My wife likes IX best because she finds Vivi adorable.
My first
Final Fantasy was IV, which had been released in the US as
Final Fantasy II during the SNES' heydey. I played it over fifty times; sure, the story was relatively simple, but I was a young teenager and loved Cecil's journey. And the music was
absolutely awesome.
After
Final Fantasy IV came
Final Fantasy VI, and I adored that game as well. I'll admit that I identified at the time with Terra's struggle to find a place for herself in the world.
Final Fantasy VII intrigued me from the beginning; it was the first videogame I ever bothered to pre-order. I just
knew that there was more to the story than I was being told, and when I first read about post-traumatic stress disorder I immediately thought of Cloud. And I shed manly tears when Aerith died.
I know a lot of people dislike the story of
Final Fantasy VIII, and dislike Squall in particular. However, I was at a point in my life where as I played through the story, I was able look at Squall and say, "Oh, fuck. That's
me." And as far as I'm concerned, the following is the most romantic line I've seen in a video game: "Even if you end up as the world's enemy. I'll... I'll be your knight."
My favorite FF game thus far, however, is
Final Fantasy XII. Vaan and Penelo are annoying, but the real heroes of the game, Balthier, Fran, Basch, and Ashe carry the story. Vayne Solidor is an
awesome villain; I knew he was a character to be watched as soon as he finished his inaugural speech as Consul of occupied Dalmasca.