I couldn't get into any of them. I found them dull and boring. The class system was fun indeed, but that was the only thing that really got me going. The series would have never survived if it weren't for the changes they made after FF5.

I'd suggest diving in the series with a grain of salt. It's developer company, Square Enix, can be very anti-consumer, as well as milking anything original and profitable they do to exhaustion.

Now, my picks would be:
- Final Fantasy II - PSP version (the PSP version is the most complete version, and it's great for people that like powerlevelling)
- Final Fantasy VII - either PSX or OG Steam versions (despite its flaws, as a stand-alone game, it's very good; mind it suffers from the milking I mentioned earlier, so you might want to avoid most spin-offs)
- Final Fantasy VI - any version that doesn't use the mobile sprites
- Bravely Default (basically Final Fantasy but without riding on a brand's name for success)
- Final Fantasy X - any version (or the PS2 versions if you don't want surprise superbosses halfway through the game)
- Final Fantasy X-2 - any HD remaster release (recommending this game because it's a tie-in for some stuff in FFX, and that version specifically because it adds some *truly* optional content that allow the base game to be less exhausting)
- Final Fantasy XII - any version (probably my favorite pick for the plot; go for the first PS2 release if you want complete freedom to build your characters, or go for one of the Zodiac versions of your choice if you want job systems)
- Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- (recommending mostly because I like the gameplay, but the story felt unnecessary to me)
- Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (I found the story to be quite good for a crossover made by Square, and the battle system is pretty fun if you like fast-paced arena fighters/ARPGs)

I started the series with FF6, and really enjoyed it. FF9 goes back to the traditional kind of medieval style, since 7 and 8 were more "modern"with cars, motorcycles, machinery, etc. I'd also recommend checking out Final Fantasy Tactics, though it's not at all like the mainline FF games since it's a strategy RPG, but you see a lot of things you'll see in the main series like characters, jobs, equipment, magic, stuff like that

The job system (and the game consistently calls it a "job" system), combined with better enemy variety than in FF3, is more than enough to carry the game.

I disagree that the series would have never survived if they hadn't made the changes. In fact, the series, as it existed prior to FF6, was effectively killed by the changes that made it no longer recognizable.

Except that the International PS2 version (released everywhere except the US, though note that Japan got both original and International) has those surprise superbosses.

(Also, I note that FFX's postgame content, particularly those superbosses, is poorly designed.)

Even though I started out with FF VII back in 1996, it was FF IX that made the most lasting impression, and probably the one I replayed most. First alone, then with a group of friends, then with another friend, on and on.

Final Fantasy IX also has, in my opinion, the best soundtrack Nobuo Uematsu has ever written. Got the piano sheet music even. I still fail to play the Treno theme on my piano, but I'm not giving up.

One day, I'd love to have a proper AAA remake.

I know, and I say: same difference.

And that was a great move. Change was needed, and as far as the series is concerned, change is good.

FFVII- I started my journey in 1997 with this one. After I played some other FF games, I like other games better than this one.
FFVIII- Interesting magic junction system. Fleshed out world and background. Great music, weird plot.
FFIX- I liked this one the most. Fairy tale story, great music, world, secrets.
FFX- This could be good introductory FF for newcomers. I liked the temple "puzzles". Somewhat linear compared to previous games, but I don't think it's a bad thing.
FFX-2 I liked the female trio and job system. I don't remember much about this one, sorry.

I started with Final Fantasy III on the DS, and I would certainly not recommend anybody else start with that one. It's hard as balls. I never beat it, but did enjoy what I played. Liked the job system too.

Next was Final Fantasy IV on DS, this is my favorite one. No particular comments, it is just the one I had the most fun playing.

I was always a great admirer of Final Fantasy X, when I finally got a PS2 I made sure this was the first game I played on it.
I really like the art style, battle system, music, and story. Probably my next favorite one.

Around the same time, I also got Final Fantasy V on the GBA. I really like the battle and job systems in this one.
Unfortunately, my cartridge got damaged at one point and you have to place it into the system just right in order for it to work.

I have also played the SNES version of III, the PSP version of !, and I also one time played a bootleg of the NES version of II. I like all of these games, but never got particularly far in them.

Those are the ones I do like, the ones I did not enjoy were XIII, XII, and XV. All of these have basically the same problem: I cannot stand the MC's. Not sure why, just take no pleasure in playing as them.

I also own VII, VIII, and IX, but I have not played them in any significant amount.

Out of curiosity, did the game crash for you? FF3 on DS is the only DS game that I have that crashed on me, twice I had to reboot the system.

Don't really have a favourite, necessarily. I generally prefer the fantasy games over the science fiction ones.

Huh, curious. Nah, it has never crashed on me or caused any issues. The game was used even. The only DS (family) game I recall ever having any issues with would be Yokai Watch on 3DS.

Thanks guys for your replies! Apparently nobody likes FFXIII huh?..

This is the reason why I'm limiting myself to FFV for now, since dtgreene also said that this game actually improved on the system used in the previous games. If I happened to enjoy it and found myself interested in the earlier games because of it, then maybe I might try FFI and FFIII. I just have this feeling that if I jump directly to those games, there's the possibility that I might end up disliking them.
This is something that I forgot to emphasize in my first post. As long as the games are available on PC, then it's fine, since I don't plan on using emulators.

Are you sure change was needed? Did FF5 do poorly in Japan? (I don't think it did poorly.)

(Note that only JP sales matter here, due to FF5 being only released in Japan, and FF6 being released in Japan before coming overseas.)

There isn't such a thing (to my knowledge). What you most likely played was the English version of Final Fantasy 6, except that it was titled FF3 to hide the fact that half the entries in the series had not seen English language releases at that point.

well, pretty much every game starting with 12 ran into pretty severe development issues that ended up affecting the final product, between the extended development cycles and repeatedly coming up with and then scrapping story and gameplay content multiple times and eventually had to just duct tape what they had together to get it out the door.

So naturally the end result is that pretty much all the later games are kind of polarizing (except for 14, which was so bad that they basically nuked the entire game and remade it from scratch, but apparently was worth it since it seems to be one of the most popular and well reviewed mmos currently on the market), particularly when you add in trying to make the games more causal/mainstream friendly to sell it to as wide an audience as possible to make up for the development costs.