17. Final Fantasy IV
This will probably be the first contentious entry in this list. I will freely admit, I did not like FFIV. It is still one of the few FF games that I have never bothered to complete. A lot of that is to do with the story, but the straight forward leveling system is part of that too. The best way I can describe my thoughts about FFIV's story is that it focuses way too much on plot-twists as its form of plot development. These plot-twists also seem to serve no other reason than to extend gameplay time, so that the player has more to do. Many instances crop up to showcase this like: Were you told there were only 4 crystals? You'd be a fool for believing that, as there are another 4 crystals hidden away. Someone sacrificed themselves for the party? You'd be a fool for falling for that, as numerous people return from the 'dead', drastically diminishing the effect of any 'death scene'. Think the enemy is evil? Think again, he's only being mind-controlled. The list goes on and on. It doesn't help that the protagonist, Cecil, is the epitome of a knight in shining armor. Always righteous and dutiful. And dull. The best way I can compare it is to imagine playing Tales of Vesperia (if you've ever played it, good game that one) as Flynn instead of Yuri. Too bad the 'Yuri' of FFIV, Kain, doesn't reach great heights. The game is also very linear. Not that linearity is a bad thing, but when so many people criticise newer FF games for their linearity and cite older entries as purely better for being non-linear, well, FFIV is very linear too, both in terms of story and gameplay. Leveling up is a straight forward accumulation of experience points. You don't even know what abilities will unlock as you level up, so you do it blindly. That's a lot worse than newer entries. FFIV did however introduce gamers to the Active Time Battle gauge that charged up to indicate when a character's turn was approaching. The ATB gauge has been used in almost every FF game since then, providing a better flow for combat as players had to now strategise on the go. I can wholly understand how FFIV gained such high praise back in the day. Its story was more complex and its characters more varied than previous entries. Over time though, it has easily been overshadowed.