Niiine, I'm only voting for it because it's grossly underestimated.
Seven eight nine. Will remain my nostalgic weakness always. (Yes I'm not a FF-noob, I've played the rest since)
10...Egghhh it lost me, the style was really not at all interesting. I thought Nine hit on the mark for 'Fantasy style' but didn't go kiddy with the story at all. It was refreshing after eight and seven.
Now its like SE have gone with label-style. If it's anime-ish, its for kids (Crystal Chronicals) if it's 'Adult 3D looking' it's for our regular crowd. If it's Nomura's style...it's a cash cow. Nghh it just...meh. Do, not, want.
Besides you can never pull off a villain like Kuja ever again. Asexual narcassist wearing a codpeice dress-thing reciting the script in poetry while simultaniously manipulating the destruction of every major city in the world. Classic.