Not really sure where Naruto fits into this thread. If anything I guess it's quite similar to the Final Fantasy series as a whole in that it's fairly mainstream and popular, and in my opinion both of them are popular because they're good, rather than being rubbish because they're popular which is a viewpoint I see only too often regarding anything that sells well.

For the record I'm a fan (not a fanboy, those are the more obnoxious breed) of FFVII. And Naruto. I can see where y'all are coming from, some products have worse fans than others.... I'm also a fan of Macintosh computers but I can't stand Mac fanboys either, and believe me a huge percentage of Mac fans can be categorised as the more obnoxious "fanboy" breed.

The issue is childishness, "Mine is better than yoouuuurs neener neener". It goes hand-in-hand with console gaming of course because a lot of actual kids are involved. That's what I think people find annoying when we get a little older. But wait, isn't this just an issue of age/maturity difference?

Wanting to "be Cloud" or thinking Sephiroth is teh cool3st is most likely just kids being kids. Hell I was about 14 when FFVII first came out and I was kind of like that too (I grew out of it)... let them have their fantasies, surely that's why they named this game the way they did

When you learn a little more about life itself and the story presented in such games, you realise that being a messed-up 21 year old with major memory, identity and emotional problems who has watched close friends die isn't such an attractive prospect after all, but what's the rush to get to that point? Let the young enjoy fantasizing about being Cloud while they still can

Whether it's being a blind fanboy and saying that all FF games suck compared to FFVII, or being a Hater and saying that it's "lame" or whatever with no real justification, is all just an issue of childishness. Intelligent discussion should respect the pros and cons of each side.

Best game ever? I thought so, until FFX came out. Now they're equals.