Why love Final Fantasy VII?

[Yar]

Okay, I'm about to give Final Fantasy VII one last try. I would be what you could call an "old-school FF'er". I started with IV (as II).

I want to see why people love VII so much. I've always despised VII. Hate it. I want to know why people love it. If you could, please give me reasoning. Not just vague responses like "best storyline evah!1", please elaborate why you felt that way. I also don't care for fanboy responses either such as, "Sephiroth pws all ftw!!! ", or "I'd only go gay for Cloud".

Please, help me comprehend why this is such a great game; I feel I'm missing out.

[LunarWeaver]

If you don't like it then you don't, no biggie! Though it's always good to give things a second go, but if you still don't likie nobody can sway your opinion through their own personal reasoning. All the hype and fanboy-this-and-that destroys VII for most people anyway.

I always like to think of it like this: Instead of why others like it, consider why you don't. As far as RPGs go, there's nothing wrong with it. It has a plot, the characters, a battle system that stands up even today... People have loved games for less. It's just another game in the RPG genre. If you like RPG's then I don't see any particular reason to hate it so much.

[ReloadPsi]

I don't give a flying about the story, Sephiroth or any of that other stuff. I enjoy playing this particular game; there's so much depth to it in comparison to its predecessors. Sure, all characters can learn the same basic set of abilities, but that's the only complaint I have gameplay-wise. Unlike FF6 it doesn't suddenly turn into a grindfest half way through the game (unless you for some reason think you need all the Master materia)

There, I said it. I don't give a toss about the story.

Super Mario Bros. 3 didn't have such an engaging plot, neither did Bubble Bobble (though many would disagree). They're still awesome games.

[Kenshin IV]

I love the whole "old-school" or "classic" argument that everyone loves using. Because Final Fantasy VII isn't 10-years old now or anything.

And despite popular belief, being a fan of the series before 1997 does not get you into any exclusive clubs or anything.

[Xurts]

Final Fantasy 7 has the best story in the series, imo. I enjoyed it and thought it was really well done. The Materia system is fun for the fact that you can experiment with it and create countless different combinations. The characters are all pretty much the same except for their backstories, fortunately materia allows you to give characters special combinations according to their individual stats. The soundtrack is superb as usual when Nobuo Uematsu does it.

[Marshall Banana]

FFVII has an aura about it that sets it apart from other installments. =O

[XxSephirothxX]

I like the game for quite a few reasons. I think the battle system is fun, and it plays very quickly when you set it to full speed--always a plus. Materia is a solid system, not as great as jobs or anything, but a lot of fun. There's definitely an addictive element to maxing out your materia and getting all the stat boosts that accompany that.

I also enjoy the story. Don't love it, it's not my favorite, and it's kind of a mess--but I enjoy its particular type of convoluted, as it's put together with just enough mystery and buildup to be engaging throughout. Also, of all the emo antiheroes that plauge the RPG genre, I like Cloud the most, though I couldn't say why. Something about how ordinary and cliche he seems, but I thought he had a hidden soul that was far, far better than anything they communicated with, say, Squall.

And last the visuals. Yeah, I know they're absolutely awful, but I actually kind of like them. They're so bad, I somehow find the blockiness endearing. Moreso than FFVIII, which is all jaggy and attempts to look much more realistic. Of course it succeeds, but it still looks like ass compared to the next generation of games, whereas FFVII looks so ridiculously bad it's just fun.

[NeoCracker]

I do agree with azar on Cloud being the best of the emo anti-heroes actually.

Anyway, heres whats good and bad about VII

Pros
1) Some really cool characters (Cid, Vincent, Barret, Red XIII)
2) The Materia System was enjoyable.

Cons
1) The story is rather convulted.
2) The only real difference between your characters is their Limits.

OVeral, its a decent game. Nothing special, but I enjoyed it.

[Aerith's Knight]

well i guess there are a few reasons:

1. it was the first RPG i played, and im very glad it was this one.
2. the storyline was enormous.. you could make a game of midgar alone.. but thats just the start.
3. battle system was fast, and materia raising was easy enough.
4. story line was interesting, although a bit classic, it had its twists and turns that made you stick along for 3 discs.
5. all the characters were well thought out.. all had their backgrounds and low points in the game.
6. i actually bothered myself more on the shady guys in FF8 then the puppets that you control in FF7.. it just made more sense..

i could go on.. but this would be enough

[Breine]

I guess that much of my love for this game comes from the fact that it was my first Final Fantasy game. Back then I was only 9 years old, and I'd never seen anything like it. Up until then I'd only been into fighting games and platformers, and although there's nothing wrong with those genres at all, I was just totally blown away by the sheer scale and big-ness of this game. Ever since I've been a huge fan of RPGs and Final Fantasy, and let's just face it; Final Fantasy VII is just very well made, and it's not really strange that it's such a darling among both fans and critics.

[Peter_20]

Three reasons to love this game:

*best storyline evah!1
*Sephiroth pws all ftw!!!
*I'd only go gay for Cloud

I despised this game the first three times I tried it, and now it's one of my favourite games.
Enough said.

[Karellen]

Stockholms, mainly.

[ScottNUMBERS]

Alot of people hate it solely because of the hype, and usually either deny or are oblivious to their acts of anti-mainstreamism. Make sure this isn't what you've done.

[Seal Evil]

I've always despised VII. Hate it.

How come?

I love VII because the majority of the storyline is great (parts of it I still don't understand, but maybe that's something to do with a language limitation... I dunno). The character relationships are touching.

The battle system and materia set-up is really good, with the armour slots and magic spells. I like the inventory, stats page, characters, enemies... oh, I like everything!

I also really enjoy the graphics! Especially in battle! I don't know why people say they're so bad. I mean, it was made 10 years ago. But even when I play it now, in battle, it doesn't feel like it was made 10 years ago.

I could play this game over and over.

[PuPu]

I remember ,,, once said that the reason some might like/hate FF7's story is dependent on when they played it. If one played FF7 say, when they were teens, they can identify with Cloud and his character. Most of people I know played FF7 when they were about 13 and they really like Cloud, which is why I believe this theory to be true. I, myself, played and beat FF7 five years ago when I was about ten. I never really liked Cloud and his character. In fact, the only thing I thought was pretty good was Sephiroth. So, maybe you don't like FF7 because of the age you were when you started to play it. (By the way, FFIV was my second FF and also my favorite as well )

I also think the whole mainstream/anti-mainstream thing is absurd. It's like a never ending cycle that just says two things:
1. One side assumes all people who like FF7 are rabid fanboys.
2. The other side assumes all people who dislike FF7 are idiotic haters.

It's almost like there's no way to state opinions on FF7 without being insulted by somebody.