If the only one you're going to cite playing is 7, you likely missed the times when the series still had a good showing for itself. Story was pretty well a declining feature at that point and afterwards. Why Aeris's death was significant had to do with players becoming emotionally attached to the characters in the game, Aeris just happened to be the most tolerable/likeable one of the whole mix in 7 (at least from what I've seen in opinions).
Fact of the matter is, that's a major part of the enjoyment of any RPG, not just the final fantasy series. Story, characters, immersion, if these aren't motivations for you, as a player, then you really shouldn't expect to enjoy an RPG at all; if you can't get caught up in the story, get attached to a character, or to dismiss the game and just delve into the game's world, just find something else to play.
In my personal opinion, 7's one of the worst of the series, largely because it was too much innovation and too little character development. It did a lot of new things, most of which were nice. But being forced with Cloud, who tried to whole cloth steal someone else's identity because he couldn't come to terms with who he is and becoming a spineless pawn was too much to tolerate. Aeris, Barret, Tifa, Yuffie, Cid, Nanaki, even Cait Sith (cat sidhe) had more investment in the world than cloud, who gets to be the hero for the same deus ex machina that keeps Superman going.
The Final Fantasy series has been a major player in role playing games and particularly in the importing of the genre from Japan. They may not be an ideal candidate for being called the greatest games ever, but they were for the most part very well designed. Unlike a number of other RPGs, I've played all the way through nearly every one of the series without having to power level or farm gold, making it possible to head directly to every piece of plot advancement and story without wait and without getting overwhelmed by the combat I loathe so much in games. It's also a statement on the ease of introducing a game by an old monicker, they might not have been so well selling had every one of them featured a unique name (heaven knows there's very few in the series with the same world or characters).
Fact of the matter is, that's a major part of the enjoyment of any RPG, not just the final fantasy series. Story, characters, immersion, if these aren't motivations for you, as a player, then you really shouldn't expect to enjoy an RPG at all; if you can't get caught up in the story, get attached to a character, or to dismiss the game and just delve into the game's world, just find something else to play.
In my personal opinion, 7's one of the worst of the series, largely because it was too much innovation and too little character development. It did a lot of new things, most of which were nice. But being forced with Cloud, who tried to whole cloth steal someone else's identity because he couldn't come to terms with who he is and becoming a spineless pawn was too much to tolerate. Aeris, Barret, Tifa, Yuffie, Cid, Nanaki, even Cait Sith (cat sidhe) had more investment in the world than cloud, who gets to be the hero for the same deus ex machina that keeps Superman going.
The Final Fantasy series has been a major player in role playing games and particularly in the importing of the genre from Japan. They may not be an ideal candidate for being called the greatest games ever, but they were for the most part very well designed. Unlike a number of other RPGs, I've played all the way through nearly every one of the series without having to power level or farm gold, making it possible to head directly to every piece of plot advancement and story without wait and without getting overwhelmed by the combat I loathe so much in games. It's also a statement on the ease of introducing a game by an old monicker, they might not have been so well selling had every one of them featured a unique name (heaven knows there's very few in the series with the same world or characters).