the best franchise in my opinion(which you must want or else you wouldn’t be looking at this) is phantasy star if you played ff1 and phantasy star 1 you would understand what i mean when i say PS is always been ahead of the times:enguard:
That’s not really a ‘hard answer’ though. I’m not denying your opinion, but the rationale in your post is “Phantasy Star 1 is better than Final Fantasy 1.”
Anyways, I think most RPG franchises suck as a whole, but every franchise has something good to offer. I have played almost no RPG franchises (except maybe the Tales and Star Ocean games) that haven’t had some really great and really terrible games, although there are usually more bad than good. For that reason, I wouldn’t award a ‘favorite franchise’ to any one of them.
It’s debatable since any franchise could be anyone’s favorite. Simply put, this isn’t a hard question at all. Also, punctuation. Use it!!!
I don’t really have a specific franchise I like, but there’s quite a few good ones.
Now if you want a real general answer, as in most successful, I’d say it’s something between Dragon Quest and Pokemon. Pokemon is a massive behemoth as far as franchises go, with it being pretty well known all over the world with a lot of successful games, and generating so much money, it’s ridiculous. I mention Dragon Quest since like Pokemon, it’s been massively successful over in Japan (DQ IX sold about 2,318,932 copies within a two-day span.). It’s not quite so much in the States, since most people prefer FF here, though it pulls a vice-versa in Japan with FF. (FF being more popular over here.)
I won’t list FF for various reasons, even though it ranks up there pretty high (like #2 I believe). I just don’t have to explain why it’s successful, since everyone should know why it is.
Up until Sword of Mana, I would have said the Seiken Densetsu series myself. But every game after legend of Mana has just been such a fucking diappointment.
I agree with SG that every series has its lows, but you could argue that the best series is the one that’s had the most and highest highs. By that criteria, I’d argue Final Fantasy, because of FF6 and FF7. I still believe that no games(other than Crono Trigger; and I"m sure some of you would say Xenogears, though I haven’t played that) have been able to surpass the artistic accomplishment of those two games. The FF series has had the most and highest highs - even if it has had a lot of lows(FF2j-FF5 is nothing to write home about, and FF8, while ambitious, eventually becomes cliched). The fact that Final Fantasy achieved “greatness” twice, whereas only a few other series’ were able to only do it once, and most not at all, qualifies FF as the best series, to me.
I think a lot of series achieved ‘greatness’ twice. For example, since Phantasy Star was brought up, I think that definitely high a lot of high points, a lot of times. The original Phantasy Star was brilliant and way ahead of its time (although, unlike the OP, I hardly call that a reason to say it’s the best), and Phantasy Star 4 was a really excellent RPG too. I personally thought Phantasy Star 2 took a huge nosedive around 3/4 of the way through the game, but most people I know who like the series say they like it the best.
Also, if you consider gameplay and not just story, Phantasy Star Online was uncontestably a hugely popular game, and really damn good. So, Phantasy Star has had a shitload of highs. Two isn’t a really big deal, and 2/12 + lord-knows-how-many-spinoffs isn’t that great either. 
Well I thought FF1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , Tactics and XII were the great ones when it comes to the final fantasy series (Comon debate me on those… really how can you honestly say 2 and 4 were no good!?)
If however we are going off of percentages I would say Breath of Fire (how many are there? 4?)
4 out of 4 in my book…(the first one was a little lacking but still pretty good)
Finaly I have to bring up Phantasy Star 3 also a good game (I give Phantasy Star 1-4 a good review) I did not however like any of the online versions…
(The online versions make me think of:gaybear::gaybear: two gay bears…hmm)
seems a bit harder than you think since some of you didnt give a straight answer plus i dont use punctuation because im trying to get that reaction but every PS is good thats why i picked that one:mwahaha:
Punctuation is a way to enhance understanding of what you’re trying to say. So unless you seriously want it to be harder to understand you (in which case, why bother posting anything at all?) I really recommend you start using it. People on serious fora tend to assume that if you have bad spelling and grammar, you’re stupid. Not always true, but true often enough. So if you don’t want that stigma, start punctuating.
Hmm sounds like the question is being taken off its rails…:fungah:
I don’t think this site is to prove how much a person knows but rather how much a person knows about RPGclassics…
In any case… I stand by the fact the online Phantasy Stars (At least their offline story … eh lines) suck… the online play is kinda fun though… but like all MMOs after a short time I feel like blowing my own brains out.
I did however come up with another francise I enjoy (It should be noted I have only played the first two) Suikoden is great , I have parts 3,4 and 5 on they way and intend to get all the facts on the francise as a whole.
Though its imposible for us all to get along we shouldn’t look for fights either…Common sense,no?:ah-ha!:
The Elder Scrolls definitely takes it for me. Its lows, Arena and sort of Oblivion, weren’t really all that low. Arena was a little primitive, but hugely innovative and still a lot of fun. It mainly suffered from bugs and a more shallow and cliche storyline than its successors, in a more original world than most contemporaries. The sequals built off of that and improved from it. I never really got in to Oblivion. It fixed a few logistical problems with Morrowind, even if its atmosphere wasn’t as brilliant or its world quite as involving, so it had its merits, it just wasn’t something I ever really felt immersed in. Its internal references were a nice touch, as well. Daggerfall was incredible, and its scope really still isn’t equaled today, and Morrowind has one of the coolest worlds and casts of characters in an RPG. Motifs, themes, and characters that run through the series give an overarching, mythical feel that add to the cohesion; even if the story of Oblivion wasn’t as engaging as the rest, on its own, the ties it had to the other games added life to it.
The boring, unpopular, and overwhelmingly obvious answer is Final Fantasy. I know it’s not cool to say it, but come on… It’s not a hard question. It’s not even slightly difficult. Anyone with a shred of honesty who’s played a good chunk of the series would admit to themselves that the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best RPG franchises combined probably wouldn’t add up to what FF did for them. I mean… I know there’s personal taste involved, but this is so not-even-close that anyone who doesn’t say FF is probably just trying to spite it. It’s not just the best RPG franchise… It’s pretty much the definitive VG franchise of all time. Well, aside from Mario.
I agree with Hades. To me it’s not just the quality of the games but also the impact as a whole. While I love Dragon Quest, it hasn’t had the same worldwide impact as Final Fantasy. Just saying.
Plus, there has been no derailing from the original question in this thread. Some people have chosen the opportunity to educate on how the regular posters here typically view posting styles. Not conforming to that standard (which isn’t that hard to do) detracts from whatever content there may be.
Final Fantasy has some good games but the question is “whats the best RPG franchise” and I don’t think FF is the BEST , simply because alot of the FF games suck balls! (IX , X , X -2 , XI , TA , TA - 2 and I doubt XIII will be any good either.)
I have to disagree that “anyone with a shred of honesty” would rate FF better than any other franchise, let alone several others combined. I was judging based on how consistent the series was and how good its best games were. I enjoyed Morrowind and Daggerfall more than any of the Final Fantasy games, and enjoyed a lot of them less than Arena. I genuinely liked every Elder Scrolls game, and I liked the best ones a lot better than I liked the best Final Fantasy games. The same is true with the Fallout franchise.
I can’t say I even like any FF games except VI anymore. If you asked me ten years ago, I might agree with Hades, but right now I prefer western RPGs (although I do love Persona <3). I don’t like being railroaded.
Anyway… I think either the Baldur’s Gate or Fallout series is likely the best. shrugs
You liked the Elder Scrolls games more than FF6 or 7 in their heyday? I guess it’s possible… but it just seems so odd 
FF is to RPGs what the 1985 Oilers are to hockey. They’re just absolutely iconic and legendary and totally non-imitable. ES is a great series but I can’t agree with you on this.
I have to admit that FF hasn’t really had a blockbuster game since X though. It’s all been spinoffs, MMOs, or just plain shit since then. I hope XIII is better.
hold the phone now you cant say that ff 12 isnt good i just played it and loved it i thought 10 sucked ass. 12 is the first good one since 7 i say it might be better than 7 because i hate this steam punk shit they do in ff nowadays
Actually, Toma, people can disagree with you.
Anyway, I thought FFVII was fun, and had a decent storyline, and some cool characters, but overall the focus was on people I didn’t care about all that much. Cloud, Sephiroth, and Aeris really aren’t anywhere near as interesting as Barret, Red XIII and a lot of other characters who really never get as much exposure. I don’t really like forced, linear plots, and I think getting to create a character is a huge part of the fun in RPGs. FFVI had a great storyline, and it’s still one of my favourite games, but I think I’d pick Morrowind or Daggerfall ahead of it. Their storylines were just as, or even more engaging, their characters as well or better developed, and they offered the player a massive amount of freedom. Morrowind also created an incredibly pervasive, alien atmosphere. It’s one of the few games I’ve played where the world felt truly unique.
If you wanna have discussions, you should make better arguments than “I like this game because it r0x0rs.”