I've never been a fan of Final Fantasy and had never been fascinated about the series until I played Dissidia: Final Fantasy on the PSP. It's a fun and clever game to put all the main heroes and villains together in one game and have them battle out as a team. The story and characters got me excited and made me want to explore more of the series. I'm now interested in finding and playing all the main Final Fantasy games but I didn't realize that each game has multiple versions and ports throughout the years. I could buy all the existing versions (if I had the resources) but that wouldn't be practical. I want to play only one version of each game.

So for those of you who are a fan of Final Fantasy or have played any of them, please help me choose the best versions of each Final Fantasy game. All you have to do is copy the list down below, paste it into your post and select the best versions of each. If you haven't played a few of them yet or unsure, just pick the ones that you know best. And for the ones with only one version like Final Fantasy X and X-2, just leave them. I only put them there for shows.
 
 
Please select one version of each Final Fantasy game: 

• Final Fantasy (NES,  MSX, WonderSwan Color, PlayStation, PS Network, Game Boy Advance, PSP, Virtual Console, iPod/iPhone)
• Final Fantasy II(NES, WSC, PS, GBA, PSP, Virtual Console, iPhone)
• Final Fantasy III (NES, Nintendo DS, Virtual Console)
• Final Fantasy IV(Super NES, WSC, PS, GBA, NDS, Virtual Console)
• Final Fantasy V (SNES, PS, GBA)
• Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III in North America) (SNES, PS, GBA)
• Final Fantasy VII (PS, PC, PSN)
• Final Fantasy VIII (PS, PC, PSN)
• Final Fantasy IX (PS, PSN)
• Final Fantasy X(PlayStation 2)
• Final Fantasy  X-2 (PS2)
• Final Fantasy XI (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
• Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
• Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360, PS3)
• Final Fantasy XIV (PC, PS3)

The PS Final Fantasy games are best on PSN.
 
And there's a PSP Remake of FFIV coming out soon, you might be interested in that.

on the system the games were originally released on?  that's what i would pick.      XIII on ps3,  the MMO's on the PC.

don't play FF11 or 14, trust me.

Allow me to suggest you skip FFII. The game has a very minimal amount of story and has one of the most tedious battle systems ever. Ever. 
 
The best way to play most of the series is through the PS ports or by getting them off PSN. You also aren't going to find an English version of FFIII on the NES, because it doesn't exist. DS is going to be your best option there.

I may not be remembering it perfectly, but it kind of goes like this. If you want someone's health to go up then they have to get attacked often. Damage has to be done to them, that is the only way to level this one individual stat. Everything works like this. If you want a character to be strong in magic, then have them use magic all the time. The problem is that each stat levels separately, and there isn't a way to level your character as a whole. You eventually end up in situations where in order to have a character survive certain encounters you have to get into a random battle and have the rest of your party attack them, because that is the only sure fire way to get their health up. It isn't that bad at the start of the game, but by the end the entire thing falls apart and organizing your characters becomes a chore.

As a diehard Final Fantasy fan who has played all of them: 
 
Final Fantasy I: PSP 
Final Fantasy II: PSP 
Final Fantasy III: DS 
Final Fantasy IV: soon-to-be-released PSP (I can already tell) 
Final Fantasy V: GBA 
Final Fantasy VI: GBA 
Final Fantasy VII: PSone 
Final Fantasy VIII: PSone 
Final Fantasy XI: PSone 
Final Fantasy X: International
Final Fantasy XI: PC (but don't play the game, seriously) 
Final Fantasy XII: International 
Final Fantasy XIII: PS3

Final Fantasy I:GBA
Final Fantasy II: GBA 
Final Fantasy III: DS 
Final Fantasy IV: SNES
Final Fantasy V: GBA 
Final Fantasy VI: SNES 
Final Fantasy VII: PSone 
Final Fantasy VIII: PSone 
Final Fantasy XI: PSone 
Final Fantasy X: PS2
 Final Fantasy X-2: PS2
Final Fantasy XI: Have not played it ever, but PC
Final Fantasy XII: PS2
Final Fantasy XIII: PS3     
 
But honestly, I would recommend only FF IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, and maybe X-2 if you can appreciate crazy Japanese pop weirdness.

Personally, I'd just play the SNES version of FF6 and FF12.

Well doesn't XII have two versions, regualr and International Zodiac Job System? I heard IZJS was far superior.