Well, Square made the game for beginners, and in that case, it's a great way to teach them the basics of RPGs (and Final Fantasy). I think I've heard that they intended to release it before FFIV, in order to get people interested, but instead it was released afterwards, wich meant it flopped.

But my suggestion would actually be, play FFMQ BEFORE the other games. If you're a newbie, that is...