I had to post twice since vgchartz wouldn't let me start a new line in my previous post

As I say all the time, you can rank games based on how good they were at the time of release or how good they are compared to games today.  Doing both doesn't make sense.  I will rate games on how good they were when they were released.

1) FF: I don't think this game gets the credit it deserves.  I know it is not the first RPG (Dragon Warrior gets that award), but it is one of the first RPGs and had a distinctly different feel than Dragon Warrior.  Both games were pioneers for their time; No other games were doing what they were.  For being the first games to do it, they did a damn good job.

2) FFVI: Most anyone who played this game when it was released thought it was amazing.  Big advancement in battle system, character building, and graphics.  The story and environment was amazing and original.  It took the FF universe into a new direction than the traditional medieval setting RPG.

3) FFIX: This is where the decision become tough.  FFIX brought together the legacy of FF games to bring an experience that seems classic, but with an advanced character building/battle system.  To those gamers who started playing FF games at FFVII, I can see why they would not like this game because it was not made to appeal to them.

4) FFIV: Huge advancement over FF (NES), which was the only other game most of us had played before it since FFII and FFIII was never released in US until they were remade.  Even if you factor in FFIII, FFIV was a huge jump in the same way FFVI was over FFIV.  It was the last of the 'classic' style FF games until FFIX (excluding FFV).

5) FFVII: This is the last FF game I played at any length.  By no means is it a bad game, but not a huge leap in gameplay like FFIV and FFVI was.  This may be attributed to the cost of developing 3D graphics at the time.  Plus, the bad 3D models detracted from the experience for me.  Also, the story seemed to be quite a cop-out for the series to appeal to a larger audience.  Just look at the characters: Big black guy with gun, hot karate chick, generic anime sword wielding character.  I put out all these negatives to show why the game isn't higher amongst the elite, therefore it is still a great game.

6) FFVIII: I liked the story in this game...nothing else.  Interesting gameplay concept, just didn't come together very well.

Honorable mention to Final Fantasy Adventure.  #1 handheld FF game.  Didn't like Final Fantasy Legend games very well.

FFXII sucked.  Not for the reason most people mentioned (MMORPG style).  That was the reason I thought I would like the game because it reminded my of Baldur's Gate games.  I still point to Baldur's gate as the #1 best RPG gameplay system (of course, they stole the gameplay from D&D).  One of the most important aspects of Baldur's gameplay is damage prevention over healing.  I can't emphasize that enough.  In FFVI, you would heal every few seconds later in the game, and at that time it was OK.  Nobody knew better.  Nowadays, I expect something more interesting.  FFXII was what I call a heal-fest.  Too much healing...damage prevention methods were not seen as important.  Makes a simplistic gameplay experience.

FFV - Loved the job system.
FFX - Loved the characters and sphere grid and spira.
FFIX - Old school goodness.
FFX-2 - Really enjoyed this game was too easy though.
FFIII(DS) - Really lacking in story, overall enjoyable.

I have played others just not enough to rank them.

You like FFIX for the old school goodness but you have only one old school game on the list and it's 1) last and 2) a remake?  o.O

-edit-

lol, missed you're #1 game.  >_>

Still think it's funny though you like a game for being old school yet you don't have the others on there.  :-p

I prefer RPGs that focus on Exploration, Item Collection and Gameplay. As a result, my favorite Final Fantasy games are:

1) Final Fantasy VIII - Very good gameplay which never got boring and added variety to gameplay beyond selecting menu commands. The world was vast as well, with many numerous side quests that sometimes were most fun than the main storyline. And items WERE the game. Junctioning is still my favorite Final Fantasy system, though many don't like it. And the characters were great, especially since the story focused on them instead of the characters being strung along by the story.
2) Final Fantasy VI - Good characters, and lots of them! The ability to play who you want makes this game good. And a good customization system later in the game makes gameplay fun. And my vote for the best music in the series.
3) Final Fantasy X - While the game had many problems from pacing to the rather lackluster (and often times conflicting and even laughable story, pun intended), the game has one thing going for it. It has one of the best gameplay engines in the Final Fantasy series.

After that...the Final Fantasy series kind of gets lackluster for me.  I've played most of the others, but I just don't like them, most likely because they focus on story over gmaeplay.  Especially FF IV, VII and Tactics, which seem to be peoples favorites.  I felt that I spent more time following orders or reading long dialogue sequences then I did playing a game.  And even then gameplay wasn't as fun as the three games I mentioned above.

One anomoly is FFXII.  While I had a blast for the first 30 hours or so, I eventually came to the point about 5 hours before the end of the game and realized I had run out of 'story'.  I tried to extend the game further by doing side quests, but found the only thing I could do is repetative hunts and search for Espers.  So I couldn't pump any more gameplay out of it.

1.FF10
2.FF8
3.FF7
4.FF9
5.FF12

1. FFX - Favorite game
2. FFX-2 - Great sequel to my favorite game
3. FFVII - The atmosphere is great. Nice game overall.
4. FFIV - Pretty good. A bit random at times.
5. FFXII - Although the story is actually pretty good, theres too much grinding between the storytelling imo.
6. FFVIII - Couldn't get into the battle system. It sucked imo. Can't say about the story, as I have yet to finish it.
7. FFXI - Absolutely hated this game. Worst MMO and one of the worst games I ever played (only played for an hour because I couldn't figure out how to exit the damn game)

??: FFIII - Have it for DS but only just started.

This is an elitist way to look at it, and I cannot say I agree. If you don't enjoy something, don't play it. That goes for DarcRequiem too, if you didn't like it the first time, you're not going to like it the second time. I feel sad for those who spends 50 hours trying to like a product.

1.FFX
2.FFVII
3.FFVIII
4.FFIV
5.FFIX
6.FFT
7.FFXII

1. FF8 - Fantastic art, one of the best worlds in an RPG, a focus on ap and skills instead of exp, multiple methods a player can use to get more powerul (all other FF games require grinding), best side characters, best told story, best music.
2. FF6
3. FF7
4. FF4 (new versions, the original on SNES was buggy and incredibly flawed)
5. FF1
6. FF12
7. FF10
8. FF9
9. FF3
10. FF2 -WAY below the others, I really disliked this one.

I haven't played FF5 or 11.

Comments like "I don't like FF8 because of drawing" are a borderline absurd considering that is only one method of gaining magic; it's the equivilent of saying "I don't like pizza because of anchovies.".

The most effective method of gaining magic is from items. Though certain cards can give TONS of really powerful magic. You can use drawing, but I find it inefficient, ineffective, and tedious myself, so I use other methods.