I forgot to reply to this directly but there was a time where I kept re-starting FFVIII because I kept missing important things and was too OCD (much like @TGW describes) to ignore it
FFX was really good and if you had to pick one to finish that would have been it I guess as it is very much a talking point even for non FF fans
This is going to sound crazyā¦ please please please forgive me here, butā¦
I have never played a Final Fantasy game in my life.
I KNOW! I KNOW!!!
I absolutely should! In fact, I should get in my car right now and head to the nearest game store and pick up a copy of whatever version they have for my consoles.
Itās just thatā¦ I missed 1 and 2ā¦ then 3 and 4ā¦ etc.; everyone was always talking about them and how awesome they were, and I told myself, āself, you should probably look into this Final Fantasy thing.ā By that time it was up to sequel like 9 or 10ā¦ and Iām thinking, āI canāt simply just start off on number 9, at this point Iāll be completely lost! I needz to know what the heck is going on before I just jump into a game willy-nilly like!ā
Kept telling myself āI need to pick up a FF game one of these daysā¦ā Wanted to start from the beginning, if possible (probably isnāt at this point).
Next time I found myself in a game store wanting to buy a new game (something completely different from my usual games)ā¦ I was browsing the shelves, and I rememberedā¦ Final Fantasy! āOh yes! I have been meaning to check those out. They get rave reviews from practically everyone who has ever played them.ā By that time they were on like FF 13 or something.
āAh geezā¦ I donāt even know where to start nowā¦ā 
Currently, I have a low-end PC, a crappy āsmart (dumb)ā phone, a PS4, and an XBox360. Would there be a FF title that I could pick up for any of those platforms at a reasonably low price that would have a reasonably low learning curve for someone unfamiliar with the franchise? One that also explains enough of the back story on its own, without giving away too many spoilers in case I decide to pick up previous versions later?
Haha this is me too soā¦
Weāre either not the minority or weāre just all crazy together
This is an interesting topic. The earlier games bar maybe 6 didnāt really have much of a storyline apparently.
Iāve never played 3-5. And each instalment is its own separate entity.
If I wasnāt married I would probably binge finish all of them lol but if I did that now my wife would probably kill me.
Pretty sure they have remade 1-2 and maybe 3-5 but if you were going to start with one FFX is probably the most accessible and you probably donāt need to play much else.
Quick summary of the more modern FFās to hopefully help you choose:
FFVI - a classic that is best remembered for its villain and the epic final boss battle music. Last FF that is 2D.
FFVII - first FF with 3D effects. The one most hardcore fans seem to talk about, I actually didnāt play this until recently.
FFVIII - teenage angst, emotions - lots of people didnāt like this. This was my first one.
FFIX - a tribute to the series, lots of recurring motifs from past games. Quite enjoyable and very different to FFVIII in spirit
FFX - probably the mainstream favourite and this is the one I would pick for you. This is the first game where the classic FF-style world map no longer exists
FFXI - online, I never bothered
FFXII - this is where the game takes a big turn, lots of fans didnāt like this but I really liked this game. Thought the world map, while unconventional was pretty cool
FFXIII - the game does a major facelift and lots of fans lost interest. I thought it was OK
FFXIV - never played it
FFI and FFII are easily accessible on mobile (and cheap) I am pretty sure but they donāt have much of a storyline. Could be a good starting point for you if you want to see how the series originated so you have a reference pointā¦
I think I have been rude - again, many thanks to @JonahTheBard for picking me for an interview.
Appreciate that you thought of me and hope you enjoyed reading the post too 
Hmmmā¦ looks like FFX is available for PS4. I will add that to my list of games to check out. Thank you for your input. 
And thank you both (you and Jonah) for the interview!
I could go on for hours about other subjectsā¦ (victories, defeats, moments of madness, how delicious that roast pork looks, game changes, real world stuffsā¦) but this is your thread, and Iāve derailed it enough already. 
Did you purposely leave if this?
No I didnāt, Iām completely out of touch with the series post XIII lol
Thanks 
Reason being I didnāt like how many games went to MMORPGs or online - including The Elder Scrolls which is another series I forgot to add to my list of favourites
I played a snes version. Very fun. Might have been II but not sure.
I do not recommend FFXV. Prior to this, I played MS and that is a rich mans game. FFXV is from the same maker but probably worse. I just found it as a more expensive clone. I didnāt stay there long.
But if you start in the right realm, you may find a dead littlekaf to raid. 
Just had to add this here.
Morrowind main theme still gives me chills to this day. When you first get off that boat at the start of the gameā¦
Hmm, I once worked for a transformer substation maintenance company. We were installing a new transformer in a steel foundry (filthy place those foundries, especially in the rafters). Every day we worked 16 hours, ate McDonaldās for breakfast, subs for lunch, KFC for dinner ā for ten straight days.
I could not drive past a KFC without feeling nauseous for about five years.
Did you ever play Morrowind? And if you did, was it back in original release?
I havenāt been able to simply because I started with Skyrim in the TES seriesā¦ And unfortunately the graphics of Morrowind are just SO BAD compared to Skyrimā¦ :s
I did actually!
A good friend of mine kept asking me to play it and I delayed for 6 years. He bought me the original PC version. I regret not listening to him earlier.
I actually think Morrowind if better than Skyrim because Skyrim lost the spirit of discovery by telling you where everything was.
In Morrowind you can walk off somewhere and a random guy falls from the sky and you have to figure out what is going on lol. A lot of random unexpected things can be found on the world map. It was awesome. But it was also a lot harder.
ELDER SCROLLS are one of my favorite game series of all time. All time.
Yes they all have their flaws, but all the ones Iāve played have been awesome in their own ways.
ESO - havenāt played it in a while, but I think it did a fairly decent job of incorporating all the worlds together. Tons of stuff to do. In factā¦ ironically? Thatās one of the reasons I stopped playing. Because there was way too much stuff to do. 
Planning to pick it back up later, though.
Skryim - definitely not as good as Oblivion, gameplay-wise. But they did add some neat stuff to do that Oblivion didnāt have. Glitchy as hell, just as most Bethesda games are (but I still love them in spite of it).
Oblivion - freaking awesome. 10/10 would replay again (have several times, actually).
Morrowind - graphics? Bad. Gameplay? Holy crap Batman! I thought you had set this to easy mode! It was so strange going from Oblivion to Morrowind. In Oblivion, I was a god. In Morrowind? I was afraid to even go into a cave.
Or for that matter afraid of talking to a suspicious NPC on the highway who looks like a bounty hounterā¦oh waitā¦
I forgot to get my fireball spell readyā¦
Reloads: just attacks NPC without talking to him LOL
I have only seriously played a few games in my life. One happened to be FF7. I actually finished it before my kids did, which was awesome all by itself . I played through a second time and I think I had Cloud up to level 28 or so before finishing the first stage.
āWhen the next Elder Scroll is written, you shall be its scribe. The shape of the future, the fate of the Empireā¦ these things now belong to you.ā
Best quote from the game.
If you like TES you will probably like FF less because itās more linear. HOWEVER there are sidequests and distractions but FFX probably had a bit less. You had to get to a certain point to start the sidequests which is not everyoneās cup of tea.
Thatās pretty cool!
Have you seen those low level replays of FFVII? There was one where you kept him at level 7 so he could keep doing his limit break. Always wanted to try that challengeā¦
Yeah, I tend to lean more towards open world sandbox type stuff. TES and Fallout series rank in my top favorite games of all time (even though they are admittedly very glitchy at times). GTA is another series I love for the same reason (sandboxā¦ not glitchyā¦ Rockstar seems to have the edge over Bethesda in that respectā¦ but both teams make awesome games). Minecraft, No Manās Sky, Subnauticaā¦ other open world sandboxes that I thoroughly enjoyā¦
Other series like Bioshock, Fable, Mass Effect, Dragon Ageā¦ enjoyed them all to an extent, but kinda hated how they locked me in to a certain path.
Got numerous others in my library, some of which are fun for just a few hours, others that I can enjoy for hundreds of hoursā¦ depends on my mood and what particular niche Iām itching for at the time. Sometimes Iām in the mood for car racingā¦ other times I can go for a first person shooter (though those ones tend to get really boring really quickly for me)ā¦ RTS / simulation / base building games can hold my attention for a decent amount of timeā¦ again, depends on the game and my mood. Some days I just want to create stuff and be left alone. Other days, I want to kill stuff, or get new stuff, or upgrade the stuff I already have, etc.
Tell me about it, with these Japanese RPGs there are so many āpermanently missableā things that I struggle between wanting to use a walkthrough to get them all, versus wanting to be surprised by the story.
Usually I compromise by finding a spoiler-free walkthrough that only explains/lists the unmissable things (e.g. make sure to check behind the 3rd potted plant in the Mayorās house!) without mentioning plot elements.
also wish I could go back and play the other Final Fantasies, if only for the experience.
(and thanks for the writeups later down! in order of priority to play, mine would be VII, IX, VII and VI)