Rating the Final Fantasy games

Final Fantasy: they should have made it standard to let players create their own character and create their own party. I find that more interesting and holds infinite more possibilities than premade characters. but yea most people have no imagination and expect force fed premade characters, which is a shame. while FF1 lacks deeper identity customization options, it still is more flexible and Final Fantasy than the other single player games that try to be too much like books and movies instead of life experiences. the one flaw of FF1 though, was that generally some of the Jobs made it difficult to roleplay certain classes as the opposite sex. some like White Mage, Red Mage and maybe Black Mage and Thief/ninja could pass for unisex and could roleplay as female, but others like Fighter and Monk look somewhat too masculine. even nintendo magazine back then had art for the strategy guide that interpreted FF1 protagonists being all men. though it's a matter of perspective, though Square Enix sure is treating male Fighter as canon, even though technically players can play FF1 with an entire party of White Mages, for example, each with their own name.
well overall, the original Final Fantasy protagonists identities are really up to player perspective, interpretation and imagination. but a flaw of FF1 remake in particular, is certain npcs can say things that kill immersion.  like when an npc calls a protagonist "handsome", that just conflicts with the players own created character(s0 if they happen to make a party of all female characters.
though it really wasn't until like Crystal Chronicles, XI, XIV, and Comrades that character creation reached higher standards and more diverse options.  so yea, FF1's strengths is more silent protagonist and customizable possibilities, but its lacking in appearance options, and every npc and text designed so it is open to female protagonists possibilities, the devs just weren't considerate enough back then.   though games like Crystal Chronicles, XI and XIV and Comrades character creation, is really what games should build their stories around, instead of prioritizing story over characters,  they should prioritize player creation options and build a story around that that is adaptable and flexible for all types of protagonists. 

Final Fantasy II: while not perfect, it was the only one to have a more natural realistic way of developing stats and skills, even allows more flexibility in fighting style, masteries, and overall build.  want to dual wield two swords?  you can.  want to wield any one handed weapon with a shield? you can?  want a specific set of magic and weapon masteries? you can.   want to change and train a different set a weapons and spells?  you can.     there are no archetypes, and its much more natural and real than other systems.  
though it's a step backwards from I, IV, V, and VI which allow change the leader. in II, in order to play as the other party members, the first in line has to have 0 HP. so if people wanna play as Maria on the field and towns, Firion has to have 0 HP, if people want Gus, the first two characters have to have 0 HP, etc. it's so dumb, and its because of the formation system, that it replaced the system FF1 had, enough allowed setting front and back characters AND allowed any party member to be playable leader.

Final Fantasy III: hate it. the party are all clones. even the remake still has underwhelming everything. it introduced a lot of Jobs, but still one of the worst in the series.

Final Fantasy IV: it has its strengths, it has leader switch and is better than some of the overrated FF games. dont really care for it though.

Final Fantasy V: also has leader switch, has fewer characters, it has its strengths, but still, dont like some things.

Final Fantasy VI: has a lot of great things, but its apparent that it was made with multiple main characters. also has one of the worst localizations, changing Tina's name to Terra (totally unnecessary), having inconsistency between Amano's (blonde) and ingame sprite (green) hair color. it is one of the better FFs, but thats not saying much.

Final Fantasy VII: while it introduced a lot to RPGs and FF, it reduce an amount of freedoms and diversity that I, IV, V and VI have.

Final Fantasy VIII: even more restricting in some aspects, but better in others, it has one of the most positive endings in the series.

Final Fantasy IX: overrated. the ultimate ripoff of things even outside of FF series, like Dragon Ball and even the final boss says a Star Wars Episode I quote. really cheap writing.
also one of the more restricting FFs.

Final Fantasy X: the most overrated FF, even more so than FFVII in some ways, because FFX is actually worse than VII, VIII and IX combined.
also has one of the worst endings ever.

Final Fantasy X-2: better than FFX, but that's not saying much. it could have been much more but was half baked.

Final Fantasy XI: one of the greatest FFs ever. what the series should have been more like after FF1, but its mmorpg model and dependance on fee and online, limits its playerbase.

Final Fantasy XII: it would have been better if they allowed any character playable in cities too. Summons can't be leveled up, said to be inspired by FFXI but doesn't have have 1/4 of XI's qualities and principles. they marketed the wrong character as the face of the series, when Ashe is actually more of a lead protagonist that even the final boss acknowledges as their nemesis. the story itself is a mish mash of conflicts of interest among the devs.

Final Fantasy XIII: horribly torn apart that it took 3 games to tell the story. XIII-2 horribly wasted team Nora, Lightning Returns sort of redeemed the XIII era with one of the greatest endings in the series, however FFXIII still got a sour reputation and really is shallow without all 3 parts, and even then its a mixed bag of pros and cons.

Final Fantasy XIV: the greatest Final Fantasy to date, and continuing to expand. of course its mmorpg model, limits its playerbase, but it is also a strength.

Final Fantasy XV: the worst FF next to FF III. even it's movie felt like it was manipulated by misogynists, sexists and racists. even those that are ok with the FFXV party, are still disappointed at its story and depressing ending. it has strengths in combat and graphics and music, but really is too backwards in a lot of aspects and wasnt made for more people in mind.
and its all Nomura's fault. even though Tabata took over, his hands were tied, it was still Nomura's concept, so he just ran with it. though the greatest thing to come out of it is FFXV Multiplayer Expansion Comrades, which its design shines qualities that all RPGs should learn from.  

Final Fantasy Tactics: has great art and interesting world, though it has some unlikable strict aspects. and its frustrating when actions miss.   

Final Fantasy Type 0 HD: better than most FFs, though it markets Ace too much, when the story is just as much about Machina, Rem and all the others.  hated the forced character parts, though they are few when you consider the entirety of the game.   has great leader switch, though after a certain point, certain characters are unavailable.   has great combat though overall, it would have been better received if it had AAA graphics and designed with console considered.  much of its portable bad habits carry over, like no option to walk, only run, even at the headquarters.   FF Agito is better with character creation, though that's a mobile game, so its production values took a hit.   

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: one of the greatest FFs ever,  has character creation, even though its world design is simpler, it still has a lot of qualities.  it is held back by stupid portables and accessory requirements for multiplayer co-op, whereas it could have just used gamecube controllers and a better UI to have those portable exclusive features built into the main screen.  but even that didn't prevent it from being able to be soloed the whole way through.  I completed it twice, once as a female Clavat, and once as a female Selkie.  wonderful songs, and better than the Mana games, however Legend of Mana is still better to me in some things like a lot more unique places to explore, though Crystal Chronicles has the better customization, final bosses and stuff.   

FF Comrades is really has a format that is beneficial to offline solo players, online cooperative players, people that want a story, and those that want more open roleplaying freedoms. 
Comrades foundations are things that FFXVI and any new game should adopt so the game can be something to all sorts of people instead of just one type. and a lot of people like a game so much more playing as their own self created identity and get more immersed and like the world and gameplay even more. Comrades even despite being a DLC expansion, can still stand as its own game to play without needing to play FFXV at all, more games should be like Comrades, though expanded upon in world and should add features like party creation too. Comrades opens up a lot more possibilities for FF series