With the caveat that FFVI is my favorite, I would suggest FFX. The story in that game is just so magnificent that I think it would appeal to the widest selection of possible players.
I want to suggest FF8 because of the ease of gameplay, the few characters to manage, and the intriguing story (not to mention the amazingness that is Laguna Loire), but the end of that game has the story clusterfuck around on itself, and I think that's weird and confusing. It has been a long time since I've played 8 though; I wonder if my perceptions of it would be different now from the first time I played it. (Which was also when its graphics were considered 'pretty good'.)
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I want to suggest FF8 because of the ease of gameplay, the few characters to manage, and the intriguing story (not to mention the amazingness that is Laguna Loire), but the end of that game has the story clusterfuck around on itself, and I think that's weird and confusing. It has been a long time since I've played 8 though; I wonder if my perceptions of it would be different now from the first time I played it. (Which was also when its graphics were considered 'pretty good'.)