Support NeoGAF

[Dragmire]

How can anyone have fun with this game? I played it when it came out, so my standards weren't too high or anything, but it was the most clunky, non-fun RPG I had played. Terrible mini-games, awful controls that change with every camera angle (up goes this way, now it goes that way). But this was especially awkward in the zoom-out dungeon-type sections. This wasn't a problem in FF8 and beyond. They just didn't know how to do it with FF7.

The battles were just unbearably slow with no challenge whatsoever until you get to a boss, where you have to keep everyone's HP up. But in regular battles, I literally would hold down the button for the attack option or occasionally do a summon spell if I didn't feel like it. How is it a good battle system when that works as good as anything else? I beat the game this way. Especially when each battle takes five minutes to complete? [/slight exaggeration] Hell, going to the menu screen took, what, ten seconds?

The music was great and the animation in the battles was nice, but the visual style was awkward and conflicted... very anti-cinematic. The story was convoluted, poorly written and unoriginal. God, I had more fun with the original Dragon Warrior games on NES (admittedly my first RPG's). I trudged through it waiting to find that 'magic' but it just wasn't there.

 

[manipulate]

i cant believe people are claiming that ff7 is 'boring and derivative' while simultaneously praising ff9, the most generic and token game in the series.

ff7 is most widely recognised as the best ff game of the playstation generation, so you should probably see what all the fuss is all about. personally i thought it was the best rpg of its generation, and i still do - honestly, people complain about its 'dated graphics' these days, but the fact that the character models are heavily abstracted regardless makes the game sort of impervious to time. the environments still look fucking cool, and well, the whole atmosphere of the game is probably the most unique aspect - if you like dark, sci-fi/cyberpunk futures, then you will almost definitely like the game.

it divides opinion so strongly because essentially the start of the whole 'cinematic experience' rpg trend. this may bug you, or you may not care. in the end though, it is a game you do have to play at least once.

 

[Andonuts]

"Cinematic" is the last word I'd use to describe any of the final fantasy games.

Except what I've seen of XII, actually.

 

[Lemming_JRS]

Why you should play it:
- seminal RPG.
- hugely influential on RPGs that followed in terms of presentation.
- sheer variety of environments, mini-games (which are fun in their own right).
- Materia combat system was pretty cool (I thought so, anyway).
- great (MIDI) music.
- you can probably get it super-cheap.
- Chocobo breeding and racing.

Why you might not want to bother:
- graphics haven't aged well.
- the translation is horrible (especially Barrett's Mr. T-speak) and makes a convoluted story even harder to follow at times.
- you probably already know the major story twist.
- can't skip the summoning spells, even after you've seen them once. I stopped casting Knights of the Round 'cos I got sick of waiting.
- there are better games available now that other GAFfers have already listed.
- might be a remake on the way.


For its time, it was awesome. Nearly ten (!) years later... not so much.

 

[Shalomi]

Well geez, I don't want to derail the thread so I'll just wonder out loud: I wonder what you gaffers think about Ocarina of Time then?

 

[teruterubozu]

At least you can play Ocarina of Time on the GameCube collection disc with better graphics than the N64.

 

[LM4sure]

get it. there will be no remake. no point to doing a remake. why do a remake? for visuals that are not much better?

it won't happen. get the ps1 version.

it is a decent game. i liked it. i put in about 80 hours. good times.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Was a huge Final Fantasy fanboy back in the day and found VII to be total crap once I got past the "OMG FF IN 3D!!!" stage. It looks like hell (even back then) had very flat characters and I thought the story was crap compared to earlier entries. I did love the materia system (but some just took way too freaking long to grow) and the music was superb. Take it as you will but VII was the game that pretty much killed the Final Fantasy fanboy in me.

 

[Jive Turkey]

get it. there will be no remake. no point to doing a remake. why do a remake? for visuals that are not much better?

Wait...WHAT?

 

[BlueTsunami]

get it. there will be no remake. no point to doing a remake. why do a remake? for visuals that are not much better?

Tilts his head....

what

 

[MoxManiac]

It was good back in the day, I guess. Braindead lack of difficulty makes any attempt at replaying it unpleasurable.

 

[jGuru]

There's also Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, and a few others. But I understand his statement completely now.

What a great game . I hit my head each time I read an announcement for a FF7 sequal/prequal. Do they not realize that Chrono the one in need for a sequal/prequal?! DAMN YOU SE(MGS2 refrence).

 

[Greenpanda]

I don't think words can express how much I dislike this game, but, eh, it's not like anything I say is going to make a difference in what you (or anyone else) does, so knock yourself out, I guess

 

[zon]

Let me guess, FFVII was your first?

My first FF game? Yep, I've played FFVI, FFVIII, FFIX and FFX since then.

But seriously, FFVIII did a whole lot more right than it's predecessor. Graphics were improved (of course, that's a given with most sequels ), the battle-system was (although many did not like it) fresh and new and the story was (looking past the whole orphanage thing) translated a whole lot better. There are a lot of mistranslations in FFVII, which weren't that apparent back then as they are now. And yes, in a way FFVII is overrated. Not saying it's mediocre, it's a lot better than a lot of other games, but not as good as most would like people to believe.

No, no it didn't. The story was crappier than FFVII, who the hell thought it would be better to make Squall even more emo and angsty than Cloud? The love/drama thing was alot more exaggerated as well. The leveling was stupidly easy and (almost) only required the same amount of xp to level again and again. The difficulty was even more nonexistant than it was in FFVII. To me FFVIII never came close to the atmosphere that FFVII had. Most of my friends who tried it was of the same opinion as well after playing it for a while.

PS: Don't get it wrong and think that I would hate on the game, I wouldn't even dare, but it's not perfect. And I'm wondering why there are so many gamers out there with this missguided preconception that FFVII was the best FF (or RPG for that matter) ever. It's not, that's all there is to it.

Don't think I'm saying that FFVII is the best RPG ever, there are others I like alot more and I can understand if other players think FFVI or earlier FF games and FFIX is better, but FFVIII? No way in hell :lol

 

[soundwave05]

I still think the story, production design (Blade Runner-ish meets Final Fantasy), and soundtrack are top notch.

When I think of the original Playstation, this still is the game I feel defines that platform. Metal Gear Solid would be second.

 

[Christopher]

I don't think words can express how much I dislike this game, but, eh, it's not like anything I say is going to make a difference in what you (or anyone else) does, so knock yourself out, I guess

Actually it does i've read just about every post in here and I don't know either to buy wait for the remake or think this is the worst game in existance thanks to some of you lol.

 

[meltpotato]

Agreed on all counts, especially regarding the story. Brilliantly put, and that applies not just to the story but the characters as well.
Also, I would add that the materia system makes the characters interchangeable faceplates in battle, kind of like if Mortal Kombat had consisted of just Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Noob Saibot, etc.



Play FF6 or FF9 instead.

why is it that us level-headed FF fans always recommend FFVI and FFIX?

 

[big_z]

FF8>FF7

FF7 is an alright game but it's overrated.

 

[callous]

FF8>FF7

FF7 is an alright game but it's overrated.

Not on GAF. Here, hating on it seems to be fashionable to an idiotic degree.

 

[Tain]

I'm really not an RPG person, but I recently decided that I should give this game a shot. I had an urge to play a console RPG, and I figured I might as well check out what is probably the most popular of them all. Though, I guess it should be noted that I played a chunk of the game when I was much younger.

I started it maybe a week ago. I really didn't expect to finish it at all. Part of me expected to hate the characters, and to find the combat to be horribly dull.

So, skip to today, and I'm 40 hours into it looking to tackle the remaining materia dungeons before taking down Sephiroth. Hell, I'm considering Emerald and Ruby Weapons, but they can probably wait until I finish it. I'm really amazed that I like this game so much. Maybe it's because I really haven't played many JRPGs, I don't know. The sidequests add so much to the game, I like the look of it, and I like the materia system. Sweet Jesus does it need a rewriting/new translation, though.

Either way, I'm completely pumped to finish this, and am more than pleasantly surprised. Maybe I can like this genre, heh. I'm almost planning on playing some of the older titles; the earlier FF games, the Phantasy Star games, but I think they might be straight-up archaic. We'll see.

 

[TheKingsCrown]

At this point, its a really old game, but it was an excellent one when it came out. Really pushed some boundaries in the right ways. I would definitely play through it if I were you.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Where I stand with FFVII:

Its a good game and it really did establish the franchise, and RPGs in general, into the mainstream (for better or worse....)

But yes, its also grossly overated because it was ALOT of gamer's first genuine RPG experience.

I think true fans of the franchise though - like circa late 80s and 90s - see it as just another entry into the franchise that got alot of undeserved attention. Especially when a superior follow-up - FFVIII - was released, and people cried because it wasn't VII

I certainly prefer FFVII over FFX though.....I fucking detest that game

 

[Cdammen]

FFVII was astoundingly great game around the time that it was released... now it’s pretty much lost all it’s gloss. But I still love it, mostly because of the memorable characters and intriguing storyline (and because it was my very first JRPG).

 

[Gantz]

FF7 is overrated. It's responsible for a lot of RPG series going 3D and sucking.

 

[KyanMehwulfe]

Final Fantasy VII - Is it TRULY that good?

I believe it is. It has unsurpassed pacing and atmosphere in my opinion. It grabs you, pulls you in, and doesn't let go the entire game. Very, very few RPGs (even some of my favorites) can hold that intrigue and emotion so well for so long. Additionally, because of a few key scenes that use either mystery and/or gore, very few villians can match VII's thanks to the awe and emotion that the plot and atmosphere created by those scenes.

Whether or not you'll get immersed into VII is subjective. But give it a fair and unbiased chance. Because it has become so popular and it heralded in a new generation of RPGs, some folks try to pass it off as nothing but "shallow and cool" based on certain parts of its visual appeal. But true fans of the game know that such aesthetics were a minor part in what made it so memorable.

Unsurpassed atmosphere.

 

[DSN2K]

GAF has become that grumpy old man who complains about anything.

 

[Zaptruder]

You totally missed the boat.

It was THAT good in 97/98. But yeah... wait for the remake.

That said... the music and the sequences they go in are still brilliant. The best music of any FF (or indeed game IMO) to date.

 

[AgentOtaku]

You totally missed the boat.

It was THAT good in 97/98. But yeah... wait for the remake.

yeah....

though I played FFVIII again recently, and that suprisingly does hold up well. Especially the music...

*hums Garden theme*

 

[Aaron]

Play it just for the ending FMV:

Spoiler

Where Tifa supports herself on a ledge entirely by her breasts.

Defining moment in JRPG history right there.

 

[Yoboman]

+1 for remake wait

 

[Yoboman]

FF7 is overrated. It's responsible for a lot of RPG series going 3D and sucking.

Here's a new one: "Game sucks cause other games suck" :lol

 

[Vashu]

My first FF game? Yep, I've played FFVI, FFVIII, FFIX and FFX since then.

Well, that kinda explains it all.

No, no it didn't. The story was crappier than FFVII, who the hell thought it would be better to make Squall even more emo and angsty than Cloud? The love/drama thing was alot more exaggerated as well. The leveling was stupidly easy and (almost) only required the same amount of xp to level again and again. The difficulty was even more nonexistant than it was in FFVII. To me FFVIII never came close to the atmosphere that FFVII had. Most of my friends who tried it was of the same opinion as well after playing it for a while.

Actually, Squall being an 'emo/angsty' appealed to me. Really makes him the anti-hero, and the fact that he grew in both social and romantic sense through the game was quite refreshing at the time. Sure, it may be too 'campy' and overdramatic for the 'oh so tough' gamers but it told it's story quite well. I'm not saying it's the most perfect story out there, but what the hell did people expect? We deal with teens, who are in a school, they need to grow up (fast), find out who they are. Get into contact with their emotions, especially that lone bastard Squall, and eventually save the world.

And that's what they tried to tell. Sure, they are trained to become a mercenary, but facing incredible odds and having the fate of the world rest on you when you didn't even grow up completely yet. I don't know about you, but I would be pretty scared and confused.

But, I can't get myself over that orphanage thing, that was way out there.

Don't think I'm saying that FFVII is the best RPG ever, there are others I like alot more and I can understand if other players think FFVI or earlier FF games and FFIX is better, but FFVIII? No way in hell :lol

FFVIII told a more complex story, and despite that flaw with the Guardian Forces and their past, it's been written out pretty well.

The battlesystem is something else, easy to abuse making the game a lot more easier than it probably should be. But it's a lot more deeper than, for example, the materia system. Not to mention the graphics, which are a whole lot better than FFVII's, which is only natural to be honest, but yes, it is better than FFVII. It's just that the story might not appeal to most 'hardcore' gamers.


But, for something different. People hating on FFVII, which is really nonsensible, should get out of here. The OP started this thread to ask if FFVII really was truly that good, he's not asking anyone to hate on it. Especially with stupid remarks like 'Well, it sucks cause it caused other games to go 3d and then suck.' No one in their right minds should say things like that.

Anyway, FFVII is a good RPG, and the overreacting fanboys should accept it's not the 'end all, be all' of the series or even genre. There's a whole slew of better games out there, just remove those pink glasses and check out other games. For those wanting a remake I can say only one thing: Get lost! It's people like you who are responsible for the milking of FFVII for all it's worth while instead Square Enix could swing their money around and invest it in other (better) series. A sequel in the Chrono series, a US or PAL verson of Front Mission V, heck they could invest into a new Vagrant Story for all I care. Maybe even come up with new games, new stories, but please let Cloud and his friends rest.

 

[Guns N' Poops]

Never forget . The atmosphere in this town is unbeatable.

 

[psycho_snake]

Despite many people saying that FFVII is overated, it is still by far my favourite RPG ever. There ws just so much i love about this game. The characters, the cities and towns, the music, the materia system and the plot were all excellent. Even compared to RPGs today FFVII is still much bettrer than most.

 

[Ranger X]

FF7 is overrated. It's responsible for a lot of RPG series going 3D and sucking.

I don't share you opinion there but holy shit your avatar rules :lol

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Looks like Parish has put up a new FF7 writeup. From the article:

What better way to sell to people than by speaking directly to them? Cloud Strife is the everynerd -- wrapped up in delusions of greatness when allowed to take things on his own carefully-selected terms until he sees the world for what it is and is forced to come to grips with the fact that he's actually completely pathetic. That's your average game-obsessed message board dork in a nutshell: the petty tyrant of a tiny little niche of the Internet but a failure in real life. It's the kind of parable Jesus would have been proud to have shared with the hungry masses between bites of magical fishloaf, the cigarette ad of nerd coming-of-age stories -- a promise to nerdlings that if you face down your demons, accept your failures and struggle to move beyond them, you'll save the world and your childhood crush will fall madly in love with you.

 

[Vashu]

Looks like Parish has put up a new FF7 writeup. From the article:

:lol :lol

 

[djtiesto]

Either way, I'm completely pumped to finish this, and am more than pleasantly surprised. Maybe I can like this genre, heh. I'm almost planning on playing some of the older titles; the earlier FF games, the Phantasy Star games, but I think they might be straight-up archaic. We'll see.

The older FF games (3-6) and the Phantasy Star series (just skip 3!) are so much better than FF7 its not even funny.

Though honestly FF7 was the last FF I really liked... unless you count 4 advance.

 

[AdmiralViscen]

I played FF2 (FF4), then FF8, then FF7. FF7 > FF8. I only played 4 briefly, so FF8 was pretty much my first FF game.

And I dont' see the big deal about FF7's graphics. They looked good to me back then, they aren't going to turn to shit now. People here are too uptight.

 

[Pellham]

i cant believe people are claiming that ff7 is 'boring and derivative' while simultaneously praising ff9, the most generic and token game in the series.

ff7 is most widely recognised as the best ff game of the playstation generation, so you should probably see what all the fuss is all about. personally i thought it was the best rpg of its generation, and i still do - honestly, people complain about its 'dated graphics' these days, but the fact that the character models are heavily abstracted regardless makes the game sort of impervious to time. the environments still look fucking cool, and well, the whole atmosphere of the game is probably the most unique aspect - if you like dark, sci-fi/cyberpunk futures, then you will almost definitely like the game.

it divides opinion so strongly because essentially the start of the whole 'cinematic experience' rpg trend. this may bug you, or you may not care. in the end though, it is a game you do have to play at least once.

it's not a game you want to play if you have no interest in cinematic adventure games, though. for people who were fans of hardcore dungeon exploring/immersive storylines that made you feel in control, FF7 and all of its derivatives were not all that appealing.

I would sum FF7 as the ultimate video game for anime fans of its day, not the ultimate RPG.

 

[qcf x2]

I enjoyed FF7 when it released, but there were long stretches of the game that were simply a chore. And I guess I'm the only one who wasn't in love with the setting. :lol I think the graphics still hold up decently, although I despise the whole loading prerendered backgrounds stuff. Makes games twice as long as they should be.

If you haven't played it, you probably should, just to see if it draws you in. Part of the love affair with FF7 was the time frame of its release. The graphics were mind-blowing and the entire game was ambitious.

 

[lele]

xenogears >>> ff7.

I don't so much dislike ff7 so much as i'm so bloody sick of hearing people talk about it.

 

[Zweisy1]

FFVII has easily the least likeable cast in an RPG ever..

There's AT LEAST a dozen better RPGs on PSX. Valkyrie Profile, Grandia, Persona 2, Vagrant Story, Dragon Quest VII etc...

That said I've never been a fan of the series. Hopefully FFXII will be the first FF game I'll actually love.

 

[evil ways]

I think it's a great game but it's not the end all, be all of RPGs. I played it, loved the characters and setting, and it will always be in my mind as a memorable video game experience, but that's it.

I can understand a lot of the hate it gets but it's still petty and stupid hate. Some hate it because the extremely rabid fans are annoying, defensive and easy troll targets, kinda like Nintendo fans, others hate it due to elitism, because most people consider FFVII to be the game that introduced a lot of people into RPGs and made the genre mainstream, giving FFVII a lot of praise and exposure, so it's cool to hate it, and give all the praise to some unknown, niche RPGs that probably only 10 people know about and discuss.

Then there's the folks like one of my friends, who has loved every Final Fantasy since the Super Nes games, and claims that after FF6(3 in US), the series died and became crap, but strangely enough believes that FF Crystal Chronicles revitalized and brought back the series to grace.

 

[Idoru]

Yes, it truly was that good. Back in 1997.

 

[Kabouter]

In short should I get FF7, is it worth it?

Tried it a short while back, didn't care for it too much. Not really my type of RPG. And the gameplay does feel very dated.

 

[Jive Turkey]

What better way to sell to people than by speaking directly to them? Cloud Strife is the everynerd -- wrapped up in delusions of greatness when allowed to take things on his own carefully-selected terms until he sees the world for what it is and is forced to come to grips with the fact that he's actually completely pathetic. That's your average game-obsessed message board dork in a nutshell: the petty tyrant of a tiny little niche of the Internet but a failure in real life. It's the kind of parable Jesus would have been proud to have shared with the hungry masses between bites of magical fishloaf, the cigarette ad of nerd coming-of-age stories -- a promise to nerdlings that if you face down your demons, accept your failures and struggle to move beyond them, you'll save the world and your childhood crush will fall madly in love with you.

:lol Suddenly the insane fanboy obsession makes perfect sense.

 

[ShutEye]

I think its a great introductory RPG, but thats about it. Loved it when I was 17 though.

 

[EOGamer]

In it's prime? Yes.

Now? Hell no.

The translation was spotty, the graphics look archaic and have a pretty terrible framerate. It's like trying to play the launch Daytona USA for Saturn. It performs so badly by todays standards that it simply isn't enjoyable. It's why I'm all for FF7 remake, with graphics that do it justice and a better translation, it'll really validate alot of peoples nostalgic rants about how great it was. But if you attempted to play it now for the first time, I have a good feeling you wouldn't have a clue what the fuss was about.

 

[Panic_Attack]

No, it's probably the worst Final Fantasy game. And the fact that it "doesn't hold up" shows this perfectly, as FF6 is still just as good today as it was back when it released.