^ The american or japanese FFI?
I started with FFVIII at '98. Being my first really got me biased towards it, I still think it has some of the best tracks and themes and the most immersing side quests (Triple Triad club, GF hunting, etc.) Worth of note, it's one of the few games where your exp curve is parallel to the X axis, all levels from ~7 to 100 require 1000 exp, which is actually a setback, considering the attribute bonus skills that you can obtain. What made it even more interesting is the fact that you can reach the ragnarok without using junction, just by spamming limit breaks with a revolver
This made me want to play it over and over again under different conditions, like getting a ton of cards and keeping a very low level before bursting up with all the bonuses I can get, or grinding for Lionheart at Disc I and stuff.
Its story was, admittedly, weaker than FFVII or IX, but it's still better than FFX and XII (which, while well thought, was boring in the end).
The Fabula Nova Crystallis series have a nice premise, but it's tiring to buy 3-4 games for one FF universe, since they've never been the same after FFVII, not to mention that so far, they've been quite flawed and outright mediocre when it comes to battle enjoyment.