FIFA is a game that most of us have played in some capacity. Whether it’s a Career Mode taking Salford City to Champions League glory, playing against your mates after school, or grinding out 40 games over a weekend for FUT Champs, we all have our own fond memories of the biggest football video game ever.
But which FIFA is the best? Is it the one that you first remember playing, one that gives you nostalgic memories of your childhood, maybe the one that you were best at? We asked AI to rank all the FIFA titles, and here are the top 20.
10 FIFA 08
Starting off with a throwback, FIFA 08 introduced the “Be a Pro” mode, which still lives on today through Player Career Modes. However, this feature was not available for goalkeepers. This game also introduced moving the right stick to perform skill moves, and with the Brazil team featuring ballers such as Robinho, Ronaldinho, Kaka, and Adriano, this game allowed players to be creative and score amazing skill goals.
Why: The beginning of skill move culture and realistic player movement.
Legacy: Early adoption of realistic animations and tactics.
9 FIFA 11
FIFA 11 is a classic, and is among those remembered most fondly by those who played it. This game merged the “Be a Pro” mode with Manager Mode to create the all-new Career Mode, and back then you could do a player career, manager career, or do a bit of both and be a player-manager. It also came with an overhaul of the career mode UI compared to anything we had seen before. For example, to make a transfer, you had to agree terms with both the player and the club, and you could divide transfer and wage budget however you wanted.
Also, on the Wii version of the game, you could do 5v5 street football where you could give your team power ups like increased shot power or making the other team tiny. It also included improved celebrations, where players’ signature celebrations started to be introduced, and more athletic players could perform a backflip. What this game might be best known for to a certain audience, however, is KSI’s Road to Division One, an iconic YouTube series that is still referenced to this day.
Why: Introduced Be A Goalkeeper mode and 360° dribbling.
Legacy: Balanced, smooth gameplay with excellent Career Mode depth.
8 FIFA 07
FIFA 07 was the end of an era, as it was the last FIFA title to be released on the GameCube, original Xbox, and GameBoy Advance. However, it did update a lot with a new match engine for the Xbox 360 version, which meant better graphics and better player physics. It was also the first game to introduce the Practice Arena, where you could choose a player and take shots at a goalkeeper for as long as you wanted.
A fun fact about this game is that EA actually sponsored Accrington Stanley, and this was one of their shirt sponsors in the 06/07 season.
Why: Career Mode overhaul and major gameplay improvements.
Legacy: Huge step forward from FIFA 06, especially on PC and consoles.
7 FIFA 16
The first of the more recent FIFAs, this one bizarrely had Jordan Henderson next to Lionel Messi on the cover. This was the first FIFA that changed the cover star depending on the region. Messi was the face for Europe, South America, and Australia, and Alex Morgan and Christine Sinclair were the faces of the game in the USA.
This was the first game to introduce women’s football. However, this was only the national teams through exhibition modes, whereas now the WSL is fully licensed, and you can use women in Ultimate Team. Speaking of Ultimate Team, this game was also the first to introduce the FUT Draft, giving players a choice of five players in every position to build the best team possible.
Why: First to include Women’s National Teams.
Legacy: A more simulation-oriented approach, loved by purists.
6 FIFA 13
An absolute cult classic. FIFA 13 featured some of the best gameplay in any of the titles, and was perfect for the online audience with skill and goal compilations being all the rage. This is something that EA embraced, publishing a weekly “Goals of the Week” video, where players could submit their own goals to be featured on the YouTube series, although this was a direct rip-off of the KSI series at the time.
It was also the first year where you could manage international teams in Career Mode, and this game also saw the introduction of Skill Games. EA also sponsored Swindon Town as their front-of-shirt sponsor for this game.
Why: Improved first touch control and more dynamic attacking intelligence.
Legacy: Hugely popular in the competitive and YouTube scenes.
5 FIFA 17
This FIFA is one that is timeless, and known by the community as the last one with excellent gameplay. It was the first game on the Frostbite Engine and introduced The Journey, with the story of Alex Hunter still being iconic to this day. It introduced cut scenes and gameplay outside of the usual stadiums, as you saw the journey of Hunter from park football to the Premier League.
This game was also the first to introduce FUT Champions, a 40-game weekend where players would try to get as many wins as possible to get exclusive rewards. Back then, you had to win a tournament to qualify, and the 40 games were competitive, long, and grueling. They also introduced Squad Building Challenges (SBCs), which allowed players to trade cards in their Ultimate Teams for rewards such as special payers and packs. This FIFA was revolutionary for Ultimate Team and made it into the game mode that it is today.
Why: First FIFA on the Frostbite Engine and introduced The Journey story mode.
Legacy: Brought narrative to FIFA for the first time.
4 FIFA 09
This is the first game to introduce Ultimate Team. However, it was a downloadable extra that cost players money to get. It was also the first game to introduce user-controlled celebrations, where players could choose which celebrations they wanted their players to do after scoring a goal. This game saw an overhaul of the physics, making the game more realistic to play, and the introduction of the Live Season, where teams would get better or worse in kick-off mode, depending on how they were doing in real life. Back then, though, this was also a paid feature.
Why: Debut of 10v10 Online Team Play and more responsive gameplay.
Legacy: Took FIFA past PES in mainstream popularity.
3 FIFA 12
Into the top three, and it’s probably the most popular FIFA of all time. At the time of its release, it was the fastest-selling sports game ever, and ended up selling over 10 million copies. The Player Impact Engine and Tactical Defending were the standouts of this game, and it made actually playing the game 10 times better than the year before. It also introduced the seasons in Ultimate Team, where players would start in Division 10 and have 10 games per season to win as many as possible and move up the ranks.
FIFA 12 was a massive step forward for the series and helped EA push past its biggest competitor in Pro Evolution Soccer.
Why: Introduced Tactical Defending and Player Impact Engine.
Legacy: Revolutionised FIFA gameplay mechanics completely.
2 FIFA 10
This game introduced 360-degree dribbling and improved goalkeeper AI, and it received critical acclaim upon release. Like FIFA 09, it did have Ultimate Team. However, it did cost players £3.99.
The gameplay was the biggest upgrade any football game had ever seen, and this was the start of FIFA starting to overtake PES, which was king up until around 2009. There was also a separate game released for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where players could choose a team to take to World Cup glory, and this featured the same game mechanics as the original. Overall, this might not have the most updates, but the big change to the gameplay changed the course of FIFA forever.
Why: A massive leap in gameplay fluidity and realism after FIFA 09.
Legacy: Often cited as the most fun and balanced FIFA game ever made.
1 FIFA 14
And coming in top spot is FIFA 14. This game introduced the Ignite Engine, which saw a major upgrade to graphics and gameplay compared to the previous version. Where FIFA 12 and 13 felt pretty similar, FIFA 14 felt refreshing with a totally different UI and design.
This game will bring back great memories for anyone that played it. The Ibarbo-Gervinho-Doumbia front three was enough to terrify most defences, and having Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front seemed like a cheat code. This was the year that Ultimate Team became FIFA’s main selling point and became the most culturally important it has ever been.
Also, you can’t mention FIFA 14 without mentioning the soundtrack. Love Me Again by John Newman, Magic by Olimpic Ayres, and Hit It by American Authors. This was the beginning of the FIFA Soundtrack being filled by Indie bangers, and much better than the playlists that we get now.
From the soundtrack to the gameplay, from Career Mode to Ultimate Team, it is unlikely that a football game will ever top FIFA 14.