My Game Rankings

6 - A nearly-flawless game. So many memorable sequences, a beautiful plot, deep characters, and so much versatility. My sole complaint is that the only way to boost stats is by remembering to equip Espers prior to leveling up. Forget to equip? No boost for you! But that's it. That's the only flaw.
7 - Also filled with wonderful moments and sequences, a gripping and epic plot which FEELS massive, and I love the characters.
10 - Great plot, genuinely touching moments.
8 - I liked the sci-fi setting and even a lot of the emo stuff. Junction system was interesting, but felt flawed.
9 - The setting, the characters, and the story are all so wonderful, but...there's just too many peripherals going wrong here, darnit. The cut-scenes in towns that you have to watch in the right order give me a headache just thinking about them. The card game was played out in VIII, although it has its moments. Then there are the daguerreotypes and other minigames that just...they're a bit lame.
4 - It's basic and that works. You want more power? Level up. Good, solid, and dependable.
Tactics - Job system at its best, complex political plot is all good.
5 - A worse version of the job system, the plot is a bit shaky.
12 - I felt this one got away from them a bit. Plus, the combat... Why can't I block guys from running right past my tanks/fighters so they can bypass them and kill my mage/archer? Why? And, more importantly, why can I play two-player Final Fantasy VI where combat is "push A button" but not here where battle formation and distance make a HUGE difference!?
13 - Too streamlined, but the combat is FUN. I like the plot, setting, and characters a lot, but with no overhead map, no backtracking, and too-linear maps for too long, it just never felt quite right.
1 - They were inventing the wheel. I give them a break.

I haven't played II or X-2 enough to evaluate them, and I haven't played III at all.

IX
VII
VIII
VI
X
FF Dimensions
XII
Tactics
X-2
III

I played I-V. But didn't finish so can't rate. I didn't play the newer ones after XII.

Reasoning:
I personally think VIII gets a bad rap. It has the best score and some of the best environment designs. I liked the junctioning system and limit breaks also. I grant that not being able to use magics withing spending them was a bad aspect. The game is best played with little to no magic use except utility spells. I also liked Squall's character. The game is very atmospheric.

I personally didn't like the battle system of FF Tactics much myself. Story was also much more plot driven rather than character driven. I prefer character driven plots. IX has the best balance of plot focus and character focus. Tactics Ogre is a better game than FF Tactics both in terms of gameplay and in terms of plot IMHO.

While I liked the job system in FFIII the story was non-existent! BAD!