The trailers were awesome and funny.
http://youtu.be/Ru9zzFEdGWk
http://youtu.be/t9pF9BJQBLo
http://youtu.be/KXHVb1wn8vo
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.
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!
Pretty much this.
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.
Agree with everything you said but it was WAY bigger than TLOU, which is really saying something.
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.
Wikipedia said: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."
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.
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.
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".
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
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.
It was the FF that made the jump to 3D graphics.
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.
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.
"We hope you like what we put so much hard work into"
People need to stop dismissing FFVII. The game was awesome in almost every way. It deserves all the praise it got.
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.
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.
Gamespot on September 29 said:Never before have technology, playability, and narrative combined as well as in Final Fantasy VII.
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.
Huh? FFVI's a much faster-paced game than the PS1 FFs. Were you playing the crappy PS1 port with the insane load times?
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.
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.Forkball said: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.
It is simple proof of how marketing can take a turd and sell millions to easily swayed customers.
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'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.Pretty much. FFVII was decent. But by far not the best.
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.
And let me tell you, I hated everything it stood for, both as a hardcore Ninthing and a 2D fanboy.
It is simple proof of how marketing can take a turd and sell millions to easily swayed customers.