No, X FTW!!!!
Truth.
Although XII kinda throws a ratchet into this nice little machine of logic. XII might have one of the best storys, but it reverted the series into Xenosaga (which I love!) in that you go through a length of gameplay and get rewarded with a cutscene, rather than having them perfectly weave in and out of gameplay.
Last edited by Bolivar; 09-23-2007 at 07:22 AM.
guys, guys, i'm not hearing the overall message from this thread.. which should be
FINAL FANTASY VII IS THE BEST IN THE SERIES AND THERE IS NO GETTING AROUND IT
the bonus characters have more history than nearly all main characters of other games in the series. most of the cast is interwoven into a history that spans years before the game begins and continues throughout, rather than "hey i'm not doing anything since my girlfriend died, maybe i'll join an adventure!" or whatever else. the atmosphere of the game captured perfectly a pre-millenium sense of foreboding with the idea of a corporation bleeding the planet dry. it strikes a powerful message that was reflected in society at the time. who would have thought right here we have a game where you take the role of the terrorist bomber years before the idea was common. nothing before or after in the series can touch this game for story.
add to this great gameplay, questionable but charming field graphics, meanwhile the battle graphics are impressive for the first 3D RPG. more and better mini-games than anything prior or since
what is there to debate, this game was a revolution.
Oh god, you've lit the fire of this thread once again.
It isn't the best because I didn't enjoy playing it, I lost interest and it was unable to win my interest back. If it was the BEST then everyone would enjoy it, it would keep everyones interest and no matter how much you say "IT IS A REVOLUTION" it won't change the fact that I can barely play it without getting the urge to turn the ps1 off. I'm not the only one, I knew a alot of people who didn't enjoy playing it.
Their was only one good mini game, and thats the bike racing with sword slashing but besides that, the other mini games were TERRIBLE to play.
So in the end, saying "IT IS A REVOLUTION!21! means nothing to me if I don't have fun with the experience of playing it, screw that phrase to hell. I admit it's a good game, I admire it's good qualities but I still can't bring myself to play through it again, so it'll never be the best to me.
come on, you can do better than that. "it's not the best because everyone doesn't like it". well, you can never please all of the people all of the time, but FF7 is certainly the game in the series that pleases MOST of the people MOST of the time. i mean, people say its so popular that it must be overrated, and now i'm hearing it can't be the best because not everyone likes it. so which is it?
you don't like snowboarding. your opinion is invalid.Their was only one good mini game, and thats the bike racing with sword slashing but besides that, the other mini games were TERRIBLE to play.
fascinating. basically everyone is different and not everyone is going to have the same FF as a favourite. you knew that. i'm trying to offer objective reasons why this is better than the others.So in the end, saying "IT IS A REVOLUTION!21! means nothing to me if I don't have fun with the experience of playing it, screw that phrase to hell. I admit it's a good game, I admire it's good qualities but I still can't bring myself to play through it again, so it'll never be the best to me.
A simple answer. YES.
Heck, personaly it is the best game i've ever played. Sure, it didn't have the best combat system (FFX is my favourite in this regard), nor the most complex and rewarding mechanics, and it was kinda on the easy side, and to top it all gameplaywise all the characters felt a bit similar when range was not an issue in combat...
But who cares really.. The graphics were/are simply AMAZING, not because of the actual technical quality, but because they had soooo much character... The characters had a stocky-blocky manga look I absolutely loved, they were all deep, interesting and complex, and felt unique. No extras on this one. For e.g Amaranth in FFIX, Kimahri in FFX, and most of the cast on FFVIII (I admit it, i dislike FFVIII a bit, especially the characters..) are really extras to the story. They could be left out with no impact whatsoever..
And FFVII's story.. an amazing blend of cyberpunk,fantasy,sci-fi and mystery (the mystery part somehow augmented by the horrible translation from japanese XP) that felt so damn real, that you could actually relate to. Slums, oppression and resistance, mega-corporations, ecological disaster and eco-terrorists, and the best death scene (although best feels wrong as a word, maybe most amazingly directed death scene is more appropriate). It was an amazing story, and nothing the other FF's had could even compare to that.. Sure Spira's story is really good and involving, and FFIX had a nice neat story.. but that is as far as they go, and i really found half of the story on FFVIII outright stupid. (what do you mean they *forgot* they knew each other because of the GFs? -_-') I'm still in the beginning of FFXII, but so far the story is quite unimpressive, and I do not expect anything big. Points given though for the "political struggle" elements of the story.
War..
War never changes..
While I commend you for listing the game's weaknesses outright before delving into your points, I gotta ask
Why is it that in order to like 1 Final Fantasy you have to completely tear apart others?
This is a little bit more pervasive among American fans of the SNES installments, but I see it among this camp too. I have to honestly say that VIII and IX and X each improved more and more on the foundation that was built by VII.
However I will agree that when it comes to storyline and battle-wise it probably does have them all beat. To me these are the 2 most important aspects of RPGs the direction of both was amazing. You really get to see things through the perspectives of each of the main characters at one point or another (more than one for some), it contained tons of meaning which is still be drawn upon today (name another FF that has this) and this was the pinnacle of ATB. The visuals, sounds, and flow of battle all came together into what IMO is the most intense battling experience in FF. Tactics, VIII, IX and X all give it a run for its money but the fact that it can still compete and still gets brought up like this is a testament to the kind of game we're talking about.
And Raebus - i respect and understand your opinion moreso than other dissenters but to me your dissent proves this game's worth. With almost anything that especially great you're going to have a mass support being rallied towards it and a minority who dislike it, this is true for any work of art that is of exceptional quality.
edit: you could say that's what defines a classic.
its close 2 me between FF7 an FF10 but i thank 7 has this 1
(SPOILER)FF7 IS SO THE BEST IT HAS ABSOLUTELY NO FLAWS AND AERIS'S DEATH SCENE HAD ME CRYING LIKE A WATERFALL AND ANYONE WHO DOESNT LIKE THIS GAME CAN GO BURN IN HELL BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY DONT KNOW A GOOD THING WHEN THEY SEE IT AND THEY HAVE NO TASTE AND EVERY OTHER FF SUCKS BUT THIS ONE!!!11!!one!
Just kidding.
I personally, think FF7 is the best, otherwise it wouldn't be my favourite FF. I loved the characters, the story had me hooked the whole time, the Materia system was easy enough to get a hang of, and the FMV graphics were pretty damn good for the time.
I didn't cry at Aeris's death scene, although I was close, but that's mainly because I found the music depressing. Galuf's was sadder for me, showing that you don't have to have 3D FMVs to make an emotional scene.
Some of the music was bland, the translation was pretty poor, and the gameplay became to easy towards the end (I thought so anyway) especially with Knights of the Round on your side. The game is not without it's flaws (as with every other FF), but in my opinion it's still the best.
And for the record, every FF is the best in it's own way.
Absolutely... not.
I love this game, but it's not my favourite. Perhaps if it had a less cliché story line (by today's standard), and a more fun/less-static battle system such as Final Fantasy X-2's or Final Fantasy XII's.
It was my first Final Fantasy, and I'm glad I fell in love with the franchise through it.
"... and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been written."