#7. FINAL FANTASY 5
For its first half dozen entries, Final Fantasy would alternate between being story-driven and gameplay-driven. After Final Fantasy 3, which was light on story but heavy on systems, Final Fantasy 4 was a completely story-centric experience. Sticking to that pattern, Final Fantasy 5 went back to being gameplay-centric. And though it leaves something to be desired in the narrative and characters department, there’s no doubting that purely as an ROPG, Final Fantasy is perhaps one of the best and most enjoyable entries in the series. Its got an incredibly versatile Jobs system that lends a ton of strategy and replay value to the game, and makes every single battle an absolute blast. While story-heavy games like Final Fantasy 4, 6, and 7 usually make the headlines when it comes to this series, for many, the engaging and layered progression system of Final Fantasy 5 is one of the best things this series has ever done.
