Final Fantasy: Every Numbered Game Ranked

Out of context clips of Tidus' forced laughter (that was the point) betray what is, relatively speaking, one of the more emotionally mature Final Fantasy games, heavily touching on themes of loss, grieving and self-sacrifice. The scene in which Yuna performs funerary rites in one coastal town, shortly after it's devastated by the allegorically abundant antagonist Sin, is as delicate and touching as Final Fantasy ever got (even if she does it in a magic Paul Daniels walking-on-water way).

The depth of the game itself, however, is considerably shallower, a function of the transition to fully three-dimensional environments. Gone is the world map, making Spira, for all intents, one long street with the occasional fork for a treasure chest. Progression is the equivalent of running from Vladivostok to Lisbon, with frequent interruptions to battle demonic cattle. There's not a lot besides, minus a stodgy sports minigame, and two optional dungeons.

But not all of FFX's backwards steps are to its detriment. Ditching the series' iconic ATB battle system for a true turn-based affair gives battles a whole new tactical element, producing slower, more cerebral contests in which every move matters (a playbook liberally borrowed from by modern JRPG standard bearer Shin Megami Tensei). This Final Fantasy is also more aesthetically assured than ever, it's resplendent East Asian influences a notable maturation from the medieval, steam and cyber punk clichés of its predecessors. It's truly next level stuff.

It was also the first Final Fantasy to spawn a direct sequel... though the less said about that the better.