggest wasted potential in the series.

Oh yeah, definitely! I think wasted potential in general has become an increasingly common occurrence in games, but I guess the whole Fabula Nova Crystallis was a lot of wasted potential - but XIII in particular, I think. In XV, I don't think you see so many great elements begging for an even better game - the game just is what it is - but in XIII, there's absolute greatness embedded in a flawed package. I think in XV's case, it seems kind of the same as with XVI: great highlights that make for great marketing material and give a lot of promise to players as well, but perhaps it all didn't make for a great game in the end. I liked XV and will probably like XVI as well once I get around to playing it, but I have no difficulty seeing why they're usually not considered even nearly the best Final Fantasy games.