noxious.sunshine: I think you managed to completely ignore my point - which, in the case of FF7 or FF9 textures was that there were lots more detail in the more recent textures, which, in conjunction with low texture resolution, resulted in pixellated textures. I mean, 9 was certainly pretty, but 7 strained your eyes less. <- My point on the graphics. No more, no less.
Also, the character models in 8 was, together with their textures, a quantum leap from 7. But put a character from a NES or SNES FF game next to one of FF7's field models, and one from 8 or 9 if you wish, and compare their animations. 7 didn't really push any boundaries there - even 8 was a huge step up in that department, and 9? Whoa!
Look, just read that part of the post again, slowly. I'm talking history, not prowess.