NHK, Japan’s national broadcasting organization, organized a fan popularity poll for theFinal Fantasyseries. This isn’t the first time NHK organizes such a huge popularity poll, and beforeFinal Fantasy, a similar poll was organized for theGundamfranchise back in 2018. The NHKFinal Fantasypoll lasted from July 23, 2025, to August 02, 2025, and fans could vote on aspecial pageNHK opened up for the occasion. Note that non-JapaneseFinal Fantasyfans could easily vote in NHK’s poll, as it wasn’t region-locked or anything. 468,654 votes were gathered in total. Temporary results were published back in January, and the final results were published via a prestigious TV show that aired on February 29. The show featured many Japanese personalities fan ofFinal Fantasy, including:
Nobuo Uematsu also performed live some of the tracks which ranked in the Top 10Final FantasyMusic Ranking.
Seeing we’re nearing the release ofFinal Fantasy VII Remake,anyone who already played aFinal Fantasygame in Japan and beyond is infull nostalgia mode right now. This poll’s timing was optimal, and it brought surprising results.
Top 30Final Fantasygames according to the Japanese fans NHK poll:(Votes details sorted by gender and age are included for the top ten, the 13th, 15th and 24th places):
1st Place: Final Fantasy X
2nd Place: Final Fantasy VII
3rd Place: Final Fantasy VI
4th Place: Final Fantasy IX
5th Place: Final Fantasy XIV
6th Place:Final Fantasy V
7th Place: Final Fantasy VIII
8th Place:Final Fantasy IV
9th Place: Final Fantasy XI
10th Place:Final Fantasy XV
11th Place: Final Fantasy Tactics
12th Place: Final Fantasy III
13th Place: Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
14th Place: Final Fantasy XIII
15th Place: Final Fantasy XII
16th Place: Final Fantasy Type-0
17th Place: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
18th Place: Final Fantasy II
19th Place: Final Fantasy X-2
20th Place: Moebius Final Fantasy
21st Place: Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII
22nd Place: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
23rd Place: Dissidia Final Fantasy
24th Place: Final Fantasy
25th Place: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Ring of Fate
26th Place: Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy
27th Place: Seiken Densetsu -Final Fantasy Gaiden-
28th Place: Final Fantasy XIII-2
29th Place: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time
30th Place: Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Final Fantasy Characters Ranking:
1st Place: Cloud (Final Fantasy VII)
2nd Place: Yuna (Final Fantasy X)
3rd Place: Aerith (Final Fantasy VII)
4th Place: Vivi (Final Fantasy IX)
5th Place: Djidane (Final Fantasy IX)
6th Place: Emet-Selch (Final Fantasy XIV)
7th Place: Tidus (Final Fantasy X)
8th Place: Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)
9th Place: Tifa (Final Fantasy VII)
10th Place: Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
Over 200 characters were ranked, you can find the full results on theNHK Final Fantasy Poll page.
Final Fantasy Boss & Summon Ranking:
1st Place: Knight of the Round (Final Fantasy VII)
2nd Place: Kefka (Final Fantasy VI)
3rd Place: Hades (Final Fantasy XIV)
4th Place: Anima (Final Fantasy X)
5th Place: Omega (Final Fantasy V)
6th Place: Valefor (Final Fantasy X)
7th Place: Brasca’s Final Aeon (Final Fantasy X)
8th Place: Bahamut Zero (Final Fantasy VII)
9th Place: Syldra (Final Fantasy V)
10th Place: Safer Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
The full results for the boss & summon ranking can be found on theNHK Final Fantasy Poll page.
Final Fantasy Music Ranking:
1st Place: To Zanarkand (Final Fantasy X)
2nd Place: Clash on the Big Bridge (Final Fantasy V)
3rd Place: Eyes On Me (Final Fantasy VIII)
4th Place: Searching For Friends (Final Fantasy VI)
5th Place: Blinded by Light (Final Fantasy XIII)
6th Place: One-Winged Angel (Final Fantasy VII)
7th Place: Aerith’s Theme (Final Fantasy VII)
8th Place: Melodies Of Life～Final Fantasy (Final Fantasy IX)
9th Place: Final Fantasy Main Theme
10th Place: Those Who Fight Further (Final Fantasy VII)
Full results with over 100 tracksare on the NHK Final Fantasy Poll page.
