Throughout its celebrated history, the Final Fantasy series has had more than its fair share of epic moments, from heroic sacrifices and tearjerking tragedies to triumphant victories and dramatic revelations. Indeed I ran through 150 such moments several months back. The franchise's serious moments are frequently interspersed with more light-hearted ones, which range from the enjoyable to the downright ridiculous. Many of these moments are hilarious (such as anything involving talking octopus Ultros in Final Fantasy VI), but others are nothing short of cringeworthy and difficult to watch without facepalming. Ten such moments are highlighted in this article, mostly from more recent entries in the franchise (as earlier ones focused more on combat than story sequences), though entries have been limited to one per game (otherwise it might as well just be a list of godawful moments from Final Fantasies X-2 and XIII..)
10. The Orphanage Flashback (VIII)
Final Fantasy VIII is underrated as a game. Dismissed by many for its complicated battle system, its storyline is a deep and intricate one that incorporates some great character development and relationships. One scene that attracts much criticism, however, is cringeworthy for its downright laziness, as all but one of the player's party come to the realisation that they all grew up in the same orphanage together as children before being sent to different areas of the world and developing amnesia through their exposure to Guardian Forces, the game's version of summons. Surely designed as an attempt to give back-story to characters who don't play as integral of a role in the game's overarching plot as Squall, Rinoa, Seifer and Laguna, the scene failed miserably, and remains one that many look to skip on repeat playthroughs of the game. At least you can skip it by hammering the 'X' button, an action that cannot be repeated to make having to save Rinoa in space any more tolerable...