Final Fantasy...Where Do I Start?

From my experience I would say start at 4, especially if you have a psp for that gorgeous version. 6 is also a good start point. If you have trouble going back to 2d then 7 and 9 are great. 8 was ok from a story perspective but the mechanics were pretty broken. On the other hand 12 was fantastic and has a more adult story if you are up for it. Tactics is definitely worth playing but is something entirely different from a standard final fantasy game. In the end they all don't have interconnecting stories so you can start wherever you want. The most beloved are 4, 6 and 7 so its easy to just start with one of those.

Have fun.

For 16 bit start at: IV. It's where the storytelling went from good to great. People say VI, but it's overrated in my opinion and people love it based on nostalgia. Yeah I said it. Flame on bitches! Lol jk.
PSOne era: VII is essential. VIII is complicated but great. IX was a wash. Story sucked.
PS2: X is alright. Story was okay...ehh, it was good. But if you want a great story and some major grindage - MMO style - play XII. Oh yeah, XII has a FANTASTIC soundtrack.
And there you have it.
V is great fun because of the job system.
III became good with the DS remake.
I and II remakes are good remakes if you want to go back to the series' roots.
Play VI if you want to see what all the fuss is about, but it's more hype than anything in my opinion.

I am in the exact same position. I have only played a bit of FF IV (up to Cecil becoming a Paladin or whatever), the GBA port of FFI, annnnnnd... That's it? I think?

Oh yeah, the DS port of FF III, but I quit after the first boss. Nothing really grabbed me.

I've really had a hankering to play Tactics because Brad speaks so highly of it.

Also, when I played it back in 97 (or whatever) I was too stupid to know how to change jobs and level up so the game got like... REALLY hard.

I've played FF4, FF6-13(barring 11) and Tactics. Overall, I'd say you could skip 13 since it wasn't exactly enjoyable and 8 definitely had it's problems. Out of 6-12, I would honestly say 8 is my least favorite. Each game brings it's own charm and different worlds so no two worlds are really the same. Different mechanics, stories, mini games, etc. As much flak as 12 gets, I love it. First time through, I spent 120 hours on it. Almost got everything done too.

But honestly, if you skip Tactics, you should feel bad. I first played it back in 1998 and I loved it. Just the ability to change your characters into just about anything you want. That feeling of when you switch to a Ninja or a Samurai for the first time. The story is full of intrigue and betrayal and everything. I would highly suggest it.

I've hardly payed any FF's either, but I love the shit out of Crisis Core.

Seriously, I am a huge final fantasy fan. I own every game thus far, and from my experience, the best are:

4,6,7,9,10,12,Tactics

6 is the weakest of the group, IMO, with 7 being the best.

I've seen FF 7 and 6 at the top of most peoples list. However, FF 9 is one of my favorite games regardless of the franchise banner. Vivi (a character in the game) is the undisputed greatest video game character of all time. That's a cold hard fact :P

The great thing about FF games is that they aren't necessarily episodic (excluding the -2 games). You can start wherever you feel like.

In my opinion, get any of the games that you can and play em. Earliest to latest, at least. 6, 7, 8 and 11 are all I really care about.

As for the collection that is coming out. Don't look into it very much because it costs over $445 and doesn't include all the games (X-2, XIII-2)

Tell me about it. I only recently played a remake of the first one on PSP because I found it for cheap. Now I'm trying to get time to work on FFIX which is a lot bigger than that one.

I know you're getting a lot of differing opinions, but I think the core of the Final Fantasy series is FF 7-10. These exemplify everything that the Final Fantasy series is. That's not to take away from the earlier titles, but those certainly show their age. 7-10 however still stand the test of time in terms of graphics, gameplay and storyline. I would recommend playing them in order; each of the successive titles changes a bit, but they also make some improvements from the previous games.

My favorite was 8 as I thought it had an excellent story, very fresh and new mechanics and superb graphics (certainly better than 7). After you complete those 4, you could go back and try the older games to get a feel of how the series as came to be, but as I said, those games certainly show their age. You could go forward after 10 as well. 11 is an MMO and is pretty bad so we don't talk about it. 12 in my opinion was very fun, but it lacked a real Final Fantasy "feel", sort of devolving into a very pretty Diablo 2. And now we have a 13 which has completely changed the feel of what a Final Fantasy should be. I would recommend not judging this series by 13. Play 7-10 so you know what the series is all about.