I really love the variety in this game.
I've been playing my old FFVII discs on PS2 recently for nostalgia's sake and I was struck by how enjoyable the game still is. I went in dreading it, thinking I'd start finding flaws and hating my time playing. Not really, though. It's much simpler than games these days in that the player isn't spending a lot of time doing menial things or accomplishing very little. In fact, during a lot of the game, it's nearly impossible to spend too much time exploring one location unless you just like to look at the scenery (which is very nice). There's just enough to be interesting, and not too much to be time-consuming. Of course, there are still random battles and such, but what I really mean to say is that FFVII is a very economical game, particularly as one in a genre noted for its excess (although this seems to be a post-FFVII thing). The player never hangs out in one area for too long, and each new section provides a brand-new audio-visual experience (the art direction and music are gorgeous) and unique scenario or mini-game of sorts. Even the two-screen Train Graveyard keeps things interesting, both by adding some simple variety to the adventure and by re-emphasizing Midgar's slummy nature. Among the bigger ones, Shinra HQ, the Great Glacier, and Mts. Corel and Nibel are still some of my favourite areas from any game, both for their aesthetics and gameplay. Of course, not all this 'variety' is a home run. I'm really not looking forward to the motorcycle chase section or the snowboarding bit. Eh.
More positives, though: I never feel like the story is being stalled like I do at times playing through FFVIII or IX (good games in their own right, don't get me wrong), or feel like I've been spending too much time in a small number of large locations. The game-world just feels very big, probably because the player never gets over-exposed to any single area, or at least any particular background design. Midgar gets a lot of face time, but also has the virtue of being one of the most interesting locations in the whole series, and somehow maintains its intrigue even when the player has left it long behind. I'm always slightly surprised at how little time the team actually spends in Midgar. It seems so much bigger when I think back on it. It might have something to do with the fact that the technology and reactors seen constantly in the game world are like little bits of Midgar following the player around, or maybe it just has to do with the developers hitting an imaginative goldmine with the Midgar setting. Frankly, when I think FFVII, I think Midgar.
Although I've yet to complete the Shinra HQ section, I'm really looking forward to the adventure to come - if I remember correctly, the game doesn't really start re-visiting areas until well into the second disc. Again, from what I remember, VII keeps an excellent brisk pace throughout, introducing the player to colorful and unique new locations every 2-3 hours up until the Mideel/Big Materia section, which is when the game drops on the player one of the better plot twists I've seen in a game.
Anyway, these are all thoughts that result from too much thinking about video gaming, nostalgia, and way too much free time. That said, FFVII is still a blast, and I can see why in 1997 it was such a hit. It's definitely still my favourite game, even if mechanics-wise I don't think it's the best game. It's too bad the fanbase over-represented it as something no game could ever be and Square Enix went ahead and pandered the FFVII name into absolute oblivion. So it goes. Getting a PSP to play this game on my two-hour commutes to grad school is getting more and more tempting by the day.
