I would definitely say that my feelings of favoritism lay between FF7 and FF8... though I like them both for different qualities. FF7's story hit me hard, when I was younger I was playing at a friend's house when [HONK HONK HONK BLEEP BLEEP CRASH CRASH]. We were both stunned, didn't see it coming. Hit us right out of the blue. That was a great feeling that no game until FF7 had been able to give.
Final Fantasy 8's love story was really great, and the battle system was unique, though in my opinion it limited my usage of Magic (since it was tied to my stats, I always felt like casting Firaga would have hurt my strength, thus I'd never cast it). In addition, some of the quirky aspects of the story like, "OMG we're all from the same orphanage!" was a little cheesy. However, the graphical quality and gorgeous music the game brought with it was truely amazing. FF7's music was great, but being that it was in MIDI format, didn't have the chance to live up to its potential (see: Final Fantasy Orchestrated, or The Black Mages).
FF9 loses out immediately due to Quina Quinn. Just say no to Quina.
All in all, for the aspects of just being a game, Final Fantasy 7 has to take the cake, but Final Fantasy 8 was a cinematic experience not to be forgotten.
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