M&M3 was the first RPG I ever played. I played it a lot and really loved it. So for me this is the best of the series and I play it every few years, but it's hard to be objective and without nostalgia here ;). You just really want to switch the paladin from the beginner party with someone who can water walk lika a ranger. 4 and 5 are also great. They can be combined into one game (World of Xeen) which makes it even better and provides extra content. 6 comes with a "new" engine and is by far the best of the newer parts. If you don't like the 2d graphics of 1-5, then you want to play that. From there it sadly does not get better. The publisher forced a new part to be made every year, so 7 and 8 lack creativity and feel kind of rushed in some parts. But still enjoyable and with some new ideas. Spent a lot of pocket money for it back then and it was totally worth it. And it still is. There is also a mod that combines m&m 6-8 into one game (and improves the resolution and a few other things. But at least the merge part is nothing you want to do on your first playthrough. Part 9 is the combination of a new engine and a publisher that was still pushing. So the game is buggy and incomplete. There is a fan patch that makes the game playable, but I did not try it out yet.
