Final Fantasy VI is my favorite Final Fantasy game, so.... The atmosphere, backstory, music, and characters all go hand in hand with each-other to make a truly fantastic experience. I played it before I played VII of course. I can understand that if VII were some people's first Final Fantasy that game would seem the same for them. Honestly, when it comes down to it, they are very similar games in terms of convention and theme, and that is why I never understood the claim that VII was a huge leap and change for the series. VII wasn't the first FF where a playable character died. It wasn't the first to have a developed and strong back story, or extended emotional cut-scenes. It wasn't the first final fantasy to ditch the medieval setting. Honestly, it was just an evolution in the series, not a revolution, and it some ways for people like me it wasn't even that. IX was a vastly better PS Final Fantasy, and X was also a better game in my opinion. Overall, I consider VII to be a standard Final Fantasy. The absolute minimum a Final Fantasy game should be. But it wasn't the best, or even close. There are at least four games better than it, in my opinion: VI, IX, IV, and X.

7 because it was my first and I have more fond memories of it. Infact I prefer 8 and 9 over 6 (again I played them before). 6 is great and all but graphics didn't put me off. I'd love a new version of it, same story/gameplay just with pretty graphics.

Didn't put you off or did? Anyway, I'd say VI has aged much better than VII (Snes sprites > PS1's basic polygons), but yeah it could use a remake with a medium-size budget. 

Guys all this FF talk is giving me withdrawls. I need to replay one but have such a big backlog of games and Christmas is only going to make it worse :(

Not a single Gen 5 game ever became my favorite in its series. I still prefer FFIV and VI over the likes of VII-IX, heck, over any other Final Fantasy game.

... it's 'did' however I think I was thinking "didn't work for me." but instead typed "put me off."

I'm like a basket case, me.

Yes, the sprites aged far better than early 3D but then early sprites look like crap compared to FF6.

Yeah, well even in the fifth generation there were a lot of improvements. IX looks much better than VII, and I'd say is preferable to VI, in terms of visuals (and sound quality of course.)  

For me FF1, FF3, FF4, FF5, FF6, FF9, FF10 are all better than FF7. The more recent ones takes to much of my precious time for me to like them, walking around for nothing and never ending fights is now what takes most of the play time. I know that exploring and fights are what makes FF, but finding a way to accelerate the process would make the games more attracting to me. I have no problem wasting hours to know what to do, but when I know how, it should take 5 mins the next time I do it, or else its just tedious and time wasting.

FF VII. It's one of my favorites along with FF IV and FF IX.

I don't think there is a series that gets people talking about each game and comparisons between each game as much as FF.

So that's probably why.