which final fantasy?

If you can look beyond the graphics I'd start with FFIV. It's not a huge time investment like so many of the later ones. A first timer will probably get through the game in 20 hours or less, while the others will go for 30 to 40. It does however have the kind of story, characters and trademark experiences that you'll find in the other games. Excellent way to introduce yourself to the series.

i was thinking about playing I-IX. is it worth it or would some of them be a waste of my time? i'm not a big RPG gamer but i love chrono trigger and FF VII was awesome but i never beat it.SDog624

Finish VII first, then play some of them. VI and IV would be top choices from there IMO, but the are all great RPGs.

I will have to disagree with a lot of other Final Fantasy fans here and Say that VI was definitely the best. awbailey

Agree wholeheartedly and would even go so far as to say it's the best by a sizeable margin

I got into FF a bit later in my life than most; I didn't play any until X came out. I then went back and played the ones before it. Out of the ones I've played -- IV's quite good and I'll never disagree with anyone who calls it an all-time greatbut it wouldn't be my choice to start someone new out with. VI to me probably has the best collection of characters from top to bottom in any video game I've played--most of them are strong enough to be the main character in their own game. The music is wonderful; I personally feel like it's the most consistently good Final Fantasy soundtrack. I think it's held up pretty well and is still very playable. VII is a fan favorite of course and like VI has a great cast of memorable characters, a wonderful soundtrack and a cool atmosphere. It's not flawless and parts of it haven't aged gracefully but is still a must-play. I personally thought parts of the story were poorly told but many people love the story.

VIII I thought was wildly inconsistent; in the end I was glad I played it but it tested my patience a lot. The gameplay in this one for me was the least fun of any FF I've played, and not only did it not do a great job (imo) in balancing the two storylines but the payoff was lame. Still it has a lot of good stuff in it, including a totally epic final battle. Both VIII and IX also have an addicting little card game that is a lot of fun to play. I think IX is prettyunderrated; the story falls apart late in the game and the cast isn't quite as strong but I liked the world as it had more of a traditional fantasy feel.

X was my first one and I thought it was really well-done. Games have come and gone since then that have bested it in storytelling, acting, presentation and production but at the time it was a spectacle. This would be my pick to introduce someone to FF. Maybe I think that way because it was my first, but I do think that it is a good one to start with because if you don't like this one, you won't like the others. Even if you like X, skip X-2 as it's kind of a joke. I didn't care for XII much. It had a lot of strengths but I thought it abandoned a lot of what got me hooked on FF in the first place. I thought it had boring characters with a couple exceptions, a story that isn't very interesting and isn't always well-told, and an atmosphere that has a "been there, done that" feel to it. Plus there are parts of the game that are just a grind. I did more mindless grinding in this game than any game outside of an MMO.