So I was talking about XII and XIII elsewhere and noting how opposite they are in many ways. The most distinct way for me is why I played the games and what kept me interested. For XII, it was the bad guys. They received very heavy focus and it got me hooked. I lovd Cid and The Judges and they were all as important or interesting as teh heroes. ....in fact moreso. I found XII to have one of teh most boring parties in FF history. Three of them - Vaan, Penelo and Fran - are nothing characters. You could cut them out of the plot very easily and not change the story in any real way.

With XIII though, the focus was almost entirely on the heroes and so I liked them more and was more invested in their journey and actions. Consequently though, I felt verya ntagonist in the game was underused and none of them was particularly memorable for me.

This got me thinking about the topic. A FF that had both a splendid cast of heroes and villains. An FF that, no matter who the story was touching on at the moment you still gave a sh*t.

In that regard, I think Final Fantasy VII is a top contender.