I remember at the time it was quite revolutionary... then i realized what i remember is slanted to whatever i enjoyed... so look at other things that came out in 97...

Goldeneye
PaRappa
GTA1
Tomb Raider II
Symphony of the Night
Starfox 64
Mega Man Legends
Quake 2
Fallout
Ultima Online

All extremely good games in their own right. And yet FFVII was something that was picked up over the next several years and hailed as extraordinary.

This game was pre-pokemon kiddies. And they pushed the envelope in sooo many ways. Without this gem of a game i wouldn't have a love of RPG's. It was my gateway drug for playing FFVI and Chrono Trigger.

Is it a good game now? No its a terrible game: its glitchy, the polygons are atrocious, the storyline is not very deep, the loading times were horrendous, most of the game was nothing but a grind, the replay value is almost nill.

I still love the game, and i do believe EVERYONE(gamer or not) should at least check it out. Just don't expect too terribly much