VII is probably closest to my heart because its the first one I tried. I got my first ps1 in 1998 (i came late to the party, sue me) and on some teenage whim ordered final fantasy 7 based soley on the fact that i liked the title. Fortunately the game was great, unfortunately this game was the white whale of my teen years. For a long time I didnt have the patience, knowledge, understanding or ability to be any good at it. When i was sick of yelling at Safer Sephiroth for whooping me every time, i abandoned it in favour of FF9 which turned out to be the first one I would complete. I was 26 and armed with final boss walkthroughs when i finally beat 7.

I look back at this now, and in hindsight i think FF9 is actually slightly harder than 7 is at the end. When it comes to 7, i was just some inexperienced teen employing a bad strategy, but you know, live and learn.

Also if somebody could advise me on how to complete my current white whale (namely final fantasy 8) then I would be grateful. Every time i play it i get a little closer but.............