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Final Fantasy VII released in North America 20 Years Ago Today

N

Nairume

Banned
Twenty years ago today, a little game popped up in North American stores. I'm sure nobody took notice.

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Regardless of where you stand on the game now, who can forget the hype coming from the magazines?
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The shots fired
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That stunning first commercial

The even more stunning commercial for the demo (with free copy of Tobal No 1)

And the inevitable heartbreak when you lost that beloved party member
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And even if you've soured on it, it's hard to deny the impact it made, with the genre both seeing a major breakthrough in the west and many imitators following in its wake. Or in how the following it created was big enough to warrant SquareEnix frequently returning to it over the years.
The movie!
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The anime!
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The spinoffs!
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The remake
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The Rereleases!
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While I know the original release was early on this year, today marks the anniversary of when a big chunk of us would have first been able to really encounter this game. Personally, I remember the playground hype for this game when it was coming out, with us all being captured by that all FMV commercial and what it meant for the game. One of my friends even swore up and down that it would be "better than Zelda." Whether he was right or not, this game was legendary among my friends when it came out and we would talk about it for years to come, with us all pouring through the game to try and find new things about it.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
One of the GOATs and probably one of the most important, or influential, games in history. This is the game that made RPGs relevant to a lot of people and was also one of the games that helped legitimize the Playstation. There's an argument to be made that Final Fantasy 7 was to gaming what Star Wars was to movies.
 
U

ultima786

Member
The description on the back of the box is accurate, for a change. It started off as a political and activist fight against and corporatation, and beautifully and subtly turned into a fight for the soul of the planet and the spirit of friendship. What a beautiful game.

"Come planet, show us your answer!"
 
S

Scotia

Banned
An absolutely fantastic game. Even though it's not my favourite FF game, it's impossible for me to deny the impact this game had. Despite it having aged very poorly visually, it's still a blast to play, even today.
 
B

bananafactory

Banned
Sephzilla said:
One of the GOATs and probably one of the most important, or influential, games in history. This is the game that made RPGs relevant to a lot of people
Click to expand...

Its funny how people think that 'people love it because it was their first RPG' is a criticism when it's actually just recognizing the fact that this game made the world love RPGs, which is a fucking huge compliment
 
B

BTails

Member
ornery said:
The most overrated game in the history of gaming.
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bananafactory said:
The greatest game of all time
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thisisneogaf.gif

In all seriousness, Final Fantasy VII is my second-favourite game of all time. I replay it every few years, and it always brings back a ton of memories from 1997 playing this game with my dad. We actually stopped playing after that certain character died, as we were too depressed to continue. I wouldn't beat it until a couple years later.

I'm excited about the eventual remake, though I don't think it'll top the original for me. The graphics, the music, it was unlike anything I'd played before, and will always hold a special place in my heart.
 
U

ultima786

Member
BTails said:
thisisneogaf.gif

In all seriousness, Final Fantasy VII is my second-favourite game of all time. I replay it every few years, and it always brings back a ton of memories from 1997 playing this game with my dad. We actually stopped playing after that certain character died, as we were too depressed to continue. I wouldn't beat it until a couple years later.

I'm excited about the eventual remake, though I don't think it'll top the original for me. The graphics, the music, it was unlike anything I'd played before, and will always hold a special place in my heart.
Click to expand...

That's real cute and nice
 
R

ryushe

Member
Such an important game, not only on a historic metric, but to me as a person.

Not my favorite FF, but my most treasured.
 
B

Big Wazu

Member
The game that got me into RPGs. My first Final Fantasy, my first RPG, one of my favorite games of all time. I try to play it at least once a year.
 
P

PandaPandaPanda

Member
I remember I initially dismissed this game as garbage since it wasn't on a Nintendo platform and I didn't even want to play it/give it a chance. Glad I took my head out of the ground since while it has major flaws, it's a great game.
 
nelo_inc

nelo_inc

Member
A great game for sure, in a time when Square was in full power with the best minds together.

No my favourite Final Fantasy, that would be Final fantasy VI or XII, but a mark on PS1 and video game industry in general.
 
S

SpecX

Member
lol that spoiler got me. Gamefan knew what they were talking about with that quote. This will always be the best game ever for me, it hit at the right time as I grew up getting into RPG's and forever will be the greatest.

ornery said:
The most overrated game in the history of gaming.
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B

Big One

Banned
Sephzilla said:
One of the GOATs and probably one of the most important, or influential, games in history. This is the game that made RPGs relevant to a lot of people and was also one of the games that helped legitimize the Playstation. There's an argument to be made that Final Fantasy 7 was to gaming what Star Wars was to movies.
Click to expand...
This a load of crockshit and you know it. The Star Wars of video games has always been, and always will be, the original Super Mario Bros.
 
A

antitrop

Member
It's my favorite game ever made. I first watched my friend play through most of the Midgar part when it first came out, before I finally got to play it for myself when the PC port released in 1998.
 
E

Eylos

Banned
I remember Kids at School talking "there's a PlayStation game that's 3cds must be Amazing And big"

And It was true, finished the First time without knowing english.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
You know a game has made it when it has its own subset of people who hate the game in part because of how popular it is.
 
P

PhantomKnight

Member
This game is special for me, it is the first game that really got me into gaming, and funny enough I beat it for the first time earlier this year, so it almost took me almost 20 years to beat it.
 
BasilZero

BasilZero

Member
I didn't get the game when it first released but I bought it when I got my ps2 and loved it.

I bought it again for steam and love it even more :p
 
B

Big One

Banned
Sephzilla said:
You know a game has made it when it has its own subset of people who hate the game in part because of how popular it is.
Click to expand...
Explain to me how Final Fantasy VII and Star Wars correlate and you might have a point. Star Wars literally influenced the landscape of movies itself. Final Fantasy VII made JRPGs mainstream worldwide and influenced it's own genre. There's a severe difference there.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I was waiting for this thread.

20 years ago today my FFVII fan site was listed in the "new" section of FFVII websites on Yahoo. Basically an ancient form of SEO jackpot. The game released and my website got millions of views. I didn't anticipate this as I thought FF was a hyper niche interest... and it was, until FFVII released, and smashed into the mainstream.

You can't find my website anywhere now, because it was before the Wayback Machine or Google Archive (it was before Google, actually).

The thing that messes with my mind was that in 1997, Star Wars turned 20 years old. I thought that made it amazingly ancient. And now it's 20 years old since FFVII which was basically my generation's Star Wars.

Anyway... great game. What can I really say about it? ;)
 
R

Raysoul

Member
This is the first game that I saw on PS1 (on a local toy store) and it amazed me.

I still haven't played it. :)
 
R

RecRoulette

Member
Still my favorite Final Fantasy despite hating Cloud and Sephiroth. Everything else about that game was so strong it could carry the weak hero and villain.
 
N

Nairume

Banned
Big One said:
This a load of crockshit and you know it. The Star Wars of video games has always been, and always will be, the original Super Mario Bros.
Click to expand...
In terms of being a special effects laden blockbuster that transformed an entire genre, and much of the industry, for years to follow, yes, FF7 is the Star Wars of gaming.

Super Mario Bros is Citizen Kane or The Jazz Singer
 
E

ExVicis

Member
I look forward to the thread 20 years from now celebrating the remake having been released in North America 5 years prior.

ornery said:
The most overrated game in the history of gaming.
Click to expand...

You could have said anything else and it would have been a better first post.
 
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