I started with FF1 on the NES, and while FFVII was a significant milestone, it hasn't stuck with me the way FFIV and FFVI did. I feel like the SNES was the golden era for Square RPGs -- usually a solid balance between gameplay and story. With FFVII and on they got increasingly obsessed with the story and making elaborate cutscenes, to the point where FFXIII could be considered an interactive movie.

Also, I played both MMOs (XI and XIV), and while they totally fucked up XIV at launch, they have made great strides to make it better and continue to do so. I'm actually looking forward to FFXIV 2.0.