1. FF6; Interesting world, lots of decent characters, fairly unique story and plot twists. The three-party dungeons were fun. I really like the somewhat nonlinear second half of the game (something I also liked about Chrono Trigger).
2. FF12; Some areas/dungeons felt a bit too large and/or repetitive, but I liked the world, battle system, and the seamless integration of battle and exploration. Characters were interesting and well-written. Story had great moments, but did not come together well. The formula should be refined rather than ignored.
3. FF4; It's fairly simple, but I also think it lacked some of the padding and felt faster paced than several of the later games. When I first played, I was sometimes annoyed when certain characters would come and go from the party.
4. FF10; The linear design worked fairly well. The inclusion of towns, temples, occasional side content, and a more engaging story/villain helped it avoid some of the flaws of the similar XIII. Having access to all characters in battle felt fresh. The removal of ATB bars and the addition of the turn order display changed the pace of battle in a smart way. The visual upgrade compared to its predecessors was nice and still holds up today. The addition of voice acting was sometimes good; sometimes, humorously, not so good. I think it has one of the better stories and endings (though a few plot twists are a little odd).
5. FF9; This one felt more like traditional fantasy compared to the fantasy/science fiction of some of the other post-SNES games, which was sort of refreshing. The art, world and characters were more charming and whimsical compared to those in the other games. Battles, unfortunately, felt a little slow.
6. FF7; Midgar may be my favorite opening area in an FF game. Unlike many RPGs, the opening hours were some of the best parts of the game. I liked the Materia system.
7. FF8; The world and characters were good. Drawing was not so good. Triple Triad was fun.
8. FF13-2; The fun battle system, great art and music of XIII returned. I enjoyed the monsters in the party. The streamlined Crystarium is much better. The optional diversions and locations are refreshing. The reused locations are often changed in interesting ways. There are several good, but badly executed, ideas. Time's role in the plot seems inconsistent and the story, though entertaining, is kind of random. I like puzzles but they are too repetitive. (I don't even hate the notorious clocks, but the crystal matching ones are far too easy.) Some of the optional content is really good, but a lot of it involves boring fetch quests or repetitive puzzles. A few of the fragments have terrible requirements (in fact, I imagine I would have a slightly better opinion of the game if I did not get all of them). A certain location is one of the worst levels I've ever played in a game (though its art design is great). Still, most of the time it's more fun and creative XIII.
9. FF13; It took far too long for the game to fully take the training wheels off. The characters were fairly interesting and well written. Like XII, the story has lots of potential and is generally entertaining, but disappoints in the end. Once I got past the opening sections, the battle system was refreshingly fast and different. The great music, graphics and art kept me engaged even when the gameplay did not. The hunts and Pulse were cool (though walking back and forth got old). If the level design and pacing were improved, this would easily be in my top 5.
10. FF10-2; The story, characters, music and dress sphere concept were unusually lighthearted and offbeat, but I enjoyed the wackiness. The battle system is one of the series' best. Like XIII-2, I like the idea of a relatively short main story paired with an abundance of side content, though I never felt compelled to reach 100%. The story is lame, though sometimes it's endearingly goofy. The reused environments made this less memorable to me; I think XIII-2 reused them more effectively while also providing several good new ones.
*FF5 may be added. I have a free copy during my free months of Playstation Plus. I doubt I'll make the March 2 cutoff date.
Compared to the PSOne games, the recent games are somewhat more fun to play because of their fast-paced combat, but the others are still better designed in several ways. I enjoyed all of them for a variety of reasons, though I feel they all have a few annoying flaws (except VI, which lacks glaring issues). I think it would be really interesting for someone to take the fast combat and offbeat, nonlinear nature of X-2 and XIII-2 and pair it with a solid story, entirely new level design, and improved side quests.
