I think one of the reasons for Final Fantasy's enduring popularity is how many memorable/powerful/resonant moments there are in the series, so I thought this might be a fun thread for those who are familar with the series. If you haven't played all the Final Fantasy games and don't want to be spoiled, avoid this thread. I don't want everybody to have to put their list in spoiler tags.
This can be any moment from the games, whether that be a cutscene, a boss battle, etc. Although I'm posting this in Legacy Platforms, you can list stuff from FFXIII and FFXIII-2 if you want.
My list (in no particular order):
1. From FFVII: Red XIII finding out that his father was really a hero and not a coward. This is such a beautiful and emotional scene and I love the way the statue of Red's father looks, little weird green tears and all.
2. From FFIX: Zidane and Dagger's reunion at the end of the game. I love how Zidane reveals himself by pretending to be an actor in the play.
3. From FFX: When Tidus fades away. The image of Yuna running into Tidus' arms, but passing through him and falling to the ground was very striking.
4. From FFVII: I know it's cool to say Aeris's death scene is overrated, but this is still easily one of the best moments in the FF series. The way that Sephiroth descends upon her and the way the bead from her hairband bounces from pillar to pillar and finally into the liquid abyss is exemplary as far as cutscene direction is concerned.Â
5. From FFVIII: The part where Rinoa and Squall are in astronaut suits, trying to embrace eachother. It's such a unique (almost bizzare) romantic scene that I had to put it here. One thing I really liked about that game was how strange it was.
6. From FFIX: Kuja's CG entrance at the end of disc 1. Yes, he looks like a chick, but after that cutscene, I knew he was going to be a bad ass antagonist. And the music, with the "We Will Rock You"-sounding drums, is pure awesomeness.
7. From FFX: The wedding scene. This scene is pure excitement, from Tidus and the gang gatecrashing the wedding via the wires in the sky, to Yuna's escape on Valefor.
8. From FFVI: The part when Terra has her first Esper transformation and flies into the sky like a comet. It was a real surprise and since Terra was the character I most sympathized with, I found the scene to be pretty concerning, which is proof to me that it was an effective moment.
9. From FFVI: Celes's would-be suicide. Kind of a shocking scene. I could really feel the desperation of the whole ordeal, so that's why it earns a place on my list.
10. From FFVIII: The assassination attempt on Edea at the close of disc 1. It felt tense and briskly-paced, which is exactly how that kind of operation should feel. In spite of some of the game's more questionable elements, it is really brilliantly-paced on many occasions.
11. From FFIX: The part on the airship (when the party is flying through the closing gate of Lindblum) when Vivi casts a fireball at the dark black mage and then falls over. I'm a huge Vivi fan, so I liked seeing him show aggression and clumsiness at the same time.
12. From FFVIII: The Galbadia Garden invasion scene. Another tense, brisky-paced scene. Even tho the fighting mini-game was clunky, I loved the part where Squall is on a wire in the sky and the game-to-CG trasitions in the scene are amazing for the time period.
13. From FFX: The infamous Maccalania Forest romance scene between Tidus and Yuna. I know there are alot of people that hate the romantic parts of FF games, but this scene was gorgeous. The CGI, the setting, the music. Everything about it was stunning. It's just not common for videogames to produce such aesthetically pleasing scenes, so that's why I think it deserves a great deal of credit.
14. From FFIX: The Zidane/Dagger Vivi/Quina mock wedding scene. This is probably the funniest FF scene ever and I only need to quote three words to explain why: "I...so...happy..."
15. From FFX: The scene when the party defies Yunalesca and by extension, the whole sacrifice ritual. I loved this scene because I felt it was so essential to the overall arc of the story and it was satisfying because I had been waiting for the moment when Yevon would be defied. It was a moment that I knew had to come for the story to make thematic sense.
16. From FFVII: The spaceship liftoff accident flashback scene with Cid and Shera. Shera was an idiot and Cid was a douche even before she messed up, but I love the tension in this scene. Really powerful stuff.Â
17. From FFIX: The part in Pandemonium when Zidane is flailing around after just having learned several disturbing revelations about himself. In the scene, this awesome music is playing in the background, which makes it all that much more powerful.
18. From FFXII: The part where Basch kills Recks and says that the king was a traitor. This was a very striking way to start the game and for me, it was easily the most memorable moment in a game that I felt didn't have as many memorable scenes as the others.
19. From FFXIII: The really flashy cutscene in which Lightning and the gang return to Cocoon in the most explosive, disruptive way possible and speed through that awesome Eden racetrack; I think they disrupt a racing event of some sort. This is another game that I thought didn't have as many memorable moments as the others that I have played, but this was quite a magnificent CGI cutscene.
20. From FFVI: Although this scene has as much subtlety as one of Another48Hours' alt accounts (which is to say practically none), I have to mention the whole gameplay/story segment in Cyan's "soul" just because it was so bizzare and unexpected. The initial ghost train scene was also memorable, but this one is the one that gives closure, so I picked it instead despite it hitting you over the head with its themes with a giant hammer.
Honorable mention: From FFX: The blitzball/Zanarkand distruption scene in the beginning of the game. This scene is pure adrenaline. The only reason I added it as an honorable mention is because I forgot to list it, but didn't want to go over 20 and didn't want to replace anything.
Another honorable mention for the same reason: From FFVII: when the sh!t goes down between Barett and Dyne and Dyne kills himself. I think that FFVII has been hit hard by the passage of time, but it still has alot of powerful moments.
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