Those comparisons all fail because no one plays GTA or Mario for the story. To my knowledge, plot and character matters a lot to most FF fans.

So the fact FF1 has such a pitiful excuse for a story should really turn people off it. I know it does for me. I'll take FFVIII's contrived mess to a barely there story any day.

I'll provide a more fitting example. Praising the first three games is like praising the superb storyteling in Pong. Yes, Pong's deep characters are immensely better than any story that has come after.

Nostalgia Goggles blind people it seems.

Well I guess it's fair. Gaming truly reached its peak with the Atari 2600. Nothing can never surpass it.