XII - not being the main character (or half of the party being the main character) made for really interesting dynamics as the party were swept through each others' worlds, and I loved how it implemented rtwp. More games should have a gambit system.

X - Easily my favourite turn based battle mechanics in a game. Turn order and manipulation, overkills, overdrives, kicking a ball at someone's head and calling it an attack, Auron. The Zanarkand sequence at the start might be my favourite opening to a game, too.

Origin: Stranger of Paradise - I will not accept that this is some "alternate universe" or reimagining of the first game, as far as I'm concerned it's a banger of a prequel with a story that does a great job of deconstructing the heroes of light trope and overcomplicating the plot of the first game enough to bring it in line with other entries. The Souls-like gameplay changed up the classic formulas in interesting ways, and implemented the classic classes really well within that.