50 Reasons why Final Fantasy VII is the Greatest Game Ever Made (taking ideas)

[clowd]

Ive had this idea for a while, but I thought it would be better if it the results were the product of a community, and not my own.


The idea is to compile the 50 best reasons why we think Final Fantasy VII is the greatest game ever made


Anything can be a reason, from a single character to a single piece of music, a location, a moment or scene, or even a weapon.


The idea is once we have a large list of reasons together, in a separate thread they will be listed for members to vote on in order. If you list Cloud Strife as your #1 reason why Final Fantasy VII is the greatest game ever, that reason will receive 50 points. If your 50th best reason is the Buster Sword, that reason will receive 1 point. The ballot of every member will be counted and the 50 reasons why Final Fantasy VII is the greatest game ever will be released.


Reasons must only come from the orginal 1997 game. Anything from sequels, spinoffs, animes, books, mangas, or movies are not allowed.


To Start things off, here are some basic reasons. Remember the idea in this thread is to get a comprehensive list of things that make Final Fantasy VII so great. There are a few things, like how the game took you through everyone's background, that are hard to categorize. If you have any suggestions how to do so, then please do tell.


To make looking for something that is already listed easier, I will list the reasons in categories. Everything will be in alphabetical order.


Request away, I will keep it updated. Any suggestions for new categories etc I will add.


Battle


Enemy Skills
Limit Breaks
Materia System
Omnislash
Simple, but engaging
Summon Sequences
Top-level materia (i.e. Bahamut ZERO, KotR)
Total class customisation


Characters


Aeris Gainsborough
Barret Wallace
Biggs
Bugenhagen
Cait Sith
Cetra
Choco Bill
Choco Billy
Chole
Cloud Strife
Cid Highwind
Don Corneo
Dyne
Elena
Elmyra
Heidegger
Hojo
Jenova
Jessie
Johnny
Kotch
Lucrecia Crescent
Marlene Wallace
Mayor Domino
Mr. Holzoff
Mukki
NPCs I could write a book about them, but just take for example the philosophical, dedicated station guard at Sector 7, and contrastr him with all those surfer dudes and beach bunnies in Costa wo just don't give a tit about anything but their own good time. There are the ones who have been broken by Shinra and have sunk into apathy and despair, and the ones who still believe that Shinra will save them from everything. Comparisons are odious, but in none of the other games have the NPCs captured my imagination like the ones in FFVII. - LicoriceAllsorts
Palmer
President Shinra
Red XIII
Reeve Tuesti
Reno
Rude
Rufus
Scarlett
Scotch
Sephiroth
Seto
SOLDIER (1st, 2nd, 3rd Class)
Tifa Lockhart
Tseng
Turks
Vincent Valentine
Wedge
Yuffie Kisargi
Zangan
Zack Fair


Enemies


Diamond WEAPON
Emerald WEAPON
Ruby WEAPON
Sapphire WEAPON
Ultima WEAPON


Gameplay


The ability to change how a character reacts to you.
The ability to have a character you showed generosity towards and hit on like you enough to date you.


Graphics


3D World Map
FMVs
Graphics that show, but do not choke imagination
Prerendered backgrounds


Legacy


Helped bring JRPGs to the mainstream
Original copies being sold for as high as $500
Still learning new things about the game even today


Mini Games


Basketball
Boxing
Chocobo Betting
Chocobo Breeding
Chocobo Racing
Fort Condor Battles
Hardy Daytona Bike Battle
Mog
Scoring 300 on "Super Dunk" so you can buy a life-time Gold Saucer pass on your first visit.
Snow boarding
Submarine


Moments


Aeris' Death
Arriving at '7th Heaven' in Sector 7. Your first "safe" environment of the game
Barret mourns Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie
Beating Joe and Teioh with your Chocobo
Cait Sith giving the key to the ancients to Tseng
Cait Sith's Death in the Temple of Ancients
Cid Highwind's Rocket Story about how it ended up tilted over
Cloud's date with Aerith/Tifa, messing up your lines on the Gold Saucer date
Cloud meets Aeris for the first time
Cloud cross-dressing
Cloud remembers the truth about the Nibelheim Incident , how he threw Sephiroth into the reactor
Diamond WEAPON's attack on Midgar
Dyne's suicide/encounter with Barret
Ending FMV
Escaping Shinra Tower FMV
Finding Yuffie (again!) in Wutai
Flushing toilets
Having Vincent in your party when you fight Hojo
Jenova escapes Shinra building
Junon Parade
Nanaki's introduction - Going from bad guy to party member.
Opening FMV
Parachuting into Midgar
Prelude credits
Red XIII/Nanaki FMV at the very end
Red XIII/Nanaki Learns the Truth about Seto
Sapphire WEAPON's attack on Junon
Seeing Jenova for the first time in the Nibelheim reactor
Seeing Jenova for the first time in the Shinra Building
Sector 7 Pillar collapse
Sephiroth frees Jenova from Nibelheim reactor
Sephiroth walks through the fire
Stopping or letting the train hit Corel
Tifa helps Cloud find himself in the lifestream
WEAPON's Escape from North Crater
Zack's death/flashback in Nibelheim basement


Music


Anxious Heart
Aeris' Theme
Birth of a God
Cid's Theme
Crazy Motorcycle Chase
Electric de Chocobo
Highwind Takes to the Skies
J-E-N-O-V-A
Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII
One Winged Angel
Reunion
Still More Fighting
The Great Warrior
Those Chosen by the Planet
Tifa's Theme
Trail of Blood
Turk's Theme
Underneath the Rotting Pizza
You Can Hear the Cry of the Planet


Places


Aeris' church in Sector 5
Battle Arena
Bone Village
City of the Ancients
Chocobo Ranch
Corel
Corel Prison
Cosmo Canyon
Costa Del Sol
Fort Condor
Golden Saucer
Gongaga
Icicle Inn
Junon
Kalm
Mideel
Midgar
Mt. Nibel
Nibelheim
Northern Crater
Rocket Town
Sector 7 Slums
Shinra Tower
Temple of the Ancients
Wall Market
Wutai


Story


Campy
Elements of Horror
Elements of Science Fiction
Epic
Exposition
Lifestream mythology
Love Triangle
Mako mythology
Pace
Significance of its themes to contemporary life
Transition from fighting a tyrant megacorporation to saving the world to going after one man to settle personal issues


Vehicles


Chocobo (Blue, Green, Black, Gold)
Hardy Daytona
Highwind
Submarine
Tiny Bronco


Weapons


Apocalypse
Buster Sword
Gatling Gun
Junon Cannon
Masamune
Meteor
Sister Ray
Ultimate Weapon (Cloud's)

[edczxcvbnm]

You are missing the critical moment where you can go on a date with a Big Burly Black man or a sexy piece of 16 year old jailbait!

You also don't have the moment where you get the Red Submarine.

Or the greatest summon spell of all time: Choco-mog! It combines Chocobos and Moggles into one dish of awesomeness. True story, I defeated Sephiroth with Choco-mog the first time I played the game.

How about the time you got the opportunity to run up 60 flights of stairs! So awesome!

How about great typos that have become classisc? I don't see "This guy are sick" or the "Nolespole" anywhere. Classic just like Your base are belong to us.

Or how about the emotional whiplash of Aeris sad death followed by some totally radical snowboarding. SO CONFUSING!

I also like how a wimpy stab to the gut killed Aeris but Sephiroth gets his guts eviscerated and literally walks away thus making him a total bad ass.

[edczxcvbnm]

OH MY GOD! How could I have forgotten going to the Honey Bee in for some steaming group action! Clearly that was even sexier than Cloud almost kissing the Don!

[Jiro]

Being raped in the %)$* room is up there too.

[Mirage]

There is nothing jailbait about a 16 year old, not even in most US states.

[Loony BoB]

History will probably record that the greatest thing about this game is, without a doubt, Aeris' death at the end of a notably long disk one. Everyone who has ever played this game should love it. Aeris is the kind of character that, in my experiences at EoFF, is either loved and hated by fans of the game. The reason that Aeris' death is perfect is because it makes the game better for both sides. For those that love her, they grow even more attached to the desire to destroy Sephiroth. They go through a great emotional experience in a video game which isn't a common thing these days. For those that hate her, they get to watch her die. As one of the latter people, I assure you: This is an experience of joy worth feeling. The knowledge that this harlot was gone from the game for good after I had spent so much time trying to ensure she stays as far away from my characters as possible left me cheering and applauding. Well, maybe not literally, but at least in my head. I may have raised a fist or two in the air and had a smile on my face as she slowly fell to the ground and the dramatic (and lovely) music began to play. Adios, Aeris.

Personally, Aeris death did not attach me to any character but just made me enjoy the fact that she was gone. For my personal favourite moment of the game, though, it is one that broke my heart - that of Red XIII howling his sorrow beneath his father, who had been turned to stone years ago. A few tears fell from Seto's eye, showing he was alive somewhere in that stone - and clearly had been for many, many years - and could hear his long-lost son's cries. Touching.

There was recently an article on another website that included the top ten moments of Final Fantasy's games, and the number one choice of the writer was the emergence from Midgar into the world map. I must concede that after spending so much time in Midgar, it was a massive moment in gaming for me and I do adore how it was delayed so long, making it what I can only refer to as a Shawshank moment.

[edczxcvbnm]

There is nothing jailbait about a 16 year old, not even in most US states.

Sorry, I live in Illinois and the age requirement here is what I think of and mistakenly apply on a grand scale :P

[Sephex]

This game is notable for the fact that it has caused a never ending debate whether it's bad or good. First it was praised, years later sever hype backlash set it, and THEN backlash against the original backlashers.

To this day this game continues to be dissected worse than any frog by a psychotic biology student. That's gotta count for something.

[DMKA]

There is nothing jailbait about a 16 year old, not even in most US states.

It is in California.

[Loony BoB]

This game is notable for the fact that it has caused a never ending debate weather it's bad or good. First it was praised, years later sever hype backlash set it, and THEN backlash against the original backlashers.

To this day this game continues to be dissected worse than any frog by a psychotic biology student. That's gotta count for something.
I dunno, I never really saw a period where it was universally lambasted. There were always a few vocal people who fought against it (which is always the way) but it was still topping "best all time game" lists all over the place.

[Sephex]

This game is notable for the fact that it has caused a never ending debate weather it's bad or good. First it was praised, years later sever hype backlash set it, and THEN backlash against the original backlashers.

To this day this game continues to be dissected worse than any frog by a psychotic biology student. That's gotta count for something.
I dunno, I never really saw a period where it was universally lambasted. There were always a few vocal people who fought against it (which is always the way) but it was still topping "best all time game" lists all over the place.

I just seemed to me a few years ago that hating on FFVII was the "cool" thing to do. There are always those type of people who will stroke every key of their keyboard as hard as they can thinking they can revolutionize the internet's opinion on something, but as I said, I noticed A LOT of those type of people rallying against FFVII.

[Kenshin IV]

It just seemed to me a few years ago that hating on FFVII was the "cool" thing to do.

It was, and I was under the impression it still was. Though, I have not been around the fan base in a long time and if that has changed at all I would be very impressed.

[Shiny]

There is nothing jailbait about a 16 year old, not even in most US states.
:erm:

Another reason why the game is great: Final Fantasy VII is still selling high on Amazon and is currently almost sold out. They have to restock the game frequently. The black label edition sold for like something $500 back in 2009. It's in high demand because people want to play it even though it's aged considerably. Every other FF is selling for way under the price FFVII is selling for. People can hate if they want, but money talks.

[Loony BoB]

It just seemed to me a few years ago that hating on FFVII was the "cool" thing to do.

It was, and I was under the impression it still was. Though, I have not been around the fan base in a long time and if that has changed at all I would be very impressed.
Being bitter is something that has always been and will always be around, but I think there's a solid reason that VII has always been the most popular of the Final Fantasy forums, even during recent years, and I don't think it's because everyone really enjoys posting about how bad a game is.

[Mercen-X]

Battle

E. Skills
Top-level materia (i.e. Bahamut ZERO, KotR)

Characters

Biggs
Choco Bill
Choco Billy
Chole
Elmyra
Jessie
Kotch
Mayor Domino
Mr. Holzoff
Mukki
Scotch
Seto
SOLDIER (i.e. 3rd Class, 2nd Class, 1st Class)
Wedge

Vehicles

Chocobos (i.e. Blue, Green, Black, Gold)

Weapons

Apocalypse
Cloud's Ultima Weapon

[clowd]

Thank you Mercen-X

The list has been updated

I'll likely post the topic where you can vote on your top 50 in the next couple of weeks

[Bubba]

I'll list a some of my favourites that are not necessarily at the top of (or will even make) the list... but still awesome!

- Arriving at '7th Heaven' in Sector 7. Your first "safe" environment of the game and it was awesome. - "Nothin' like that first drink after a job!"
- Wall Market. One of the best towns of all time
- Crossdressing. That is all.
- The book puzzle with the mayor in Shinra HQ
- Flushing the toilet (everyone flushed the toilet!).
- Nanaki's introduction - Going from bad guy to party member. Awesome.
- FMV motorbike escape from Shinra HQ
- Fort Condor mini game (why was it not in Gold Saucer?)
- The Junon parade
- Messing up your lines on the Gold Saucer date
- Scoring 300 on "Super Dunk" so you can buy a life-time Gold Saucer pass on your first visit.
- The Dyne/Barett storyline and fight in Corel Prison
- Laughing at PC users when the buggy breaks down at Cosmo Canyon
- Nanaki and Seto
- Cid in general
- Finding Yuffie (again!) in Wutai
- The death of Aeris and her subsequent revival
- Snowboarding
- Weapons wake up
- Stopping the train from hitting Corel
- LETTING the train hit Corel
- Cloud finding himself in the Lifestream
- Kicking Joe and Teioh's ass every time with your Gold Chocobo
- Knights of the Round
- Omnislash
- Having Vincent in your party when you fight Hojo
- Nanaki in the end FMV

[clowd]

I definitely agree about the "safe" areas, and the hideout below the 7th heaven bar was delightfully campy.


I've added all your reasons, if they werent added already.

[B Wald]

Three syllables, folks. SEH-Fi-ROTH. Dude's the friggin' Darth Vader of the JRPG genre- the Iconic villain. I believe they even buy their black capes at the same store...

[Raistlin]

There is nothing jailbait about a 16 year old, not even in most US states.

I can assure you that in the many states where the age of consent is above 16 (most default at 18), a 16-year-old is certainly jailbait, especially with our ridiculous and constitutionally dubious statutory rape laws.

/off topic (and very late)

[Daamusickid24]

I beat the game through and through. Including every weapon, S-classing all my chocobos, going on every date at the gold saucer.. etc. With that said, I can give 100 reasons why it's the best game ever made. Think about this though, for everything FF7 did "wrong" it did something great on a scale unimaginable. Overrated seriously???? Cid's theme song, Tifa's theme song, Aeris' Theme song, Interrupted by Fire Works, and The Great Warrior are 5 songs that are so wonderful that they are on the level of big budget franchise films like the original Star Wars themes. The sub-stories in the game like when Red XIII finds out that his father who he believed to be a coward for his entire life (thinking his father ran away and left his mother and tribe to die) only to find out that his father went by himself through the catacombs of cosmo canyon defendin off monster after monster and being turned to stone still with arrows and darts sticking out of his petrified body, but symbolically protecting the canyon. That in and of itself is such a powerful concept to incorporate as a sub-story that it has most games now adays beat with their main storyline just based on one sub-story of this great title. Now lets add the materia system, (leveling up, Mastering, Birthing, and powering up weapons and armor) limit system, mini games, open world aspect (once you get out of midgar) truly evil villian and the main storyline , now you have really something spectacular. If I had any COMPLAINT about this title is that after beating it many times I do wish I could up the difficulty but hey maybe if we get a remake for the ps4 we'll have that option ;)