For me it's
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Final Fantasy Tactics
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Final Fantasy VII
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Final Fantasy XI
The three games I keep coming back to in the franchise.
Tactics has the best writing imo as well as gameplay.
Visually speaking VII's aesthetic and music are peak FF.
And then when it comes to getting lost in the lore and world of a virtual game, I like XI.
Granted all 3 share similar themes like good writing, music, gameplay, etc. but those are my standouts.
How about you?
I'd probably say:
Final Fantasy IV is probably my runner up. It was probably the first RPG I ever played (just bits and pieces at a friend's house - didn't actually play it from start to finish until it was out on GBA lol).
IX is good but I never beat it as a kid as it didn't resonate with me like VII, VIII and Tactics did, but I can see it's charm.
Yeah, I'm a sucker for the late PSX era hardware rendering of Amano designs.