Favorite FF World to Explore?

I'm still rather partial to VIII's world myself.

VIII for me, too.

Explore? FFXII, probably. Huge maps, loads of 'em too.

But FFXIV 1.x was weirdly fun for me, too. Sure, it wasn't nearly as good looking as XIV:ARR (aka 2.x) but the old one was massive and if you went far enough in one direction past all the nothing, you might find a really interesting location with an NPC sitting in an old ant tunnel saying obscure things that make you want to know what he's hiding. but that stuff is gone now, so, yarr. 2.x is pretty great for exploring too, but once you've explored it... you've explored it. There's little new to see after playing it for so long, and only five maps at the moment which doesn't help.

FFVII and FFVIII were pretty great for world exploration, and FFX had some pretty locations but I don't know about exploration value. It's more just "going where you have to go anyway" value.

FF5, by a mile. How all the pieces about the world's geography that seemed really weird come into place at the end. If you don't know what I am talking about go play FF5.

FFIII, V, VI (WoR), IX, and XII for me.

FFI: Because basically most of the time I didn't know where I needed to go so I had to explore. Back then, you'd explore till you had every inch of the world memorized.

FFVI: Specifically the act of rediscovering the world in WoR. I absolutely loved going back through all the different areas seeing how the catastrophe had changed the landscapes and the cities.

FFXI: Not having maps automatically (having to buy them or quest for them) meant learning the maps by heart by exploring them. One of my favorite things to do in this game was take a level 1 naked character out to explore new areas. This was especially fun when Chains of Promathia launched because a lot of the new zones were instantly accessible (Bibiki Bay, Uleguerand Range, etc) and others opened up through mission progress. It really made the world feel like it was unfolding. I remember first getting access to "Sky," which was a huge, very satisfying event at the time. Likewise with "Sea." I'd kill for an offline version of FFXI. I mean a non-MMO in the style of FFXI.

This kind of experience is lacking in FFXIV, unfortunately. The world is undeniably beautiful, but it doesn't unfold, and it doesn't feel cohesive. I, at least partially, blame the map design for this.

FFXII: The world isn't as connected as I would like. It feels sometimes like FFX in the way it provides access to its various "zones," but it's still huge, and there's enough variation and side-pathing to make it an interesting adventure. The monster layout is generally satisfying (as compared to, say, FFXIII), and with Marks appearing and disappearing and some weather affects changing the landscape in a few places, it feels like a living breathing world.

VIII

Toss-up between V and VI. IX is probably high up there too.

IX's definitely.

Spira and XII's Ivalice.

Final Fantasy IX for sure. I love the different climates and landscapes. I'd also love to experience the Mist...and of course the airships in this game are my favorite. Not to mention the cities are breathtaking and have plenty of medieval charm.

Spira. It's really beautiful.

I think that VIII was a nice improvement as far as the overworld map design feeling more natural as opposed to it being so noticeably subservient to the plot. While I felt it was a bit barren in places, the overall distribution of the locations felt a tad more realistic than in previous titles; something which I think made the map all the more immersive. It also gave you this feeling that there was always more to discover within it.

XII did the same and I think that overall it was the must fun to explore for me. I've always said that despite it's flaws, XII was a step in the right direction for the series as far as embracing a more openworld setup and that this was indeed the way forward. Sadly XIII did a complete 180.

Definitely XII and XIV as BoB described. I really wish I had gotten to experience the exploration in XIV 1.0...that sounds awesome.

Spira and Ivalice.

Though Ivalice is more Vagrant Story than any of the FF games :p