Final Fantasy VII has a deep and moving storyline. In another ten years, these games are going to be looked at the same way Final Fantasy VII is now being looked at: overhyped. Just like people are doing now for video games like Kingdom Hearts (II) or Warcraft or ven Xenosaga(I, II, or III). Sure, there was no need to hype it up, but most did anyway.
In 1996, Final Fantasy VII had these so the american population went crazy over it. Now, it's understandable why there is such a controversy over it in 2006: people are now expecting better graphics and bigger, more complex storylines. Final Fantasy VII was fantastic in the year it came out.