I didn't mind FF7. It's probably my 3rd favourite in the series.
However, I'll add two more points as to why I didn't find the FF7 experience as immersive as FF6:
1. The lifeless looking characters. This is no joke, when I saw their faces originally, I thought "They look like they've had face paralysis", and it doesn't change! Even when Cloud is in that wheelchair looking like a vegetable, he has that same expression! FF6 had a library of sprite expressions for each character, and it seemed a lot easier to grasp what the script writers were trying to convey in a scene.
2. Something about the tunes creeped me out. The instruments didn't seem to mesh together as nicely, as if they came from different sound packages. For instance, when Aeris is killed....nice start, echoing piano....really expresses the shock, but then the blaring trumpet kicks in, like a high pitched version of the Sad Trombone sound effect, and it makes the song sound like it's trying to convey embarassment more than sadness.
I still enjoyed the game though, not as shocked with the Aeris death thing halfway through as some people were. I felt more sad for Celes when Cid dies and she's stuck on that dying island (appropriate music for that scene, too).
