So I've been thinking back and forth about getting into

>Pretty worth, nothing extraordinary but solid entry into the JRPG Genre
>Turn based combat, Active Time Turn based combat.
>1 if you want to marathon the whole series, 4 if you're only going to play the games that are generally better received/remembered (4-7,9,10)

>>381500908
start on 3 unless you care for 2's story. if the story doesn't hook you, you can skip 4 as well and head straight to 5. then 6 and from then on it's a sea of debates over which are actually good and which are trash. just see which systems you like and go from there. do know that 7 is highly overrated so unless you're an impressionable teen you might find it disappointing if you go in too hyped.

First of all, I'm going to tell you that there are a lot better JRPGs out there than anything in that series and even by the same company, Squaresoft. Having said that, the Final Fantasy series has lasted as long as it has because the games were successful enough to warrant making more games. If you want to play them, I would say as a general rule to stick to the odd numbered games until FFX and to avoid playing any of the games after XII.

If you're curious about other JRPGs, I'd recommend the following series:
>Breath of Fire
>Grandia
>Suikoden
>Shin Megami Tensei/Persona
>Any Mario RPG

>>381502930
I hope you aren't trying to say that some of those games in those series are a lot better than Final Fantasy. The SNES Final Fantasy games are far superior to any of the SNES Breath of Fire games. Final Fantasy VII and VIII are much more interesting to play based on character customization and possibly development than the PS1 Suikoden games which are bare bones mechanically.

People love to crap all over Final Fantasy. It may not be the hardest series, it is divisive in trying to point the best entry in the series, but it is far from stale compared to other JRPG's.

Hell, who knows how long it would have taken the SMT series to adopt elemental weaknesses and resistances if Final Fantasy didn't just throw that into the mix right away because "It is how it has always been with pen and paper games".

>>381502114
Start at 3? Are you crazy?
It's the most bland of all of the games, and has a ass backwards class system that punishes you for experimenting with it. Not to mention the only version in the west is that ugly 3D one. 5 is the same game done a million times better.