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[Alfredo]

I went into a Pokemon chat room and everyone in there was talking about FF7 so I bought it and loved it.

I assume that's how it got popular.

 

[Recall]

Timing.

I went from the Mega Drive to a PS1, I had never played a final fantasy but I was just right there at the right to be take in all the buzz and have to persuade my purchasing choice. Never regretted it. I still have the original copy I bought all those years back too.

 

[funkystudent]

The trailers were awesome and funny.

http://youtu.be/Ru9zzFEdGWk

http://youtu.be/t9pF9BJQBLo

http://youtu.be/KXHVb1wn8vo

Its was a nice touch that they got that VO guy to do the trailer for the PC rerelease a few years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yru6sLEFmHg


Edit. Also didnt know it was the first FF to get a worldwide release. THE MORE YOU KNOW

 

[Bundy]

My Giant Bomb blog from nearly two years ago where I talk about this thing...Festive Final Fantasy VII
My YouTube playlist where I spend seven hours talking about Final Fantasy Seven and...Christmas

The trailer below is one of the best I have ever seen for anything. It's right up there with Kubrick's trailers for Dr. Strangelove and Eyes Wide Shut. No stupid voice over, displays a mix of cinematics and battle scenes that are actually edited properly. And that fucking music. God-fucking-damn that music.

Final Fantasy 7 Trailer Ps1 HQ*

It was the first Final Fantasy video game to be in 3D. That was a big deal.
It was the first Final Fantasy video game not to be released on a Nintendo platform. That was a big deal.
It was the first Final Fantasy video game that came out in the UK (as well as many other countries around the world). That's a decade of hearing about the series without being able to play it. That was a big deal.
It took the setting and atmosphere and tone of Final Fantasy in a radically different direction, one that was more appealing to/better marketed towards the growing mainstream audience in the West. That was a big deal.
It had a 100 million dollar marketing budget in the US. That was a big deal.
It was a damn fine video game. That was a big deal.

It was all these things, and more, that made it the best selling Final Fantasy video game of all time, to date. Still.

It took 14 years for Chrono Trigger to come out here.
It took 16 years for Final Fantasy I to come out here.

Quoted just for the pure awesomeness of this post!

 

[Combichristoffersen]

First 3D FF, massive marketing campaign and being a great game to boot. It was many people's first FF (or first JRPG at all), propelling the franchise to massive popularity.

 

[Shion]

Massive marketing campaign + an excellent game that pushed the boundaries in terms of scope, technology and presentation.

 

[Recall]

First Final Fantasy to be released in the UK and other countries.

The first.

 

[J_Ark]

My Giant Bomb blog from nearly two years ago where I talk about this thing...Festive Final Fantasy VII
My YouTube playlist where I spend seven hours talking about Final Fantasy Seven and...Christmas

The trailer below is one of the best I have ever seen for anything. It's right up there with Kubrick's trailers for Dr. Strangelove and Eyes Wide Shut. No stupid voice over, displays a mix of cinematics and battle scenes that are actually edited properly. And that fucking music. God-fucking-damn that music.

Final Fantasy 7 Trailer Ps1 HQ*

It was the first Final Fantasy video game to be in 3D. That was a big deal.
It was the first Final Fantasy video game not to be released on a Nintendo platform. That was a big deal.
It was the first Final Fantasy video game that came out in the UK (as well as many other countries around the world). That's a decade of hearing about the series without being able to play it. That was a big deal.
It took the setting and atmosphere and tone of Final Fantasy in a radically different direction, one that was more appealing to/better marketed towards the growing mainstream audience in the West. That was a big deal.
It had a 100 million dollar marketing budget in the US. That was a big deal.
It was a damn fine video game. That was a big deal.

It was all these things, and more, that made it the best selling Final Fantasy video game of all time, to date. Still.

It took 14 years for Chrono Trigger to come out here.
It took 16 years for Final Fantasy I to come out here.

Pretty much this.

 

[Fattony12000]

Quoted just for the pure awesomeness of this post!

Thanks!

Pretty much this.

Thanks!

 

[Augemitbutter]

first global FF release had a huge impact. square didn't have the means to release their games to a global audience before. sony helped them with that.

of course, the game looked great even outside FMV. great artwork in backgrounds, good music. story heavy games were relatively rare back then as well. the stars aligned.

 

[Lothar]

lls; I see alot of the final fantasy 6 fanboys have come out of the woodworks for this one. 7 was popular because it was and still is a great game. I didn't play ff7 until it came out on the PS3 as a psone downloadable classic; I was so engrossed in the game that I didn't care about the graphics or anything else I wanted to keep the story going and seeing what "happens" next. The feeling of exploration; golden saucer; trying to beat all the weapons; etc. Are things that help to make this a timeless classic.

7 was a great game. But 4 and 6 were also great games. Chrono Trigger was a great game and... (objectively better) 7 was more of a success than those games because of the commercials and hype. I love 7 but I still realize that. A lot of people who bought 7 didn't even know those games existed or even what a RPG was.

 

[sublimit]

It was the first FF released in Europe so it was the first FF for a lot of people (including me.) Also the game was getting perfect reviews from all over so there was a lot of hype behind it.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Agree with everything you said but it was WAY bigger than TLOU, which is really saying something.

I'd like to see the numbers of FF7 and its Greatest Hits collection vs TLOU and the Remaster after sales numbers cool off.

I think for the majority of people who went into the game wanting "the next FFVII", it certainly sucked. The designs are worse, the world isn't as interesting, there weren't as many FMVs, the FMVs weren't that well directed, the battle system was too slow, it was just... a poor attempt at doing something similar. In contrast I think stuff like Wild Arms got a much better reception because it wasn't trying to copy FFVII.

I can agree with that. 4 years after FF7 came out it was still held up as the greatest JRPG. LoD had no chance with that type of competition when it released in 2000 but it also didnt have the budget that FF7 had.

The Legend of Dragoon took three and a half years to develop before its December 1999 release in Japan. Prior to its June 2000 release in North America, the gameplay was rebalanced following complaints of the Japanese version's difficulty level.[2] According to Shuhei Yoshida, The Legend of Dragoon cost Sony Computer Entertainment $16 million to develop in over a span of three years and that most of the game's sales were made overseas, saying "the sales in the U.S. were very strong."

 

[JonnyKtyler]

I remember reading previews of it in GamePro. It had screenshots of the train cinematic and some other stuff. I was so hyped from those graphics. They definitely had good build up and stuff leading to the game, kind of like destiny has now.

 

[Goteki_45]

My Giant Bomb blog from nearly two years ago where I talk about this thing...Festive Final Fantasy VII
My YouTube playlist where I spend seven hours talking about Final Fantasy Seven and...Christmas

The trailer below is one of the best I have ever seen for anything. It's right up there with Kubrick's trailers for Dr. Strangelove and Eyes Wide Shut. No stupid voice over, displays a mix of cinematics and battle scenes that are actually edited properly. And that fucking music. God-fucking-damn that music.

Final Fantasy 7 Trailer Ps1 HQ*

It was the first Final Fantasy video game to be in 3D. That was a big deal.
It was the first Final Fantasy video game not to be released on a Nintendo platform. That was a big deal.
It was the first Final Fantasy video game that came out in the UK (as well as many other countries around the world). That's a decade of hearing about the series without being able to play it. That was a big deal.
It took the setting and atmosphere and tone of Final Fantasy in a radically different direction, one that was more appealing to/better marketed towards the growing mainstream audience in the West. That was a big deal.
It had a 100 million dollar marketing budget in the US. That was a big deal.
It was a damn fine video game. That was a big deal.

It was all these things, and more, that made it the best selling Final Fantasy video game of all time, to date. Still.

It took 14 years for Chrono Trigger to come out here.
It took 16 years for Final Fantasy I to come out here.

pretty much nailed it right here lol..I remember watching that trailer on a old demo disc that I got with an PS magazine in 97 and when I saw that trailer I was mind blown. Next day straight to the store and bought the game

 

[APZonerunner]

It was the right game, in the right place, at the right time. I don't think it's nearly as revolutionary as many other games of its stature, though... and for me, I'd rather take at least one of the other PS1 entries (9) over it if we're talking favourite games and all that.

 

[poorlonelycomputer]

On that note, you can't discount the importance of FFVI to FFVII. People wouldn't have been so hyped, Sony wouldn't have spent so much on marketing and it wouldn't have had the word of mouth to punch through into the mainstream if the game didn't carry the massive goodwill of FFVI.

Not enough people acknowledge this. There seems to be a consensus that ff7 was everybody's first jrpg. Well...my first jrpg was ff2/4 and the first one I really loved was 3/6, and 7 still blew my mind. I know I can't be alone.

 

[aerts1js]

We just saw the same thing happen with Skyrim for pretty much the same reasons. Huge marketing push, hype, great reviews and WOM, and a bit of "right place right time".

I disagree. Skyrim was highly acclaimed critically but had nowhere near the same mainstream impact.

 

[Mihos]

I remember getting it the day it came out. There was nothing else like it out or even announced. I remember desperately wanting something to play on my PS1 after beating tomb raider for the 20th time.

If you could go back to that time, you would be buying the hell out of that thing too. 'Chronotrigger / FF6 was better" doesn't mean crap considering everyone already played and beat those like 3 years before. Maybe you would have to be there at the time to fully appreciate the timing and environment it got released into.

 

[Bundy]

pretty much nailed it right here lol..I remember watching that trailer on a old demo disc that I got with an PS magazine in 97 and when I saw that trailer I was mind blown. Next day straight to the store and bought the game

I still remember the first time I've seen the official trailer for this game.
They have quoted a certain magazin with "Might be the greatest game ever made" .... and yes, it really was and still is (together with TLOU for me)!
Still remember that

 

[SDCowboy]

I still, to this day, remember going into the Gamestop and trying the game out (back in the day, you could try games out there before buying. At least at mine anyway.) and quickly buying it. That game forever changed my views on what a AAA game was.

 

[charsace]

When I was in HS most people had no idea what the actual game was. They just bought it based off of the commercial. FF basically had some of the best advertising ever.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

There was an 'awe' about FF VII... It was an 'event', but I think opposite of what the cynicism toward an event like COD. An event as FF VII was saw was more... innocent yet because gaming hype, media, journalism and medium (magazines) were still yet young and naive. And the notion of what FF VII represented was also... interesting, curious, fascinating...

Final Fantasy VII remains the most grand Japanese RPG and the pinnacle of scale in genre. That isn't a statement about which game is best or most creative or most fun or my personal favorite -- it's none of those. What I'm referring to is scale, and how it was perceived. What Squaresoft tried to create was on a greater scale than anything before and is still unrivaled. Not only did they aim for an epic with the story, they aimed for a blockbuster with the story. And I don't just mean a blockbuster game. It was that, too. The story was grander than anything else, and probably still as grand as any game since. The world, quests, minigames? I mean, I don't think any JRPG rivals VII's side-quests and mini-games. Even yet today, those pre-rendered backdrops are incredible. But it was beyond just a blockbuster game. It was a blockbuster event. Everything about the game was grand. The only game that came close was VIII (the series has been on the decline of relevancy and remarkableness ever since), and that was equal parts because of VII and because of production values. There wasn't the same mystique about VIII because it was replaced with expectations. VII had no expectations, just curiosity and unexpected awe.

FF VII was everywhere when it released. It transcended from gamers to non-gamers as no other console RPG has. There were two-page advertisements everywhere. Read through a stack of gaming or entertainment magazine from the year before release up until a couple months ever.

It was one of the 'strongest' (and I mean feeling and response) marketing campaigns we'll likely ever see because of the timing of platform drama and publication evolution. A sort of 'perfect storm.'

Gaming hype today can never be the same because of the internet and marketing is very unlike when Final Fantasy VII released.

The game had a certain level of intrigue and mystique because of the marketing and platform shift, and it's likely something we will never see in the same form ever again because of the internet. FF VII released at what must be close to the peak of gaming magazines, too, and 'hype' back then was a very different -- much less cynical and more magical. The ads garnered curiosity from the casual and from the hardcore it received awe.

The story was much the same. If I had to use one word to describe the story, it would be atmosphere. Because of the hype going into the game, a lot of people entered the game with much more mystique and much less cynicism than any console RPG before and likely any other video game since. And the story, for whatever strengths or faults it had, did everything it could use scale and mystery to fuel that atmosphere to make for a brooding and tense mood.

If Final Fantasy VII was one thing in its entirety of development, marketing, and release, it was a curious or enthralling, and it's greatest success in all those respects was its grand or ominous atmosphere.

Magnificent insight.

The hype for this game is, like you alluded to, "pure" in a way that Squaresoft produced it honestly. In many of the blockbusters and wanna-be blockbusters of the last 10 years, hype is more of a blanket to smother other titles, other types of games, and other criteria to purchase games. To say "this is revolutionary", "this is the event", but FF7 didn't do that, mainly because it WAS and was only spoke of what it was (which history would find a revolutionary event). "We hope you like what we put so much hard work into" rather than "You better like this cuz we spent bajillions on this and everything else is sooooooo weak compared to this, bro"

And by doing so, had a positive feedback loop with us in the consumer side. We were never sold anything that the game came up short on and in fact in terms of scope, music, mini-games, and such the game arguably over-delivered. Many games over the last decade crashed and burned once the carpet-bombing blind hype is in the rearview mirror, but FF7 largely emerged unscathed (and much of that is from people pining for the SNES-sized JRPGs that had nearly finished up being made by 1997). Trying to recreate CoD4 over and over again, yet failing.

To put it into the present day, looking at the HYPE TRAINS for Bloodborne, Star Citizen, and No Man's Sky going on right now, you feel much less of that intimidating, smothering pressure to crowd out other gaming and get into your wallet here, as if we're going. It's that feedback loop again.

 

[DarkKyo]

It was the FF that made the jump to 3D graphics.

I think it's this most of all. Think about the Mario and Zelda franchises. Those also skyrocketed in popularity once they went 3D, and many people remember the first 3D titles in all three series to be the best of their franchises.

 

[Bennettt2]

It brought a lot of new things to the table in terms of graphics, story and production values. The immense marketing campaign helped, too.

 

[Rocky]

I remember getting it the day it came out. There was nothing else like it out or even announced. I remember desperately wanting something to play on my PS1 after beating tomb raider for the 20th time.

If you could go back to that time, you would be buying the hell out of that thing too. 'Chronotrigger / FF6 was better" doesn't mean crap considering everyone already played and beat those like 3 years before. Maybe you would have to be there at the time to fully appreciate the timing and environment it got released into.

I was there when it released the day before my 30th birthday. I think FFVII was overhyped then and it's still overhyped and overrated now. For me anyway, FF6 and Chrono Trigger were MUCH better and more memorable games.

 

[QuantumZebra]

It was, by and large, many people's first RPG. The marketing campaign was huge. FFVII was everywhere. So while a great game on its own, I think the nostalgia factor, anchored by these points, cemented its place in history.

That + 3d + the biggest thing:

There was no other game that came close to how epic that game felt at the time. Leaving Midgar for the first time?


Hooooooooooooooooooooly shit.

Amazing.

 

[mdzapeer]

"We hope you like what we put so much hard work into"

This is what FF14 Realm Reborn and Yoshi-P feels like, best 'Final Fantasy' game i am playing. A seasonal event quest made me misty eyed.

 

[djtiesto]

People need to stop dismissing FFVII. The game was awesome in almost every way. It deserves all the praise it got.

Agreed, and I say this as someone who was a huge fan of the series since the first game (though considering what happened to the series post-9, I'm not so much anymore).

It's not my favorite in the series but its no slouch either, and I still prefer it over many of its contemporaries.

 

[Road]

Not "early" sales, 8 outsold 7, until 7 was re-released years later on psn.

9 not doing well is a combination of being released VERY late in the lifespan of the ps1 as well as possibly some franchise fatigue with ps1 era rpgs.

Nope.

March 2003:

FFVII: 9.34 million shipped
FFVIII: 8.15 million shipped

March 2005:

FFVII: 9.8 million shipped

April 2009 (release on PSN)

FFVII: 9.9 million shipped

June 2014:

FFVII: 9.9 million shipped

Squared Enix never added the PSN copies to their pres releases.

We only know FFVII sold 100,000 in two weeks via PSN on North America.

 

[Neff]

As I'm sure others have said, the game represented an unprecedented (and in many ways still) endeavour of production values, scope, ambition and sheer content. They knew they were creating history due to a once-in-a-lifetime combo of franchise pedigree and mold-breaking technology in the form of PSone, and they ran with it. The quality of game being what it was, backed by a mammoth advertising campaign which trancended all manner of unlikely outlets, resulted in an event which is likely to ever again be repeated, much less another Final Fantasy.

 

[aerts1js]

There's no denying FFVII broke into a different sphere of consciousness than FFVI -- this accepted fact is the foundation of the thread -- but to deny FFVI had a role in its success is ridiculous. The press and the grassroots fans wouldn't have paid nearly the same attention to it and Sony would not have spent what it did on the game if it didn't have the confidence lent by FFVI. Hype simply was not manufactured in the industry that way at the time.

And I wasn't claiming FFVI was the only reason FFVII was successful, just that it was a major reason, and one that didn't involve marketing.

FF6 had about the same impact on FF7 as grand theft auto 2 had for GTA3. (Very little to none)

 

[Mlatador]

Never before have technology, playability, and narrative combined as well as in Final Fantasy VII.

Source

This sums it up perfectly. When the game came out in 1997, it was on an absolut reference level in every discipline you could immagine quality-wise: Story, Music, Graphics, Gameplay, Pace, Scope, FMVs, Artstyle, Characters - everything!! The translators could have done a better job, especially in the European Version, but that didn't stop it from becoming the best game ever!

So much joy, so many feels, such epicness was unprecedented and hasn't been surpassed by any other JRPG to this day, and probably will never be surpassed because key figures have left Square(soft) and you simply can't top a game like FF7 without such a dream team.

 

[IcyRhythms]

There was really nothing else like it at the time. Still like VIII more.

 

[LogicStep]

It was my first Final Fantasy and my first RPG and it blew my mind. It still holds a special place in my heart. I still have the original discs.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

The marketing showing off the amazing cut scenes got everyone on earth to buy it. Everyone I knew that owned a PSX had it, literally. Most of them never played more than an hour or so of it, but they all bought it. Only two of them got 8, and I'm not sure either got 9.

Metal Gear Solid was the same way. Everyone bought that game not knowing shit about it other than it had amazingly realistic graphics. Again, most never played more than an hour of it.

 

[CTLance]

Whelp, not much to add to the consensus. Let me ramble on nonetheless.

I think many dismiss just how much of an upheaval the industry was going through at the time. Excuse me while I don my rosy nostalgia goggles.

Games had been 2D since forever. Everything was just pixels and blips and bloops. Always had been, always would be. It was a pretty static business.

Then came 3D. That was such a profound change, it's hard to put into words. This is hard to find an equivalent to, even the move to HD was just more of the same but prettier. 2D->3D was a fundamental shift, the forefront of the tech, more like going from monitors to HMDs with the Rift, maybe, although that doesn't quite feel the same either and has the potential to die out again. In contrast, 3D was the future, legitimately. There was no way around that. It's akin to the feeling one would get if aliens landed and brought us knowledge of man-machine interface implants. Nobody would doubt it's the future.

Then came the news of Sony entering the fray. And, behind the scenes but still noticeable, Nintendos death grip on the industry had been broken, and not just broken, but outright shattered.

Add CD as medium. CGI. Real music and spoken dialogue. Storage for everything under the sun and then some. We went from a paltry few megabytes at ridiculous prices to 600+ at an incredibly cheap price. Artists could go balls to the walls without a care in the world. Plus, Demo disks!

Sony also addressed the coders. Anybody with a bit of C knowledge would be able to help in a game, not just the assembly gurus with their tomes of jealously guarded secret API/hardware knowledge. Sure, the libs were buggy as shit, but the promise and potential and the thirst that resulted from it was very real. Prototyping became ridiculously easy.

Then there was the money and ads. Sony went all out. I'm not even sure MS spent as much when they entered the industry, adjusted by the size of the industry at the time (and inflation).

This changed the perception of video games on quite a fundamental level. Dragged them out into the sunlight, for everyone to see. It couldn't have been done by Nintendo or Sega because of how they were perceived. It had to be an outside force with established public image.

So, to add to the general atmosphere of departure from both the generational change and the "dimensional switch", the topsy turvy state of the industry and gamers, the perception change and subsequent addition of a whole new player base, the aggressive entry of the newcomer...

There was this game to encapsulate everything new. It was the perfect blend between the old, with an huge established dev house and exceptional and proven franchise, and new, as in new tech, new manufacturer, new design, new setting, new scope. And it was a pretty damn good game to boot.

Spoiler

And let me tell you, I hated everything it stood for, both as a hardcore Ninthing and a 2D fanboy.

 

[maltrain]

Let me be clear; I love FF7. It was my first Final Fantasy, and it has a certain allure to its character design and story that makes it an incredibly enjoyable experience.

My question, though, is why VII? Why did FFIV and FFVI, both also amazing games for their time, not reach the height of popularity that VII did? Why aren't VIII and IX as "mainstream" as VII became? What makes VII so special? Even people who are not big into RPGs know about it. Cloud and Sephiroth are both iconic characters, while your average Joe won't know who Terra, Cecil, Seifer, Kekfa, or Kuja is. When I worked a shitty retail job, even my manager knew about and played FFVII when he was younger, and he wasn't exactly the gamer type. Why is VII, in particular, so popular and well known, both domestically in Japan and internationally everywhere else? It isn't the first Final Fantasy to be received outside of Japan. Is it the striking character design? The fact that it's hero with giant sword vs. villain with different kind of giant sword? Is it because it was the first intricately crafted Japanese-style storyline to reach out to a mainstream international audience, thus giving it a sense of uniqueness at the time?

What do you think?

Because FFV and FFVI are really SLOW in my opinion.

You can play today games like FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Suikoden, Suikoden II, Xenogears and many more and still can enjoy those games just like we did on the '90.

But I've tried to play FFVI and... so slow... I think, only very nostalgic ones (and fans, of course) enjoy the game today.

 

[thefro]

Because FFV and FFVI are really SLOW in my opinion.

You can play today games like FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Suikoden, Suikoden II, Xenogears and many more and still can enjoy those games just like we did on the '90.

But I've tried to play FFVI and... so slow... I think, only very nostalgic ones (and fans, of course) enjoy the game today.

Huh? FFVI's a much faster-paced game than the PS1 FFs. Were you playing the crappy PS1 port with the insane load times?

 

[maltrain]

Huh? FFVI's a much faster-paced game than the PS1 FFs. Were you playing the crappy PS1 port with the insane load times?

I played the game on its original version (those days) and I've tried to play it again on new platforms... but it's soooo slow (as a game).

FFVII or FFVIII, for example, are so much faster... you start fighting in fact XD

 

[Ghost_Protocol]

Because unlike FFIV and FFVI, FFVII was cool as hell. Still is.

 

[Lothar]

Because FFV and FFVI are really SLOW in my opinion.

You can play today games like FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Suikoden, Suikoden II, Xenogears and many more and still can enjoy those games just like we did on the '90.

But I've tried to play FFVI and... so slow... I think, only very nostalgic ones (and fans, of course) enjoy the game today.

You didn't just call FFVI slow compared to FFIX, did you? That's just factually incorrect.

 

[Yasae]

Besides all the (mostly factual) points mentioned here, it's a game you had to be there to play.

What I think gets lost on GAF far too often is the time frame of a game's release, which is incredibly important. There wasn't a game quite like FF VII around its time of release; it was a show stopper.

I saw commercials for this video game.

COMMERCIALS.

FOR A VIDEO GAME.

Outside of the marketing, the game is absolutely spectacular. I still hold it high as one of the best games of all time. It's a complete package: characters, story, music, art direction, graphics, battle system, pacing, amount of content etc. You could play it today for the first time and still be amazed.

From a 1997 perspective, there was nothing like it. The urban sci fi aesthetic was a huge departure from other Final Fantasy titles. The FMVs were leagues ahead of anything else at the time. Compare the absurd early Tekken FMVs with one from Final Fantasy. It was being hailed as a movie come to life, and convincingly so.

People still clamor for a FFVII remake or FFVII-2. It's not simply nostalgia, but because it STILL stands out today as a unique and fulfilling experience.

When I see all these threads today wondering why this game is so revered and how it's not that good and blah blah blah, people don't know what on earth they're talking about. You had to be there. It helped push gaming - I would say more specifically gaming presentation - forward. It's VG history 101.

 

[ikariX]

It is simple proof of how marketing can take a turd and sell millions to easily swayed customers.

Pretty much. FFVII was decent. But by far not the best.

 

[Muffdraul]

This is the sole reason why FF7 became popular. This commercial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru9zzFEdGWk

It's all people could talk about at school all week. They didn't know what a RPG was but they had to get that game.

That seriously did have a lot to do with it, I think. I totally remember the first time I saw that commercial, because I happened to tape it... it was during the Parts: The Clonus Horror episode of MST3K. And I also remember it was right after that that co-workers etc. would come up to me and say stuff like "Hey, you're into video games, right? What's up with this Final Fantasy 7 thing? It looks AWESOME." Several of them bought Playstations because of it.

My first was IV, which I didn't really care much for... I was not prepared for the strict linearity of JRPGs. (It was recommended to me by an old friend who said "It's basically like a D&D video game" and left it at that... big mistake.) But with VI, I knew what to expect, and that was what made me fall in love with the series. And I think VII is just as good, in its own way. People who shit on it always strike me as hipster try-hards.

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Best game ever made.

 

[Yasae]

Pretty much. FFVII was decent. But by far not the best.

That's not what it's about. The way it came together coupled with how many people knew about it etc etc etc is the core of why the game was so big.

I'd also invite anyone to point out a similar game in terms of presentation released at the time. Anyone? Bueller?

 

[Fattony12000]

 

[DoktorEvil]

Whelp, not much to add to the consensus. Let me ramble on nonetheless.

I think many dismiss just how much of an upheaval the industry was going through at the time. Excuse me while I don my rosy nostalgia goggles.

Games had been 2D since forever. Everything was just pixels and blips and bloops. Always had been, always would be. It was a pretty static business.

Then came 3D. That was such a profound change, it's hard to put into words. This is hard to find an equivalent to, even the move to HD was just more of the same but prettier. 2D->3D was a fundamental shift, the forefront of the tech, more like going from monitors to HMDs with the Rift, maybe, although that doesn't quite feel the same either and has the potential to die out again. In contrast, 3D was the future, legitimately. There was no way around that. It's akin to the feeling one would get if aliens landed and brought us knowledge of man-machine interface implants. Nobody would doubt it's the future.

Then came the news of Sony entering the fray. And, behind the scenes but still noticeable, Nintendos death grip on the industry had been broken, and not just broken, but outright shattered.

Add CD as medium. CGI. Real music and spoken dialogue. Storage for everything under the sun and then some. We went from a paltry few megabytes at ridiculous prices to 600+ at an incredibly cheap price. Artists could go balls to the walls without a care in the world. Plus, Demo disks!

Sony also addressed the coders. Anybody with a bit of C knowledge would be able to help in a game, not just the assembly gurus with their tomes of jealously guarded secret API/hardware knowledge. Sure, the libs were buggy as shit, but the promise and potential and the thirst that resulted from it was very real. Prototyping became ridiculously easy.

Then there was the money and ads. Sony went all out. I'm not even sure MS spent as much when they entered the industry, adjusted by the size of the industry at the time (and inflation).

This changed the perception of video games on quite a fundamental level. Dragged them out into the sunlight, for everyone to see. It couldn't have been done by Nintendo or Sega because of how they were perceived. It had to be an outside force with established public image.

So, to add to the general atmosphere of departure from both the generational change and the "dimensional switch", the topsy turvy state of the industry and gamers, the perception change and subsequent addition of a whole new player base, the aggressive entry of the newcomer...

There was this game to encapsulate everything new. It was the perfect blend between the old, with an huge established dev house and exceptional and proven franchise, and new, as in new tech, new manufacturer, new design, new setting, new scope. And it was a pretty damn good game to boot.

Spoiler

And let me tell you, I hated everything it stood for, both as a hardcore Ninthing and a 2D fanboy.

Excellent post. This needs to be pushed to those who think FF7 was only an overrated RPG.

It is simple proof of how marketing can take a turd and sell millions to easily swayed customers.

If you're trying to get banned, go to OT. Don't drive by post and not explain yourself/

 

[Cagey]

All the marketing and trade-in deals and prior FF goodwill etc. was lost on me.

My best friend and I saw the game in our other friend's basement in 97/98. We were 11 years old. We saw the game case and thought "cool there's swords and guns can we borrow this". Never played an RPG before, had no idea what the game was. That's how we found the game. Had never heard of Square, or Final Fantasy, or RPGs, or any of that beforehand.

Two weeks later, our entire understanding of video games had permanently changed.