Honestly, I'm one of the few people who did not like FFVII. Yes. Ostracize me now.
The storytelling was all right, but I just got bored of the game really quickly. And now with all this VII stuff coming out, or already out, I just feel even more justified in my dislike for it. Yes, it's popular, but now it's being beaten to death. Advent Children was cool, but I think the whole story should have been stopped there. I think now we're going into overkill, or maybe it's just that Dirge of Cerebus is ruining Vincent's characterization for me. He's much cooler when he's mysterious. He's my second favorite after Aerith, so it just makes me sad.
My all time favorite is FFVI. I LOVE this game. It's seriously the best one I've ever played, and I've played all of them released in the US, even Tactics and XI. The characterization in VI is so deep. It's got the best storytelling, and some of the best game moments ever. And let's not forget a badguy that's actually, well, bad! Legitimately bad. Not influenced by some greater being that is easier to defeat than the bosses leading up to it. (Holy crap. XI and X had the most pathetic end bosses EVER.)
I also love VIII. I really liked the way the enemies leveled up with you. It made the game more challenging and fun. (And yes! Squall x Rinoa! I love them.) The characters in this game were also just full of win and awesome.