It was Pokémon Red, I think. I got FFVII right around that time, but I'm 90% sure I got FFVII first. I would have been 12 at the time. When I got the hang of the exp/levelling side of things it quickly became my favourite genre. I always liked the customization these games tend to offer. Pokémon was great because you could assemble a team from 151 different Pokémon, and you had to train and develop them.