Why do we love this game?

[Emerald weapon]

I think because it had such a powerful storyline.

You had the death of Aerith, probably the biggest part to that subject... how many other fantasy games do you know - usually with a "living happily ever after" type ending to them - where you get to know a character, get to have her in your team etc, heck you've even worked hard on levelling them up... and then have them permanently die half way through the game.

Also how you 'led' Cloud from being "Mr. I-don't-care" to a fairly caring person who couldn't help making friends after all, and then you go through a time when you're worried that he was 'constructed', then you lose him, then finally you get the 'real' Cloud. And all the amazing twisty-turny storyline elements that made it so thought provoking, even after the end (or given the abrupt ending at the time, *especially* after the end). I never did 100% understand every element of the story, especially Jenova/Sephiroth and combinations and locations thereof.

Of course, you can't help but admire the story of a group of terrorist underdogs saving the world either

Or the fact that had it not been for Cloud's personal problems, the big disaster they were fighting against at the end wouldn't have happened in the first place....

All of that is true.

Add to it one of the greatest gameplay styles of all time (Materia is my favorite Magic/Ability systems of any FF), and you have the makings for a wonderful RPG. In depth characters, fun gameplay, awesome plot all unite to make this a great game.

Enough said!

All points mentioned granted. However, what about all the elements of it that were not so good?
I personally do not think Sephiroth was that great a bad guy. Hojo was the real enemy. Why did Sephiroth want the black materia anyway? Why did he want to summon Meteor? If he summons Meteor, the planet dies, and what's he got? Nothing! There's nothing he has to gain from that, and yes, he is insane, but not that insane.

It was good, but I do not think it deserves anything more than the game that turned Final Fantasy into Anime.

Sephiroth called meteor so that the planet would gather so much energy to heal its wound and sephiroth would absorb it and become a ''god'' and the anime was created to tie up all lose ends bout clouds past! anyhu the first 2 quotes are all that need to be said why its a great game plus its music!