#28: Final Fantasy IV (Square, 1991) - GBA (also on SNES, PS1, PSP, DS and PC)
Back in 2011 or 2012, I made a mission to beat every single mainline FF game. And FFIV was the first one in line, and what a great first impression this game has. To this day, I believe it's the best starting point for the series. It's very simple, both gameplay and story-wise, but everything is so polished. There isn't a whole much you can do to your party other than equiping stuff and leveling up, but damn if it isn't a fun game. The difficulty is spot on, it's challenging, but it NEVER becomes frustrating(something that happens with FFIII). The plot is particularly impressive for its time, and, even though it's nothing special today, it's still an entertaining plot, with a good cast of characters (Cecil and Kain are two of my favorites on the series). The soundtrack is great stuff too. This game also marks the introduction of the iconic ATB mechanic.
While I think that FFV's job system is GREAT and FFVI's scope is impressive (even though World of Ruin sucks), FFIV is my favorite 16-bit Final Fantasy. Plus, it's been remade and ported several times. I've played only the GBA version, but I'll eventually get to the PSP (with those delicious sprites) and DS/PC version (which I hear is harder, but I'm not sure).
#27: the beginning of one of gaming's most iconic characters - now with less frustration.
