Since he asked me to pick one game I would have to agree with Sirgin. There are only 3 RPGs I've felt the need to play through multiple times and this is the one i've spent the most time on. Two of the most memorable characters in my gaming career (if only I got paid to game) are from this game and I still love playing it and discussing it.
It's awesome, isn't it?
Sadly enough, not that many people seem to think the same.
Most people are either not a fan of the FF series or will either say #6 or #7 is their favorite. You almost never hear someone say #9 was their favorite, let alone favorite game of all time.
Ah, who cares...we know better don't we?
Also:
Final Fantasy IX is also considered by Sakaguchi to be his favorite game as "it's closest to [his] ideal view of what Final Fantasy should be".
Sakaguchi himself thinks FF9 is the best, how cool is that.