So I was reading an article on Destructoid about [url=http://www.destructoid.com/has-a-classic-videogame-ever-let-you-down--193488.phtml[games that ended up being a let down[/url] and then read through the comments.  Some people brought up FFVII and then Chad brought something up about games that are designed well age better and then mentioned FFVI.  This got me thinking for a moment.

Final Fantasy VI has terrible gameplay, it's broken and boring.  So why is this game designed well and so highly regarded (it's even my favorite game of all time)?  Well, it's beautiful, fantastic music, great characters, and a good story full of twists and turns.  Even if the gameplay in FFVI was good for an RPG, it would age and become outdated but it's those other things that keep it good.

Take Final Fantasy IV as an example.  In its time, it did everything right.  It was groundbreaking to say the least.  Play it today (the original, not the updated DS version) and it doesn't age well at all.  The characters are still likable for the most part, the story isn't bad, but it just doesn't capture you the way it did nearly 20 years ago.  The graphics aren't special and things just feel old.  I admit I played it a while back hoping for some good nostalgia and I came back liking the game a little less.  I still highly respect the game and would never call it bad, but it doesn't hold up in any way today.

Now, for FFVII, it has much of the same problems as IV and more.  The gameplay is just as outdated and bad.  The characters are boring with Cloud being only slightly better than Vaahn and Sephiroth one of the most boring villains of all time.  The story knows it's uninteresting and tries to hide it by making itself confusing.

When VII was released, these things were pretty much forgivable.  We could look past the bland characters and story because of the cutting edge graphics.  Today, we look at the only driving force of that game and it's just plain bad looking.  Just like FFIV, if you play that game again today you'll probably come back liking it a little less even if you had fond memories of it.

So why will FFVI always be better than FFVII then?

We could argue about characters and story all day so lets pretend they're equal.  If they're equal the only things we can look at are gameplay and graphics.  Both games have bad gameplay and rely on other things to carry it.  They're both outdated and were only acceptable at release because we didn't have much better in that type of game.

So then it's graphics.  When FFVII released, the graphics were stunning, today they're embarrassing.  Looking at FFVI, the game actually still has a lot of charm and those sprites will always have that charm.  FFVI had the fortune of releasing at pretty much the height of 2D sprite based games.  FFVII had the misfortune of releasing at the birth of the 3D revolution and will always look bad.

I know we all hate that graphics can affect two good games so much, but that's just the type of people we are.  We can go back and play FFVI and won't be turned off due to the graphics and limitations of the console.  It has a charm and that charm will drive us to continue the game.  We can go back and play FFVII and we'll be turned off by the graphics.  We won't have that thing to carry us through the game and we'll just end up losing that nostalgic feeling.

bashing Final Fantasy VII is still a popular thing I see. I'll never get why people feel the need to bring the game down so much. Final Fantasy VI is awesome though. I guess FFXIII is better than both, due to it's superior graphically effects. 

Why? Because of this:

AND THIS:

Ugh .... I can't believe I read all that... I don't use it, I know lots of players are playing FF7 for the sake of nostalgia.I played that game for like 6 times already. Still that won't hold a candle against FF9 which I played numerous times.

Anyway I'm not replaying FF6, I'm just waiting for the remake cause the opera scene would be wonderful ...tbh.

I completely disagree. I recently played both, and I still love them both. The graphics on both were fine. As you said, FFVI was at the height of the 2D era so it's graphics are still charming, and FFVII still looks fantastic if you play on the small screen of a PSP.

And both deserve a full blown remake on 3DS or NGP (or both).

i love both games i put many hours into both of them, id love for SE to put FFVI on psn or psp

"Final Fantasy VI has terrible gameplay, it's broken and boring."

No it doesn't and no it isn't. Your repeated insistence on this point suggests that your perspective on the mechanical merits of JRPGs is skewed to the point of running counter to people who actually enjoy the genre.

Edit: And don't get me started on this shit about Final Fantasy IV.

I almost didn't recognize you with a non-grumpy (or barely noticeable grumpy) avatar!

Terrible gameplay??? SERIOUSLY?

Final Fantasy IV hasn't aged well? And VI, and by extension, IV, have terrible gameplay? The premise of this thread is absurd.