GRMember

Same. I will say, I did enjoy FF9, and FF12 was ok after trying it a few times. FF14 for me was enjoyable, but only because I enjoy mmo games with boss encounters in the vein of WoW.

That said, FF6 is where FF really hits home for me. It is my ideal FF game. VII was good too, but the series was already changing with that entry.

I am 40 years old and started with the original FF on the NES. I miss the "basic", core experience that old rpg games offered. Turn based battles. An actual overworld. Exploration. Secrets, secrets, secrets. Grinding (to a degree) to level up and/or get rare items/equipment. Memorable characters. A story that you wanted to see through to the end, whether that means cheering for the good guys or wanting to destroy the bad guy, or both.

Also, theme. FF games in particular have more and more gone into weird themes with their world building. It's gone more and more away from "high fantasy", with the crystals, magic, swords and staff (not gunblades or guns) or a sort of "natural order" being threatened by an evil force or just "chaos". I prefer a medieval era sort of theme, with castles and swords, over a futuristic theme with robotics and technology.

I wish all of this would come back to the FF franchise. I hope that I get to experience one more epic FF game in the vein of FF4, 5, 6 before I totally lose interest in gaming, or worse, I'm dead.