You can't compare 7 to 13 (well you can but it's not entirly fair due to technology advancements). So lets compare 10 to 13. With every FF proir to 13 there was an Airship. There was no airship in 13. That alone seemed to make the whole world of 13 smaller and more linear. The sidequests in 10 are pretty intriguing, I especially like the monster hunting. You then fought a more powerful one after certain conditions were met. I still have yet to beat Nemesis in it. However in 13 Long Gui was the most powerful creature. With the proper equipment it wasn't as much of a challenge. I could continue but I digress to answer his question I like my characters having a certain class something that another charater doesn't have. 13 they all seem to be the same to some extent. I liked the old ways. You don't have to voice over every little thing. Not all of 10's sidequests were completely voiced. That didn't bother me at all. I had varity and a somewhat open world. 13 was lacking in both of them.

FF 7 was the first console game I ever played. It really got me into RPGs and other JRPGs. At first I was never interested in this style of gameplay. That being said when I first played it I got lost as soon as I left Midgar. I somehow missed that first town and lost to the Midgar Zolom. You couldn't get past the Midgar Zolom unless you got a Chocobo from that farm. But before that you couldn't get the chocobo unless you listened to Cloud's backstory. Other FF's are like this they are linear to a point. That point to when thigs really opened up is when you got your airship.