Member Reviews

In my opinion, Final Fantasy did something that no other game has ever done in the history of videogaming. It was the doorway for thousands of gamers into the realm of RPGs.

At first, I was disappointed that FF7 appealed to the masses. I thought that they would change or simplify the story so that their sales would increase. In essence, I thought they sold out. But, in fact, I was wrong. Final Fantasy did a great job appealing to a large audience and maintaining a story and cast of characters that any RPGer would find great.

Final Fantasy VII has everything. Perhaps it's biggest appeal is the fact that it's just a very fun game. It's great. I remember thinking just how fun it was while playing it. When I first put it in my Playstation, I knew that this game had more than lived up to the hype.

Final Fantasy VII captured my emotions at times and it made me gasp in surprise as well. The characters were fun and exciting to control, the story was dark and captivating and the music still brings back great memories.

The greatest thing about Final Fantasy VII (besides Cid) is the villain. Sephiroth is perhaps the most evil and dark villain ever. Most of all, Sephiroth was just plain cool. Just think about all those 15 year old kids out there that were obsessed with killing the evil Sephiroth is enough proof for me that the game is great.

When it comes down to it, Final Fantasy VII is my favorite game ever, hands down. It's fun and more touching that Final Fantasy VIII and I have no doubts in my mind by naming it the best game ever.

Appearance: Absolutely stunning for its time. Great FMV and backgrounds. Realistic character movements.	10.0
Story: The best part of this game, you'll be on the edge of your seat from start to finish.	10.0
Music: The game is filled with captivation tunes and wonderful character themes.	9.5
Battle: Very fast and exciting, the battles are not annoyingly frequent.	9.5
Overall: I have no problem calling this game the best game ever.	10.0

- Cid

---

The first time I ever saw FFVII, I was skeptical. I had not been a part of the hype, so the only real thought I had when I started it was, "How can they possibly beat FFVI?" In my opinion, the story and music of FFVII's predecessor were good enough that it was unlikely VII would be able to surpass them. In many cases, though, it did.

Story Overall, the story was very good. You had your good-guys, your bad-guys, and a little of the in-between people. Only...it wasn't so clear-cut. The "good-guys" aren't entirely good and saintly, and the "bad-guys" aren't entirely evil. This gray area made both the story and characterization much more interesting, as I found myself disliking some of the "heroes" and feeling sympathetic towards antagonists. The only thing that bothered me about the story itself was some vagueness. To fully understand what had gone on, you had to find things like the "secret movie/flashback", and a lot of people didn't the first few times around. As for the widely disliked ending, all I can say while avoiding spoilers is that it was well done. Mysterious, not incomplete, as many say.	9.0
Characters I don't think the characterization could possibly have been any better, had all the characters been covered equally. In this sense, VII repeated the same error VI had: ignoring minor/secret characters. Vincent comes to mind as the character most slighted, with Tseng, Reeve, and Shera following closely behind. When I finished the game, found all the secrets, and saw the ending, it still felt as though something was missing. Other than that, characterization was wonderful. I began to understand why certain characters acted and spoke like they did. They didn't just randomly do things; there was a reason. By the end of the game, I really felt like I knew the characters.	9.9
Music The music in this game was typical of the FF series-some songs were incredible, and others made you want to rip out your eardrums. Since there's four disks worth of music to the soundtrack, I'm just going to give a few examples to support my rating. First, the good stuff; the stuff that made you laugh, cry, or just say, "Wow!". 1. Aerith's theme- In my eyes, the masterpiece of the game, even when not connected to he events it was heard with. It so perfectly fits Aerith that no other character theme I've heard can compare with it. This piece is also one of the most emotional in the game. 2. One-Winged Angel- All in all, a very good final battle theme. It sounds like the end of the world put to music, and the Latin chanting very much fits Sephiroth. The whole feel of the song just screams "Final Boss!" at you. This is, in my opinion, the most memorable track on the soundtrack. 3. The Prelude- I thought the prelude in this game was very well done, sounding more...I don't know, ethereal than the past ones. It's a classic, anyway, and automatically has a place on the "good" list. 4. Interrupted by Fireworks- A beautiful track, this song is relaxing and sweet. It's another very emotional song, but it's soft enough that I could listen to it for a long time. 5. JENOVA- This is a "Wow!" *^_^* It's very weird sounding, and works quite well for the battles with Jenova. I really don't know how to describe this one; you just have to hear it. Now, for the *grimace* bad stuff 1. Trail of Blood- On it's own, this is terrible. It's boring, and grates on my nerves. 2. I can't remember the name right off the top of my head, but one of the chocobo themes (plays in Mideel when the little white chocobo is around) is undoubtedly the most annoying theme I've ever heard, even beating VI's "classic"?. That's about it...there were quite a few more good tracks, and a lot of mediocre ones, but not many bad.	9.5
Appearance What saved the rating in this category was the FMV's and backgrounds. I don't really have much to say about the character graphics the rest of the time, though. They were well done enough that you could differentiate between characters, but some things (i.e., the hands) probably could've been improved upon. Fortunately, the backgrounds more than make up for this. The detail involved is absolutely stunning. For the first time in the FF series, houses and villages have very different looks and decor (and people have bathrooms! ;D), and it really does make a difference in the game appearance. FMV's were another major plus. All of them were well done and looked spectacular.	8.0
Miscellaneous This category takes into consideration things like battle, magic system, world map, and transportation. The battle system was good; it was refreshing to see a character actually walk up and slash a monster rather than wave their sword around in the air, and limit breaks were just the coolest thing to a rookie FFVII player since sliced bread. When I first played, I thought that having three characters instead of four would be very detrimental, but I was wrong. It worked out fine. As a final battle note, the characters' different poses and such for victory and casting spells and limit breaks was good, as was the fact that they always kept moving and didn't just freeze in place after fighting. Materia is a kind of a double-edged sword. It was good in its uniformity, level-ups, and possible combinations; it was bad in its uniformity, easiness to find, and lack of change from the basic spells of FFVI. The basic concept was very entertaining and opened itself up to a lot of possibilites ( you could never do something like the Final Attack/Phoenix combo in another game...), but it made it a little boring that everyone could do the exact same thing (like throwing or stealing) by equipping materia for it. I loved the world map. It was varied, 3D, and took into account things like climate and terrain more than its predecessors. The controllable camera angles were also a lot of fun. The wide variety of transportation in VII added a lot to its appeal. It had the standard Chocobo and airship, but it also added a land-vehicle, the Tiny Bronco (for travel in shallow water), and a submarine (for ocean travel).	9.0
Overall This is, in my opinion, one of the best games ever. It had so many elements, and combines them so well you can't help but like it. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has never played.	9.5

- Asorie

---

Final Fantasy 7 was revolutionary. It redefined how developers viewed the Playstation, and made people realize what the little gray box was capable of doing. Final Fantasy 7 sold over 7 million copies, proving that RPGs could appeal to the masses. But could it still live up to the incredible Final Fantasy 6 at the same time? The answer is yes, Final Fantasy 7 is one of the few games that I would call a masterpiece.

Appearance Final Fantasy 7's graphics were revolutionary. It started the popularity of pre-rendered backgrounds and FMVs. The pre-rendered backgrounds, although nearly as detailed as FF8's, are still very detailed and the best of their time. The battle graphics and FMVs also blew away everything else there was back then. The world map is not quite as good, but still gets the job done. The thing that prevents the graphics from getting a 10 is the god-awful character models. Even though some people like that style, I hate it. The characters are blocky, unproportional, and have hands the size of their body. This wouldn't be so bad if they didn't magically turn into normal looking people in the battles and FMVs, making the deformed models look even worse afterwards. Other than that, the graphics in FF7 are outstanding and revolutionary.	9.5
Story Wow. This is one of the best parts of this game. In my opinion, the main enemy is the most evil villian in the history of Final Fantasy. He/she is very cool, and is the most developed, motivated villain I have ever encountered in an RPG. Not only is the villain cool, the characters are awesome as well. The characters of Final Fantasy 7 are very memorable and keep you playing to find out what they will do next. Some are traitors, some are heros, and they all have a deep history. The main character, Cloud, in particular, is full of suprises and keeps the game interesting. The story in Final Fantasy 7 is definitely the high point of the game.	10.0
Music Although some people prefer Final Fantasy 7's music to 8's, I was rather disappointed by it. The quality of music is not that good, it sounds like anybody could do it with a $300 keyboard. Except for the rare orchestrated song (Aeris' theme, end theme), they are all MIDI. Although some are quite good (world map theme, Cid's theme), some are quite annoying. Perhaps the best song in the game is the final boss song, which just plain rocks. Definitely not the best Final Fantasy music, although it is entirely adequate.	8.0
Battle Final Fantasy 7's battles are good, but definitely have some flaws. The rate of how often a battle is is good, and the battles are also a good length, not too short and not too long. The materia system allows the characters to combine types of materia on their armor and weapons, which is great and adds some depth to the battles. For example, an elemental materia can be paired up with an elemental magic. If they are placed on the weapon, the weapon will do damage based on that element, and if placed on the armor, will defend the character from that element. The combinations are almost limitless, and is the high point of the system. Unfortunately, materia can also get annoying due to how long it takes to master them, which is necessary to beat the Emerald and Ruby weapons. Also, none of the characters are really different from each other, the limit breaks are the only unique things about them. Also, the battles are mostly on the easy side, which is good for the beginning gamer, but frustrating to the veteran RPG players. Although the battle system is not without flaws, it is still very good and gets the job done nicely.	9.0
Bottom Line Although the story, graphics, and the game as a whole were amazing and revolutionary, the music and battles, although excellent, are not quite good enough to issue this game a 10. Still, if you are an RPG fan buy this game, heck, even if you are not an RPG fan, buy this game!	9.5

- Seifer 007

---

Firstly, a warning: This review probably has spoilers in it. The way I see it, you're on a Final Fantasy site, reading a review about the most famous game in the series that has been out for over ten years. You probably know what it's all about by now. The purpose of this review is to assess whether or not Final Fantasy VII deserves its place in Final Fantasy and gaming history. It is also to try to persuade those who have written the game off because of its popularity to give it a second chance.

The gameplay is standard Final Fantasy fare. There are a couple of features that I like, though. Firstly, the ability to remap any key in the game, which in modern games is often surprisingly lacking. I also like it that there is a button (Select by default) that marks all the exits and ladders. This is quite a handy little device put in by Square, and I have found myself using it often.

So you wander about the world, looking for shiny trinkets and getting into the dreaded random encounters. I can't endorse the battle system, and instead prefer combat systems seen in later Square titles like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XII. However, as those came a generation later, this can be forgiven. Some of the battles can be tedious, but others can be quite intense. The combat against Demon's Gate, as he crashes through the wall, gets the blood pumping, as does the battle against Diamond Weapon as he storms out of the sea. You will also need to be on top form to defeat them.

Magic and abilities are taken care of by the materia system, as I'm sure we all know. This is a fantastic system. It allows for a lot of freedom with how you set your characters up. If you want to recreate the job classes seen in previous systems, you can, but if you want to do that but also remove the weaknesses of that class, you can do so too. I also particularly like that you don't have to be loaded down by a huge amount of spells you never, ever, use. Better yet, you can sell the stuff! I also like that certain useful materias, for example W-Item, are one of a kind and you have to actually look for them. Encouraging exploration is undoubtedly a very good thing. As a side note, I have always found it amusing that materia is often found just lying on the ground, or in low quality shops, even though the value of this substance is often emphasised.

The final note I have to make about gameplay is on the minigames. Do you like little diversions from your main game? FFVII is chock full of them. I've sunk countless hours into Chocobo racing and the Speed Square at the Golden Saucer, because they are just plain fun. The Submarine and Snowboarding minigames are a blast too. I also like that all of these have been placed in the story as well as the arcade. It's a pity that the Fort Condor RTS game didn't make it into the Golden Saucer, and only features during the story events.

On the subject of the story, overall it is outstanding. At times, it does lose its way a little and things are left unexplained. The Zack storyline is perhaps the best example of this, which is probably why Square have been going all out to include him in the recent FFVII spinoff games. Sephiroth is a fantastic villain. As a young kid, playing this game, I was legitimately terrified of the man. I knew one day I would have to finally face him. Cloud's childhood hero, a legendary swordsman, who is infinitely more powerful than your heroes. It was a truly scary prospect. Not to mention his theme music. I'm not talking about what is probably the most famous boss music in gaming, One Winged Angel, but instead, Those Chosen By The Planet. If you don't recognise the name, go look it up, and if it doesn't send a chill down your spine, you are certainly braver than me.

Sephiroth isn't the only great character. In fact, I would say that the characters in general are wonderful, and it's easy to build up a lot of empathy with them. It's hard not to feel touched by Red XIII discovering the truth about his father, or Cid's dream, or even Cait Sith and his puppetmaster and his genuine concern for the downtrodden people of Midgar. After seeing Aeris's backstory with her mother, you certainly feel guilty when she gets kidnapped. When Sephiroth reveals the truth about the Nibelheim incident and Cloud, I didn't want to accept it either. My Cloud, not a badass SOLDIER? No. Get out. That's not true. When a game makes you feel like that, it has some pretty powerful writing behind it. I don't think there was a single member of the main party that I disliked, which I have trouble saying for later Final Fantasy titles.

That said, the writing in certain places is pretty dodgy. You get the feeling that a lot of FFVII, in particular, inconsequential NPC dialogue, was written by people who do not have English as a first language, and it just comes out as nonsense and babbling. I think perhaps some of the jokes worked in Japanese, but in English they just fall flat. Another little trademark of Final Fantasy VII is the double exclamation mark !! Perhaps my favourite example of all of this is in the Battle Square. Asked if you want to continue, you have the choices of "Off course!!" and "No, way!!". With a little bit more polish, silly little errors like that could've been avoided and might just be my main point against this game.

Others, however, would say the graphics are FFVII's downfall. They are, of course, referring to the curious little puppet style graphics that characters have outside of battle. At times these can be hard to empathise with, but they are definitely animated well. I would have to say, however, that anybody who thinks FFVII's graphics are bad, or indeed, are anything less than outstanding for a PlayStation era game, needs to get their head examined. The backgrounds are varied, well designed, and gorgeous to look at. The FMVs and the way they meld into the world at times blew me away and at times, continues to do so. The battle character graphics are detailed, and the spells, special attacks and whatnot, are a joy to behold. It's time people woke up and started to realise this.

There is one final thing I feel I should discuss in this piece, and that is the music. It can be quite hit and miss, but more often than not, hit. The "miss" music is generally generic elevator-style music, and it can get a bit grinding at times. However, the soundtrack is packed with tracks that your ears will appreciate. The town music often reflects, and indeed adds to the feel of the towns, notable examples being Kalm, Wutai, and of course, Cosmo Canyon. Songs played during story events often capture the mood magnificently, such as the exciting track that plays during the opening bombing mission, or Cid's stirring theme that blares out as he attempts to journey into space.

So let's get down to brass tacks. Final Fantasy VII is often hailed as the pinnacle of the series, and indeed, the best game on the PlayStation console. In my own opinion, these assessments are absolutely correct. Those who feel put off by the puppet graphics, or perhaps the hype and frenzied fans, should try dropping their defences and allowing themselves to be sucked in. You won't regret it.

Score: 10/10

Psychotic