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Because you can form your opinion on this due that it doesn't show a person's face, and just the game ;)
Lol, i just love that he compares it to all the other RPG game to explain why FF7 is the best. Which is why i find this funny, this guy is kinda cool actually.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF_9vXRNuFI
I stopped watching about two minutes in.
For one, he seemed to be primarily attacking criticisms, rather than actually reviewing the game. As a review, it doesn't give the right type of info, nor is it structured well for the purpose of actually talking over the high and low points of the game.
Then too, his own arguments are not exactly the strongest. I was never under the impression that Cloud's false memories were formed "by magic", nor have I seen anyone attack the game on that basis. The way I have always heard and understood it was that Cloud was undergoing a mental disassociation resulting from his trauma in the Lifestream. He distanced himself from his own memories, weaknesses, and the traumatic events he went through, by latching on to Zack's memories and incorporating them into himself. The memories he resulted with were a combination of his own memories of the events, and the stories Zack told him while he was totally zonked out on Lifestream and basically only semi-conscious. This is not "magic", it's a documented psychological phenomenon. It's also one of the explanations given for the possible formations of split personalities. Which, as Cloud develops a "Zack" persona, which overpowers his true self (a self that hides in the corner of his mind for the first three quarters of the game), is something Cloud also goes through. It's a coping mechanism for what Cloud has been through, not "magic".
Not showing your face doesn't automatically make you objective.
The speaker heavily implies he is simply defending his nostalgia. Skyblade is right: he is attacking criticisms. Some of them aren't criticisms I ever knew existed.
Like "oh Cait Sith is crazy" countered with "yeah but RED XIII" as if two examples from the same game diffuse each other? He also implies that he doesn't understand what happened to Barret, and his reliance on stereotype here is borderline racist.
He doesn't understand that Tifa and Cloud don't "share" memories. Hell, he doesn't seem to have played through the Mideel scenes where this is actually smurfing explained. Cloud did grow up with Tifa, and he did return to Nibelheim, he just wasn't who he said he was. Tifa simply follows along with the stories in his head as she's concerned for his health.
His understanding of thematic threads seems loose at best. I'm not arguing that FFVII isn't great but narratively it isn't perfect, and based on this guy's comments I am certain he has no formal academic understanding of narrative construction. Plot twists do not automatically make a good game. "Brave warriors, go save my kingdom" is not a plot twist.
At least he knows what cyberpunk and dystopia mean.
"Most players will" -- no. You don't know what most players think. Few people with even a cursory understanding of RPGs will believe it takes place in Midgar. The game "opens up" when you get the Highwind; the Tiny Bronco gives you access to one (1) sidequest you can do earlier than expected, but for most of the game it is still very linear.
He mentions lots of enemies, ignoring that many of them are simply palette swaps of earlier monsters. Having too much materia to know what to do with is not an issue but whatever customisation is a good thing fair comment there at least.
I get his desire to exaggerate but the Masamune is like 7 feet long at best.
The Barret-Dyne story is great. Dyne doesn't hint at wanting to kill Marlene -- he straight up says that she needs to be reunited with her mother. Way to just wrap up important plot elements though, no need to play the game now I suppose. Oh man, Scorsese and Shakespeare? Are you really comparing Final Fantasy VII to them? Okay, okay, whatever floats your boat.
(Paraphrased) "Japan sucks at writing stories" yeah okay look I know it's not Shakespeare level trout but a bit rough to write off an entire nation full of artists. Murakami wants a word with you.
"When I started playing again, it all rushed back to me" yeah okay take off your nostalgia goggles for a moment pal. "Best RPG gameplay system ever" is a really bold claim, especially given that Final Fantasy X-2 is often considered the pinnacle of the ATB system. I wrote a thing here exploring the battle systems in Final Fantasy just so you know that I have some actual credibility on the issue.
Music and artwork being endorsed I can get behind. They are great.
Comparing Fallout 3 to Final Fantasy VII as evidence as to why FFVII is a better RPG is like comparing Grand Theft Auto to Need For Speed to show why NFS is a good racing game.
Dissing Persona 4 (I can see why you love this video, Niale!) because our speaker clearly had a poor high school experience shows a complete lack of understanding of how setting and context inform narrative and gameplay elements. Also, it probably has a better combat system. Just sayin'.
Kingdom Hearts isn't a competitor because... Goofy? Yep, genius, you've really nailed it this time. Kingdom Hearts can read like a fanfic at times but discounting it entirely based on one character without providing any evidence to support your claim is pathetic.
Earlier he talks about how the minigames and sidequests are great but then they are apparently the one bad thing? Make up your mind. You just hate the Gold Saucer because you're trout at it, buddy. The basketball mini game is about timing; it takes skill to get the shot in the hoop and this is clearly why he hates it. Yeah, let's make it easy mode where all you have to do is fill the bar. What a scrub.
Judging the graphics on the sub mini game is understandable but saying the gameplay is worse than the holocaust is just... poor form man.
"The moogle minigame isn't even a game. You just press a button and throw food to the moogle." Yeah um Final Fantasy VII is almost entirely press X to win so I fail to see the difference?
Pushing buttons fast is a challenge, duh.
"Speaking from a purely nostalgic viewpoint" smurf you man why didn't you say this at the start so I could've save all this time. Your opinion is rose tinted and invalid in a contemporary debate. Final Fantasy VII might have been the best game of all time during its release, it might still be one of the best RPGs ever made, but your argument does not inform nor affect that discussion at all. It is flimsy at best.
Please choose someone with a better argument to speak for you next time, Niale.
I think Jiro said pretty much what I would have, only much more eloquently!
Though the "a lot of people don't think Final Fantasy VII is one of the greatest RPGs of all time" thing right at the start is rather silly. It's not my favourite RPG, but I'd be pushed to think of one which is held in greater esteem by more people. If anything, it's easier to accuse it of being collectively overrated!
Mind you, I find a good rule of thumb is that anything that describes itself as 'epic' is almost certainly going to be awful.