Current Events > What is the WORST plot twist(s) in the FF series? (Please mark all spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

The best opening cutscene goes straight to Final Fantasy 8. For all the qualms this game garners, its opening is god-tier.

Speaking of FF8, I get the strong suspicion it might grab this award. Let's see who takes the cake.

I unfortunately haven't played every single Final Fantasy so some twists will elude me. I will include the Other category for this reason. I'm including a few from each title

Please mark all spoilers, even in your posts.
Please mark all spoilers, even in your posts.
Please mark all spoilers, even in your posts.

FF8 - Everyone grew up in an orphanage, GFs cause amnesia, and the infinite Time Loop
FF7 - Cloud taking Zack's memories and harnessing them as his own, and Aeris/Aerith using the White Materia
FF10 - Tidus is but a dream of the Fayth, and Auron being dead the whole time
FF9 - Zidane is from another planet and his brother is Kuja. Necron.
FF6 - Kefka destroys the world
FF12 - Basch has a twin brother, and Vaan slowly develops a brain
FF15 - Prompto is a MT soldier
FF13 - The cocoon is a farm for human souls and Galenth is a Fal'cie

Please remember if you mark Other and post another twist, to hide that shit. Also feel free to add any other twists from the above titles and vote for them. Just let me know which one.

Best Minigame: Triple Triad via FF8
Worst Minigame: Dodging Lightning via FF10
Best Gameplay Mechanics: Set classes and (learnable) abilities via FF4/6/9
Worst Protagonist: Vaan via FF12
Best Cid: Cid Highwind via FF7
Worst Dungeon: The Great Crystal via FF12
Best Soundtrack: OST via FF7
Worst/Most Annoying/Difficult Optional Boss/Enemy: Absolute Virtue via FF11
Best Story: Yasumi Matsuno via FFTactics
Worst Story: Motomu Toriyama via FF13 series
Best Director: Yoshinori Kitase via FF6, FF7, FF8, and FF10.
Worst (playable) Character: Hope via FF13
Best Villain: Kefka via FF6
Worst Job: Berserker via FF5/6/TA
Best Opening Cutscene/Section: Liberi Fatali via FF8

---

@Sith___Master
@Jabodie
@masterpug53
@Jerry_Hellyeah
@ChocoboMog123
@Shadowplay
@Dark_twisted
@Veggeta_X
@EmbraceOfDeath
@alphagamble

---

@FrozenPie
@Alakazamtrainer
@Cookie_Bag
@Musourenka
@ArianaGrandSlam
@Eliza3
@bigtiggie23
@Zaltera
@TerraSeeker
@moh82sy

---

@Aysander
@KeeperOfShadows
@pfh1001
@HagenEx
@3PiesAndAFork
@PowerOats
@Bad_Mojo
@philsov
@BlockAddition

---

Still FF8

---

@Joelypoely
@NightRender
@Questionmarktarius
@DeadBankerDream
@Unsugarized_Foo
@pauIie
@tainted_emerald
@El_Lingo
@ssjevot
@ShineboxPhil

---

@Stagmar
Nightmare_Luna
@One_Day_Remains
@Ving_Rhames
@gunplagirl
@Suikoden420
@irony
@dirkdiggles
@BlackJackCat
@lilORANG

---

FF8 still takes the cake for me.

---

Necron in FF9. That was just pointless and dumb, and after they already had a hidden villain reveal with Garland.

---

FF1 timeloop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYJ6dIw_A6s

It's FF8 LMAO

---

FF8.

You got some good twists in FF, and som bad twists in FF... and then you have... this.

---

FF8, easily.

Also let's not forget about the barren continent which is ACTUALLY a super advanced civilization with cloaking technology and a moon base

Although FF4 gets honorable mention. There's no single twist that's terrible (closest is that Cecil is actually FROM THE MOON, and also Golbez' brother), but it's just a series of "Character X died! but not really!"
---

8 runs away with this lmao

---

philsov posted...

but it's just a series of "Character X died! but not really!"

And the GBA and PSP ports are all the better for it.

Questionmarktarius posted...

FF1 timeloop.

This one. It comes out of literally no where and has a major effect on the plot. FF8's "plot twist" is at least a little hinted at by the whole "GFs are rumoured to cause memory loss", and Irvine's gun troubles, and also it doesn't actually effect the plot so it's less a plot twist and more a random background fact.

I want to let everyone know, that I voted FF9. lol

FF8 is going to run away with this one

---

I thoroughly enjoy these topics, keep up the good work tc

I voted 8, but lots of these are just dumb when you think about it

---

I actually like the time loop twist in 1. In the PSP version at least it's heavily hinted at by the sages anyway.

But definitely 8. I pretty much like every other twist in the poll tbh. Although the ff15 twist was handled very poorly, but the idea was interesting.

---

The twist in FF4 that everyone that ever dies sacrificing themselves is fine and okay

Nah just kidding it's still FF8 I just wanted to mention that.

---

VIII then IX obviously

Other

FFXIV Stormblood Tsuyua becoming a primal and regaining her memories for no reason other then as a plot device.
---

Was FF9 that bad to even be considered?

Haven't played FF8, so my vote is FF4

Iirc you have

2 instances of betrayal
2-3 instances of fake out deaths, two of which are from the same character.
1 instance of 'noble sacrifice where they are probably dead but they aren't'
Last minute final boss

I liked in FF7 Cloud was the generic soldier, is captured by Shinra and experimented on. However, then it turns out that he was a failure, wasn't given a tattoo, and then turns out to be stronger than Sephiroth...or was that Hojo's intention all along? I have no idea, because Hojo was team Sephiroth until the end and didn't seem to care when Cloud proves himself and kills him.

FF8 will probably win, but I unironically like the game knowing how bad it is. My vote is for FF4. All the deaths that turn out not to be deaths completely devalued all their earlier sacrifices that weren't really sacrifices.

Spooking posted...

Not to mention Tifa knew the entire time and said nothing.

I think this was more of her knowing something wasn't right but because of parts of Cloud's story making sense, she wasn't sure what. Cloud reiterating Zack's memories lined up with hers and she was confused as to how he knew that, because he wasnt there (or so she thought). So yeah...she clammed up. Then they dug out HOW Cloud knew that, and it wasn't because of the illusion Sephiroth/Jenova showed them previously in that Nibelheim flashback.

---

Rhylos posted...

I liked in FF7 Cloud was the generic soldier, is captured by Shinra and experimented on. However, then it turns out that he was a failure, wasn't given a tattoo, and then turns out to be stronger than Sephiroth...or was that Hojo's intention all along? I have no idea, because Hojo was team Sephiroth until the end and didn't seem to care when Cloud proves himself and kills him.

It was 100% Hojo's intention to create ANOTHER soldier just as strong as Sephiroth. Cloud was a fluke. It did show how anyone who survives the treatment of being injected with Jenova Cells can become just as strong, if not stronger, than Sephiroth. Hojo listed it as a failure, but Cloud being rescued by Zack, learning how Zack fought and his character, and then slowly coming back to the real world after being a veggie, clearly proved that Hojo's experiment was actually a huge success. Cloud developed into the perfect SOLDIER (theoretically). Granted, Hojo could not accept this, and didn't even know until way later.

At the end, Hojo simply went mad. He was still team sephiroth and wanted to give all of Midgar to him as an offering iirc.

---

FF8 has the worst plot not only of any final fantasy, but of any big named JRPG I can think of. It edges out 13 in that respect.

The plot twist in it is one of the more funny parts of it, but it's still horrifically bad.

Nothing else really approaches it. 7 has some plot failings but the twist isn't one of them. 9 is more a high concept gone awry and at least manages to be interesting. 10's is really stupid anime gobbldiguk but doesn't descend to 8's depths ever.

---

I know FF 8's going to run away with this, but I have to say it never bothered me. The twist certainly doesn't hold up under a microscope now that I'm old and bitter, but the younger, less worldly me actually liked it. Or maybe it's just that I like the events that framed the twist well enough (Trabia Garden beforehand and the battle with Galbadia Garden afterwards) that I never really stopped to overanalyze the twist event that much.

On the other hand, FF 12 came out when I was older and bitter, so that got my vote. 'My evil twin did it' is pretty damn cliched; at least 8's twist contains some metric of FF-brand creativity. And the insult to injury here is that Basch's story relevance plummets after this reveal, while Gabranth's stays steady throughout the story. I still like the game overall and love parts of it, but it was the first main series FF game I played where the holes in the story were too obvious to ignore.

---

DoGCyN posted...

I want to let everyone know, that I voted FF9. lol

I...did the same. I came into this topic fully expecting to vote 8, too.

---

Voting FF4, why the fuck isnt it in the poll? The whole game is a bunch of crummy fake outs. Come on.

---

Can't agree more on opening movie and best mini game. 8 was my first entry in the FF series. Triple triad is pretty addictive even when playing to farm for card-mod.

---

Anything with FF12 is the worst.

---

PowerOats posted...

Was FF9 that bad to even be considered?

Its an incredibly fun game. One of my favorites. But Necron just showing up and saying Yo. Uh... Ive never been mentioned at all, but Im the last boss. Wanna fight? was a horrible way to wrap up the game.

That said, I voted FF8. Because fuck that game and its constant shit surprises.

---

Oh man the worst minigame poll must have been nothing but FFX.

---

Worst Plot Twist: Aeris is the main girl over Tifa in the Final Fantasy remake

Honestly all of those are cringy except FF6 and Aeris.

---

Final Fantasy 8.

---

Think we should have a best final boss theme category for one of these. There are so many great ones even if Dancing Mad or One Winged Angel will probably win because they're the most well known.

---

mattymad posted...

I still don't understand FF8's story to this day. The ending cutscene makes no sense.

It's a comic booky stable time loop. Like all time loops, it makes less sense the more you think about it.

---

philsov posted...

Also let's not forget about the barren continent which is ACTUALLY a super advanced civilization with cloaking technology and a moon base

There's also the fact that that same country is run but by the bumbling idiots from all the flashback scenes.

---

Eh, I'll go with VIII for most of the reasons already stated.

---

FortuneCookie posted...

Worst Plot Twist: Aeris is the main girl over Tifa in the Final Fantasy remake

I'm honestly expecting Tifa to die instead of Aerith.

FF8 takes one of the most annoying tropes in the series and pushes it into overdrive.

---

I like how you put FF8 first because you know ain't nobody care about the other options.

---

tote_all posted...

Officially putting a request for TC to make a topic in which FFX wins best something.

Best laughing scene.

---

FFX easily wins best summoning system imo

---

Strider102 posted...

Best laughing scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnuUVFMygyI&ab_channel=Ruggington

---