One would be hard-pressed to find a JRPG series with a history as rich as Final Fantasy. The first game in this series was released as a last-ditch effort to turn Square's situation around, and the rampant success it enjoyed made sure of it that the company would attain a second wind, completing multiple successful mergers to become one of the most important gaming companies in modern times. Of course, there was no way that Square Enix would give up on the franchise that made them what they are, and the company did wonders to keep the franchise relevant to this very day. From its incredible highs to its horrible lows, Final Fantasy has maintained steady levels of quality, intrigue, and a ton of drama... but that's a discussion left for a separate day.
One facet of the games that was wildly inconsistent in the first few games before becoming steady is the difficulty of the titles. While most people don't really consider Final Fantasy to have many challenging games, there's still some merit to be had in discussing the comparative difficulty of the games in the franchise. So, keeping this in mind, here are all the mainline Final Fantasy entries, ranked in terms of their difficulty.
Updated on April 9, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: Final Fantasy is a series full to the brim with a litany of games that are incredible in their own right. Each title in the series is a standalone high fantasy tale that turns into a massive epic almost every single time. The simple yet charming allure of Final Fantasy is precisely why the franchise is a blast, with the series' difficulty not really serving as a high barrier to entry... in most cases, that is. The following rankings should make things clearer.
15 Final Fantasy 15
When Final Fantasy 15 opened with the message "a Final Fantasy for fans and newcomers alike," they certainly weren't kidding. It's downright impossible for any player to die in this game, no matter how recklessly they play!
Consumables appear all over the environment, to the point where you never really need to buy them. Even if Noctis' HP drops to zero, there's still a generous window where he can use a restorative and get right back into the action. The healing system in this game is just atrocious.
14 Final Fantasy 8
Final Fantasy 8 introduced a Junction system that was met with a mixed reception from fans. While the idea of augmenting stats with magic seemed neat, the execution of it was pretty flawed and let players completely break the game.
This system, coupled with the fact that enemies leveled up along with the party, meant that you could've had a pretty overpowered party at a low level if you knew which junctions to get. This made everything in the game way easier, including the superboss Omega Weapon, who was meant to be a huge challenge.
13 Final Fantasy 7
While Final Fantasy 7 doesn't have the problems discussed in the previous entry, it was infinitely clear that Squaresoft was trying to make this game as accessible as possible so that it would be popular in the West.
This tactic succeeded. Final Fantasy 7 ended up becoming one of the greatest and most important video games of all time. It just didn't reach these heights because of its difficulty, which was subpar.
12 Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 7 might be the most important game for the entire franchise — well, that and the first game — but Final Fantasy 6 is considered by many to be their personal favorite. After all, it features a massive cast and an epic story that spans two overworlds!
However, the difficulty of this game is a different matter altogether. The game is so easy that you don't even really need to find every character in the World of Ruin before climbing Kefka's Tower — you can just do that after getting a few party members. Perhaps this freedom is what makes Final Fantasy 6 so great — just a shame that it comes at the cost of reduced difficulty.
11 Final Fantasy 10
Final Fantasy 10 was the first game in the series to feature in the sixth generation of consoles, and it more than met expectations upon release. When one talks about some of the best games in the entire series, it's hard to contest this game's inclusion at the very top.
However, the entire challenge of the game is hidden behind the Monster Arena and the Dark Aeons. While these are great challenges in their own right, they're completely optional. The main game itself is way too easy in comparison, with players being able to one-shot Sin and Braska's Final Aeon if they've done just some of the optional content present in the game.
10 Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 9 is lauded by many due to the game returning to its classic roots with a fresh twist. However, while the overall setting and story of the title might be reminiscent of the classic games, the difficulty is something that remained fairly bog-standard.
Most of the challenge in this game comes from the tricky final dungeon and the last boss of the game, Necron. Aside from this, a few superbosses are what provide the most challenge in this otherwise easy game.
9 Final Fantasy 5
The major reason why most people even remember Final Fantasy 5 is because of its incredible job system, which is somehow still polished to this very day. It was an addictive system that let players customize their party to a degree that no other Final Fantasy game has replicated to this day.
Its difficulty stemmed more from the fact that the job system itself was very complex, which made most mistakes a fault of the player... well, more often than not. There were moments where players who went through the game without a guide found out that their entire build was completely ineffective to challenge enemies in the endgame, let alone the superbosses!
8 Final Fantasy 12
Final Fantasy 12 shouldn't have been that hard of a game... but the radically revamped nature of the combat coupled with a general level of grindiness contributed to the frustrations the player experienced while playing this game.
All the re-releases of classic Final Fantasy games had a fast-forward, but no game needed it most than Final Fantasy 12. Battles are a slog without this feature, and it actually makes the grind bearable enough for the later battles to not become too frustrating.
7 Final Fantasy 13
There are many things wrong with Final Fantasy 13, and while one might have their gripes with the combat of this game, one can't deny how fast-paced and stressful situations can become at times.
The boss battles in Final Fantasy 13 are definitely a highlight, with the player required to input commands in quick succession to attack, heal, buff, and defend in the blink of an eye. Failing to do so will spell certain death.
6 Final Fantasy
The old school Final Fantasy games were notorious for their high level of difficulty — something that was rectified in the later releases of the game. However, the classic NES title is still around, and gamers can get a taste of just how punishing the game was.
Games had a penchant for being unreasonably difficult in the past, and Final Fantasy is no exception. However, later re-releases have toned down on this difficulty quite a bit, allowing players to experience this game without too many issues
5 Final Fantasy 2
While the first Final Fantasy game might've been tough in the usual sense, what made Final Fantasy 2 such a chore to play was due to its obtuse leveling system.
Sure, this system is broken, but first-time gamers who had no idea about the exploits were stuck with a game where their characters increased their stats randomly and at a snail's pace.
4 Final Fantasy 4
While the SNES version of Final Fantasy 4 might not be a challenge in the slightest, it's the DS port that truly taught players the importance of preparing for a battle.
The DS versions of the two Final Fantasy games on this list are widely considered to be the toughest challenges in the franchise, but the difficulty of Final Fantasy 4 seems menial in comparison to...
3 Final Fantasy 3
It's unbelievable just how ridiculously hard the DS version of Final Fantasy 3 actually is. A story of four orphans who seek to save the world from ruin has never felt more challenging.
While Final Fantasy 3 might be reasonably difficult for the most part, it's the gimmicks that make this experience frustrating at times. From having to use Toad on yourself to access an area all the way to entering a dungeon with all of your party members as Dragoons — there's no end to the sheer level of ways in which Final Fantasy 3 frustrates its players with its crushing difficulty.
2 Final Fantasy 14
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Given the very nature of this game as an MMO, it's easy to see why Final Fantasy 14 bags a spot on the higher end of this list due to its immense difficulty. Without a proper team or a great build, most bosses are going to absolutely pancake players in a few seconds This makes it important to have a good strategy before trying to attempt any of the harder bosses in this game.
The challenge of this game really cranks up a notch once players start fighting the endgame bosses. With no scope of relying on an overleveled character to save the day, massive parties with nigh-perfect tactics are downright necessary to win these grueling encounters.
1 Final Fantasy 11
Speaking of MMOs, it's hard not to mention Final Fantasy 11 as well. The game didn't shy away from having extremely tough bosses that can wipe out a multitude of players without any effort. As a result, there were reports of several people putting in an unhealthy number of hours in the game to defeat bosses like Absolute Virtue and Pandemonium Warden.
Both these bosses are notorious for being so difficult that Square Enix actually had to nerf these bosses, with negative PR stemming around the game about how it forced players to ruin their lifestyles to tackle these immensely powerful bosses. It's stuff like this that cements Final Fantasy 11 as the hardest title in the entire series by quite some margin.