Final Fantasy: All Jobs RANKED!
There are a total of six jobs in the original Final Fantasy, and each of them have an upgraded form that allows them to be much stronger in battle and gain access to new abilities and equipment. There are also many versions of Final Fantasy, and this article will be based off of the PSP version of the game, which I find to be the definitive version of the game (the Pixel Remaster literally got rid of content... the art is that version's only saving grace). But without further ado, I will now rank all six job classes in Final Fantasy from worst to best in today's article... Final Fantasy: All Jobs RANKED!
6. Black Mage/Black Wizard
Before Upgrade: 5th
After Upgrade: 6th
Here is my thing about Final Fantasy. None of the jobs are garbage. They all are pretty decent, so just keep that in mind when I say that the Black Mage is the worst job in the game. And I promise I have good reasons to place this job in last! But I digress. The Black Mage excels the most of the six jobs in killing large groups of enemies due to their powerful multi-target Black Magic spells. This job boasts the highest intelligence and MP in the entire game, but in contrast, they have the lowest HP and attack. Early in the game, spells like Fira, Blizzara, and Thundara wipe out hoards of enemies, and these spells can carry the party through the first half of the game. Once the Black Mage upgrades to a Black Wizard, they can also access the four Level 8 Black Magic spells, including the most damaging spell in the game: Flare. So with all that is going for it, what is causing this class to be in last place? Stats, items, and equipment. First of all, the Black Mage's stats are abysmal outside of MP and intelligence, which happen to be the two least important stats in my opinion. By the end of the game, my Black Wizard only did 100 more damage with Flare than my Red Wizard (yes, Red Wizards can also cast Flare... I'll get to that in a second), which is not enough damage to make the Black Mage worth using over the Red Mage. Also, Red Wizards and White Wizards will both eventually get max MP anyway! And with Ethers being easily purchasable for the majority of the game, having a ton of MP is not that useful in the first place. Now why is MP not that useful? Because of my second point: items. There are so many weapons and pieces of armor that cast spells for no MP cost, and these items can cast Flare, Holy, Invisira, Saber, and some of the other top tier spells in the game. Why use the Black Mage's Flare when you can use the much better Red Mage and cast Flare using the Judgement Staff? It makes no sense to me. My last point is the Black Mage's equipment draw. They are the worst at physically attacking in the game due to their terrible weapon selection, so when they run out of spells to cast, they become worthless. They also have some of the worst armor in the game, which does not pair well with their low health and stamina. Overall, due to the Black Mage's poor stats, equipment, and the ability to cast all of its signature spells via items, this job class is worse than all the other classes in the game and is completely outclassed by the Red Mage.
5. Thief/Ninja
Before Upgrade: 6th
After Upgrade: 4th
The Thief sucks before it is upgraded! It brings very little to the table, and there are only two reasons to use it over the Monk or the Knight: its agility and its luck. Their high Agility allows them to act first in battle, and their high Luck gives them a better chance to flee from enemies than any of the other characters. These two factors are very minute in the grand scheme of things, and if you chose an actually good character, you would not need to flee in the first place! In addition, they do not have magic or good equipment, so they are easily the worst job in the game before they are upgraded. However, in my opinion, once they are upgraded to a Ninja, they quickly become better than the Black Wizard and become on par with the Knight. The Ninja's Black Magic selection is much more useful than the Knight's White Magic selection, and they have quite good physical attacks. Due to the fact that the Ninja can cast Temper and Haste, in my eyes, it becomes just as good as the Knight in the second half of the game. Overall, the Thief is awful before it is upgraded, but becomes a solid addition to the team later on in the game—nevertheless, it still does not reach the highs that the Knight and Red Wizard do, which secures its spot in fifth place.
4. White Mage/White Wizard
Before Upgrade: 4th
After Upgrade: 3rd
The White Mage is your traditional healer class, a role it fulfills very well! The White Mage, unlike the Black Mage, has good HP and MP stats, so they can actually take some hits! The White Mage's physical attacks are also much better than the Black Mage's for the majority of the game, and the White Mage has significantly less spells outclassed by the use of equipment pieces you find on your journey. The main catches of using the White Mage instead of the Red Mage are teh Heal series and Dia series spells. The Heal series spells are a lifesaver and are essentially a necessity during the game's superboss fights, and the Dia series spells melt through undead enemies like a hot knife through butter. However, other than these two series of spells, the Red Mage can take care of healing, making the Red Mage outdo this class in the majority of situations. Overall, the White Mage is the quintessential healer due to its powerful Heal series spells, but if you aren't planning on fighting superbosses, a Red Mage and a Healing Helm/Staff will do the job just fine. The White Mage is a great job class, but nevertheless, it is still outclassed by the Red Mage.
3. Warrior/Knight
Before Upgrade: 1st
After Upgrade: 5th
This job is perfect at what it does: absorbing damage and dishing it out .This class has the best weapons, armor, and physical stats of any character in the game, and this is easily the best job class for the first half of the game. With super powerful attacks and great survivability, what puts this class in the measly third place on this list? Because it just isn't my favorite! Though the Knight is the beefiest character in the game, the Master can deal way more damage, and the Red Wizard can cover both magic and physical attacks, whereas the Knight only has very weak White Magic at its disposal. During the second half of the game, enemies' physical attacks are hardly ever an issue anyway, and due to spells like Invisira and Protera, a Master can take over the Knight's role with ease. Overall, the Knight is very beefy and more reliable than the Master, but I'll take an overpowered glass cannon over a reliable tank any day of the year. Don't get me wrong though: I still love the Knight class.
2. Red Mage/Red Wizard
Before Upgrade: 2nd
After Upgrade: 2nd
The Red Mage is essentially a combination of the bottom three classes on this list: the Thief, the Black Mage, and the White Mage. Though the Red Mage doesn't have the physical prowess of the Knight or the Master, it still can match up to the strength of the Thief and Ninja, making it still a powerful fighter in battle. The Red Mage also doesn't have access to all the spells in the game, but that's not a big deal because the majority of spells that are worth using can be casted via equipment (save Healaga and Full-Life). Even though Red Mages can adapt to any situation and are easily the most versatile character in the game, the Red mage is still a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. I would still recommend to have a White Mage in your party. I would still recommend to have a powerful physical fighter in your party. I'm not saying to have four Red Mages, because that would just be weird. But the Red Mage can very effectively cover all the bases it needs to cover, and it is a boon to have one of these guys in your party. Overall, the Red Mage is a perfect blend of the Thief, Black Mage, and White Mage jobs, and because of this, it is my second favorite job class in the game.
1. Monk/Master
Before Upgrade: 3rd
After Upgrade: 1st
The Monk isn't anywhere near as beefy as the Warrior. But do I give a crap about that? Not in the slightest. Monks hit for double the hits of any other character in the game when they attack with their fists, quite literally allowing them to dish out double the damage of any other character in the game. No Gil needs to be invested in this job, which can not be said about any other jobs in this game. The Monk is simply unbeatable in terms of raw attack power, and this job can easily obliterate bosses in a single shot if beefed up enough with Temper and Haste. There's not much else to be said. Overall, though the Monk has no access to magic, nor amazing defensive stats or equipment, the Monk is a high-risk, high reward glass cannon that other jobs can not even get close to topping in terms of raw attack power. And this is why the Monk will never not be my favorite character class in the the original Final Fantasy.
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