I break it down as: FF1-5: Classical Era Crystals, classical RPG dungeon crawling gameplay, class/job systems, rudimentary story telling and graphics FF6-10: Cinematic Era Cinematic film like story and experience, flashy graphics, streamlined gameplay, simplified dungeons FF11-16: Stand Alone Era Each game is its own thing, with unique gameplay and systems. Depending on who you talk to they will usually say the "classical era" is the golden era if they were kids growing up during that time, or that the cinematic era is "golden" if they were kids growing up during that time.

I think, in general, the golden age of RPGs on consoles was the SNES-PS1 era.

VI, VII, VIII IX and X marked the golden era IMO. Memorable story, gameplay, music, characters...

So many people commenting on this don't seem to understand what a "golden age" is. It doesn't necessarily mean what you think was best, it's a seminal period leading to a revolution in the way things are done. The golden age of comic books was 1938 to 1956, with the origins of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, etc. You're spot on for the golden age, IMO. The depth of characters and storytelling, the further development and refinement of systems, you've definitely hit the nail on the head for what caused the overall greatness of the Final Fantasy series.

I love how every person's ff story is unique, as are the games, depending on where you start.

I truly feel like Final Fantasy was in its prime from IV-X. Maybe all of those games aren’t perfect but they all have true heart and felt like they were made with passion

4-7 are definitely cornerstones for the series as a whole; you wouldn't have the success of 8 and beyond without them. Every game was selling better than the one before. 9, my personal favourite, helps to show that 4-7 really are the golden works as it's a celebration of those games, with 10 paving the way for the future. I think you could say that 4-10 are the most widely celebrated titles as a whole, with a minor dip in quality with 8. I know 8 is loved by fans all over, but 8's fandom isn't as enduring as say, 7, 9, or 10.

When I saw the title of the video I immediately thought 4-7, that’s the sweet spot for sure.

I think, 4-7 is the classic range for me, I haven't played 5 yet so I can't say for sure. But I definitely think 8-10 is peak FF for me

I love this video. It's so hard to call any era "golden" when it's so clear that every entry was a stepping stone to the next. I personally think IX displays the series at its best, but that's only because of what came before it. Anyway, love it, great voice, you're the man. Subbed!

anything between SNES and PS2 era qualifies imo. SNES established them as leaders in a niche, PS1 pushed that boundary mainstream and PS2 continued pushing the bar.

Awesome video! I'm really into the PS1 era rn and gonna also try 10, but i definitely need to give the SNES games a shot!

Absolutely wild not including VIII, IX, and X in the golden era of Final Fantasy.

Great discussion! While I'm not in LOVE with the direction the series has taken lately, I still love the series as a whole. So many fantastic adventures and stories!

Before watching the video, I can say without a doubt that the golden age for me was from 1991 to 2001 because in those 10 years we got IV, V, VI, VII, Tactics, VIII, IX and X. Plus, almost anything Square released during that period, was considered a must own. They were just on fire back then.

I started playing the franchise with 7 so I have never gotten to the earlier games but I’ve heard a ton about how great they are. from everything I’ve seen overall I would agree with this list. Even though Final Fantasy 10 is definitely my favorite after Final Fantasy 7, I think the earlier games are what got the franchise to be as successful as it is and made the foundation for all the games that came after.

Awesome Video dude! 4-7 is definetly the golden era of Final Fantasy, I agree. This is where Final Fantasy was genre defining - later that wasn't the case anymore. And that's fine.

Great video/topic which I think is a lot more relevant as I feel we are reaching a second Golden Era or heck Silver Era of Final Fantasy now For me, generally it’s during the SNES-PS1-early PS2 era when you had a significant amount of great releases in a timely nearly yearly basis, both quality and quantity. Tho you do make good points with FF4-7 as generally they are in a way, a turning point and setting the standard, foundation of what makes Final Fantasy iconic and beloved after the first 3 games were more “experimental and trying to find its footing”. Whether it be the narrative driven 4, 6 and 7, to the deep customization with 5 like the refined job system and even to an extent also 7 with say the Materia system.

I would say 3-6. Maybe 3-7. The reason I say 3-6 is because without the job system of 3 you wouldn't have the job system of 5. Without the job system we wouldn't have had the Esper system of 6 which was then built on with the materia system of 7.

I-III Beginnings Era - The start, the refinement of the series identity. IV-VII: Golden Era: Peak development of the series pushing towards better games each new game. VIII-X: Twilight Era: Rides off the innovation of the Golden Era while producing peak games. Ending or twilight of the Square Era of FF with the exit of Sakaguchi and lessened involvement of Uematsu. XI-XVI: Standalone Era (Falloff?): Games are fully standalone with very little similarities between them. Potentially where FF has lost its luster due to long development times and stories/gameplay/characters that don't resonate with majority of the fan base all the time like in the Golden and Twilight Era.

When you said "the FF series has been around for almsot 40 years" I cursed your name, because I was born in 87. Thank you for reminding me of my mortality! haha

FFIV-FFX. (XII was a fantastic JRPG, but felt nothing like Final Fantasy in tone, characterization, storytelling, or music. So, I wont include it.)

I started FF with FF back on the PS1 & while FF9 is better than the other 2 games, I'd say SNES FF is by far the best era even though I played these game for the 1st time back in 2016. I would also say FFX is the best of the entire 2000/2010s.

For me it's simple: the golden era was from 1991-2001. That was the golden decade for FF and the only game that came somewhat close into even replicating the captivating stories of those old, single-player masterpieces is FFXVI.

I definitely think the era of VI into VII was THE Golden Era for FF. IV kind of really showed how immersive and big the story of a FF could be, and VI (since V wasn't available to many when it released at the time) elevated the 16 bit games to the highest possible level. Then VII came and blew everyone's socks off, and in a way, no later game has been quite able to reach the same heights (for me at least).

It was PS1 for sure. FF7 especially. That's what made FF a big thing

At first, I was like, "what the heck?! VI-X is the Golden Era!" And then I listened to the last part and what you are defining "The Golden Era" as. I was like, "No. This makes sense. This really influenced what Final Fantasy in the mid to late 90s was, and made it so great! And makes it be my favorite games to play! Great video and interesting take!

FF 4 is definitely my fav. I loved the fixed jobs cuz im such an indecisive person 😂

Final Fantasy 1 through 6 was the golden era, 7 through 10/2 was the attitude era, and the rest is the modern era

My 1st Final Fantasy was FFVIII, that was in 2000 and I didn't know much about Final Fantasy series, for example I thought Squall Leonhart was in every Final Fantasy LOL. In 2002 I got FFVI, the PS1 version, but in some weird reason I sold FFVI. These days I have FFVII and FFVIII. Also these days I understand English language really much, so it's easy to me deal with FFVIII junction system, in the year 2000 for example I was only 11 years old and mainly spoke Finnish.

In my opinion, the FIFA's golden era was FF4 until FF 12. (1991-2006) The peak that era was FF 7 to FF 10.

But I like them all! Been playing through the pixel remaster and have already beaten games 1-3, now I'm close to the end of FF4. I'm also playing both the original FF7 and FF7 rebirth. Along with FF13. On top of that I'm also playing FF1 and Dissidia on my PSP. Sort of in a final fantasy grind at the moment but I own most of the games aside from a few. Unfortunately during the "golden age" I wasn't even playing Final Fantasy. I never really got into the series until just last year. I started with the pixel remaster collection and went from there. Each game has been a treasure in its own way.

Love that thumbnail! Fantastic video Erek, I definitely agree that FF7 falls into the Golden Era of Final Fantasy, the game is just too iconic. Hopefully someone who fancies the 'chicken variety' doesn't end up seeing this comment 🤣

The answer everyone expected was VI - X. It’s the right one. Five makes IV - VII an odd take. Five is undergoing some revisionist history these days with the pixel remaster, just like IX. IX was not well received back in the day. Now all of a sudden it’s the hipster choice for best eva.

I haven't clicked play yet but my guess is IV-X

Personally, for me, it's 4-10 Realistically, if we are talking about the evolution and growth of the series, I'm going to say 6-10. 6 was when they really tapped into the world building and storytelling, and in my opinion, when they started being as ambitious as they could and they ran with it.

Glad to see that the percentage of people watching who aren't subscribed is now below 90 percent

It might be a hot take and it also could be just a little to soon but I think we might currently be in the best era of final fantasy we have a 2 remakes of THE final fantasy game and hot take 16 is top 3 FF games for me

To me, the real crime was not making a special mention to FF Tactics

As with most pop culture the peak of FF is the one you played when you were 12

I feel like IV-VI are the Golden Age, as they epitomized what we came to know as Final Fantasy. Like, if you showed a clip or still image from any of those games, it would be easily recognizable as FF. VII completely changed what it meant to be a FF game, and every title since then has furthered what it means to be a FF game, as each entry post-VII has changed the formula slightly while still harkening back to the earlier titles with enemy/item/magic/summon names and certain mechanics. So, if we’re talking classic FF titles that helped to lay the foundation for what the series would become, then IV-VI get my vote.

The SNES Era up to the PS1. In other words, a long time. From FFIV-FFX.

7-10 100%

7, 8, 9, and 10 was the golden era. That was the apex of the franchise.

Peak square was 1994 through 2000 right before the merge with Enix. When characters started talking and got more detailed graphics I think we got to see how silly the designs and voice acting were. Better to leave things to imagination.

FF1-5 was a setup for the golden age FF6-10... Golden Age to me is the peak of FF and nostalgia laughs, and tears, iconic characters... FF11 and FF14 are beasts their own... FF12-FF16 was a change to find new players and appeal to a younger audience, although I feel older FF players were dumping on the series because it was not like their favorite golden era game. People need to remember every game doesn't have to be like your favorite game.

For me personally, the Golden age was the Super NES FF titles.

You can tell in the 90’s that each game that they created began to improve by leaps and bounds rather than small steps. It was this golden age that allowed us to have a polished game later on like 9. I can’t speak of modern FF games as I haven’t played past 14 currently. Loved this video and topic. Keep them coming.

4 to 11 is the golden era. Afther that 12 was divisive, 14 was great, 7Rm was good but divisive, 16 was great but divisive and 7rebirth is the first non mmo that 90%+ of the fans like

Easy answer The Sakaguchi years Next question

VI through IX

Might be a bit unrelated, but is Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age a remaster of 12? I've never played 12 but I just have been on a FF run (finished 1-10 so far this year). I want to play 12, but I have a Switch and the only option is The Zodiac Age. I don't want to buy it if it's not the authentic game. If it's a remaster, then that's fine, I just want to play the main games and not spin off games.

Haven’t watched yet: It’s between 6-10.

4 through 9 (except 8)

wait, Final Fantasy originally were inspired by western fantasy ? then why FF fans criticized FF16 for being western and not being a "true Final Fantasy game" ?

I fully agree with at least leaving X out of the Golden Era, since it didn't use the little white glove for menu selection. In slightly more seriousness, I miss the earlier era when FF had a strong, cohesive identity. You could see and/or hear a FF game and know what it was without even seeing the title screen.

4 5 6 7

4-9 for me

6-9, and I don't think this is a controversial take; still from that era I prefer chrono trigger, and dragon quest 4-5

def the PSone era - 7-8-9

6-9. MAYBE up to 10....maybe (not that its not good)

FF IV-FFX was the golden age for the series. After that they slowly started loosing its identity on the genre with each release.

Every "sea-soul" caused me 1d6 psychic damage.

From FF 4 to 10

I'd include VIII, IX and X, and yes it's well documented how much I dislike VIII 😂

4-10

Definitely the ps1 games probably. They came pretty close to each other and all of them are quality. ( ff8 the least of the 3 )

6-10

FFXIII is the peak.

4 5 6 7. done easy.

Easily the SNES/PSX era for me

Good, you successfully identify 4-7 as the golden age. Everyone trying to claim 8 or 9 are children that have no idea what they are talking about

Something something X was the last good one

I think the Golden era ended when Sakaguchi left and the merger with Enix happened. Since then the games in the series have not been so good. 13 was the bottom of the barrel IMO.

I have by no means played all the FF titles but since FF7 Rebirth came out I would say the Golden Era is now

6 thru 10