Final Fantasy

[madman3]

Never played a final fantasy game but I want to try some of the older ones :D

Try 4, 5 or 6. 1, 2 and 3 aren't quite so well structured, 7 and onwards has some character issues.

IX and X. Your point is invalid. :P
I'd suggest that you try 4. I really enjoyed that one.

I'd actually agree with you for IX. Not sure about X though.

[Gazea2]

Never played a final fantasy game but I want to try some of the older ones :D

Try 4, 5 or 6. 1, 2 and 3 aren't quite so well structured, 7 and onwards has some character issues.

IX and X. Your point is invalid. :P
I'd suggest that you try 4. I really enjoyed that one.

I'd actually agree with you for IX. Not sure about X though.

Yeah, definitely IX. The music is awesome as well. <3
I played IX so much when I was younger.. I really need to play it again.

[123savethewhales]

Never played a final fantasy game but I want to try some of the older ones :D

Try 4, 5 or 6. 1, 2 and 3 aren't quite so well structured, 7 and onwards has some character issues.

I find 4 quite boring.....  Both the storyline and battles are too strait forward.....

7 is alright if you install a mod to make it harder, I think it was "Reasonable difficulty mod" and I was also playing no random encounter.

[Clickbeetle]

Never played a final fantasy game but I want to try some of the older ones :D

Try 4, 5 or 6. 1, 2 and 3 aren't quite so well structured, 7 and onwards has some character issues.

I find 4 quite boring.....  Both the storyline and battles are too strait forward.....

7 is alright if you install a mod to make it harder....  Otherwise everything is just super wimpy.

The DS remake of 4 is pretty good; it added some more depth to the battles by letting you assign special abilities to different characters.  There were some cool combos you could cook up.  Graphics are awesome but the story and general gameplay still show their age.
 
If you want difficulty and complexity, 5 is the way to go.  It has a job system so you can make any character a mage or a fighter or everything at once.  Also, there are some crazy-hard enemies and the game doesn't stop you from wandering into areas you aren't prepared for.  However, you know the story is going to be a simplistic affair when the main villain is named "Exdeath".
 
6 has the most in-depth story of the three and also a great battle system, though not as customizable as 5.  It's also challenging though not on the same level as 5 (except for those EVIL Brachiosaurs and Tyrannosaurs).  Also, Terra's Theme.
 
I'd probably recommend 6 if you're playing your first FF game and want to start with one of the 2D classics.

[madman3]

(except for those EVIL Brachiosaurs and Tyrannosaurs)

"Meteor"
*Imped, Dual Wield Impartisan and reed cape Mog faints*
"Meteor"
*Locke faints*
Happens far too often for me. Still, generally I can kill the Tyrannosaurs very easily so long as the above doesn't happen. To this day I've never killed a Brachiosaur though (seriously there are bosses you can find later in the games (IE White Dragon) which are weaker than this thing). I had enough difficulty with the damn Storm Dragon but brachiosaurs just take the cake. However, I've never had my party killed completely by one as it just uses snort at some point and gets rid of all your characters

[123savethewhales]

I admit, 5 was the only 1 that I have to level a little bit, though magic knight takes care of most things.  I remember finishing 4 with no random encounter on and 6 becomes easy once you hit WoR (since you become immune to damage either with m.block or max defense).

[Incredirobotwars]

Got XIII and XIII-2. Also played part-way through VIII. I must say, I prefer the Active Time Battle system. It keeps you on your toes a bit more, mixing strategy with speed of execution on some of the more difficult enemies (Like Immortal, Yomi, Ochu, Long Gui, etc.)

Characters aren't developed as well, but I think that's what they're trying to do with the XIII 'series'. Although, adding more games to a series doesn't cause character development, necessarily.

And one question...isn't Tonberry the creepiest damn thing in the Final Fantasy Bestiary?