hello there!

I did play dragon quest but that was like YEARS ago on 3ds I don't even remember which one it was 😭😭 what I do remember is that it was a classic-ish retro style jrpg, cmiiw. so if you enjoyed it, then I definitely recommend starting with ffx! it was personally my very first ff, looking back now it sits at the perfect transition seat between retro, classic turn by turn jrpg and more modern and dynamic combat and exploration types (albeit it's maybe a bit too linear) - if it weren't for ffx I might never have delved into the older ones personally, it's a great entry point for beginners AND for ppl who generally enjoy jrpg. the only ppl for whom I don't make that rec are the ones that are bothered by older dynamics (or lack of thereof lol) but I reckon that's not your case.

x has got absolutely gorgeous world-building, great characters, imo the best story out of all ff and the best soundtrack which is saying a LOT, the character design is nomura at his peak, it's got one of the creepiest antagonists and it's a good intro to classic ff summonings and overall creatures (though in your case you know those, through xiv). it's a journey! AND the sequel is great as well (def not as good story wise, but the gameplay is super interesting)

as for vii, it is of course the most iconic series so I'd rec that next. honestly if you have the time and the patience for it... play the psx og, it's on steam and ps store (i actually first wrote emulate it cause thats what i had to do at the time⚰️). if you don't, which I completely understand, at the very least watch a playthrough or youtube summary to get the og story before playing the remake - i can try and rec you one if you're interested, just hmu in time.

/then/ play the remake. it's being released in 3 parts: remake (2020), rebirth (2024) and the final part is coming after that

the reason why I recommend at least getting to know the og story before playing remake is that:

1. many of the changes to the story are wink wink nudges nudges for fans of the og + extended lore notably psp prequel crisis core (which has been remastered recently). i'm not saying it's a requisite in that regard, you won't be lost in the game at all.
2. that's all myyyy own very humble opinion but the story thus far is more emotional in og. they've kinda lost that focus because of the changes unfortunately. it's still well executed, just not as good.

what I'll say about the remake, and I'm not a big gamer so let's limit this to other recent ffs: it's got THE BEST combat style (especially rebirth) and rebirth in particular has a very interesting open world (not the best, that'd be xv for me but it's parsed with genuinely, very interesting and greatly executed side quests)

if you're interested in knowing the most interesting and important parts of vii lore, the order i overall recommend is the following: play og > watch movie sequel advent children > play prequel crisis core > play remake