Quote Originally Posted by I'm my own MILF
Quote Originally Posted by Cz
FFVII. It's a good game, but not worthy of all the praise that has been heaped upon it over the years. Since it was the first RPG to really hit it big in the West, a lot of people have an emotional attachment to the game, and are willing to overlook its faults. Were it released today, few would hail it as the greatest game ever, or even the greatest Final Fantasy title.
Possibly true, but that argument is flawed. You can't reasonably compare games released when computing power, maturity in the industry and its experiences/innovations/etc, social trends, and a myriad of other things, are all so different to each other. It was precisely because FFVII was something new and amazing to us that it was so lauded in the West and remains to this day one of the most important cRPGs (And possibly even games in general) ever made. It was a game which truly wanted to be an artistic example, rather than something just to have fun with (And I would contend it resolutely succeeded), and whilst this had occurred before in other games it was something special for us. So yes, there is the nostalgic/emotional element, but you also have to look at the context the game was released in.
The context of the game's release is exactly why it's an overrated title. Because it was a new experience to Western gamers, FFVII was hailed as something spectacular, when in fact it was little more than a good RPG that happened to be in the right place in the right time. The game was undoubtedly one of the most significant ever made, but significance doesn't equal greatness in my book.