10 Final Fantasy Games With The MOST Playable Characters

10 Final Fantasy Games With The Most Playable Characters

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we are counting our fingers and toes to work out the Final Fantasy Games With the Most Playable Characters. We are focusing our ranking on recruitable party members, rather than guest characters who only become playable temporarily, but we will use them for tie-breakers! Let’s do it!

#10: 4 (+7) “Final Fantasy III” (1990)

Similar to Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy III also includes only four primary party members: Luneth, Arc, Refia, and Ingus accompany the player throughout the entire journey. It knocked Final Fantasy XV off this list however because it does have seven guest characters, rather than the two seen in FFXV. The shame in this entry is that the original version of Final Fantasy III did not delve deeply into the personalities of its four main playable characters. Fortunately, the guest characters in the game compensated for this lack, each possessing well-defined characteristics.

#9: 5 (+0) “Final Fantasy V” (1992)

Final Fantasy V stands out as one of only two entries in the series, alongside the original Final Fantasy, that doesn’t include any guest characters. While guest characters can add depth to the gameplay experience, and give the player a new perspective on an area or gameplay section, their absence in Final Fantasy V arguably results in a more cohesive and fleshed out party, with personalities that hold the weight of the entire game. It also allows me to officially make my 46th penis joke in a Mojo video, okay here we go… I guess when it comes to adding guest characters to expand the character roster, Final Fantasy V proves definitively that size REALLY doesn’t matter.

#8: 6 (+2) “Final Fantasy XIII” (2009)

As an adamant believer that Final Fantasy XIII deserves to be thrown into the fiery pits of the fire cavern, the majority of my hate revolves around how uninspired the main roster of characters is. With 6 main campaign characters and two guests, the game feels less like an epic Final Fantasy adventure, and more like a slow slog through a world that takes far too long to become anything. With these weak, generic characters, it’s worth mentioning that Lightning can be heavily considered as the exception, with some even hailing her as one of the most interesting protagonists in the entire series.

#7: 6 (+5) “Final Fantasy VIII” (1999)

Final Fantasy VIII is easily one of the most divisive games in the entire series. Some love it, some hate it, but discourse has always remained oddly civil for internet squabbles. Squall serves as a compelling main protagonist, though a little too edgy-cool-guy at times, but it's the supporting cast that really sets this game apart from other entries. The five other main party members are beautifully endearing, all with their own well crafted directions and motivations. Our guest characters, Seifer and Edea, have truly compelling story arcs as well. While Final Fantasy VIII isn't the first or last game in the series where players control antagonists, the significance of Seifer and Edea within the party surpasses their predecessors. And let’s not forget, that within our main story is the story of Laguna, Kiros, and Ward, characters who we get to play as from time to time. WHY DOESN’T THIS GAME GET MORE LOVE?

#6: 7 (+1) “Final Fantasy X” (2001)

Not only is Final Fantasy X arguably one of the best Final Fantasy entries to exist, it certainly has one of the strongest casts of characters to be assembled… with possibly one exception - sorry to be a Kimahri hater! With a full seven-person roster of characters, all of whom are exceptionally handy in combat, Final Fantasy X makes full use of the playable characters by giving them one of the most extensive and interesting upgrade systems we’ve seen in a Final Fantasy game to date. With only one temporary guest character in the form of Maester Seymour, this entry was JUST beaten out by our newest Final Fantasy entry as of March 2024.

#5: 7 (+2) “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth” (2024)

One of the most anticipated Final Fantasy games ever released, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth takes the beauty and imagination set up by the first entry in this trilogy, and throws it into the beautiful larger world of Gaia. With every new entry in this trilogy, we’re expecting more players from the original game to be added into the roster, and although we are missing Cid and Vincent in this entry as playable characters, we are still given 7 brilliant party members, and 2 guest characters. Now as this game is so new, we are going to avoid spoilers entirely by glossing over this whole entry as quickly as possible… Budabing, buda-next entry.

#4: 8 (+4) “Final Fantasy IX” (2000)

Alright, let’s start talking proper numbers, because it is about to ramp up heavily… Hold on to your Blitzballs! Despite some criticism regarding their designs feeling like a regression, Final Fantasy IX proved over time that they were bringing the series full circle, taking it back to its roots, and introducing a cast that remains truly outstanding, even by modern standards. Characters like Vivi, Steiner, and Zidane shine brightly, while Princess Garnet upholds the series' tradition of including royalty in the main party. Each character in the game boasts surprising depth, contributing to one of the series' most exceptional parties, once fully formed and experiencing the events of the game together. One of the difficulties of Final Fantasy, is that almost every character exudes main character energy, and making a large roster of characters like this function as a collective when it comes to dialogue and motivation can be a real balancing act… Final Fantasy IX nails it!

#3: 9 (+0) “Final Fantasy VII” (1997)

It may not have the largest roster of characters in the whole series, but it is EASILY the most memorable. Final Fantasy VII put Final Fantasy on the map. That's not to say it wasn’t already on the map, but they just put it on a much BIGGER map. The thing that makes this game for many isn’t the gameplay (although fantastic), or the story (although captivating), it’s the characters, each of whom has their own personal history, impulses, and motivations which are extensively explored. Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith, Vincent, *cough* Cait Sith *cough*, Cid, Yuffie and Red XIII - when you think about each character, you remember that each one of them is SO three dimensional, with personalities, and fully lived lives. Final Fantasy VII takes the time to show you who these characters are, and we thank it deeply.

#2: 12 (+1)“Final Fantasy IV” (1991)

When thinking through this highly memorable series, one of the best entries is often forgotten, and that is Final Fantasy IV. Cecil stands as one of the most memorable protagonists in the series, with a rich and intricate story arc filled with unexpected twists and revelations, a formula that continues to work to this day. FINAL FANTASY VII! FINAL FANTASY X!! HUH!? Supporting characters such as Tellah and Kain add further depth to the narrative, each grappling with their own inner conflicts. Not to mention, Tellah's boasting easily the most impressive mustache in gaming history.

#1: 14 (+15) “Final Fantasy VI” (1994)

For those who follow this channel closely, and have learnt the lore, you might know that I have a LOT of love for this particular entry. It dropped in 1994 and so did I. It was kismet. Final Fantasy VI takes a good sweet amount of time to let you know all about their 14 main party members, and it does a beautiful job of giving the player a lot of freedom in deciding who their main character is and who they’re going to control when moving around the map… Even though Terra is technically the main character. Final Fantasy VI has such a massive roster that it allows for parties to split up, giving the story interesting ebbs and flows.