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Going through the whole series, which entries would you recommend to a friend and why. Which ones would you tell them to just rent or take their time getting to, and which ones would you tell them not to bother unless they really wanted to experieince every facet of the FF universe. Stick to main entries but if you want to add sequels and spin-offs go ahead.
Marry - FFVII, FFVI, FFIV, FFIX, FFV (in that order)
One Night Stand - FFIII (DS), FFX, FFVIII, FFXII, and FFXI only if you like MMO
Carcus - FFI, FFII, FFXIII (may want to play FFI since it started it all and is actually pretty good, but my guess is a new player would not be able to 'get' the old school gameplay)
The SNES and PS1 games are where it's at, so I would tell my friend to start with those, but leave V and VIII for last. V because I feel it has a bigger learning curve than the other games from that era, and VIII because it's not as good and I want my friend to understand how great this series is before he/she tries the 'other' entries.
In descending order of when you should get to them
Buy - FFT, FF7, FF6, FF4, FF9, FF3
Rent - FF1, FF5, FF10, FF12, FF13
Don't Bother - FF8, FF2
The FF1 & FF3 were kind of a grey area, but I had to make a choice. All and all I think this represents a continuum rather than three distinct levels.
Like Velo, it's in descending order, though with the idea of introducing a new player to the series more than anything, which is why FFT is so low. And yeah, FFT may not be a main entry or even a spinoff of one, but it should be since it's better than most of them. It's kind of connected with XII too so I'm keeping it.
Marry: FFVI, FFIV, FFIX, FFV, FFT, FFXII
One-night stand: FF1, FF2, FF3, FFVII, FFX
Don't want game AIDS: FFVIII, FFXIII
It's as simple as telling him to get the ones I like first and the ones I don't like later.
I would say play all in the main series with the exceptions of the MMOs. Even the lesser ones have merits worth trying out. Also, the original Tactics, because it's as good as any game bearing the Final Fantasy name.
Avoid everything else, including anything that has a "-2" after its title or is involved in any sort of "Compilation" or "Alliance."
I'd like to save my judgement of prePS entries for after I've completed them. For each installment, I've only gotten so far... it may be because I find it difficult to look at the 8-bit screen for very long. The only games I haven't played at all are III and XIII if you don't include onlines which, naturally, I don't because having to pay monthly to play the same game over and over again is just ridiculous. I've never been a fan of online games, "it's not about the game, it's about the community"... well, then stick to Facebook... I've off-track...
I would recommend pretty much any FF at this point, especially the VII spin-offs. Yeah, I know many EOFFers hate the spin-offs, but anyone who tries to change my mind will require a skillful handjob to be successful.
The only games I'm willing to curse are the online installments because, as I said, I hate all online games.
Marry: FFIX, FFX
One it and done it: FFVII, FFIV
Oh smurf no: FFVIII, FFXII
It depends on which friends!
Marry: FFVIII, FFIX, or FFXII; FFI for the hardcore NES nuts.
One-night: FFX, FFXIII, FFV, FFVII
Avoid: FFIV; It's okay. I don't really like it though, and I don't think any of my friends would either.
I can only go off the ones I've played so far so...
Marry: FFVII, FFVI
Bump uglies with: FFVIII, FFX, FFXII
Avoid: FFI, FFII (purely because none of my friends are retro nuts like me)
Marry: FFIV, FFV, FFVI, FFIX
One-night: FFIII, FFI
Avoid: FFX, FFII
These are just based on the ones that I played.
Recommend: V, VI, VII, XII
Obviously this is just a list of my favourites, but I think each of these four make a case for the 'best' in the series. It'll be obvious what I value most from the FF series.
V's Job system is just a ton of fun and the biggest draw for anyone coming to the 2D entries for the first time. Out of the first five games, it absolutely offers the most interesting experience. IV is obviously loved for its story, but someone coming to it 20 years after the fact is probably going to be... eh, underwhelmed.
VI and VII are just excellently paced and a lot of fun to play. Arguably the series' high point when focusing on story and not just mechanics (V). The world design of VI stands out most, and I'd really like a few of my open-minded friends to go in blind and come back to me with a response to the huge plot twist. VII still has a great storyline that is certainly worth playing through (if you can get over the dogtrout translation) and a setting that, while small compared to its more graphically powerful siblings, really, really is a great piece of gameworld-building. The Materia system is also a ton of fun, too. It's simple but the fun of working out a creative combination goes a long way.
XII is probably the best entry to get a new player into the series. I think most non-RPG players (or RPG players who haven't touched FF) would probably be put off by XIII, so XII's "Westerness" along with its range for customization, its brisk exploration and battling, and its really interesting Gambit system make it a good choice.
One-Night stand: VIII, III, IX, IV, I
For me, VIII actually straddles the line between marry and one-night stand. I think some of my RPG-enjoying friends would find the Junction system really, really interesting. I do, and I enjoy setting up different team builds every time I play. Problem is, I feel like the story and some design choices (Drawing, long GF animations, ability to break the game wide open way too easily) really hold the game down as a whole.
III is neat because its an early showing of the battle system. Its also a generally brisk, fun little NES quest. Thing is, I don't think there's a reason to play III if you have access to V.
IX is a game I want to love, but I really, really just find it boring and I think the story is just a ridiculous mess. I get that the game is mostly an homage to FF tropes, but I want to play a fun game and not an encyclopedia of fun games. The graphics and charm are fabulous, though. It's worth it just to explore Gaia, although I feel like the game is far too controlling when it comes to both player exploration and being generally over-chatty. The combat is also the most sluggish, tired version of the ATB. This more than anything puts me totally off and probably would for a lot of new players too.
IV is another fan favourite that I don't quite love. I think it's a certainly a fun game (definitely more brisk and snappy than its idolizing cousin IX) but I'm not sure what it brings to the table for a new player who has the option of all the other games in the series. I absolutely think IV is a really good game, just a little... irrelevant.
FF1 is here because of its historical value. It's still a good title and probably worth a try. I'm mainly putting this here so I don't have to lump it in with the titles I actively dislike.
Kill it with fire: II, X, XIII
II I really don't have much memory of, except that I remember hating it. I don't really think there's a good reason to play it over the other entries despite the unique mechanics.
I just finished a playthrough of X a few days ago. I enjoyed the story more... ish, despite the shenanigans. The setting itself and the lore might make this worth a play for a new player. Other than that, it seems like a 20-25 hour game stretched out to hit 45-50. The relatively small number of locations (for an FF game) do a good job making the world feel generally coherent, but a new player would get bored quick. Towns are lifeless, NPCs just hand you stuff, areas are straight lines that require a map to navigate because of all the invisible walls, treasure chests are "cleverly" hidden just off camera so you have to pixel-hunt for the camera to swing around and probably end up in the fourth straight encounter of flier, armored, blob. The battle system is neat, but there are far too few enemy types and the encounter rate is obnoxiously high (I suppose this is so, when running along somewhere like the Mi'ihen Highroad, you're guaranteed to at least hit a few encounters before the next poorly-acted, momentum-killing cutscene). I really wouldn't suggest X to anyone.
XIII I think is just a exacerbation of everything that is wrong with X. I know a kid who played XIII and is now into FF because of it, but I can't imagine this happens with a lot of people. I think the battle mechanics are neat, but battling is all the game offers to players and it really isn't interesting enough to be the whole game. If I had to suggest XIII to another person, I'd suggest they forget it exists.