[thaddeus6th]

I've played the following:
FFI (not completed (NC))
FFII NC
FFIV NC (but I got very close to the end, was just highly underlevelled)
FFV (NC, as above)
FFVII C
FFVIII C
FFIX C
FFX C
FFX-2 C
FFXII C

FFI: plot not required. Basically there are 4 crystals, each carried by a good guy who wander around doing goodly deeds. That's the 'plot'. On the plus side, you get to choose what each character (I use the term loosely) will be from six classes, and their names. It's got a certain charm, and I got quite far into it. It's also surprisingly difficult, and money is very tight. The lack of any character development or coherent plot makes it less than great though.
3/10

FFII was a bit dull, to be honest. I'll include my view for completeness, but I only played an hour or two. The story is ok, though stereotypical (evil empire overruns peaceful kingdom etc), and your job is to help the kingdom become free again. I couldn't get into it.
2/10

FFIV is great. The main character is properly developed, his best friend is properly developed, the little girl he rescues is a fully fledged character. The storyline is good bordering on great. Although the graphics (as for V) are clearly dated, they're still quite charming and you can see what's what. This may be my favourite FF... I really should go back and finish it. The only downside is combat. Turns are (I think) random, ATB not being introduced until V and skills are gained at preset levels.
9/10

FFV has perhaps the best system of skills I've come across in FF, with the fabled Job system. Basically, every character can choose a Job, and over time they learn skills specific to that Job (such as using axes if you're a berserker). They can then use one learnt skill whilst occupying a different Job (so a Knight could use axes if the player had learnt that skill). Simple, fun and allows for good strategy (combining white magic with a Knight or suchlike). A decent villain, a good storyline and great gameplay.
8/10

FFVII was great. Ok, so the characters look like the designer was on acid at the time, but that's one of the few gripes I have with it. Sephiroth was a great villain, the storyline was good (and relevant with its nuclear parallels), the gameplay was solid and the chocobo breeding sidequest was great fun. The ending was excellent.
9/10

FFVIII. I wish they'd thought more about the battle system. Using Draw 14 times to get enough spells to boost stats (meaning when you cast them your stats fall...) was just irritating, then infuriating. Interesting idea to go for a kind of love story, which I thought was done reasonably well. Seifer was a rubbish villain though, and Ultimecia's appearance seemed to come out of nowhere. I also found the Laguna episodes time-consuming for little return: why not just use cutscenes? However, the GF ability to refine items into other, better items, and Triple Triad was a cool game.
7/10

FFIX. I quite enjoyed this. The villainous transvestite should've been, well, better. Characters were either ok or good (Vivi in particular was excellent), and the Pandemonium harpsichord music was great. Gameplay was also very good, and the synthesis shops were (I think) the first time I'd come across the item-combining idea, used again in FFXII and Dragon Quest VIII.
8/10

FFX had great graphics, a decent storyline (though the 'boss' wasn't to my liking at all), nice gameplay and decent sidequests. However, Tidus voice drove me literally insane. After I recovered from total madness, I finished the game (ending could've been better). Pretty good, despite the sound of a seal pup being machine-gunned to death being used as the main character's voice.
8/10

FFX-2 is interesting...I just wish they hadn't made it so damn girly. With a slightly more traditional storyline and party it could've actually been a top rpg. As it is the storyline lets it down. The dress-spheres work pretty well with the combat system and gameplay's good. Using mandatory and voluntary missions to determine the ending is pretty innovative, and the learning skills through doing actions wearing a given sphere harks back to V. Rikku's hairstyle was better in FFX though.
7.5/10

XII was poorer than it should have been. The graphics (cutscenes aside) could've been better, voice-acting was generally good except for Vaan (who also had the most angular sixpack this side of a 16-bits). Character development was generally pants. I really liked the judges and that side of the storyline, but they should've had more of that.The battle system was very good, though perhaps the licence points were given away too easily. Most of the character seemed of little relevance or interest, particularly Vaan and Penelo. I did enjoy the Hunt sidequest though, even though Phantasy Star IV did it first, about 15 years ago.
8/10

From that, I reckon that old school games (excepting the earliest editions) generally had better plots, because they couldn't rely on swanky graphics or complex gameplay.