FFVII wasn't that good

[No_Remainders]

I wouldn't be too surprised if some of the people who profess to love FFVII over other games, only do so because it's cool to like it.

Conversely, it's cool not to like it because it's popular.

Alright, how's this? I think it's the second best FF game (with VI being the best), and you don't.

Let's just leave it at that perhaps? I think it's a fantastic game, you don't. Get over it. Your opinion is no more valid than anyone else's and you can't just claim people love FFVII "just because it's cool to do so", because that's just you refusing to get off your high horse.

 

[dimensional]

Another discussion on FFVII? and about how it wasnt as good as entry/game ??
A fair few others have already said what I would have to say so I will just add that to me it was good very good in fact, before this game I hated RPGS especially those ones we now call JRPGS (I did not know this distinction at the time though) so I went into this game ready to hate it (I bought it because my friends had, yes I was young go go peer pressure) but it did something no other game has done before or since for me which was completely change my thinking of a genre and get me to re-evaluate previous games on their own merits allowing me to eventually enjoy FFIV and FFVI and just recently Baldurs Gate 2 and all this because one game had likeable characters (to me) and combined it with flair (remember the intro first time I ever saw something like that) the story and battle system also sucked me in. It is showing its age now of course those awesome fmvs are now simply meh for instance but the battle system still works and is still fun for me to mess about with when I decide to boot it back up.
Of course even at the time some people didnt like it and its hype/fandom reached such ridiculous levels that it blew up causing massive backlash. If you play this game expecting it to rock youre world you will be disappointed.
It would be interesting to see what people would be saying now if it didnt sell well on release and garner such a huge fanbase probably be along the lines of overlooked classic, way ahead of its time, stunning battle system, huge world, great memorable characters and so on again bigging it up to be something better than it actually was.

 

[veloper]

IMHO, All games from the 5th gen look like shit, besides still sprite based stuff like SotN, to an extent parappa and so on.

Amen.

Not that I mean I would severe aging as an excuse for the game though.
It was never a good game.
People were just blown away by so many cutscenes, because CDROM technology back then was still a new thing in console land.

 

[Ando85]

There is one thing I have always noted about great games in general, including FF7. People like to pick apart a game like that to point out its flaws. Every game has flaws. It is like watching a movie everyone says is great with the intention to pick it apart and find reasons to not like it. A lot of people simply don't like FF7 because of its popularity.

 

[Velocity Eleven]

almost all of what you said is about the storylines, not the actual games

 

[veloper]

IMHO, All games from the 5th gen look like shit, besides still sprite based stuff like SotN, to an extent parappa and so on.

Amen.

Not that I mean I would severe aging as an excuse for the game though.
It was never a good game.
People were just blown away by so many cutscenes, because CDROM technology back then was still a new thing in console land.

It was amazing back then, but so was sega genesis in it's day, and Most of the games on there look 1 hundred times more appealing.... Try comparing sonic 1 to RE 1. See how much better sonic looks?
People say that so many games on PS1 "don't age"but to me, a terrible lack of graphical capability just takes me so far out of a game.

I would even go as far as to say the look of the NES games is better than the 3D games on the PS and N64.

2D pixel art has some blocky charm to it. It is consistent. Each pixel in a sprite lovingly handcrafted.
Early 3D is just a pointed mess. Stretched, blurry textures don't help either.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

I remember playing it back then when it was new, soon after it came out.

I thought it was alright.

I understand that thanks to the leveling, gear, and grinding. Everyone has a different experience in Final Fantasy. With me, out of all the Final Fantasies I've played on PS, I thought it had the best difficulty balance. I thought FF8 was too easy. I thought FF9 was really hard. Other people will surely disagree.

As for the characters, I didn't really feel them for the most part. The only character I actually hated (besides Cait Sith) was Aeris, because I just thought she was incredibly bland. Although I was surprised when she died, I just didn't give a damn.

As for the graphics, they do look like shit. As someone said earlier, I'll defend a game by saying graphics aren't everything, but even when I do, I can admit when a game looks like ass. I don't think every single game from the PS generation looked bad, but this one especially did. And age makes it look even worse.

As for the rest of the game. It was okay. The story was okay, the combat was okay. I didn't really have too much fun playing it through. But I did, and it was alright. Had much more fun playing through Super Mario RPG (I still do).

I too don't understand the massive acclaim it gets. I played it when it was new, and several times again recently. In all my playthroughs, I just don't see what other people see.

My personal favorite FF from playstation was FF9.

 

[DigitalAtlas]

Wow, I feel awkward. I just put this Cloud pic as my avatar today and now I have to try and not come off as an FFVII fanboy. Tricky business.

Let's say it now: Final Fantasy VII is nowhere near the great JRPG.and it won't ever be with titles like Radiata Stories, Xenogears, Lost Odyssey, Tales of Symphonia, and Square's own Kingdom Hearts existing. It's not even the greatest Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy IX hold that role.

Final Fantasy VII does excel with a few things though:

1. The Universe. The world of Final Fantasy VII was massive and it was all very intricately designed. Throughout the years, this has stood the test of time with places such as Edge and Junon being completely identifiable from a lone screenshot. It was all very steampunk and allowed the developers to take the story in many directions. That's why the side-quests were able to be so varied, because the world itself was so varied. Outside of Lost Odyssey, I've never gotten that feeling of traveling the entire world in a JRPG before. Even in games that show you traveling the entire galaxy, all the people seem fairly samey and part of the same society. It's FFVII's ability to create that versatile world of Gaia then connect it all through the tragic dilemma each of them faced. Whether from Wutai or Midgar, whether they hated Shinra or loved them, it didn't matter because a FREAKIN' METEOR was coming. Very similar to Majora's Mask, just grander.

2. The Characters. I don't need to get into the main characters all being fairly diverse. Quite frankly, they aren't. Ya want excellent characterization? Look at Tales of Symphonia. The characters in FFVII are the standard type of character that appear in every Final Fantasy. What's so good about them? The answer: their roles and how they belonged in the world. One can argue that every character in Final Fantasy VII just fit into the game and, without said character, the game wouldn't be complete. Even small ones like SOLDIER 3rd class operatives were just extremely well crafted for every location. Not going too deep into that, you can fill in the gaps.

3.... There is no three. That is it. That's the reason Final Fantasy VII is still remembered. It excelled in those two areas so greatly that people who played it upon release look back at the experience with a smile. The story? Yeah it was okay. Gameplay? Same as every Final Fantasy, still good though, sure. But the universe and the characters? Amazingly done, it held the story together more than the narrative itself did.

So yeah, it's an impressive title that really came out of nowhere and catapulted the Final Fantasy name into fame. Is it the best? Hell no. Is it over-rated? Not really, it deserves the praise and success it received upon release. Is it worthy of being anyone's favorite title? Of course, any title should have that ability.

Still, I think every in FFVII has been done better since then and Square Enix will, I hope, become famous for something else:

Spoiler

SWEET JESUS

EDIT: Really? The graphics of Final Fantasy VII are a topic here? Shut up and wait for the eventual remake if you're not hardcore enough for the lego sprites. Or, go use a mod on the PC version.

 

[SoopaSte123]

I first played FFVII one year ago, so I can't claim any kind of nostalgia, and I thought it was great. Loved the characters. Loved the story. Loved the materia mechanic. Hated the random battles (as I do in any game). Graphics were fine. Just thinking about it makes me want to go replay the game...

Personal preference, I guess.

 

[Kinokohatake]

Final Fantasy 6 and 9 are my least favorite of the older series. Seriously hated them. And 10 would have been so much better if there was no voice acting in it. But we all know the worst Final Fantasy is 13. Just sooooooo bad. Final Fantasy 7 I think has held up very well and still has one of the most customization of magic of any game I have ever played.

 

[MightyRabbit]

As always with anything related to Final Fantasy, your mileage may vary hugely. I'll say that it doesn't live up to its hype as the greatest thing ever put to disc, but I don't think it desrves the backlash it gets either.

It was Square's first attempt at a story that could be more complex than 'that guy's crazy and wants to destroy the world' (before anybody has a go at this point, I'm well aware that each game had sidequests etc. that gave some additional narrative depth but not to the level we saw starting with VII) so they tried to do pretty much everything, meaning they messed up some areas. Part of it was the translation, but also trying to tackle all the environmental, ethical, psychological, interpersonal and metaphysical themes they raised would be difficult for any writer.

The only main characters I'd say you could really call nothing more than shallow stereotypes that had nothing added to them were Barrett being the tough but well meaning black guy, the ever Genki Girl Yuffie and Vincent, your typical overpowered guy with a mysterious past.

The battle mechanics aren't particularly special I'll admit.

Aesthetically I'd say the game works well, and even holds up favourably to today's 'real is brown' crowd. Setting the ugly overworld models aside, the FMVs are a little dated but the pre-rendered backgrounds can be gorgeous and while he's done better individual tracks elsewhere I'd say as a whole the soundtrack is Nobuo Uematsu's best work. Besides, I /really/ dig the whole mixture of Gothic and Cyberpunk design present in upper Shinra and upper Junon.

So yeah, FFVII, doesn't deserve its place on many people's pedastals and does rely on the 'wow factor' it had when many people first saw it (cause it was one of the longest and deepest games ever made at that point) and nostalgia from people who grew up with it or had it as their first FF. But it's by no means a bad game.

I can understand those who prefer the later games in the series where they ironed out a lot of the problems they encountered in VII particularly in regards to narrative clarification and pacing, and those who loved the old school more in terms of simple-yet-effective design and a focus on mastering the mechanics of the game to carry you through each tough encounter. Just please think before you hate on VII or sing its praises to high heavens. Not only did this make Final Fantasy a world recognised super brand, it brought JPRGs from relative obscurity to mainstream attention outside of Japan.

 

[Xyliss]

Although for the record: My favorite Final Fantasy game is and always will be Final Fantasy IX, Zidane was a unique and fun character who never gave up and always had a laugh for something. Garnet and her knight, Eiko and Frey. And Kuja. Damn but he was a good villain, he was sinister and powerful, and ultimately, human and frightened of dying.

That kind of epic story is what final fantasy is about to me.

So I agree totally with this, and definately think IX was the best, but I still think VII was a very good game (even though I have yet to finish) and certainly deserves the celebration it got...but IX deserves more.

 

[MightyRabbit]

[quote="Tohuvabohu" post="9.300418.11965639"I thought FF8 was too easy. I thought FF9 was really hard. Other people will surely disagree.
My personal favorite FF from playstation was FF9.[/quote]

Really? Most people would reverse those. But then again if you know how and have the patience to break FFVIII, you can do it hundreds of ways from when you're first handed control. 9's my favourite too, but I'd have said it was one of the easiest in the series.

 

[Sinathor]

Final Fantasy 7 is a -great- game, but I agree it being overrated. All Final Fantasies are great from 1 to 10. There's nothing in Final Fantasy 7 that makes it significantly better than others. Sure it has an interesting bad guy, some of the best music in the series and lots of fun unique things, but so does other Final Fantasies.

Since Sakaguchi (The father of Final Fantasies) left Square, they've just been trying to make more money with FF7 because there are so many fanboys. Spin-offs, movies and all kinds of shit that is NOT needed. Why can't the game stand on its own? Not a single Final Fantasy needs a remake, or a movie, or a spin-off story. But they can't let something that popular die now can they? There's money to be made. If the original creators wants to stop, maybe you should listen to them.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

I do kind of hate Tidus but honestly it was kind of nice to not have a whiny, angst-machine (cloud/squall) as the main character and instead have a protagonist who is believably flawed.

I can let almost any praise for FFX slip by me, until someone brings up Tidus. Now from what I remembered about Final Fantasy X the story tended to focus more on Yuna and destroying Sin; with very little emphasis on Tidus' role overall. Not that he's allowed to slip by the player of course as he constantly reminds everyone that it's "his story".

I never found anything at all likeable about him. He's cocky and arrogant at the start of the story (he played for the Zanarkand Abes you know?) and whiny and arrogant by the end of it (after we hear for the umpteenth time how it's all about him). Plus all the crying and whining he does removes any remotely endearing factors from his personality.


At around 3:46 is when I lose all hope for Tidus as a relatable character. He acts like such a kid and this guy is supposed to be the hero of the piece? This is why I'll argue Cloud's case any day. Cloud suffered from a fucked up psychosis and believed he was Zack for a majority of the game, he's got a reason to be angsty; Zack's life was terrible.

But everythig else about FFVII? Yeah it's largely popular because it was the first 3D Final Fantasy, that being said it's probably my favourite for that reason.

 

[Rabish Bini]

Of course it wasn't the "ultimate Final Fantasy". That award goes to VI.

 

[Legion IV]

Let's just all agree Final Fantasy 4, 5 and 6 are the three greatest Final Fantasy's ever. I am sure people put them in different order then me, but they are all super awesome and fun to play.

Diffrent opinions my friend. Back in the day i imported and played all the games still do and i honestly think.

1,2,5,12 and 13 are the best ones. Not sure the order but eh.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

I thought FF8 was too easy. I thought FF9 was really hard. Other people will surely disagree.
My personal favorite FF from playstation was FF9.

Really? Most people would reverse those. But then again if you know how and have the patience to break FFVIII, you can do it hundreds of ways from when you're first handed control. 9's my favourite too, but I'd have said it was one of the easiest in the series.

hmm I'm not surprised people would say that. I guess I was just a shithead during my playthrough of FF9 and never figured out the obvious "secret" to winning most fights. I just remember at one point and onwards, every single boss in the game had an attack that basically reduced your entire party down to 1hp. Oh and the part when you're prisoners for Kuja or something and he sends you to attack those elemental guardians in groups of two. I remember that part kicking my ass.

Though it's been AGES since I've played FF9. I wonder if I could figure it out and have a much easier time with it if I revisted it... It's tempting to try, but I just have way too many games to play through right now ;( Maybe one day soon.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Personally my favourite is and always has been Final Fantasy IX.

What I always like to ask is when people played their first Final Fantasy game, which one it was, and which one they played next.

For example, I played FFIX, loved it, then played FFVII, it was still a very popular game but this was practically before the internet so it hadn't quite reached the level sof fanboyish nerdom it now holds. In other words, I played FFVII about two years after it was actually released and found it to be fantastic in almost every way. Engaging storyline, interesting characters, gameplay for the time was still pretty unique, and the game felt epic.

A lot of people who criticise FF, especially pre FFX, I find usually played X first, sometime in the early 2000s, so it's no wonder they aren't going to find FFVII quite as good as it was hyped to be. It would be like comparing Metal Gear Solid 2 to MGS1, literally, because FFVII and MGS1 came out in the same year, and MGS2 and FFX came out within a year of each other. And despite the problems with MGS2's storyline, it's hard to deny that there had been significant improvements on the formula.

For another thing, a whole new console had been released between VII and X, along with all the greater limits of what could be achieved, the better understanding of how to tailor games. FFX should have been an upgrade in every single way.

Now, I still hate FFX with a burning passion. It was in fact the game that made me stop playing jRPGs, which had been basically what got me into console gaming in the first place, and I haven't really ever gone back. FFX was so bad it turned me off an entire genre of games, and I've tried others. Mostly when people ask why I just point them at the Spoony Experiment and say 'pretty much that.'

But that's my argument. FFVII hasn't aged well, but then you couldn't expect it to. It was one of the single greatest games ever released for the PlayStation 1, and much as I hate to draw the age card, there will be a lot of gamers decrying FFVII who were barely out of nappies when it was released. Estimating the general age of the Escapist to be around 18-19 means that the majority of people here couldn't have played FFVII around the time it was released, since you would only have been three to five, and maybe it's only nostalgia talking, but remembering the game as the groundbreaking masterpiece it was is important.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I loved final fantasy 7 so I guess I should tell you what I loved about it.

The storyline; I thought the way the ecological storyline (which was very topical at the time) with Shinra's experimentation and Cloud's personal storyline was really effective. The characters actually made me care about them and Tifa's unrequited affection for Cloud was very heartrenching for me. Barret and his little girl and even Cait Sith's espionage got me involved with the story.

The only character I didn't like was Aerith, she seemed kind of full of herself to me but maybe that's becuase I was on team Tifa.

The gameplay: The Materia system was amazing and really made that game stand out. Being able to develop your powers then mix and match was awesome fun and the 'mega upgrade' choice of whather you give up your fully powered Fire materia for an Ultimate ability (was it meteor? can't remeber) made it really interesting to me. The fact they did it in a way where you had to work for it. ie. The rocket sequence made it even greater.

The exploration was really top notch, the chocobo system meant that it was somthing you had to work for and the chocobo racing meant that it wasn't just a superficial thing you actually got to use your choco breeding prowess as part of the gameplay as well as cruising the map. The mini games were a bit of fun too

The GF's were really fun and added alot of excitement to the game as you could find hidden ones as well as being a nod to the older games which I apprieciated.

The lack of exploration of Final Fantasy X upwards just really can't compete with this involving world with it's secrets and ways to make it personal to you. The average player could finish the game but the determined player could achieve alot more.

Personally my favourite game is Final Fantasy 9 but these are some of the reasons why I liked FF7 as a 15 year old girl .

Oh the cutscenes were nice too. I guess.

For me the only thing that saved Final Fantasy X was the characters (and still..Tidus ><) the rest of the game was meh.