This perfectly sums it up for me.
The closest thing I'd played to an RPG at that point was Zelda. Once I'd played FFVII though I bought every PS1 RPG that I could get my hands on. Alundra, Breath of Fire 3, Vandal Hearts... they weren't a patch on my beloved FFVII though. I think the build up to the release of FFVIII was the most excited I've ever been for a game.