What game housed the best military power?

[Angel of Iniquity]

Or even resistance groups?

I mean, from what I am saying, or trying to say, perhaps FF12's archadia, or FF13's cocoon in general.

Let's see.

Me being an FF8 fan, I want to say Seed is the greatest "resistence" and or military group but they simply don't have the tech compared to later FF games.

But as individuals, I am going to say they have the potential to outweight every other groups.
Why?
Squall, what makes him different from another SeeD?
His Gunblade? After that, that is really all.
Selphie has the end. And really now, what gives her the power to kill everything?

I'm saying that is SeeD has these technically nobodies, there must be other great gems in the rough as well. What if there were a spear user that matched Squalls Fighting ability? And any Junctions really give an unfair advantage with some good items ^-^
Soldier had great warriors, but if you noticed, their greatest were "made".
Or Mako infused. Doesn't give allot to build from self.

Confused, and sorry if this is confusing, did rigorous martial arts today(kyokushun)and I am dehydrated...

[Selcopa]

Best Military Force? I'd have to say FFIV, every time you got near a town, they blow it up. Hell you don't even get to fight them because they're way too powerful.

Best resistance force, i'd say FF6 Resistance, while FF8 is my favorite game, SeeD were getting their asses handed to them continuously in the future, and there wasn't really a ton of resistance vs an army, you aren't really doing much to defy Galbadia throughout the game.

[Heartless Angel]

FFVII's SOLDIER. Mako infused humans are lalmost always stronger than a normal person anyways, so they already have an edge over any other potential enemy army in the world. But their real strength lies in the small elite group of 1st Classes. Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, Zack. Each an every one of them could compete with entire military forces, and most of the, at some point did. Sephiroth by himself took out ten thousand Wutai soldiers, and he was just one member of Shinra's army. Genesis singlehandedly rebelled against the Shinra army, and just kinda wrought havoc for several years even when faced with the army he once served. Even other enginerred supersoldiers were nothing to this guy. Zack's just a ****in beast. The dude kills a God, competes with Sephiroth, defeats both Genesis AND Angeal all by himself. It takes infinitely respawning Shinra infantry, a couple choppers spamming rockets, and a boring overly long 3 on 1 battle when Zack's already half dead to kill the guy, and even with all this, it took his death being written into the plot before the game ever began to pull it off. These four people alone could overwhelm pretty much any military organization throughout the series no problem.

[Angel of Iniquity]

FFVII's SOLDIER. Mako infused humans are lalmost always stronger than a normal person anyways, so they already have an edge over any other potential enemy army in the world. But their real strength lies in the small elite group of 1st Classes. Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, Zack. Each an every one of them could compete with entire military forces, and most of the, at some point did. Sephiroth by himself took out ten thousand Wutai soldiers, and he was just one member of Shinra's army. Genesis singlehandedly rebelled against the Shinra army, and just kinda wrought havoc for several years even when faced with the army he once served. Even other enginerred supersoldiers were nothing to this guy. Zack's just a ****in beast. The dude kills a God, competes with Sephiroth, defeats both Genesis AND Angeal all by himself. It takes infinitely respawning Shinra infantry, a couple choppers spamming rockets, and a boring overly long 3 on 1 battle when Zack's already half dead to kill the guy, and even with all this, it took his death being written into the plot before the game ever began to pull it off. These four people alone could overwhelm pretty much any military organization throughout the series no problem.

Ehh, not fair lol
Hmm, through away them 4, cause Zack to me isn't hyper powered.
Actually, it may be cause I haven't played the game, but Angeal and Genesis didn't seem uber powerful either.

I honestly meant the resistance or military force without the main characters or villains that we know of.

[midgetbob]

Final Fantaasy 6.

The Empire... Magitek Armor. Terra was in Magitek Armor and fried 50 soldiers in 3 minutes. As novices you jump into Magitek Armor and bash your way out of the Imperial Camp near Doma; no training needed.

The Empire was creating legions of these soldiers.

[Heartless Angel]

Ehh, not fair lol
Hmm, through away them 4, cause Zack to me isn't hyper powered.
Actually, it may be cause I haven't played the game, but Angeal and Genesis didn't seem uber powerful either.

I honestly meant the resistance or military force without the main characters or villains that we know of.

Genesis and Zack aren't quite on Seph's level, but they're on the tier directly beneath him. Angeal we don't see fighting too terribly often, but the man who created both him and Genesis said Genesis was a failure, and Angeal was a success, so one can reasonably infer that Angeal is stronger, equal at very least.

Independant of the characters themselves, it was Shinra who had that power, because it was Shinra who creaed these supersoldiers through Jenova experiements and Mako treatments. A little experiment run by Shinra turned 3 insignificant children still in the womb into basically living Gods, and the scientist who made Sephiroth still works there, and still has access to Jenova cells, so it's entirely possible that Shinra could produce more succesful Jenova experiments with powers similar to the three One Winged Angels. And Zack's living proof that a little natural skill coupled with sufficient training can elevate you to the level of these people. And just because we only KNOW of those 1st Class SOLDIERs doesn't mean there aren't already others in Shinra's ranks. Even if SOLDIER alone wasn't the strongest military organization, Shinra would definitely still be IMO, since that adds in their science department, crazy weapon research facilities, you know, the one that churns out things like the Sister Ray Mako Cannon. And they have legions of generic infantry that keep spawning everywhere!

[che]

Many mixed feelings on this topic, but I feel this deserves some sort of recognition because it was also political in the game:

YouTube - Final Fantasy X - Anima summoned

[Master Garland]

Wow this is a good topic.

Let's see here, what FF has the most powerful military and or resistance factions.

It is no lie that FFVIIs SOLDIER and FFVIIIs SeeD are very powerful formidable forces they may be equal to my choice even.

The most powerful military in FF may be Queen Brahnes Black Mage army along with her Eidolons. Yeah technologically speaking she lags behind but seriously those Black Mages shoot fire spells like beams all over the place non-stop then after they totally weaken and break down the towns then Brahne summons a powerful being to NUKE or just destroy the city in a few seconds. First it was Burmecia that fell then Cleyra (Odin literally NUKED them after the BMs and Beatrix's fleet caused havoc) then it was Lindblum same story the Black Wizards blew stuff up but then Atomos ate half the city etc. However Garland and his battleship Invincible pretty much could dominate her entire army alone. Afterall he is an ancient alien mage with very high technology that Airship has mind possesion powers, it can suck souls into itself and use their powers or give it to the pilot and it can NUKE things, not only that but it is also alive!!! So in all honesty Garland one of the most powerful FF characters under UTK and his Airship Invincible maybe up there as well as a one man one battleship power.

[Angel of Iniquity]

I guess I should bring up Esthar. I said no concurrent characters but they were once being ruled by Adel who decimated an army with a thought.
And they have technology. Just imagine, a whole army of Ragnaroks...
Ragnarok, the space ship figthers are above most other FF airships anyways (new thread idea).
Perhaps, only the Ivalice airships could match this.
I still think Seed has superior Training compared to others, but failes in terms of technology.

About the mages, Nul-all, or another magic resistant wears could prevent them from happening.

I can remember Cleyra like it was yesterday... JK, yes, she does have HIGHLY powerful summons on her side which, in their full power as canonically shown, could singly wipe out MOST other FF groups.

[GypsyElder]

Final Fantaasy 6.

The Empire... Magitek Armor. Terra was in Magitek Armor and fried 50 soldiers in 3 minutes. As novices you jump into Magitek Armor and bash your way out of the Imperial Camp near Doma; no training needed.

The Empire was creating legions of these soldiers.

Yeah, they basically had Metal Gears fantasy version so I agree lol.

[Zargabaath]

For the format of my reply I will first list off who/what I think is the best military power in each of the games (FF-FFXIII excluding: FFX-2, FFXI, & FFXIV). Then I will pick out of those the best military power.

For the purpose of my answer I will also limit the military power to what is seen or said in the original game itself, no sequels, prequels, spin-offs, etc added to the military's strength to those that apply

It also crossed my mind while typing the Final Fantasy VIII portion that with Final Fantasy VII guns became prevalent, specifically with the Shinra Security Dept. Guns make things cheap, by creating such an imbalance. I do think with protective magic the bullets could be guarded against. With this in mind I will have 3 winners. One will be for the militaries that are less technological (fighting primarily with swords, magic, & some technology). Another will be for the militaries that are technologically advanced (advanced guns & machines) The final winner will be my overall pick. A note: the final winner does not necessarily have to be between the two previous winners.

I know this is going to be long therefore I decided to hide what I say for each game’s military in spoiler tags. This will compress the length of the post so it does not look so imposing and it will allow people to easily navigate to my 3 picks. If they want to see my full explanation as to why I picked a certain military they can go to the specific game. This is for you Telegraph.

Final Fantasy:

SPOILER!!:

There isn't much competition from what I think. The only castle in the world is Cornelia. So by default I would say Cornelia. Even with them being the best they don't have much going for them. Their best commander, and the only one mentioned or of real importance, - Garland - left before the beginning of the game therefore he cannot be included in the assessment of Cornelia's military strength. They don't have any air power and it is never said if they even have a navy. So with just regular soldiers Cornelia is definitely on the weaker end of spectrum.

Final Fantasy II:

SPOILER!!:

The strongest would be Palamecia. The Emperor can summon a tornado that can wreck havoc on big to small towns and even Fynn Castle. I include Fynn even though the party was able to stop the tornado because it was said that Fynn would be destroyed as well if the Emperor wasn't stopped. The emperor was able to summon a massive army of creatures from hell to plunge the world into war. His troops have mythril weaponry & armor, plus they have demonic strength. Leon is also on their side who appears to be a very competent leader and someone who possesses great strength, unfortunately his exact contribution to the military strength of Palamecia cannot be accurately accounted as the party never fights him. The Empire does have the Dreadnought a massive war-airship that can reign destruction from above. I would say Palamecia's strengths are: ground troops, the Emperor, & Dark Knight. They do have a massive airship but it is only 1 airship.

Final Fantasy III:

SPOILER!!:

My choice for this game is Saronia based primarily on the size of the kingdom which is probably the biggest kingdom in Final Fantasy, it is truly expansive. The kingdom, specifically, the castle does have anti-air turrets, surprisingly. But they don't have an air force or a navy that was stated. With the size of their kingdom I would say that they had a lot of troops. Saronia is probably most like Cornelia though with the anti-air guns and being larger they are probably more powerful than Cornelia but still toward the lower end of the spectrum in strength.

Final Fantasy IV:

SPOILER!!:

Should be no surprise that I would choose Baron. They have the red wings which are an elite airship group, dark knights, dragoons which are relegated to the defense of Baron because of the airship corps, though they used to be the most elite part of the Baron army, guard corps which is also for the defense of Baron, the White Mage corps, the Black Mage corps, Army corps (regulars), and I believe in the game it was mentioned that Baron had a navy though not that strong. Baron does have as well Golbez the new leader of the Red Wings and I may be able to put Cecil as a factor as well since he was leader of the Red Wings during the game, though for a very short time, but he was still a Dark Knight. Kain will also be included.

Baron has a lot going for it: Red Wings for air, Dark Knights and Dragoons as elite troops, the personal guard who shouldn't be too shabby, the regular army, Black mages for attack magic, & white mages to heal the wounded and boost troops. The navy as I think isn't that great so that would be their only downside. They have great commanders in Golbez & Kain; I think I'll not include Cecil since he was only leader of the Red Wings during the prologue (attack on Mysidia). I would say Baron is one of the stronger military powers in Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy V:

SPOILER!!:

Final Fantasy V probably has to be one of the hardest, if not the hardest to pick what military was the strongest since none really stood out. I would say the two contenders are Exdeath's army if it could be considered an army and not just a mass of monsters versus the Alliance (as I've dubbed them) of Galuf's & Xezat's armies. Exdeath’s “army” at most we know has enough troops to defend its territory that is well fortified through geography. The only way into Exdeath’s territory is through the Big Bridge, a good choke point. There is Gilgamesh as a sub-commander but he’s not that effective.

I think I’ll choose the Alliance because I doubt the other side really had a military. What does the Alliance have? Two experienced fighters/leaders in Galuf and Xezat who fought during the first war thirty years ago. The Alliance consists of two castles which isn't too bad so they should have a nice sized army. Surgate also has pretty nice navy with I remember correctly a fleet of subs which were probably the best navy in Final Fantasy up to that point. Castle Bal (Galuf's) does have a single wind drake though that doesn't offer military might as it does for reconnaissance and light travel. I would say the Alliance may be on equal footing with Saronia though the latter may have more ground troops but with Galuf, Xezat, & the sub fleet the Alliance does have some advantages.

Final Fantasy VI:

SPOILER!!:

This is easy - the Gestahlian Empire. Terra won't be included as per my limits stated earlier and she is similar to Cecil as she was part of the Empire for the very beginning/prologue of the game. But even without Terra the Empire has a lot going for it. First the people: Emperor Gestahl who can command magic and is pretty good tactically; Kefka who is cruel and also commands magic; Celes a Rune Knight who also has magic; & General Leo who has great combat strength and is perhaps the best tactical person in the Empire.

The Empire also has Cid's plentiful inventions ranging from the magitek armors: Magitek Armor, Heavy Armor, Proto Armor, & Mega Armor, the imperial air force comprised of: Sky armors, Spitfires, & the command ship Air Force, Magitek Knights, & the Guardians the ultimate weapon in the Empire. There are also plenty of different ground troops ranging from cadets to imperial elite.

The strengths of the Empire I would say are: Gestahl, Kekfa, Celes, & Leo as commanders, their ground army consisting of normal troops of various ranks, magitek knights, various magitek armors, & the Guardians. Their air force isn't considered that strong and they did have some ships at least for transport but I don't think they had much of a navy either. I think Baron could be a challenge to the Empire as Baron does have Black Mages, Dark Knights, Dragoons, White Mages, & probably most importantly the Red Wings that could take down the weak air force of the Empire. Air superiority can be a big thing, rain destruction from above.

Final Fantasy VII:

SPOILER!!:

As stated by my limitation to the actual game that means Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis, & Zack are not a part of SOLDIER/Shinra which I've chosen to be the strongest in its world since it defeated its competition Wutai 5 years ago though Fort Condor is putting up a good fight. By the time in the game SOLDIER has officially become a part of Shinra so that is why I'm grouping SOLDIER into Shinra. They don't have much in the terms of great leaders especially with the desertion and/or deaths of Genesis, Angeal, Zack, & Sephiroth. That also brings up that in Final Fantasy VII SOLDIER was a shadow of its former self as there wasn't anybody noticeable in SOLDIER and they were not fought often. There is the Shinra Peace-keeping Corps which is pretty much their regular army.

Shinra’s regular army brings in a new dynamic that really shakes things up – guns. This would really give them an advantage against the other armies that don’t have guns or are protected against bullets. I did theorize that with support magic an opposing army may be able to protect themselves from the bullets; this theory would apply to any other army that uses guns. They do have the turks, though once again when the games takes place, are greatly diminished from their former selves; I see them as being kind of like the CIA so Shinra does have some good and at the time the only military power with a covert unit. They do have some very impressive weapons: the Sister Ray & the Proud Clod. They also have some other machines though are not as impressive.

No air force of any kind and the only navy presence they have that we know is with subs that are far better than Xezat’s. Their subs don’t have any surface-to-air missiles or anything that can hit land targets limiting their capabilities. Surprisingly I would say Shinra is not that powerful militarily, when compared to other military powers in Final Fantasy. Yes the guns add a powerful new dynamic but I do feel that with support magic their enemy cannot get easily slaughtered. They have good to great ground troops though their elite soldiers are not as powerful as in days yore, they have some mechanized troops for heavy hitting and they do have motorcycles as a very weak cavalry so weak it probably shouldn’t be mentioned. The Sister Ray is hard to transport around but with a rotating turret it can hit pretty much anywhere with its long range. I feel that Shinra would be just below the likes of Baron and the Gestahlian Empire.

Final Fantasy VIII:

SPOILER!!:

Final Fantasy VIII is interesting because it probably has the most contenders through unique circumstances. First there is SeeD a pretty obvious choice. Then the Galbadian Army but the surprise is the Esthar Army. There wasn’t much of an army during the present but the player does experience the past through Laguna which I feel does open up Esthar’s consideration. I will choose SeeD because there wasn’t much given on Esthar’s military and I think Galbadia is weaker.

I will include SeeD’s three gardens as part of its whole strength plus the White SeeD ship as their elite troops. Galbadia Garden does come under control of Edea and Trabia is destroyed however those occur after some time into the game compared to Cecil leading the Red Wings and Terra being a part of the Empire both ending very early.

The three Gardens are able to become mobile this allows them to move their whole base of operations on the go giving them an unique advantage. With armament the Gardens could have been flying fortress but they lack any weaponry. The White SeeD ship never showed any use of weapons. Looking at the layout there could be weapons on the ship; the two domes look like missile silos. I cannot make out if on the aft if there is a cannon of sorts. The SeeD assault boat has an artillery gun that’s more of a large caliber automatic weapon. SeeDs are specially trained from a young age so they are well trained and have plenty of experience as being a mercenary group. There is Squall, Selphie, Zell, Quistis, & Irvine that can serve as their more or most elite group mainly because they use GFs. On GFs only Balamb SeeD members used GFs as the other two Gardens were wary of their use.

SeeD has great mobility and well trained troops with a very light navy that could get destroyed by Shinra’s subs. No air force and the Ragnarok does not count since it is Esthar’s. SeeD doesn’t have any machinery to be tanks/ heavy hitters. They do have quite a few good commanders/special units in Squall, Zell, Irvine, Quistis, & Selphie. They have an elite unit in the White SeeD but it could be said that their second elite group be the SeeD members from Balamb Garden as they are able to cast magic as well (Balamb Garden v. Galbadia Garden). Even without heavy machinery, SeeD could still be a very formidable match to any other ground army.

Final Fantasy IX:

SPOILER!!:

Alexandria. I am not including Kuja because I never thought of him as being part of the military but just as an advisor. Alexandria’s strengths lie in its commander – Beatrix – who is one of the best commanders in Final Fantasy. Alexandria’s normal troops aren’t special but with Beatrix’s leadership & strength they get a boost. What really gave them power in Final Fantasy IX was the Black Mage Army provided by Kuja. There are also the 3 Black Waltzes that can be seen as special units. The Red Rose comprises their air force which is nothing compared to Lindblum’s air force however, Alexandria was able to attack without having to fight them. It looks like in the FMV Lindblum’s airships are going into a bay to be protected from the cannon fire from Alexandria’s navy - the first respectable looking navy in Final Fantasy to that point. Alexandria also has a few super weapons in the form of Eidolons, Atomos & Odin. Alexandria has the best naval power in Final Fantasy at the same time their navy can act as an anti-air support, if close to the sea.

They don’t have an air force but Atomos can act as a supplement. Odin is their biggest weapon to cause massive damage. Finally with Beatrix Alexandria’s army is well lead.

Final Fantasy X:

SPOILER!!:

Between the Church of Yevon or the Al Bhed, I’ll choose Yevon. The Al Bhed may have some technology but Yevon do have more numbers and technology of their own. First there is the Crusaders who are well-trained and have numerous chapters throughout Spira. They do have a cavalry of chocobos probably the first time in the series that was actually shown. The next part of Yevon’s army is the Warrior Monks that protect Bevelle. They have guns that have selective firing modes that can either shoot 1 round at a time or be automatic. The Warrior Monks are also able to use flamethrowers.

Yevon doesn’t have much of an air force besides Evrae that protects Bevelle. Yevon does however have one of the best anti-air troops in Final Fantasy with the YAT-99. Bevelle has another machina, the YKT-63, to assist the Warrior Monks. As for commanders there is Maester Wen Kinoc who isn’t much. Seymour is an interesting fellow because I would consider him like Kuja as not being a part of the military yet when Kinoc dies who takes over? Still, I feel there isn’t enough in the game to say Seymour was a part of the military. Grand Maester Mika could have taken over. They don’t have a navy that the player sees though I wouldn’t be surprised if the Crusaders had some ships. Overall they have good troops but lack air, sea, & a good commander, they do have great anti-air & mobility with the chocobo calvary.

Final Fantasy XII:

SPOILER!!:

The Archadian Empire and there is a lot to them. Archadia has been a militaristic nation for around 200 years and what they can bring to the battlefield shows. The Imperial Army consists of the Imperial Soldiers whom are the rank and file of the Army. This group is mainly comprised of Imperial Swordsmen. In addition there are: Imperial Marksmen (gun), Imperial Hoplites (in heavy armor to charge fortifications & can cast some support magick), the Imperial Magus (casts attack magicks), & Mastiffs (dogs). Then there are the Imperial Elite troops: Imperial Gunners (highly trained Imperial Marksmen), Imperial Pilots who are airship pilots and can cast a bit of debilitating magick, & Imperial Beastmasters who train the Mastiffs.

Then there is the special order of knights & elite guard of House Solidor – the Judges. The Judges have some basic support magick along with some good techniques. Then the elite of the elites are the Judge Magisters who are the most elite guards of House Solidor & commanders of the Imperial Army. Since they are commanders of the army it is unclear how many Judge Magisters there are in Archadia. There are 12 air ship fleets which means that there be a Judge Magister in charge of in each of those fleets, plus there are at least 13 bureaus and then there is the navy which may be broken up into a few fleets but there would be at least 1 Judge Magister in command of the navy. For the Judge Magisters we know there are 5: Bergan, Drace, Gabranth, Ghis, & Zargabaath. Then there is Emperor Gramis who only possesses and illness. His successor Vayne is a military genius and does posses some fighting prowess of his own.

Then there are the various Rooks – a thought driven weapon – Dr. Cid had been working on; there are three version: Spinner-Rook (debilitating magick), Sphere-Rook (support magick), & Helm-Rook (attack magick). That was just the ground troops, their navy is not as powerful since the invention of airships but they still patrol Archadia’s coasts vigilantly.

The prime force of Archadia are their airship fleets which are most likely the best out of any other Final Fantasy military. There are at least 12 fleets which are usually led by a Dreadnought class ship. There is the Fighter Class: light ships meant for lesser combat, they can engage ground troops in combat. The Remora and Valfarre are two known classes. Light Cruiser Class: not meant for heavy battles for they have light armor & weapons, & are suited for high-speed maneuvers and attacking in groups. The Shiva is the only known light cruiser class ship. Cruiser Class: heavy ships suited for actual battle having more armor and cannons than their lighter counter-parts. The Ifrit is the only known Cruiser Class ship. Heavy Carrier Class: not meant for battle but for troop movement and being walls on the battlefield. They have entire hangars hidden within them. The Alexander is the only known Heavy Carrier Class. Dreadnought Class: well-rounded for combat, its armor is impenetrable and its firepower unmatched. The Leviathan is the only known Dreadnought Class ship. Sky Fortress Class: the ultimate weapon of the Archadian army that has vast firepower able to wipe out other ships in one shot. The Bahamut is the only Sky Fortress Class ship. There are also two other transport ships the Atomos & Pandemonium. Then there is the Carbuncle which Vossler used to transport the party, don’t know if it is for battle. The Catoblepas is a Destroyer-Class ship which is standard in every fleet. The last known ship in the Imperial Air Force is the Odin which leads the Imperial First Fleet.

As the norm is with militaristic nations in Final Fantasy – Archadia is a very powerful nation with variety of great ground troops that know some magick/attacks to help them on the battlefield. They don’t have any big land machines like Magitek Armor, but they do have the Rooks. They have a great strategic leader in Vayne with good commanders, Judge Magisters, to lead the different parts of the army. Naval power isn’t too great but they do have a superb air force that is vast.

Final Fantasy XIII:

SPOILER!!:

The Sanctum forces of Guardian Corps & PSICOM. I am a bit stumped on what to do about Cid and his Calvary. Yes, they are a part of Cocoon’s forces but they are actually a secret rebel group that is trying to wrest control from the Fal’Cie. However, their leader is secretly an “agent” of the Cocoon Fal’Cie. This situation isn’t something like they were on Cocoon’s side in the beginning then became a secret rebel group. They were rebels from the beginning of the game though unbeknownst to the party/player. I feel by referring to the precedence I had set with Cecil, Terra, Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, & Zack, the Calvary will have to not be counted with the Sanctum’s army because they are a secret rebel faction before the game starts.

Let me begin.

The Sanctum doesn’t have good commanders in Yaag Rosch & Jihl Nabaat as they both showed horrible leadership skills throughout the game; Yaag was able to gain some credit back to his ability in Chapter 12. Still when Snow & Fang rescued Lightning & Hope, Yaag ran away when the bullets got to close instead of engaging in combat. Then when the unexplained smoke grenades were thrown & a PSICOM/Guardian Corps troop started shooting its allies Yaag does not take command and organize his troops. Jihl’s plan to defeat the party in the Palamecia was to throw a bunch of troops at them – great strategy – and she loses her cool when it begins to unravel. Neither is shown much fighting ability something that would have been good; advanced mana-drives could have allowed Yaag & Jihl to fight the party in human form. Yaag does have the Proudclad. Even though PSICOM is considered their elite troops it is really the Guardian Corps because they have experience dealing with stray monsters. PSICOM troops do have the better machine troops, armor, & weapons in their arsenal but lack experience.

The Guardian Corps on the other hand are lightly armored but do have combat experience. No navy that we see or is mentioned by there is the Sanctum Skyfleet that has a bunch of cruiser type ships, fighter ships, and the flagship Palamecia. There are also those ships at the end of Chapter 3 when Sazh, Light, Hope, & Vanille escaped from the Lake Bresha ruins which looked like the Havoc Skytank boss. They can summon genetically modified monsters through portals on the battlefield as sort of shock troops ranging from behemoths to wolves & an aerial monster. The Sanctum has a huge & powerful air fleet, PSICOM, & the Guardian Corps however their elite troops, PSICOM, lack experience as do their commanders Yaag & Jihl. Too bad I had to leave out the Calvary because the Calvary seemed like the best of the best and Cid Raines seemed like a commander who could really make the Sanctum’s forces terrifying, plus he is a L’Cie.

Lesser Technological Pick:

SPOILER!!:

In the running for this category are: Cornelia, Palamecia, Saronia, Baron, The Alliance, Gestahlian Empire, & Alexandria. SeeD & Archadia are pretty interesting because they are both on the edge where I feel I could place them in either category. Galbadia Garden focuses on technology rather than magic, having members trained in guns, but we don’t see exactly what that tech is and all their type of guns members use. Irvine uses a shotgun but his gun is able to fire very rapidly or fire powerful shells slowly so perhaps it is the ammo that is more important than the type of gun used. I’ll include SeeD in this category because of the uncertainty of their technology. If anyone can give further examples of SeeDs tech that has combat use please tell so I may reconsider SeeD’s place. Archadia is tough because most of their ground troops use swords & magic with some using single round guns but their airships are pretty advanced. They are quite the enigma. I’ll place Archadia in this group as well because their ground troops lack the advanced guns and don’t have any big machines on the ground.

Cornelia, Saronia, & the Alliance are easily out because they lack any air force or tech on the ground. Palamecia is out as well though they have great ground troops and the Dreadnought but one airship can’t equal out against many. SeeD has great troops and special units (Squall & Co.) but they lack an air force and their Gardens have no weapons. Even with their special units SeeD would get overwhelmed I believe by the other armies left standing in this group. Alexandria is interesting because they lack an air force, have a navy, have Beatrix, black mages (which the surviving armies have magic as well), regular troops, but they have the Atomos & Odin Eidolons as super weapons. Odin’s attack on Cleyra was devastating & Atomos can suck in any airship that was too close or not fast enough to escape. I would say though they posses great power the Eidolons could be defeated not before causing some damage. The Bahamut or an Archadian Air Fleet could take down Atomos. Odin is harder to take down since he is mobile though the Dragoons of Baron, Golbez, Kain, Gestahl, Kefka or even Vayne Novus may be able to do the job. Still without an airforce and lack of any real unique troops I think Alexandria is not the best in this group. While writing I knew that Baron, the Gestahlian Empire, & the Archadian Empire would be the final three of a group. No surprise considering they are the three militaristic nations of Final Fantasy.

Being such they are geared for war. The Gestahlian Empire has the best ground troops with the mechs, the commanders (General Leo), a few monsters that aid them, and a variety of regular to elite troops. It may be tough for Baron to combat the Gestahlian Empire’s mechs with Black Mages, White Mages (support), Dragoons, Dark Knights, & other elite troops they could overcome them. It would be a fine battle. What may give favor to Baron is its air force with the elite squad the Red Wings who would probably come out on top against the Gestahlian Empire’s weak air force even though it is a bit more advanced. If the air force were victorious in the skies they could aid the ground troops. Golbez may be able to take on Gestahl or Kefka but doubtful of both leaving one to try to pick off the Red Wings. Kain could take Celes but Leo would take Kain. Archadia’s ground troops against the Gestahlian Empire are in a similar scenario as Barons. The difference is that Archadia doesn’t have Dark Knights or Dragoons, but they still have support & attack magick. Their do have other elite troops in their regular army plus the Judges and the Rooks the latter that work well as support troops. The Judge Magisters & Vayne are pretty powerful and I feel with their numbers & skill could take on the commanders of the Gestahlian Empire. Then there is the Archadian Imperial Air Force that would decimate Gestahlian’s Air Force leaving Archadia’s to assist & over-power the Gesthalian ground troops. Baron versus Archadia on the ground is mostly even though there are more Judge Magisters & Vayne to take on Golbez & Kain. The Red Wings wouldn’t be much against the might of the Archadian Air Fleets leaving Archadia’s air force once again to assist though with the lack of any machines on Baron’s ground troops plus there being at least 12 Judge Magisters the ground battle would probably go to Archadia without any aid from the skies.

Therefore my pick for this group is the Archadian Empire because of their solid ground troops, the Judge Magisters, Vayne who would is one of the better strategists (Leo or Gestahl being the others), & their vastly superior air force.

Technologically Advanced Pick:

SPOILER!!:

In this group are: Shinra, Church of Yevon, & the Sanctum. Some may be wondering how Shinra would be in this group but not SeeD. In Final Fantay VII Shinra does showcase its technology and the guns their troops use better than SeeD. Shinra & Yevon lack an air force though Yevon does have some anti-air but against the Sanctum Skyfleet it won’t be enough. Shinra ground troops, specifically the remnants of SOLDIER, could cause problems for the Sanctum & the Shinra regulars could get into a fire fight with the Sanctum troops as well. Then both have some machines though the Sanctum’s are better plus the Sanctum monsters. With that SOLDIER should be able to take care of them. The biggest concern for Shinra’s side would be numbers as the Sanctum may have more troops than Shinra as Cocoon is a small moon compared to Shinra being a big city even with some of their troops coming from other places – the whole world does not go into Shinra. The Sanctum would win because of their air force decimating Shinra’s ground troops though there is the Sister Ray but the Sanctum’s Skyfleet may be able to dodge or take evasive maneuvers because of their technology. Yevon versus the Sanctum would be lopsided on Sanctum’s favor. Yevon doesn’t have special troops like SOLDIER per se, they do have their anti-air but that’s not enough. The Crusaders wouldn’t be able to fight against Sanctum troops with guns that would be left for Bevelle’s special forces. Yevon has some machines for their ground troops but not enough, too bad they didn’t break open Bevelle’s machine secrets in Final Fantasy X cause Bevelle could’ve been like the Sanctum but this is limited to the actual game.

Surprisingly even with a lack of experience in their elite troops and poor commanders the Sanctum, I feel, would win this grouping because of their Skyfleet.

Final Pick:

SPOILER!!:

Mixing the two different types of technologies is difficult because, as I stated in the intro, guns make things a bit unfair. Now with protect or any other support magic that deals with physical damage the battlefield would become more even.

My overall pick for best military power in Final Fantasy: Archadian Empire (Final Fantasy XII)

Yevon and Shinra would not be able to win against Baron or the Gestahlian Empire, more so regarding Yevon. Shinra may have SOLDIER but Baron has Dark Knights, Dragoons & other elite troops while the Gestahlian Empire has magitek armors, Guardians, magitek knights & both of them have an air force something Shinra lacks.

Against the Sanctum both Baron’s & the Gestahlian Empire’s ground troops are better with the Empire having all their machines to help against the Sanctum’s. The problem for both of them is dealing with the Skyfleet. Baron has a better air force but their ships cannot keep up with the speed, mobility & power of the Skyfleet, thus both Baron & the Gestahlian Empire would most likely lose. Their commanders may be able pull something off to take out Sanctum’s Skyfeet but that is no guarantee.

Archadia & the Sanctum would have their first real match in the skies with the opposing force. Once again the Sanctum’s ground troops are outmatched by Archadia’s. Archadia’s Imperial Air Fleet is probably more expansive than the Sanctum’s and has just as much , if not more, firepower. They have a better tactician in Vayne plus the Judge Magisters. Archadia being geared for war and their experience gives them a definite edge over the Sanctum.

But as individuals, I am going to say they have the potential to outweight every other groups.
Why?
Squall, what makes him different from another SeeD?
His Gunblade? After that, that is really all.
Selphie has the end. And really now, what gives her the power to kill everything?

I'm saying that is SeeD has these technically nobodies, there must be other great gems in the rough as well. What if there were a spear user that matched Squalls Fighting ability? And any Junctions really give an unfair advantage with some good items ^-^

Squall does have his gunblade but its use must be taken into consideration, this also applies generally. He can't use some of his limits in a large battle less he hit some of his own allies. Things like Blasing Zone or Fated Circle he must make sure that no allies would get hit. It would be best if he is deep in the enemy lines or comes from a different angle. This limits his fighting strength a bit during this type of battle. By taking the type of battle into consideration it makes characters like General Leo & Beatrix, to name a couple, so valuable to their side because their ultimate techniques can be used in both small & large scale battle.

As for Selphie I think the mechanics of her limit would not be as in the game. In game her she reaches her limit, the player selects to use it and a spell/technique is randomly generated. The player can keep re-selecting till they get what they want but how would that translate into more real environment. Could she cycle through her spells/techniques during her limit or would she be stuck with what comes first to mind.

Regarding Selphie's "The End" ability. It has a low probability but also I feel we must take into account the environment in which she uses that ability. The enemy and her allies are neatly designated; how would that ability translate into a large scale battle. If she could easily pick out all her enemies and use "The End" then that makes her too over-powered. I feel that selecting all the enemies would take too much mental power that she doesn't have. Trying to pick out the enemies when the battle field is confusing and mixed would take a lot of mental strength thus limiting her scope. Plus how many people/things could she take in 1 use of "The End"? Even though some characters may have great abilities a lot of them are not ideal for use in a big battle like SeeD's Guardian Forces.

[Angel of Iniquity]

I like how descriptive your post was, it lets me think more about the topic at hand.
I would definitely say FF12 and 13 has the better military, but I would say through technology and machines.
I mean, if you were to remember the Havoc sky tank boss, you might also remember there were 2 more ready to fight you. They could just spam them and probably win, add some more Proud clouds and some of those subjugators and there is a big problem.

And FF12 really has the definitive advantage when it comes to airfleet.
But remember that the sanctum also has "beasties" for them. The ishimal subjugator, numerous flying beasts with the advantage in flying ability, and the warp gates for beasts. I am not sure, but what about Bartandelous?(spell fail)

Ah yes, and about SeeD. I do not think they are really advance when you look at them whole, but if you consider, that the SeeD in Galbadia, work for the Galbadian Army, you can add them to the galbadian army.
They do have those weird air hovering things. The ones the galbadians used in the attack on Balamb. Now, there is also the missile base, which is the Galbadian missile base, which should be counted on their part as offense. If they can spam missiles from from a distance, that can assure a cheap victory, or at least increase their chances.
They also are tinkering around with machines as well, remember the machine robot? The one with all the damn letters and numbers in the first seed mission. And the blue machine you fight at the missile base.
I will say it is too bad Esthar's military power wasn't shown, as I feel with Adel, and ragnaroks, they could have a decisive lead in this category.
I am not sure about this next one, but what about the Lunatic Pandora? The galbadian army got ahold of it and used it to summon a lunar cry, which can outweight most soldeirs.

I guess the Galbadian Army in themselves are a good canidate.
I like your desisions.

How about in this format.

Best...
Aerial fleet.
Navy.
Ground force.
Tacticians.
Power.
Number.
Technology.

As for the aerial fleet, I would say it is between Archadia and Sanctum. They both have an impressive battling fleet. But in one cutscene in FF13, I feel as they showed a slight advantage in terms of prowess in their aerial fleet.
As for Navy, I will say FF5's Xexat Surgates Navy, only because I don't remember another FF with an navy.
Ground force for me is difficult. As for individual skilled persona's, I will say, it is between SeeD and the Archadian empire. SeeD which are highly trained at an early age, have Guardian forces, or at least the Balamb side does. Eden anybody? And I also placed Archadia because they have the tech to stop anything SeeD may potentially bring.

Tactically, it definitely goes to Archadia. I mean, all they showed, or at least their uppers, was extreme planning when it came to anything about war. I was going to bring up SeeD, but it was only the Main party and ocasional help from Laguna t the end who showed any type of Planning.

Now, here is a sketchy subject. Power. Alexandria has great power with Bahamut, Atomos and Myself. But other than that, as in pure destructive power, their fleet isn't as powerful. Galbadians have Missiles, which should be able to destroy anything it makes contact with. I believe they sent 12 missiles at balamb, and 12 more at Trabia. ANd from what we have seen, they have ALLOTS more. The Al-bhed have power in Machina. Their ship, or their creation, the Celsius, or the other measure of temperature, tore sins arms off and bore a hole in him, which to me is a great deal of power. The sky fortress Bahamut has that main cannon, which is a death ray on steroids. Sanctum never showed power in this sense, but they have allot of minor power.

Now, as for number, it is between Sanctum, Archadia, and emperor gehstals empire.
I will make it a draw between Archadia and Sanctum, as most of Cocoon is sanctum in a sense.

Now, Technology will go to FF13's Sanctum, maybe if Esthar showed more prowess in game, Io might had changed but, it is no contest here.

Overall, I will say FF12 and FF13 had the best Armies.
Now hwo about Resistance groups?

[HUNK]

While I cirtainly think that the Galbadian (semi-kinda-pre-nuclear) missle technology is impresive, I do not think that they are the strongest army.

It's without a doubt to me, the Arcadian Empire. They have massive armies of soldiers, commanded by the fierce judge commanders and even Airship Fleets that could put the FFIX Linblum Airship fleets of Regent Cid to shame.

As for a few honerable mentions, I'd like to put the awesome futeristic styled army of Eshtar up for concideration. Much like the epic Gashtallin (Cirtainly spelled that one wrong) army of FFVI, Eshtars army is backed by a powerfull magick wielder, Sorceress Adle. The army really doesn't do much when Laguna comes into power so I'm gona guess that Adles reign was thier military peak.

[Robbo]

As much as i despise the game it's gotta be XII or VI

Although my favourite would be the Galbadian army what's that an air battle you say?

SCREW SHIPS! Lets fight with large buildings.

[Zargabaath]

I like how descriptive your post was, it lets me think more about the topic at hand.
I would definitely say FF12 and 13 has the better military, but I would say through technology and machines.
I mean, if you were to remember the Havoc sky tank boss, you might also remember there were 2 more ready to fight you. They could just spam them and probably win, add some more Proud clouds and some of those subjugators and there is a big problem.

And FF12 really has the definitive advantage when it comes to airfleet.
But remember that the sanctum also has "beasties" for them. The ishimal subjugator, numerous flying beasts with the advantage in flying ability, and the warp gates for beasts. I am not sure, but what about Bartandelous?(spell fail)

Remember that Archadian ground troops are not weak at all. They may not have the technology on the ground like the Gestahlian Empire or the Santcum but they are well trained. The Fighter Class ships in the Archadian Imperial Fleet were able to maneuver well so the flying beasts would have much of any advantage and the beasts would have to get in close. With Ifrits, Shivas, and/or Catoblepas the Archadian Imperial Airfleet can cause massive havoc.

I did mention those warp gates for the beast and they do offer something unique to the Santcum. They probably could use the warp gates for the flying beasts as well though it wasn't shown in the game. As for Barthandelus, he would not be considered part of the Sanctum's military. He is their political leader.

Ah yes, and about SeeD. I do not think they are really advance when you look at them whole, but if you consider, that the SeeD in Galbadia, work for the Galbadian Army, you can add them to the galbadian army.

The Galbadian Garden didn't work for the country of Galbadia but with Galbadia. Galbadia is not a part of SeeD. It was a business partner to Galbadia Garden.

They do have those weird air hovering things. The ones the galbadians used in the attack on Balamb. Now, there is also the missile base, which is the Galbadian missile base, which should be counted on their part as offense. If they can spam missiles from from a distance, that can assure a cheap victory, or at least increase their chances.

If you are referring to the motorcycles used by Edea's forces at the end of Disk 2 I was hesitant to include them in the arsenal of Galbadia Garden/SeeD because I did not know if those came from Galbadia or were from Galbadia Garden.

The missile base is the Galbadian Missile Base which is separate from SeeD.

They also are tinkering around with machines as well, remember the machine robot? The one with all the damn letters and numbers in the first seed mission. And the blue machine you fight at the missile base.

Once more those were Galbadian creations and not a part of SeeD.

I will say it is too bad Esthar's military power wasn't shown, as I feel with Adel, and ragnaroks, they could have a decisive lead in this category.
I am not sure about this next one, but what about the Lunatic Pandora? The galbadian army got ahold of it and used it to summon a lunar cry, which can outweight most soldeirs.

The Lunatic Pandora was taken over by Adel/Ultimecia which still had control over Galbadia. Seifer led the troops being the Sorceress Knight. With that the Lunatic Pandora would not be a part of SeeD.

How about in this format.

Best...
Aerial fleet.
Navy.
Ground force.
Tacticians.
Power.
Number.
Technology.

As for the aerial fleet, I would say it is between Archadia and Sanctum. They both have an impressive battling fleet. But in one cutscene in FF13, I feel as they showed a slight advantage in terms of prowess in their aerial fleet.

I'll have to disagree. I find Archadia's way better in terms of size and power and their Imperial Airfleet has fighters to deal with the Sanctum's plus the flying beasts.

[QUOTE=o0Odin0o;1298963]
As for Navy, I will say FF5's Xexat Surgates Navy, only because I don't remember another FF with an navy.
[/QUOTE=o0Odin0o]

Remember that Shinra did have subs way more advance subs than Xezat's. Alexandria also had a navy but they didn't include any submarines though the initial advantage would go to Shinra. But in Final Fantasy sea power has never been important with airships being an integral part of the series.

Ground force for me is difficult. As for individual skilled persona's, I will say, it is between SeeD and the Archadian empire. SeeD which are highly trained at an early age, have Guardian forces, or at least the Balamb side does. Eden anybody? And I also placed Archadia because they have the tech to stop anything SeeD may potentially bring.

Remember that Guardian Force use would be limited in large-scale battle; wouldn't want to hit/affect their own troops. Archadia doesn't have much tech on the ground besides the Rooks. I feel that the Gestahlian Empire has the best ground troops with General Leo, Emperor Gestahl, Kefka, & Celes leading them. Baron & Archadia would be very close behind.

Tactically, it definitely goes to Archadia. I mean, all they showed, or at least their uppers, was extreme planning when it came to anything about war. I was going to bring up SeeD, but it was only the Main party and ocasional help from Laguna t the end who showed any type of Planning.

If not Archadia I would say the Gestahlian Empire as Emperor Gestahl was pretty crafty though I do find Vayne to be the best.

Now, here is a sketchy subject. Power. Alexandria has great power with Bahamut, Atomos and Myself. But other than that, as in pure destructive power, their fleet isn't as powerful. Galbadians have Missiles, which should be able to destroy anything it makes contact with. I believe they sent 12 missiles at balamb, and 12 more at Trabia. ANd from what we have seen, they have ALLOTS more. The Al-bhed have power in Machina. Their ship, or their creation, the Celsius, or the other measure of temperature, tore sins arms off and bore a hole in him, which to me is a great deal of power. The sky fortress Bahamut has that main cannon, which is a death ray on steroids. Sanctum never showed power in this sense, but they have allot of minor power.

Bahamut was never used by Alexandria or by Queen Brahne, Bahamut was used by Kuja which at that point kind of defected to his own side. For quickness: Galbadia Missile Base not a part of SeeD. The Al Bhed have their Machina but would you consider them the better military power in Final Fantasy X? Shinra has the Sister Ray. Gestahlian Empire its ground troops. Archadia its Imperial Airfleet. I'm sure the Sanctum has some very neat weapons but as you said & I, never showed much of anything.

I think most power would be Archadia. Their Imperial Airfleet can lay waste to anybody. Very solid ground troops. Plus they have manufacted nethicite which I did not want to put in because the game never showed a lot of use for it, besides crafting the nethicite to the bones of a few people. It could absorb magicks as well.

Now, as for number, it is between Sanctum, Archadia, and emperor gehstals empire.
I will make it a draw between Archadia and Sanctum, as most of Cocoon is sanctum in a sense.

Now, Technology will go to FF13's Sanctum, maybe if Esthar showed more prowess in game, Io might had changed but, it is no contest here.

Overall, I will say FF12 and FF13 had the best Armies.
Now hwo about Resistance groups?

If you mean numbers I would say the Sanctum probably has the edge having a moon to fill their ranks. Archadia is big as well being a huge country and the Gestahlian Empire had conquered the southern continent giving it more of a base to get troops. Shinra had mainly Midgar but there were people around the world to join or try to join either Shinra Regulars or SOLDIER.

Sanctum's stuff looks technologically the most advance the problem is the really don't flex their technology muscles.

[Angel of Iniquity]

Oh, I see. Where would you place the Galbadian Army at?
I really forgot about them due to the influence of SeeD in the story.
I think I remember a war between Galbadia and Esthar. I think Esthar won?

I will have to say that the Archadian Empire is REALLY well thought and planned, it is only to bad they don't have the magical powers of latter games.
And with the Sanctum, maybe FF13-2 will expand on it?

[Locke4God]

oh Archadia in FF 12 had to be the best. They had flying cities, and lasers. It was like star wars out there.