1st: FFVI - The story is amazing (destruction of the world being only the midpoint of the game), and even with such a large cast of characters, all of them are unique and appealing in their own way. Also, the art for all of it, especially the monsters, is quite impressive considering the console it was on.

2nd: FFVIII - I know, the battle system was terrible and time consuming, but the characters were all intriguing. I'm a big sucker for the love story in that one.

3rd: FFVII - A great combination of plot surprises and amusing characters. I just loved the way the world was steadily revealed as the story progressed.

Honorable mention: FFT - Fascinating story, though the long, drawn out fights (with frequent resets upon failures) cause the plot to be revealed a bit too slowly to be especially dramatic.