It doesn't take a gaming expert to state that Final Fantasy is one of the greatest and most popular JRPGs of all time. Ever since the first game took over Japan by storm, the series has always been strong with its fair share of incredible titles that have rocked the gaming world as we know it. The one hurdle standing in the path of Final Fantasy becoming an incredible gaming series in every sense of the word was the fact that the franchise wasn't exactly well-known in the West... that is, until Final Fantasy VII released to widespread critical acclaim and turned JRPGs into the hottest genre for the original PlayStation. Ever since this legendary release, each and every entry in the series has been put under a microscope to pinpoint each and every detail of the series — including some that are positively ludicrous in every sense of the word.

And — guess what — the word 'ridiculous' is actually synonymous with Final Fantasy in ways you might not have even imagined. Obviously, there are various things happening at face value that are already too stupid as is, but the fact of the matter is that there are also other such ridiculous things that we might not even give a second thought to, but make no sense whatsoever when looked at closely. We have compiled 25 of the most ridiculous things in this franchise that truly make us wonder what exactly the creators of the series were smoking when they thought that putting these elements in their video game was a smart idea.

23 Waiting To Take Your Turn

Perhaps the most notorious aspect of any JRPG, turn-based combat was a fresh combat system that quickly became stale as real-time action started becoming the norm in gaming.

Understandably so, since waiting to deal damage while taking hits became somewhat stupid later on.

While the Final Fantasy series has innovated upon this strategic combat system to keep it relatively fresh, it simply couldn't keep up with the times. This can be seen in the fact that Square Enix decided to do away with the turn-based combat system altogether in Final Fantasy XV.

22 Phoenix Downs Being Rather Situational

The concept of reviving your character from the very brink of his or her demise has been a constant in JRPGs as a whole. In Final Fantasy, the item that could provide characters with a second chance was none other than a Phoenix Down.

However, it only worked when the game wanted you to.

There are certain story moments present throughout the series where characters meet a premature end and have no way back. In this case, even a Phoenix Down can't work the miracles its intended to.

21 The Lack Of Challenge In The Combat Of Final Fantasy XV

We've already mentioned how the combat of Final Fantasy XV was altered to an extent where turn-based combat was completely thrown out of the window. However, on second thought, it seems that this wasn't exactly a great course of action to take for the series.

We say this because the tactical and challenging nature of Final Fantasy's combat is absent in the latest installment.

What used to be a tactical and conservative strategic combat system — except for when it came to boss fights — boiled to nothing more than just holding down the attack button and letting the game play itself.

20 The Story Of Final Fantasy XV Is An Absolute Mess

Of course, to simply state that the combat of Final Fantasy XV was the only thing that held the game back would be a gross understatement. The fact of the matter is that there are several core problems that prevent Final Fantasy XV from being a great game, and one such element is the story itself.

The story of Final Fantasy XV is an absolute travesty with absolutely nothing positive going for it. One might've expected that the series would pull up its socks and display a great story for its fans, but you're grossly mistaken in this regard.

19 Normal Beings Can Perform Herculean Things Like Limit Breaks

Time to shift away from the perspective of a single game and talk about some of the truly ridiculous things that plague the entire series itself. The first thing to be talked about is none other than the concept of limit breaks, overdrives, EX bursts, or whatever else you might want to call it.

You need to keep the fact in mind that, at the end of the day, the people performing these superhuman-like feats are nothing more than you average Joe with maybe more combat experience, and nothing else. For them to perform such herculean tasks should be impossible in every sense of the word.

18 Godlike Beings Serve The Needs Of Mere Mortals Whenever And Wherever

Summons have been a crucial aspect of the Final Fantasy series ever since the third iteration. Calling forth the power of incredibly powerful beings is a thrill every single time, especially due to the time and effort put into making these summons feel as awe-inspiring as possible.

However, this brings to light one pressing question — exactly what are these summons doing in their spare time? Do they really have nothing else to do other than to serve at the beck and call of selfish humans who need their power and nothing else?

17 The Summons Of Final Fantasy XIII Are Trying WAY Too Hard

Final Fantasy XIII is a game that split fans right down the middle when it was released. The concept of the game might've been nice, but there were several factors that held the game back and prevented it from being a worthy addition to the Final Fantasy series.

Perhaps the worst aggressor that contributed to the game having such a shoddy reputation was none other than the horrible summons that proliferated the game with their unwanted presence. Turning summons into weird transformer-like beings was a horrible design decision that should've been shelved sooner rather than later.

16 World At Stake? Play Some Card Games First!

Minigames are present all across gaming as a whole, and sometimes their inclusion actually fits in the grand scheme of things. However, the fact of the matter is that there are several times when the inclusion of these minigames is nothing short of perplexing.

Take, for example, the Triple Triad minigame present in Final Fantasy VIII and the Tetra Master game in Final Fantasy IX. By all accounts, the inclusion of this minigame might've definitely fleshed out the world. However, with an impending threat that might wipe out the entire world, you'd think that maybe playing card games would not exactly be a priority to your heroes.

However, you'd be sorely mistaken.

15 Need To Avenge Your Family? Meh, Fishing's More Rad!

We've already talked about how the story of Final Fantasy XV is a convoluted mess that serves as nothing more than a way to bog down the overall experience. Take the fishing minigame for example — while it might be a good inclusion that provides people with hours of fun, it just doesn't make any sense in the context of the game itself.

After all, Noctis had just found out that his father had fallen at the hands of the Niflheim Empire, making the recovery of his kingdom the first course of action for the prince to take.

And yet — if the player wishes — Noctis can spend the majority of his time fishing instead.

14 World On The Cusp Of Destruction? Blitzball Baby WOO!

Final Fantasy X is one of the greatest games in the series. To this day, most hardcore fans of the series are still adamant about the fact that this game is the best double-digit Final Fantasy to date. However, as is the case with Final Fantasy XV, there's a narrative oversight when it comes to the core minigame in the title — Blitzball.

You'd think that a world on the brink of destruction would focus all their time and energy on taking care of the threat that looms over them... but nope. Instead, they're content with just watching Blitzball as the end of the world draws to a close.

13 Fighting Armored Beings And Dangerous Beasts With Your Bare Fists

The Monk class has been a staple of the Final Fantasy series since time immemorial. To even imagine a game in the series — save for Final Fantasy XV — where a character doesn't use his fists to fight monsters in the game is a hard thing to fathom.

However, it's when a person thinks about this form of combat for a stretch that certain holes are uncovered. Perhaps the biggest giveaway is the fact that no person's punch should be so powerful in the first place that armored beings and massively imposing fiends topple at their hands... quite literally.

12 Using A Freakin' Blitzball As A Weapon

The sport of Blitzball has already been the focus of one of our entries, but trust us when we tell you that the ridiculous nature of this sport has yet to reach its peak. Take, for example, the weapon that Wakka uses to combat his foes — yep, you guessed it right. It's a freakin' blitzball.

The idea of throwing a harmless ball at enemies that causes massive damage is laughable, to say the least. And yet, not only does Wakka use this ball, but he also uses an ultimate version of it with spikes all around the weapon.

Won't that just cut his hands, if not sever them?

11 The Worst Weapon Of Them All — A Freakin' Stuffed Toy

It seems that when it comes to the concept of inane weapons that serve little to no purpose in a realistic scenario, Final Fantasy X pretty much takes the cake in that regard. We've already talked about the nonsense weapon that is a blitzball in the previous entry, but this weapon takes the level of ridiculousness to new heights.

The person we're talking about is Lulu, who admittedly uses black magic as her primary weapon. However, if you decide to initiate a melee attack, then all you need to do is just watch in disbelief as she sends a freakin' stuffed toy to damage her opponent.

Yeah, we'll just leave it at that.

10 Humongous Swords That Can Apparently Be Wielded In One Hand

The concept of lean men wielding massive swords has been an integral aspect of Japanese culture since time immemorial. Of course, this trend was bound to reach over to the gaming scene as well, with dudes wielding massive unpractical swords that can honestly boggle the minds of anyone unfamiliar with this trope.

Zack Fair and Cloud Strife have their Buster Sword, Sephiroth has his stupidly-long Masamune, Auron wields an impractically large sword... and the list of stupid large swords in the franchise goes on and on.

9 Sephiroth's Universe-Destroying Move Can't End Anyone's Life

Final Fantasy VII is a landmark title for a bunch of reasons, and it must be said that the final encounter with Sephiroth is one such reason why the game is revered among the Final Fantasy veterans. However, once this fight is looked at through a microscope, then a bunch of negative things are brought to light.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate this would be to talk about Sephiroth's ultimate attack — Supernova. It's a move that legit brings down a comet that eradicates the entire universe... but still only does percentage-based damage to the entire party — namely, it takes out 1/16th of their health.

In layman's terms, it can't end the life of any party member.

8 The Entire Cast Of Final Fantasy VIII Were Together In An Orphanage But Conveniently Forgot About It

Final Fantasy VIII is a great game that does justice to the series as a whole. However, there are still various negatives of this game that some fans still remember grudgingly, and understandably so. It must be said that the plot of this game was way too convenient at times.

The best way to illustrate this point would be to talk about the fact that utilizing Guardian Forces causes people to lose their memories. This plot point would've been fine in itself, had it not been for the fact that the entire main cast forgot that they came from the same orphanage.

Now that's a tad too much.

7 Bartz's Original Name Was Supposed To Be Butz

Final Fantasy V is a great game that brought with it a robust job system, allowing players to experiment with their characters as they saw fit. This meant that no two players would have the same experience, since everyone would try out different classes for their characters.

Anyway, that is not the point of discussion here. What we want to talk about is the fact that the main character of the game, Bartz, was originally supposed to be called Butz.

Now that's just plain stupid. We're glad that his name was changed at the very last second.

6 Bartz And Galuf Perving Out On Faris Is Not Cool

Speaking of Final Fantasy V, it's time to talk about another character present in the game with her very own unique trope — yep, we're talking about none other than Faris herself. Being the rough captain of a pirate crew, she had to disguise herself as a girl to prevent anyone from starting an uprising of sorts against her.

However, the manner in which Bartz and Galuf find out that Faris is a girl is rather... creepy, to say the least. While sleeping, the party goes one-by-one to wake Faris up in an inn, only to peek at things that should remain unmentioned. Thus, Faris' big secret is revealed.

5 Quina Eating Her Enemies Whole... Ew

Blue Mages have always been quite weird in the Final Fantasy series. A lot of fans prefer not to have them in the party due to the hassle involved in making them learn techniques. Keeping this in mind, it must be said that Quina is one such character that is perhaps the weirdest Blue Mage in the entirely of the franchise itself.

We say this mainly because of the fact that, in order to obtain new abilities, she actually has to eat her enemies whole!

That can't be healthy.

4 Destroying An Entire Sector And Ending The Lives Of Millions Just To Catch One Group

The first few hours of Final Fantasy VII take place in the linear environment of Midgard, placing gamers on a pre-defined path that sets the tone for the rest of the series. There'a  major event that occurs during this section where — in a bid to capture the members of AVALANCHE — an entire plate is dropped on the Sector 7 slums.

Just think about that for a second — a corporation that is hell-bent on maintaining a sterling reputation decided to end thousands of lives just to capture a handful of people.