FF games are like pizza. They’re all a round, baked dish, but you can have them so many ways and everyone will have their opinions. For example
I thought 10 was linear and boring and only played it once
I really liked 10-2 and the entire dress sphere concept as well as being open to go where you wanted.
I absolutely loved 12, as it had amazing lore and call backs to literally every other FF game in the series. A lot of people hated on the battle system but the magic of the strategy was figuring out the best gambit combinations
13 had a beautiful story and graphics, but was way too linear and then suddenly opened up in the end game. Would have made a better movie or visual novel
13-2 is one of my all time favorites in how it was non-linear, expanded on what happened with the 13 cast, who I liked, and also had secret endings
13-3 is good, but it becomes one massive fetch quest. However it has New Game+ which is perfect for curb stomping baddies
15 was one I thought I wasn’t going to like (an FF with cell phones?!) but oddly they pulled it off well and it wasn’t too bad. The villain was frankly one of the best in any FF series. Voice acting was top notch and the DLC really fleshed it out (you could argue it should have been part of the core)
Playing 16 right now, and hopes it was Square returning to its roots, but frankly…… it’s not an FF. The pacing is all over the place, and they randomly throw in an FF theme or name in a way like it’s saying “see! We’re a final fantasy game!” This is the first game that I really thought they lost their way on
I haven’t played 11 and 14 but I figured that’s my $0.02 when everyone has their own favorite toppings.