Ok, so I just put WAY too much thought into what I would make as the best party of 9 from the FF series. All games were considered except FF8 because I hate it, and I quickly eliminated FF13 because regardless of any in battle prowess they are all head cases.

Leader - Ramza(FFT)
The leader of this group. Not the most powerful character in the series, but he isn’t any slouch with a sword. Most importantly he is one of the best leaders the series, skillfully deploying the fighters at his disposal for the maximum effect. While most party leaders just seem to point their motley crews in the right direction I have confidence he can get the maximum out of the team.

Melee 1 - Edgar (FF6)
It may seem like an odd choice for the all star lineup, but he fills one important roll in the party, the engineer. You always need someone to fix all the technology that you come across / breaks down on you, and I judge him to be the most powerful of the bunch.

Melee 2 - Cloud (FF7)
A powerful melee fighter in his own right Cloud has the advantage over a lot of big sword fighters in that his material gives him great flexibility in terms of magic.

Melee 3 - Orlandu (FFT)
Once all my niches are filled the last spots to give away for melee are fairly difficult, with a lot of good options. In comparison to other characters I think he displays the greatest mastery of the sword, and I imagine his experience would come in handy in mentoring the other characters.

Long Range - Balthier (FF12)
Few and far between are the FF long rage specialists. In addition his guile is an excellent addition to the team. Charisma is something FF characters don’t always exude.

White/Support Magic - Yuna (FF10)
Not much going through the list of FF primary healing characters. Garnet from FF9 is kind of a blowey white mage, and although Eiko is a very good character imo I don’t consider her a very reliable team mate. I am going to give Yuna’s Summons the edge over Rosa here.

Offensive Magic - Terra (FF6)
One of the series most predominant magic users she also has a huge advantage in the versatility department. Black magic, white magic and able to actually pick up a sword to boot.

Offensive Magic - Celes (FF6)
Everything I just said about Terra.

Float - Farris (FF5)
The last spot goes to one of the versatile characters of the series. I imagine primarily a ninja/thief type role, in fact I was almost going to give it away to a more specialized character. Not only can she fill any holes the party needs she also is one of those characters who seems to do stuff like remember to bring a rope.