why is it that so many people consider "first" to = "best"? who cares if it opened the RPG genre? that was a long time ago. there have been many better games since then. people need to learn to move on to games that are ACTUALLY GOOD!
They also have the right to consider Final Fantasy VII a good game, in which it was and is in a lot of folks' opinions. It's not that it was the first 3D RPG, it was the first RPG that was truly cinematic and featured elements not seen in other videogames of it's time. Also, a lot of people love the materia system used in Final Fantasy VII, so they find the battles a fun endeavor as well. As far as the whole "text-based" ramble; had the PSone CDs been capable of holding the monstrous amount of room and effort it takes to put in voice acting, Final Fantasy VII would have had it.