Poll: Final Fantasy VII - Why is it so popular?

[twilight_dweller]

FFVII is... decent at best.

Sure the graphics were great, even fantastic. However asides from the Materia system I found nothing about it revolutionary at all.

And I was more of a Chrono Cross guy.

 

[Iss]

Well, a few reasons for the popularity. First off, FF7 is the highpoint of the ffseries worlddesign. The worldmap, the cities, the steampunkish settings. From a design point of view it was incredibly coherent and believable. That sense of a unique world is one of the things the ffseries has not made since or before that. With the possible exeption of ff6.

The second is the music, by far the best in any ffgame. Sure, ff6 has better tunes, but the synch with settings and mood from ff7 is fantastic.

The third is that ff7 held true to it's tone throughout the game. Other ff games has tried to mix in different pacings, themes and swithching between genres of storytelling without heed to the general tone of the game. FF7 did this VERY rarely which did alot for the immersion.

Graphic design. This point cannot be stressed enough in this case. FF7 was not just good looking when it came. It is still gorgeous. The background design combined with the music sets an unrivaled mood.

The storytelling and characters admittedly stumbles around a bit. There are a lot of stereotypical traits in the main characters. The amnesiac hero and the virtous maiden, the guardian with a troubled past and so on. But even so there are som really interesting relations between these characters. The Cloud-Aeris-Tifa story is simple, but classical and very effective. The subcontext of the relations between barret and Cloud are quite interesting. All in all the characters are general enough for everyone to find at least one of them to love, and in a few cases there is depth enough to really enjoy yourself. The Sephiroth-jenova character relations is not only interesting on a gamplay level but also on a more abstract level of mother-son relationship and questions of identity. This additional depth and the vague storytelling that surrounds it engages the player and forces him/her to draw thier own conclusions. This is something that gamedesigners need to learn. It is good to leave a few things open, if you write it all on my nose, I'm not going to be very interested.

Whoa, long post.
In short, I loved ff7, it wasn't my first ff. (ff6, ff8, ff7, and then the rest.)but it is the one which made the largest impression on me.

 

[purple_haze]

FF VII is my favorite game of all time. I think a couple of your points aren't entirely relevant though. It was my first Final Fantasy, but the main things that I really liked about it were the plot, characters and materia system. Your complaints about the story I can understand but your two examples were definitely answered in the game. The game really came down to the story and if you didn't like the story, which I can definitely understand, you probably won't like the game.

 

[Nugoo]

FFVII was not only my first Final Fantasy, but also the first video game I played independently. It was also my one of my first experiences with Japanese culture, which I have loved ever since. Basically, FFVII is responsible for my transformation from a little kid who liked nerdy things into a nerd. And that's why FFVII is my favorite in the series.

Or so I used to think. Then I played through it again during the holidays, and it turns out that it's an awesome game. I still love everything about it; the Materia system, the combat, the story, the characters, the locations, the atmosphere, the villains (oh man, the villains), the limit breaks, the chocobos... everything.

On the other hand, I can certainly admit that it's not the best. That honour, in my opinion, goes to FFXII and Tactics, although I haven't played FFVI or older (Yeah, I have them, I just haven't had time to beat them yet).

 

[KurtNiisan]

FFVII was not only my first Final Fantasy, but also the first video game I played independently. It was also my one of my first experiences with Japanese culture, which I have loved ever since. Basically, FFVII is responsible for my transformation from a little kid who liked nerdy things into a nerd. And that's why FFVII is my favorite in the series.

Or so I used to think. Then I played through it again during the holidays, and it turns out that it's an awesome game. I still love everything about it; the Materia system, the combat, the story, the characters, the locations, the atmosphere, the villains (oh man, the villains), the limit breaks, the chocobos... everything.

- Exactly what he said ^^

 

[YukariKaito]

I must agree that for most people, the first final fantasy was the one they like the best, for my case, the first final fantasy was FFVIII, but my favorite one so far would have to be FFT and FFIX.

They comment about FFVII having revolutionary graphic and gameplay design, but all I felt from that game was some slapshot polygons smashed together. And the other reason I hate it is because of the term "rise of the emos"

Cloud HAS to be the first emo main character in the whole video game industry. And the reason I hate him so is because there were too many other emo characters that appeal better to the gaming community that spawned after him. Such as Squall.

Now talking to a cold corpse isnt something normal people would do Squall, you carried her from Fisherman's Horizon all the way to the Great Salt Lake? Then talk to her in between? Not healthy.

Cloud was about the same, having constructed a convenient lie all about his past and claiming to be another person isn't exactly healthy either. Now imagine if somebody would suddenly go out there screaming "I am Hitler" and starts shooting anyone thats Jew. Thats just sick and wrong.

I preferred Tactics because of the whole politics of Ivalice. Wars, rebels, poverty, it just feels like something you would find in your History book. And to top on that, there's the "I want no trouble, just let me live peacefully" type of main character that I like.

Unlike Cloud, Ramza didn't go after his past, Ramza didn't go all emo, he just wanted to find a way out of the war, then live with Alma, his sister. And possibly Delita, his childhood friend.

He ended up saving the world instead.

Well too bad for him. And going on to the point where Sephiroth is a badass villain, how the HECK is he badass in any way? He just loves torturing people (possibly with his beautiful long silver hair, because he's born with it) and in the end, failed his ultimate goal of destroying the world.

I fell asleep during serveral junctions of the game, but who doesn't? I mean, when Zidane went emo for a moment there I thought the game was going to end. But he just reverted to his happy old flirty self that everyone loves again anyway.

In conclusion, sure FFVII has something good that everyone loves (I only liked the "Weapons", find them cool, not sure why) But in terms of gameplay quality, storyline wise, and likeable main charcters, FFT and FFIX wins hands down, but still tied for the top.

Oh, by the way, I love Chrono Cross too.

 

[Lance Icarus]

I loved it because it was fun to play. I STILL don't completely understand the plot. All I know is that Cloud is a mental case, Aeris gets stabbed because she's actually really, really old, and that Sephiroth is one evil bastard.

However, the side quests, the materia system, and Golden Saucer made the game for me. Just how fun it was to go around and do the seemingly endless optional tasks you can take on. Also, Barrett is an awesome character because we need more Mr. T impersonators.

Okay, so I can't describe it very well, but I just enjoyed the massive feeling you got flying over the land in your Highwind.

 

[Novan Leon]

That's another thing. Sephiroth didn't really seem like a great villain. Other than killing Aeris (admittedly too late to affect the game in any substantial way) and wanting to be a god, what exactly did he do anyways? Other than looking cool and carrying a cool sword, what exactly did he do that was all that impressive? If he was Zack's and Cloud's comrade and friend, why did he turn evil?

Really... after Aeris summoned Holy just before Sephiroth killed her, Cloud and party could have just sat around drinking martinis on the beach and playing games at the gold saucer and the ending wouldn't have been affected in the slightest. Holy still would have come to the rescue in the end.

 

[Worr Monger]

I never played it but... if I remember correctly, it was the first Final Fantasy with the 3D effects and animations of the Playstation, right? I also hear it just had the best story and characters.

I never got into the FF series.... especially since they're numbered... but none are actual sequels to anything. That bugs me about Japanese games.

 

[Melaisis]

Seymour (FF10) had a better, more developed God complex than Sephiroth.

E.E's death sequence in MGS2 is more powerful than the one of Aeris.

Zell (FF8) had better, funny lines than the 'hardc0r menz!' of FF7.

Star Ocean's bloody battle system is more intuitive and exciting than the one in FF7.


Heck, even Squall (FF8) was more emotional than Cloud.

Final Fantasy 7 was my third Final Fantasy game - after FF9 and FF8.

It was a good game, but has sadly been over-hyped by shameless Internet fanboyism and the good old effects of nostalgia.

 

[tamago]

FFVII was good for its time, but sadly it has not aged well. I don't hate it, but honestly, Suikoden was 10,000 times better. Since it didn't have OMFG3DGRAPHICS!!1, though, it was pretty much overshadowed by FFVII.

I never played it but... if I remember correctly, it was the first Final Fantasy with the 3D effects and animations of the Playstation, right? I also hear it just had the best story and characters.

I never got into the FF series.... especially since they're numbered... but none are actual sequels to anything. That bugs me about Japanese games.

See that's what I liked about the Suikoden series. They have an actual history thing going on. For instance, in Suikoden 1 you can recruit a fighter woman named Ronnie Bell. Then in Suikoden 3, you recruit her daughter Emily. And events and locations tie into each other across the games.

 

[Worr Monger]

See that's what I liked about the Suikoden series. They have an actual history thing going on. For instance, in Suikoden 1 you can recruit a fighter woman named Ronnie Bell. Then in Suikoden 3, you recruit her daughter Emily. And events and locations tie into each other across the games.

The reason I can't stand them is because it just doesn't feel like a continuation. Like the Seiken Densetsu series... How did it go? Seiken Densetsu 1 was actually Final Fantasy 3... and Seiken Densetsu 2 was Secret of Mana.

I don't know if Final Fantasy 3 had anything to do with Secret of Mana but I loved Mana. Then when I heard Seiken Densetsu 3 was in the same universe but had virtually nothing to do with Secret of Mana, I just couldn't care. Personal taste I suppose, I like actual sequels, not just things of the same name. It's almost like they just want to use the name for sales.

Final Fantasy is worse in this aspect because isn't the universe in each games always different? It's like they're just selling the name. I wonder how well the games would do if they didn't carry the Final Fantasy name.

 

[tendo82]

Final Fantasy VI was the definitive Final Fantasy experience for me. I liked Final Fantasy VII at the time, but I didn't love it. Personally, I think Final Fantasy VI holds up fairly well. In many ways Final Fantasy VI represents the apotheosis of the 2D era, and stands high on the shoulders of everything that came before it.

On the other hand, FFVII is a pioneer of the 3D era and laid the groundwork for what was to come. In its role as a foundation, the game tries a lot of things: some worked and were kept on, some didn't and were removed in subsequent releases.

In the end, I think FFVII will be remembered frequently but played seldomly.

 

[tamago]

See that's what I liked about the Suikoden series. They have an actual history thing going on. For instance, in Suikoden 1 you can recruit a fighter woman named Ronnie Bell. Then in Suikoden 3, you recruit her daughter Emily. And events and locations tie into each other across the games.

The reason I can't stand them is because it just doesn't feel like a continuation. Like the Seiken Densetsu series... How did it go? Seiken Densetsu 1 was actually Final Fantasy 3... and Seiken Densetsu 2 was Secret of Mana.

I don't know if Final Fantasy 3 had anything to do with Secret of Mana but I loved Mana. Then when I heard Seiken Densetsu 3 was in the same universe but had virtually nothing to do with Secret of Mana, I just couldn't care. Personal taste I suppose, I like actual sequels, not just things of the same name. It's almost like they just want to use the name for sales.

Final Fantasy is worse in this aspect because isn't the universe in each games always different? It's like they're just selling the name. I wonder how well the games would do if they didn't carry the Final Fantasy name.

A valid point, but I never mentioned anything about anything having to do with Final Fantasy in my quoted statement. Suikoden is a completely different series altogether which has not one thing to do with Final Fantasy. I do agree that Secret of Mana was awesome though.

 

[kezultra]

FF7 was my first FF, but in retrospect would consider it weaker than many others. I have a certain distaste for the type of fanboy that FF7 seems to produce, but that's not the game... However, I played through it again recently and just felt that it's simply pretty damn good fun. Materia just worked as a system - it ws a bit too simple and would love to have seen more done with it, but regardless, it entertained.

The weakest area I felt was the story - but I put this down to a below average (but still okay) translation. A couple of conversations just didn't click.

I find though that each game brings a definite couple of good points counterbalanced by the inevitable bad. Other games mentioned here... Suikoden just had sheer charm, Suiko 2 having an excellent villain and storytelling.... Secret of Mana is tough to say, but I have an irrational love of this game - the combat just seemed to work...

FF's a pretty good series in general. Nothing really standoutish I'd say, but you could do a lot worse then them.

 

[Novan Leon]

Final Fantasy VI was the definitive Final Fantasy experience for me. I liked Final Fantasy VII at the time, but I didn't love it. Personally, I think Final Fantasy VI holds up fairly well. In many ways Final Fantasy VI represents the apotheosis of the 2D era, and stands high on the shoulders of everything that came before it.

On the other hand, FFVII is a pioneer of the 3D era and laid the groundwork for what was to come. In its role as a foundation, the game tries a lot of things: some worked and were kept on, some didn't and were removed in subsequent releases.

That's an interesting way to look at it. To me, FFVI was the last best Final Fantasy, but FFXII was good and has my hopes up that a new golden era in Final Fantasy may be returning. I may be dreaming but I guess we'll find out when FFXIII comes out.

 

[aznkorean]

I totally love this game. The main reason why is because it was my first FF and i just loved everything about it. To me, it became something original and when i played FF8-10 it just didn't seem "right" to me. Even though i beat all of them(with the exception of FF8), i didn't feel the same satisfaction. On the other hand, I haven't played any of the FFs before FF7.

I have to admit though, the story in FF7 was difficult to understand the first play through. Only after 2-3 plays through did i understand everything that was going on.

 

[dislea]

The reason why FFVII was so popular, and I assume many other probably have said or aggree, is because AT THE TIME, it was considered revolutionary in regards to graphics, content, and story. In comparison to today's standards of video games and RPG's, naturally, FFVII is considered outdated and lacking but people still remember the experience they had when they initially had played it. That's why, when ever there is something new regarding the FFVII franchise, people will line up for anything FFVII because they expect to receive the same feeling or experience they got when they first played the original.

THANK YOU! I was starting to loose my marbles reading all these threads! Yes at the time it was the best! Not to mention when VII came out the Play Station was reigning supreme in the console market so more people had a PS and therefore more poeple played it over previous titles - hence why it was most peoples first!

And on that note FFVII was my first FF, but FFVIII is my favorite.