Since approximately 1993.

The year was 1993. I was a young level 8 thief named KAZA because my given name could only hold four letters. I pilfered the first Final Fantasy game off my cousin after a random encounter near Corneria and--------no, don't listen to me. I'm kidding. Kidding!

I started playing the first Final Fantasy over the span of a few rentals ("'Rentals'? What's that?" the kids say today). Didn't beat the game at that time but it introduced me to the role-playing genre which was a far more important step in the evolution of my gamer persona. I didn't get hooked on the series until I rented, played and eventually purchased Final Fantasy VI. After enjoying that one so much, I bought and finished IV. Later, I bought pretty much all of them: the PlayStation for I&II (Origins), V (Anthology), VII, VIII and IX; then the PlayStation 2 for X and XII. I owned almost every single one of the Final Fantasy games except for the first one in cartridge form. Or so I thought.*

I never finished X and stopped caring about the newer Final Fantasy games in the series shortly before finishing XII. To put it mildly, they stopped interesting me. I still try to replay the ones I like every few years (which reminds me I'm about due for a FFVII replay.)

*FUN FACT: Apparently as a level 15 thief I pilfered the first game from a random encounter with one of my mom's boyfriends. New game smell, mint-in-box, maps, etc. included. Was a pretty sweet treasu--------actually that's not entirely true, either. "Pilfered" is the wrong word! I borrowed it and my mother broke up with him soon after because, in a completely unrelated story, he turned out to be an asshole.

And I guess he forgot about it. Hell, so did I.

I didn't find it until I went off to college.

Now I'm a ninja. The end.