FFX has the best story

Balthier and his voice actor is one of the coolest characters of the entire FF saga....I never understood the hate for that game, and now that XIII is so hated, suddenly FF XII is better valued.

I'm lucky, a liked/loved every FF that i've played (IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII, XIII). Definitely my favourite saga...

FFVI voice acting was the best I ever saw in 16-bits era.

Suck AMAZING feat... even without read I can understand the song

BTW FFVI have the best FF sound track ever created Uematsu max creation.

xDDDDDDD, FF VII took so many things from FF VI, and the music is the more evident. Amazing scene.

Anyone who has actually played the majority of FF games knows that VI is the best. Hands down. the only other story that even comes close in that series is Final Fantasy Tactics. Why? Well, pretty much every reason.

I-III were all kinda really simple, absolutely nothing outstanding in the story department.
IV was the first really great story with great characters and villain, an outstanding example.
V wasn't quite as good as IV, but still quite good with a lot of deep meaning.
VII had good characters and a well developed world, but the central conflict was lacking and muddled.
VIII was about character, not story. The conflict was in the background while the romance was at the foreground.
IX was deliberately made to be nostalgic, but the Vivi side plot was deeper than the one with Kuja.
X was another amazing example blending world, story, and character. Probably #2 in the numbered series.
XII was more political and had great depth of character and world, but the central conflict was...forgettable.
XIII had a great world and backstory, but was poorly told (had to read datalog entries) and the conflict was bland.

VI, on the other hand, had the biggest, most diverse cast in the series as well as its most loveable/vile villains. The plot was structured as a relatively simple "good vs Evil" story, but the depth of character, the history of the world, and the utter contemptability of the villain made it rise above other games. There is no central character, so you basically get to focus on whatever part of the story you want to, or see it all, and every story revolves around how the villain has ruined the lives of everyone in the world. Every character arch shows how and why such a diverse cast could band together to defeat evil.

Oh, and the villain wins half way through the game, literally destroying the world and remaking it in his image.

Yeah, best FF story to date.

Final fantasy VI. Outside the main series, it'sFF:Tactics.

If we're talking just about story, I would have to say its a tie between FFX and FFVIII. If I had to pick one I would say FFVIII because it had the overall package so far as FF games are concerned. The whole idea of orphan children called SeeDs being developed in orphanges/Gardens around the world to one day fight a great evil, which essentially turned out to be their mother, was the backdrop for a great story which I loved it.

But the central conflict came second to the romance between Squall and Rinoa...and the relationships between characters. It was a great story, yes, but it lacked the crushing sense of urgency and revolution of X, which mirrored VIII's character development.  

Damn I Can't wait for X HD on PSVita.  

I totally agree with you and while I didn't mention it in my OP, it's that love story between Squall and Riona that sets FFVIII apart from all other FF games, in my mind. I mean love/romance is in the FFVIII logo itself with Squall embracing Riona - so yes I agree romance was king in FFVIII. With that said, can I also say that, in comparison,  FFX's core theme (whatever it was) comes in second to the theme of romance in FFVIII? What I mean is that a good romance/love story will win out against any other.

Overall, it would be the Golden Age, but FF6 has the single best story of them all imo. But FF9 rules all