The first sentence of the OP suggests a link was intended to be embedded in it. And you didn't post yours.
FYI anyone who reads my thoughts about a game and gets a decade old spoiler can bite me.

I'll give mine a try, for anyone who cares enough to read this:

1999 - FF7 PC
Then (Age 12)
Other than Pokemon this was my first RPG, so needless to say I was completely floored. Not only was it an amazing experience to one who had only dabbled in SNES games before, but I was also discovering this amazing new genre.

Now
One would think that with a first impression like that I would have grown to like the game less as I experienced the full scale of what RPGs have to offer. Not so, in the last decade FF7 has only fallen one spot and is my #2 favorite game of all time. Even as some aspects of the game have faded, every time I replay it I notice something else I love about it. Just recently re-playing it on my PS3 I am struck by how amazing the pre-rendered backgrounds look.

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2000 - FF8 PC
Then (Age 13)
Coming on the heels of FF7, FF8 didn't really do anything to wow me. I played through but it was more inertia and curiosity as to how it would end that kept me going. And then I got to the very end of the game when you are locked out of all the cities and said screw this and preceded to not touch it again for quite a few years. As I played all the other FF titles it quickly relegated itself to my least favorite FF.

Now
I picked it up again in 2005 to give it another shot, and because I always had the fact that I never beat it nagging at the back of my head. I played though the first disc and came to the following conclusions: 1) I need to give this game a second chance, and 2) I remembered how much I liked Squall's character at the start of the game and how much I absolutely despise the 'character development' he goes though. So FF8 will never get it's second chance because no mater what other redeeming features I will discover it will ultimately leave a bat taste in my mouth.

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2001 - FF6 SNES ROM
Then (Age 14)
After my letdown with FF6 I eventually realized that there were 6 other titles before FF7. My first one to try was FF6, on a cartridge my brother borrowed from his friend for a week. Needless to say that wasn't sufficient. (As I was also limited to an hour of video games a day). I soon figured out how to use an emulator, and I was off. I was once again blown away by how good FF6 was, even though a lot of things like the suicide scene went completely over my head.

Now
Much like FF7 every time I play this game I find something new to love. Things like really understanding the more dramatic scenes, to really appreciating the music. I love it just as much now as I did back then. (Interestingly enough one of my non JRPG co-workers picked this up as a ROM on his phone at lunch today and I was so excited to see someone new getting a taste of the series.)

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2001 - FF5 SNES ROM
Then (Age 14)
To me FF5 wasn't especially noteworthy in comparison to FF6 or 7. It was fun and I kept playing. Then they combined the two worlds, and that was, THE COOLEST THING EVER.

Now
I think of FF5 as one of the truly great games I have ever played. Unfortunately in contrast to the FF series it just ranks right in the middle, and never really gets much attention. Except for the two worlds combining into one thing, which now that I am much older and more worldly I can say is THE COOLEST THING EVER to happen in a video game.

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2001 - FF4 SNES ROM
Then (Age 14)
FF4 came at the end of the FF6->CT->FF5->FF4 emulator enabled tour de force. Though I enjoyed FF4 quite a bit it felt antiquated compared to the other three aforementioned titles. I loved how the character deaths through the story made the adventure feel of truly epic scope, but other than that it did little to rise out amongst the crowd it was in.

Now
As I replayed it over the years FF4 to me felt like the first FF (I hadn't touched NES ones yet) that was outdated. I felt all the underlying elements to a great game were there, it was just before it's time. I was overjoyed when I heard about FF4 DS, and was the ultimate factor in my decision to by the DS at all. And I am extremely glad I did. For me FF4 DS improved the game in just about every way, elevating it greatly in my list of FF titles.

---

DUN, DUN, DUN.
Boxing Day 2002 - I buy my first console, a PS2.

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2003 - FFT
Then (Age 16)
I bought this when I bought my PS2, and only because it had FF in the title and it was the only one in the store that sort of interested me. And it completely blew me away. It has my favorite plot, cast, party customization and battle system of all the FF titles. It is the only video game I have ever played and lost track of time.

Now
I still absolutely love this game. My favorite game of all time by a mile. This is the only game I have loved so much as to read a Battle Mechanics Guide from start to finish just to understand how it works better.

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2003 - FF1 Origins
Then (Age 17)
Maybe I'm masochistic, but I loved the challenge of playing through the original. As frustrated as I got playing it, I always came home from school wanting to play more.

Now
Unfortunately I haven't really had time to play FF again. I played DoS, but it was so easy it turned the whole game into a bland grind.

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2003 - FF2 Origins
Then (Age 17)
Unfortunately with the combat system the way it is I can't take this game seriously enough to form an opinion on it.

Now
And when I tried to finish it for the sake of thoroughness my PS3 keeps crashing at a certain point, and I'm certainly not starting from scratch on some other console.

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2004 - FF10
Then (Age 17)
I found this game really fun to play. IMO the battle system was a great innovation for the series (though I wouldn't say this is 100% the direction the series has to go in the future). And the plot/characters were basically a big bleh for me.

Now
bleh has moved on to disappointment and then annoyance. Though I have fond memories of the time spent playing FF10 I don't see myself ever picking it up again

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2004 - FF9
Then (Age 17)
After playing FF10 FF9 felt amazing in comparison. It achieved the impossible of me appreciating the entire cast without me intrinsically liking any of them. And although a lot of people see the whole Terra sequence as jumping the shark, I thought it was exceedingly well done and easily my favorite part of the game.

Now
Playing it now I realize this game suffers from some major problems with pacing, which really put a damper on my last playthrough. Not having it come right on the heels of FF10 has made it look not quite as good in comparison.

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2006 - FF12
Then (Age 20)
Though I finished the game I have problems with just about everything with it. Had I ever run into any semblance of a challenge I probably wouldn't have finished it.

Now
I have no desire to ever touch it again.

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2010 - FF3 DS
Then (Age 24)
This doesn't really fit as I just played it this year, but I highly enjoyed this title. I feel this is much the same as FF4, a game that was held back by its hardware.

Now
Talk to me in a year or two.