1. FFX. Excellent storyline (Tidus x Yuna loveline still smakes me tremble today, not to mention the great twists), challenging gameplay, huge world, lots of backstory and a void in it helping fans write fan-fiction... graphics can STILL hold their own today, some of the best music in the franchise. It got me into JRPG's and I can't imagine another FF making me love the genre so much.
2. FF VI. Also a great story, the best goddamn villain in videogames, the best female character in an FF (Celes), some HOLY SHIT moments (in a good way), great music, good challenge, great 2D graphics (Chrono Trigger is better though), great cast, lots to explore... love it.
3. FF VII. The best battle system in the series, period. The kind of shit you can pull off with Materia can't be done in any other FF. Mostly good cast with some useless characters (cait sith), Cloud's development story is cool to follow, as is the excellent backstory the game has. Some excellent minigames you cant find in any other FF. (motorcycle is too fun). Music isn't as good as in other FF's, but that's fine.
4. FF IV. Exploration is the key word for this game. Three different worlds, all fun to explore, very well designed (plus, underworld+moon music is AWESOME), it's fun to get new summons, it's fun to explore dungeons, it's fun to fight new monsters, the combat is the most challenging in the series, the cast is great, the story is... good. No more as it lacks some backstory.
5. FF VIII. The best lvl up system in the series with junctions, stat bonus GF's... you can pull off some crazy characters right near the start of the game. World is well done, so is the atmosphere. The story is okay and the characters... are okay. Squall sucks the big one though. Music is great.
