FF7 seems to be widely seen as one of the best games of all time, but I just can't see what so many people see in it.

To me..the battles are monotonous, the plot drags, the characters are cliche, the metaphysical jargon is forced and phony, and the villains are parodies of themselves.

I feel like I'm missing out on something, because unless the reason everybody likes it is graphics, I don't get it at all. Does everybody just look at it nostalgically because it's the first RPG they ever played or something?

First off, I really liked FF7. It was the first PS game I ever played and was my first foray back into console gaming since the Genesis.

I’m not an RPG nut, but I do have fond memories of Phantasy Star II, which many consider to be the first North American released RPG to feature traditional anime graphics. I loved Stygian Abyss the most though. I never felt so alone… and claustrophobic in a video game before. ;-)

The things I appreciated about FF7 are…

• beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds with funky, colorful anime characters
• an amazing story (which I “amazingly” never accepted the death of Aeris – I was constantly searching for a way to bring her back… which drove me through the game with much determination and interest)
• a huge amount of extras… I never even found Vincent when I played the game… nor did I come across those two infamous Weapons near the end (there was so much that I never even experienced, yet the game felt so complete when I did finish it)
• the cinematic fight engine (typically boring fight mechanics had a breath of fresh air – except with those long “special” attacks)
• a very medieval feeling cyber punk theme (an interesting twist on visual styles, at that time)
• the heads on the characters weren’t too incredibly disproportionate ;-)
• gorgeous monsters and brilliant boss designs

FF7 has not aged well though. As you suspect, Bob, it was a game of “firsts” for many. It was a very polished piece that found it’s way into the lives of many non-hardcore RPG gamers. Also, FF7 was my first FF game… I hated FF8 and have never looked at the series since.

Coincidently, I really liked Dragon Warrior when it first came out for the NES. It was simple, colorful, and fun. Though it hasn’t aged well either. I tried to play it again years later and it does suck (as you mentioned in another post), but it was an important stepping-stone in many RPG-gamer lives (mine included).

I recently played through Stygian Abyss and found it just as rewarding now as it was 14 years ago. Very few games stand the test of time.

I guess I’m a different breed of gamer… I like simplicity and accessibility. Where as, you, Bob… I figure you most likely enjoy really challenging games and game mechanics that require some sort of mastery to prevail. I just want a good story and a fun world to explore. FF7 was simple and accessible, I’d argue.


PS - Why does nobody like Ultima VIII? I just played through that one again and really liked it.

You're half right.

I like simplicity in game mechanics, but difficulty in mastering them. For instance, I like the Maximo games quite a bit, because they're like 3d versions of NES platform games.

I never got into the story of FF7 that much though. Sephiroth is cool and all, but I wish you did more in the first disc than just chase him all aorund the world, and more in the second disc than just gather huge materia. I also remember a big problem I had with it was that...all the characters are essentially exactly the same in battle, I missed everyone being different like in FF4 and FF6.

Hmm.....who is it that keeps going around and giving all the topics I post the 'one check' rating? Not that it bothers me or anything..it's just a really really silly way to spite me.

quote:

Does everybody just look at it nostalgically because it's the first RPG they ever played or something?

That's most of it... I can't really explain why I like FF7 aside from that it was my first RPG. I guess I liked the characters because of their distinct personalities. I really liked the materia system for whatever reason, though I also like games where everyone is different normally. Maybe it's because I'm a little bit obsessive compulsive; I was always trying to equip only those materia that were most useful and needed the AP the most.

When it comes right down to it though, I've played games that are overall much more outstanding than FFVII. Nostalgia and high productions values make for a memorable game, and memory is what's important where video games are concerned.

Actually, nostalgia is probably why I like FF4 so much. It's the game that introduced *me* to RPGs.

You youngsters are lucky. In my day, we were lucky if a game even got released in the US. Decent translations were a luxury, dag nabbit!

I'm probably the only guy on Earth who really like RPGs but doesn't like any Final Fantasy game. Why always talking about it? The only Final Fantasy game i liked is the tactical-RPG "Final Fantasy Tactics" : THAT is an awesome game. Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross are totally superior. There is nothing great in final fantasy games: bad story, no thrill, no emotion: games like Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 are purely, but purely "america-showbusiness style" with awful caracters.

Hmm..question. You say FF games are bad because the characters have no emotion. Right after tauting a pair of games with main characters who never talk. One of which has 40+ characters very few of whom have any depth beyond talking in a weird way.

AreCHA youCHA tellingCHA meCHA ChronoCHA CrossCHA hasCHA emotionalCHA depthCHA?

Agree with you about FFTactics. That's got to be my favorite game ever. Especially Delita's story arc.

When i wrote "emotion", it's not the emotion of the caracters, but the feeling you have when you play the game. Games like Crono Cross and Baiten Kaitos has wonderful graphics with original places , great mix of colors and all. The music in these two games is sometimes REALLY emotional. FFTactics too. I always had a strange feeling while playing Chrono Cross or FFtactics (I hope you understand something..) I liked the creepy places in Chrono Cross and the fabulous story in FFTactics, which is better than most of all the movies. I was always in a different mood in each "top games" i played like these two. It's hard to discribe it. But video games are not as powerful as the music about emotion level.

FF7 is indeed a very good game and was such a revolution when it came out! One of the best FFs ever, even though its main theme is environment...It was certainly a change from FF6 2D. It is really an amazing game with one of the best storylines, graphics and characters.

I'll give you graphics.

With FF7 and FF10, all the stuff everybody else sees in the storyline, I read as 'gimmickry' and 'psuedo-depth'.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobthespirit:
I feel like I'm missing out on something, because unless the reason everybody likes it is graphics, I don't get it at all.
…
With FF7 and FF10, all the stuff everybody else sees in the storyline, I read as 'gimmickry' and 'psuedo-depth'.

It sounds like FF7 wasn’t your cup of tea. I’ve had a few popular games that I just didn’t “get” either. It’s pretty much pointless to try and “convince” you of FF7’s superiority at that time.

With regards to storyline, what is the best storyline that you experienced in a game before FF7 came out? Personally, the later Ultimas on the PC had really great storylines (especially Ultima 5).

Just curious because I don’t think their was anything all that great out on consoles before FF7… and if you found a previous FF game to have a superior storyline, I’d argue that it was probably just as “gimmicky” as FF7. The difference being, that by the time you experienced FF7, you had already been there and done that. For others, it was something new… and improved.

The storyline is the one that made the game good, popular and likeable by gamers. I like much the FF VII compared to all others. Aside from its storyline, we must admit, it does have a really good graphics.

Well, I liked FF4 and FF6's storyline more than FF7. But, it's not really a matter of things they did well, as things FF7 messed up.

Here are some examples of the specific problems I had with FF7's plot.

-Bad guys were too over the top evil. The Midgar guys destroyed 1/8 of their city just to stop a small group of insurgents. It's like killing a mosquito with C4.

-All the anime-style environmental propaganda.

-When Cait Sith turns against you it's like "Yeah, I'm working for the enemy, but just for convenience let's go on as if nothing happened." And...if they could replace Cait Sith that fast after he was crushed in the pyramid, why don't they just send an army of Cait Siths on north crater?

-For the first half you're just chasing Sephiroth from place to place, and for the second half you're just chasing big materia.

-Barret was really annoying. Yuffie was really annoying. Cait Sith was really stupid.

-They do that thing where they're really vague about strange metaphysical things, so they can appear deep without really trying hard. (Like Neon Genesis Evangelion).

-Aerith's death scene is so contrived. Anyone who would rush north all by themselves for no reason into an area where she knows somebody is who wants to kill her deserves to die.

-And just, in general, characters all had these huge drama-queen egos.

I'm still convinced that FF7 was first liked because it had good graphics, then other people played it being told it was the greatest game ever, so they became convinced, and then remembered it nostalgically because it was their first RPG.

The fact that it was many people's first RPG is not doubt part of it. That's easily much of the reason I like it. But it is still an enjoyable experience. While I likely wouldn't not enjoy it quite as much as the first time I played if I were to play it again, I have little doubt that I would still enjoy it.

Of course, even then, that's just my opinion. I like the gameplay and the characters don't bother me and the well done soundtrack gets me in the mood.

I think that you're right, that there are much better RPGs out there, and that it could've been better. But, I love it just because of possibly nostalgia. I really have no idea why right now, nor have I looked into it. I've loved it before I even heard anyone else say they loved it.

I remember watching my friend's brother play it at his house and just wanting to play it too. And then I remember competing with my brother to beat the game first when we got it. Nostalgia does probably play a big factor with all of this, but I've played this game and beaten it 7 times so far. I still have yet to get bored. Just playing it once every other year or so still makes me want to play it til the end, no matter if I know that Aeris is going to die.

Basically, I love this game. That's it.

I liked almost all the FF series because of their good storyline and graphics. Maybe the anime influence in the characters is what made it a lot more interesting. For a gamer like me I look for games with good storyline and graphics.

First RPG for me.. well had played some SNES rpgs but never all the way through. I remember that the FMVs blew me away at the time, but really it was the fact that it got me into rpgs was its main big thing. FF8 i didn't get into at all, but i did play ff9 and f10. Don't even get me started with ff10-2!

Final Fantasy VII could be quite possibly the greatest game ever made in my opinion. The graphics and storyline are creative and original. It has a deep storyline and although the characters do not verbally speak the dialog is very good. The battle system may be a little boring but the monsters are amazing! Most people don't like the game because they don't ever beat the Emerald and Ruby WEAPONS. Also most people don't get a gold chocobo henceforth they never get to see the Knights of the Round materia. I think the materia system is great.

Hmm...if you like the storyline, that's your opinion, and I'm not going to contest that.

But it's sure not *original*.

I'm gonna have to go with Bob on this one. FF7 isn't really that special, and is only really looked up to for two reasons:

1. It's a Final Fantasy game
2. The story

Otherwise, the battles are boring, characters aren't original, and it's just like all of the other games Squar Enix/ Square Soft has ever made. Sorry if you hate me for this.