Quote Originally Posted by Roogle View Post
Yes, the characters have intriguing back stories and plots that are not addressed in the game because they are not considered central to the narrative. Zell, for example, has a type of side story with a girl in the library that you can completely miss out on because it has no bearing on the plot.
I agree. I think FFVII did it quite well, they explained the back stories and actions of characters as you progressed through the game, especially on Disk one where you get Barret in Corel, Nanaki in Cosmo Canyon and Cid in Rocket Town to name a few. This was done at the same time as they progressed the main story.

It would have been nice if they did that for VIII.